Chapter 8

Soul Realm

I rolled the dice and immediately saw the floating eye with wings make his attack. Or hers… or it? My opponent aimed to manipulate the board using Bokorai's first Condition: Fortification. The ability to strengthen the ground or object to one's self was essential to creating strong foundations from which to strike from. However, the real power of this Soul Art wasn't in a forced blanketed fortification but in the skillful use of selective fortification. The floating eyeball was using the Soul Art to toughen or weaken the areas the dice rolled to allow a positive outcome.

This was my first battle, but it would not be my last. While I might seem to be the sort that rushes in and defeats everything, damn be the consequences, I actually wasn't. I studied, trained, and became a master of infiltration and assassination. So, I observed many games, paid close attention to players' habits, routines, and even memorized their likes and dislikes before attempting my first game with them.

I countered his manipulations with my own, not in a brute-force manner but in an unpredictable way. The eyeball couldn't manipulate the entire board at once. He was too tunnel vision on where he wanted to attack. It didn't help that his giant eyeball would point straight at the squares he hoped to adjust.

By making something sturdier or weaker would directly affect the bounce of the dice. You can even make the dice land the way you want with enough precision.

However, it never occurred to the strange creatures that Fortification could be used on more than the board. I used it on the air itself. Between alternating the air currents and the board bounces in places he wasn't concentrating on, I pulled off the victory with a roll of 20.

"You cheated!" The eye screeched mentally since it had no mouth, but then its ghostly form evaporated and reappeared at the token cash out. It could pick its prize and then move on to wherever. My token total rose, and I sighed. This would be harder than I imagined, but I'm still here so that counts for something.

I wondered about the invasion and VeLana and all my teammates. What was going on? Would I be able to return in time to make a difference? If I could return to life, could I do it at a certain point in time? If Genies in bottles taught me anything, it is being very careful with your wish. However, that goal is still far off. I need to continue winning first.

