Aiken, the Soul Mutator (Part 2)
"Your talent in the other element should lie in the Death Rule, right?" Aiken asked, smiling at Rog. That was actually why he valued Rog. To follow his path, a person not only needed exceptional talent in both Laws, but one of those talents also had to be in a Rule.
If both were Laws, his path was almost impossible to follow!
"My Death Rule is also at the equivalent of three fused mysteries." His Death Rule had always been a little slower than his Lightning Law, though it wasn't far behind.
"Good, very good." Aiken nodded in satisfaction. "On my path, the most important thing to watch is the balance of the Fusion Law. When fusing the two, both Laws must be equally strong. If that balance is broken, the result will be inferior to fusing Profound Mysteries of the same Law." Aiken gave Rog another pointer.
Rog understood as soon as he thought about it. It was just like fusing divine power: both sides had to be equally strong. If one was stronger than the other, the fusion would instead reduce their original strength, leaving it far weaker than before.
But there was also a practical problem. For someone with a mutation in two Laws, the second step of fusing them in pairs required first fusing one mystery with two. At that point, their strength would decrease rather than increase. And from what Aiken implied, a fusion like that couldn't maintain its balance, making it difficult to succeed.
No wonder most Soul Mutators in the Infernal Realm had only reached the first step at best.
"Although there are some Soul Mutators in the Infernal Realm, too few are truly gifted. You're the most talented one I've met. I hope you won't disappoint me." Aiken seemed to have high expectations for Rog.
Soul Mutation itself was a rare event that only occasionally occurred through a coincidence of circumstances.
Most Soul Mutators had mediocre talent. Beyond the most basic fusion of divine power, they couldn't even manage the first step of fusing two mysteries, let alone the second step of fusing four and the third step of fusing six.
Not every Soul Mutator was an extraordinary genius. Some simply lacked talent, and even a Soul Mutation couldn't help them.
Just like that fellow Liermons from the original story, who had cultivated painstakingly for countless years before barely reaching the first step. Only with Fused Divine Power had he been able to match a Seven-Star Fiend.
A Two-element Soul Mutator who fused one mystery from each Law could match the fusion of three mysteries from a single Law. With the tenfold boost from Fused Divine Power on top of that, they could be considered to have achieved mastery of Soul Mutation in a certain sense.
Few knew how to proceed after that. One of the main reasons was that talented Soul Mutators were simply too rare.
Rog had never been certain about the path of fusing different Laws, so he hadn't rushed to pursue it. But now he finally knew the way forward for a Soul Mutator. It was difficult, but at least it gave him another possible path to the peak.
"Your talent in both elements is considerable, kid. Of everyone I've met so far, you have the best chance of following my path. I suggest you give it a try." Aiken spoke rather gently. After all, his path wasn't necessarily much easier than becoming a Paragon.
"Since I meet every condition, I have no reason not to try fusing mysteries from different Laws." Besides, Rog believed that, at the very least, the first two steps of cultivation certainly wouldn't stop him. And the path of the Fusion Law had no effect on cultivating individual Laws.
In that case, he would naturally start by following both paths. Why agonize over the choice?
Having nearly died once, Rog was no longer in the same state of mind as before. He was no longer as impatient and lost.
Even so, he was only confident of reaching the second step. As for the third, Rog didn't think it would be much easier than becoming a Paragon. He would worry about that when the time came. After all, even without mastering the third step, merely crossing its threshold would put his achievements above those of other Asuras.
Although Aiken hadn't mentioned what it took to master the third step, he had evidently failed at first, and something must have happened later to give him another chance. "Thank you for clearing up my doubts, Lord Aiken. I will always remember your kindness." Rog was deeply grateful for Aiken's guidance. Although he might have gradually figured these things out for himself given enough time, how many detours would he have taken? How much time and effort would he have wasted?
Perhaps, just like this time, he might have died before he ever had the chance to discover those secrets.
"You dared to remain a Midgod all this time to fuse mysteries. That takes great perseverance. I hope you can make it to where I am." Aiken thought highly of the young man. He was one of the few Soul Mutators with real aptitude, and he might well grow to reach Aiken's level someday.
"Take this. Consider it a little help from me to a junior." With that, Aiken actually produced a drop of black liquid!
It was a drop of Sovereign's Might!
"My lord? This... this is far too precious!" Rog was taken aback by the unexpected favor. A drop of Sovereign's Might was fairly precious even to an Asura. After all, apart from the direct children of Sovereigns, everyone had a limited supply.
"Take it. Precious as it is, it's actually no use to me." Aiken smiled and shook his head. After that breakthrough, he had gained a way to extract and refine Sovereign's Might himself, though it was rather troublesome.
Now that he had found Fendal's treasure, extracting Sovereign's Might was even easier, and it was no longer as precious to him as before.
"This..." Rog was stunned. He recalled how Nuoti had suddenly produced a drop of Sovereign's Might after stalling for two months, then thought of how the information he had gathered contained no rumors of Aiken being able to extract Sovereign's Might from Inkstones. Could it be?
A guess formed in Rog's mind, and he felt it was almost certainly correct. Aiken must have obtained a treasure here that gave him the ability to extract and refine Sovereign's Might.
But a treasure belonged in capable hands. Even after obtaining it, Nuoti hadn't been able to keep it. But now that Aiken had it, who could take it from him?
Aside from Sovereigns, even a Paragon was no match for Aiken. Besides, a Paragon High-God probably wouldn't confront Aiken over a treasure like that.
"Thank you, my lord." How precious was Sovereign's Might? With Rog's current strength, any words of thanks seemed inadequate. To Aiken, perhaps it was no great matter to give away a drop on a whim while he was in a good mood, having obtained a treasure today and no longer lacking Sovereign's Might. But to Rog, this one drop could mean his life!
Rog had no intention of rushing to break through to Highgod for a long time to come. Using this drop of Sovereign's Might would be enough to increase his strength a hundredfold, making it possible for him to turn the tables even in a desperate crisis.
This favor was simply too great!
"All right, I'm leaving. Keep at it, kid." Seeing Rog carefully accept the drop of Sovereign's Might, Aiken smiled, turned, and left. In just a few breaths, his figure vanished into the horizon, leaving no trace.
"No wonder that beam of light was so terrifying. Lord Aiken's Law was already ten times stronger than a Paragon's, and on top of that, he had Fused Divine Power. The power of that strike..." That attack must have contained Willpower as well. Otherwise, it probably wouldn't have been so terrifying. Seen that way, the attack was likely comparable to a Paragon fighting at full strength with Sovereign's Might.
"The first step of fusing two Laws shouldn't be difficult for me. The only thing I need to consider is which two mysteries to choose for that first fusion." Considering that the Fusion Law became harder the further one progressed, Rog decided to try it step by step, cultivating it from the lower stages upward. Otherwise, given his current level in both Laws, he could have gone straight to the third step.
But go straight to the third step? He probably wouldn't even be able to cross the threshold. After all, even getting started was as difficult as fusing six mysteries, at least as hard as the cultivation of a Peak Asura.
"My Lightning Law already shows promise of fusing four mysteries. If I want to become a Paragon, I have a better chance with the Lightning Element." If he had no chance of becoming a Paragon through the Lightning Element, his chances with the Death Rule were even lower.
From now on, the Lightning Law would be the only individual Law he cultivated. He planned to devote the rest of his efforts to the path of the Fusion Law.