The Soulmancer’s Ascension

Zephyr looked down at the sprawled, really dead corpses of the giant chickens. He had an impulsive thought.

“Why don’t I test my Nether Dungeon skill?”

His Soul Essence was enough to rank up. He could spare a single soul towards testing the skills tied to his core strength—Nether Dungeon.

He already had an idea on how to activate the skill. Standing before the cockatrice who tried to feign death, he reached out as if trying to grasp something intangible. A vortex formed in his palm and sucked white particles from the cockatrice.

He succeeded in the first step. Next step was even easier.

“Sherine, I’m going to my Nether Dungeon. I might fall over. Catch me, okay?”

Sherine drew her gauntlet from his back and glanced at the corpses. “Can we do it later? The stench of blood here will attract more magic beasts.”

Her close combat fighting style didn’t focus on protecting an unconscious person. He might get hurt, severely injured even. She didn’t want to take any chances when it came to her champion.

“I was being impulsive,” Zephyr muttered, shaking his head. “Let’s wrap this up and look for our next targets.”

Cockatrice were disliked among the hunters for their highly effective petrification and their stingy loot. Nothing on their corpses was worth harvesting except for their claws. Even the claws were only useful as alchemy ingredients.

‘Achmea will appreciate them.’

He collected his daggers and cut all the claws. Then came the cremation time. Athena jumped from his shoulder and darted from one burning cockatrice to another, basking in the uncanny warmth of the white flames.

“Sherine, do these flames produce Yin energy?”

He was curious if the white flames interested Athena or the energy source behind them.

“Sherine doesn’t know much about my divinity,” Riven answered in Sherine’s stead. “I should have explained this earlier. My title Soul Empyrean comes from my dominance over souls and the process of reincarnation. You should be familiar with the name Hades.”

“Hades, the God of Underworld in Greek Mythology?”

“Yes, I succeeded his position less than five hundred years ago. He is now retired, fishing and tending to his grandchildren. While I’m bored out of my mind…”

‘My Father-in-Law is Hades’ successor… damn, if only he wasn’t a trap. How cool would that be?’

Zephyr lemented with a sigh. Some things were too good to exist in reality. His dream of having a badass Father-in-Law might never come to fruition. Unless he took another lover.

‘Let’s be content with my dragon girl.’

Sherine gave a wry smile. She loved her father however he was, but it was hard to respect his goofy demeanor. Sometimes she had this thought, ‘Would Mother betray them if her father was serious?’ The thought remained in her heart, never seeing the light of the day to not harm her father’s already wounded heart.

Riven coughed, unaware of his daughter’s doubts. “The flames produced by your Soulmancy comes from the Underworld, where Yin energy is abundant.”

Zephyr eyed the gray streaks running along Athena’s wings. The celestial hawk’s future evolution might be related to Yin and Soul if she was strongly interested in these flames. He had a strong hunch about it.

‘Why can’t I read her thoughts?’

With Soulmancy, he could hear Sherine’s thoughts, who possessed a soul of Demigod Rank. Yet, Athena never directed a thought in his direction as if she had no interest in exchanging thoughts. Well, he’d get to hear her thoughts once he reached the next Soul Rank.

‘What if she is beyond King-Rank… at Lord-Rank?’

Zephyr shook his head at the absurd thought. Lord Soul Rank was the limit of this world. A C-Rank magic beast couldn’t be of Soul Rank. An uncertainty prodded at his mind, his evolved intuition hellbent on proving his thought wrong. He tossed the suspicious findings to the back of his head.

“Athena, let’s find a resting spot. We’ll continue after.”

They couldn’t continue if their exclusive scout Athena was exhausted. In the unknown region filled with dangers, having a capable scout was a must. The foreshadowing from the Brood Queen and his Wicked Count Prince of Sloth made him hesitate. The map wouldn’t help him as Arlette wasn’t even aware of the Blood Magic used in the yellow zone.

Athena chirped brightly, pleased by his consideration for her being. She had exerted her wings in the last battle.

The trio left the massacre spot and ventured deeper into the forest, taking each step with extreme caution. While the yellow zone had an abundance of caves, the red zones showed nothing except for dense trees and plenty of dangerous wild lives. Without Athena, they might lose their sense of direction.

“Sherine, found anything interesting?”

Sherine showed a frown. “This part is strangely remote. No magic beasts—I feel something. It’s massive.”

Sherine wasn’t sure if they were actually magic beasts. She sensed big clumps of mana. Athena’s magic power seemed like a grain of dust in comparison. The immense size of the creatures gave her a foreboding feeling.

“Massive?” Zephyr narrowed his eyes in suspicion. Sherine’s apprehensive tone pushed back every thought of engaging with the massive creatures. “Could they be the dragons in your prophecies?”

“It’s not impossible. But dragons have a different type of mana signature. A strong, robust life presence… that’s the best description I have for you.”

“Hmm… Let’s wait for Athena.”

He took a rest under a tree, chatting and teasing his new lover. Athena’s unamused eyes showed her indignance towards the couple who couldn’t read the air.

Zephyr kissed Sherine and climbed the tree to keep watch for any dangerous magic beasts. He spent nearly an hour rubbing and talking to his fluffy hawk.

Athena nuzzled her beak against his cheeks then launched forward to initiate her scout mission.