"Bad News?" Lone wore a suspicious expression on his face. "I don't feel her soul in the building, actually, I don't feel her soul within my Soul Sensing's range at all. Did she get recalled to the Light Tigerkin Clan?"

Master Millisa was surprised. "A very accurate deduction. Yes, Master Lone. From what little information I know, she was asked to return to her home by the current Patriarch of her clan, Zeeb Whitestripes, who also happens to be her father. It seems he's now willing to let her officially rescind her claim to the clan's leadership."

The dark-skinned woman wore a mysterious smile on her face. "I wonder why such an aloof and stubborn man would allow such a thing when he insisted that she was only to study here and be a member of our Soul Hall so long as she could return to take his place whenever the Light Tigerkin Clan so chooses, hmm, Master Lone?"

"Yeah, I wonder," Lone replied as he unconsciously placed his hand on Breena's head and ruffled her hair while avoiding her ears. If Soph wasn't here for him to play with, then his adoptive sister would have to do.

Naturally, Lone knew why Zeeb Whitestripes would make such a drastic decision and grant his talented daughter some freedom, or at least, he thought he knew. If it wasn't related to Lone stopping the alliance war, then what other reason could the always-smiling man have had?

"Anyway, I guess we'll call our bet my loss then. There's no way I'll be able to learn Master Rangah's skill in the next few days," Lone said uncaringly.

Master Millisa frowned. "Is that okay with you, Master Lone? I am not an unfair person. I'm perfectly happy waiting for Master Rangah's return so you have a chance to learn her skills."

Lone shrugged. "It's fine. I stand to gain more if I lose anyway since the head guider doesn't have any unique skills."

"Is that so?" Millisa was naturally happy to get two Divine Soul Prisons, but winning by default like this bothered her a bit.

"By the way," Lone said, redirecting Master Millisa's attention away from the bet, "What skills does Master Rangah even have that no one else has?"

"The little princess of the Light Tigerkin Clan is the owner of the soul skills Soul Rocking and Soul Shatter, both of which are attack-based skills," Master Millisa happily explained.

Lone smiled in response to that. "Yeah, not very helpful for fixing my friend. I can wait. Anyway, you said Master Dilroy was in the middle of teaching some apprentices? Can you tell me where?"

"Of course. He's in the third atrium," Master Millisa answered before she pointed at the door behind her. "Turn left through there then it's the third room on the right."

"Cheers," Lone thanked. He then waved his hand, making two-hundred of his empty mana orbs appear and spill all over the floor. "Fill these up with mana for me. I'll make your prisons once I get them back. Sorry about the mess, I don't really store them in item bags."

The dark-skinned woman nearly toppled over from shock. "I've never seen such high-quality mana orbs before... and so many of them... If they weren't in an item bag, then where were they, Master Lone?" she asked as she unceremoniously took out one of her own item bags and began scooping up the spheres.

Lone grinned. "Trade secret. Remember, I'll need all of them back if you want the Divine Soul Prisons."

"Of course. I'd be a fool to steal from a fellow master, especially one with a reputation like yours, Master Lone. No offence intended," the woman responded with a short giggle.

Lone shook his head then walked to the door behind Master Millisa with Breena following him. "None taken. Seeya later, Master Millisa."

Slowing pacing across the stage, Master Dilroy closed his eyes as he said, "Souls are incredibly simple, yet also incredibly intricate. As fellow soul oracles, I'm sure you all have some insight into what I mean."

Low murmurs of agreement and several head nods swept through the crowd of forty apprentice soul oracles.

"Good." Master Dilroy smiled in a sagely-manner. "It's incredibly important to understand what a soul is for you to even hope of learning the more advanced soul skills. I can only offer so much guidance in this field, as each soul oracle will come to understand souls differently. My personal understanding is that souls are like the second version of ourselves, a truer, more honest version of ourselves. However, take Master Lefrasburn as a contrasting example. He believes the opposite. His understanding of souls is that our physical bodies are the second, less important, version of ourselves."

Confused looks filled the room. "There is no need to get perplexed by this. Just remember the words that I've told you today, and without fail, you will certainly find it less frustrating as you forge your futures as soul oracles."

