Chapter 7 - Finding Civilization

Name: N/A

Age: 0

Species: Spirit

➦ Skills:

Common Skills: 𝗙𝗟𝗢𝗔𝗧, 𝗣𝗥𝗢𝗖𝗘𝗦𝗦, 𝗠𝗜𝗖𝗥𝗢𝗠𝗔𝗡𝗔𝗚𝗘𝗥

Special Skills: N/A

Rare Skills: 𝗔𝗥𝗧𝗜𝗙𝗜𝗖𝗜𝗔𝗟 𝗜𝗡𝗧𝗘𝗟𝗟𝗜𝗚𝗘𝗡𝗖𝗘

ㅤ

ㅤ

ㅤ

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ - ☼ -

Remember how I said I was terrible at directions? Yeah, no skill, no matter how powerful, was going to change that.

As I floated around the forest, switching from my 𝗢𝗩𝗘𝗥𝗩𝗜𝗘𝗪 skill and my actual "eyes". It was like driving while looking at Google Maps.

As I continued my hopeless journey towards possible civilization, I discovered some things. One thing was that as a spirit, I could move through objects. I also didn't need to eat or sleep, and lastly...

"ROAR!!"

I was able to copy information of living beings.

The roaring beast before me would've been considered a genetic failure back in my world: the head of a goat and the body if a wolf. It looked like it was made in a lab.

«Analyzing lifeform...»

«Analysis Complete: The creature is Ghoul Wolf, a monster of pure evil karma. It's main attack includes melee attacks and poison»

To describe the abomination in greater detail: it was a large beast, the size of a bear, with a decaying goat's head and the body of a wolf. It 's rib cage was completely exposed and revealed some of it's black organs.

In short, it was completely and utterly disgusting.

But unfortunately and fortunately, I couldn't interact with it and it didn't even know I was in front of it. But to make sure...

«Answer: As a spiritual lifeform, no creature can see you unless you reveal yourself with a physical body or they possess the Rare Skill 𝗦𝗣𝗜𝗥𝗜𝗧 𝗦𝗜𝗚𝗛𝗧»

Interesting. The Ghoul Wolf roared some more at something, but I brushed it off. Probably animal instincts.

«To gain a physical body, you need the Rare Skill 𝗠𝗔𝗡𝗜𝗙𝗘𝗦𝗧𝗔𝗧𝗜𝗢𝗡. With this Skill, you will be able to manifest your spirit form in any way you'd like»

It seemed like all he good stuff I needed was out of my league or some ultra rare powerful stuff. No matter, as long as nothing could see and hurt me; I was fine.

Even though I could spend the rest of my days safe as an invisible spirit, I would still long for companionship. I would go mad without company.

«Searching Database...»

«Skills similar 𝗠𝗔𝗡𝗜𝗙𝗘𝗦𝗧𝗔𝗧𝗜𝗢𝗡 include the special skills 𝗠𝗔𝗧𝗘𝗥𝗜𝗔𝗟𝗜𝗭𝗔𝗧𝗜𝗢𝗡 and 𝗦𝗛𝗔𝗣𝗘𝗦𝗛𝗜𝗙𝗧»

From what I experienced in getting the few skills I have, special skills are a challenging set of skills to get but not impossible.

All I needed was the information in how to acquire it.

"ROAR!!"

The Ghoul Wolf roared, but instead of being scared I was just annoyed. I was so eloped in skills that I forgot about this abomination. Well, now it's time to show you all my data copy skill.

I actually didn't even know I had it, to be honest. I was lost trying to find my way around the forest and got bored, so I started going through my skills and sub-skills.

As I was going through the skill components of my Rare Skill 𝗔𝗥𝗧𝗜𝗙𝗜𝗖𝗜𝗔𝗟 𝗜𝗡𝗧𝗘𝗟𝗟𝗜𝗚𝗘𝗡𝗖𝗘, I saw a skill called 𝗗𝗔𝗧𝗔 𝗠𝗔𝗡𝗜𝗣𝗨𝗟𝗔𝗧𝗜𝗢𝗡. A quick explanation from Admin revealed that this skill was actually a very powerful skill that allowed me to copy attributes of living things simply by copying their very data.

