Lucas Reeve had no idea how long he had been in this other world called Terra.
A day? A month? Or maybe a year, ten years...
As far as Lucas Reeve could remember, ever since his soul had crossed over to this world, he had been inexplicably imprisoned within a statue. This statue was like a natural prison.
Lucas Reeve's soul was locked inside, completely unable to get out.
Although the system that came with his transmigration guided him that he only needed to accumulate a certain amount of prayer power to reform his body and gain freedom, the current difficulty was that the area around the statue was just too desolate. In all this time, aside from the occasional transport convoy passing by, he hadn't seen a single person.
After so long, Lucas Reeve felt like he was going crazy.
The feeling was like being a person in a vegetative state—conscious, but unable to move. It was countless times more agonizing than the cruelest torture in the world.
The only consolation was that, for some unknown reason, staying inside the statue continuously strengthened Lucas Reeve's soul. Even though he couldn't get out, as time passed, Lucas had become able to perceive the environment within two meters of the statue through his soul, which gave him a glimmer of hope.
Later, after his soul had grown stronger, he took a risk and forcibly split off a part of it. Then, when another convoy passed by, he scattered his consciousness and soul onto different pieces of cargo before falling into a short slumber due to the massive energy consumption.
Columbia.
Lucas floated in mid-air, looking at the cute, cat-eared girl before him who was still shaken and had a hint of vigilance in her eyes. He inwardly plotted how to continue tricking her. Just now, Lucas's consciousness had fully awakened, and he had been eager to come out for a stroll, only to run into the young lady preparing for a bath.
"Who... Who are you?!!"
Jessica pretended to be calm, but her acting skills were a bit lacking. The fear and panic in her heart were written all over her face.
Fortunately, Jessica was a Blacksteel Worldwide intern operator. Despite being timid and shy, her courage was still a cut above that of an ordinary person. A normal girl would have probably fainted from fright by now.
Suddenly...
Jessica's gaze followed Lucas's lower half, which was like a wisp of smoke, and saw that the base of this "ghost" was connected to the necklace around her own neck. It had clearly come out of the necklace. A look of surprise and thoughtfulness flashed in her eyes.
"Ahem..."
Lucas said faintly, "Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Lucas Reeve, a poor soul forcibly imprisoned in this necklace by a curse. I can only gain my freedom by fulfilling my host's wishes."
Though Lucas spoke calmly, he was actually panicking inside. He didn't understand this world, and in his current soul state, he was terrified that she might suddenly pull out some weapon specifically designed to deal with spirits and 'exorcise' him on the spot.
So he forcefully fabricated a pitiful backstory.
"Hm?"
Even though Lucas said this, Jessica was still a little scared. However, amidst her fear, Lucas detected a tiny hint of happiness.
*Happiness?*
With the girl being happy, Lucas, on the other hand, had a bad feeling.
"Could... could you be... the Djinni from the fairy tales my mom used to tell me?!!"
"Djinni??"
Lucas was stunned.
Jessica quickly explained, "My mom told me since I was little that there's a legend about a pitiful soul cursed by the gods to live forever in a magic lamp. Whoever gets the lamp can have three wishes!! And this necklace was a gift from my mom. She said she saw the Djinni when she was a child! This necklace was blessed by him, so when my mom gave it to me, she said this Djinni-blessed necklace would make me brave and unafraid of difficulties."
"Huh?!"
This time it was Lucas's turn to be dumbfounded. What kind of ridiculous logic was that?!
Seeing Lucas frozen in place, Jessica thought she had guessed correctly and said timidly, "Mommy really wasn't lying to me."
"...."
Lucas really wanted to argue that he wasn't some unlucky Djinni. And besides... this Djinni thing was clearly a fairy tale parents tell to fool their kids!! Why would a girl this age still believe in fairy tales? Was she that naive? And... if he was a Djinni, shouldn't she wonder why he wasn't living in a lamp? How could he be in a necklace!
If the girl he had a crush on in his past life had been this naive, he wouldn't have been hit and killed by a suddenly appearing dump truck while texting her back and crossing the street, ending up in this godforsaken other world.
"Well..."
Lucas decided to go along with it.
"I'm not a Djinni, but I can grant wishes. However, I can't grant some of the more outrageous ones. Please be realistic. Make your wish, beautiful young lady."
Jessica thought for a few seconds, then said, "I wish... for you to be free, Mr. Djinni! That's what Mommy told me. If I ever met the Djinni, I must make this wish. You've had it too hard, Mr. Djinni."
"....."
Lucas froze for a few seconds.
"Huh?"