Chapter 89: The New Experiment

Ace’s sense of crisis sharply intensified. This was a warning from the soul level.

He immediately used the still-immature spell he had developed during the previous experiment.

“Boom!”

Accompanied by the dissolution of the Casting Material, a surge of Mana rushed toward the soul of the experiment subject, which resembled Ace. The Ace-like soul of the subject was ferocious, fearful, and begging for mercy, but it could not evade the incoming Mana. The soul immediately burst, and the experiment subject dissolved into a pool of contaminated blood.

“This was a mistaken direction. If that had truly succeeded, it might have posed a massive threat against me.”

The shiver of warning from his soul alerted Ace. He decided to re-process the magical materials.

Subsequently, Ace began trying to extract his own imprint from the magical materials.

During this process, he discovered that remnants of the original, overwritten imprint still remained. Through guidance, these remnants were drawn into the air, forming monster residual images that emitted agonizing screams.

Ace activated the Luminous Rune, forming a powerful, soul-level burst of light. The monster residual images vanished in the light, turning to ash. Even the pool of contaminated blood from the Magic Array screamed before dissipating as wisps of smoke.

Only then did the sense of crisis from Ace’s soul lift.

“This spell, with the Luminous Rune as its core, can be called Purification, purifying all evil and malevolence! Also, the soul-bursting spell from the blessing ritual can be disassembled. By using the soul powder of Monsters as the Casting Material, a new spell can be formed, called Soul Pulverization.”

“Although the experiment failed, unexpectedly acquiring two powerful Soul Spell Models is a pleasant surprise. The Luminous Spell can be replicated and constructed into a new Spell Model using the existing runes in the Soul Sanctuary, but the Soul Pulverization spell must wait until my mental power degree increases before I can attempt replication.”

“Now, to summarize the process for purifying powerful low-level Monster materials: the process should be Covering, Extraction, Purification, finally leaving behind clean materials without any imprint.”

Ace recorded the experimental process in real-time in his Grimoire, then began the experiment using the last few barbarian test subjects.

The Strength, Constitution, and Agility Blessings were successful, with no anomalies. The subjects were fundamentally transformed. If the initial attributes of these test subjects were around 1 unit, they had now reached over 1 Mental Power Unit, an enhancement of nearly 100 times!

Moreover, their mental power also increased significantly as their bodies were fortified. Ace continued the mental blessing ritual. As the Magic Array lit up, the casting material—a mix of soul powder and brain matter—was atomized into pure mental power and poured into the test subjects’ souls.

This time, there were no anomalies. Ace was delighted. It seemed his approach was correct.

However, his brow quickly furrowed again. The atomized pure mental power was not entirely used to fortify the test subjects’ souls. Nearly 90% of it was lost.

Although the test subjects’ souls were strengthened by about 10 units, and they remained stable, the result was far from Ace’s expectation.

“Is this loss due to the test subjects’ low mental strength, making them unable to absorb the energy efficiently? Or is it necessary to develop an auxiliary method to improve the conversion efficiency of the atomized mental power?”

“It seems I need to redesign the experiment and find new test subjects.”

Ace expressionlessly used the Soul Spell Fire Missile to kill the remaining test subjects, destroying all Magic Arrays and evidence.

After leaving the cave, Ace used the Lesser Sound Spell Infrasound Resonance. He touched the cave wall, slowly searching for the resonant frequency, emitting an inaudible fluctuation.

Regular fluctuations emanated from his hand, gradually matching the minute vibrations of the cave. Accompanied by the resonance, the entire mountain and cave shook violently. Boom!

The entire cave collapsed under the resonance.

A few days later, a rumor spread among the nearby barbarian tribes in the Larr Mountains.

Dozens of powerful Shaman masters had suddenly disappeared. Some had taken precious tribal Sacred Items (mid-level Monster organs) with them.

Immediately, several tribes became agitated, fighting over the void left by the departed Shamans.

“Respected Mentor, our power has truly become far greater than before. We thank you and praise you.”

On a peak in the Larr Mountains, a group of Shamans surrounded a white-haired Shaman seated on a high boulder, speaking with reverence.

“This is the cultivation method I spoke of. Through the mysterious patterns, and communion with nature, you can convert the Monster’s power for your own use.”

The white-haired Shaman, seated on the high boulder, spoke gently.

