Accomplishment isn’t something lucked into. It is almost always received through dedication, hard work, and an endless drive to succeed. Luck just helps move things along a little faster.
~Ogma, God of Eloquence and Inspiration
The Celtic Knot formed inside him, and one by one, connected to the appropriate acupoints. After confirming the knot’s infinite loop, it activated. It wasn’t the ability to phase, but the cultivation method required to create the Ghosting ability. Trial and error made him realize the crucial difference between spells and techniques, and it had to do with cultivation methods.
It was eye-opening because while it wasn’t the same as the Druid cultivation for his Source, the concepts were similar. Every technique created a cultivation method as its foundation. It was the first thing a person had to learn to use the ability. It was like a fighter’s stance—before a martial artist learned how to strike, they had to know where to place their feet. It was about the fundamentals.
Spells were different because they were ad hoc. That meant that the runes or formations used were mainly to power up a spell and give it intent. Established spells already knew the correct sequence of runes or formations within the body, so the acupoints, which is what made them powerful. Crow’s fireball was basically trash because it relied solely on intent and had nothing to back it up or give it shape.
Therefore, he needed to establish the cultivation method for Ghosting because it wasn’t something he could manage as a spell. And he could feel the Ghost Mana moving through his body and acupoints using the knot and runes he’d already established as the foundation.
Ice formed on his flesh but couldn’t enter his body as the fires within prevented it. It was an ability average cultivators could never use, not unless they had at least an earthly flame or an ice-based body type.
The strange thing was that the vital yin he gained from Song Lin and Mara assisted. Their yin energy was purer, colder, and more potent than Ghost Mana, which aided in creating the cultivation method which was branded onto his soul.
He didn’t realize it, but this change was causing snow to fall inside his Soulscape on the dark side of his landmass. The temperature inside his Soulscape had always been uncomfortably warm because of the sun created from the heavenly fire. As the temperature fell, both Lily and Nin noticed immediately. They’d ignored Crow for quite some time since he was busy creating his spell, and now that something had changed, they were equally curious.
At that moment, Crow realized he had already imprinted Ghostly Visage and Ghost Steps on his soul. He only recognized their existence because he could feel Ghosting forming alongside them. Now that he could feel their presence, it was as if they became an extension of himself. Crow also came to realize that Ghostly Visage wasn’t a spell either, but a technique.
He wasn’t sure whether to laugh or cry about his techniques, considering they were all related to ghosts and Ghost Mana. It disturbed him a little to think about it, but in hindsight, Ghosting wouldn’t have existed without the other two. Phasing was still possible using other mechanisms or mana types, but he had two techniques related to Ghost Mana. It gave him solid reference material, and he already had the means to cultivate Ghost Mana.
His understanding of Ogham Runes and Time allowed him to design the appropriate intent; the platform to power it didn’t matter as much. Still, it took an additional two days to solidify the cultivation method within his soul.
The core of his new Ghosting ability was within him, and he could activate it with just a thought. Unlike Ghost Steps, it wasn’t an ability he wanted to leave active all the time. Mostly because he feared what would happen if he phased through a person—or worse, touched someone like Mara. He didn’t think anything bad would happen, but he just couldn’t take that risk. At least not without testing it first.
Instead, he incorporated a mechanism to treat it like an aura. This allowed him to activate it at will. Now that it was activated, his pale skin turned ghostly white, which was damned near transparent. It felt like he was looking into cloudy ice. It didn’t do anything other than feel cold to the touch.
Because he felt as if his body temperature had essentially dropped way below that of a living human, he called this the Ghostly Aura. He knew there was more to this aura, so he decided this was the first stage of Ghosting. Regardless, with it active, all he needed to do to Ghost was activate a few more runes. Since he already incorporated them into the knot, he allowed them to power up.
Like creating the foundation of the ability, he felt the runes activating, and it took almost another hour before they too became part of the aura that he could turn on and off at will. Cultivating this way, he had nearly drained all the Ghost Mana from the room.
It wasn’t perfect, and Crow felt like it was filled with flaws. Even with the Ghosting part currently disabled, he could tell just by powering up the runes that it’d work, but the foundations were still shaky.
Using his Sage’s Mind, he kept analyzing the spell and adjusting it. It felt very different from his fireball spell because he already established the intent within the runes. Since it was mostly a passive ability, he needed to keep it cycling through the acupoints related to his skin. This was the fastest method to develop the spell he could think of, and his skin would displace the object he wanted to ghost through.
“Here goes…” Crow muttered, taking a few deep breaths to stabilize his mind and breath. Many things could go wrong, and he wanted to quickly shut it down if something happened.
Activating Ghosting didn’t come with any fancy fanfare, and the mana draw was almost negligible. Three seconds after Crow had that thought, his clothes passed through his body and fell to the floor, leaving him standing there completely naked. The next thing was that he felt himself sinking into the floor. And the most dreadful of all was that as things ghosted through him, the mana drain was terrifying.
