When people think of ghosts, two things come to mind. The first is a likeness to a person or animal. The neighbor died and came back as a ghost, people catching the ghostly neighbor in the backyard or in the house - kind of thing. Maybe a pet or even the deer that you shot and ate later.

The second type that comes to mind is usually of the eldritch horror style. Abominations with tentacles, floating in the air, often causing terror. The mind associates the being with the closest concepts and ideas it can, but they are usually beyond understanding.

The apparition that I’m looking at down the hallway is a mixture of both. A dessicated looking ghost, jaw and tongue missing, floating about a foot off the ground. A slight light emanating from it, catching the eyes, and the remaining clothing ruffling in an unseen and unfelt breeze.

This is the only ghost visible. All the bedroom doors were closed, limiting natural light into the hallway. As the ghost is floating, no sound is being made from movement.

Having no enchanted gear, my only means of causing damage to these guys will be the mostly untested magic I’ve recently purchased. This is definitely not the time to be experimenting and hoping for the best. Not to mention the damage done to the manor I purchased...

On a lark, I inspect the floating apparition.

Jacob Walnorf - Ghostly remains of anger and regret. Level ???.

Which gives a prompt for a quest that I almost immediately canceled out of habit.

Jacob Walnorf has become a ghost of anger and regret! The previous owner of this manor, he was brutally murdered for reasons unknown. Investigate his murder and bring his killer to justice!

I frown. As the previous owner of this house, the only way he would pass on would be to take the quest or outright kill him. Given the level was hidden, he must be of a much higher level than mine. At least, that’s what I’m going to go with - seeing as that’s how it worked in most other games and that damn dragon.

Three question marks hints at a level of one hundred or greater. Or the system is fucking with me again and this guy is so much canon fodder. Without an enchanted weapon or trusted useable magic, it’s still a fool's errand to pick a fight when not necessary.

As usual, there was no indication of experience or monetary reward for completing the quest. I would normally just walk away, but I did purchase this place as my own. Sighing, I resolve myself to get this ghost out of here properly. I guess Maria will be seeing me sooner than she thought. She should have information on the previous land owner and have at least an idea of what happened.

It’s stereotyping, but women and gossip...

I slowly start to walk towards the ghost and inspect his appearance in more depth. The missing jaw and tongue, his eyes are missing, the remaining rags of his clothes appear torn or cut. Can’t really go off that as I have no idea how long he’s been a ghost or if his appearance reflects the damage he sustained during his murder.

Getting ready to bolt out of the house, I’m preparing to do something stupid. “Jacob?” I call out to the ghost, only a few meters away from him.

The ghost rotates to face me fully but does not take any hostile action. My hud is not showing him as an enemy either, though that could change.

Jacob hovers in place for the moment, not taking any action except staring in my direction. After a few moments, I shrug and continue with my stupid plan.

“Jacob, I’ve been informed that you were murdered. I was hoping to explore the rooms on this floor to see if I can find anything that will help me to help you.” I spoke somewhat slowly, as if talking to a child. “I recently purchased this property, I hope that doesn’t bother you.”

That last statement was a gamble, I was waiting for a negative reaction. Other than a nod from the ghost, nothing else happened. Hopefully that wasn’t a nod of ‘I will eat you while you sleep because you bought my house’ kind of thing.

During times like this, rarely does anyone have the opportunity to ask the victim for help to catch their killer. Usually, it’s not until the end of the chase or episode does this tactic come into play, if at all. I think I’ll take the chance and see if he’s willing to help - or able to for that matter.

“Before I explore this floor, Jacob - is there anything you can do to help me find out who killed you?” Tentatively asked, it’s not everyday you ask a ghost to help catch their killer. I’m not some psychic detective after all.

The ghost nods once, then fades into the door it was in front of. Come to find out, it’s the master bedroom. Unless all the other rooms are this massive or larger.

The door opens without even the slightest sound, once again making me wonder about that. If this had occurred recently, then Maria would have had more information about this. A murder of a manor owner would have been a big thing, unless there was a massive cover up. Now there’s a thought.

Putting aside hinges that have not squeaked from disuse, I slowly walk into the bedroom. Likely to be my bedroom, I idly think as my eyes rove all about.

Nothing is really out of place in the bedroom. The massive canopy bed has it’s covers all nice and neat, tucked in and ready for bedtime. The windows are left uncovered, allowing the sun to shine in from the assumed west side and more windows on the assumed east side of the bed. Nothing looks to have been knocked over or disturbed. Dust coats all the surfaces of the smaller sitting tables, armoire, and chest at the base of the bed. No blood stains on the carpets or bodies littering the floor.

I take the time to examine the ceiling and walls for blood spatter and then take a glance under the bed. Hey, just because my parents told me there were no monsters under the bed in my world does not mean there aren’t any here in this world. That could be a huge thing that would bite me on the ass later on - death by monster under the bed. Eh, I don’t think so.

Too lame of a way to die.

Jacob’s ghost hovers by a fairly large bookshelf located in the corner closest to the entryway. Hidden passage in the master bedroom? I take the time to explore the other two doorways inside the bedroom, each adjacent to the entryway.

