Chapter 3

I followed the tunnel for hours, until I came to what seemed to be the inside of a volcano. There was lava everywhere, and smoke billowed up into the crater, obscuring the sky beyond.

In the middle of the volcano, a huge stone pillar stood defiantly before the lava, and on it lay a huge dragon-shaped monster, encased in a glowing magical dome. The dragon was black in color and exuded an evil aura that spread into the surroundings like mist.

This really had to be a dragon, right?

Received. Yes. The designated creature is a Chaos Dragon. A corrupted form of a Dragon with the potential to become a True Dragon.

So this could become a True Dragon? One of those great God-like creatures?

Moving a little closer to the creature, I could see that it appears to be asleep, and that even though the dome seems to keep it enclosed, an enormous amount of Magicules seems to be leaking through the barrier.

Librarian, is this a magical barrier?

Received. Yes. A magical barrier covers the creature and prevents its escape. Attempt to analyze the barrier further, failed.

Failed attempt? It was the first time the Librarian couldn't analyze something. That barrier must have been made by someone truly powerful.

As I was examining the barrier, my magical sense detected something new.

A human being was approaching the dragon chamber from a different tunnel than the one I used.

At last, I had found another human being.

But wait.

I was a ghost now. In my original world, when a human saw a ghost, they would normally get very scared.

If I appeared out of nowhere, the human would most likely attack me, so I decided to hide for the time being.

I floated silently to some rocks near one of the walls and watched as the human entered the dragon's chamber.

The first thing I noticed is that he was an old man, most likely in his forties, and from the looks of him he looked like some kind of adventurer, with his sword strapped to his belt and his clothes like from a bygone era.

The man approached the dragon's barrier and seemed to examine it as he muttered to himself.

Since he didn't seem particularly dangerous, I decided to try talking to him using Thought Communication.

"Hello? Can you hear me?" I asked.

"Who's there? Show yourself!" He said, after almost jumping in fright.

"I will, but please don't attack me. I don't wish to harm you," I requested, as I gently floated out of hiding.

The human widened his eyes when he saw me, as if he had seen a ghost, which is what he did now that I think about it.

"Are you a… ghost?" he asked me still a little scared.

"Yes and no. My name is Noah. I used to be human, and I come from a place called London, which is in another world, but I died and was reincarnated in this place as a ghost."

"You are from Earth too?" he asked me, relaxing a bit.

"That's right. Wait, did you reincarnate here too?" I asked, hoping I had found a kindred spirit.

"No, I did not reincarnate. I am a summoned." He responded to me.

"What is a summoned?"

"The summoned are brought here by a super difficult spell that needs more than thirty mages, and even then, it barely works." He spoke. "My name is Huges, in case you were wondering. I was summoned to this world five years ago by the kingdom of Ingracia, and it's been a year since I earned my freedom."

"Wait. Did you say freedom? Were you a prisoner?

"Something like that. You see, people from other worlds gain great skills when they travel from Earth to this world. Then, when they get here, a mage casts a powerful curse on the person's soul to control them so he can force them to use those skills on his behalf."

"That's a bit inhuman, isn't it?"

"That's what I thought, but it seems that in this world only the strongest survive, and everyone does what they can to make it."

"And how did you earn your freedom?"

"The north of the kingdom of Ingracia is constantly plagued by the demons that come from the northernmost frozen continent. During a particularly dangerous battle, I managed to defeat one of the Archdemons attacking the port and Lord Yuuki Kagurasaka convinced the king of Ingracia to release me as a reward. Since then, I have been a member of the Guild, and a faithful follower of Mr. Yuuki."

"Yuuki Kagurasaka, is he also a summoned?"

"That's right! Mr. Yuuki was summoned from Japan, and in a short time his intelligence and knowledge of our world helped him take control of the guild and turn it into a flourishing business for adventurers all over the world! In fact, I am here on his specific orders."

Huges seemed very friendly, and his eyes lit up when he talked about this Yuuki boy, like he was his great personal hero or something.

"And what are those orders exactly?"

"Well, lately the settlements near Dragon's Peak, which is what the mountain we're on is called, have been reporting a strange increase in attacks from dragons and other monsters." He explained. "The Armed Nation of Dwargon sits at the base of this very mountain and their miners were recently attacked by a high-level monster called Armosaurus, which shouldn't live so close to civilization, and they requested the guild investigate the causes of this apparently increased activity of the monsters. Mr. Yuuki sent me from Ingracia to investigate and I had almost given up until I found this cave, and that thing." He said, pointing to the sleeping dragon.

"You know what it is?" asked.

