Chapter 14 Soul Network_1

The bull-headed aunt with a face full of hunger was picking moss. She had three children, each one a big eater, who easily put her into poverty. Fortunately, they were minotaurs who could eat grass, so even when they were impoverished, they wouldn't starve to death.

However, in this world where even grass is scarce, the moss carried a rotten odor. If it weren't for their lack of choices, the bull-headed aunt would never choose to eat such stuff. Not to mention, it made her family's faces pale and thin. God forbid, if they contracted hernia from all this, it would truly be disastrous.

So when someone dropped a bag of food in front of her and asked if she believed in the 'Undead', the bull-headed aunt immediately fell to her knees, clutching the bag tightly and said excitedly, "I believe! I believe! I will believe in the 'Undead' in any way possible."

Any way possible? Then you can kneel.

They brought the bull-headed aunt to the altar. "Your faith is devout, King, gives you food."

Thumping, thumping, thumping. The bull-headed aunt knocked her head so hard that it rattled the stone bricks on the altar. The Undead Fire rose high. The hunger-stricken were more devout in front of food than any other believers.

On the fifteenth knock, a wisp of dark blue flame floated from the bull-headed aunt and entered the Undead Fire.

Once the dark blue flame entered the Undead Fire, Ange felt something strange. It seemed for that moment, the bull-headed aunt, the Undead Fire, he, and the little zombie became a network. Was this the Soul Network?

"Yes, the Soul Network, you trickster, you're buying people's hearts!" Negris, taking the form of a lizard, declared unhappily. He had been waiting for news and didn't leave, disregarding the rule of asking only one question a day.

Ange, confused, pointed at the bull-headed aunt and said, "Devout."

Just devout faith, right?

Negris was speechless, indeed, while disseminating faith, small favors play a major role. Even he, as the God of Knowledge, had granted some badges such as the Knowledge Contest First, Second, and Third Prizes.

But with Ange throwing a sack of food like this, it was far beyond a small favor. Perhaps one might temporarily win people's hearts, but…

Thinking of this, Negris suddenly realized, Ange seemed to just need to 'temporarily' win people's hearts. He didn't have the notion of disseminating faith, nor did he harbor any such thought.

He was merely following Negris's suggestion to verify what he had been uncertain about before.

Hadn't this verification been successful?

"Well, you're right. The Soul Network did move to you. But the problem is you're neither a king nor a divine entity. How did you steal the Soul Network?" Negris was puzzled.

Negris couldn't understand, and so Ange didn't bother thinking about it at all. After giving food to the bull-headed aunt, Ange planned to leave.

"Hey, are you leaving just like this? Aren't you going to consolidate? Aren't you going to develop? Isn't that a waste?" Negris asked continuously. Now the Undead Fire had been lit, the Soul Network inherited, and a devout believer had been successfully won over. But was he just walking away?

It was such a pity that he was sealed. Otherwise, with Ange's conditions, Negris would be more than willing to reconstruct another divine entity.

"Food, if you can't reproduce." Ange responded. He had just collected one Soul Crystal from Feilin, which could reproduce five sacks of food. One sack had already been used up, leaving only four. It would be too difficult to try and develop anything with the food left.

"You're still worried about Soul Energy with faith? Once you have more believers, I assure you that your Soul Crystals will never run out." Negris tempted him, really unwilling to give up such a golden opportunity.

"It won't run out?" Ange tilted his head, asking, "Bronze Book, how much?"

What Ange meant was, how many Soul Crystals would be needed to extract the Bronze Book?

This question surprised Negris, "Are you thinking about me now? Once you have divine power as strong as mine, you should be able to do it."

The Bronze Book was a divine artifact sealing Negris. Controlling it would mean harnessing the powers of the God of Knowledge. In the world, those who could control a deity were called the handlers of gods.

Did this oblivious fellow Ange dare to dream so big?

But soon he knew that Ange was just casually finding a reference, and he happened to be that reference: "Your divine power, equal to how many Soul Crystals?"

"..."

Under the tempting promise of 'as many Soul Crystals as you need,' Ange agreed to Negris's suggestion to continue to develop believers.

The method was simple. He found the bull-headed aunt and repeated Negris's words, "The Undying King sensed the disaster, commanded me to save you, and others. Believe in the Undying, be fed. Tell your children, your husband, your family, the devout believers shall be fed."

Well done, Ange lowered the offering from a sack of food to just enough to satiate hunger.

Then he specifically reminded the bull-headed aunt, "Guiding others, you may eat more." Meaning, those who bring others can get more.

The bull-headed aunt found these confusing words hard to decipher but felt that they were very profound.

Once she understood the meaning, her eyes gleamed, almost the size of copper bells.

Three children at home, all big eaters, usually going hungry after being full. Now just believing in the Undying would mean they get to eat their fill?

Believe, definitely believe. Don't believe? They can be sure that Aunt Bull would break their legs.

There was no need to break legs. As soon as the three calves heard they could be fed, their eyes turned red. They rushed at the speed of a raging bull, knocking their heads, making a loud noise. The Undead Fire was prodded by them and rose higher than Aunt Bull's.

Indeed, for teenagers, the belief in being fed was more devout.

But Negris soon regretted it because he promised to feed them but forgot that they were minotaurs. A small calf ate more than a sack of food. The five sacks of food that a Soul Crystal exchanged for, apart from Aunt Bull's one sack, the remaining four were all eaten by the three calves.

One Soul Crystal, five sacks of food, won over four devout foodies. It's unclear whether it was a loss or gain. It should be a gain, though. Each minotaur offered at least one Soul Flame, which was equal to the quantity of four Soul Crystals.

However, it would require a complicated process to convert these energies and extract them as Soul Energy.

"You, Undead Fire, Choke, Soul Network, flow. Yes, control the energy in the Undead Fire, let it flow towards you. Come, try to strengthen your soul. Do you feel it? Do you feel your soul growing stronger?"

"Are you even a skeleton? Why are you so adept? Did you practice this before? Even knowing how to do it, you still need a long time to master it. Why is it that you managed to do it as soon as I said it? Are you the bones of the Goddess of Fortune?"

The process that Negris thought was complicated was completed at once by Ange. All the energy in the Undead Fire was extracted.

"Wind, flow." Ange pointed to his head. This complicated process was similar to how he reached out from the hole inside his cave, drawing from the cold current within the Resting Wind.

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