"Let's start with the vitality," Ian said. Melina raised his hand and released a golden light towards Elden Lord Armor. The armor trembled slightly, but there seemed to be no change. It seemed that the armor could not be upgraded because it was an inorganic life form. However, this world is a foreign one. There is a sentient Living Jars here, and they also accept Grace from Erdtree. The only condition for accepting Grace is to have a soul.
Morgana, who has been recording the whole process, said, "It's so interesting. Rune transforms it into a unique power from the soul, and then combines it with the metal of the armor to transform into this unknown metal energy."
"Yes, this metal energy seems to increase the sturdiness and energy resistance of the armor," Ian nodded.
"This metallic energy reminds me of some aspects of robotic life energy."
"Its essence may be very similar," Ian nodded.
"The next thing is concentration."
"... This time it's just nourishing the soul, focusing primarily on the connection between the soul and the mind."
"Magic in this world is based on concentration, so it makes sense that there are ways to increase the power of the mind and thereby enhance concentration."
"... the same power from the soul - let's call it the power of potential - is now transformed into a metal energy suitable for increasing the tensile strength of the armor; it has even optimized some of the internal designs of the armor. According to my calculations, your maximum carrying capacity has increased by 0.76%, and your movement speed has increased by 2.4%."
"Intelligence," Ian said, and Melina did so. Then, the two observed how the potential power created by Rune and the soul was transformed into an energy that could enhance the individual's gift of sensory energy.
"This Rune's power is really versatile," Ian said with Blink's eyes shining brightly.
"Faith."
"Sorry, you ran out of Rune," Melina said.
"No problem." He deployed more Doom Bots to farm Rune for him, and she continued. Faith increased his ability to connect to any power source he was using. For example, if Ian wanted to use Golden Order Incantations, the Faith attribute would strengthen his connection to Erdtree. If he wants to use Dragon Communion Incantations, he will increase his affinity with the dragon's power, which is gained by devouring the dragon's flesh.
Finally, there is the attribute he is most interested in: Sensing. While its main effect is weapon-related, one of its powers is increased resistance to Holy Damage - which is the main power of Erdtree, as well as Death Resistance - a power generated from the fragments of Rune of Death, and Scarlet Rot - one of the powers of Outer Gods. One of Ian's biggest concerns was Outer Gods's power, so he focused on this attribute.
"How's it going?"
"Some changes have occurred, but I have no reference point. We may need to conduct some experiments," Morgana said.
"Okay." Ian focused on improving his sensing attributes, until Melina told him that he had reached the limit - not the limit of improvement, but the limit of control. This is not a video game where you can upgrade to the highest level and easily kill all enemies instantly. In the real world, he needs to control his power.
Ian's next destination is an area called Caelid. A legendary battle broke out here between Malenia and Radahn. All the descendants of Queen Marika were born with a curse, including Malenia and her twin brother Miquella. Malenia was born as Empyrean selected by Outer God of Rot. When she was at a disadvantage in the battle with Radahn, she bloomed and released all the Scarlet Rot in her body, instantly destroying and polluting Caelid. To this day, that area is still tortured by her Scarlet Rot.
The results of the experiment were immediate. The ordinary Doom Bots would be infected in just 1.3 seconds, but Elden Lord Armor could last up to 10 seconds. "This thing is really terrible," Morgana sighed. Doom Bots is run by a program, which means it has no soul. However, Scarlet Rot didn't care about this at all, nor did it care that it was metal, and corroded it directly.
"We still need more data." If Ian wanted to use this power for his own use, he needed a deeper understanding. Therefore, he tested it by subjecting the armor to various powers available in the world. He also injected its soul into a clone, and as he expected, the soul transferred this ability to the body. Ian is an organic life form, so this form is more helpful for his research.
The final result did not surprise him too much. This power that even Outer Gods can resist originated from Law of Life, which makes sense logically. The induction attribute comes from the power of Erdtree, and the power of Erdtree comes from Elden Ring+ - an object that can control the metaphysical level of Lands Between, that is, the law.
"That's both good news and bad news," Morgana said.
"That's right," Ian nodded. The good news is that after all these years, he may finally be able to learn Law of Life. The bad news is that if Greater Will created this universe, then Law of Life may have their hidden influence or connection. So, if Ian uses it on himself, there may be problems with this clone.
"It's possible, though, that there's no bad news at all," Ian added. It simply doesn't make sense that an entity as powerful as Greater Will can't interfere with the reality it creates. Why would it be trapped in Lightless Void in the first place, and need an agent to influence Lands Between? Some may argue that it is too powerful and that its direct arrival would instantly Annihilation's reality. However, Ian has another suspicion. When Greater Will separated Taiyi and created this universe, a Cosmic Will was also born. At some point, Cosmic Will came into conflict with Greater Will, and Outer Gods was somehow involved. The result was that they were imprisoned within Lightless Void, limiting their impact on reality.
'Your theory makes some sense,' Morgana said. Most of the power in this world is related to Erdtree/Greater Will or Outer Gods, but there are a few sources of power - mainly related to the stars - that seem completely neutral and have nothing to do with them. The information for the Samsara Hall does not reveal their owner/creator, which means it is likely from Cosmic Will.
'We need to investigate, but before that, let's learn the magic of this world,' Ian said.
His next destination is a ruins in the east-central part of Limgrave, to meet Sorceress Sellen. Finding her is the fastest and easiest way for him to learn the magic called Glintstone Sorcery in this world.
"Are you a little too happy?" Morgana joked.
"I'm going to meet a beautiful woman soon, can you blame me?"
"You've been so good in the past few years that I almost forgot what kind of person you are," Morgana sneered. "As the saying goes, it's easy to change the situation, but it's hard to change the nature."
"You're making it sound like I'm going to seduce her. Yes, she's a beautiful woman, but she does learn the fastest. Not to mention she'd be a perfect fit for the Empire." Sellen is talented, curious, and passionate about research. Of course, this personality led to her tragic fate, but Ian is here, so she should be able to save her. The point is, she will make an excellent Arcanist.
"Whatever you say."