That's a ton of SP!! "Ehah, that's a nice expression you're making there." I don't have facial expressions. . . Unless? Her spiritual perception is high enough to make out that sort of thing on my spiritual body? "Surprise, confusion, consideration, and understanding all in a few seconds. Not bad."

I remain silent as she continues to lead me along. But, decide to check in on some of those terms, in order of interest. [Terror of Kellen Lake: A title granted to a powerful monster that reigned over a notable landform] Probably from before she became sentient? [Conglomerate Spirit: A title granted to spiritual lifeforms composed of multiple complete souls] Bout like it sounds, and that'd explain the sheer size of her soul. [Zweife Phantom: A Leben Phantom that has undergone two spiritual evolutions] Well, she should certainly know the information I need. [Phantom: An undead monster born from the soul of a strong willed individual, but not one bearing a strong grudge] Hm. And the base Race? [Leben Phantom: A Race evolved naturally from Phantoms. Known to inhabit corpses and act as a Jiangshi. They have a tendency to consume souls with weak wills, regardless of the quality of the soul's grudge] 

Once we arrive before my workshop she stops outside, lets go of my arm, and waits. Ahh? Oh. "Ehhm would you like to come in?" I lead the way to the house side's door and open it for her. She walks in, then stops just past the doorway with a gasp. I end up squeezing past her a bit to see what she's looking at that got that reaction.

Igni is currently leading the Lesser Combustion Elemental around the room with a small basket full of candles on its back. She has recently taken to making the living space more, 'homey' with little things like that. The weirdest thing about that though, I have no idea where she gets the candles. I tested her limited range after she became conscious, and she can't go beyond about ten meters outside of the building in any direction, so she can't be stealing them from other houses, and I can't imagine what she could be making them from if that's what's going on.

"They're so, CUTE! I could just gobble them up!" That's, not a good line after reading up on her Race. I give an irritated hum, then clonk the top of Beiru's head with my iron fist, though not particularly hard. "Ouchies!" She steps away a bit and turns to look at me while rubbing her head. "Not even the elemental? Geeze you're protective of your lineage, despite how many you've made already." Her face shifts through a few expressions before settling on a pout. "Er, this one, right? Hmm. Hmph, you know, I might not be inclined to teach you if I can't have any snacks though."

While I'm still caught on processing the pointed use of the word lineage, she shifts from that pout to a ominous grin, then starts chuckling. "Though, I can't imagine you care that much about those little pieces of your self separate from your own soul. Frankly, it's a little shocking how many little bits of you are around, mostly in the other metal ones." Of course she noticed the fragments in the siphons. And, she wants to eat them? "Still a little unsettled by that? Well, your reaction to me wanting to eat those two was way stronger. So it should be fine, like selling a little blood to a vampire, right?"

While I'm thinking that over Igni wraps up her candle replacement, then floats over to the top of my head and gives Sapph a hug. She's rather carefree about this, Sapph meanwhile is kinda glaring at Beiru. "That's a fair transaction, I suppose. The fragments aren't too costly to make. Are the ten I have on me now enough to start with?" She nods vigorously and holds out her hands. I laugh slightly, then reach into my siphon. I drop the fragments in her hands, then she tosses one in the air, to land in her mouth. Like, popcorn cubes? That, would look weird to anybody without spiritual perception. "Is it necessary to eat them like that?"

"Corse not. It's just more fun this way." She eats another one, and brings the handful up close to her face as if looking at them. "Pretty weird that these are so stable. Souls without wills of their own tend to break down gradually. I suppose it has something to do with your unique skill." I stare at her in silence for a few seconds. "Oh, no need for the suspicious look. I can just see that you have some deep obsession in your soul. That tends to relate to unique skills. I can't tell what it is from that. Looks like you've got a second of that sort of obsession too, but it doesn't seem as, complete as the first one. So just the one unique skill for now?" She nods to herself without any reaction from me, then pops another soul fragment into her mouth. "Anyway, what do'ya wanna know first?"

"Ah, well. I can't ignore what you just said there. A second possibility for a unique skill? That's pretty important. From what you said, you can't tell exactly what it would be. But, do you at least have any ideas how I could figure it out?" She shrugs, then leans in to take a closer look at me.

