Looking at the number of exhausted Spirit essence, I figured, "…That was a lot."
Three hundred and fifty-seven. That was the amount of Spirit Essence consumed from using a single skill.
I tilted my head slightly, trying to process it. "Or… was it not?"
That was the problem. I didn't have a proper frame of reference. There was no manual, a guidebook, or so much as a friendly tutorial voice explaining whether that amount was reasonable or excessive. All I had was instinct and guesswork.
Still, if I broke it down based on what I had just experienced, it didn't feel small.
"I barely did anything,"
The possession hadn't even lasted a full minute, and within that short span, I hadn't exactly performed any grand feats. It was all just basic movements and testing phases to get a better grasp of the skill use.
Observation and testing if you will, and yet, the cost was already in the hundreds.
"…Yeah," I concluded after a moment, nodding to myself. "That's definitely a lot."
If that was the baseline cost for simple usage, then extended possession or repeated attempts would drain my reserves much faster than I initially assumed.
"Alright, let's think this through."
I leaned back slightly, or at least mimicked the motion as best as a ghost could in a rabbit's body, and began trying to calculate.
"Three hundred and fifty-seven per use… and I've got ten thousand total…" I paused. "…Carry the—no, wait…" Another pause.
"…Yeah, no." I let out a small, knowing chuckle. "I'm terrible at math."
Always had been. No point pretending otherwise now.
"Well, whatever," I said, waving it off. "Ten thousand is still a big number."
Even if I couldn't calculate the exact number of uses, I could at least assume I wasn't running out anytime soon.
"At the very least, I won't be empty after a few tries."
That was good enough for now.
With that settled, I shifted my focus back to the more important matter. Testing.
"So far, I know my Origin Skills don't work during possession," I muttered, recalling the earlier results.
Thermal Discharge had failed. Physical Pain Discharge had failed. And by extension…
"…Hold on."
A thought struck me, and my expression shifted.
"If that's the case… then what happens if I get hurt while possessing something?"
The implication settled in almost immediately.
"If I get stabbed… do I die?"
I mean like an actual non metaphorical kind of death?...
I went numb and silent. Couldn't figure out what the answer was and honestly too scared to come face to face with it.
"…That's not good."
Thinking it through logically, the answer didn't look promising.
Thermal Discharge didn't work. Physical Pain Discharge didn't work.
Which meant…
"Inconclusive Lifespan probably doesn't work either."
If my immortality was tied to my ghost form, then possessing a physical body might strip that away entirely.
Which meant that while I was inside another body… "I'm vulnerable."
A frown formed on my face. "That's a huge risk."
It wasn't something I could ignore.
I had only just started this new life—this strange, ghostly existence—and the last thing I wanted was to lose it because I got careless.
"…Especially since I don't know what happens after that."
Would I reincarnate again? Would I disappear completely? Would there even be anything left of me?
"I'm not testing that," I said firmly.
Some things were better left unknown.
"For now, I'll just assume the worst and act accordingly."
Which meant caution. A whole lot of it infact.
"Yeah… definitely need to be careful."
With that realization firmly in place, I shifted my attention back to experimentation.
"I've tested my Origin Skills," I said, counting them off mentally. "Now it's time to test my Pathway Skills."
There were three left to verify during possession.
Memory Hijack. Fear Pulse. Ghost Glide.
"I need to know if they work while I'm in a body."
Because if they didn't, then possession has more limitations than I thought. So, I began testing.
The first skill I tried was Ghost Glide.
I focused on trying to get it to activate and waited. And I return, I got nothing. Gave it a second try but still ended up with the same result.
I frowned slightly, considering the possibilities. Maybe I'm using it wrong?
That was always a possibility. But even as I entertained the idea, something else made more sense.
The name itself gives it away. Ghost Glide it says. Not just glide, Ghost Glide. I have many reasons to assume that during possession, I was not exactly Ghost-like, hence no Ghost Glide... A giggle if you get it.
That would explain why it wasn't activating. Right now, I wasn't acting as a pure ghost. I was inhabiting a physical body.
Which meant the conditions weren't met.
I nodded to myself. "Alright, that makes sense."
It wasn't a failure of the skill, just a temporary restriction preventing its use.
Next was Fear Pulse. "Let's see…"
I attempted to activate it and once again I came up disappointed.
