Simon found that he actually had relatively ample time while wandering. Perhaps it was because he had fewer things to worry about. Out of twenty-four hours a day, he never slept. Aside from the six hours spent traveling during the day, his remaining fixed activities included physiological needs like three meals, daily tasks like practicing martial arts, studying magic, and analyzing the lexicon. Although busy and varied, every activity was inherently interesting, and Simon always enjoyed himself.
Serana was relatively much more relaxed. When she had nothing to do, she would help Simon, read a book, or watch him practice martial arts, occasionally making a few mocking or critical comments, which was quite enjoyable.
The only thing Simon regretted was that he had no free time left for leisurely pursuits. He used to personally brew wine and harvest grain, but now these tasks were handled by the Numbered Undead. They were getting smarter and smarter, making their future promising.
The first Soul-Drawing Gem was already fully nurtured. Simon used some low-quality undead to feed the gem, believing that the second generation of Soul-sucking Tapeworms would hatch within a few days, which should prove the existence of the Pure Land Mark.
As his research into Necromancy deepened, Simon felt a strong urge to create. He wanted to try making an undead creature unique to him.
Among the various film, television, and game works Simon encountered back then, there was a classic undead construct: the Stitched Monster, also called the Abomination. Its earliest origin should be the science fiction novel *Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus*, written by British author Mary Shelley in the early nineteenth century, in which the scientist Frankenstein stitched together large pieces of corpses into a giant humanoid and then gave it life using electric shocks. Although this piece is called science fiction, its content completely exceeded normal bounds, amounting only to absurd fantasy, and to some extent, it intensified the public's fear of science at the time.
In the elder scrolls, there is a Flesh Elemental, or Flesh Atronach. Although it sounds similar to a Fire Elemental or Frost Elemental, this thing is essentially a Stitched Monster. Simon found detailed records and knew how to create such a terrifying-looking Atronach, but his idea was to combine machinery and flesh to create "armor" for the Numbered Undead to use.
Starting the research on such a construct was actually very strenuous, and if intended for war, it lacked universality. Although it was a thankless effort, it was a process of progress: clarifying the activation of flesh and metal, and finding the opportunity for their combination—these were all forms of accumulation... Half a month after the Soul-Drawing Gem formed, new Soul-sucking Tapeworms hatched. However, to Simon's surprise, they were like deformed creatures, extremely weak, with shriveled bodies, and they lacked a spiritualized form, looking instead like a pile of randomly stacked purple strips of sackcloth.
After dissection, Simon determined the cause: a lack of Shadow Energy from the void of Oblivion. Besides this, he was pleasantly surprised to find that the patterns on the inner wall of the tapeworm's esophagus had changed. Comparing the rubbings he took to the original patterns, they looked slightly more complex at first glance, but a closer look revealed they were fundamentally two different things. Unfortunately, the enchanting effect of Soul Covenant had also changed, replaced by a Spirit Body Protection enchantment, which makes the spiritual essence more condensed and stable.
For Simon, this was almost enough. Although he regretted not being able to cultivate the Pure Land's Soul-sucking Tapeworms, now that he had the Mark, he could simply freeload off the Lord of Truth. Any Soul-sucking Tapeworms summoned would belong to him (surname Lu) after staying in the Pure Land for a while!
As for this brand new type of tapeworm, Simon discovered it could possess spirit bodies. The two could achieve a tacit symbiotic relationship: the tapeworm provides a protective layer, and the undead provides energy and mobility.
Simon named this new generation the Life-Guard Tapeworm.
Once the Life-Guard Tapeworm combines with an undead, its internal energy tubes are filled with Necromantic Mana, causing it to spiritualize and integrate with the undead.
The number of Life-Guard Tapeworms an undead can accept is limited, because the tapeworm itself lacks the ability to resonate with Necromantic Mana and relies entirely on the host for sustenance. However, the more Life-Guard Tapeworms integrated, the tougher the undead's soul becomes, allowing it to contain more mana, transform more spiritual essence, and nurture greater intelligence.
This is an ingenious positive feedback loop.
Perhaps it wouldn't be long before Simon possessed a powerful undead legion... The interpretation of the lexicon entered a long bottleneck period. Simon constantly heard fragmented words carrying a huge amount of information, which he carefully recorded in his memo pad. However, these things offered no substantial help to his research. Moreover, sometimes upon hearing the whispers of some unspeakable entity, Simon would fall into temporary amnesia and confusion.
Interpreting the contents of the scroll, much like traversing outer space, is a task with extremely high risk and extremely low returns.
Serana watched him go into the Tower of Mzark every day looking ruddy, only to emerge with a haggard face, day after day, seemingly without end.
"Bai Shan, still no results? If you are seeking Dwemer wisdom to solve my Vampirism, please don't torture yourself like this."
Simon fiddled with the tuning device in his hand, which he had snatched from Septimus Signus back then. The old man still hadn't woken up; Simon couldn't cure his illness no matter what. The massive accumulation of failures created the bitter taste of life. Simon sometimes felt lost due to bone-deep fatigue, but he knew he couldn't give up exploring tuning magic. It was a key to the microscopic and the essence of the universe, too precious for him to abandon.
Serana's soft words of comfort were still in his ears, but Simon unconsciously incorporated them into the sounds within the lexicon.
Over nearly a hundred listening sessions, Simon used various methods. The music he heard was different every time. Although limited by his own knowledge, the instruments were essentially the same few, but the tunes were bizarrely varied. Language was interspersed within these tunes, so what exact role did language play?
Initially, Simon thought these sentences were the true content, and the music was just common auditory hallucinations. But slowly, he began to suspect that the music was what truly narrated the story, and language was merely one type of sound. The amount of information conveyed might be no different; the key lay in the interpreter's mindset.
Simon couldn't discern specific imagery from the music, so he subconsciously pursued the sentences. However, language, as a channel of communication, can be viewed as a set of encrypted sound waves. The listener must have learned the language, and only after having the "key" and dedicating some attention to decoding can they truly understand the content. Just like Serana rambling on in front of Simon—if Simon didn't regard those words as meaningful, all he heard was a set of low-frequency sound waves.
The music and language within the lexicon have already undergone one layer of interpretation, transforming from raw information into sound symbols. Therefore, what Simon actually needs is an apparatus capable of secondary interpretation.
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