40

Chapter 40 Differential Treatment

Duke subconsciously didn't want others to know that Saul, with whom he had clashed, was reused by Mentor Kaz.

"Don't worry about it then, he definitely won't be able to pass the first test. Didn't you see that magic shortage look when he was in rune class? Even if someone like that learns fast, what good is it if he can't unleash sorcery?" Dozer's tone wasn't too good after being pouted at by Sol.

He even speculated wistfully, "Listening to Mr. Gudo's meaning, apprentices who can't pass the test will definitely be punished, so maybe Sol will end up being driven back to being a servant! Rocky, you say so."

"Huh? Yes." Rocky replied sullenly.

"Huh?" Jenna sympathized with Sol again, "That's a bit pathetic too."

"Also." Rocky immediately picked up again.

Watching his best friend always steal glances at Jenna, Dozer mentally rolled his eyes.

Just as a few people were getting high on the discussion, the door to 603 opened again.

The chattering stopped.

Saul came out of the dormitory, walked next door to 604, knocked on the door, and called out Korie, who was inside burying her head in her studies.

"Is there a new person in the tower?"

"Hmm? Yeah, what's up? I thought you wouldn't care about such things." Still holding a thick roll of parchment in her hand, Korie looked at Sol with a stunned expression.

"Isn't there an apprentice with a strong dark attribute talent among the newcomers?" Saul asked.

Korrie spread her hands expressionlessly, the parchment hitting the doorframe with a dull thud, "You think I would care about such things?"

Choking on Korrie again, Saul couldn't help but laugh out loud.

"I thought you'd be interested in a new genius."

"Progress has been different, wait until someone catches up." Kori raised an eyebrow at Saul, one hand resting on her chin, "You're interested in him, do you want me to ask around?"

"That won't be necessary."

Saul walked away with an inscrutable look on his face and arms, leaving Korrie standing uncertainly.

"What the hell is he up to? Frying my curiosity?"

Korrie pursed her lips in contemplation for a moment, and when she saw someone coming toward her in the corner of her eye, she hastily retreated back into the room and slammed the door behind her.

Duke knuckled down and ate a closed door, the warm smile on his face instantly turning somber.

Explosive jeers came from behind him, which made him clench his fists so tightly that he could not wait to smash open the door of the dormitory in front of him.

But by now, everyone knew that Keri was already the palm of Mentor Guido's hand, and was often brought around to teach him.

This was the kind of special treatment that how many apprentices had begged for.

There were rumors among the new apprentices that she would surely be the first to become a second level apprentice, and would even soon enter the third level.

Countless people wanted to get close to Kerri, even if they could only get a little bit of resources from her, it might be enough for them to survive one apprentice test after another.

However, that Keri's brain did not know what kind of water was in her head, and she was only willing to stay in one place with Saul.

All of her cheerfulness and enthusiasm was only released to Saul alone.

Inadvertently increased the newcomer's resentment towards Saul.

However the person who was haunted by the resentment didn't care in the slightest.

Three thirty in the morning.

Saul suddenly opened his eyes, chaos dispersing like a tidal wave as reason stood back to lead his brain.

Servant George had sent Saul a rota the other day.

Today, it was time for one of Sid's minions – Brown – to take his turn at the task of clearing the corridors.

Saul quickly put on his clothes, took out the properly stored Phantom Sound Pupil, and left the dormitory.

...

Brown, who was a head taller than Sol, cringed as he pushed his cart and walked down the ramp of the West Tower.

Every now and then he raised his hand to tighten his collar.

The temperature inside the Wizard's Tower wasn't cold, but the chill was everywhere.

Brown had had to take a turn back at sweeping the corridors since that damned Thor had damned well become a damned apprentice.

It was the job with the highest mortality rate amongst the servants, as short as ten days or as long as a couple of months, and there was always someone who left in the wee hours of the morning and couldn't come back.

"It's a cheap shot for that George to lick Sol's ass so soon."

George had been assigned other duties by the butler and was not involved in the early morning shift. It was now clear to all the manservants that George had latched on to Saul's ass.

They immediately changed their faces to put the originally bullied George on a high pedestal.

George slept on the right side of the Chase, taking Brown's place.

Brown has been out of power ever since, but no one really dares to bully him.

Only as a result, he also lost his once transcendent position and had to take on a lot of work that he didn't have to do before.

The danger is naturally higher.

Fortunately, Brown isn't all bad, and he's still confident that he'll come back safely in the face of a dangerous early morning cleanup job.

Ever since Saul became an apprentice, that Level 2 Apprentice Lord had never looked for Brown again, but he had once left Brown a life-saving prop.

Brown tightened his collar again, fingering the small scented beads underneath it in passing.

It was a translucent bead strung on a black cord, the size of a thumb, with a small black bug sealed inside like amber.

Brown didn't know what it was, but the Lord Second Level Apprentice had told him that this little scented bead would protect Brown from the usual shenanigans.

It was also the very same advance payment Brown had gotten for persecuting Saul earlier.

It was only a pity that after Sol left, that Second Grade Apprentice Lord was unwilling to take care of Brown publicly, much less accept Brown as an exclusive servant.

Otherwise, who would still be afraid of that George?

Even the butler had to respectfully pile up a smile on his face.

Despite his regrets, Brown happily squeezed the small fragrant bead, and with this sorcery prop, he wasn't at a loss.

Brown's pleasurable feeling of superiority triggered by the little scented beads did not last long before it was once again suppressed by the strange atmosphere in the wizard's tower.

"When will I be able to leave this damn place? If I had known that I would have to be a servant all the time, I wouldn't ... have returned to the village to farm."

Regret was just a useless emotion that only sank his will.

Brown let out a long sigh and pushed the cart onward.

He remained silent as he turned the corner of the sixth level.

Suddenly the wheels got stuck in the cracks of the stone tiles and no amount of pushing would budge them.

"What the hell?" Annoyed, Brown crouched down and tried to lift the wheel up.

That's when he suddenly saw a foot on the stone tile in front of the wheel.

A small, miserable, almost purple, bare, skinny, bony foot.

Then another similar-looking foot landed.

Only that foot was heel-facing toward Brown.

It was the opposite of the first foot.

The hell with it!!!

Brown couldn't care less about the car, as he yanked out the little scented beads hidden under his collar and raised them above his head, closing his eyes tightly in anticipation that the terror would be dispelled by them.

There was no movement for a long time.

Brown tentatively opened his eyes a crack.

The sweaty hairs on his entire body stood up.

Naked feet stood all around him and the cart.

Those feet were all arranged in a positive and negative way, and each of them was different. Some belonged to adults, some to children, and some to old men.

"Ho... ho..."

Brown began to tremble even as he breathed.

The scene in front of him was bizarre.

But what was even more oozing than bizarre was the fact that Brown had seen this scene before.

When he was ten years old.

Barbarians invaded his village, gathering together all the living things they could catch.

All the animals and people were split in half and stood in mid-air with stakes driven through them one way or the other.

Up push today, but have a cold that's killing me!

(End of chapter)