[Translator - Night]

[Proofreader - Gun]

Chapter 362: The Weight of the Soul (3)

“You can wait in this room.”

In the large room Oscar arrived at under the researcher’s guidance, more than a dozen people had gathered.

All of them were volunteers for this experiment.

“Once preparations are complete, we’ll call your names.”

After the researcher left the room, there wasn’t much conversation among the volunteers.

Perhaps because they didn’t know each other, they weren’t particularly friendly, each minding their own business.

Fortunately, the room had things like books, newspapers, and puzzles to pass the time.

“This your first time with something like this?”

At that moment, a voice came from beside him, and Oscar turned his head.

The owner of the voice was a man with an ordinary appearance, looking to be in his late thirties.

“…It is. How did you know?”

“You can always tell first-timers from how they act.”

With a faint chuckle, the man casually introduced himself.

“My name’s Randy Garol. It’s my first time seeing a colleague in a place like this, so I struck up a conversation out of curiosity. My apologies if that bothered you.”

“There’s nothing to apologize for. I’m Oscar Crucian.”

“…Oscar Crucian?”

At the name, Randy blinked and asked,

“By any chance, from the White Tower…?”

“That’s right.”

“Holy—!”

Startled, Randy instinctively glanced around.

Fortunately, the other volunteers didn’t seem interested in their conversation and continued with what they were doing.

Swallowing hard, Randy hurriedly lowered his voice.

“I-I never imagined I’d meet you in a place like this.”

“You know me?”

“Of course! If you don’t know a mage who’s won the Oscar Prize, you might as well look for another profession.”

No matter how many times he heard that award name, he still couldn’t get used to it.

As Oscar smiled awkwardly, the man carefully asked,

“If you don’t mind, may I sit beside you for a moment?”

“It’s not my seat.”

With a shrug, Oscar answered, and Randy sat down next to him, speaking with clear excitement.

“I’ve been a fan ever since I read the paper you published during your time at the Imperial Academy. I was honestly quite disappointed when your career seemed to stall afterward, but seeing how well you’re doing now makes me feel proud for some reason. I even bought the autobiography the White Tower published recently.”

…So something like that had come out.

No wonder he’d been receiving more money than usual compared to last month.

“Thank you.”

At Oscar’s brief response, Randy calmed himself and gave an embarrassed smile.

“Ah, I think I got a bit too excited. You must hear things like this often.”

“I understand. And I’m fairly used to this sort of thing, so it’s fine.”

In fact, it had been much worse in his previous life as a war hero.

Every city he visited would be swarmed by people like clouds.

Some would even faint from overwhelming emotion upon seeing him.

At one point, Magiro had even seriously suggested that he enter politics after the war ended.

“As expected, famous mages are on a different level. But what brings you to a place like this?”

“I’ve recently developed a bit of curiosity about souls. Isn’t that the case for you too, Mr. Randy?”

“Ah, well…”

Randy averted his gaze with a slightly awkward expression.

“Embarrassingly enough, I joined for rather materialistic reasons. Experiments like this tend to pay quite well.”

Only then did Oscar take a closer look at Randy’s appearance.

Rather than a mage, he looked closer to a mercenary.

At the very least, it was certain he wasn’t a mage affiliated with a magic tower.

“You’re a mercenary.”

“That’s right. I suppose my earlier talk of ‘colleagues’ might have offended you.”

“No, I don’t think that way. We’re all just mages, after all.”

More importantly, someone at the late stage of Level 4 would be quite successful even among mercenary mages.

That made him all the more curious.

“With your level of skill, Mr. Randy, you must have plenty of commissions. Is there a particular reason you volunteered for an experiment like this?”

“Ah, it’s not just about money.”

Blushing slightly, Randy scratched his head.

“The materialistic reason I mentioned earlier is because I heard something from a researcher here whom I’m acquainted with. They said that if this experiment succeeds, one’s talent or potential might increase.”

It was something Oscar himself had heard before.

“This is a bit embarrassing to admit, but I actually got married not long ago. My wife is also expecting.”

“That’s good news. Congratulations.”

“Haha, thank you. When I get home, I’ll make sure to boast to my wife that I was congratulated by an Oscar Prize winner.”

“…There’s really no need to do that. Anyway, in that case, shouldn’t you be avoiding experiments like this for the sake of your unborn child?”

At that question, Randy gave a bitter smile.

“Since I started a family at a later age, I’ve found myself worrying more than I used to. Every time I go out on a commission, seeing how anxious my wife gets makes me want to find a more stable job. But those kinds of jobs usually require at least Level 5 ability. That’s why I volunteered for this experiment. If I’m lucky, it might help me break through the wall that’s kept me stuck at Level 5 for so long.”

It was a heavier motivation than expected.

Then again, if not for something like that, a Level 4 mage wouldn’t volunteer for such an experiment.

At that moment, a researcher entered the room and called out,

“Randy Garol! Mr. Randy Garol, please proceed to the experiment room immediately!”

“Oh, looks like I’m first.”

With a gentle smile, Randy stood up and gave a farewell.

“Maybe it’s because I talked with you, Mr. Oscar, but I’ve got a good feeling about this. Feels like something good might happen.”

“I hope you get a good result.”

After Randy left, people were called one by one and exited in sequence.

Eventually, all the volunteers were gone, leaving the waiting room empty.

Around midnight, the head researcher, Makile, appeared.

“Mr. Oscar Crucian, please come with me.”

“Yes.”

Oscar, who had been quietly meditating, opened his eyes and stood up.

As he followed him down the corridor, he asked,

“How are the experiment results?”

“Fortunately, the coexistence of souls itself has been successful. Of course, we’ll need to observe the progression for a few more days.”

