Chapter 31: Power of the Soul Pieces & New Status

I called upon the information but forced it to stop and come to me in chunks. Jesus almost got metaphorically buried there. 

Now for the burning question, what are the Soul Pieces, what do they look like, how do they work, what do they do, and what are their abilities? One thing at a time. Let's start off with what they are, I lick my metaphorical finger and turn the page. 

I am dealing with a crystalized piece of energy, soul energy, it is mine but since it is made up of Soul Points it's not technically connected to me anymore. Whoops, I feel a bump on my head and correct myself. Eve said, 'Of course, it is still connected to you, it has to be to activate a connection with the recipient properly.' They come in many forms; fascinatingly, there appear to be no mutated pieces. I was confused but it was pointed out to me that the pieces are thoroughly cleansed so having properties of what it was before is impossible. It's a better version that is suited and was purposefully bulked up for my benefit. 

Before I get into the specific appearances and abilities, let's just talk about how they are all able to boost every stat of the person. It's a substantial increase about a 50% boost, but the kicker is that every single one has a specific stat/ability/skill/power that doubles sometimes even triples in strength. I shudder at the devastation I am about to unleash. W-well, this is good, it will help in the long run and it's on the basis that they agree to be in my peerage. 

Turns out there is no 'King' piece inside the Soul Pieces, so even if I wanted a boost there is no actual piece to give me. But it looks like I do get a boost in power when in battle with everyone around a 50% increase in my stats while I get a huge boost in my Soul Stats. I thought I would get something with the girls too like how the guys got 'Blood brothers' but oh? I peruse further and get a funny little tidbit. It says 'Defensive Frenzy,' uhhh and it looks like it allows me to tank the girl's hits, and when I do I zero in on the attacker and go batshit crazy... Yeah, the loss of my sanity? No way would I be allowed to use that. Let's shelve that and see if we can trade it in. I get a nudge that says I might be able to with the cost being Soul Points. 

I seemed to have gone off from the descriptions, so I'll probably be answering questions within each piece. Let's see, I'll start off with these. 

The Heart Piece is one of the few that are big and are synced with the Brain, Lifeblood, and Spirit (soul) Pieces. I squinted inside my consciousness on reflex and was able to perceive an empty spot, information spewed into me, and I found out that it was for the Dragon Heart I do not have yet. Interesting. 

Ahem, let's see here. I adjust my floating form so I am over my bed, just in case my concentration wanes, and redirect my attention to the information flowing into me about the Heart Piece. It is one of the 5 Main Soul Pieces that resonates with them all for some massive effects. Might go over that later.

But anyway, it provides a massive boost to those who wield their emotions as a weapon, no matter what form it takes. Be it healing or destruction. Passionate Emotions get a 50% Boost and Unyielding Chaotic Emotions get a 150% Boost. It takes the form of a chibi heart, not the realistic one, but the one that is well known. It is a beautiful crystalized blue (every type of it) with wisps of red and purple encircling it. 

I gulp and turn my attention to the next one from the Main ones. The Brain provides huge boosts to all calculations, strategies, and tactics. Enhances processing speed and gives a 50% Boost to power every time accomplishments stack in their favor. Cruel Robotic Feats boosts the user by 150%. Looks like they are all cobalt blue then? It takes the appearance of a regular brain, a chibi one with streaks of pink running on top of it. 

Next would be the Lifeblood and it provides a huge boost to Stamina and Regeneration, with around a 50% increase. When more Lifeblood is spilled, 'Frenzy' activates and provides the user with a 150% increase in Regeneration keeping them alive but not fully healing. I dig a bit deeper and my eyes widen, this... this also encompasses Mana Veins... so if someone also exhausts their mana then it's the same as blood... Holy Shit. Even Divinity... Ah wait, it seems it doesn't bind them together or group them I suppose. The holder can automatically assign what they want beforehand, as in only having Lifeblood, or Lifeblood-Mana, or Lifeblood-Divinity. Hmm, but it would be possible as they get stronger. Oh? This one takes the form of a teardrop but it has different colors for the types. Wisps of red of course for the regular one, then light blue for the Mana, and gold wisps for the Divinity.

