Chapter 524. Invite (4) |
Chapter 524. Invite (4)
This happened right after the civil servant left.
"Suddenly casting a [Luck Boost] spell. It is really okay to confess your secret so easily?"
"I'm essentially just an extra attached to Kim Giryeo's identity anyway. This way, it'll be easier to ask for help in an emergency, so it's fine."
"Hmm."
"A native who doesn't change their attitude even after recognizing an outsider. By the way, this is quite genuinely interesting."
Now then, there was no longer a need to be cautious. The mage-style surgery begins immediately.
"To think he's struggling because he's overly assimilated with the memories of the body's owner."
I had Kang Changho sit in a nearby chair and briefly examined his physical condition. Of course, no matter how great, a creature like me couldn't manipulate another person's soul.
"It looks like it'll be possible."
"Oh."
"It's really simple to block the emotions from swaying toward the memories of that body called Kang Changho. As for the lost magic knowledge, it should return it stimulated by gradually injecting related information, right?"
"Can you do it right here, right now?"
"Let's give it a try."
A conversation typical of a race that had reached the pinnacle of physical modification flowed for a moment.
—Whrrr.
Fortunately, a successful outcome unfolded afterward.
[Target: Chef Engineer]
[?:??:??]
[Changes]
[# Restored 30% of lost magic.]
[# Improved memory dissonance.]
I resolved a significant portion of the uncomfortable parts the other party had mentioned. As he said, I had maintained the position of a Magic Master even in that strictly guarded modern Alpha Centaur. When performing miracles, I could always exercise creativity and flexibility.
"How is it?"
The owner of the mansion soon gave a simple reply.
"It's been a long time since I've felt refreshed."
His satisfaction seemed quite high. It was obvious he was excited, leaving no room for rebuttal.
"To think that with just one bit of help from a fellow tribesman, magic would flash back into my memory like this."
"I'm glad it worked."
"Furthermore, I'm truly no longer confused by the body owner's memories. The ego has been separated even more clearly than I expected."
I had transmitted the basic knowledge of magic theory that I possessed as a Magic Master. Putting it this way makes it sound like a computer's Ctrl-C/Ctrl-V function—even aliens know this—but in reality, it was more like implementing a clearer [Telepathy] spell to convey images to others.
"At this rate, I'll be able to suppress my emotional state with magic again."
"No, wait, were you really unable to control your anger until now because you lost your abilities?"
"It was fine, as it's rare to be genuinely angry at a lovely species anyway."
By the way, I didn't expect the very first magic he'd cast after restoring his functions would be something like this.
"There's no longer a need to rely on these dog-eye-like items..."
The other man stood up. First of all, Kang Changho performed a mental-calming miracle that returned his mood to a neutral state.
—Swoosh.
Then, his expression as he looked out the window became much softer.
"He was glaring like he wanted to kill someone just a moment ago..."
For reference, it is currently the middle of autumn, when leaves are beginning to fall. Since this season is prone to unexpected gusts of wind at any moment, it could certainly be unpleasant for an Alpha Centaurian unaccustomed to the wind. However, since he could maintain his composure as much as he wanted by using magic as Kang Changho just did—
"Now I can go riding without any worries."
Do you actually enjoy that kind of thing? I didn't have time to ask that question.
"If I had known it would be like this, I would have revealed my name to the great genius Magic Master a little sooner."
Since I had solved Kang Changho's problem, wasn't it time for me to focus on my own work?
"Enough with the flattery. If you have any mana recovery potions in storage, lend me some."
"You're lacking strength after just doing that?"
"I have to investigate the traces of the possessed body in the basement starting now."
A short while later. I took the potion Kang Changho pulled out of his item box and drank it.
"Now that I've even fixed the tumor, surely my lungs can handle at least one [Memory Investigation]?"
