The True Meaning of Soul

Transformation.

Or switching.

That was what I had called it until now—but it meant I had only half-understood the gloves’ true function.

The Gloves of Calamity and Ash possessed a property of connection.

I had already been linked to the summoned entity through sense-sharing, and at some point the gloves’ innate power began to surface of its own accord.

Link.

A form of Unity in which soul and self became one—where it became me, and I became it.

With every evolution I became the soul itself.

Simply put: fusion.

That was why higher-tier hunting became possible, and why evolution accelerated so dramatically.

Because I had been the one hunting with my own hands.

In the same way, the Nameless Eagle’s ability to transform into a helmet I could wear was entirely the gloves’ doing.

The soul’s true purpose…

Understanding struck me.

Perhaps this was the real use of a soul all along.

Not merely summoning and evolving it, but grasping its essence and applying that essence directly to myself.

In that instant—

……

The Mysterious Achievements kept coming without end.

Yet these were only the ones I had broken alone.

Before I knew it, more than fifty achievements had been cleared.

That number was nearly half the total possible—an overwhelming lead even with seven knight orders competing.

Proof that it wasn’t only me; every member of the order was giving everything they had.

We’ll clear at least seventy on this floor.

Seventy or more felt realistic.

And I would raise our Dignity as high as possible to challenge for Divinity itself.

Dignity 400, 500, and beyond…

Each soul of a Forgotten Knight raised Dignity by five.

Reach eighty and hit four hundred, and the entire knight order would receive an absurd bonus: +1 to the level cap.

I had thought the level cap could only be raised inside the Rift Tower.

But that wasn’t all.

At five hundred we would obtain Divinity—an effect I absolutely could not afford to miss.

To get there, we had to win.

Overwhelmingly. We had to seize every last Mysterious Achievement.

The problem was the White King and the Forgotten God.

The White ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠King almost certainly possessed abilities optimized for growth, and the Forgotten God, having prepared the trial, would have started under far more favorable conditions.

…Perhaps that was why one anxiety still lingered.

What if the Ruin Crow had already devoured even the soul’s ego?

I stared quietly into its eyes.

I myself hated nothing more than being controlled by another.

Until now I had simply continued the Baby Hydragon’s personality and handled it without worry—but if the Ruin Crow had truly taken its place…

Kyaaaak!

In that instant the Nameless Eagle let out a powerful cry and rubbed its face hard against my cheek.

……I let out a quiet breath of relief.

It seemed the Ruin Crow had failed to consume the soul’s ego after all.

But how?

A first vassal like the Ruin Crow should have been more than capable of devouring it.

The mysterious power of the Star Lord.

I examined the traits again and focused on that line.

Star Lord was the name of my class—evolved from Star’s Successor after my nature split from Randolph’s.

Yet the description stated that another vassal of Ruin had been bound into a different form by the mysterious power of the Star Lord.

Which meant—

The Star Lord is… a class that doesn’t fall short of Another Ruin?

Of course the sacred power of the Forgotten Sacred Heavens and the Twelve Star Saints had helped, but no matter how I looked at it, the class ability of Star Lord itself had played the decisive role.

In other words, Star Lord was not inferior to Another Ruin.

I still don’t know the true power of the Star Lord.

War God at least lived up to its name.

But of the Star Lord I knew almost nothing.

……I’ll have to ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠pay closer attention and find out.

I hadn’t expected much, yet the effect far exceeded imagination.

I nodded and looked at the Nameless Eagle once more.

A sudden curiosity rose.

If I gave the Nameless Eagle a name, would it become a Named Eagle?

Kyaaak?

“Never mind. Let’s make good use of the time we have left.”

I smirked and started moving.

I had no intention of wasting even the final minute.

Shuaaaak!

At the same time the Nameless Eagle transformed into a helmet—

and once again I was left speechless.

When the timer ended we appeared inside a colosseum.

There the White King looked over his knight order and smiled.

“Not bad.”

Gathering only the fiercest beasts must have helped; their soul cultivation was quite solid.

Of course—this trial had been the most advantageous for them from the start.

Seventeen, is it.

Far more than they had achieved on the first and second floors combined.

In other words, the Knights of the White King could not possibly lose.

No—even if the count fell short, it wouldn’t matter.

Mork.

The masterpiece of the White Tiger Clan, once called the Annihilation King—or Demon King—stood at his side!

A monster capable of overwhelming everything alone.

Who would dare defeat Mork?

Just then—

Shuuuuuung!

At last the Forgotten God arrived.

Seeing him, the White King tilted his head.

Hmm…?

Beasts he had never seen before stood in ranks.

Even so, he felt no sense that he might lose.

And then—

Shuuung!

The White King smiled leisurely as he regarded the Knights of the Golden Rule.

But the next line of text wiped the smile from his face.

Had he misread it?

Forty?

There were forty Mysterious Achievements on the third floor alone?

No—Mysterious Achievements never duplicated, which made the number even more astonishing.

