With the bustle on the beach, I found myself a secluded spot on a nearby branch. Vivi picked one nearby and followed my example of looking at her status. Now, what had I gained?

Species: Sgiathan Dorcha Owl (adult)

Age: 0

Name: Fio

Gender: female

Status: sapient, healthy, Beast Core (unique)

Level: 29

Class: [Assassin lvl 58], -

Strength: 23

Constitution: 16

Dexterity: 27

Perception: 26

Intelligence: 37

Wisdom: 37

AP: 6

Skills:

Racial:

Utility: [Owl Senses lvl 6], [Preening lvl 4], [Owl Stomach lvl 5], [Sgiathan Dorcha lvl 5]

Offensive: [Solid Grip lvl 4], [Intimidating Screech lvl 4], [Owl’s Shadow lvl 7], [Aerial Combat lvl 4]

General:

[Maths lvl 4], [Hidden Identify lvl 5]

Assassin:

[Sneak lvl 5], [Surprise Attack lvl 4], [Mingling lvl 5], [Eldritch Shift lvl 6], [Winged Death lvl 4]

Alright? That was a point in Strength and Dexterity. Pretty useful all things considered. I was tempted to just dump my six free points into Intelligence and Wisdom to bring them to 40 each but decided to check out my Skills instead. There were a few upgrades and more importantly, changes.

The easy things first. I gained one level each in [Owl Senses], [Owl’s Shadow], [Eldritch Shift] and [Winged Death]. [Mingling] as well looked like it simply went up a level but I knew there was a Breakpoint. It looked to have gotten some kind of upgrade but nothing too special. The weird one was [Sgiathan Dorcha]. A Skill with the name of my Species? This could only be great! After a quick gathering of my thoughts, I found [Soundless Flight] missing so it had to be an upgrade to that. A Breakthrough. I checked it out with [Identify].

[Sgiathan Dorcha]: The darkness is silent. Your wings produce no sound. Greatly improves perception of sound and sight during flight.

1st Breakthrough: Shadows are your wings. Glide further and faster wherever you wish to go. No longer requires air to fly.

That was interesting. It looked like my wings were upgraded to never produce any sound instead of just reducing the noise. I also gained a boost to sight. And that was just the alteration without the Breakthrough. That looked like it improved my speed. I did not know what it meant with gliding further but maybe I had some sort of artificial updraft. The last sentence was a little weird but also kind of amazing. Did this mean I could fly in space? Besides the lack of oxygen, which my mortal body still needed, of course. Maybe I should try going as high as I could while shifted? That might also let me find something new to explore.

There was another Skill with a Breakthrough. This one was less exciting to me. [Mingling] was useful but not especially flashy. It had helped me a lot already, though, so I would not dismiss it.

[Mingling]: An [Assassin] is a master of getting to their target unnoticed. You have learned to mingle with groups highly differing from yourself without being suspected of harmful thoughts. Improves ability to learn languages and adapt to social norms. Targets can be aware of your presence and still unsuspecting of your intentions.

1st Breakthrough: Mingling with living beings was only the first step. You have found a method to mask your presence by hiding beneath a layer of aspects aligning to your surroundings.

That was… more useful than I had expected. Should this not be the upgrade to [Sneak]? It was almost like camouflage. Though it did require me to know about my surrounding’s magical presence. I could see how my hiding in the air mid-flight had produced this Breakthrough.

Looking through my Skills was one thing but I felt like trying my new upgrade to flight. I focused on the Skill and let it guide me. My wings spread wide and I did not take off immediately. No, I felt [Owl’s Shadow] activate in response and darkness flood out of my feathers. My wings extended, pure black billowing outwards and increasing their size by threefold or maybe even more. This would normally be close to the edge of what my shadows could accomplish but the darkness felt incredibly solid, much more than it should be. The two Skills interacted and pulled off each other to make stronger wings than I ever expected.

I did not even push off the branch. I simply flapped my oversized wings once and loosened my grip on the wood and with not a single sound I was above the trees. Another three flaps and I had risen as high as I normally flew when travelling. I looked around and turned to the town. Two flaps of my wings, this time aiming to accelerate and I had reached my usual speed. Another two and I was almost twice as fast. After a dozen beats, I had reached probably five times my usual travelling speed which should be around 50 kilometres per hour if I remembered my owl facts right. I found it impossible to get any faster but I had already reached the town so I tried to turn around, only to find myself taking a huge circle. Only once I thought of flapping my wings to slow down again was I able to turn with efficiency. It took me another minute to get back once again convincing me of the greatness of my new speed.

My improved sight proved to be not much different. I only saw a little more clearly. Maybe it was more of a night vision thing? I made out the camp and slowed down with a few flaps, slightly overshooting. This might take some getting used to.

