Soul Talent

The human territories were vast, and Lei Mo wasn't in a hurry. Riding the Divine Wind Bear, he took his time, sampling delicacies and fine wines along the way. Now and then, he even visited a few places not fit for children.

He traveled at a leisurely pace by day, and spent his nights in either a treehouse or an inn. Whenever he cultivated, Lei Mo focused on comprehending the Law of Destruction.

He had long since given up cultivating battle aura, but it continued to grow all the same.

Thanks to awakening his Destruction talent, Lei Mo no longer needed to keep staring at the Destruction Runes on Franklin.

Holding Franklin in his hands, setting him on his knees, or carrying him on his back—all of it helped him gain insight.

As he felt the fluctuations of the Law of Destruction between heaven and earth, Lei Mo felt an indescribable sense of ease.

One day, Lei Mo came across a caravan. On a whim, he had Bill shrink into a tiny bear and crawl into his pocket.

After paying ten gold coins, Lei Mo earned the right to travel with the caravan.

It was a caravan transporting bolts of cloth to the Northern Frontier.

They carried silk there and brought back furs from all kinds of magical beasts.

Speaking of fur, the Wind-Thunder Magic Bear's pelt had already been handed over to the Keaton Kingdom in exchange for two hundred thousand square kilometers of land around Franklin Valley—enough to establish a grand duchy. Lei Mo simply had no interest in founding a country.

He had also gotten two sets of Magic Bear Leather Armor in the deal, one for himself and one for Rachel.

After the bear meat had been smoked, Lei Mo stored quite a bit in the memory space of his Space Ring, and put most of it in Franklin's Soul Space.

Lei Mo was wearing the Magic Bear Leather Armor now. The Wind-Thunder Magic Bear's defense and ability to disperse force had left a deep impression on him.

"Uncle Bailey, Uncle Bailey! I brought you some roasted meat. I saved it just for you!"

A red-haired little boy shouted as he ran toward Lei Mo.

That was right. Lei Mo had borrowed Bailey's name again.

Vikli was a young boy Lei Mo had met in the caravan. His father was a wagon driver, and Vikli helped with sorting the goods. He was practically an unpaid child laborer: the caravan provided his food and lodging, so there was no need to pay him wages. Both sides got what they wanted.

On the mainland, children like him were called apprentices. Most started helping out under a master or in a caravan at the age of eight, and had to work until at least sixteen before they could earn the wages of a proper apprentice.

This was very common among commoners. Becoming an apprentice was something worth celebrating.

Not only were food and lodging free, but there was also a chance to learn a skill that could keep you fed—a foundation for making your way in the world.

If you couldn't stand the hardships and ran home, your parents would break your legs.

Young Vikli was sharp-eyed; otherwise, he wouldn't have been able to hold his own in the caravan.

The first time he saw Lei Mo, he noticed the leather armor and the two black pillars on his back and immediately felt that he was no ordinary person.

He drew close to Lei Mo whenever he could. It was instinct for someone of humble origins to be warm toward a capable person with a reasonably good temper.

Lei Mo also liked the hardworking, sensible boy. He gave him a few little trinkets that seemed useless but were actually good for his health.

Vikli had no idea what they were, but happily accepted them. One of them was a silver coin engraved with a Burning Rune.

Lei Mo had given them away on a whim, just as he had once saved Sarich.

Lately, Lei Mo had also been studying that rune from before. Every other rune was obviously incomplete, so this one had filled him with curiosity.

He had gained no insight into the rune at all, nor could he verify what it did. He had yet to find a soul that had comprehended it, either.

Perhaps it was a rune unique to Franklin's main body. It simply didn't exist on the eight pillar-like sub-bodies.

Franklin had now projected the complete, enigmatic rune into his space. At Lei Mo's request, he had scattered copies in several different corners, hoping some soul would comprehend it.

Then there would be a corresponding Soul Rune, and Lei Mo might be able to use it as a stepping stone toward comprehending the complete rune.

More than half a year had passed, but there had still been no progress. It seemed the rune was no easy task. Its strands were indeed intricate.

With Franklin's help, Lei Mo couldn't comprehend the Laws of the seven elements, but his perception of the seven elemental forces was still exceptionally sharp.

Lei Mo was certain the rune belonged neither to the Laws of the seven elements nor to the Law of Destruction. In theory, something like that shouldn't exist.

And yet the truth was right there: the rune contained none of the seven elemental energies. In other words, it was the attribute-free rune he had been searching so hard for.

His mind wandered through all these thoughts, but all he could do was stare at the rune and sigh. Without a Soul Rune to use as a stepping stone, he couldn't comprehend it.

Maybe my approach is wrong! Lei Mo thought.

By now, Franklin's space contained mostly Tauren souls, with only a few thousand human souls.

Right—the souls of those Lei Mo had killed in that great battle had been captured and brought inside. The rest were the souls of several dozen magical beasts Lei Mo had killed.

Different souls may have different talents, but I can't go around killing innocents just to get souls!

That clearly went against Lei Mo's values. The best option was still to take part in a war. Death on the battlefield was only natural.

That made him seem rather sanctimonious, but the education he had received had taught him that this was simply how things should be.

After traveling with the caravan through two kingdoms, he reached a place near the Elf Forest and left them.

The pace was simply too slow. Whenever they encountered bandits, Lei Mo didn't intervene unless their lives were in danger.

The place where Lei Mo left the caravan lay at the northernmost edge of human territory, in a kingdom called Clair. Farther north was the lawless Chaos Zone, a melting pot of all sorts.

According to legend, the royal family of Clair had elven blood. Was it true? It didn't matter. There were plenty of Elves; what did the Kingdom of Clair amount to?

Although the Elves were a peace-loving people, they wouldn't allow any overly powerful country or faction to exist beside their stronghold. That was why there was no organization like the Seti Alliance.

The Elves had a small population, and they rarely left the vast Elf Forest. The forest provided them with everything they needed to live.

After leaving the caravan, Lei Mo released the Divine Wind Bear and continued north at a leisurely pace, crossing the border of the Kingdom of Clair and entering the Chaos Zone.

The entire Elf Forest belonged to the Elf Nation, but the Elves were few in number, so magical beasts dominated the forest.

As a result, the border regions on the human side were often struck by waves of magical beasts. Any kingdom that occupied those lands would have to defend them, and many kingdoms were unwilling to take that on.

Consequently, the lands near the Elf Forest were often left ungoverned. Even when a powerful figure established a grand duchy there, it would disappear within a few centuries.

The moment he entered the region, Lei Mo kept his spiritual force on alert, while Franklin sent out a Saint Realm soul to stand guard. The ease and idleness he'd felt in human territory vanished at once.

"Boom—"

The sound of something tearing through the air rang out as a dark blur hurtled toward Lei Mo. He couldn't tell whether it was friend or foe.

"Is this how you welcome me to the Chaos Zone?"

Lei Mo wasn't nervous. He raised the Totem Pillar horizontally, and with a bang, blocked the attack.

Only then did he see that his attacker was a Saint-level Dragon Lion, its entire body covered in purplish-red scales. A purple horn jutted from the center of its brow.

Its body was over eight meters long, making it rather small for a Saint Realm magical beast. At just over three meters tall at the shoulder, it was only a little taller than the Divine Wind Bear.

"Human! Hand over my child, or you'll die!"