Although the Borderland was full of danger, since Saul had chosen to settle here and build his Wizard Tower, he couldn’t spend his life hiding.

Besides, he had the Dead Wizard’s Diary. In a place where danger could descend at any time, he was the one with the greatest advantage.

“Let’s observe first.” Saul thought to himself, then stepped forward.

He didn’t intend to enter the village—he just wanted to get a little closer for a more careful observation.

The village was very small, and there were no walls built around it. From a distance, only one road could be seen running through it. Along that street, a number of squat grey buildings, one or two stories tall, stood in line. The closer they were to the street, the more intact and taller they seemed.

There didn’t appear to be many people on the street, but he could hear the faint sounds of conversation.

“A village that’s normally invisible, yet visible to the Eye of Banishment? There’s no way that’s not suspicious.”

The side effects of the Eye of Banishment had grown worse—the iridescent aura around Saul shimmered more vividly with color.

Out of the corner of his eye, Saul could now perceive some of those hues even without relying on the Eye of Banishment.

Suppressing the pain, Saul reached out and dug the Eye of Banishment out of his palm.

In just this short time, several white tendril-like roots or nerve-like structures had already grown from the back of the eye, embedding two centimeters deep into Saul’s flesh.

Pinching his fingers together, Saul burned off the white growths before putting the Eye of Banishment back into its container.

Even though the Eye of Banishment had been removed, the village before his eyes did not vanish.

Apparently, once he discovered it, it could no longer hide.

The diary hasn’t issued a warning, so the danger level must not be…

While thinking this, Saul took another two steps forward. But just as the thought crossed his mind that there had been no warning, the diary in his mental realm suddenly opened, its pages flipping with a whoosh to a brand-new blank chapter.

Lunar Calendar, Year 317, October 17

At the same time, you will wake in the same bed,

Put on the same clothes, greet the same people,

Make the same jokes, receive the same teasing,

And when night falls, as you climb into bed again, you’ll feel the same confusion—

This same life is the same kind of mundane.

Likewise, you will not expect—this same place is also where you will rest in peace.

Death Warning!

Saul’s foot froze mid-step, and a few seconds later, he withdrew it.

“This death warning doesn’t include any clues for avoiding it,” Saul muttered, stroking his chin, but didn’t dwell on it for long.

[Herman: Master, what should we do now?]

“We go around it.”

This village was nothing more than a roadside scene in his journey. Saul wasn’t even a passing visitor to it. There was absolutely no need to proceed further after receiving a death warning from the diary.

“The Borderland is full of dangers, but for now I just need to find a relatively safe place to set up the Wizard Tower.”

Saul turned, ready to leave.

Just as he turned around, a flatbed cart brushed past the front of his robes, speeding by.

When did this cart appear behind me? Saul was startled, instantly stepping back two paces.

[Agu: We didn’t notice when it showed up either.]

“Oh, young man, I’m terribly sorry. I was lost in thought and didn’t notice you standing in the middle of the road.” The cart driver was dressed like an ordinary farmer, his face full of apologies.

Saul said nothing.

He hadn’t sensed anyone approaching just now.

Let alone a whole cart—hitched with a horse, loaded with hay, and bearing a metal pitchfork in the back!

There was no way this guy was human.

Saul’s cold demeanor didn’t deter the farmer. He kept talking.

“It’s all my fault. I’ve been worrying about where Little Claude went. He’s been missing for so many days… Have you seen Little Claude?” The farmer looked at Saul with hope as he spoke.

But Saul still ignored him, turning instead to glance back at his own cart.

At that glance, Saul’s expression darkened.

The cart that had been only a few hundred meters away was now completely gone.

He hadn’t heard a sound of Marsh driving it away.

Did I fall into some kind of illusion?

[Morden: Tch, illusions… that’ll be troublesome.]

