"I got thirteen. You got nine. I win."
Rakna reached his group's table as Higure concluded her conversation with Nyx. He already knew what it was about since he had heard it from afar, but that didn't stop him from sighing.
"That is not fair," Nyx spoke with a rare defensive tone, putting back a book where she had picked it up. "I'm not the one showing off my midriff so casually."
"Hahaha! Well, that's not my fault. You could have done the same."
"Who would do that so shamelessly?" The night goddess retorted slightly louder, but never letting it breach into an actual shout. Then, as she said those words, her expression suddenly fell. "This is… Why am I letting you provoke me like this? This is not something to be proud of…"
The lioness chuckled impishly before turning toward Rakna. "How about it, Devourer? Would you like to join the conversation?"
"No, thank you, I really don't care about how many people hit you up," he deadpanned.
"Come on, don't be like that," Higure smirked. "You know you're the only one for me."
Rakna took on a rather difficult expression at that. "I don't know if I should be flattered by that or downright fearful," he uttered.
"Both, devourer of mine. Both," her grin was so sharp it could prickle one's skin.
"Thirteen though?" Flavia remarked curiously as she returned to the table. "I received some looks on the way here but nothing that extreme."
"That is probably due to the city layer we were in," Nyx explained. "The Basilica we visited was on one of the upper parts. Those places are filled to the brim with those wealthy pigs dissociated from reality," she spat out with a disgusted tone and everyone sweatdropped.
"Power corrupts, after all," Astraea said as she took a seat. "Humans are terribly susceptible to it."
"Aw, it's a bit mean to generalize them like that," Higure argued. "Among the guys that approached us, there were a few gentlemen and some stuttering kids. Well, actually, now that I think about it, I was the only one who got those. The more detestable ones went to Nyx, for some reason. I swear, I had to stop her from killing them more than once."
Everyone glanced at Nyx after hearing that and she harrumphed, a small blush of embarrassment creeping into her cheeks.
"I'd say it's because of the difference in charms between you two," Flavia said pensively. "Without sounding too crude, Higure has a roguish appearance that appeals to exotic seekers, but Nyx has a cold air that rather vile men… enjoy peeling apart."
Nyx huffed with a frown. "I still think I should have killed them..." She mumbled and everyone let out a wry smile. She certainly wasn't one to anger carelessly.
"By the way…" Rakna changed topics. "I don't see Natsu."
"Oh, he's going around the library on his own. He's surprisingly knowledge-avid," Marie stated and glanced at Evelyn who hadn't lifted her head even once in the past ten minutes. "Though he is not as bad as her for sure…"
The therian snorted and snapped his fingers, using the same trick as before to snap her out of her daze. The bullet of soul power reached her and the succubus instantly yelped. She looked around in panic then spotted Rakna lowering his hand. "Stop doing that…" She muttered meekly.
"It's not my fault you keep spacing out."
She pouted and properly sat up. "It's just that I found something interesting," she changed subjects and pushed the open book in front of her to the center of the table. "I thought you would like to see it as well."
"Soul Beasts?" Flavia read out loud the words written at the top of one page. "You mentioned those when we reached the 60th Plateau, right?" She asked Nyx who simply nodded.
"I heard about those actually," Higure declared. "I heard it's like a ritual. It involves splitting a part of your soul that lays dormant and turning it into a 'beast' best suited for you. It's intelligent, grows with you, and fights with you."
Evelyn nodded. "That's the gist of it. It was one of Wolder Kristan's many inventions."
"That guy again…" Rakna whispered and everyone looked at him. "Both Eva and Fray mentioned his name once. Who is he exactly?"
""A genius.""
"{A genius.}"
Several voices overlapped to answer him. Nyx, Higure, Evelyn, Astraea, and Fray had all said the same thing at the same time.
"Wolder Kristan is the creator of many innovations in magic and alchemy," Evelyn continued. "He has created formulas that tackle mana relativity and formation complexity. He has fashioned the apex of mana generators, dubbed the Wolder Chart. He is the one who created transmutation itself and us alchemists use his various magic circles in every single concoction possible."
"{Based on what is known, Wolder was a human who had transcended his mind and spirit rather than his body and life force. No one knew him personally, but his discoveries spread everywhere they were required. He is a true legend,}" Fray added with clear admiration in his tone.
"Even the most prideful of Gods regarded him as a genius and openly used his works for their own endeavors," Nyx complemented.
"Countless beings within Egregore respect Wolder," Astraea declared. "Not only is he the origin of plenty of information contained within our realm, but he is also the only being in all Existence to have been a Firmament Monarch from birth," she revealed, much to Rakna's shock.
"The base rune alphabet was also created by that same man," Higure followed up and he barely could react to the rapid-fire of compliments coming from his companions. At this rate, he might just start to venerate the man himself.
"Okay, okay, I get it… so, how do you go about getting a Soul Beast?"
"Ah, yes," Evelyn focused back on the topic. "Normally, if this was outside the System, you would just need to draw a magic formation, albeit very complex, and trigger it with your blood. There is also a minimum of life force and mana required to properly activate it. On top of that, the rate of success is abysmal. It has less than a 1% chance of succeeding."
