Reincarnated as a Haunted House - Part 1 - The Serpent Forest

Hello Manual

In just a matter of seconds, he had mastered his newfound visual senses. He realized he could extend his visual perception anywhere within a specific area around the house in the blink of an eye. This area spanned from the central point of the house to a few meters outside its periphery. All he had to do was envision being at a particular point. That's how he could see the exterior of the house.

After thoroughly examining the house from this vantage point, essentially examining himself from the outside, he decided to explore the interior. Although he could sense everything present within, he chose to begin in the main hall just after the entrance. In an instant, his visual sense transferred to that location. However, upon entering the house, a transparent screen appeared before him with a text that read, "Activate Avatar Mode?" Below the question were two buttons, one labeled "Yes" and the other "No."

Initially pondering the concept of an Avatar mode, he selected "Yes" out of sheer curiosity. Suddenly, he began manifesting a humanoid body, and within a few seconds, his entire form was complete. There was a catch, though; despite having a human-like appearance, he seemed to be composed of stardust, making him transparent and ethereal. However, he still looked like his former self from his past life, in that ethereal form.

To test this newfound Avatar mode, he walked toward a room, the kitchen. Moving effortlessly like any other human being, he exclaimed, "Awesome!" as he marveled at his new form. "Now, let's try going through the walls, since I'm an apparition."

With that intention, he attempted to walk through the kitchen wall into the next room. Much to his surprise, he couldn't pass through it. Perplexed, he commented, "Weird. I thought an apparition could pass through anything," and then turned around.

He looked around the kitchen, which was already filled with an array of unconventional kitchen equipment. Instead of a gas burner or induction cooker, there was a fireplace and a cauldron. Curiously, the cutlery consisted of skulls of various creatures, though the knives seemed ordinary, each with a wooden handle affixed to the blade. "Okay, let's try picking something up from here," he said as he moved closer and effortlessly grabbed a knife. He proceeded to interact with several other objects in the kitchen, handling each one with ease. "Nice," he remarked. "Now, let's attempt to grab something from outside."

He imagined himself outside the house, and in a fraction of a second, he found himself standing on the lush vegetation of the island. Glancing around, he spotted a beautiful, bright red wildflower on the ground. Instead of walking towards it, he imagined himself being there and teleported himself to the flower's side.

Now that the red flower was before him, he tried to pluck it, but to his surprise, he failed; he couldn't even touch the flower. "What! How can I not touch the flower?" he exclaimed, his face displaying shock. He continued, "There must be some way to understand what I can do and what I cannot... like a manual."

Suddenly, a woman's voice chimed in, startling him. "I'm Manual. What would you like to know?" said the voice.

Vansh was taken aback. In shock, he exclaimed, "Manual?"

"Yes. I can answer anything you want to know about yourself or your skills," replied Manual.

Vansh calmed down, and asked, "Alright. Tell me why I can touch the things inside the house, but not this flower?"

"You can touch anything which is part of your body, or in this case part of the house. However, you cannot interact with anything that comes from outside the house," answered Manual.

"Ohhh...so that's the catch here," said Vansh, then asked, "By the way, what other skills do I have?"

"You've only 2 skills as of now. Avatar Mode, which provides an ethereal body to you. Using this you can interact with various objects which are part of the house. It also provides you the ability to talk to anyone who comes into the house's area. The other skill is House Teleportation, which allows you to teleport anywhere in the house's area," answered Manual.

"Can I acquire more skills?" asked Vansh.

"Sorry, I only have the knowledge of things that are already a part of you," replied Manual.

"I guess I have to figure it out myself then," said Vansh, then with a grin on his face, he asked, "By the way Manual, are you a girl?"

"Sorry, I only have the knowledge of things that are already a part of you," replied Manual.

"I mean, were you a girl in your past life?" asked Vansh.

"Sorry, I only have the knowledge of things that are already a part of you," replied Manual.

Vansh sighed, and asked, "Can we chat like two human beings?"

But the reply was the same. "Sorry, I only have the knowledge of things that are already a part of you."

Vansh had come to understand that Manual was not sentient, but rather a sophisticated tool with extensive knowledge about the house. He likened it to an ability, akin to a speaking and listening search engine. A brief moment earlier, he had felt a glimmer of happiness at the thought of not being alone, but upon learning the truth, disappointment and sadness filled him.

"If I were to be reincarnated, why couldn't it have been as a human? Perhaps even another fantasy race like an elf... or I could have settled for being a monster. But a haunted house? And in the middle of a lake, surrounded by a forest... What did I do to deserve this?" he muttered to himself as he re-entered the house.

He began to explore every room. However, there wasn't much to see. Besides the hall and the kitchen, there was a bathroom, a bedroom, and a dining area that was part of the hall. Each room's ambiance gave off the vibe of a monster's lair or a witch's dwelling. The house was undeniably a haunted place, inside and out.

After inspecting the kitchen and bathroom, Vansh moved on to the bedroom. The room had a bed, but the blankets and mattress were covered in moss. There was a wardrobe, but its doors were barely hanging on. Then, there was a massive mirror, large enough to capture the complete reflection of a tall individual.

Vansh stopped to see his reflection in the mirror. However, looking at his middle-aged face, he felt quite disappointed. "Manual," he called.

And in an instant, he received a reply. "How can I help you?"

"Is there a way to change the form in my Avatar Mode?" he asked.

"Yes, you can take the form of yourself from any stage of your past life," replied Manual.

"How can I do that?" asked Vansh.

"Just imagine yourself at that stage of your life," replied Manual.

Vansh then imagined himself being 20 years old as he looked into the mirror. Within a second, he appeared as his 20-year-old self from his past life.

He smiled upon seeing his own reflection and remarked, "I forgot how handsome I used to be."