With a single thought, I activated my skill. Suddenly, information flooded back into my brain but thanks to 𝗔𝗥𝗧𝗜𝗙𝗜𝗖𝗜𝗔𝗟 𝗜𝗡𝗧𝗘𝗟𝗟𝗜𝗚𝗘𝗡𝗖𝗘 it was quickly organized faster than I could comprehend.

«Data Report:

Monster: Ghoul Wolf

Karmic Race: Evils Race

➤ Skills: Would you like to see the monster Ghoul Wolf skill set?»

Now to show you all why this skill is overpowered.

« ➤ Skill Overview: Ghoul Wolf

Common Skills Found:

𝗙𝗔𝗡𝗚 𝗦𝗧𝗥𝗜𝗞𝗘: A basic attack that deals damage to the target.

𝗛𝗢𝗪𝗟: A loud howl that can intimidate weaker enemies and alert allies.

𝗡𝗜𝗚𝗛𝗧 𝗩𝗜𝗦𝗜𝗢𝗡: The ability to see in the dark, which can be useful for hunting prey.

Special Skills Found:

𝗥𝗘𝗚𝗘𝗡𝗘𝗥𝗔𝗧𝗜𝗢𝗡:

𝗣𝗔𝗖𝗞 𝗧𝗔𝗖𝗧𝗜𝗖𝗦:

𝗦𝗛𝗔𝗗𝗢𝗪 𝗦𝗧𝗘𝗣:

Rare Skills Found:

𝗕𝗟𝗢𝗢𝗗𝗟𝗨𝗦𝗧:

𝗚𝗛𝗢𝗨𝗟𝗜𝗙𝗜𝗖𝗔𝗧𝗜𝗢𝗡:

𝗦𝗢𝗨𝗟 𝗗𝗘𝗩𝗢𝗨𝗥𝗘𝗥: »

This thing was a whole Kinder Surprise Egg, holy jeez! With the amount of skills it possessed, I could very well become a god or something. But I had to be careful; According to Admin, too many Evil Karmic Skills could taint my soul and too many Virtuic Skills would turn me into a mindless drone. I wanted to know more about that, but Admin quickly stopped talking and ghosted me.

«Analyzing...»

«Recommended Skills: 𝗦𝗢𝗨𝗟 𝗗𝗘𝗩𝗢𝗨𝗥𝗘𝗥, 𝗦𝗛𝗔𝗗𝗢𝗪 𝗦𝗧𝗘𝗣, 𝗥𝗘𝗚𝗘𝗡𝗘𝗥𝗔𝗧𝗜𝗢𝗡, 𝗣𝗔𝗖𝗞 𝗧𝗔𝗖𝗧𝗜𝗖𝗦. Would you like to copy skill data? »

Here comes the fun part.

«Copying Skill Data...»

«Acquisition Complete! Optimizing Skills for Spiritual Body...»

Oh, that's new! I wonder what these new skills could turn into...

«Notice: Optimization Complete. Rare Evil Skill 𝗦𝗢𝗨𝗟 𝗗𝗘𝗩𝗢𝗨𝗥𝗘𝗥 has been optimized to Rare Spirit Skill 𝗦𝗣𝗜𝗥𝗜𝗧𝗨𝗔𝗟 𝗔𝗖𝗤𝗨𝗜𝗦𝗜𝗧𝗜𝗢𝗡»

Oooh, that sounds extremely useful! I'll have to get very detailed info on all these skills later, it sounds like it could be a powerhouse if used correctly.

«Report: Special Skill 𝗥𝗘𝗚𝗘𝗡𝗘𝗥𝗔𝗧𝗜𝗢𝗡 has been optimized to the Special Spirit Skill 𝗦𝗣𝗜𝗥𝗜𝗧𝗨𝗔𝗟 𝗥𝗘𝗚𝗘𝗡𝗘𝗥𝗔𝗧𝗜𝗢𝗡. Special Skill 𝗦𝗛𝗔𝗗𝗢𝗪 𝗦𝗧𝗘𝗣 is unable to be optimized, would you like to discard this skill?»

Hmm... the ability to teleport through shadows. In any other person's case, they would have said yes in a heartbeat. I mean, the thought of gaining supernatural abilities would make anyone go on a power trip. Hell, even I got a bit egotistical when I first discovered I could copy skills.

But the trick is to keep a cool head. While it seems like a great skill, it must have some drawbacks to be unable to be optimized.

