He needed, no, he wanted to get in there. To be among the kind of his past once again. To wander shops and have a meal in a restaurant. Take in the sights of a new place and socialise with those who could actually hold a conversation. He hadn’t been the most social person in the past, and no offense to his family, they were great, but… He wanted to talk and promptly get back a response. Just a few times. Until he saw the city he hadn’t even realised how much he wanted this. But to talk with them, he needed to have a humanoid form, and have a humanoid tag. He could maybe use [MIRAGE] to waltz in with a human form, but anyone with an appraisal skill would immediately know he wasn’t what he looked like. There were probably skills to see through illusions as well. Even if those weren’t issues, interacting with others would be out of the question. You can’t shake hands, or trade goods, or give a pat on the back to an illusion. Also, if anyone bumped into him, they’d actually just walk through him, which would give away the game again.

The rabbit’s ears fell behind him like the sad bunnies in cartoons. There might be a skill [ROGER] could buy to address both his concerns, but he imagined they would be quite expensive skill point wise. Could the bunny really spend his precious skill points on something he didn’t truly need for survival?

*DING*

CONGRATULATIONS! You have attracted the attention an [EVERLASTING].

He is [IMPRESSED] and [SYMPATHETIC].

[########] has offered to be your [PATRON].

Would you like to accept?

[Y/N]

[########] has sent a direct message.

As a creature with [INTELLIGENCE] above the minimum requirement you may view messages.

Would you like to view messages from [########] in the [CHAT]?

[Y/N]

Shock and bemusement clouded his thoughts. Besides reaching a city, he hadn’t done anything of note recently. Why now? It wouldn’t be wise to accept something without understanding the consequences. And just who had offered to sponsor him? There was no way he would accept the offer from the creepy research guy. No. Way. Deciding to play along for now he agreed to view the message.

[########]: Hello little rabbit. I suspect you are sentient. I should tell you that if this message shows as read, I will know I am right.

…

Ahhh, I am. And you did not accept my patronage straight away. This shows forethought. Probably memories of a previous life. Either Transmigration or Reincarnation then.

Actually, Transmigration does not fit as you have shown [INTELLIGENCE] from birth and it can only happen during certain periods. Reincarnation of a humanoid then.

Alright, I shall tell you of the situation now. [PATRON]s are much higher levelled beings that have been gifted certain abilities by The Nexus to lift up the talented and gain advancement from it. Many agree to this as levelling gets a lot harder the higher you go.

This book's true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience.

My most known, and I suppose feared, Given Name is [SILENT DEATH]. Should you accept my offer this is how my tag will appear in the [CHAT]. You will not be able to reply until you have accepted the offer.

The only reason you haven’t received other offers is because I am hiding you from my fellow [EVERLASTING]. There is a big universe out here, but we [EVERLASTING] only receive notifications of talented individuals from the planet we ourselves rose from. If we want to raise up talents from other planets, we must find them ourselves.

I am telling you all this as I wish for us to be open. Also, just a side note, I may find it a little difficult finding talents that will accept me after chatting with other [EVERLASTING] about my... accomplishments.

As a token of appreciation for accepting my offer, I will grant you two Abilities. These are separate from skills, and much more powerful. Skills can be overpowered by stronger skills, abilities work differently. You want to enter the town, yes? Speak with actual people? I can grant your wish.

For a few moments, [ROGER] turned the offer over in his mind. It sounded suspicious. The explanation also reminded him of when he himself had tried to make friends as a human, overexplaining everything. Not a pretty sight. In a word. Awkward. Mmmm.

CONGRATULATIONS! You have accepted the [EVERLASTING], [SILENT DEATH] as your [PARTON].

May you continue to expand your power together.

You have been granted two Abilities from your [PATRON].

Abilities:

[VEIL] – Grants the ability to veil one’s true nature. Projected tags will show what is desired by the user.

[SHIFT] – Grants the ability to shift your body into a form predetermined by your soul. Only one shift form may be set for this ability.

Choose the [KIND] your shifted form will take:

[HUMANOID]

[GREENSKIN]

[DEMONOID]

[MERFOLK]

…

[CANINE]

[FELINE]

[BOVINE]

[REPTILIAN]

…

Grinning in his mind, the bunny selected [HUMANOID]. At once he felt his body begin to stretch. It was extremely uncomfortable. Then the sensation was over. Without much thought he brought up his forearms to check the result. His pale palms reflected the sunlight. He was human. He was human! Joyfully the man jumped in the air and raised his arms in celebration. His tail flicked with glee and his hands were scraped by his horns. Huh? That wasn’t right. Turning the man glanced behind himself to find a long fluffy tail. In doing so he also noticed the matching long white hair that framed his face and blocked some of his view. The motion caused him to realise the strands reached all the way to the top of his hips. Apparently, all that fur had to go somewhere. Reaching up to his head, he found he not only had horns sticking out the front of his head and growing around each side, but he also had long rabbit ears sticking out the top. He was weirded out that his ears were placed differently on this body, then felt that he had actual human ears where they were supposed to be. That just weirded him out even more. Now he had four ears. Strange.

He panicked at first, then realised he could just cover the extra body parts with [MIRAGE]. No horns, no bunny ears, and no tails. He would be just a simple human. Come to think of it, until he could trade for clothes, he’d have to create illusory garbs as well. This would be interesting. Just as he was about to head for the gate, another message came through from his [PATRON].

[SILENT DEATH]: A final few notes for my young talent.

First, I suggest withholding your [TRUE] name. I would explain but I’m not too worried. You’ll feel it whenever you go to tell someone. This only applies to Monsters, so everyone else can share their names with no problems. Just be wary.

Lastly, I suggest caution when entering the city. I strongly advise against spending the night there.

As he finished reading the message the rabbit came up to the gates. While mulling over the advice he read the name of the city. Thrallton City. For many, this would have raised red flags, especially combined with the advice from his new [PATRON]. But sometimes… sometimes the reincarnated rabbit could be quite dumb.