Chapter 196: The Chosen Second Sense.
Sometime ago... During his preparation before the Sandstorm Surge Death Game...
Levi was seen cultivating using some growth totems on top of the same dune in Ash’Kral’s little island... he was physically drained from training for more than sixteen hours continuously. Instead of taking a full break, he decided to think of something to solve.
The first thing that came to his mind was his third weapon and the second sense... Although at this time, he had no clue if his plan to impress the Void seed was plausible, he preferred thinking of the weapon’s concept at least.
So once he got the chance, he would be ready.
’Ash’Kral had advised me not to choose Spiritual Perception as my first sense to avoid having my first power-ups be niche spiritual innate abilities... but now, it’s different.’
Levi was opening up to starting with the Spiritual Perception as his second sense, the moment he noticed that his strength was decent enough.
With three Aspects unlocked, and multiple abilities... Levi had the required safety net.
’With my Spiritual Perception potential being decent, I can branch out to spiritual warfare; offense and defense.’
Levi was regarded as an Anomaly-level talent in terms of Spiritual prowess. He might have been modest about it, but everyone knew that once he chose this path, his overall strength would surge tremendously.
Other senses, as great as they were in their own unique ways, could not hold a candle to what Levi could do with that massive tank of spiritual energy sitting idle... Of course, vision sense wasn’t included since Levi’s eyes were missing.
’There is a much more important reason.’ Ash’Kral interjected.
’I know... the Three-Body-Problem solution.’ Levi nodded.
Levi had just talked to Ash’Kral about the idea of separating his soul into three ways to create a spiritual host for each seed... one could say, instead of sharing a single open room, he would put walls between each seed, giving them an illusion of individuality.
’If I chose Spiritual Perception, my soul, spiritual reserve, and anything related will be enhanced immensely during my growth to the evolution stage of Junior rank.’
Levi knew that Daywalkers and Nightcrawlers were split into specializations for a reason... It was also related to the chosen part prioritized during the growth.
If one were pure Enhancement specialization, their bodies and physical attributes would be enhanced much stronger than the average... though, their spiritual prowess would take the backseat.
The opposite was for Psych specialization... their spiritual prowess would be prioritized immensely while their bodies suffered.
The best example was Jamal.
He was a Junior Daywalker at the time of the Harrowing Forest... yet, he was much weaker physically than Arthur.
As for unique specialists? Their powers were too versatile to be limited to such a system... They either possessed a single Unique Aspect like Seraphis... or possessed multiple Aspects, which gave them the chance to grow their bodies depending on each Aspect’s energy attunement.
’Will it be enough?’ Levi wondered.
’I can’t lie to you... I don’t know.’ Ash’Kral replied, ’Your spiritual potential is on the high end, which might give you the chance to strengthen your soul to survive such a split, and still remain functional... the issue is the time.’
’The time...’ Levi held his chin, ’You said that if I want to embark on this solution, I have to commit before either of the three Origin seeds’ evolutionary path hits Pathfinder rank.’
’Yes... Once you reach the evolution stage of Junior’s rank, your next evolution will push the tree to grow into a young tree inside your soul. By then, it will be too late to split your soul since the young tree will be part of it.’
’I understand.’ Levi nodded.
He recognized that such a situation gave him a limited timeframe to reach the required soul strengthening... which was technically around the soul of a Psych Specialization Solarbound Daywalker.
It wasn’t easy in the slightest... Yet.
’I have to do it.’ Levi decided, his expression determined.
The Three-Body Problem had gone through countless solutions, and none worked... each faced a hurdle down the line, which meant... the termination of the experiment and the death of the Daywalker.
Levi had already brainstormed his own ideas, but once he told them to Ash’Kral, he kept repeating a single word... Failed.
This made Levi realize that he could think about it for years and years... it still wouldn’t amount to the time and effort Ash’Kral had invested in it.
Ash’Kral had told him the soul split theory was the only one that had a host problem... not a fundamental one.
None of his past partners were capable of fulfilling its conditions... after learning about the theory, Levi understood why.
Still... he was not like them. Levi felt like he had an actual shot, and he would be a fool not to give it a try.
’Spiritual Perception it is.’ Levi nodded to himself and then wondered, "What kind of spiritual weapon will fit me best?’
The first weapon that popped into Levi’s mind was a wizard-like staff... His staff would remain the same, but the top-most crown would unlock to host an orb capable of amplifying his spiritual attacks.
In this manner, the transformation would remain instant while he benefited from spiritual amplification.
Simple... efficient.
But Levi didn’t do simple.
"It’s good as a spiritual weapon... but, that’s pretty much it.’ Levi shook his head, ’Although my spiritual prowess is good, it’s best if I have mediums like sound to enhance my abilities much more.’
Everyone knew the standard formula for a spiritual attack... an ability + Spiritual Energy = A spiritual ability.
But Levi understood that it wasn’t the best formula.
An ability + Aspect Medium (sound, mist, shadows, mirror...) + Spiritual Energy = Enhanced spiritual ability.
Example:
Soul Leeching Fog Ability:
Ability: Essence Drain
Medium: Mist Aspect
Energy Type: Spiritual Energy
Effect: Mist clings to skin, leeching spiritual vitality and feeding it back to the user. The denser the mist, the stronger the drain.
If we took Essence Drain as a single ability... it would use solar energy as the fuel, and its effect would be mostly physical, like absorbing the target’s blood vitality.
However, once the fuel shifted from solar energy to spiritual energy... its effect transformed to target the soul, not the body.
On the other hand... if the medium was removed, which was Mist in this case, but still absorbed one’s soul vitality, the caster would be forced to use his actual Will to implement the effect.
It was like he would be ordering his own spirit to do the attack using pure Will... this wouldn’t work as effectively as using a medium.
After all, the targets weren’t wooden dummies... they had their own innate protection against such attacks, and it was the Subconscious barrier protecting the soul and the Spiritual Leywell.
Using one’s will to break this subconsciousness barrier was the same as a normal citizen wanting to move a water bottle with their will... Unless one’s will was that of Gandhi, it ain’t gonna happen.
Levi knew if he created a weapon that harnessed both his spiritual prowess and aspects, the formula would be refined even more.
Spiritual orbs and such voodoo imaginative weapons wouldn’t fit him best.
"I already have two of the best medium Aspects for spiritual abilities... sound and darkness." Levi tapped his finger on his elbow thoughtfully, "Darkness Aspect is useless now unless I resonate with the Void seed, so the weapon should prioritize Sound Aspect for now."
"How about an instrument-type weapon?" Ash’Kral suggested.