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Chapter 4: New Ability

Dorian instantly found himself once more in the misty white Evolution Space froes was automatic, apparently

In front of hi in the air It was slightly translucent, but looked identical to him apart from that, coht arm

As he watched, the body slowly transfor just a bit over a th The red scales on the body of the Red Salalossier, inherently becoher His claws took on a very faint red hue, and the overall muscles on his body increased a bit

-Body Transformation Complete-

-Red Salae: (4/5) Mature Adult-

&8211; Growth Progress – 686/956 &8211;

"Huh So that’s y really helped out, &8221; Hehis body closely As he was in thehimself, a pair of new screens popped up

-New Ability Gained-

Ability: Flame Claws

Description: A basic low level ability of Flaers, and other Flay within one’s claws, superheating they is imbued, the more powerful the heat The ability is learned naturally through the development of their bloodline

As soon as this ability appeared, a store of knowledge on how to use it appeared in Dorian’s y froy so that his claws beca hi&8221; He said aloud as he read over the writing As he read over it, he felt e with his Soul Spell Matrix, condensing into a collection of syht in his Soul Abilities like this were stored in his Soul Spell Matrix, the knowledge per isto the information he no, the basic power of this type of attack was dependent on his Soul, where his Soul Spell Matrix was located The y he could draw fro Souls could use stronger techniques and had y and power, typically

It made sense One’s Soul Spell Matrix was located in their Soul, it only followed that a being with a strong Soul would be stronger

Instead of responding, a new screen appeared in his e (Peak)

Health: Perfect

A brief screen listed his Soul’s status Dorian stared at it for a

"Ausra, can you explain this?&8221; He tried to wave a hand at the screen in front of hi he was forardless, responding,

"Your Soul Stage is the Stage your Soul is at in its growth Growing froe to the next is very difficult, and usually requires an accuy You are presently at the Peak of the Earth Soul Stage Half of the creatures in the 30,000 worlds never cross above the Earth Stage of their Soul&8221; As Ausra spoke, a new screen appeared

&8212;Soul Stages&8212;

Ascendancy

Angelic

King

Lord

Grandmaster

Master

Sky

Earth (Current)

Mortal

"This is a list of the separate Stages of the Soul you can develop&8221;

Dorian looked up and down the list As he glanced over the ‘Angelic Stage’ he reiven hie The respect he had for that fallen Mage grew

"So at least I’m not at the bottoame from Earth Ausra, is there any fast way for th of th of his Soul was closely related to his own personal strength He would be far safer if he had a strong Soul than not

"Increasing the strength of your Soul takes an accurowth However, your unique Soul Spell Matrix can provide a shortcut, in apowerful bloodlines and rowth of your Soul The stronger the bloodline, the th will become limitless&8221; Ausra replied

Dorian nodded with understanding, and then promptly exited his Evolution Space The world flashed around him briefly and then vanished, the forested area and strea around hi it appear as if no time had passed at all

As he reappeared, Dorian stretched his body, feeling the long, melded scales of the er, and lanced over at his right ar that the injuries he had taken had fully healed The size of his body, including his rown by a level

As he noted this, he saw that the ring he had worn on his right claas no longer present He blinked and took a step back, searching the ground for it in panic

After searching for a few seconds, he found the shattered rerass near the rocks off the river Whether froy within, the ring had turned into a worthless pile of, and a little less than a meter tall, Red Salamander He looked at his claws and focused on the inforained, the ability ‘Flame Claws’

As he read into it, it appeared that this was the most basic type of ability The information inscribed in his Soul Spell Matrix outlined how he could draw energy from his Soul in a specific pattern to heat his claws, and how this would also provide a buffer of energy at the base of his claws to avoid burning hi area was still devoid of any other large creatures, though that wouldn’t last long in this jungle He was safe for now

Dorian closed his eyes and concentrated Slowly, he looked inward and saw the solden bead within him was surrounded by a translucent bubble, about the size of his fist This was his Soul A near fory that inherently represented who he was, and connected hi to the infor, all Dorian needed to do ill the energy in his Soul tohis body into his claws in a specificon his Soul After a fewspread throughout his body It slowly began to congregate on his right claw,naturally in the pattern that had been recorded on his Soul Spell Matrix

After a few moments of concentration, Dorian felt his claws start to take on a noticeable a his concentration, and stared at his right claw closely, exa it

His claws had slowly taken on a very faint red tinge over their nor to match the red scales at their base He tapped one of his claws lightly on the grass beneath hi a few pieces sizzle and iized, though he didn’t feel any stronger than usual Dorian took a few tentative steps forward, and thenat one of the nearby tall tree

THWUK

He crashed down a half dozen et He scrambled to hold on as he sank his claws into the tree He had forgotten he had just reached the next Growth Stage of his Red Salaer as a result

As soon as his front claws h the outer layer of the tree, sinking in Several bursts of fire for tiring feeling He iy frohtly dizzy

"Ausra, can you show y is in my Soul? Standardizeit will take rew more faured out ineer in hi specifics

A blue screen appeared in his mind, his Soul Status screen from before, but with an extra line added to it

Dorian &8211; Soul Status

Soul Stage: Earth Stage (Peak)

Health: Perfect

Energy: 47 (Will fully restore in 41 y&8221; Dorianthe led wood and holes The tree itself ider than he was, and thankfully wasn’t in any danger of falling over It also see, "Maybe it’s not the ability that draws it, but how I use it Perhaps my application is inefficient I should practice ht try, to help hi his Soul’s energy

A loud roar froh, as he looked up slightly fearful Despite having just evolved a Growth Stage, he knew there were far stronger creatures then him in this forest He quickly sca froh the forest, away from the small stream

…

Dorian cla at the collection of e, grey and black edifices, covered with sharp ledges and steep drop offs Unlike the forests behind hi, and dangerous

Two days had passed since Dorian found the e of his Red Salaer and stronger body, and ion he had first spawned next to

He had also beco his ‘Flame Claws’ ability The ability itself was apparently just a low level technique The more Dorian practiced it, the more he realized he knew very little about how his Soul worked, and how the energy in it, and the Soul Spell Matrix in it, worked

By now, Dorian had e neorld Instead of practicing htly obsessed with understanding his Soul, and the Matrix within it It was incredibly fascinating, and the secrets Dorian felt they held enticing Whole worlds of knowledge lay untouched before hih steady trial and error, Dorian discovered that by strictly controlling the energy that flowed in the pattern recorded by his Soul Spell Matrix, he could raise the efficiency of the energy his Soul put out He not only needed to let the energy flow naturally in the ‘Flame Claws’ pattern, he needed to control it so itso, he found that he could keep his claws burning for up to ten minutes, and they would turn a fiery red, instead of the di much hotter

Dorian shook himself as he refocused on the mountains before him He specifically turned his eyes to a pair of mountains that stood next to each other These two est in his vision They were both unique, however, in that their peaks were coaps clawed down the sides of the mountain