So then, while the original body was on the move, what was the alien's mind doing?
Wow!
At the sa ti, the reincarnated alien was enjoying the life of a rock pigeon. Before, they had only gradually shared the beasts' perspectives through corpse manipulation magic. It had been a long ti since they'd fully succeeded in complete control, like a spirit possessing a shaman, so their spirits were uplifted. The conscious pigeon side was literally in a picnic mood.
This wild raspberry is really sweet.
Moreover, Esther's movents were just barely below the shock detection threshold. Even the safety alarm, set just in case, remained completely silent.
Thus, around mid-autumn, an unexpected case of the original body escaping unfolded.
***
Just after a brief whirlwind, the scene has already changed.
_-
How many minutes had passed since then? Unlike the studio apartnt from ten years ago that still used the old light fixture covers, this room was decorated with the latest trendy foreign lamps. This was a private space of the Korean Magic Tower, accessible only to those with a special key. To put it simply, it was also the lounge that Seo Esther mainly used.
"Are you sure you used the skill correctly? Then why isn't his fever going down?"
"I, I really did my best as a healer."
"No, first don't be afraid and listen. I'm not trying to bla anyone right now. I'm just really frustrated."
Diligent in studies since childhood, they entered dical school. And after the dungeon shock, as if built on that knowledge, they beca a new type of awakened being—a healer. It was surprising that such a skilled individual was right here.
Esther was an S-rank hunter with more money than she could ever spend. Thanks to that, she had long employed a dedicated healing psychic.
"Could it be that this person was hiding their high fever to avoid stirring up dia attention?"
The main issue was privacy. After much consideration, Esther had guided industry insiders to this place. Once inside this building, there was no need to worry about outsiders. Moreover, it eased concerns about anyone leaking information about Kim Giryeo.
Yet, despite all the ergency treatnts, the results remained unsatisfactory.
"No matter how you look at it, there's not even a hint of a relaxed expression."
The familiar blonde lay on the recliner sofa. Though usually dry in deanor, today the man seed even emptier as he stared blankly at the ceiling.
"Giryeo-ssi."
His fellow hunter had been silent.
"Giryeo-ssi, are you feeling any better?"
The guild leader of the Korean Magic Tower spoke to the man on the sofa. But since he remained silent, seemingly lost in deep thought (his magic disrupted due to leaving his residence), she quickly showed her concern.
"As expected, taking a leave of absence wasn't without good reason."
The sharp hunter had weakened so much. Esther didn't mind if her company's size dropped by half. She hoped that even if it ant bearing such a penalty, her opponent would recover. However, the very reason for this was what so what personal.
"If not for this awakener, our country will struggle. The only competent person left is that Jung guy..."
She didn't feel this way even when the online ga SDM, which she dedicated her youth to, collapsed. How is she supposed to endure a future without that hunter? What kind of mindset would allow that?
"Damn this world! Those who should die never do!"
It was at that mont. The man reclining on the sofa suddenly spoke.
"I... I need to go ho."
It was a single sentence, finally uttered as the magic—based on Kim Giryeo's mories—prevailed over the error.
"Heuk."
This shed, by the sa principle, could imitate the real body's manner of speech to so extent. However, even though it managed to produce responses suited to the situation...
"Ho? You don't an that tiny little one-room apartnt, do you?"
_-
"If you really want to go, Giryeo-ssi, I can send you there anyti. But once you're back in that cramped little place, what are you planning to do all alone?"
The man was soon t with a fiery rebuttal. The dead man's eyes rolled with a slow, deliberate weight. It was around then that the thick lids above them suddenly caught his conversation partner's attention.
"That's right."
Sothing had ford a sentence whose aning was unclear. It was little different from an automatic printout of a thought Kim Giryeo used to recall often in life.
Even if he went back ho, there was nothing waiting for him. No one to greet him. Why had he always been so desperate to get back? Perhaps it was just because the delivery work had been exhausting, and his longing had only ever been abstract.
"Uheuk!"
Esther didn't realize this was rely a simple repetition of mory. As a result, a sudden cold sweat began to break out on her skin.
"I'm dood. Did I just say sothing wrong? Did I act too unsympathetically as soone who was born with a silver spoon? No, but... an S-class hunter keeps choosing to buy such crummy places..."
