Death Wizard Diary.

Chapter 340 The Snail Collector

Another wave crashed down, and the boy who had fallen was pushed into the water, his limbs twitching and struggling.

The sea there was only knee-deep, but he couldn't stand up no matter what he did.

Those around him heard the boy struggling and stopped what they were doing, getting up to look in his direction, but no one reached out to help him.

As the boy floated up and down, his face occasionally surfaced, calling for help. But no one came to his rescue, and the others didn't even remove the black cloths covering their faces.

They simply stared in the direction from which the boy's voice came, their faces showing a numb sadness.

Saul, who wasn't wearing a black veil, naturally saw what had happened.

The rope around the boy's waist had broken at some point. A transparent hand was pulling at the rope from the direction of the deep sea.

Therefore, when the boy who fell tried to climb ashore using the rope, he was actually heading into a more dangerous, deeper area of ​​water.

Thor's face turned cold.

That transparent hand was not the pale, lifeless arm he had seen amidst the waves.

That's a level 0 spell, the Mage's Hand.

A faint magical vibration emanated from it, and Thor searched for an even fainter fluctuation of spiritual energy within it.

He turned his head to look in the direction from which the spiritual energy came, and saw a male and a female wizard apprentice in the shadows below the cliff.

The man was tall and strong, with a blank expression; the woman leaned against his chest like a little bird, turned her head, and looked at the boy struggling in the sea with a smile.

Just as the boy's struggles were growing weaker, Thor suddenly moved his fingers.

The icy, man-eating seawater suddenly transformed into gentle hands, lifting the boy up from the water and carrying him to the surface.

Only when the boy stood up in a flustered and somewhat confused manner did those hands transform back into seawater, slapping against the boy's thighs again and again.

Thor's act of saving people naturally attracted the attention of the two apprentices.

The man looked over expressionlessly, while the woman rolled her eyes without any attempt to hide it.

However, they took no further action.

Clearly, their act of killing was merely a spur-of-the-moment decision, and they did not intend to cause a conflict with another unfamiliar wizard.

The sorcerer's hand in the seawater also vanished, and the boy stood there, finally realizing that his rope had broken.

He licked his dry lips, which even the seawater couldn't moisten, and whispered, "My rope broke."

His throat was so dry from choking on water that he sounded like a vengeful ghost lurking in the darkness.

After a moment, someone finally responded to him, "This side is the shore."

The man wasn't lying to the boy; he was indeed standing on a sandy beach where there was no seawater.

But the sea breeze and waves distorted his voice, making it impossible for the boy to discern where the person speaking was standing.

He groped his way forward a couple of steps and almost slipped again.

Because of his struggle, he had gone to a deeper place, and if he accidentally fell, he might drown.

This is too dangerous!

The boy finally managed to regain his balance amidst the crashing waves. But he had already lost his bearings once again.

Finally, he gritted his teeth, and blood began to trickle from his taut lips.

He carefully straightened his head and then lifted a corner of the black cloth covering his face.

He dared not look at the sky or the sea, but only wanted to quickly scan his surroundings to determine the direction of the beach.

However, as soon as his gaze turned 30 degrees, he saw the beach and a person standing on it, completely shrouded in a gray cloak.

The man was standing near his companions who were picking snails with him, but his companions obviously did not notice him.

Judging from the other person's attire and demeanor, they must be a wizard.

The boy shrank his shoulders in fear, but then he suddenly remembered the hands that had just helped him up.

Those hands were so warm, like a fireplace in winter compared to the cold seawater.

The boy bowed deeply in Thor's direction. As he bent over, the splashing waves wet his face again.

"He's quite smart." Thor smiled as he looked at the boy who bowed to him, almost burying his head in the sea.

"Xiao Zao, pull him over here."

Upon receiving the order, Xiao Zao swiftly flew over, grabbed the boy by the waist, lifted him up, leaped out of the sea, and flew towards Thor's direction.

When the boy was first wrapped up by the algae, he struggled for a moment, but quickly calmed down and obediently let himself be carried in front of Thor.

"My Lord Wizard." The boy knelt down, pressing his forehead against the cold sand.

"Get up, I have a few questions for you."

The boy hesitated for a moment. He had encountered wizards before, but they had always made him kneel down to answer them.

Or rather, it doesn't matter what position he's in.

But remembering how Thor had just saved him, he decided to scramble to his feet.

"What are you picking up?"

"Replying to you, sir, we are collecting black conch shells."

There are black conch shells here?

Black conch is also a magical material, but it is not considered precious in the wizarding world and has little use.

Nevertheless, because of its association with wizards, it has become a rare delicacy in the eyes of ordinary people.

The Wizard Tower also makes this dish, but Thor doesn't like seafood and rarely orders it.

The most delicious part of the black conch is one of its internal organs, but eating too much of it can cause hallucinations.

Some wealthy people also use it as a hallucinogenic drug to harm others, and occasionally harm themselves.

Since there were black conch shells here, Thor understood why people would risk their lives to go beachcombing here.

"Do you know how often a soul tide occurs here?"

Although he had already asked these questions to the wealthy businessman Pound once.

However, the perspective of wealthy businessmen is certainly different from that of those who risk their lives to go out to sea.

Upon hearing the words "soul tides," the boy, who was facing away from the sea, trembled again.

"In reply to you, sir, this has happened... about ten times in the past year. It happened twice last month alone."

Has it become twice a month? Isn't that a bit too frequent?

"Have you ever witnessed a soul tide? How dangerous is it? I mean... does someone die every time?"

"In reply to you, sir," the boy pursed his dry lips, "people die every time... my father was caught up in it last month."

Sol paused.

I randomly asked someone, and they actually found out who the person in question was.

According to the wealthy businessman Pound, the frequency of soul tides was low in previous years, only once or twice a year. Before a ship entered the port, it would receive a signal from the shore, anchor overnight, and be able to enter the port normally the next day.

However, in recent years, the frequency of tides has increased, and few ships dare to dock here anymore.

According to Pound, the complaints were mostly about Bluewater Bay losing its port support and its economy declining significantly, but the Soul Tide also meant that it no longer caused many casualties.

According to the boy, these fishermen, who originally made their living by the sea, had no choice but to return to the sea to support themselves after the decline of Blue Water Bay.

But even such a dangerous job as picking black sea snails has conditions for joining.

The boy's father was a snail collector before he died, which is why the boy had the opportunity to inherit this job.

After listening to the boy's story, the sky grew even darker.

The wind started to pick up at sea.

The people who were collecting seashells in the shallows quickly pulled themselves back to shore by the ropes.

Only when they reached the dry ground did they remove the black blindfolds covering their eyes.

They then discovered that the boy had already returned to shore and was still talking to a mysterious person.

These snail collectors dared not approach or leave; they could only stand with their backs to the sea, shivering in the cold wind.

"...Alright, you can go back now. I'm fine."

Thor had already learned the general frequency of the soul tides from the boy, so he didn't let him linger any longer.

But when the boy looked at the people behind him, he turned around and mustered all his courage.

"Sir, may I ask if it's possible for me to become your apprentices? I have two younger sisters and three younger brothers."

(End of this chapter)