Soul Merging Seed

"World Tree Seed, a Soul Power Medium for a Meditation Method?"

Rayne knew next to nothing about Meditation Methods. This was his first time hearing of a Soul Power Medium.

Viola explained attentively, "Because we humans are cursed and lack sufficient talent, we cannot gain mental power directly through meditation like other races do—that is, 'magic power.' So we can only rely on mediums to cultivate Soul Power and achieve the same effects as magic power."

Rayne noticed that she had said "we humans." This half-elf must have grown up in the Empire and completely considered herself a true human.

"Do the Seal School and the Soul Control School also require Soul Power Mediums?"

"Of course they do."

Viola nodded. "The Seal School's Soul Power Medium is called the 'Soul Split Diamond.' Not only is it used to cultivate a Meditation Method, it can also help Wizards strip Arcane Elements from Demon Souls and turn them into Spell Seals. Therefore, the Soul Split Diamond is an essential item for Seal Wizards."

"Our Soul Control School's Soul Power Medium, meanwhile, is the 'Soul Gathering Tower.' Used alongside a Meditation Method, it allows us to ignite Soul Fire, nurture Demon Souls within the Soul Gathering Tower, and let Demon Souls possess our bodies or summon them into the outside world."

Rayne listened intently. Such knowledge was difficult to learn outside the circle of Transcendents.

According to Viola, each of the three major Wizard Schools had its own Soul Power Medium: the Soul Split Diamond, the Soul Gathering Tower, and the World Tree Seed, more commonly called the "Soul Merging Seed." They were all Alchemical Items, usually crafted by Wizards from the major Schools, and each contained its corresponding Meditation Method.

After undergoing the Soul Transformation Ritual, one only needed to merge the medium into one's soul to naturally master the Meditation Method within and become a Wizard.

That was certainly convenient. He would not need to worry about finding a Meditation Method.

"So, Mr. Rayne, are you interested in the Soul Merging Seed?" Viola asked again.

Rayne could not help glancing at her. Could it be that this Soul Merging Seed was difficult to sell, and she did not want it sitting in her hands, which was why she was recommending it so eagerly?

After considering it, he asked, "Violet House should have the mediums for all three Wizard Schools, right? How much do they cost?"

Talini, standing nearby, answered, "Soul Split Diamonds and Soul Gathering Towers are relatively common, so they are cheaper. You only need two hundred Gold Shields to buy one. The Soul Power Mediums in our store are all personally crafted by Intermediate Tier Wizards or above, using the finest materials. Their alchemical quality is guaranteed to be top-tier in Longshande."

"Two hundred Gold Shields..."

Rayne clicked his tongue. A single Soul Power Medium cost that much? The price of becoming a Wizard was far too high!

Were Wizards all this wealthy?

If he had not made a fortune at Esberg's manor, he simply could not afford something so expensive.

Rare things were valuable, so the Soul Merging Seed had to cost even more. Curious, Rayne asked, "How much is the Soul Merging Seed?"

Talini hesitated, seeming unsure how to say it.

Viola spoke for her. "The only Soul Merging Seed in our store was something I obtained by chance several years ago. Its quality is exceptionally high and extremely rare."

"Mr. Rayne, you have probably heard of the World Tree. It is the sacred tree of the Wood Elf Race, and Soul Merging Seeds are made from its seeds. The World Tree bears several hundred fruits every year, which are also seeds. Most of those fruits are ordinary, but only one is a Golden Fruit, known as the Golden Seed."

"The Soul Merging Seed in my possession was made from the World Tree's Golden Seed. Moreover, the Alchemist who made it was no ordinary person. I suspect they were at least a Legendary Combat Wizard, perhaps even stronger."

"I asked a Legendary Wizard to appraise it. This Soul Merging Seed's effect is astonishing—it can increase Magic Soul Fusion Degree by at least ten percent!"

"It can increase it by that much?" Rayne exclaimed.

It might have sounded low at only ten percent, but it was actually an incredible amount.

When any Demon Souls merged, the conflict between them inevitably caused damage after the fusion.

Using the soul strength of a Demon Soul in its intact state as the standard, if less than thirty percent of its Soul Power remained after fusion, all of its elements would surely have been lost. That would count as a failed fusion.

Only when over thirty percent of a Demon Soul's Soul Power remained could the fusion be considered successful.

Thirty to fifty percent was Low Fusion Degree, the result most Transcendents obtained; fifty to seventy percent was Intermediate Fusion Degree, already considered very successful; seventy to ninety percent was High Fusion Degree. If a Transcendent encountered High Fusion Degree even once in their life, they would have enough reason to be happy for years.

As for retaining over ninety percent of a Demon Soul's original strength, that was Super-high Fusion Degree. It was practically like winning the grand prize.

One instance of Super-high Fusion Degree could create a substantial gap between a Transcendent and others of the same rank!

If Ouvila was not lying, and the Soul Merging Seed in her hands could raise Fusion Degree by ten percent, then it was truly far too rare. Every Wizard hoping to enter the Combat School would fight desperately over it.

"How much are you selling it for?" Rayne asked bluntly.

"One thousand five hundred Gold Shields," Viola quietly named the price.

Even though Rayne had prepared himself, the astronomical price still stunned him. He nearly sprayed out his tea. He desperately wanted to say, "Sorry to bother you. Goodbye!"

What did one thousand five hundred Gold Shields mean?

A Longshande worker could work fourteen hours a day in a factory, without a single day off for an entire month, and still earn only eight hundred Copper Yuan per month—not even enough to exchange for one Gold Shield.

For an ordinary commoner family, if both husband and wife had relatively respectable jobs, their monthly household income would be around three thousand Copper Yuan, enough to exchange for three Gold Shields.

