Chapter 686: Death is Living on Another Level
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 686: Death is Living on Another Level
"This! This, this... isn't this the plant woven material those wizards from the Fourth Shelter came up with?!"
Someone suddenly recognized the material. Once the girl pointed it out, many others realized it as well.
They had certainly kept an eye on such things before, but they had never seen the material take shape like this! After all, they had collected many casting materials and were naturally familiar with the various novelties created by plant technology.
The materials science branch of plant technology contained information on this very subject. Some of them still had a lingering impression of these materials.
"More or less. As long as it works," I said, waving a hand dismissively.
Soon, even more people gathered. Thanks to word of mouth, many who hadn't been on the top floor made their way up.
Seeing Yi Rui setting up protective measures, many stepped in to help. As they chatted, they learned that Yi Rui was going to be the first experimental subject to set an example for everyone.
"Everyone, prepare yourselves mentally. This experiment is different from any I've done before. During the initial data collection and correction phase, even the best-case scenario is death."
"What? That's terrifying! The best-case scenario is death? Then... what's the worst?"
"Still death~" Yi Rui said with a smile, seemingly trying to lighten the fearful atmosphere.
"That's why I need to be the first to try. If possible, I'll use my deaths to help everyone get through the most difficult early stages. But... I imagine my energy is probably limited..."
"We understand! How could we just let you go to your death alone, Sister Yi Rui?"
"Exactly! If Sister Yi Rui has the courage, why shouldn't we? Though I'm a little scared... we still have Resurrection Spells, don't we!"
While everyone was busy setting up the surrounding measures, I was still hand-crafting equipment.
Even though I called these devices "auxiliary," who wouldn't want to slack off a bit? It was better to save energy where a machine could do the work instead.
"Xiao Han, how much longer?"
"Oh, not long. I'm hand-crafting a ley energy display screen generator. Since this is a collaborative experiment, I figured we could share some of the real-time data, though I'm not sure you'll be able to read it."
"If it's biological data, I've studied alchemy. I might be able to understand it," one girl spoke up.
"Oh? Alchemy?" I looked at her. I didn't have a deep impression of her, but I knew most of the people in this club, including their names.
I remembered her name: Cen Tan.
"Yes. Do you need help? Although... I haven't really touched Human Transmutation... I mostly deal with general biological corpses. Researching the human body is a bit... you know..." Cen Tan said hesitantly.
"I understand. When I was researching Resurrection Spells to reshape bodies, I felt physiological discomfort too. You just have to overcome it," I comforted her.
After all, experimenting on the body was generally considered a taboo experiment involving ethics and morality. In this world—no, across the countless races of the Void—witches could always find a race that didn't make them feel uncomfortable.
"Then, do you need my help?"
"Hmm... the experiment I'm conducting might be different from the biological alchemy you've tried. Just watch for now. If you have any thoughts, you can talk to me, and I'll try to understand what you're expressing."
"Okay, I will."
After that brief interlude, I sent them the data regarding the experiment on self-generated mana.
Back then, my Tree of Great Knowledge was only a Myriad Methods Bookshelf, so it couldn't record the data from that time. However, as the person involved and the lead researcher of the Self-Awakened Body Cultivation experiment, I remembered the process clearly.
Furthermore, Dean Mei had compiled that experiment into a paper with my name on it and even published it on the Academy Network. My Tree of Great Knowledge had retrieved it after interconnecting with the network.
This "easy-to-understand" paper was far more sophisticated than my own poor explanatory skills.
So, I shared the paper with them to give them a general idea of what we were about to do. It wasn't that they couldn't search for it themselves, but they lacked the permissions. It went without saying how high the clearance needed to be for a paper favored by the Academy Dean.
My permissions were higher than all of theirs.
After a fair amount of effort, the group managed to stumble through the paper. It covered a lot of ground.
The most important concepts were "Self-Awakened Body Cultivation" and "Molt-hatch Rebirth."
Of course, some parts weren't recorded—specifically, my understanding of mana and mana sources at the time, as well as the final ritual.
The entire process was essentially pushing the "Witchification of the body" to its limit, reaching a terrifying level. It relied on Witchification and mana adaptability, combined with the reverse analysis and understanding of Mana Source techniques, and finally, the use of Self-Awakened Body Cultivation to complete the application.
At the moment of my success back then, I could only feel a "sliver of mana."
But now, my self-generated mana talent was constantly approaching perfection.
