Phantoms Aren't Always Useful

Name: Wondrous Item Learning Machine (Misty Terrain)

Elements: [Mist], [Stealth], [Blindness], [Terrain], [Skill], [Item], [Learning]

Description: Allows the user to learn the skill "Misty Terrain."

Note: Don't ask me how it works. Figure it out yourself.

Looking at the CD in his hand, Feng Xue did not know what to say for a moment. In terms of practicality, Misty Field could be called a superior replacement for the Mist Concealment Technique in every respect, but looking at this CD, he felt something was strangely subtle about it.

First of all, this thing had produced four brand-new elements out of nowhere. The thousand points of [Shi] he had invested could no longer explain it. The only possibility was that the material used to make the scroll itself belonged to a True Thing and carried a large amount of [Shi], causing a mutation during the Reforge.

Although this mutation seemed to have ultimately developed in a favorable direction, Feng Xue did not particularly like such an uncontrollable change. More importantly...

How was he supposed to use this thing?

Feng Xue looked at the note and felt as though he was being mocked. However, a moment later, an image he had seen countless times suddenly flashed through his mind.

Although he had not found anything strange about it in the game, now that the CD was in his hands, it somehow felt unbelievably ridiculous.

After thinking for a moment, Feng Xue decided that experimenting on himself would be too stupid. Besides, considering that it was a skill from the sixth generation, it should not be consumable. He waved to Chen Xiyao beside him and said:

"Come here."

"Ah, what is it?" Chen Xiyao's attention was also completely focused on the CD in Feng Xue's hand. When he called her, she immediately felt that it might have something to do with the CD.

Could it be...

An ability that turned the contents of a book into images?

Did he want to watch it together with her?

But which book was it...

A great many thoughts surfaced in Chen Xiyao's mind again, but the next moment, she felt something appear in her hand.

Looking at the CD, which was slightly thicker than normal discs of the same kind, Chen Xiyao was utterly baffled until she heard Feng Xue speak:

"Hold it up and press it against your forehead."

"Huh?" For an instant, Chen Xiyao even thought she had misheard him. But right afterward, Feng Xue repeated his request.

"What kind of bizarre play is this? I'm not a DVD Player!"

Chen Xiyao carefully examined the CD, her face filled with bewilderment. However, under Feng Xue's serious gaze, she ultimately chose to trust the man. She obediently raised the CD and pressed it against her forehead...

"Beep~ beep~ beep~ beep..."

The sound of a Pokémon learning a skill suddenly rang out in the room. Feng Xue watched as the CD began spinning on Chen Xiyao's forehead. When it stopped with a final "ding," the celebratory sound effect announcing that a Pokémon had learned a skill rang out as well.

Chen Xiyao opened her eyes again, looking blankly at the Skill Learning Machine in her hand. She exclaimed in shock:

"What's the principle behind this? How did it do that? Can you learn mathematics this way too?"

"For something this miraculous, you didn't test the ability first. Instead, you immediately asked whether it could be used to learn mathematics... In a certain sense, you're quite a genuine example of humanity."

Feng Xue curled his lips, took the CD from the girl, and did not answer her directly. Instead, he asked his own question:

"Did you learn the ability? Can you use it?"

"Ah, I can..." Chen Xiyao, who had been forcibly interrupted, finally shifted her attention to the Supernatural Ability she had obtained. After sensing it for a moment, she said:

"This ability lets me create a patch of mist. I can use it ten times in total, and after I use them all up, I have to rest before I can use it again."

"Only a usage limit? No special energy required?" Feng Xue narrowed his eyes. This thing seemed considerably stronger than the skill machine from the game. At least it did not restrict the species that could learn it.

"That doesn't seem to be the case. But the density, range, and duration of the mist seem to be affected by my physical attributes."

Chen Xiyao seemed curious about her new ability as well, but she had not forgotten that she was still being hunted. Thus, she forcibly suppressed her urge to cast it immediately and take a look.

Listening to the girl, Feng Xue nodded lightly. This situation was similar to Blade of Suffocation. Both had undergone certain changes to conform to reality. He simply did not know whether this was because the Phantom Object elements were insufficient or whether it had been affected by some other factor.

But since it really could be learned this way, Feng Xue stopped worrying about the posture. He pressed the CD against his forehead, and soon, the strange dinging sounds rang out in the room once again...

Having learned the Mist Field Skill, Feng Xue did not experiment with it immediately either. Instead, he turned his gaze toward the remaining "two books." If his guess was correct, these two "books" should also contain a large amount of [Shi] belonging to True Things, and this seemed likely to bring considerable changes to the Reforge.

"At worst, I'll waste two sheets of paper. I still have such a big book. I can afford the waste!"

Feng Xue considered that the book in his hands was enough to make several hundred miniature books like this one, and he immediately felt much more at ease. He decided to test his theory.

This time, Feng Xue picked up the miniature book that looked like a memorial and invested the three elements [Silence], [Assassination], and [Item] into it. However, this time, he only symbolically invested one point of [Shi], wanting to see whether these sheets of paper really contained as much [Shi] as he thought.

As he pressed the Smelt button, the memorial twisted along with it. Then, just a few seconds later, it turned into a gun...

A pistol with a silencer.

"Now that really is unexpected!" Feng Xue delivered the line in a completely emotionless monotone. Ignoring Chen Xiyao's eyes, which had already begun to shine, he picked up the pistol and began examining it--

Name: Wondrous Item Pistol

Elements: [Silence], [Assassination], [Projectile], [Weapon]

Description: A pistol that makes absolutely no sound.

Note: I bet this gun has no bullets.

"Can this thing really be called a Phantom Object?" Feng Xue toyed with the silenced pistol, which looked as though it had skipped most of the details from a cartoon. The corner of his mouth twitched slightly. Perhaps the Phantom Objects he had seen before had all been too special, so when faced with something this plain, he did not know what to say for a moment.

After all...

A gun without bullets was less powerful than a small knife.

"You can play with it." Feng Xue casually tossed the pistol to Chen Xiyao, then turned his gaze toward the final miniature book. This time, he invested only a single element, [Item], and directly pressed the Reforge button.

Chen Xiyao caught the pistol in a flurry. She had just been about to complain about Feng Xue carelessly throwing dangerous objects around when she saw the booklet before him suddenly begin to change. Having experienced the previous two times, she immediately shut her mouth and quietly waited for the miracle to happen.

And then...

The book turned into a small pink ball with a remote control...