My health recovery is incredibly fast.

Here, sunlight never shines; only alchemical lamps emit a bright yellow glow.

The group stopped in the underground morgue, where guards lifted Hemsworth's body and placed it on the bloodstained autopsy table.

Despite facing the dark morgue, Yani remained calm.

"Harmster's body will be dissected and disposed of by specialists."

Yanni looked at Nick, "I need you to take some men and guard the front door of the morgue. Keep a close watch on everyone who passes by here."

She then looked at the coroner who was waiting there, "Lock up this autopsy room and don't let anyone in."

Yanni waved and led everyone away.

The wooden door to the dissection room was locked, and the heavy chains rattled behind it.

Xia Zuo glanced at the gap under the door panel, which was definitely big enough for him to squeeze through, so he stayed put.

...

Three days passed quickly.

No one came to dissect the body, nor did anyone remove the dagger from it.

Xia Zuo faced the stiff Helms every day, and from initially resisting the corpse, he eventually accepted it calmly, adapting very well.

He changed his daily routine.

He would return to the hotel to rest at noon every day, and spend the rest of the time in the morgue—after all, if Fritz really wanted to steal a body, he certainly wouldn't choose to do it in broad daylight.

Noon on the fourth day.

Xia Zuo returned to his room, his face showing undisguised fatigue.

He raised his left hand to examine the secret message:

I've arrived at your location. Open the door.

"Squeak~" Xia Zuo opened the door.

A gentle force suddenly appeared and pushed him aside.

The door was controlled by an unseen force and closed gently.

Ripples appeared in the air before him, and a towering, transparent figure emerged in the distorted light and shadow. A white light flashed from top to bottom, revealing a familiar beard and thick arms.

Xia Zuo rubbed his bloodshot eyes and asked, "Dim, what kind of magic is that? Invisibility?"

“That’s a minor function of the Elemental Body,” Dim grinned, extending his broad right hand to pat the other’s shoulder lightly. “You did a great job, Shazo. Get some rest. I’ll keep an eye on Hemsster.”

Xia Zuo yawned, his mouth agape, almost cramping up.

He forced himself to sit down at the table, propped his head up with his hand, and asked:

"Dim, who is that little hairy man? And what does the phrase 'When blood falls, immortality is attained' mean? To be honest, these questions have been weighing on my mind for a long time, and I'll have nightmares if I don't get the answers."

Dim scratched his beard, took two carrots out of his pocket, handed one to Shazo, and sat down opposite him, saying:

"Let me explain it to you briefly."

He paused, took a bite of carrot, and said, "Well... first of all, Hemsster was actually acting a bit strange back in the Eastern Continent. I only just found out about this from the Dean."

"What do you mean?" Xia Zuo was taken aback, sat up straight, and listened while eating a carrot.

"His mentor was Professor González, a knowledgeable and renowned alchemist."

Dim held up the half-eaten carrot and emphasized, "Most importantly, Professor Gonzales is absolutely loyal to the Temple of Mages. The word 'absolute loyalty' cannot be used lightly; it can only be applied to those who have undergone a pledge of allegiance."

Xia Zuo thought for a moment and asked, "What about the professors at Starry Night Academy? Are they absolutely loyal to the Temple of Mages?"

“Yes.” Dim nodded, then continued:

"After discovering Hemsster's anomaly, Professor Gonzales discussed a plan with the beings of the Mage Temple. They wanted to use Hemsster to lure out the enemy lurking in the shadows."

Dim held up his index finger to his lips. "I can't say his name. To be precise, it's their name. Those people have a unique sensory ability; they can pinpoint the location of someone who mentions their name through words or writing."

"Who are they? I feel their magic is very different from what's taught at the academy..." Xia Zuo frowned, feeling his head growing increasingly dizzy. He took another bite of the tender carrot, hoping the refreshing juice would ease his fatigue.

“They…” Dim hesitated for a moment, then looked at the utterly exhausted Shazo and said, “You should get some sleep first. I’ll talk to you when you wake up.”

Xia Zuo shook his head and nodded, walked to the bedside, fell onto the bed, and quickly fell asleep.

Dim stood up with a look of shame. "I'm sorry, Shazo. Please forgive me. After contacting those people, everyone has to be investigated, even if you are Beatrice's student."

Dim opened the door and then stepped aside, clearing a path from the door to the bed.

Rexor appeared out of thin air in front of the door.

His bald head was as shiny as ever.

Chapter 36 Blood Magic

The two men standing by the door were both tall and imposing, but with some differences.

Dim's lower body was wider, and his legs were thick and powerful, firmly rooted to the floor, as if no matter how great the impact, he would not take a single step back.

Rexor has a more balanced physique, with straight legs and amazing explosive power hidden beneath his perfect muscle lines.

