Chapter 10: Curse of the Beastmen
Name: N/A
Age: 0
Species: Common Spirit
➦ Skills:
Common Skills: 𝗙𝗟𝗢𝗔𝗧, 𝗣𝗥𝗢𝗖𝗘𝗦𝗦 (x2), 𝗠𝗜𝗖𝗥𝗢𝗠𝗔𝗡𝗔𝗚𝗘𝗥, 𝗙𝗔𝗧𝗜𝗚𝗨𝗘 𝗡𝗘𝗚𝗔𝗧𝗜𝗢𝗡, 𝗩𝗢𝗜𝗖𝗘
Special Skills: 𝗖𝗢𝗢𝗥𝗗𝗜𝗡𝗔𝗧𝗜𝗢𝗡, 𝗦𝗣𝗜𝗥𝗜𝗧𝗨𝗔𝗟 𝗥𝗘𝗚𝗘𝗡𝗘𝗥𝗔𝗧𝗜𝗢𝗡, 𝗦𝗣𝗜𝗥𝗜𝗧𝗨𝗔𝗟 𝗔𝗖𝗤𝗨𝗜𝗦𝗜𝗧𝗜𝗢𝗡, 𝗔𝗨𝗧𝗢𝗣𝗜𝗟𝗢𝗧
Rare Skills: 𝗔𝗥𝗧𝗜𝗙𝗜𝗖𝗜𝗔𝗟 𝗜𝗡𝗧𝗘𝗟𝗟𝗜𝗚𝗘𝗡𝗖𝗘, 𝗢𝗩𝗘𝗥𝗩𝗜𝗘𝗪
- ☼ -
The ability to not need sleep was starting to feel more and more like a curse than an awesome superpower. For one, I was bored out of my mind. I tried copying Joana and reverting back to base form, only to be reminded by Googl that I am in base form.
<Does time work the same here?>
«Answer: Night lasts for a full 12 hours, as does day»
Well, with all this time on my hands I might as well put it to good use.
<Googl, please list all my skills. And I mean all!>
«Listing all skills…Organizing data…»
«Skill Arrangement done. Would you like a full comprehensive list of all skills, spells, arts, auras, karma, and data relating to your being?»
Jesus Christ, that was a lot to take in. This AI doesn't mess around.
<Uh…sure. Just don't spam it->
Before I could even say anything, a multitude of information was forcefully slammed into my consciousness. To give perspective, imagine getting slapped by 2 ton wrecking at Mach 5.
To say the least, it hurt. But here are all my skills and abilities, as well as information about me. I'm pretty shocked at some myself.
« RETRIEVED COMPREHENSIVE DATA»
Skills
Common Skills: 𝗙𝗟𝗢𝗔𝗧, 𝗣𝗥𝗢𝗖𝗘𝗦𝗦 (x2), 𝗠𝗜𝗖𝗥𝗢𝗠𝗔𝗡𝗔𝗚𝗘𝗥, 𝗙𝗔𝗧𝗜𝗚𝗨𝗘 𝗡𝗘𝗚𝗔𝗧𝗜𝗢𝗡, 𝗩𝗢𝗜𝗖𝗘
Special Skills: 𝗖𝗢𝗢𝗥𝗗𝗜𝗡𝗔𝗧𝗜𝗢𝗡, 𝗦𝗣𝗜𝗥𝗜𝗧𝗨𝗔𝗟 𝗥𝗘𝗚𝗘𝗡𝗘𝗥𝗔𝗧𝗜𝗢𝗡, 𝗦𝗣𝗜𝗥𝗜𝗧𝗨𝗔𝗟 𝗔𝗖𝗤𝗨𝗜𝗦𝗜𝗧𝗜𝗢𝗡, 𝗔𝗨𝗧𝗢𝗣𝗜𝗟𝗢𝗧
Rare Skills: 𝗔𝗥𝗧𝗜𝗙𝗜𝗖𝗜𝗔𝗟 𝗜𝗡𝗧𝗘𝗟𝗟𝗜𝗚𝗘𝗡𝗖𝗘, 𝗢𝗩𝗘𝗥𝗩𝗜𝗘𝗪
«Retrieving Data for Sub-Skills….»
