Idle Mage: Humanity's Strongest Backer-Chapter 257: Soul Refinement

'They said that I'm in grave danger...but they didn't even tell me what kind of danger they're talking about.'

This was Ashton's first thought the moment he woke up on his bed.

By now, he's certain that what happened wasn't a dream. He indeed went on a Spiritual Journey and met the person who was responsible for his transmigration to this world and the one who gave him the System.

Even though they failed to inform him exactly what kind of danger he's truly in, Ashton has some clues.

They're probably referring to the invaders. Because who else could it be? No humans could go up against him, and even though there are a handful of people who didn't like him, there was no way they could pose even the slightest threat to him.

The moment they do, Jerry and his Guild will instantly snuff them out so he doesn't have anything to worry about when it comes to his side.

So if it's not here, then it's the invaders. That's the only answer he could think about right now.

'In hindsight, I really should've seen it coming.' He groaned inwardly, 'We killed several important people from their side. And for their race that had been used to being the dominant one, a small world repelling them would certainly be alarming.'

'I wouldn't be surprised if the Head Figures are on their way here. Also, that would explain why the hidden protocol of the System was triggered and sent me to meet with the Beast God.'

'The Blue Planet might be protected from the fleet stationed right outside of its space, but I can't say for sure if the barrier will be effective against the Head Figures as well.'

'Beast God was right. I should've been more aggressive in terms of development.'

Ashton sighed to himself as he got out of bed. It's currently midnight and Aria's still asleep on their shared bed. He was careful with his actions since he didn't want to wake her up just yet.

He went down to the kitchen to make some snacks for himself. Still being careful, making as little noise and mess as possible.

Once he was done, he went to the living room to chill for a bit and drown in his thoughts.

'System, use the gift of Death God please.'

[As you wish, Host. Loading information now.]

Ashton closed his eyes mid-bite of his snack when a flood of new information assaulted his brain.

Details about souls were imprinted on his mind, and their habits and behaviors as well as information about how to properly utilize them according to the situation that fits him were included in this paper.

The fact that Death God purposefully created this for him was incredible. It's as if Death God were expecting to meet him in the first place. He didn't see Death God writing this on the spot so that means he already had it prepared beforehand. That, or Death God did write at the very moment and he just didn't see it. The Death God was powerful after all so it wouldn't be surprising if that's what happened.

[Notice! Skill: Soul Refinement has been created and added to the existing list of Skills.]

[Soul Refinement (Learned)]

: The ability to utilize Souls according to one's intended purpose. This skill came from a Divine Being and was created to perfectly suit the Host. It is intended to be used according to how the Host thinks it should be utilized.

'...which basically means that this Skill is something I should use to refine the Souls I trapped in the Bone Scythe.' Ashton added.

This was on par with what the Death God told him in the first place, and this is what he also intends to do anyways so it's all good.

And since Ashton has plenty of Skill Points accumulated so far, he immediately pumped them all into the Soul Refinement Skill, instantly making it a 5-Star Ascended Rank, putting it right next to his Basic Scythe Arts which was also at the same Rank.

Another wave of information assaulted his brain but just as before, he was prepared for it. It only took him a couple of seconds to digest everything, he went from a complete novice to an absolute master at Soul Refinement in no time, and he didn't even sweat in the process at all.

'Hallelujah...' Ashton mumbled inwardly.

He finished eating his snacks and took his Scythe out. If this was him before he learned Soul Refinement, he would've felt awed by the sight of it.

But now that he had learned Soul Refinement, he couldn't help but grimace at the sight of it.

Frankly, the Scythe was a mess. The sheer population of souls trapped in it was a sight for sore eyes. This must've annoyed the Death God when he saw it which ultimately made him decide to teach Ashton the Soul Refinement skill.

Honestly, Ashton couldn't blame him. In his point of view as a Master of Soul Refinement, it is indeed trashy, but he could fix it now so it's all good.

'With this many souls, I could condense at least 5 Traits for the scythe. Alright, let's do this.'

He hovered his hand over the surface of the scythe's edge and used the skill.

The way how he immediately heard the bombardment of shrill screams from the trapped souls nearly caused him to lose focus. Fortunately, he managed to hold on despite it.

He gathered the souls and transposed their essences into something more tame and useful for the scythe itself. He got rid of their remaining consciousness and turned the souls into a condensed source of power.

Ashton had a lot of souls to work with and by the time he was done, his estimates indeed proved to be true.

[Blood-Drinking Bone Scythe]

Type: Perfect Treasure Armament

Description:

: Once an ordinary scythe with the power to devour blood and soul to strengthen itself. It was once bloated with too many souls but its recent refinement solved this glaring flaw. The souls were now used to condense traits that made the Scythe even more powerful than before.

Traits:

Unbreakable, Perpetual Sharpness, Ultimate Sync, Fatal Wounds, Bloody Resonance.

There were no visible changes on the scythe, but there sure were in its aura. The traces of chaos in its body completely disappeared. It was replaced by an unmistakable impression of a truly deadly weapon.

This scythe will not allow just anyone to be its wielder. It's picky now that it's become like this. Fortunately, it's cognizant enough to recognize Ashton as its creator and owner so it behaved like a child on his hands.

Despite losing its chaotic aura, the scythe remains intimidating. In fact, it's far scarier than before.

The Unbreakable Trait launches the durability of the scythe to a nigh-indestructible level and the Perpetual Sharpness trait was self-explanatory.

Ultimate Sync Trait makes it so that the Scythe will never be able to hurt him. It also allows him to instantly summon the scythe whenever he pleases and wherever it was. This scythe will only show its true power in the hands of people who got its recognition. Even more so in Ashton's hands.

The Fatal Wounds Trait makes it so that all injuries inflicted by this weapon against life will be almost incurable.

And finally, Bloody Resonance was an upgrade to the Blood-Drinking Seal. This trait allows the Scythe to absorb blood more efficiently and extract more vitality and power from the source.

With these traits all taking effect in the Scythe, Ashton practically received a massive boost in his strength.

The scythe feels more familiar in his hands and is easier to use. He never realized how much the souls weigh it down until they were gone. Now, he could perform his skills with double the effect with less effort. It's just better like this.

Plus, the scythe had become a better conductor of all types of energy post-refinement. When he applied mana, the edge glowed with a pure sky-blue gleam. When he applied Aether Energy, the edge turned pristine white.

And when he applied his Dream Laws to it, the edge glowed with a glamorous rainbow-colored light.

This was a clear indicator that the Scythe indeed became a better conductor of energy compared to before. Its overall quality was better and people would be hard-pressed to search for a better weapon even if they searched the whole world.

This just puts a wide smile on Ashton's face.

Additionally, he no longer has to worry about the trapped souls. Before, he always had to be worried that someone from the invaders could potentially use the trapped souls against him. Which prompted him to always end the battle the moment he showed his scythe.

Now, he no longer has to worry about that. The souls were now transposed into useful traits. And since he had learned Soul Refinement, it will never be a problem anymore.

'Alright.' Ashton sighed after he was done admiring the scythe. He put it back and focused on the System once more.

'System, open the package that Beast God gave to me.'