Brand New Life Online: Rise Of The Goddess Of Harvest

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“I thought Ignias was dead…” Mark muttered in shock.

“Of course she is dead, Mark. But because she was tied to you when you died… well, guess what,” Gardenia explained. “She ended up inside your soul. Your souls worked like bubbles that protected what was important. The egg of your Spirit Heart Beast must be resting inside, waiting to be awakened. Elayne’s Spirit Heart Beast larvae are also there, waiting patiently! She has to accumulate more Spirit Energy to make a suitable space for them inside her still-developing Spiritual Heart.”

“Yeah,” Elayne nodded. “I plan to bring back Irene once I make a proper shovel… I was thinking of bringing Ignis back as soon as possible so he can help us forge weapons and armor with his flames. How much Spirit Energy do I need though?”

“Hmm, a lot,” Gardenia said. “Not there yet, Elayne… Anyway, as I was saying before, the reason you can emulate skills is because even though you’ve lost connection to them, part of their essence still lingers within your soul—and even your mind, body, consciousness, and heart. These things remain even after death. That’s how Elayne can copy some effects of skills into runic spells and imprint them into her soul, temporarily casting them as if she still had them. Although weakened, they’re part of you now.”

“I see…” Mark nodded. “Consciousness—what does that mean? Like what’s inside our heads, or something supernatural?”

“It’s the supernatural essence that leaks from your brain—the power of your mind merged with supernatural energies. Usually Mana, but also Spirit Energy, and here, Nether and Ghostly Energy. The Netherworld seems to be a place where cultivating Consciousness is particularly easy,” Gardenia explained.

“So that’s how it is,” Elayne nodded. “Hm, well, we do have Status now, with our real bodies… The World’s Voice from Earth is gone, though. I guess we really have to be on Earth to hear her, which is a pity.”

“Hm,” Mark agreed.

Elayne checked her Status screen as she wandered back home. It was incredibly glitchy, but thanks to Gardenia “patching it” with her divine spirit essence, it had finally become readable a week ago.

♢♢♢♢

[Name]: [Elayne]

[Title]: [Cult Leader of the Demon Tree Religious Order]

[Race]: [Zombie] [Netherworld Plant Colony Vessel]

[Job Class]: [Unemployed]

[Spiritual Heart]: [Tier 0: Rank 9 – Decaying Yggdrasil Heart] (Developing Fragment)

[Soul Cultivation]: [Tier 3: Rank 6 – Nature Soul: The World]

[Level]: [10/10] (Level Cap Reached)

[Soul Fortitude]: [10,500]

[Nether Essence]: [8,700]

[Body Durability]: [4,600]

[Ghostly Power]: [6,600]

[Cursed Energy]: [4,600]

[Spiritual Energy Reserves]: [730,700]

[Spiritual Particles]: [533,800]

[Spirit Power]: [185,000]

[Skills]: [Undead Body – Tier 1: Level 5/10] [Ghostly Soul – Tier 1: Level 6/10] [ERROR_INPUT Arts – Tier ?: Level ?/X] [Netherworld Farming Arts – Tier 1: Level 5/10] [Soul Rune Imprint – Tier 1: Level 3/10] [Great Spirit Vessel Rebirth: Gardenia – Tier 1: Level 4/10] [Ghostly Spirit Consciousness – Tier 1: Level 7/10]

[Cultivation Methods]: [Netherworld Nature Soul Commuting – Grand Perfection Stage] [Divine Soul Spirit Root Branching – Initial Stage]

[Cursed Runes]: [Cursed Rune of Nether – Tier 1: 89%] [Cursed Rune of Ghosts – Tier 1: 87%] [Cursed Rune of Pain – Tier 1: 85%]

♢♢♢♢

Her Status had changed tremendously compared to before. The stats that Players had were gone. Elayne was no longer a Player but an inhabitant of this world, and she now had the Stats unique to Undead.