"Huuum. Hooo. I guess, there's one detail that could help. That part of you seems to be looking for something? So it probably relates to something external? Maybe? Pay attention to your own reactions to anything you look at and you might figure it out." That's not helpful at all! I'm new here, everything is interesting. "Hey, you're the one who asked." She laughs and shakes her head.

"I'll try to keep that in mind then. It'll probably just be random chance though." I walk further into the room and gesture for her to follow. Then we sit in the chairs across from each other at a small table, which is currently a bit covered in books borrowed from Marel, or purchased from traveling traders. "Next, I'd like to hear a bit about something else you mentioned. How important is the word 'Lineage' for spiritual beings like us?"

"Aha, well. Like it sounds, they're your family. Or more accurately, those born from your own soul." She holds up one of the few remaining soul fragments. "I suppose this has to do with how you have so many of them, quite lucky for you." Then she eats it. "From the looks of you, you did make a few directly. Even took one of them back into yourself before they really diverged. For that matter, you have a little foreign spiritual essence in yourself, doesn't look like it had much of a will either though. One of those stray things that was already falling apart, or a bunch of the incomplete soul stuff things without a status have. Seems like both happened quite some time ago though. Around a year or two?"

"Less than a season in both cases, actually. Hmmm." My only guess is, "The Spirit Stabilizer potion Sergu tried on me perhaps? What signs exactly tell you that that all happened a while ago?"

"That short!? Wow, uhh. I thought that because of how incorporated the foreign stuff is, and how healed the wounds from the pieces you took off are. If you look that good from a potion, I'll have to have some myself. As much as I can buy even!" How well the pieces have fused, basically? Have to tell Sergu later. "Ahem, I'll look into that when we're done here, if you don't mind introducing me?" I nod, then roll my hand to gesture her on.

"Right, aside from being related, there are some important things to know about lineage. Both the parent and child gain from it in a few ways. Some of the parent's general knowledge gets passed down, for starters. Simple things like, understanding of language, general temperament, morality, sometimes even ideals or goals if you have those strongly in mind when you pass on the piece of your soul. Not sure that last one will work with these little pieces, since they're already separate."

"Close relatives also tend to be pretty compatible when it comes to sharing energies? Like if you work together to cast spells, or share spiritual energy to fuel your unique skill." Fuel my unique skill? I suppose I did notice that. . . And she can tell I have one from my soul? How close are souls to unique skills? Hang on, I can just see what Deep Scan says about them. I bring up my status and look at the bottom entry. [Unique Skills: Special abilities, born from the soul of the user, that go beyond the natural functions of the world. This can range from simply using energies in ways that they normally can't be used, to introducing entirely new factors. All unique skills depend on spiritual energy to operate] "Done thinking about that yet?" Ahah, oops. I nod bashfully.

She eats the remaining soul pieces all at once, then sits up straighter. "The most useful detail about having descendants is, well, beings with the same lineage share experience earned through battle. At least, a little. Something like five percent for most relations. Apparently, the parent earns the most, at ten percent of what their children earn. There are some limits though, for instance. This town has a Dungeon. So, if your children are in the Dungeon, but you aren't, they'll share experience among themselves, but not with you."

"That would certainly explain a few things. Mostly the fact that some of my descendants who have never been in combat have been able to level up." I hold my hand up to the top of my head, and Igni hops on. I lower my hand to look at her, she leans towards me to hug my metallic mask of a face. "As well as how quickly I seemed to level up early on. Suppose that slowed down because the amount needed has simply increased too much for the shared experience to keep up."

Sapph flutters down to cling to me on the other side of my face. I laugh at her antics, then look back up to Bieru. "Now then, enough spur of the moment questions. What I really want to know above all else, is. How, exactly does Spiritual Evolution work? I think I can make a decent guess towards the trigger, given how it happened with me. But I don't know the requirements for it, or what limits it might have."

"Oh? Well, you just have to die. Almost dying works too. Though for you or I, only the body needs to be put to that risk. You need to have spiritual skills for it to happen though. The numbers can be a bit different for some races, but five levels in spirit related skills, per Evolution, is the standard." I think, I only had six levels in those sort of skills back then. Cut it pretty close. "Also, for Spiritual Races, it's possible to refine the soul without getting close to death. Though I've never managed it, I have at least had the process explained before. Store up extra spiritual energy in something that can hold it, your own specifically, take it back into yourself, then somehow cause your soul to grow to fill out the extra energy."