This is not getting any easier to read.

Finally the Spirit Piece, it's basically a mini-version of a wisp that is still a crystalized cobalt blue, but wisps of red and gold are inside, so perhaps it is my soul? Either way, this provides a dramatic increase in Willpower. Somehow this piece allows the user to penetrate defenses and damage the soul, and those attacks are boosted by 50%. That's not all though, the user is also capable of healing allies, but only if compatible with the soul healing arts associated with this piece. Overwhelming it may be, but the user is capable of gathering the spirit of those who have perished and launching a devastating attack with a 150% power increase. The risk of becoming corrupted by the despairing spirits is high, however.

This... this shit is good, but the costs of them all, Jesus. Okay, deep breaths. This is still not over so I'll just take a look at the others. 

The Right Eye and Left Eye Pieces are chibi manifestations of my own with dragon slits and a faded infinity symbol, within them are wisps of emerald and gold. The pieces are capable of imbuing draconic and infinite elements to attacks, but it is only minuscule. Any attack or skill related to eyes though is dramatically increased by 50%, like evil eyes, magic eyes, ooo even eye beams. 

Huh, okay so it was true, they all get one specific thing that they excel at and boost it by 50% on top of the already massive boost they get to all their stats. 

The Mouth Piece is basically the crystalized version of my own with a bit of it open so you could see some fangs poking out. They gleam a bit in silver. Neat. This piece allows the holder to not only boost their casting time by 50% and gives it a 20% increase in power, only if they successfully complete it by intoning the words correctly and landing the hit. Digging deeper I see that it significantly boosts those who will use physical attacks, like biting, instead of casting. So, it would change depending on their fighting style, neat. But damn okay, so not everything will be handed good to know. 

Perhaps they get better attuned as the holder grows and the eerie effects fade? Hopefully, they do if my system says that they were enhanced. 

The Right Ear and Left Ear Pieces have two forms, my human ones and my pointed dragon ones, with hints of light blue and gold swirling around them. It appears these enhance sonar and auditory senses by 50%, even allowing those holders to be sensitive to magical sound waves. Whatever that means. 

The Nose Piece has hints of orange on its crystal surface. The same as the ears this one enhances the olfactory abilities of the holders by 50%, even being able to track down magical traces no matter how faint. Pretty damn handy. 

The Tongue Piece has bits of pink with trace amounts of crimson. Looks like all the sensory organs have this, so yes it boosts the 'taste' of the holder by 50%, allowing them to encapsulate ingredients from food as well as anything edible that has been made with magical stuff. This means they are able to know the effects of what they ingested. 

I breathe out, readjusting myself into a more comfortable position. There are still 17 Pieces left. I wince at the massive amount of information still waiting for me. It's not that hard to go through them, but it's still damn tiring. With a sigh, I continue. 

The Right Dragon Horn and Left Dragon Horn have that crystalized sheen with motes of black, ocean blue, and purple sparks within them. Instead of imposing like the ones I had in my hybrid form, they appear cute in their chibi form. These bad boys boost Draconic imbued Attacks and are inherently insane at siphoning mana which are both boosted to 50%. Of course, these are only compatible with those with traces of dragon blood or have the potential to awaken/be imbued with dragon blood. They will outright reject them if they hold no potential. 

Like the Dragon Horns, the Dragon Wing Piece and Dragon Tail Piece will outright reject those unworthy. The Dragon Wing has that crystalized blue shine but with darker undertones and magma-like veins running within the crystal. While the Dragon Tail isn't imposing, it's downright savage the light blue sheen or chibi form is not able to hide the sharp metallic scales or the cruel jagged, and curved edge of the tail-end. I didn't pay much attention to my transformation, so this was surprising as fuck. It's rad as hell though. Well anyway, the former boosts any flight movement or attacks involving flight by 50%, they can coordinate more with the wings and have far more luck controlling their acceleration and stops. The latter piece can boost the maneuverability of those who already have experience flying, they might get the boost from the wing piece, but their maneuvers become like acrobats. These feats and attacks formed by the tail gain a 50% boost. 

