Requiem.
We think back to that moment during combat and can guess that had an ordinary voice spoken, not much may have really changed considering how far gone both of us were. But she was able to cut through that all, bring us to reason.
Also, that isn’t the only time she’s spoken in that way. She’s also used it recently, to soothe us, help us believe her when she’s offered kindness, “{So, a [Class] is an additional path to greatness then? What sort of class do you think we should discover or aim for when we advance?}”
“^Classes are an additional path, yes. But, as I said, it may be something unique to sacred beasts. Not specifically to destabilize the balance between monsters and them, but because Classes also come with [Clauses]. They are similar to the only partially tangible [Rules] that we are required to follow that permit the benefits the system provides us.
“^Taking the Noblesse class is more than just a job for me now. It has become who I am, so long as I wish to keep utilizing its boons.^”
“{Ahh, we see. So, even if a class were available to us, it would have to be something that would better define us, even more than just becoming grander at who we already are…}” We shake and shiver our body to clear our minds, “{Untangling those thoughts can wait a moment longer. You also mentioned advancing not just who you were, or picking a job, but a [Title] as well?}”
She nods and lifts off into the air once more. Our conversation full of enough long pauses and contemplations to have brought us closer to the front of the lines, “^Indeed. From how it was explained to us by the [System], a title can be gained for any number of significant events in someone’s life. From the circumstances of someone’s birth, an achievement during battle or a classroom.
“^They aren’t unique, but do allow for people to better leverage their HP into crafting and using those and their MP when they are soul polishing. For example, both I and my daughter have the title: Born to Rule. On its own, it does nothing. But its presence gave me inspiration and motivation in how to infuse my will as I was advancing.
“^You mentioned me appearing slightly different? Some of my patterns have changed, and I now also have a little crown of chitin on my head. Not especially practical for a bee to have, but as a symbol of Authority, it helps lend my word more weight. I even noticed that Sergei treated me subtly different after it formed.^”
Hmm, interesting. Based on what we know about [Ironman], we should still be able to learn more about ourselves, “{[System] would you kindly tell us about our [Titles]?}”
[Tiamat Hydra, “Requiem”; Title list: Born to Die, Last of their Kind, Singing Mountain, Contains Multitudes, Transcendent Death, Sainted Monster, Twinned Soul Reborn*, Defiant of Fate*.]
[New* Titles Acquired!]
[Titles can help you shape your future using your past]
Well now. There was more to learn from that than we expected. We suppose things should be tackled in order of their appearance, yes? “{Darling? When you [Inspect] us, what species are we called? Even after your tier up, you’re listed as a Serene Zombee Queen to us. And yet, unless we’re mistaken, we believe our own species has changed, and we’re not sure why.}”
We feel her attention on us shift, and there is a faint echo, in a space behind the physical that we can just barely pick up as we’re concentrated on this moment. After it passes, she bobbles a bit in her hovering, “^Ah-ha! You’re right, Requiem. You have changed species. Before you were just a standard hydra, still a calamity class creature with ample warnings for those with enough [Lore] to dive into the [Bestiary].
“^Now though, you’ve crossed the threshold to being something called a Tiamat Hydra, named after a mythical spawn of a dragon and a hydra that later attained [Ascension]. Each dragon head had a different breath attack, but they could collaborate seamlessly unlike most dragons which are more solitary creatures.
“^Your variant is rated more dangerous and less predictable than standard hydras. The prominent feature of your kind is that they have their spells embodied uniquely in their heads. This causes feedback interference that supposedly makes it more difficult to accurately [Scout] information about your capabilities.^”
“{Hmm. Makes sense we suppose. Though it doesn’t really answer the question of why now. We guess it may just be a certain number of uniques, or perhaps having a majority?}”
As for the rest… Something tells us that the number of titles we have is {greater} than average. Though, using context, they appear to be represented chronologically, with only two New* titles appearing since we’ve arrived. One of which is essentially just a second birth title.
Darling waves to us as she flies back over to Sergei. Our time pondering and being engrossed in learning has apparently allowed us to reach some of the inspectors in the line. The strangest part of the inspection to us is when they’ve finished with Sergei and move on to Darling and us.
Rather than having an issue with such a large and dangerous monster passing into the city, they instead remark mostly upon our (illicit cargo). Spelling out the various fines she’d be subject to if any of our froggy passengers were to get loose. Those paling in comparison to the punishment if any were to be sold illegally.
They also offered a caution to not seek licenses here to be allowed to trade in them specifically, “(The Nobles keep a tight leash on that particular market. You do Not want a group of them scrutinizing you more than necessary. There’s always some sort of law or code that can be weaponized if the need or wealth is great enough.)”
If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, it's taken without the author's consent. Report it.
We suppose that the [Bestiary] on our species isn’t as prominent for the guards of a city to know as a group of explorers. Or perhaps our variant’s obfuscation extends to more than just scouting in the field. Either way, we’re thankful for the ease of entry, even if a casual test implies that speech suppression is a standard here.
Darling seems to thrive in her new station and we’re much more interested in her enjoyment than anything being lost in translation. Honestly, we think it unlikely that the translation from a Noblesse Zombee would be worse than if someone could actually understand us. It takes a special kind of person to accept something as intimidating as us as just another speaker.