Jumping as high as he could, he deactivated Ghosting and fell to the floor in a panic.
“Fuck, no wonder why people don’t create their own spells,” Crow panted while laying on the ground in his birthday suit. “Thankfully, grandpa isn’t here. He’d never let me live this down, especially since I always end up naked.”
Rising to his feet shakily, he got dressed.
“Now, time to think about what went wrong and how to fix it.”
Mana drain was no joke. The heavy draw on his Source the moment his skin came into contact with something was too high. He couldn’t even imagine what would happen if he ran out of mana and the Ghosting barrier on his skin stopped working. Would time merge the two objects that existed in the same place? Or would both get obliterated? It was a scary thought, and he shuddered just thinking about it.
Reevaluating the Clocktower’s manual, he finally understood why it listed some of the Ogham runes. Those runes related to mana efficiency and flow, which meant they were necessary for Ghosting unless his Source had unlimited mana. It also meant a partial redesign of the cultivation method. Those changes alone took almost two days, and he knew time was running out.
While he was thinking through that solution, he already came up with an answer for sinking into the floor. The second stage of Ghost Steps already created a barrier between his feet and the ground. It was a ready-to-use solution. However, he felt if he had enough time, he could use the time aspect with Ghost Steps to prevent him from sinking or rising while passing through an object. It also gave him ideas on potentially incorporating Ghost Steps or transforming it to use his Ghostly Aura. He felt there was a lot of potential there.
Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.
The last part, which was the most time-consuming, was how to prevent his clothes from falling through his body. He definitely didn’t want to become a world-renowned pervert. This issue was more complex than he thought, but he felt he gained the most while thinking about it. Finally, he redesigned the runes to allow him to extend the displacement barrier. He felt it was safest if he used his skin, but if he could wrap it around the objects touching him, that’d solve the issue. Especially if he left Ghost Steps up, since he wasn’t technically touching the floor.
This barrier idea opened up a whole new world to Ghosting. It opened the door to the future stages of Ghosting. One idea that immediately came to mind was being able to extend the barrier into a wall. Essentially, Crow could turn the wall into a ghost wall and allow people to pass through. The problem was the mana drain was probably beyond his current capabilities.
All these thoughts extended his development time. However, it wasn’t all just thinking and redesigning because he tested the new builds as he thought them up. It came down to the last day, and he still felt it wasn’t fully ready.
Re-consolidating his cultivation method took some time. It wasn’t nearly as long or laborious as the first time since it was primarily modifications. Still, the Ghost Mana in the room was dangerously low, and he wasn’t sure he’d get another chance.
Nervously, he activated Ghosting once more and found that his Ghostly Aura used a trickle of mana that was quickly replenished just by natural absorption. But because it was more efficient, his skin definitely was more see-through than before. It was a frightening aura because he really felt like his own aura essentially disappeared. It might be a more effective camouflage than Ghostly Visage.
Activating Ghost Phasing, which he decided to call the second stage of Ghosting, he didn’t sink into the floor, nor did his clothes fall to the ground. The mana draw was still very light, and it lacked the delay from the first time, which meant he could Ghost Phase immediately.
Placing his hand on the brick wall, he pushed, and his hand slid through like the wall was wet paper. It felt strange, and he knew it was the time displacement. He wasn’t sure how that worked, but he could sense his hand existed in the same space and time that the wall did. It was an otherworldly feeling, and he felt strangely daunted by time.
After he pulled his hand out, he quickly processed everything he felt, and the mana drain. Allowing his Sage’s Mind to parse it all. The mana drain was still terrifying, but it was much less than before. He felt his Source was strong enough to allow him to pass through roughly a meter of solid material. Beyond that, he wasn’t confident enough to make it through. Since the brick wall was, at most, thirty centimeters thick, he could pass this challenge easily.
Crow wasn’t totally satisfied with the current iteration of his technique. But, even he had to admit it was an amazing accomplishment. It definitely wouldn’t have been possible without Ghostly Visage and Ghost Steps as a foundation. Although he was designing a time phasing ability, he felt the real genius of the technique was Ghostly Aura. It was something he felt so strongly about that he already believed he could rebuild Ghost Steps and Ghostly Visage using it as the foundation. It’d take some time, and he might even convert them all into one comprehensive technique simply called Ghosting.
Whether he could pull that off was unknown for now, but either way, he gained a lot from using a hacked configuration of the two techniques to build his own. And now he had an ability he could call all his own, something that could become one of his signature skills.
Acco’s teleportation spell was more impressive, but Crow felt it was a matter of time before his technique could surpass it.
Walking through the wall, he entered the lobby and saw Tei sitting in front of him.
“Congratulations. You have reached a checkpoint,” Tei said with a big smile on her face. “How was it?”
