Chapter 2
I woke up in the dark.
Where was I? What happened?
Then I remembered. My trip to Japan. The thief. The knife. My death? But it couldn't be, right? I was awake, and therefore alive, right? I tried to look around, and once my eyes adjusted, I could see that I was in a cave. The deep darkness was only interrupted by clusters of strange phosphorescent crystals that adorned the walls of the place as if they were strange crystal flowers.
I tried to stand. But then I noticed that… I had no feet! Or hands!
What the fuck happened to me?
I tried to move what was left of my body, but it just left the ground and started floating in the air like a cloud.
What the fuck?! This is not normal! What am I?!
Received. Species identified as Ghost.
What? Who said that? That voice sounds familiar...
Received. This is the effect of the Unique Skill "Librarian". Now that the skill has been activated, it will answer any questions asked by the user.
Skill? Is it some kind of superpower, like in video games?
Received. Skills are abilities that can be gained in recognition of some form of personal growth or power.
Okay. And what kind of powers does the "Librarian" have?
Received. The unique skill "Librarian" is mainly composed of the following effects:
- Thought Acceleration: Increases the speed of thought processing by a thousand times.
- Analytical Appraisal: The ability to analyze and appraise a target.
- Parallel Processing: The ability to detach thoughts and analysis of phenomena, from the mind. Detach thoughts and analyzes are also affected by Thought Acceleration.
- Chant Nullification: When using magic, the chant is no longer necessary.
- All of Creation: The ability to comprehend any non-concealed phenomenon in the world. Depending on the things the user understands and the information the user knows, additional information can be inferred.
- Pursuit of Truth: Allows the user to directly consult a record of events in the world and obtain any information that the user desires.
Wow. It seems like a very powerful skill! If it's true that you can answer any question, then can you tell me what happened to me? Why am I here?
Received. The user died in the human world and his soul was strong enough to endure traveling to this world. The user then reincarnated into a creature of his choice.
So, I reincarnated? Wait a minute, what do you mean by creature of my choice? And a moment ago you said I was a ghost? How could I have reincarnated if I'm a ghost?
Received. The user "wished he was a ghost." A Ghost is a low-level semi-spiritual being belonging to the undead class.
Yes, I wish for it, but this is not what I meant!
Well crap, it seems that I reincarnated as a Ghost.
Now that I knew I was a Ghost, I tried to move again, but this time I tried to control where my body was going using my mind.
It worked!
Slowly, but surely, I floated forward. I could see a little in the dark thanks to the small glow given off by the crystals, and I could see a small tunnel leading out of the cave. So, I decided to explore the cave, since I had nothing else to do.
The cave I was in was huge. According to the Librarian it had been one hundred and three days since I was reincarnated as a Ghost and in that time, I had wandered through the cave without encountering any living creatures or finding the exit. As I wandered around, the Librarian explained to me everything it could about the world I had been reincarnated into. Apparently, this world was a semi-spiritual world where magic and monsters were completely normal. According to the Librarian, the world was created by the eldest of four True Dragons, Star King Dragon, Veldanava, the most powerful being in the world and the creator god of it. Veldanava created the world using and manipulating the fundamental laws and principles of existence, which he later called Skills; and the laws of nature, which he later called magic. In order to use magic, a new form of energy was born: Magicules, which are nothing more than the life blocks of magical beings. Shortly after Veldanava created this world, he also created others, such as Heaven, the Underworld, and the Spirit World where he also created races and creatures to inhabit them. Time passed and one day Veldanava fell in love with a human princess, Lucia, and together they had a daughter. But when the little girl was born, she absorbed most of her father's powers, leaving him weak, and soon after a foreign nation attacked and killed both Veldanava and Lucia. The world followed its course, nations rose and fell until today.
By now I had noticed that, thanks to being a Ghost, I didn't need to eat or sleep since my semi-spiritual body absorbed Magicules from the environment, and this provided me with food and energy. And apparently the cave I was in was an area highly charged with Magicules, which could gather and sometimes give birth to monsters or magical creatures, called Magic-born.
These highly Magicules charged areas also allowed for the emergence of special plants and precious metals, as I was able to observe using the Librarian's Analysis skill. It turns out that the large luminescent crystals are a material called Magic Ore which can be extracted and converted into Magic Steel, a very precious metal.
By the time we were at the end of our conversation, I was sure I had found a tunnel that seemed to be the exit, but instead I ended up in a cave even bigger than the other, and in this one, I wasn't alone.
In my path, just blocking the exit of the cave, was a caterpillar… a giant caterpillar. Like a caterpillar the size of a human! Its body was deep purple, with strange white markings on its sides that looked eerily like skulls.
What the hell is that!
Received. Analyzing target... Species identified as Hellmoth Caterpillar.
Hell Moth? That doesn't sound very good...
Before I could think of anything else, the caterpillar attacked.
Thick, sticky strands of what appeared to be silky threads were shot in my direction. Well, I'm a ghost, surely a few threads won't affect me... or so I thought. The threads coiled around me like a snake and held me against a wall.