Considering the real reason the mage's mind was absent, those were rather trivial worries.
"Ugh."
But once the words are spoken, there's no way to take them back.
"Uh, anyway... the potion you just took probably hasn't even fully kicked in yet, so I'm saying you should rest just five more minutes before heading ho. Earlier, I just blurted out sothing weird because I was worried..."
Mumbling.
Esther decided not to take back her earlier statent, but to cover the mood with several other remarks instead. At the sa ti, she kept up a certain action.
Tuk.
Quantum computers. Airplanes. And superpowers. A thod sowhat out of place in such a modern era.
She took so ice from the break room refrigerator of the Korean Magic Tower, wrapped it in a cold cloth, and placed the makeshift pouch on the man's forehead as she spoke.
"How is it? Are you feeling a little better?"
After all her various skills had failed, she decided to resort to a primitive thod to try lowering his temperature. But the mont the cold touched his forehead, the shell lying on the recliner sofa suddenly recalled a certain thought.
A dead man's thought? It might sound contradictory, but in truth, it was nothing more than a stored mory taking shape under the stimulus.
_-
A dark room. A door with a crack letting in the light from a lamp. And sowhere far away, the sound of children's voices. Soon after, unfamiliar images flickered across his mind.
In truth, the real Kim Giryeo had never once been cared for like this while he was alive.
Not even a single ti. The orphanage that raised him hadn't been abusive, but it was run in a strict, by-the-book manner—so when a child caught a cold, their focus was on isolation.
As a result, this body's mories of being sick were filled only with the experience of being left in a quiet room alone.
"Why are you looking at like that?"
Right now, so woman was repeatedly lifting and placing an ice pack in front of his eyes. She was doing it to make sure the guest's forehead didn't get too cold.
_-_-
Sothing in those Sambangae eyes silently watched her hand. But Esther, unaware that the gaze held no particular aning, grew tense, wondering if she might have sohow made him uncomfortable.
"As expected, I guess I ddled too much, huh? So, instead of wasting any more ti, why don't we just head straight ho?"
Besides, there's nothing more I can do anyway.
Wooong.
The untily out of body incident lasted only a short while. Esther soon had her guest seated in the company car, driven by her secretary, and they set off.
"Ah, right. Hunter Kim Giryeo, did you know about that?"
Of course, the drive to the studio apartnt was quite long.
"Gu Seohyoung-ssi, I've been in touch with her now and then, and she says these days she's been training her skills until she's practically sick of it."
Chitchat flowed as well.
"She says her middle school classmate's doing great as an S-rank right next to her, so if she's the only one falling behind, it's frustrating. That's why she wants to level up her skills fast..."
_-
"But even if she says that, I think that Enchanter is working hard for your sake, Giryeo-ssi."
_-
"By the way, both Jung Hasaong and I feel the sa way."
The shell with the blonde appearance instinctively looks out the window, following the habits of the body.
"Honestly, you've helped us so much all this ti."
Anyway, what's going on?
Swish.
Apparently, that building had fewer companies purchasing ads today. A from distant giant billboard, an unprofitable, ordinary report was playing. It was a series of footage from the [Inevitable Malice] incident, when a certain blonde agent had handily slaughtered a dancer.
"I just always want to return the help I've received. So please don't feel too burdened by today's events."
_-
"I'm not, you know, worrying about Kim Giryeo in so overly special way... Rather, all of this actually started on your side first."
The sounds of the road drifted in. As the skin of the man nad Kim Giryeo remained silent due to technical limitations, the conversation soon fell quiet. Ti passed like that, and before long, the company car arrived at its destination.
"Ugh, this corner of the room is like so hole-in-the-wall shop."
For soone who has never lived without wealth, it's an uncomfortably small living space. But would grumbling about it have any positive effect on a patient whose fever hasn't even fully subsided?
'Hold it. Hold it in.'
As an adult awakened being, Esther controlled her emotions. There was no obstacle until they reentered the one-room apartnt.
Kieeek.Crack.
Moreover, the spy's body faithfully followed its usual routine upon returning ho.
