You might be wondering why I made such a rash decision—jumping into thousands of cursed beasts alone when everything was going pretty smoothly.
Well... I knew it was reckless, but I didn't have a choice. I was desperate.
A few days before the showdown with the deer, while fighting them as usual in the cave, I got a strange notification:
"Alert!!
The curse on the deer is getting worse. Some of them will die in ten days."
Well, it was impossible to save all of them. And why should I care if some deer couldn't make it?. I had already saved a lot of them.
But things went out the window when another notification popped up:
"If a single deer dies due to the curse, the curse from its corpse will spread to the entire forest, consuming everything in it."
After that notification, I pushed myself—curing over 400 deer per day—but it still wasn't enough. There were still a lot of them left.
I knew I wouldn't be affected by the curse. Since I could consume it, there was no chance it could do anything to me.
But there was someone else who would be affected.
She had already saved my life multiple times and had always accompanied me.
I couldn't bear to let her die when I had an alternative.
And you know, even with all of this risk—it was worth it.
Even if I got another chance, I would make the same choice again and again.
"It's finally time to look at my status window. I got a lot of things from the battle.. Vivi open the home screen," I said, sitting on the cliff beside Ruru.
"Host's Name: Raj
Age: 21
Title: The Awakener
Skills:
– All-Devouring Breathing Technique: Level 4 (New)
– Voice of Tranquility: Level 1
– Pain Tolerance(Passive): Level 6
– Advanced Mace Skill: Max Level
– Unshakable Mind (Passive): Level 5 (New)
[Claim Reward of Previous Quest]"
"Hmm, I got a new skill. Lemme see what it offers. Vivi, open the description of Unshakable Mind."
"Initiating Host's request...
Unshakable Mind: Host will not be affected by any mind skills, and the Host can think clearly and won't fluster easily even under intense situations."
"Wow, that's a pretty good skill. Since presence of mind and the ability to make the right call is the most important thing during a battle," I muttered, looking at the window.
"Now, let's move to the next one. Vivi, open the description of All-Devouring Breathing Technique."
All-Devouring Breathing Technique (Level 4): A technique from lost records that enables the Host to absorb the Soulforce of cursed beings.
New: The medium no longer needs to be connected with the Host to activate the All-Devouring Breathing Technique.
Soulforce absorbed: 200k / 200k
It was basically telling me that I could use long-range weapons like arrows to use the breathing technique now. It was gonna be helpful while hunting stronger beasts.
My core was already full of cursed Soulforce, so I sat down in the lotus position and cultivated for a few hours to convert it into mine.
"Now it's time for the main event. Vivi, claim the reward of the previous quest," I shouted as I opened my eyes after meditation.
"Initiating Host's request...
Congratulations! You have received the Guide to Soulforce Manipulation: Level 0"
Guide to Soulforce Manipulation (Level 0): Learn all there is to learn about the basics of how to use Soulforce.
Would you like to learn it?
[Yes] [No]"
"Of course, I'm gonna learn it," I scoffed and hit the [Yes] button.
"Processing the Host's request.
Sending all the information in the guide to the Host's brain."
"Huh! Wait—wait—wait, just give me the guide, I will read it my—"
It was too late. The bullet had already left the muzzle. I felt the same electric pulse in my brain as I felt when I learned the All-Devouring Breathing Technique. But it was bearable this time. Might be due to my high pain tolerance.
The pain slowly faded, and another window popped up.
"Congratulations! You have learned the basics of Soulforce manipulation."
"Huff... It's the same as before. Now let me see how this Soulforce actually works," I said, sitting down and taking a deep breath.
I started preaching in my mind what I had learned about Soulforce:
"Every living being is comprised of two things—soul and body. These two depend on each other for the proper functioning of any being. The soul is like a driver, and the body is the car it drives.
Just like the body has blood, bones, and muscles to make it stronger, the soul can also grow stronger with the help of Soulforce. This Soulforce can be manipulated to control natural elements and exert the power of gods.
The power one can access by manipulating Soulforce is based on their nature and how they have lived their life. If someone is close to water, they might access powers related to manipulating water elements. If someone likes flowers, they might be able to access powers related to flowers, and so on.
The power unlocks as one connects their Soulforce with their body. Once the nature of the power is unlocked, it can't be changed again."
"Wow, it's pretty interesting. Let me see what kind of power I'm gonna unlock," I muttered, then closed my eyes to focus on my Soulforce.
I first focused on my core at the dantian. My core was like a spherical black hole that had consumed an unbelievable amount of cursed Soulforce, but my Soulforce wasn't there.
So I focused on the more obvious part of the body—my forehead. I could sense a faint golden glow at the center, where my birthmark was. This must be my Soulforce. Now all I needed was to connect this to my dantian. I tried to move it, but it rejected me violently. I tried again and again but failed every time.
Then I spoke in my mind, "Vivi, why can't I move my Soulforce?"
A window popped up in front of me. I could see it even with my eyes closed:
"Host's Soulforce has become extremely vast due to various absorption of cursed Soulforce, so it cannot be handled easily."
I stayed quiet for a few seconds to think of an alternative. Then an idea came to my mind. I moved my focus to my core.
Whenever the All-Devouring Breathing Technique activated, various threads came out from the core, reaching my hands or the weapon I held for absorption. And after using this technique so many times, I had a vague idea of how to create these threads.
As I focused, various threads came out of the core. I slowly directed them and moved toward my forehead, where my Soulforce was located.
The moment the threads touched my Soulforce, my Soulforce wildly bolted toward my dantian like an electric pulse.
Blood came out of my mouth, and my eyes opened due to the sudden shock. Heavy winds began blowing, creating an ominous sound in the forest. Clouds started to gather in the sky, and loud thunderclaps were forming. It was the first time I had seen clouds in this world.
Ruru got up and took a few steps back from me. I was about to get up, but then—
"WARNING!!
If you move during Soul-Body synchronisation....
YOU WILL DIE"