“(Welcome to Dragon’s Rest, the crown jewel of House Wraithmare,)” Sergei says as he introduces us while we cross the gates, passing through to the city proper. The walls having a magic of their own, the riotous noise and commotion of so many people were muted while we were stuck in line. Now, the cacophony explodes in full force.
Most prominent is the massive concentration of the domain we’d been crossing since those stones at the base of the hill. The thousands of acres of mostly clear land around the city were a mere tablecloth compared to the solid foundation we find ourselves upon now. One thing does become clearer as we’re more tightly gripped by the power of this place, {Domain is non-sentient. Overwhelming in quantity, but non-reactive to our intrusion nor our flexing attempts.}
Now on this side of the wall, we can see the connection that the guards have to the domain proper. We would be challenged to contest this massive weight as an outsider from crushing us should any of them be capable of wielding it thusly. Best to stay on our best behavior, even if that was already the plan. We recognize that even if the domain cannot affect us directly, the effect on our skills no longer having [Elysian Fields] to reinforce and coordinate them would be vast.
We sense that [One with Nature] strangely doesn’t have as much of an issue with this place as we’d have imagined. But adapting ourselves and our purpose into blending in with this foreign domain would only make us more susceptible to those empowered by it, not less.
{Evolution analysis complete. Recommend augmenting [Fog of Breathlessness] with offense node [Gobble], and [Deep Mind] with defense node [Regeneration] for most efficient advancement path. Power insufficient to ensure autonomy of self in current location.}
“{Thank you, DM,}” we are continually bemused by the skills sense of timing, but happy that it appears to be handling the extra workload well. Being able to prioritize information collation and having less need to function as a direct defensive ability seems to better fit the original intention when we created it. Now it has options for how to deal with malicious information other than just trying to brute force or quarantine.
It was designed to answer questions and then took up the task of integration with our skill mastery and expression. If we seek to fulfill its {most efficient} path, how would regeneration best serve both it and us.
“^Requiem?^”
We’re startled out of our contemplations and with more than a sliver of shame we realize that we haven’t been giving our present its due, much less our company, “{Sorry, Darling. We’re here now.}”
With our reassurance and our focus properly tuned outward once more, she returns to flitting to-and-fro, soaking herself in the variety of sights and just all the new that even this entryway to the city has to offer. Sergei playing the gracious tour guide as we continue farther in, pointing out familiar novelties and poignant locales.
Upon reaching a particular crossroads, he once again provides directions we’d need to heed should we still aspire to getting licensed before bidding us au revoir and turning towards the path to his own workshop across the ways.
Having kept note of how we’ve travelled and the overview we had of the city back on that hilltop, we’re once again struck by appreciation of the human for their prestige. Certain now that our travel’s route these last weeks were arranged for both that amazing initial vista and this specific entrance experience. There are just too many different and wonderfully decorated storefronts for this to be common amongst all the gates.
“{Well, Darling. This is more your stage than ours. While we have experience actually being a city, you seem far more in tune with visiting one. For all our experience, we’re still essentially a primitive savage, unconcerned with pageantry and people. So, what would you like to do first?}”
Still zipping around to take in our surroundings, she finally pauses before darting to face us, “^Right! Sergei and I spoke about this extensively on the way and we have two important tasks we need to complete. First is securing proper accommodations for our stay here, because while there are cases and a limited prevalence of vagrancy to a certain extent, we would be far more likely to be strenuously investigated.
“^After we’ve secured a measure of lodging, even if only for the sake of appearances, the next order of business would be the merchant’s bureau or guild. Though if we wanted to make some shopping purchases to help better distinguish ourselves from ordinary creatures or exotic pets, that could be handled here or at the other bazaars.^”
We nod along to the gameplan, “{Apologies for any impropriety, but you have discussed bartering practices for accomplishing these tasks, yes? Per our memory, when communities get as vast as this one, some of the old systems don’t work quite as well.}”
She looks confusedly at us for a moment before we see a flash of understanding, “^Sorry, yes, of course. It’s another aspect of the [System] that we discussed on the road. I suppose you’ve been drifting off and on for a while yet. [Currency] is something that can be traded between peoples to deal with a lot of the mundane barter-level expenses of ordinary life. There are protections in place to ensure livable practices are enforced.
“^Sergei explained much of the elite and national level trade functions of more politically malleable and esoteric bullion means. He also bought some honey for his personal use while giving me the basics of how Dragon’s Rest integrates with [Currency]. We can get started with what we have here, or most anywhere that utilizes the [System] standard.^”
We bow the Acolyte to her, “{We can only apologize again. The initial encounter with Wrai-… with Yojimbo’s unruly guest seems to have affected us more pervasively than we realized. Our new countermeasures should have dealt with any lingering effects, but it would seem much of our journey here was in a haze.
“{Also, we cannot put all the blame on the injury, as we’re not the most integratively social kind of creature. So, we were tuning out many of your conversations with him,}” the last part we sing somewhat bashfully.
Darling’s laugh is a breeze of mirth, “^It’s fine, Requiem. You’ve no more reason to be ashamed for avoiding conversation than the hive does for avoiding violence. Our natures, triumphs and arenas of battle are different and should be celebrated. Being the best at all things would be an empty existence.^”