«Answer: 𝗦𝗛𝗔𝗗𝗢𝗪 𝗦𝗧𝗘𝗣 is unable to be optimized due to the amount of evil karma it possesses. Such evil karma would do considerable amount of changes within your spiritual body»

In other words, it would corrupt me. Remember, I'm an extremely rare neutral karmic being. I possess a perfect balance of evil and virtuic karma; too much evil karma would taint my very soul and I still don't know the repercussions to that yet, and too many virtuic skills would destroy my consciousness and turn me into a mindless drone. What's scary about the virtuic drawback is whose drone I become.

«Noted. Destroying Skill Data...»

«Continuing Report: Special Skill 𝗣𝗔𝗖𝗞 𝗧𝗔𝗖𝗧𝗜𝗖𝗦 has been optimized into Special Spirit Skill 𝗖𝗢𝗢𝗥𝗗𝗜𝗡𝗔𝗧𝗜𝗢𝗡. Optimization Complete, would you like a summary of your skills?»

I'll explain it myself since my skill tends to rant away. Basically, 𝗦𝗣𝗜𝗥𝗜𝗧𝗨𝗔𝗟 𝗔𝗖𝗤𝗨𝗜𝗦𝗜𝗧𝗜𝗢𝗡 turns me into the damn Grim Reaper and allows me to literally just steal someone's soul. Unfortunately, using it accumulates a ton of evil karma because killing is very bad.

𝗦𝗣𝗜𝗥𝗜𝗧𝗨𝗔𝗟 𝗥𝗘𝗚𝗘𝗡𝗘𝗥𝗔𝗧𝗜𝗢𝗡 basically just protects me from spiritual attacks and 𝗖𝗢𝗢𝗥𝗗𝗜𝗡𝗔𝗧𝗜𝗢𝗡 allows me to telepathically communicate with either one or multiple people.

«4.67 seconds exactly»

Yeah, that report never gets old. In fact, the Ghoul Wolf was still in front of me roaring away at something. I got close to it, still a bit paranoid about whether it could see me, and turned my non-existent head to see what it was roaring at...

And I saw it.

As I gazed out into the distance, my eyes were drawn to a lone mountain that stood out from the rest of the landscape. The mountain was jet black, as if it had been charred by some great fire, and it towered over the surrounding hills and valleys like a giant sentinel.

But what really caught my attention was the massive storm cloud that seemed to be stuck to the top of the mountain like a dark, brooding crown. The cloud was so large that it obscured the peak of the mountain, and lightning bolts flickered and danced within its depths like angry serpents.

Despite the distance between us, I could feel the raw power and energy emanating from the storm cloud, as if it were a living thing with a will of its own. The air around me crackled with electricity, and I could sense a faint rumble in the ground beneath my feet.

As I continued to stare at the mountain and the storm cloud, I couldn't help but feel a sense of foreboding and unease. It was as if the mountain and the storm were a warning, a sign of the dangers that lay ahead.

«Report: The mountain is the source of the intense evil karma sensed before. According to the sub- skill 𝗗𝗔𝗧𝗔 𝗦𝗘𝗡𝗦𝗘, it appears as if a skill or spell is preventing any skill from analyzing the mountain»

So someone powerful doesn't want to be spied on, huh? Whoever they were, I needed to steer clear of them. It wasn't my business anyways, and I didn't want to be a source of intrigue for any powerful being.

I activated 𝗢𝗩𝗘𝗥𝗩𝗜𝗘𝗪 and began on my merry way towards civilization, leaving the Ghoul Wolf to yell and roar all it wants towards that ominous mountain.

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ - ☼ -

Name: N/A

Age: 0

Species: Common Spirit

➦ Skills:

Common Skills: 𝗙𝗟𝗢𝗔𝗧, 𝗣𝗥𝗢𝗖𝗘𝗦𝗦 (x2), 𝗠𝗜𝗖𝗥𝗢𝗠𝗔𝗡𝗔𝗚𝗘𝗥

Special Skills: 𝗖𝗢𝗢𝗥𝗗𝗜𝗡𝗔𝗧𝗜𝗢𝗡, 𝗦𝗣𝗜𝗥𝗜𝗧𝗨𝗔𝗟 𝗥𝗘𝗚𝗘𝗡𝗘𝗥𝗔𝗧𝗜𝗢𝗡, 𝗦𝗣𝗜𝗥𝗜𝗧𝗨𝗔𝗟 𝗔𝗖𝗤𝗨𝗜𝗦𝗜𝗧𝗜𝗢𝗡,

Rare Skills: 𝗔𝗥𝗧𝗜𝗙𝗜𝗖𝗜𝗔𝗟 𝗜𝗡𝗧𝗘𝗟𝗟𝗜𝗚𝗘𝗡𝗖𝗘, 𝗢𝗩𝗘𝗥𝗩𝗜𝗘𝗪

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ - ☼ -

Finding civilization was getting ridiculous.

