The next morning, the sun bled through the enchanted glass of the manor. Haruto felt a familiar cold presence before he even opened his eyes. Asobi was hovering inches above him, her translucent face wearing a look of sheer boredom.
"System restart complete. Get up," she muttered.
Haruto groaned, but as he stood up, Asobi snapped her fingers. In a swirl of magical particles, his pajamas were replaced by his crisp Academy uniform, perfectly fitted and ironed by her spectral magic. He didn't even have to lift a finger—the ultimate lazy player's perk.
"I told you yesterday, Asobi," Haruto groaned, adjusting his collar as he stepped into the hallway. "I was going to start doing this myself today. You don't have to use your mana for my laundry."
Asobi didn't even look at him, blowing a bored puff of smoke that smelled like expensive incense. "I'm ignoring that command. If I let you dress yourself, you'd probably walk out with your shirt inside out. My reputation as a High-Tier Spirit is on the line."
She floated alongside him as he headed toward the grand staircase. Her expression turned sharp. "Besides, are you really sure about this? Bringing another 'Person' into your new home when you haven't even spent a full twenty-four hours here yourself? It feels... rushed."
Haruto paused at the top of the stairs, looking down at the marble foyer where Toya was already waiting, looking refreshed and slightly confused by the sheer scale of the house.
"It feels fast to me too," Haruto admitted, his voice dropping to a whisper. "But what choice do I have? Things are moving at 2x speed now. I don't get a single second of rest, but honestly..." A small, sharp smirk played on his lips. "...that's the best part. I'm not bored. For the first time, the game is actually worth playing."
Asobi let out a dry, spectral chuckle. "Spoken like a true addict. Fine. If you want to turn this mansion into a guild hall on day one, be my guest."
Haruto walked out of his room and headed toward the stairs. At that exact moment, Toya emerged from his room down the hall. Toya looked refreshed, but his expression was a bit puzzled!" Toya called out, jogging to catch up with him.
"Man, that bed is the best thing I've ever slept on. It's like sleeping on a cloud. But... I do have one small suggestion."
Haruto glanced at him.
"A suggestion? What, the 'Level 60' life is not fancy enough for you?"
"No, no! It's incredible," Toya said quickly, waving his hands.
"It's just... I think the room needs better lighting facilities. I'm not complaining, really! It's just that it was pitch black in there. I had to dress using my White Aura just to see where my socks were."
Haruto stopped. "Pitch black? The rooms have auto-sensing mana lamps."
Confused, Haruto walked back and stepped into Toya's room. He was hit by a wall of absolute darkness. He couldn't even see his own hand. It wasn't just 'dark'; it was like the light had been manually deleted from the space.
"Asobi," Haruto said, his voice dropping into a low, dangerous tone.
"Brighten the lights. Now."
—Snap.--
Instantly, the room flooded with a warm, golden glow from the gold-leaf chandeliers. The sudden brightness made Toya stumble back, his eyes shielding his face.
"Wait... you can just do that?" Toya asked, blinking rapidly.
"The lights were right there the whole time?"
Haruto didn't answer him. He looked up at the ceiling where Asobi's head was poking through the molding, looking completely unbothered as she puffed on her pipe.
"Asobi," Haruto said, his expression becoming dead serious.
"Why was he sitting in the dark? Explain."
Asobi floated down slowly, exhaling a cloud of smoke that drifted toward a frustrated Toya.
"What? It's not my fault," she said with an annoying shrug and a smirk.
"The 'brat' walked into the room and didn't say a single word. He never asked for the lights to be brightened. He just sat there in the dark like a gargoyle and went to sleep. If he's too dumb to use the voice-command system, that's a 'user error,' not a ghost problem."
She looked at Toya with a mocking glint in her eyes.
"Next time, try using your vocal cords, Level 60. I'm a high-level spirit, not a motion-sensor light bulb."
Haruto sighed, rubbing his temples.
"He's new to the house, Asobi. Give him a break. And Toya... if anything feels 'glitched' in this house, it's probably just her being a troll. Just shout for her."
"Noted," Toya muttered, still looking a bit traumatized by the dark.
"I guess I have a lot to learn about living with a Level 90 ghost."
"A ghost?" Asobi hissed, her voice echoing with a spectral chill.
"You're calling a High-Tier, Ancient System Spirit a ghost? Listen here, Newbie—if you say that word one more time, I'll personally toss you out the front gates so fast your Level 60 status will drop to Level 0 before you hit the pavement!"
