Chapter 310: Division of Labor |
Slaying monsters above one’s rank was extremely dangerous, but the rewards were equally tremendous.
Even if he wasn’t the adventurous type at heart, Saul could still fully understand Gorsa’s mindset.
Achieving feats that only a Fourth Rank wizard could accomplish—while still being a Second Rank—just the thought of it was enough to stir one’s blood.
In fact, Gorsa had already managed part of it. He had mastered spatial magic that only Fourth Rank wizards were typically capable of using. Although the spells he used likely came with major limitations...
It was still enough to make him a Second Rank wizard who could proudly stand above the rest of the Western Continent. Rumor had it even some Third Rank wizards treated him with great respect.
What man didn’t yearn for that kind of status and power?
Kaz caught sight of the fire burning in Saul’s eyes. He turned away expressionlessly, but a sigh stirred quietly in his heart.
“Ah, still young. Faced with a challenge, all he sees is the joy of success. He hasn’t even begun to consider the hardship ahead. Will he be defeated? And how long can he hold onto that passion?”
Kaz gave Saul three minutes—whether to think or daydream—and then began explaining the full scope of the resurrection experiment.
“To preserve Lady Yura’s soul in both integrity and purity, he made tremendous sacrifices. He even went so far as to modify his own body, just so he could store her soul long-term.”
Saul thought back to when he first saw Lady Yura’s full form. In the end, she had merged into the Tower Master’s body and was carried away by him.
“So, Lady Yura normally resides inside the Tower Master’s body?”
“It’s not that simple. If a human body alone could contain a soul, we wouldn’t be going through all this trouble to find or create a suitable vessel.”
Kaz swept his hand toward the stone coffins before them. Clearly, each was prepared as a potential vessel for reviving Lady Yura.
But it was just as clear that none had truly met the requirements.
Otherwise, Kaz wouldn’t have worn such a broken, defeated look on his face.
It was the expression of someone thoroughly crushed, numbed into resignation—“Yes, I really am useless.”
“As for what the Tower Master’s responsible for, I won’t get into that, since I don’t fully know myself. What we—you included—are responsible for is finding or creating a container that can hold Lady Yura’s soul for a long time.”
“I see,” Saul said, recalling his time as a student in the Wizard Tower. Many things had pointed toward this all along.
Working in the corpse room, sorting contaminated from uncontaminated materials.
Taking part in soul infusion observation experiments led by Mentor Rum and Senior Nick.
Studying magic related to souls, and managing the second storage room, where he learned about materials beyond the human body.
And yet... Saul still didn’t understand why the Tower Master had chosen him.
Was it because of his strong mental aptitude?
But then, he wasn’t assigned to soul preservation—his task was vessel creation.
Wouldn’t it make more sense to assign someone with deeper knowledge and more experience? Or maybe they thought a fresh perspective might spark new ideas?
If that were the case, then wouldn’t it be better to just share the experiment data and let everyone brainstorm?
“The Tower Master distributed tasks based on each mentor’s area of expertise. For example, Mentor Anze and I are mainly responsible for creating vessels. I specialize in using human material for construction. Anze, being a specialist in the Earth element, selects much more unusual materials.”
Like the fat on Mentor Rum’s body?
Kaz immediately caught on to Saul’s sudden realization and shook his head with a faint smile.
“If you’re thinking of Mentor Rum’s fat… no, that’s not it. Though there are puppet vessels in this lab, they were ruled out long ago. These days, puppets are mostly used to test mental and soul stability, to see if there’s any sign of corruption.”
“Then what’s Mentor Rum in charge of?”
“He and Mentor Gudo are responsible for the compatibility between soul and vessel.”
“Mentor Rum specializes in the Water and Light elements—makes sense. But Mentor Gudo? Isn’t he all about poison and metal? I can’t imagine someone who spends all day cooking up toxins studying souls…”
Kaz gave him a tired look. “He passed off the toxin work to apprentices ages ago. We’re so understaffed that everyone has to juggle multiple research fields. But Gudo’s amazing—he’s found his own way forward.”
“Rum focuses on modifying souls to adapt to vessels. Gudo, on the other hand, modifies vessels to accept souls. He treats a vessel’s rejection of a soul like a kind of toxin and approaches it as a detox problem.”
Saul’s eyes lit up. That actually made sense. A true master of poison was often also a master of antidotes.
That just left Mentor Monica.
The only female wizard. The only one specialized in lightning magic.
And—let’s face it—gorgeous.
Her only flaw: she occasionally went from beauty to charred beauty.
“Monica… actually…” Kaz looked hesitant but ultimately decided to speak the truth, realizing Saul would hear it eventually from someone else.
“Monica was created by Gorsa specifically for this resurrection experiment. She was forcibly made into a true wizard.”
“Created?” Saul was stunned. If it were really possible to manufacture true wizards, what need would there be for wizard apprentices?
“Yes. It cost a fortune and untold lives,” Kaz said with a heavy sigh. “It was something like a hundred, maybe two hundred people. In the end, only Monica successfully advanced to true wizard. But the Tower Master only needed one lightning-element wizard. The remaining dozen or so, once deprived of his protection, died off over the next year or two.”
“And the useful materials from their corpses were all harvested and used to enhance Monica.”
Even without Kaz spelling it out, Saul had already guessed Monica’s role.
Her focus was lightning—an element especially effective at purging corruption.
She was the key to keeping both soul and vessel uncontaminated.
To keep the resurrection experiment running long-term, Gorsa had literally created his own “disinfectant.”
“Now that you’ve heard all this, you should have a decent grasp of the resurrection experiment. You’re not the first apprentice to participate in it—but I hope you’ll be the last.”
Saul understood: Kaz was desperate to see this experiment reach its end.
The countless wrinkles on his face and the dullness in his eyes told the story—he might not even mind if the whole thing failed, as long as it was finally over.
“I don’t know…” Saul murmured, staring at this man who looked as exhausted in spirit as he did in appearance, unsure how to respond.
From everything Saul had learned so far, dark clouds had already begun to gather over the Wizard Tower.
Gorsa’s terrifying power was not the problem. But for Kaz, the days of rest and peace were probably still a long, long way off.
(End of Chapter)
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