At that moment, the entrance to the atrium opened and two foxkin walked in. "Ah, Master Lone. A pleasure. Have you come to listen to my lecture today as well, or perhaps you'd like to help me teach our apprentices about your insights into what a soul truly is? As such a young and talented master soul oracle, no doubt, your insights could further even my understanding."

'He seems different to his chatty self from the other day. I guess he can be serious when he wants to be, but insights on what a soul is? I've not got a fuckin' clue. I'm only as good with souls as I am thanks to Growth Accelerator,' Lone commented internally.

He scratched his head then sighed. 'Well, considering how hopeful those apprentices look, I may as well bullshit my way through this since I'm a former teacher... The soul, huh?'

"From my perspective, the soul is you. Your genetics- ah, your parents-slash-family, make up what you look like and some of your inherited health issues, but if I was to rip your soul out of your body and put it in a new body, would you not be you anymore?" Lone asked before he leaned up against a wall. "No. You'd still be you."

Everyone had a look on deep contemplation on their faces, Master Dilroy and Breena included. Seeing that, Lone keep speaking his mind on the subject. "My fiancée originally only had one soul, but over the course of nearly a thousand years, she developed a split-personality, and that personality has now gained a soul of her own. The two of them are different people in the same body. The body is simply a vessel to express the will of a soul. Should that vessel have special racial abilities, so be it, but that has nothing to do with the soul. The body is what you are, but the soul is who you are."

Congratulations! The host's passive skill [Persuasion] has levelled up! It is now Expert Level 2. Congratulations! The host's passive skill [Persuasion] has levelled up! It is now Expert Level 3. Congratulations! The host's passive skill [Persuasion] has levelled up! It is now Expert Level 4.

Almost every single soul oracle in the atrium sat down in place, crossed their legs, closed their eyes, and began pondering over Lone's words.

'Really? Is that not a common perspective here?' Lone thought. 'Huh, well, I'll take a few level-ups in a good skill like Persuasion when I can get them.'

"Excellent, Master Lone!" Master Dilroy said as he quickly walked off of the stage. "Come, let's talk in private. I suspect the apprentices will be here for several hours contemplating the deeper secrets of your wise words."

Lone nodded without any protest. He and Breena followed Master Dilroy though the Soul Hall until they had finally reached the man's personal office. Paintings of a gorgeous landscape and a sprawling city littered the room.

"Your duchy?" Lone asked, knowing that the man was a duke, much like Sammy Dickless. Although, Master Dilroy hailed from Sarohair, a kingdom whose customs and culture Lone was ignorant of unlike Falron which he had researched heavily in anticipation of studying at The Academy.

Master Dilroy stroked his short beard with pride. "Indeed. My eldest son is managing it splendidly while I focus on my duties as a soul oracle. You know, it's at least four times more beautiful in person. You should visit when you've the time. I'll tell my boy to treat you like the queen herself."

Lone raised an eyebrow. "Even though I'm a demi? And, uh, a guy..." he asked as he took a seat while Breena simply stood next to him.

"Bah, please. I and my kin are beyond petty speciesism. As you so skillfully noted earlier, we're all simply souls underneath our flesh and bones, aren't we? As for the queen comment, Sarohair is ruled by a female monarch. Think nothing of it, okay?" Master Dilroy asked with a cheeky grin on his middle-aged face.

"Right, uh, sure. I'll visit when I've got the time, but for now, I have a request for you," Lone said respectfully.

"You want me to teach you my unique soul skill, don't you? I'm perfectly happy doing so, but not for free," the man said with a sly grin spread across his lips.

Lone nodded. "I expected as much. What tickles your fancy?"

Master Dilroy laughed lightly as he looked at Breena. "I was worried that I'd have to settle for something like hard cash, but to tell you the truth, Master Lone, I've always wanted to know what it was like to have a daughter. As a man with six sons of varying ages, you're often left wondering what it'd be like to pamper a girl for a whole day."

"So... You want to spoil Breena for a day?" Lone looked at Master Dilroy with nothing but suspicion on his face. "She may be an A-ranker, Master Dilroy, but trust me when I say this, she could kill a double-S-ranker with ease."

