Chapter 4: 1st Rank Soul Engineer

Randi was sitting on his personal desk inside the workshop. He was holding a strange-looking object with numerous line engraved to it. The line would shine as if it was an electrical circuit when it received an energy source, or in this regard, a Soul Source.

He was staring at the object with great focus. Sometimes he would rotate the object or put it closer to his eyes to get a better look of it. When he's in this condition, he'd forget his surrounding, entering a trance-like state.

Dana was silently looking from behind. This was a test. Randi needed to assemble the parts into a predetermined Soul Device and he had to find which part had been deliberately broken to pass this test. He had passed the first part of the test easily, but the real problem lies in the last part. Troubleshooting was something that could only be done after a lot of trials and errors. Furthermore, it was possible only if the Soul Engineer had enough experience, to begin with.

Time passed, one minute, five, ten... The time duration was slowly nearing its end.

Dana anxiously looked at his watch, if Randi could pass this test then it would serve as a prove to the alliance that he was really talented. If that were to happen, then even if he couldn't reach the pinnacle of a Soul Engineer, he could at least become a Soul Researcher.

Strangely, Randi didn't even look at the time. He was immersed in his own world as if he didn't care about the test. Only at this kind of state that he could make the best of his ability.

He kept looking at the incomplete Soul Device. Suddenly, something caught his attention!

'This... This must be it!'

"Dad, I'm finished! I know the answer!" He turned around, facing his father.

Dana returned to his cold expression. He couldn't be impartial toward his son in this kind of important occasion, "Tell me what's wrong with it."

"There's two parts that need to be fixed. The first one is the energy converter. Because of rust, its efficiency has slowly fallen and it fails to meet the required power output. The easier way to fix this is by changing the broken part but I think there's a cheaper option by slowly soaking it inside Two-Tailed lizard's liquefied fat." Randi said excitedly.

Dana nodded, a slight smile was apparent on his face, "Good, what's the other one?"

Randi laughed, "It took me a very long time before figuring this out. The circuit. There was a circuit line that's pretty much useless. It was hidden pretty well because of the complexity of the main board. Seriously, it was connected to a lot of parts, making it very difficult for me to discern that it doesn't have anything to do with the overall picture. If we remove it, then I'm sure that the efficiency would increase by a whopping 30... no, 40%!"

Dana smiled, "Excellent, Randi. You passed the test. Actually, even if you only pointed the first problem out, you would still have passed. The circuit line is something that even official 1st Rank Soul Engineers would have a problem with."

"Then, why'd you include it in the test?" Randi was dumbfounded.

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Dana tousled Randi's hair. He had a warm smile that showed his vast love toward his son. "Because I believe in you," he added, "You are now officially a 1st Rank Soul Engineer. Congratulation."

Hearing his father's word, Randi jumped in ecstasy. Finally, all of his hard work these past two years had paid off. He could still remember all those sweat and tears he shed, all the anxiety and fear that he forcefully tried to suppress. Suddenly, those things felt like it didn't matter that much anymore.

It was the joy of a success. One that could only be understood by people who poured an enormous amount of effort before achieving something.

He had endured too much. As a kid in his age, he shouldn't be doing that much effort. Without a proper willpower, Randi would have quit months ago.

Seeing his son's contented expression, Dana was also relieved. He had been very anxious this whole time. Even if he knew that his son would make it, he still couldn't help but worry. That's just how a father would feel.

"Randi, even if you passed this test perfectly, you can't be complacent. There's still a long path ahead of you. I know numerous people who passed this test with the same perfect score as you, they even finished it faster."

Dana added, "You know it yourself, we have to work even harder because of our lack of Soul Talent. Only by working many times harder that we can at least be comparable to those blessed Soul Engineers," Dana clenched his teeth. If his son had even the lowest level of Soul Talent, he would undoubtedly be a great figure in the future.

'Father is right, I can't be full of myself. I still need to work hard,' Randi thought to himself. However, now he didn't find those hard work to be unbearable for him. Instead, they felt... rather pleasing.

Dana nodded after seeing Randi's attitude. Because of these past years, Randi had matured faster than his peers. Maybe that was the effect of all the harsh experience he had endured.

"Our next target is the 2nd Rank Soul Engineer. Only after reaching this stage that you could be deemed as having some worth in the Alliance's eyes."

"But before that, I want to show you something. Watch."

Dana took the Soul Device from Randi's hand. Then he took a spare small energy converter from his pocket and a small translucent Soul Stone with the size of a ping-pong ball. His left hand, which was holding the Soul Stone suddenly shone in a blue light.

Dana's expression turned solemn. The energy from the Soul Stone was transmitted into his right hand. Suddenly, the Soul Device and the spare part on his right hand floated to the air. Ragna could see that the broken energy converter was being slowly replaced by the new one.

Randi watched without blinking his eye. It turned out his father can control the Soul Energy with using any instrument!

'Dad was also a Soul Bearer? That's impossible, he told me that he wasn't.'

The circuit line inside the Soul Device shone brightly. One could see that the line that Randi mentioned was being slowly erased. The incredible thing was that Dana could do it without using a proper instrument. That was something that only Awakened, Soul Engineers with Soul Talent could do.

In a short while, the process ended. The Soul Stone stopped shining and it could be seen that its size was reduced by a little.

"Maybe it's too early to show you, but even I who can't wield Soul Power can do something like this. Not having the talent doesn't mean that you can't control the power. As long as you have an external energy source and enough skill and experience to control the energy, you can do the same," Dana's face was a bit red, it seemed like he exhausted himself a bit by doing it.

"Dad... can I really do that? Then... doesn't that mean I could perform equally compared to Awakened Soul Engineers?" Randi said, trembling. He was very excited.

Dana was about to shake his head, but he couldn't bear himself to do so. Instead, he answered, "You can. However, it's just too difficult. Look at me, even after training all these years, my proficiency in controlling the Soul Energy is still lower than Soul Engineer two ranks below me."

"That's fine! Dad, you have to teach me that method!" Randi pulled his father's hand excitedly.

"Ah... It's harder than you imagine, Randi. You have to work even harder than now just to barely learn it. Not to mention how hard it is to use the method in practical use."

"It's okay Dad, there's only one thing that I'm capable of, and that's working hard. As long as it's achievable, I'm sure I can do it!"

Dana only shook his head. Now he regretted showing it to his son this early. However, he didn't notice that he had lit a fire in Randi's heart.

A fire that would lead him to his very own path of Soul Engineer.