"Break down the walls, and hear the roar as they hit the ground," the priest murmured to me.
A bead of sweat trickled down my jaw, my mana pulsing as it fed into [Spectral Hand]. I had gotten the head and left shoulder of the spectral priest to form, but the swirling smoke hadn't moved past the collarbones, hitting an invisible wall.
It had been a day since I'd returned, and almost every waking moment was spent advancing my skill. I wanted to know what happened when the entire body of the priest emerged. It drove me to push, and I had greatly improved the efficiency of my mana usage.
I knew how to hold it back and reduce the cost of the skill, so close to not wasting a single drop of my power. Still, improvement was slow, as every time I went a little further, formed a little more of the ephemeral priest, the cost increased, and I was forced to pause.
But forming what had already taken shape was easier the next time, and I could continue onward. With the priest's constant encouragement in my ear, everything seemed a little easier. It was no hardship to push myself to my limit, even if I was left dizzy and nauseous from a lack of mana.
I exhaled, letting the [Spectral Hand] fade away. I'd continue in a few hours after my mana center had refilled.
Matilde had not been by yet. I had no way to find her myself, so really all I could do was wait. But, with every hour of her gone, the speculated contents of my part of the deal loomed in my mind ominously. I wondered if her task would be as difficult as clearing the underwater cave.
After lighting a fire for the lighthouse, I settled on the floor. My mana had filled up completely, and I began the process of expanding [Spectral Hand]. Half a torso, an arm, and a head were almost immediately formed, all clothed in the priest's robes. The face was still covered, with no distinguishable features to be seen.
Materializing farther down the body was a process; more mana had to travel from the hand, where the skill started, then up the arm to pool down the chest. Nevertheless, my progress had significantly sped up, and I wanted to complete the copy of the priest by dawn.
I'd have two attempts, spaced out as mana needed to be replenished. I started with the opposite arm, wanting to form that before moving on to the legs.
It was like molding clay; my mind had to visualize what I wanted to form, then shape my mana around that. It helped that the priest never left. He sometimes paced back and forth in front of me, giving me a perfect model to duplicate.
My chest heaved as I approached the bottom of my mana stores, the fingertips of the left hand of the figure just barely forming. Releasing the skill, I rested my head against the wall, letting the tension in my body go. My first objective was complete.
Anticipation gnawed at me, and I wanted to immediately continue once my mana hit the halfway point—but I made myself wait. Impatience would never help me succeed.
Hours seemed to tick by like a snail. My stamina slowly returned along with my mana, and my brain was not as sluggish as before. The priest sharply turned towards me as my mana core finished filling, his cold, bony hand gripping my shoulder.
He whispered something quickly, too jumbled for me to understand, but I could hear an eagerness in his voice that was strange, coming from him.
Breathing out, the almost completed form of the spectral figure appeared before me like a ghost. My mana seemed to have a mind of its own, flowing up and then down to fill what was missing.
Despite all the anticipation, the process remained as slow as before. Every section took minutes to complete, and the robe’s wispy outline delicately appeared. I heard the birds singing before I finished, but I continued on without pause.
I let the lighthouse's flame fade away, focusing all my mana on my skill. Steadily, carefully, the edges of the robe met the ground, trailing like a king's cloak—and I still had a little mana to spare.
[Intelligence +1]
[Intelligence +1]
[Skill Evolved] - [Spectral Hand (1)] → [Spectral Soul (2)]
The skill change made sense, as the thing before me could no longer be called a "hand." I was surprised, however, that it was at level two. It seemed like this new skill should've started over. [Spectral Soul] did have the foundation of [Spectral Hand] though, so this result made sense in some ways.
Letting the spectral priest dissolve, I looked at the skills description, curious as to how it had changed.
[Spectral Soul] - [active. Summon a soul that can be manipulated, and is invisible to all but the controller.]
It wasn't much different than before—the only change was the end, informing me that the skill was only visible to my eyeless sight.
The priest sighed behind me, looking up at the ceiling. "To influence the material world—such an opportunity you have created for us." His head turned towards me, robes rustling. "Such possibilities, now that I can do more than look on."
Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original.
I activated [Spectral Soul], his words making me eager to test it out. The copy of the priest immediately formed, like the hand had previously. I no longer had to purposely create his body.
"You are connected to it?" I asked the priest, looking at the motionless ghost-like being.
"It is me," the priest corrected. "I am there and here, yet I cannot move that imitation fully on my own." At his words, I commanded the [Spectral Soul] to walk around, and it began to move.
"Do you have some control in this way?"
The priest beside me nodded. "I choose the directions, but any other action I cannot take."
The skill did not drain my mana as quickly as [Spectral Hand] had, and I attributed that to the level-up. I made it move to the trapdoor, directing it to grab the handle and lift it up. As its hand materialized, my mana drained quickly like before.