After drinking the medicine, I immediately went to investigate the corpse in the basement. This was because Kang Changho had transported the body of a certain S-class hunter, which an Alphian from 3,000 years in the future had briefly inhabited, to his laboratory.
"No wonder only one was unnaturally covered with a cloth. It's in bad condition."
The primary investigation was carried out immediately. The damage was severe, making it difficult to find out much right away, but I still realized a few things by scanning the remaining brain and heart tissue.
"Good! My lungs held out safely. For now, the details are exactly as that engineer said."
First, just as my colleague said, Alphianns from 3,000 years in the future definitely existed. They even seemed to use a language slightly different from ours. The thoughts running in the brain were difficult to interpret in many ways.
"From their perspective, the Alphiann language I use would probably feel like an ancient tongue."
However, if they were such a developed magical race that they had developed that great [Gate] which unifies enormous distances without consuming time, why haven't they conquered Earth yet?
Of course, this was also exactly as Kang Changho had said.
"It seems they couldn't control the human corpses as they pleased..."
Back in my hometown, to put on a different shell, one basically had to move some of their own organ tissue to the next body. However, humans and Alpha Centaurians were extremely unsuitable for such cell bonding.
"It's not a surgery like transplanting a pig's heart. It's much more serious than that."
It was because both sides were aliens to each other.
"Even if they wanted to suppress the immune response with drugs, it wouldn't work well."
In that case, Alphiann must currently be conducting research to solve this cell bonding instability... But Kang Changho and I had settled into our new bodies without much trouble and with a very good prognosis. This was because we had taken a separate second path called [Soul Transfer]. There was no need to physically transplant memory media [brain and heart], so the rejection reaction was much less severe.
"Hmm."
Then, thinking in reverse based on this information, the Alpha-Aurians must truly still be ignorant of the essence of the soul.
"Is this right?"
Isn't their development speed a bit too slow? It was around the time such a thought sprouted in my mind.
—Clatter.
The person who had followed me into the basement without a sound added a comment.
"Come to think of it."
I listened intently to Kang Changho's words.
"Earlier, I insulted you, saying it was a foolish thing to oppose creatures of a binary star system, but with you, Lemming, there might actually be a chance of victory..."
It was a rather perplexing change in attitude.
"Why did you suddenly think that?"
But Kang Changho was a person who built his own logic whenever he spat out words. The answer didn't take long.
"To restrain a genius of the century like you and expot your labor for thousands of years without pay was certainly a huge stroke of luck for the higher-ups."
"_ _"
"But on the other hand, I see that act as... the last bit of luck our hometown experienced."
"Why?"
"Shall I mention the problems that arose because you survived in our hometown for so long?"
Thump.
At this moment, the [Dragon's Eye] moved occasionally, showing its characteristic green color.
"The existence of an entity like the Magic Master is literally a disaster for ordinary mages."
He spoke seriously.
"In the past, even those without talent managed to survive somehow through effort. But since the great ancient mage was imprisoned... in just a few seconds, formulas better than what a non-talented person researched their whole life came popping out."
"_ _"
"Thanks to that, Alphiann saw dazzling growth, but I heard that the mediocre masses who felt a sense of self-loathing highly likely gave up on their studies."
"I didn't know much about those outside circumstances..."
"But since the upper class even implemented a policy of keeping the people ignorant to maintain power for a long time..."
The core of the conversation came out quickly.
"It's the result of running forward thinking only of development, just like that pack of lemmings on the cliff."
"_ _"
"Our hometown was full of lazy and stupid people toward the end of the era."
"_ _"
"Perhaps the Alphianns have lost the power to 'create miracles' themselves. Anyway, the only transcendental power I can exert right now is the [Gate] formula, and we can just assume that those who barely grasped one specific concept pushed it through crudely with mana. Let's hope, hopefully, for once."
An argument was made that because the Magic Master supplied labor infinitely, the average level of the citizens had conversely dropped.