I used 𝗠𝗜𝗖𝗥𝗢𝗠𝗔𝗡𝗔𝗚𝗘𝗥 to count how much real time had passed. My heightened thought acceleration was really messing up my perception of time, and if I had a functioning human body, I would've thrown up by now.

«Incorrect: You are a Spirit, you are unable to feel bodily sickness»

«Deactivating Skill 𝗣𝗥𝗢𝗖𝗘𝗦𝗦. You are now perceiving real-time»

Thank God.

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ - ☼ -

I searched every nook and cranny of this godforsaken, generic isekai forest for any sort of sentient life that wasn't hellbent on destroying everything it saw. 𝗔𝗥𝗧𝗜𝗙𝗜𝗖𝗜𝗔𝗟 𝗜𝗡𝗧𝗘𝗟𝗟𝗜𝗚𝗘𝗡𝗖𝗘 told me that I had covered a whopping 17 miles in a span during the three real time hours I spent floating around like an idiot.

I couldn't even get mad. For some reason, it was like all my emotions were watered down and mellowed. I had to ask AI or Admin about that later. But as of now...

«Do you want me to allow the Skill 𝗢𝗩𝗘𝗥𝗩𝗜𝗘𝗪 to scan for living beings?»

<...you mean you weren't doing that before?>

«You didn't request anything of the sort»

«Affirmative»

«Activating sub-skill 𝗛𝗨𝗡𝗧𝗘𝗥»

I waited a moment, thinking maybe 𝗢𝗩𝗘𝗥𝗩𝗜𝗘𝗪 needs time to refresh or something. I even whistled for bit and imagined myself twiddling my now gone thumbs. After a while, I re-launched the skill.

Inside my consciousness, I could see the entire forest but this time there were little red markers that indicated life was near!

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ - ☼ -

I had been walking for quite some time. I used a technique where I would constantly switch between 𝗢𝗩𝗘𝗥𝗩𝗜𝗘𝗪 and my default view. But after three hours of constantly doing this robotically, it felt like my mind was on autopilot.

[NOTICE: ACQUIRED SPECIAL SKILL 𝗔𝗨𝗧𝗢𝗣𝗜𝗟𝗢𝗧. UNABLE TO ADD FATIGUE SIDE-EFFECTS, ACQUIRED FUNDEMENTAL COMMON SKILL 𝗙𝗔𝗧𝗜𝗚𝗨𝗘 𝗡𝗘𝗚𝗔𝗧𝗜𝗢𝗡]

Speak of the devil, there's actually a skill called this. Well, like any skill I acquire, I need a debriefing on it.

[The Special Skill 𝗔𝗨𝗧𝗢𝗣𝗜𝗟𝗢𝗧 is a skill that allows the user to perform complex tasks without conscious thought or effort. It can be used in combat or everyday tasks, but requires high concentration and can be mentally and physically exhausting. It's a powerful tool, but must be used with caution]

Coupled with the 𝗙𝗔𝗧𝗜𝗚𝗨𝗘 𝗡𝗘𝗚𝗔𝗧𝗜𝗢𝗡 skill, and I should be able to autopilot forever. Back to my mission, I scanned the area one more time. Please be some good news...

«Report: A large settlement of humanoids has been detected 5 miles away using the skill 𝗢𝗩𝗘𝗥𝗩𝗜𝗘𝗪 and 𝗛𝗨𝗡𝗧𝗘𝗥»

YES!

I then used my 𝗔𝗨𝗧𝗢𝗣𝗜𝗟𝗢𝗧 skill to take over my form and fly me to said civilization. My mind raced with excitement as I grasped what lay ahead of me: new people, new friends, and a fresh start!

And maybe... new enemies.