Chapter 7

Raine quickly left, only letting out a breath once he could no longer see the church.

He rolled up his sleeve to take a look. There was a bruise on his arm from the beating, which was still quite visible when he looked in the mirror at the apartment earlier, but now it had faded almost completely.

At this moment, he felt a warm current in every part of his body where there were injuries. His muscles felt slightly sore and swollen, as if many ants were crawling inside him, causing a tingling sensation, but it was very comfortable.

The place on the back of his head where he had been hit hard also felt the same; even when he pressed it with his hand, he could no longer feel any pain.

Raine finally understood why he had recovered so quickly from the severe injuries inflicted by Ramsey, despite being beaten and submerged in the river.

This was all due to the phone absorbing souls.

On the square just now, the phone absorbed the soul of Ruiz, and last night, when he crossed over, it absorbed the soul of his predecessor, the previous "Raine"!

Without the contribution of his predecessor, the current Raine would not have been able to come back to life.

Thinking about this, Raine felt very conflicted.

He not only occupied someone else's body but also absorbed their soul, using it as nourishment to restore his own body.

"I will avenge you with my own hands," Raine said to himself quietly.

Besides the surge in battery power and the almost complete healing of his injuries, a few more icons had been activated on the phone's interface. However, with so many people on the street, Raine did not immediately check the functions of these icons and continued to look for a place to stay.

As he walked down the street, Raine quietly turned on the camera and observed the people in his field of vision.

Under his peculiar eyes, everyone's soul was clearly visible.

Raine found that the souls of most people were similar, at least in terms of strength, with little difference among ordinary people.

After secretly observing hundreds of people, he gradually discovered some patterns.

The color of the soul represented a person's emotions.

When people were relaxed and calm, with little emotional fluctuation, their souls would appear pale white; if they were emotionally agitated, such as angry or furious, the soul would turn red, with the deeper the red, the more intense the emotional fluctuation and the deeper the anger.

When people were feeling down, such as sad or grieving, their souls would turn blue.

Green indicated happiness and pleasure, yellow indicated concern or admiration.

Pain and fear were black, disgust and dissatisfaction were pink, and numbness and apathy were gray.

However, the color of the soul was not always pure and single. People's emotions were constantly changing, usually a mix of two or more colors, like a blend of paints.

If a person was far away, Raine could hardly immediately discern their emotional fluctuations just by looking at the soul's color.

Only when he was within ten steps and focused his attention on a target could he intuitively sense the soul's fluctuations, as if experiencing the same emotions, the most precise way to understand someone's mood.

As Raine looked around, the souls of the people in the Rien District were mostly gray, mixed with some blue or pink, with very few having green or white in their souls.

Raine sighed inwardly; this was obvious.

How could people living in the slums possibly have a good mood? Few would be satisfied with life here.

The color was the external manifestation of the soul, but the true essence of the soul lay within.

Raine noticed that deep within each person's soul, there was a strange thing lurking.

This thing was like a symbol, very small in size, and easy to overlook if not examined carefully. It was composed of red and black, twisted into a mass, with sharp teeth and claws, moving like a living thing within everyone's soul, emitting a foul odor.

Raine was very familiar with this odor, which was extremely similar to the one he had sensed from Ruiz earlier, clearly from the same source.

"Blood Soul Curse!"

Raine immediately recognized it.

What else could the evil thing in everyone's soul be, other than the Blood Soul Curse?

"Is the Blood Soul Curse in my soul the same as everyone else's?" Raine could not be sure, as he could not see the state of his own soul.

Although he had heard the Dark Lord's whisper in his nightmare last night, confirming the presence of a curse, his soul was a fusion of two people, and he had a mutated phone, so there might be differences.

Apart from the Blood Soul Curse, the soul forms of most people were very simple, and Raine could see through them at a glance, indicating that they were ordinary people.

Only a few people had powerful and unique souls.

These people's souls were similar to those of the Holy Swordsman Dumps, more solid and layered, with not only the Blood Soul Curse at their core but also other foreign objects.

These foreign objects were either abstract symbols or the shapes of certain creatures, each different.

Raine knew that these things were soul elements!

Each element in the soul represented a certain ability, and those who possessed elements were extraordinary beings.

For example, Raine saw a very strong man, who was a head taller than the average person, wearing light armor on his upper body, long boots, and a round iron shield on his back, with a sword handle protruding between the shield and his back. From the thick handle alone, it was clear that the sword was very heavy.

He walked down the street, his heavy footsteps making a dull sound, but his speed was not slow. People in front of him moved out of the way, afraid of being hit.

Anyone could see that this was an extraordinary being.

Raine observed this extraordinary being's soul, which was several times more powerful than an ordinary person's, divided into three layers from the outside to the inside, with two elements at the core.

He was curious and quietly quickened his pace to follow the man, focusing his attention on the soul.

The details of the two elements were magnified in his eyes: one was a white tricolor symbol, and the other was the shape of a gray stone rune.