In this experiment, the subjects lacked Self-Awakened Body Cultivation, which meant they lacked the ability to control their own physical expression. Such an experiment couldn't be replicated naturally, so "external force" was required to help them achieve it.
"Then, I'll begin the attempt."
Yi Rui had finished skimming the paper and understood the general gist. She was also curious about the gap between herself and so-called "Self-Awakened Body Cultivation," especially that absolute dominance over one's own body. What was that like?
Without experiencing it personally, she felt she had no right to speak on it.
"So soon?"
"Are you not ready yet?" Yi Rui asked back with a smile.
"Of course I'm ready. Even if I weren't, I have at least two methods to perfectly record every detail of this experiment," I said with a grin.
This wasn't a boast; I truly had two methods.
One was a device that simulated the Ley Line control equipment used by the Academy Network during the college entrance exams to record ley energy information.
The other was using Ley Line Identification Art to acquire information.
Although both information channels drew from the Ley Lines, their angles and methods differed, making them complementary to a certain extent.
The Ley Line control system interfered with ley energy to get information; it was direct and efficient but prone to distorting the data. The Ley Line Identification Art acquired information directly and was less likely to cause distortion. Furthermore, with the data collection from the control system, I could help the Identification Art precisely locate the anchoring points for Ley Line data. Calling them complementary was no exaggeration.
"Then I'm starting. I hope I don't die for nothing this time."
"Wait, let's establish a Consciousness Communication Spell first. That way, if you want to express something, you won't have to use the incredibly inefficient method of speaking," I said, remembering something.
"A Consciousness Communication Spell? You even have a spell for that?" Yi Rui was surprised.
She felt that Teaching Assistant Xiao Han really did have every rare spell imaginable! Even if they weren't combat-oriented, that was what made it terrifying. Many things couldn't be decided by mere combat power or destruction.
"Yes," I nodded, not saying much more.
After all, Dean Mei had given me that spellbook before I went to the small world. Looking back, I couldn't help but feel I'd been played... everything was just too coincidental.
Without further ado, after establishing the consciousness link, I gained the ability to communicate with Yi Rui beyond the level of language.
Since it was likely her first time, I kept receiving all sorts of random thoughts from her mind. I didn't stop her, though; I just soothed her. She knew exactly what she was about to face.
It was... death.
All life has an instinctive fear of death. It's an unsuppressible instinct unless... one has experienced death and understands that it is merely living on another level.
As Yi Rui stood on the specialized experimental platform, transparent plant-derived creations sealed her in. This step was mainly to prevent unnecessary loss of the physical body during resurrection. Otherwise, I would need to add an equivalent amount of casting materials; if not, her body might... be a bit smaller after resurrection.
Maybe this ability could be marketed for weight loss?
Then again, witches... probably didn't need to lose weight.
"We can start, right? I remember the first step is using high-concentration mana to catalyze the body, letting the mana erode the flesh to increase mana adaptability."
Yi Rui had turned into a chatterbox inside my head. She wasn't usually like this; perhaps she was the type with a lot of internal monologue.
"Correct." I nodded.
When mana comes into contact with a biological entity, the first thing it does is... erode.
Back when I was an ordinary person and had a Mana Source shoved into me, my entire body was eroded by high-intensity energy. That happened because my body had no mana adaptability at the time.
But clearly, the Mana Source also possessed some technique for "reshaping the body," otherwise it wouldn't have changed a male's appearance and physical structure.
This was one of the reasons I had reverse-engineered the Mana Source back then; it originated from the Witch physique, so it naturally carried information about the Witch race's body.
When I was learning the Mana Source condensation technique from Sister Bai, the idea for the self-generated mana technique had sprung from this.
However, Sister Bai hadn't explained that technique very clearly. Or rather, even Sister Bai didn't know what it meant; she had simply learned that it was what one did.
Moreover, it wasn't the primary structure within a Mana Source, but that structure was definitely a systematic technique that helped a person complete the metamorphosis into a quasi-Witch.
Back then, it was the first Mana Source, and its terrifying effect was enough to completely overhaul a person's physical structure.
Now, what I needed to do was increase the mana concentration, once again exceeding the body's affinity limit, causing mana erosion!
At this point, the body-reshaping techniques within the Mana Source were starting to fall short.
This required me to understand what mana truly was.
I had to make the body mold into it, adapt to it, and harmonize with it, using the power of Self-Awakened Body Cultivation to dominate the self and complete this physical metamorphosis.
