Chapter 18: Getting A New Body Part

Baldric sat in his well-furnished office, one leg crossed over the other as his fingers tapped idly against the desk.

Two men, fully cloaked in black, stood before him with their heads bowed. If one looked closely, their hands trembled faintly as they clasped them behind their backs.

A smile slowly formed on his face as he leaned forward, his brown hair falling across his shoulder.

“What could’ve possibly brought the two of you here?” He spoke.

The two figures gulped audibly before one of them replied:

“W—we wanted to inform you that the soul cores of the students we sent out for the inspection shattered”

“Oh? What a shame~”

Sighing theatrically, Baldric leaned against his chair with his hands covering his face.

The two figures shuddered and bowed immediately, hitting their heads on the floorboard continuously.

“We are extremely sorry! This won’t repeat itself!”

Baldric covered his mouth, which formed an “O” shape, as he leaned against the desk.

“You didn’t do anything wrong~ No need to apologize.”

Not daring to lift their heads, they shook it restlessly against the floorboard. “Our incompetence led to this,” they spoke at the same time. “We beg for mercy!”

The room fell silent, the silence weighing heavy on them but they didn’t dare utter another word.

“Number 1,” Baldric called out, his voice devoid of its usual cheerfulness.

“Y—yes, Master Baldric,” the first figure replied.

“Do you believe fools should be given another chance at life?”

“N—no…”

Baldric nodded in satisfaction and turned towards the second.

“Number 2.”

“Y—yes, Master Baldric…”

“Do you believe grudges should be forgotten?”

A moment of silence stretched between the two, the smile finding itself back on Baldric’s face.

“I—i do believe so…”

The smile faltered for a split second.

“So, you would forgive me if I should perhaps kill your pregnant wife and get your kid expelled from the academy?”

Both of their figures shuddered violently.

“Please have mercy! I answered wrongly!” He pleaded violently, his knees crawled desperately towards Baldric’s table.

The smile didn’t dissapear from his face.

“Don’t worry~ I was just joking~” he chuckled.

Number 2’s pleas became even more desperate, his hands grabbed the foot of Baldric’s desk like a life line.

Number 1 didn’t dare utter a word as he watched his colleague grab the foot of his Master’s desk.

’Maybe if I don’t make any moves, his wrath will fall purely on 2,’ he thought, a seedling a hope growing within him.

Baldric’s voice broke his thoughts in the worst way possible.

“Okay, okay, I do have another question for you, 2. Who knows, I might spare you if you answer correctly.”

Number 2 nodded violently, his head colliding with the floorboard as he did so.

A chuckle left Baldric’s lips.

“Would you forgive me if I…hmm…killed your dear colleague right in front of you?”

Number 1’s heart stopped as he waited for his colleague’s response.

“I… I would…” He responded, his voice below a whisper.

Number 1’s heart dropped to the pits of his stomach, beads of sweat formed on his forehead and dampened his mask.

His mouth opened to say something, but the pressure that bore upon him cut him short.

Baldric nodded in a contemplative expression, his fingers caressed his white beard as he spoke:

“Let’s put that to the test shall we?”

Before either of them could register what he said, Number 1’s head burst open, a mess of blood and bone scattering across the floor.

Number 2’s face paled as he felt the warmth of blood drench his back.

Shakily, he lifted his head to find an amused expression on his Master who now sat on top of his desk, his feet swinging childishly.

Chuckling, he asked, “Do you forgive me? Hmm?”

Blood flowed from Number 1’s lips as he stopped himself from doing anything stupid.

With a hoarse voice, he whispered, “I… forgive you…”

Baldric’s eyes squinted to slits as he waved his hand leisurely.

“Are you sure~”

“Yes— ARGHH!”

Screams of pain left his lips as he clutched his arm—

At least where it was supposed to be.

Blood spilled from the severed arm and mixed with his colleague’s.

The scent of iron filled the room and the stifled screams of his student traveled through Baldric’s ears but he remained unperturbed.

“Silence.”

Number 1 clenched his teeth and struggled to his feet, his eyes bloodshot.

Baldric’s eyes grew suffocatingly cold as he continued:

“I trust you won’t fail me next time. Clean up this room and get out my sight.”

Number 1 bowed deeply, then immediately began incinerating what remained of his colleague, his movements rushed and mechanical.

He snapped his head up toward where his master had been seated and released a shaky breath when he found the spot empty.

Kneeling, he scraped the dried blood from the floorboards, his fingers trembling slightly as ash scattered beneath them.

“I wonder,” he muttered, voice barely above a whisper, “which unfortunate soul will incur Master’s wrath next…”

…

…

…

Baldric wandered through the streets of the kingdom, weaving through the crowds with effortless ease.

Shops lined both sides of the road, each one shouting at passing pedestrians in a different language, all competing for attention.

He hummed softly as he slipped into a narrow alleyway and turned left—straight toward a solid stone wall.

Without slowing, Baldric walked through it.

The wall rippled faintly, as though it had never existed at all.

He stepped into a room where bottles filled with murky liquids lined the walls, each vessel preserving fragments of flesh suspended within.

Behind a counter stood a man with a rugged bearing, his gaze drifting lazily from one specimen to the next, showing no trace of interest.

A deep crimson rug stretched across the center of the room, while heavy chains dangled from the ceiling, their ends nearly grazing the floor.

Baldric advanced without haste.

The instant the man noticed him, his eyes widened dramatically. He abandoned his station at once and hurried forward, bowing low.

“Master Baldric! It’s an honor to have you here!”

Baldric answered with a quiet hum and permitted the man to usher him into the inner rooms.

“The boss isn’t around today, so I’ll have the honor of conducting this operation,” the man said as he guided Baldric onto a reclining chair.

Baldric’s gaze passed over him, cold and appraising, sending a shiver down the man’s spine.

“Don’t waste my time,” Baldric said evenly. “Do what you have to.”

The man swallowed hard and hurried to arrange his tools on the nearby table.

Instruments of various shapes and sizes, each ending in a sharp edge, were laid out with care. He then brushed Baldric’s hair aside, exposing a pair of dark eyes—empty, reflecting nothing at all.

The man exhaled slowly as a green aura shimmered over a pincer-like instrument, guiding it toward his left eye.

Unfazed, he let the tool extract the eyeball, leaving an empty socket in its place.

The man quickly opened a container holding an identical replacement and fitted it into the hollow with careful precision.

He repeated the process for the right eye, wiping sweat from his brow before casting a brief healing spell over Baldric.

Wordlessly, Baldric dropped five gold coins onto the table and walked away.

The man collected the coins with a reverent bow, muttering under his breath:

“Who could have harmed someone of that caliber and survived?”

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep