บท 546: Soul Limit Methods
"So close," muttered Edward after finishing reading Chris' paper on the link between the Soul Flame and the human's subconscious. Over the years, he has developed a few methods to deal with the Soul Flame Limit.
For example, Divine Energy. He created an enchantment that converted mana into Divine Energy. However, this method was flawed, requiring a medium, primarily Divine Blood. Although he only needs a few milliliters as the medium.
He had Guzznad's body as an experiment along with what remained of Herpo. However, Edward did not like this method since it relied too much on Divinity or even foreign aid.
The second method he created was to overwhelm the soul with too much soul energy. As long as a soul absorbs enough soul energy, an arcanist can break the limit and reach a higher tier. Unfortunately, this method also had a few flaws.
The first of which was the low success rate. An arcanist needs absolute control over his soul to succeed in this endeavor, and their soul also needs a certain level of innate toughness. The control needed for this method was too high, rendering large-scale usability impossible.
As for the innate toughness? Many people have special soul talents, and Edward created a potion to help in the endeavor. Regardless, he eliminated this method.
The other method used was a rare material discovered after the war called Soul Essence Orb. The thing allowed any race or species to break the limitations of their souls. Sadly, this resource was scarce and not enough for the entire Empire.
Edward and the Empire tried to artificially create it and 3-D print it, but they failed.
The fourth method he found was the result of his student Chloe's research. She found a special energy in the Dream Plane that could help with the limit. Unfortunately, the final result was the same.
This energy was rare and could not be excavated in large numbers. Edward tried Energy Conversion to convert mana and other forms of energy into Dream Nether Energy, and the result was unsatisfactory.
The soul limit of 99% of humans was Tier 6. However, to create the Dream Nether Energy required for a single arcanist to break the limit and reach Tier 7, Edward had to convert the equivalent of an entire galaxy (Tier 9) worth of mana.
The Empire was already dealing with an energy shortage, relying mostly on the Dark Multiverse for their needs. So, it was not cost-effective to use Dream Nether Energy to allow people to reach Tier 7, let alone higher levels.
Edward's fifth attempt at solving this problem involved the Multiverse. He conducted a dark experiment where an alchemist fused his soul with his counterparts in the Multiverse.
This experiment was fascinating to him. At first, there were complications with test subjects as they became crazy. However, after figuring out that the memories and experiences of the variants were different, he changed the experiment.
The souls of the variants will be purified, removing their memories, will, and consciousness before fusing with the prime variant. At first, this experiment showed positive signs that he would succeed.
Unfortunately, the Soul Flame will turn dark purple at the last moment, giving out a feeling of corruption. To this day, he does not know the cause of this change, but he also understands this might be the main issue he will face after trying to reach Tier 11.
Edward's sixt experiment was on forcing the soul to become divine. He was not referring to Godhood or faith but more to ascending or evolution of the soul to a higher state.
In the Xianxia novels he read, the Nascent Soul would turn into the Divine Soul before eventually turning into the Immortal Soul. Mana can evolve and turn into Aether. With this idea as a foundation, he tried to do the same for his soul, which would, in turn, affect the Soul Flame.
Sadly, his method failed. He could not purify the soul like he did with mana, so his ascension method failed. He tried to nourish a soul with the power of specific rules or [Authority]. There were some changes, but nothing he could detect or observe.
According to the conclusion he came up with, the rules did not belong to him, so he could not properly use them to elevate his soul to a higher state. Ultimately, he had to stop Project Soul Divinity to return to it later.
Edward's seventh attempt was both successful and a failure. After observing Charles' Soul Flame and its unique time ring, he had an idea to create something similar, but not with Time Energy but with the power of Knowledge.
It's a commonly known fact that knowledge nourishes the soul and allows arcanists to reach a higher tier. So, he thought of a method to condense everybody's knowledge into a ring that served as burning fuel for the Soul Flame, allowing it to sublimate and break the limitations.
