"Speed tester," Hugh Thompson said, pointing to a device that looked like a camera.
"What's this for?"
"Ethan, I've watched you before. Often, you use the Specter Web to move, easily dodging your opponent and appearing in an instant. Many times, your attacks have been blocked by others right at that moment."
I nodded, and then Hugh Thompson told me to extend my Specter Web to the white line next to the speed tester and fully transform my body into a ghost. He wanted to see how many seconds it would take me to move there.
I'd never thought about something like this before. I still don't quite understand how I move, but the only thing I know is that whenever I release the Specter Web and turn into mist, I can instantly move over.
Hugh Thompson ran to the side and prepared an electric scooter. He rode it quickly, reaching 340 meters away.
"Get ready. Watch my signal."
Hugh Thompson spoke, pulling out a small flag. I began to release Deathbane Aura, transforming my body fully into a ghost. With a snap, I turned into a mass of black mist. At that moment, I felt the red string tied around my body, with a small ball attached, still hanging on me.
Hugh Thompson raised the flag. I had already extended my Specter Web. This time, I realized the speed of extension was slower. In the past, within one or two hundred meters, I could extend the Specter Web very quickly.
"Alright, Hugh, the Specter Web has completely moved over."
"Start..."
With Hugh Thompson's shout and the small flag waving down, I moved instantly with a thought, feeling myself rush toward him at high speed.
With a whoosh, I appeared beside Hugh Thompson and asked,
"How was it, Hugh?"
Hugh Thompson stared at the speed radar for a long while before shaking his head.
"No good, Ethan. You're too slow."
I let out a sound of surprise. To me, moving from 340 meters away felt like an instant.
"You didn't break the sound barrier."
Hugh Thompson explained that my movement over 340 meters took about 3.76 seconds, which is far from the speed of sound—since the speed of sound is 340 meters per second, I was 2.76 seconds too slow.
"Does that really matter?"
"Ethan, in the world of speed, even 0.1 seconds is a huge gap. From movement to attack, you need at least 4 seconds, roughly calculated. Other ghosts or those with advanced arcane skills can easily react and counter you. The stronger ones could even kill you the instant you attack."
My heart skipped a beat. It's true—many times when I attacked, I was either blocked or restrained, unable to carry out the attacks I imagined.
As Hugh Thompson spoke, he pulled out a handgun from his pocket, clicked off the safety, and told me to stand a hundred meters away. He aimed the gun at me.
"What's this...?"
"Dodge the bullet, Ethan."
Hugh Thompson held the handgun with both hands, aiming at me. I watched him closely, preparing to move. The red string with the small ball was still tied to my body, and Hugh was aiming at that ball.
I started to feel nervous. A gun shouldn't pose any threat to me, but having a handgun pointed at me still made me uncomfortable.
Bang! Hugh Thompson fired. Instantly, I moved to the other side, unable to see the bullet—just knowing I had to dodge. With a whoosh, I flashed away.
"How was it, Hugh?"
"Come over here and look," Hugh said, pointing to the side. Only then did I notice a small camera and a laptop. We walked over, and Hugh started to pull up the footage he'd just recorded.
On the screen, only the moving Red String of Fate and the small ball were captured; I wasn't visible at all. But when the footage was slowed down many times, I saw the bullet pass right through a transparent object—that was me. I hadn't dodged it.
"What's this...?"
Hugh Thompson smiled.
"Ethan, basically, within the effective range of a handgun—100 meters—the bullet can reach the speed of sound. And you couldn't dodge it. At such close range, if your opponent is a strong Blue Wraith or a skilled arcane practitioner, their attack speed could easily surpass the speed of sound. You'd have no way to defend. What about at 50 meters? 10 meters? Even 5 meters?"
The more I thought about it, the more afraid I became. I remembered a Blue Wraith with exceptional speed—Victor Duan. He was incredibly fast. Thinking about it now, I could understand Hugh Thompson's approach.
The Red String of Fate and small ball tied to my body were just like my ghost core. If my core was found by an enemy who attacked at supersonic speed, I wouldn't be able to withstand it.
"Don't worry too much, Ethan. Honestly, this is all theoretical. But in actual combat, having this theory as a foundation makes things much more practical."
I nodded. Then Hugh Thompson changed the distance I had to move—from 340 meters to 200 meters, then 100 meters, and finally 50 meters. My instant movement speed dropped from 3.78 seconds to lower and lower, but even at 50 meters, it still hovered around 2 seconds, no matter how many times I tried.
"It seems this is your limit, Ethan. That's why using certain techniques in battle is so important. I've seen you turn Deathbane Aura into needles, arrows, knives, and swords. Ethan, have you ever thought about turning Deathbane Aura into a gun?"
I let out a surprised sound and looked at Hugh Thompson. In the dream world, I had thought about it before—I'd even tried to make an AK-47 out of Deathbane Aura, but failed.
"Ethan, fire a few shots and see how it feels. Get a sense of what a gun is."
I nodded, took the handgun from Hugh Thompson, and fired several shots into the distance—bang, bang, bang. I felt the recoil, then put the gun down.
"Start with the basics, Ethan," Hugh Thompson said, pulling out a bullet for me to examine. I held it in my hand, looking closely.
"Whether it's the age of cold weapons or firearms, weapons are made to kill enemies quickly. You're special, Ethan—you can manipulate Deathbane Aura, something that was originally ghost food, and turn it into blades and weapons. So now, you need to think about how to kill enemies faster, not just rush in and fight head-on. Modern weapons were made for that."
As Hugh Thompson spoke, he waved the handgun in front of me.
I held the bullet Hugh Thompson gave me in my left hand and began to release Deathbane Aura with my right. Slowly, the aura turned into a black bullet. But it was tricky—I tried to inject Deathbane Aura to give the bullet weight, but it had none. As I poured in the aura, the bullet burst with a snap and dispersed into Deathbane Aura.
"Your control is too weak, Ethan. You can't manipulate something so fine. These are the foundations of technique—practice every day from now on."
I nodded and kept trying to condense the aura, but after more than ten attempts, I still couldn't make a bullet. Either it was too much to control and dispersed, or too little and had no weight.
"Ethan, if you can use Deathbane Aura to make a handgun, you could use your two Ghost Souls to delay or confuse your enemy. At the critical moment, you pull out the gun and deliver a fatal blow. Most of the time, you could use the gun to attack, since you haven't trained in martial arts or swordsmanship. You can't always rely on brute force."
I was excited—I could imagine myself wielding a Deathbane Aura sword in one hand and a handgun in the other, with unlimited bullets for long-range attacks.
But in reality, I still couldn't even make a single bullet.
"Ethan, you need to be extremely familiar with the structure of a gun—every single part and the assembly steps. You have to become like a fully automatic gun factory, producing and assembling each part with your Deathbane Aura."
I nodded seriously. Hugh Thompson smiled, then checked the time—it was already midnight.
"That's it for today, Ethan. Take it slow—I'll help you build your power system step by step. Once it's complete, you'll be much stronger than before, and you'll be able to handle enemies you couldn't defeat in the past."
I nodded, helped Hugh Thompson pack up the equipment, then returned to the dorm. Miles Mao was still watching a movie, drinking beer, and gnawing on pig's feet.
"How's Mason Yu doing?"
I asked as soon as I walked in.
"No idea. He's still unconscious."
Miles Mao stood up and looked at me.