Chapter 1

I tried writing a new work.

However, this is a mix of settings I had thought of for other novels but ended up discarding. I didn’t want to waste the ideas I had come up with, so I reassembled them into a new novel.

Therefore, updates will be very slow.

I plan to post chapter by chapter, so after posting the first chapter, I don’t know when the next post will be. Please understand this.

In the dim forest, animals were fleeing. The deer-like creature was running to escape the hunter. However, a large number of arrows flew from the depths and pierced its body, causing it to lose strength and fall.

A humanoid creature, about the size of a human child, emerged with a rustling sound. It had small horns on its head and a very ugly face. It was a goblin, a monster.

The goblins whispered to each other and approached the fallen deer.

It would probably be their dinner tonight.

Near this scene, a faintly glowing amorphous object was wavering.

(What is this...?)

The object had consciousness. The translucent amorphous object, which looked like a ghost, did not appear to be a living being at first glance. However, it definitely possessed intelligence.

(Am I... dead?)

Since childhood, he had a weak heart and spent most of his life in the hospital. He had memories of that. He had studied a lot out of boredom and acquired a fair amount of knowledge. However, he had left the world without putting that knowledge to use.

(Come to think of it, I can't remember my family, friends, doctors, or nurses.)

The only things he remembered were a few memories and some knowledge.

Perhaps the shock of death, or for some other reason, several of his memories were missing.

(No, is this a dream? If it's a dream where goblins are hunting deer, it would explain the vague memories. It's called a lucid dream, right?)

It was rare to be aware that one was dreaming within a dream. That's what he thought.

No, he wanted to believe he wasn't dead yet.

If it was a dream, he would wake up after a while.

If this wasn't the afterlife, he would return to his usual hospital room in the next moment.

Thinking this, he decided to enjoy the dream world for a while.

◆◆◆

(Conclusion: This is the afterlife.)

When the sun had set and risen seven times, he came to this conclusion.

Even though he had experienced sudden attacks and long periods of sleep, he had never had such a long dream before. Therefore, it was better to think that he had come to the afterlife.

Moreover, his body was in the form of an amorphous floating spirit.

This gave it a bit of credibility.

And during the seven days, he noticed a few things.

(I can't speak, I don't need to eat or sleep, I can float freely, I'm fine in sunlight, and most importantly...)

He focused his consciousness inward.

(When I focus, information about myself comes to mind.)

It seemed he had become a ghost. He somehow understood that this referred to his current race.

Additionally, he had a skill called "Life Absorption."

He thought it was a rather ominous ability.

(Should I try it?)

He focused on "Life Absorption" towards a nearby large tree. Something stirred inside him, trying to absorb something from the tree.

However, it dissipated without absorbing anything.

(Why?)

He tried it on other trees, grass, and flowers, but "Life Absorption" failed and dissipated.

Curious, he then used "Life Absorption" on a butterfly flying nearby. Surprisingly, he absorbed something from the butterfly and incorporated it into himself. It felt like a tiny drop of water.

The butterfly then fell powerless.

He understood that he had absorbed its life force.

(I see. It only works on animals and insects.)

With that in mind, he wanted to try it on a larger animal.

(I want to try it on those goblin-like creatures.)

Once he decided, he moved immediately. During the seven days, he had figured out where the goblin village was. He floated towards the goblin village.

Thanks to his ghostly race, he could pass through large trees. While his vision went dark when he was inside objects, he got used to it and no longer worried.

He moved straight through the forest and found the goblins after a few minutes.

(Come to think of it, can they see me? As a ghost, they probably can't, right?)

With this new question, he approached a goblin. Three goblins noticed him and followed him with their eyes. They didn't attack, but it was clear they could see him.

(That's no good. But it's fine. I know I can pass through things, and I don't have to worry about counterattacks.)

He thought this and activated "Life Absorption." There were seven goblins in front of him, including the three who had noticed him. He used "Life Absorption" on all of them simultaneously. There were no more than ten goblins in total, and he started with this number to avoid overwhelming himself.

A considerable amount flowed into him. At the same time, the seven goblins began to suffer.

