Chapter 84: Recruits [Part 6]
"So? What got you all riled up"
Chasing after Richard, Cindy asked casually while matching his steps.
"An idea... that kid- not only her body, her soul also changed... what do you think caused it?"
Cindy pondered over Richard’s question, the fact that he pointed out the transformation of both body and soul...
While even she could do a soul transformation, what she was capable of was something closer to creating an amalgamation of spirits and like clay, that amalgamation would be shaped to her liking.
A single soul was not enough for mystics to create a new spirit. The strain of the process would break the soul that is why multiple are used.
But Richard had just broken that notion, the limit which every mystic had to follow-
"Even yokai couldn’t do it I presume?"
"If they could, they would, but the fact that they didn’t... moreover, Maiko was only testing the waters. Her success was- an accident... a happy accident"
With this new method Richard believed that he could start aiming for the realm that many would claim to be only possible for deities.
"Is this what Merlin feared about mystics?"
Cindy asked, she knew a bit of the history of mystics and learned quite a substantial amount from Richard.
Her comments were targeted at Richard’s pursuit of development in terms of magic.
Whenever he found something new that he could potentially change, alter or improve, he would dive right into doing so.
While he had little success due mostly to his limited time as a true mystic. The things he did in that short period were enough for some mystics to brag about for a whole lifetime.
Yet Richard was not satisfied, he continued to push forward-
Not because he had a goal, not because of any pressure-
He simply did it because "he can".
If there were any problems Richard had that needed a solution, it was the weird attraction he had for trouble.
From the madness that brought him to the world of mystics, to the trap that nearly killed him in Japan and now he was basically at the center stage of the madness that was enveloping the world.
So much happened in so little time that Richard could barely keep up with all of it.
Mind you, Richard was a man who grew up and succeeded in the world of rapid progress.
He was raised in an era where the internet had yet to fully bloom. In such a situation, Richard was able to quickly claw his way up through genius and hard work.
For Richard, the constant rush of needing to "do something" was not something new. But even all his time rushing about in the world of non-mystics could not compare to the shit he was going through now.
The world of mystics was both filled with hope and despair.
It was a world where human life was treated as currency and Richard had to get used to such customs all while getting stronger and understanding the inner workings of the world.
He did all that while dodging attempts on his life, maneuvering away from traps that his enemies who he doesn’t even know off were chasing after his ass day and night.
If that weren’t enough, his problems were like cockroaches, the moment one pops up, it was an understatement that there are 20 more hidden away.
In fact, one problem coming up for Richard meant that there were at least a hundred more troubles which he had to prepare for.
All because the world of mystics was filled with madmen and greedy assholes.
"Nah, what he feared was mystics committing genocide for fun, but nowadays, even non-mysttics could do the same. Hell, there were more non-mystic genocides than there are those committed by mystics. After all, what idiot would kill all the pigs in their pen? Unless an outbreak of disease attacked their farm, any sane farmer would keep at least half of the population alive"
Richard refuted Cindy’s words but all he got from her was a snicker followed by a sarcastic remark-
"You’ve really integrated into the culture huh?"
Cindy’s attack pointed out the previous remarks Richard made about mystics. His criticisms of the mystical community which, at this moment, he too began to embody.
"Is this that? If you can’t kill’em, join em?- so you’ve finally become a mystic in body, mind AND soul huh?"
Months back, Richard had criticized the methods mystics used. He even showed blatant distaste for items made through uncouth means.
Why else would he give away the brass knuckles?
He didn’t need to pass on the brass knuckles, he could have just asked Kellin and his wife to move from their current haunt to a new one.
At this moment, Richard could even create something like an automaton that could carry the spirits of the dead.
While the effects of placing a human soul into an inanimate object for a long time had yet to be researched, Richard could use that as an excuse to push forward plans to extend the lives of not only his people but also their family and those close to them..
Richard had really come a long way, Cindy recalled the first time she entered his workshop where he found him doing some stupid things with souls.
USing only the souls of those who had completely lost their ego- Richard was basically reducing the effectiveness of the souls by doing that yet he preferred that method compared to what he would described as "slavery".
Now? Richard was not only watching massacres occur in real time with a calm face- he could even decide whether to execute someone or not without batting an eye.
Some may say that he had lost his humanity but Richard had yet to reach that point.
"No, I’m simply adapting to my current life, you can’t expect kids to stay as kids forever right? I’m no kid but an adult, and as an adult, I need to be more adaptable than children... that is what my years of life was for-"
Richard’s reply was swift and his words were clear. Only-
"What’s the difference?"
Cindy’s question received no reply from Richard, after all, she was kinda right.
Richard’s words were simply an excuse, a way to lighten the fact that he had become part of the problem he once believed was plaguing the mystical world.
Whether he adapted to the mystical world or not, the fact remains that Richard is now committing the same atrocities he criticized in the past.
Seeing as there was no way for him to win this argument, Richard turned his attention to the the room which is where he would connect his office in Tokyo to the manor.
Richard could easily use teleportation spells, not as fast as the Goddess Nyx but the capability to do so was enough to make him a top mystic in the whole world.
But even teleportation had its limits which is why Richard created a spell that was based on a popular cliche in webnovels.
Gate
It was the technique he created through the use of Nyx’s teleportation knowledge and the formation expertise that was passed onto him by Merlin.
Combining the teleportation spell with knowledge and experience on mystical formations, curses, seals and ancient mystic language allowed Richard to create portals that could allow for quick movement, But that speed came at a cost.
The portals were like elevators, Richard had no way off properly monitoring each and every gate. But that alone was enough for some to take the risks and cook up some crazy plots.
The biggest risk of he gate was for it to get compromised and lead to enemies appearing from within the manor.
For that reason, Richard had placed the gate connecting the manor to Tokyo at a spot that was heavily guarded on both sides.
This was the same for every other gate he had set up.
Though- he has yet to visit the US... his bike and the farmhouse that cost him quite a fortune was also still there and-
"Huh? Where’s Kyla?"
It was only now that Richard recalled the woman that had brought him a headache and help at the same time.
"Hm... she was left in the US right? She won’t really be much help in Japan and if you almost died, then she would have been target practice"
Cindy responded but Richard was not satisfied with that answer as he followed up-
"I know, I decided to leave her but what I mean is... where is she now? What happened after he left?"
Richard pressed on but his questions only made the young witch even more ticked off.
"How the fuck should I know? I was with you the whole time!"
Cindy replied with a raised voice, Richard realized that he made a mistake but he was unwilling to admit to it so-
"Yeah... you were... hmm... would Hana know? Or did the Goddess..."
It’s been a while since Richard saw the goddess Nyx.
While he wasn’t really sad over her being missing, though her disappearance still brought some problems.
The biggest one was Richard’s lack of knowledge and expertise.
Despite having talent in mystical arts, he lacked the training and experience that would allow someone to turn a simple household item like a pair of chopsticks into a deadly weapon.
Richard was just a kid waving a gun because "he can".
Yet, he was still able to achieve a lot of things mostly because the Goddess was there to be his support.
Now though, Richard was forced to face problems without the help or supervision of anyone else.
Merlin’s knowledge could only take him so far.
But now was not the time to go about thinking of such matters!
"No, let’s move forward with the test-"
Shaking away the worthless thoughts from his head, Richard started the next stage of his tests.
"I guess an incubation pod is really necessary huh?"
Richard thought to himself as he continued to design the spell that he had come up with-
The spell was less like the standard spell people were familiar with and instead closer to a ritual.
"Is this really a spell? Looks to me like you plan to create a homonculus"
Cindy commented and Richard only smirked in response to her words.
"Close but not exactly there"
