Chương 340: The Little Leader

With a flick of my wrist, I summoned a pale, humanoid creature lacking certain features. It was a mere spirit that I created for one purpose only, and it was to be a training dummy inside the Mindscape. Spirits like this guy couldn't even be summoned in the real world, as they would just fall apart immediately. They could only exist inside the Mindscape, where they could fulfil the job I had in mind for them.

"Alright, show me what you can do, pumpkin pie" I stepped to the side. Beneath my feet were countless kinds of flowers, all blooming together, creating a most stunning, colourful field… This Flower Field was the region of the Dreamscape that had manifested as a result of Poppy's presence, and it indeed acted as a good representation of her. Whilst Poppy was pretty much the leader of the little sisters, a role she played effortlessly, she wasn't always that serious, calm, and somewhat aloof girl.

Her main pastime is actually to sit around in the Flower Field and enjoy the smell of the flowers. In general, she had always been quite knowledgeable about flowers. Come to think of it, back then, she said that her dream was to become a florist… I wonder if she still thinks about that to this day? I'll ask her about it afterwards…

Right now, she was demonstrating her ghostly powers to me using the spirit I had created to be nothing more than a punching bag–But of course, since it had been made to help my phantomatic little sisters, it needed to have certain functions available to it, and it also needed to mimic the traits of a living being. To do so was easy, but for extra amusement, I also made it so these training dummies genuinely believed themselves to be alive.

So even if they didn't actually risk much, they were convinced that they were in genuine danger… It made their reactions more akin to what my little sisters would encounter when fighting against people. Poppy started things with the very first move she had ever acquired, causing the dummy to gasp for air. At her current level, this attack was quite effective at emptying the lungs of her targets. Since it was a power she fully owed to her ghostly nature, it was very difficult to guard against or resist.

Especially since it was usually part of a double attack, with the second part being the next move she demonstrated, causing the dummy to cough up foamy, pinkish blood. Unlike the previous attack, which had genuinely affected the target, this one was more like a trick, as despite coughing up blood that implied a lung injury, the targets of this ability were actually in no danger of harm whatsoever.

The blood was all for show, but coupled with the very real act of emptying their lungs, the blood seemed very convincing, thus making this double attack very effective at causing whoever she was targeting to panic. A panicked opponent was a much easier target for us. There are two big reactions someone can have to this: Either run away, or desperately try to attack Poppy to make it stop.

An enemy that's trying to escape is an easy target most of the time, and an enemy that ignores everything else to focus on a back-liner is an even easier target. Nonetheless, Poppy's abilities were unlike my other little sisters. The others had developed very specific abilities that tied into their personalities very clearly. Meanwhile, Poppy fell more in line with what would be expected of a regular spirit of her calibre.

Though that too actually tied into her personality, since she took on the role of the leader and protector, it was reflected by her developing the strongest possible abilities available to her, and also by her developing new capabilities ahead of the rest.

Next, she seemed to reach for empty air, clenching her hand into a fist, causing a hand imprint to appear upon the training dummy's neck as it was lifted off the ground, squeezing its neck with enough force to basically crush all of the flesh to the point that its neck was as thick as the bones underneath the skin. A loud crack soon resounded, indicative that Poppy had snapped its neck.

The dummy fell to the ground, and after a few moments, it seemed to regenerate and stand back up, seemingly unaware that it had pretty much been killed–Of course, to keep the reactions genuine, when they took too much damage, the dummies would simply forget everything.

"Very effective, that's definitely a powerful ability, Poppy" I praised her, causing a smile to break the serious facade she usually maintained.

"Thank you, big sis…" The ability in question was telekinesis, or something pretty much identical to it. The abilities that ended with 'kinesis' were their own category, and it didn't really fit into what Poppy was doing, as these abilities were linked to the mind, and thus mindpower. Nara was certain of herself, though. Poppy did not use any mindpower to do what she does. It was more akin to a Poltergeist's ability to fling furniture around.

Another purely ghostly ability that even those stronger than Poppy would find difficult to fight against properly. This one was easier than the ones interacting with lungs, as it was a force that interacted with the physical very directly at the end of the day, so brute force could definitely allow someone to resist it. I patted the blonde's head.

"You got better at using our abilities in just a week again. I am proud of how hardworking you are, but remember that you can take breaks whenever you want, alright? I know you take things seriously because the others look up to you as the leader, but you're basically the same age as them. You should relax and enjoy yourself sometimes, too" Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon. I cupped her face and smushed up her cheeks.