Still… forty?

Compared to that…

Yet the White King quickly regained his composure.

For all the achievements they had claimed, the evolutionary state of their souls was pitiful.

Most of them were nothing special.

But one figure alone demanded attention.

The Druid of the Golden Rule.

And the moment he saw him, the White King could not help but furrow his brow.

…What in the world is that?

Looks like I drew the lucky ticket.

This World Tree Dungeon represents the forgotten and the things that no longer exist.

Monster Souls are no different.

The core of the duel is to grow and evolve them, calling forth the “old things” that have vanished.

A contest in which Monster Souls branch into inheritance, myth, legend—or something else entirely.

The Forgotten God fits the theme perfectly.

And the Forgotten God had evolved his Monster Souls in keeping with that theme.

Creatures never seen before, yet somehow familiar—as if one were looking at the original forms of ancient monsters.

But the Druid of the Golden Rule?

“Extremely rare, I’ll grant you—but nothing special.”

Grizzly spoke while staring at the Druid of the Golden Rule.

A massive bear with crimson fur.

Those who heard him could only silently agree.

They had expected something different from the god of druids who had opened the World Tree Dungeon.

Yet the evolved state of his Monster Soul fell far short of expectations.

“Dianax, is it…”

“A mine centipede?”

“Well, it’s rare enough, but… hmm.”

“Keh. Looks like he has no talent in this field.”

They shook their heads in disbelief and openly sneered.

That was why even the White King had been taken aback.

Nothing more than a Dianax?

It was said to be extinct, but only because humans had hunted them indiscriminately for super-metals.

The orichalcum that formed a Dianax’s body could be forged into swords or armor of tremendous utility.

Hard, yes—but not strong.

Unsuited to be a combatant in this duel.

It would lose to anyone in the White King’s order.

Disappointing.

The White King clicked his tongue.

It seemed there was no worthy opponent against whom he could properly display Annihilation King Mork’s power.

And though none matched him, most of his own members had also achieved excellent results.

Naturally—beings who had already raised the grade of their own souls through evolution and strengthened their egos would find evolving a Monster Soul simple.

At least there’s Albino.

The most eye-catching figure among the Knights of the Golden Rule was still Albino.

The Monster Soul of the legendary druid was at least worth a look.

A white helmet beetle. Peculiar.

An absurdly huge pure-white helmet beetle.

It too seemed to be an ancient species.

Of course, a bug was still a bug.

Rules appeared before their eyes.

A tournament.

Random opponents, only winners advancing.

I’d rather face a strong one first.

In matches like this, seizing the initiative mattered.

Crush them overwhelmingly.

Make the next opponent tense—that was effective.

So the White King looked toward the Forgotten God.

Though called the Knights of the Forgotten God, only thirteen monsters and the Forgotten God himself had ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠appeared.

A strange one.

An entirely translucent spiritual form.

Feet floating slightly above the ground—a half-human, half-feline woman.

A rabbit-eared human as a Forgotten God.

She stroked each of her thirteen monsters one by one, paying the other knight orders no attention whatsoever.

Serengeti.

The human woman the Druid of the Golden Rule had received as a member.

Serengeti herself was quite strong, yet her soul was nothing more than an ancient bear doll.

“……”

The White King looked at the bracket again with regretful eyes.

A mere bear doll would not even draw a tenth of Mork’s power.

“Kwahahaha! Looks like I drew the lucky ticket! Excellent—truly excellent!”

Beside him Grizzly roared with laughter.

His eyes glittered with pure delight.

Normally he put on a mild, refined act that was frankly ridiculous.

In truth he was the master of a vast mountain range known as the Mad Grizzly.

And that maniacal laugh was the sound he made when he found delicious prey—or something fun to play with.

Above all, a monster that had reigned as absolute ruler of its domain for decades needed no further proof of strength.

As if to prove it, Grizzly’s ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Monster Soul was the spitting image of himself.

Still… “lucky ticket.”

Did he mean he had been chosen to face the Under Knight?

Or something else?

…I see.

Soon enough the White King understood the reason.

And he watched with keen interest.

It was a rather intriguing matchup.

I nodded as I read the rules and the bracket that appeared one after another.

……I had confirmed that even the organizers could not recognize the form the Nameless Eagle had taken.

The Nameless Eagle could store every form it had evolved into and transform at will.

The reason it had chosen Dianax was simple: there was no need to reveal everything from the start.

Showing full strength right away is never a good choice.

If transformation was possible, then the advantages of transformation had to be seized.

Those advantages might be the opponent’s carelessness—or an attack from a completely unexpected direction.

With so many benefits available, fighting from the beginning in the form of the Nameless Eagle against an unknown opponent was not a wise move.

Even so, transformation is only borrowing the traits.

I looked at the Dianax.

If farming had been possible while transformed it would have been perfect, but unfortunately it was not.

Unlike the time it had fully evolved into a Dianax, this was closer to merely borrowing shape and properties.