“It’s nice to see you again, Shazo. I didn’t expect it to be like this.” Rexor said, staring at the figure on the bed. He nodded to Dim and then walked to the edge of the bed.

Rexor raised his right arm, his fingers tracing intricate patterns in the air, bright yellow lines appearing wherever his fingertips touched.

With his left hand, he pulled out a handful of fine sand from under his leather armor and sprinkled it onto the bed. Then he took out a bottle of clear medicine and sprinkled it onto the bed in the same way.

The fine sand and medicine remained suspended in mid-air, not falling onto the bed due to inertia.

The pattern Rexol was drawing with his right hand gradually brightened, and as he made the last stroke, the pattern shone with a sun-like light.

The light shone on Xia Zuo's body, but the fine sand and the potion remained suspended in the air, unchanged.

Tim, standing to the side, watched this scene and let out a long sigh of relief.

Rexor nodded slightly, waved his arms, and the light pattern dissipated, the fine sand and potion flying back under the leather armor.

“Very good. Observing the degeneration ritual up close, yet remaining untainted.”

Rexor's lips curled up as he touched his bald head. "His performance is already on par with that of an ordinary Witcher apprentice, especially considering that this is the Western Continent, where knowledge of dealing with monsters and those people hasn't been widely disseminated. It's truly remarkable."

Rexor's eyes flickered as he stared at the sleeping figure for a moment before looking away and saying:

“Let’s go see that degenerate fellow, Dim. I’ve finally made it back from the depths of the interior; we need to prepare a grand gift for our guest.”

Dim walked to the bedside, adjusted Xia Zuo's sleeping position, took the remaining half carrot from Xia Zuo's hand, and covered the fast-sleeping Xia Zuo with a blanket.

He and Rexol exchanged a glance, and simultaneously became invisible, leaving the guest room.

The door opened with a creak and then closed gently.

Xia Zuo remained completely unaware of everything that had just happened.

...

The next morning.

Xia Zuo, whose sleep schedule was almost completely reversed, slowly woke up on his bed.

This was the first time I'd ever used sleep to rejuvenate after replacing sleep with meditation. I slept exceptionally well, without a single dream.

He rubbed his sleepy eyes and went into the bathroom to take a shower.

With Dim taking over Helms, I finally have some free time to look at the cheat codes I've received over the past few days.

While taking a shower, Xia Zuo mentally reviewed hundreds of lines of information.

"Uh?"

"Uh-huh?"

Amidst the rushing water, a series of questioning voices could be heard.

Xia Zuo repeatedly read the latest few lines of information:

"Affected by an unknown spell, a forced assessment of [Willpower] and [Perception] attributes is underway... The assessment failed, and the unknown spell has taken effect."

"The unknown spell has ended, and no damage or other effects have been suffered."

When did I fall under the spell? Was it while I was sleeping?

Xia Zuo stood in the warm water, lost in thought for a short while.

Oh well, let it be. Maybe Dim cast a healing spell, or a calming spell to enhance sleep.

The thought that Dim was monitoring Hemsster's body made Xia Zuo hurry up with his shower, put on clean clothes, and flick the dial on his secret communication ring to send out a series of secret messages.

About 10 minutes later.

Xia Zuo raised his hand to look at the secret communication ring, then opened the door and stepped aside, waiting for Dim's figure to appear before closing the door.

"Did you sleep well, Shazo? You look much better now." Dim smiled and handed over two carrots.

Xia Zuo chewed on the sweet radish, sat down at the table, and said:

"I slept very well. You haven't finished yet, Dim. Who are those people? Why is their magic so... um... so sinister?"

Before the other person could speak, Xia Zuo paused in his chewing of radish, "Also, how did you get here? What about Hemsworth's body?"

“Someone will be watching. We have help.” Dim walked to the table and sat down.

Xia Zuo assumed it was either the resident mage or Yani, so he stopped asking.

Tim ate a carrot, carefully choosing his tone before speaking:

“You’ll be going to the Eastern Continent in the future, so it’s alright to tell you these things. In fact, the deeds of those people are widely known—the infamous kind. Everyone born in the Silvermoon Federation is repeatedly told how dangerous they are.”

Dim stroked his beard and raised his index finger, which was as thick as a radish. "Before you apply to become a full mage, all the magic tricks you can learn belong to a school of magic called the Evocation School."

"When you plan to become a formal mage in the future, the head of the academy will give you a detailed introduction to other schools of magic."

Dim held up one finger at a time and said:

"For example, there are as many as 10 orthodox schools of magic, such as curses, blessings, spirits, and totems, enough for one person to study for most of their life."

Dim pointed at Shazo, "If you want to become a formal mage, you have to choose one of them. Of course, if you have exceptional magical talent, it's perfectly fine to study two, three, or even more at the same time."

"So what style did you choose?" Xia Zuo asked curiously.