Since I'm doing the dragon ones might as well keep it going. I nudge the folder to flip as I get the information of them. 

The Right Dragon Claws and Left Dragon Claws Pieces, the Dragon Scales Piece, and the Dragon Furnace. The former pieces are my savage claws with a razor-sharp edge covered in crimson and gold 'veins,' the crystal form of it seems a bit muted but still holds firm. I squinted and my Dragon Scales appeared to have that crystal sheen, but the inky black color it had shone like a rainbow at every angle. This Dragon Furnace is the organ where I produce my fire, it has the shape of a sac, but it is more like a wisp of a fire with crimson sparks surrounding it. 

Let's see, what do they do? Hmm, the claws boost attacks that use them as a weapon by 50% with an additional effect of increasing the enemy's blood loss by 20%. The time is not much, but with every successful hit, it adds up. The scales give a huge boost to defensive skills as long as they imbue them with dragon scale traits, 50% as well. With the additional effect of withstanding penetrating blows by 30% if they manage to get the timing right. Of course, the fire organ is only capable of boosting draconic flames and boosting them by 50%. They are also capable of sputtering back to life and inflicting continuous damage to the enemy if they exhaust the organ. Sort of like a final slap to the face before going out in a blaze. 

I pick out another metaphorical folder, this one is about the Head Piece, Left Arm and Right Arm Pieces, Left Leg and Right Leg Pieces, Muscles Piece, Skeleton Piece, and Bone Marrow Piece. The Head Piece was a chibi version of my own with lots of attention to detail, having my draconic traits on it. It shined in many colors, the most prominent being the cobalt blue with flashes of crimson and gold. The arm and leg pieces had traces of my claws but retained their human splendor with slight traces of gold veins. The muscles were fascinating, switching from the ones from my cheek to my chest, to my thigh, and the others, constantly flipping through them all but it had that gold and light blue shine to it. The Skeleton was much the same but it had a sort of metallic sheen to it just as the dragon scales, but with a lighter emerald sheen. While I thought it was going to be the same with the bone marrow, it was not. It was a wonderful lavender. Hmm, though I'm describing them like that, they all still have that crystalized blue color with the other colors being bright wisps or tiny sparks of light. 

For the head, arms, and legs, it appears they get a significant 50% boost to attacks and movement associated with them. No additional effects, but with the muscles piece it seems like it eases the strain that's placed upon them and gives a 50% boost to any attack follow-up attacks that exceed the limit of the strain, but at the cost of a massive stamina depletion. Interesting I'd say. The skeleton provides a helpful 50% defense boost and provides a stable foundation to attacks that would normally inflict harm upon the holder. The bone marrow instead of providing a defense boost, provides a continuous 50% boost to regeneration, stamina does deplete, but with sufficient nutrients, it will quell. 

With one final sigh, I turn to the final folder in my organized consciousness and flip through it. Uh-huh, it has the Left Lung and Right Lung Pieces, Stomach Piece, Arteries Piece, and the Spleen Piece. They were all chibi versions, but the lungs had a wispy green light flowing through them while the stomach had a combination of yellow, green, and orange. The arteries were reminiscent of a web with traces of red, blue, violet, and gold running up and down. The spleen was letting out puffs of red, purple, and gold at set intervals. 

With the lung pieces, any form of breathing art, or attack/skill based on breathing, even wind magic gets a 50% boost in power and effectiveness. The stomach piece allows for a faster digestive boost, the standard 50% while also enhancing the nutrient intake and the breakdown of normally harmful substances. The arteries piece circulates and enhances the oxygen intake by 50% and invigorates the muscles increasing the speed of recovery. The spleen revitalizes and enhances the blood, and/or mana within the holder by 50% which allows them to fight for longer periods same as the arteries. 

Holy shit that was a lot. But I don't dare send any of it away. 

I might have missed things so I went over the massive pile of info once more. To my surprise, I did overlook a couple of things. Like the warnings of making sure those who possessed no divinity made sure they didn't forcibly pursue it with the Soul Pieces because the purity of it would destroy them so only actual God-like beings were able to use the boon. My eyes widened at the next bit of info, turns out duplications of these pieces are possible, and it didn't matter how many, there was no limit, unlike the Evil Pieces and the Brave Saint System. Insane. And because of the resonating ability that the 5 Main ones have, the other pieces also contain minor/major affinities with one another that can create wondrous effects.

