Chapter 7: Zera

[Alert.... Alert.... Alert.... Host's soul has been on the verge of shattering!]

[Oh? Did the battle against the '***** ******' and Charles's consciousness in the Inner World cause his soul to be more damaged? It is indeed troublesome.] A woman's voice echoed inside Raven's Soul.

[Is it possible to fuse the shattering soul with Raven's body and consciousness? No, Charles said he achieved that thanks to a 'Fire Elemental Heart.'] A worried voice kept echoing.

[Can I use the System Core and proceed with it? Hmm, it's a dangerous gamble. But if I don't do anything, 'Raven' will surely die.]

[Haa, I don't have any other option.] Just as the voice spoke, an invisible power appeared out of the System Core and started helping the shattering soul shards to fuse with Raven's body and consciousness.

A strange mutation started to take place.

It continued for more than an hour and slowly ended.

[Shattered Soul has been successfully fused with Host's consciousness and body]

[Fusion success!]

[Thanks to the Fusion, Host's life span has been increased by 6 more years!]

[The damage of the Host's shattered soul is still high.]

[System has given full authority for the 'Tower Spirit Zera' to help Host from now on.]

[Zera now has complete control over the System!]

[That's good. There are still some remaining backup skills available in the system core. Although all are one-time use, it's better than having nothing in this situation. Use the 'Eldritch Analysis' skill and connect to the 'Wisdom Link.']

…

[Activating the one-time usable 'Eldritch Analysis' ability…]

[Eldritch Analysis has been activated successfully and is now connected to the 'Wisdom Link'!]

[Connection Successful!]

[Good. Decipher and extract all information related to Alchemy, Rune Mastery, Spirit Absorbing Techniques, and Mana Storing techniques from the 'Eclipse World' and store them in the System Storage.]

[Proceeding to extract information….]

[Extraction started…]

[0.1%...0.5%....1.3%....2.5%....4%.....9%.....15%.....20%....35%.....50%.....75%.....95%..... 99%.....100%!]

[Extraction Successful! All the information is being stored in the System's Storage as books.]

[[Eldritch Analysis] skill has been used up!]

[[Wisdom Link] skill has been used up!]

[Removing the two empty skills from the System skill slot!]

[Only 5 unused skill slots remaining!]

[System advises the 'Tower Spirit' to proceed cautiously!]

[Yeah, yeah, I know what I'm doing.] The woman's voice said in annoyance and continued to change a few more things.

[Inventory- Slot 1 unlocked!]

[The System has given 'Beginner's Pack' as a reward for the Host.]

[Memory Library has unlocked!]

[That's all I can do for you now, kid.]

Then, she went silent and checked all the newly obtained information through the 'Wisdom Link.'

…

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A few minutes later.

[Raven, wake up.]

A strange woman's voice echoed inside Raven's mind, causing his consciousness to awaken.

Raven slowly opened his eyes and gazed with a puzzled look.

"W-What is this blue thing?"

[Don't panic, Raven. The System has awakened me to help you.]

"W-Who?" A look of alarm appeared on Raven's face as he glanced around warily.

"W- Who is it? W-What d-do y-you w-want?"

He started to stutter in panic.

"W- Who are you? T-Thief?" He tried to push away the strange illusionary blue screen, but only his hand passed through like a ghost, making him even more scared.

[You don't have to panic, Raven. I'm not a Ghost or a thief. I'm Zera, a Tower Spirit artifact created by a powerful Wizard to help you!]

"P-Powerful Wizard? How did you know my name?" Raven had repeatedly heard of the word 'Wizard' from her sister and asked.

"B-But how can I trust you? My sister said not to trust Walkers or any strangers! Wait, I'll call my sister. You can talk to her directly." He tried to sit up but felt some heavy weight was placed on his body.

[Unfortunately, you mustn't tell anyone about my existence. If someone finds out my existence within your soul, not only will they try to kill you, but they might go after your sister.]

He was about to say something but soon swallowed his words. Although he still didn't understand this System, he felt he should listen to this person's words. Exposing this person's presence to his sister or anyone would only harm them.

