Hum, some parts are missing? Well, at least it seems that I can’t get forcefully removed…yet.
“System, can you call off the hit you put on my head after my classification as a Spirit?”
[Negative, some guidelines cannot be broken. Any anomaly will be dealt with by appropriate countermeasures]
[While this situation is irregular, please note that the System is cheering for you]
[You merely possess both identities with their Privileges and Handicaps]
[You are both John, the Pioneer, and the Anomalous First Ghost]
[Good Luck]
He checked the Calendar the System used. Currently, only a few days remained before the 100 Year mark, the update’s time.
The gap of several decades accentuated that impression but it seemed that the System had access to more emotions and feelings as it developed itself with time.
The few phrases he read on these windows were still mechanical and cold but much less than before.
Would the 4th or 5th Update allow the System to be indistinguishable from Enlightened and emotional Races?
He could already see his degenerate colleagues from the Tech Pioneers rising to create a Waifu System Religion. He did his best to erase that thought before it haunted him in his sleep. “Do I still need to sleep?”
[Ghosts do not need to sleep, Magical Sleep is still possible]
Well, this solved that.
Only the future would tell if his fears are unfounded. For now, he decided to check the excavators he was betting on for his rescue.
A rope connected him to his body that was perfectly preserved for eternity.
He really hoped they had a [Resurrection] skill or something. Perhaps a [Put Soul Back In Body] one? He could only hope.
Still, this link wasn't infinite in length. he could extend to 100 meters around this anchor at most.
[Your body currently anchors you.]
[Considering your soul strength, you may survive severing the link but you would weaken by 50% permanently]
[As you remain linked, this percentage will reduce until a perfect external stabilization]
[This course of action is recommended]
“This explains my situation. Aren’t you a bit too active with me though, what’s happening?”
[If you wish to disable the System’s active assistance. You may change the parameter with just a thought.]
[As for why. The System prioritizes Pioneers and your anomalous situation brings great data]
[Data Collection was the World creator’s prime directive]
[Your twofold identity fulfills these factors]
“In the end, Probatio is still involved in my circumstances, even indirectly…” John wouldn’t refuse free help for such a reason. It wasn’t malicious and even if he refused active help, he would still be on the examination table that is Origin.
As John approached the wall of ice that connected with the outside world, he realized he couldn’t pass through. He was merely at 50 meters of his body so it wasn’t due to the link straining itself.
[Eternal Ice’s ‘Time Stop’ effect is still powerful enough to prevent contact with the outside]
[Please standby as the Ice’s effects weaken]
Being incorporeal wasn’t without drawbacks it seemed. The freezing effect of the ice stopped any energy from leaving its restraint, including a Ghost in this case.
For now, it seemed, John could only watch the outside world through a very blurry crystalline window.
The shapes he saw were Humanoid in shape so he wouldn’t be devoured at the very least. He could see a dozen individuals hitting the ice with pickaxes in tandem. The use of tools was a good sign of an Enlightened Race, a minority of Monsterkind could use tools but most couldn’t so he would bet on it.
He just had to prepare a speech good enough to convince them to resurrect him…
John wouldn’t bet on it but he hoped it was the Eternal Ice affecting his perception of time, not just his boredom. The pickaxes weren’t very useful and barely made a dent as time passed.
This was a testament to the Ice’s resistance or to the lack of budget of whoever was digging. Whichever it was, the 50 meters remaining wouldn’t be done in a short while.
As John continued asking questions to the System and sometimes getting answers on his situation, 2 days and 18 hours finally passed. The System Update was finally launched.
[Update 2.0: Enlightened Classes and Monster Skills]
It was interesting to see the various faces of the Origin System.
Two Windows floated in front of John right now.
The System Update Window that every inhabitant of Origin knew of was of deep blue color.
The Private Chat he kept up with the System had slowly changed colors over the days of continuous chatting.
From the original blue, the Window’s color slowly brightened before settling on a shade of gray that was similar to silvery steel. The window wasn’t uniform, however, as drops of blue remained on certain parts and weren’t being removed.
The chat John kept up with the Origin System was a different type of link from the one everyone connected with. While the normal link was initiated and depended on the System solely, the new one was two-way in some ways, this change in Authority allowed John to speak more freely to the System. From his point of view, his communications with the System loosened from a multi-choice novel to a chat online with a chatbot. The interlocutor remained clearly limited in its thinking but it was improving.
This reciprocity was part of the reason this connection was being colored by the two user’s Souls.
Speaking of Souls, John still wasn’t sure if the System had a Soul or was an amalgam of Divine Energy shaped with a computer’s coding equivalent by Probatio. The System wouldn’t answer a query like this one but its ever-evolving nature meant the answer could change at any time.
Still, his time wasn’t wasted as John now had a more direct line with the Origin System, he had learned how to use a secret functionality to his advantage.
