Fairy Trap

Two days later, Sethian was able to meet the owner of the magic tower alone under his authority as a prince.

Clack−

The sound of the teacup being put down was particularly loud.

“Is that all you have to say?”

Sethian spoke coldly as he crossed his legs arrogantly and looked at the elderly man sitting in front of him. The black-haired man with sparse gray hair, as the owner of the tower, was dressed in a white robe as splendid as the royal family.

Despite Sethian’s coldness, Roa, the tower master, only showed a gentle smile and did not feel intimidated.

“As the prince has already known, the tower is entirely under the authority of His Majesty the Emperor. Even if you are the 4th Prince who holds the prevailing right to inherit the throne, there is nothing we can do for you right now.”

“However, the extent of information that the heir to the throne can hear would probably be greater than that of ordinary royalty.”

“Unfortunately, the information the prince wants is all about the golden arts.”

The corners of Sethian’s eyebrows rose sharply. When he asked for magic books about body fusion magic and biological alchemy, he kept his mouth shut, saying that even that belonged to the emperor.

Roa skillfully caught Sethian’s gaze and uttered subtle words.

“Recently, I heard that the prince has become interested in the golden arts. Is that the reason?”

“I’m not exactly interested in the golden arts but the soul magic[1].”

Roa’s wrinkled eyes narrowed slightly.

“May I ask why?”

Sethian looked at Roa’s glistening eyes and gave him the answer he wanted.

“There is a soul that I want to settle in a body. It doesn’t matter what the body is.”

“Soul settlement….”

Roa’s eyes showed deep interest.

“It’s even more fascinating because it’s said by the Fourth Prince, not by anyone else.”

He is a person who classifies people only as tools and entertainment, but since he is the one trying to establish a soul by making a body, the old magician couldn’t help but be interested.

“The soul is bound to be free. Unless you know where the soul you want to settle is located….”

“He’ll come to me on his own when the time comes. Because he promised.”

Roa blinked several times and made a surprised expression on his face. Knowing that Sethian believed in someone’s promise is astonishing, but what is even more surprising is that he is speaking as if he had spoken to the soul.

“Have you spoken to a soul? But the prince cannot see souls ever since, right?”

“It is still the same now. But strangely, I could only hear the voice of a certain soul.”

There were cases where a person was able to see souls or hear their voices due to having special abilities. However, it was quite difficult to believe since it was only applicable to very few people.

That said, the prince’s words could also not be regarded as false. On the premise that what he said was completely true, Roa continued, calming his slightly startled heart.

“Creating a body that can settle the soul is never easy. Even if it is made properly, if it does not match, the soul may be thrown out and the body may not be able to withstand it for a few days. There is also the risk that the soul may shatter.”

Roa leaned toward the table and brought his face close to Sethian.

“Personally, I’d like to recommend a method other than the imperfect body fusion magic.”

“Isn’t that confidential?”

Roa whispered in a low voice at Sethian’s question.

“Please consider it as a reward for your deep interest in the magic of the tower.”

It’s not the same confidential information anyway, so he’s willing to open his mouth about one thing the Sethian didn’t ask for. Sethian clicked his tongue at Roah’s wordplay and nodded.

“Speak.”

Roa, who raised the corners of his lips, lowered his voice and said.

“You’ve been reading a lot of soul magic books lately, so the prince probably knows this. There is a record about killing other people and putting their souls in a newly constructed body and making them into slaves.”

He has already known of that anecdote for quite some time. It was quite interesting at the time, so he read several soul magic books based on that anecdote.

But that’s also why he knows that magic has an important drawback. At first glance, there was nothing strange about the newly constructed body as it was based on humans, but when examined in detail, you’ll be able to see inharmonious parts that cannot be considered as part of an ordinary person. For that reason, it is said that in order for them to pretend as real human beings, they had to dress up so that their skin would be barely visible.

“In fact, it has a higher level of compatibility magic.”

Roa’s smile grew stronger.

“It is a magic that constructs and materializes the original body with the soul as the main axis. Since it is made based on the memories from its lifetime, there is no need to create and configure the body one by one, and there is no risk of the soul being bounced. Since the soul remembers the shape of its own body, which is its vessel, it is said that it’ll regard the newly formed body which was based on the original one when it’s still alive as its own and settle down completely.”

Roa’s words, which had been blurted out smoothly from the beginning, soon contained a disappointed tone.

“Unfortunately, this is only possible with a living soul. It is questionable whether there is such a case as a person being alive and at the same in the state of being a soul.”

Sethian’s interest-filled eyes stared at Roa as if stabbing him.

“Does that mean that if it is a living soul, there’ll be no side effects if it’s inserted into a constructed identical body?”

Roa, who had been pondering over Sethian’s words, answered in a slightly excited voice.

“Since the body is made exactly as the information contained in the soul, there will be no sense of incongruity or opposition and there will be no backlash. If you have to look for something that could be called a side effect, it is that there is only one body in which the soul can reside. Because it cannot reside in both the original body and the newly created one. In that case, it is inevitable that the spiritless body will remain in a state of coma and eventually die.”

If it was a side effect that adversely affects only the already existing body, it doesn’t matter. The only thing that matters is about Joo Yi-Gyeol’s new body to be constructed in this world.