Rayne's father ran a grain, oil, and milling business in town. He had nearly monopolized the grain, oil, and milling trade for the town's more than three thousand residents, yet his total annual income was still less than fifty Gold Shields. After deducting Rayne's academy tuition and the daily expenses of their family of six, there was barely anything left.

And one Soul Merging Seed would require a worker to labor for 156 years without eating or drinking to afford it.

Even Rayne's family would need thirty years to save that amount of money.

One thousand five hundred Gold Shields was an enormous fortune for any ordinary person. They might never see that much money in their entire lives.

Rayne froze for several seconds before spreading his hands with a smile. "Ms. Viola, do I look like someone who has one thousand five hundred Gold Shields?"

"I know you do not have that much money." Viola was unconcerned. "Not having it now does not mean you will not have it in the future. If you want to buy this Soul Merging Seed, we can work something out. For example, you can pay part of the money in advance and give us the rest later."

"No, I don't want it." Rayne quickly shook his head and decisively rejected the proposal.

He finally understood. Viola's Soul Merging Seed had been sitting unsold for years, so whenever she saw someone with the potential to become a Wizard, she tried every possible way to sell it.

She was even willing to arrange something like a down payment, just to recover part of the cost first.

Clearly, one thousand five hundred Gold Shields was no small sum even for Viola. Otherwise, she would not have been so anxious.

Rayne guessed he was not the first person to learn about this Soul Merging Seed. Perhaps others had been tempted before, only to be frightened off by its price.

One thousand five hundred Gold Shields is one and a half million Copper Yuan. That could buy a luxurious villa in the Silver Star District. I couldn't afford a house in my previous life, and after transmigrating into another world, I still can't afford one—let alone spend that much on a tree seed.

Money was one issue. Another was whether he even wanted to change his class to Combat Wizard.

To be honest, Rayne was somewhat interested in the Combat Wizard profession.

He possessed the Soul Eye, allowing him to see through the souls of all living creatures and sense the functions of Soul Elements. That was an enormous advantage. At the very least, he had more confidence than others.

But he could not be sure that Combat Wizards were truly that powerful. If he made a mistake in judgment, it would not be worth the loss.

If he chose to become a Combat Wizard and first piled up a mountain of debt to Viola, what about the Demon Souls he would need afterward?

What use was having only a Soul Power Medium? He would still need to buy Demon Souls.

Rayne had seen Demon Soul transactions several times on Brent Street. Even the cheapest Basalt Rhino Demon Soul, raised in a breeding farm and carrying only one Common Element, Stone Skin, for changing class into an Iron Guard, sold for over twenty Gold Shields!

However, Combat Wizards had to merge the best Demon Souls to bring out the advantages of their profession.

Which Demon Soul containing multiple elements was not frighteningly expensive?

They casually cost over a hundred Gold Shields. If the Demon Soul's rank was a little higher, a price exceeding one thousand Gold Shields was perfectly normal.

Unless he hunted Demon Souls himself, but that was no simple matter.

After thinking it over repeatedly, Rayne still made no decision. Forget it. I'll undergo the Soul Transformation Ritual first. Seal Wizards and Soul Control Wizards are both good, and their mediums are cheap enough. The money I have is enough to buy one.

He did not mention the Soul Merging Seed again. Viola could not help feeling somewhat disappointed, but she did not force the issue. She still enthusiastically taught him some knowledge about Transcendent professions.

Violet House's goods were indeed comprehensive, and Viola's knowledge was exceptionally broad. Rayne's horizons widened greatly.

For example, Viola introduced an extremely rare Transcendent profession: the Dragon Vein Sorcerer!

Warlocks were also true Spellcasters, only slightly weaker than Wizards, though their method of casting differed from that of Wizards.

Warlocks had less talent than Wizards, so they could only rely on more Soul Power Mediums and use Bloodline Power to assist their spellcasting. Besides merging Demon Souls, Warlocks also had to merge bloodlines originating from the same source as their Demon Souls, then use runes to trigger Arcane Elements and cast spells.

Thus, the formal name for Warlocks was Bloodline Sorcerers, and they were sometimes also called Rune Sorcerers.

Most creatures with blood were various magical beasts, whose Soul Elements primarily consisted of elemental spells. Therefore, Bloodline Sorcerers were also limited to elemental spells.

Ordinary Warlocks could only master one or two elemental bloodlines. With three or more, they advanced into "Calamity Sorcerers," and at minimum reached Legendary rank. Rumor had it that some Warlocks mastered four or more bloodlines. They stood at the same level as Soul Saint Wizards and were called "Destruction Sorcerers"!

Bloodline Sorcerers also had several rare branch professions, such as Demon Sorcerers and the Dragon Vein Sorcerers Viola had mentioned.

Dragon Vein Sorcerers specialized in merging the blood of dragon creatures, possessing exceptionally powerful melee combat and spellcasting abilities.

In this respect, Dragon Vein Sorcerers somewhat resembled Combat Wizards, though their limitations were even more severe.

No dragon creature was easy to provoke. Obtaining their Demon Souls was incredibly difficult. After Dragon Vein Sorcerers reached Legendary rank, they basically had to slay a dragon every time they leveled up!

As Viola spoke, she smiled and told Rayne that her store had recently acquired the Demon Soul of a juvenile Fire Dragon, along with a bottle of its dragon blood.

Because demand for Dragon Vein Sorcerers was low, it was currently being sold at a discount. The juvenile Fire Dragon Demon Soul and dragon blood together cost only one thousand Gold Shields. Did Rayne have any interest?

Rayne did not dare keep listening.

Although chatting with a beautiful woman was pleasant and pleasing to the eye, the prices—casually reaching thousands of Gold Shields—made his liver ache. He hurriedly rose and bid Viola farewell.

"Sorry to bother you. Goodbye!"