“The Clocktower is a dick,” Crow said honestly.
“The Clocktower?”
“Yeah, the Clocktower, the voice that explains things. Isn’t that Father Time or something?”
Tei burst out laughing while shaking her head. “That isn’t Father Time. A trickster god manages the Clocktower. He is odd, but definitely not Father Time.”
“Odd how?”
“Well, the Clocktower’s first trial is about helping the cultivator grow. The trickster god might appear evil, but he is a trickster, so that’s just his nature. However, his intentions are always good, and it is up to the challenger to gain from it or not. It isn’t even necessarily about teaching you about time, but to give you a path to help your growth.”
“It isn’t about time?” Crow was confused because he was pretty sure his events were all about time.
“The primary focus is the door you chose. The initial challenges make you and your mental state a focus. After that, concepts of time become the priority as they relate to the door you chose. Since you chose the Door of Paradox, that means your trials will definitely focus on time. However, since this is your first trial, the requirements for a future invite are lax since this is more about stabilizing your growth.”
“How did that have anything to do with me?”
“I don’t know what challenges you faced, but since you passed them, you must have gained some insight.”
Crow thought about it and then told her everything that occurred. Since he reached the checkpoint and didn’t continue forward, he should retain anything they discussed. So he wanted to get as much information from Tei as he could. She even laughed about the birds but quickly stifled it when she saw Crow’s look.
Tei’s copper finger tapped the desk as she thought about what Crow said and then held up the finger. “Methodical analysis is your weakness. You attempt to think through a problem so you can control it. Sometimes action is more important.”
“You just made that up!” Crow snorted. “I tried action, even killed fucking woodpeckers for an entire day!”
“Of course, I’m guessing, but that is the insight I gained. You claim you tried action but did you, really? Those actions were also timed, methodical, and your typical way of working through a problem. Not that those things are bad, but sometimes a woodpecker is just a woodpecker,” Tei replied, her eyes shining with both mirth and seriousness.
“So the first trial is to address our biggest weakness?” Crow was still doubtful, but he admitted he didn’t even think about what he was doing when he punched that stele. He drew on so much power that he almost fainted and destroyed something they probably didn’t intend for him to break.
“Sometimes, partly depends on the door. Sometimes it isn’t always a weakness, but a heart demon. Your second challenge you realized on your own. Both will affect your reward. Ghosting is an interesting interpretation of time and a fascinating technique. It also encapsulates both challenges because you took the concept of motion and turned it into a method for uninhibited movement. You should know getting aid to create your own ability is the top reward for the first set of challenges. Considering the door you chose, even I am impressed.”
Crow flushed, not sure what to say to that. In hindsight, getting tortured by woodpeckers was worth the reward. It is rare for someone his age to design their own ability, even if he felt it was a bit of a hack. It was all about insight, and he gained the tools necessary to create something unique.
“I’d suggest you take a break. You’ve been in this place for almost two weeks, and the challenges become harder on the mind as you go. The other contenders have finally arrived, so I’d hide the marking on your hand.”
Crow looked down and saw the big gear had another smaller golden gear near the knuckle of his pointer finger. Its teeth interlocked with the bigger gear, and both of them rotated at the fifteen-minute mark. The number one was now a bronze color. He raised an eyebrow and looked up at Tei.
“The Clocktower has trials, rounds, and challenges. Each trial has several rounds, and each round has several challenges. That gold gear means you were the first to pass that round. Others will get a gear indicating they passed too, but it won’t be gold. A gold gear also means you get an automatic invite to the next Clocktower trial in the future. The bronze number just means you’ve passed the first round. Everyone’s number will turn bronze when they pass.”
“That seems redundant—wait, I get it. I’m assuming the golden gear is permanent, but the number in the middle of the big gear changes per Clocktower, correct?”
“Yes.”
“Does this give me any special perks?”
“That is a taboo part of the Clocktower that I’m not allowed to talk about. The best I can say is that is there any competition that doesn’t reward the winner better than the losers?”
Crow changed the subject after that and took some time to get to know Tei. Nin seemed to push him toward it too, which felt odd but knew she wouldn’t do anything that didn’t also benefit her. Regardless, Crow wasn’t sure what kind of connection they shared before, but after some small talk, he sort of understood why he’d made such an impression on her. It was because he didn’t treat her like a clockwork machine.
Her mannerisms were like an animated machine, but her mind, wisdom, and even empathy were not that of a clockwork puppet. He could even sense boundless energy within her. There was even a playfulness to her words that made him think the trickster god had influenced her quite a bit.
After bidding her goodbye, Crow went to the inn to get a hot meal, bath, and sleep. Time resets basically ensured he never slept, and tonight he wanted a soft bed and to fall into a blissful slumber.
A slender hand pulling him into a room that was not his own ended that thought.