Chapter 6 – Monster Soul
[I miss that information]
When Kyle heard that, he wanted to get angry but he kept his calm. Anger would not help to solve the problem. Kyle massaged his temple for a few seconds trying to calm his anger. Dodo who was inside Kyle knew what Kyle was doing and he decided to stay quiet.
For the past two years, Dodo had learned a lot about Kyle's personality. Although he got that information immediately after the integration process, experiencing it by himself was different than knowing it.
Kyle was overall a good person. He was usually calm and knew how to control his emotions. However, when he was mad, he would be really mad. He knew when he should and should not get mad.
He once got really mad during a competition because one of the competitors sabotaged his team many times. He almost assaulted them if not for his team stopping him. He could be patient if it was once or twice but if it happened too many times, he would not tolerate it.
"Sigh~ Well then, I need to get a monsters' soul to become a magician… But we have two problems at hand. First, I don't know my compatibility. If we want to figure out about that, we need to use a lot of money which we don't have," said Kyle.
The first thing to do to become a magician was to know their compatibility. The higher the compatibility, the easier it would be to construct a magic skill and this was the common knowledge. If by some chance, someone used an incompatible monster's soul to become a magician, they will get a backlash.
There were many types of backlash that person would receive but most of the time, the person would usually be paralyzed in certain parts of the body, permanent organ damage, amputations and the most common of all was death.
In the past, the only way to test compatibility was by touching the monster's soul. When someone touched the soul, if the soul was attracted to that person, that meant he or she was compatible with the soul. If the soul repelled by the touch, that meant they were incompatible.
In current times, however, humans had far advanced in technology that they created a machine to identify someone's compatibility to the monsters. Even so, there was some limitation to the machine.
The machine was unable to determine all the monsters that were compatible with the person. The person who wanted to know their compatibility needed to choose one species of monster and the test would be done for that monster. If he chose the right monster, he might know his compatibility, if not, he wasted his money because the test used a massive amount of money.
If possible, everyone wanted to use the first method to find out about their compatibility but the reality was harsh. Monster's soul was rare. The chance of getting it was low.
Thus, humans created another technology and that was to create an artificial monster soul. However, there were a lot of problems with artificial monster souls and the most glaring problem of all was their inability to hold many magic skills.
For example, a rank 1 magician with a natural soul could hold ten magic skills with the soul, however, the artificial soul of the same monster would only be able to hold around two to three magic skills.
"Second, is the soul. You know yourself that monster souls are rare. If we buy the one sold in a shop, it will cost us a lot because of how rare it is and also, we don't have that money. Hunting the monsters by ourselves? Impossible. If we buy the artificial soul, there are those problems with the skill I can hold with the soul…" Kyle mentioned the two problems.
[Kyle, don't worry about that. I get it handled. As for the first problem, it is super easy because I already know your compatibility] said Dodo, and Kyle was shocked.
"How did you know that? You have that kind of ability too?" Kyle asked because he was shocked. Dodo never once told him about that and he got a feeling about something, "Do you forget about or miss about it too?" Kyle was suspicious.
[No, I am not. I just didn't tell you because I think it is unnecessary] said Dodo and he continued, [As for your compatibility, which one do you want to know?]
"Are you the same as those techs too?" Kyle asked.
[Ah! I did not mean that. I mean, what percentage of compatibility you want?] said Dodo.
"Why don't you tell me all?" Kyle said because he found it stupid for Dodo to ask something like that. If he could not tell all, he could at least tell the best one for him.
[I am sorry, master] Dodo felt Kyle's annoyance. He just wanted to strike a conversation with Kyle because of the matter that happened earlier.
[You are quite lucky, Kyle because you have two species of monsters that have perfect compatibility with you. That means they are 100% compatible with you. With this compatibility, whenever you try to construct a magic skill, you will not face much problem] said Dodo.
"Really? Then, I need to choose one of those two. What are the two?" Kyle asked. He was eager to know. He was not interested in becoming a magician but upon knowing he had two perfect compatibility, he got a bit excited.
[They are eagle and fox] said Dodo and Kyle frowned.
"That is not a monster, they are animals," said Kyle. He knew what he was talking about. For a monster, it would be something like big eyes eagle, firefox, quad winged eagle, and so on.
[Kyle, the animal has gone extinct since the appearance of mana in this universe. All of those animals you know are now monsters even if they look like normal animals. You might not know this but you guys are also monsters or else, how can you use the monster soul?]
[The difference you guys have from the common monsters is your brain, no, your intelligence. To tell the truth, the weakest species of monsters in the multiverse are humans. That is the reason why they need the assistance of other souls to become stronger] said Dodo.
