Chapter 5 Soultrait

[1000 Arcanium have been transferred as per agreement.]

[The host completed the first-ever deal with the Arcane System. 10 Arcanium have been rewarded for this grandiose Achievement!]

[Balance: 1031 Arcanium]

Liam ignored the frustration he felt toward the Arcane System for acting like the worst loan sharks in existence as he pushed the notifications aside.

He looked at the holographic screen of the Arcane Shop and purchased the Soul Awakening by spending 1000 Arcanium.

[1000 Arcanium will be deducted to artificially awaken the Host's Soul. Please select how long the Soul Awakening should take!]

[Remark: The longer the artificial awakening of the Soul takes, the less pain the Host will feel. This is directly related to the coa–...]

The Arcane System was just about to launch into an elaborate explanation of why the artificial awakening of the Soul would be less painful the longer the process takes when Liam's voice thundered through the heavy downpour.

"Shut up, and finish my Soul Awakening right at this instance!"

While his voice reverberated through the surroundings, the Arcane System initiated Liam's Soul awakening.

It felt like time slowed down all of a sudden as the raindrops in front of him froze midair. They were slowly being pulled to the ground through the gravitational force, yet it looked like it would require several hours for a drop of water to splash on the wet stone cliff.

'Has my perception heightened to the extreme?' He could only think before searing pain spread out from his chest.

The phenomenon of a Soul Awakening was something miraculous…something that was supposed to make you feel good and oddly addictive. It was not supposed to be something that hurt but an event that allowed the awakened to get a rough understanding of the tremendous power the Soul harbors.

Under normal circumstances, the Soul Awakening would last between one to three days, in which the Soul would not only awaken but the changes caused by the awakened Soul would be fully integrated into the body.

However, Liam had sped up the process so it was only obvious that it would hurt. Liam didn't have any time to sit and wait, which is why he did the only thing he could think of standing a chance against the hordes of Shedims without running away like a frightened chick!

That was why he had to steel his mind and endure everything that was about to happen. It would only hurt for a short moment, either way. That moment may feel like an eternity but that was fine!

However, nothing his imagination could have prepared him for helped when the moment dawned upon him. It felt like his insides were exploding when his Soul was forcefully awoken from its slumber.

The shackles put on his Soul began to crack and they were slowly removed with every single explosion that rattled through his entire body. The core of his Soul was awakening and the outer layers were slowly freed from the restrictions that had been put on them. The explosions released a tremendous amount of energy that filled Liam's entire body. It was enough energy to shine through his pale white skin, making him look like his insides were on fire that burned despite the rain drenching him.

His entire body began to glow for a brief moment and he had the sinister feeling that something was crawling out of him, from the deepest parts of his consciousness.

It was as if he was dipping into a different world, a mysterious place where he had never been before. The awakening was completely different from the last time his Soul had awoken. The pain he had to endure was almost unbearable but he only focused on the end goal. Liam was not a fan of pain, but he could tell that the pain was worth the results he would obtain.

He knew that he had done the right thing and that he would be rewarded as long as he continued to endure the pain!

The sensation of something crawling out of his consciousness was eerie and it grew worse when he realized that the 'thing' was crawling up his spine, through his skull before it found its destination…his eyeballs.

A blinding light spread out from the center of his sight and it didn't take long until Liam saw only white. Unable to see due to his clouded vision, he could only focus on the searing pain that accumulated in his eyes.

The rest of his body was holding up much better than moments before. It was not as if he didn't feel any pain in his legs, arms, and everywhere else anymore, but nothing was comparable to the pain that reached his eyes. It was as if somebody was gouging his eyes with pincers.

The cells in his eyes were destroyed, altered, and repaired. These alterations were repeated hundreds of times in an instant causing tremendous pain that spread through his eyes that were slowly changing.

It looked like the purple color of his iris was intensifying and expanding. Faint, cobweb-like purple strands expanded all over his iris. The white of his eye was pushed back and overshadowed by the intense purple that stopped expanding when the pain in Liam's eyes began to recede.

Liam regained his eyesight slowly as the dazzling light was dispelled. The pain that spread through his entire body was still apparent but Liam could clearly see again.

He felt as if time was slowly unfreezing and the raindrops were falling much faster than before. His perception would return to the norm in some time.

And, as if the Arcane System wanted to give him a clear indicator, a notification popped up in front of him as his perception returned to the norm.

[Soul was awakened successfully! Soultrait『Devil's Eyes』has been attained!]

Liam squinted his eyes when he saw the name of the Soultrait he had awoken and he couldn't help but feel that something had gone wrong.

'That's my Soultrait? Sounds like bullshit…I'm already half-devil, you smartass…' Liam cursed the system before he noticed something that changed his point of view of the situation.

The raindrops all around him started to fall at a much slower speed than before his Soul Awakening!

'..well, whatever…I just take what I get!' He thought, closing his eyes while triggering the effect of his Soultrait.

Liam opened his eyes while his Soultrait's active effect was activated, and the corners of his lips curled upward unknowingly.

"Why are you fuckers so slow?"