Chapter 22: Possession (2)
While Misha quietly followed Gerbaut from behind, a thought suddenly crossed her mind.
She hadn’t checked her [Status Window] in a while. The last time she had looked at it, she was still on the Basement Floor. Back then, everything felt different.
As Gerbaut continued walking ahead, Misha glanced around to make sure nobody was paying attention since she remembered there were Rankers who monitored the situation in each tutorial floor.
Once she made sure they were the only ones there, she whispered. "Status."
A familiar chime rang inside her head.
Ding!
「 〔STATUS WINDOW〕
Tower Name: Misha Apocalypse
Name: Misha Reyes
Level: 5 (EXP: 495/600)
Rank: ☆☆☆☆
Class: Soulbinder
Affiliation: Tower of Hellfire
—
<TITLE>
The One Acknowledged By the Tower
—
<ATTRIBUTES>
Strength ..... 8
Agility ... 11 (+5)
Vitality ..... 7
Perception .... 12 」
—
<TRAITS>
Analytical Thinking (Lv. 3)
Calm Under Pressure (Lv. 3)
Sleep Deprivation Resistance (Lv. 2)
Steady Hands (Lv.2)
—
<SKILLS>
Weapon Mastery (R)
Soul Inventory (SR)
—
<EQUIPMENT>
Wayfarer Cloak
Goblin’s Dagger x3
Stinger
—
<INVENTORY>
Tower Coins: 189
Tracker’s Compass x1
Teleportation Rune (I) x1
Goblin Ear x4
Goblin Leather x2
Warg Fang x2 」
Misha’s eyes widened to the point she nearly stumbled over a rock.
Seeing the list of attributes, a faint smile appeared on her lips. The numbers had definitely increased since she first entered the Tower. What she didn’t know was how much those increases actually affected her since she hadn’t exactly stopped in the middle of a floor to run tests on herself
She glanced down at her hands. They looked the same as always. There were no dramatic transformations, no glowing muscles... a small part of her couldn’t help but feel a bit disappointed.
Then again, if she suddenly woke up looking like Gerbaut, she would probably be more concerned than happy.
Ding!
A new blue window appeared in front of her vision, almost overlapping the [Status Window] that had just closed.
「〔SOUL DETECTED〕
—
Name: Senior Intern
Rank: ☆☆☆
Condition: Healthy
Constellation Affinity: Capricorn
Contract Compatibility: 100%
Recommendation: Not Suitable
—
Would you like to offer a contract?
YES | NO 」
Misha froze completely, her foot hovering mid-step before she slowly placed it down again.
This was the second time she saw the soul detection window.
Now that she thought of it, why did it only appear now?
Misha’s steps decelerated even more as the thought further distracted her.
Many probably have already died up to the 4th floor. Was there another condition for the soul detection to appear?
She glanced ahead at Gerbaut’s back while keeping her slow pace steady.
Her eyes quickly scanned the information. One hundred percent compatibility. She was sure that this time, it wasn’t a goblin with a 150% compatibility because of its name.
The compatibility was high just like last time but the recommendation was still the same.
「 Recommendation: Not Suitable 」
She let out a small breath through her nose as she stared at the line for a few seconds.
If compatibility reached 100 percent, then what exactly made it not suitable?
Misha knew that she needed to become stronger and since an opportunity showed itself, she decided to go for it.
"Show me the contract." She muttered under her breath.
"What?" Gerbaut glanced over his shoulder.
Misha quickly shook her head. "N-nothing!"
The answer came far too quickly that Gerbaut ended up staring at her for a moment. Then he faced forward and continued walking.
Misha waited until he wasn’t looking before letting out a small breath. She turned her gaze towards the new window that unfolded before her eyes.
[ 〔SOUL CONTRACT〕—
<Soul Benefits>
• May inhabit and operate the Contractor’s body during possession.
• Gains access to the Contractor’s senses while active.
• May grow stronger through the Contractor’s achievements
• May influence the development of shared skills and abilities.
• Protected from natural soul degradation while under contract.
—
<Soul Restrictions>
• Cannot communicate directly with the Contractor.
• Cannot seize permanent control of the contractor’s body.
• Cannot harm the Contractor intentionally.
• Must prioritize the Contractor’s life at all times.
• Must return control once possession condition expire.
• Contract termination may be initiated solely by the Contractor.
—
<Contract Termination>
Upon termination:
• The Contracted Soul is immediately separated.
• All benefits granted by the contract are revoked.
• Access to the Constellation Chamber is removed
• Possession privileges are revoked」
She abruptly stopped walking when she saw the word ’Possession’.
A strange feeling crawled up her spine. She had imagined many things when she received the [Soulbinder] class. She hasn’t read too well into it but she simply thought she could borrow abilities, or maybe learn techniques from the souls she would collect. She even though that maybe, she might gain temporary stat boosts. She never thought it would be a real possession.
Her fingers unconsciously tightened around the side of her cloak. The thought of having someone else control her body made her shoulders tense.
Her gaze moved from line to line until it fell on the [Restrictions] part of the contract.
The tension in her shoulders gradually eased up. At least the Tower hadn’t completely lost its mind when it granted her this ability.
A small sense of relief settled in her chest. The decision remained hers and that was the most important part of the contract. The soul couldn’t simply decide to stay or take over whenever it pleased. At least she wouldn’t wake up one day and discover someone else had been borrowing her body without permission. That would be horrifying.
"What are you doing?" Gerbaut’s voice cut through her thoughts.
Misha jolted. The contract window nearly vanished from her focus.
She lifted her gaze and saw him stop several meters ahead. The man stood patiently on the forest path, one hand resting on his spear. The distance between them wasn’t large but it was large enough for him to notice that she had stopped following him, and it was large enough for her to feel embarrassed.
"Ah..." Brilliant response, Misha.
She immediately straightened herself. "S-Sorry, I got distracted..."
He looked at her for a moment before his eyes drifted toward the empty space in front of her.
She instinctively stiffened. Could he tell? That shouldn’t be possible, right? Status Windows should only be visible to their owners, right?
A tiny bit of panic began creeping into her chest. "Um... I was just checking something."
He stared at her for a few seconds then turned his gaze toward the forest path ahead. "You can look while walking."
It seemed like he saw the window.
Misha glanced at the floating blue screen in front of her before she followed Gerbaut once again.
She was suddenly reminded of a certain oversized cat with an attitude problem.
*
[What are you saying nya? Of course I can see it! What kind of incompetent guide do you take me for nya nya? Hmp!]
King crossed his forelegs and narrowed his eyes. [The contents are another matter, of course nya. It is private to their owners. Guides are forbidden from peering into another’s status. We may stand above humans in all aspects, but that doesn’t mean we’re exempt from restrictions nya.]
*
Maybe it worked the same way for everyone? The blue screen itself remained visible but the contents stayed hidden. It was surprisingly reasonable for the tower, anyway.
Misha found herself smiling faintly. The memory of King felt oddly nostalgic. That cat had been insufferable. She still remembered how often he somehow managed to sound offended by her questions. And yet...
The smile slowly faded. Where had he gone? After guiding her to Genesis, he had completely disappeared.
She could only sigh inwardly and decided not to think too much about him.
"System, I’d like to offer a soul contract to the soul detected earlier." The words left her lips in a whisper.
