Absorbing a mid-level superhuman's soul yielded far more energy than expected.
Earlier, Reyn had absorbed the level four archer girl's soul, jumping his energy charge by twenty-five notches to forty-five percent. In the heat of battle, he hadn't examined it closely.
This level six elementalist's soul power was far superior to the archer girl's, and the energy charge surged insanely.
In the phone's ghostly interface, notches filled one after another with energy.
From forty-five percent, the charge skyrocketed, adding several notches per second. The percentage numbers changed rapidly, exceeding ninety percent in seconds—nearly maxed out!
Invisible to the eye but vast energy filled his entire body.
The World Soul Tree in his soul, like slow-motion footage, grew larger and taller every second. Its three sole golden leaves emitted faint glows, making the whole tree appear more vibrant.
Reyn sank into a wondrous state. His head spun lightly, like mild intoxication, but his mind remained crystal clear, his soul filled with indescribable comfort and rapture!
In seconds, the charge hit one hundred percent—maximum at last.
That instant, Reyn's soul transformed. Energy roiled in his brain; the World Soul Tree quivered slightly, and he felt like he might soar.
His consciousness blurred faintly, but he didn't lose control—instead, it shifted for the better.
"Soul Ascension—I'm leveling up!"
Reyn's heart filled with joy. This was the inevitable path for every superhuman seeking greater power.
The soul constantly strengthened, and upon reaching a certain threshold, underwent transformation, allowing fusion of a new demonic soul or magic seal, raising the professional level by one. Ascension meant ascending to a new power tier. The enhancement wasn't as profound as soul transformation, painless of course, and brief.
Even so, it still took some time.
Reyn barely suppressed the euphoria from Soul Ascension. Gripping his bloodied warhammer, he scanned the ice plain.
He hadn't forgotten the Shadow Warrior might still lurk nearby.
Viola in the sky also scanned for enemy traces.
They stayed vigilant for about half a minute, but nothing. Only the cold wind whistled over the frozen lake surface.
"Has he already fled?"
Reyn pondered this when a faint footstep rustle reached his ears. He pinpointed the source and turned.
At the edge of "Ice Domain Art"'s effect, a vague silhouette appeared. It dashed beyond the ice surface and skimmed over the water effortlessly, weightless and swift.
Splash-splash-splash-splash...
The Shadow Warrior's feet touched the water; his body light as a swallow's, speed unbelievable. Soon he vanished, leaving ripples spreading on the lake.
"Walking on water... And so damn fast!"
Reyn had long known the enemy possessed this ability. Even if he could see far and lock on, he couldn't catch up.
Clearly, seeing the tide turn, the Shadow Warrior abandoned the kill.
Reyn mused.
In truth, he had long suspected the Shadow Warrior and the other two weren't allies or even acquainted. Otherwise, after wounding, he wouldn't have hidden and watched the elementalist and archer girl die.
Had the Shadow Warrior supported from the shadows, the battle wouldn't have ended so quickly.
"Such a strong Shadow Warrior... Where's he from, and who sent him after Viola?" Reyn finally had time to reflect.
First, he ruled out "Shadow Blade" assassins, as this Shadow Warrior wasn't a Lohi follower.
His faith fire was dark blue, like raging sea waves and ceaseless gale—indicating worship of "Storm Lord" Cthulhu, a capricious yet immensely powerful deity.
Cthulhu was also revered as "Sea God," ruler of all world seas, countless islands, and many coastal states.
His divine domains were myriad: "Ocean," "Sky," "Storms," "The Tide," "Sea Folk," "Sea Monsters," "Water Elementals," "Terror," and more. His followers were innumerable, making him one of Ellunes' mightiest gods.
In the Empire, Storm Lord followers were few, mostly coastal. Deeper inland, their numbers dwindled.
Longsand lay in the Empire's heartland, so Storm Lord followers were rare here—no temples even.
"A Shadow Warrior worshiping the Storm Lord—quite rare."
Reyn memorized this foe. Though faceless, he'd recognize him by soul traits if they met again.
Viola descended:
"Reyn, how are your wounds?"
She pulled out several healing potion vials and scrolls.
"I'm fine—don't waste those," Reyn shook his head slightly, finally checking his injuries.
He looked down and saw a metal bullet still lodged in his shoulder. Flexing muscles, he expelled it, leaving a finger-sized dent.
Casually tearing off the ruined clothes, he saw his chest and abdomen skin badly charred, like half-cooked meat, flesh torn—quite gruesome.
But only visually. Internally, organs were unharmed.
Reyn felt belated fear and, smiling, said:
"Good thing you gave me that fire resistance potion—otherwise that 'Scorching Ray' would've burned right through me."
