“Phantasmal goo?”

Somehow, saying the two words made Kaltyr feel dirty.

[The jellies.]

The light entity used a stubby arm to point at the cube of translucent azure jelly Kaltyr held, then at the storage lean-to, where she left the first one.

“Oh, right. Phantasmal goo…”

The term really didn’t feel right.

“Maybe ghost goop—no no no! That’s way worse...”

Kaltyr mimed retching.

[The “ghosts”, as you called them, are phantasms, while the loot they drop are called phantasmal goo. That is just how it is.]

“Yeah, I got it. Do phantasms drop anything else?”

[No. Just goo.]

“Are they, uh, useful?”

Kaltyr thought about how in order to acquire phantasmal goo, one had to let a perfectly good corpse be consumed by magical essence. If the goo wasn’t worth much, the corpse to make the phantasm was essentially wasted.

[Find out yourself. Try to combine the goo with your spear.]

Sir Quiggly-Do the Fifth’s words echoed about in Kaltyr’s skull for a moment before the girl simultaneously smiled and raised an eyebrow. It was a weird look.

“Er, how?”

While she was elated by how the light entity’s words probably meant that phantasmal goo could upgrade her gear, she was also befuddled by what she was just ordered to do. Combine the goo and spear? How?

Sir Quiggly-Do the Fifth did not respond, merely continuing to watch her with its featureless face while making itself comfortable in the air, as though it were lounging on something like furniture.

“Fine…”

Jelly in one hand, spear in the other, although she didn’t expect anything to happen, Kaltyr mashed them together, squishing the phantasmal goo against the weapon’s haft.

Nothing, of course.

She lowered the spear, then squished the goo against the spearhead.

Still nothing. Though, Kaltyr swore that she heard soft laughter from the light entity’s direction.

“You better not be messing with me.”

[Ha.]

It wasn’t even trying to hide it that time!

Pouting, and with no other option but to follow orders, Kaltyr sat down, laying the two items in front of her. She was in Manic, where fantastical stuff happened like growing stronger from killing stuff and corpses transforming into ghosts. Even panels of information would sometimes appear to her, giving her some basic knowledge about what was going on—which was exactly what the girl counted on. She hoped that a notification would pop up in front of her with at least a few words that explained what she was trying, and failing, to do, but no such information emerged from her attempts. No clues, no hints.

She shot Sir Quiggly-Do the Fifth a look before returning her attention to the items.

“Maybe I need to…infuse them?”

Since it seemed to be a magical item, Kaltyr feared that the jelly would have volatile reactions if it were infused with mana, but the idea was worth a shot… She filled both the spear and goo cube with her magical power—holding the goo as far from her face as possible—then shoved the two things together.

Immediately, the weapon and jelly exploded with light.

“AH!”

Just like what happened with the dino-goose when she first looted it, the two items blinded her, prompting her to drop them while reaching for her face to cover her eyes.

[Ha.]

“FUCK YOU!”

Dazed and almost delirious, Kaltyr wasn’t sure of her physical state as she fell backwards, rolling onto her back. She squirmed on the ground for a bit while trying to regain her bearings, but her insides felt strange and her movements lethargic. As though she was being drained of her mental energy, the girl continuously grew more tired.

Warning bells went off in her head. Something was definitely wrong.

Kaltyr opened her eyes and attempted to sit back up but her vision was wholly unreliable, as her sight still flickered with dark spots and blurriness. Then, she remembered that her vision wasn’t the only sense that “saw” the world around her. Immediately, she closed her eyes again and placed all her remaining mental resources into the Magic Sense skill.

Though her Magic Sense was never truly “off”, she could ignore it to an extent, which was what she was doing in the presence of Sir Quiggly-Do the Fifth because it didn’t have a mana signature or anything. Once she put those resources back into seeing the magical layer of the world, her environment lit up with dazzling blues, and Kaltyr finally got a good look at what was happening to her.

Floating just in front of Kaltyr were the phantasmal goo and spear, full of and surrounded by her mana, which connected back to her hands through thousands of crystalline strands. THAT was what made her feel so strange—her mana was automatically being sucked out of her.

Slightly panicking, Kaltyr wanted to turn to the light entity for further assistance, but didn’t know where it floated. Her eyes were closed and it was, after all, completely invisible to her Magic Sense. However, her worries turned out to be unnecessary.

