In his leisure time, Simon would pore over the Necromancer notes Hircine had given him.
It had to be said, the Daedric Prince of the Hunt was truly good to his devotee. Their bond was strong, and he was very caring, but the moment Simon became weak, his death would be sealed; Hircine would instigate a furious hunt, sending him into the Endless Hunting Grounds.
Before the Soul-sucking Tapeworm was discovered, Necromancers also had other means of stripping souls, some crude, some refined. The crude methods included terrifying people until they lost their souls, while the refined ones involved techniques like Spirit-Flesh Dissolution and Wraith Nests. However, both shared a commonality—low efficiency and high failure rates.
There were countless methods for soul extraction, but all ultimately followed one rule—to widen the gap between body and mind, increasing the separation between the physical shell and the spirit, which would naturally lead to their disunion.
There were thousands of Necromancers in previous generations, and research into soul extraction was a flourishing field. But once the soul stone trap emerged, this traditional art immediately fell silent. Why? Wasn't it because this thing was too convenient? When people had an easy method, why bother with the old ways? Although souls eaten by the Soul-sucking Tapeworm would become somewhat foolish and their quality would slightly decrease, such quality was already comparable to high-end soul extraction techniques, and it was extremely convenient.
Many mages knew about the implicit connection between the Soul-sucking Tapeworm and the Soul Cairn, but they didn't care. After all, those pulled into the Cairn were merely their experimental subjects. In this regard, Necromancers across Skyrim were all equally cold-blooded, and Simon was no exception.
In fact, many Necromancers even used this connection to pull themselves into the Soul Cairn to acquire a large number of wandering spirits and enhance their magical skills.
After trying those ancient soul extraction methods, Simon pondered deeply and still decided to emulate the Lord of Truth in cultivating a convenient tool like the Soul-sucking Tapeworm.
The more convenient path was to cultivate his own Soul-sucking Tapeworm, but this led back to the study of imprints. Only by developing his own imprint could the Soul-sucking Tapeworm belong to him.
However, an imprint is an ethereal existence. Logically speaking, the Pure Land is Simon's Oblivion realm; everything within the realm would be assimilated by the Pure Land and become a part of Simon. This process is essentially imprinting them. This process might have already happened; when Simon killed a group of bandits in the Pure Land, their souls did not ascend but merged into the deeper layers of the Pure Land. Additionally, a significant portion of the Soul-sucking Tapeworms he mass-summoned in the Pure Land remained permanently within it.
So, does this mean the matter is already settled?
To prove that the Pure Land imprint was truly effective, Simon needed to conduct an experiment.
It's actually quite simple: cultivate a few generations of original Soul-sucking Tapeworms, then use the new generation of Pure Land Tapeworms to capture souls and insert them into soul stones. Then, exhaust the soul stones both inside the Pure Land and in the outside world, and observe where the drained souls go—to the Pure Land or the Soul Cairn.
If such a modification method could succeed, that would be ideal. If not, then he would consider other methods... Serana was becoming more and more dejected each day. More accurately, she was becoming sleepier. Slumber is a method Vampires use to combat restless bloodlust.
As a pure-blood Daughter of Coldharbour, she wouldn't be burned by the sun nor weakened by thirst for blood, but she had been hungry for thousands of years and truly needed Blood Drinker.
Simon offered to provide her with fresh animal blood, but Serana refused.
She had recently developed a potentially effective inhibitor, which she called 'Blood Poison Medicine.' However, she needed some test subjects. Coincidentally, a few days prior, Isran of the Dawnguard had written to Simon again, inviting him to hunt Vampires together. Simon decided to take the opportunity before the New Year to visit the Dawnguard's fortress in Dayspring Canyon. Firstly, to visit, and secondly, hoping to use the Dawnguard's help to test the effects of the Blood Poison Medicine.
Dayspring Canyon is in the southeastern part of The Rift. The climate is naturally warm, and coupled with the canyon's unique topography, it retains heat well. Even in the late-year Nightscourge, there was only a thin layer of snow here, and the melting snowmelt soaked the ground. Pine and fir trees were lush and vibrant, looking even more spirited with their snow-capped tops, while shrubs and ferns appeared quite withered, which was a bit disheartening to see.
Isran, the Redguard with a buzz cut, stood before the tall, stark gray stone fortress and opened his arms to Simon and Serana, who had traveled a long distance. Beside him stood the other Dawnguard members, eight in total including Isran. They wore uniform heavy armor, their faces resolute. Though few in number, their aura was formidable.
Besides Isran, Simon also recognized Xi Lang and Gunmar, familiar faces.
"Oh, my friend, I've been looking forward to your arrival. And this person beside you is... Hmm?" Isran's face darkened. "A Vampire! Damn it, you brought a Vampire!" He unslung the warhammer from his back and demanded aggressively, "Step aside, I'll kill this Vampire first."
Serana scoffed, "What an ugly-faced, black-hearted fellow. Can such a reckless fool really lead a group of Vampire hunters?"
The Dawnguard members immediately grew furious, drawing their weapons and pressing closer.
Simon stepped forward, spreading his arms to block the tense crowd. "Calm down, calm down. I guarantee, on my honor, that this Vampire beside me, my lover, will absolutely not pose a threat to any of you."
Isran glared, "It seems you've been bewitched by a Vampire. I'll say it again, step aside!"
Half a minute later, Simon looked down at the eight Dawnguard members tied in a circle, smiling. "I told you to calm down. I'm here to help, and Serana is trying to find a way to remove her Vampire bloodline."
Isran's mouth was bound with cloth, and he made muffled sounds. Simon removed the cloth strip, and the Redguard man didn't immediately shout, but simply glared at the Troll with his bell-like eyes.
Simon squatted down, meeting his gaze. "I forgot to tell you, the Volkihar bloodline in Skyrim was eradicated by me not long ago. All you'll have to deal with in the future are just small fry."
Isran raised an eyebrow—though his skin was so dark red that his eyebrows were invisible. "So it was you. Vampires in Skyrim have been restless lately, but there have been few attacks. We dispatched a large number of people to monitor their movements in various holds, which is why there are only eight of us. Otherwise, how could you have taken us down?" As he spoke the latter half, the unyielding Redguard began to argue. The other seven either nodded or remained silent, but it seemed none were particularly convinced.
Simon chuckled, reaching out to rub Isran's coarse buzz cut. "Such a grown man, yet still so fond of fighting and showing off. That's not a good habit." This Redguard had sparse hair but a dense beard, giving the impression of inverted hair follicles.
"Don't! Don't touch my head! Hey! My own father never touched my head!" He was so angry he raised his head and tried to bite Simon's hand.
Serana covered her mouth, trying to laugh quietly, but her eyes were already crescent moons. "This guy is quite amusing."
Isran's companions: "..."
Simon flicked Isran's pristine front teeth, then pulled out a linen handkerchief to wipe his hand. He drew the longsword tucked under his cloak, and the cold glint of the blade flashed. Isran was dazzled, and realizing his embarrassment, he turned his head away.
After cutting the ropes to untie the Dawnguard, Simon made a funny face. "Oh, friends, don't be afraid! Your hero has come to save you!"
"Hey! You're the one who tied us up!" Xi Lang, who had been silent, retorted.
Isran coughed twice, suddenly resuming his serious and proper demeanor. "Alright, enough of that. White Mountain, you've come a long way, let's show you around the fortress."
"My pleasure."
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