Chapter 104: Chapter 103: The Resurrectionist from Afar
“Whoosh,” a corpse in the water of the secret chamber broke the surface and sat up.
The corpse opened its mouth, gasping desperately and making choking, near-death sounds, followed by violent coughing and a runny nose, utterly disheveled.
“Cough, cough… damn… cough, cough!”
After a considerable time, the corpse finally subdued the coughing.
With a “whoosh,” the mist was disturbed as the corpse stood up from the pool and walked out step by step. Water droplets, attached to its body, fell from its head to its body and rolled down, shattering with a “pitter-patter” on the ground.
Finally, a gaunt man emerged from the vapor, completely naked, frowning as he looked to the side.
Near the door of the secret chamber, a wizard, completely enveloped in a black cloak, appeared silently and motionless like a ghost, quietly observing the naked man.
“Othello,” the naked man called out the other’s name.
“Suo Men,” the other also called out the naked man’s name.
“I hate this Soul Comforting Pool,” declared Suo Men, the naked man, with annoyance. “Having to go through this every time, isn’t it irritating?” he said, approaching Othello.
Othello did not reply but simply motioned with his hand, conjuring a set of clothes out of thin air and tossing them to Suo Men.
Quickly dressing himself, Suo Men was then handed a ring by Othello. The ring had a slightly greenish hue, resembling bronze.
Suo Men’s eyes flickered, and, not taking the ring, he said, “You must be mistaken.”
“That’s not my ring.”
“But… it is now your ring, yes, a brand new ring,” Othello stated.
“What do you mean?” Suo Men’s brows furrowed deeply.
“Don’t you understand yet? You’ve died again, Suo Men,” Othello said emotionlessly.
“How is that possible!” Suo Men, incredulous, protested, “I was just following the rules before the mission, depositing my spirit memory in the Soul Comforting Pool. I didn’t even leave the door; how could I be dead again… Wait a minute!”
Suddenly, Suo Men realized something, his voice sharply stopping as he turned to look toward the misty pool, his expression grew solemn, and his eyes shifted uneasily.
Suo Men looked back at Othello and couldn’t help asking, “Did I… really die again? Just now, was that my resurrection?”
“Yes,” Othello nodded.
“Damn…” Suo Men muttered, clenching his fists slightly. In the next moment, he touched his face and body, finally certain, “Alright, I understand.”
“Then…” Suo Men looked at Othello, pressing, “How did I die, exactly? Did the mission fail, was I killed by the target? Wasn’t it just a Giant Dragon at the end, not strong enough to do this? I had studied magic specifically to counter dragons.”
“No,” Othello shook his head, responding, “It shouldn’t be what you’re thinking. Although I don’t know the specific details, Prediction Magic has confirmed that your mission target is indeed dead, your mission was completed. Otherwise, the points you had before wouldn’t be enough to cover the cost of a resurrection.”
“How exactly did I die then? Killed by a Sea Monster on the way back?” Suo Men voiced.
“Don’t ask me about that, I’m just following procedures. You exceeded your return deadline by over a month, and once your death was confirmed through Prediction Magic, I began your resurrection. You’re quite lucky actually, a body almost identical to your previous one was available. Because of this, using the latest spirit memory you deposited for the resurrection, you didn’t notice anything amiss.”
“Heh, sounds like I should thank you then, for not finding a woman’s corpse to resurrect me,” Suo Men spoke with slight sarcasm.
Othello shrugged, expressionless, “Whether you thank me or not doesn’t matter, I would never let you use a woman’s body for resurrection.”
“Heh, you have that much decency?”
“It’s not decency, it’s the rules.”
“Rules? Since when? There are no gender restrictions, Mu Konni has even changed genders three times.”
“It’s not about gender restrictions, but rules regarding points. It seems you don’t know, but I’ll explain. Generally, the bodies used for women’s resurrections are worth about half as much again as those used for men. Some beautiful women’s bodies can even fetch two to three times more, and they also require appointments.
“With the points you had before the mission, including those earned from mission completion, that can only guarantee a resurrection using a Level One male wizard’s body. So, you wouldn’t have ended up as a woman, whether you wanted to… or not.”
“Uh, okay…” looking at the utterly serious Othello, Suo Men spoke somewhat helplessly, stepping toward the exit of the secret chamber.
Othello, unbothered by Suo Men’s dismissive attitude, spoke, “Supervisor Thor is looking for you.”
“Hm? Supervisor Thor is looking for me? What for?”
“He probably wants to arrange some things for after your resurrection; he might even transfer you to another task area, like near the coast.”
“Probably orders from above, they might be planning something.”
“Orders from above? Planning something?” Suo Men’s eyes gleamed, “The Golden Ring, them?”
“Could be the Colorful Rings for all I know,” Othello commented.
“No way, there are only a few Colorful Rings, they’re high and mighty, why would they bother with such trivial matters?” Suo Men was skeptical.
“That’s hard to say,” Othello commented, “It has been calm for many years, maybe those great lords of the Colorful Rings are preparing to do something to show off their power.”
“Heh, I hardly believe those big shots could suddenly become so capable. Before, even a simple cleanup of an area took forever to negotiate, now they want to act so quickly? Who spurred them on?”
“Perhaps it’s someone above them,” Othello mentioned lightly.
“Sa…” a name almost slipped out, but after just one syllable, Suo Men’s face changed color as he quickly held back, as if uttering it would invite great calamity.
“Phew,” taking a deep breath to calm himself, Suo Men looked at Othello and said displeased, “You did that on purpose, didn’t you?! You clearly know the rules!”
“Of course, I know the rules, which is why I never say their names, not even one letter.”
Suo Men huffed coldly, his face showing he no longer wanted to interact with Othello, turned and walked out of the secret chamber, heading toward the side, “I better go find Supervisor Thor and see what’s really going on.”
Watching Suo Men’s retreating figure vanish, Othello watched calmly for a while before turning and walking out of the secret chamber in the opposite direction.
The secret chamber grew quiet once again, as quiet as death.