She had no Class, and only a few Skills, but new features had appeared. Her Nature Soul had merged with her Status and could now be cultivated through it. Cursed Runes and Cultivation Methods were also part of her system.

All Skills now had Tiers. By reaching max level, one needed to gather materials to upgrade a Skill to the next Tier. For Players, this would only cost Skill Points, but for Elayne it was more complicated—yet it offered endless possibilities.

Cursed Runes also had Tiers and growth. Upon reaching 100% growth, a Cursed Rune could expand across the soul, sometimes requiring energy or materials, increasing the Cursed Energy stat.

Thanks to Gardenia, Elayne could also see a secret second half of her Status… one that had yet to awaken.

♢♢♢♢

[Spiritual Arts]: {Spiritual Armor Embodiment Art: Tier 1: Rank 8 (Dormant)} {Spiritual Soul Weapon Art: Tier 1: Rank 6 (Dormant)} {Spirit Weapon Forging Art: Tier 1: Rank 3 (Dormant)}

[Spiritual Soul Weapon]: [Ancient Soil-Shaping Hoe: Tier 2 (Dormant)] {Abilities}: [Soil Shaping (E+)] [???]

[Spiritual Heart Beasts]: {Golden Thunderbolt Lion (Spirit Larva Rank: 60%) (Dormant)} {Volcanic Slime (Spirit Larva Rank: 60%) (Dormant)} {White Sky Serpent (Spirit Larva Rank: 60%) (Dormant)}

[Soul Traits]: [Mystic Bellflower Tree Dreamscape: Tier 0 (Weakened)] [Amaterasu-no-Kami’s Heavenly Sun Prison Pagoda: Tier 0 (Weakened)]

♢♢♢♢

“This is the power I cultivated in Avalon—it’s not lost! I need to gather more Spirit Power, and I’ll be able to unlock them one by one!”

This hidden second system revealed information she could once access through the Voice of the World and her Domain from Earth. Apparently, such power had been absorbed into her new Status.

However, this power was dormant. To awaken it, Elayne had to continue gathering and harnessing Spiritual Energy, cultivating it into greater strength.

Her Status also showed important stats originally not tied to the system, but absorbed into it:

[Spiritual Energy Reserves]: [730,700]

[Spiritual Particles]: [533,800]

[Spirit Power]: [185,000]

Though much higher before, they were still vast amounts. Elayne felt satisfied, especially as her Spiritual Energy Reserves increased by tens of thousands each day.

The Formation she had created with her soul as the roots of a vast “forest” generated more Spirit Energy of the Nature Element. The farms she had spread everywhere contributed as well.

“I still need to find a Class. How did the inhabitants of the Living World even get Classes? Usually by doing certain actions for a while, right?” Elayne wondered. “I don’t remember there being any specific place where they could just grab a Class… It was the result of years of hard work.”

Elayne was right. The system of Arcadia benefited its inhabitants, not just Players, though it was less flexible and less generous to them. Now that Elayne had died and become an Undead of the Netherworld, she had become an inhabitant of Arcadia using her real body.

Therefore, she had no Player privileges—unless, as she theorized, she could rejoin with her Player Avatar and “combine” with it. She wasn’t sure if that was even possible.

“Gardenia, do you think I can unlock something right now? To advance and get my Class, I need more than just farming,” Elayne said.

“What is it?” Gardenia asked.

“I need my Spirit Soul Weapon,” Elayne explained.

“…Hm, I guessed as much,” Gardenia nodded. “With the amount of Spirit Energy Reserves you have, if you spend around four hundred thousand, you should be able to unlock it.”

“Oh!” Elayne’s eyes lit up with excitement.

“However, you’d be giving up half of your current reserves, which you’ve accumulated over ten years and these past months, Elayne! Are you sure?” Gardenia asked.

“I need to make risky investments so I can continue farming and producing Spirit Energy,” Elayne said firmly. “So yes, let’s get it.”

“Okay!” Gardenia nodded. “Let’s gamble a little!”

FLASH!

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