Third Monday after arrival... - Klaus' point of view...

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"So you want ten, one meter of height and half as much in width, glass capsules made and delivered for the laboratory sire." Percival took some notes as I examined the stone chamber of the building with a satisfied expression. The land itself was cool and making the walls completely out of stone will ensure that things stay that way. "Indeed."

He coughed into his fist. "Please pardon my curiosity, but what do you need them for?"

"Organic preservation." With a blink, Percival promptly decided that he was no longer interested and merely nodded. "Very well. Anything else, your majesty?"

"Bring me a steel bucket and healthy criminals. The more heinous the crime, the better." Another nod was his answer as he followed me around, quirking an eyebrow as I put a hand on the cold walls in thought. "I trust the criminals are going to die, yes? Then the death row inmates should do. How many of them do you need, your majesty?"

"About six should do the trick. At the very least, that amount should be good enough to start with." He blinked with confusion. "Us?... will I be helping you execute the criminals, your majesty?"

I shook my head in negative, to which the young man exhaled in relief, causing me to chuckle. "No. That honour belongs to another person. Speaking of which, send our most handsome knight to escort the Lady Osterhart to this laboratory."

With a quirked eyebrow, he replied. "Are you sure that it is wise to order Lord Sebastian to carry the lady in her current condition." Now it was my turn to blink before letting out a sigh. "You have a point. Get someone to bring her over at the same time as the criminals." He nodded and pocketed his notebook. "It will be done as per your orders, your majesty."

And with that, he left, leaving me alone to ponder all that has happened.

In truth, this world has been equally taxing as well as relaxing. In order to survive, I subconsciously instantly accepted my supposed reincarnation and sudden kingship, but that never meant that I didn't have my doubts. Constantly, I wonder if I had made the correct decisions, even if all of them were made on impulse and from the heart. Every murder and every law so far has been forged from the exact same onset of emotion, a panic so deep and a fear so settled that I cannot even begin to properly describe it.

Like being so afraid of something that the fear overwrites itself and allows you to function as if you weren't affected by it.

Heh. Someone foolish would surely call me brave, but the truth is that I have merely learned how to transform panic into the concrete instinct of survival that it is based on. "I wonder what I should experiment with first..." My musings echoed through the empty room, my right hand still draping across the cold stones.

An obvious answer would be to find ways to improve my spell. Having it slowly regressing my age is fine for now, but what if I want to instantly switch between states of youth? Being able to make myself a teenager or ever a young child would be most beneficial. I can only imagine the level of intellect that I could possess should I manage to transform myself into a nine year old child, for example.

The brain of a child can learn languages from simply hearing and feeling it. That level of acute instinct is something I most definitely desire to attain, but a child body is also very limiting in many ways. The peoples respect for me would likely plummet if some noble sells the story that I magicked myself back into a kid, but such things are easily fixable so long as I manage to create an ageing spell as well.

But how would such a thing even work? The best I can think of is to imagine viewing time as someone that does not comprehend it as well as I do and just reverse my body's current state back to a certain other period of time. However, Vivian told me that lies do not work as well as truths, so that is unlikely to work.

Either way, using criminals and slaves as test subjects will be required. I also want to perform an autopsy on dwarves... new races and species...

A grin etched itself on my frame as I pondered this. What wonders could I discover while on this world? Could the very building blocks of life be close at hand? Unlikely, but one may dream. I'll also need to find a way to construct a microscope and something capable of conserving genetic data, perhaps even strands themselves.

Come to think of it, with my biological understanding, I could potentially create a liquid pool capable of cultivating flesh. Like a pond that turns every organic material into a form of cancer. Ha! Now, wouldn't that be ironic?

Hmm.. I wonder if I could create a spell that automatically targets and destroys only cancerous cells within the body? No, no, complete destruction may cause further problems down the line. It should be a healing spell instead, one that replaces cancer cells with healthy ones. Granted, if I have enough mana, I could cast one right now, but unfortunately, I do not.