Toya jumped back, nearly tripping over his own feet. He waved his hands frantically in the air, his face turning pale.
"I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I didn't mean it like that! I've just never met... uh... a 'System Spirit' before."
Asobi huffed, crossing her arms as she floated back toward the ceiling.
"Get this straight, kid. There is only one person in this entire mansion who is allowed to call me a ghost, and that's my boss. He's the Master of the System. You? You're just a guest. You don't have the 'Privileges' to use that word."
Haruto, who had been leaning against the railing watching the show, raised an eyebrow. A small, mischievous smirk played on his lips.
"Oh? So I can call you a ghost?" Haruto asked, his voice filled with a hint of a challenge.
Asobi turned away, flicking her spectral hair over her shoulder and acting like she didn't care, though her cheeks glowed a faint, ghostly pink.
"Hmph. Well... if that's what you really want to call me, I suppose I can't stop you. You're the owner of my mana, after all."
Haruto let out a genuine laugh. "Thanks for the permission, Ghost-Asobi."
"Don't push it, boss!" she snapped back, though there was no real anger in her voice. She pointed toward the door.
Haruto couldn't help it. He leaned against the railing and started laughing—a genuine, amused sound.
"Come on," Haruto said, turning back to the stairs.
"The Goddesses are probably already at the table, and if we're late, Ivory is going to start reading our minds to find out why. And trust me, you don't want her in your head before breakfast."
As they walked toward the grand dining hall, Toya followed, but his pace was a bit slower than before. He was smiling—a real, small smile. For the first time since he arrived in this district, the crushing weight of being "the poor kid" felt lighter. He actually felt comfortable, like he finally had a place where he wasn't just a Level 5 background character.
But as they stepped into the dining room, something started to change.
The three Goddesses were already seated. Ivory was sipping tea with perfect elegance, Lustra was tapping her fork impatiently, and Bellona was sharpening a small dagger as if it were a breakfast ritual.
"Finally," Lustra huffed. "The 'Haruto' has decided to grace us with—" She stopped mid-sentence, her eyes locking onto Toya.
"Lustra," Ivory said, her voice smooth but carrying a dangerous edge. "We have a new member in this house now. Show some class and behave yourself for once."
Lustra rolled her eyes, leaning back in her chair and spinning her fork. "Ugh, you 'brainy' types really don't know how to actually live, do you? Always so stiff. It's just a house, Ivory, not a museum!"
"Is that so?" Ivory's eyes flashed with silver mana, her grip on her napkin tightening.
"Perhaps I should 're-educate' you on what proper manners look like."
"Alright, that's enough!" Haruto cut in, rubbing his temples as he took his seat at the head of the table. "Can we go one morning without a dispute? We have a guest—well, a new teammate."
Just then, Asobi's voice drifted in from the kitchen, sounding uncharacteristically frantic.
"Boss! We have a 'problem' in the pantry! Between the Goddesses' appetites and the new kid, it looks like we've officially run out of fresh supplies!"
Haruto blinked, looking at the empty serving trays.
"Wait, we're out of food already? This mansion is supposed to be fully stocked."
Asobi floated into the room, wiping her hands on a spectral apron.
"Don't worry about it. I forgot to mention—the 'Fixer-Upper' came with a massive backyard. We have high-yield mana farms in the garden behind the house. About 4 to 5 days' worth of fresh vegetables and ingredients grow there every single cycle. I'll just head out and 'harvest' some for breakfast."
Haruto started to stand up. "Do you need any help with the harvest? I could use the walk."
Asobi gave him a look of pure, ghostly flat-out rejection.
"Help?. Stay in your chair, Boss.' I'll be back before the tea gets cold."
The atmosphere in the dining hall was surprisingly light at first. The clinking of silverware and the sound of Lustra's constant complaining about the wait made it feel almost like a normal home. As the food disappeared from the plates, Toya finally managed to find his voice, though he still looked a bit overwhelmed by the sheer luxury of a breakfast that didn't consist of stale bread.
"Haruto..." Toya started, wiping his mouth nervously.
"I was thinking... How am I supposed to go to the Academy today? If the teachers or those seniors run a scan and see that I'm suddenly Level 60, there's going to be an absolute earthquake. They'll probably think I'm an intruder or that I stole some forbidden artifact. I'll be interrogated by the Council within an hour!"