The research in that direction was not easy, but luckily, Edward discovered the [Wisdom Authority] he once stole from Truth in the FullMetal Alchemist Universe was very helpful.
So, after countless trials and errors, he succeeded in creating the Knowledge Ring and even made a universal method that any alchemist could use after reaching Tier 6. However, he was soon disappointed.
The Knowledge Ring did nourish the Soul Flame and allowed it to evolve to a higher level; in other words, it did break the soul limitation. Unfortunately, the process was excruciatingly slow.
After this failure, Edward was not discouraged as he saw another path to success: the relationship between the soul and the flame. They are connected, but the flame is the main source of life.
Edward tried to use the connection between them, forming a deep enough connection that would allow an arcanist to use soul energy from the soul to nourish the Knowledge Ring and accelerate the speed at which the Soul Flame evolves.
Sadly, he always felt he was missing one last link for this project to succeed. Chris' research gave him another hint, but he still felt he was missing a few things.
"Morgana, what do you think?"
"I have nothing to say," shrugged the little elf. She has been running millions of calculations every day with no success.
"Alright. Send Chris' research to the History Council to see if they can do something. What's next on my schedule?"
"You have to oversee the process of opening our borders and quickly check the Bone Council. Then, we can depart on our journey."
"That's good."
Edward did not immediately leave as he had one last thing to check–whether Chris's Will Tempering Method would work for him. He entered a secluded room in his lab before entering a state of meditation.
The process of controlling the subconscious was not a pleasant experience. Edward was forced to control the deepest part of himself, his deepest desires, the good, the bad, and the extremely evil and disgusting.
He had to accept who he was as a person and decide whether to change, whether he could even change. His subconscious also revealed many things to him.
For example, some mild experiences that do not seem important have formed his personality's core aspects.
'I definitely had some psychotic tendencies when I was in Primordial Earth. And after coming to this world and acquiring power, they were magnified,' he summarized as he opened his eyes and exhaled.
"How is it?" asked Morgana.
"It should allow my Willpower to finally reach 9."
"That's good news."
บท 547: Planar Expansion
After the intense events that was the election, the people thought they would enter a time of great peace, with nothing as grandiose as that event. They thought the most exciting news coming to the Empire was things like cleaning up Planet Dark Star and getting rid of crime or news about corruption and degradation in the Empire's council.
However, more than a month later, another major news spread like wildfire–the discovery of the Astral Realm. The existence of other planes opened a new door to the Empire. They now had access to countless civilizations, including their history, knowledge, and resources.
How they understood the universe and how it operates drastically changed, and many people felt they took one step closer, as a collective, in pursuing the Arcane Truth. In just a few days of this news, countless Arcanists bought information regarding the Astral Realm and began writing papers.
However, these people did not have much time when Edward came on TV and announced the Empire's next step of expansion. Arcanists as low as Tier 6 can buy or rent Astral Towers, traveling ships to explore the Astral Realm.
Everyone knew that the Empire was entering its next step of major expansion and development, so the mood of the entire galaxy was extremely jovial, with countless people signing up.
In a short period, the Empire returned to the Age of Exploration, the short time after Edward's first voyage, where they first expanded outside the solar system. In that period, the universe was a vast unknown full of mystery. Many Arcanists signed up to travel the Milky Way as explorers.
Many people knew that the Age of Exploration was dangerous, especially in the early stages. But they also knew it was the best opportunity to get rich, acquire more resources, and climb the social and political ladder. The discovery of universal planes was an even greater opportunity than back then.
As such, countless people decided to buy an Astral Tower, even if they had to take a massive loan from the government or borrow one after signing a restrictive contract.
Not everyone was qualified, despite how many people signed up and wished to acquire a tower. The guideline for traveling the Astral Realm was extremely strict, and these arcanists–who first complained–soon understood why.
They learned that those powerful planes have an extreme hatred or desire for people in our Cosmic Faith Plane because of what their predecessors–the magus–did. As such, they must be extremely cautious in their voyage and not reveal their information.