[Reach out. Grab them. Try to combine them once more.]

As though it knew exactly what she was thinking, Sir Quiggly-Do the Fifth knew exactly what to say.

Less nervous after hearing the light entity’s voice in her mind again, Kaltyr gulped before grabbing the blue jelly and spear.

So, I just…?

She pressed the phantasmal goo against the haft of her weapon, again, half expecting the same result as before. However, rather than bounce off the wood, the jelly melted, resulting in Kaltyr smearing the goo onto the spear handle.

“Ooooh shit!”

Kaltyr nigh lost her balance as more mana was rapidly drained from her soul through the crystalline threads that hung from her fingers, but she held strong, gritting her teeth through the weakness, fighting so as to not succumb to it.

Then, just as she wanted to throw up, the mana leeching stopped, and the goo disappeared from her magical vision. The girl used a few moments to collect herself, then asked, “Is it over?”

[Yes.]

Kaltyr opened her eyes, her vision clear, able to see again.

“Hey, this looks pretty good!”

Although she was exhausted and her breathing was labored, she made an effort to stand up, spear in hand. Fully on her feet, the girl swung the new-and-improved spear, allowing it to gloriously bask in the sunlight.

“It’s shiny!”

Kaltyr was immensely pleased with the spear’s new look: nothing changed about its size or shape, but the weapon’s haft now had thin, reflective blue lines scattered on its surface. It wasn’t anything too grand or imposing, but, small as the change was, she liked it. Her first crafted weapon now felt more personalized. More a part of her and her personal strength.

Then, she squealed at the sight of the notification blinking in the corner of her vision.

You have obtained the spell skill: Enchanting

Her lips formed an “o” anew, quivering.

“I-I-I-I enchanted my spear?!”

Her eyes, as excited as those of a child who just discovered a new playground, turned to gaze at the light entity.

[Indeed. Additionally, much more than just spears can undergo enchanting, and many different enchantment effects are available. However, be careful so as to not destroy something by enchanting it with phantasmal goo too good for it.]

Shaking slightly from the exhilaration produced by being introduced to a whole new branch of magical things to explore, Kaltyr gulped, then looked more closely at her spear and the reflective blue ribbons that seemed to be carved into its wooden haft.

“So, how do I know what the phantasmal goo did to my spear?”

Kaltyr hoped for unusual, mystical effects comparable to skills that she could activate. Like—because she got the jelly from a fish—what if the spear could shoot out jets of water on command? Or those magical essence beams? Or…dare she think it: the bubble spell? Maybe the effect wasn’t related to water at all?

[How much information you can see of enchantments and phantasmal goo depends entirely on whether your Enchanting skill’s level is higher than the level of the goo and equipment. Though, not both combined, but both separately.]

She looked back at her spear, scraping and tapping its handle with her fingers, waiting for something to happen. When nothing did…

“Then, what’s the level of the skill?”

-General Skills-

-Class Specific Skills-

???

Magic Sense Lvl: 4

Small Projectile Throwing Arts Lvl: 4

Fishing Lvl: 3

Body Mana Reinforcement Lvl: 3

Item Mana Infusion Lvl: 2

Small Blade Arts Lvl: 3

Stealth Lvl: 5

Stealth Strike Lvl: 5

Grappling Lvl: 3

Sword Arts Lvl: 0

Improvisation Lvl: 3

Whittling Lvl: 2

Spear Arts Lvl: 0

Enchanting Lvl: 1

She ignored all the changes to her skills list besides the Enchanting skill.

“Level 1? Was I an Enchanter in my past life? And is my spear level 2?!”

Kaltyr’s eyebrows shot up—something they’d been doing a lot recently—as she thought over the new information. If her past self was enough of an Enchanter so that some of their skill proficiency remained in her today…how? The System clearly stated to her that the world she came from was devoid of magic, and wasn’t Enchanting a skill reliant on magic? What did that mean for her? Her situation? Was she lied to?! Why? What was the reality behind her circumstances?!?!? Just as the dread began to compile…

[Your Enchanting skill is level 1 rather than 0 because you enchanted a level 2 item. All Enchanters can, at least, enchant items two levels higher than the level of their skill. That changes eventually, but it is of no concern to you as of right now.]