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I landed with grace, my new wings hiding any sound. They were still incredibly conspicuous in daylight at almost twice the length of a dwarf.

I reconnected my supersensory matrix with Vivi and Captain while greeting the other dwarves with a hoot. Most nodded in answer, a few saying a greeting or waving.

“Got anything good?”, I asked Vivi.

She nodded.

“Some level-ups and two Breakthroughs.”

“Same as me then”, I sent.

She nodded, her tail swishing back and forth through the air, showing her happiness.

“Want to go for the node?”, I asked.

She nodded with excitement. I still saw her hesitate for a bit so I jumped down and leisurely walked towards the lake. With an aggravated meow, Vivi jumped after me and ran past, splashing into the water. I followed to the edge of the lake and spent some time just relaxing while the dwarves got the camp ready.

Vivi’s head showed up soon, close to the node. She kept a bit of distance, swimming circles around it. Then, she dove only to jump out of the water a moment later. It was not to the extent of the moray but a bunch of water came up with her. Though it also stayed up much longer, letting the ocelot sit on top of it. She carefully touched the node and I saw the mana flow into her. Very soon, she dropped back down and swam back. I saw how her body was over half-filled with flux. She was probably playing it safe.

The captain sat down next to me just moments before Vivi returned. She did not shake off the water but instead used her mana to move it out of her fur. She sat down with us, looking over the lake. After a few minutes of silence, the captain spoke up.

“So, this is it?”

I nodded sagely.

“Say, were there any crystals on the lake’s bottom?”

I shook my head.

“That’s… alright.”

I looked over. Vivi had also turned her head to him.

“Do you know why?”, she asked.

“Yes. I think so. Most nodes with a single element produce an effect rather than crystals. There’s ways to get around that but we aren’t in any kind of rush. It would end up shrinking the lake a bit but I don’t think that’s a problem for you, right?”

The ocelot nodded.

“So, about that agreement. What do you think? What to work out the details?”

This time she considered for a moment. In the end, she agreed. The two went to a tent that was already standing, the dwarves close to finished with their preparations. A thought came to me.

“I’ll go tell Safrah”, I sent to both of them. They looked back, Vivi wide-eyed. She had completely forgotten.

“No worries, Vivi. I’ll bring her over tomorrow. She wouldn’t arrive before nightfall. Or, you can come back for dinner.”

The cat nodded.

“Okay”, she sent.

With a wave from the captain, I made myself scarce.

Our host of the last few weeks was sitting in the living room when I came back. I had made sure to be silent. Safrah sat upright on the couch, head turned to her lap where her fingers fiddled with each other.

Hoot.

She jumped. Then she saw me and a wide smile spread on her face. Only to fall a moment later.

“You’re back! Where’s Vivi? Is she alright?”

The dwarf had jumped up and knocked over her cold cup of tea. Her eyes darted to the mess before she decided to ignore it and rush at me instead. I barely finished forming the connection before she arrived.

“Vivi is fine. We won. Nobody died. Two guards were injured but they got potions and will be fine.”

At my words, Safrah sunk to her knees, relief evident from her sigh. Her smile returned and she hugged me. I let her even though it was a little uncomfortable for my owl-self. I knew hugging was something humans enjoyed and cherished. And somewhere in my soul I still longed for it. A bit. A tiny little smidgen.

After a few minutes, she had enough contact and got up.

“I’ll clear this mess. And set up some more tea. You want some?”

I bobbed my head.

Soon, we were sitting at Safrah’s coffee table, though I’d much rather call it a tea table. I enjoyed a few sips of the bitter and sweet liquid in my bowl before Safrah restarted our conversation.

“So, what happened? Tell me all about it!”

Her face showed the excitement of a teenager looking for the newest relationship gossip. How could I not oblige?

My retelling was mostly close to reality. Safrah gasped and wowed at appropriate spots and asked me to elaborate on some things. When I got to the end she was grinning wide.

“That is a tale! Wonderful! Thank you, Fio. I… didn’t know fighting could be this exciting.”

“I might have adjusted the story a bit here and there but it’s mostly accurate. I also don’t know what the others thought and did at every point. Do you want to come to the camp, tomorrow? I can escort you there. Vivi has to spend most of her time near the node so she can become its Guardian. She would love to see you.”

The dwarf nodded.

“Yes, please. If you would do that for me, I would be very grateful.”

We turned to small-talk after that. Our friendship, including Vivi, books, artificing, carving, and even leatherworking. Soon, it was dark out and Safrah decided to get some rest. I followed suit, the exhaustion of the battle washing over me. It had been a long day but it had also been very successful. I could not have asked for more.