"I've got new cute outfits in stock. Why don't you try them later?" I knew Poppy wasn't too big on playing games like Gigi and Ophelie, or that she wasn't anywhere near as athletic as Annie and Elowen. What she did enjoy, though, was spending quiet times with Nessa and dressing up. One just needs to look at her preferred style of clothing to know that she takes her fashion seriously. Poppy could walk into a noble banquet, and no one would question it.

She just fits right in with all of her pretty dresses and very precise choices of hairstyles. Speaking of dressing up, there was something I would have to try out with Annie later–She's the best qualified to know if what I made is actually good… Poppy nodded along as I spoke, all the while repeatedly tapping the tips of both of her index fingers together.

"Mmh… I actually developed a fourth ability recently, big sis…"

"Already? You've been doing nothing but training lately, huh? Were you pretending to not be doing anything when I was in the Mindscape?"

"... Perhaps…"

"You'll be tasked with just lazing around for a while… Anyway, what is this new ability, sweetheart?"

"I can cause hallucinations now… The more afraid the target, the better… But I think that if the target is in a state where hallucinations could be naturally expected, then it also helps a lot""I see. Do try it on the dummy" At first, whilst the dummy was clearly reacting to something, I couldn't see or sense anything. Mmh, it seems like the effect of the power focus inside the brain. It does cause genuine hallucinations, it seems Is that so? Wait a moment…

Just as I thought that I had understood what the ability was all about, I started to see the very hallucinations that the dummy was being tormented with. Poppy had clearly not had the occasion to test this ability much, as she also seemed surprised by this development. That's quite interesting! The ability works on its own to gather some of the negative emotions the target emits, refining them into negative energy that is then automatically put to use to give a real presence to the hallucinations!

It would seem like the more someone suffers from this ability, the more the hallucinations they fear become real I would presume that they become actual creatures if given enough time, which would make this ability have the ability to kill So it's way more than just a simple ability to cause hallucinations. It could almost be called a summoning if the creatures stick around after being manifested.

"Don't push yourself too hard, Poppy" I gently put my hand on her back. It was clear that this ability was much harder for her to use, and the longer it went on, the more it asked out of her.

"Don't train it by yourself, alright? We'll train it together in the real world or Gravescape" Knowing Poppy, if I don't say this, she'll push herself too hard training this powerful ability, and since this power can clearly take a toll on her, I would rather be present if anything happens. We both sat down in the Flower Field as I unsummoned the training dummy. Poppy stared up at the false sky of the Mindscape for a full minute before turning to me.

"Say… Big sis… Would I be allowed to have a boyfriend?"

"That came out of nowhere. Where did you find a boy you like?"

"I didn't find anyone I like… But Ana has a boyfriend, so I was wondering…" I chuckled a bit.

"Is Anathema going around saying Conduit is her boyfriend? That poor guy might die from shock if he heard this""Well, I think you're a bit young for it, but sure. I won't forbid you from such a thing… Just be ready for me to put my veto if there's something wrong with the one you bring back" Frankly, out of all my little sisters, Poppy does seem to be the most likely to actually do something like this. Annie definitely could do the same, but she is way too focused on running and other sports to actually bother.

Gigi is way too young, so even if it happened, I wouldn't agree to it. Same for Ophelie. As for Nessa… Well, Nessa definitely has the looks to attract, but with her incredibly shy personality, I would be worried that she was being tricked. Elowen, meanwhile… Hard to imagine that she even bothers to think about the concept, but tomboys are always popular with men… Since all my little sisters no longer look like corpses at all, and with how their strength allows them to be less and less noticeable as ghosts…

If I let them walk around any city, I am sure plenty of men would try to strike up a conversation. I don't like the idea, but some of them are young women now, so it isn't really my place to make such decisions for them, even if they don't seem to mind at all. It only feels right to be watchful of the youngest of the bunch. Anathema, on the other hand, is a bit tougher. She is simultaneously quite old, but having been sealed for so long, she still thinks she is as young as when she was first sealed.

But then again, she's a Living Curse–Well, more like a ghost curse, now… I am uncertain how things work for beings like her, and she doesn't know much since she had never met another one of her kind before Conduit. She had had no idea that it was incredibly rare for a Living Curse to be female either. Well, Conduit does seem like an upstanding Living Curse, and unlike Anathema, who has spent time with me and the others, he is wholly unknowing of how to act.

I'll just do my best to prepare Anathema until we cross paths again with Conduit. She clearly likes him a fair bit to go and claim to the others that he is her boyfriend. I shall see how things develop. Who knows, she might forget about him after a while… In any case, I tapped Poppy's shoulder.

"If you do want a boyfriend, aim high. Don't settle for someone lesser than you""... But big sis… Isn't it why you never found a boyfriend yourself?" My chest hurts, and this isn't the good kind of pain…