To think it was possible to forcibly inject another soul into a single body.

Clicking his tongue at the level of modern technology, Oscar asked,

“Have there been any failures or problematic cases?”

“There were instances where issues arose during the injection process, but in those cases, we immediately halted the experiment, so none developed into major incidents.”

“That’s a relief.”

As expected of an institution overseen by the imperial family, everything was handled cleanly.

If this were a private research lab, they might have pushed the experiment further to produce results for investors.

But for a laboratory backed by the imperial family, avoiding accidents while proceeding as safely as possible would be more important.

“This way.”

The laboratory was entirely finished in pure white tiles—walls, ceiling, and floor alike.

The glossy surfaces reflected the light, giving a clean and orderly impression.

And in the center of the room, there was only a single chair.

“Please take a seat.”

“What’s the procedure?”

[Translator - Night]

[Proofreader - Gun]

“First, we’ve prepared only souls with considerable ‘weight’—in other words, those in good condition. There are ten in total. We’ll insert them into your body one by one and observe the reaction. Then, once we determine that the boundaries between the souls have become clearly defined, we’ll extract them all at once using the extractor.”

“Is there anything I should know beforehand?”

“In previous subjects, some reported pain during the injection process. If the severity was too great, we forcibly halted the experiment at the researchers’ discretion, but we believe it likely wouldn’t have caused serious issues even if it had continued. So unless the pain becomes unbearable, we’d like you to endure it.”

“Understood.”

Enduring pain was nothing.

Whether it was something to boast about or not, he had experienced every kind of pain a human could.

After sitting quietly for a while, Makile rolled up parts of Oscar’s clothing and began attaching various devices.

“What are these?”

“Magitech devices for monitoring your vitals. They’ll inform me of your condition.”

“I know my own condition best…”

“Of course, I don’t doubt your abilities, but compared to advanced engineering data, your own perception would still be an uncertain metric.”

Next, a transparent oxygen mask covering both nose and mouth was placed over him, connected to a large machine.

Once all preparations were complete, Makile also donned a gas mask and said,

“Then, Special Case 001—beginning the experiment.”

He took out a small flask from his coat and looked at the electronic panel on one wall.

[29g]

“First soul weight: 29g. Beginning injection.”

Hisssss—!

As the flask was fitted into the device connected to the oxygen mask, a mist began to flow out shortly after.

But even as he inhaled it, he felt no particular symptoms.

“First soul injection complete. We’ll monitor vitals for five minutes.”

“Wait a moment. You’re saying the new soul has already been injected?”

“That’s correct. You probably won’t feel anything.”

“……”

There was truly no sensation at all.

If this weren’t an imperial institution, he might have mistaken it for a scam and demanded his money back by the collar.

“Mr. Oscar, how is your current condition?”

“I don’t feel anything. I’m starting to wonder if you’re deceiving me.”

“That’s good news, then. It seems you’re not the type to feel pain during soul injection. In that case, we’ll proceed with inserting the remaining souls. Is that acceptable?”

“Yes, go ahead.”

With permission granted, Makile began inserting the flasks into the machine one by one.

“Second soul weight: 27g. Beginning injection.”

“Third soul weight: 32g. Beginning injection.”

……

New souls continued to be injected, one after another.

Or rather, there wasn’t even a sensation of souls entering his body.

With how utterly devoid of feeling it was, it made sense that he hadn’t even realized something like this existed within him.

“Alright, all soul injections are now complete.”

“How is it?”

“The boundaries are extremely clear. At this level, it should be possible to extract the soul you mentioned in one go.”

At the positive answer, Oscar nodded.

“There’s no need to delay. Please extract them now.”

“Understood.”

As Makile operated the device, a strong wind was generated through the oxygen apparatus.

Earlier, the mist had flowed into his mouth and nose.

Now, it flowed out in the opposite direction.

“First soul, extraction complete.”

“Second soul, extraction complete.”

……

As the extraction continued, Makile’s expression brightened.

“Ninth soul, extraction complete. This is the one you mentioned, Mr. Oscar. We’ll now extract the remaining two souls and conclude the experiment.”

The extraction of the remaining two souls was also completed without issue.

Only then did Oscar remove the oxygen mask and wipe the sweat from his face as he asked,

“Is it over?”

“Yes, it is.”

Makile retrieved the flasks from the machine connected to the oxygen mask.

All eleven flasks were tightly sealed with stoppers.

“……”

Looking at them, Oscar felt a strange emotion.

If the parasitic demonic being in his soul had truly been removed, he should feel a sense of liberation, of relief.

But to him, nothing seemed to have changed at all, so he couldn’t quite grasp it yet.

“It ended more easily than expected. If you wish, we can also analyze the soul that was extracted this time.”

“I’d appreciate that. And the compensation we agreed on—”

Clack! Clack!

The lights in the perfectly functioning room suddenly went out, replaced by a red glow.

Having seen something similar not long ago, Oscar asked,

“Is that emergency power?”

“…Yes, but this lab has its own generator, so this shouldn’t be happening.”

While Makile tapped at a machine on the wall to check the situation,

Oscar, scanning the surroundings, noticed something.

“…Director?”

“Just a moment. I’m about to call the control room to ask what’s going on.”

“Answer me one thing first. Among the souls you’ve handled so far, what’s the heaviest one?”

“103g. It belonged to a Level 7 knight I knew personally. But why do you ask?”

In response, Oscar gestured with his chin toward the electronic panel on the wall.

[9999g]

[ggggg]

[66666]

The numbers, flickering rapidly enough to make one dizzy, soon changed.

[404]

[ERROR]

Then—

Tick, crack!

One of the soul flasks Makile had taken out began to fracture.

[Translator - Night]

[Proofreader - Gun]