Phantom Object

Biodata

Feature	Value
Name	Phantom Object
Original Name	幻物
Alias(es)	Phantom; Magical Item in Victoria; Artifacts, Treasures, and Sacred Relics in Yan Country 176
Classification	Objects whose supernatural properties are determined by accumulated Elements 14 550
Occupation/Role	Weapons, armor, storage devices, skill-learning tools, and other rule-based equipment 4 20 43 281
First Appearance	Feng Xue creates the Blade of Suffocation through Reforge 4

Nature and Mechanics

Elements and Settings

A Phantom Object’s Elements define its functions, restrictions, and interactions. Old Li describes their formation as inanimate objects accumulating enough Tags; Feng Xue’s later analysis distinguishes Phantoms composed of Elements from Supernatural Tales whose Elements form Tags, which then condense into Entries 14 550.

• Settings take precedence over physical laws. A Phantom functions because its setting permits an effect, not because ordinary physics makes that effect possible 200 265.
• Each Phantom is an independent rule provider. Peerless Martial Art, for example, can introduce martial-arts cultivation into a world that otherwise lacks it 200.
• Specific counters can overcome durability or binding rules. Corresponding Elements can affect a Phantom that ordinary attacks cannot damage 14 161.
• Supernatural does not mean universally effective. The Blade of Suffocation causes actual breathing difficulty; undead enemies that do not depend on breathing suffer little from that effect 15.

Durability and Repair

Phantoms generally lack an ordinary setting for wear and damage, resembling game items without a durability statistic. They are difficult to destroy, but not absolutely indestructible 5 14.

• Feng Xue’s Blade of Suffocation remains unmarked after striking brickwork and undergoing sharpening experiments 5.
• The Landfill Area Manager’s Phantom greatsword withstands the Stitched Monster’s corrosive bodily fluids 13.
• Dirt and nonfatal damage gradually disappear. Severe damage takes longer to repair, while supplying [Knowledge] accelerates recovery 23.
• Protection of the item does not guarantee protection of its wearer: an ordinary blade fails to cut Feng Xue’s Phantom garment, but a mounted Phantom ruby still inflicts fire damage 54.
• Powerful supernatural attacks can destroy Phantoms; Yamata no Orochi’s energy causes some of Feng Xue’s deployed items to wither and crumble 402.

Cross-World Operation

• Phantoms can normally function across worlds, unlike some appraisal Tags that become invalid outside Infinite City 148 231 407.
• Infinite City allows certain Phantoms to exchange information with other worlds. Without that connection, Peerless Martial Art would retain its existing contents but could not continually acquire additional martial arts 231.
• Their universal usability remains incompletely explained; Old Li states that the available hypotheses are not established knowledge 407.
• Important components of a Supernatural Tale may be unsafe to remove from their world. Feng Xue’s Heavenly Court Phantoms have such restrictions, although his Authority can project them elsewhere 495.
• Companion Phantoms are confirmed usable in the world corresponding to Babylon’s 121st floor. Aoyagi Lantern does not confirm the same for ordinary Phantoms 603.

Creation

Old Li identifies three principal channels of Phantom creation 14.

Method	Process	Restrictions
Artificial manufacture	Crafting produces an object with a suitable supernatural trait composition.	Results depend heavily on probability; most blacksmiths produce only two or three Phantoms over decades 14.
Companion manifestation	An item central to a Weird Tale’s legend appears alongside that tale.	Forms and functions are limited by the legend; examples include a mummy’s wrappings and Kuchisake-onna’s scissors and mask 14.
Element enrichment	Objects absorb free Elements in highly concentrated environments until those Elements settle and accumulate.	Exposure does not guarantee transformation. Gang members place equipment in an Omen’s remains to try their luck 14.

Feng Xue’s Reforge

• Feng Xue’s first success consumes 84 Ta of [Shi], transforming a toy wrist crossbow into the Blade of Suffocation 4.
• Adding Elements does not automatically produce a Phantom. A reforged pocket watch gains [Time] and [Stop] but remains a False Thing 20.
• True Thing materials can introduce substantial [Knowledge] and unexpected Elements. Feng Xue attributes the Misty Field skill machine’s mutation to its base material 43.
• Unsuccessful or unstable results include joke items and black spheres. One sphere forms after more than a dozen newly generated Elements shatter; it displays an Omen-like mosaic without signs of life 45.
• Feng Xue later describes Phantom creation broadly as infiltrating a base object with large amounts of [Knowledge], with his Golden Finger performing that process more precisely 543.

Mass Production and Environmental Formation

• Special abilities can mass-produce Phantoms. The Jianghu Game Helmets are distributed to tens of thousands of players rather than appearing as isolated accidents 427.
• In the Ghost School, ordinary computers and copying equipment produce Phantom exam papers despite possessing no observable Elements themselves 544.
• Investigating the school leads Feng Xue to suspect that specific locations, actions, timing, and surrounding Cognition influence formation. He connects the exam papers’ production to students’ thoughts and anxiety, but presents the broader mechanism as a developing theory 551.
• The school’s [Phantomatization] Authority creates permanent Phantoms, though with more restrictions than Feng Xue’s flexible item-enhancing Authorities 554.

Grades and Classification

South District Market Grades

South District grades Phantoms by the usefulness of their abilities, not by a fixed Element count. Feng Xue encounters four tiers; higher tiers may exist, but none are shown at the stalls he visits 109.

