Chapter 101: The Unidentified Body

Magnus sat in his office, thinking about Lucian’s unusual ability.

If Lucian’s Shadow Soldiers could copy another person’s physical characteristics, body structure, and aura, they might be able to solve the problem standing in the way of Shadow Genesis.

However, one question remained.

Could a Shadow Soldier copy the characteristics of someone who was already dead?

And more importantly, would those copied characteristics be sufficient to pass the Mercenary Guild’s verification process?

Magnus picked up his communication device and contacted one of his trusted subordinates.

“Come to my office. I need some information.”

A few minutes later, a middle-aged man entered the room.

“My Lord, what do you need?”

“Tell me about the unidentified bodies discovered in Silverwood City recently. I want the latest reports on both cases.”

The subordinate immediately understood what Magnus was referring to.

“Two unidentified bodies have been reported recently. One was discovered yesterday, while the other was reported earlier today. Neither identity has been confirmed.”

“What about their condition?”

The subordinate hesitated briefly before answering.

“The condition of one of body is fine but the condition of other body is particularly bad. The deceased’s face has been completely mutilated, making ordinary visual identification almost impossible. The investigators haven’t been able to establish his identity yet.”

Magnus frowned.

“Have they found anything else that might help identify him?”

“They’re still examining the available evidence. At present, there’s no confirmed identity.”

Magnus tapped his fingers against the desk.

“Which hospital is keeping the body?”

“Silverwood City Hospital’s mortuary.”

Magnus nodded.

“Contact the hospital and the relevant investigators. I need the available reports, including any information about the body’s physical characteristics. Also, arrange a visit for me and my nephew. We’ll need proper authorization before examining anything.”

The subordinate was slightly surprised by the last sentence, but he didn’t ask any questions.

“Understood, My Lord. I’ll make the arrangements.”

After the man left, Magnus leaned back in his chair.

If his idea worked, Lucian might be able to solve his registration problem.

But first, he needed to see whether the ability worked as expected.

—

Later, Magnus contacted Lucian and Evelyn and asked them to come to his office.

When the two arrived, he got straight to the point.

“I’ve made some inquiries about the unidentified bodies. One of them is being kept at Silverwood City Hospital’s mortuary. The investigators haven’t established the deceased’s identity.”

Lucian immediately became interested.

“What happened to him?”

“His face has been completely mutilated. They haven’t been able to identify him through ordinary visual examination.”

Lucian considered this information.

“Have they found any identification documents or clues about who he might have been?”

“Nothing that has confirmed his identity so far,” Magnus replied. “The investigation is still ongoing.”

He paused before continuing.

“I’ve arranged for us to visit the hospital. We’ll be allowed to examine the body under proper supervision.”

Evelyn looked at her father.

“Father, are we going there because of Lucian’s Shadow Soldiers?”

“Yes. I want to see whether his ability can do what we think it can.”

Lucian nodded.

That was exactly what he wanted to find out.

His Shadow Soldiers could reproduce another person’s physical features, body structure, aura, and other characteristics. However, he had never specifically tested whether they could do the same with someone who had already died.

If the ability worked, it might provide a solution to his problem.

But he wasn’t going to celebrate before confirming the results.

“Uncle, when can we go?”

“The arrangements have already been made. We can leave shortly.”

Lucian smiled.

“Then let’s go.”

—

Silverwood City Hospital was one of the major medical facilities in the city.

After arriving, Magnus spoke with the hospital staff and presented the necessary authorization. A member of the administrative team then accompanied them to the mortuary.

The atmosphere became noticeably colder as they entered the restricted area.

Evelyn stayed close to Lucian while Magnus spoke briefly with the staff member responsible for the deceased’s records.

“Is the body ready for examination?” Magnus asked.

“Yes, City Lord. The relevant records are available, and the body can be examined under supervision.”

“Good. Please show us.”

The staff member led them into the examination room.

A covered body lay on a metal examination table.

The staff member approached it and carefully pulled back the covering.

Magnus turned to the staff member and said, “You may leave now.”

The staff member nodded respectfully before turning around and leaving the room.

Once the staff member was gone, Magnus shifted his attention back to corpse.

Lucian’s expression turned serious.

The deceased was an adult man, but his face had been so badly mutilated that his original features were almost impossible to distinguish. There was no reliable way to determine what he had looked like before his death.

Evelyn frowned.

“His face is in a terrible condition.”

Magnus nodded.

“That’s why they haven’t been able to identify him through visual examination.”

Lucian didn’t respond immediately.

Instead, he studied the body carefully.

The damaged face made the situation more complicated, but it didn’t necessarily prevent him from testing his ability. He wasn’t trying to identify the deceased. He only needed to determine whether his Shadow Soldier could reproduce the man’s physical characteristics.

