Liam’s eyes widened as he stared at the notifications that had appeared. At first he was trying to process what he was reading. After he had fully activated his Anima Forge it unlocked Soul Craft and Core Creation. He didn’t know what that meant. What were cores and what did they have to do with Soul Crafting? Not only that, but he gained a new ability called Soul Flame.
After taking a few seconds to reorganize his thoughts, he opened the description for each new thing he had received in order to better understand it.
----------------------------------------
“Soul Craft. Description – The Craft of turning Soul Orbs and the creatures the Soul Orbs came from into power. By crafting suitable vessels to harness the power of Soul Orbs, the Crafter can then add then to finished weapons or armor. The Crafter can also use the vessels created from Soul Crafting into other crafting fields. Examples: Alchemy, Enchanting, Rune Crafting, and more.”
“Core Creation. Soul Craft Sub-section. Description – The Craft of creating a vessel known as a Soul Core Orb by taking a Soul Orb, that will represent the main component, and forging the required amount of Soul Orbs of the same species into it to not only enhance the attributes the main component will give, but to also solidify and make the Soul Core accessible for other crafting uses. Attributes that are given to Soul Core Orb depend on chosen Soul Orb to be used as main focus, Tier level of Soul Orb of main component as well as Soul Orbs used to process Soul Core. Requirements to craft a Soul Core: Anima Forge, Soul Orbs, Spirit Pool.”
“Soul Flame. Description – This ability allows the caster to pour some Soul Power into a flame turning it into a Soul Flame. The power of a Soul Flame is so hot it can burn the soul. Soul Flames cannot melt metal or other non-spirit crafted physical objects. The Soul Flame only affects Soul created or crafted objects. Duration of spell: N/A. Costs: Size of the flame determines the amount of Spirit Pool resources is used. Target: Single Flame. Spell Type: Channeled, Non-chant.”
----------------------------------------
Liam’s brows scrunched as he read the last ability. The description was interesting, to say the least. However, it left him with many questions. The flame couldn’t melt metal or other non-spirit crafted physical objects? But it was so hot it could burn the soul? Not only that but his Anima Forge ability required a Soul Flame. Did that mean he’d need to use this ability each time just to activate the Anima Forge?
And what was up with the Core Creation? Judging by the wording it seemed like he needed to use Soul Orbs. The fact it didn’t fully tell him exactly how many soul orbs he needed to use for the craft left him feeling unsure. Not only that, but the fact it stated the attributes of the item being dependent on the Tier level of the Soul Orb made him feel like this craft was a complete gamble. He would definitely need to run some tests to see if there are patterns, but the materials needed to run those tests relied on his Soul Orb stock. He had plenty he could probably use at the moment, but majority of those Flawed Soul Orbs were needed to replenish his Spirit Pool resource.
Liam let out a sigh. Even though he was happy to gain a new craft he could mess around with and learn, there were still so many questions that needed to be answered. So many tests and not enough time nor materials. He mentally told himself he would need to go material hunting soon so he could stock up even more on Soul Orbs, but for now he wanted to see how this Core Creation worked.
He stared at the eerie ghastly green flame that flickered around inside the newly created Anima Forge. The flame, creepy as it was, made Liam feel drawn to it. He didn’t know why he felt that way, but the more he stared at it the more he felt mesmerized. It was like the flame was calling to him.
As a few seconds passed by, he realized he felt something else. He felt it was familiar to him. Not in a way that he had seen it before. Rather like it was a part of him. He shook his head trying not to be too distracted by the unknowns of this flame.
“I wonder how this would work,” Liam quietly muttered to himself as he took a thinking pose. “Am I supposed to just throw a Soul Orb inside? Or am I just supposed to say Core Creation and it would just pop up a screen?” Liam let out a small chuckle as he added, “As if it would be that eas…”
A notification window suddenly popped up in front of him.
----------------------------------------
“Soul Core Creation. Please pick the main component you wish to use in order to craft a Soul Core Orb.”
----------------------------------------
A list of all his Soul Orbs suddenly appeared in front of him. The list was organized in alphabetical order as well as Tier Level. The amount of Soul Orbs he had for each creature he had harvested shown off to the right of each listed Soul Orb.
As he searched his list of Soul Orbs he realized he had a lot of Minor Soul Orbs and Common Soul Orbs. He recognized the names of these specific Soul Orbs as the ones he had received from his fight against the Lich on the sixth floor of that dungeon back in the Tutorial Area.
As he thought about that, he looked for the Soul Orb he had harvested. When he used his Class Ability Soul Harvest as an execute ability, he didn’t really look at the notification he had received on the Tier Level of the Soul Orb. When he finally found it at the bottom of the list Liam’s eyes widened.
----------------------------------------
“Brilliant Soul Orb of the Hubristic Arisen Lich x 1.”