"It appears to be a dragon, although it seems bigger and more powerful than most dragons I've seen. Whatever it is, it's clearly the source of all the monsters that have been appearing. That thing expels as many Magicules as a Disaster-type monster."

"What is a Disaster-type monster?"

"Oh… it's a classification method designed by Mr. Yuuki to classify monsters according to their Magicules capacity, which determines their dangerousness. Ever since Mr. Yuuki implemented such a system, human deaths at the hands of monsters have greatly decreased." He answered, again with that tone of pride on behalf of the Grand Master of the Guild.

"Then the monster over there is quite powerful, isn't it?"

"It is, but it appears to be contained within that barrier, so we shouldn't have anything to fear."

Huges shouldn't have said that. As if the universe were mocking his words, I felt the same sensation as before in the lava river again, only this time multiplied by a hundred.

"Oh shit." Huges seemed to realize what was happening, too. Maybe he also had the Extra Skill "Magic Sense".

Around us, the Magicules that came out of the sleeping dragon started to cluster around us, and wherever they clustered, a monster appeared out of nowhere. Many were monsters that I had already seen, like the beetle and the caterpillar, but others were creatures that I had never seen before, like snakes, rats, and other strange monsters. Soon the monsters filled the cave, and then, for no apparent reason, they started attacking each other and us.

It was a bloodbath. The snakes attacked with a strange attack that looked like poison, but melted everyone it hit. The caterpillars were throwing silk everywhere like confetti. Both Huges and I tried to defend ourselves, but there were too many of them. While I transformed into my Salamander form and used my fire to keep the monsters away from us, Huges attacked them with Earth Magic, which seemed to be his specialty. Huges, though he didn't look like it, was an A-rank adventurer, which made him quite strong in battle. But even though we did our best, we couldn't stop one of the snake monsters from coming up from behind and biting Huges. He immediately fell to the ground, screaming in pain, as I used fire to destroy the snake. Huges's fall cost us, and we had to retreat as best we could, towards the tunnel I had come through, which with great effort Huges was able to seal using earth magic.

Huges dropped to the ground as soon as we were safe, his feet giving out from under him. The bite on his hand didn't look good at all.

"I think it's poisoned, Huges." I warned him as I hovered nearby, back in my ghost form.

"Yep. Dude, I think I'm done." He told me. His entire body had begun to sweat profusely.

"Wait! Don't you have some sort of antidote or something?" I asked, distraught that the first person I had ever met in this world was dying in front of my eyes, and there was nothing I could do to stop it.

"At the base we have that kind of thing, but I didn't bring any with me." He told me, and then sighed. "This world has been trying to kill me since I got here, it seems that it finally succeeded"

"I'm so sorry, Hughes. I wish I could do something, but I don't have any skills to help me heal you." I told him sorrowfully.

"It's OK, boy. I made my peace with death a long time ago, believe it or not." he told me. "If I had one last wish, it would be to be able to tell Mr. Yuuki about that dragon and about the hordes of monsters." He continued painfully. His breathing was becoming shallower, but he was still holding on to consciousness.

I thought carefully about Huges's words. I couldn't save him, simply because I didn't have the skills or magic to do so. But I could grant his last wish.

"Huges… I have a proposition. I can't save you, but I can fulfill your last wish. When I get out of this cave, I can find this Yuuki guy, and tell him about the dragon and about what happened to you."

"Would you do that for me?" Hughes asked me.

"Of course! I promise!" I said with conviction. It wouldn't be easy, but I could do it if he put my mind to it.

"But how are you going to get back into the dragon chamber so you can get out? And even if you managed to get back into the chamber, how would you defeat all those monsters outside?

"In that part I will need your help. I… I have a skill that allows me to possess other creatures and thus obtain their skills and magic. This is how I have survived since I reincarnated into this world. Normally, I wouldn't ask a human to do this, since when I use this skill the host dies, but… you're already dying, and it's the only way I can think of to get out of here and fulfill your wish."

"Oh. I understand. To be honest… I prefer to go that way. That way my death can be used for something good. At least one of us will be able to escape from this hellish cave. Will it hurt?

"No. It's completely painless." I told him gently.

"OK, do it." He said with conviction.

"Are you sure?" I asked.

"Yes. I trust you… Wait! Before I die, why don't I give you a name?"

"A name? I already have a name"

"You have a name from another world, but not in this one. You see, in this world monsters, and that includes you, are born without a name, and if a named creature of higher power gives them a name, that makes them more powerful. You will need all the help you can get against all those monsters."

"A name... ok do it, give me a name."

"You know… if I had had a son, I would have liked to name him Rogan. So please accept that name" he told me weakly. His time was running out.

