Chapter 6574 Stacking Lottery Tickets The System Space rumbled shortly after Ves locked in his choice. The deed was done. Ves had chosen the second upgrade track, which permanently altered the functioning of the Mech Designer System. Due to the decisions that Ves made in the past, it had slowly evolved and morphed into a direction that suited his needs the most, more or less. Ves liked it. He felt as if he had patiently raised the System as a child. By completing one Supply Mission after another, he fed the System with essential nutrients and allowed it to reach another growth milestone. As for steering the direction of its growth, Ves likened it to augmenting a growing child. There were many different ways that human children could grow and improve based on the genetic treatments and cybernetic implants they received. The Mech Designer System had undergone three major transformations thus far. Each transformation altered its identity and purpose little by little. While it still centered around helping mech designers get better at their jobs, it had gained numerous powerful functions that also helped its users to become more. Spiritual Ascension enabled users to explore the rich possibilities of cultivation. Dimension Breach Creation allowed users to enter and mine resources from different dimensions. Now, Demoncasting granted users the ability to directly empower objects by infusing them with 'demons"! When Ves charted the course of all of these upgrades, he could recognize a clear pattern to the seemingly unrelated upgrade tracks. The pattern would have been a lot clearer if he chose Superdimensional Transformation. Perhaps that was the course he was already heading towards prior to the introduction of Version 4.0. If he stuck to it, then he would have turned the System into an evolution aid that would help him become an increasingly more powerful superdimensional entity. Now that he had changed its direction, the System became much more centered around the creation and use of powerful mechs and artifacts. While Ves could probably make use of the Demoncasting to upgrade his own combat gear and turn him into a well-equipped powerhouse, this was not the primary purpose of this upgrade track. It was clearly meant to give users a way to empower their own products, and possibly the products of others as well. The upgrade track therefore aligned quite a lot with the profession of a mech designer. Ves liked that because he would rather strengthen his ability to function as a service provider rather than turn himself into a champion. He felt a little sorry for Ketis for locking in his decision without finishing his debate with her, but he still felt that he was the real owner of the Mech Designer System. The fact that both of them happened to possess equal decision-making authority over it was a flaw that he needed to remedy sooner or later. There had to be a way to upgrade his authority. He intended to find out how, but first he wanted to go over the upgraded facilities and see whether he could take advantage of their improved functions. "Now that the System has completed its upgrade, we should slowly make our way up the mountaintop. Are you coming?" The swordmaster did not exactly look happy at Ves, but now that he had done the deed, there was no way to go back. The woman let out an exasperated sigh and followed suit. "Let me make one thing clear, Ves. I have made my views about Demoncasting clear. If you are so greedy to acquire demons that you are harvesting the souls of innocent people, then I will stop you no matter what it takes. We are humans, so we should hold onto our bottom lines. As soon as you violate them, you have become closer to a beast. I cannot respect a person who has degenerated so far. While I admittedly don't have a clear idea what souls even are, I do not want to live in a future where they are treated as mere commodities. Just let them go to the next destination and hope they can find peace." Ves could tell that Ketis was being utterly serious about this. He would never dismiss her concerns. "Who do you think I am? While I do not entirely think it is unacceptable to convert human souls into demons in an emergency, your demand is reasonable. I promise to you that I will never intentionally use the souls of fellow red humans to create demons. It isn't really necessary anyway. The native aliens heavily outnumber our population. It is much easier to harvest large quantities of souls derived from alien beings. Don't worry about it. I will not disrespect or mistreat the souls of brave defenders and hard-working civilians who are doing their best to contribute to the survival of our race and civilization. I will not turn myself into an enemy of red humanity." Ketis turned her head towards Ves. Her eyes gazed suspiciously at him, as if she could not believe that he could readily make such a concession. However, she had moved close enough to encompass him into her sword aura. While it was not really effective at reading a phase lord and a spiritually powerful entity, Ves did not deliberately hide his feelings and emotions on this issue. She could feel he was being sincere. "I suppose that will do." She eventually said. "Don't worry. If you engage in Demoncasting with the help of alien souls, I will not object to your actions. As you have said, any ary sympathy towards the aliens is self-defeating. If they don't want their souls to get corrupted, then they shouldn't wage war against our race." "It is good that you understand. Are you willing to make use of Demoncasting yourself?" "I am not sure yet. I need to see the Demoncasting Forge in person and make my own judgment." Before they visited the latest expansion to the Workshop of Creation, they first stopped by the Vault of Eternity. The latest System upgrade had caused the site to become a little fancier and more