NOVEL WEB Chapter 906
In the glass tube, there was a device designed to infuse life force to prevent the futile demise of the specimen, and the fetus of this Russian Desman successfully absorbed and stored that life force while undergoing genetic mutations from radiation.
In fact, the absorption rate was beyond imagination!
The researcher, out of curiosity, modified the glass tube to pour life force into the fetus, resulting in the discovery that “the fetus of the Russian Desman in the Red Forest has a characteristic of efficiently absorbing and storing life force, though the mechanism is unknown.”
Isn’t that quite amusing?
Considering that another team in this research institute was tirelessly working day and night to find a way to process life force efficiently, this researcher was, after all, closer to fulfilling one of the institute’s long-cherished dreams, even if it was a different team’s goal.
The researcher, pleased with this fact, showed off his discovery to the whole team focusing on life force processing. They collaborated on the research, but…
That’s where the problems began.
He absolutely couldn’t grasp the mechanism.
Even when the same environment and conditions were created, the same results didn’t materialize.
Clearly, no matter how obsessively he controlled the environment, it was as if an invisible hand shoved in a pile of variables, yielding unexpected results.
It was enough to drive someone mad.
Was it a problem with the environment?
Was it a problem with the life force?
Could it be some magical issue related to time or direction?
Was he lacking in the fervor of prayer to the gods?
Despite countless repetitions under the same conditions, some succeeded while others failed, making the researcher feel like his head was about to explode.
“I have no idea what the problem is! What drives me crazy is that even the products made from these processed fetuses have varying effects!”
Some caused cancer throughout the gastrointestinal tract the moment they were consumed.
Some emitted radiation levels of about 150 µSv/h for approximately 30 minutes after ingestion.
Some showed a phenomenon where the blood production rate from bones increased for about 2 hours after consumption.
It’s clearly a phenomenon related to life force.
Yet, that’s all he could infer—no more, no less.
He didn’t know why it succeeded.
He didn’t know what kind of results would come out.
Was this research or some kind of a random box lottery?
He was certain that even magic wouldn’t be this chaotic.
So it wasn’t surprising that the researcher was half out of his mind.
“Moreover, those witches you assigned don’t help the research at all, and the one who could be of help isn’t cooperative… It’s driving me insane!”
The researcher lamented to Joanna.
In some ways, this could be seen as rude.
Joanna was the head of the witches currently at this research institute, and what the researcher said could be interpreted as an insult to her subordinates, claiming they were useless.
But Joanna didn’t refute the researcher’s words.
The reason was simple.
First, the researchers at this institute were ‘people with excellent research abilities but problematic in social interactions,’ meaning they were utterly lacking in political skills. While results could show in their research, they could barely rise to high positions or wield significant influence.
As with any statement, the meaning changes with the speaker’s perspective. Unlike the words of someone who skillfully navigated politics to secure a director position, the researcher’s statement quite literally meant that ‘the witches are of no help.’
And second,
From Joanna’s perspective, the witches indeed weren’t much help in the research.
Research requires controlling variables, but the witches, in and of themselves, were a bundle of variables.
While they didn’t cause major problems in their specialized fields, issues arose when they needed to meet the researchers’ requests.
As one witch once put it, “It’s like a painter used to painting on a large canvas trying to paint on a grain of rice.”
Witches were professionals at handling life force, but that was on a macro level; they couldn’t reach down to the micro level.
In simpler terms, their expertise was insufficient to meet all of the researchers’ demands.
Thus, they weren’t able to provide significant help in the areas the researchers desperately desired, focusing instead on material procurement. However, perhaps because of their wounded pride, some witches were delving into the precise control of life force, and if given time, they may accommodate their requests.
Yet, for those obsessed with research, waiting without hope was pure agony.
That’s why researchers often pleaded for someone who could meet their demands to be sent.
But… here’s where the problem arose.
Currently, there were only three witches who could meet the researchers’ demands.
Joanna, Gabriella, and Odilia.
All of them had reached the realm of Great Witches.
But Joanna, being the head and manager of the witches, was in a position where she couldn’t offer significant assistance due to other obligations. Gabriella had helped capture Odilia, but that was about it; she only occasionally dropped by the research institute, preferring to roam outside.
And then there was Odilia… she was slacking off.
