Celebration is a word I don't get to use too often. But the event nearly a week after the defeat of Gwyn could only be described as such. For some reason it felt like the last shadow of bad luck had finally lifted from clan Stone Heart, and there was much rejoicing.

Laughing, dancing, singing and drinking, helped the barely one hundred surviving pixies come to terms with all they had lost, and all the had gained. Stygian was treated as a living legend. The act of defeating a haloed, well that was the stuff legends. They all seemed to forget that Stygian almost lost, and Gwyn was a very new haloed.

Stygian over heard highly revised tales of the battle already. Starting with the bug shaking the whole settlement, challenging Gwyn to single combat, proceeding to fight unarmed, and ending with Stygian holding Gwyn's severed head up high and shouting the tyrant is dead.

For the deväk's part it neither confirmed nor denied the stories though people seemed to think the bug was being modest or stoic. Not wanting to mock a fallen opponent, which only endeared them further. In actuality Stygian's was acting and clouding its thoughts. The bug pushed through the muddled feeling, but it was slow going. Stygian had only come because Vae had said it would be good to socialize. The psyling agreed because it thought Vaelin would be here.

Damn her.

She skipped the party entirely to read up on something. Stygian wanted to be doing that. The increased intelligence and wisdom have accelerated the bugs natural learning curve. The more Stygian learned, the faster it learned. The faster it learned, the faster its research level would hit ten. It wasn't that Stygian wasn't having fun it's just that the bug wanted the rewards for reaching the tenth level.

Stygian brooded in a corner of the party as a band played opposite. The music seemed more like sounds of nature set to a beat.

Reaching level ten in any classification rewarded one with a free class. However it wasn't just a free class, it was the ideal class for the individual. The first is usually the best one, though if you level up a section that doesn't resonate with you the results will be poor. That isn't to say the second job will be less useful, more like it compliments the first extremely well.

Pixies flew at high speed around the tree tower interior. Vae had opened up a shaft through the middle of the tree to make flying easier.

Stygian is in a rather special situation, because the lucky bug got a multi-class. Which means a few things, firstly Stygian may or may not receive a second job in research, and secondly that the psyling will finally, finally get its starting skill. Stygian could take or leave an auxiliary job that would support geneticist, it would be nice, but the real bread and butter were the starting job skills.

Stygian watched several times as pixies crashed into one another. It seemed that being tipsy and flying around was much harder than just walking.

Starter skills and job skills in general were coveted. Job skills were beefer and better than nearly any run of the mill skill you might pick up. Rather like if you had two swords made by the same smith, both are good weapons, but one is enchanted and it cuts easier. Job skills are directed, sharper, and all around better, but like any skill it has to be learned. By performing the tasks of you job you have a chance to pick up job skills. There is also the method of visiting a trainer to learn their skills. Both are time consuming and require effort and focus.

Someone brought Stygian a drink insisting the bug drink it. It was sweet like honey, but with an equal bite of alcohol. Stygian ideally wondered if it would be considered illegal for the bug to drink.

This is where stater skills come in, these skills are free and bypass the learning process. These starter skills often determine the direction of growth, and stay useful throughout the job. The best thing however is that if you have a multi slot job, you can pick multiple skills. The downside of job skills is that just like job slots you also have skills slots. In fact they directly correlate. Every level a job has gives a number skills slots equal to the slots devoted to the job.

Stygian watched two pixies make out across the room. Wondering how they could tell the difference in gender, to the bugs untrained eyes they all looked androgenous and they were all exceeding pretty. Except Gwyn he was rugged.

For instance, say you are an archer with one job slot, then every level you gain one skill slot. Or say a geneticist with four job slots, you gain four skill slots, each one being able to hold its own starter skill. Well either that or Stygian could choose one skill that filled four slots. If one was available There are many things one can do with jobs, if a skill is compatible you can convert it or if you don't like a skill you could get an Eraser and have them remove it completely.

Stygian head began to spin, that honey stuff was strong.

Dedicating more slots to a job made it more powerful, and the more slots the more skills one could learn, and Stygian wanted those skills. Not just because Stygian was power hungry, quite literally, but also because jobs would help one grow. Class levels were useful in their own right, jobs were focused power. Going from broad to a needle point.

The bug slide down the wall, watching the intertwining of feet for a while.

But as with most things in life Stygian had to wait. Our bug had spent most of its free time after Gwyn's fall reading. Well learning to read and then stumbling its way through some anatomy books. The progress was slow and Stygian had only reached level four. By normal standards it was impressive, but it wasn't fast enough for the psyling. The more the bug read the more disappointed and impatient it became. Stygian wanted to gain levels, but it also wanted to go through another metamorphosis.

Our bug was once more thankful that its gluttony didn't extend to drinks. The taste was muted, but the sensation and bit of liquor was still there as well as a fraction of the honey's sweetness.

