”You did well, Rêve. This will be the last one,” Ivan called out, his left hand raised and index finger casually pointed in my direction. The mage had proved my fears about these 'tests' to be unfounded, which relieved me greatly. All the spells he had used on me today were extremely powered-down versions of status spells meant to prove his hypothesis.

When he first mentioned throwing a 'freeze' spell at me, I was ready to run away for good. However, he had assured me that it wouldn't be as bad as I imagined. It helped that he was skilled enough to aim solely at my right hand to minimize the discomfort.

A numbing sensation in my right hand snapped me out of my thoughts, and I turned my attention back to Ivan, who studied my reaction. “How does it feel? Do you feel numb?”

I nodded my head in confirmation and shook my hand in an attempt to get the numbness away. The feeling was similar to what you experienced when you woke up from sleeping in an uncomfortable position. Gladly, it didn’t take long for Ivan to intervene. 

With a snap of his fingers, warmth washed away the numbness in my hand and I breathed a sigh of relief.

Ivan stood in silence, contemplating the results, which worsened my resurfacing anxiety. What if there was no hope for me and I would stay a ghost until the day Ivan or another mage killed me with a spell? 

My heart began to race, the rush of blood drowning out the morning sounds of birds chirping. Cold sweat trickled down my neck, as if I stood under the scorching desert sun, despite it being a rather chilly spring morning.

“You’re a bit of a daydreamer, aren’t you?” A feather-like sensation tickled my cheek and I caught Ivan ‘poking’ my face with his left hand. Since I was a ghost he couldn’t really ‘touch’ me in a traditional sense, but this came pretty close. Ivan had realized this after yesterday’s events. 

Normally, I would be annoyed at someone touching me like this, but I was keenly aware that I was touch starved and didn’t necessarily dislike it, so I let him do without complaint. 

“You have this oddly cute frown when you do that. It's quite endearing,” Ivan mimicked what I assumed was supposed to be my expression and winked at me to tease me some more. 

“And you’re pretty perverted for a top mage!” I shot back with another flush spreading across my usually pale cheeks. His way of teasing confused my poor heart so much, because most of his quips sounded like he was flirting, calling me cute and the like, but I was sure he was just joking. It’d be out of character and besides, no one would ever flirt with me anyway. 

What made this even worse was that it worked on me! Yes, I was weak to his looks, but getting flustered like a young maiden every time he teased me was a bit too much. I was a grown man of 24 years, not some lovelorn girl!

I really needed to get rid of this weird ghostly body, before I became a hopeless virgin who blushed at any flirty comment.

“So, did you figure something out now?” I ignored his teasing to put us back on track. For a second it appeared as if something like disappointment flashed across Ivan’s face, but he quickly put on his normal unreadable expression.

“Yup, I did.” He declared confidently, eyes filling with the mischievousness that I was very used to by now and I almost expected him to stop talking altogether at this point.

“Your ghostly body is similar to a status condition. It’s either a curse or a separate unknown status.” I felt Ivan’s eyes on me as he gauged my confused expression and I was reminded that I had to stay on my toes around him to avoid his suspicion. 

The spell system of this world did include aspects from gaming, but during my time reading I had never thought much about it. From what I remembered status conditions could be healed by ingesting potions or using a corresponding spell, e.g. like “antidote” for healing a poison status.

What did this mean for me, though? There was obviously no “ghost status” in neither the web novel nor the book, so what would the corresponding spell even be?

Doubts were spreading in my mind the longer I considered these facts, so I decided to be honest with my fears. 

“Are those even treatable?”

Ivan’s eyes widened for a second and a big rock sank in my heart at his expression, as I took his shock as confirmation that I was right. He quickly regained his calm and pointed at me with his index finger. “You honestly think I can’t treat those? Your lack of faith in my ability wounds me.” 

Normally, I would’ve taken his words and gestures as silly theatrics given the way Ivan usually behaved, but looking at his defiant expression, I got the feeling that my words had truly offended him. In a way, I understood; my doubts had called his skills into question, and I knew he had worked hard to get to where he was now. 

Before I knew it, Ivan had taken a few steps closer and stood mere inches away from me. We stood so close, if I were in my normal body I would’ve felt his breath on my face. The sudden proximity messed with my mind again and I knew I couldn’t hide the blush that was forming on my face. This emotional oversensitivity was really getting on my nerves!

“Curses are complicated, but that’s not an issue for me,” Ivan declared with his eyes glowing, signaling that he was currently using a strong spell. Cold air enveloped my whole body from head to toe in a swirling motion that almost swept me off my feet. The spell spread evenly through me and I keenly felt it get to my head in an agonizingly slow way. I closed my eyes, hoping that the next time I opened them I would no longer be a ghost, but the seeds of doubt were already taking root in my heart.

Aside from the strange sensation of the spell itself I didn’t feel different at all. The longer the spell went on, the better I understood that nothing had changed. 

A dull thud echoed through the garden and I jumped from shock from the sudden noise.

When I opened my eyes, I saw Ivan rubbing his reddened fist in frustration. His face was drawn into a rare scowl, eyes focused on his fist with a dark shadow cast over them. After running his unblemished hand through his hair for a second, he turned his attention back to me. The sheer frustration on his face did not subside as he spoke.

