บท 15: A Ghost and A Plunderer
Leaves rustled in the warm summer breeze, with birds chirping high in the green canopies of the tall trees—the warm rays of sunlight passing through.
A dead girl in a bloodstained black and white maid outfit lay against the trunk of a tree, an arrow sticking out of her chest. Clutching her in an embrace was the headless corpse of a man, his linen shirt smeared with blood, transforming it from its original white color to a gruesome shade of crimson.
Tia felt a surreal detachment from reality, as if she were adrift in an unfathomable sea, her senses numbed and distant.
Above the bodies, an ethereal and enigmatic apparition of the deceased girl floated, her eyes vacant and hollow like dark voids, locking onto Tia with an eerie gaze.
'Is this a ghost?! Did I truly go insane?'
The ghost wailed in a distorted, grief-stricken voice, "Are you the spirit who responded to my call? Kill him! Kill that bastard! He couldn't let me go! I was just a maid, yet he wanted my body! He killed Toby and me. We almost escaped, but they caught up to us!"
"Who?" Tia wasn't scared, only intrigued by the ghost's tragic story.
"The baron's son! Kill him, and my body is yours!"
Ding!
//
You have temporarily entered the world: Garlicia, in the universe Magiterium.
Do you wish to form a contract and obtain a vessel?
Failure will lead to ejection by the world will.
Acceptance will start a new quest and an opportunity to plunder the resources of the local world.
//
'So this is what this is about...' Tia didn't hesitate for even a moment, knowing that every opportunity to gain more strength to survive in her dangerous world would be welcome, especially when not risking her own body.
"I will do it. I accept your offer."
In the blink of an eye, her perspective shifted inexplicably, hurtling towards the lifeless form of the deceased girl. The world around her darkened once more, enveloping her in a dark shroud of blackness.
'What the? Tell me, what are you doing, system?'
Beep!
<<<>>>>
<Warning> - Unexpected time-space anomaly detected, consuming the energy to correct it.
Correction progress: 0.5%
<Error> - Correction blocked!
<<<>>>>
Ding!
//
New quest: The Death Contract
You are the witch of death, and death is your gateway between the two worlds. Fulfill the last wish of your contractee.
Rewards: 2 x WP; Permanent link to the world: Garlicia
Time Limit: 10 Days
Failure: You will be kicked out of the world; You will lose all the items gained in the world: Garlicia
//
As if snapped back to reality, a surge of sensations flooded Tia's mind, replacing the numbing void with a vivid array of experiences. The heat of the sun, the chill of the breeze, and the sturdy sensation of the tree's bark against her back all rushed into her awareness.
Blinking rapidly, she struggled to adjust her eyes to the sudden influx of bright light, which compelled her to squint reflexively. The world around her burst into vibrant colors, and she found herself back in the physical realm.
'I should probably check how this thing works...'
//
[World Plunder (LV 1)]
Description: The ability to visit other worlds through the grudges of the recently deceased. Upon forming a contract with a deceased, you will take over their body. You can freely shapeshift between their and your own body.
All the items in direct physical contact with your body can be brought between the two worlds.
Time is relative, so while you are plundering around your real body, only a few seconds to minutes will pass.
Warning: Dying or getting while possessing a body might lead to damage to your body through the soul link.
Activation condition: Enough of death energy collected through killing; The needed amount increases with your level
//
'You should have warned me before I accepted this! What if I die here?' She clenched her fist in fury, her eyes shining as she felt like the system just threw her into danger of its own volition.
Determined to get the most out of the situation, she rose to her feet. Her platinum hair glinted in the sunlight, and her long black coat fluttered slightly in the wind.
'This is my form... good. Showing as an obviously dead girl would be bad for information gathering.'
The air surrounding her was remarkably pristine, carrying a sense of purity that brought a serene smile to her lips. She took a deep, cleansing breath, savoring the untainted atmosphere that seemed devoid of any pollution or impurities. In that very moment, profound tranquility washed over her, as if the fury that once consumed her had evaporated into thin air, leaving behind only a sense of inner peace.
'At least, I can enjoy myself here. In the world not destroyed by humans.'
She froze as she felt her energy slowly leak out, absorbed by some invisible void that sucked and devoured it. Crestfallen by the sudden discovery, she looked around in panic, searching for a solution, but all she could see were the seemingly endless rows of trees, stretching out as far as the eye could see.
It trickled away like blood from between fingers trying to stop the bleeding. She was unable to stop it.
Beep!
<<<>>>>
<Warning> - Unexpected time-space anomaly detected, consuming the energy to correct it.
Correction progress: 0.5%
<Error> - Correction blocked!
<<<>>>>
Ding!
//
Unknown interference detected: Using the energy to temporarily block the dimensional teleportation.
//
It all cleared up as she finally realized what was wrong, the bickering of her two systems clearing out all of her questions.
'So this is where my energy is vanishing....' A sense of urgency hit her as her time was much more limited than she originally assumed, and she needed to act and find what she was looking for as fast as possible.
She quickly reached for her waist and breathed in relief as her two guns were still safely holstered in their place, the cold metallic sensation of touch bringing calmness to her mind.
'The witch system never acted like this in my previous life. So, why is it doing it now? It is as if its evolution made it more independent.'
She briskly stepped forward, not wanting to waste any of her limited time. The sensation of dry leaves and verdant grass padding beneath her feet brought tears of joy to the corners of her eyes after years of being trapped and imprisoned in her concrete jail and the desolate and dirty cityscape.
'This is what I want. No humans around to judge me, only myself.'
Ding!
//
New quest: The Magic Resources
Resource gathering is the base skill of even the lowest of witches. Venture into the world of magic and obtain a branch of magic wood to be used as a base for your wand.
Rewards: 1 x witch point; 1 x [Apprentice Artificyng]
//
'Ohh, so this is why you sent me here.' It wasn't hard to imagine the absolute lack of magic trees back in the universe she came from, and without them, the chances of forging her wand were close to nil, preventing her from progressing further down the witch path.
'Hell, even finding a regular tree might prove to be a challenge on the planet where I was.'
Tia focused on her dropping energy and quickly estimated her remaining time in this world.
'I have at most a single day thanks to their stupid infighting. No, more likely only two hours. This is not good.' Until now, she didn't mind the two systems disliking each other, but now it started to become a problem as it turned the quest from already hard and dangerous into a speedrun on a nightmare difficulty.
Without a moment's hesitation, she pressed onward, walking deeper into the woods—her senses honed to perfection as she meticulously scanned the foliage and the shadowy recesses of the forest, anticipating a monster to attack her at any moment.
'This should be a magic world, that means mutated animals turned into monsters.'
Everything was silent except for the leaves rustling below her feet and birds chirping in the crowns of the trees as she slowly ventured further and further away.
Suddenly, her eyes stopped at a single spot. A tree stump stood lonely amidst the dry leaves. Tia slowly approached it, not dropping her guard as she gracefully lowered herself beside it, her fingers brushing off its smoothly cut surface.
'There is only one thing that could do this, an axe or a saw. Also, it is still wet, so it must have been cut only recently.'
She looked around, but there were no humans as far as she could see, which wasn't that far as the dense green foliage obstructed her from seeing further.
'There must be some intelligent lifeform nearby.'
Her eyes fell on the second stump further away. She wearily approached it, and once more, her slender fingers brushed the wood.
'This one is dryer, so it had to be cut earlier, and as it is most logical to start at the edge of a forest and then advance deeper when logging, I should be able to follow the path of cut trees and find the perpetrator.'
She didn't know who or what she would find at the end of the trail, but she knew she would at least gain some vital information.
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