NOVEL WEB Chapter 108
Ebron: (Re-Announcement) A Safety Guide for Students Using the Tower
Hello everyone. How’s everyone doing in using Professor Ilian’s tower? I wanted to leave this notice to prevent any unfortunate incidents while utilizing the power of treasures.
1. On the first floor of our tower, there are many statues…
2. Occasionally, a girl with purple eyes and hair can be seen on the first floor preaching…
3. Sometimes you might smell the ‘scent of the forest’ in certain training rooms on the third floor. If that happens, please vacate the training room for a bit and spend time outside. If you happened to linger there, I would appreciate it if you come to see me afterwards. A brief consultation will be held in the Infirmary along with a ‘surgery’.
4. Always double-check your destination when you go up the stairs. For those who have accepted the power of treasures, there may be unexpected mistakes leading to the storage room on the sixth floor.
If you happen to find yourself on the storage floor, ask the dolls at the entrance for assistance, and they will help move you back down.
But be careful. Never use mana. The ‘door’ might judge you as part of the treasure and draw you in. Just remember, no matter what happens beyond the door, you are responsible for it.
┗ Luciela(2): I stepped out for rule number 3 as well. Today’s just not my lucky day.
┗ Hao(91): Be careful. Ignoring warnings can lead to some serious trouble.
(He lightly trembled. Seems he was recalling when he broke rule number 3.)
┗ Luciela(2): …I have a feeling everyone else is following the rules perfectly except you.
┗ Hao(91): No need to say that… Oh, Luciela, I think you should check behind you.
(He glanced at Luciela resting in the communal area on the third floor. A shadow was slowly approaching her from behind.)
┗ Luciela(2): Hmph, you think I’d believe that?
┗ Hao(91): You might regret it.
(He shook his head. He looked very sorry for her. Luciela, however, scoffed at him, being dragged away by Kashian in the process.)
┗ Kashian(1): Let’s fight again today, Luciela.
┗ Luciela(2): …Oh dear, I’m too busy today.
┗ Kashian(1): But I’m right behind you, and you hardly look busy. So come play with me.
┗ Hao(91): See? I told you so.
(He chuckled lightly. Luciela shot him a glare while being pulled away by Kashian. As he blankly watched their interaction, he stretched lightly.)
┗ Hao(91): By the way, Ebron, I have a question. What is this? There’s some sort of explanation stuck to my reply.
(He tilted his head. I was just as perplexed.)
┗ Ebron: Hmm, let me check.
┗ Ebron: Oh, it looks like someone behind Hao is typing.
┗ Hao(91): Behind me? What’s going on…
(He slowly turned around. Our eyes met. Seeing his wide-open eyes, I smiled gently. How wonderful it was to communicate with him like this. I couldn’t resist and took a piece of his consciousness.)
┗ Ebron: Please be careful, even if you can only see Hao, traces will likely remain.
┗ H#(####): (Hugging his fallen body, I cautiously expressed my agreement. I couldn’t share him with others. He was mine.)
Carefully channeling mana, I began awakening the circuits etched on the workbench. Watching as the circuits stacked and began radiating light, I quietly gazed down at the workbench.
On the bench lay a woman with her eyes closed, breathing quietly. Her white hair beautifully covered the workbench. Gently tidying her hair, I nodded toward Unit 0.
Unit 0 approached and began slowly manipulating mana. The circuits on the workbench began to shimmer with strong mana.
Through this, several magical circles emerged and began to envelop the woman. She surrendered her body to the magical circles.
Half-revealed, her body retained a sculptural beauty that was breathtaking, even after observing it for six months. It was hard to believe I had created it.
Over the past six months, I quietly gazed down at her chest, which had swelled with vibrant life. Watching the intense vitality pulsating within made my heart race.
Unit 0 moved the mana while manipulating the magical circles. The workbench’s magical circles transformed under its guidance. Alongside that, a certain barrier began to materialize around the workbench.
I gave a light thumbs-up to it. It was perfect. This small space, formed by dozens of stacked magical circles, could almost be called a time spell to stabilize the state of what was contained within.
Learning the tower’s magic, this was an achievement I’d managed to create. Although it felt fragile and barely holding, it was enough time to conduct this surgery.
“Then let’s begin. Support me well.” I said to Unit 0. Seeing it nod, I quietly pulled a scalpel from my pocket. Infusing it with mana, it began to shimmer with golden energy.
I brought the scalpel to the woman’s body. It smoothly penetrated her flesh as if cutting through water. After a deep breath, I swiftly split her body open. From her clavicle to her lower abdomen, a long line was etched.
Slowly manipulating the mana, I widened the gap. No blood flowed. Of course, she was a doll, after all, even though she contained life.
