Chapter 506
Awakening
Chapter 506 Awakening
Consciousness slowly rose from the darkness.
The first sensation is a comforting feeling that permeates the soul.
The feeling was like soaking in a spring of just the right temperature, brimming with life, where a gentle and continuous force was seeping in from all directions, smoothing out the hideous cracks and burning pain deep within one's consciousness.
Jemin opened his eyes.
As far as the eye can see, there is an arched dome with a cold, metallic sheen.
Turning his head, he saw that he was lying flat on a wide metal platform, the surface of which was engraved with an extremely complex and precise composite magic array.
At this moment, these magic arrays are operating stably, emitting a soft, milky-white light.
The light flowed as if it were alive, converging into streams of warm energy that continuously poured into his shattered soul.
Jemin sensed it briefly and found that the state of his missing soul had not changed; the lost 60% was still empty.
However, the remaining soul, which was almost completely shattered under the severe damage and was only forcibly held together by its natal magic weapon, was now being carefully "stitched" and "reinforced" by a gentle yet resilient force.
The cracks still exist, but there is no longer any risk of them collapsing; instead, they show a slow healing trend.
This means that even if he leaves this healing array now, he can gradually recover on his own; it's just a matter of time.
It could be said that he went from being on the verge of death to being seriously injured.
"Judging from my biological clock... five days have passed?" Jemin silently calculated the time, feeling slightly relieved.
It seems that the treatment techniques at Noren Workshop are quite reliable.
"The main vital signs have stabilized, the soul fluctuations are becoming more orderly, and the consciousness activity has reached the standard. Other personnel have been notified. Wizard Jemin, how are you feeling?"
A metallic synthesized voice, devoid of any emotion, rang in my ears.
Jemin turned his head and saw a humanoid construct, roughly silver in color with sleek lines, standing beside the platform.
Its smooth face had no features, only a faintly glowing array of blue crystals scanning him.
"A construct from the Caregiver series?" Jemin tried moving his fingers; his joints felt slightly stiff, but it wasn't a big deal. "It feels... much better. Thanks."
"It's my duty. I'm conducting a deep soul scan and physical condition assessment for you. Please relax." The silver construct extended slender metal fingers, from which several fine beams of detection light shot out, enveloping Jemin's entire body.
Just then...
boom!
The heavy metal door of the treatment room was pushed open with brute force, slamming against the inner wall with a dull thud.
A silver-gray figure stormed in with the force of wind and thunder, his silver-gray eyes instantly locking onto Jemin on the metal platform.
It's Viola.
She casually pushed aside the construct that was issuing a warning next to her and leaned her face toward Jemin's bed.
The usual elegance and composure on her face had vanished, replaced by a mixture of surprise and undisguised playfulness.
The look in his eyes was as if he had discovered a strange material he had never seen before.
Immediately afterwards, another figure walked in unhurriedly.
Wearing a simple, dark gray wizard's robe, with an indifferent expression and calm, unwavering eyes, it was none other than Mentor Clark.
His gaze also fell on Jemin, but compared to Viola's "fiery" gaze, his was calmer.
Jemin felt a little uneasy under their gazes, especially Viola's intense scrutiny that seemed to want to dissect him. "Senior Viola, Professor Clark... what's going on here?"
Viola didn't answer immediately, but instead slowly walked around the metal platform, her gaze sweeping over every part of Jemin's body like a knife.
Finally, it stopped near his head, bent down, and stared intently into Jemin's eyes with its silver-gray pupils, exclaiming in an exaggerated tone:
“Junior, you really gave us a big ‘surprise’.” She stretched out a finger with dark red nail polish and lightly tapped Jemin’s forehead. “Your soul is missing more than 60%, and the remaining part is on the verge of complete collapse. Your body also has many deep wounds. With this kind of injury, let alone a level 5 wizard, even many level 6 wizards who are not good at the soul domain would be dead long ago.”
She straightened up, crossed her arms, and her playful expression deepened: "But you actually managed to pull through, and even managed to kill a group of pursuers in that state, and even in the end... well, we'll talk about the rest later. So, my dear junior, can I discuss something with you?"
A sense of foreboding rose in Jemin's heart: "...What is it?"
“Look,” Viola laughed like a fox who had discovered honey, “your trait of ‘being able to survive even though you should have died’ is absolutely invaluable for research! The principles of soul resilience, life-sustaining mechanisms, and even some kind of resistance law unknown to us involved behind it… it’s practically a key to unlocking the deeper mysteries of the soul! So…”
She leaned closer, her voice seductive: "How about sacrificing yourself a little for the sake of knowledge? Don't worry, I won't kill you, I promise...maybe."
She blinked: "At most, it's just cutting a small piece of soul tissue. We can do collaborative research, and you'll be the first author if we get results..." "Collaborative research my foot! I'm the one being researched, aren't I?!"
