Chapter 76: Feeling Great
"It turns out my judgment is pretty good. Regardless of your magical aptitude, your high mental strength is enough to make you competent for many basic tasks," Nick said, praising himself without letting a trace of smugness slip out.
"Yeah, Senior Nick’s judgment is really spot-on," Saul thought to himself. "Back then, he could tell at a glance that my strongest talent was perceiving light elements, not just something I randomly filled in."
"So now that we’ve reached an agreement, we can work together smoothly, right?" Nick spread his hands, facing Saul.
Saul quickly responded, "I’ll do my best to cooperate with you, Senior."
Nick gave a slight nod, still expressionless, as if he were naturally born without facial expressions.
"We’ve wasted a bit of time. Let’s start the experiment directly. I’ll explain as we go. Number One, come in!" Nick put on his earpiece, raised his voice slightly, and called toward the door.
Saul turned around just in time to see the lab door being pushed open. A blonde, blue-eyed, yet expressionless female Level 2 apprentice walked in.
She was one of the people Saul had seen in Rum’s room earlier. He didn’t know when she had started waiting outside the door.
The female apprentice walked in and stood across from the operating table, facing Senior Nick.
Neither of them showed any expression—or rather, any emotion.
Saul’s eyes darted between the two, wondering if there was some connection between them.
"Don’t look at me." Nick made a gesture toward the woman, but his words were directed at Saul. "My situation is different from hers—theirs."
Nick had the blank-faced, pretty female apprentice sit on a tall metal-backed chair opposite them.
As the slender apprentice sat down, the metal chair immediately began to transform.
The tall backrest sank, and two iron rings extended from it, locking around her neck and waist.
The armrests folded inward, perfectly supporting her dangling forearms and securing her elbows and wrists.
Metal rings also extended from the chair legs, clamping around her ankles and knees.
No matter how you looked at it, it resembled some kind of torture device.
Nick beckoned Saul over, teaching him how to operate the metal chair.
Behind and beneath the chair hung cords that looked like electrical wires, their tips as fine as embroidery needles.
Once the female apprentice was seated, Nick walked over and inserted the needle-like tips into her cheeks, wrists, ankles, and other spots.
The cords appeared heavy, and though the tips only pierced a few millimeters into her skin, they didn’t fall due to gravity when Nick let go. Instead, they stayed in place as if they had a mind of their own.
Saul memorized the procedure while pondering when to bring up the topic of dealing with the resentful spirit with Nick.
The work had started so suddenly that he hadn’t had a chance to mention it yet.
The female apprentice remained expressionless and unresponsive throughout.
Saul felt that even if Nick did something more terrifying, she wouldn’t resist in the slightest.
After bustling around and finishing the setup, the two stepped back behind the operating table.
Nick took out a disc made of the same material as the metal chair.
Saul craned his neck to get a closer look.
The disc was divided into four sections by a cross, with each section further split into smaller grids of varying shapes and numbers.
"This is called the electric induction chair, and this is its control panel," Nick began explaining. "The principles behind the control panel are complicated and not public knowledge, so you don’t need to worry about that. Just remember where each sensor cord is inserted."
After ensuring Saul had memorized the earlier steps, Nick pulled out a pen and paper and had Saul sit beside him.
"Normally, I focus on recording the emotional changes of the test subject to gauge their response to the electric induction chair’s stimulation. In a moment, you’ll use your own method to record the test subject’s reactions."
Nick casually tossed the disc up and let it fall back down. Suddenly, a blue electric light flared from within the control panel, flashing across its surface before fading away.
Saul’s left fingertips unconsciously shrank into his sleeve.
Electricity—the nemesis of plastic bones.
"Actually, I’m quite curious why the mentor assigned you to record the test subject’s reactions. Did you awaken some strange talent?"
Though Nick spoke of curiosity, his eyes didn’t shift an inch, as if it were just a polite remark.
Before Saul could respond, Nick pressed down on the control panel. "Let’s begin."
As Nick activated it, different sections of the control panel began to flash with light.
Corresponding streams of electricity traveled through the cords of the induction chair and into the female apprentice’s body. A faint burnt smell immediately wafted from her.
Her brows furrowed instantly, and a pained expression crossed her face. She tried to arch her back but couldn’t move due to the multiple iron restraints.
Saul first observed her with his naked eye but didn’t notice anything unusual.
It seemed like she was simply being electrocuted.
Then, he entered a semi-immersive meditative state.
When Saul’s gaze returned to the female apprentice, he was stunned to see a translucent, grayish-white male face appear on hers!
The man’s eyes were slightly squinted, his mouth curved upward in an expression of pure satisfaction.
This face strongly resembled the one formed by the rune array on the female apprentice’s back.
"From my side, I sense that Number One’s current emotion is pleasure. What do you see?" Nick asked, staring at the control panel rather than the apprentice’s pained expression.
Saul kept his eyes on the transparent male face overlaying hers.
"Feeling great."
Nick paused, turning to Saul. "Your wording is a bit odd. Can you describe it in more detail?"
"It’s like... really comfortable, relaxed."
Nick frowned, lowering his head to contemplate the control panel.
After a moment, he abruptly tossed the disc onto the table, leaned over, and began scribbling furiously.
Meanwhile, the female apprentice on the induction chair had grown so agonized that her facial expression twisted, a trickle of drool escaping her mouth.
The man’s face on hers, however, started rolling its eyes in ecstasy.
"Senior Nick, maybe you should turn off the induction chair for a bit?"
Nick snapped out of his focus, noticing her suffering. Instead of shutting it off, he switched to a different stimulation mode.
A silver arc of electricity then danced along the cords.
In an instant, the female apprentice’s pain vanished. Her body went limp, and she leaned back against the chair, letting out a soft breath.
But in Saul’s eyes, the translucent male face began to show signs of distress.
His pain didn’t seem like it came from the electric shock—it was more like suffocation.
He kept opening his mouth wide, struggling to breathe, forgetting that he no longer needed to.
Saul watched the two contrasting faces, suspecting that the man on the female apprentice might be some kind of spirit.
A spirit attached to her body.
"This time, I sense pain and exhaustion. What about you?" Nick asked after observing for a while.
"Suffocation," Saul answered honestly. "Like a fish thrown onto the shore."
Nick fell into thought. This time, he didn’t rush to take notes. Instead, he turned off the control panel and the induction chair.
"From your perspective, it’s indeed clearer than my single-minded emotion detection," Nick said, continuing his notes.
Saul tilted his head to look and saw a bunch of incomprehensible symbols.
Watching Nick write with intense focus, Saul commented, "Senior Nick’s emotion sensing is actually more accurate than mine. The test subject’s reactions combined with my subjective interpretation can easily introduce errors in the data."
Nick finished his last stroke and turned to Saul. "You don’t seem like a twelve-year-old kid."
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