At the same time, elsewhere, Kiyonosuke ran into the captain, who was holding lunch. He couldn't help asking, "Has he still not come out?"
When he finished, he looked toward the warehouse with a hint of admiration. If he'd once thought Ichiro had gotten this far on talent alone, that notion was now completely gone.
The so-called title of genius had brought Ichiro and the others nothing but humiliation!
"Genius"—just two simple words, yet they erased all the effort that came before them!
In the hundreds of years he'd lived, Kiyonosuke had only ever seen one person work as hard as Ichiro. After all, residents of the Soul Society with Reiryoku had extremely long lifespans. So far, few Soul Reapers had died of old age.
As a result, they had very little sense of time and lived at a leisurely pace. This was especially true after the Thirteenth Division was founded. There were people like Ichiro, who wished they could stretch a day into two, but they usually only kept it up for a year or two before falling into the same habits as everyone else.
Almost no one researched day and night for a whole month like Ichiro had.
"He's been frowning more often lately, so he probably still has a long way to go. By the way, some members have been taking an interest in this warehouse. The barrier should keep them out, but just in case, tell them not to come near. We don't want them disturbing Ichiro's research."
"Yes, Captain." Kiyonosuke glanced in surprise at the light meal the captain had prepared, then turned and left.
Strange. The captain actually knows how to make light meals now.
Elsewhere, while the captain and Kiyonosuke were talking, Ichiro crouched blankly in front of a huge Transmutation Circle. After checking the data he needed to test this time, he placed both hands mechanically on the circle.
He was only one step away from success, but that did nothing to excite him. He'd been stuck on this step since last week, and ten days ago, he'd only just overcome the previous "one step away."
So Ichiro was calm now. Very calm. Success would mean he'd gotten lucky; failure was only to be expected.
If you didn't fail hundreds or thousands of times, could you really call it scientific research?
Of course, the lucky ones were an exception.
Unfortunately, the lucky ones were extremely rare and had very short lifespans, so most research relied on piling up data through countless experiments and then organizing it to draw conclusions.
At first, he'd simply been carried away by the results of a bit of good luck.
Still, he'd come this far. He wasn't going to give up halfway. Until he finished this experiment, he wouldn't take a single step out of this room!
Transmutation, begin!
A flash of light passed, and a perfect naked body appeared in the center of the Transmutation Circle. But after seeing the same sight countless times, Ichiro no longer found it beautiful. To him, it was just a pile of white flesh. As with the previous experiments, he mechanically laid a hand on the woman's body and began analyzing the data.
Gradually, the blankness faded from Ichiro's eyes, and glimmers began to emerge from deep within them!
Vital functions intact!
Reiryoku system intact!
Internal organs—perfect!
Brain structure
Brain structure
"***!" Ichiro swore in frustration.
He'd expected this, but it still annoyed him when he actually encountered it. Sure enough, after fixing the problem with the Reiryoku circulation system, a new problem had appeared.
The original brain structure should have been able to support a complete new soul. But after adding the Reiryoku circulation system, calculations showed that the soul's power would increase significantly, and the existing brain structure simply couldn't support it.
But that was obviously nonsense. He'd dissected the two executed criminals' corpses the captain had prepared and confirmed that, although they were from the Soul Society, their brain structures were basically the same as those he knew.
So the preliminary conclusion was that some factor was still missing, leaving the brain unable to bear a soul carrying spiritual pressure.
After letting himself stew for a moment, Ichiro quickly set aside his unnecessary emotions and calmly began analyzing the data again. He wrote down every possibility and added them to the database.
He could be angry all he wanted, but the experiment still had to continue.
Actually, Ichiro didn't need to keep going. At this stage—or even several steps earlier—he could have used Alchemy to accomplish everything in one go, just as he had when researching the Mimicry Zanpakuto.
He could use Alchemy to make the finished product first, then work backward to deduce the techniques he'd skipped. In theory, he could do the same with this experiment.
But Ichiro didn't dare take the risk.
Alchemy required equivalent exchange. Who knew whether he'd have enough to "pay" the price when the time came?
Three days passed. During that time, Ichiro tried testing several more possibilities. As expected, he failed. He wasn't one of the lucky ones, after all.
This time, he stopped calculating. He decided to put this experimental approach on hold and think things through carefully: the difficulties he faced, everything he had at his disposal. Then he would piece things together and see if he could find a new way forward.
He'd learned this from a colleague in his previous life. Whenever his research hit a wall, he would do this: think carefully first, instead of blindly carrying on.
So, over the next few days, whenever the captain came in to bring him a meal, she would see Ichiro sitting quietly in the middle of the warehouse, deep in thought. She sighed. The captain knew his research had run into another major obstacle.
She said nothing. As always, she quietly slipped back out.
Ichiro glanced at the captain as she left without a sound. A little warmth welled up inside him, and the frustration he'd felt over his lack of progress eased somewhat. He watched her leave, then looked away—and just then!
Something in the storeroom caught his attention!
Zanpakuto: Demon Dragon!
The Demon Dragon Zanpakuto had only been a casual creation of Ichiro's, but he'd still had high hopes for it. He'd only put it aside because it was currently too useless to be of any practical value.
Now, he'd found a breakthrough for his experiment in it!
What was the problem he faced?
A brain lacking some element couldn't bear a soul carrying spiritual pressure.
What was the Demon Dragon Zanpakuto missing?
A soul!
Then if he gave the Demon Dragon Zanpakuto a soul, wouldn't he have new material to observe?
Once his thoughts began to flow, ideas kept surfacing in Ichiro's mind. For instance, did a soul have to be created through Alchemy?
Before he could consider that question, another sprang to mind: "What is a soul?" At the same time, he recalled all sorts of related research papers he'd read in his first life.
A simple example: why did clones have souls?
How did souls come into being?
Combining the research he'd done in his previous life and this one, Ichiro already had an answer: spirituality, the elements that made up a soul, and memories!
Those three things formed a soul!
In other words, as long as he prepared those three things, the Demon Dragon Zanpakuto could develop a soul!
From there, Ichiro thought of a question he'd always overlooked. Alchemy was called an alternative science, but no matter how alternative it was, it was still science!
And when had science ever had only one path?
Thanks to Ar♂Mo, asfefa, reader 2019******8067, Saki, Sakuya, Delusional Hero, Dark Archangel 1, Void Ascension, and Old Days Boss Azathoth for the monthly tickets. Thank you all so much for your support!
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