Chapter 860: Academy Head: This is enough to write how many papers ah!
Chapter 860: Academy Head: This is enough to write how many papers ah!
“Little Han, not every witch has conducted research into the Great Project of the Soul and the essence of soul-substance life.”
At this time, Big Sis Bai whispered a reminder in a voice that only I could hear.
“Um… it was my oversight…”
After all, my research on soul-substance… truly was not much.
I focused more on my own Soul.
I truly had not considered the fragility of the soul-substance represented by a living person.
However, I had seen the posture of ordinary people dying; I had even used that method to snatch soul-substance from the earth vein cycle.
But… not everyone possessed techniques similar to mine like “Mimetic Soul” and “Soul Depiction.”
Even for me, the power borrowed to derive these techniques was that of a Grand Spellbook.
Although my Great Wisdom Enlightenment Spell was currently dismantled, the [Transcendent Knowledge] represented by that power was still producing a certain association with me, so the related techniques could similarly be used.
“Two sisters may I try as well? I happen to have some means to understand this student's condition more intuitively.”
I stepped forward and addressed the two witches as "Big Sis," and this address was indeed very effective.
“Fine… but do not act recklessly.”
“Mhm! I definitely will not act recklessly!”
I promised immediately.
After all, regarding the method of soul-substance leaving the body, the “Reincarnation Spell.”
I mastered and its other derived applications were sufficient.
Mimetic Soul and Soul Depiction were meant to be used on soul-substance later, but right now, with the situation still unclear, I did not want to jump to conclusions.
After taking over the experimental table, I suddenly displayed some professional quality.
No matter what was said, I was a Lesser Witch who had stayed in various laboratories; even if I acted according to my own will in most cases, the cultivation of this temperament was subtle and influenced by my surroundings.
So after taking over, the power of the Reincarnation Spell quickly stripped Shi Ruizhi's soul-substance.
The body of Shi Ruizhi on the operating table suddenly quieted down, leaving only some instinctive physical reactions.
However, the physical mutations dominated by the life essence also suddenly slowed down, leaving only some lingering resonance of the undying nature still torturing her flesh.
Accompanying the success of this technique of mine, full surprise surfaced in the gazes of the two witches!
For a time, they did not even react to what means I was using.
After all, a thing like the Reincarnation Spell spellbook was a spell that even Academy Head Mei did not possess, and the other techniques derived from it were naturally even harder to identify.
However… what was even more shocking was the Shi Ruizhi currently in the soul-substance posture!
Generally speaking, the posture of soul-substance reflected the original posture of the living body.
This was an inertial posture within self-cognition, belonging to instinct; even subjective consciousness found it very difficult to change the posture of soul-substance.
But the current soul-substance of Shi Ruizhi had completely lost the concept of being a “human”!
It was entirely a mass of near-chaos.
Limbs, head, torso… one could only vaguely discern “humanoid” characteristics, while her face was completely a mass of chaos.
“Is this… Shi Ruizhi's soul-substance? Such a distorted posture!”
Seeing the soul-substance in this state, the two witch sisters could not help but speak up.
“My Self-generating Magic Power experiment could absolutely not turn a person's soul-substance into this state!”
Witnessing the soul-substance in this state, I asserted once more with certainty.
“So… is it actually someone trying to frame you, Little Han? Exactly who has the guts to dare obstruct this experiment of yours? I remember even the Academy Head seemed very concerned about this matter…”
“I don't know… whether it's a frame-up or not… the victim is ultimately a student…”
I sighed helplessly.
“It's fine. If it truly wasn't your error, Little Han, we'll help you when this matter is investigated!”
For a moment, these two witches instead proactively began to help me.
“Thank you, two sisters.”
I also thanked them very politely.
However… there was still a massive problem placed before all the people and witches present.
That was, what should be done about Shi Ruizhi's soul-substance?
For a time, the place fell into silence.
The two witches' research in the field of life essence was not very extensive; after all, they were only at the level of coming over to lend a hand.
And in their eyes, Little Han… she was still a Lesser Witch; what could she know?