Librarian! How can the threads affect me if I am a ghost? Aren't they supposed to just run through me?
Received. A Ghost is a semi-spiritual creature; therefore, a physical body is necessary for its functioning.
Oh shit. I'm dead…again. And for a simple caterpillar that does not seem very strong.
No. I can't give up… Not this time. Librarian, what do you think I should do?
Received. Calculating chances… With the current skills, the best chance is to wait for the caterpillar to get close and use Unique Skill "Selfish One" to possess it.
That's it. I had no idea what Unique Skill "Selfish One" was, but if it could save me, I didn't care. I just had to wait for the caterpillar to come closer.
I didn't have to wait long. Dragging its body across the cave floor faster than any caterpillar has the right to, it reached where I was trapped, and just as its strange mouth opened to reveal several rows of sharp fangs...
Do you want to activate the Forced Possession sub-skill of Unique Skill "Selfish one"?
Yes
No
Yes!
The instant my skill activated, I could feel my body, if I could call it that, getting inside the caterpillar's body. And after a few minutes of darkness, my eyes reopened, revealing the cocoon of threads that a few seconds before had held me captive. Now I could see much better in the darkness of the cave, and I could feel my body much more solid than before, although it felt strange, like elongated and gelatinous. What's going on?
Received. Unique Skill "Selfish One", possesses a sub-skill called Forced Possession, which allows you to separate your spiritual body from your physical body, and occupy the physical body of other creatures.
Forced Possession? Wait… you mean I possessed the caterpillar? Am I a caterpillar now? Forever?
Received. Affirmative, your spiritual body possessed the physical body of the Hellmoth Caterpillar. Negative, your species is still Ghost. Negative, you can occupy this body as long as you want, if you vacate it, the body will decompose into Magicules that you can absolve.
wow. That Unique Ability "Selfish One", it's very powerful… What else could it do?
Received. The Unique Skill "Selfish One", is made up of these main sub-abilities:
Forced Possession: Separates the user's spiritual body from his current physical body to force his way to the physical body of a weaker being. If successful, the user takes over the body of the target and consumes its soul. The target's skills and magic can be obtained as well. Once the user shied his current physical body, this one breaks down into Magicules that the user can absorb.
Jealousness: The user cannot be targeted by skill-coping Skills.
Really? That's like cheating! Between the Selfish One and the Librarian, I think I'm almost invincible! Wait, you said that I can absorb the skills of the creatures I possess, right? What skills did I get from the caterpillar?
Received. Skills gained through Unique Skill "Selfish One": Sticky Thread, Night Vision, Paralysis Resistance and Mimicry: Hellmoth Caterpillar.
Ha. More skills for me. Seriously, these skills are like cheating!
Now that I had all these new skills, I decided to stay in the caterpillar's cave a little longer. I wanted to practice my skills a bit more, so I could defend myself in case I ran into more creatures in the cave. The caterpillar's body was surprisingly comfortable, although having to drag myself along the ground was a problem.
The first of my skills that I decided to try was Night Vision, as its name suggests it allowed me to see in the dark. It was amazing! where before I could only see a few meters ahead of me, now thanks to this skill I could see everything in the cave as if it were daytime.
The second ability I tried was Sticky Thread. This was the one the caterpillar used to immobilize me. With a few thoughts, thick strands of sticky silk were expelled from my… well, my ass. It wasn't as uncomfortable as I imagined it would be, honestly. I practiced as much as I could with the silk, spreading it all over the cave to see if any creature would fall into my web like a spider. Meanwhile, I was asking the Librarian questions about my other skills.
Tell me Librarian, what other skills do I have?
Received. The remaining skills are:
Gravity Manipulation: Allows the user to manipulate the gravity of their own body in order to rise into the air.
Pain Nullification: Nullifies any sensation of pain to the physical body.
Thermal Fluctuation Resistance: Increases resistance towards high and low temperatures.
Physical Attack Resistance: Increases resistance to physical attacks.
Paralysis Resistance: Increases resistance to Paralysis.
A short time later, an inadvertent prey fell on my silk. Because my silk apparently contained a large amount of Magicules it was incredibly strong enough to catch some kind of rare silver-colored beetle, which the librarian called an Armed Beetle. Apparently, it is a highly resistant species of insect with a shell as hard as steel.
I quickly took advantage of the fact that the beetle was immobilized in my silk to approach it and sticking my caterpillar body to its hard exoskeleton, I activate Forced Possession again.
Do you want to activate the Forced Possession sub-skill of Unique Skill "Selfish One"?
Yes
No
Yeees!
Unlike last time, this time I felt how the body of the caterpillar disintegrated and then how my ghostly form entered the body of the beetle.
Analysis completed. Skills gained through Unique Skill "Selfish One": Body Armor, and Mimicry: Armed Beetle.
After playing around with my skills a bit more I decided to continue on my way, taking the path previously blocked by the caterpillar. With my new body, which, thank the gods, had legs, the journey through the tunnel was much faster. As I walked, I was also trying out the new skill I got from the Armed Beetle, Body Armor. This skill allowed me to cover my body with a thick layer of metal which seemed to protect me from physical attacks, but as I had verified with the scarab myself, it did nothing to protect me from spiritual attacks.