Sethian decided to confirm one more thing.

“If the original body is afflicted with an incurable disease, will it be transferred when constructing the new body?”

“That will not be the case. The external physical characteristics are brought as they are, but the internal will be as clean as new.”

“What about the migration of the soul? For some reason, he was able to leave or return to his original body at will, does that ability continue in the same way?”

“Yes…? No, if so, then that means that it can freely release the restraints of its mortal body while it is still alive.…. Hah…, What the hell is that soul….”

As Roa’s words intermittently cut off due to awe, Sethian raised an eyebrow. Only then did Roa calm his heart and go on calmly.

“If that is true, the soul the prince met is clearly a ‘living soul’. Much more, it is a free soul that is not bound by physical restraint. If so, even if a new body is created and is settled, it will be possible for the soul to freely escape the body as before. Of course, it’s connected to the newly created body, so it’ll be the only place it’ll return to. Because the originally existing body will die sooner or later.”

The magic that Roa had told seemed to reflect exactly what Sethian wanted. He can’t believe that he can make a healthy body for Yi-Gyeol, and he can also use his current ability even after entering it.

However, Sethian doesn’t think that there is magic as efficient as that. If it’s that kind of magic, there must be a corresponding price.

“Tell me the success rate and its cost.”

Roa, who pulled himself away at the clear and concise question, buried his back in the depths of the sofa. He looked happy for some reason.

“If it’s a soul with a living body and not a dead soul, it will unconditionally succeed. It is a warm soul that has been alive and breathing until just now, so it has all the necessary information for the physical composition. As long as the soul is settled in the location where the magic has been prepared, it’s done.”

All that was needed to construct the body was information. The more it is, the more perfect information it is, and the more it can compose a body that is almost identical to the real thing.

“In order for the magic to be invoked, a great deal of mana and the vitality of the person who will settle the soul is needed. In particular, the cost that comes in exchange for maintaining the body….”

Roa, who had responded about the success rate without hesitation, suddenly vaguely spoke when it came to talking about the vitality of the master.

“Before answering, I would like to ask you one thing.”

He folded his eyes into a half-moon and asked.

“What do you think of the owner of that soul?”

“Do I need to answer that just to hear the price?”

“It’s not absolutely necessary, but if you answer me, it’ll be easier for me to tell.”

Sethian’s brow twitched and wrinkled. He doesn’t like the feeling that the sly owner of the tower in front of him was constantly testing him.

“…He’s a likable guy with a useful ability. Does that answer your question?”

“It’s enough.”

Roa’s face grew serious.

“In order to maintain the body, it must continuously be provided the vitality, or ‘lifespan’, that was needed to settle the soul. And in return, the provider is handing over their own vitality to the person, so of course, the life expectancy of that supplier will shorten.”

Even when it was said that he had to give his life expectancy, Sethian didn’t seem to care.

“Can’t I just share all the vitality at once? Whether it’s a year or 10.”

“It’s impossible. Even though it looks the same, it is not a natural body, so there is a limit to the amount of vitality that can be stored.”

Roa spoke with regret but did not hide the hint of surprise in his heart. Because no matter how you look at it, Sethian really doesn’t seem to care that much about his own lifespan.

“The vitality supply will be depleted as time goes by, and eventually, it will become infinitely weaker as if it caught a disease. Then, when the vitality is exhausted, the body will not be able to withstand it and will die.”

As for the price for maintaining the body, it was a method that Sethian did not like very much. It’s much better to just revitalize it all at once, rather than to constantly look out after it just to revitalize it.

‘No, isn’t that much better?’

He can use the method of regularly supplying vitality as an excuse to make him his slave. He can also just keep it in moderation and if he gets tired of him, he can just throw him away or kill him without having to leave him next to his side.

Thinking about it that way, Sethian thought it wasn’t that bad. It is absolutely satisfying to know that he is giving Yi-Gyeol a body and at the same time he is holding his lifeline.[2]

After organizing his thoughts, Sethian asked about the way to supply vitality this time.

“In what way should the vitality be supplied?”

“Really… Are you really planning to share your vitality?”

Roa’s eyes twinkled. Sethian was not hesitant even though distributing ‘vigor’ was never an easy matter to think about.

“Didn’t you say that I have to do that to maintain the body?”

“That’s right, but I actually thought that the Prince would step back.”

To provide vitality was to cut off one’s own lifespan and save the other person’s life. He should’ve known that the more he keeps them by his side and gives them life, the shorter his lifespan will be, but it seemed like nothing at all to him.

“Are you sure you don’t mind your life expectancy being reduced?”

Sethian raised one corner of his mouth slightly when he saw Roa pretending to be worried, unlike usual.

“Since when did you become so interested in other people’s lifespan?”

“Isn’t it natural since I don’t know if I would be serving that person in the future, right?”

Roa rose from the sofa with a teasing smile on his face.

“It is contained in the body fluid of the provider. There are several ways to supply it.”

He went behind Sethian’s back on the opposite sofa and whispered softly in his ear.

“You can cut your skin and give it by blood, by a deep kiss, or mix your bodies. It doesn’t matter which way it is, as long as it absorbs bodily fluids.”