The Tale of Hero Alice's Social Death - Chapter 163

Chapter 163 – Saving Them as They Come

On the same night the Hero repelled the Demon King, the elves made an exception and allowed the March Academy’s students to observe the Fruit of God’s ripening process.

The Fruit of God would release incredibly dense mana when they ripened, and this mana was an excellent “fertilizer” for magicians. Under normal circumstances, only elves were allowed to experience this ripening process.

However, probably because the Human Hero had helped the elves, or probably because the elves had indeed decided to change their diplomatic strategy, the elves had extended an invitation to the March Academy’s students to experience this moment as well.

For the overly-isolated elven race, this might be the sign of a good beginning. In addition to gaining the Fruit of God as new research material, the Seed of Nature’s production had also been accelerated. The elves were also getting ready to welcome the humans’ magic technology. Everything was developing in a good direction.

Zauna and Lalu naturally participated in the impromptu tour. Practically all students from Class Groups B and C had gone to the Tree of Nature. Meanwhile, other than the students from Class Group A, Alice was probably the only other student who had chosen not to head to the Tree of Nature.

The mana the Fruits of God released the instant they ripened might be a good supplement to the other students, but it was hardly any use for Alice with her extraordinary talent. Hence, Alice naturally did not need to attend the tour. Her decision wouldn’t attract any attention or suspicion from the teachers, either. After all, Alice’s public identity was that of the Gryffin Kingdom’s princess. Hence, it was entirely reasonable for her to show no interest in developing her magical prowess. The teachers didn’t have any qualifications to advise her, either, so they simply let her stay in her room.

Meanwhile, using this chance where Lalu and Zauna were away, Alice released the Soul Gathering Tablet housing Kristine’s soul from its storage box. She felt that she needed to discuss the recent developments with Kristine.

“You found another Hero’s soul?”

Sure enough, when Kristine heard Alice describing her encounter with Abel’s remnant soul, her first reaction was one of great surprise.

“Oh, wait, it’s a remnant soul… But there isn’t much difference between a remnant soul and a complete soul other than some missing memories and strength.”

“That’s right. It’s the soul of Abel, the only Elven Hero in history,” Alice said, nodding as she looked at Kristine’s soul that was hovering above the Soul Gathering Tablet. Then, she smiled and continued, “I might be the only human to have met so many Heroes before.”

“Probably. You are a Hero as well, after all. If you include me and that Abel, you’ve come across three Heroes already,” Kristine said, curling her lips.

In reality, though, what Kristine said was only partially accurate. Alice had indeed come across three Heroes thus far, but Alice herself wasn’t one of them. After all, Alice wasn’t an actual Hero. Instead, it was Aird, the Hero disguising herself as one of the demons’ Four Heavenly Kings.

“How strange. Normally, not many people would leave their souls behind. Yet, you just so happen to come across these few people,” Kristine muttered.

Indeed, Alice had already come across quite a few objects with souls attached to them. For example, the previous generation’s Demon King Grant, the previous generation’s Hero Kristine, and the Seventh Hero Abel. Every one of these individuals was an existence recorded in history books.

“Wouldn’t you technically achieve immortality if you attach your soul to a medium?” Alice asked as she looked at Kristine curiously. “Setting aside some limitations to movement, you’d still retain your ability to think. On the off chance you come across someone willing to reconstruct a body for you, wouldn’t you get a second chance at life? Why wouldn’t more people leave their souls behind?”

“There have indeed been many instances of people researching ways to leave their souls behind in history. Many people should’ve succeeded as well. In fact, when I was still alive, materials that were durable and capable of housing souls were quite popular,” Kristine explained upon hearing Alice’s confusion. “However, everyone quickly realized a problem—storing one’s soul in an object isn’t necessarily a good thing. Souls would retain the appearance they had when they were drawn out of their bodies. Meanwhile, most people would typically only draw out their souls when they were old and dying.”

“I see. Being old is an unbearable thing for most people. Yet, after attaching their soul to a medium, they would have to continue enduring this weakness for however long their soul continues to exist. That is indeed unbearable,” Alice said, nodding. She quickly understood the problem Kristine mentioned. It might seem like a wonderful thing to preserve one’s soul, but it wasn’t necessarily a good thing in reality. “Moreover, a person who left their soul behind would have to watch as the people they were familiar with pass away one after another. That must be a great torment.”

“Yes. The Seed of Nature isn’t something most people can get their hands on. Even if a person wants to construct a new body and live a second time, the average person doesn’t have the ability to secure a Seed of Nature and a high-level alchemist,” Kristine said, sighing. “Without the means to procure a new body, a person would have to live a restricted life as a soul and remain trapped in a single place for dozens or hundreds of years or possibly even longer. Faced with such a situation, most souls would choose to end their misery. This is also why despite the popularity of soul housing during my era, you don’t see many souls around in your era.”

Alice nodded in understanding. She finally understood why Kristine was so surprised to see her coming across so many souls within such a short period.

“Then, why does your soul look so young? Did you draw out your soul when you were young?” Alice asked in confusion.

“It is a characteristic of Heroes. We will remain in our prime until we die. Hence, our soul will never age,” Kristine explained. She knew that Alice hadn’t reached her prime yet, so the girl wouldn’t know about this characteristic of Heroes. “But I still experience loneliness. If I didn’t know that Grant might still be alive, I might not have been able to endure these three centuries’ worth of loneliness, which is why I’m surprised to hear that the Elven Hero’s soul is still around. How did that Abel endure for so long?”

“She’s an elf. Her concept of time is different from ours,” Alice said, shaking her head. Then, she smiled as she continued, “The average person might not be able to bear seeing their loved ones die from old age, but that problem doesn’t exist for the elves. The minimum lifespan of elves starts from a thousand years. Abel is currently attached to her girlfriend’s und—an object her girlfriend carries around and personally protecting her girlfriend, so she naturally wouldn’t choose to end her life.”

“I guess that’s the benefit of belonging to a long-lived race,” Kristine said, sighing once more. Then, she looked at Alice and asked, “So, what do you plan to do? Are you going to revive her as well?”

“Actually…I do have such plans,” Alice said, scratching her head awkwardly. She couldn’t help but feel as if her behavior of resurrecting Heroes one after another was a little strange. However, every additional Hero she resurrected would also mean a greater chance for her to defeat the Demon King’s Power.

“That’s going to be a challenge, then. I’ve never heard of any magic capable of restoring a remnant soul into a complete soul,” Kristine said in a perplexed tone. “In addition, it is unknown whether there exists an alchemist capable of constructing an elven body.”

“I’ll still give it a try. At worst, I’ll just have to give up,” Alice said, shaking her head. Although she wanted to do her best to help Abel, she couldn’t make something out of nothing. If she couldn’t find a way to restore Abel’s remnant soul or an alchemist capable of constructing an elven body, she wouldn’t be able to help Abel even if she wanted to.