Special Skill 𝗔𝗥𝗧𝗜𝗙𝗜𝗖𝗜𝗔𝗟 𝗜𝗡𝗧𝗘𝗟𝗟𝗜𝗚𝗘𝗡𝗖𝗘 sub-skills =
➥ 𝗗𝗔𝗧𝗔 𝗠𝗔𝗡𝗜𝗣𝗨𝗟𝗔𝗧𝗜𝗢𝗡 (𝗗𝗔𝗧𝗔 𝗦𝗘𝗡𝗦𝗘, 𝗣𝗥𝗢𝗕𝗔𝗕𝗜𝗟𝗜𝗧𝗬 𝗠𝗔𝗡𝗜𝗣𝗨𝗟𝗔𝗧𝗜𝗢𝗡, 𝗔𝗣𝗣𝗥𝗔𝗜𝗦𝗔𝗟, 𝗜𝗡𝗖𝗢𝗚𝗡𝗜𝗧𝗢)
➥𝗦𝗨𝗣𝗘𝗥𝗖𝗢𝗠𝗣𝗨𝗧𝗘𝗥 (𝗖𝗢𝗠𝗣𝗨𝗧𝗘𝗥, 𝗣𝗥𝗢𝗖𝗘𝗦𝗦𝗢𝗥)
Special Skill 𝗢𝗩𝗘𝗥𝗩𝗜𝗘𝗪 sub skills =
➥𝗣𝗔𝗧𝗛𝗙𝗜𝗡𝗗𝗘𝗥
➥ 𝗠𝗔𝗦𝗧𝗘𝗥 𝗡𝗔𝗩𝗜𝗚𝗔𝗧𝗢𝗥
➥ 𝗖𝗔𝗥𝗧𝗢𝗚𝗥𝗔𝗣𝗛𝗘𝗥
➥ 𝗛𝗨𝗡𝗧𝗘𝗥
There were some new ones I had never seen before such as 𝗔𝗣𝗣𝗥𝗔𝗜𝗦𝗔𝗟 and 𝗜𝗡𝗖𝗢𝗚𝗡𝗜𝗧𝗢, and some ones I heard about while being reincarnated but never really bothered to do a deep dive.
I began to test the new ones and make mental check notes about each of them, making Googl run optimizations to make sure they work efficiently with other skills.
After that, it was time to play with what might be my most favorite sub-skill: 𝗗𝗔𝗧𝗔 𝗠𝗔𝗡𝗜𝗣𝗨𝗟𝗔𝗧𝗜𝗢𝗡. I had Googl explain it further to me in detail, but because I cannot keep up with the likes of a literal super intelligence, I had multiple instances of my mind created with 𝗠𝗜𝗖𝗥𝗢𝗠𝗔𝗡𝗔𝗚𝗘𝗥 and then had it all condensed and processed using 𝗦𝗨𝗣𝗘𝗥𝗖𝗢𝗠𝗣𝗨𝗧𝗘𝗥.
All in less than 5.7 seconds, according to Googl.
To summarize, 𝗗𝗔𝗧𝗔 𝗠𝗔𝗡𝗜𝗣𝗨𝗟𝗔𝗧𝗜𝗢𝗡 is something not even my skill can completely comprehend. But to the best of it's ability, it knows that it allows for the manipulation of data and information like the name says. It can also copy data from living beings like I did with the Ghoul Wolf some time ago.
For example: by simply copying the information of the water around me, I was able to easily learn how to manipulate water. And after a half an hour of getting the hang of it…
[YOU HAVE RECEIVED THE SPECIAL SKILL 𝗪𝗔𝗧𝗘𝗥 𝗠𝗔𝗡𝗜𝗣𝗨𝗟𝗔𝗧𝗜𝗢𝗡]
Boom!
The thing is, the aftershock is terrible. Because I am basically copying and pasting billions of packets of info faster than the speed of sound, re-processing it, and then optimizing it to my body; it takes a huge toll on my consciousness. So I have limited myself to only using this skill about 2-3 times a day.
But it was worth it because now I have the fundemental understanding on how to control water thanks to 𝗪𝗔𝗧𝗘𝗥 𝗠𝗔𝗡𝗜𝗣𝗨𝗟𝗔𝗧𝗜𝗢𝗡. I guess that makes me some sort of naiad like Joana and her sisters.
Wait…Joana sisters…
When I had first come to this lake, I had sensed three naiads with Joana being one. So where were the other two?
I floated to Joana, who had melted into a slimy blue liquid form, and telepathically shouted at her.
