I nearly stopped walking in the middle of the street.

Reading through the details, I was shocked once again by the system and its rewards. The rewards were consistently surprising, but this one was particularly extraordinary.

I had never imagined that soul power could be extracted, crystallized, and stored in physical form.

The concept itself was revolutionary - soul power wasn't a material substance that could be bottled or preserved. It was absorbed directly from defeated creatures through some mysterious metaphysical process that nobody fully understood.

In other terms, soul power was as mysterious as mana itself. Nobody knew exactly how either force existed or functioned on a fundamental level.

Awakeners could manipulate mana and absorb soul power, but the underlying mechanisms remained complete enigmas even to the most advanced scholars and researchers.

Even Kyle in the original novel, with his powerful golden finger advantage, had never truly understood soul power's nature.

On the way back to the mansion, I continued contemplating what to do with the Soul Stone. The temptation to use it myself remained strong, but practical considerations kept surfacing.

I could hunt outside whenever needed. The scarcity of Transcendent beasts was concerning, but I had mobility, resources, and the ability to travel to different hunting grounds if necessary. Finding prey was difficult but not impossible for me.

Changing Star, however, was confined to the mansion. She couldn't leave to hunt her own food or seek out stronger creatures to accelerate her growth. Her advancement depended entirely on what I could provide - and while I'd stocked Elite-rank meat generously, Transcendent-level resources were far more difficult to supply consistently.

The Soul Stone represented an opportunity I couldn't easily replicate for her. For me, it was a convenient shortcut. For her, it was a transformative leap that might take months to achieve through normal feeding.

"She needs it more than I do," I concluded as the mansion came into view.

-----

Inside the mansion, I found Changing Star in her claimed bedroom, contentedly arranging the gemstones from our shopping trip. She looked up as I entered, her tail swishing in greeting.

"I have something special for you," I said, manifesting the Soul Stone from my inventory.

The moment the crystallized sphere appeared in my palm, Changing Star's entire demeanor transformed.

*CHIRP!*

Her eyes locked onto the stone with laser-like intensity, growing impossibly wider as she recognized something profoundly desirable. She immediately abandoned her gemstones and rushed toward me, her small body practically vibrating with excitement.

*Chirp chirp chirp!*

She began making the most adorable begging sounds - high-pitched, urgent chirps mixed with small plaintive whines. Her front claws lifted off the ground in a begging gesture I'd never seen from her before, her big sapphire eyes staring at the Soul Stone with desperate longing.

*Rawr… chirp… pleeeease…*

The way she tilted her head, the trembling excitement in her tail, the absolute focus of her attention - it was impossibly cute. She wanted this more than anything I'd ever shown her.

"Alright, alright," I said with an amused smile, kneeling down to her level. "This is very powerful soul energy. It's going to make you much stronger, but it might feel intense. Ready?"

*RAWR RAWR!*

Her enthusiastic affirmation was immediate and emphatic. She practically lunged toward my hand, barely restraining herself from snatching the stone immediately.

I placed the Soul Stone on the floor in front of her.

*CHOMP!*

Changing Star didn't hesitate for even a fraction of a second. She dove forward and swallowed the crystallized soul power whole in one swift gulp, her small throat visibly bulging as the marble-sized stone went down.

For a brief moment, everything seemed normal.

Then her body erupted with light.

*GLOW! INTENSIFY! RADIATE!*

Brilliant luminescence burst from her scales, so bright I had to shield my eyes. The light wasn't just reflecting off her surface - it was emanating from within, as if she'd swallowed concentrated starlight. Prismatic colors swirled around her small form, creating kaleidoscopic patterns that filled the entire room.

The intensity increased rapidly, the glow pulsing with rhythmic waves that seemed to match a heartbeat. Changing Star's body trembled as the massive influx of Transcendent-rank soul power flooded her system.

*THUD!*

She collapsed suddenly, her small body hitting the floor with alarming finality. The glowing continued but her eyes had closed, her limbs going completely limp.

"Changing Star!"

Fear spiked through me immediately. I rushed to her side and carefully lifted her unresponsive body, my heart racing with worry. Had the Soul Stone been too powerful? Had I just killed her by giving her energy she couldn't process?

*Check… assess… please be okay…*

I frantically examined her through our bond, searching for any signs of distress or damage. My enhanced senses checked her breathing, her heartbeat, any indication of what was happening internally.

Relief flooded through me as the bond revealed the truth.

She was fine. Completely fine.

Her breathing was deep and steady, her heartbeat strong and rhythmic. Through our connection, I could sense the Transcendent soul power being systematically processed by her Devour skill, integrating into her body and spirit with remarkable efficiency.

She wasn't injured or dying - she was simply asleep.