"If they could live comfortably by leaving everything to you, why would the descendants have wanted to solve the problems they faced themselves?"
Still, considering the time, it seemed like at least one new genius would have been born in the last 3,000 years.
"By the way, I'm just asking our Magic Master this just in case. Have you... also been recognized by the source of Earth?"
"Ah, if it's the source, you mean that."
The conversation continued. I responded to Kang Changho's question.
"Yes. I was able to borrow the power of the core here normally as well."
Although this was purely a matter of coincidence.
"Of course, even at this very moment, I feel like the planet's mana is leaning a bit more toward me."
"Hmm."
"But being recognized as a [Guardian] doesn't mean I can avoid the planet's immune system."
"Immune?"
"You know, that thing you encounter when you shed your human skin and come out into the void."
"Ah, that thing that directly attacks the soul..."
I said while meeting the [Dragon's Eye].
"Fortunately, I've already used my brain to create a usable formula. If you think you're going to become a soul, cast it immediately."
"What kind of formula is it?"
"A spell that protects your ego."
A brief result followed.
[Today's Achievement: Research Process Shared]
We rapidly accumulated information through this process.
"Am I running low on mana?"
Unfortunately, mental and physical energy are finite, so at some point, rest was mandatory.
I stored it diligently, but as expected, investigating the because the entity is too damaged takes a lot of strength.
About 20 minutes passed. Having ended up alone in the basement, I continued to diligently gather information after that. But thinking I should rest now, I trudged out of this dazzling space.
"Hmm?"
When I went out to the first floor, I saw Kang Changho talking to someone. Looking closely, it seemed like only the engineer's side was doing the talking.
"Who is that?"
Step, step.
The person who had entered the mansion looked like a non-awakened person with gray hair. Accordingly, I approached them while reciting this information in my head.
"Ah, our Hunter Kim Giryeo has come out just in time."
But to think the identity of that non-awakened man would be this.
"Kim Giryeo. Say hello. This is my slave."
"Uh... what?"
"He's someone you'll be seeing often from now on. Remember this human's information and exchange phone numbers immediately."
"What the..."
"Perhaps because I unintentionally learned a lot of PIXY's secrets, I've lost all trust in Earth's electronic systems. That's why, if something truly important happens, I try to handle it through this messenger as much as possible."
This guy. What on earth is he talking about in 21st-century South Korea?
"Oh, and there's a slight caution for handling."
"What caution?"
"This human's voice... I really hate listening to his voice."
"Is the vibration unpleasant?"
"So I've performed a separate 'vocal cord surgery,' and he can't speak. However, you can communicate using the notepad on his phone, so it won't usually be a problem."
"Vocal cord surgery."
"I searched the internet and a human-style surgical method came up quickly. How kind."
"...That's probably used for smaller animals. Besides, recently it's been a trend to discard it due to ethical issues..."
Curses almost burst out from my throat for a moment.
Yet, at this moment, an old man much older than Kim Giryeo's body even bowed politely.
"No, but by the way, Kang Changho, are you really in your right mind?"
Feeling a heartache, I immediately questioned him.
"Do you really not know the reason why I consistently used that damn polite speech outside? Earth basically has the concept of respecting the elderly!"
"Right."
"But even in such a developed modern society, a slavery system? You trash!"
Of course, since the opponent was that Kang Changho, there was a high possibility that the servant received a high wage for the civilian who had entered the house. That came before money. Filled with worry, I warmly looked over the civilian who had entered the house.
"That fellow harmed his own kind several times through drunk driving."
But if such important information is revealed, the story changes again. My face turned dry. Listening to the additional explanation Kang Changho whispered, it seemed this servant was even wealthy and had flaunted all sorts of social power.
He's never received a severe legal punishment. Is that black object on his ankle something Kang Changho put there to let the criminal to live cautiously?"
True to someone who lived focusing only on money and their own desires, the man unfortunately hadn't built good human relationships.
Parents, siblings.