Beam spells had a small area of effect, concentrating in one point, but their piercing power was astonishing.
Even the thick armor of the ice bear was pierced by a single strike.
An ordinary superhuman would hardly withstand such a thing.
"You are too bold, taking the 'Scorching Ray' on your body! Promise me you'll never do that again," Viola looked at him with pain and, extending her hand, gently touched Reyn's scorched chest. A cool stream of water gathered around, washing the skin.
"I couldn't dodge, there was no choice."
Reyn grinned widely, savoring the double pleasure from Soul Ascension and the healing "Minor Water Treatment," and barely held back a blissful sigh.
He lowered his gaze to the half-elf standing so close, inhaled the scent of her hair, and that subtle fragrance, entering his nostrils, stirred him to the depths of his soul.
Viola, focused on the healing, didn't notice his gaze.
The scorched skin was recovering before her eyes: the blackness faded, returning to normal color, and the muscles beneath the skin also healed, as if they had never been wounded.
Viola was amazed. The effect of her "Minor Water Treatment" shouldn't have been so pronounced. Could Reyn also possess self-healing abilities?
She raised her head to ask, and immediately met Reyn's gaze.
They looked at each other for several seconds. Reyn embraced her and was about to act, but Viola quickly pulled away and, smiling, pointed to his forehead.
Reyn understood: the blood on his forehead had long crusted over. He ran his hand over it, and clots of blood rained down.
"I'm not disfigured, am I?" he asked anxiously.
Viola murmured a spell, and a wide, shining water mirror appeared before her. Covering her mouth with her hand, she smirked:
"See for yourself."
Reyn hurried to the mirror, wiped the blood from his forehead, and found that in place of the blow, a shallow dent remained, which was already beginning to heal. There would likely be no scar.
He sighed in relief. Good thing he wasn't disfigured; otherwise, it would have been very upsetting.
"You care so much about your appearance?" Viola snapped her fingers, directing a stream of water to Reyn's forehead, healing the wound from the explosion.
"Ahem, well yes, but not that much."
Reyn coughed dryly, hiding his embarrassment, and, squatting down, began searching the elementalist's corpse.
Time to collect trophies!
The elementalist had little equipment. The most valuable was the enchanted weapon—a dagger, entirely crimson, with several runes on the hilt, just over a foot long. It was unknown what material it was made of, but it felt warm in the hand.
Mages of the Empire didn't like traditional staves and often shortened them to wands, then altered their form into short swords or daggers. It was both beautiful and convenient, and in a critical moment, could serve as close-combat weaponry.
Viola's weapon was also a curved short sword.
Reyn handed the crimson dagger to Viola. She examined it and said:
"This magical dagger enhances fire affinity and boosts the power of fire spells. Its value is around eight hundred gold shields."
"Keep it for now."
Reyn removed a silver ring from the elementalist's finger and noticed that his robe was also enchanted, so he stripped it off.
Looking at the headless corpse left only in a shirt and short pants, Viola helplessly shook her head and reminded:
"The duration of 'Ice Domain Art' is almost up; we need to return to the yacht."
"Alright, wait a bit."
Reyn picked up his shotgun and didn't forget the female shooter's corpse. Amid the pile of flesh and blood, he found her spirit weapon and belt pouch with various cartridges.
They returned to the yacht, and the ice on the lake began to melt.
After a dozen breaths, the icy surface completely vanished, the temperature returned to normal, and the two corpses sank underwater, as if nothing had happened.
Viola waved her hand, and ten ice ravens descended from the sky. Two of them dissipated, returning to the Soul Gathering Tower, while the other eight turned back into a stack of soul cards.
The frost giant and the armored ice bear also turned into azure light and settled on her hand.
Reyn went down to the lower hold of the yacht. The servants, guards, and helmsmen lay unconscious on the floor. They were all unharmed but couldn't wake up.
A faint, strange smell hung in the air—likely some kind of sleeping gas.
Reyn, holding his breath, dragged them all onto the deck.
Viola waved her hand, and cold lake water splashed their faces. Soon they awoke. One of the superhuman guards from the ducal family jumped to his feet and shouted:
"Assassins!"
Then he saw Reyn and Viola, as well as the damaged yacht, and complete bewilderment showed on his face.
Viola didn't blame them. Both guards weren't very strong, merely second-level superhumans, and those assassins were beyond them.
She calmed everyone with a few words, used a spell to clear the hold of the poisonous gas, and decided to return immediately.
The yacht's main structures were intact; only the upper deck and the wall of the second level, where Reyn had hammered a large hole, were damaged. It didn't hinder movement.
Soon after setting sail, Reyn's soul finally calmed.
Soul Ascension was complete!