"So, a water-elent awakened being is just using the sink like a normal person?"
The woman with drooping eyes showed disappointnt in an unexpected mont. However, there was no further objection.
"You still have a fever. I'm genuinely worried to the point of almost flipping out."
Ha...
She simply checked on her fellow hunter's condition and, in case he might collapse from dizziness, hurriedly guided him to the bed. Still, the fortunate thing was that the blonde's body temperature had dropped slightly compared to before, thanks to her ticulous care, the outing, and several other contributing factors.
"Since it's a door lock anyway, I'll just head out like this. Oh, and if you're going to sleep, I'll turn off the lights while I'm at it."
But just then...
Tak.
The person who had been lying in bed staring at the ceiling opened his dry teeth.
***
Whoa... what is this?
'Sothing's impacting my body right now.'
I had been flying through the vast sky, sightseeing the world, for only a few hours. As an Archmage, I had just received a warning. Even though I was still airborne, I imdiately severed the connection with the carcass of the pigeon. It was to quickly redirect my consciousness back to my true body—the S-rank Awakener.
"What's going on all of a sudden?"
Moreover, since I had practiced such consciousness shifts frequently since my previous life, the mage flowed effortlessly like water. I returned to Kim Giryeo's body and imdiately opened my closed eyes to assess the situation.
"Giryeo-ssi, Giryeo-ssi!"
Flash!
But what on earth is going on? The mont I returned to my body, an unimaginable scene unfolded. Esther, the leader of the Korean Magic Tower Guild, was furiously hitting my forearm. For reference, the warning I felt while flying that very action was its source.
"What...? Why is she in the room?"
The bigger problem was her very presence. As a mage, I had undoubtedly cast spells like "Do not let any guests in" before leaving.
It's just that this was the first ti I used a spell on Earth, so maybe sothing went wrong.
Just as a feeling close to resignation was settling in, the S-rank curse caster who had been pounding on finally spoke.
"Phew, phew! Thank goodness. I was worried you'd passed out from the high fever or sothing..."
"Yes?"
Her words started off repetitively, but soon she moved on to a proper explanation.
"No, it's just... you told that before you closed your eyes earlier, didn't you, Giryeo-ssi?"
"What?"
However, even this isn't an easy statent to understand.
"Tell them I'm grateful."
"To whom?"
"Exactly! That's why I asked again—I an, you suddenly closed your eyes and went silent. You started ."
_-
"So anyway, earlier, who did you want to pass the ssage to? Was it Seohyoung-ssi?"
The curse caster has been insisting on that ever since.
"So... wait a minute. You're saying that I said that and then passed out?"
As you know, this body wasn't in a condition to hold a normal conversation.
"Hunter Kim Giryeo?"
But during the ti the conversation with Esther had been interrupted, a sudden understanding of why this situation had occurred ca to .
"No way."
But no matter how much I used the body owner's mories, how could such a simple spell manage to produce such high-level cognition?
"Strange... this is... really unexpected."
An utterly unforeseen situation, but what's done is done. I grasped a realization and began to manage the circumstances. First, I would calm the curse caster, whose heart was still racing, and send her ho, then deactivate the security magic I had set in advance.
Soul.
To explain the decision I just made, I need to revisit the concept. A soul originally a possession ant to return to nature upon death. However, the appearance of an Alphahet changed the circumstances entirely. Specifically, Kim Giryeo's body did not decay. On the contrary, soone's magic landed on it and protected it by day.
But again, in this universe, a soul... is sothing truly subtle, only one complete with material existence and personal growth are intertwined. The heart, the brain, and so on—within this body taking the form of a blonde, there remain traces of the owner's growth over ti. Between these fragnts of the soul, the called mories, present in minuscule amounts.
By the ti so dies, about 99.98% of their soul would disappear. Even the remaining 0.02% that I inadvertently held onto, I wanted to at rest forever—without causing any more trouble.
"Tell them I'm grateful."
Honestly, even I wondered why I was engaging in such a aningless act. Still, now that an uneasy feeling had crept in, I no longer wanted to recklessly use the automatic maintenance magic.
"Anyway, that's a ridiculous sentence."
After all, I was reincarnated just to be able to exercise this stubbornness at will.
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