Reborn as an Extra Chapter 554: There are infinite possibilities! Part-4.
Previously on Reborn as an Extra...
Rio first settled his thoughts and concentrated all his strength at the flute's end. His presence turned utterly serene while intense sword intent surged through his frame and the instrument.
Rio advanced one step, employed the Lia method, and jabbed the flute into the evil spirit's backbone to channel every bit of force into a precise spot.
The soul-splitting technique triggered, dividing the captive soul within the evil spirit's form into countless tiny pieces!
In the end, Rio deployed his 'soul manipulation' ability to seize one of those minor soul fragments he'd divided and pulled it free from the evil spirit's body, leaping away right after.
As soon as Rio leaped back to create separation, the evil spirit's form erupted violently, unleashing a tremendous blast that sent miasma ripping through its body and demolishing every soul fragment!
The blast proved enormous enough to disrupt the nearby miasma river; its path got abruptly altered.
A vast crater, spanning the size of a whole city, got etched into the earth, and the miasma's movement stirred, drawing the gaze of countless evil spirits and beasts from distant places.
Without pausing a moment, Rio dashed ahead at maximum velocity and fled far from the blast zone.
Rio had no desire to tangle with swarms of creatures and evil spirits, so he needed to put a huge gap between himself and them.
Rio propelled off the air and sprinted so swiftly that he treated it like solid ground; each stride produced a thunderous sonic boom, propelling him from the explosion area quicker than a jet at top throttle.
Having traveled a sufficient span at peak speed, Rio eased his pace, reactivated complete stealth, and began proceeding in an entirely new direction with a sharp 90-degree shift.
Again, the cube indicated a fresh spot, and Rio pressed on without any concern showing on his expression.
'I really pulled it off...'
A faint grin crossed Rio's features as he examined his flute, and indeed, the soul piece he'd taken from the evil spirit remained safely inside.
'Like the saying goes, if you can't take the shop's goods, grab the shop's key for later gains...'
Rio had understood from the start that attempting soul manipulation on the evil spirit's soul to access its recollections would prompt miasma to destroy it outright.
Its whole form would explode too, offering Rio zero leads, just as it had occurred previously.
Yet, observing that prior detonation taught Rio a vital lesson.
To begin with, he observed that numerous area monsters contained multiple souls crammed within them simultaneously.
This sparked an idea for Rio to apply his soul-splitting technique, fragmenting a single soul into various brief, smaller segments.
Dividing souls ranks as an arduous feat, with even a single split putting the ability on cooldown for several minutes.
Rio was aware of this; that's why he adapted the approach.
He arranged a temporary division of the soul lasting mere seconds via a thin fissure, though the method would fracture it across multiple points all at once.
Turning this to his favor, he improvised a fresh 'soul manipulation' technique right then, snagged one of the short-lived soul 'fragments,' tucked it into his flute, and bolted away.
Miasma wields immense sway in the spirit realm, forcing Rio to employ his own miasma mastery to slow its response, allowing him to claim at least one soul fragment and safeguard it.
'If feasible, I'd have taken the full soul, but that would've hindered quick withdrawal given my present soul manipulation level...'
Soul manipulation demands vast energy, and Rio's expertise in it remains basic, limiting him to pulling a tiny soul portion in that brief window before miasma could intervene and break it.
One soul fragment marked his current boundary.
'I snagged just a single soul fragment, yet this one ought to suffice...'
Rio selected this specific soul fragment because the cube of possibilities directed toward it, compelling his sword intent to claim it.
Thus, Rio acted without delay.
'It looks straightforward, but without S-rank strength, that last explosion and its fallout could've left me gravely wounded...'
Miasma isn't dim; upon detecting Rio's ruse, it would call forth monster legions to assail and hunt him, demanding he resolve matters swiftly and effectively.
Rio lost no time and promptly scanned the soul fragment's memories while advancing under total stealth.
...
The soul fragment held mostly trivial recollections, yet Rio uncovered several useful details amid them.
For starters, the memories came from an Orc commoner of a bygone era, and this Orc clearly relished tormenting and devouring his kin excessively.
This Orc was a true monster and vile soul, preying on Orcs of every age and variety.
He stalked his village mates and turned them into meals; the memories largely depicted him savoring the preparation of his comrades.
He amassed countless Orc-cooking methods that even left Rio puzzled about his source of so many test subjects.
The memories appeared chaotic, preventing Rio from pinpointing the era or exact timeframe, but one recollection tied directly to his objective.
In that scene, the Orc fled through the forest in panic from the settlement, pursued by numerous armed Orcs with fury blazing in their red eyes.
It was evident this twisted Orc had finally been exposed, his atrocities mounting until vengeful folks sought to pummel him senseless.
Whether luck or doom, he stumbled upon a fleeting weak node that plunged him into the spirit realm!
Subsequent memories grew mostly unintelligible, though Rio grasped one key segment.
A vast plateau appeared briefly, crowned by a colossal shadow dragon in slumber.
Its immense scale left Rio stunned at the mere sight.
'What the hell!? A top SS-rank powerhouse! A supreme SS-rank shadow dragon!? That beast packs serious might!'
Upon concluding the memory view, the soul fragment in his flute crumbled and vanished, unable to endure stability post-removal from its core soul and body.
'Whew~ that was tough...'
Rio brushed imaginary sweat from his brow as he finally reduced his stride after the soul fragment fully disintegrated.
He could've preserved the soul fragment longer if desired, but he chose not to, as holding it equated to carrying a live beacon that would reveal his position to Miasma.
Miasma shares profound links with this soul, and even a mere fragment allows tracking; hence, Rio permitted its destruction post full memory review.
'Alright, now to locate that enormous plateau with the huge shadow dragon... that wasn't Ellie for sure... so which shadow dragon was it...'
Rio had witnessed Ellie's dragon shape, having ridden her many times during group adventures alongside Liam and the others.
Even then, Rio noted Ellie's uniqueness among shadow dragons; she lacked dragon bloodline magic and lagged far behind those from the dragon valley in power.
Yet the shadow dragon in this memory exuded no weakness.
Rio had beheld 'Ashtel Rex's might, a true calamity-wielding demigod!
Thus, he recognizes true titans at a glance; one look suffices.
'Uh oh... this ramps up the peril... how do I pry secrets from such a formidable entity?...'