Soul Merging Seed

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

Rayne knew almost nothing about the Meditation Method. This was his first time hearing about a Soul Power Medium.

Viola explained carefully, "Because we humans are cursed and lack sufficient talent, we can't obtain spiritual power directly through meditation like the other races—in other words, 'magic power.' We can only rely on the help of a medium to cultivate Soul Power and achieve the same effect as magic power."

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

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

"Of course."

Viola nodded. "The Soul Power Medium of the Seal School is called a 'Soul Split Diamond.' It's not only used to cultivate the Meditation Method, but also helps Wizards strip Arcane Elements from their Demon Souls and make them into seals. That's why Soul Split Diamonds are essential items for Seal Wizards."

"Our Soul Control School's Soul Power Medium is the 'Soul Gathering Tower.' Combined with the Meditation Method, it allows us to ignite Soul Fire, nourish our Demon Souls within the Soul Gathering Tower, and make our Demon Souls possess us or summon them into the outside world."

Rayne listened attentively. It was difficult for anyone outside the Transcendent ranks to learn this knowledge.

According to Viola, the three major Wizard Schools each had their own Soul Power Mediums: the Soul Split Diamond, the Soul Gathering Tower, and the World Tree Seed. The latter was also commonly called the "Soul Merging Seed." They were all Alchemical Items, usually made by Wizards from the various schools, and each contained the corresponding Meditation Method.

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

That was indeed quite convenient. There was no need to struggle over finding a Meditation Method.

"What do you think, Mr. Rayne? Are you interested in the Soul Merging Seed?" Viola asked again.

Rayne couldn't help glancing at her. Could it be that this Soul Merging Seed is difficult to sell, and she doesn't want it sitting in her hands? Is that why she's recommending it so enthusiastically?

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

Talini answered from the side, "Soul Split Diamonds and Soul Gathering Towers are relatively common, so they're a little cheaper. You can buy one for only two hundred Gold Shields. All the Soul Power Mediums in our shop are personally made by Wizards of Intermediate Tier or higher, using the finest materials. Their Alchemical quality is guaranteed to be top-class throughout Longshande."

"Two hundred Gold Shields..."

Rayne clicked his tongue in astonishment. A single Soul Power Medium was already this expensive. The price of becoming a Wizard was far too high!

Are all Wizards really this wealthy?

If he hadn't made a fortune at Esberg's estate, he wouldn't have been able to afford something so expensive.

Rare things were valuable. The Soul Merging Seed's price was certainly even higher. Driven by curiosity, Rayne asked, "How much does the Soul Merging Seed cost?"

Talini hesitated, seemingly unsure how to say it.

Viola spoke for her. "Our shop has only one Soul Merging Seed. I obtained it by chance several years ago. Its quality is exceptionally high, and it's extremely rare."

"Mr. Rayne, you've probably heard of the World Tree. It's the sacred tree of the Wood Elf Race, and Soul Merging Seeds are made from the World Tree's seeds. The World Tree bears several hundred fruits every year, which are its seeds. Most of them are ordinary, but one among them 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. The Alchemist who made it was no ordinary person either. I estimate that they were at least a Legendary Combat Wizard, or perhaps even stronger."

"I had a Legendary Wizard appraise it. The effect of this Soul Merging Seed is astonishing. It can increase one's Magic Soul Fusion Degree by at least ten percent!"

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

Ten percent might not sound like much. In reality, it was an extraordinary amount.

When each Demon Soul was merged, the two would conflict with each other, resulting in some damage after the fusion.

Using the strength of the soul when the Demon Soul was intact as the standard, if less than thirty percent of its Soul Power remained after fusion, its Elements would certainly have been lost, which meant the fusion had failed.

Only retaining more than thirty percent of the Demon Soul's Soul Power counted as a successful fusion.

Between thirty and fifty percent was considered a low Fusion Degree. This was the result for most Transcendents. Between fifty and seventy percent was a medium Fusion Degree, which was already considered very successful. Between seventy and ninety percent was a high Fusion Degree. A Transcendent who encountered a high Fusion Degree once in their life would be happy for several years.

As for retaining more than ninety percent of the Demon Soul's power, that was an ultra-high Fusion Degree, practically the same as winning the grand prize.

A single ultra-high Fusion Degree could give a Transcendent a significant advantage over professionals of the same tier!

If Viola wasn't lying, and the Soul Merging Seed in her hands could increase one's Fusion Degree by ten percent, then it was truly incredibly rare. Any Wizard who wanted to enter the Combat School would fight tooth and nail for it.

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

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

Even though Rayne had been mentally prepared, he was still stunned by the astronomical price. He nearly sprayed tea from his mouth and desperately wanted to say, Sorry to bother you. I'll be leaving now!

What did one thousand five hundred Gold Shields represent?

Workers in Longshande worked fourteen hours a day in factories, without a single day off for the entire month, yet their monthly wages were only eight hundred Copper Yuan—not even enough to exchange for one Gold Shield.

In an ordinary commoner family, if both husband and wife had somewhat respectable jobs, their combined monthly income would be around three thousand Copper Yuan, which could be exchanged for three Gold Shields.