"Thank you, I'll check through the other Automatons' skills later to see who can give it a shot already. Though I bet only the first few I made are likely to be able to try. As for refining the soul, as you called it. I'll try to figure that out myself, once I've leveled my skills up a bit more. It, also gives me an idea for how to manage Mental Evolution. Maybe. I'll try that out on my own. . ." My attention turns to the two spirits on my hand. "By the way, does that, work for Spirits too?"

"I have no idea! Spirits are pretty weird. And most of them I've seen didn't like me. Don't see why it wouldn't though." She leans in close to look at them, and Sapph turns to glare at her. "Ohho, she's a spicy one." Bieru giggles and does a little, finger wave towards Sapph. Sapph huffs at her, grabs Igni's hand, then both of them fly up to the top of my head again. While they're moving I take a moment to scan them.

Sapph flew right past me in Wisdom. How'd she get light magic up to six? I suppose she's got just enough spiritual skill levels to try that out. As for Igni, she's way better at Spiritual Energy Control than me. How'd that happen? But, unlike Sapph, she doesn't have a safety net. Plus, she can't even leave the workshop. "So, need anything else before I introduce you to Sergu?" Bieru looks thoughtful for a moment, then points at me dramatically. ". . . So, you do need something then?"

"Become one with me! . . . Just kidding. You've clearly got a decent sense of self, we'd be a terrible match. Keh ha ha! What I actually want is to try out one of your Automaton bodies. Since it seems like you can just, make them, they might be more convenient than reusing bodies like this." She drops her hand to the table top.

"That, should be fine, I have some spares. . ." Right, better to keep my component warehouse hidden, should have a few still in the workshop anyways. I stand up and gesture for her to follow. "I suppose you can even keep one, if you like it. I don't know if that's an equal exchange for the information you've provided so far, but I'm willing to accept it as worthwhile."

"Aha, the soul bits were probably enough for that basic stuff. I'll buy it from you if I like the body, kay?" I shrug in response, she takes a moment to peek into the storage area as we pass through it. When we enter the workshop, she looks around for a bit, then her gaze settles on several unanimated bodies laid out on one of the counters. Patch and Mend are also in the room, though I don't see Goibniu anywhere.

Bieru runs over to the counter to look over the bodies. After a moment she settles on a slightly experimental one. An upscaled Kobold type body with extra thick armor plating, made from Fire Iron and conventional Steel, giving it a body mainly of red metal with added silvery plates. "C'n I try this one? It looks super cool! Like a cross between a Kobold and a Cymetem!"

"That makes me a bit more curious as to what a Cymetem is. But, knock yourself out." I lift the large body off the counter and stand it up next to me, using spiritual energy to make sure it's positioned in a way that it can stand on its own. It is about an even two meters tall, and has a tail that was scaled up more than the body, giving it enough length to drag on the ground a bit.

"Well, they're kinda like humans, but with shelled sections on their bodies. They evolved from an aquatic monster called Cytos, which have six legs and big pinchy claws at the front." Crab people then? "For some reason they also have wings, but they can't really fly with them." Huh?! She laughs, obviously recognizing my reaction. "Well, I don't know where to find a Cytos nearby, but if you want to meet a Cymetem, there's one in my party. Though the other three all went into the dungeon for the day." I scratch my cheek, then shrug.

She laughs again, then sits down in a cross legged position before spreading her spiritual body out past the physical one. Her spectral form grows to about twice the size of the modified Kobold type body. I now notice that a strip of black has been added alongside the two gray streams swirling around her spiritual body. Her general presence seems more intense without her body getting in the way. To the point where Sapph and Igni both recoil and fly down to hide in Sapph's pouch. To me it feels like an odd, inverted gravity with her as the focus point, but it doesn't affect my body, nor push me out of it.

Bieru strides over to the mechanical kobold body, then slowly sinks into it. The tail twitches side to side, then the whole body judders. There is a random series of musical tones, like someone blindly playing a xylophone. The mouth drops open, showing off the knife-like fangs. The arms jerk up, and the clawed fingers clench and unclench a few times. Finally she speaks. "Lil' weird. Like wearing a shoe the wrong size? And for some reason it took me a few seconds to figure out how to move it?"

