Tier 8 Soul Limit

"Wait, I do have an idea," suddenly said Edward.

"Oh, I'm all ears," replied Morgana, who manifested a little writing pad in her hands along with a pencil.

"We can use our new understanding of karma," explained Edward. "I should be karmically linked to the city. We can use this link as a homing device. Once needed, the floating city only needs to use this link to rush to my destination."

"That's not a bad idea," nodded Morgana.

"In that case, I'll leave things to you. If you need help, you can contact Hermione; she should be able to provide you with enough help given her research in Karma and Cause and Effect."

"No problem."

"How is the research progress on Project ST-897?"

This project involved creating a ship that could travel the Omniverse using only technology and no magic. Before, Edward was not in a hurry since he knew the Empire's pure science and technology were not on the same level as its magical sides.

However, after proving the existence of the Pure Materialist World, his paranoia began to act again. He had started to plan how to escape such a universe, and the best way was to create a ship and return home.

However, without magic or any supernatural aspect, it would be impossible for Edward to create an Omniversal Travel Ship.

"There are some issues," explained Morgana.

"The main engine and other systems are proceeding smoothly. After digesting the technology from Kingsley, the Automaton Race, and the other reincarnators, it won't be a problem to complete it."

"So, what is the issue?"

"The ship's material," replied Morgana. "The magicium intervenes with the ship's electromagnetism and the quantum field. And all other metals cannot survive the void."

Edward frowned. The Floating City's defense against the immense Void Energy in the Endless Void consists of the Void Shield and the fact the entire city is made up of a special metal called magicium.

The Void Shield cannot completely isolate the power from the Void Energy, so the magicium–which Edward created to have a high resistance to the destructive abilities of Void Energy–will take its role.

So, just like how technology products cannot function properly at Hogwarts, it's impossible to create a pure technology ship using magicium.

"We need a new metal."

"Yes, Captain Obvious."

Edward ignored her. "How are things proceeding with finding a replacement?"

"Not very well," replied Morgana. "The team asked Her Highness Rowena to create a special metal for them using Void Energy, but she has yet to succeed."

"Given our recent breakthrough, can you calculate the chances of her succeeding?"

After coming to this place, he made many breakthroughs, pushing the Empire's technological tree to a higher level. And one of those discoveries involved a higher understanding and usage of Void Energy.

"According to my simulation, her chances are 23.45%."

"So low?"

"Void Energy is still the highest form of energy we have encountered. And as you know, we have barely scratched its surface."

"True," nodded Edward before a watch appeared in his hand, making Morgana squint her little eyes.

'Do you think the watch from the Samsara Hall is the answer to our problem?"

"Yes," replied Edward. "I believe this watch is either made from Void Energy or Origin Runes. If we can crack the slightest of its technology, our problem will be solved."

"In that case, I will put it on the list of priorities."

"Alright."

Morgana disappeared while Edward continued his work. He closed his eyes to review the knowledge his future self created about the Mana Circles.

He previously believed the Mana Circles were a different system and unique enough that they could not be perfectly fused with his Arcane System. However, he was wrong.

Future Edward found a way to fuse them.

After reading, he activated the enchantments in the room that converted other energy into mana. Edward did not immediately absorb it but divided the mana into particles.

Then, he created the first four circles. He controlled them to enter one of his two magic cores–the original one or the one in his heart. His Philosopher's Stone or Aether Core looked like a humongous purple ball, but he did not focus on this.

Edward proceeded to fuse the four circles with his Aether Core. Then, he found the core became more fluid-like instead of a rigid solid shape.

'A Supersolid State,' thought Edward. Supersolid is a state of matter that combines the characteristics of a solid and a superfluid.

Edward continued his work. He created the following 4 Mana Circles and fused them with his second Aether Core in his Soul Dimension.

A Tier 5, Arcanist creates their first Aether Core in the magic core in their hearts. And at Tier 7, they can store mana in their Soul Dimension and make the second core.

After turning his second core into a Supersolid State, Edward used his future self technique to have both cores resonate with each other.

Bang!

Edward felt his mind refreshed as if he had finished a deep state of meditation. An energy wave rushed throughout his body, increasing his physical prowess by a few percent. Finally, he even felt his soul had risen by a small amount.

Unfortunately, he was now at the peak of Tier 8 and could not increase his Soul Strength unless he broke the Soul Limit.

"Boos, I have good news," said Morgana, who suddenly appeared.

"What is it?"

"I detected a change in your Soul Flame?"

"What happened?"

"The purple color intensified by 2.45%," explained Morgana.

"Does that mean?"

"Yes. Creating the Supersolid Aether Core can raise the quality of a person's Soul Flame," nodded the little elf.

"Let's go verify it. Do we have any more Tier 8 Clones?"

"No, only Tier 6."

"That will do."

The two immediately began their work. They quickly trained a few Tier 7 and 8 Clones for their experiments. Then, they controlled the clones to create the Supersolid Aether Core while observing the changes in their Soul Flame.

"Excellent," commented Edward as he gazed at the body on his table. "The Supersolid Aether Core is a way to break the Soul Limit between Tier 7 and 8."

Edward was slightly worried about this issue. In the Empire, his royal family could become Tier 8 because there was enough Divine Energy to help them. And after killing Guzznad, there should be more.

However, he was worried other Arcanists would begin to cause trouble after being stuck in Tier 7 while the royal family could reach Tier 8.

Edward was prepared to sell some Divine Energy to the public even though he did not want to maintain peace. However, now, he had a more universal way to achieve Tier 8.

"Technically speaking, this method pushed the Soul Limit to a higher tier," added Morgan, and Edward agreed. He has not entirely solved the issue of Soul Limit; otherwise, he would have already reached Tier 9.

"The Soul Limit is a problem plaguing humans and countless species for eons. How could it easily be solved?"

.

The Soul Limit of most species is Tier 6, meaning it's virtually impossible to reach higher levels–unless they implant powerful bloodlines or become Gods.

Bloodlines with higher Soul Limits are rare, and those races are extremely powerful, making them difficult to acquire. So, the path of Godhood is the easiest choice.

Morgana nodded, "What is the reason for this change? Is it because of the Trinity Theory?"

Trinity Theory, also called the Essence, Qi, and Spirit Theory. According to Eastern magic, the body is composed of three things–Essence, Qi, and Spirit.

Essences refer to the body, Spirit to the soul, and Qi to mana or other forms of energy in the body. The theory states all these three are connected; thus, the influence of one affects the other.

"Based on the fact that both my body and soul were strengthened, it's the only explanation."

Edward analyzed the data and stored it.

"Alright, let's go test the power of this new core," added Edward before disappearing from the lab. Meanwhile, Morgana had to order the cleaning golems to clean up the laboratory.