TRANSCENDENT HUMAN INCARNATION

Jack stared at his reflection. It was in the polished surface of the only mirror in his Mirror Room. 

The room itself was still the same. A simple white box without any door or windows. It hadn't changed at all.

He observed his status panel...

[CHARACTER STATUS]

[Name: Jack Night]

[Incarnation Type: Spirit]

[Persona: Jack Mystery]

[Race: Mysterious Specter]

[Archetype: Supernatural Entity]

[Power Source: Spirit of Judgement]

[Attributes: Physique (00) Mysticism (82) Passion (63) Essence (99)]

[Karma: Neutral]

[System Sight Modes: Information Panel; Fear Detection; Aura Detection; Karma Detection]

[Supernatural Traits: Mysterious Dream; Mysterious Lullaby; Mysterious Control; Mysterious Mirror World; Mysterious Fragrance; Incarnation Shift]

[Permanent Traits: Mysterious Survival Sense; Mysterious Nature]

[Personal Artifact: Grim Reaper Scythe, Grim Reaper Attire, Artifact Seeds (3)]

He immediately saw the increased attribute. There was no notification to inform this. But, his [Mysticism] increased from 78 to 82. And, his [Passion] went up three points.

"Let's see the evolved skills." Jack hummed.

[Mysterious Mirror World: The ability to access the Universal Mirror World or Personal Mirror Space through reflective surfaces. User is able to alter, manipulate and customize the Personal Mirror Space to the user's will. It can now offer refuge, storage, or other strategic advantages. The size, stability, and complexity of the Mirror World depend on the user's Mysticism and focus. Objects created through customization within the space cannot be taken outside.]

This was pretty good. There was no change in the activation. Still using reflective surfaces. There was no change for accessing the problematic Mirror World.

But the Mirror Room seemed to became a customizable Mirror Space. Nice.

"Time to test it out." Jack decided. He focused his will. Visualizing a workshop. 

Immediately, the room shifted. It got enlarged. Benches were materialized out of thin air. Tools were hanging neatly on the walls. A faint smell of oil and metal was filling the space. 

Impressive. He could see the potential for this. A mobile base of operations. A laboratory. A practice field. A library. A workshop.

Well, he couldn't take anything created through customization here outside. But what about... let's say, he altered the room into a smithy. He brought in an iron ingot. He turned it into a blade with the tools here. Could he take the blade outside?

Well, that needed some experiments.

Anyway. Next up in the list of evolved abilities was... the evolved [Alraune's Myriad Aromas]. It had become...

[Mysterious Fragrance: The ability to generate a potent, invisible fragrance that can subtly influence the emotions and perceptions of those nearby. The user can control the intensity and type of fragrance, ranging from calming lavender to invigorating citrus. Prolonged exposure to the Mysterious Fragrance can have lasting psychological effects, making it a valuable tool for manipulation, interrogation, or psychological warfare.]"

Jack whistled. A strange sound that probably shouldn't exist. Specter's whistle was not that nice to hear.

"From harmless olfactory illusions to subtle mind control. Nifty." 

He imagined it combined with [Mysterious Dream] and [Mysterious Lullaby]. This would definitely make him able to create more devastating nightmare. Or... heavenly nice dream. If he had to.

Finally, the evolved [Draugr's Combat Instinct]...

[Mysterious Survival Sense: An enhanced intuition that grants a preternatural awareness of danger and advantageous opportunities. This ability allows the user to react instinctively to threats, anticipate enemy movements, and identify vulnerabilities in their surroundings. It is a constant, passive ability that sharpens reflexes and heightens awareness of the user.]

"So, Spider-Sense, but the spookier version." Jack summarized.

He felt a faint tingling sensation spread through him. It was subtle. Almost imperceptible. But it felt like a constant hum of awareness. 

He noticed a slight imbalance in the air circulation. A minute imperfection in the smooth surface of one of his newly created workbenches. Things he would have missed before. 

This grew much more than just combat reflexes. It was an all-encompassing sense of his environment. A feeling in his gut was telling him what to avoid. What to seize.

"Alright!" Jack said. A grin spreading behind his spectral mask. "Skills evolved. Mirror Room is now customizable. Myriad Aromas has became a mind-messing Mysterious Fragrance. And I got a permanent Spider-Sense. Time to see what this new incarnation thing is all about."

He recalled the notification. The five options appeared in front of him. All were actually transcendent humans. Finally. He could be human again. 

Jack looked at the choices carefully. Each choice seemed to represent a new 'gameplay'.

[TRANSCENDENT HUMAN INCARNATION: BABY SACRED DRUID]

Sacred Druid depended on the Force of Faith. Specifically... the loyalty toward Nature. It was actually not bad. But he definitely didn't want to be a baby. The idea of being helpless and dependent baby was deeply unappealing for him.