"In the System, however, you first need to be level 100. Then, to go through the ritual, you have to go to the Pavilion and request it," the succubus said and looked back at the book. "But it's not all of it. There is a second type of Soul Beast. This one is not summoned but contracted. You either bring a willing creature to go through the bonding with you, or you kill one and trap its lingering soul to fuse with; that's the Soul Beast Contract and is what I thought you'd be interested in."
"Why so?"
"Wolder Kristan created the Soul Beast summoning," Evelyn replied. "But the one who invented the Contract wasn't him; it was the God of Eternal Night."
"Of course, he did," Rakna huffed in amusement. "So? What are the specific differences between Contracting and Summoning? The former sounds far too convenient not to consider it odd."
"You're right. Contracts also have very low chances of failing. In fact, you could say that as long as you have the necessary strength, and that the soul you're bonding with is no more than equal to yours, it's a 100% chance of success. However, Contracts are much weaker and they grow much slower. Not to mention their Resonances are also incomplete in comparison."
"Resonance?" Flavia repeated inquiringly.
"It's the harmonization of the bond between Soul Beast and Summoner," Evelyn explained. "Even fewer people manage to reach that state after successfully summoning a Beast. What it entails is simple; the two concerned partners enter a state of soul unison; they become one. I have heard that kind of thing is also possible between fellow humans, but resonating souls in that way is much harder."
"I see. So, the main downside of the contract is simply a deteriorated result," Marie remarked. "But if you consider that most people fail the Summoning, Contracts serve as a reasonable secondary option."
"Correct."
"This whole Soul Beast thing sounds incredibly powerful though," Flavia noted. "I find it hard to imagine for anyone to miss out on that opportunity. Does that mean everyone after Level 100 has one?"
"Not really," Nyx shook her head. "Both Eternal Night's Contract and Wolder Kristan's Summoning have an inherent flaw. As Evelyn said, a Soul Beast is born off a dormant piece of the summoner's soul. The Contracts similarly cannibalize it to form the bond. This does not harm either party but it forever takes away a certain 'possibility' from them; Soul Manifestations."
Rakna's eyes briefly widened at her words.
"Manifestation, Resurrection, Core Release; it's the culmination of one's existence," Nyx continued and looked at her palm where her shadows emerged. "It's something that mortals awaken once they reach the level of a Heavenly-Class God. It's like a perfectly tailored trump card. It can come in the form of a weapon, a transformation, or a spell. I had one before. Sadly, I lost it."
Once again, the therian's eye twitched and he couldn't help but open his status and inspect one of his spells with Crystal Sight.
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- Hoarfrost Star Magic (Lv. 17 ⋆) => [Hoarfrost Star Manifestation (T.0)]
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Manifestation Spell
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An apotheosis of power hidden within the deepest depths of one's soul. It cannot be unlocked without complete refining of one's life force, a full divinity conversion, or transcendental enlightenment of soul power.
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Personal Note: 'Star Manifestation' falls under the Self-Cast Type out of the four; which correspondingly include Instant-Cast, Eternal-Cast, and Weapon-Cast Types.
The System Analysis conducted upon the Host Rakna Xiorra Blade during his Magic Awakening has detected a natural disposition for the use of an elemental-driven Soul Manifestation.
< The Reason Is Unknown. >
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Tier 0
A Tier employed for spells or items of which the origins or makings are not understood by the System but nonetheless possess a readable effect and quantifiable cost.
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'Well, damn,' Rakna uttered in his mind. 'No wonder this spell was so powerful. It's supposed to be a trump card for people much more powerful than me...'
"{I will pretend as if I did not just see or hear that,}" Fray spoke up blankly in his head.
"To put it briefly," Nyx continued her explanation and Rakna focused back on her voice. "Resorting to Soul Beasts will make you stronger faster and bestow you a companion you can trust, but it will strip you away of your chances to have a Manifestation; something much more powerful in most instances."
"I see. So, that's why Hosts wouldn't necessarily rush to get one," Rakna nodded. "While inside the System, their potential is limitless. As long as they level up steadily, they will eventually reach a level of strength where they can easily awaken the Manifestation. On the other hand, some would like to have a Soul Beast as trusted aides or as an urgent solution to get a boost in power."
"Ah, yes, but… there's another more important reason," Evelyn said. She scratched her cheek and made a bitter smile. "The Pavilion demands a fee for the ritual to be conducted… Perhaps as a way to intentionally regulate the spread of such a potent skill…"
"It can't be that bad, right? How much?"
"{Haha…}" The quiet subdued laugh of Fray resounded in Rakna's head at the same time.
"Um…" The succubus chuckled uneasily. "50 million Talys for a Summoning Ritual and 100 million Talys for a Contracting Ritual… net cost…"
Everyone fell silent and quite ironically, Allan suddenly snorted and opened his eyes at that exact time, waking up from his sleep as if he had been having a nightmare.
"…I've just had a wacky fucking dream about capitalism… what the heck was that?" He muttered to himself and the others almost face-faulted.