This Shaman was Ace. He had killed a local tribal Shaman, transformed into his likeness, and used his powerful Magical Trickery to intimidate the Shamans. Using the Suggestion spell, he successfully deceived the nearby Shamans into becoming his disciples (test subjects).

These old Shamans were all near the Mid-level Apprentice tier. Ace intended to subdue them, fully enhance their physical constitutions, and then experiment with the mental blessing conversion ritual again.

He did not use direct invasion but relied on Charm spells and his immense power to induce the Shamans to cultivate with him.

If he used the blessing ritual to provide tangible enhancement to those who demonstrated obedience, no one could resist the temptation of power.

As for the disobedient ones, the desiccated corpses displayed on the tall stone pillars served as a clear example.

Ace designed the newest mental blessing ritual, which he would reward (experiment on) several high-performing Shamans. They had completed the initial magification process and possessed Inherent Mana.

The result of the experiment reassured Ace. The conversion rate of these Shamans was successfully boosted to 30%.

But it was not enough. After repeatedly performing the ritual, while accounting for the diminishing returns of the ritual effect, Ace unexpectedly discovered a way to further increase the conversion rate.

During one ritual, a rabbit-like Monster accidentally stumbled into the ritual area. After Ace killed it, the other Shamans dragged the Monster out and performed a mysterious sacrificial rite according to their tradition, which was similar to the Sacrifice Rune Array Ace had found in the forbidden ritual knowledge.

This crude sacrificial rite seemed to react with a mysterious presence, pointing toward an unknown entity. However, the overall ritual effect jumped from 30% to 70%.

Ace began researching the Shamans’ sacrificial rites. He purged the parts that pointed toward the mysterious presence, leaving only the sacrifice-related runes. He had the Shamans, who were deeply convinced of Ace’s power, dance according to a fixed rhythm. Mana surged, carrying a hint of malice.

The mysterious presence was the source of power for the crude sacrificial rite. Ace removed this component because the risk was uncontrollable.

However, the loss of this power needed to be compensated. The invisible whispering began again. A red light flashed across Ace’s eyes. He remained unaware, watching the Shamans dance. His gaze was cold and ruthless.

He muttered to himself. He stood at the center of the ritual. Following the Mana pulse, the three components of the entire Mental Blessing Ritual Magic Array lit up one by one: the Mental Blessing Magic Array, the Perception Blessing Magic Array, and the Sacrifice Magic Array.

As Ace suggested, the Shamans unconsciously walked toward and stood in the Sacrifice Magic Array. Ace activated the special pattern beneath his feet.

A blood-colored pattern lit up beneath the atomized mental power, connecting to the Sacrifice Magic Array.

Red light and an expression of internal struggle flashed across Ace’s eyes. He ultimately canceled the Magic Array and activated the Hammer of Oblivion several times in quick succession.

The powerful Hammer of Oblivion continuously struck the Shamans. They lost most of their memory, eventually forgetting everything.

“I can spare your lives, but I cannot let this memory escape.”

Ace’s eyes were blood-red. Expressions of tyranny and pain alternated on his face.

The invisible whispering seemed to tempt him: Kill them. Kill them.

Ace struggled with the voice. “Don’t try to influence me! I am not a kind person, but I am not bloodthirsty. I am who I am!”

He finally stabilized and continued: “If I don’t take your memories, I cannot ensure you won’t reveal secrets. This is the best arrangement for both you and me!”

Subsequently, Ace activated the Magic Array. The sacrificed Monster dissolved into a pool of blood.

Their souls struggled out, wearing ferocious expressions, cursing and roaring. Gusts of cold wind howled, and the nature of the Mana also became cold and bizarre.

Ace’s expression remained unchanged. He raised his right hand, his lips muttering softly. Then, his right hand erupted in light. A huge sphere of light flew from his hand, drifted above the gathered souls, and burst open.

Accompanied by the hot, dazzling, fire- and light-imbued strong light, the souls, curses, coldness, and strangeness vanished like bubbles. Atomized mental power surged into Ace’s soul, nourishing his Soul Sanctuary.

The Soul Sanctuary, which had reached its limit, expanded as the atomized mental power poured in. The invisible restraint seemed to have been lifted. Ace had a premonition: he could replicate new Soul Runes.