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"Wow, I didn’t know you made such a tasty fruit!" Gardenia exclaimed in genuine surprise, finishing the last bite of the skull with obvious delight. "Though that side effect sounds scary as hell. Well, anyway, let’s do what you wanted, Elayne. What was it again? Oh right, the Soul Trait!"

Gardenia nodded enthusiastically, feeling a refreshing wave of energy coursing through her. She flew swiftly toward Elayne, then raised her hands, which were intricately formed from vibrant plants, twisting branches, and colorful mushrooms, and exuded a powerful divine spiritual energy that filled the air with a sacred aura.

FLASH!

Elayne’s soul responded immediately and powerfully to the energy. Its trait awakened once more, beginning to grow significantly stronger as Gardenia carefully took Elayne’s energy and infused it back into the trait. The process rapidly began to fill something akin to a balloon for her Spiritual Energy Reserves, or perhaps more accurately, a glowing meter that expanded with brilliant intensity.

This meter filled after finally reaching 100 percent, which consumed quite a substantial amount of those precious spirit energy reserve points, and it officially began the long-awaited evolution of her soul trait.

FLUOSH!

The golden sunlight power continued to manifest and grow rapidly with dazzling brilliance, as Elayne felt its overwhelming intensity increase to the point where it began burning her hands again with a fierce, radiant heat.

"Amazing... it can still burn me though!" Elayne said, her voice filled with awe and a hint of discomfort. "It seems that the sunlight we were taking before was barely artificial. Perhaps now that it was upgraded, it has unleashed its truest strength at last?"

"Almost," said Gardenia with a knowing smile. "You’re slowly unlocking its true power. But right now it should be as intense as it was when you were alive. After Tier 3 though, you’ll begin to step into a new territory of power you didn’t have before with this soul trait, something truly remarkable."

"Oh!" Elayne felt a surge of pure excitement, her heart racing as she watched the important notifications emerge one after another.

Ding!

[You have exchanged 100,000 Spiritual Energy Reserves.]

[Your Soul Trait: [Amaterasu-no-Kami’s Heavenly Sun Prison Pagoda – Tier 1: 100%] has Ranked Up to Tier 2!]

[The power of your Soul Trait has increased drastically, the Sunlight Intensity has become ten times as powerful as before, capable of piercing through immunities and resistances.]

[However, the intensity of the sunlight is so strong it costs more Mana and Spirit Energy to conjure.]

[After your Soul Trait has evolved to Tier 2, your Soul has also grown considerably larger and more powerful.]

[Your Soul Fortitude has increased by +6,000!]

[Your [Soul Cultivation]: [Tier 5: Rank 1 – Nature Soul: The World] has Ranked Up to Tier 5: Rank 3!]

[Your Soul Fortitude has increased by +20,000!]

Elayne was deeply amazed by how her Soul had grown by two whole Ranks in such a short time, surprising her far beyond what she had thought possible. She never imagined that Soul Traits could serve as such an effective and powerful way to accelerate soul cultivation, opening entirely new possibilities for her growth.

♢♢♢♢

[Soul Trait]: [Amaterasu-no-Kami’s Heavenly Sun Prison Pagoda – Tier 2: 1%]

A restored version of the former Soul Trait, merely a fragment of a greater power that has been integrated into the System, now gaining the valuable ability to grow and evolve further. After evolving to Tier 2, it has finally regained its former power but now possesses vast room to grow even stronger than before.

By offering Mana, Soul Essence, and Spirit Energy, you can call forth a fragment of the Divinity of the Sun of Amaterasu-no-Kami, a foreign Goddess of the Eternal Rising Sun of the Otherworldly Country known as "Japan," to your aid in times of need.

Her incredibly faint yet profoundly divine otherworldly Presence will instantly materialize, becoming a sizable prison pagoda with three floors and a radiant roof. The more time passes, the slightly larger and stronger it will grow within the designed space, steadily stacking divine power as time passes against any foe or foes you desire to "entrap" within its small but potent interior.

The more the prison pagoda’s height and power stack, the greater the weight exerted upon the surrounding space, making it increasingly harder to manipulate it, while constantly dealing Sunlight, Holy, and Light damage over time to the target and its surroundings with unrelenting force.

This purifying pagoda has a high amount of defense and endurance based on the user’s Soul Fortitude and Spirit Energy, and it is possible to regenerate the damage by supplying it with additional energy. Over time, the Mana, Soul Essence, Nether, and Ghostly Energy of the foe will also begin to burn out under the tiny yet potent speck of power from Amaterasu-sama’s Divine Brilliance, progressively weakening an opponent in a slow but devastating manner.

At higher Tiers, the Pagoda will reinforce the Soul and strengthen it with a small amount of the Divinity of this Foreign Goddess, while also being able to grow more floors. If five or more floors are stacked together, you can entrap a foe within the interior of the Prison Pagoda, and if they’re weakened enough, they can be completely sealed away. The Prison Pagoda Floors can also unleash concentrations of Sunlight Energy at foes to deal significant damage, and this energy can be skillfully manipulated according to your will.

Warning: Because the user is an Undead, it is possible to take damage from this Skill. Caution is advised at all times.

♢♢♢♢

Elayne read the new description carefully, noting how it had changed slightly yet meaningfully. Apparently it now could be summoned properly instead of being a tiny pagoda of a single floor that served almost no real purpose, so Elayne didn’t use it much before, especially because it drained so much energy from her reserves. But after Elayne summoned it this time, she was able to bring forth a majestic three-floor golden pagoda that shone so brightly any nearby undead weak enough would be instantly blasted to oblivion by its overwhelming holy radiance.

What’s more, the description’s note on inheriting Amaterasu’s power to strengthen one’s soul was absolutely true, as Elayne had just experienced her Soul Fortitude growing dramatically in that short amount of time. This made her believe wholeheartedly that this was a great and highly effective way to strengthen her soul, which was of vital importance in the dangerous and unforgiving Netherworld.

"At five floors I’ll be able to trap enemies inside, so I have to aim for Tier 3 I guess," Elayne said while rubbing her chin thoughtfully. "For now, the floating pagoda can help me slow down foes and damage them constantly, and it seems to be capable of attacking automatically on its own, which makes things so much better and more reliable!"

"Yeah, but we have to be careful how you use it," said Mark with clear concern in his voice. "One wrong misfire and you could kill one of us. Its power is too big and overwhelming..."

"I agree," Elayne said firmly. "I’ll be careful from now on and continue practicing on my own until I master it completely."

Elayne began to consider how to use this radiant energy for cultivation but quickly realized that just letting it flow freely inside of her body would likely destroy her from within, so she stopped herself from doing something so dangerously impulsive until she attained a good enough resistance to its holy power.

However, being an Undead with the magnificent power of a Goddess of Sunlight was an incredible and unique advantage in the Netherworld, even more so now that it had regained its former strength. It felt powerful enough to go against formidable opponents like Merlinus when she was still alive, filling her with renewed confidence and determination.

"Now that we’re done with this, let’s see... Ah right, this!"

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