Hearing Lance’s question, the Witch’s smile deepened. Without wasting time, she spoke slowly.
“The first method, and the most reliable one, is to find a member of the Clergy at the Saint Rank or above.”
“Before the pregnant woman’s belly begins to swell, you must draw your soul into it.”
“In this case, the body you receive will be a perfect match for your soul. No rejection will occur. It is the easiest and most ideal way.”
Lance’s heart sank.
A Saint Rank member of the Clergy… They were the absolute upper echelon of any Church.
How could he possibly have the resources to commission an audience with someone of that caliber?
Moreover, he did not want to grow up from an infant all over again. He had already experienced that once!
Seeing that Lance seemed troubled, the Witch continued, “The second method is to use a special spell to pull a person’s soul out, leaving their body empty. You would then seize the opportunity to occupy it immediately.”
“This is how you were pulled in by me — I mean, this is how you broke in.”
Lance’s expression shifted, and he instantly became wary.
“Haha, don’t be so nervous.”
“Who would covet your pile of bones? Just how desperate would someone have to be?”
The Witch lowered the brim of her hat and chuckled softly, making Lance feel a bit embarrassed.
‘That’s true. I’m just a skeleton.’
“Besides, the connection between a soul and a body is far tighter than you imagine,” the Witch added.
“No two identical souls exist in this world. Therefore, a body occupied by another soul will inevitably experience rejection; it is only a matter of degree.”
“You should know this better than I do. When you first arrived in this world, wasn’t your consciousness muddled and hazy?”
Lance felt a chill as his secret was exposed once again.
When he first came to this world, his body wasn’t under the control of his consciousness. He frequently experienced blackouts.
At first, he didn’t take it seriously, thinking it was a normal phenomenon for an infant.
As he grew up, however, he could only control a very small part of his body. His father, the Count, once thought the child was useless, which led to his younger sister’s birth.
This situation only gradually eased when Lance was 6 years old. It wasn’t until he was 8 that he completely mastered ‘his’ body.
Although he had his suspicions, having it pointed out directly by the Witch left Lance with a swirl of complex emotions.
‘Did I… occupy someone else’s body?’
The Witch ignored Lance’s question; it was not within the scope of her answer.
She continued on her own, “And there is the final method…”
With a sigh, Lance suppressed his emotions and pulled himself together. This was likely his last chance.
“Compared to the first two, this method is much more tedious, and the process is quite long… It also requires a bit of luck.”
“Do you know about Isomorphic Evolution among monsters?”
Isomorphic Evolution?
When the Witch spoke those words, the pronunciation was vastly different from the East Turin Language Lance was familiar with.
It was clearly a technical term from a specialized language.
Lance looked bewildered. Even though he had activated Universal Persuader, he couldn’t understand the intended meaning.
The Witch didn’t keep him in suspense. With a wave of her hand, she summoned three blank pages of paper.
Vivid drawings slowly appeared. On the first page, a limping Skeleton seized the Soul Fire of another Skeleton and emitted a burst of white light.
Eventually, its posture was no longer slumped.
With its strikes, it displayed incredible speed and strength.
Clearly, it had evolved from a low-tier Skeleton to a mid-tier Skeleton Soldier.
Lance was all too familiar with this scene, as he had experienced it not long ago.
Many more Skeleton Soldiers appeared on the paper.
Some donned armor, others grew massive, and some even tamed Skeleton Horses, eventually advancing into Undead Knights — high-tier Undead.
“This is called Homogeneous Evolution. From start to finish, this Skeleton remains a Skeleton. Even after becoming an Undead Knight, nothing changes.”
Lance understood. This was the evolution path he had originally envisioned for himself.
Nodding, Falia pointed a finger at the second blank sheet.
Initially, it showed another limping Skeleton that also evolved into a Skeleton Soldier.
However, what happened next was entirely different. The Skeleton Soldier defeated a Ghoul and devoured its Flesh Essence. After the light faded, it actually grew muscles and sinew, transforming into a new Ghoul.
Although both were Undead, the race had fundamentally changed.
Lance’s gaze narrowed. He seemed to understand what would happen next.
Sure enough, a member of the Blood Race appeared from nowhere.
After a single drop of golden blood fell, the Ghoul changed form again. The rotting body was repaired, and new skin grew. Once the light vanished, the madness in its eyes was gone, replaced by an extraordinary clarity.
It looked no different from an ordinary person.
The Witch thoughtfully added a note for Lance: [Blood Servant (Lesser Vampire)]
But the change didn’t stop there. After obtaining a Blood Core, the Blood Servant transformed from a Lesser Vampire into a true member of the Blood Race. Its features simultaneously became handsome.
“This is called Isomorphic Evolution,” the Witch said.
Lance’s eyes grew burning hot. This was the path he wanted! Even if he only became a Blood Servant, as long as he hid it well, he could completely integrate into human society!
The Witch chuckled and poured cold water on his enthusiasm.
“Don’t get your hopes up too early. Although it looks simple, it is extremely difficult to execute.”
“The reason lies in those special items… Flesh Essence is one thing; as long as you kill enough Ghouls, you can eventually obtain it.”
“But what about the blood of the Blood Race and a Blood Core?”
Lance also realized the problem.
As a member of a fallen noble family that had been wiped out by the Blood Race, Lance’s knowledge of that race was anything but lacking.
That golden blood could only be condensed by high-level members of the Blood Race.
It was typically used to reward subordinates or win over other races.
And while every member of the Blood Race possessed a Blood Core, they only had one. It was their true ‘heart’.
If the Blood Core was shattered or stolen, they would die shortly after.
Recalling the terrifying methods of the Blood Race, Lance suddenly snapped back to reality.
‘I can’t beat the Blood Race…’
Seeing this, the Witch waved her hand to dismiss the two used pages and summoned the final sheet of paper.
“While it is difficult… I can help you…” she said with a chuckle.
“And in return, you only need to do a few insignificant little things for me.”
Lance felt no joy upon hearing this. Instead, alarm bells rang in his head. Instinct told him that something bad was about to happen.
At the top of the white paper, several large words suddenly appeared: [Master-Disciple Contract].
Then, dense rows of clauses quickly unfolded across the paper.
Lance subconsciously wanted to stay away from the sheet, but he found that his body was not under his control.
His hands uncontrollably took the paper, and the contents entered his eyes.
“Falia and Lance Fallos hereby establish a covenant. From this day forth, Falia takes Lance Fallos as her disciple.”
“The souls of both parties shall be linked, forming a collective. All of Lance Fallos’s senses shall be open to Falia.”
“Lance Fallos must respect Falia as he would an elder; he shall not be offensive in the slightest, nor shall he engage in any behavior that slanders Falia.”
“Lance Fallos must dedicate himself to completing the tasks given by Falia, always prioritizing Falia’s orders above all else.”
“Lance Fallos must maintain absolute secrecy regarding Falia’s existence; he shall not disclose Falia’s existence or status to any outsider in any way.”
…
“Should Lance commit any of the above acts, Falia shall hold the power of absolute punishment over Lance Fallos, up to and including the power to decide his life and death.”
“In exchange for an equivalent return, Falia also promises to teach Lance with all her heart and assist him in completing Isomorphic Evolution until Lance Fallos changes his life form and becomes a living being.”
After reading these dozen or so clauses, Lance was stunned.
Aside from the final clause restricting Falia, every other clause was a constraint on himself.
‘Equivalent return… Where is the equivalence in this?!’