NOVEL WEB 16 – Cover-Up
'Hey, what was that skill I got?' he quickly asks the system as they had back to the family home.
[Illusory Aura]
[Host is able to combine his spirit power with his iridescence to create illusions close to his body. The maximum range is just beyond the hosts reach. This costs spirit power to maintain and the larger the changes the illusions impose upon reality the higher the cost.
'Wait, if I combine that with my Spirit Power Concealment don't I actually have stealth now?' he asks, suddenly far more excited about the idea of being a ninja jumping around town and ganking unsuspecting hollows even more than he already has been.
[Answer: Host can still be heard.]
'Close enough! Now this is the good stuff I've been talking about.' he cheers his fortune. Also with his high dexterity unless he is maxing his speed and power output he can already be extremely silent.
'I'll have to think of other uses for this skill too. It should be quite versatile, the only limitations on it seems to be the distance it can go and how much spirit power I have to fuel it which will only keep growing. Even more so if combined with other skills or items it could have similar synergistic effects like the stealth when combining it with Spirit Power Concealment.' he ponders about his newly acquired power.
He doesn't spend too much time on this though as now his sister is no longer unable to see him and he actually needs to make sure he is paying enough attention to respond to her unlike before.
When they get close to their home home it doesn't take long for their mom to notice and run out first to hug Reina.
"Reina, are you ok? It's good you weren't here when the crash happened. According to the police the truck driver was exhausted and ended up losing control. They found..." their mom starts talking a mile a minute.
'Ah, it seems the Shinigami did come by and MIB'd my parents. I guess it was a good thing Reina ran after me and they missed her. She might have been able to resist it, but that would just gain us even more unwanted attention from Soul Society. A hollow attack on our doorstep is already more than enough. Any more coincidences than that and they are bound to start asking questions and looking in to things.' Hisashi thought to himself. He should probably explain this to his sister before matters get even more complicated when she tries to talk to their parents. The good news is his mom is still talking and Reina hasn't really managed to get much in on the conversation herself.
"Reina. I didn't mention that the Shinigami are able to modify short term memories of regular humans. They must have arrived sometime last night to catch the Hollows and found the place the way we left it and decided to clean up after the Hollow attack when they found out it was already over." he quickly informs her.
She frowns before answering in a hushed manner to avoid their mom noticing: "That's rather dark. They go around just mind wiping people whenever they feel like it?"
"Well I told you they weren't what you can outright call the good guys. This is pretty much their MO. Thankfully I ran away when I did or I might have been caught and we don't want that kind of attention. Well at least not yet. The same goes for you if you run in to one act like you can't see them and try to get as far away from as possible as quickly as you can without drawing attention to yourself. Now that your spirit power is strong enough to clearly see spiritual creatures they might notice if they get close enough to you." he retorts.
She nods seriously, but they then both agree it's better to focus on their parents for now. Various crews are already working on the road and another is currently fixing the landscaping of the front yard. Rolling out new grass, replacing the cracked stone path and trees that have been left with just the stump. Thankfully beyond some scratches from high-speed debris flying around the house itself is almost completely unscathed. Nothing a paint job couldn't fix.
"...and they must have really good insurance, the crew fixing the front garden was here before we even got up." their mom was still going on about everything that had happened. This was probably the most exciting event in her life for the past few years. Well... not if she could remember last evening, but she doesn't remember that.
They agree they will talk more after she finishes talking with their parents and eating some breakfast. When she gets inside their father looks up and asks her what happened. She makes some kind of excuse about a girlfriend calling her with an emergency and having to go over. Thankfully when being a generally well behaved kid lying to your parents becomes so much easier. After she scarfs down a quick breakfast she rushes up the stairs and locks room before opens the window so they can talk.
"So what's the plan from now on?" she asks.
"No plan, you need to get some sleep." he responds sternly.
She immediately laughs out loud: "You and no plan? I think that must be the best joke you've ever told me."
Hisashi frowns, she knew him too well.
"We'll talk about it later when you've rested and have a fresh mind." he brushed her off for now and she did need to get some rest.
"Whatever." she responds snarkily.
"I think I can see some dark circles and is that a crows foot?" he retorts without missing a beat.
"Okay... okay... mom. I'll get some sleep." she finally concedes.
While heading to the bed she pointed towards his old computer and said "You're going to explain that to me later. I've been trying to figure it out for 10 years and still can't even make sense of half of it."
Then she just crashed on her bed without even getting undressed or changed and started snoring like the princess she was within a few minutes the long night and adrenaline from the fight had really exhausted her. Shortly after she went to sleep he went out for his usual patrols and hunts. He was definitely working harder than the entire Shinigami squad responsible for Naruki City put together.
[+1100 XP]
[XP: 4960/4960]
[Level Up]
[Level: 34 -> 35]
[+1 Stat Point]
[XP: 23/5280]
[+17 Spirit Power]
'System status panel please.' he asked.
=Status Panel=
[Name: Saito Hisashi]
[Soul Age: 49]
[Race: Hollow]
[Rank: Hollow]
[Level: 34 -> 35]
[XP: 23/5280]
=Stats:=
[Strength: 19]
[Dexterity: 30]
[Constitution: 15]
[Intelligence: 6]
[Spirit Power: 1405 -> 1422]
[Available Stat Points: 1]
=Passive Skills:=
[Spiritual Energy Absorption]
[High-Speed Regeneration]
[Acidic Touch]
=Active Skills:=
[Soul-Body Separation]
[Spirit Power Concealment]
[Illusory Aura]
'Alright, put the stat point into strength.' he told the system.
[Answer: Affirmative host's strength has been upgraded by 1 to 20]
