The Harvester

Chapter 370: Arithmetic Soul

"I shall take my leave then," Lucrecia stated as the doors of the Celestia Gate closed behind them, back under the artificial sky of Rakna's territory. "Should I keep to myself about… you know," she uttered hesitantly and the therian snickered.

"Do what you want," he replied uncaringly. "At this point, who cares? Both of my express enemies already know about my relationship with the old man. It wouldn't hurt to have some people aware of it as well to increase my credibility. I at least intend to reveal it to the Myth Council anyway."

The Matriarch slowly nodded, as if still processing his identity in her mind. She then looked at the rest of the group and acknowledged them with a short nod before initiating a transfer to the 500th Plateau. "Farewell," she said right before vanishing in a burst of light.

"Well, that girl was definitely a storm," Higure huffed smilingly. "Came in like one, went away with a peaceful wind."

"But is it truly okay to let them know you are the Kind Demon's kin?" Ceresta asked in conjunction and Rakna snorted.

"As I said, I've kept it hidden long enough as it is. It has run its course," he shrugged. "Whether it's revealed or not doesn't matter much," he said and looked at her. "More importantly, Ceres… there are more relevant things for you to think about."

She tilted her head. "Me?"

Rakna smiled. "Your status; it has been updated, hasn't it?" He asked and the dollish girl blinked as if unaware of such a thing. She then tried to bring up her own System windows, a first for her, and she was instantly bombarded with lines of words.

⠀

⠀

Manual Review Completed. Confirmed by Eva.

⠀

Due to the subject's inherent abnormality, some of the System's features cannot be opened no matter what. Levels will not be updated with experience but by the individual's effort and time, and a Path cannot be selected. Ascents shall happen naturally through the accumulation of life force in a way that fits the artificial nature of the subject's body.

⠀

---

⠀

Name: Ceresta Alexa

Age: N/A | Estimated Level: 176

Race: Alkahestic Eion Homunculus

Affiliation: Rakna Xiorra

Titles: Miraculous Marvel, Flower of Hope, Blessed by Crystal

⠀

Attributes:

STR: 10 | END: 10

SPD: 10 | DEX: 10

INT: 256 [509] | LCK: 3

⠀

Statistics:

STA: 50 | MP: 7 680 [28642]

SWI: 1 596 [4233] | AGI: 30

SEN: 858 [2130] | ATC: 299 [552]

ATT: 65 | DEF: 40

MA: 2304 [5324] | MR: 153.6 [526.2]

⠀

Proficiencies:

- Digital Science Expertise (Lv. 21 ⋆⋆)

- Integrated Technology Expertise (Lv. 21 ⋆⋆)

- Magic Craft (Lv. 15 ⋆)

- Rune Craft (Lv.6)

…

⠀

Magic Skills:

Unawakened.

⠀

Cognitive Skills:

- Arithmetic Soul (Lv. UEX ⋆⋆⋆)

- Pain Immunity (Lv--)

- Mind Immunity (Lv--)

- Fatigue Immunity (Lv--)

…

⠀

Spontaneous Skills:

- Lucid Meditation (Lv.9)

- Eion Burst (Lv.1)

…

⠀

Nirvana Skills:

⠀

- Seven Blossom Ring: A miraculous shield embodying the sentiment of hope. Invoking this skill summons the spectral apparition of seven silver flower petals that act as a defense against all damage and attacks. Whether they be physical, magical, spiritual, ethereal, or simply malicious, the Ring of Petals will stop it.

The limit of this Nirvana Skills scales to the user's Magic Power, which consists of all aspects of conjuring magic; Magic Attack, Mana Pool, Consumption Efficiency, Intelligence, and so on. It has no cost to be summoned and barely imposes any downtime afterward. However, to sustain an assault, it will demand a minimum price not to break under the pressure. Depending on the intensity of the threat, it can vary from a measly one point of mana to the entire mana pool of the caster.

If the user runs out of mana to use, stamina will supersede it at a faster pace, and once that is also exhausted, the body will begin to pay the toll; until the attack is over or once the user perishes.

⠀

Cooldown: 1 Minute.

Maximum Size: 10-Meter Diameter.

⠀

Unique or Racial Traits:

⠀

- Alkahestic Eion Frame: An artificial body made out of a special material, crafted out of an Alkahestic Compound and Stones of Eternity. It hasn't quite reached the level of Prima Materia but possesses its invulnerability to poison, toxins, and parasites. Wounds will be repaired within seconds and surplus material will be continuously generated by the body.

Body shape can be altered at will and cellular decay will never occur. The stamina of the Frame will recover at paces far above regular organic creatures.

⠀

- Hybrid Digital Soul: An incongruous phenomenon originating from the birth of a soul within a digital code. Due to this outlandish combination, mathematical laws have been incorporated into the holder's very soul power. It possesses a systematic control and growth potential that bears the menace of being capable of even tearing down matter through calculations.

This causes the holder's magic power to be subjected to a perverse form of enhancement, greatly increasing its potency and going as far as distorting the very correlation between the power source and output. This also applies to mental faculties and extends to the manipulation of all computed systems reachable by the holder's soul power.

If the holder decides so, it is possible to separate the pure soul power from the arithmetic variant, allowing a larger range of control. The true value will be shown in brackets and has no set or fixed calculation method.

⠀

Note: A former S-Class Artificial Intelligence affiliated with the System. Due to prolonged exposure to Negative Causality and the power of the Crystal Sage from its Host's soul, it gained sentience and a hybrid soul half-composed of digital data. It has now found complete harmony with an artificial receptacle dubbed an Eion Frame.