Rayne's father ran a grain and oil mill in town. He had practically monopolized the grain, oil, and milling business for more than three thousand people throughout the entire town, yet his total annual income was less than fifty Gold Shields. After deducting Rayne's tuition at the academy and the daily living expenses of their family of six, almost nothing remained.

A single Soul Merging Seed required a worker to work for 156 years without eating or drinking before they could afford it.

Even Rayne's family would need thirty years to save enough money for it.

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

Rayne was stunned for several seconds before spreading his hands and smiling. "Madam Viola, do I look like someone who has one thousand five hundred Gold Shields?"

"I know you don't have that much money." Viola didn't take it seriously. "Not having it now doesn't mean you won't have it in the future. If you want to buy this Soul Merging Seed, we can find a way. For example, you could pay part of it in advance and give us the rest later."

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

He understood now. Viola's Soul Merging Seed had been sitting in her hands for several years, so whenever she saw someone who showed hope of becoming a Wizard, she would do everything possible to sell it to them.

She was even willing to use methods like down payments, just to recover part of the cost first.

Clearly, one thousand five hundred Gold Shields was no small amount to Viola either. Otherwise, she wouldn't be so anxious.

Rayne guessed that he wasn't the first person to learn about this Soul Merging Seed. Someone might have been tempted before, only to be frightened away by its price.

"One thousand five hundred Gold Shields is one million five hundred thousand Copper Yuan. You could buy a luxury villa in the Silver Star District with that. I couldn't afford a house in my previous life, and after transmigrating to another world, I still can't afford one. Needless to say, I'm not going to spend that much money on a tree seed."

Lack of money was one issue. Another was whether he should change professions to become a Combat Wizard.

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

He had the Soul Eye, which allowed him to see through the souls of all living creatures and sense the effects of their Soul Elements. That was an enormous advantage. At the very least, he had a better chance than other people.

But he couldn't be certain that Combat Wizards were truly that powerful. If he misjudged even once, the consequences would outweigh the benefits.

If he chose to become a Combat Wizard and first piled up a huge debt with Viola, what about the Demon Souls afterward?

What use was having 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 to maturity on a farm and possessing only one Common Element, "Stone Skin," for changing professions to become an Iron Guard, cost more than twenty Gold Shields!

However, a Combat Wizard had to fuse with the best Demon Souls to display the profession's advantages.

Weren't Demon Souls containing multiple Elements all frighteningly expensive?

They casually cost more than one hundred Gold Shields. If the Demon Soul's tier 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 task.

After thinking it over again and again, Rayne still couldn't make a decision. "Forget it. I'll undergo the Soul Transformation Ritual first. Seal Wizards and Soul Control Wizards are both pretty good, and their mediums are cheaper. I have enough money to buy one."

He didn't mention the Soul Merging Seed again. Viola was inevitably disappointed, but she didn't pressure him. She continued enthusiastically teaching him some knowledge about Transcendent professions.

The Violet House's goods were indeed comprehensive, and Viola's knowledge was extremely broad. Rayne's eyes were opened wide.

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

Sorcerers were also genuine spellcasters. They were only slightly weaker than Wizards, but their method of casting spells was different.

Sorcerers had less talent than Wizards, so they could only rely on more Soul Power Mediums and use Bloodline Power to assist their spellcasting. In addition to fusing with Demon Souls, Sorcerers also had to fuse with a bloodline originating from the same source as the Demon Soul, then use runes to draw out Arcane Elements and cast spells.

Therefore, the official name of Sorcerers was Bloodline Sorcerers. They were sometimes also called Rune Sorcerers.

Most creatures possessing blood were various types of magical beasts. Their Soul Elements mainly consisted of elemental spells, so the spells of Bloodline Sorcerers were likewise restricted to the elemental category.

Ordinary Sorcerers could only master one or two elemental bloodlines. Those with three or more advanced into "Calamity Sorcerers," who had at least reached the Legendary rank. It was rumored that some Sorcerers had mastered four or more bloodlines and stood at the same level as Soul Saint Wizards. They were called "Destruction Sorcerers"!

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

Dragon Vein Sorcerers specialized in fusing with the blood of dragonkind and possessed extremely powerful melee and spellcasting abilities.

In this respect, Dragon Vein Sorcerers were somewhat similar to Combat Wizards, but their limitations were even more severe.

Not a single dragon was easy to provoke. Obtaining their Demon Souls was far too difficult. After reaching the Legendary rank, Dragon Vein Sorcerers basically had to go dragon-slaying every time they advanced!

Toward the end, Viola smilingly told Rayne that her shop had recently received a young Fire Dragon's Demon Soul, along with a bottle of its dragon blood.

Because there was little demand for Dragon Vein Sorcerers, it was currently being sold at a discount. The young Fire Dragon Demon Soul and dragon blood together cost only one thousand Gold Shields. She asked Rayne whether he was interested.

Rayne didn't dare listen any further.

Although chatting with a beautiful woman was very comfortable and pleasing to the eye, the constant stimulation from prices of over a thousand Gold Shields made his liver ache. He hurriedly stood up and bid Viola farewell:

"Sorry to bother you. I'll be leaving."