Chapter 15
Humanoid Enchanted Beast (Begging for monthly tickets!)
In the recycling bin, the discarded female corpse from last time had already disappeared, along with the pair of eyeballs displayed on the shelf by the door.
It was clear that they had been retrieved by the West Tower.
Returning to the morgue, Lucy took out the "Odor-Masking Potion" and began applying it to the glass jars containing the enchanted organs.
Of the five specimens, Lucy only submitted one pair of eagle claws. As for the most valuable windpipe and wings, she planned to keep them for her own use.
However, because the jar containing the wings was simply too large, she would have to smuggle the three glass jars out in three separate trips.
Just as she finished tidying up and was about to leave the morgue.
A deafening explosion suddenly echoed from a distance, followed by panicked screams and cries for help.
Lucy’s heart tightened, and she was momentarily at a loss.
At that moment, the iron door of the adjacent Morgue No. 65 slowly opened, and Hain walked out from within.
Seeing Lucy at the door, Hain revealed a strange smile at the corner of his mouth.
"There’s a good show coming up."
"A good show meaning..."
Before Lucy could finish her question, the iron door at the innermost part of the dissection laboratory suddenly swung open. A Tier-3 apprentice clad in a black robe, Karen, emerged and headed toward the source of the loud noise.
Hain said, "Someone’s Contamination Value exceeded 90%. They’ve probably already been transformed into an enchanted beast."
Upon hearing this, Lucy immediately leaped onto the wooden crate by the door and then used it to vault onto the roof of the morgue.
Her gaze swept past the many square morgues and finally locked onto the figure of Tier-3 apprentice Karen.
When her gaze shifted even further, her beautiful blue pupils suddenly contracted sharply.
A humanoid monster covered in terrifying tentacles was writhing uncontrollably like a dying octopus on a hot iron plate.
Its eerie tentacles lashed out aimlessly in all directions. Broken materials and shards of glass jars littered the ground, and two gray-robed corpses could be vaguely seen amidst the debris.
The surrounding area was filled with panicked and helpless apprentice trainees.
Like her, most apprentice trainees only possessed basic knowledge or one or two defensive spells, leaving them virtually powerless against an enchanted beast with an excessively high Contamination Value.
After another gray-robed apprentice lost their life, the unhurried Karen finally arrived at the scene.
And there was no need to see what he would do next.
After a tremor of magical energy rippled through the air, the body of the tentacle-covered enchanted beast suddenly burst open with a massive gash.
The remaining intact parts also quickly melted like marshmallows roasted over a high flame. In the end, only a puddle of foul-smelling, yellowish pus remained on the ground, not even a single bone left behind.
Having dealt with the enchanted beast, Karen stowed away his wizard staff, his gaze sweeping over the three gray-robed corpses on the ground and the wreckage strewn about.
It had been less than three days.
Of the twenty-one apprentices assigned to the West Tower, five had already attempted to escape and been killed by the iron crows. Now another had been transformed into an enchanted beast, and three more were slaughtered by it.
Nearly half had already been lost. No wonder no one wanted to come to the Anatomy Laboratory.
The devastated scene and the gruesomely slain apprentices made Karen’s expression extremely grim.
Guarding the lowest level morgues in the West Tower was one of his routine tasks, earning him a magic stone subsidy every three days. However, any casualties would result in deductions from his earnings.
What had happened today had already cost him a week’s efforts in vain.
Annoyed, Karen casually pointed at a gray-robed apprentice cowering in the shadows in terror.
"You. Clean the floor. Then contact the servants to repair the damaged morgue. If it’s not done by the time I return tomorrow\... hmph."
With that, Karen paid no further attention to the trembling gray-robed apprentice and left the laboratory with a dark expression.
The apprentice who had been singled out looked around helplessly for assistance, only to see the other apprentices who had come out to watch the spectacle quickly retreating into their morgues and locking the iron doors with a bang.
Having watched the entire process of the apprentice’s transformation from a distance, Lucy jumped down from the rooftop, her understanding of the dangers within the Anatomy Laboratory deepening further.
The risk of her own contamination aside, even if another apprentice nearby exceeded their Contamination Value, her life could be threatened.
"It seems the potions can’t be delayed any longer. I must reduce my Contamination Value as soon as possible and construct my first Tier-1 Witchcraft."
Taking advantage of the early hour, Lucy cleaned the bloodstains in Morgue No. 66, then hid the glass jar containing the banshee’s windpipe under her gray robe and left the West Tower.
She first smuggled the item back to her room, then hurried straight toward the North Tower.
Unlike the desolate and eerie West Tower, the North Tower was vibrant and teeming with life.
The moment one stepped into the North Tower’s vicinity, it felt as if they had entered springtime.
The ground was covered in lush green grass, climbing vines adorned the walls, and brilliant flowers bloomed everywhere.
A dazzling long-tailed honeyeater flitted through the air like a little sprite, fluttering in from outside the high walls of the North Tower, heading toward a vivid rose.
But just as it approached the flower, the brilliantly colored "rose" suddenly leapt up.
From within its petals, a moist, sticky tongue covered in slime shot out.
There was only time for a sharp bird cry before two blood-stained, shimmering feathers drifted down from the air.
The rose with the long tongue settled back onto the ground, its roots pushing the soil aside as it burrowed back underground, as if nothing had happened.
Only its petals seemed to have become even more vibrant.
...
5:00 PM.
Guarding the entrance to the Green Vine Garden, Lucy finally spotted that familiar figure. Almost at the same moment, Talia also noticed her friend.
She hurriedly quickened her pace.
"Lucy!"
As she came closer, Talia grabbed Lucy by the shoulders and looked her up and down. "Are you alright? You don’t know how worried I’ve been about you these past few days!"
Lucy smiled faintly, allowing her friend to inspect her.
"Talia, do I look like I’m in any trouble?"
"But I heard there was an incident over at the West Tower today..."
"There was indeed an apprentice whose Contamination Value exceeded the limit and mutated, but I actually get along quite well with the West Tower folks. Ahem, let’s not talk about that." Lucy hooked her index finger under her chin. "Do you have time now? I have a favor to ask."
Talia patted her chest.
"Of course! We’re friends, after all."
Seeing Talia’s earnest expression, Lucy smiled softly.
In the entire Tower of the Four Sages, perhaps only in front of this girl could she relax even a little.
"There are too many people here. Let’s go to the cafeteria and talk on the way."
Talia replied, "Alright."
...
At the apprentice cafeteria, after getting roasted potatoes, bread, and oatmeal porridge, the two found a corner to sit in.
Lucy got straight to the point. "I’ve been studying potion-making recently and want to buy some basic ingredients."
Talia scooped a spoonful of oatmeal porridge into her mouth and chewed it slowly.
After thinking for a moment, she said, "If it’s just basic ingredients, there are quite a few in the North Tower. But they belong to the wizards, so they need to be purchased."
Lucy took out the ingredient list for the "Basic Apprentice-Level Anti-Contamination Potion" and her last two magic stones from her pouch and handed them over.
"I’m not sure if this will be enough, but if you can find any of these ingredients, please try to get as many as you can."
Talia glanced at the list, then tucked the parchment into her gray robe.
"Got it. Same time tomorrow wait for me at the garden entrance."
"Wait! What is this?!"
Lucy grabbed the hand Talia was about to withdraw and pulled back her robe sleeve.