My mana pool is about as large as that of a beginner adventurer, though it is growing rapidly due to the maintenance requirements of my youth enchantment. Come to think of it, Vivian and Asmodeus mentioned runes several times, right? Perhaps, runes are a form of system that can ease the mana cost of a spell. Maybe I could also browse the market for magical items that can serve the same purpose?

Come to think of it, magic on my world often described the usage of circles or wands to help cast magic. There's also the fact that some spells required physical reagents to cast, but most of those that I've read of can be explained via chemical interactions. Who would have thought that my fantasy addled mind would come to good use one day.

On the other hand, there's strange case of my fathers supposed death. The corpse still hasn't even begun to rot after two weeks of being contained inside of a wooden coffin like some ancient vampire... in fact, there's no wounds on it either. Apparently, he had died in his bed on the day of my arrival. coincidentally, about right the second that I gained consciousness here.

Why did I despise Asmodeus so much during those first few hours? His voice was unnaturally grating and annoying, almost as if I subconsciously understood something about him without actively knowing it? It may be related to his demonic possession or maybe just that my previous self hated him and the feeling remained for a while.

If the latter is the case, how many of my decisions have been influenced by this past self? I may need to do some experimentation regarding the brain. If for no other reason, then the fact that much of my memories from this world are locked, almost as if whisked away by some spell before I even arrived here.

Then there that insane thought I had about being my own father... but that can't be correct, right? I mean, unless I wasn't reincarnated into this world but summoned prior to the ritual of awakening. Did I lock away the memories of my son before the ritual was cast so that I wouldn't have any conflicting memories?

... nah, I'm just grasping at straws here, for certain. Even if this was the case, there's no way I'd end up being a fucking hero, much less one that'd allow his own kingdom to fall into this level of disrepair, that just ain't me... or maybe, it was planned from the start? Be the monster than unites the land through conflict, strife and conquest, then become a heroic king that saves the land from his own actions? Hmm, I think I'll have to inquire about my father's past a little more before I can draw a proper conclusion.

Still, locking away my memories may be a plausible event, though not one done by my previous self. I'll have to ask Vivian to check my brain for signs of magical alterations later. In the meantime, I should focus on mastering my magic and turning it into an immortality spell... granted, immortality does not exist, but eternity sure sounds like a nice thing to have, especially for someone who's already died once.

Hmm, on the topic of death, it would seem that strange plagues and afflictions are ravaging my realm. I've heard stories of things that remind me of the black plague with a twist or perhaps that one pox from the south. I should get my hands on some samples and create cures or vaccines. This should buy me much needed favor with the people.

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Perhaps, I could even get some volunteers to become experimental test subjects? I'm sure some heroes would willingly sacrifice themselves for the greater good, as they tend to do. However, so long as I myself don't become sick, this will always be a low priority task. That said, Truth seemed genuinely curious about my status as a doctor before, so perhaps I should prepare myself for an event where he asks me for help with some disease?

I wonder if there's an evil god of plague on this world... Oh what the hell, there probably is. The pantheon of order is made up of thirty-six major gods and heavens only know how many lesser deities exist out there. "Your highness." Percival broke me out of my trance as I removed the hand on the wall with a start and blinked at the group of people gathered in front of me.

Vivian seemed to be quirking an eyebrow at me in confusion.

Percival worriedly placed a hand on my shoulder.

The criminals he gathered were silent, their expressions indicating that they found something to be incredibly creepy.

And the guards of the laboratory shrugged and snickered at the others expressions, having already gotten used to my antics.

I felt myself let out a massive sigh. "How long have I been staring at the walls?" He coughed into his fist and replied with a breath. "About four minutes, sir."

