NOVEL NEXT WORLD Chapter 72
I watched as her black hair fluttered in the wind. That hair, cascading down to her waist, looked too neatly styled to belong to a swordsman.
Her clear eyes were boring into me. Those eyes held a blank, vacant energy, as though her thoughts had temporarily paused.
With her dreamy expression, I had no clue what was going on in her mind. For a moment, I thought I might have misheard something.
“What did you say…?”
At that, she tilted her head slightly and slowly opened her mouth again, articulating each word carefully.
“I want to borrow you for two months.”
I blinked. I hadn’t misheard. I caught a glimpse of a bear doll next to Kashian, clapping its hands furiously. It wore a look of pure satisfaction.
“If I leave you, this little one will faint,” she added.
She wasn’t wrong. When separated from me, the Shadow Doll’s consciousness would go to sleep, reducing it to a basic doll that simply followed commands.
Could those limits be transcended? Sometimes I wondered about that. That’s why I shared some of the dolls with certain students.
The dolls given to them held the first personas I had created. The magic that summoned them was quite clumsy, making those personas unstable.
But perhaps because of that, they had clearer personalities than other personas. These were born from interactions with their owners.
Those who invested points enough to modify their dolls were giving them attention, nurturing those clumsy personas into growth.
And now, those dolls had reached a point where they could still function a little, even away from me—as long as their owner was nearby, of course. Though, they would fall asleep after just a few days.
If the owner strayed too far, that persona would quickly lose its characteristics and become just an ordinary Shadow Doll. That was the fate of most dolls left behind by students.
So, I returned the dolls with distinct personalities to their owners. They weren’t of much value sitting here. It wouldn’t burden me to pass on a few dolls.
After all, if they stayed close to their owners, they could awaken again someday. If such dolls existed, they could open new possibilities for me.
And among those, I was considering this bear doll as the one with the highest probability. Kashian cherished it greatly. Just counting the points invested in its modifications was enough to put it above the others.
“I thought about staying here, but you said that would be difficult,” she said.
“That’s right.”
I absentmindedly nodded.
After the class, the tower was overflowing with time. So, I considered running an inn. I had heard of other towers doing so.
During free periods, they would invite other students to the tower to gather points. Hearing that made my mouth water thinking of earning points, so I dashed to the professor.
But I got promptly kicked out.
She was a big fan of sleeping. Celebrating the end of the lecture, she fell deep into slumber once again. The butler informed me she planned to remain asleep for the next month.
Hearing that, I realized operating an inn was out of the question. The professor hated having anything foreign in her territory, especially while she was sleeping.
This was why she chased all students out of the tower every night she fell asleep. Who knew what might happen otherwise?
That’s how she drifted off to sleep. It was said the tower would be sealed until she woke up. No one could enter.
“So I’ve been contemplating whether to leave this little one behind,” she said.
The bear doll waved its hands in protest. There was a deep rejection in its lively movements. It would hate that. Its persona had already completely depended on Kashian.
“But then yesterday, this little one sent a message via the bulletin board. Asking if it wouldn’t work to take you with me. So, I thought I’d bring it up today,” she explained.
Kashian gently pet the bear doll. The doll nodded eagerly with an innocent expression. If there was a risk involved, simply removing that possibility was the plan the doll had come up with.
I nodded; the narrative was roughly coming together.
But it was clear that this little one didn’t think of it alone. Anyone could tell just by looking at that innocent face. There was no way it possessed the intelligence to come up with such a plan. Someone had definitely intervened.
“Hehe, you can trust me to take care of you at night during this journey. I will take perfect care of you,” Mira said with a smile. She started chatting away with Kashian. In their conversation, I naturally settled into the role of a departing individual.
It was evident to me. It was Mira. She had surely spread that information.
But what could her reason be? I glanced at Mira. In her eyes, fixed on Kashian, greed flickered.
She was clearly still desiring that body. Ever since the last lecture, she had been eyeing a chance to inhabit Kashian’s body.
It seemed to be for her plans concerning the treasure vault. Apparently, the shock from the incident had been beyond imagination. Since that event, Mira had clung to Kashian like this, even going so far as to “restructure” him.
She likely revitalized the memories that had previously resided within, enhancing the innate talents contained within that body. That was how they had grown close in this process.
Of course, once all that transformation was complete, there would be an opening for Mira to inhabit the body. It was a form of optimization for her to enter that form.
That said, she couldn’t stay for long. Her heart was already bound to the doll.
