Reyn first turned his attention to the music player.
The player icon, previously a simple red note resembling a mosquito coil spiral, had become more complex after the reboot. The note's lines now formed additional curls along the edges, making it look like a horn.
"Just listening to music? What's the point?"
Burning with curiosity, Reyn activated the icon and started playback. Immediately, a rich male voice with characteristic magnetism filled the air:
In vain do we scheme and make plans,
Chasing unearthly beauty,
Fearing to lose the mana of fortune,
Wrath draws us, and greed, and peace...
...
Reyn froze upon hearing the familiar voice and melody.
The music wasn't playing in his head—it filled the room. He himself was the source of the sound, and it was draining his energy. His energy reserves converted into spiritual power; the player icon glowed like an activated element, like a spell manipulating energy to create sound waves. These waves emanated from Reyn's body, turning into real sound audible to those around him.
"What the..."
Reyn stared ahead in shock. This phone mutation was taking utterly unbelievable turns.
The song continued:
Ah... Ha... It's a pity to part with this mortal world,
Ah... Ha... You'll live your life and never solve the riddles.
Swallowing the wind, kissing the rain,
Burying the sunset, I didn't wander in the dark.
Shifting mountains, storming seas,
Walking through snow, I didn't retreat...
Endless sky, endless snow,
Who shall I go with?..
As he listened, Reyn gradually began to notice the changes happening to him. The song seemed to have an inspiring effect: his blood boiled in his veins, power surged through his body, constantly growing. The World Tree in his soul vibrated in unison with some wondrous rhythm, spiritual power circulated faster, and his mind became clearer.
Reyn stood up and paced the room. Under the effect of "Will of Truth," he clearly understood that his power had increased. At first, the boost was less than a tenth, but as the music played, it grew larger. By the time "Ah... Ha..." sounded, the enhancement reached about a fifth. And when the song hit its climax, the power boost was a full half!
Reyn clenched his fist, and the air around him cracked with a dry pop.
"This is the 'Fury' element!"
He was overjoyed. "Fury" was a rare element and the key ability of berserkers. He hadn't imagined getting it this way.
True, the music's effect wasn't as pronounced as true "Fury." Level one "Fury" increased a berserker's power by 1.5 times, level two doubled it, and each subsequent level added another half. If "Fury" reached level five and evolved into the superior element "Blood Fury," power quadrupled!
But Reyn was more than satisfied. The song's inspiration had one key advantage over "Fury"—no side effects. After "Fury" wore off, the superhuman experienced a period of weakness. Plus, the "Fury" element affected emotions. Without regular help from a psionic to relieve psychological tension, repeated use of "Fury" made a person irritable, impatient, prone to simplistic and rash decisions, easily riled up in battle.
Moreover, the music's effect wasn't limited to just "Fury."
Reyn casually fired a "Reynbow Beam" and found that the music also sped up his spellcasting. This resembled the metamagic technique "Accelerated Casting," though the principle was entirely different. "Accelerated Casting" came from deep spell comprehension, while musical inspiration accelerated spiritual power circulation, like turbocharging an engine, allowing maximum energy efficiency.
Reyn searched the "Book of a Thousand Souls" and quickly found a similar element called "Mana Surge." It was a rare fourth-circle spell that accelerated the flow of various magical energies—mana, spiritual power—enabling faster spellcasting. A fourth-circle "Mana Surge" reduced casting time by about one tenth.
Reyn tested it a few more times. The music's acceleration effect matched "Mana Surge"—it also cut casting time by ten percent.
At that moment, the song ended, and the next one started. Reyn immediately felt the power surge recede rapidly, spiritual power churning quieted, and casting speed returned to normal.
"Hm? Why did it stop? Does only this song have the inspiring effect?"
He hurriedly switched the track back.
Sure enough, the sensation of power boost and accelerated casting returned!
"So only this song works..."
Reyn was slightly annoyed. He recalled listening to this exact song when the soul transformation ritual completed. It wasn't a coincidence.
He set the player to repeat that one track. The song lasted nearly five minutes. When it ended and looped again, Reyn made a new discovery.
The effect from the second playthrough stacked with the first! Power increased another half, casting speed another ten percent. But energy drain spiked—by the end of the second loop, five full charge bars were gone!
On the third loop, the effect kept stacking! Naturally, spiritual power consumption reached staggering levels—energy melted away, barely lasting a minute. Reyn didn't have much charge left, so he quickly stopped the music.
"First loop: power +50%, casting speed +10%. Second: another +50% power, +10% speed. If it keeps stacking, by the sixth loop my power quadruples, matching 'Blood Fury,' and casting speed halves more than!"
Reyn thought eagerly: what if he reached the tenth loop—would all his spells become instant?
Though that seemed too fantastical.
He pondered briefly and decided to name this effect "Combat Music." Entering battle, he could just play the music for "Fury" and "Mana Surge" equivalents, growing stronger the longer the fight lasted.
"Ha-ha-ha... Who could beat me with my Combat Music accompaniment?" Reyn allowed himself a little daydreaming.
The only downside to Combat Music was its volume. When activated, he became a massive speaker, louder with each loop. It was a bit... awkward.
"Hm, better save it for emergencies."
Reyn mentally resolved: if he had to play music and someone asked, he'd say it was an "Illusory Sound Art" effect, just for fun. No one would understand the lyrics anyway.
Northern orc shamans had battle songs to inspire warriors, so his Combat Music wouldn't seem utterly outlandish.
He experimented a bit more. Other songs had no enhancement effect, but volume could be adjusted like a normal phone's external speaker. His phone had over a thousand classic songs. Someday, he might share them with this world's people.
