He Xi stood outside Barton's cottage, leaving the father and daughter inside some time alone.
On the way there, he had kept turning over how to explain Tami's situation to Barton.
At first, he'd planned to tell Barton everything himself and hadn't intended to let Tami's soul meet him. After all, she seemed more like a programmed puppet than someone with true consciousness.
But in the end, he still gave Tami an instruction: say a proper goodbye, tell Barton she'd been freed from the manor and was about to find peace, and ask him to live well.
He decided to release this soul.
While they had a moment, He Xi centered himself and began extracting a trait.
[You spent 20 points to extract the following trait from a ghost.] [Fear Aura]: Your gaze emanates a frightening aura. When you look directly at a target, you can subtly amplify their inner fears. If their will isn't strong enough, they'll lose the courage to face you and succumb to panic.
He Xi was wondering why he'd only received one trait when the glowing orb in his mind sent him another prompt:
[Next stage unlocked: Extract the target's own traits.] [The Living's Obsession]: The skills the dead couldn't take with them become an unexpected gift to the living. You'll gain a skill or piece of knowledge that the undead excelled at in life. (Examples: swordsmanship, lockpicking, knowledge of poisons...)
He Xi thought it over for a moment and understood. The ghost's other traits might not be applicable.
Previously, he'd extracted traits belonging to the entire species. At the next stage, he'd be able to obtain abilities unique to a specific target.
This was undoubtedly good news. The abilities of certain powerful individuals were far more valuable than racial talents.