There was no reaction, not a single visible effect to suggest the skill was in use.
"…Seriously?" I frowned again, but this time, I didn't jump to conclusions immediately.
Instead, I thought it through. "The skill says it affects physical beings…"
Which meant there needed to be physical beings nearby to use it on.
I, Ghost, looked around the terrain and so far, it's as empty as a Graveyard. Intentional play on words by the way.
But of course it was empty, which suggests I have no means of telling if the skill had been activated or not.
That's annoying, but at least it gave me a direction. I'll need a proper test subject for this one.
I let out a slow breath. "So far… not great."
Between Ghost Glide failing and Fear Pulse being inconclusive, my progress felt frustratingly slow.
I'm getting nowhere, and that irritation started to build.
"ARGH!"
In my moment of dejection, a sudden scream rang in the air, easily breaching distance with an aggressive invasion of my very sensitive rabbit ears.
My entire body reacted instantly.
The rabbit's fur stood on end, and its ears shot upward, twitching sharply as the sound echoed through the surroundings.
"…What was that?!"
Without hesitation, I abandoned the rabbit's body, slipping out of it as naturally as stepping out of clothes.
The world shifted again as I returned to my ghost form. I moved very fast, floating through the forest in the direction of the scream.
It wasn't far. Which made it all the more urgent.
[+1 Experience Point]
A notification flashed briefly. I ignored it, too immersed in getting to the scene as my attention was locked onto what lay ahead.
I was soon to arrive, hovering with a slow descent from above as I took in the scene below.
Down there were two different lifeforms at odds with one another. And on one side, is a snake.
Brown-skinned, long, and coiled tightly against the ground, its body tense and ready to strike. Its head was raised, slightly tilted, its tongue flicking in and out as it observed its opponent.
On the other side, "A goblin."
There was no mistaking it, a very brief creature barely over four feet. Dark green skin. A frail-looking body that didn't exactly scream strength.
"…Yeah, that's definitely a goblin."
I didn't need confirmation. It matched every description I had ever seen.
And right now, it was armed with a club, gripping it tightly as it faced the snake.
A brawl between the two, so I suppose.
The goblin moved cautiously, its grip firm, its stance low. Meanwhile, the snake remained coiled, ready to lunge at any moment.
"…Who's stronger?"
That was the real question. At first glance, the answer seemed obvious.
"A venomous snake versus a scrawny goblin?"
Yeah. That didn't look promising for the goblin.
But then again… "I don't know how this world works yet."
For all I knew, goblins here could be stronger than they appeared. Or the snake could be weaker than expected.
"…Still." I glanced between the two. "…It's probably the snake."
I couldn't help it. Logic leaned heavily in that direction. But even so, miracles happen, right?
I happen to be a strong believer in miracles, of the impossible turned possible. And in this instance, I was willing to give the Goblin the benefit of the doubt.
So, as any normal, sensible lifeform would do, I picked for myself the best spot around, which for a ghost, no spot can be as interesting as floating midair, legs stacked atop one another.
From there, I chose to be a spectator of the yet to begin brawl.
"…This should be interesting." A chuckle escaped me.
The snake moved first. Its body snapped forward, its head lunging with sudden speed toward the goblin.
It was fast, so very fast. But the Goblin was no slowpoke either.
He reacted, stepped back just in time, narrowly avoiding the strike.
"…Nice." I threw a subconscious fistbump into the air.
I wasn't rooting for any of them. On the contrary, I was glad the brawl wouldn't be ending anytime soon.
The snake wasn't done or giving up just yet. As fast as the goblin was, the snake struck again, this time with sharper precision.
And once again, the goblin did not disappoint in making for a quick dodge.
I leaned forward slightly, watching closely. The tension between them was palpable.
The snake only needed one successful bite. Just one and it would likely be over.
The goblin knew that. Which meant it couldn't afford a single mistake.
On the other hand, the goblin needs to get close to be able to do appropriate damage to the snake.
I glanced at the club in its hand. That's its only weapon. And that was the problem.
To land a hit, the goblin had to close the distance. But closing the distance was exactly what the snake wanted.
"…That's rough."
It was a deadlock. A dangerous one.
One mistake from either side would decide everything.
"…This is like watching a loop," I murmured.
Back and forth. Strike. Dodge. Wait. Strike again. No clear end.
Just tension building with every second.