Turning off the player, Reyn noticed the second changed icon.
It had activated long ago, originally for plant recognition. Previously, it showed stems, leaves, and a monster head. Reyn never figured out how to use it properly.
After reboot, the icon transformed completely. At the center loomed a fearsome demon head like the legendary fire demon, with ram-like horns. Vines with a few green leaves coiled around it.
What surprised Reyn most was an arrow from this icon to his personal library icon—they seemed linked.
Not fully understanding, he activated it.
Instantly, a translucent light circle appeared in his field of view. Wherever Reyn looked, the circle followed his gaze. When an object entered the circle, scanning began.
He scanned the room for a target and settled on a potted plant in the corner.
Ding!
A sound chimed in his mind, and text lines appeared beside the circle: "Violet, perennial ornamental plant..."
Reyn skimmed the description. It was full info on the potted plant. Tapping the text revealed the source: a book from his library—"Illustrated Plant Guide," which covered violets.
He got it immediately.
This icon functioned like apps from his past life—for plant identification. But no internet here, so it couldn't create info from nothing. To identify, relevant data had to exist in his personal library. Judging by the demon head, it could likely recognize monsters too.
"Nice function, should come in handy."
Reyn nodded mentally. His library held vast knowledge, only growing. Memorizing everything was impossible. Now, facing an unknown monster or plant, he could instantly get info, skipping searches—if the library had accurate data.
Reyn decided to call this icon "Bestiary."
The last changed icon was the dictionary-translator. Like the "Bestiary," an arrow linked it to the library. Reyn experimented briefly and grasped it: an upgrade to a full translator.
It let him understand languages of creatures whose info was in his library. This included three main human languages, seven-eight minor human ones, four elven languages, dwarven, draconic, ancient giant, four rare troll languages, and even Heavenly and Abyss tongues!
Reyn was stunned. This was an improved "Comprehend Languages"!
"Comprehend Languages" was a fourth-circle mental magic spell. It only allowed understanding speech, not speaking it, lasted only while active, and afterward the mage knew nothing.
This translator not only let Reyn understand foreign languages but speak them fluently. Plus, with it active, he could learn languages with incredible efficiency, mastering them in very short time.
"Damn, this is awesome!"
Reyn thought: if he'd had this in his past life, learning English wouldn't have been torture. He recalled an ad with a cute girl: "XXX Tablet, just tap what you don't know, and mom won't worry about my studies anymore." This translator outclassed any tablet!
Reyn checked available languages—about a dozen. All represented in his library with dictionaries and references. Collection incomplete. He'd need to visit a foreign literature shop someday to gather all possible languages. In spare time, he could learn them. Becoming a polyglot would definitely help.
He scanned the rest of the phone icons: "Soul Eye," library, microphone, gyroscope, weapon disassembly game—all unchanged.
After nearly an hour in the room, Reyn finally left.
Ascending to the fifth floor office, he saw Viola already waiting. Seeing Reyn enter, she smiled:
"Okay, how do mid-level mage sensations feel, sir?"
Reyn glanced around—the office was tidy, air fresher. He sank onto the sofa.
"I'm only mid-level mage so far. To reach fourth, I need to integrate a demonic soul."
"Right. Decided which soul yet?"
Reyn shook his head:
"Not yet."
Viola's eyes lit up, and she immediately started praising her wares:
"We have mid-level souls in stock. True, all lifeless, stored in soul stones. Want to see?"
Reyn smirked, recalling their first meeting months ago—she'd acted the same. He thought briefly and asked:
"Any with 'Lightning Affinity' element?"
"'Lightning Affinity' is very rare, costs over two thousand gold shields, huge demand. Unless a live carrier ventures deep inland, such souls sell out right after extraction." Viola guessed Reyn didn't want to lose Lightning Hammer access. She pondered seconds and added: "As far as I recall, no 'Lightning Affinity' souls in Longsand for years. Head to Modu or south to Deepwater Port of the Tulde Trading Union—those two major trade cities get soul shipments first—better chances there."
Reyn nodded silently.
Modu was undoubtedly the Empire's most prosperous trade hub. Deepwater Port lagged but was capital of the Tulde Trading Union. This union of nine cities spanned two provinces' territory, formally highly autonomous but really an Imperial vassal. On the Empire's south coast, each city ruled by a powerful superhuman lord. Deepwater Port's rulers were a married pair, both legendary high-rank mages. Thanks to excellent port, prime Golden Trade Route position, enlightened rule, and high trade freedom, Deepwater Port became the Empire's second-most important trade city after Modu over centuries.
Reyn pondered, unable to decide. He badly wanted to integrate a soul ASAP to boost power, but hated giving up "Lightning Affinity."
Viola noticed his hesitation and tried comforting:
"If not rushing, wait days. I have business contacts in both cities, can ask around for 'Lightning Affinity' souls."
"Fair enough."
Reyn didn't gush thanks but pulled the Rune Book from under his clothes and smiled:
"And work for you. Find an enchanter master to alter a few spells in this book. Expenses on me, promise you'll profit well."
Viola took the Rune Book, examined it, and exclaimed in surprise:
"Superior Rune Book! Where'd you get it?"
"From a lich in a dwarven fortress," Reyn explained briefly. "Can you arrange?"
"Of course," Viola nodded. "'Violet House' under duchess patronage, works with Mage Tower. Can invite at least three enchanter masters. Job takes about five days, total materials and services around thousand gold shields." She flipped pages, studying spells. "Which spells to change?"
Reyn had the answer ready:
"Keep 'Fireball' and 'Counterspell.' Remove all three necromancy school spells, replace with 'Blink,' 'Fireball,' and another 'Fireball.'"