The landscape beyond was very familiar. She had the same bodily structure as a human. Various organs caught my eye first, along with the circuit-like veins connecting them.
They were holding mana and creating a steady flow within. The wriggling organs gave off an impression of truly breathing life.
And at the center of these organs, I could see a heart pulsating strongly. It was a heart entirely white, emitting a mist with each heartbeat.
This mist seeped into the circuits that formed her body. The mingling mist and mana circulated throughout her. This mist was both her blood and her life.
I examined the heart closely. According to the professor, apart from them, there were few entities in the university that could rival these treasures. As he said, I could not begin to grasp the power contained within.
And in front of that heart, something I had never seen before was hanging. It was a small crystal resembling a lump, pulsating like another heart.
Gently bringing the scalpel to it, I delicately cut through the thread flowing between it and the heart. A slight resistance was felt, but it dispersed like mere wind in the smooth flow created by the scalpel.
Quickly detaching that crystal, I gestured to Unit 0. The thing, now separated from the heart, began to wilt rapidly, losing its strength. I had to act quickly before it lost all vitality.
Unit 0 placed the doll’s body prepared nearby onto the empty space of the workbench. Carefully, I contained the crystal within it. Then, I sealed it with the workbench’s magical circles.
Inside that fixed doll, the crystal also lost the flow of time. At that moment, the etched circuits inside the doll began to shine. These were spells designed solely to accommodate the crystal.
Guided by those spells, it slowly began to root within the body. The process was going smoothly as planned.
I quietly peered down at the doll. Its size was very small, barely the size of my palm. This was the optimal size for accommodating the crystal.
Subsequent handling would be left to Unit 0. Thinking so, I looked back at the woman’s body. I had a more important task to perform now. I tightened my grip on the scalpel.
Carefully, I inserted the scalpel into the split opening. And gently began cutting. What I targeted was a sort of thread created inside. A thread of mana, and a thread of life, the scalpel swung without restraint.
Thus, all the organs, except the heart, began to lose their connections and fall away. Continuously checking the fixed magic constituting the workbench, I progressed with the operation.
How much time had passed? All the organs, except for the heart, were excised. Those that fell outside began to cool quickly.
And at the end, their appearance gradually transformed. No longer vibrant with life, they became stiff, lifeless parts. It was clear their connection to the body was completely severed.
I briefly inspected them. The immature traces contained within were the first to be felt. I smiled wryly at that. I had been vastly inadequate back then. Of course, at that time, it was the best I could do.
But that wasn’t the case now. Carefully, I retrieved those parts and withdrew new organs. Using mana, I began inspecting them. The parts surged to life as they sensed the mana.
It was absolutely perfect. I nodded quietly. These were truly living beings. They were the meat I had cultivated to the best of my ability over the past time.
The core of this woman-Mira’s body was Acru’s spine. Although it was tinged with Mist Heart, the power of transformation housed within it was undeniable. That value alone was worth millions.
These organs were gathered from its flesh and organ fragments. They were items I had obtained through the Arcana General Meeting, through effort and all my points.
After she garnered life, the original composition I created couldn’t hold that power. This was what I had prepared to solve that problem. Though its performance would be inferior to the original organs, this was my best at the moment.
I carefully placed them inside Mira’s body. And slowly guided their movements with mana. Following that flow, they began to settle into their rightful places.
I thrust the scalpel towards those organs. And began delicately carving the threads they created. To harmonize with that body, to possess a flow akin to the previous ones.
Thus, the organs gradually began to adapt to her body. They naturally began to merge with the circuits existing in the original body. Along with that, mists began to pour from the heart.
The mist attached itself to the newly formed organs, creating a steady flow. Within it, a writhing, dark red sinister aura began to infiltrate them. It was the appearance of the doll made by Professor On, Wriggle 1.
Under Mira’s perfect control, Wriggle 1 began transforming these new things to fit the doll’s body. During that process, they naturally absorbed the power of transformation.
That was the reason for using them. To seal more power within. Thus, the organs bore an even stronger vitality.
However, certain incompatible aspects began to emerge bit by bit. I swiftly carved away the portions repelling the mist and reconnected the structures.
It was an unavoidable situation. Transformation inevitably accompanies resistance. Thus, I confirmed those rejections and reconnected anew, striving to create the most natural threads, flows, and forms.
And at the end, I cautiously set down the scalpel. The surgery had gone on for hours. Breathing quietly, I nodded. Unit 0 came over and wiped the sweat from my face.
Thus, I quietly gazed down at the body in front of me. The new organs perfectly adapted to that body. They now carried a dark red hue, connected to the Mist Heart, containing mana within.
It was a success. I gently brushed over the opened gap with my hand. A simple recovery spell. The long wound began to heal rapidly within the magic.