Luckily, these people had a great leader and a competent government. In the past 20 years, the Empire conquered a Tier 8 Plane and secretly influenced or changed its history.
The plane, which once contained mages but was ruled by a god, experienced a renaissance as one man renovated the Mage Path and created the Arcane Path. Under that man's leadership, the mages turned into Arcanists and successfully rebelled against the Gods.
They took control of the plane and renamed it Arcane Plane from Glory Light Plane. The Arcane Plane became the place of origin for all Arcanists in the Empire as Edward created a clean and new background for everybody to prevent their identity from leaking. Regardless, they also must be careful not to reveal the truth.
This measure was also variable to the Gods of their own universe, who also wished to disassemble the Empire into delicate parts.
The second issue to consider for this new era was that their timeline was still isolated, making traveling to other planes a little more complicated. However, this problem was more of a logistic than anything else.
The third problem to deal with was the proper behavior to contact civilization. The Empire acknowledges that war, invasion, and plundering are the theme of all civilization in the Astral Realm. However, they wished to attempt something different.
For example, an Arcanist can use the Laws of Equivalent Exchange instead of direct invasion and plunder when dealing with weaker or less developed civilizations. The same approach is encouraged when dealing with more powerful civilizations up to Tier 8. (Tier 8 Civilization is the highest Astral Towers sold and the highest permitted civilization that an Arcanist can interact with.)
There were also rules to follow, especially regarding the enslavement of the natives of any world. In the Empire, population equals more arcanists, which equals more strength.
Slavery was outlawed, but there is also nuance to this issue. Some races, like Abyss Demons, are the manifestation of evil and everything chaotic. Such a race is impossible to domesticate or integrate into the Empire.
The rules for dealing with such species are to exterminate them. Arcanists can enslave them, but there is a limit based on the person's Tier and achievements. Edward and the Empire did not want these people to become one man's nation and destabilize the Empire's strength and power.
The Empire does not restrict how arcanists interacted with other planes–they can choose peaceful or brutal means. However, there are benefits, like tax breaks, to following protocols and peaceful methods. Ultimately, these people were warned and had to sign a contract not to purposely create powerful enemies for the Empire.
The final issue to deal with was tax. If an Arcanist uses peaceful means to exchange with a plane, they only need to pay 25% of their income, which involves knowledge and resources. If they used brutal means, the tax was increased to 30%.
Although 5% looked small, the number is astronomical when an entire plane is involved.
Many people felt this tax was too huge. After all, they knew how much resources even a weak plane contained. However, the Empire explained to these people the tax was for multiple reasons.
Firstly, if something happens to an arcanist during an exploration, they can contact the Empire to come to save them. The tax also covered the fee for reviving them in case they die or don't experience true death. An arcanist also had the right to ask the Empire to help them during a conquest or exchange.
However, depending on how much help they ask, the tax paid will increase to a minimum of 50% and a maximum of 70%. The officer in charge of the seminar introducing the rules to these people told them the best job was to find plane coordinates and sell them to the Empire.
Although Havika's Mathematical Model was wonderful, it was too far away from mapping the entire Astral Realm, and these coordinates would help. Furthermore, if an Arcanist discovered Tier 9 or above planes, they cannot do anything about it except wait for the future when the restrictions are removed. So, it's the best choice to sell the information.
The people attending the seminar felt relieved after hearing the information about taxes and their benefits, especially when they learned the Empire could save them from a Tier 10 threat if they gave sufficient reason. After all, their lives were more valuable than anything.
The last section of the seminar was detailed knowledge about planes. How to identify their tier before entering. How to deal with Planar Will, courses on planar warfare and diplomacy, and recognizing people from the top planes and their relationships.
Finally, everyone signed the necessary contracts before acquiring their Astral Tower and exploring the world.
The Empire had taken another major step toward their dominance of this universe.
-----
Next Chapter: Fourth Great Voyage.
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