Jemin felt a chill run down his spine upon hearing this, and without thinking, he flatly refused: "Impossible! Senior, don't even think about it!"
He instinctively looked at his mentor, hoping that Clark, who was always strict but fair, would say something.
However, when he saw the expression on his mentor Clark's face, he felt a chill run down his spine.
A hint of interest even appeared on Clark's perpetually indifferent face.
He tilted his head slightly, his brows furrowing almost imperceptibly, as if he were seriously considering the feasibility of Viola's suggestion.
His gaze swept over Jemin, as if assessing where to make the best incision.
"Mentor?!" Jemin's voice trembled slightly.
It was at this moment that Jemin suddenly realized something was wrong with his surroundings.
The metal platform beneath him...
The cold touch, the constricting grooves that restrict the body, the surrounding robotic arms that are clearly designed for fixation and precision operation, the adjustable high-energy spotlights overhead...
This is not a high-end treatment bed at all!
This is clearly a high-end dissection table and soul operating table in a laboratory!
Holy crap!
Jemin was so frightened that he almost literally lost his soul; he felt his newly stitched-up soul tremble.
The instinct for survival instantly overwhelmed everything. His internal strength exploded, and with a burst of power from his waist, he sprang up from the metal platform like a spring, leaping several meters backward. He leaned against the wall, his face full of vigilance as he stared at the two people in front of him.
"Pfft... Hahaha!" Viola was taken aback at first, then burst into laughter without any regard for her image, laughing so hard she almost cried. "Junior, your reaction... Hahahaha! That's hilarious!"
Even Clark, the mentor who was usually expressionless, had a rare, very subtle upward curve at the corner of his mouth.
The "interest" in his eyes quickly faded, returning to his usual indifference, though a barely perceptible smile seemed to flicker deep within them.
Jemin glanced at Viola, who was laughing heartily, then at his mentor, whose lips were slightly upturned. He froze for a few seconds, then realized what was happening, a vein throbbing on his forehead: "You guys... teamed up to scare me?!"
"Otherwise what?" Viola finally stopped laughing and wiped her eyes. "If we really wanted to dissect you for research, do you think you'd still be lying here awake? You'd be soaking in maintenance fluid by now."
Her tone was relaxed, but deep in her eyes as she looked at Jieming, there was indeed a genuine curiosity and inquisitiveness.
Clark regained his usual expression and calmly said, "When we received the distress signal, based on the description, we originally thought we were going to the body activation room in the backup library to see you."
He paused for a moment: "I didn't expect you to actually pull through. Viola is right, your... 'resilience' is indeed beyond the scope of conventional understanding and deserves attention."
He changed the subject, looking calmly at Jemin: "However, that's your secret. Don't worry, wizards' knowledge is protected by ninth-level wizards, so there's nothing to worry about."
After saying that, he said no more, turned and walked towards the door, the hem of his gray robe silently brushing the ground.
Watching his mentor's departing figure, Jemin breathed a sigh of relief.
"Hey, junior." Viola quietly approached again, lowering her voice and showing her familiar shrewdness.
"Seriously, your 'hard to die no matter what' modification technology you do... are you going to sell it? Or even license it? The margin for error is ridiculously high, it's practically a second life! Even for me, if I suffered the kind of injury you gave me, my chance of survival would be less than one percent."
"What do you mean by 'modification technology that's hard to die no matter what you do'? Can't you give it a nicer name?!" Jemin's veins bulged on his forehead, then he shook his head helplessly.
He knew perfectly well that this was not some kind of modification technology; his survival depended entirely on the adaptive evolution of the body tempering method.
However, he is still exploring the principle of adaptive evolution of the body tempering method, let alone reproducing and selling it.
He gave an awkward but polite smile: "Senior, this... really isn't a mature technology. It's an accidental byproduct of some of my previous experiments. The principle is unstable, let alone reproducible. Once I've figured it out and the technology is mature, I'll definitely consider you first."
Viola pursed her lips, looking somewhat disappointed.
But knowing how protective wizards are of their core secrets, he didn't press the matter further, only emphasizing once more: "Alright, remember what you said. If you really want to sell it in the future, you must contact me; the price is negotiable."
"Definitely, definitely," Jemin quickly assured him, then changed the subject, "By the way, senior, how's the situation on the battlefield now?"
When it came to serious matters, Viola's expression became more serious: "It's the same as always, sending out reconnaissance units to each other, spreading them out like a net, to find the other side's 'trump card' wizards who are setting up large-scale war magic. After fighting for so long, both sides are almost at the most important stage of their preparations, so the reconnaissance and counter-reconnaissance battles have been particularly fierce recently, and the casualty rate has risen sharply."
(End of this chapter)