----------------------------------------
Liam was both confused and shocked as he stared at this. He remembered during the fight the Lich’s stats had read he was level twenty seven and next to it were the words partially sealed. And from his understanding the level it had displayed during his fight should have made the Soul Orb into a Common Soul Orb Tier level. However, if the Soul Orb’s Tier level wasn’t affected by the partial seal and was reflecting his real level, then that meant this Soul Orb was of very high quality. But how high of a Tier Level was Brilliant?
From what he could understand level one to nine creatures had Flawed Tiered Soul Orbs. Levels ten to nineteen were Minor Tiered Soul Orbs. Lastly, twenty to twenty nine were Common. Were levels thirty to thirty nine Brilliant Tier? He wasn’t sure. Since he never saw the Lich’s real level he didn’t have any proof that this was right. The only thing he could do was find monsters of that level and harvest their Soul Orbs to see.
Liam shook his head. He was getting distracted from the task at hand. He scrolled back to the beginning of the list, but then stopped as he got to the Common Soul Orbs. Since he was going to try and make a Soul Core Orb he decided to run a couple of experiments to see what he was able to do and not able to do.
He mentally chose the Common Soul Orb of the Mummy Guard and waited to see what happened. As he suspected a red notification appeared.
----------------------------------------
“Material chosen for Main Component, Common Soul Orb of the Mummy Guard, rejected. Level in Core Creation and Soul Craft has not met the requirements. Soul Power needed to craft item exceeds what Crafter has.”
----------------------------------------
“Okay. Just like any other crafting, I need to level it up in order to be able to use better materials,” Liam said as he nodded and closed the notification.
He then scrolled down and looked at the Flawed Soul Orbs to see what he could work with. From his time here in this dungeon he had collected a lot of Twin Fanged Adder Soul Orbs and Static Clawed Mantis Soul Orbs. If he was going to experiment with any of them it would have to be one of those.
He debated over which one he was going to try his experiment on, but then landed his eyes on the Electro Orchid Mantis Soul Orb. He only had two of these, but something made him consider trying one of these out. It was something in the description of the craft had said.
The Craft of creating a vessel known as a Soul Core Orb by taking a Soul Orb, that will represent the main component, and forging the required amount of Soul Orbs of the same species…
The part saying ‘of the same species’ had Liam curious about wanting to test a theory. If the end results depend on the Tier level of the Soul Orb then would it also rely on the Species of the Soul Orb as well? He had plenty of Static Clawed Mantis Soul Orbs, but if he had to compare those with the Electro Orchid Mantis then he would have to say that the Electro Orchid Mantis was better.
Wanting to test this theory out he picked the Flawed Soul Orb of the Electro Orchid Mantis. He was happy to see that no red notification appear, but instead a new one.
----------------------------------------
“Main Component chosen: Flawed Soul Orb of the Electro Orchid Mantis. Materials Required: 10 Mantis type Soul Orbs. Materials Available: Flawed Soul Orb of the Static Clawed Mantis x 25, Flawed Soul Orb of the Electro Orchid Mantis x 1.”
“Please select 10 Soul Orbs you wish to use in crafting the Soul Core Orb.”
----------------------------------------
Liam smiled as he stared at the two notifications. As he looked at the two selections he noticed something next to both of the selections. Next to the Flawed Soul Orbs of the Static Clawed Mantis were words in light green that said Compatible. Next to the Flawed Soul Orb of the Electro Orchid Mantis were words in dark green that read Very Compatible.
Love what you're reading? Discover and support the author on the platform they originally published on.
Liam stared at both of the colored words. If his guess was correct, the colors represented the level of compatibility of the Soul Orbs to the Main component, but that was obvious. The thing he wanted to figure out was why it was needed. While he understood that the Static Clawed Mantis Soul Orbs could work and the Electro Orchid Mantis was similar to the main component, he didn’t understand why the colors and the words compatible or very compatible needed to be there.
“Maybe it there for me to know what could be used?” Liam quietly muttered as he thought about it. He then shook his head and added, “No, if that was the case then the other Soul Orbs would have been listed in Materials Available. Since they didn’t appear and only these two did then it has to do with the materials that can be used.”
Figuring he would need to test this out more after gathering more Flawed Soul Orbs and leveling this craft, he decided to continue with the craft by clicking ten Flawed Soul Orbs of the Static Clawed Mantis. A new notification appeared after he clicked the last Flawed Soul Orb.
----------------------------------------
“Soul Core Creation: Main Component – Flawed Soul Orb of the Electro Orchid Mantis. Materials selected to forge: Flawed Soul Orb of Static Clawed Mantis x 10. Soul Power needed to craft: 10 S.P. Chances to increase Attributes of final Product: 10%. Would you like to start the process to craft Soul Core Orb? Yes No?”
