Chapter 342: Finding a Diary

William went straight to the place where Zen, the captured spy, had lived. Strangely, Zen had his own room, unlike most of the other guards.

All the guards’ quarters were located in a separate building from the main academy.

“He had a room just for himself?” William asked the guard who was showing him around.

“Yes,” the guard replied. “Even though he wasn’t a captain or anything like that, Zen had worked here for a long time, so he was given his own space.”

As they walked through the building, William couldn’t help but notice how tidy everything was. Not a speck of dust on the furniture, and all dirt seemed to be collected and stored away.

There was clearly magic involved in keeping the place so clean, but that didn’t diminish the guards’ effort. They truly kept everything under control, everything in order.

“Nice place you’ve got here,” William said.

“Ah, thanks,” the guard answered. “It’s cleaner than usual because the headmaster has been breathing down our necks. You know, with one of us being a spy, he’s suspicious of all of us now.”

Things had changed since Zen was caught. The headmaster no longer trusted the guards, the staff, or even the professors. Out of everyone, it seemed William was the one he trusted most, since he was a newly arrived teacher. From his investigations, the headmaster had realized the spies had infiltrated the academy long ago.

That meant William didn’t appear to be connected to them.

“This is it,” said the guard, stopping at Zen’s door. “You can look around as much as you want. No one has really investigated this room yet.”

With that, the guard left. William stood there for a moment, thoughtful.

“No one bothered to check the room he lived in? What kind of nonsense is this?”

he thought.

It made no sense. The room was the most obvious place to start, and yet no one had tried.

He decided he would ask the headmaster about it later. For now, he focused on searching for anything suspicious inside Zen’s quarters.

Behind the furniture, inside the wardrobe, under the bed—he checked every possible hiding spot. He even relied on his sharpened senses to detect what ordinary people would miss.

But even with those senses, he found nothing.

“Where would Zen hide something?”

William tried to put himself in Zen’s place. If he were caught, where would he stash the things he had discovered?

That was when he noticed something odd. In the corner of the room stood a bookshelf filled with books.

At first glance, nothing unusual. Many people enjoyed reading, whether for entertainment or to study magic.

But William saw that every book was covered in dust—except one. A single book looked as though it had been handled often, taken down from the shelf repeatedly.

And it wasn’t even thick. The kind of book someone could finish in a single day.

William frowned. It didn’t make sense. Zen wouldn’t keep rereading the same book over and over, leaving only that one clean.

He pulled the book from the shelf and flipped through it. It was a simple story about a boy living in a village. Nothing magical at all.

That was exactly why the book was famous. William skimmed the pages quickly, searching for notes, but found nothing. It seemed ordinary.

Then he remembered the special spell the cult had taught him before this mission—the spell that revealed hidden writings in books.

“Could it be?” William thought.

He decided to try. To his surprise, it worked. The words shifted, and the book transformed into a diary written by Zen.

William’s eyes widened. He glanced around to make sure no one was watching, even checked the door.

Then he focused on the diary. It wasn’t full; at least half the pages were blank.

The entries began from the day Zen arrived at the academy, describing his main mission: to rescue the Lich.

It was exactly what William had suspected. The Lich was part of the necromancer cult, perhaps even its supreme leader, captured and hidden beneath the school.

William locked the door and read quickly, not wanting to waste time.

The last pages were the hardest. Zen already knew he was about to be caught.

“If you’re reading this, then I’ve been taken. But I know my mission, my torch, will be carried by others. Please, be careful. The headmaster is not as simple as he seems, and neither is Brian.”

Zen had left a warning for the other spies in the academy. Deep down, William knew it was meant for him.

“Damn it,” William muttered, clenching his fist.

Zen had seemed like a decent man. William felt a pang of sorrow knowing Zen had taken his own life rather than be tortured, refusing to reveal any secrets.

That was true honor. That was someone who valued the mission above all else.

William wasn’t sure if he could go that far for a Lich. To him, his own life was the most important thing.

But since he was here, he would try—at least to honor Zen’s death.

He lifted the spell, returned the diary to its place, and left the room. No guard asked if he had found anything; he owed answers only to the headmaster.

Yet the headmaster never appeared. He was surely busy with his secret mission.

So William returned to his quarters and waited.

When night fell and darkness swallowed the academy, William knew it was time to act.

Before making a move, he watched to see if Brian would appear in the courtyard. If he did, it would mean he was heading to torture the Lich again, searching for clues about the treasure he sought.

William stood at the window for hours, until nearly midnight. No strange movements. Only the guards patrolling, sluggish and half-asleep.

Once he was sure the coast was clear, he slipped out, following the same path he had taken before when trailing Brian.

This time it was even easier. The headmaster was nowhere to be found, and the professors had vanished as well.

That left only the guards to worry about.

When William reached the door that led to the Lich, he stopped for a moment. His nerves tightened. He could feel the Lich calling to him.

But was it truly a good idea to set that creature free?

Before William could even decide whether it was a good idea, a raspy voice came from the other side of the door.

“I know you’re there,” the Lich said. “Come.”

The voice was rough and intimidating, yet it didn’t frighten William. Perhaps it was because both of them were necromancers, allies in a sense—or at least, that was how it seemed.

William opened the door. The Lich was bound in chains, just as he had been the other day. But this time, he was smiling, as though William’s presence had brightened his mood.

“You finally found me,” the Lich said. “Others have tried to rescue me too, but none of them could break Brian’s spell. Can you?”

It didn’t take long for William to notice the spell the Lich was referring to. Just beyond the doorway, a protective barrier shimmered faintly, making it impossible for him to approach.

And even if he managed to cross it, the chains themselves were reinforced with magic. Freeing the Lich would not be easy.

“How can I break this barrier?” William asked.

“You’ll have to get that answer from Brian,” the Lich replied. “But know this—it won’t be easy to face him.”

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