After some less-than-reassuring words from Lynn, Dove finally stopped crying. She then gazed at him with pitiful eyes.
"Well, don't resist for now. Let me perform a little experiment," Lynn said as he approached White Dove. He placed his hand on her head and then let his spiritual power seep into her ethereal body.
(TL/n - White Dove is her name)
This was the application of psychic magic, "Necromantic Control."
A look of uncertain fear appeared on the girl's face. She felt as if something foreign was surging into her body. Her instincts urged her to resist or flee, but she remembered Lynn's command and endured it, closing her eyes with a look of resignation.
This feeling was quite peculiar. Once the spell was cast, Lynn immediately realized he had gained control over another body.
With a thought, the illusionary girl beside him raised her hand and spun in place.
At this moment, White Dove realized she had lost control of her body. Having studied psychic magic, she understood what was happening. She stared at Lynn with a resentful, tearful look.
Seeing this, Lynn had initially planned to give the girl's ethereal body some respite, but as soon as he released his control, White Dove transformed into a ghostly blue light and flew directly into his body.
The sound of the AI in his mind alerted him again.
[Unique energy entity absorbed, can be converted into a 12% energy reserve. Would you like to use it immediately?]
"No." Lynn hastily responded, with a wry smile.
In her attempt to escape his experiment, White Dove had unknowingly entered the AI's reserve pool, the most dangerous place she could be.
In other words, the AI became White Dove's spiritual anchor. Lynn quickly realized this, as the soul couldn't exist independently of the body. Even a Tier Three wizard like Radak had to create a soul container for themselves.
But in this case, perhaps "shackles" would be a more appropriate term.
"Let's call this energy 'Soul Power,'" Lynn pondered.
[Data loaded into the database.]
Although the experiment with the ethereal body had just begun, Lynn had already gathered some valuable information. Firstly, as Radak had suspected, using the "Eye of Death" to brew magical potions could indeed turn a person into a psychic.
Secondly, psychic magic, an exceedingly mysterious and powerful force beyond his previous knowledge, was just as dangerous to use. For instance, when controlling an ethereal body, if White Dove resisted, he would have to exert more Soul Power to suppress her. Otherwise, the controlled ethereal body might break free, and Lynn himself would suffer the backlash.
This was probably why Radak had been cautious in controlling too many ghouls at once in the secret room.
So, compared to controlling the undead, Lynn found another use for this magic more appealing: controlling weak-souled creatures. While in Harbor Town, White Dove had controlled a group of ravens to gather information, making it a kind of overpowered intel-gathering ability.
The only drawback was that when controlling living beings, it would divide his focus. It was somewhat like playing a game while managing multiple units; controlling too many could affect his ability to handle each unit effectively.
Lynn continued to browse Radak's notes. Although he had no intention of using some of the more sinister psychic magic, he needed to understand them to know how to deal with them effectively.
***
In the following days, Lynn, having successfully advanced, focused all his energy on honing his spellcasting skills, especially the protective spells, to enhance his strength as much as possible. He hadn't forgotten his promise to deliver the remaining "Source of Magic."
Naturally, Lynn had no intention of reneging on his promise, especially since they hadn't settled the account for the airship trip yet.
However, things took an unexpected turn. Even before he could make a move, Barbara and Hank came knocking at his door.
"Are you saying that Nos hasn't been acting right lately?" Lynn asked, quite surprised, in the estate of Radak, after listening to their complaints.
Hank nodded. As per their prior agreement, after this hunting operation, Nos was supposed to pay him one thousand magic gold coins as a reward, along with some disassembled parts of the "Eye of Death."
However, nearly three days had passed, and there was no sign of Nos. His apprentice, sent to hurry him, reported that Nos wasn't even at the base outside the estate and Iyeta Harbor.
This raised some troubling thoughts.
"Nos probably doesn't intend to pay us," Barbara said angrily. In her view, Nos had likely suffered heavy losses during the 'Eye of Death' hunting operation, so he was stalling.
They had come to Lynn this time to present a united front and confront Nos during the upcoming "Blood-Red Thorns promotion ceremony in two days.
Lynn stared at the two with a strange expression.
When he first heard about this organization, Lynn was worried. After all, "Blood-Red Thorns" was quite extensive, with a complex composition of members. However, now it seemed like the entire organization was nothing more than a disorganized group of individuals who cared only about themselves.
Of course, this might also be related to the unpleasantness that occurred during the 'Eye of Death' hunting operation.
Nos had put a lot of effort into it, only to obtain a partially damaged 'Eye of Death,' which he was then forced to hand over a portion of its blood. He was definitely harbouring some grievances.
Lynn was quite pleased to see this situation. If only they could go straight to an all-out fight.
With that in mind, Lynn leaned toward the fire.
"I'm afraid things aren't that simple. You both must remember Nos's obsession with that blood, to the point of being willing to go to any lengths. He must be urgently wanting to use it for something, keeping it from all of us..."
"Perhaps from the beginning, he never intended to pay the so-called reward. We might all be mistaken for sword users."
As he said this, even Lynn himself seemed taken aback, growing somewhat suspicious.
Suddenly, his analysis seemed quite plausible.
Nos had been overly generous, to an absurd degree. For example, he was willing to pay several times the market price for the high-grade magic crystal cannon that Barbara had acquired.
That was a whopping four thousand magic gold coins, an amount even many Tier Three wizards wouldn't accumulate in their entire lives.
Then there was the essence of the 'Eye of Death.' While Radak was the only one among them who understood how to make a "Source of Magic," after Nos handed it over, he showed no further interest.
Barbara and Hank exchanged a glance, their eyes filled with a mixture of surprise and doubt. The only thing that would make a Tier Three wizard stake everything was something.