----------------------------------------
Liam stared at the part of the notification that talked about the chance to increase the attributes. If what he was thinking was right then he might have found his first clue to what the whole compatibility meant.
Wanting to test the theory he was forming; he mentally clicked No and was brought back to the notification that asked to select ten Soul Orbs to use. This time he selected the last Flawed Soul Orb of the Electro Orchid Mantis and nine Flawed Soul Orbs of the Static Clawed Mantis.
When the next notification appeared, a smile grew on his face.
----------------------------------------
“Soul Core Creation: Main Component – Flawed Soul Orb of the Electro Orchid Mantis. Materials selected to forge: Flawed Soul Orb of Static Clawed Mantis x 10. Soul Power needed to craft: 10 S.P. Chances to increase Attributes of final Product: 20%. Would you like to start the process to craft Soul Core Orb? Yes No?”
----------------------------------------
Even though it only increased by ten percent, he felt he made a good discovery. That one change in materials increased his chances of increasing the attributes of the final product. That mean the compatibilities had a purpose besides being available materials. If his math added up then the Compatible Soul Orbs increased his chances by around one percent while Very Compatible Soul Orbs raised it around ten. He said around because if it was exact then it should have been nineteen instead of twenty, so this told him it rounded it.
Feeling happy with this new discovery, Liam decided to go through with his choice and prepared himself as he mentally accepted.
As soon as he accepted, he felt his Spectral Lantern suddenly materialize. It shook against his leg as an eerie ghastly green light lit up inside it. Before he could reach for it, the glass door swung open allowing a Soul Orb to float out and around him before making its way right above the middle of the Soul flame inside the Anima Forge.
Ten more Soul Orbs escaped from the Spectral Lantern before the door closed. Each of the Soul Orbs made their way in front of him, before going inside the Anima Forge. Each new Soul Orb that had entered the forge didn’t enter the flame like the main component. Instead, they floated and slowly spun around the main component above the flame.
Liam wasn’t sure what he needed to do, but as he stared at them the familiar sensation he felt when he tried to activate his Anima Forge had stirred back up.
Liam activated Phantom Sight and watched as the ghastly green smoke made its way in a thin line down his arms and to his hands. This time however, the smoke didn’t move towards the flame or any predestined areas. Instead, it rolled off the palms of his hands and slowly disappeared like fog dispersing.
He watched as the smoke rolled off his hands before looking into the Anima Forge once more. He was confused on how to proceed from here. The only thing he could think about doing was make his Soul Power enter the opening the forge, but nothing after that.
This was starting to frustrate him. He hated not knowing things and this was taking a wild guess since he couldn’t get any information on the craft. The other thing that was fueling his irritation and frustration was the fact that the black smoke, he called his Soul Power, wasn’t doing anything except rolling off of him.
It’s like it has no guidance or path to follow. Liam thought to himself.
If that is the case then guide it. Eri suddenly stated.
Eri’s words gave him pause. He didn’t even realize she hadn’t said anything for a while until now. However, what she said made him think about something. Was it possible to guide his Soul Power? He knew he could influence the amount thanks to his attempt to make the Anima Forge, but was it really possible to guide the ghastly green smoke like he was manipulating his mana…
This last thought process made him rethink about what he was doing. He was doing a craft that required him to use his Spirit Pool. If he were to think about how he used Mana Manipulation alongside Mana Control to help with his Blacksmithing and Alchemy then what made this any different? The answer would be he wasn’t using any mana. He was using his Spirit Pool. That was difference. However, he had performed something akin to Mana Channeling earlier to create a Soul Flame.
So, if he needed to control or manipulate his Soul Power to help in the process to make a Soul Core Orb then what did he need to use that was similar to what he did earlier and to channel mana? What was the single similar thing? He needed to will himself to do it.
Liam wasn’t entirely sure if that was the right answer, but he figured he had nothing to lose, but Spirit Pool resources and time. He decided he would try the exercise he did when he first learned how to learn channel, control, and manipulate his mana.
He closed his eyes, took a deep breath in, slowly released it, and focused. He tried to focus on the sensation he felt that came from his chest. After a few seconds had passed he didn’t feel or see anything. He was about to give up on this approach and try another route, until a flicker of ghastly green light caught his attention.
Liam tilted his head down to get a better look at his chest. Another flicker appeared the disappeared around the outside of his chest. Then another. The pace of the flicker started to quicken until a steady thin flow of ethereal green smoke came into view.
Liam then watched as the thin amount of green smoke followed the same path as what he had seen with his eyes opened. He didn’t see any issues, so he tried to focus on channeling his Soul Power to thicken. As the green smoke started to thicken he stared at it and tried to will it to move.
Nothing happen. He focused even harder the second time and felt something within him shudder. He then watched a ripple waved through the smoke that had escaped from his chest and throughout the trails of smoke that ran along his arms. He felt something click within him as the smoke that waterfalled off his palms suddenly rose up and turned towards his face.