He clearly felt its limitations as well. To keep this form of chat privilege with the System, he had to keep the connection open at all times, straining his soul. Merely closing and opening the window when needed would reset his progress, as the link he painted with his colors would be broken.
This private chat feature was using the Souls of two individuals to communicate between them from a certain distance if they had set up the link beforehand. This feature could theoretically be used between Origin inhabitants, should their soul’s prowess allow the feat.
John watched as the [Skill] tab unlocked once more for him, he selected it once more to inspect his situation.
He had to check the changes he went through “[Status]!”
“[Race Status]“
[Current Race: Ghost (Race Evolution Unavailable)]
[Preferred Energies: Curse, Spiritual]
[Ghosts are non-corporeal Monsters that are unaffected by most non-magical physical matter.]
[Most Ghosts are created from a high concentration of raw energy given form or from the death of a being in such an environment.]
[Strength: Non-Corporeal; May possess weaker beings; Proficient in curses; Flight]
[Weakness: Sensitivity to Magic, especially Holy Magic; Specialized equipment, enchantments]
[Please note that variations of Ghost-type Monsters exist depending on how they formed]
[Elemental Ghost born from a certain type of Mana or Natural Ghosts for instance]
[You lack grudge, which is the most common anchor for unwilling Spirits]
[You’ll be less proficient with Curses than normal but will not be mortally weak to Holy Mana]
Well, a mortal weakness removed was always good. Especially since he didn’t particularly plan to go around cursing people.
It could be fun to turn invisible and go around pranking people… Maybe find Ari and cast a Polymorph Curse to convince them that they transform while sleeping, a form of sleepwalking for Changeling.
John chuckled a bit imagining their reaction.
‘On a more serious note, I could use this ghostly experience to improve my use of Spiritual Energy’
Spiritual Energy was on the rarer side of Basic Tier energies. Usually a misty white color, it could be attuned to more positive or negative emotions and uses, turning pure white or gray.
While mostly used in matters related to the Spirit, as the bridge between the Soul and the Body, it could be used to affect both matter and the immaterial.
It was mostly used by Spiritualists, Necromancers, Mediums, Shamans, Occultists, and Ghost Hunters…
The last one made him stop as he thought about it.
It was common for Hunters and Adventurers to have a preferred type of adversary. Fighting the same type of monster repeatedly allowed for countermeasures to be put in place more easily. Furthermore, with Skills existing now, the System recognized the specialization and gave appropriate Skills.
For instance, Ghost Hunters specialized in fighting Spirits of all kinds with skills such as [Banishment], an attack-type skill, and [Spiritual Enemy], a passive one.
‘Having an entire workforce specialized in dealing with you existing out in the world is a very peculiar feeling. I should be prepared in case those miners have someone of this type among them’
While rarer than just ‘increased damage toward a type of enemy’ skill, skills that served as pure detection toward a certain type of Monsters existed. While confined to their specialization, they were extremely useful when used in the right place.
Returning to the subject of Spiritual Energy, John tried channeling Spiritual Energy. As a Ghost, his body didn’t possess physical reserves, his spiritual form excelled in controlling the energy emitted at all times by his manifestation. He felt he could probably cast a few spells to start slowly.
He tried a form of attack he was used to and concentrated a [Spirit Bullet], a bullet of Spiritual Energy, in front of him.
The mist coming from John suddenly flowed faster from him, gathering in front of his outstretched hand.
As the amount reached a certain mass… if Energy had a mass, of course, he tried to fire the bullet into the crystal wall in front of him.
As he tried to flex this immaterial muscle, the bullet collapsed before being launched.
No explosion occurred as Spiritual Energy wasn’t fired and aimed at the physical world.
On the other hand, John felt a light backlash giving him a slight headache for a few minutes.
‘An explosion wouldn’t hurt me too much anyway, but I can see that a backlash too strong could dismantle a Ghost at the seams’
As a mass of energy, manipulating this energy had a danger the living didn’t have to face. In some ways, they were playing and attacking with their existence in the first place.
He concentrated a bit on his Status and tried to watch his condition:
[Minor Spiritual Backlash: 4:52]
He had a 5 minute timeout period between each failure to condense the bullet. Then again, considering he only had time to spend until the miners found him, John kept trying to condense the bullet until he finally launched one.
Visualizing his Mark One, John launched a [Spirit Bullet] at the Eternal Ice wall in front of him.
Spiritual Energy wasn’t used for its destructiveness nor Eternal Ice for its weakness.
The wall in front of him didn’t even have a scratch from the pitiful attack.
Still, John wasn’t discouraged as the magical material was nothing if not resistant, it wasn’t called Eternal for no reason.
[Spirit Magic] level 8
- [Spirit Bullet] level 13
[Cursing Magic] level 3
[Spirit Flight] level 8
[Materialization] level 17
[Instinct] level 12