Kyle was shocked. He never once heard of something like that. There was no mention of something like that in any books he had read. Could it be that it was some kind of secret?
[No, it is not a secret but humans never consider it. You can say humans are too proud of themselves that they never consider themselves as monsters even when they are the weakest species] said Dodo and Kyle was silent.
[Well, the weakest part is actually in fighting power but humans are the strongest with their intelligence and creativity or else, they couldn't survive prosperously in the multiverse] said Dodo.
[Getting back to the matter with the animal, the chicken and beef you eat most of the time is monster meat but due to them being the ancestors of the monsters, they have the normal animal appearance] said Dodo.
Kyle was too shocked to hear everything from Dodo and he also felt weird when Dodo told him all of that because Dodo sounded too intelligent unlike his previous blunder. Kyle sighed.
"Anyway, for me to have perfect compatibility with the eagle and fox meant I am weak too, right? They are the weakest of them all," said Kyle. The animal monsters were just as normal animals. They were weak and easy prey.
[No, it did not work like that, Master. I told you that you are lucky earlier not because you have two perfect compatibility but you have two perfect compatibility of ancestors of the monsters] said Dodo and Kyle were confused.
[Both the eagle and fox are the ancestors… no, the origin of the other eagle and fox monsters. With the perfect compatibility to them, you will have the perfect compatibility with other eagle or fox monsters] said Dodo and Kyle's face lighted up.
"Do you mean I can get the strongest of the eagle or fox species but they are still 100% compatible with me?" Kyle asked and Dodo confirmed it again. Kyle was happy. He was happy that he would not be a weak magician though he knew he would be at the top in the future because of the system's power.
[Anyway, Kyle, I don't suggest you get other species of the eagle or fox. Just get yourselves the exact eagle or fox soul instead of their descendants] said Dodo and Kyle was confused. Was it not better to get the strongest soul?
[This pertains to the secret method of our dojo. Believe me, you will not get disappointed with what I can do with the secret method] said Dodo proudly. Kyle was a bit suspicious and hesitant to believe Dodo after the blunder he made earlier but he decided to give Dodo a chance.
"Okay then, I will follow what you said," said Kyle and he started thinking which of the two he should choose. It did not take him long to make his decision. "I will get the eagle soul," said Kyle. The reason he chose the eagle was because he knew that the eagle excelled in speed and he wanted to become a fast attacker.
[Okay then, we just need to get ourselves an eagle soul] said Dodo and Kyle nodded before he realized something.
"… How can we get the eagle soul?? Monster souls are rare and the artificial soul is bad. Also, I cannot go in the wild and start hunting eagle for their soul because I am a normal human. Besides that, I never heard of an animal leaving their soul after they are killed," said Kyle and Dodo was silent. Kyle knew Dodo was forgetting something again.
[Master, I am sorry. I forgot to explain to you about something] Dodo switched back to calling Kyle 'master' because he did not want to anger Kyle more. He always switched like that when he knew Kyle was angry. It happened a lot for the past two years.
"Well then, go on," Kyle said calmly. Dodo was stunned to find out that Kyle was not angry. Kyle was too used to this that he decided to not get angry all the time.
[From all the data we had collected from the past two years, I can create a machine that can upgrade the artificial soul to be the same as the monster soul. Not only that, with the machine, we will be able to create the perfect monster soul that will change the way of magicians completely] said Dodo.
"Perfect monster soul? You mean the natural monster soul?" Kyle asked because the perfect monster soul known to everyone was the natural monster soul.
[I mean literally the perfect monster soul. I found out a year ago when we were working part-time at the soul shop in City C-20, that the monster soul was not the kind of soul we thought it would be. The monster soul is a concentrated mana with the identity of the monster it came from]
[Due to that, humans can create the artificial soul because it is not a spiritual soul that humans had believed it would be. However, even with the current technology, humans are unable to create the artificial soul exactly as the natural soul]
[Not only that, but I also found out that even the natural soul that humans thought to be the best were not perfect. If we put it in percentage, I will say that the natural soul human get all this time is nowhere near 20% of the perfect soul]
"What?!" Kyle was shocked. He and every human in the universe thought that the natural soul was the perfect soul but it looked like they were all wrong. "Then, what is the percentage of the artificial soul?" Kyle asked.
[Most of them are around 1% with the best one 5%] said Dodo and he continued, [However, since humans use the natural soul as the reference, they thought the artificial soul capability is around 25% of the perfect soul] Kyle was shocked and he tried to calm himself.
"How in the world do you get all of this data? I don't think we ever see a perfect soul because from what you are saying, the perfect soul is inexistent?" Kyle asked.
