Chapter 417

‘This is a thought-provoking book filled with philosophical ideas.’

After a long while, Anser closed the book and gently rubbed his temples.

He had never seen the script used in the book before, yet somehow he could read it effortlessly.

The first part of the book expounded on goodness and virtue, the meaning and greatness of goodness, taught people to distinguish true goodness from hypocrisy, and emphasized the importance of free will, compassion, and redemption.

Every line was filled with hope and strength, making it extraordinarily compelling.

Even an ordinary person who couldn’t tell right from wrong would come away from it with a proper understanding of good and evil.

Anser closed his eyes. What he had just read flowed through his mind, impossible to forget even if he wanted to.

‘What a god-tier brainwashing book!’ he marveled inwardly.

If someone rotten to the core, with completely warped values, tried to read it, they would either find it unbearably painful and be unable to continue, or have their thinking and perception transformed and come to embrace the power of goodness.

Anser, however, had no trouble reading it.

For one thing, the education he had received in his previous life had given him a solid understanding of ethics and morality. He generally believed in the importance of doing what was right, while recognizing that personal values, compassion, social responsibility, and the law did not always align.

For another, he had studied philosophical works that were no less thought-provoking than this one.

He understood the importance of examining issues from different perspectives, questioning assumptions, weighing evidence, and distinguishing between abstract principles and their practical consequences. He also knew that moral questions rarely had simple answers.

Idealism and pragmatism, philosophical principles and scientific reasoning—these approaches did not necessarily have to contradict one another. Different ways of understanding the world could complement each other, even when their underlying assumptions differed.

But understanding an idea did not necessarily mean agreeing with it, much less living by it.

Anser’s mind and will were like a great tree that had already been nourished to maturity. No amount of foreign wind and rain could easily change him; they could only become nourishment for further growth.

‘But I can’t rush this.’

He had originally thought that with enough effort, he could finish it in four days. Now it seemed that wouldn’t be so easy. In practice, it would probably take around a week.

With that thought, he could only suppress his excitement and temporarily put the Book of Exalted Deeds into his dragonhide pouch.

Taking out the Bag of Holding, he removed all the crates of coins inside and transferred them into the Party Storage.

With the storage’s record-keeping ability, he finished counting the currency effortlessly.

The actual amount was slightly more than five hundred thousand. Most of it consisted of platinum pieces, stacked neatly and kept spotless, looking as though they had not circulated in a very long time.

‘This is real family wealth.’

He sighed inwardly, connected to the Spirit Net, and informed Quentin that he could use the money as needed.

Although Grand Duke Ravengard had gifted everything to Anser personally, his original intention had still been to develop the Federation and reclaim Baldur’s Gate.

Whether out of sentiment or principle, Anser couldn’t pocket all of the wealth for himself. It was only right that he invest a portion of it into improving people’s livelihoods, the economy, and military strength.

‘Money really is a wonderful thing.’

With money, he could launch massive infrastructure projects, take in refugees, expand the army, and develop the Holrewen Federation until it stood at the pinnacle of Faerûn.

The prosperity of Waterdeep and Silverymoon was likewise built on a foundation of wealth.

A lot of people thought money couldn’t buy Artifacts or hire legendary individuals. That was only because they didn’t have enough money!

If Ravengard had enough money, he could raise an army of more than a hundred thousand on his own. Steamrolling Baldur’s Gate would be a piece of cake.

On Toril, the power of a single individual was still far too limited. Even legendary individuals lacked the power to destroy an entire nation; at most, they could resort to assassination and decapitation strikes.

And decapitation strikes weren’t necessarily effective.

‘Only someone like me, who can do everything, is the real deal.’

He chuckled and sank his consciousness into his mind.

The twenty-sided die, shimmering with flecks of golden light, floated silently there. The thirteenth symbol had fully lit up.

‘Just as I thought!’

The die seemed particularly fond of things related to the divine. Divinity, Chosen, Artifacts, and the like could always make it stir a few times.

He touched the symbol on the die with his consciousness, and fragments of memory surfaced one after another:

Blasting the lich to death, incinerating the death knight, the crystal temple and Sehanine Moonbow, multiclassing into Monk, meteors raining down on Suzail, the Tome of Apotheosis, the Book of Exalted Deeds…

Soon, the replay of his own memories came to an end, and scenes of the Adventuring Party members fighting flashed by one after another.

Even with their ability to gain experience points, everyone else’s leveling speed was still far slower than his.

A moment later, all the memories faded away, and the symbol transformed into a gleaming golden ten-sided die.

Ding—

[Please select an Adventure Trait category!]

At the same time, the ten-sided die suddenly enlarged before his eyes, hovering in midair and slowly rotating, each face marked with a different symbol.

Magic Power, Feats, Spells, Metamagic, Attributes, Classes, Soul, Consciousness, Bloodline, and Companions—a total of ten dimensions.

Previously, he had chosen “Spells” and “Feats,” obtaining Signature Spells and Legendary Boon respectively, both of which had noticeably increased his strength.

This time, he decided to try something different.

‘Soul!’

The enhancements from the other dimensions were more or less predictable. Soul and Consciousness were the only ones that left him particularly puzzled.

But the soul was the core of everything extraordinary. Race, faith, alignment, magic, class systems, and more were all built upon the foundation of the soul.

The mind and consciousness were likewise extensions of the soul.

He rotated the die and lightly tapped the face representing “Soul.”

The die flashed, and three options appeared: [Indomitable Soul], [Soul Armament], and [Free Spirit].

[Please select an Adventure Trait!]

‘There are actually this many choices.’

Anser examined them one by one. All three Adventure Traits strengthened the soul, but each had its own distinctive characteristics.

[Indomitable Soul] focused on the soul’s defenses and stability, making it resilient, difficult to damage, and difficult to shake, while strengthening various Saving Throws and resistances.

[Soul Armament] increased the soul’s capacity and expandability, allowing it to contain more energy, while excess soul energy could be used to assist in combat.

[Free Spirit] primarily increased the soul’s vitality and purity, strengthening its life force and continuity. It allowed the soul to leave the body and exist independently of the flesh, moving freely like various kinds of spirits.

‘That’s a pretty drastic change.’

The first two were one thing, but [Free Spirit] could directly alter his biological form and mode of existence.

Sakkors, various kinds of spirits, ghosts, and similar beings were all forms of existence composed of souls. They differed greatly from flesh-and-blood creatures and possessed unique biological characteristics.

But souls were both powerful and fragile. Becoming a spirit would bring pronounced advantages, but equally pronounced weaknesses.

Without the protection of a physical body, he would inevitably become vulnerable to abilities designed specifically to target souls.

[Free Spirit] didn’t necessarily require him to abandon his body, but if he became too accustomed to being “free,” his way of thinking and perception might gradually undergo subtle changes as well.

‘I choose Indomitable Soul!’

[You have gained the Adventure Trait: Indomitable Soul]

…

[Indomitable Soul]: The soul is unique. It is the essence of a creature’s existence and the core that carries consciousness and energy.

Your soul is resilient and stable, possessing extraordinary qualities.

You gain psychic resistance and are immune to the charmed, frightened, stunned, and unconscious conditions. You also have advantage when resisting Magic Jar, soul-draining effects, mind control, memory alteration, and curse spells.

Current Soul Level: 6

…

‘The soul has levels too?’

The thought had barely arisen when his body erupted in brilliant radiance, dazzling with iridescent light like a galaxy flowing across him.