I shook my head and looked at Vivian. "Whatever. I trust you know why you've been called here?" She nodded with a grim look on her face, her deathly appearance serving to further unsettle the criminals as she turned her rotted eyes to look at them. The six criminals that were brought before us were all female, heavily scarred with two of their number missing one of their eyes and being lightly dressed while kneeling on the floor with their hands in rough, iron binds.

"Why are they all women, Klaus?" Vivian questioned me with an even greater grimace as I shrugged at her. "I didn't ask for it to be that way, but honestly, it may make things easier. Perhaps, there are differences in male and female life forces?"

She nodded with a blink as the criminals all shook with fear and trepidation. Percival took out an officially stamped paper and began to read aloud. "These women all belong to a bandit clan known as the Scarlet Vultures. They are an all-female organisation of mostly widows whose husbands had lost their lives in the war. They prefer to target only nobles for their victims and are thusly guilty of; extortion, kidnapping, murder, drug use, rape, assault, burglary, thievery and many, many other things which I would not like to read at all that may very well be described simply as war crimes."

I quirked an eyebrow at him. "War crimes?"

Reluctantly, he continued his speech, but not before spitting on the ground quite rudely. ".. things such as castration, organ harvesting, creating household furniture out of human skin, spoons and forks out of bone and last but not least, raw cannibalism." I blinked and looked at Vivian. We both nodded towards one another as I let out a massive sigh. "Okay, I regret asking."

With a cough into his fist, Percival smiled brightly and then spoke incredibly quickly. "Haha, yes, now I am going to be sick so please excuse me, thank you, bye!" And then he ran out of the room, promptly expelling the contents of his stomach.

Well, if nothing else, the Scarlet Vultures are true to their name. And quite efficient at that! They really don't waste a single one of their kills~.

Shaking my head out of my stupor, I grabbed hold of the iron bucket that the guards brought in at Percival's request and put it down near one of the marble slabs in the centre of the room. These would serve as my makeshift operating tables until I can manage to procure something better. They were outfitted with a majority of easily applied chains as well as in-built manacles in order to assist in holding the victim in place~.

Though honestly, I might just perform a quick lobotomy on people I don't care for instead. Much like Asmodeus, I don't need them to be fully conscious if I want to experiment on them. Hell, them being nice and relaxed despite the pain could end up being immensely useful! "Vivian, I'm going to need you to strip and lay down on this slab."

Before she could answer, I turned towards the guards. "Do you mind them being here?" She shook her head and laughed hoarsely. "I'm awfully certain that these two fine, young men will mind me more than I ever could mind them."

The duo of guards coughed and looked away in embarrassment as I let out a laugh. "Alright. Then you guys can stay and make yourselves useful by making sure nobody comes in and that these criminals don't suddenly become aggressive."

"Yes, sir!" They exclaimed in unison as one of them locked the door while the other took a stance behind one of the criminals, positioning his halberd indicative of a sideways sweep. A strike that would quite literally behead two and outright sever another two in half. The last two tried to inch away from the bloodthirsty guards, only to be roughly picked up off of the ground by the one that went to lock the gate and thrown to the ground in front of him, a plated boot forcing one to kiss the ground while the other had her neck introduced to the very blunt, but still incredibly dangerous, headpiece of the halberd, right between the axe and the spike on top, both of which could kill her easily in a number of colourful ways.

With that done, Vivian did as I asked of her as I prepared my arcana, forming a sharp, shadowy scalpel in my left hand as I used the right to press her stomach down, but before I made the cut, I turned to ask her. "Are you sure you can't feel any pain?"

She laughed and nodded. "I haven't felt any pain for months, Klaus. Like you said, most of my nerves are dead anyway, so why the worry now?"

"Your insides may not be as damaged as the outside. Plus, I cast my spell on you a while back. It may have healed something." She seemed to blink and nod in understanding as she turned her head away from me and used her right hand to draw a rune out of pure mana in the air. It seemed to fizzle with electricity for a moment before vanishing, causing her to let out a sigh and lay back down. "There, that should do."

