The woman's name is Fiona Mu. After a few interactions, Finn realized that this lady is so sly and cruel that "witch" seems like a fitting description for her.
"That's better." The corner of Fiona's mouth lifted slightly. She dropped the playful act, picked up a piece of gauze from the chair, and draped it over herself. "So, what's the reason for seeing me this time?" Finn found a relatively clean spot to sit and decided to get straight to the point.
"I came to see you on purpose." Fiona immediately changed her expression. She pulled up a chair and sat beside Finn, her head down, cheeks slightly red, and her lips pouting. She looked just like a wife who hadn't seen her husband in ages and finally reunited with the man she loved deeply.
"To see me?" Finn scratched his head and instinctively moved his body to the side, looking a bit odd. "I'm not exactly good - looking. Is there really a reason for you to come see me on purpose?" He knew himself well. He thought he was at most not ugly, far from being handsome. He wasn't so vain as to think Fiona was actually in love with him and came to see him for that.
"You're so boring!" Fiona shook her head and gave Finn a look of disdain.
"You should know about the recent bug problem in the west, right?" Fiona asked softly as she gently stroked her long hair.
"Yeah." Finn's answer was short, and his expression didn't change much. He lived in the western part of the empire where mutated bugs were common, so he was almost used to hearing about "bug invasions." He'd only been in Mill Town for three months, but during that short time, he'd already experienced three bug invasions himself.
"This one's really bad! There are a huge number of mutated bugs, and rumor has it there are several bug kings. Three towns around Monolith City have already been destroyed, and the city has used up a ton of alchemical supplies. I and some other alchemists went there to restock."
"Bug kings?!" Hearing this, Finn narrowed his eyes and instinctively rubbed his forehead. He wondered if he should find another place to hide if bug kings really showed up. With his current skills, he might be able to handle a few mutated bugs, but when it came to bug kings, Finn thought he wouldn't stand a chance even with his body - doubling skill.
"Yeah." Fiona nodded and gave a charming smile. "But don't worry too much. When the bugs were attacking Monolith City, the city lord killed one of the bug kings. The bugs have calmed down a lot lately. Also, we've restocked Monolith City's alchemical supplies, and some of them should be sent to you soon. If things get too tough, just run. You're a thief. Running should be no problem for you, right?"
"Killed a bug king? The Monolith City lord is really powerful. He must be at least at the Earth Warrior level! One day, I'll be that strong too!" Hearing that the Monolith City lord had killed a bug king, Finn got excited. His hormones started pumping, but this time it wasn't because of Fiona's flirting.
After the initial excitement about the bug king being killed, Finn frowned. He stared into Fiona's eyes and asked, "When you were helping in Monolith City, did you absorb soul power by force again?" Finn frowned unconsciously and said, "Didn't I tell you? Before you become a Mind King or whatever, it's best not to absorb too much soul power forcefully. Otherwise, your body won't be able to handle the damage from the soul power."
Soul power is the life energy left behind when a living thing dies, and people can absorb it. When people absorb soul power and store it in their bodies, they can use this life energy to speed up their training and improve their power. They can also turn the soul power into energy that they can use directly.
Whether it's for improving power or turning it into energy for use, the soul power we're talking about is the part that humans can use. But, whether you're an Energy User or a Magic Controller, among the soul power you absorb from the outside world, there's a part that the human body can't absorb. This part of the soul power that the body can't use stays in the body and puts a lot of pressure on the person. This unusable soul power will slowly fade away over time, but it's a really slow process. To avoid problems, people need to absorb soul power at a steady pace. Otherwise, they can easily hurt themselves.
Most Energy Users have added to their physique, so they're stronger and can handle more pressure. But most Magic Controllers focus on improving mental strength, brain coordination, and thinking speed. Hardly anyone of them wastes their precious points on physique. So, it depends on the Energy User's own physique. People with good physiques might be less affected by the unusable soul power, but those with weak physiques could have big problems if they absorb soul power without control and don't pay attention to the pace.