“How about… we call over some witches? I know sisters who have made great achievements in the Great Project of the Soul.”
“But this student is soul-substance. The parts of the Great Project of the Soul related to soul-substance are only the early stage of sublimating the soul; everything afterward consists of branch projects exploring the essence of the soul.”
The other witch spoke up to complain.
“Well, that's better than just staring blankly like this, isn't it?”
“How about I do it? I also have some research… on soul-substance…”
I spoke.
“Little Han, if you aren't certain, it's best not to act. If you accidentally kill this student… then you might not be able to explain yourself clearly at all. After all, from a third-party perspective, it would look like you're silencing her…”
“That's right. On the academy's side, there might also be someone who refuses to let this matter go.”
“Thank you for advising me, sisters, but I still have a lot of confidence in my own techniques. At least it won't result in a loss of life…”
After all, I had the backstop of the Soul Depiction technique, but… I had only tried this technique on experimental animals so far and had not really experimented on a real human.
Back then in the Dungeon World, a large number of experimental white mice had sacrificed their lives for it.
“I hope… it is so. If it really doesn't work, I can take the blame for you, Little Han. Um… you can just owe me a favor then.”
Just as this witch spoke, a figure suddenly appeared here in the infirmary.
She appeared here silently, to the point that no one even noticed her arrival for a time.
“Ahem… plotting such a thing in front of the Academy Head isn't very good, is it?”
“Hmm? Acad… Academy Head!”
This voice instantly startled most of the people and the two witches present.
“Big Sis Mei?”
I also turned around in surprise to discover this figure.
“Your… avatar?”
“Naturally. Did you expect me to come personally if not an avatar? Little Han… can't you save me some worry?”
Academy Head Mei's voice held a hint of helplessness.
“Big Sis Mei, this matter really isn't my fault. You know my techniques; no matter how you look at it, this isn't an experimental accident caused by my techniques, is it?”
I said, putting on a wronged expression.
“But the fact that the incident happened during your experiment is something you cannot deny, right?”
Academy Head Mei spoke to me with a "business-is-business" attitude.
“This… there's really no way to refute that…”
I said in a small voice.
Although I could exonerate myself by saying I wasn't present, that kind of rhetoric had no meaning, and it was equivalent to directly shifting the blame onto Yi Rui.
This… I could not do yet.
After all, Yi Rui was one of my few friends.
“This matter… I will step in to handle. Little Han, you behave yourself recently and don't cause any more trouble.”
This time, Academy Head Mei's warning tone was mixed with another kind of emotion.
Perhaps others could not hear it and might even feel it was a bit strange, but Big Sis Bai and I, who possessed Heart Sense, heard the true meaning of those words.
The Academy Head would step in to handle this matter, meaning she would take full responsibility for the investigation.
For an Academy Head to personally investigate a "trivial" matter within the academy truly showed her level of regard.
Similarly, this meant another thing: the Academy Head believed this wasn't our fault and was willing to uncover the truth for us, and it was also to soothe me so I wouldn't get anxious and do anything out of line.
Of course… "letting me behave myself" was similarly a warning to me.
After all, after causing such a massive event in the Expansion Realm, if I came back to the academy and caused more trouble, that would be being indiscreet.
As an Academy Head, she was practically becoming a tool witch specifically for wiping my backside.
“Um… understood…”
I lowered my head cooperatively and admitted "wrongdoing."
“But… this student Shi Ruizhi… what should be done about her?”
“This one… is indeed a trouble.”
Mei Linde looked at the girl whose soul-substance had been extracted from her shell, and then at her current soul-substance posture.
It had to be said that this situation was very troublesome.
In the past, research involving the essence of life was called “forbidden experiments,” and even now, it wasn't something to be joked about.
If this were just simple soul-substance deficiency, it could actually still be remedied.
But this was a targeted means specifically aimed at the nature of soul-substance itself, erasing the characteristics of why the soul-substance was "human"; this was absolutely difficult to remedy.
As the saying goes, destroying is always much simpler than reshaping.
This saying was applicable here as well.