While reading and examining the charts Stygian learn about ear canals. Doesn't sound like a big discovery, but to Stygian it was. You see friends Stygian had perfectly fine and working eardrums, the bug even observed them during its metamorphosis. The only problem is that were human and Stygian wasn't born as a perfect blend of all the races. So things had always been slightly muffled for the bug and it wasn't a big deal, but Stygian couldn't stop thinking about what else it might've fucked up.

So anatomy. Stygian was determined to gain enough points before it's next metamorphosis so it could smooth out all it's flaws. Therefore leveling it's job and breeding monsters for genes seemed like the fastest way to achieve that. Unfortunately learning was the only way to level research, which took time and Stygian wanted rewards now.

Stygian decided that alcohol was nice, but water was still the tastiest.

The plus side, Vae was teaching Stygian a bit about magic. While pixies were born with a strong tie to the thread of life and growth, and very rarely another type, Vaelin was different. Vaelin actually forged a new connection to the basic energy thread. Unheard amongst pixiekind. While what she did was different from how a normal connection is established the principle is the same.

To start out you must get lost within yourself, let your wildest fantasy run away with you, and slowly let everything fall away. Both outside and inside. Let it all go until there is nothing but you and the void around you. Float in the void, and imagine threads of all colors, shapes, and sizes. Ever shifting, flowing to an unseen destination. Search your mind for you idea of magic, and the thread that matches that ideal.

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Watching the motion all around Stygian began to sober up, the bugs attributes finally working it out of the bugs system. In another hour the bug would be almost totally sober.

Stygian could make everything fall away, but that was it. No matter how hard the bug thought the threads never formed. Vae wasn't surprised, according to an old human friend she had once had it could take a while for even the most adapt. Once the threads finally formed though, Stygian would unlock its magic level, and from there it would need to search out the threads that resonate with the bug. Once they were all gathered Stygian could try and established a connection. Most first attempts failed, and subsequent attempts aimed to nail down the thread that most resonated with the wannabe wizard.

Of course if you are impatient you could try and force a bond with the basic thread. It was big bland and blue, it could be shaped to anything and do pretty much anything. Though the shaping often required chants and movements to perform, useful for anyone just trying to jump class levels to get a job. Stygian didn't want to go this route because forcing a connection severely damages any other connections you might have, at least that's what Vae said.

So studying and thinking had filled the bugs days, along with the occasional conversation with Rhind while watching the crafter work. Our almost monster was beginning to feel antsy again, the fight with Gwyn had knocked a lot of the edge of, even leaving Stygian satisfied with itself. That feeling was fading and Stygian wanted to fight and feast. It had unshackled gluttony and despite always being hungry Stygian stomach was beginning to grow empty.

The party moved ever onwards around the bug seeming as though it would go on forevermore. Stygian barely noticed the rushing bodies being quite lost in thought and off in a corner. Stygian was thinking about reaching out to the forest, and asking for something to do. When a girl glided up to Stygian. She had brown waist length hair, silver eyes, wings the color of turning leaves, and with skin of bronze. She was pretty, but that's all pixies. Stygian was sure that she would ask the bug to retell what had happen or thank it for saving their clan. Instead she stuck her hand out.

"I was sure if you noticed, but there is a party going on here. I was wondering if you'd like to join me for a dance. Unless brooding is more your speed." The strange girl asked with a smile that would give honey diabetes. The girls mere presence had completely muddled the deväk's thought process. The bug nodded in acknowledgement, brooding was quite nice. However girl must have thought the bug wanted to dance because she was pulling on the bugs hand insistently.

"Well come on silly, we can't dance in the corner. Let's gooo."

Stygian was again struck dumb and followed obediently to the middle of the dance floor. Stygian towered over the pixies and most stopped to watch their protector pass with reverence, even though the bug technically wasn't their protector anymore. Stygian had stared down an army of ants capable of scouring the land without blinking, but standing in the middle of a crowd with so many eyes directed at it Stygian began to sweat. The song was a fast one and it what would these pixie think of a savior who couldn't dance.

Then the unknown pixie held up her arm and gestured for Stygian to do the same. Once done, the pixie pressed her wrist against Stygian, well tried to Stygian noticing what she was doing tried crouching down. That incited a laugh from everyone watching including the girl. She just pulled Stygian arm out to the side and raised her arm to meeting. Now wrist to wrist they began to spin around one another. After a few rotations the girl spun 180 degrees and waited for Stygian to follow before walking in the other direction. As Stygian got the hang of it they began to move fastest, and like a bug possed Stygian began to dance. Spinning, twirling, catching and moving the bug felt like there were strings attached to its limbs helping move and dance with ease.

As the other pixies watched the energetic display more and more began to dance along. The party swung into an even higher gear. The strings faded as Stygian and the unknown girl left the dance floor. The girl ginned and thanked the bug for such a wonderful time. Stygian on the other hand was finally able to ask a question.