Raine did not know the names of these elements, but the intuitive feelings they conveyed made him understand their functions.

The white symbol represented pure strength, giving the person far greater strength than an ordinary person.

The gray stone rune made the person's skin tough and resilient, enhancing their physical strength and resistance to ordinary injuries, improving their overall defensive capabilities.

"This person is a 'Iron Guard,' no wonder he is wearing a full set of armor."

Raine was not very familiar with extraordinary professions, but he knew that the Iron Guard was one of the most common extraordinary professions.

Iron Guards excel in defense, and while their pure strength is not as great as that of a "Berserker," they are well-balanced in attack and defense, with enduring physical strength and a strong will, able to adapt to various combat environments. Many nobles and guilds like to hire Iron Guards as bodyguards, or even cultivate them themselves, making them very popular.

The disadvantage of Iron Guards is their slow speed, but this is relative to other extraordinary professions.

To ordinary people, this Iron Guard walks very fast, taking large strides and quickly leaving others behind.

Raine did not want to follow any further but saw the man enter a hotel on the side of the road.

This hotel was large, occupying the best location on the street, almost at the center of the Rien District, with three floors and a large courtyard at the back.

Even from a distance, the noise from the hotel's hall could be heard.

"Rue Hotel."

Raine observed for a moment, noticing that many of the guests entering and leaving the hotel were extraordinary beings, seeing three in just a short while.

This immediately piqued his interest.

It was still morning, not even lunchtime, yet the hotel was so lively, with so many extraordinary beings coming and going, clearly not an ordinary hotel.

Raine entered through the main door, and a strong smell of alcohol hit him.

Looking around, the spacious hall had over a dozen tables, with guests at half of them, drinking and making a lot of noise, paying no attention to the newcomer.

People gathered around the tables, not just drinking but playing cards.

"It's my turn to play, ha-ha, you're dead this round!"

"Fireball spell, boom!"

"What kind of bad luck is this?"

"Damn, I don't accept it, let's play another round."

Various voices rose and fell, each person holding their cards with focused and expressive faces.

Those who got good cards happily drank large gulps of beer; those who lost cursed loudly; some scratched their heads, worried about their bad luck; the onlookers cheered, and several waiters carried trays of drinks through the hall, making the hotel noisy and bustling without a moment's rest.

Of course, not everyone was playing cards; some were just drinking and chatting with friends, seemingly exchanging information.

Seeing this scene, Raine was taken aback.

This was completely different from what he had expected, and he remembered that they were playing a game called "All Souls Cards."

This game had been popular in the empire for many years, initially a simulation battle among the extraordinary profession "All Souls Wizards." Later, the gameplay spread, and more and more people played it. The Alchemists' Guild saw the business opportunity, perfected the game rules, and officially issued various card sets, which enthusiasts bought and collected, then played on the table with friends.

All Souls Cards were not only popular among ordinary people but also among many nobles and extraordinary beings.

Some wealthy enthusiasts even formed clubs, holding regular competitions, which were divided into levels based on scale. Winners not only received prizes but also special titles, making them highly sought after.

The popularity of the game was such that there was even a profession called "Card Player," who made a living by playing cards.

Raine had never played All Souls Cards but had seen classmates play.

Because the cards were not cheap and hard to collect.

For a game, each person needed at least a set of 60 cards. The price varied based on the quality of the cards, with the cheapest ordinary cards costing a few copper risos, while the rarest legendary cards were said to be worth tens of thousands of gold shields, making people gasp in amazement!

Raine bypassed the group of early-morning card players and approached the hotel's counter.

Before he could speak, a deep voice came from behind the counter, clear even in the noisy hall.

"Kid, are you here to stay or to play cards?"

A friendly face looked up from behind the counter. The face was ageless, with most of it hidden by a thick red beard. A large nose was prominent, and deep-set brown eyes peered out from under thick, bushy eyebrows. The red hair on top was cut into a striking mohawk.

Raine almost laughed at the chicken comb-like hairstyle but dared not actually laugh.

Because this was a dwarf.

The counter was only half the height of a person, and Raine could see the dwarf's body. Even though the dwarf was only as tall as his chest, his body was broad, with arms thicker than Raine's thighs, a large chest, and a barrel-like build, likely weighing twice as much as Raine. If they fought, Raine would only get beaten.

Dwarves were not human and had not been cursed, naturally possessing great strength.

Raine secretly probed the dwarf's soul, which was different from a human's but more powerful than an ordinary extraordinary being's.

He was surprised to see a dwarf in the Rien District.

Dwarves were not uncommon in the empire, especially in large cities near mountains or the coast, where many settled and ran various businesses, some becoming official citizens of the empire.

Lonsand also had dwarves, but they lived in the relatively wealthy Honeyton District or the Silver Star District, where the Extraordinary Academy was located, and rarely ventured out.

"Boss, how much is your cheapest room?" Raine asked.