impressive. The stone gate that led into the Vault had become more decorative and also gained a few golden accents. Ves and Ketis only spent a little time here to confirm that the option to rent storage space had been turned into outright buying it. The prices remained the same, so the Vault had become much more practical and economical than before. It was already possible to spend a hundred or so AP to store a vehicle the size of a small shuttle. They visited the Wishing Fountain next to understand the rules concerning stacking lottery tickets to increase the probability to win a better prize. Just like the previous facility, the Wishing Fountain experienced a modest visual makeover. It looked considerably more sacred than before. "There is no limit to how many tickets you can stack." Ves observed an important rule. "Do you want to try it out?" "Why not? I saved up 19 golden lottery tickets. I think that it would be incredibly useful if I can use the Wishing Fountain to obtain knowledge or items that are related to demons." "There is no guarantee that you will gain what you want." "I know, but if I use 10 tickets at a time, my chances of obtaining a desirable prize will surely increase by a large margin." Ves did not hesitate any longer and immediately drew out 10 golden lottery tickets before throwing them all into the fountain. The water began to glow gold at a much greater intensity than before! Soon, a very familiar-looking golden prize wheel extended from the bottom. Many pie-shaped segments were marked by different symbols at the edge. Ves and Ketis curiously studied them all and noted that stacking 10 golden lottery tickets at once probably had a considerably powerful effect! "There is a symbol of a sword beheading a demon over here." Ketis said. "I have the feeling that this will either give out a weapon that can easily kill demons, or give out knowledge on how to do it ourselves. It occupies a large cone on this wheel, so it is not too difficult to aim for it if you spin the wheel with the right amount of force." Compared to the symbol of a sword beheading a demon, Ves was much more interested in the symbol that showed a robed and shadowy entity slamming a hammer down a collection of wailing souls! This must be a prize related to the production of a demon! There was another symbol that attracted his attention. It depicted a generic human figure extending his hand and causing an obviously evil-looking demonic entity to fall on his butt and beg for mercy. This was probably a prize related to subduing demons. There were many other symbols that conveyed different meanings, but Ves felt that these two were the ones he needed the most. Fortunately for Ves, the 'pic slices' associated with these two prizes were not as great as the one pointed out by Ketis, but they were not too small either! The only regret was that they were placed on opposite ends of the prize wheel, so Ves could only target one of these tempting symbols. "I'll go for the one that looks like it will help me suppress demons." Ves eventually decided. "I have a strong suspicion that working with demons is inherently dangerous. As long as you walk along the river enough times, your shoes will eventually get wet. It would be best if I have a way to guard against accidents, because they will definitely happen sooner or later." He had taken enough risky decisions for the day. He decided to rein in his adventurism and go for the more prudent option. Besides, he did not think that Ketis would appreciate it if he went for the one related to converting souls into demons. It was best not to draw more suspicion, Ves looked at the wheel and estimated how much force he needed to apply to spin the wheel just enough to obtain his desired prize. He estimated the resistance generated by friction and other other factors. He then proceeded to pull the wheel. Just as expected, Ves managed to win the prize associated with the desired symbol. It happened to be a very practical enlightenment fruit. [Soul Whip Technique Fruit] Grants the ability to perform a technique that condenses darkness energy into a barely perceptible whip. This Soul Whip does not inflict any material damage, but it can inflict a disproportionate amount of pain and suffering onto souls and similar intangible beings that are susceptible to the energies that comprise the whip structure. The power and properties of the whip is affected by the execution of the technique, the intent of the practitioner and the energies being used. Requirements: Spirituality must be 3.0 or higher, Concentration must be 1.5 or higher. Though Ketis clearly frowned when she read the description, Ves decisively swallowed the fruit and stood still as he rapidly assimilated the foreign knowledge. The absorption process proceeded very smoothly this time. Ves was much more capable of integrating knowledge than before, and the Soul Whip Technique happened to be a lot more concise. It only contained the most essential information about how to form the Soul Whip and nothing else. This was a much nicer enlightenment fruit than the ones that were originally derived from old or forgotten religious cults! Much of their contents were padded by religious claptrap and nonsensical pseudo science. The knowledge granted by the latest fruit was much more like a modern instruction manual! Ves immediately tried to test his latest technique. He channeled and condensed his darkness energy as instructed and formed a rather small and short Soul Whip. "Great! Spending 10 golden lottery tickets was worth it! It's not only effective against demons, but any other spiritual entities. It is such a versatile technique!" Meanwhile, Ketis shuddered for a bit. She did not think that Ves would become a better person now that he had gained the power to whip any soul-like entity, including the souls of ordinary people!