Unfortunately, Yi Rui didn't have Self-Awakened Body Cultivation.
But she had one advantage: I had Self-Awakened Body Cultivation and... self-generated mana.
With the results in hand, working backward... Dean Mei must have done the same thing, right?
They used the result to deduce the process. They were certain it could succeed, but they didn't know how to make it succeed. Otherwise, that previous experiment wouldn't have been led by my ideas.
Right now, due to the high concentration of mana, Yi Rui's body had lost its original form. Her flesh was being eroded by mana, a sight that made the onlookers' skin crawl!
However, the ley energy light screen in front of them displayed real-time information. They could see Yi Rui's mana adaptability rising "vengefully," and the process of her body's Witchification was skyrocketing. The result of this abnormal state was... Yi Rui completely losing her original form!
At this moment, she looked like a monster!
Because her flesh couldn't withstand the mana erosion, blood soaked every visible surface.
As the experiment reached this point, I released the Reincarnation spell at the right moment.
"Everyone, pay attention. We're entering the final stage early." I watched the numerical display. It seemed to have hit a certain threshold. I didn't know how long this had lasted for me back then, but Yi Rui had reached it very quickly. Since she was a senior student, her mental strength and Witchification progress were already formidable. Because of these variables, the experiment had to be moved up.
As I cast the Reincarnation spell, I didn't immediately reshape her body.
Reincarnation was a more efficient resurrection-derived spell than Dean Mei's "Molt-hatch Rebirth," but because of that, it skipped the middle "shaping" phase, becoming a resurrection directly dominated by me.
However, since Reincarnation was a spell I mastered, I maintained communication with Yi Rui during the phase where her body was used as the resurrection material.
But I soon discovered an anomaly!
Her soul essence couldn't remain for long; it was quickly being guided by the Ley Lines into the Ley Line cycle!
Yi Rui began to feel an irresistible pulling force tearing at her "consciousness." In reality, this was the Ley Lines forcibly guiding her soul essence into the cycle.
"Don't panic... there's a way," I soothed her.
"Can you use a Dream Demon Spell? Isn't that what you did?" Yi Rui reminded me.
"Dream Demon Spells... won't work either. Although the Sixth Shelter is still in a state of dream overlap, dreams can carry souls because souls are related to Dream Authority. But soul essence isn't necessarily the same... be careful not to become food for dream creatures," I warned.
Although I hadn't dispelled the dream in the Sixth Shelter, we were using wizard tools from the Wizard Academy that dispelled dream creatures, so there was no need to worry.
"What Dream Authority? What?... Then what should I do?"
"Mimicry Soul. I can temporarily shape your soul essence into a Mimicry Soul. That might allow the dream to hold you for a bit longer," I said.
"Mimicry Soul? What does that mean..." By now, Yi Rui's consciousness was becoming blurred.
But it was enough that my consciousness was clear.
Actually, the best method would have been Soul Depiction, but I lacked the understanding of how soul essence ascended into a soul. That technique was still incomplete, so I could only leave Yi Rui in a Mimicry Soul state. It would also make it easier for her to return to a soul essence state later.
After all, a Mimicry Soul wasn't the true path.
Soon, Yi Rui's Mimicry Soul returned. She snapped awake as if from a "great dream," but only on the "Mimicry Soul level."
"I... I am?" At this moment, Yi Rui felt as if she were free. With a subconscious float, she passed right through the transparent experimental partition and left the platform!
"Mimicry Soul state." I looked at Yi Rui and fell into thought. It seemed there were aspects of the Mimicry Soul form I hadn't noticed—specifically, that the dream actually carried the Mimicry Soul!
Could it be that even a mimicked soul has some connection to dreams...
It made sense. After all, the Mimicry Soul was shaped using my own soul as a "template"; it was just the wrong path.
"This... this is the state after death? It's completely different from the feeling of total unconsciousness after dying before!" Yi Rui was now caught in a different level of excitement.
The others curiously crowded around Yi Rui, but without the Consciousness Communication Spell, they couldn't hear what she was saying.
However, I had underestimated them. Some of them actually knew sign language and lip-reading. Fine, it seemed communication wasn't a problem for them.
"Alright~ sisters, don't disrupt the experiment. And Yi Rui, the experiment has reached a critical moment. What we're exploring now is how to go further without the ability of Self-Awakened Body Cultivation. Every attempt we make is a correction toward the right path. I hope you can treat this seriously and solemnly," I said, clapping my hands to address the group.