Thanks to a filthy pirate, unlocking the Mind Soul Art was key to my understanding of how to progress into the Soul Realm. He had mentioned Soul Ranks, and I knew this was the direction Blessings and Astra Ranks were headed toward. Although the pirate didn't confirm an advancement above Divine, I had this sinking suspicion that Divine was merely the stepping stone to something far more powerful. I needed to get back and keep advancing. I was ready to take the journey to level 2 world.

~~~

I glanced at the token in my hand, and I saw the number of points I earned get added to my total. Currently, I have 200 points. I can wager all or some of it. Just depends on how quickly I want to earn or possibly lose. I needed a hundred thousand points to earn a spot in the final game. While everyone that arrives here starts with 100 points, there were higher stakes games to strive for. For now, I was stuck at the lower games.

Unlocking the Mind Soul Art also granted me access to some additional skills. Some games blocked the use of skills, but others allowed them. The next game was one such game, and I was going all in.

Ever play poker with superpowers? Neither have I until now. Having a tier 5 Conceal skill was okay, but a T8 Mask Aura was better. The problem, though, is that my skills are woefully weak compared to everyone else. I was literally the weakest person here in terms of Astra power. However, I do have a Way of the Astra ability through a Divine Blessing of Astra King. On top of that, my racial traits as a werewolf were also allowed.

I was concerned that there were many alien species with unknown skills and racial traits, so I spent what felt like days studying the players. It's unusual to feel tired once you reach S rank, but there is no fatigue in this place. No day or night cycle. No real measurement of time. Sure, I could count one Mississippi, but no one would actually do that. So, I had to go on a less reliable internal clock, and that felt like days to me.

Gambling with skills is definitely different, but it isn't completely unfamiliar. Tells, patterns, and even soft banter give way to true poker playing. In fact, I had, in a way, an advantage. These people were far older than I was. They had been on a path of combat and struggle for so long that basic things like games were cast away. The supposed game worlds kept them busy. Games like poker weren't high on the list of skills to maintain. While it had been several years since I played, it was considerably less time than these players. Essentially, I was the expert, and they were the amateurs.

"You're cheating," Vash, the Nokiean accused Sloan, the Slime. His eyes were glowing while he called out the other player. "I can see the card you swapped from within your oozy tentacle. Vash needed no proof or confirmation from Sloan. Simply stating the cheat and the location was enough for the blinding white beam of light to examine the cheat and pass judgment.

The Slime was teleported to the cash-out line and deemed a loser. This was my ticket to winning over actual card playing. Sure, I did my best to win each hand I could, but calling out cheating in a game full of cheating was the best way to get players out. Sure, I would string them along at first to get them to invest their points, then, like Vash, I would point out how they attempted to cheat. To lose without cheating in poker was obviously running out of chips or points in this case.

The best part of this game was it could be played non-stop, provided new players sat down. Once I had accumulated more than two thousand points, however, people stopped sitting down. I cashed out and moved to more lucrative games to observe for a few days.

What I wanted was to wish myself back alive. But it was more than that. I wanted to revive at or close to my death in relation to time. So, I hoped that spending days, weeks, longer… wouldn't matter. If it did matter, then I could only hope my team, my allies, and my side… would win or be at least okay. Alive hopefully. Either way, I needed to return. To that end, I needed to win, and considering my circumstances, it would take time. A lot of time.

Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there.

I wasn't at the highest stake games yet, but it was close. So, with that in mind, I watched several games and weighed my options. There was a final game battle during this time with eight players, and they allowed spectating. It was what I dreaded most. Combat. I knew I was stronger than others at my rank, but these were people at ranks I hadn't even been introduced to yet.

Blackbeard laughed as he watched the battle and then elbow bumped me.

"Ya know, you can win this."

"How? I've been watching intently and can't see how my skills would match up."

"True. You're no match in terms of skills and even raw strength, but you have Divine Blessings. Sure, all these people have developed their Blessings above yours, but they didn't start out with the ranks you have. An Adept Blessing raised beyond the Divine still has less potential than a Divine Blessing raised to the same level. They're simply never going to be equal. The effort put in when acquiring Blessings really does matter. Defeating a Monster King literally puts you above everyone here, at least when starting out, but also in potential.

"Your Blessing may be weaker on paper, but it is far more capable than theirs. My eye tells me the true potential of any Blessing, and I've never seen one as powerful as yours. And I've scanned everyone here. I suggest focusing on your Astra King Blessing and raising it one level. That alone will allow you to dominate in this competition."

Just like that, Blackbeard confirmed my suspicions. However, he did more than that. He confirmed that I could grow my Blessings and likely skills while in this in-between world. Now, I wasn't just observing people to determine how to win games. I was watching for how their Blessings and skills worked so I could advance my own. Raise just Astra King? Nah, I'll raise all of them.

Until now, I was only thinking of how to win, revive, and get back to saving my friends and VeLana's people. I hadn't stopped to think that even if I revived with a new Soul Art activated, that Rizen would still be able to kill me easily. Plus, there were others above him and even a new Monster King. This new Monster King also wouldn't be in a weakened, compromised state. He, she, or it would be at the height of their power.

I needed to become stronger than anything a first-level world could offer, and this unexpected entry into the Soul Games was my real ticket. Here, I was surrounded by high-level beings, and it would be remiss of me not to gain from their struggles.

I watched, studied, took notes, and questioned others willing to open up, usually by spending points on ectoplasm to loosen tongues. But after what I believe were months, possibly closer to a year, I found a way to advance a Divine Blessing.

Despite how drunk I got people, no one would talk about the boat or the transition to a new world. They all insisted that I needed to experience that for myself. It didn't matter that most of them thought I'd never revive, they still refused to discuss it.

Soul Ranks were, in fact, the next step in Blessing evolution. However, to rise to Soul Rank was to first understand that it had nothing to do with raising one's Astra level. Technically, I could've done it at E rank if I had the understanding and the trauma. Certainly, I've been through some trauma. However, the trauma needed in this case was serious wounds to the Soul. Wounds that would force growth in ways that emotions or physical damage could not.

Fortunately, I was in a Soul Realm, where actual Soul damage could be taken and be devastating. Unfortunately, this meant going through something more painful than anything ever before. Which meant I signed up for the least popular game.

Have you ever played the game, Bloody Knuckles? It consists of two people where one will hold out their fist like they were waiting for a fist bump, but instead of meeting another fist in a friendly gesture, the other person would slam their fist downward onto your knuckles as hard as they can. Then, if you didn't cry, wuss out, and quit, it would be your turn to do the same to them. Now imagine that same game and then call it Blood Quarters. Because in this version of the game, we would slot three quarters between our fingers and then slam them down onto their knuckles and likewise receive the same punishment.

This game was a lot like that but with our Souls. Aura battles where we could shape weapons or shields and have a contest of will might be the closest thing this game could be compared to. It was just that the Soul was not powered by our Astra. It was our very being, the core of who we were.

Slamming your Soul into another was like a cat scratching the shit out of your heart, but you couldn't die. One could also say exposing your Soul to this level of punishment meant you were a cat owner, but that is not a debate I am willing to get into.

The reason anyone played this game in the first place was for two reasons. One, they realized like I did that they could gain something far more powerful than points, or two, they understood the 3x multiplier for winning was a tempting offer. It didn't mean they understood that losing also had consequences far beyond cashing out and moving on to the afterlife. Even in paradise, their Soul trauma would follow them.

If you've never done a Soul attack before, don't worry, the booth you stand in opens you up and directs you on how to attack and how to defend. To be honest, I'd love to say I dominated this. I didn't. I came close to losing more times than I can even remember.

Each round felt like an eternity, and when I thought I had lost all hope when despair overtook me, I felt a new pain far worse. Even the concepts of hope and despair vanished as scars formed on my Soul. I started to give up when the tiniest ray of light broke through the darkness. It was a voice. I wish it was an angelic voice from up high, but instead, it was a snarky asshole voice that I didn't even know I missed until now.

"Harry!" I mentally or verbally shouted. I had no idea what was happening, but I remembered that voice.

"Hold on! Power through! You got this, Zeke!" he shouted back at me. "I know your pain. I feel it the exact same as you do. I will do my best to take on that pain for you. Just hold on and attack one more time!"

Now, that was odd. Usually, Harry says he'll dampen my senses or emotions to bring me back to reason. Now, though, he's saying he'll take my pain? Or at least a part of it. I did what he asked, focused my very being, and struck with everything I had left.

I won, but at what cost? Granted, the rewards were a butt load of points, and I advanced my Blessings, but the person I beat lost far more than death. They were broken on a level that might never be healed. I did that to them. And that realization was when my Blessings actually rose a level.

Notice!

The conditions have been met.

Divine Blessing: Astra King has increased to Soul 1

Divine Blessing: Cyber Lord has increased to Soul 1

Sage Blessing: Berserker has increased to Soul 1

New Title gained: Scarred Soul

Scarred Soul grants a new Blessing Ability

under the Astra King Blessing

New Ability gained: Soul Eyes

Description: See the fundamental structure of skills

Due to your current Astra levels, this Ability

can be active for 3 seconds before

your Astra is depleted. Less if used when not

at full Astra capacity. Must have a minimum of 1000 Astra for 1 second

So, when I said this place made it impossible to feel fatigued? Like I never had a need to sleep, take a nap, or even sit down and enjoy a ghostly snack, although I did do that, but the point stands, this place or this state of being wasn’t entirely a physical or mental one. Yet after I went through that kind of upgrade, I passed out hard.