Floating Island - Triple S Talent

Three hours in the test chamber had finally passed. Lein stood in front of the Soul Construction Orb, his breath heavy, and a bored expression on his face. In front of him, the construction panel displayed dozens of soul images that had been formed non-stop for 1,000 cycles.

Lein raised his hand, touched the surface of the panel, and scrolled down. The list of soul images, all shimmering with gold, filled the screen, making him smile faintly. On the last page, he saw the number indicating the total souls he had acquired: 33.

"32 S-tier souls," Lein said with excitement. Aside from the C-tier soul (Spiny Lava Worm), Lein had successfully obtained 32 S-tier monkey souls.

Examining the soul images again, Lein noticed their varied appearances. Some wielded long staffs, while others used shields as their weapons. All the monkey souls he acquired were S-tier, differing only in their unique abilities.

The strength of these monkeys revolved around chaos-based powers, such as unleashing devastating void attacks, forming black holes, or creating dead zones that inflicted severe negative effects on anyone caught inside. Their diversity made Lein hesitant to fuse them until he could duplicate them first.

Within the past three hours, Lein had successfully duplicated his S-tier monkey souls 6 times However, the duplicated souls did not appear on the construction panel; instead, they were stored inside his spatial ring.

"Hehehe... 60,032 S-tier souls," Lein chuckled quietly. No one out there would dare imagine such a massive collection of S-tier souls, let alone achieve it.

"What's next?" Lein muttered to himself. After spending so long inside the test chamber, he momentarily forgot his original goal.

After a brief moment of thought, he remembered. "Right, I need to promote to Master level."

Lein already met all the requirements for the promotion. The only step left was soul fusion.

As he contemplated the process, a previous idea popped back into his mind.

"Fusion."

Without delay, Lein accessed the Fusion Panel and began reviewing the rules. "Please… no failures," he hoped anxiously. The success rate for soul fusion was notoriously low, far from what he had hoped.

[Fusion]

- Combine 3 souls of the same tier to create a new soul.

- S-tier soul: requires 3 S-tier souls.

- A-tier soul: requires 3 A-tier souls.

- …

- E-tier soul: requires 3 E-tier souls.

Lein skimmed through the brief rules displayed by the soul orb. His eyes locked onto the layout resembling the construction panel, with a large central circle surrounded by smaller circles where souls would be placed for fusion.

Additionally, Lein could view the complete list of souls in his possession on the fusion panel, including all duplicated souls stored in his spatial ring.

"Alright… let's do this," Lein said eagerly.

He immediately inserted souls into each of the three outer circles. The first soul he placed was a monkey soul.

(Voidtail Primate - S)

- Soul Energy: 123,000

- Strength: S

- Defense: S

- Intelligence: S

- Agility: S

- Ability: (Spectral Chain)

Lein chose to use identical souls to conduct some analysis. He suspected that fusing highly similar souls might yield better results. However, this was still just a theory, so trial and error was necessary.

[3 souls detected. Do you wish to fuse them?]

"Yes," Lein answered quickly.

The fusion process began. The three souls Lein inserted emitted powerful energy, all converging into the central circle like water bursting through a dam.

"Please… succeed," Lein whispered, clenching his fists, hoping for the best outcome on his first attempt.

The fusion animation ran for several seconds. A figure began to form within the central circle, resembling a bat with wide wings, sharp claws, a small head with protruding teeth, and red streaks along its body, giving it a menacing appearance.

"A bat?" Lein muttered in confusion. He had fused monkey souls, yet the result was a bat-like monster. But there was no turning back now—he had to wait for the fusion to complete.

After a few tense moments, the soul formation finished, revealing the creature in the center of the circle. Sure enough, the resulting being was a wolf-like creature with pitch-black wings, a long tail, and sharp fangs.

(Blood Voidtail Primate - S)

- Soul Energy: 123,000

- Strength: S

- Defense: S

- Intelligence: S

- Agility: S

- Ability: (Blood Spectral Chain)

- (Blood Spectral Chain): Creates 100 blood chains that shoot out rapidly, attacking and binding enemies. It locks enemies for 10 seconds and drains 20% of their soul energy per second. Each enemy killed by this ability adds 100 additional chains.