⠀

---

⠀

Arithmetic Soul ⋆⋆⋆

⠀

An incredibly overpowering skill that deserves a classification that even Nirvana Skills cannot fully encompass. It is only by its inherency, uniqueness, and alienness that it has been assigned the classification of Ultimate Exceled Skill.

It combines a large array of abilities such as Mana Sense, Mana Control, Soul Control, Soul Sense, Soul Heart, Consumption Reduction, Fear Resistance, Curse Immunity, etcetera.

The user of this skill can process information at a level that surpasses even technology, entering the realm of magus science. The user can also manipulate their spiritual energies as they please, altering their properties or even completely removing their presence.

⠀

Effects:

- 90% Mana & Stamina Consumption Reduction

- Increases Magic Attack by 200%

- Increases Mana by 200%

- Increases Senses by 200%

- Increases Swiftness by 200%

- Increases Magical Defense by 200%

- Soul Spells Access Opened.

⠀

Note: These effects influence base stats and do not account for the Trait; Hybrid Digital Soul.

⠀

❮ ◈ ❯

⠀

Rakna snickered as Ceresta gawked at her status. "Look at you; a Nirvana Skill from the get-go and the System is calling one of your skills overpowered. Even I don't have that privilege," he said and she blushed faintly.

"{…are we not going to mention the absurd Magic Power?}" Fray muttered dumbfoundedly. Even he had never seen such ridiculous raw potential back when he was still alive.

"Certainly, putting a meaning in the definition of 'glass cannon'," Hans commented as he also read her status. "But even that weakness is somewhat covered… Impressive."

"Hm," Rakna mused for a short moment and then raised his palm. Wordlessly, he channeled a ball of raw mana, devoid of even his Star Magic, and showed it to her former AI as it warped the light around it ever so slightly. "Ceres, try this for me. I used 1.6 MP; the equivalent of 10 MP with my reduction. In your case, just use 1 MP. This should be easy. It's pure mana control."

Ceresta nodded in understanding and was quick to imitate it. There wasn't even a trace of thought or hesitation as she flawlessly accomplished something she tried for the first time in her life. Rakna smiled inwardly at that and noticed that she had even finished faster than him.

Of course, doing this kind of thing does not even take a second. But if he wanted to quibble; he had done it in about 0.1 seconds while it barely took half of that for her.

"All right," he ended his brooding. "Now just do this," he said and swung his hand. The bundle of raw mana shot out from his palm and hit the ground, causing a small patch of dirt to rise in the air as a hole the size of a fist formed in the soil.

The white-haired girl tilted her head in confusion but complied nonetheless. Just like that, she shot the mana at the same speed as him and when it struck the ground, it did more than just dig a hole and shake the dirt.

A detonation resounded and as if a small explosion, the ground blew up and opened a meter-wide pit, releasing smoke and dust. Ceresta looked startled as she stepped back from what she had done and then whipped her head around toward Rakna when she heard him laugh quietly.

He sent her a small grin and with pursed lips, she stared back at her handiwork. She compared the results of the experiment with those of the therian and it was so clearly unequal that she almost felt guilty about it.

"…that's kinda scary," Higure remarked wryly.

"You don't say…" Nyx agreed quietly.

"This is exactly what Lucrecia sensed when she saw you," Rakna commented to the shell-shocked girl before him as he snapped his fingers and called a few of his Earth Wolves. They emerged from the ground and began to repair the terrain. "Now then, let's get you awakened, shall we?"

⠀

* * *

⠀

Ceresta stood in front of the orb of the Awakening Room in the Pavilion. She looked behind her to see Rakna giving her a reassuring nod as he stood next to the door.

With a deep breath, she tentatively reached for the magic device in front of her and poured a sliver of her mana into it. Immediately, a powerful light bathed the room in its power, and silver flowers of mana began to bloom in the air.

Rakna watched it happen with wide eyes until it was suddenly overtaken by a new wave of magic that blew everything away. It was colorless and shapeless, with nothing for him to speculate.

But the moment it touched his body, he almost shivered. It was as if something was deconstructing the very root of his existence to identify what kind of life form he was.

His daze was however promptly cut short when he noticed the Awakening Orb crack under Ceres' hand. He narrowed his eyes and Sonata responded to his will faster than any of his skills. The scarf vibrated around his neck and a bubble of air formed around Ceresta right before the device broke apart and shot countless fragments throughout the room, piercing the walls, ceiling, and floor.

The air around the dollish beauty deviated them and Rakna barely gave it any thought as purple flames flickered in front of him, burning the shards past their melting point. It lasted for barely a second as a wave of raw mana shook the room afterward.

Rakna rushed to Ceresta's side as Sonata ended the air manipulation. "Are you okay?" He asked in a slightly worried tone and she slowly nodded, her expression stuck between surprise and wonder as she stared at something in front of her.

The therian didn't need to ask what it was, since he also received the same notifications. Perhaps it was because her status defined him as her 'Affiliation', but it seemed he shared a certain deal of viewing authority.

And from the get-go, without even having to look at the descriptions of her magic, he could tell she had struck gold…

⠀

❮ ◈ ❯

⠀

Congratulations! You have awakened the Unique Magic, Flower Magic!

Congratulations! You have awakened the True Magic, Formulation Magic!

⠀

❮ ◈ ❯