Demi-human Girls Completion Manual
Chapter 144 - 58. The Mystery of the Soul_2

Chapter 144: 58. The Mystery of the Soul_2

Caleb speculated about the total energy contained within the soul in his writings, introducing the concept of a "species baseline magic power," which described the base amount of magic power a species possessed even without soul training.

Fisher quickly realized this might have been the source of the technology that Philone had obtained from the manual, as well as the theoretical basis behind his bizarre ideas.

Fisher guessed that Philone’s original idea was to allow the soul to release energy, then wait for their magic power to be depleted before self-repairing, and then wait for the next use. However, this was no different from engraving magic, consuming a lot of time and being extremely inefficient, otherwise those magic items would not have been so expensive.

When this approach proved unworkable, inspired by Soul Loss, Philone went to the other extreme.

Thus, the second property of the soul, [renewable energy], was fully explained, but before discussing the third property, Caleb asked the readers to consider a very interesting question.

Fisher’s magic power was depleting rapidly, but he seemed completely unaware of it, wholeheartedly engrossed in the knowledge in the book.

The Demi-human Girls Completion Manual began to emit a slight heat, but the temperature was not too high, and Fisher did not notice it at all.

"Friend, first consider an interesting question. Is the soul of a person born with a disability, missing an arm, complete? If a person is born with a complete soul and then loses an arm due to an accident later in life, is his soul still complete?"

"The answer is, their souls are indeed complete. However, when they lose a part of their body, that part of the soul also disappears, after all, we all know the soul manifests in the body as a Magic Circuit, and cutting off a part of the body means that part of the Magic Circuit has been separated from the main body. But because of [Self-healing], the soul will slowly grow back to its original form."

"But the question is, will the soul in the severed body part grow into a complete soul because of the Self-healing property?"

"Yes, it will."

"The soul in the disembodied body part still retains its tendency to self-heal into a whole, though this tendency is very slow. It only depends on whether the vitality within that body part can support it to regrow into a complete soul. I conducted an experiment where I took the arm of a dying Dragon-man Species and did my utmost to maintain the vitality of that arm."

"Interestingly, the Magic Circuit in the arm showed signs of growth compared to when it was severed, and the Dragon-man could still faintly sense that arm."

"This is the last property of the soul, [Soul Splintering Independence]. Theoretically, the separated body part will continue to exist with that part of the soul, but because it will quickly lose vitality, the soul residing in it will quickly dissipate."

Fisher’s thoughts drifted far away, and he began to consider, if the separated body part kept its vitality, would the part of the soul inside it also continue to live on, much like the Artificial Witches created by the Witch Research Association!

Bart had implanted part of Carlo’s flesh, so when Carlo came close, his body would exhibit a reaction of connection; just as Carlo could occasionally sense the gaze of an Undead Witch from a single hair...

However, following this theory, if the original body died and part of the body was still alive, then what would that part of the body become?

A new main body!

That’s the meaning of Soul Splintering Independence property.

Just as Fisher wanted to continue reading, a sharp pain emanated from his chest. With a hiss, he looked down at his chest only to discover it was smoking. In a panic, he reached out to remove the Demi-human Girls Completion Manual, heated like a branding iron, and saw a prominent square red burn on his chest.

But belatedly, he felt exceedingly weak all over, as if he had been hollowed out and uncomfortable.

Clenching his teeth and holding his chest, he realized that his magic power had been completely drained at some point. If he continued to read, he might become a mummified corpse like those who practiced illegal engraving magic.

The thought alone sent a shiver down his spine as he glanced at the Soul Completion Manual spread out on the table. Just for that moment, he had truly become immersed in the knowledge recorded within. A myriad of associations and thoughts had flooded his mind in an instant, igniting a fierce desire to obtain more...

Was it because of this manual?

Fisher furrowed his brow as he examined the Soul Completion Manual on the table, but he felt that it wasn’t due to the manual itself, for in that moment, he had clearly realized it was the knowledge within that was guiding him to continue reading, not the manual as an entity.

It was merely fulfilling its duty of recording, devoid of any activity.

Fisher looked at the text, and a passage beneath had been translated by his Magic Power, though he hadn’t read it yet.

This wasn’t part of the main text but was a handwritten entry by Caleb Wuz, much like the previous personal reflections and diary-like entries.

"On the 27th of July, 332 in the Dragon Court Calendar, Caleb Wuz of London City in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland decided to depart from the Dragon Court and embark on a journey."

"In the past few years, at first, I was somewhat grateful to have left that damned world. I was far from a bankrupt company, a cheating wife, a family on the verge of collapse, and had arrived in a world full of epic grandeur. I lived well; the demi-humans were friendly, and I spent a very pleasant time here."

"But the longer time passed, the more I felt lonely. I often dreamt of my wife Karina, remembered us going to do sports, play ball together in college, and I still recall the moment our daughter was born, lying there on her sickbed, looking at me through tear-filled eyes."

"I thought of my daughter, that rebellious girl who only ever asked me for money... If years have passed at the same rate in the UK, she should be going to university now... Has she applied to the University of Manchester as she wanted? Has she ever been in love? Does she ever miss me, her father who left without saying goodbye, who never took responsibility?"

"I always think of them, and no amount of self-comfort can ever remove them from my mind. I think I’ve already forgiven Karina, and I’ve wanted to accompany my daughter in the things she wants to do, even though I used to hate those things before."

"I am homesick, so I have resolved to leave the Dragon Court to find a way back to my original world."

Fisher’s brow furrowed as he had a habit of taking notes after reading. There were many insights to be gleaned from what he had just read, but it was not until the final sentence that he began to slowly sort through the information gained from this reading session.

Firstly, Caleb claimed that all other demi-human Magic was learned from humans? Fisher had previously thought that Kado’s title of "Origin of Magic" was self-proclaimed.

Moreover, if demi-humans learned their Magic from humans, that meant the humans of the Western Continent had made contact with the demi-humans of the South Continent a long time ago? Why then did it only seem as if the Western Continent humans discovered the South Continent for the first time some decades ago on expedition ships?

The second thing Fisher had learned provided some information about Caleb Wuz’s world, not comprehensive, but at least offered some fundamental understanding.

Silently, Fisher recorded the words "United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland" as well as "London," using the same script he had written before.

The last point was the most important, about the characteristics of the soul being both renewable and capable of independent division; Fisher suddenly recalled the excessive amount of Magic Power consumed this time, far beyond any previous level, nearly draining him dry.

And based on his previous understanding of Philone in battle, he hadn’t undertaken much study in the field of Magic, so did he know about what Fisher had read today?

The previous uncertainties about the South Continent resurfaced in Fisher’s mind, but he didn’t ponder any further.

Exhausted, he weakly massaged his temples, a feeling of emptiness overwhelming him and bringing on a wave of fatigue.