I deactivated the skill, my mana practically gone at this point. The priest looked at me for just a moment, and then he was gone.
I slept for hours after that, my whole body seeming to shut down. Then, that nightmarish singing of a siren woke me with a jolt. I stood, dazed, then collected myself and went outside to head towards the beach.
Matilde greeted me, voice joyful. I joined her, standing by the rock she had perched on.
"Came to collect?" I asked.
She scoffed at me. "I'm no debt collector. Fair's fair, I promised." I nodded, the corners of my lips slightly raised. "There's something I want, but it's where sirens have been banned." I was curious at that, but didn't ask her to explain.
"On the main island, there is an auction house. In two days, the next auction will include a Silver Sea Flower, and it is an ingredient I desperately need," Matilde explained, her solemn tone unusual.
"Can you not find it in the ocean?" I asked, guessing by the name.
"The flowers used to be abundant, but their high demand quickly made it practically impossible to find. I've heard there are many to the west, but I have no time for that long journey." I nodded, thinking, but ultimately decided not to ask about the flower's purpose or why she needed it.
"I don't have the money to win it, or even start a bid," I told Matilde.
She laughed. "I know. However, there was quite the treasure on the last ship me and my clan took down," she said slyly. "As long as you go in my place, it should be enough to win the bidding war. I believe that will equal the price of taking you to the cave."
I nodded, the request seeming reasonable. "Very well. Anything I need to bring?"
"Only yourself, and the nicest clothes you own. Weapons are forbidden, and there are dangerous guards monitoring the place to prevent the use of magic," Matilde warned. "As it would be too suspicious if I took you there directly, you'll need to take a boat. Once you've got everything settled, take the boat out to sea, and I'll join you."
Waving as I left, I returned to the lighthouse to grab a change of clothes. Of the backups Gaven had given me, I picked out the softest shirt, its long sleeves accompanied by buttons halfway down the front. I had fewer sets of pants and picked the ones that had no wrinkles as I ran my hand over the pair. I put them in a bag along with some food and left.
I found Gaven next, who reassured me he'd take care of the lighthouse. The man told me there were rowboats near where I had first arrived, so I went there with a quick farewell.
I rowed out on the water, and once the waves became less violent, I heard splashing to my left. Matilde emerged, slightly rocking the boat as she leaned on it.
"The main island isn't too far; it should take less than a day if you don't pause too often. Just follow me as I swim, and we should get there easily," she told me. I didn't bother telling her I had a skill that could guide me objectively better than she could. "Hold on one moment," Matilde continued, then dived back under without waiting for me to respond.
Not a minute later, she returned with a splash, a few drops landing on my face. Something heavy fell to the floor of the boat, metal rattling inside, and my eyebrows raised.
"Here's your fee, sailor," she teased. I shook my head, and then we were off.
It was easy to follow Matilde, as she often splashed in the water, swimming so close to the surface. My arms never seemed to tire like I expected, and it made me fully realize how much my body had changed compared to when I was on Earth. It had been hard to compare, as I'd never had to fight monsters back then.
My muscles never ached from what should have been an exhausting task, and the trip was almost made pleasant by the wind that chased away the burning heat of the sun. However, even that slowly faded as the night approached, and soon it was like I was gliding through a lake instead of an ocean that was supposed to have waves.
The night quickly ended, Matilde coming up to tell me we were close. Then, I began to hear the bustling of a dock, wood creaking, and voices chattering.
Matilde told me of an inn close to the shore I could use some money for and also the time the auction would start the next day. The last thing she told me was that over six hundred gold pieces were in the bag, and I balked at the amount.
She swam off before she could be spotted, and I docked the boat, slinging the heavy sack of money over my shoulder.
A dockmaster requested a small fee for docking the boat, and I handed it over, asking where I could find the inn. He told me the way, and I thanked him.
The inn was crowded, so many voices filling the first floor. I tensed, brain aching, as I hadn't heard so many people all at once in such a long time. Such noise was even worse than a siren's wailing. It was overwhelming, but I kept on high alert, aware of the treasure I carried with me.
It seemed the auction was a huge event, and I wondered how often it took place. Time must've been needed to get so many valuable products together, so I guessed this wasn't a regular occurrence.
I found the front desk and waited in line. When I got to the front, the man behind it told me I was lucky, as rooms were almost sold out. I hurried through the interaction, eager to escape all the noise. He gave me a small room, but it still required four gold pieces, given the demand.
In the room, I dropped both my bags on the bed, sitting with a sigh. I thought about the amount of money Matilde had given me, wondering what the ending cost of the Silver Sea flower would amount to. I still didn't have much concept of the money system in this world, but even I knew there was a fortune in that bag.
Such a price Matilde was willing to pay; I wondered what she had decided was equal to its worth, because even I could understand that the flower was just a means to an end.