Chapter 36: A new rise (P.1) - Chapter 11
In the same inn where Aya had spent the night, rustling noises stirred in the room where she was currently sleeping. Her eyes slightly twitched at the sound, and she gradually woke up, fully aware that she needed to prepare herself to leave the place soon.
"Aya."
Hiroki's voice called out to the sleepy girl, who became aware of her first signs of waking up.
"We should hurry up and leave before the sun rises."
Slowly regaining her senses from her restful slumber, Aya opened her eyes to find her benefactor standing before her first thing in the morning.
"Ah, sorry...." she apologized, her blurry vision picking up on the presence of another person in her room. Having Hiroki as a companion in her room had become a regular occurrence, so she didn't react much to his presence.
However, once she completely regained her vision from just waking up, she noticed that something was different about her benefactor.
"Eh….?" she uttered in surprise.
From his usual cloudy form as a ghost, right now he seemed almost to be just like another human. With long human legs, a tall and well-toned body, sharp red eyes, and long, silky white hair that made his pale face rather attractive. A strange feeling stirred in Aya's stomach as she couldn't understand this sudden transformation.
"Hiroki.... Is that you?" she asked, feeling unsure and nervous about this new appearance.
"You can't tell? Or are you still asleep?" Hiroki replied with a slight smile, his quiet response causing Aya's face to slightly blush from the unexpected change.
"Ah!— N-no, it's just that you look so different. What happened?"
"It's one of my powers," Hiroki briefly explained. "It allows me to mimic the human form and image to a certain degree. Unfortunately, I couldn't change the color of my hair or eyes. Also it seems like I don't have a reflection. I still can't touch anything physically either. But I hope I don't look too strange."
"No, you look much better now," Aya commented, her eyes fixated on the sharp-looking features of her benefactor.
"Then I'm glad," Hiroki replied with a soft smile before turning around to give Aya privacy to get up and dress.
However, his smile quickly faded as he looked at his own hand, which, despite appearing like any other human hand, still lacked any physical sensation.
'This new form is rather draining and hard to use.' He thought to himself before looking at his own status.
[ STATUS ]
Name: Hiroki SF: 1,405/1,405
Race: Ghost Points: 632
Title: Monarch of the Undead
INT: 1,930 STR: 0 AGI: 0 VIT: 0 DEF: 0
[ Skills ]
<Appraisal> < Possession > <Curse> <Skill distortion> < Ruler's Wrath > < Night Vision > < Danger Sense > < Airblade > < Fast thinking > < Quick Shield > < Memory Call > < Total Immobilization > < Mind's force > < Imitation >
'Even though I had to sacrifice one of my skills for this, this is still nothing but a temporary solution to my appearance. Relying always on Aya to do certain tasks is going to be very difficult; that's why, until I find a suitable other human I can possess, I will use this.'
Hiroki concluded while looking at his own status.
"Hiroki, I'm ready," Aya called out after dressing in her clothes and cloak.
"Alright, let's go."
After Aya finished getting ready, she called out to Hiroki before he returned to his usual form and possessed her again. Aya was initially puzzled about why he did that, given that he now had a new human-like form. However, after a brief thought process, she quickly realized how his sudden appearance out of nowhere in this town, without any form of identification, could draw unwanted attention.
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone