After I watch the boys leave, I look around at the ruin I've been unliving in. I'm tired of this dump. The drafts, the rubble, the mold, none of it is becoming of a ghost princess now, is it? Time for an upgrade. And I know just how to go about it: The Haunt skill.
The Haunt skill has a truly amazing number of applications. Now you may have an erroneous thought about the changes I can make: the mazes, the false doors, the creaking floor boards, the disappearing exits, the doors that lead where they shouldn't, and so on. You may think they're temporary. They can be, but they don't have to be.
And it goes so much further than just doors and windows; I can change anything in my haunt. I'm only limited by the building's footprint. Well, that and I can't make more than those superficial changes while being observed by an intelligent living thing. There was a reason I wanted to shoo the boys out. It had nothing to do with Timothy getting on my nerves, really, it didn't.
Looking at the complex in the daylight, it really is quite a disappointing haunt. The architecture is quite plain. It's as utilitarian as can be. No mosaics, statues, patterns, imprints, motifs, or décor of any nature. The only exception was the ornate designs of the altar and statues on the stage in the amphitheater. That really should have been quite telling. I should be more observant in the future so I don't summon any more death gods. Then again, I benefited quite nicely from it, maybe I should … No, bad ghost girl!
Speaking of benefits, I feel like I'm forgetting something. Nah, I'd remember if it was important.
Back to my project, the complex sprawls out across this valley; it's almost a small city to itself, but this plain architecture is clearly beneath me. It needs more flair, more pizazz, more … melodrama. I grin wickedly. I know just what I'm going to do with this place.
I focus on my Haunt ability and the changes I want to make. It feels like I'm pulling something out from the depths. Something powerful. Something forbidden. The ground quakes, rubble restores itself, petrified and rotten wood returns to merely aged wood, glass panes reassemble, and just as the first real changes are about to be manifest, my world spins.
I wake up a moment later. What happened? Wait, was I unconscious? I haven't been unconscious in almost 2 years! What the flapjack just happened?! I look over to the ruin and see that it looks several hundred years younger than it used to, but the changes I wanted to make haven't been made yet. Something interrupted me.
Ugh… I'm going to need to look at that annoying system screen to figure things out, aren't I?
[Yes, you will.]
"Don't be smug about it!" I scream to the empty surroundings.
Well, I'd better get this over with, system, do your thing. A screen appears in front of me.
* * *
Mana: 65/100
Current Mana: 65/65
Rank 0: Mundane
Paths: None [Paths Available on Rank-up]
Talent: Hidden
Spells: None
* * *
Spirit: 105/1000
Current Spirit: 7/105
Rank 1: Phantom Sprite [Grade E] [Evolutions Available on Rank-up]
Talent: Hidden
Abilities: Spook [Lvl 1], Haunt [Lvl 1]
Haunts: 1/1
*
Items: Fragment of Death #13 [The Reaper] [Grade ?]
* * *
Qi: 55/1000
Current Qi: 55/55
Rank 0: Qi Gathering Initial Stage
Cultivation Method: None
Talent: Hidden
Physique: Hidden
Roots: Hidden
Providence: Hidden
Techniques: None
Martial Arts: Way of the Gymnast [Grade F] [Lvl 1]
* * *
System Log:
Pervert slapped into the next dimension [Mana +5, Spirit +5, Qi +5]
Pact enacted. Terms: Do not harm or scare the pervert's boy band. Consequence: [Soul Damage]
Haunt ability activated. Archway creation selected. Archway destination: Atrium
Permission granted by pervert. Pact temporarily null.
Haunt ability activated. Domain activated: Death Domain Rank 3
Pervert's boy band subdued. Energy siphon failed. Targets previously defeated.
Death Domain deactivated.
Haunt ability activated. Restoration selected. Architecture remodel selected. Blueprint created. Restoration in progress. Restoration complete. Remodel in progress. Remodel failed. Insufficient Spirit. Remodel progress 0.5%. Resume remodel? [Yes][No]
* * *
As expected, the system has way too much information! Most of it is useless. Just the author padding their word count.
The information I actually need is buried way at the bottom of the log. Insufficient spirit, eh? I didn't even realize I was using it before. Sure enough, my Spirit is nearly 0. It's quickly recovering while I'm inside my haunt, though. I'll probably be back to full in less than 5 minutes.
Only half a percent was completed. Even if I assume the spirit I consumed for the restoration was about half, that still means I only have enough spirit to remodel 1% at a time. Perhaps I was too ambitious. With all the breaks I'll need to take, this will take a while.
When I see my spirit at 105 again, I resume construction. I carefully watch my spirit and stop when it reaches 1. Passing out was unpleasant. It was preceded by a wave of nausea and vertigo that I didn't know I could feel as a ghost. Even with stopping at 1 spirit, my whole being aches. It's like I have a migraine while simultaneously suffering from arthritis in every corner of my body. It doesn't take much to realize why. I am my spirit. When I hit 0 before, it was probably akin to briefly winking out of existence. I don't want to do that again.
Even so, I endure, and slowly my changes are made manifest. Flagstones change shape. Columns and archways become more detailed, not just functional anymore, but also aesthetically pleasing. Windows morph into stained glass. Gargoyles rise from the parapets. Statues stalk the grounds. Suits of armor emerge from the walls and take their place in alcoves like an obedient army. Tapestries adorn the walls. Blood red carpets sit above black marble floors. A perpetual mist now surrounds my haunt, no longer fleeing with the rise of the sun.
While I'm still midway through construction, I hear the heavy, iron door-knockers boom through the building. What the duck? Who would be visiting now? And why would they knock on an allegedly abandoned building?
It doesn't take long for my questions to be answered when I hear the bickering on the other side of the door.
"Are you sure this is the right building? It looks different."
"No, but it's in the right place … I think."
"Are you sure we didn't get turned around at random tree number 5 or perhaps random bush 17? We've been wandering through a thick fog bank for almost an hour. Even your prodigious navigation skills had to be challenged by that."
"Well, have you heard of any other massive buildings out here? What are the chances that we wandered around until we found a previously undiscovered building?"
"We got played by a ghost last night. I'm confident we've been cursed, and no matter how unlikely the odds, we'll always get the worst ones. There is a 100% chance there is something that will eat us on the other side of these doors."
Yup, I recognize those voices.
I use my abilities to open the front doors wide while the newly installed braziers and torches come to life, coating the atrium in warm, flickering light. I smile widely at William and Timothy, standing just outside.
"Yup, we're getting eaten," Timothy says.
"Oh, shut it," William says, "And you," William points at me, "Do you have to be so damned dramatic?"
"It's what I live and die for," I reply.
"You're already dead; maybe you should find a new hobby," William suggests.
"Nope, ya'll better come in, don't want you blaming me if you catch a cold and die. As much as I'd like the company. I much more enjoy Timothy's company at a distance. An extreme distance." I turn and walk back inside.
"Hey!" Timothy whines.