With that, the magic of the workbench also began to fade. Somehow, I managed to finish everything within the time. Unit 0 cast a re-examining glance at that small doll he managed. It too seemed quite stable.
Thus, all the bindings enclosing her body disappeared, and the woman within, Mira, opened her eyes. Her ashen eyes reflected my figure. I looked rather worn out.
“How does your body feel?”
I asked Mira. She sat up and slowly raised a finger. From its tip, mist started to flow, curling around her body like a serpent. She smiled, guiding that flow.
“I really like it. Compared to before, I think I can exert about thirty percent more strength now.”
She nodded lightly, echoing my thoughts. I anticipated that the result would come out that way, because I had matched the properties of her physique as closely as I could, thankfully it all came to fruition.
She sent more mist towards me. Within that mist, I could smell an even richer rose fragrance. It was the scent of enchantment.
Her doll-like body absorbed more life force, and the mist naturally became imbued with a stronger aroma. I leaned back slightly, avoiding that mist.
Sending my mana, I lightly examined her body. She received it without rejection and quietly accepted my mana within her body. Thankfully, there were no abnormalities.
As I nodded, she looked at me with a mischievous smile. Holding the fabric that draped over her body, she winked.
“Are you planning to just leave me like this? Of course, you can keep watching me if you’d like.”
“Ah, I’m sorry.”
So caught up in the outcome, I neglected to consider her comfort. With an embarrassed smile, I pulled out the carefully prepared clothes from my spatial pouch. Then I offered them to her.
Turning around, I headed towards a desk set up in one corner. I heard the rustling of fabric behind me. Clearing my throat, I picked up a few scrolls.
And I laid them out atop the desk. Inside were complex magical circles and circuits. They were indeed the plans for this surgery. Lifting the mana pen, I began recording the details of this experiment.
How should I express Mira’s strength now? Even excluding the spine, the points poured into that body had now easily surpassed one hundred thousand.
Including the points used this time, it might have even exceeded two hundred thousand. Checking and confirming the completely empty points, I couldn’t help but smile wryly.
But still, I managed to secure that much strength. Now, even mages above the ninth floor should no longer underestimate her. The surface-level display of strength had drastically increased.
Of course, it was all mere bluster.
Her ability to reliably unleash that power was only that of floors five or six at best. Rather close to the entry of complete wood. Any higher than that, her body was sure to break.
I gazed down at my hands. But still, that was something.
Floor five soon implied the level of complete wood. I was barely residing at floor two. Floor three felt incredibly distant to me, making floor five seem just too far away. The mere fact that such being would move for me was a gracious matter.
As I continued calmly documenting the experiment’s results, someone gently embraced my waist. I felt a fluffy sensation against my back. It seemed a bit smaller than before. Perhaps because I had taken away the crystal from within.
“I’ve arrived. So, how did your planned experiment go?”
She leaned slightly over my side, asking. I glanced at the doll handed to Unit 0. Mira’s gaze followed mine toward it.
“Oh, I see, it’s stabilizing now. Will it succeed? I’m quite looking forward to it.”
“I advise against expecting too much.”
I replied, quietly observing the doll.
Unit 0 was carefully manipulating mana by its side. Ordinarily, it should have awakened by now. But it showed no signs of life whatsoever.
Unit 0 lightly shook its head towards me. It was a failure.
“Huh, another failure. That’s quite disappointing.”
“But it seems we’ve produced something slightly better than expected.” I said while stroking my chin. That doll was an experiment intended to fulfill Tiena’s request. The crystal contained within was also a part of the power Mira possessed. I had aimed to create a new ‘soul’ from it, but ultimately, it had failed.
As Mira stated, this wasn’t something that could succeed all at once. Creating a child born of both a doll and a human was nearly impossible.
In doing that, I had come to understand a few things through the experiments conducted with the monsters. Mana, life, and even souls, all manifest threads within the flow.
As a result of using monsters to understand the characteristics of souls, I discovered that parents and children share similar yet distinct soul threads. And those threads are connected like traces directed at each other. Much like myself and my dolls.
That’s why I understood why Professor On couldn’t solve this dilemma either. He too had knowledge on weaving souls together. In some respects, he could produce souls superior to my unique magic in terms of quality.
However, souls and dolls created that way, no matter how closely they resembled Tiena, lacked the threads that connected them to her. They were merely a type of replica and could not be considered her true child.
Creating a connection like that—that was the homework we needed to resolve.
Approaching Unit 0, I patted its shoulder. It let out a sigh and handed me the doll. I focused my mind calmly on the doll resembling Mira— or her professor, if you will.