Haruto leaned back in his chair, a small, confident smirk on his face. He gestured toward the three Goddesses who were casually eating as if they weren't walking nuclear weapons.
"Relax, Toya," Haruto laughed. "What do you think these three do all day? You think Level 99 entities just walk around showing their full stats? People's heads would literally explode from the pressure."
He pointed a thumb at Ivory, who was elegantly dabbing her lips with a napkin.
"Ivory uses Reality Manipulation to mask our presence. To the rest of the world, we look like whatever level we want them to see. She'll just wrap a 'Cloaking Layer' around your data. You'll still look like a Level 6 to them—maybe Level 7 if we want to show a little 'growth' so they don't get suspicious."
But as Haruto finished his sentence, his smile faded. He noticed Toya wasn't laughing along.
Toya's grip on his glass tightened until the knuckles of his hand turned a ghost-white. His face, which had been pale just a minute ago, was now a deep, burning crimson. He started taking long, ragged breaths, his chest heaving as if the very air in the room had turned into lead.
Toya tried to force himself up, his hands trembling as they gripped the edge of the mahogany table. "I... I should go," he stammered, his voice thick and strained.
"The Academy... the morning bells... I can't be late."
He managed to stand, but the moment he took a step, his balance snapped. His world tilted 90 degrees, and he began to fall sideways like a disconnected puppet.
Bellona reacted instantly. She blurred across the room to catch him before his head hit the marble floor. But the second her hands touched his shoulders, she flinched.
"Ouch!" Bellona hissed, pulling back for a split second before grabbing him again with her leather-gloved hand.
"Haruto! His skin... it's like touching a live heating element! He's literally cooking from the inside!"
Ivory stood up, her silver eyes narrowing as she glared directly at Haruto. The air in the room grew heavy with her sudden suspicion. "Haruto," she said, her voice dropping to a dangerous, icy tone.
"What did you do? Did you try to 'force' him to something while he was sleeping? This isn't a normal fever. His soul is vibrating at a frequency his body can't handle."
"Me? I didn't do a thing!" Haruto shouted, frustrated and genuinely worried. He looked at Toya's crimson face and then scanned the room.
"I've been asleep just like everyone else! I haven't even touched him since last night!"
He looked toward the ceiling. "Asobi! Get out here, now!"
Asobi flickered into existence, still holding a basket of glowing mana-vegetables from the garden. She looked at the chaotic scene—Bellona struggling to hold a steaming Toya, Ivory ready to interrogate Haruto, and the breakfast table in shambles.
"What is it now, Boss?" Asobi asked, blowing a lazy puff of smoke.
"Did the kid trip over the carpet?"
"Did you do something to him?" Haruto demanded, pointing at Toya.
"Is this a 'prank'? Is there something in the food?"
Asobi let out a dry, spectral laugh, looking offended.
"Please. Do I look like I have time to play games with a human? I have a mansion to run. I have much better things to do than 'prank' a kid who's already a mess. He's just too weak for this house!"
The tension in the room snapped as Ivory finally stepped in, her silver eyes glowing with a diagnostic intensity. She looked at Haruto with a mix of disappointment and realization.
"Alright, I get it," Ivory muttered, "I guess we're canceling the Academy today."
"Why?" Haruto asked
Ivory voice turns stern. "He has Mana Fever. And I know exactly why."
"Why?" Haruto asked again, looking genuinely confused.
"It's because of you," Ivory countered, pointing a finger at his chest.
"You have zero experience connecting your mana to anything below a Level 90 entity. Think about it, Haruto. Every time you 'sync' or connect your power, it's with us—Level 99 Goddesses or a High-Tier Spirit like Asobi. We are built to handle an infinite ocean of energy. But Toya? He's a Level 5 human."
She stepped closer, the air around her cooling.
"Last night, when you 'tethered' him to your connection, you did it with the same force you use for us. You performed a Mana Sync so poorly that you basically jammed a high-mana power line into a tiny household battery. His internal physical functions are literally melting because they're being forced to run at 1000% capacity."
Haruto went silent. He looked at Toya, whose skin was now radiating a faint, shimmering heat haze. He felt a sting of guilt—he had treated Toya like a high-level player instead of the fragile human he actually was.
"Damn it," Haruto hissed. He turned to Asobi, his voice switching back to 'Admin' mode.
"Asobi! Stop floating there and help. Pick him up—gently—and take him to my room, not his.