Vivian chuckled when she noticed by questioning expression. "Its a simple spell that blocks pain for a short period of time, about ten minutes."

"Hmm, that should work." Then I pressed the scalpel into her body and easily cut through the skin and half-rotted organs, causing her to lightly bleed a strange mix of black and red blood. "How long will it take you to update your magic once I am done?" She blinked in confusion for a moment as I purposefully distracted her from raising her head in order to observe my work.

Her panicking here would not be a good idea. "I.. I'm not sure. It shouldn't be that difficult so long as I have the required mana." It was at this moment that I opened up her stomach, releasing a burst of air so foul one would think it was miasma.. and it all went flying straight into my face. "Oh holy go- fucking hell- urgh!"

I promptly turned away from her just in time to vomit to the side, an act that everything living presently shared as both the guards and the criminal women splattered their insides, proudly presenting them to the outside world. I swear I just heard a rat choke in the corner. "Mhmm.. perhaps, we should have expected this." Vivian calmly stated in clear amusement as she waved some magic across her nose, quite obviously shutting it down before she could smell the offending horror that erupted from her own stomach.

"M-.. m.. your majesty, could I please open the door?" One of the guards asked me with an immensely pleading expression as I reluctantly shook my head in negative. "N-no.. I'll be quick. I promise." Returning to my work, I noticed how her wound had already begun to heal and panicked lightly as I un-summoned the scalpel and began to roughly remove all the horrible shit that's gathered inside of the stomach, throwing it into the bucket only to have the rat corpses disappear mid-flight, turning into a gust of mana and causing me to blink. Huh... that's in interesting interaction.

Too bad that I didn't have time to think about it as I completely emptied her insides. "There, you're clean. Its your turn now." Vivian blinked in surprise. "You aren't going to seal me back up?!" She asked with a panicked tone as I pointed towards her chest. "Your wounds already healing by itself. Now move!"

Holding her open stomach with an expression of equal worry and spite, she rushed over to the two isolated bandit girls who began to viciously struggle against their captors. She put a hand on the cheek of each and smiled. "You know, I would feel really bad for doing this, even to a criminal.. but if even half of what was said about you is true, I cannot say that I will regret doing it at all."

Both of the women stopped struggling and opened their mouths to speak in a panic, but before they could utter coherent words, they let out screams instead as Vivians magic twisted with purple and foul, fell green. Her magic coated their entire bodies as the guard let them go on instinct, their screams echoing loudly in the laboratory room, which suddenly seemed very, very small.

Their flesh turned to dust and skin withered, leaving only bone behind as Vivian's frame pulsed with powerful and abhorrent magic. Yet, the vortex of mana was consumed as quickly as it had appeared and Vivian turned around towards me with a slight smirk. "It worked!"

I blinked and pointed at her still-open and no longer healing stomach. "Well, yes. About as well as expected, that is." She released her hold on her stomach and winced as she noticed that her wound wasn't healing like I said it was. "Its not healing any more?... why?"

"My guess is that your magic locks your body into a specific point in time. Right now, you've updated your save point, but that point includes the stomach wound." She nodded and sighed. "Yes, you've mentioned something like this before, although I did not understand what you meant back then. Oh well, that just means I'll have to do this again once you stitch me back up."

She turned to look at the remaining four criminals and licked her lips uncharacteristically. "Thankfully, you've prepared plenty of resources to go around~."

I blinked and shrugged. A change in character is one of my predictable outcomes, alongside with her fully transforming into an undead. Still, I wonder if I should mention it to her later, or just keep quiet about it and see what happens?

.... meh, I'll tell her one day. For now, lets see what we can discover~!

"Alright. I'll ask someone to bring over some thread and sew you back together for now." Then one of the guards blinked and sniffed loudly, causing most of the room to stare at him with flabbergasted expressions. "... Oh hey, the stench is gone!" He exclaimed happily while wiping off a remainder of his own vomit off of his mouth.