“Oh…” Kaltyr deflated like a balloon, having dwelled on the matter a bit too much before all the data was in. “So, I can’t identify my spear’s enchantments because it’s level 2. Well, that’s not bad.”

The lass was disappointed that she wouldn’t be able to discern what her new primary weapon was capable of, but also glad that said weapon matched her Life Level. She carried a spear worthy of her power!

Then, Kaltyr’s eyes nearly popped out of their sockets when she remembered she had the materials for fifteen more spears just lying around.

“Holy crap! I’m all set!”

The disappointment was all but swept away by the sight of the remaining spearheads and sapling hafts patiently waiting for her in their respective piles. With what she had available, it wouldn’t be long before her Enchanting skill leveled up and allowed her to verify her weapon’s combat potential! However, she did need to wait for new corpses to…ghostify?

“Is there a word for when corpses become phantasms?”

[Corpses phantabilize. They undergo phantabolization.]

“Ah… Those are mouthfuls.”

[It is what it is.]

Kaltyr glanced at the green light entity through the corner of her eye. Since it was answering her questions…

“Why are you green?”

It didn’t miss a beat.

[It just happened to be the Green Hours when I formed this puppet. Thus, it is green.]

The girl’s ears perked and her eyes widened, thinking that she got a lot more out of that question than she thought she would.

“So, the day is separated into the Colored Hours. The Red Hours, Orange Hours, Yellow Hours, Green Hours, Blue Hours, and Purple Hours?”

[Correct. You have figured it out.]

Well, you gave a pretty big hint.

“What about night? I don’t think it has the same color theme. Plus, it’s kinda weird that I can go to sleep so quickly once the night darkens. Something tells me that sleeping isn’t so simple…”

Sir Quiggly-Do the Fifth’s green light puppet’s blank stare seemed to grow a little frigid. Not like it was angry, or anything of that nature, but that it became more serious, as though the question Kaltyr asked was of slightly more importance than the past ones.

[What about it? Surely you have an idea.]

Bingo. I entered the territory of “no direct answers”.

Internally sighing, Kaltyr folded her arms—well, she folded her arms as much as she could while holding onto a spear longer than she was tall.

“I mean, nighttime is probably the same length as daytime.”

A few tens of seconds of waiting and Kaltyr mentally sighed again.

“Nighttime is the same length as daytime and going to sleep quickly is a natural effect of the sky darkening.”

[Correct, Kaltyr.]

I’m starting to see how this works. All in all, not a bad thing.

The lass lowered her eyelids and rolled her eyes within their sockets for while before coming up with her next question. As far as she was concerned, getting answers out of Sir Quiggly-Do the Fifth was a tiring and precarious, yet rewarding, art. Ask in the wrong way and it might leave or not answer, but ask in the right way and it might provide clues, even if to other questions…

“Those phantasmal goo had peculiar shapes. One was a triangular prism, and the other, a cube. It has to do with the quality or type of the enchantment, right?”

[Nope.]

Ah. Completely wrong. Then…

“Hmm… That only leaves the color, then. Is blue good or bad?”

[Incorrect. You forget about your other senses.]

Crap.

Kaltyr’s eyes darted from object to object in the area as her mind raced to produce answers to the puppet’s riddles.

“Oh, then…”

She thought about how Sir Quiggly-Do the Fifth stopped her from biting into the phantasmal goo, saying she’d destroy it…but not that it wasn’t edible! Was it the taste? There was no rule that she couldn’t taste it even if it wasn’t a consumable. After all, neither of the goo had smells! All that was left—

[You are about to say something stupid.]

“Yeah, I almost did. It’s the texture, right? Or the consistency. How, uh, thick it is? That affects the quality and effect.”

The girl wasn’t sure if she was using the right words, and so crossed her fingers behind her back.

[Close enough.]

The light puppet shrugged—a cute sight.

[The density of the phantasmal goo reveals its quality, correct. However, not the effect. That is determined entirely by something else. It is related to the color.]

Damn, I hoped it’d just tell me the rest of it.

Kaltyr stroked her chin and assumed the best “thinking” expression, considering the hint she was bestowed. The effects of the enchantment depended entirely on something other than the density and was related to the color. She thought back to a few moments before when she enchanted her spear. The goo was blue, and she got it from a fish—

The sixteenth facepalm.

