Academic gathering with a lich-Chapter 224 - 211 Spirit Transformation

Although your initiation is indeed correct, the price of this initiation is too outrageous, isn’t it?

Does Soulology really require the price of one’s life just to get started? Lyle had already seen what his fall would look like, no different than a watermelon. He stepped back a few times, colliding with his companions.

"What’s the matter? Boss."

"I... I’m afraid of heights." He couldn’t reveal his human identity yet.

Shiny touched the scales on her cheek, "Okay, then I’ll go first. Once I put myself back together at the bottom, you all jump one by one, and I’ll catch you." Shiny walked up nonchalantly.

The threat of jumping off a building to Liches wasn’t really that great; their resistance was mostly due to the deception in Mr. Astonishment’s words, given that they weren’t much friendlier than the other two factions. Although this operation was a bit terrifying for Lyle.

Lyle spoke in a faint voice that only he could hear clearly.

"I just hope the sight of my flesh and blood flying everywhere won’t scare Shiny silly."

"It won’t," Medusa’s voice was playful as she slid over her own neck, the cool wooden scales brushed gently against the skin. She whispered into Lyle’s ear, "You can tell him it’s your private stash of human canned meat."

"Human canned meat? Do Liches even need that stuff?"

"I’m messing with you, dummy. Weren’t you trying to ease the tension?"

"Thank you, Medusa, thank you for your terrible joke."

"Don’t worry about that. You will definitely be chosen by the Soul Tower, Lyle, you have talent." Medusa made her assurance, confident for no apparent reason.

"Even if you say so, I won’t risk my life."

"Nia can definitely do it!" Nia’s voice bubbled around her own body, vibrant as ever in Lyle’s ear.

"Nia... Does Nia have any basis for that?" Nia was his talent, so she wouldn’t harm him.

Lyle heard the sound of bubbling as if someone were blowing bubbles underwater. It was probably Nia thinking. Afterward, Nia gave Lyle a reason that wasn’t quite a reason.

"Because Sister Medusa said you can, so Nia definitely can!"

Lyle was amused yet somewhat relieved by Nia’s strange logic. He looked up at Shiny, who was heading towards the broken bridge, deciding to wait and see the outcome.

Shiny stepped into the void naturally.

His body disappeared, not falling, but as if swallowed by something. At the moment of his disappearance, Lyle did see ripples undulating in the void.

Shiny had qualified.

Mr. Astonishment showed no excess joy; he was as bland as a bowl of clear soup.

"Next."

The number of people who qualified was certainly not small, making up the majority of the group, although the screams of those who fell were still quite frightening. Why would Liches scream? They’re not going to die, and it ruins my mood. Lyle realized that there was indeed a pattern to who qualified, it seemed, related to one’s own strength. Those falling were people whose magical power was not yet sufficient.

Maybe he really could qualify. Lyle felt that he could indeed be considered among the best of this group of students.

After repeatedly instructing Nia about the rescue plan in case of a fall, which included climbing the wall footing and destroying the wall to create a foothold, Lyle walked onto the broken bridge.

One step, two steps, three steps, Lyle came to the edge of the void.

The high-altitude cold wind pressed against his lungs, and Lyle didn’t dare look down. Was this really okay?

He took the safest measure possible. Shifting his weight onto his right foot, making sure the stone beneath him wouldn’t collapse, Lyle extended his left foot, shaking it in the void in front of him. Probing east, scraping west, just dead set against stepping forward.

The lengthy delay made Mr. Astonishment scrutinize the sight of Lyle wriggling at the edge of the broken bridge.

"Mr. Plague Doctor, what are you doing?"

"Ah, teacher, I’m just enjoying the view. I’ll be done in a moment."

"But what about your legs? What are they doing?"

"Ah, I got tired of standing, just resting for a bit, shaking my legs to loosen up the bones."

"...Then hurry it up."

Another ten minutes passed, still no movement. Lyle just couldn’t reach that doorway, was it time for him to bite the dust?

Suddenly, someone couldn’t stand it any longer. Lyle’s lower back suddenly hurt like hell; he was bitten impatiently by Medusa. The intense pain made him bounce on the spot and jump forward a step.

Damn!

Before gravity had a chance to pull him down, Lyle was drawn away by an invisible force.

When he came to his senses, Lyle was inside a colossal building, and classmates with ghostly auras were looking at him strangely, his three companions right in front.

The spectral Shiny looked at the nearly unsteady Lyle.

"Boss, what were you doing at the door? You dawdled for so long without coming in, we were watching you, nearly distorting ourselves with anxiety, just like this." Shiny’s body suddenly inflated, like a balloon bursting in mid-air, then the pieces reassembled into Shiny again.

"Shiny, what’s this?"

"I’ve become spectral, ah. Once inside the Soul High Tower, everyone gets spectral. Aren’t you floating in mid-air too, boss?"

Lyle looked around at himself, indeed, his colors were gone, leaving only a faint robe draped over his entire body, and now he was translucent, with no legs under the robe.

He had become a ghost.

Turning around, the broken bridge indeed connected to the threshold; however, the Soul High Tower and all the objects inside were spectral, so matter couldn’t touch them, one could enter the tower only by fully merging with it.

"Nia? Medusa?" Lyle touched his body, trying to locate his important people.

The versatile Ghost pointed up to the sky.

A giant Arctic Dawn Jellyfish loomed above, beautifully pale pink. Its bell drifted slowly, wafting through the air with a "puyo puyo, Nia floating" sound.

Among the jellyfish’s lengthy tentacles, a figure appeared behind those glowing tendrils. Graceful, like a mermaid swimming through the sea.

As she emerged from behind the tentacles, it turned out to be the slightly glowing Medusa, adorned with pretty spots of light, becoming the center of attention among the ghosts alongside Nia. Medusa approached Lyle, twisting around his ghostly neck like a glowing scarf.

She lifted her head and looked up.

"Nia, stop playing around."

"Okay~" The tentacles of the Arctic Dawn Jellyfish began to converge and spin, transforming into a big clump like Slime, rushing towards Lyle.

Ghost Lyle was ridden around the neck by the ghostly little girl Nia. Her little feet dangled in front of Lyle, her palms buried in his hair, and her voice, full of childish timbre, rang out above Lyle’s head.

"Nia can’t squeeze in anymore; my rubbery body should’ve managed it before."

Feeling Nia’s slightly despondent mood, Lyle reached out with two corners of his robe to hold her tiny hands. He started to chant in a deliberately playful tone. "The little train is starting, chuga-chuga chuga-chuga..." Lyle began to drift through the Soul High Tower, with Medusa’s sparkle and Nia’s bright laughter in tow.

The remaining three looked at the departing Lyle and exchanged glances.

"What’s with the boss, taking the family along to class?"