Ah? "Oh. Actually, it's kinda surprising you can move it at all, now that I stop to think about it. It was made primarily with the clockwork design, with a little bit of artificial muscle in the tail specifically. Basically, that means most of the body moves by having metal pieces move each other by fitting together and spinning, rather than moving with contracting muscles controlled by tiny electrical impulses. That, might not be a very good explanation of clockwork mechanics, or muscles. Point is, it's very different from what you're likely used to."

"Yeah, I don't get it. Sounds like I shouldn't be able to move though. Hmm. . . Does your first unique skill relate to these bodies? If it does, and has some kind of racial support effect, then that'd explain things pretty handily? I think." Something like a base program to operate the bodies installed into the brains by the Artificer? A program that perhaps doesn't work with the Musculoskeletal design? "That aside it seems like it'll work passably. Suppose I should check how my stats changed. Status. . . Muu, looks like they averaged out to forty. Kind of a balanced body then. Wait. I didn't have Fire Breath or Fire Resistance before!"

Crap. "Riiiight. Part of animating new Automatons requires magic stones from monsters. Guess I already loaded one into that body. I think it was from a monster called a Pygmy Drogroz? The way it was described to me made it sound like a flaming dragon pig. Well, I wouldn't recommend abusing that feature. If you gain too many skills, it'll be hard to use them all."

"I suppose. But there are some skills monsters get that people just, normally don't that'd be awesome to have! I already can't wait to test out Fire Breath." She walks over to her old body and switches back to it by simply flowing from one body to the other without fully emerging. It's much faster too, so she must have been, putting on a show before. Once she's back in her nearly human body she stands up quickly. "C'mon, let's go meet that Sergu person for the potions! After that, I'm gonna go fight something!"

"And what of the modified Kobold type body? If you buy it, I'd be fine with counting the magic stone as part of its cost." She stops and stares at the body a moment before nodding. Then she fishes a small coin purse out of her cleavage and starts rummaging through it while muttering to herself. "Seriously? That's where you keep your money?"

"Not all of it. Just a little stash for emergencies. Our party's supporter carries most of our loot and luggage usually." She pulls out a coin with a shimmering silver and gold tone. "I was going to suggest ten gold coins, but would you take a magic silver? They're kinda high value and harder to break than gold. That's also a bit cheaper than I'd normally spend for a body, but I figure you don't have much sentimental attachment to this one, or anything, so material and workmanship costs shouldn't be, too much?"

"I, honestly don't know about the value of the materials or the work I put into it. I'll accept that though. Still, magic silvers are above gold? How does the money here work?"

"You don't even know all that? Well. The God of Trade Pandaou backs all the currency. According to ancient legends, there was a time when the Praxi made coinage from, just about everything they could shape into coins. But the other races grew very tired of the complex web of exchange rates, so their god decided on a core set everybody could use. Bronze, Magic Bronze, Silver, Gold, Magic Silver, and Magic Gold. Each at a rate of ten times the value of the previous coin. Supposedly Magic Silver is above gold because pure metals like silver are better conductors of magic than less important metals like bronze? So one that is already filled with magic has a greater increase in value. Some other coins are still accepted, but those are the main ones."

"Backed by a god? Wait, that means, he guarantees the value of the coins?" She shrugs and nods. "Turning metals with intrinsic value, into a fiat currency? I don't know what to make of that. But, thanks for the information, I suppose." I hold my hand out to accept the coin. Once she drops it in my hand I focus on the sensation of its magic. It does feel different from the magic bronze coins I've handled before. The bronze coins just had mana in them, same as the magic iron I've been building most of the bodies from, but the silver coin seems to be almost audibly humming from the mana in it. I shake my head, then stash the coin in a small safe in the storage room.

"Now then, what will you do about the body? It's big enough to be a hassle to carry around, I think." Before I even finish speaking, she throws it over her shoulder and approaches me. "Alright then. Follow me?" Bieru giggles excitedly and walks behind me as I head back through the house section to drop Igni off before heading out.

Chaos_Sinner777

Honestly, it makes me uncomfortable to give Bieru such an irregular number for her SP. But, I just don't think she cares about that quite as much as Anima is set up to. Also, for the second obsession indicating the potential for another unique skill, I had initially thought of five different unique skills, and was going to use a set of keywords that'd hint towards their nature to set up a vote, but while thinking about it, I settled on one as my favorite. So I'm going with it, when we get there. Might be a while. Whoa! Site update to make the chapter writing page follow the dark theme?! Excellent.