“It looks like it’s not a curse; otherwise you’d be healed by now.” I already knew that, as I still felt the same as before.

“I’m sorry, Rêve. This will take longer than I hoped. And after all that gloating I did…” Ivan lowered his gaze to the grass underneath him in shame and frustration. It was clear that his pride had been hurt by this setback. I didn’t like being in this ghostly state, but I disliked seeing Ivan hurt like this even more. He was supposed to be the confident top mage protagonist who never backed down, so a minor setback shouldn't have affected him like this.

If my presence brought him such pain, maybe I should just vanish? 

Goosebumps spread on my arms all the way to my neck at my own morbid thought process. I knew deep inside that this was my anxiety speaking. Nothing would change if I just up and left right now, even worse actually, I knew both Ivan and Dragan would die in the long run, so I had to calm down again and think straight.

“It’s okay, there’s no rush.” It was true, I hated this incorporeal body but it also had its advantages that might help me in my mission. Staying a ghost for a longer time would at least make it easier to follow and observe Dragan in case something happened. Positivity and optimism were my only companions to keep me on track.

I reached my hand out to Ivan, so he would look at me again, but he was too absorbed in his emotions. 

“Ivan,” I said his name out loud for the first time and the mage finally looked my way, his blue eyes clinging to my face, “You’ll find a way. I believe in you, so cheer up!”

For Ivan, my declaration must have sounded strange. From his perspective, I was a stranger, yet I had just declared my unwavering faith in him. I almost expected him to poke fun at my foolishness, but he surprised me with his reaction instead. 

“I should be the one encouraging you, not the other way around. But I guess this works. Being cheered on by you doesn't feel so bad once in a while.”

Ivan’s lips curled into a warm smile, and he watched me with such a strange warmth that I eventually averted my eyes bashfully. His gaze held such an unexpected heat to it, that my mouth was shut so tightly that I feared I might be unable to open it again. 

You should save this for someone important, not me…!

I pointedly stayed silent, while ignoring Ivan who was surely boring his eyes into me judging by the burning gaze I felt on me. 

“I’ve got some ideas for a solution, but it will take a few days,” Ivan said as he pulled a pocket watch out of his pockets. “There’s another issue as well. It’s time for me to get to work.”

It had slipped my mind that apart from being a high ranked mage, Ivan was also the owner of a pharmacy where he sold his own potions and medicine. Of course, he’d need to go to work eventually! 

Surprisingly, this situation was favorable for me. Having some time away from Ivan's watchful eyes was a positive development, as it would allow me to shadow Dragan and gain insight into his daily life. If there were any mysterious individuals keeping tabs on him, we might catch a hint of when the assassination attempt was scheduled. In the best-case scenario, I could even follow the assassins themselves...!

However, all my plans crumbled with a single sentence.

“I need you to stay here at home,” Ivan declared firmly, his icy gaze locked onto me.

“Huh?” Words of disbelief left my lips and I could only stare at Ivan with my mouth agape. 

You’ve got to be sh*tting me! 

Ivan tapped his chin with his left hand, as if he was thinking about something difficult. “I won’t be able to focus on my work if you’re not somewhere safe.” 

I opened my mouth for some biting backtalk because who did he think I was?! Firstly, my body was invisible to most and secondly, I wasn’t some dainty princess who needed protection!

“This is unacceptable! I won’t stay here all day like some kind of prisoner!” My emotions bubbled over, and I found myself yelling at Ivan. He observed me calmly with a stoic mask that made it impossible to guess his thoughts.

“There are some things I need to see for myself and you won’t stop me!” When I finished yelling, I felt my heart beat restlessly in my chest from being so agitated. Faced with the potential loss of my independence I couldn’t just stay still and take it, not even if it was Ivan who was advocating for it.

His eyes softened visibly and he let out an exasperated huff. “You’re putting me in quite the bind here, you know that?” 

“You’re one to talk!” I crossed my arms in front of my chest and turned a bit away from him. His evasive statement did nothing to calm my agitation. If he proved too stubborn, I would just walk out without his permission. After all, It was not like he could stop me anyway…or could he?

Ivan sighed heavily and started to walk over to me judging by the sound of his footsteps. When I felt his presence right in front of me, I decisively turned my head away and bit on my bottom lip. It was a bit childish to behave like this, but I didn’t care at that moment. He stood so close to me that I couldn’t really ignore him, since I still saw him in my peripheral view.

“Hey, don’t do that! You’ll start bleeding.” A feathery sensation grazed my bottom lip and I jerked away feeling like my whole body was on fire. The sudden pseudo touch had my heart beating mercilessly against my ribcage. Did he have any idea what he was doing to me in my current state?!

In an instant, Ivan snapped with his fingers and the sensation of something warm washed over me for a few seconds. Before I could ask what the hell he was doing, he explained his actions.

”I put a barrier on you. If I can’t convince you to stay here, I’ll have to protect you some other way.”

His words had given me some time to calm down before I processed what had happened in this short time. Why was he so inconsistent? 

“You’re free to do whatever you want, but…please come back after you’re finished.”