"She couldn't handle staying conscious while digesting this much energy," I realized, my panic subsiding into understanding.

It made perfect sense. The Soul Stone contained the equivalent of an entire Transcendent creature's worth of soul power - a massive amount of essence that even her specialized Devour ability needed time to fully integrate. Her body had essentially shut down all non-essential functions to focus entirely on processing and absorption.

Like eating such an enormous feast that immediate sleep became unavoidable, except on a metaphysical level with soul energy instead of food.

The glowing gradually stabilized from chaotic surges into steady, rhythmic pulses. Her small face looked peaceful rather than pained, her body relaxed despite the intense internal transformation occurring.

I carefully carried her to the magical cushion and arranged her comfortably among her beloved gemstones. The prismatic light from the soul power integration made her look almost ethereal - a small dragon surrounded by treasure, glowing with inner radiance.

"Rest well," I whispered, gently stroking her head. "When you wake up, you're going to be so much stronger."

I settled nearby to keep watch, unwilling to leave her alone during this vulnerable state. Through our bond, I monitored the integration progress - steady, systematic, and remarkably efficient.

The Soul Stone had found its perfect recipient, and Changing Star was about to undergo a transformation that would dramatically accelerate her path toward her ultimate potential.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

The next morning arrived with the sounds of final construction activity echoing through the mansion. I'd woken early to check on Changing Star - still peacefully asleep and glowing softly as she continued processing the Soul Stone's massive energy - before heading to one of the newly completed basement training chambers to work through my morning exercises.

I was in the middle of practicing blood manipulation techniques, sweat coating my skin from the intensive workout, when I heard footsteps approaching.

Knock knock

"Young Master Blackwood?" His subordinate's voice called from outside the training room.

"Enter," I responded, pausing my exercise and grabbing a towel to wipe away the perspiration.

Marcus entered accompanied by Enchanter Aldric and Master Blacksmith Torven, all three looking satisfied but tired from the accelerated construction schedule.

"The project is complete, young master," Marcus announced with professional pride. "All facilities have been finished according to your specifications and are ready for immediate use."

"Already?" I checked mentally - they'd promised two days, and it had been exactly that. "Excellent work. Show me."

-----

Over the next thirty minutes, they guided me through a comprehensive tour of the completed facilities.

The main combat training room was identical to the academy's Transcendent-rank facilities - reinforced flooring that could withstand devastating impacts, wall enchantments that absorbed kinetic energy, ceiling arrays providing structural protection, and integrated measurement systems displaying combat power readings in real-time.

The specialized practice chambers in the basement offered perfect environments for skill refinement, mana control exercises, and technique development. Each room contained appropriate equipment - combat dummies at various rank levels, enchanted targets for precision training, and meditation platforms for cultivation work.

The outdoor training grounds had been secured with military-grade privacy wards and boundary enchantments that would prevent surveillance while containing any energy releases from intense practice.

"This is perfect," I said with genuine satisfaction, examining the craftsmanship. "Everything matches the academy specifications exactly. You've exceeded my expectations."

Aldric and Torven exchanged pleased glances at the praise, though I noticed both men seemed hesitant about something. They kept glancing at each other as if debating whether to speak.

"Young master…" Torven began uncertainly, then trailed off.

Aldric cleared his throat. "We were wondering if… that is to say, you had mentioned…"

They were clearly too shy to directly ask about the smartphones I'd promised, despite their obvious eagerness.

I smiled, understanding their hesitation. "Don't worry, I didn't forget what I promised you."

Both elderly craftsmen's faces immediately lit up like excited children, their professional dignity momentarily forgotten in favor of genuine enthusiasm.

"The specimen units will be ready within the week," I continued. "I need to refine a few components and establish proper production protocols, but you'll both receive fully functional smartphones as thanks for this excellent work."

"Thank you, young master!" they said almost in unison, nodding happily with barely contained excitement.

The contrast was amusing - these were master craftsmen with decades of experience, respected throughout the kingdom for their expertise, yet they were grinning like youngsters who'd been promised special treats.

"The opportunity to study such revolutionary enchantment work is payment enough," Aldric added, trying to regain some composure. "But we are genuinely grateful for your generosity."

"Your craftsmanship deserves proper recognition," I replied. "And I suspect having two of the kingdom's best specialists familiar with smartphone construction will prove valuable for future projects."

That made them both straighten with renewed purpose, clearly already thinking about potential collaboration opportunities.

After they departed with Marcus to finalize documentation and arrange payment processing, I stood alone in my new personal training complex.

Perfect facilities, complete privacy, and the ability to train alongside Changing Star once she woke.

The investment had been worth every golden coin.

Now I just needed to put these rooms to proper use and accelerate my advancement toward the strength required to survive what was coming.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

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