I suppose I didn't have to meticulously describe them like that, but they had this otherworldy aura to them. The pieces all shone beautifully, their ethereal purity and their diamond-like cuts were stunning to behold. The hues danced around, and though the contrasting colors clashed with one another sometimes, it made the beauty of them all the more powerful. They had the colors that best represented me, the attention to detail of my body created into clear-cut crystal forms. It's heart pounding. 

I let out a breath that I had no idea I was holding as I opened my eyes. A flash of system messages, each with a light blue screen, but there were a couple that shone with a violet hue. Curious I opened them up and read them as I sent the information to Ddraig for him to peruse. 

[ Immediate System Update... ]

[ #*&%#$@#*? notes the flaw of the Soul System. Countermeasures and Upgrades pending download... ]

[ Creation of the Soul Pieces granted this boon. ]

[ Continue? ]

[ Forceful Methods will be Swift if the Process does not Start in the Next 5 Seconds. ]

[ Yes or Yes ]

At Eve's urging, and with a confused tilt of my head, I hit yes and the violet hue of color encompassed my whole being as if I was being remade. Cracks were heard, but no pain was there. And with the shattering of glass came the system message once again. 

[ Soul System Successfully Updated! ]

[ #*&%#$@#*? thanks you for your swift response. ]

[ View Status Window? ]

I was befuddled but not totally out of it so I urged Eve to pull it up, wondering the whole while who the fuck that was and what had been updated. 

[ NEW! ]

[ Status ]

[ 

[Name] : Ichijou Ryu [Age] : 9 [Gender] : Male

{ True Name: ???? ????? }

[Race(s)] : << High Human >> , << Young Dragon >> , << Pseudo Demi-God >>

[Title(s)] : <Reincarnator > , <No Pain-No Gain> , <The One Bound to a Heavenly Dragon's Soul> , <To Infinity and Beyond> , <Get Nerfed> , <Undetectable > , <Yakuza: Shuei Clan Heir> , <Milf Charmer> , <Maiden Charmer> , <Master of Headpats> , <The One Who Tamed (Corrupted) a Flugel> , < Chaos Devourer > , < Battle Junkie > , < Soul Piece Origin > , 

[(Soul) System Functions] : [Soul-Bond] , [System Shop & Gacha] , [Inventory] , [Quests] , [The Cry of the Soul] , [Soul Pieces - Soul Peerage]

[Soul {Locked}] - [Rank 5] : [Spatial Dominion Soul] 

[Mana Core {Locked}] - [Rank 5] : [Void Arcane Core] 

[Pseudo-Divinity] : [Life] , [Light] , [Nature] , [Infinite Domination]

[Level] : 260 / 500 -----> 39 / 100 

(NEW!) [Level Gauge] : 67.9% / 100%

[ Stats (Basic Attributes) ] :

(NEW!) [Ranks]: [ EX SSS SS S A B C D E F ]

{ (-) & (+) three stages for both to each except EX } 

[HP] : 108,579 / 108,579 ------> C- - - 

[MP] : ∞ / ∞ 

[Strength (Physical/Magical)] : 18,920 ----> E+

[Endurance (Physical/Magical/+Stamina)] : 22,592 ----> E++

[Speed (+Reflexes)] : 12,600 -----> E- - -

[Charisma (+Charm)] : S

[Luck] : S

[Soul Stats] : 15% / 100% Boost (Added to All; except Charisma and Luck)

[Soul Points (SP)] : 605,000

[Money/Assets] : ¥10,009,667,476.81 (Japanese Yen) / $64,682,618.00 (US Dollars) , Fujikawa Shoten Company, Wagnaria Chain Restaurant, 57% shares of Kadakawaii the Media Conglomerate

[Soul-Bound Weapons] :

[ Longinus Sacred Gear: Red Dragon Emperor's Gauntlet / Boosted Gear (Awakened- 19%) ]