<JOANA!>
Joana, in her liquid form, jumped from surprise. She looked around and eventually saw me frantically bobbing around. I heard a soft and annoyed sigh and she attempted to melt back into sleep mode and I tried to stop her.
"Wait, Joana, don't go to sleep!"
She didn't listen and was slowly melting back.
"Your sisters! Didn't you say you had sisters?"
Joana froze mid-melt, her liquid form rippling with a mixture of surprise and curiosity. Slowly, she solidified back into her humanoid shape, her cerulean eyes fixated on me. "Sisters?" she echoed. Then her eyes lit up in realization. "My sisters!"
I expected her to immediately transform back into human form and start frantically looking for her missing family members, but she just shrugged and melted.
"This isn't unusual, they're probably out doing something," she said. "Besides, they're more experienced than me. Living for well over a hundred years should give them some experience…now if you excuse me, I'm going back to sleep,"
I mean, I guess she had a point. If they had been outside during nighttime and never went crazy, I guess we didn't need to worry… but this didn't sit well within me…
<Googl, activate 𝗢𝗩𝗘𝗥𝗩𝗜𝗘𝗪>
«Activating Skill…Skill Activated!»
I went into Overview Mode and scanned the 3D map. Fine-tuning it to only detect spiritual lifeforms, I analyzed the map with the help of my 7 minds thanks to 𝗠𝗜𝗖𝗥𝗢𝗠𝗔𝗡𝗔𝗚𝗘𝗥.
There was quite a few spirits around us, but surprisingly not a lot of naiads were close. I detected some sylphs and some driads nearby, but no naiads. In fact, it seemed as if the spirits that were detected were…avoiding this lake?
I chucked it up to panic and general distress and closed Overview Mode and switched off my 7 parallel minds. I tried to calm myself down, I really did, but I'm sort of an over thinker. Years of always having to see through lies, bullies, and double meanings made me this way.
«Emergency: Surge of evil karmic energy has been detected around the lake. Proceed with caution!»
I froze for a second. Was this the effect of the Beastpeople Curse? I quickly went into Overview Mode again and scanned the perimeter around the lake, but I didn't see any trace of spirits.
<Oh wait, I'm still filtering by spirits…>
I quickly fixed by mistake and turned on full Overview Mode, then I saw where the evil karma was coming from…
<Holy shit…>
Surrounding the entire lake was an enormous army of strange anthropomorphic animal people that looked ready to kill. It was dark at night and unfortunately 𝗢𝗩𝗘𝗥𝗩𝗜𝗘𝗪 uses the light of surroundings to render so I didn't get a good look at them.
I closed Overview Mode and took a breather. That was the Curse of the Beastmen…it was so gruesome that I had to stop and take a breather.
"You sensed it, didn't you…"
I floated around and saw Joana in her human form, this time with actual clothes on! She wore a simple black robe with a light blue felt belt that wrapped around her body. I would've said a snarky comment about her finally stopping her exhibitionist phase, but the worry on her sleepy face made me shut up.
"Y-yeah…there's so many of them…"
Joana perked up, a single eyebrow raised. "You sensed where all this karma is coming from?"
I got flustered. She absolutely cannot know what I can really do, lest I get hunted hunted down for being uncommonly strong.
"W-Well…no…yes? I just figured from the…karmic pressure that there was a lot of them…haha…"
Lucky for me, Joana just shrugged. "I guess so," she said. "Anyways, I thought about what you said about my sisters,"
My body lit up in glee. "Yes?"
"Well, I wasn't worried about them because most monsters trapped under the moonlight don't usually come near this lake, but seeing the situation now…I'm a bit worried,"
If she could see what I just saw, she'd be more than worried.
"What do you think we do then?" I said. "We can't be sure they're safe out there with all that evil karma we both sense,"
Joana closed her eyes in thought. Behind those sleepy eyes, I could tell she was very intelligent. She carried herself with a sort of wistful and distant grace, like a true beauty of the sea.
"I say we try and find them," she said. "But first, we need to find the source of all that evil karma, it's creeping me out,"
"Right, but you said monsters go insane under the moonlight. If we step out of the cave and go above water, we'd be under the influence of the curse,"
Joana shrugged. "Don't go above the water, then," she said. "We'll scour the lake for other naiads and ask from there,"
I remembered not sensing any naiads around the lake, but telling Joana that would ultimately give away that I'm not just a common little spirit. I mean, she already knows I'm different due to my durability, but that's it really.
