William read the ritual carefully. Despite its detailed instructions, the final steps were missing. All he had were the effects—rejuvenation and curing all diseases—and the two names at the end.

‘Is Wendy working with them?’ William wondered. ‘No, it didn’t seem like she was…’

Still, the possibility lingered. William had been lied to before, and he wasn’t about to rule it out. But Wendy had been sold as a slave, just like him. They’d arrived together, and he couldn’t imagine her collaborating with their captors. The thought didn’t sit right with him.

03 appeared beside him, his eyes finally adjusting to the darkness. “You can see in the dark, can’t you? There’s no way a normal person could read anything here without light.”

“Yeah,” William said, holding up the note. “Look, Wendy’s name is here, along with someone called Vince Black Pine.”

“Vince?” 03’s eyes widened. “That’s Jonas’s grandfather.”

“What?” William blinked, surprised. He’d guessed Vince was part of the family because of the surname, but he hadn’t realized it was Jonas’s grandfather.

“Yeah,” 03 explained. “He’s a powerful mage, really old, but some disease got to him. From what I’ve heard around here, he’s got maybe three years left at most.”

03 had been working there far longer than William, so he knew more about the inner workings of the Black Pine family.

William gestured to the note. “This ritual claims to rejuvenate someone and cure all diseases.”

“No way,” 03 said, shaking his head. “That’s impossible. Mages haven’t figured out how to do something like that yet. This has to be fake.”

Before William could respond, Stuart’s voice cut through the tension. “The guard will wake up in about five minutes. You need to explore the rest of this place—fast.”

Stuart’s magic wouldn’t last forever, so they had to move quickly. William, the only one who could see clearly in the dark, took the lead. His enhanced vision swept the room, landing on a small wooden door. It looked ordinary, but William knew better than to assume anything in this place was normal.

He pushed the door open, and what he saw made his blood run cold.

The room was a nightmare. Rows of glass flasks lined the tables, each one filled with body parts and organs floating in murky liquid. It was a grotesque display, like something out of a mad scientist’s lab.

‘What the hell is going on here?’ William thought, his stomach churning.

The sight was enough to make him want to turn back, but time was running out. He stepped inside, scanning the room for anything useful. The flasks were horrifying, but there was nothing else of note. Whatever secrets this place held, they weren’t immediately obvious.

William quickly retreated, rejoining 03, who was waiting by the door.

“See everything?” 03 asked.

“For now, yeah. Let’s go,” William said, his voice tight.

They retraced their steps, with Stuart’s magic cloaking them once more. In less than five minutes, they were back in William’s room, the window securely closed behind them.

“That was close,” 03 muttered, wiping sweat from his brow. “What did you see back there?”

“You won’t believe it,” William said, his tone grim.

Before sharing, William cracked open his door to check the hallway. Paranoia was a habit he couldn’t afford to break. The corridor was empty—good. He shut the door quietly and turned to 03.

“It was… a lab,” William began, struggling to find the right words. “But not like any lab I’ve ever seen. There were flasks everywhere, filled with body parts and organs. It was like something out of a nightmare.”

“What?” 03’s voice was a mix of disbelief and horror. “I never would’ve guessed that was inside that shed. What are they doing in there at night? And where the hell are those organs coming from?”

03 fell silent, his brow furrowed in deep thought. William could see the gears turning in his friend’s mind, so he stayed quiet, giving him time to process.

After a moment, 03 spoke again, his voice low and grim. “We might be in deeper trouble than we thought. Now that you mention it, I remember a few workers who went missing a few months ago. When I asked about them, Jonas said they’d just quit and left. But now… I don’t think that’s what happened.”

William sat on the edge of his bed, the weight of 03’s words sinking in. The possibility that the missing workers were now floating in those flasks was horrifying—and if that was true, staying here was more dangerous than they’d realized.

“What do you think about sneaking into the library tonight?” William suggested, his voice steady despite the unease churning in his gut. “I want to see if there’s anything about the seals on our bodies. If we can break them, we might stand a chance.”

03 nodded, his expression resolute. “That’s a good idea. And tonight’s the best time to try it. Let’s do it.”

After finalizing their plan, the two were about to leave the room when they were stopped by a guard stationed in the hallway.

“What are you two doing out this late? You need to return to your rooms,” the guard said sternly.

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William recognized him immediately—it was the same guard who had been watching over him since the beginning. The one who had shared information about Wendy.

William stepped closer, his tone calm and persuasive. “We’re just stretching our legs. As far as I know, we’re allowed to do that today, right? Look, if we leave, you can take a break or enjoy the festivities tonight. What do you say?”

The guard hesitated, then sighed, his expression softening. “Fine. But don’t do anything stupid, and be back before midnight.”

“Thank you,” William said with a nod.

Once they were a safe distance away, 03 glanced at William, impressed. “That was smooth. How did you know it would work?”

“I didn’t,” William admitted. “But what other choice did we have? Let’s be careful from here on out. I don’t think we’ll be able to talk our way past the other guards.”

William led the way, retracing the path he’d taken earlier. When they reached the library, they were relieved to find no guards in sight. However, the door was still locked.

As William approached, Stuart’s voice piped up from his shoulder. “There’s a magical formation here. I can crack it, but it’ll take about five minutes. Just wait.”

Once again, Stuart was proving invaluable. 03 couldn’t help but grin. “If you know any other rats like Stuart, let me know. I’d love to have one too.”

While Stuart worked on the formation, William and 03 hid in a shadowy corner, doing their best to stay out of sight. The minutes dragged on, each one feeling like an eternity as they waited for Stuart to finish.

Time seemed to crawl as William and 03 waited for Stuart to disable the magical formation. When the rat finally succeeded, they slipped inside the library, but Stuart’s next words brought a wave of unease.

“There’s a problem,” Stuart said, his voice tense. “This type of magical formation records every time someone new disables it. They’ll know someone broke in tomorrow.”

“What do you mean?” William asked, his stomach sinking.

“I can reactivate it, but the record will still be there. They’ll know someone was here,” Stuart explained.

“Damn it…” William muttered, running a hand through his hair.

Despite the bad news, there was nothing they could do about it now. Their priority was finding information about the seals on their bodies. The search began in earnest, their movements quick and deliberate as they scanned the shelves for anything useful.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep