Chapter 77: The Fascinating Infusion of Spirits
Before Saul could attempt an explanation, Nick turned to the female apprentice on the electric induction chair and said, "That’s enough. You can leave now. Come back for a check-up at least once a month. If you feel anything unusual, you can come earlier."
When the induction chair was turned off, all the restraints were released.
The female apprentice stood up, supporting herself on the chair’s armrests. Her steps were somewhat unsteady. She silently nodded at Nick, her expression revealing neither joy nor disappointment.
As she left the lab and closed the door behind her, Nick turned to Saul. "Now do you understand what we’re doing?"
"I saw a spirit on that woman that didn’t belong to her. Was she invaded by a spirit?" Saul ventured an analysis.
"Her situation isn’t exactly an invasion. Actually, it’d be more appropriate to refer to her as ‘him.’ After all, the soul of that man is the current master of that body."
Saul’s eyes widened in shock.
A man’s soul? The current master?
What did that mean? Possession? Or a body swap?
"The experiment we’re working on now is actually our mentor’s project. Its full name is On the Feasibility and Adaptability of Transferring Spirits into the Corpses of Others for Survival. But the name’s too long, so we just call it ‘spirit infusion.’"
Nick handed the documents in his hand to Saul for a look.
"You can skip anything that makes you uncomfortable. It’s beyond your current knowledge scope anyway."
Saul lowered his head and flipped through the pages.
Sure enough, most of it was either incomprehensible or dizzying to read.
He could only make out that it was an experimental observation record. The first few pages contained the identity profiles of the test subjects, followed by dates, experimental procedures, and so on.
From the profiles, he gathered that the souls of the test subjects came from Level 1 apprentices in the tower, while the bodies belonged to Level 2 apprentices who had died for various reasons but whose corpses remained relatively intact.
The Level 1 apprentices were typically older ones in their twenties who hadn’t advanced to Level 2. Before the experiment, they’d sign a contract voluntarily giving up their original bodies and accepting all risks associated with the spirit infusion experiment.
Of course, how "voluntary" this consent truly was remained debatable.
Further back, there were records of reactions to different settings on the control panel, but Saul only skimmed those.
There was too much he couldn’t understand.
Terms like the "core attributes of souls," "physical reaction characteristic indices," "flesh freshness," "spirit cohesion," and a slew of rune derivations…
Reading the record made Saul acutely aware of his lack of knowledge.
He’d once thought self-study would suffice, but now he realized how arrogant that assumption had been.
In the past, he’d always had Sid lurking behind him, forcing him to take unconventional paths just to survive. Now, though, he could finally study in peace and catch up.
Oh, and he still needed to deal with the resentful spirit on him first.
"Senior, is transferring a spirit into someone else’s body an easy process?"
"Of course not. First, you have to maintain the spirit’s rationality and integrity. Resentful or malevolent spirits possessing a body offer no progress to our research."
"Then there’s the infusion step, which is quite painful for both the experimenter and the subject. After all, it’s not the spirit’s original body. Plus, we’ve hit a major snag at this stage." Nick stared at the top of Saul’s head, speaking with a hint of probing. "If you end up researching this field in the future, we could look into it together."
He flipped the record back to the first page and pointed at the genders of the spirits and bodies.
"Right now, we can only infuse a male soul into a female body, or vice versa. But we can’t infuse a male soul into a male body, or a female soul into a female body. Even our mentor hasn’t figured out what’s going wrong."
Saul reread the profile details and confirmed it was true.
What was this?
Opposites attract, and like repels like?
Did souls have genders? Or was a soul’s gender based on its self-awareness?
Seeing Saul deep in thought and seemingly engaged, Nick figured it was about time and continued his explanation.
"The final step is the long process of maintenance and observation. Many spirits collapse on their own shortly after entering a body. Figuring out how to sustain them long-term is another challenge in this research."
"As for observation, that’s what we were just doing. You saw it yourself—it’s pretty interesting. The body and soul have almost completely opposite reactions to the induction chair’s stimulation. That’s why their control over the body results in such strange behavior. But solving that is the mentor’s job. For now, we’re just responsible for recording."
Nick took the notebook back from Saul. "I think you’ve got a basic grasp of spirit infusion now. Next, we’ll bring in Number Two. Today, um… there are just two subjects."
Number Two was a male.
He was also one of the Level 2 apprentices Saul had seen at Mentor Rum’s place.
Just two subjects in total?
The female Level 2 apprentice whose back had once revealed a human face didn’t show up.
Had something happened to her?
The testing process for Number Two was similar to Number One’s. Saul helped record the data, and with that, today’s tasks were complete. The subsequent experimental steps were beyond Saul’s involvement.
So, while Nick started tidying up, Saul voiced his request.
"Hm?" Nick set down the records and looked Saul up and down. "You’ve got a resentful spirit on you? The bodies in the wizard tower are specially processed, so it’s rare for malevolent or resentful spirits to escape. Plus, for a resentful spirit to cling to you, there needs to be some emotional entanglement. Why you… Wait, it’s not Sid, is it? Does he hate you that much? Even after death, he’s still haunting you?"
Saul didn’t know how to answer that. He could only rub the back of his head with an innocent look.
"I’m not sure. It was Mentor Rum who noticed the resentful spirit on me and told me to come to you for help."
"The mentor… told you to come to me for help?" Nick’s expression grew odd, though his emotions were so restrained that nothing showed on the surface.
"Y-Yes…" Being stared at by Nick like this, Saul suddenly felt a bit uneasy.
"I see." After a long pause, Nick slowly lifted his chin and nodded toward the induction chair in front of them. "Then get on it."
Saul: "?!!!!"
"Me? Get on it?" Saul pointed at himself, then at the induction chair across from them.
"Yeah. You didn’t think a Level 2 apprentice like me would be better at dealing with resentful spirits than the mentor, did you?" Nick picked up the control panel again and started fiddling with it. "Of course it’s because we have the induction chair here, perfect for tormenting resentful spirits."
"The induction chair can get rid of resentful spirits?"
"Not if they’re too strong, of course. But if the one on you were that powerful, you wouldn’t have survived this long."
Nick finished adjusting the control panel and noticed Saul still standing in place, unmoving.
"Scared? Don’t worry, it’s… quite ‘great.’"
Nick borrowed Saul’s earlier phrasing.
The corners of Saul’s mouth twitched twice. "So, I’m getting on it?"
Nick nodded.
"I’m really getting on it?"
Nick looked at Saul with a hint of confusion. "Go… ahead?"
Seeing no reaction from the diary, Saul figured this wasn’t some assassination plot by Senior Nick.
He recalled the expression of that male spirit earlier and decided that when it was his turn, he’d definitely keep his facial expressions under control.
Saul climbed onto the high-backed chair and flipped over to sit properly.
The induction chair immediately tailored a set of "torture devices" to fit his frame.
Nick came over and inserted the needle-like tips into Saul’s skin. The ends of the cords were so fine that they didn’t hurt at all—just a slight itch.
Nick only inserted the cords into Saul’s wrists and ankles, deliberately avoiding vital areas like his left hand and neck.
"Senior Nick?" Saul asked, puzzled.
"I’m not observing your emotions, so there’s no need to use so many. It’s enough to deal with the resentful spirit."
Nick walked back to the operating table, picking up the control panel as he spoke.
Saul’s heart instantly leaped into his throat.
He clenched his teeth hard, his fingers gripping the chair’s armrests tightly.
"Hold on… hold on…" Saul mentally psyched himself up.
Then he saw Nick’s hand tap the control panel a few times.
*Damn!*
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