[ Noble Phantasm: Enkidu- Chains of Heaven ]

[ Arcane Weapon: [Shapeshifter] - Unnamed - { Form: Undefined } ]

(NEW!) [Blessing(s)] - { Patron- 1 }

[ Blessing of the #*&%#$@#*? {SEALED/DORMANT} ]

[Skills] :

(NEW!) [ Fusion & Selling Available ]

[Passive] -

[Soul Concealment(??)] , [Draconic Senses(B)] , [Dragon Scales(B)] , [Supreme Regeneration(S)] , [Cooking Master(A)] , [Martial Arts Prodigy(C)] , [Sword Arts Prodigy(C)] , [Fire-Arms Prodigy(C)] , [Pain Mitigation(S)] , [Supernatural Physique(S)] , [Serene Life Aura(S)] , [Petting Master(A)] , [Art Mastery(A)] 

[Active] -

[Shapeshifting(S)] , [Dracoform Ascendence(Sealed)(SS)] , [Aura of Infinity(SS)] , [Pheromones(S)] , [Dragon Breath(B)] , [Nature's Pulse(B)] , [Nature's Grace(B)] , [Holy Light Magic(A)] , [Miracle Magic(S)] , [Limit Break(B)] , [Sharing is Caring(SS)] , [Star Star Fruit(SS)] , [Halo of Destruction(SS)] , [Gluttonous Pac-Man(S)] , [Sin of Wrath(SS)] , [Firework Magic(C)] ]

Okay, the added titles and new function, I got that. But my level has been reset, there is now a gauge, and it appears there is a new lettering system for my stats. From the information that's being downloaded into me, this is to ease up on the calculations that might get skewed as I get stronger, with the bonus of adding to it as I reach a threshold or wall. The level has been compressed with the cap staying at 100, with the difficulty of gaining exp, though the reward for reaching it will be astounding. I wonder what I will get?

My stats don't appear as high as I thought they would be, but this is my system so it probably has its own leveling system that might also apply to the beings in this messed-up world since it is an AU. 

I gotta name my new weapon, I also can't wait to uncover the secret of the mysterious blessing addition... yay... haha...

But I perk up at the fusion and selling addition over on the skills portion. 

"Hey, Eve, what are the possible fusions? And can you go ahead and sell the Art Mastery skill," I said after some deliberation.

[ There are four possible fusions, of course, there could be more but those are the ones that are most compatible at this time. ]

[ The skill [Art Mastery(A)] has been sold for 50,000 SP! ]

"That much!? Well, maybe it's not that far-fetched, perhaps there are variables... anyway what are the possible fusions and which ones would I be able to afford?" It might be best to do this right now since I am kinda sitting on a bunch of soul points. Ugh, but the store do be calling my name from time to time. 

[ There are two fusions; Draconic Sense(B) + Martial Arts Prodigy(C) + Sword Arts Prodigy(C) + Fire-arms Prodigy(C) & Holy Light Magic(A) + Firework Magic(C). They will be discounted on account of this being your first time, so the former would be 25,000 SP and the latter would be 40,000 SP. But I do suggest fusing the others for the sake of applying the discount. ]

Hmm, I have no idea if that's cheap, and Eve does have a point, why wait when it's possible right now? Besides, even though I do get hyped up at the thought of the gacha, I sometimes get a foreboding feeling whenever I look at the function. With a steady voice, I say, "Alright, go for it, Eve, do them all."

There was no fanfare, but when I took a look at my status page I noticed the remaining 480,000 SP and the four new skill names appearing on the passive and active tabs respectively. I wince at the amount but console myself by taking a peek at the nice-sounding names. [Draconic Martial Maestro(A+)] , [Eternal Draconic Resilience(SS)] , [Angelic Fae Arcanist(S+)], and [Holy Blaze Enchanter(A+)]. Hmm, I wonder how the ranking system for the fusion works, shit though, the names are something else. Even my sealed skill had its name changed. 

As I was thanking Eve, and thinking over the wonders of naming skills, I heard a telepathic link snap into place within me and the report I've been dreading by my competent flugel.