I squirmed around, battling whether to reveal that sort of info to Joana. If I did, we'd save ourselves the trouble of looking for other naiads but draw the unwanted attention from Joana. But if I didn't, I'd be leading Joana into a wild goose chase.
I decided to play it smooth. "Well, I don't think we really need to go look for other naiads really,"
Suddenly, I got an idea.
"Why don't I explore under the moonlight?"
Before you go "huh?" or facepalm, here's my thought process: With my 𝗦𝗣𝗜𝗥𝗜𝗧𝗨𝗔𝗟 𝗥𝗘𝗚𝗘𝗡𝗘𝗥𝗔𝗧𝗜𝗢𝗡, I can instantly heal if this curse affects me spiritually and to counteract the mind control, I will just have it take control of one my cloned minds using the 𝗠𝗜𝗖𝗥𝗢𝗠𝗔𝗡𝗔𝗚𝗘𝗥 skill.
Pretty genius, huh?
Joana didn't think so. She facepalmed…hard.
"Didn't I just say you'd turn into a mindless monster under the moonlight? Did you not listen to me?"
I guess it was time to reveal myself.
"Did you ever wonder why I am unnaturally strong?"
Joana sat down, eyes still fixed on me. "Go on,"
I took a deep breath. "Well, you see, I'm not a spirit. I was actually a human, but died and got reincarnated as a spirit. I also have a perfect balance of karma, whatever that means."
Joana's eyes widened slightly. "I see," she said calmly. "You should have told me this earlier, there wasn't any reason for you to hide this,"
I cringed inside. "Well, I didn't know how you'd react to that information. Have you heard of people reincarnating in this world?"
Joana nodded. "Yes, I've met many,"
That information caught me off guard. There was other people like me who reincarnated? I wonder if they also got special powers like me also, but these questions were for another time.
"Besides, I had a basic idea that you were reincarnated since you possessed unnatural intelligence and the ability to even speak and attain skills, something that takes a common spirit hundreds of years to achieve,"
Wow, she was way smarter than I thought her out to be. Also, I was really bad at hiding stuff.
"Oh… so you know-"
"Yes, I also know about your abilities. Well, the basic idea of it," she explained. "By the way you constantly know what's going around you and your insane proccessing speed, I'm guessing you have some sort of analytical skill?"
I floated there, absolutely dumbfounded. She went from sleepy and lazy teenager to a damn detective.
"Y-yea…"
Joana smiled, proud that she was right. "Can you scan the area and find where all that evil karmic energy is coming from then?"
"I already did, actually, and you won't believe what I saw,"
She cupsed me in her hands. "Is it bad?"
I bopped up and down in a 'yes' motion. "Hundreds of what looked like Beastmen are surrounding the lake. Unfortunately, it was too dark and I didn't really get a good look at it,"
Joana nodded. "Those aren't Beastmen anymore, they're a whole new species: Lycanthorpes. They are mindless beasts who just aim to kill, the effects stop after the sun rises."
"But back to my plan-"
"The answer is no. Listen, little spirit, it doesn't matter how strong you are, you are still a common spirit. This curse was made by two Karmic Lords, the strongest beings in the Evils Race. You are not invincible, so stop acting like you are."
As much as I wanted to argue, she was right. In fact, being heads-strong and jumping into things was exactly how I died previously, and now I was getting cocky. I didn't know a single thing about this world, so maybe evaluating our options was a good bet.
"I say we wait until morning, knowing that we're completely surrounded by Lycanthorpes,"
I bopped in agreement. Besides, waiting was going to give me enough time to refine and optimize my skills. Joana's clothes melted off her body, and she too melted in a cerulean puddle of water.
"Don't do anything stupid." she said before dozing off.
"I won't."
- ☼ -
I had gotten a bit stronger since the last 12 hours.
Since I had to physical body, I trained my spirit body to the max. Everything from my speed and even attack potency had been leveled up as much as it could, and because of that I had attained several new skills.
For starters, my common skill that allowed me to move called 𝗙𝗟𝗢𝗔𝗧 was upgraded to the Special Skill 𝗟𝗘𝗩𝗜𝗧𝗔𝗧𝗜𝗢𝗡. I got it from extensive training by constantly moving around the cave as fast as I could without stopping, and it's basically 𝗙𝗟𝗢𝗔𝗧 but I can move 10x faster!
