Ghost

Innate abilities- the defining character of a gatekeeper. They were terrifying abilities that couldn't be copied by other awakeners.

Officially, humans at G-10 rank and above were considered to be awakeners. But most people considered G rank humans to be 'pseudo-awakeners'. Other than their greater physical ability and the fact that some of them could cast spells, G rankers weren't much different from normal, H rank humans. Awakeners at and above F rank were considered 'true' awakeners. And for good reason.

Whenever any awakener reached F rank, a change would occur in their bodies. Their mana would consolidate, shrinking to a particular range that neared their body's natural 'mana frequency'. This consolidation of mana would transform them by decreasing the range and increasing the lethality of their attacks. And the biggest expression of this change would be the appearance of innate abilities.

Whoosh! The cold wind rushed past Ethan's feet as Noah's eyes grew deeper and deeper. His already pale skin turned lighter, as his dark hair turned white, giving him an unearthly look. "Hiss!" A 5 metre tall snake slithered forward, uncaring of Noah's sudden transformation. Its body was covered with dirty green scales alternating with white stripes. Its mouth contained two rows of small, white teeth. It was the leader of this group of monsters.

"Watch out!" Ethan shouted desperately as he stared at Noah's unmoving figure. Ethan could sense the monster's rank. It was an F-4 monster, a whole 3 stages above Noah's current rank. "Hiss!" The monster opened its large maw wide, preparing to strike at Noah.

"Noah! Move!" Strike! The snake bit down, completely engulfing Noah as he disappeared from view. Ba-dump.....ba-dump.....ba-dump. Suddenly, it was extremely quiet. Ethan's heart had started acting up, yet he was noticing it for the first time. "Noah...." He muttered weakly.

Noah had died. It was all over in a moment. He had disappeared, as if he had never existed. But how? Ethan had spent so much time reading through 'The Ghost System'. How could the overpowered protagonist die so easily. How could Noah die on a random planet like Hydragyros? Ba-dump....ba-dump....ba-dump.

Suddenly, Ethan froze as he realized something. The Ghost System. He'd read the book. He knew all of Noah's powers. And there was no way the current Noah could die here. "Hurk!" The snake let out a strange sound as it thrashed its tail wildly. Its mouth lay open, stuck to the dirt covered floor, as if it were trying to swallow the ground. Ba-dump...ba-dump...ba-dump.

Ethan's heart started beating faster as it reacted wildly to something. "Hurk!" The snake cried out in pain, trying to free itself. Shhhhhhh! Suddenly, its snout started sizzling. White smoke started to billow out from its searing flesh as its snout started turning translucent. Thud! Thud! A pale white walked- walked right through the translucent flesh as if it were an illusion. "Hurk!" The snake screamed in pain, thrashing around with its tail as it tried desperately to lessen the pain.

Tap...tap...tap. Noah phased through the snake's snout as he stepped outside, freeing himself. Shhhh! The white fog became less and less dense as it got further from Noah. Hiss! The snake regained its voice as its snout turned opaque, regaining its original colour. Or rather, now it was a deep red colour, as the flesh was corroded by Noah's poisonous attack, as opposed to the original dirty green colour.

Ba-dump...ba-dump...ba-dump. Noah's pale white hair swept through the air as he turned around, sword sheathed, observing the poor creature. "Hiss!" The snake dislodged itself from the ground as it raised its head in anger. Its snout was dyed red, contrasting with the natural green colour as its purple eyes glowed in rage.

Ba-dump...ba-dump...ba-dump. The rainforest was shrouded in darkness as dense trees blocked the incoming sunlight. White fog lined the surroundings, giving the entire place an eerie look. Yet, Noah's pale white figure didn't look out of place in this dreary forest. His ghostly white hair seemed to fit right into the darkness as he observed the snake with ease.

"Hiss!" Noah unsheathed his sword, facing the monster head on. Crunch! Crunch! Crunch! Whoosh! The snake rushed forward as it tried to attack him once again. "Hiss!" Noah stepped to the side, almost lazily as the snake shot towards him with its maw open. Whoosh! It was almost like he wasn't there. The snake completely passed through the left side of his body, biting at empty air as its momentum carried it forward.