[Yes, perfect souls do not exist in the multiverse but the living monsters exist everywhere in the multiverse. We have seen a lot of monsters in videos and I found the data from them especially when they are using the skill and when they produce or almost produce the soul when they die.]
[From what I observe, when they die, the soul will always want to form but due to certain unknown factors, they will disappear immediately. During the formation of souls, I managed to record the process of the mana getting concentrated and only 20% of the monster's latent mana was being absorbed. The rest were released in the air] Dodo explained and Kyle nodded.
"So, this machine can make the 100% monster soul?" Kyle asked and Dodo said yes.
"So, for me to have this perfect soul, all I need to do is buy the material for you to build the machine?" Kyle asked and Dodo said yes again but he added something else.
[You also need to get the artificial eagle soul because we don't have any data regarding the composition of the monster soul. We do have the data of processing and creating the soul plus my own improvise method but we don't have the data of the soul's composition. We do have the theory of the soul but that is it. Each monster soul has different composition and structure and thus, we need that data to produce the soul] explained Dodo.
"This is complicated. Luckily, I have you Dodo," said Kyle and he continued, "So, I need to spend money for the artificial soul and the material for the perfect soul machine. Will I have enough to buy all of them?" Kyle wondered.
[Don't worry Kyle, I keep tabs of your money and from my survey of the market, we will have just enough for them. Luckily, the soul you choose is the basic one. It is not complicated and thus, it is quite cheap compared to other monsters] said Dodo.
"Hmm, will we be fine spending money like this? I know we will get the money back once the dojo is open but what if there will be an emergency and we don't have any money? Do you have any other alternative?" Kyle asked.
[As for the machine, I don't prefer you to try any other alternative because once the machine is created, it becomes part of my power and that means for the dojo. Also, the perfect soul is one of our dojo's secrets. I don't want to have any leeway for our dojo's secret] said Dodo and Kyle nodded.
Kyle had yet to know the real advantage of the perfect soul but since Dodo mentioned it was part of the dojo's secret, he knew it was important, and anything for the dojo needed to be taken seriously.
[As for the eagle soul, there is an alternative but I don't know if you can do that] said Dodo and Kyle was listening. If there was a chance he could save some money, he would want to know it.
[Buy a living eagle or hunt it yourself] said Dodo plainly and Kyle gave his decision immediately.
"Let's buy the artificial eagle soul," said Kyle without any hesitation. There was a reason why he immediately agreed to buy it. Eagle did not exist on Planet Mykon. Buying the eagle meant importing it from another planet and they were expensive.
Hunting it? In his dream because he needed to go to another planet and hunted the eagle in the wild where monsters were roaming around freely.
"Give me the list of materials for the perfect soul machine," Kyle asked and Dodo transferred the list to his brain. Kyle checked the list in his mind and found out that Dodo also put the information on where to buy them. Kyle wanted to order it using his computer when he suddenly realized something.
"Wait a second. Dodo, you can order this yourself because you can control everything in this building. Why do I need to do this?" Kyle said. […] Dodo was silent because he also just realized it.
"Are you really the all-powerful system?" Kyle asked but Dodo did not answer him. The computer suddenly turned on by itself and Dodo ordered all the materials online by himself.
Kyle was looking at the computer that was moving by itself and he asked Dodo, "If by chance I get far from this building, will you be able to still control everything in this building?"
[Yes, I can. You can say that this building is now part of my body. No matter how far away you are from this building, even in another dimension, I will still be able to control everything in this shop] said Dodo while he was making the orders.
"Dodo, you can get more data from the internet, right?" Kyle asked.
[Yes, I can] said Dodo.
"Why don't you just use the internet and obtain all the data you want? Let's say from all those big companies too," Kyle asked and Dodo was silent.
[I can do that but I need to know hacking-] Kyle cut him, "You can easily learn hacking online. You can search all the data online and hack anything you want."
[I am sorry, Master. That never crossed my mind] said Dodo dejectedly and Kyle was silent.
"I have been wondering this for a while," said Kyle calmly and he continued, "The first time we met when you took my appearance, you looked really intelligent and mature. Suddenly, after the integration is finished, you become childish and make a lot of simple mistakes even until today."
[…] Dodo was silent but the computer was still making orders.
"You said before that I take too long during the integration and I might get the side effect from it. However, after checking my body, you said that I am fine. Is it possible that you transfer the side effects to yourself because you want to help me?" Kyle asked.
He had been having this suspicion a long time ago. He read a lot of the system's novels and from the novels, they always mentioned how powerful a system power was. Even during dire times, the system would always have something in their sleeves. Nothing was impossible with the system and he wondered if Dodo did those impossible things too.
[…]