Another skill I upgraded was 𝗖𝗢𝗢𝗥𝗗𝗜𝗡𝗔𝗧𝗜𝗢𝗡. It was basically telepathy, but with a draw that the more people I connect my mind to; the weaker the connection becomes. It was a tricky skill to master, but I eventually learned how to control it. Using 𝗠𝗜𝗖𝗥𝗢𝗠𝗔𝗡𝗔𝗚𝗘𝗥, I created three separate iterations of my mind and used 𝗖𝗢𝗢𝗥𝗗𝗜𝗡𝗔𝗧𝗜𝗢𝗡 to go back an forth, essentially talking to myself.
After 6 hours of this, I had gained the Advanced Special Skills 𝗧𝗛𝗢𝗨𝗚𝗛𝗧 𝗥𝗘𝗟𝗔𝗬 AND 𝗧𝗛𝗢𝗨𝗚𝗛𝗧 𝗖𝗢𝗠𝗠𝗨𝗡𝗜𝗖𝗔𝗧𝗜𝗢𝗡. 𝗧𝗛𝗢𝗨𝗚𝗛𝗧 𝗥𝗘𝗟𝗔𝗬 basically relays your thoughts to a being of choice that is far away and 𝗧𝗛𝗢𝗨𝗚𝗛𝗧 𝗖𝗢𝗠𝗠𝗨𝗡𝗜𝗖𝗔𝗧𝗜𝗢𝗡 is just standard telepathy, the only downside being that the user gets a major headache,
Thankfully, 𝗙𝗔𝗧𝗜𝗚𝗨𝗘 𝗡𝗘𝗚𝗔𝗧𝗜𝗢𝗡 came in clutch so I won't recieve any of the backlash.
«Would you like to merge the skills 𝗧𝗛𝗢𝗨𝗚𝗛𝗧 𝗥𝗘𝗟𝗔𝗬 and 𝗧𝗛𝗢𝗨𝗚𝗛𝗧 𝗖𝗢𝗠𝗠𝗨𝗡𝗜𝗖𝗔𝗧𝗜𝗢𝗡?»
<I was actually about to ask you that, go right ahead!>
«Merging Skills… success!»
[YOU HAVE ACQUIRED THE RARE SKILL 𝗧𝗘𝗟𝗘𝗣𝗔𝗧𝗛𝗬]
I hadn't actually tried to talk to Admin in a while, but knowing her she probably doesn't want to talk to me. If I'm being honest, I feel like I'm more of a threat than friend since I'm such an anomaly.
<How long until sunrise?>
«2 hours»
Well, let's the make the most out my two hours. Everything so far has been one giant roller coaster that I've barely even gotten to catch my breath. I died and was reincarnated as a spirit due to my perfect balance of karma. Then I met a naiad girl named Joana, learned a piece of this world's history, and now am stuck in a cave due to a curse that drives inhabitants of this forest mad.
All in a span of a day.
I scanned through my memory of past events, trying to find clues and pieces to fit the puzzle I'm piecing together. I scrolled through my mind, from my awakening in this world to meeting Joana.
[Special Skill 𝗚𝗔𝗟𝗟𝗘𝗥𝗬 has been obtained]
Huh, what is that?
«Would you like a de-briefing on skill 𝗚𝗔𝗟𝗟𝗘𝗥𝗬?»
<Yes, please>
«The Special Skill 𝗚𝗔𝗟𝗟𝗘𝗥𝗬 allows the user to view past memories in either photo form or video form.»
This is great! Now I can view my photos in photo form and scan for evidence!<Activate the skill>
«Skill Activated»
Images then flashed before my eyes, each one a snapshot of a moment in my past. I saw myself as a child, playing with my siblings in the park. I saw my parents, smiling and happy, on the day of their wedding. I saw myself in my teenage years, struggling with schoolwork and trying to find my place in the world.
As I continued to scan through my memories, one caught my eye. It was the jet black mountain I saw as I was searching for civilization! I remembered the creepy eerie feeling I got looking at it, and how it felt as if someone didn't want me to look at it…
Honestly, there wasn't much of a mystery. Putting two and two together, I knew exactly what that mountain was and probably how to stop this curse.
At least I hoped I did.
CREATORS' THOUGHTS 
MarsUltima
MarsUltima enjoy.