Absolute Beast Dominion - Chapter 349: Soul Imprints

Chapter 349: Soul Imprints

Leo calmly went through the talent descriptions and their abilities, and he had to admit, he was impressed.

From what he inferred, these talents allowed the elves to freely control a particular element. Unlike beast masters, who were bound to a particular shape of elemental skills that their beast shared with them, these affinity-type skills were freely bendable, albeit they would require mastery.

In the case of beast masters, it’s the beasts that have free rein over their element. But since they don’t have the capabilities of highly intelligent beings to study their element and bend it according to their will, the world helps them use that element through skills that they have a chance to be bestowed with upon their rank advancement.

And this bestowed skill is what the beast shares with beast masters. Though a beast can learn skills too, which was observed in the case of Lily and Lunaria–when Lily got the reins of the wind element in her spirit-integrated form, she used her intelligent mind to create wind gusts and since Lunaria was able to sense how Lily made the energy flow in her body to create that phenomenon, she copied the same and learned it.

So it’s not like they are incapable of learning skills; it’s just that they are not intelligent enough to do so. And the moment they do that—bend their affinities to their will to some extent—they are said to have gained intelligence.

As for the manipulation and generation skills—[Earth Manipulation and Generation], [Metal Manipulation] that Leo got from Howl—they are very similar to affinity, but not exactly the same. Though similar in a sense, they have a major difference, and that is usage.

As the name implies, generation is an application born of affinity that makes the body generate earthen matter over it when used. As for manipulation, the same generated earthen matter or the already existing earthen matter in the nature is manipulated to form shapes.

This is the reason Leo could only manipulate the earth to form various shapes, like earthen walls, and use metal manipulation to just alter the shape of already existing refined metals. And because he had an intelligent mind, he was able to concentrate the generation aspect of the earth skill to create earthen objects in his hands, which are connected to his body.

Affinity is free rein over the element; you can create the same element by using mana anywhere in the surroundings—but the range is limited to the distance of your spiritual sense. You can manipulate the shape and size of the element however you want and can freely interact with the surrounding ambient energy of that element. Interact in the sense that if an area has a higher concentration of that energy, your skill output gets boosted, and mana usage is reduced.

Manipulation is just manipulation; you can only interact with existing material in nature.

As for the generation part, what Leo received in particular was the generation of earthen matter over the parts connected to his body. It doesn’t allow the generative-type skill holder to interact with the elemental energy present in his surroundings.

In short, if Affinity has three parts—Interact, Create, and Alteration—

Then Manipulation is just Alteration, and Generation is Creation.

—

The commotion regarding Munier was still going on—Lily seemed to have joined in after she learned that Leo had been compromised, as it was his soul that had been attempted to be scanned.

After making a mental note to ask Katherine about it later, Leo’s attention shifted to another matter.

Bond: Slave – Type: Equipment

System… what’s this? Leo asked, hoping he might get an answer.

And thankfully, he did this time.

>This slave bond has been created using the assistance of equipment; it’s weak, and the master cannot get all the benefits he would have normally gotten with a proper slave bond that’s made by a direct soul imprint on the slave’s soul.

Soul Imprint? And what is weak in this sense? Do they have a chance to rebel against me? Leo asked.

>Soul imprints are a direct mark and connection on the soul that becomes permanent unless the dominant person—in this case, the master—wills the soul imprint to be removed. There are also special soul imprints that require consent from both parties. Though even if there is a small amount of unwillingness from any party, the soul imprint cannot be removed.

>Currently, the host has such a soul imprint with the individual ’Lily’ in the category of Soul Mate.

>The equipment-type slave bond is weak in the sense that it makes it easy to be revoked or overwritten by any beings well-versed in the field of souls, specifically in the working of slaves.

Then the system answered the question to his worries.

>No, at the level of the equipment, it makes it impossible for the slave to rebel physically. It has basic thought protection and permits the master to impart basic punishments.

Leo sighed in relief; at least he wouldn’t get stabbed in the back.

But then he caught the important word.

Wait… benefits? What benefits am I supposed to receive from having a slave? Leo asked again.

…

No response.

Tsk.

He shook his head. The system answered only a particular type of question, mainly those related to him. Though he had indeed seen some improvement in the details, the limits seemed to be lifting as he levelled up more. Unlike when he was level 1 and wouldn’t receive any answers, now he could get a few.

Back again, Munier was completely suppressed when Lily joined Katherine. After so many warnings, he seemed to have even peed his pants.

Katherine then took the group out toward a restaurant that she had entirely booked for Leo and the group, along with the elves. And like before, the elves were veiled once again as they moved toward the place.

Lily and Miho seemed to be distracted, searching for materials. Apparently, their original plan of 15 elves fell short after they got 5 more in the fray. So, leaving Leo, Kaelion, and the elves in the restaurant to eat, they once again departed to buy things to fill the space that had formed.

Leo took the opportunity to ask questions.

“Professor Katherine, what was that priest trying to do?” Leo asked.

Katherine looked at Leo and smiled faintly.

“Nothing,” she said lightly. “I just didn’t like how he looked at women.”

“What…?”

Katherine giggled.

“The soul scan thing? That’s basic and completely harmless, I just needed an excuse.”