Lein studied the new status panel that appeared before him, raising an eyebrow. "A bat with a monkey's tail? This system is strange," he muttered as he examined the status panel carefully.

The creature displayed on the panel was unsettling—a giant bat with a long monkey tail and coarse fur sprouting across its body. Although it looked bizarre and unpleasant, what made Lein smile was the soul's ability.

The (Blood Spectral Chain) skill had become significantly more powerful. Its binding duration had increased from five to ten seconds, and its energy drain had doubled from 10% to 20%. A seemingly simple yet terrifying ability. "This could turn the tide of battle instantly," Lein thought, his lips curling into a confident smile.

"Let's keep going..." Lein whispered as he picked up the pace. He had spent more than half a day in the test chamber. If he didn't leave soon, others might assume he had died inside.

Without hesitation, Lein selected the next soul—(Cosmic Howler), a soul with the power to manipulate cosmic energy to create black holes that devoured everything around them.

(Cosmic Howler - S)

- Soul Energy: 123,000

- Strength: S

- Defense: S

- Intelligence: S

- Agility: S

- Ability: (Eternal Vortex)

Lein pressed the confirmation button. "Alright, let's see what happens."

[3 souls detected. Do you wish to fuse them?]

"Yes," he replied without hesitation.

The soul fusion animation started immediately. Lein watched in awe as bright white light swirled, forming a beautiful vortex of energy. The energy from the three souls slowly merged, creating a new monster encased within the crystal orb. Lein observed carefully, noting every transformation.

It didn't take long for the system to display the result.

(Cosmic Howler - S)

- Soul Energy: 138,000

- Strength: S

- Defense: S

- Intelligence: S

- Agility: S

- Ability: (Eternal Vortex)

- (Eternal Vortex): Forms 50 cosmic energy vortices that pull all nearby enemies to their center, paralyzing them and dealing 500% damage per second for 10 seconds. Each enemy drawn in boosts the damage by up to 1,000%. (Cooldown: 90 seconds)

"Wow... 50 vortices now," Lein said with excitement in his voice. The effect was similar to using multiple clones, but the increase from 10 to 50 vortices was a significant boost. "This could change the course of any battle," he thought as he stared at the panel in satisfaction.

Although the ability had improved, the monster's name and base attributes remained unchanged. "Only the ability changes," he mused. "Does that mean using the same base souls always yields the same result?" But that assumption was quickly dispelled when he recalled the first fusion—a bat with a monkey's tail—despite using identical base souls.

Not wanting to dwell too long on the mystery, Lein pushed the thought aside. He refocused on the task of fusing more souls.

***

Lein was still immersed in his experiments inside the test chamber when night had already fallen in the divine sky realm. The atmosphere was vastly different from earlier, when battles were still raging. Now, the entire island was protected by a glowing, transparent shield, appearing sturdy and ready to withstand any attack.

On a nearby island, devastated by earlier assaults, the ruins of collapsed buildings bore silent witness to the destruction. The city was almost pitch black, with only a few remaining light sources illuminating the scattered debris. In the heart of the city, a green military vehicle with mounted weapons moved slowly, patrolling the area.

Soldiers on board kept a vigilant watch, their sharp eyes scanning every corner for signs of an ambush.

"How's your wife? Has she regained consciousness?" the captain seated beside the driver asked in a low but concerned voice.

A soldier in the back, sitting upright with a weary expression, adjusted his posture and answered, "Yes, sir! My wife has regained consciousness, but she's still very weak."

The captain nodded before turning to another young soldier sitting beside him. "And your child?" he asked, his tone softer this time.

The young soldier swallowed hard before responding. "He's happy in heaven now, sir," he said firmly, though his voice trembled. His eyes fought back tears, determined to stay focused on his duty despite the overwhelming grief.

"Stay strong," the captain said, patting the soldier's shoulder for encouragement. "We must survive, for the future of our people."

"Yes, sir!" the soldiers responded loudly, affirming their resolve to keep fighting, even under the crushing weight of loss.

The vehicle kept moving, passing through roads filled with debris from destroyed buildings, traversing a city that resembled a ghost town, while the quiet of the night was broken only by the roar of the engine and the footsteps of the patrolling soldiers.