“Hey, hey, are you listening to me?” The farmer, ignored, stepped down from his cart and approached Saul. “Have you seen Little Claude? Red hair, big nose, about this tall—ten-year-old boy.”

Given his farmer’s attire and the direction he’d come from, he was definitely tied to the village up ahead.

Having already decided not to enter the village, Saul ignored the farmer’s question and turned to look for Marsh instead.

After being ignored twice, the farmer’s expression darkened.

“Why won’t you answer me? Why are you leaving? Little Claude has been missing for so long—he must have been murdered.”

“Was it you who killed him? Was it?!”

Saul glanced back. The farmer’s face was now completely twisted with rage.

Gone was the apologetic man from before—he looked like a different person.

There really is something wrong with this guy.

Saul had no intention of tangling with these strange phenomena. He turned and walked away.

Being ignored again, the farmer finally snapped.

“It was you who killed Little Claude! It had to be you!” he screamed, spinning around and yanking the pitchfork from the haystack, thrusting it viciously toward Saul’s back.

[An: Master, he’s attacking you! Heehee!]

Saul, still facing away, raised a hand and flung a fireball backward.

But before the fireball even touched the farmer, it suddenly vanished.

Feeling his spell fail, Saul spun around in shock—only to be met with the pitchfork driving straight through his chest and abdomen.

The Soul Armor that should have activated automatically failed to block it in the slightest.

“H-How… is this possible?” Saul gasped, blood spurting from his mouth as he stared at the farmer in disbelief.

[Master!] ×4

All four consciousnesses screamed in horror.

Even now, the farmer looked just like an ordinary man—there wasn’t the faintest trace of magical energy on him.

The weakness from the fatal wound in his chest quickly spread throughout Saul’s body. His powerful physical constitution as a wizard had completely failed him.

New words appeared in the diary.

You are going to die.

“Damn it!” Saul couldn’t believe it. He was actually going to die at the hands of an utterly unremarkable farmer!

But he had no strength left. His body went limp.

“Wonderful! I’ve avenged Little Claude!” the farmer shouted gleefully, his expression returning to normal.

With surprising strength, he half-lifted Saul and threw him onto the flatbed, then began piling hay over him.

Saul was no different from a normal man now—he couldn’t move at all. The pain in his chest was agonizingly real.

He felt something heavy pressing on his left shoulder. Using the last bit of control he had over his eyeballs, he shifted his gaze.

Through the dense hay, Saul saw a face.

It was a child’s face, full of youthful innocence, with short red hair and a big, bulbous nose.

“L-Little… Claude…” Saul exhaled weakly.

And then, he could no longer resist the pull of his heavy eyelids.

Darkness fell.

Just before his consciousness faded, the diary once again filled with new writing.

You died.

…

Suddenly, a golden light cut through the darkness.

As the light slowly faded, Saul’s vision returned.

Before him stood a very small village, with no enclosing walls. Only one road could be faintly seen running through it.

No people in sight, but faint voices of conversation drifted through the air.

Saul’s face went pale. He stumbled backward again and again.

[Master!] ×4

The four consciousnesses cried out in unison.

Eventually, Agu spoke on their behalf.

[Agu: Master, are you alright? Was all of that just… an illusion?]

Saul lowered his head as the diary flew out and opened.

The two lines that had just appeared—“You are going to die.” and “You died.”—were still on the white page, but now they were both crossed out.

Erased.

“What was that? Did I really just die once? That golden light… was it…?”

A thought struck Saul. He quickly had the diary flip ahead, all the way to the golden pages.

He now had two golden pages.

And now, a new line drawing had appeared on the first golden page.

In the illustration, Saul lay in a haystack, three gaping holes in his chest pouring blood. His eyes were half-closed. He looked completely dead.

In the corner of the image, another face could just barely be seen.

Because the drawing was done in black ink lines, it was impossible to tell the hair color—but the nose was comically large.

The golden page has finally made its appearance!

(End of Chapter)

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