"Promise me you won't hurt my sister and Aunt!" He asked.

[You don't need to worry. No one will get harmed if you don't reveal my presence to anyone.] Zera said in a calm tone and soon added.

[Before that, you need to do something about your current state. If you don't heal your soul quicker, you will die.]

"W-What?" Raven couldn't understand what she meant and started asking strange questions.

"What happened to me? What is soul? How will I die?"

[... I forgot you are only a small kid. Okay, before we do something about your current state, we must take care of your body. Wait, let me check your aptitudes.]

A few seconds passed slowly.

[As I expected, that 'thing' indeed devoured all your affinities, resulting in your soul being more crippled.] Zera said in a worried tone.

"Is there a way to get my affinities back?" Raven asked, not even having any clue about what those meant.

[Unfortunately, it's not possible with your current condition. Although the System fused with the remnant of that 'thing' and became something unique, it's still not the time to check how it works. Hmm, first, let me show you how messed up your body is.] Just as she spoke, a row of information appeared in front of his eyes.

...

[Name: Raven Sillalus Jorvot

Age: 5

Race: Human/????

Nationality: Zenith Empire

Title: 66th Prince of Zenith Empire

Class: None

Level: 0

Current Rank: Mortal (Soul damaged 85%)

Life Pathway: Not decided yet

Attributes:

Strength: 0.3

Agility: 0.4

Vitality: 0.3

Luck: 1.0

Spirit: 1.4

Additional Skills: None.]

...

"What are these? My name? What does that title mean? Prince? What is level?" Raven asked in confusion.

[Even if I tell you everything now, you won't understand, child. My worry is something else. With your current status, your future looks like a total mess.] Even Zera got confused by the current situation and fell into deep thought.

[It seems we have no choice but to use the 'Memory Library' and the 'Beginner's Reward' to take the first step. It is possible to awaken those skills quickly using this method. Kid, I'll give you three skill options; choose a single one.]

[1. Past Finder: It's a unique ability to find the traces of past incidents that happened before and let you get a clear view of the situation. It mainly helps in investigation-type missions.

2. Instant Memory: This skill lets you memorize anything you read once.

3. Wonder Sense: It's a unique luck ability that allows you to differentiate between good and evil. For example, if you sense an incredibly 'Good' feeling whenever you walk, you might find some good things.]

'Is it possible to learn all three of them?' He asked like a greedy kid.

[Not now. But you can learn once you heal your soul to a normal state.] Zera's words made him brighten up.

After that, he read the first option and asked.

'What does it mean it can allow me to find the traces of the past incident?'

[It's an ability to look into the past or find clues about what happened before. For example, if you learn this ability, you can even look into the past of this place. If some people talked about a secret in this room yesterday, you could use this ability to see what they talked about thoroughly.]

Although Raven barely understood what she said, he felt it was a very fantastic ability.

'Then, what about the [Instant Memory] skill? Can it allow me to memorize whatever I read like it says?' He asked in anticipation.

[Yes!] A short reply came from Zera. In truth, she was stunned by this 5-year-old kid's calm thinking.

Raven also read the third option and soon fell into deep thought. In truth, he barely comprehended how valuable each skill would be. But the most essential thing in his life was the 'Instant Memory' skill.

'When I entered the school, teachers praised me for learning equations and even gifted me sweets. But recently, I can feel even the lowest ranking students have already caught up to me.' At that moment, he was more like an average student. But if things go as right now, he will soon become a student with the lowest score.

The elementary school had a total of five classes. And it would take five years to complete for an average student. In the first grade and second grades, Raven had a total of five subjects. First was Logic Calculation, the second was Language, the third was Reading and Writing, the fourth was Arts, and finally, the fifth was Grammar. Although extra classes like sports and meditation were there, they were more like free classes for him. So, he should have paid more attention to it.

At this moment, he had already passed the first grade.

But from this year onwards, each subject will be much harder than before. At that time, Raven knew he would lag behind many of his friends.

'I also don't want to disappoint my sister and Aunt.' A firm resolve appeared in his mind.

'I will choose [Instant Memorize] skill.'