The big problem arose when I tried to use the caterpillar's abilities with the beetle's body. Night Vision worked perfectly, but when I tried to use Sticky Thread, it was impossible. And when I tried to use the abilities of both creatures in my ghost form, it was even worse. The only ability that seemed to work on all bodies was Night Vision, while Body Armor only worked well on the scarab and caterpillar. According to the Librarian the reason for this is that my ghost body is a semi-spiritual body and therefore some physical abilities would not work with it. So, every time I wanted to use one of a species' intrinsic abilities, I would have to use my mimic ability to transform into it.
I continued down the tunnel, which seemed to go deeper into the mountain, until I came to a second chamber, which was crossed by a river of lava. Since the temperature didn't seem to have changed even though I was near a lava river, I decided to move forward while asking the Librarian about it. Its response was:
Received. You have Thermal Fluctuation Resistance. This skill cancels fire and heat damage.
Ooh. So, I'm immune to fire? That's great!
With this immunity I could walk through the lava chamber without worrying about getting burned.
Halfway through the lava, something stopped me. It wasn't something physical, but something I felt. It was as if a strange energy was building up around me. I focused on that feeling, sensing the danger.
Extra Skill "Magic Sense". Acquired.
I thought it was the Librarian, but it turned out to be the Voice of the World. According to the Librarian, the Voice of the World is a voice that creatures in this world hear when they evolve or gain a new ability. Their voices were similar because in order to serve me better, the Librarian used the voice function of the Voice of the World.
According to the Librarian, what I was sensing right now was a high concentration of Magicules, and by concentrating on that I gained the Extra Skill "Magical Sense", which allowed me to sense Magicules in the environment. I immediately activated it.
At that moment, the world opened up around me. Before, thanks to Night Vision I could see the darkness well, but now that magic sense was activated, I could feel everything around me. It was because I could feel the waves of sound and light passing through the Magicules around me, the Librarian explained.
Now that I could see the Magicules clearly, I realized what was calling my attention so much.
Above the lava river, a large cluster of Magicules was gathering. But not only that, the Magicules were taking shape.
A sparsely reptilian, winged red form then appeared out of nowhere. Was that… a dragon?!
Received. No. The designated creature is a Salamander.
And what the hell is a Salamander?
Received. A salamander is a medium spirit of fire. Normally they are summons of more powerful spirits, but in highly Magicules charged areas they can cross over to the physical world for a short period of time.
The Salamander had just finished forming, when it immediately tried to attack me.
Really?! And what did I do to you?!
Large balls of fire were shot at me.
I tried to escape, but the beetle's body was a bit unwieldy given how little time I'd been using it, and flames engulfed me. I thought I was dead, until I remembered that I was immune to fire. Flames danced around me, and even over my body, but the metal of the beetle's exoskeleton remained unharmed.
Since I didn't have to worry about defending myself, I started thinking of a way to get close to the Salamander and use Selfish One.
Until now, none of the skills I've gained allowed me to attack directly, but if I managed to possess the Salamander and gain its skills, that fire would come in handy against other opponents.
Thinking carefully, I came to the conclusion that neither the caterpillar nor the beetle would help me against this enemy. The caterpillar's silk was highly flammable, and although the beetle was good for defense it didn't allow me to get to where the Salamander was flying.
Then After much consideration I decided to simply switch back to my ghost form and launch myself at the Salamander using Gravity Manipulation.
I seemed to take him by surprise, lunging straight ahead like that, but he immediately pulled himself together and blew more fire in my direction. I ignored the flames and continued on my path until I touched the hot surface of the Salamander. It tried to fly away from me but I manage activated my Selfish One in time.
Then I was enveloped by the familiar sucking feeling that came whenever my spirit form entered another creature's body.
Analysis completed. Skills gained through Unique Skill "Selfish One": Mimicry: Salamander Spirit, Fire Manipulation, Combustion, Thought Communication. Magic gained through Unique Skill "Selfish One": Fire Magic, Spirit Summoning Magic.
The Salamander's body was like nothing I had ever felt before. The caterpillar and the beetle were physically strong, but they had no magic at all. But the Salamander was a spiritual being who for a few moments obtained a physical body, which I stole. Its magical abilities were on another scale.
Instinctively I spread my new wings and jumped into the air. Then, with a combination of Gravity Manipulation and this body's wings, I quickly flew across the chamber.
Later, while I was still in the air, I decided to use Fire Manipulation, one of the Salamander's intrinsic skills, which allowed me to create and control fire. Immediately, golden flames surrounded me and with a thought they bunched into a fist and shot towards one of the cave walls, creating a large hole of lava.
I then tried to use the Combustion skill, but when I tried, my whole body felt weak and I lost my Salamander form.
According to the Librarian, this ability turns a magical or spiritual body into fire, but in doing so it costs many Magicules.
Having checked the other skills, and without enough magical power to use the spells I learned, I decided to continue through the lava into another tunnel, this time in my ghost form.