Realizing a bomb was planted inside her, she wasn’t causing havoc or attempting to escape, but that was about it. Whenever given requests, she responded half-heartedly, doing the bare minimum. She was barely just going through the motions.
‘Well, even that is a great improvement…’
Considering her usual behavior, it’s surprising she wasn’t causing chaos, cursing the researchers and the witches, or contaminating all the research materials leading to bizarre outcomes.
Joanna found herself impressively pleased with Odilia’s compliant behavior.
“Please, talk to her nicely. It’s definitely related to life force that these variables keep cropping up. To control these variables, we desperately need someone who can manage life force properly.”
But that was just Joanna’s concern.
The researcher didn’t care about how Odilia usually behaved or how rare it was for her to be obedient.
The researcher pleaded with Joanna, hoping to ensure that Odilia would actively partake in this study so that he could smoothly carry out research, attain success in this century’s project, and satisfy both Joanna’s goals and his own academic desires.
Joanna sighed at the sight of the researcher’s desperation…
[… Effort… gee.]
* * *
The video replaying in his mind abruptly cut off.
As abruptly as a signal dropping, unnatural and sudden.
At the same moment, thick blood flowed from Park Jinseong’s nose, drawing vertical lines.
“Cough!”
The blood filled his mouth, invading his throat as if it were trying to reach his lungs.
His body, desperate to avoid drowning as his lungs filled with blood, coughed, squeezing his chest, fighting to expel blood, causing it to spill from his mouth and nose, choking him.
Tears of blood streamed down from his eyes—was it from the reverse flow of blood or the pain that seemed to tighten around his throat and chest?
His eyes filled with burst capillaries, and his face turned pale as a ghost.
In that agony, Park Jinseong reached into the void, grasping something.
A small pen.
A self-defense tool made of duralumin alloy, commonly referred to as a “tactical pen.”
Park Jinseong held it backward, aiming it at his lungs.
In case blood began pooling in his lungs, he would make a hole to let it out.
He bore a striking resemblance to a martyr trying to take his own life.
Especially in the lack of hesitation in his actions.
Yet, fortunately, blood did not begin to fill his lungs.
“The mucous membranes of my nose and mouth are all torn.”
Perhaps he was used to such things?
Park Jinseong was able to maintain the right posture until the bleeding stopped, and once it had, he calmly diagnosed the issue caused by the cost he had incurred.
His current cost involved the mucous membranes of his nose and mouth tearing.
And a particular area inside his nose sustained injuries.
‘This area is the cartilage between the nose and brain. Judging by the pain and sensation, there are at least five wounds.’
In ancient Egypt, when they made mummies, they would crush the cartilage between the nose and brain, stick a skewer in, and stir to extract it.
Had the cost been even a bit heavier, he might have experienced the horrific sight of his brain fluids leaking out through his nose.
‘I thought it was a forgotten magic; what is this?’
Was this due to the overwhelming surge of sensations?
Park Jinseong wondered if the reason for this life-threatening situation was related to this unknown surge of synesthesia.
But then he shook his head.
‘No. That’s a different issue. This is purely a matter of cost.’
His intuition told him it was a different matter entirely.
This was purely a result of the overwhelming number of users of this magic, exceeding what he could handle.
The more people who use magic, the larger the randomness becomes.
Depending on the number, it could even reach a level comparable to a Great Ritual of Magic.
What Park Jinseong had just experienced was merely a consequence of that.
He had drawn a bad lot from an elevated threshold of limits…
‘The goddess of misfortune has cast the dice.’
Could it be that due to the butterfly effect, a magic that was previously unknown became famous?
Or had many known about it at this point originally?
‘At least I’ve found my location. It’s towards Kaliningrad.’
A region once known as Königsberg.
Odilia was there.
Park Jinseong, sitting before the pool of blood he had vomited, settled into a lotus position and closed his eyes.
…
…
…
Like a small stone rolling to become a massive snowball.
A single insect became the center of a body.
Layers of compound eyes gathered to form a window to the heart, and thin wings coalesced into a shell.
While there are limits in the flesh, there are none in the spirit.
When he opened his eyes again, he found himself trapped in the body of a small creature.
Was his consciousness trapped in the body of the insect?
Or was his consciousness so incredibly free that it had come to reside in the insect’s body?
The shaman looked down through his compound eyes.
There was no need to flap his wings.
Where he was, was an airplane.
Inside an airplane soaring thousands of meters high in the sky.