Shing! Noah raised his sword with his right arm, staring indifferently into the distance as if he didn't notice the snake. Stab! Splotch! He plunged the sword to his left, stabbing it into the snake's large body. Tear! Sounds of flesh tearing rang out as the sword carved a deep gash into the monster's moving body. Noah held his blade steadily as the snake cut itself on the sword, like a lamb accepting a butcher's blade.

CRUNCH! Slide! Noah pulled out his sword violently, freeing it from the momster's body. The snake slid forward, the force of its charge still carrying it forward as it slid across the floor lifelessly. Ba-dump...ba-dump...ba-dump. Ethan's heart beat wildly as he stared at the bloody scene.

Scrape! Crunch! The corpse of the monster slowed down as it finally came to a stop. Ethan stared at the unmoving body of the snake. Its snout was still baked red from Noah's mysterious fog attack. Its large, toothless maw was wide open as its jaw hung loosely from its face. Its two purple eyes were now empty, no longer having the rage that they possessed earlier.

Ba-dump...ba-dump...ba-dump. Ethan's heart started slowing down. Shhhhh! Noah's pale White hair started to darken as his eyes regained the life within them. His skin regained a natural colour, slowly removing any traces of his ghostified state. Thud!

A shiver ran down Ethan's spine. It wasn't because he was afraid of Noah. What he had just seen right now was no doubt terrifying. But what he had felt the most from this battle.....was Noah's power. Shing! Noah sheathed his sword as he turned towards the corpse, studying the spoils of the battle he had just fought.

So this was the power of an F rank awakener. Of someone who underwent the First Mana Consolidation. Of somebody who possessed an innate ability. Ethan could feel butterflies squirming in his stomach. Four more ranks. That was how far he'd have to go to reach F rank himself. And when he did, he'd undergo his First Mana Consolidation and unlock his innate ability.

Ethan could barely control his excitement. He could see the distance between himself and Noah, yet he wasn't discouraged. No, he felt refreshed. He'd just received a glimpse into the realm of a true gatekeeper, and he wanted to reach that level as soon as he could.

What ability would he receive? Ethan could feel the anticipation rising to his chest. Whatever ability he received, he hoped it could match up to Noah's ghostification. Tap...tap...crunch. Noah's footsteps fell on the floor littered with wet sticks as he started walking away.

"Let's go!" Suddenly, Ethan was jolted back to reality by Noah's cold voice. He quickly followed behind Noah, not wanting to get left behind. "Oww!" His arm was extremely sore after using Firestorm against the Toothless Kraits. He couldn't use this move too often. Whatever. He couldn't afford to be distracted right now. The monsters could attack any time, so he had to stay vigilant. He had to focus on the task at hand.

Speaking of which, what exactly were they doing? Why were they venturing into this gloomy rainforest, when they could just wait out the four hours near the lake. Was Noah issued a punishment quest by his system? No, that probably wasn't it. He wouldn't have told Ethan to wait for four hours. Then maybe, there was a special quest issued? Yes, that sounded plausible. The rewards must be really good for Noah to accept it.

Crunch...crunch...crunch. Ethan recalled Noah's fight against the snake as he walked under the cover of a large tree. Noah could have directly phased through the snake's body. Why did he poison the snake from the inside before getting out. The burden on his mana should be the same. In fact, poisoning the snake would have probably increased the mana he had to use in that battle.

He glanced at Noah's back. "Hey Noah, why'd you poison that monster before you phased through its body? Wasn't that a waste of mana?" Crunch...crunch...crunch. Noah's footsteps didn't slow down a he continued walking forward. "To make that monster feel pain."

Crunch...Crunch! Ethan stopped. A shiver ran down his spine as he took in Noah's words. This time, because of fear. The boy in front of him definitely wasn't normal. He was ruthless, and crushed his enemies completely, without showing a hint of mercy. He should have known this. He had read 'The Ghost System'. But seeing Noah's darker side in person made it feel more surreal. He was the protagonist. And he couldn't hope to defeat him.