Chapter 774 – Guardian of the Dungeon
‘There is no need to rush out and experience the side effects, right? It’s enough if you experiment instead of me to see if the Dracolich can restore the soul to the multiple inner world this time.’
That’s how Seong-il tries to minimize the risk by waiting calmly rather than causing problems by turning his eyes to immediate benefits. Because of this, he rests inside the Inner Plane for the first time in a while and calmly waits for Dracolich and Ruchel to practice their magic.
『I have succeeded in mastering the vision.』
After a few days, when the dracolich calls to him through his ghost, Seong-il stops taking a break and quickly moves to the place where he and Ruchel are staying.
『I hope you came.』
Despite being able to cast the vision without Seong-Il, when Seong-Il said that he wanted to see if the problem was resolved, Dracolich and Ruchel readily agreed to his request. When the last guest, Seong-il, arrives, they cast their vision in an empty lot outside the Inner Plain.
Perhaps because a powerful being cast it, when the Draco Richie cuts out his bag into the multiple inner world to create a split soul, a bloody wave begins to radiate out around him. Surprised by the spirit, Seong-il is worried that the student will feel the wave and become frightened and cause a commotion, so he uses his power to prevent the wave from spreading around.
『Okay.』
As much as the Archmage cast it with all his strength, the Dracolich succeeds in creating precise divisions in one shot. The Draco Lich then prepares to inject his soul into his broken soul, as he had prepared beforehand.
“…What is that?”
When the Dracolich splits his chest bone to create a strange subspace and takes out something like a huge obsidian that spreads ferocious energy there, Seongil and Ruchel startled and ask the Dracolich the identity of the object.
『This is my reliquary. Well… It’s an object that used to be my ‘heart’.”
Apparently, since the heart is the essence of the dragon’s vitality and power, the dracolich seems to have remodeled his own heart to make a reliquary. However, for some reason, it seems that half of the heart has been carefully cut out.
『Ah, half was used to build the ‘lighthouse’ I mentioned last time.』
“Kek!! Do you need a heart as well as half a soul to make a lighthouse of souls!?”
“Of course, but it’s not like that.”
The draco lich tells us that he was already a lich when he created the beacon of souls, and he had no life left in his body, so he had no choice but to make that choice.
“You must have many choices. At the time, this was the only part of the body where life and death coexisted, so I had no choice but to use my heart. It would be different with you. There is no need to overdo it and use your heart.”
“Aha…”
At the words of the Dracolich, Seongil looks relieved. In the meantime, Richie calmly starts injecting the soul he made a moment ago into his heart.
“Oh…!! You’re recovering!!』
Fortunately, when the split marriage successfully settles in the broken and empty soul, the Dracolich is delighted to feel that his long-cherished wish has been fulfilled.
『Umm…』
But, to be happy is short-lived. As the spirit of division in the soul begins to crumble little by little, the Dracolich’s face begins to look deeply pensive.
『This… Is it not possible after all?』
It was a secret technique he tried just in case, and he had already heard from Ruchel that it was likely to fail in advance, but even if he was determined to do so, there was no way he would feel happy about failing, so the Draco Rich looks very disappointed.
“Anyway… It seems that the lack of life force is big. The biggest reason seems to be that the life force was lost due to Lichification…”
『As expected.』
Dracolich calmly replies to Ruchel’s opinion. However, Seong-il could strongly feel that he was deeply disappointed through his emotions.
‘…For a moment. Life?’
In the midst of that, the stimulus felt intensely in Seongil’s head. Seong-il realizes that it is a hint of emotion, and contemplates something with a serious expression on his face.
“…Wait. What happens when I use the elixir?”
“Hmm…?”
As Seongil muttered something, the Dracolich was mixed with doubts. However, at the same time, I look at him with eyes mixed with anticipation. Among the people gathered here, Seong-il is the one with the least knowledge of magic. Apart from that, Seong-il was an apostle of the great transcendent and possessed numerous powerful powers and artifacts, so the dracolich kept an eye on Seong-il just in case.
“How about using the elixir?”
Seong-il proposes to use the absolute life potion that can revive even the dead as a reagent on the dracolich.
『Hmm… I guess the leap I saw in that memory. However, isn’t it too precious to use for simple experiments?』
Dracolich sees the powerful power of the Elixir through Seongil’s memory, so he is delighted and very sorry at the same time.
“That’s fine. It automatically plays once a month anyway.”
Seong-il explains to the Dracolich that although there is a fixed demand, there are still about 3 spares per month. When he said that he could provide an elixir at least once a month for a reasonable reward, the dracolich accepted the terms of the holy day with a slightly apologetic expression.
『Good. Let’s prepare for the experiment right away.”
“…Is it possible to cast multiple inner worlds right away?”
In general, soul magic such as multiple inner worlds could be cast only once a month even by a being with powerful soul power like Seong-il, so Seong-il was shocked to hear that the dracolich would make one more split soul right away.
『Ha ha!! Don’t worry. I am a person who has a fairly large soul total and has spent my entire life exploring death and the soul. Unlike you, I can handle the soul more delicately, so I can digest it three times a month without difficulty.”
However, the Draco Rich explains that he needs more recovery time to heal the split soul, which is natural for his soul power to be strong. In addition, he asserts that he is not intended to store the soul in a body or object like on a holy day, so it will not be a problem to try at least once in a row.
“It’s better! Then try it.”
After answering Dracolich’s words in a cool tone, Seong-il opens his inventory, takes out an elixir, and gives him a one-time use. After receiving the elixir carefully, Dracolich discusses how to use the elixir with Ruchel.
Based on the ability of the elixir identified through the memory beads, the two archmages suggest that instead of drinking it like a human, use it as a reagent when creating a split soul to amplify or inject the colorful life force that is lacking in the split soul. After a few more days of tedious theoretical research, they finally meet again with a nervous expression and try the divination technique.
『Success!! It’s a success!!』
Surprisingly, the split soul created using the elixir as a medium successfully settles into the dracolich’s broken main soul and succeeds in stabilizing his soul. The dracolich, who has long suffered from the breakdown of their souls, is extremely agitated by the response.
『Success!! Success!! Although it is only a weak recovery, it can still be said that this level of result is a sufficient success!!”
He was only a feeble recovery compared to the total amount of souls he had lost, but the Draco Lich was very satisfied with that alone. In particular, he showed a great regard for the part where the soul’s disintegration stopped once the split marriage was established.
『A recovery period of at least a year may be necessary… But I found a place for recovery somewhere!!』
Very satisfied with finally resolving his long-cherished wish, the Dracolich asks Seong-Il for a reward for the Elixir.
“Well? It’s not like I don’t really want anything…”
“Hmm…”
Apparently, there are not many treasures he can hand over, so the dracolich begins to ponder deeply about Seongil’s answer. Then he looks at Seongil and asks if a good idea came to him.
『What is this? I will forge a mighty and special family of undead for you. In addition, I will serve you here for a period of time multiplied by 10 years based on the day my soul is restored.”
“…Family? Service?”
When an unexpected answer comes out of Dracolich’s mouth, Seong-il’s eyes widen to the size of a lantern. When Seong-il seems to be a little curious about his proposal, Draco Rich tries to persuade Seong-il by explaining his proposal in detail.
『I remember that the great warrior was quite amused when he got on my back a while ago. In that sense, how about I create a summoned beast using my essence, heart, and bones?』