“Uncle, I’d like to try something.”

Magnus looked at him.

“Go ahead. Just make sure you don’t interfere with the hospital’s examination or damage any evidence.”

“I understand.”

Lucian narrowed his sight on the shadow under the examination table.

A second later, the darkness begun to move.

A Shadow Soldier appeared out from his shadow and stood silently next to him.

Lucian observed his Shadow Soldier.

“Enter the deceased’s shadow and copy his physical characteristics.”

His Shadow Soldier obeyed without question.

Its body begun to disappear into darkness and flowed across the floor before being absorbed by the shadow under the examination table.

For several seconds, nothing happened.

Lucian watched the shadow under the deceased’s body.

It ripples slightly as it was disturbed and a small wave of darkness flowed over it.

Evelyn’s eyes widen.

“Is it working?”

“Wait,” said Lucian.

He focussed his attention to his connection with the Shadow Soldier.

He could tell that it was trying to copy the deceased’s characteristics.

It wasn’t just about changing it’s outward appearance, it also seemed to be copying the physical characteristics that it had on it’s body.

Another few seconds passed.

Then, the shadow begun to still.

A figure slowly appeared out from it.

The Shadow Soldier had changed.

It’s height, weight, and general build had changed to almost look like the deceased man.

Even it’s proportions had changed to match the dead body on the examination table.

But, it wasn’t the only thing that had changed.

Lucian eyes widen slightly as he saw the Shadow Soldier’s face beginning to form.

It’s indistinct facial features slowly formed and reconstructed itself until it looked exactly like the dead man’s face.

Within a few moments, the transformation was complete.

The Shadow Soldier had reproduced the deceased man’s appearance, including his face.

Lucian nodded in satisfaction.

It had worked!

Magnus stepped up to examine the newly transformed Shadow Soldier.

“It can even reproduce the deceased’s facial features,” he said.

“Yes. It seems to have been copied his entire physical appearance,” replied Lucian.

But, of course, he wasn’t completely done testing it’s abilities yet.

“Release your Martial Aura,” he instructed.

The Shadow Soldier obeyed.

A wave of Martial Aura flowed out from its body.

Lucian carefully examined the aura and his eyes narrowed slightly.

It wasn’t his Martial Aura.

He knew what his Shadow Soldiers’ abilities were already, so he also knew that the aura that it was releasing was not necessarily his aura.

But, something was different this time.

The Shadow Soldier wasn’t releasing it’s usual aura.

It had released the Martial Aura of the deceased man!

Lucian wasn’t surprised that it had been able to reproduce a person’s appearance, but he never expected it to be so perfectly done.

It had not only reproduced the man’s physical characteristics, but it had reproduced his Martial Aura as well.

Magnus seemed to notice Lucian’s expression change.

“What is it?”

“The Shadow Soldier has copied the deceased’s Martial Aura as well,” said Lucian. “This, is not my aura. In fact, it’s the same aura that belonged to the man on the examination table.”

Magnus’s expression darkened as he examined the Shadow Soldier again.

“Are you sure?”

Lucian nodded.

“I’m sure. I know the difference between my Martial Aura and someone else’s. This is definitely the deceased man’s aura.”

Magnus fell silent for a while.

What he had just discovered was much greater than he first anticipated.

If the Shadow Soldier could reproduce a dead person’s appearance and Martial Aura, then it wouldn’t be such a difficult task to get past the verification system of the Mercenary Guild’s registration process.

But, of course, there was still one last test to perform.

The blood sample.

Lucian turned to the hospital staff member.

“Let’s check whether it will work as well.”

The staff member began with the necessary examinations.

A few moments later, the results came out.

There was no problem with it either.

The Shadow Soldier had successfully reproduced the deceased man’s physical appearance, facial features, and Martial Aura.

It had even managed to reproduce the biological characteristics required to perform blood verification.

Lucian finally released a sigh of relief.

Everything had worked!

Initially, he was worried that the Shadow Soldier might only be able to imitate the deceased’s outward appearance.

If it couldn’t reproduce the man’s Martial Aura or provide a proper blood sample, then the entire plan would be a failure.

But, fortunately, none of those things happened.

Magnus gave Lucian an approving smile.

“Well, it seems your idea was better than I expected.”

Lucian grinned.

“With this, I think registering Shadow Genesis shouldn’t be a problem anymore.”

Magnus nodded with a satisfied smile. “Yes, now all we need to do is register the squad.”

Lucian nodded.

That was more than enough for him.

He had successfully found a way to get past the obstacle that was keeping him from registering his mercenary squad.

As long as the verification equipment that the Mercenary Guild used could recognize the Shadow Soldier’s reproduced characteristics, he could complete the registration without having to reveal his abilities.

And that was exactly what he wanted.

After all, Shadow Genesis was only the beginning.