"Whhy coome ask mee too dance?"

Shrugging the girl responded, "You looked a bit lonely, and well this party is only happening because of you so I thought you should enjoy it."

If Stygian had a normal face it would have had a goofy grin all over it.

"Thanks for the pick mee up, Vae."

The unknown girl just pouted for a moment. Vaelin's glamor fell away and the pink hair pixie was still frowning. "How did you know it was me?"

"Yoour presence strikes me duumb harder thaan moost. I unconsciously followed your orders when you said lets go. Youu diidn't freak oout when I spooke into yoour mind, and yoou uused maagic to heelp mee move the waay I waanted tooo."

Plus only Vae was ever that nice, but Stygian kept that to itself.

"You are a clever bug I'll give you that come on let's get a drink."

Stygian regretted agreeing to those next morning. It have thankful woken up in its own bed, but for some reason was covered in honey. The sheet were completely stuck the bug, and beyond that it had a splitting headache. Just because attributes helped clear the toxins doesn't mean the after effects are completely gone. Vague memories of what happened last night after Vae showed up flitted in and out of Stygian hangover ridden mind. There was a vague memory of a girl asking Vae to do lewd things to her. Of course Stygian didn't really understand or why the other pixie wanted Vae to eat so bad. It sounded painful.

The psyling did have the vivid memory of trying to play something called chicken fight in the fountain. Stygian held someone on its shoulders while another pair faced them. Both top partners tried to knock the other into the water. Which sounded like great fun to the bug, unfortunately when Stygian tried to jump on a pixies shoulder they both ended up in a heap. Both laughing madly.

"Stygian I have let you rest, but I have an urgent task for you." The entity of the Woods said, far too loudly in Stygian's mind

"Noooooo. Toooo looud." Stygian whined.

"I cannot wait little one I need-"

"Hoold oon." Stygian realizing that it was possible to block the forest did so. But just because Stygian could hear her didn't mean she wasn't there. So our bug became send a psychic humming to the tune one of the songs from last night just so the Woods knew Stygian was there. Just out of curiosity while it sought out Vae. Fortunately Vae was sleeping in Stygian's bathtub, random girl nowhere to be found.

Shaking the pastel, passed out, pink pixie in an attempt to wake her up wasn't the best idea. It only made Vae a pissed off pastel pink pixie. Before she could start dissecting the deväk Stygian spoke with a faux pixie mouth.

"Wooods taalk, heeall pleeease. Nnneed goood brain."

Vae was fairly certain that Stygian had just confessed to hear the trees talk and needing mental help, but that was a problem for later. With a lazy flick of her wrist she heal both Stygian and herself. She then promptly turned over and went back to sleep.

Feeling competent Stygian unblocked the Woods, only to her going off on a tirade about disrespect and arrogance. The Woods believed that Stygian could still hear her and was just trying to annoy her. Stygian on the other hand really couldn't hear her, and listen to an angry rant wasn't high on the bugs todo list. So Stygian turned her volume down, which it could have done in the first place, but had just discovered it. Stygian also lowered its own volume until the humming had faded completely. Stopping all at once would just make her angrier at this point. Stygian walked out to the pond to drink some water, and by the time the bug got all the way down there the Woods were finally losing steam.

In the end she had completely devolved into just complaining about shit that happens in the forest and every so often Stygian would send an affirmation. Hearing the forest like this the entity of manipulation and gruesome death didn't seem to bad. Almost likeable.

"I apologise for that unsightly display. I... I don't know what came over me. It has been quite some time since anyone has been powerful enough to hear my voice."

"It's allriight. Haaappens. Soo what doo yoou want doone?" Replied Stygian was oddly understanding for having no experience in a situation like this.

"I need you to slay the mudlings, their colony has been taken over by the wizards pets. You know them as host-worms, yes?"

"... Aand the reward?"

"There is a hive of reptilian spider hybrids, that might suit your needs for... Jen pools, yes?"

"Geene pools, but yes it miight. Will haave to see in fleesh. What about margs and desecrator ants?"

"The margs will your final reward. As for the ants there isn't another hive to destroy, but there is a hidden cache of eggs undisturbed. I'd rather you didn't eat them all, but I shall give you some of their young to breed, yes? Like I will with the margs, if you earn them."

"Faaair, so where aam I ooff too?"

"I'll guide you, be sure to bring your healer with, it will be a tough fight. Even for you."

Stygian sighed as the connection fell away. There was a mist out, and the sun had barely risen. The forest seemed still all around the bug, it seemed like a frozen moment in time. Stygian wasn't sure how long it stood there, but the bug was determined to commit the sense to memory. When the bug finally started moving, it was ready to cause a little trouble, and show the true chaos that lay beneath the Woods peaceful exterior.