One leads to a massive walk-in closet that Claire would have loved. Clothes still hanging, an assortment of shoes and boots lay neatly tucked against the wall. Closing the door, I go check the door on the opposite side of the room, which leads to a very large bathroom. Tiled, the bathroom sports a big bathtub in the center of the room with an actual toilet in the back corner. The toilet is more of a chair over a hole rather than like the plumbing of my world, but it’s a sight better than a bucket or pisspot. No blood or damage present.

Curiosity sated and nothing else noteworthy found, I make my way back to the ghost that’s been patiently waiting for me to come over to the bookshelf. I’m guessing at the patient part, the ghost not making any other movement except hovering in place.

The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.

I stare at the bookshelf a moment, wondering how I will be able to activate what is very likely a hidden passage. Jacob saves me the time, pointing at the corner at about chest high. Jacob then slide back a bit as I move closer to inspect what he pointed at.

This corner is one of the darker areas of the room, the sunlight not quite making it this far. With the books helping to block the remaining ambient lighting, it makes a very nice place to hide things.

Located at the topmost of the corner on that row, there is a small circular knob. I glance back at Jacob’s apparition with a raised eyebrow for a moment. Forgetting he has no eyes, I roll mine and push the knob.

Sure enough, the bookshelf is the access for the hidden passage. The bookshelf doesn’t swing inward or outward, but actually slides down into the floor. Fairly advanced, as far as hidden doorways go. I’d love to get the blueprints of this place. After all, if there is one hidden room or passageway, there is bound to be more.

The doorway opens to a circular staircase leading down. Taking a glance, it doesn’t appear to be a short distance either. Being on the third floor and with the house having a basement, it may lead down that far. Only one way to find out.

I glance back at the ghost, “Heading down, there are no surprises waiting or traps set?” Jacob shakes his head, no. Shrugging, which I do a lot of, I hope the smidgen of trust I have in the ghost pans out for the better.

I don’t even guess how far down I traveled. There were no other access points that I could see with my night vision, so having another means of getting to this staircase will depend on where it leads.

The staircase ends at a landing, my hud showing that I’m facing West and I entered the staircase at the top facing East. Not quite under the house, but pretty close to it.

The landing slopes down, the walls and floor are smooth carved stone of some kind. Torch sconces line the path but I have no need for them. After walking a few feet, Jacob appears and starts to lead me through the corridor.

Not being in a hurry and staying observant, I let my mind estimate the distance I’ve traveled. Each step was about twenty centimeters or about eight inches tall. I roughly counted about two hundred seventy five steps, so that’s about fifty five meters after conversion or about one hundred eighty feet. Based on the four meter tall ceilings or about thirteen foot tall, even with the basement I went well over one hundred feet below ground. How peculier.

Jacob’s ghost lead me down the corridor about the same distance as the stairwell before the slight downwards slope leveled out. Another fifty or so meters passed that and I’m lead into a huge room. With the walls being so smooth, I’m fairly sure they were carved. No natural cave will have such smooth walls and almost ninety degree corners

What is going on here? Seriously, this much effort for a hidden cubby is rather extravagant and wasteful in my opinion. Who does this, other than this dead rich guy, and what was he hiding?

More torch sconces line the sides of a large rectangular room. The ceiling is still about three meters tall, but the room is about the size of a football field. Pillars are erected at equidistant points to support the room and further towards the center it looks like there is a circular area.

Slowly making my way there, I come upon a horrific sight. The remnants of a body, ravaged brutally, lies in the center of the circle. Runic script squiggles along the floor, pillars, and ceiling of the circular area. I stop on the outside, not daring to walk into the ritualistic scene just yet.

I take the time to walk around the circle, getting different angled views on the body.  I also take the time to experiment a bit. I toss a rock over the threshold of the circle to see if there is any reaction. Then a small bit of meat, I tentatively extend my pinky finger through the perceived threshold. All come back with no reaction.

“Time to put these fancy flying boots to work, methinks.” There I go talking to myself again. It must be the quiet, even the BGM in my head is silent. That’s eerie all by itself, like a prelude to a boss fight.

Heading back to the entrance I came in through, there should now be plenty of room to conduct my experiments - somewhat safely, I’m hoping. I seat myself facing perpendicular to the circle, but not in the corridor that lead me here.

The activation for the boots is simple enough, though I still have no real practical ability with magic in this world yet. The boots are safe enough to experiment with, I hope.

Knowing that the activation of any enchantment requires mana, I first start trying to gather some on the tips of my fingers. Focusing on just a little bit of mana, I keep the hud in my periphery to monitor how much I’m consuming.

Several minutes pass and only three units of mana have been expended. Sweat beads my forehead as I strain to keep consumption low and try to gain some control over this foreign substance that resides within me. There is a faint glow on each of my finger tips. I tug some more, still straining to prevent waste or a catastrophic error.

Several more minute pass, sweat trickling down my back. I swear, willpower is a hidden attribute. Likely inherent to the person and their experiences in life.

