WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: Coughing Baby

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Chapter 262

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I felt as though I were submerged underwater. A sensation wrapped around my body, as if I were sinking deeper and deeper, falling toward a bottom with no end in sight. I struggled against the terror that my very existence was disappearing, but I could not resist it.

Then, at some point, I felt my consciousness gradually awaken, accompanied by the sensation of a sticky wind wrapping around me.

I slowly opened my eyes. No, it would be more accurate to say that I expanded my senses. I glanced down at my body. It wavered faintly, as though reflected on water.

It was an utterly bizarre form. Still, compared to the scenery around it, even that body could be called perfectly normal.

I looked around. The world seemed to have become murky. Towering buildings and neatly arranged streets. It looked like a city I somehow found familiar.

But upon closer inspection, I could see that they were not merely standing still. They were constantly twisting. The moment I blinked, the place I had thought was a city became covered in writhing shadows.

Within that seemingly still space, everything crumbled, changed into other forms, or vanished without a trace.

My own existence contained some of that distortion as well. But the traces lasted only briefly. Like ripples settling, I returned to my original form.

As I watched the process in silence, I tilted my head. I could not remember what I was.

Why was I here? No, who was I in the first place? As those thoughts took hold of me, the waves making up my body began to churn more fiercely.

Yet no matter how hard I clutched my head and thought, nothing came to mind. Only one instinctive feeling filled my mind: I could not remain in this strange place for long.

I needed to escape this unknown place quickly. So I slowly took one step forward. At the same time, the space beneath my feet twisted, and I felt one of my feet break away into that bizarre current.

Of course, the lost foot quickly regrew within the wave-like flow running through my body. But it felt as though that distortion had left a slight mark on me.

I let out a quiet groan. Was this why I had felt the need to escape quickly?

This bizarre space was rejecting me. The twisting of my body just now was likely the result of that rejection.

Then I had to leave as quickly as possible. My body might keep replenishing itself, but surely that could not last forever. If I continued to twist, eventually even regeneration might become meaningless.

Step by step, I walked through that strange space where time and space themselves twisted. In the process, my body warped, broke apart, became contaminated, and burst open.

The pain of my body bursting apart was nothing to me. Compared to having my soul torn apart, this was almost laughable.

At that thought, I could only tilt my head again. Had my soul been torn apart before? I could not remember it at all. Still, it was fortunate that I was used to pain.

I continued walking while tracing through my empty memories. Even as I walked, I did not know where I was going. Only the feeling that something would change if I kept moving guided me forward.

After repeatedly breaking apart and regenerating for who knew how long, I began to see a clear light in the distance. It seemed to float in the sky, yet it also seemed embedded in the ground.

At first, I thought it was merely an illusion created by this bizarre space. But the light grew brighter the farther I walked.

What had first been no more than a faint glow soon became the size of a fingernail, then before long grew as large as a fist.

It was a circle. Scattering a golden radiance, it retained a clear form without dispersing, even in this place where everything twisted.

That was surely the destination that had been guiding me. Certain of that, I continued onward until I finally came before a massive circle radiating golden light.

Then my body stiffened.

The circle slowly moved the moment I stood before it.

That circle, no, that eye, began staring directly at me.

Only after getting this close did I realize it. What I faced was not an exit, but something even more dangerous than this bizarre space. It was surely what had forcibly drawn me here.

The golden radiance pouring from its pupil began to ripple more intensely. Then a figure started to emerge within that enormous eye.

It was a bizarre form, as though light itself had taken human shape. With its back to the pupil, it slowly looked around before approaching me.

I swallowed and fell to my knees before it. The natural pressure flowing from that unknown being made me sink down without resistance.

“Raise your head.”

The will that seemed to bore into my mind made me look up instinctively. Then I felt light pierce my eyes. How much time passed like that? The being tilted its head slightly, then sent its will toward me.

“I came here in person because I sensed a strange trace, yet you do not seem to be some insect that became entangled here merely seeking souls. Who would bother to target a soul bearing so many Simwonjiyak? You are truly unusual.”

Simwonjiyak? I had no idea what that meant.

As I stood there blankly, the being, whose gender I could not discern, calmly walked forward and lightly waved a hand.

It was an insignificant gesture. But the result it brought about was astonishing. I glanced around and saw the space engulfed in golden radiance.

The strange space that had been twisting my body until moments ago was breaking apart and burning within the light. Once only the golden radiance remained, the unknown being nodded in satisfaction.

“You have passed through Simwonjiyak like these without losing the form of your soul. Truly strange. I find myself somewhat taken with you. I believe I shall keep you by my side and observe this oddity of yours.”