She could manage only a day or two at most. Still, that was sufficient time to address the matters of the treasure vault. In that span, her memories could be roughly organized by her own hand.
Mira flashed a sly smile in my direction. I understood her intentions clearly. She planned to stay by Kashian’s side for two months to remodel his body.
The last view I had of the treasure came to mind. That horror sent chills through me. If she could utilize Kashian’s body, it would undoubtedly aid her against such treasures.
Carefully, I joined them. And then I turned to Kashian.
“So, what price are you thinking?”
“Uh, Mira has already taken the scores. Ten thousand points a month, twenty thousand,” Kashian replied.
That was unexpected. I turned to Mira. She smiled slyly and leaned back.
“Ebron’s points will soon be mine, right? Anyway, they’ll be used for me, so I just took them,” she stated.
I let out a bitter smile. Her words held truth. Most of my points had indeed gone into filling her body.
Twenty thousand points were an enormous sum. Especially for me right now after the lecture. Looking solely at the points, it was an offer I had no reason to decline.
Since the professor was deep in slumber, it was awkward to do anything in the tower, and I didn’t want to waste time heading to the city. It was the perfect job to fill this empty time.
I took a quick glance at Mira. She was licking her lips as she stroked Kashian’s body. The plan to care for her body for two months sounded quite interesting. But there were many flaws in that plan.
“I understand you want to take me for two months. But what do you plan to do after that? I have to return to the tower, so I can’t stay longer than that,” I noted, poking the bear doll.
That was the issue. Regardless of how she groomed that body, it would be of no use if Kashian was absent from our tower. Kashian tilted his head.
“I’ll just sign up for the lecture again. Mira has already taken that into account,” he mentioned.
I blinked.
It seemed like Mira had already mapped out the subsequent situation. Kashian gazed at her. Mira, receiving that look, offered a gentle smile. The previous greed had vanished without a trace.
“You plan to attend classes again?”
“Yeah.”
“Is that really necessary?”
I asked, somewhat perplexed. Just yesterday, he had received a completion certificate from me. There was no need for him to take the same lecture again.
“I can apply for a different course. I can play with this little one while going to the lecture over there.”
The old me flashed back to mind. I had also stayed here while attending Professor Heisen’s lectures.
It wasn’t a method others readily adopted. It’s hard enough to focus on one lecture, let alone two at once.
Plus, there was no real need to enroll in multiple courses. Attending was more about wanting to pass than the intention to train based on the tower’s magic.
After all, gathering the resources to ascend to the fourth floor takes considerable time. It’s better to concentrate on one course than to risk missing both.
In the end, it only costs more points while being extremely inefficient. But she spoke of it so casually. Curiosity arose.
“Where do you get that many points…?”
Kashian gently petted the bear doll as he began to elaborate.
“Sponsorship. When I went with the recommendation letter from Evan outside the university, they gave me points. Currently, I get twenty thousand points a month. When I hit the third floor, they said it would be thirty thousand points.”
Such things existed? Kashian rubbed his lips and continued.
“But in return, they want a bit of help later.”
“I see.”
I gave a bitter laugh. Are we talking about talent? I recalled Evan’s face, having bragged endlessly about Kashian being a genius. To receive sponsorship from the very beginning is quite the privilege. Meanwhile, some struggle terribly due to a lack of points.
Thinking back, Mira had likely targeted Kashian precisely for that talent. That body was a vessel where his heart’s power could be fully contained. It was only natural for others to eagerly seek a piece of that.
“To be honest, that’s why I’m going this time,” Kashian said, looking a bit sad. The bear doll patted her comfortingly. She hugged that bear doll tightly and murmured.
“I failed to get to the third floor, so I figured I’d have to hear about that.”
She started rolling around with the bear doll on the floor. I took a moment to gather my thoughts. Leaving the tower for two months wasn’t a big deal.
The fake wooden dolls bound to keep the magic in check would suffice. I slightly opened my eyes. It occurred to me that attaching this fake wood to the bear doll might also be a potential solution.
I swallowed hard. Perhaps I would casually bring up the topic during the journey. It might allow me to draw out more points.
“Alright, I get it. Since you’ve already taken the points, I have no choice but to go. When should we set off?”
“Hmm, I’ll be around. As long as you leave within two days.” Kashian replied.
I nodded and looked at Mira. She wore a very satisfied expression. A single droplet of saliva dripped from her lips. I casually turned my head away.