Death Wizard Diary.

Chapter 188 Shadow

Thor cast a light spell, illuminating the deep pit.

At first glance, the pit contained only some weeds, roots, stones, and clods of earth.

However, upon closer inspection, Thor discovered some tiny black crystals in the soil. These crystals resembled stones, and he would have easily overlooked them if he hadn't been so observant.

"These are fragments of a completely depleted magic crystal." Thor picked up a fragment no bigger than the tip of his little finger and held it up for Victor to see. "Indeed, someone used this manor to set up a magic circle, but his circle was set up underground. Unless we turn over the entire soil, we cannot restore the original appearance of the circle, and therefore we have no way of knowing the specific purpose of the circle."

Victor took the fragment from Thor's hand, and with a gentle pinch between his thumb and forefinger, the fragment turned into finer black powder, which drifted away in the wind.

"This pit isn't actually very deep. It's enough to bury an ordinary person, but it's too shallow for sealing... I guess this magic circle is for enhancement or temporary storage."

Thor nodded. "That's what I think too, so the person lying in this pit is likely a beneficiary of the magic circle."

"But now the pit is empty." Victor looked at Thor. "Could it be that the people inside came out?"

Thor tossed aside the other shard in his hand, stood up, and patted his knee. "Maybe it's useless now, or maybe someone dug it out and ate it."

Victor stroked his violin strings with concern. "We may have gained another enemy vying for the treasure."

He reached out to pull Saul up, but gave up when he saw the mud on Saul's hands.

"Don't worry, no matter how many enemies there are, your brother will definitely help you seize the treasure and successfully advance to level three!"

Thor watched as the other person stretched out their hand and then withdrew it, sighed helplessly, and jumped out of the pit.

However, while patting the dirt off his hands, he said seemingly casually, "What nonsense are you talking about? Does a genius like me need treasures? I'll just let you advance to level three first. You're almost thirty years old, don't let yourself get corrupted one day."

The person in front of him didn't respond for a long time. Occasionally, he would raise his head in surprise and find that Victor had freed one hand to cover his mouth and a tear was rolling down his cheek.

"Waaaah... Thor is so considerate of me, I'm so touched, brother."

Thor got goosebumps looking at Victor.

How could he have such an older brother?

"Thank you, Thor. But brother is just a mediocre man waiting for death to come, so let's not waste this treasure."

The raging winds that had been howling suddenly stopped, and the sky grew increasingly gloomy, as if it had gone from dusk to the dead of night.

Victor looked up at the sky, his expression shrouded in gloom.

"The rain is about to start, let's go inside and take shelter."

As he spoke, Victor gently plucked a string, and the bass notes remained ethereal and melodious.

Thor paused for a moment, then nodded and said, "Okay, I don't see anything else outside."

The two walked through the garden and came straight to the castle gate. Strangely, the gate was slightly ajar.

"It seems that quite a few people have visited this place before us."

Saul turned and pointed to Victor's harp, signaling him to be quiet, then turned and pushed open the door.

The castle’s front hall was dark, with lamp stands, chairs and other furniture lying haphazardly on the floor.

There seemed to be windows in the hall, but they were completely blocked by heavy curtains.

Thor carefully surveyed the area, but saw no figure or corpse, nor did he feel like he was being watched.

He then gestured to the people behind him and walked into the castle.

Victor followed Thor in, almost stepping on his still-present footprints.

The moment the two stepped into the hall, the sky suddenly flashed, and a bright white light shone through the door and the windows hidden by long velvet curtains. Saul seemed to see a person kneeling with his back to them in the center of the hall.

The man was wearing a full suit of armor and appeared to be a warrior.

But when the lightning passed and a huge clap of thunder followed, the figures in the front hall had vanished.

"Splash—"

The rain poured down.

Victor leaped forward, dodging the splashing raindrops.

He touched the harp in his arms with lingering fear. "So close."

Then he noticed Thor was still standing there, looking dazed. Curious, he walked around him, waved his hand in front of Thor's face, and said, "My poor brother, have you been petrified?"

Thor snapped out of his daze and pushed away Victor's large hand that was blocking his view. "I just saw someone kneeling in front of me."

"Hmm?" Victor looked over in confusion, but saw nothing. However, this did not stop him from sighing, "Perhaps it is a ghost that is wandering in the castle and has nowhere to escape. It begs you to help it escape this fate."

As he spoke, Victor's fingers once again touched the strings.

But he immediately remembered Saul's warning and forced himself not to let the harp make a sound.

"Asking me for help?" Thor curled his lip. "I'm here to steal. He's got the wrong person."

Thor carefully walked forward to the figure he had just seen, squinted, and used semi-immersive meditation to look at it again.

But the ground remained empty.

"Has it already left, or is it not a spirit?" Thor's expression turned serious, and he was about to turn around and warn Victor to be more careful.

However, at that moment, another huge bolt of lightning struck.

Even standing inside, Thor could see the sky, which was as bright as day.

He immediately looked down again and was shocked to see countless figures kneeling in the front hall!

Even at his feet and where Victor was standing, there was someone kneeling!

"Holy crap!" Thor looked down and came face to face.

The face had no eyes, no nose, no ears, only a mouth wide open, the scar at the corner of the mouth twisting and trembling as if pleading for help.

But the next second, with the sound of thunder, all the people kneeling in the hall disappeared again.

"Bang!" The door was suddenly pushed open, and two people jumped in as if they were fleeing.

"This rain is strange!" One of the shorter men was frantically scratching his wet cheeks and neck, his fingertips already stained red.

The other figure was taller; Thor saw that it was an old man with white hair.

The old man recited a spell to clean himself of the rainwater, and then cleaned up the little boy beside him.

Victor stood not far from the two of them, a smile on his face, seemingly waiting for them to notice him.

"Who?" The white-haired old man finally spotted Victor a few steps away, grabbed the boy by the collar, and pulled him back to the other side of the front hall.

Victor didn't make a move; he simply walked up behind Thor with a playful expression.

"Who are you?" The old man then noticed Thor in the middle of the hall, and his wariness intensified.

"He's also here to take shelter from the rain," Thor said, looking at the old man with equal wariness.

The little boy, who was unremarkable, was now covered in blood and wincing in pain.

That white-haired old man was no ordinary person. The magical energy fluctuations he emitted while casting the spell seemed to be the level of a third-level apprentice.

The white-haired old man wrinkled his nose when he heard Saul's lies, but he didn't expose Saul.

His gaze lingered on Thor and Victor several times, and a smile gradually appeared on his face.

"Oh, so it seems we have the same goal. But you're luckier than us; you didn't get wet in the rain."

He walked to the window as if relaxing, and lifted the curtain to look outside.

"This rain is strange; it's itchy and painful when it hits me." The white-haired old man lowered the curtains. "But that's normal; this is Ralph Manor, not exactly a good place to take shelter from the rain."

"But since we're already here, we should wait for the rain to stop before going out." Thor nodded to the old man. "Then please rest here, we'll go inside."

He pulled Victor, who was staring at him with great interest, along with them, and prepared to cross the front hall and continue deeper into the castle.

The old man was likely a level three apprentice, while Thor and Victor were both level two, making them vulnerable against him.

Seeing that Thor was about to leave, the other party did not stop him, but just watched silently.

The little boy, however, tugged anxiously at the old man's sleeve.

"Teacher, should we let them go in first?"

The white-haired wizard stopped him, saying, "No rush, Swann, let them wander around first."

(End of this chapter)