A steady glow pulses on each of my fingertips now, almost comparable to a weakly burning candle flame that pulses with a weak heartbeat. Approximately ten units of mana was used to get to this point, though I’m having to guess since my regen has easily restored the meagre bit I’ve used for this experiment.

Between the games I played in my youth, my forced but amazing education, and the fact that critical thinking, logic, planning, and just plain old common sense was hammered into my head with spec ops training - I’d otherwise just be a meathead stumbling around trying to figure things out.

Worse off than I already am, anyway.

So the mana is now where I want it to be. I don’t want to absorb it, though that might be an interesting trick to check in a minute, so I look at the wall in the distance. I hold my hand up and flick it, as if to remove water droplets from the tips.

The good news is my hand is no longer glowing with mana. There is no bad news, but I was hoping that the result would have been more offensive in nature - like sending a sickle of mana outward. Instead, the mana left a residual light behind, like I was painting and the air itself was my canvas. Five streaking lights hang horizontally in the air, still lingering. Each as wide as my fingertips and about a foot long, shorter than the swipe I took.

I swipe my other hand vertically through the existing lines. The mana expended, my hand returns to its normal not-glowing state. The lines overlap for a moment, then meld together where they intersect.

So, I can paint the air with pretty light. Due to my night vision, I’m unable to tell what color of light or if there is a color to the light. Hopefully it’s not some ugly color or red, I don’t think what little bit of vanity I have can take that.

Continuing the experiment, I quickly set ten units of mana to head to my index finger on my right hand. A slight jolt of energy is felt as the mana quickly moves from my core, through my arm, and to the tip of the finger.

A small ball of mana, no bigger than a small marble, sits above my index finger. Moving my hand around, the mana does not discharge or color the air. We’re back to willpower and I’m thinking intent.

Narrowing my eyes, I stare at the far wall and flick my finger at it. My mind and intent was to carve a line in the wall.

Sure enough, a sickle of light fires from my finger and impacts the wall. To be sure, I do this several times with different angles fired. Horizontal, vertical, diagonal. I walk over to examine the damage, curious to know what ten units of mana can do against a rock wall.

Solid damage. Each swipe caused a five centimeter or about two inch deep gash into the rock, about two and a half centimeters tall or an inch. The gash doesn’t taper off, but is a solid strike that spans half a meter or a little over a foot and a half. Each of them does this.

I go back to where I originally sat and think of what this could mean for the future. At my fingertips, I now hold a very deadly weapon. A weapon that can grow with me, that is only limited by my mana capacity and imagination.

What’s even more odd is I haven’t received any notifications for any of this. I check my notifications system tab to be sure. Nothing.

I frown to myself, but push that off for later. The painting in the air technique I’ve stumbled on is tickling the back of my head a bit.

“Runes. I could paint runes in the air with my mana!” Maybe that intelligence stat has some use after all. I can’t say I’d be able to work that out on my own in my old world.

Excitedly, I get ready to write the rune for water in the air, but stop a moment. Let’s think about this before hastily inscribing runes.

The water rune by itself would only change from writing into the element it represents. I glance around, noticing there is no ready source of water nearby. I take a deep breath through my nose, noting that there is some moisture in the air, but it’s not heavily humid.

I shudder a moment in realization. Water would not, could not, have been created from nothing, the rune would have pulled from the most readily available source of water near it.

Myself.

I shudder again. There was no limiter placed or even thought of when I went to write that rune, so it would have been driven by the amount of mana I placed into writing it. Until the capacity was met, the rune would have kept draining until full. Fuck me, that could have been a disaster. A painful, potentially deadly, disaster.

Granted, the rune could be marred and ruined. This would cancel the effect, but would I react in time and not fatally injure myself in the process? Let’s never find out.

Pulling from the knowledge that is my overpowered skill of enchanting, I take a moment to clearly think of what I want to test. Simple, but effective, a small low-light sphere that will float and be controlled by my thoughts.

The runic scheme clear in my mind, I recall that only ten units of mana was originally used for all ten of my fingers - yes, I can count, thank you very much. Using only a single unit of mana to my right index finger, I keep the supply steady at that output as I start to inscribe on the air.

A rune for the light itself, which would make physicists scream at me since I’m in  a room that has no light available. I know it will work though, as light is paradoxically energy and matter. So long as energy is present, the Concept that is light will shine through - pun intended.

A rune added for control, linked to myself. This way it pulls from my mana reserves and I can move it around to my will. Not to mention control the overall brightness. The control feature is broad for a reason, that way I can modify it on the fly.

A volumetric rune added at the end, to limit the size and prevent accidents or over consumption of my mana reserves. That would suck, to do this first experiment and have all my mana consumed in a second. Not sure if I’d die from that, but I imagine that it would still be painful. I’m not a masochist, thank you very not.

So the scheme is: Light, control, size. There could be many more added, increasing the complexity of it, but I’m just trying this out. Biting my lip in concentration, I prepare to enact this little experiment.

The runes hover in the air, waiting to be linked and activated. My finger loops around to complete the chain…

And there was light.