Albert stretched his arms and legs, bones cracking, and let out a yawn.
He was done beating the artifact.
It was wrinkled, glowing with a blue energy that covered it, yet the paper itself lay on the ground, deep and formless.
"And now I feel new… Lessa!!
I will never… never!!! Forget you."
He declared loudly, head raised high.
The night sky slowly became covered by dark clouds, the yellow moon radiating faintly behind them.
Albert waited for the artifact to reform.
He leaned his back against the rough surface of a tree, arms crossed in front, eyes fixed on it.
The artifact began to repair its folds and slowly levitated upward.
When it was two meters above, he looked at it—but saw nothing written.
He was confused for a moment.
"Sooo… what now?"
Then writing began to appear.
[Ask—...
Ask for...]
[Ask for anything you want to know]
His left eyebrow rose.
"I want to know how making spells works," he commanded.
"As far as I know, there's a sentence I've read… is it one soul for one spell?" he wondered aloud, speculating.
[Spell Creation Rules:
• One Soul For One Spell
• Souls have two types, determined by their final emotions at death.
Types of Soul:
Positive: For Internal Spell Type
Negative: For External Spell Type
• Spell making has two methods:
First: Holder Customization — the holder decides the name, effect, activation method, duration, special traits, and more.
Second: System Auto — randomized spell creation.]
Albert's heart pumped faster, relief and joy flooding him. Internal spells came from positive emotions—meaning Lessa, in her final moments, had felt something positive toward him.
"L-Lessa… I know that you loved me…
But even though you were killed by my own hands, you didn't hate me…"
He sobbed, covering his face with his right hand.
He cried for a minute, then began walking to hunt animals in the forest—recalling the rules about adding system functions from non-human souls.
"Adding functions from animals is better than killing humans," he muttered as he walked, looking above the trees and into the bushes. Even though it was night, the clouds opened a hole for the moon to brighten the forest.
"The easiest way to kill is baby birds. I feel sorry for them, but catching the grown ones is impossible for now without a sling."
He climbed a tree, spotting a small hive on one of its branches.
Earlier, he had been sleepy, but there was no time to waste if he wanted to progress quickly.
"I need to do this now, not tomorrow. Doing it early means faster progress," he told himself, struggling to climb. The trunk was stiff, and he nearly slipped several times.
As he climbed higher, the village became visible in the distance—peaceful from afar, but in reality bound by ignorance.
He finally reached the branch where the hive rested.
Standing and balancing carefully, he brushed away the leaves that covered it and peeked inside, his body trembling to maintain balance.
"One, two, three…
Why?
There are so many types of ugly birds, but…
Why are Hemobirds here?!!!"
Hemobirds were rare, intelligent birds capable of understanding human commands if trained. They were sympathetic creatures that cared deeply for their owners, with large eyes and smooth, soft feathers.
The little birds slept, their heads leaning against each other's backs.
"I'm sorry…
I'm sorry…" Albert whispered repeatedly as he slowly reached for one.
When he touched it, its smooth feathers sank beneath his fingers.
Hesitation showed on his face, awe battling his resolve.
"No—no—nooo!!!"
Even as his hands trembled and sweat streamed down his face, he knew he had no choice.
He bit his lip in guilt, twisted its neck quickly, and heard the crack as its lifeless tongue slipped from its beak.
He had killed it, but the guilt remained.
"Why am I doing this?" he asked himself, hugging the dead Hemobird.
Losing his balance, he closed his eyes, not caring as he fell.
"At least I can feel how you felt, little one," he whispered.
Head-first, the wind whipped past him, piercing his body with cold.
Then—impact.
His body shattered. His head burst, blood and reddish organs scattering. Blood splattered against the tree trunks. Grass turned crimson.
His eyeballs rolled away. His arms remained wrapped tightly around the bird.
The artifact appeared, glowing dark blue.
His body began regenerating rapidly—bones forming, muscles knitting, skin closing—but the old parts were gone, replaced entirely with new ones.
Hours passed. Dawn arrived.
Consciousness returned.
The sky was blue, the clouds radiant white, birds flying in groups. The wind carried the scent of blood.
The sun's bright yellow light stung his eyes.
Trees swayed in rhythm.
He stood slowly, wiping blood from his face.
"It's the third time I've escaped death's stomach," he muttered, crouching to dig a hole with his fingers.
He buried the bird, picked a yellow flower, and placed it atop the small grave.
"And now… back to that sheet of paper."
He turned back, leaning against the tree.
"Ahhh… Souuulll System!!" he called.
The artifact materialized, its page blank.
"Show me my Soul Stack!"
[Soul Collection: 0]
[Semi-Soul Collection: 1]
"Okay, so it's called a Semi-Soul…
I want to add a system function!!!" he commanded loudly.
[Write any amount of words to describe what you want to add]
He frowned. "Huh? How can I write without a quill?"
The instructions didn't change.
He reached out and tapped it.
Suddenly, the words shifted.
[Hold and say any words you want]
"Ohh, convenient," he said, impressed.
"Ummm… the function is: The system will show me explanations of why a soul is positive or negative."
[Verified ✓]
[New Function]
[Touch To Use]
He touched it.
[First Soul Name: Lessa.
Explanation: At her last moment, she said 'Al… I'm sorry'.]
Albert froze, wondering what she meant.
"I'm sorry too…" he murmured, lowering his head.
"No!! Don't cry!!" He slapped his own face.
He braced himself and said, "The explanation is a bit blunt and short. But at least, when the time comes that I have no choice but to kill, I can understand why they felt positive or negative emotions."
The day was bright and peaceful, with no noise except the gentle wind.
Albert continued hunting various animals, adding more functions to his artifact's system.
In the bushes, he hid with a sharpened stick, crouched low, waiting for an Almian-Leaper—a type of rabbit that could react in milliseconds and leap over five meters.
It hopped closer to the thicket where he hid.
Gripping his wooden spear, he aimed at its position.
It chewed on brown and orange grasses.
Albert struck fast—
Crack!
The spear pierced its stomach, driving into the earth and pinning it in place.
He hunted more and more, creating additional system functions:
[New Function: The system will alert the holder if any hostile being is approaching.]
[New Function: The system will scan enemies to detect hidden weapons.]
[New Function: The system now stores all used soul information and names.]
[New Function: The system will turn invisible to anyone but the holder when others are nearby.]
Albert learned many things about the system, including that he could not create functions that would—