"It will be an honor to bear this name," I replied. And I felt that somewhere in my soul the name Rogan was carved.

"Very well. Now I am ready."

"Goodbye, Hughes."

"Goodbye, Rogan"

Do you want to activate the Forced Possession sub-skill of Unique Skill "Selfish One"?

Yes

No

I hope you rest in peace, my first friend in this world.

Yes.

Analysis completed. Skills gained through Unique Skill "Selfish One": Mimicry: Human, Unique Skill "Siphon", Extra Skill "Sage". Magic gained through Unique Skill "Selfish One": Earth Magic.

Warning

The individual "Rogan" has met the necessary conditions to evolve.

The body structure will reformulate and evolve into a new species.

Checked

Evolution from "Ghost" to "Wraith" …

Successfully done.

Increased all physical skills…

Successfully done.

Relearn all past skills and resistances...

Successfully done.

New Skills and Resistances:

- Extra Skill "Ultra-fast Regeneration"

- Extra Skill "Parallel Operation"

- Intrinsic Skill "Corrosive Breath"

- Intrinsic Skill "Ranged Barrier"

- Poison Resistance

- Corruption Resistance

Successfully obtained.

This ends the evolution.

In the blink of an eye, I was in Huges's body. The possession had been successful.

And I was alone again.

I got up slowly and checked Huges's body… my body now, I guess.

The wound and the poison seemed to have disappeared, and my new body was much easier to handle than the previous ones, since I had prior knowledge of how to handle a human body. But the most surprising thing was how it adapted to all the skills I had previously obtained.

While in my other bodies I could only use some of my Skills, my new body allowed me to use ALL of my skills without any restrictions, including intrinsic skills like Sticky Thread and Body Armor.

Not only that, but apparently, I had also evolved thanks to Huges naming me. I was no longer a Ghost, but a Wraith

Thanks to Huges's sacrifice, I had also obtained the Unique Skill "Siphon" which allowed me to expand my Magicules capacity and also absorb Magicules from the environment, which greatly increased my magical abilities.

When I asked the Librarian why Huges hadn't used such a powerful skill in the previous battle, he told me that, with a few exceptions, humans weren't very compatible with large amounts of Magicules.

So Huges had a great skill, but he couldn't use it because it was toxic?

Although my body was human, I was a magicborn, a semi-spiritual creature, so I had no problem controlling large amounts of Magicules.

Having checked all of my skills, I used my new earth magic to reopen the tunnel to the chaos dragon's chamber, and face all the monsters again.

As soon as I entered the chamber, the remaining monsters attacked me.

But, unlike last time, when I had barely any Magicules and my magic ability was limited, now I had "Siphon" which I activated upon entering the chamber. By doing so, the immense amount of Magicules ejected by the chaos dragon that previously propelled the birth of monsters, was now absorbed by me.

As soon as the Magicules entered my body, I redirected them towards my new intrinsic skill "Corrosive Breath" which allowed me to corrode the body and soul of other creatures through a cloud of toxic gas.

I expelled this cloud of gas around me like mist, and the result was instantaneous.

Monsters that seemed powerful before now melted at my sight like ice cream. It was a pretty gross sight, but it was effective.

The battle lasted a few minutes, and ended with my victory. In the end, only me and the Chaos Dragon were left in the cave.

If I followed the tunnel Huges came through, I could find my way out of this cave, but I was worried about leaving the Chaos Dragon spouting Magicules everywhere and creating monsters that could then attack settlements, like Huges said.

Destroying the Dragon was impossible. Even if I could destroy the barrier, I was pretty sure that the Chaos Dragon was much more powerful than me, I would just end up unleashing a terrible creature on the world.

If ending the problem was not possible, maybe I could alleviate it a little.

Thinking for a bit, I decided to activate my new unique skill "Siphon" to see if I could absorb all of the Chaos Dragon's Magicules, but after a few minutes...

Warning

Maximum Magicules storage limit of the Unique Skill "Siphon" reached.

The librarian warned me.

Apparently, the Magicules "Storage" was a separate subspace, something like a pocket dimension, and even with its considerable size, it was only capable of storing one percent of the Chaos Dragon's Magicules. Which meant that the thing was probably a hundred times more powerful than me!

But according to the librarian, it would take at least a month for it to replenish the Magicules I had absorbed, and during this time, it wouldn't expel enough Magicules to create many monsters, so I gave up and decided to continue my journey, after all now I had a goal to complete: Huges' dying wish.

I followed the tunnel that Huges took, and soon after I could see the light at the end of the tunnel.