Grade	Criteria	Examples	Reported Price
Miscellaneous Item	Usually niche, awkward, or of little practical use; combinations may improve their value.	Infinite Salt, Fat Tongue Toffee, pink remote-controlled toy	Around 10,000; consumables around 3,000–4,000 109
Ordinary	Shared Phantom durability and basic traits such as [Sharp] or [Sturdy], without additional supernatural abilities or occupational Tags.	Nail Head Hammer, Hand Axe	20,000–50,000; armor generally no more than 100,000 109
Fine	A practical, versatile ability or the capacity to grant an occupational Tag.	Sealed Golden Cabinet, Physical Clone card	Hundreds of thousands; Physical Clone estimated at 500,000–600,000 109
Excellent	Substantially improves the holder’s capabilities.	Boots of Silence; strength-enhancing gloves	Starts at one million; the gloves are priced at 1.8 million 109

Prices use the South District’s Tower currency 107 109.

Regional Terminology

Region	Classification	Basis
Victoria	C-, B-, and A-class Magical Items	Ability, danger, and side effects; individual items are numbered in acquisition order 176.
Yan Country	Artifacts, Treasures, and Sacred Relics	Correspond respectively to Victoria’s C, B, and A classes; some commonly used items have nicknames 176.

• Victorian derivatives receive an additional identifying number: C-103-2 denotes the second derivative of C-103 176.
• These regional classifications are separate from South District’s commercial usefulness grades 109 176.

Companion Phantoms

Companion Phantoms are part of a Supernatural Tale’s own legend rather than merely equipment it has acquired 14 238.

• Restoration after resurrection: Ordinary Phantoms are not restored when their owner resurrects. Exclusive or innate Phantoms can be re-condensed even if taken away or destroyed 238.
• Assimilation depends on compatible settings: The Orca Pillow can become bound to the Orca Martial God because their settings do not conflict 352.
• Conflicting settings require a new manifestation: The inactive, quantum White Ghost Hand cannot simply become the intelligent Ghost Hand that attempts to kill its streamer; a separate Phantom is condensed 352.
• Autonomy does not establish personhood: The humorous Ghost Hand acts independently, but remains a Phantom with operating patterns rather than an Omen or Supernatural Tale 352.

Notable Examples

Phantom	Function and Limitation
Blade of Suffocation	Applies many of its user’s abilities, including other weapons’ effects; injured targets have difficulty breathing and performing strenuous movement. It must be retrieved after being thrown 4.
Storage Pouch	Stores large quantities without adding weight and retrieves items at the holder’s will. Objects must fit through its opening 20.
Scarecrow	Protects farmland by frightening unintelligent intruders 25.
Skill Learning Machine — Misty Field	Teaches a mist-producing skill when placed against the forehead. The skill has usage limits, and its range, concentration, and duration depend on the learner’s physical condition 43.
Suspicious Cardboard Box	Holds two adults and greatly reduces their presence. Occupants cannot move while a living being is staring at the box 45.
Perfect Ruby	Grants fire damage in a weapon, increased vitality in armor, or fire resistance in a shield 54.
Peerless Martial Art	Displays changing martial-arts content; a Bookmark is needed to preserve a selection 92.
Bell of Absolution	Marks sinners within hearing range. Feng Xue uses its marks to detect an ambush 173.
Oath Keeper’s Visage	Conceals the wearer’s appearance and enables teleportation behind an eligible sinner after eye contact. Pursuit has no distance limit and persists until either party dies 173.
Choice Cane	Breaking it while swearing allegiance guarantees acceptance and protection within the relevant organizational hierarchy, until clear betrayal occurs 394.
YX-LG-07	An autonomous amphibious patrol robot used by the East Sea Dragon Gate, demonstrating that Phantoms can include mass-produced machinery 484.

Use and Ownership

Restrictions and Side Effects

• Set-type Phantoms require the entire set to be worn before their effects activate 89.
• The Phantom of the Opera set makes the wearer’s presence seem appropriate, but does not legalize entry or prevent others from responding to suspicious conduct 136 207.
• Binding and ownership can be part of an item’s setting. Scales coins normally acquire their compulsory transaction effect only through legitimate transactions 161.
• [Plunder] can override ownership or usage restrictions, but does not guarantee access to every benefit. A stolen Bell of Absolution can be rung, while its marks remain visible only to Oath Keepers or Executioners 175.
• Some Phantoms impose corruption, distorted desire, or other burdens. Dream World Obsession Items can limit how long investigators remain active before requiring suppression 449 451.
• Removing a Phantom’s harmful effect may require an item specifically designed to counter it 471.

Creative Applications

• Feng Xue repurposes a sack that guarantees its contents remain intact as body armor by placing himself inside. It prevents injury, but not pain 97.
• He layers the Boots of Silence beneath the Phantom of the Opera set to retain both items’ benefits 99.
• Against supernatural opponents, he increasingly values dependable weapon traits such as [Sturdy], [Strength], and [Sharp] over elaborate special effects 205.

Trade and Availability

• Phantoms are valuable enough that Feng Xue initially conceals his ownership. In South District, however, most adult passersby visibly carry one or two 13 103.
• Official resale of items from Omens, manufacturing, or defeated owners requires appraisal. The reported fee is 200,000 Tower Coins per item, with contract protection included 107.
• Black-market stalls cost 20,000 Tower per day and prohibit direct barter. Dedicated consignment shops arrange exchanges by matching offered and requested items 109.
• Manufacturing professionals supply many stall items as practice pieces; these may have minimal benefits, negative effects, or abilities that activate only under particular conditions 109.
• Reports of Omen drops are not uniformly reliable: after killing dozens of wilderness Omens, Feng Xue has not personally obtained a Phantom drop 102 104.