Chapter 2: Soul Manifestation

A young girl with short silver hair could be seen running in the street. Behind her was a plump looking boy around her age. They were bringing a basket that seemed to be filled with food.

They ran along the alley, moving while trying to avoid bumping into other people. They had a bright expression, one that could only be seen on children.

After a few moment, they reached a small workshop. The place looked neat from the outside, with a variety of Soul Tools being put on a display behind the glass. They didn't enter the place from the front, instead, they circled around and entered through the rear.

They slowly crawled inside. In just a few breath, they managed to enter a small room. There was a lot of books inside the room. Furthermore, there was also all sort of tools and instruments hanging neatly on the wall. Near the window, they could see the figure of a young man tinkering something on a table while seating. He was so focused that he didn't even notice them.

The young girl slowly crept toward the young man, she raised her hand and swung it toward the latter's head.

Pak!

"Ouch!" The young man turned around, "Ah it's just you guys. I was afraid that a thief was breaking into this place."

"Randi! If you are even concerned about thief coming, then guard this place properly! Every time you start working on those scraps, you immediately ignored your surroundings," the young girl reprimanded.

"Ah, why are you the one who got mad, Tania. This is my place. I'm the victim here."

"Hmph!" Tania smacked Randi's head once again. This time, her hand was covered in a translucent energy, increasing the pain that the latter felt by more than twice compared to the first one.

Randi grimaced in pain, he immediately sent a look toward the plump looking boy. In their dictionary, this gesture meant, 'Don't just stand there, come and help me coax her'

"Uh, Tania. I think that's enough. We're not here to quarrel, right? Let's show Randi what we've brought," The plump looking young boy responded beautifully.

"Hmph! I guess you are right. You better thank Brann for this, Randi." She opened the basket, "Here, my mother just taught me how to make a sandwich from silver-lined cow's meat. The result turned out to be quite good and I decided to let both of you try it," Her expression turned into one of a smile. It's quite frightening how children could change their mood in practically no time.

"Hurray for her majesty!" Randi and Brann cheered.

Tania took one of the sandwiches out, "Ah... Strange, it's not warm anymore. I'm sure I brought the heat preserving basket." She seemed confused.

"Maybe it's broken?" Brann replied.

"Let me take a look," Randi took the basket and examined it. His expression turned serious. He took one of the instruments from his jacket, the object looked like a screwdriver, albeit a bit more complex.

With a bit of setting, the screwdriver's head changed into one that's suited for the basket. He used it to open the circuit box. There was no sort of modern era's electrical circuit inside, instead, it was more complicated with a small compartment in the middle which was used to hold its Soul Core.

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After the advancement in the Soul Technology's aspect. Most of the tools and device no longer used electricity as the main source of energy anymore. Soul Cores and Soul Stones were used instead. This meant that the circuit and the component had to undergo significant changes. This past hundred years had been a period of unimaginable growth for human civilization.

As the saying goes. The first hundred years were used to adapt, and the next hundred years were used to improve.

In just a few breaths, Randi could guess what went wrong with the system. He took the basket to his desk and started working on it. After just a few minutes, the broken parts had been replaced with the new ones. Actually, it was just a malfunction on the intermediary system. The part got overheated and broke down. It was a simple problem, but to find the root cause and immediately fix it was no easy feat either. Even more so for a 12 years old child.

"Whoa, no matter how I look, you really are amazing with those Soul Tools, Randi," Brann exclaimed.

"It seems like Uncle Dana wasn't lying when he said that you are talented. Look, you have only studied for a short while and you can already fix Soul Tools," Tania added.

"It's no big deal, guys. It's my only talent after all," Randi laughed but hidden deep inside that laugh was a deep sorrow.

"Ah... we're sorry. We didn't mean to remind you."

"It's okay. I mean, It has been 2 years already. I have somehow gotten used to it." Randi noticed the gloomy atmosphere, "Hey, I really mean it. Let's change the topic. We need to wait for the sandwiches to heat up, give me some update. What's been going on lately?"

"Ah, nothing much. This town is just too small and boring. Oh wait, I remember! I think someone found a strange ruin near the outskirt of the Great Forest. It isn't that far from here and there's a lot of Soul Bearers paying attention to it. Even the government have started making some move. Maybe the town will finally get somewhat more busting. It's got nothing to do with us though," Tania replied.

"Yeah, that's just about it. I can't wait to move to one of the Great City already. If only the school would graduate us a bit sooner," Brann added.

"Relax, we'll graduate in two more months. What are you guys planning to do after the graduation?" Randi asked.

"I'll continue my study at one of the Great City. I'd do anything to leave this boring town. My father has a small branch of his company in Bandung. I think I'll go there to start learning how to run this business."

"You aren't going to make use of your Soul Latent Talent?"

Brann let out a sigh, he had a helpless expression in his face,"You know me. I'm not suited for combat. I think the auxiliary path is the best for me. Soul Power can be used to strengthen every part of human's body. I'll find a cultivation path that can help me control my emotion while at the same time increase my charisma. Who knows, maybe in ten years I could become popular?"

"Pfft. You should lose some weight first. If not, then forget about ten years. Even in twenty years, no one would want you!" Randi laughed.

"You... You... Just wait! I'll prove you that my body weight won't be able to stop my charm from overflowing!"

Randi shrugged his head, this kind of thing was a common occurrence for them. Usually, Tania would step in and add some salt to Brann's wound, but strangely she didn't say anything and kept silent.

"Tania, what's wrong? Why don't you say anything?"

"Yeah, it's strange to see you like this. Come, say something about my fat. I'd feel better compared to this."

"Randi... Brann... I want to show you something," Tania suddenly spoke.

Randi and Brann looked at each other, confused. They wanted to ask but the timing didn't seem to be right.

Tania closed her eyes and took a deep breath. Suddenly, everyone could feel boundless vitality coming from her. She opened her palm in front of her chest, facing upward. Green light erupted from her palm, momentarily blinding Randi and Brann. As if that wasn't enough to surprise them, a silhouette of a woman in white robe manifested from Tania's palm. The woman's body was covered in green thorns. Her eyes were closed but it emanated terrifying pressure.

Randi and Brann sucked a mouthful of cold breath when they saw it happening. They could see that a transformation was also happening on Tania. A rosy blush could be seen on her face. Her already white skin became even paler. If Tania could be considered beautiful before, then now she resembled a young goddess.

It was a Soul Manifestation.