Summoning Techniques

The soul and life are closely linked. When this connection breaks, the soul tends to degrade into a dead soul.

Some believe that the degradation of the 50th offspring was tightly linked to its death before birth.

However, dead souls do have an advantage. With a weaker connection to life, projection techniques can summon the projections of dead souls. With sufficient power, the actual body can even be summoned.

Souls, however, are different. Bound by their living bodies, forming a projection is challenging, and even if summoned, the body compatibility poses issues.

Therefore, projection techniques are unsuitable for living souls.

"It seems I either need to keep my modified creatures close or quickly master spatial summoning techniques," Adam said, frowning.

Spatial techniques are not as hard as one might think but are far from simple.

This world is constructed from the flesh and bones of the divine enemy. Any constructed entity will have cracks.

These cracks might contain remnants of the divine enemy or be entirely empty. They are common in this world and form interconnected pathways known as the liminal layer.

However, the liminal layer is chaotic and constantly shifting. Without precise coordinates, anyone entering is likely to get lost. Hence, most people only utilize cracks to create space rather than exploring deeper into the liminal layer.

"Spatial travel technology is still not fully developed," Anthony shook his head. "The most challenging aspect is the positioning."

Adam couldn't yet grasp space-related technology, but since he asked, Anthony explained in detail.

"In theory, I can use the Reflection Tower as a beacon to enter the liminal layer and return due to my connection with the tower. But this only works for returning."

"To travel to a destination, there must be an entity there to serve as a locator."

"This is difficult. Even one's own creations can't suffice," Anthony said, gesturing. A hound made of blue flames leaped from a void and respectfully lay at his feet.

"Current summoning techniques can bring a summoned entity to oneself but cannot send the summoner to the entity due to the liminal layer's interference. Even with a one percent success rate, traveling through the liminal layer to a summoned entity is nearly impossible."

"Two crucial technologies enable accurate summoning: temporal-spatial solidification and source return," Anthony explained these technologies, which Adam couldn't yet utilize.

"We stand on a material foundation. Though stationary, the space around us is constantly changing."

"This makes positioning extremely difficult. So, pioneers developed temporal-spatial solidification, which stabilizes the liminal layer of a region."

"Once stabilized, one can calculate a region's coordinates from anywhere based on the material world's geography."

"However, space travel remains impractical. For instance, if the southern chapel is solidified, I can calculate the route from the Reflection Tower to the chapel, but once in the liminal layer, I can't find the southern gate."

"Solidification only stabilizes the gate; the path remains unstable."

"Thus, temporal-spatial solidification was the greatest yet most useless technology."

Adam nodded, understanding that a stable gate without a stable path is futile.

"Source return technology is crucial for summoning, originating from the fourth stage of training, the return stage."

"It's also a fundamental principle of mental power, which I've already taught you: mental power, even when separated from the soul, remains connected."

This principle explains why one can control a spell even after casting it.

"In specific states, mental power returns to the soul, known as the source return effect."

"Source return technology activates this effect remotely."

"Combining these technologies, summoning was perfected, if not spatial travel."

"By placing a summoned entity in a solidified region, the 'gate' ensures the entity enters the liminal layer. The source return effect then guides it to the summoner."

"For mental power, the soul acts as a beacon. But the reverse isn't true."

Anthony's explanation clarified that the soul's pull is akin to planetary gravity.

"The soul is like a massive planet, and mental power is a meteor. The planet can capture the meteor, but the planet cannot move towards the meteor."

Inspired, Adam asked, "What if we store large amounts of mental power in a solidified space and periodically summon traces of it, using constant summoning to locate oneself and find the correct 'gate'?"

"Theoretically feasible," Anthony replied, "but it requires immense mental power. In the ever-changing liminal layer, the distance could become infinite if you move in the wrong direction."

"Your mental power expenditure would be infinite too."

"If the direction is correct, the shortest path might be infinitely short. Thus, summoning speed can be theoretically infinite. But practically, even the top summoners need time to succeed."

"Your method would require summoning frequency faster than the liminal layer's changes to succeed."

Anthony appreciated the theoretical feasibility but practically dismissed it, admiring Adam's innovative thinking. Many technological advances began as theoretically feasible ideas that seemed impossible.

Adam continued to think, unperturbed by his idea's rejection. "If mental power returns to the soul, why not carry someone else's mental power to locate them in reality?"

"This idea has been considered, but there are many issues."

"First, no one would willingly give someone else their mental power and allow remote activation—a dangerous risk."

"Second, even with mutual trust, you can't synchronize fully with another's mental power. Holding someone else's mental power constantly interferes with its source return, making the liminal layer path infinitely long."

"Without holding it, the source return effect completes so quickly no creature can react in time to trace it."

"There's only one way—allowing another's mind to dominate your soul, transforming you into their puppet. This ensures mental power synchronization, enabling source return without interference."

"This still results in summoning, turning the person into a puppet, whose source return points to its master."

"So, I must subject animals to similar mental treatment for future summoning," Adam frowned but soon relaxed, finding it manageable.

Charisma is key, altering animals' minds and spirits during its emission. For instance, those birds' minds already align with Adam's.