Two chimes suddenly echoed in Liam’s mind causing him to open his eyes to see a couple of notifications had appeared.
----------------------------------------
“Congratulations! You have gained the Non-Combat ability – Spirit Channeling! Spirit Channeling has reached Level 1! Progression 2: 0%!”
“Congratulations! You have gained the Non-combat ability – Spirit Control! Spirit Control has reached Level 1! Progression to level 2: 0%!”
“Congratulations! You have gained the Non-combat ability – Spirit Manipulation! Spirit Control has reached Level 1! Progression to level 2: 0%!”
----------------------------------------
Liam felt victorious internally but didn’t let it be shown outside as he closed the notifications. He then shifted his focus back on the two Soul Power smoke streams in front of him.
Liam tilted his head as he stared at the two streams of smoke. They didn’t move. He tried to will them towards the open area of the forge and smiled. The two ends of the streams turned around and slowly snaked through the air and into the burning forge. He focused on the two and tried to manipulate them to not enter the Soul Flame. Instead, he tried to guide them to a Soul Orb that had floated right by the tips of the smoke streams.
Liam was shocked to see the line of Soul Orbs that were floating suddenly stop moving as the smoke started to wash over them. The two Soul Orbs took in the Soul Power smoke almost like they were being filled. As he watched this he noticed the color of the orbs start to darken and grow cloudy.
Once they had gotten to a specific dark shade of green he noticed they had started to shake a bit. He didn’t like the way they were shaking and took it as a sign he needed to stop. He then controlled the two streams to move to the next two Soul Orbs.
He continued to do this over and over until he had filled all of the outer Soul Orbs. After he finished that he moved both streams towards the Soul Orb that was in the middle of the other ones as the Main Component. He tried to fill it but watched as it rejected the Soul Power he was trying to feed it. He was confused as to why this was happening, but stopped since he didn’t want to waste anymore soul Power. Since that wasn’t working he instead tried to focus on grabbing the Soul Orb without filling it and to his surprise it actually worked.
What surprised him even more was when he went to grab the Soul Orb with his Soul Power, thin lines of the smoke he had filled it with shot out and connected to the other Soul Orbs. Not sure what to do next, Liam decided to try and lower it into the Soul Flame to see what would happen.
As soon as he brought it into the middle of the flame he watched as a reaction started to happen. The Soul Orb acting as the main component looked like it had started to heat up as a bright ghastly green color started to encase the Soul Orb. It didn’t stop there, the heat and color that was caused by the flame worked its way through the connections the main component had made to the ten other Soul Orbs. Once when the heat travelled and transferred to them, Liam noticed a new reaction.
They were starting to boil. However, it wasn’t the Soul Orbs themselves weren’t the ones that were boiling. It was the contents inside of them that was. The cloudy dark ghastly green inside the Soul Orbs started bubbling and hissing.
Steam started to exit out of the Soul Orbs, slowly turning the smoke inside into a liquid substance. After everything inside the ten Soul Orbs had liquified they then started making their way through the connections like they were tubes straight for the main component. As soon as the last liquid had escaped each of the Ten Soul Orbs that floated around the flame, they started to shatter. The connection tubes that were connecting them to the main component had also started to shatter like broken glass until the last drop had reached and filled the Main component.
As soon as the last drop had entered the Soul Orb within the flame, Liam watched the Soul Flame suddenly burn brighter and hotter. He had to squint through his goggles to see what was going on inside the flame while trying not to let go of the Soul Orb with his Soul Power.
As he stared into the flame he watched the liquid inside start to spin swiftly. As the Soul Orb spun he watched as the translucent outer later started to solidify and harden. He didn’t know how that was happening and was both confused and intrigued by this. However, he didn’t lose his focus on what was going on in front of him.
He continued to focus on the Soul Orb that was solidifying in front of him. After the last part of the liquid inside had solidified, he felt it start to spin inside the green smoke that was holding it. He felt it try to break free as it spun like a washing machine on the spin cycle, making him focus his control on holding it tighter.
After a few seconds had passed, he felt the orb start to slow down. After it finished slowly down he heard a couple of chimes echo in his mind and a couple of notifications appeared with it. Before he read the notification he pulled the final product out from the forge and set it down on the anvil. He then turned his attention towards the notifications.
----------------------------------------
“Congratulations! You have successfully crafted Soul Core Orb – Orb of the Electro Orchid Mantis!”
“Orb of the Electro Orchid Mantis – Filled. Item Rarity – Uncommon. Item Quality – Flawed. Description – An orb filled with the soul of an Electro Orchid Mantis. Usages: Soul Bind this Orb into a weapon or object to give it a + 10% to all Lightning based Magics, + 5 % to all Plant based Magics, + 5% to attacks.“
----------------------------------------