"Don't look at me like I'm some sort of predator!" Master Dilroy shouted in indignation. "I genuinely just want to spoil her and buy things for her like a loving father would for his daughter. My boys back home are so unwanting, it's almost unnerving."

Lone glanced at Breena who seemed to be very neutral about the whole thing. "Well, if Breena doesn't mind, nor do I."

"Fantastic!" Master Dilroy shouted with glee. "I've heard about how quick you are at learning from both Master Lefrasburn and Master Millisa, Journeyman Petra also told me how good you are at learning magic. For agreeing to my odd and somewhat unreasonable request, please, let me teach you some ice magic as well. After all, it's the least that I could do."

'Is this why Swind's sixth sense thought I should bring Breena? So that racial skill of his can be useful on such a small scale too...' Lone stayed silent as he and Breena simply listened to the man go on and on and on.

After four hours of listening to stories about The Academy, Lone was finally able to see and learn Master Dilroy's soul skill as well as three of his ice magic skills.

Passive Soul Skill: Soul Form

A very complex skill only performable by the most-skilled of soul oracles.

Allows the host to leave their body with their soul, becoming an intangible version of themselves invisible to all but other soul oracles.

Cannot move more than 10-meters away from the host's body while in soul form.

Cost: 25,000 MP or SP per hour to prevent any soul degradation. Mastery: Beginner Level 1

This skill wouldn't help Sophie nor would it cure Rachel, so it was shelved for now. Perhaps Lone would practice it when he had the time to spare to see if any additional effects would be of any use, but when compared to Soul Rooting, it fell very short on the list on Lone's priorities as far as skills he needed to grind was concerned.

Congratulations! The host has developed an affinity for Ice Magic. Active Ice Magic Skill: Ice Shard

A standard application of the ice magic school where the caster focuses the element of ice into a condensed shard of pure ice.

Cost: 2,500 MP Mastery: Beginner Level 1

A simple skill that served as an entry to ice magic, it would seem. Not too dissimilar to the fire school's Fireball or the lightning school's Lightning Bolt. Lone was just glad that he could directly learn the standard version and not have to slog through grinding the crude version of the skill.

Active Ice Magic Skill: Ice Shield

A standard application of the ice magic school where the caster focuses the element of ice into a condensed shield of pure ice.

Cost: 2,500 MP Mastery: Beginner Level 1

This skill was less than useless to Lone since he had both Basic Regeneration and his Bone Armour, but regardless, it was his first defensive spell, so he was still happy to receive it. His inner magic fanatic was already planning on when he could actively grind this skill despite its perceived uselessness.

Active Ice Magic Skill: Ice Domain

A special application of the ice magic school where the caster focuses the element of ice into a wide-spread sheet of ice that will slow anyone who stands on it except for the host by 5%.

Cost: 7,500 MP Mastery: Beginner Level 1

This skill piqued Lone's interest. It seemed to be quite helpful against enemies stronger and faster than himself. He'd have to experiment with this quite a bit to test its limits, but it had been effective enough against him, so the foxkin was rather hopeful of its potential.

Finally, he had naturally obtained a resistance skill towards ice magic, as expected.

Passive Skill: Ice Magic Resistance

A skill that allows the host to resist all forms of Ice Magic.

Ice Magic used on the host will be weakened by 5%.

Cost: N/A Mastery: Beginner Level 1

Lone held his chin in thought as he walked back into his wondrous emporium. Immediately, he was snapped out of his thoughts by one of the two girls that he employed.

"Master Lone, a staff member from the Merchant's Guild came by earlier to let you know that Chairman Richard Lithmon will be holding his and his daughter's public apology just before sunset tonight within the auction hall of the Merchant's Guild's building here in the city," the cute girl said with a warm smile on her face.

"Oh?" Lone grinned. "That asshole is actually following through? Thanks for letting me know. It's almost sunset now, so I'll be off."

"Safe travels, Master Lone!" the short girl answered as she bowed lightly.

"Thanks, Annie," he replied as he left the shop just as quickly as he'd entered it.