The being placed a hand on my head and began pouring out an even stronger light. At the same time, the waves forming my body began to churn violently.

No, it was my soul that was churning.

It was practically screaming. But the being paid no heed to those screams and slowly began pulling out my soul, my mind.

My senses grew hazy, as though my very existence were being uprooted with ease. If I remained still, I would be caught in the grasp of that unknown thing.

And I could not resist it. How could I stand against someone with enough power to alter even this strange space?

Gradually, I began turning into something like a bead.

But then it suddenly stopped.

A golden magic circle blooming from my head forcefully knocked its hand away.

It was the magic the Professor had planted in me before. As I stared at the magic circle, I blinked slowly.

Professor? Who was that? It felt as though a memory were just about to come back to me.

“Oh, this magic is...”

The being made of light touched the magic circle. The circle shook violently and knocked its hand away again. The being gave something like a laugh, if rippling light could be called laughter, and waved its hand.

The strange pressure crushing my soul disappeared. At the same time, I felt my body, which had been curling up like a bead, gradually unfold.

“You already belong to someone. If I lay a hand on you, that child might resent me.”

A will filled with amusement shook through my mind. After standing before me for a moment and looking me over, the being slowly turned around. It walked back toward the pupil.

“Still, leaving behind one trace would be only polite. Be sure to give that child my regards as well.”

Along with that will, I felt a streak of golden light seep into my chest. Then the pupil began radiating a powerful light again.

Swept up in that light, I felt as though I were sinking somewhere.

No, perhaps I was rising.

Whatever it was, death was clearly approaching.

Then, at that moment, I felt someone forcefully pull me away.

My eyes flew open. A clear world, unlike the one before, came into view.

I gasped for breath and clutched my throbbing head. Then I felt someone approach me.

“Master, are you all right? You looked very unwell through the mirror bug, so I administered first aid.”

Master? Who was speaking?

As I searched through my hazy memories, the warm scent of sunflowers brushed against my nose. With it, part of my memories returned.

It was Isabella.

Isabella held me in her arms and sent magical power into me. Her magical power flowed through my body, firmly steadying my wavering soul and mind.

With Isabella’s help, my body gradually began to stabilize. My memories steadily returned as well. I slowly looked around.

“What was I doing?”

I rubbed my still-aching head and looked at Isabella. She gave me a gentle smile and massaged my neck. It was where the circuits leading to my head gathered. I felt my thoughts become a little clearer.

“You were conducting an experiment, Master. You directly planted the soul taken from Imperial Prince Beral into your body and tried to examine its flow. This was your third attempt.”

“The Imperial Prince’s soul?”

I slowly collected my memories. Then the process of negotiating with the Imperial Prince came back to me as clearly as though I were seeing it again.

Right. I had asked the Imperial Prince to allow me to take at least part of his soul. I had explained the reason to him as well.

The Imperial Prince knew well that I was combining ten curses into one. So he must have thought it natural that I wanted his curse.

His curse contained power that could not be compared with any other curse. I had been certain that if I used it like a barrier encompassing every other curse, I could blend those curses together.

After hearing my explanation, the Imperial Prince thought for a long time. But in the end, he shared part of his soul with me. He had little choice. The more he cultivated the patchwork tree, the stronger his thirst must have become.

Imperial Prince Beral had originally cooperated with me in order to escape the limits of a weed.

That was why he had to lift his magical power curse. Even if he had gained two bodies by entering a snake’s body, it was ultimately only a temporary measure.

The patchwork tree I had made could not be called a soul, and the body containing it was merely a puppet. The longer he remained trapped in the snake’s body and bound by the curse, the wider the gap between his soul and body would become.

To eliminate that gap, he would ultimately have to overcome the magical power curse and unite his original body and soul. Only then could he truly be said to possess life and become a mage.

That was how I used the Imperial Prince’s desire to obtain his soul.

Of course, tearing out a soul was not as easy as it sounded. Unlike other mages, the Imperial Prince did not have a tree originating from his soul, so I had to carve out only the soul itself.

A mistake could kill the Imperial Prince, so I naturally had to be careful. But I was not overly worried. After all, what I had steadily learned by stealing while selling puppets was precisely how to remove souls.

Using a method commonly employed by the puppeteer association in Icewall City, I created a body to contain the Imperial Prince’s soul. Then I naturally transferred part of his soul into it.

Then, as I had done with the other curses, I extracted the curse from the Imperial Prince’s soul and mixed it into mine.

I had succeeded in taking the Imperial Prince’s curse into myself.

So if I could succeed in understanding the curse as before, I would surely be able to obtain at least part of a method to lift it.