“Ah man, I’m so dumb. I just thought of this earlier, then forgot it again. How long would this have taken me if you weren’t here to help?”

[I do not have enough information to calculate that, nor do I want to.]

I didn’t mean for you to actually answer…

“It’s the beast the goo dropped from, obviously. So, my spear will have water-related bonuses.”

[Correct. Somewhat.]

Had Sir Quiggly-Do the Fifth not continued after saying “Somewhat”, Kaltyr would have thrown her head back and groaned aloud.

[Your spear does not necessarily have water-related bonuses.]

The lass inhaled sharply before slowly releasing the breath, deliberating for a moment if she should ask about whether Sir Quiggly-Do the Fifth meant that her spear didn’t necessarily have “water-related” bonuses, or “bonuses” that were related to water. There was potentially a big difference in the wording, one that might determine life or death in combat. However…

I’ve had enough talk about goo. I don’t wanna think about it anymore! I’ll figure the rest out by myself.

She trained her eyes on the puppet, focusing hard as though to drill a hole through it. It was time for a much, much more important topic. One she was building her nerve up to bring up. She steadied her breathing before asking, “Quite the feat, to achieve this all on my own, right?”

[Correct. To have accomplished so much in so little time puts you in a rather advantageous position.]

Oooooh, why does it have to make this difficult?!

Kaltyr was tempted to veer off her chosen topic to ask about what exactly it meant by an “advantageous position”. Like, was that a hint pertaining to a tribulation that would descend upon her in due time? Was that to say that someone was keeping a score of how well she was performing? Did she qualify for rewards by The System, or something?!

But Kaltyr held strong.

“Right? However, since you mentioned that ‘all Enchanters’ were capable of something, I’ve been thinking about where to search for people so that I wouldn’t be stuck doing everything by my lonesome. Isn’t along the river I found the best place to begin my search? More specifically, upriver.”

The girl clearly remembered the realization she’d come to the day before after slaughtering beasts for the first time—the red fish and dino-goose—triggered by seeing the log float on by down the river. The log, whose sides were very obviously consciously cut. Such a thing meant that people were present upriver. People who knew how to survive in the wilderness, in all likelihood. People who might either welcome Kaltyr with open arms, or strike her down for XP.

Kaltyr needed to formulate a plan of action, but to do so, she needed a definitive answer to her question. Were there people upstream from her?

Nearly a minute of silence passed as the girl’s forehead became damp with sweat.

A silent response. Kaltyr mentally cursed. Sir Quiggly-Do the Fifth could either be denying her question or prodding her to continue because she didn’t have enough details right. Thus, after considering the fact that her benefactor had denied her past incorrect speculations, she determined that the latter option was more likely and she needed to broaden the discussion range.

“Err, the only way to come into contact with other people is to explore, of course. And people typically settle next to rivers for fresh water?”

[Correct.]

“Uhhh, yeah, of course. So…”

Kaltyr’s thoughts came up empty, unsure of which direction to take. Sir Quiggly-Do the Fifth already gave an ambiguous response to the idea that there were people upstream from her, so there was no point in asking again. And asking if they were downstream was pointless since she’d eventually explore that, but not before going upstream because that’s where the evidence came from!

[It is about time I go.]

The girl’s nerves froze. There was still more she needed to ask, to know! She desperately scrounged through her scrambled thoughts in order to find a topic to anchor her benefactor for a little longer to give her more time to think.

“Uhh, Sir Squiggly! I mean, Quiggly! Earlier when I asked about the goo you said the word ‘reveals’ rather than ‘determines’. So, what determines the density?!”

[Do not fret. I will be back. Continue to think for yourself. You have had much success doing so.]

Not having answered her question, the green puppet of light unraveled from the center outwards, becoming nothing more than the rays of sunlight it was originally built from.

“The bubble spell!” Kaltyr shouted, realizing she hadn't asked about it yet. “Why didn't it work?!”

However, Sir Quiggly-Do the Fifth already left, leaving her alone with nothing but the wind to keep her company…

[Consider whether you did something incorrectly or if something is limiting you.]

“O...”

It…responded? After already taking its leave? She’d only asked on a whim…

Kaltyr ended up standing there for a while, staring up at where the puppet once floated, shocked, until she cracked a smile. Vague, but it was a hint, and she appreciated it.