“The two of you have worked hard. I'll take over from here. And… you all, if there is nothing else, you can head back early.”
Academy Head Mei Linde spoke as she looked at the two witches, and then toward the group led by Yi Rui who had followed along.
“Alright since you've come personally, Academy Head, then naturally there is nothing for us to do.”
The two witches were very “discreet” and left directly.
If they stayed longer, they wouldn't be able to help much anyway; they really had just been passing by to watch the fun and incidentally lent a hand.
“Then… goodbye, Academy Head…”
Although Yi Rui had some words she wanted to say, she restrained herself.
After a final farewell, she prepared to leave.
“Mhm, goodbye… wait, Little Han! You, stay.”
Academy Head Mei radiated a kind smile toward the students, but the moment she saw me about to follow along, her tone shifted directly.
“Um… oh.”
I paused my footsteps and turned around.
I had thought I had nothing to do either…
As I stayed behind, Big Sis Bai also lingered and did not leave, but the Academy Head did not drive her away.
After closing the door, Mei Linde snapped her fingers, and the entire special care room was blocked off in every sense, although from the outside, no abnormality could be seen.
“Little Han, do you know why I kept you here?”
“Uh… to call me to account?”
“Account indeed! Don't tell me you're going to tell me this is the mess you've made, right?”
Mei Linde said crossly.
“Ab… absolutely not! This definitely isn't my fault! Um… so… what is it?”
I inquired curiously.
“Although I also walk on a branch project of the Great Project of the Soul, I'm truly not well-equipped to handle this kind of situation with soul-substance…”
“Big Sis Mei, you are actually the Great Project of the Soul too?”
My eyes widened, but that was my focus.
“That's not the point…”
Mei Linde shook her head and said.
“The soul-substance of this girl named Shi Ruizhi was extracted by you, wasn't it? If I hadn't come just now… were you going to start repairing her?”
“Uh…”
“Speak up boldly, it's fine. The main reason I kept you here specifically was just to ask you this question. If you truly have no way, then I can only use my method.”
Mei Linde shook her head and said helplessly.
“Mhm, my method, which is Metamorphic Incubation…”
“Metamorphic Incubation can heal this kind of problem within the essence of life?!”
“Of course not.”
Mei Linde shook her head and said.
“But I can keep her in a state of incubation. This state will prevent her from deteriorating further. If I have any derivative breakthroughs in this spell later, perhaps she can be saved, but not now.”
“Uh……”
“Little Han, didn't you possess many other means before? Reincarnation Spell, Mimetic Soul, Soul Depiction… that should be about all of them, right? If there are any means that are inconvenient to disclose, I can step out.”
“Ah?”
I looked at the Academy Head in disbelief.
It was hard to imagine that these words could come from the Academy Head's mouth!
“Does that mean none of them will work?”
“Ah? Oh! No… that's not it.”
I reacted quickly.
“I feel that regarding her current state, the only hope is likely Soul Depiction… But… I only perfected such a technique not long ago, and I haven't even really used it on a person. Using it on her… I also cannot be certain if she will still be her afterward. Moreover… in that case, her soul-substance essence might also sublimate into a Soul.”
“……”
Mei Linde turned around, her gaze looking at me squarely.
“Do you know how many shocking things you just said at once?”
“Ah? Did I say something just now?”
“First of all, there is no doubt that for me, Shi Ruizhi has no possibility of being saved. You say you can save her, but the price is the uncertainty of whether she will still be her. I can clearly tell you that from the perspective of the Interpretation of Life, as long as the soul-substance hasn't changed, it's her—it's just a version of her without memories or with distorted memories.”
Speaking to this point, Mei Linde took another deep breath before speaking:
“Furthermore… you said you would sublimate her life essence into a Soul. You skipped the soul sublimation rules of the Great Project of the Soul and directly sublimated her from a non-Transcendent posture into a Soul……”
“So…… what?”
“Do… do you have any idea how many papers, worthy of being archived in the Witch World's Great Library, I could write by taking any one of these out!”
The Academy Head looked at my completely unaware appearance and was truly both angry and amused.