But I had sensed that this would not be easy. Naturally, if it were a curse that could be cured so easily, the Chairman would have solved it long ago.

And my prediction had proven entirely correct. Had Isabella said this was the third attempt? So far, I had learned nothing at all about how to lift the curse.

Well, there was no need to worry too much. Healing the Imperial Prince was not the only reason I had wanted to take in his curse.

I glanced at Isabella.

“Could you show me the Score Sheet?”

At my words, Isabella held out the mirror bug she had been carrying in her arms. I took it and examined it. Beneath the points listed for my life was an illustration that resembled me.

The figure in the illustration had a dark tree. When I stimulated that tree, black stems spread from it and began consuming my body.

Those black lines were the curse the Imperial Prince possessed. Just as I had explained to him, they devoured every other curse and gradually took on a massive form.

During the second attempt, my body had collapsed here, forcing me to end the experiment. But the third attempt displayed now continued beyond that point.

It was because I had prepared a body sturdier than before. I had incorporated some of the Imperial Prince’s blood and flesh into it. It would surely be able to endure some of it, even if not as much as the Imperial Prince himself.

After absorbing all ten curses, the Imperial Prince’s unnamed curse continued consuming my body, then sank even into my soul. It was not simply cutting away my soul. It had begun staining it with the curse.

I clenched my hand as I watched.

It was just as I had expected.

My soul repeatedly collapsed and revived as though resisting the curse. But the curse slowly consumed it. Then, at some point, golden magical power flickered within it and began destroying my soul alongside the curse.

The Score Sheet ended its illustration with that scene. After that, Isabella must have forcibly pulled me out.

[As the magical power curse consumed your soul, I observed it branching into new forms. If you do not prepare more thoroughly, it will surely consume you instead. Like the golden magical power you just showed, you will need more anchors capable of maintaining your mind.]

I narrowed my eyes as I read the Score Sheet’s advice.

The curse branching into new forms. Just as it said, my soul had rapidly become contaminated as the curse spread.

I rubbed my forehead as I recalled the scene from earlier, which was now beginning to return in fragments. That bizarre space where everything had twisted must have been the domain containing that curse.

Simply thinking about it again made me feel as though my body were twisting. I let out a small sigh and separated my thoughts. The surging magical power settled down.

So it contained that much power.

If my soul had not been made up of a collective, the curse would surely have consumed me in an instant.

I narrowed my eyes at that strangeness. It seemed my guess had been correct.

In truth, if I only wanted to study curses, I could have brought in people other than the Imperial Prince.

Besides the ten people I had already brought in, there were quite a few others here with magical power curses. Around thirty, perhaps. If I brought them all in and tried to combine their curses into one, experiencing the curse itself would surely be simple enough.

They likely would not refuse, either. They had all watched the others transform easily during the sixth lecture. A few had even contacted me already.

If I worked with such people and studied their curses, I might be able to secure enough research material to bleach the trees. If I bleached the trees and presented the Imperial Prince during the seventh lecture, the others would surely accept it.

Moreover, that would be the safer path. I knew how to lift all of their curses, whereas no method had been found to lift the Imperial Prince’s magical power curse.

Even so, I had wanted to take in the Imperial Prince’s curse because I felt as though I were overlooking an enormous possibility.

And I had not been wrong.

I touched my chest. There, I could sense the darkened tree. It was the result of being hardened by the curse.

I nodded as I felt it.

It was only natural that no one had been able to heal the Imperial Prince’s magical power curse. It was not merely the result of a single magical power curse being carved into him.

I glanced at Isabella.

“Please call the Chairman. I believe I need to speak with him.”

The Imperial Prince had felt a sense of familiarity when he saw me before. It was surely not simply because I carried a magical power curse as well. Rather, he must have felt that way because my existence resembled his.

As I organized my thoughts, a question suddenly rose within me.

It was about the source of the golden magical power I had seen in the Score Sheet.

I knew well what it was. It must have been the Professor’s magic binding my mind. It was also why I could hold onto my sanity despite abandoning both my soul and body like this.

But when I had looked at the Score Sheet, my soul had not been in such dire danger. So why had that magic suddenly emerged?

I searched through my memories, but from the moment I entered that bizarre space, my existence had scattered like fragments. I could not clearly remember how I had moved within it, either.

Only that scenery remained in fragments. I could not remember at all how I had escaped that bizarre space.

Hmm. I felt as though I had seen something important...

As I followed that thought, I shrugged.

There was no need to force myself to think about something that would not come back to me. It was not as if the Empress would appear just because I had delved deeply into the Imperial Prince’s soul. I had only taken part of his soul, so the Empress would not have noticed either.

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