I sensed the mana shrouded within a thick mist. But there existed only the body, with no sign of a soul anywhere. Well, even in failure, it was still a fine body.
I flowed my will into it. In tune with that, the moon hovering over my Shadow Tree began to vibrate lightly against its body. A fragment of the ego residing within began to enter the doll through the connection.
My tree began to gently bestow magic upon that doll. It was the spell of a fake soul inscribed into that body. Gradually, it surrounded the doll, awakening it from slumber.
Mira lightly tapped its head. The doll sparkled with curiosity in its two eyes. It offered a slight bow towards Mira.
“Well, this is quite interesting. What can I say? It feels as though I have another me existing in a blurred state.”
Saying that, Mira placed it in her palm. The doll slightly wobbled, leaning against her finger before closing its eyes and dozing off.
I lightly maneuvered my mana over that doll. Quite a few mismatched pieces were present. It seemed unable to withstand the burden created by the small crystal. I held my hand out towards Mira.
“Could you pass it here, please? It’s not yet complete. I might need to store it a bit longer.”
“Is that so? Here, it is.” Mira replied and gently handed over the doll. I carefully accepted it. Then I signaled to Unit 0, who quickly brought over a large glass jar. I placed the doll inside and sealed the opening tightly.
Raising my mana towards the jar, I began to transform the mana into liquid through the magical circle inscribed on it, filling it completely. Soon enough, the doll floated within the jar surrounded by mana.
I carefully placed that jar against a wall where the dolls were gathered. If left like this, its body would absorb the mana and gradually grow. It would likely take a few years.
I intentionally constructed its body using such materials. In that growth, it would naturally adapt to the crystal’s power. Of course, once it grew, it would still only be the size of a small doll.
This was a small achievement made while unraveling the descent ceremony. I thought to create sort of a faint fragment. Perhaps a new soul might emerge from this.
Though it might still end in failure like before. Ultimately, I’d have to make it my doll.
Gazing quietly at the sleeping doll, I stroked my chin. Yet this could be considered a possibility in its own right. A faint path leading to open new futures for me. Ideas began to bubble in my head regarding how to utilize this.
“So, what do you plan next? I don’t mind making another.” Mira asked. She lightly placed her hand on where the crystal resided in her chest and smiled.
Hearing that, I shook my head, wearing a bitter smile.
“No, I can’t impose further losses on you, Mira. I’m grateful just for this.”
That was true. This was akin to taking some of Mira’s power. Knowing the unlikelihood of success, there was no need to try again. After all, it would just result in another failure.
I needed to conclude here for now, without thinking of the next experiment. I also had to fulfill the tasks presented by Professor On. As I thought so, I gazed at Unit 0.
This task was about ‘creating a doll distinct from existing ones’. Despite the lessons becoming friendlier, this particular assignment still remained difficult. After all, I had failed one of the two assignments.
In that regard, Unit 0 was quite astonishing. While attending class, it had broken the limits of thought like hatching from an egg. It had been able to succeed even on the assignments where I failed.
I looked at the dolls it had created. Those stone sculptures had begun to wriggle in the most peculiar shapes. Their original human forms had remained completely absent.
Their strange shapes, filled with a plethora of tentacles, moved in bizarre patterns, mesmerizing any onlooker. It had adorned the first floor entirely with such dolls. The treasures cheered at the sight.
I couldn’t help but nod approvingly; they were magnificent forms. With that thought, I shook my head slightly and spoke to Mira.
“For now, let’s take a break. I’ve once again researched a tea that will suit that body. You might experience a new flavor.”
“Oh my, I’m looking forward to it.” She gently leaned against me.
I led her towards a table placed in one corner of the workshop and began preparing the newly introduced tea.
As I spent time with Mira and pondered about Unit 0 and the dolls, suddenly the Mirror Bug vibrated.
It floated into the air and approached me. Slowly reading the news inside, I sighed and stood up. Mira tilted her head at my action.
“What happened?”
“Hao has caused yet another incident.”
At that, Mira beamed brightly. Resting her chin on her hands, her eyes sparkled.
“It seems the treasures really do like that kid. He causes some sort of commotion every day.”
Should I follow along? Mira said, beaming with excitement. I lightly shook my head towards her.
“You should rest. You must adapt more to that body.”
“If you insist, I won’t refuse.” Mira replied, carrying the teacup in front of her.
With her savoring the aroma, I stepped out of the room. I had to head to the Infirmary on the second floor. Hao was waiting there, after all.
Since this month began, Hao had undergone seventeen washes. Creating the fourth rule was one of his achievements as well.
The memory of that still lingered vividly in my mind. Rubbing my eyes, I felt a sudden wave of fatigue wash over me.
He was using the wash as an opportunity. That’s a path I hadn’t even considered.