After noticing smoke and hoping to get his first human interaction since coming to Mirrion, Marcus starts making his way towards the billowing plume in the distance.
'I wonder what I am going to find when I arrive. Will it be a lone cabin in the woods where a wizard has secluded himself in the pursuit of magic or maybe a group or adventurers resting after a long day of fighting. Whoever it is I just want to be able to meet some other people again after being alone with only my thoughts since I got here, I think I my be starting to go a little crazy.'
Floating straight towards the first sign of human activity Marcus had seen since arriving on Mirrion, what would have taken a day for most people to navigate took Marcus only a few hours because he could go in a straight line passing through any obstacles.
What he found when he arrived was not what he had been hoping for. All around him were eight smoldering buildings with no semblance of life remaining. Marcus' mind was in a haze for many minutes as he looked at the horror scene in front of him and he only snapped out of it when his entire body had been enveloped by earth. It then took him a bit longer to get his emotions in check so that he could rise back above the surface.
'I have read about stuff like this happening back on Earth, but this is the first time that I have seen anything like this in person. There are over a dozen charred people in the remains of these houses and if I had still had a stomach, I would probably vomit right now. I wonder what happened here, the houses are still smoldering so whatever it was could not have been to long ago. I guess that I should check around and see if anyone is alive, I am not sure I would be able to help anyone right now but who knows maybe I will figure something out.'
Unfortunately, even with Marcus' selfless thoughts of helping people after searching around the area of the small community he found nobody alive and all but one of the bodies were burnt to a crisp. At first when Marcus saw the body of the young women not far from the buildings near a dirt trail, he thought she might still be alive. however, when he got closer, he could see that she was dead. She had a horrible scar from a burn on the left side of her face and shoulder however, these seemed to be old wounds and it was the indentation of a hand on her neck that gave away how she died.
'This world just keeps throwing more and more at me. How naïve I was to think that this world would be like some video game where I fight monsters and level up and at the end of the day get a drink in a tavern to celebrate. So far all I have seen and experienced is suffering, and I can't even give these people a proper burial.'
After lamenting the cruelty of the world for a while Marcus decided to leave, he could not stay in this place as it was only making it difficult for him to stay above the ground. However, as he was turning around to leave an idea sparked in his head.
'This girl is dead, so her body no longer houses a soul, she also does not appear to have any irreparable damage so maybe I could possess her body and use it. I know this is a bit disturbing but if I just leave her here so is either going to rot or more likely be eaten by some animal. It is worth a shot and if it works, I can at least bury everyone else as a means of amends for taking over her body.'
Marcus then floated over to the girls body and activated his possession skill. Unluckily for Marcus while the girl had been suffocated her neck was also broken so when Marcus took over her body, he began to feel unimaginable pain. He experienced terrible suffering unable to die and unable to leave the body he had just possessed he was in a state of such pain that he could not get his thoughts under control. After suffering for many hours, the pain started to slowly subside into a dull soreness and Marcus was able to think again.
'Ugh what the hell just happened why did that hurt so much. Her neck must be broken because that is where I am feeling the most pain. How did I even possess her body if it was that damaged, I figured if the body was unable to function, I would just be forced out. My neck is killing me, and I still can't move her body I should just cut my loses and get out. What the fuck why can't I leave, I should be able to stop possessing her… STATUS'
Name: Marcus Ferrous
Age: 28
Race: Unbound Ghost (Human Irene Soul Tethering in Progress)
Level: 1
HP: 150/150-48/110
Status Condition: Nerve Damage
MP: 140/140
STR: 10(+1)
AGL: 12
VIT: 10(+1)
INT: 14
SPR: 15
Stat Points: 0
Skill Points: 0
Unique Skills: Personal Status
Skills: Small Item Box, Lesser Regeneration
Blessing of Iron
Race Abilities: Invisible, Ethereal, Chill Zone, Float, Possession, Undying
Possessed Race abilities:
Specter Powers: Ghost Sounds Level 1
'Seriously what is going on, soul tethering, nerve damage, and I have lesser regeneration for some reason. I suppose I need to read the description of these new abilities and check my log to find out what is happening.'
After reading about soul tethering and his new skill as well as checking his personal log Marcus managed to get a decent understanding of his current situation.
'So, I think I have everything sorted out now. When I tried to possess Irene's dead body a small portion of her soul that was still here because she died with a powerful regret. This piece of her soul latched onto mine and forced me to stay in her body even though it was too damaged for me to normally possess. To fix this conundrum the system gave me the lesser regeneration skill to heal the damage and I am now stuck in this body and can't move until it finishes repairing the nerve damage.'
Once another few hours had passed and the nerve damage had fully healed, Marcus then tried to get up but was suddenly struck by the most horrible headache he had ever experienced. Scenes of Irene's life flashed before Marcus's eyes, first showing the birth of her little sister, then to the scene of Irene protecting her little sister from a falling pot of boiling water only to be burned herself. Next to her family having to move out to this small logging community because they could no longer afford to stay in the city, then the scene of illegal slavers rounding up all the young women and children and killing everyone else. Finally, the scene of Irene attacking the leader of the slavers with a wooden board only for it to shatter on his body without harming him and then him chocking Irene and snapping her neck and throwing her body on the ground like trash. Marcus could feel all the regret, rage, and anguish that Irene had experienced in her final moments and the wish to save her little sister contained in the small fragment of soul now tethered to him.
'That was awful on multiple accounts that headache sucked but what happened to this poor girl was far worse. I can still feel the fragment of her soul pushing me to save her sister, although I could probably ignore it and even expel it once I become a higher level. However, as recompense for taking your body, I promise to save Lilia in your stead.'
As Marcus etched this vow into his soul, the fragment of Irene that resided inside him calmed down a bit. Now with access to a human body and a new goal to complete Marcus was ready to truly get started in this world.