Odyssey of the Renegade Sovereign-Chapter 41: Soul Space (4)

While murmurs echoed through the hall about the golden-haired boy’s smooth ascent up the stairs, Astrael had his attention elsewhere, his status screen.

"So... what was that exactly?" Astrael asked calmly, recounting to Elyndra the strange vision he had witnessed within his soul space. He described the black sea, the nine towering pillars, and the floating crystal platform.

Elyndra listened intently through their mental link, aware that she couldn’t access his Soul Space without his permission.

Soul space was the most vulnerable area of one’s being. Opening it to another, even a bound spirit like Elyndra, was no trivial matter. It was akin to offering someone your beating heart.

After all, if someone shattered another’s soul space, it was the same as obliterating their mind. The worst-case scenario would be, the victim would die, or if they are lucky, would become a vegetable. But they’d never be the same. A body with no will. A living corpse.

And yet, Astrael didn’t fully understand his own soul space or what was happening inside it.

"I still don’t know," Elyndra responded after a moment of silence. Her voice, as always, flowed gently through his mind. "Due to my memory gap, I can’t recall anything clearly, but my intuition tells me it wasn’t just a decoration."

Astrael frowned slightly. "Was it dangerous?"

"Not to you," she replied calmly. "Otherwise, it wouldn’t have accepted you."

He leaned back slightly, resting one elbow on the wooden bench behind him as his silver eyes gazed at the ceiling.

"Figures. Nothing about me is ever normal."

"You say that," Elyndra teased softly, "but would you truly want to be normal?"

He didn’t reply right away. His lips curled faintly in response.

"Yeah, you’re right." Astrael chuckled, then called out the system.

When he had assimilated the mana crystal inside his Soul Space, he received an unusual system notification. Something that had never popped up before.

"System," he whispered mentally.

[Mana Essence Crystal detected!]

[Initiating Soul World Formation...]

[Loading. Please wait....]

[Soul World: Initial Stage formed.]

Astrael blinked.

"...Soul World?"

Elyndra, hearing the word and sensing the change in his aura, immediately perked up in his mind. "Soul World? Wait—that can’t be..."

Her tone shifted from a teasing tone to seriousness.

"You shouldn’t be able to form a Soul World unless... unless you’ve stepped into something far beyond normal mage paths."

Astrael furrowed his brows. He stared at the panel, watching as the text updated again.

[Current Soul World Size: 0.001%]

[Warning: Soul World development tied to Host’s growth. Do not expose Soul World to external forces.]

[Linked Trait unlocked: ??? Seed – "That which rules the formless."]

Elyndra went silent for a moment, and he could feel her aura tighten within his consciousness.

"This... Astrael, do not mention this to anyone. Not even your family."

"Why?"

"Because the Soul World isn’t just rare, it’s forbidden. From what I remember, $%#@# is weary of those who bore it. They called them $#%@&%. People who could forge laws within themselves... rewrite the principles of magic... and manipulate space and time within their mind."

Astrael narrowed his silver eyes slightly, as some of her words weren’t comprehensible to him.

Astrael frowned. "What?"

"I couldn’t hear that name," he murmured.

"You can’t hear it yet," Elyndra replied softly. "You’re too weak. Your soul isn’t strong enough to comprehend certain names... certain truths. If you forcefully try to know, your soul would be blasted to smithereens."

The light flickered on his system panel as another notification rolled in:

[Quest: Awaken the Soul World – Phase I]

[Objective: Channel Celestial Shard into the Nine Pillars.]

[Progress: 0/9]

Astrael exhaled deeply through his nose, then stood up. His eyes remained calm, but inside, a storm had begun.

’Nine pillars... like the ones in that sea?’

"Well... I guess normal was never an option anyway," he muttered, folding his arms behind his back.

Elyndra gave a soft chuckle in his mind, but her voice held a quiet edge.

"Welcome to the edge of the abyss, Astrael. Tread carefully—because the world just became far more dangerous for you."

"Yeah, you are right," Astrael calmed his mind; he couldn’t change anything, though.

"Status"

Host: Astrael Ravenastra / Age: 15 yrs / Race: Human

Title: Blood Berserker, Goblin Slayer, Young Lord, The One Who Defies Death, ???

Class: None

Cultivation: Novice stage 3

Level: 22

Exp.: 3300 / 22000

Bloodline: Ravensastra Bloodline

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Attributes:

- Strength: 50--> 60 / Agility: 64 --> 72 / Intelligence: 70 --> 170 / Endurance: 48 --> 59 / Vitality: 47 --> 58 / Charm: 30 / Soul: 100 (LOCKED)

- SP: 18

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[Soul World]

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Skills and Abilities:

[ Appraise ]

[ Inventory ]

[ Sword Mastery (Master) ]

[ Quick Draw (E) lvl. 9(max) ]

[ Mana Augmentation (E) lvl. 9(max) ]

[ Bood Berserker (C) ]

[ Berserk Instinct (C) ]

[ Keen Sight (E) lvl.2 ]

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The first thing Astrael’s eyes focused on was the increased stats.

’W-what? Just forming the Soul World boosted my stats, after all these years of hard work?’ he exclaimed, unsure whether to cry or laugh.

He glanced at the numbers. Strength jumped ten points. Agility, Endurance, Vitality, all skyrocketed. And Intelligence... soaring from 70 to 170.

All the years of painstaking training, grinding for a single point...

And like that, the Soul World had gifted him more in seconds. Astrael closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and silently thanked whatever forces had given him this gift.

’And the Soul World tab also appeared,’ he thought, his eyes lingering on the panel for a moment longer.

But before he could process it further, his attention was pulled away by a sudden commotion erupting in the hall.

...

"Am I seeing a dream? Can someone slap me?"

Slap.

"Ugh... Which bastard slapped me?"

"Eh? You literally just asked for it..."

Gasps and stunned silence pervaded the hall.

"W-Wait! He’s still walking!"

All eyes turned toward the golden-haired boy, Arthur.

Eighty-eight.

Eighty-nine.

Ninety.

The moment his foot landed on the ninetieth step, a thunderous pulse of pressure exploded outward. The silvery mist swirling in the hall rippled like a disturbed pond, reacting to his presence.

The entire hall fell into stunned awe.

"He did it... He reached the ninetieth step... Supreme-grade?" someone whispered, their voice barely audible yet loud enough to echo in the dead silence.

Even in the spectators’ area all the noble’s gasped.

A noble woman gasped behind her fan. "This hasn’t happened in... how many decades?"

Even the Count, who had remained largely calm even during Astrael’s performance, leaned forward in his seat, lips slightly parted, eyes locked onto Arthur like a hawk.

Meanwhile, Arthur stood still on the ninetieth step, the air around him shimmering as the mana pressure tried to crush him completely. His golden hair fluttered in the unseen currents, his expression unreadable.

But then, he lifted his foot once again

The hall exploded.

"What?! He’s going for the last step?!"

"No way, no way—there’s no record of anyone walking past ninety!"

"Supreme-grade is already legendary, what even comes after that?!"

Even Elyndra whispered from within Astrael’s mind, her voice unusually serious.

"Something is off about that boy..."