[TRANSCENDENT HUMAN INCARNATION: TEENAGE PRIMAL SORCERER]

It's tempting. Gaining innate superpower was definitely a plus. Being a teenager was way better than being an infant. Although he hoped it didn't force him to carry the mentality of a teen. Teenage angst and innate magic? A recipe for disaster.

[TRANSCENDENT HUMAN INCARNATION: YOUNG ELDRITCH WARLOCK]

Eldritch Warlock? Eldritch Contracts? Yeah, no! Dealing with otherworldly entities almost always ended badly. And he was not trained as a lawyer who could recognize contract loopholes. Nope. Better to be safe than sorry.

[TRANSCENDENT HUMAN INCARNATION: MIDDLE AGED ACOLYTE]

Another faith-based option. Jack immediately crossed the choice. He had no desire to spend his days worshipping some unseen deity of this world. 

Besides, which god would he even dare to pledge allegiance to? He was technically an 'otherworld entity'. Which god would not smite him to pieces instantly?

[TRANSCENDENT HUMAN INCARNATION: OLD MYSTIC SCHOLAR]

Another instant no. He was basically a Mystic Scholar already, in his specter form.. No need to change into different incarnation for that.

[TRANSCENDENT HUMAN INCARNATION: PRIME STEAMRUNE ENGINEER]

This was a wildcard. He had no information about this. There was no mention of Steamrune Engineer in his old Encyclopedia of Mystic Arts. 

This should be a relatively new power system. From the name, it might involve the use of runes and steam engines. 

It might be related to cyborg. Just like the slaver he had faced once. The one he threw into the Mirror World. Or, it might be related to... mechas. Like the cursed locomotive in Whitecoal Town.

Jack grinned. This unknown choice actually resonated with him. Plus, the whole 'tinkerer' vibe appealed to his inner geek.

He decisively chose it.

[NEW INCARNATION CHOSEN!]

[TRANSCENDENT HUMAN INCARNATION: PRIME STEAMRUNE ENGINEER]

[BASIC INFORMATION FOR STEAMRUNE ENGINEER SHARED]"

[THE INITIAL STEAMRUNE] CHOOSE ONE: 

[DIVISION RUNE] 

[FUSION RUNE] 

[EXPLOSION RUNE] 

[POLLUTION RUNE] 

[MUTATION RUNE]

More choices. Fantastic. And this time, trickles of information had seeped in his mind. He had basic understanding of the choices. The system didn't force him to make a blind guess.

He now had an idea what Steamrune Engineer was. This type of transcendent individuals was anyone who dared to condense steamrune within his soul. With the risk of death or insanity.

Once a steamrune was condensed, a Steamrune Engineer could imbue objects and machine with rune magic. Either permanent or temporarily. This was basically a transcendent craftsman class. 

There was five choices provided for the first steamrune condensation. They show the five specializations that the transcendent engineer followed. Division, Fusion, Explosion, Pollution, Mutation.

Division Rune.

Condensing the rune gave the ability to dismantle anything with greater ease. It was quite useful and practical. To get materials for creating objects and machines.

Fusion Rune.

The rune imbued the engineer with the ability to combine objects or machine parts. It was not about assembling them into a logical creation. But more forcing them to fuse into a combination that might be illogical and even... absurd.

Explosion Rune.

Condensing the rune provide the ability to modify and enhance explosion power. Definitely a great choice for direct damaging combat engineer.

Pollution Rune.

This one enhanced the ability to infuse things with status effects? Paralysis. Poison. Curse. Dizziness. Diseases... For engineer preferring creations that caused such kinds of status effects, this one would be perfect.

Mutation Rune

This one is risky. Basically designed for engineer with gambler mentality. It carried the ability to alter the state of objects. It was random though. So it could either change into worse or better form.

After contemplating for a while...

"Alright, [Fusion Rune], it is." Jack decided. A new spark of excitement igniting within his spectral form. 

He imagined himself cobbling together a steam-powered exo-suit from scraps. Or building a high powered steam rifle. Or creating a monstrous mecha.

As soon as he made the choice, another notification appeared.

[FUSION RUNE SELECTED!]

[AUTOMATICALLY ACTIVATING INCARNATION SHIFT!]

[SHIFTING INTO: TRANSCENDENT HUMAN - PRIME STEAMRUNE ENGINEER]

The transformation enfolded in a bizarre way. It was definitely faster than his previous [Incarnation Shift] changes. It only took him about three minutes to finish transforming.

Once it was done, Jack looked in the mirror. 

He was no longer a specter. Or a draugr. He was a human. A completely naked one.

Jack observed himself carefully. He recognized the facial feature. It was very similar to his appearance from his previous life. But he had beard here. He ran his hands over his thick beard. Feeling the coarse texture against his skin. 

His body was not the same with the one he remembered though. He was towering. Probably more than two meter in height. And he was built like a heavy-weight wrestler. He was god-damn big.

He flexed his muscles. Surprised by their size and density. This was a body built for work. For strength. For… well, for engineering.