The other goblins noticed the suffering seven and approached.

He used "Life Absorption" without hesitation, draining life force from the other goblins. This "Life Absorption" was slow in absorbing life force but could be used simultaneously. However, he noticed that the absorption speed decreased as he used it on more targets.

(Is the absorption speed decreasing? Some goblins are still moving.)

A slightly larger goblin stood up and tried to attack him. However, the club swung by the goblin passed through him. Arrows and physical attacks also passed through him.

(Physical attacks don't work. If it's like a game, maybe magic attacks would work. But I don't know if magic exists.)

Since he had a skill like "Life Absorption," magic probably existed. The goblins couldn't use it, but he shouldn't assume he was invincible.

After absorbing for a few minutes, the goblins finally died. They seemed to breathe their last simultaneously, as if falling asleep.

Then, something flowed into him.

It was similar to what stirred when he used "Life Absorption."

(It's not life force. It doesn't feel like experience points either. This... is probably magic power?)

Magic power, MP, mana, prana, chakra, qi... something like that. It felt like a source of power and a part of himself.

He had a strange feeling.

(Huh? My race has changed?)

When he focused inward, he found that he had evolved from a ghost to a higher spirit. He had been a translucent, amorphous floating object, but as a higher spirit, he had taken a humanoid form.

There was a pond nearby, so he observed his reflection in the water.

It was hard to see clearly because he was still translucent, but he could make out some features.

He was about 170 centimeters tall, with black hair and black eyes, and a Japanese face. He had a slender build, a neutral appearance, and a slightly ghostly look. He wore a simple loincloth and a black rag, which made him look a bit eerie.

(I can't remember my face from my previous life... Is it the same face?)

He pondered this.

He tried hard to remember, but his memories didn't return. He retained his knowledge but had forgotten most of his memories.

Emotionally, he felt relieved that he didn't feel sad about dying or guilty towards his family and friends.

(The only thing I remember is my name...)

Shu Takahiro.

This was definitely his name. Therefore, his parents' surname was probably Takahiro. However, he couldn't remember his given name or if he had siblings.

(I'll just use Shu... No, I'm not sure...)

He hesitated to use his previous name, which he couldn't fully remember.

Even though this was the afterlife, it was still a world. Rather, it was more accurate to say he had been reborn. After all, there were many animals like birds and deer, not just goblins. It was hard to think of it as a simple heaven or hell.

As a higher spirit, saying he had been reborn was a bit odd, but he was definitely starting a new life.

He decided to take a fresh start with a new name.

(But thinking of a new name from scratch is a hassle. Maybe I'll just modify my original name...)

First, he tried to change it to English.

(Shu... What would that be? Direct translation would be 'learn' or 'master'? No, that's not it. Maybe just the phonetic 'Shu'?)

He might have thought of other conversions if he had knowledge of French, Italian, or German. However, he had only studied English, so he gave up on that.

Besides, 'Shu' sounded good.

He liked it.

(Next is Takahiro. In phonetic reading, it would be 'Koukou'? No, that's not it. How about 'high light,' 'tall ray,' or 'expensive optical'?)

Shu tried various combinations, but none of them felt right. They all seemed a bit cheesy.

Since this was a new name he would use, it had to be something he was satisfied with. He thought of another option.

('High' as 'best' or 'top' is still a bit off. What should I do?)

He thought the problem was with 'high.' He tried hard to think of a good conversion.

After thinking for thirty minutes, he came up with a good idea.

(Ah, 'arch' also means 'high.' Combining it with 'light'... Archlight. Maybe I'll use Shu Archlight from now on.)

Satisfied with the name, he began to think again.

The topic was evolution.

(I evolved from a ghost to a higher spirit, probably because I defeated the goblins. Something flowed into me when I defeated them, and that's why I evolved. If I assume that what flowed in was magic power, did I evolve because of a large amount of magic power?)

It was not confirmed, but it was worth testing.

His goal was to understand his current state, what magic power was, and the conditions for evolution.

Shu Archlight set out to find the next goblin for his experiment.