Specters ¿Again?

The control was one of the most important statistics he had. Although they were all equally good.

Another statistic he had neglected was his health. His wound recovery increases when this statistic increases.

Assign 20 points to health and control. Distribute 10 points in endurance and agility.

════════Data Panel════════

Name: Brandon Sanchez

Race: Human

Lower Class

Awakening: Digitized (87%) [...] Thunder (42%)

══════════Attributes══════════

Health: 24* (12,000)

Strength: 10*

Agility: 16*

Resistance: 15*

Energy: 90 (1,800)

Miasma: 100

Control: 28

Attitude: ??

Free points: 9 + 0.4*

══════════Skills══════════

Cold Mind Level 7 (4%)

Lightning Manifestation Level 5 (6%)

Brandon's burns healed in just a few seconds, and his whole body felt renewed.

Even the pressure he had felt before had been alleviated. It was as if he had grown fins at the bottom of the sea.

Brandon pulled out some roasted meat he had stored and started devouring it.

He kept taking out more and more meat and continued eating. He had brought provisions for several months, but at this rate, he would devour half of them soon.

Soon his hunger calmed down, and he stopped eating. "I won't increase my stats so drastically and suddenly again."

He lay back against the tree trunk and looked up at the tree's upper branches, pausing to think for a moment. What was that dream he had?

It was blurry, and he couldn't remember anything, just a part of the last whisper and a colorful crystal. It could have been any dream, but he still felt a closeness to that person he couldn't describe.

"Ah, do you have any idea what that dream was, Luzbel?" he asked.

[*Reporting. I do not have the power to access the master's subconscious.*]

"I expected as much. Useless as always," said Brandon.

[*...I resemble the master I have.*]

"What did you say?" he said, getting to his feet as if he were going to confront someone.

This time, Luzbel didn't answer and left everything in a sepulchral silence.

Despite everything, Brandon still felt very close to this AI. He had no one to talk to, and Luzbel was the only one who had always been there for him.

He stretched his arms and without much thought, he jumped off the tree, feeling the sound of the wind in his ears.

He didn't wait to fully land on the ground before launching himself and running deeper.

He spread his wings and began jumping and gliding with them. Although his body could withstand the pressure of the mountain, it was still very difficult to fly.

Brandon had been at it for a while, and he still hadn't encountered any beasts. "Is the pressure the difficult part of this mountain?" he thought.

But it seemed like things were going too well. Brandon jumped between trees and climbed up to look down.

"Specters?"

There was a large number of specters ahead. Brandon had encountered them in the deadly forest, but here he found them again.

These seemed even more terrifying as they emitted miasma and had chains that clashed and made noise.

The specters of the deadly forest were incorporeal, even their chains. Brandon stayed watching them to see if they had any singularity.

These ghosts were heading in the direction where Brandon was coming from. He didn't know what they were looking for, so he stayed in the same place, waiting for them to leave.

Hours passed and the number of ghosts didn't decrease, so he was starting to get desperate.

"Wait, weren't they leaving? Why are they coming back now?" His face turned sour when he saw how these ghosts were carrying incorporeal bodies of ants.

These ghosts were after the souls of the ants that he had killed. The weirdest thing was that they didn't devour them, but instead carried them to a certain place.

His fear was great, but his sense of adventure overpowered it.

[I hope the master won't do what he's thinking. Remember that if you die, I'll go with you. I'm still young and have a family to support.]

"... What family are you talking about?" If Luzbel had a physical body, Brandon would be hitting him right now.

Brandon composed himself and jumped to another branch while following the ghosts. They were venturing deeper into the mountains.

*Crack*

Brandon was so distracted that he stepped poorly on a corner of a branch, breaking a piece and falling.

He quickly grabbed onto the branch and climbed to hide. The noise would surely alert the ghosts, so he preferred to hide.

After a few minutes, Brandon saw that the ghosts were still carrying the souls further into the mountain. Later on, he could see a treeless valley and hundreds of thousands of ghosts gathered in this place.

"What is that?!" he said to himself. A great flame, so black that it absorbed any surrounding light, rose in the center of the ghosts.

Brandon watched from the forest's periphery. The ghosts threw the souls into this flame as fuel. He didn't know what the flame was feeding, but he was sure he didn't want to know.

The ghosts weren't only carrying the souls of the ants he had killed. They also brought more souls from other places and exotic beasts that were not seen in the wastelands where he was.

The more souls entered the flame, the more oppressive aura Brandon felt from it. "I have to get out of here," he decided.

He stepped so hard that the branch he was on broke, causing a big commotion.

"Shit, I still haven't gotten used to this new strength." The ghosts turned in his direction and made a scream that made Brandon's soul shudder.

*WOOOOO*

[Your soul is under attack]

[New statistic added. 'Soul']

Brandon spread his wings and using impulses and flaps started to run out of the wastelands.

The pressure was getting lighter and lighter. Brandon saw hope in being able to get out of this place.

At that moment, 4 red chains tied up his wings. Brandon felt the sudden pull and pain as he was stopped.

[Damaged soul rune]

Brandon undid his wings and fell to the ground, rolling and continuing to run while using trees as cover.

More and more chains approached like snakes. But this time, Brandon was prepared and dodged them as they approached.

He had left the mountain area and could feel how his body was freed from a great pressure.

Joy surged when he saw that he could move with more freedom. At that moment, a chain different from the others caught him by the waist and started taking him back.

"Shit, shit. Luzbel, solutions," he thought. He could feel as if this chain was slowly pulling his soul out of his body.

[Using all means.]

[Forcing compatibility progress]

"Aaaaaaghh, Luzbel, what are you doing?" Brandon shouted. He felt that his soul was hurting.

[100% compatibility activating digitization]

Brandon's body began to disintegrate into 0s and 1s from his feet to his head. Brandon felt like he was merging with the world, but soon his body returned to normal and he fell.

[Insufficient energy]

Brandon felt drained, but his body felt great in that state. He didn't waste time and ran out of this area again.

For some reason, the black chain or any other didn't appear again, and Brandon wasn't going to stop to find out.

This had been a pretty long day, so he decided to head to the cafeteria where he was staying to rest. He also planned to take a vacation to get to know the refuge better and see if he could open a store.