The elf kid crashed hard onto the ground, barely missing Taka's teensy body. The child groaned in pain, then rolled onto its side and met Taka's eyes. The two held still for a moment, taking each other in. The kid couldn't have been older than 10 or 11, and had long, elegant features as if out of a painting, bleach blonde hair and the characteristic pointed ears of an elf. But there was something scrappy, almost runt-like in the way they held themselves. Taka thought they looked slender for a boy... if they were a boy, he decided after a moment.

"Was... was that you?" The child squeaked out.

Can you understand me? Taka sent, reactivating TELEPATHY.

The child gasped, "your voice is in my head! How are you doing that!?"

So yes.

The child nodded, jaw agape.

What's your name, kid?

"It's Syla, Syla Vonmish. Are all worms like you?"

No. Well, maybe. I don't know.

Syla leaned their head in close to the worm, examining Taka more closely. They reached their right hand out a few inches in front of Taka, waving it around; the crimson gemstone ring on their middle finger began to glow bright.

"You have an incredible amount of mana for being such a small creature. And it's so potent -- I've never seen anything like you. What shall I call you?"

Call me-- Taka stopped himself before finishing the thought. He remembered the display from before, with the missing name. Did it, something, whatever it was, want him to choose a new name?

"Hello? Mr. Worm?"

You may call me... Filo.

That was the name of his childhood pet - a goldfish that lived far longer than his mom said it ought to. But, it sounded a lot more similar to Syla than a more traditional name from his world. And having an alias was kind of cool, too.

Update: Conditions have been met for an assigned moniker: NAME is now FILO.

Taka/Filo felt a wave of warmth wash throughout his body, like the feeling you get after you take a hot bath, or when a bad storm finally passes. Why did he need to pick a new name?

"Fi-lo?" Syla sounded it. "No family name?"

No, just Filo.

"Right, sorry, Sir Filo..." Syla muttered with a tinge of guilt in their voice.

Why were you watching me?

Syla's face went bright red and their eyes went wide. "I wasn't trying to spy on you! I was scouting in the area and I simply felt an overwhelming magical presence appear out of nowhere, so I decided to take a look, and here you are."

That wasn't good. Taka didn't feel aware of any difference in his presence from his past life besides the obvious physical change, so he clearly did not have a natural instinct for sensing magical energy. And if Syla could sense him, that means other creatures likely could as well. Creatures that wouldn't be as the kind as the elf child had been thus far. He needed to figure out how to defend himself, fast. Taka willed the status window open.

Help support creative writers by finding and reading their stories on the original site.

NAME: Filo RACE: High Worm CLASS: [UNASSIGNED] MAGIC: Earth, Psychic, ë̶͙͈́̋̽̃̽̆v̵̨̡̯̭̭̮̼́ͅi̸̟͓͈̲͋̒͆̐̎̅̇͆l̶̩͉͙͉͕̓̉̓̈́͌ SKILLS: Telepathy, Burrow, Charm, Fear

Nothing notable had changed. The name he'd chosen was now there, along with the FEAR skill, both highlighted in a bright yellow to indicate the new data. Using BURROW wouldn't help much, and FEAR would either make the kid angry or scare them away, so Taka activated CHARM.

Warning: Skill: CHARM ineffective on target.

No explanation, even? Taka thought to himself. Maybe elves have protections against that sort of magic...

Syla continued to stare at Taka, eyes wide in disbelief.

"I didn't know that worms -- you are a worm, yes?"

Yes.

Syla smiled and chuckled lightly. "I didn't want to assume you were a worm, because you could've been a shapeshifter, or even a demon... but you seem nice! I didn't know worms could communicate with minded beings."

Minded? Taka asked.

Syla cocked their head to the side. "Yes, creatures that can think and speak, or, well, communicate with language." Syla suddenly gasped and jolted upright. "How can you understand me? You speak Elvish?!"

Taka paused. He hadn't considered the language barrier until now, as he was able to communicate with Syla like any other person he'd talked to. But then he realized, worms don't have ears like people do, at least not on Earth. He knew they could at least feel vibrations through their skin, but auditory processing? He was a "High Worm" though, and in a different world with a very different set of rules than he'd played his life by, so maybe he was biologically different from a normal Earth worm, or maybe creatures here had other ways to hear? Too many questions and not enough answers. Taka looked back up at Syla and narrowed his eyes in concentration.

Filo? Syla thought.

Taka's eyes widened. The kid hadn't said it, but Taka had heard Syla's voice in his head. Of course, it was all the TELEPATHY skill! Just as Taka had sensed the bird's feelings before, he could also sense Syla's thoughts. That seemed really powerful, and had the potential to be incredibly useful.

Sorry -- It's a skill I have. A communication-related skill that doesn't require common language to use. Taka sent to Syla.

"WHAAAAAAT?! That's so cool!!! Magic like that is super rare!" Syla raved. "Is it a race-specific ability, or did you learn it from a grimoire -- wait, do worms read grimoires? Are there special grimoires only for bugs like there is for demons and celestials? Or are you just a crazy powerful wizard..." Syla trailed off as their cheeks went red with embarrassment. "Sorry. I just get really excited about magic.

That's, okay... Taka sent. This forest was a complete unknown, and if he could trust his knowledge of fantasy worlds, elves were fairly powerful beings, which meant that there could also be dangerous creatures lurking nearby. He needed Syla to tell him more about the world, but staying here would be risky.

I lost my home, and seem to be suffering from amnesia, would you be able to lend me assistance by taking me back with you to where you live? I have nowhere to go, and nothing to offer--

Syla jumped up and screeched in joy, "Yes, yes of course, please! If you're willing to teach me magic and make me your student, then Papa won't be able to say no!"

All Taka knew of magic was from his status window and his encounter with the bird, but, he didn't have any other options besides stay in the dirt in the middle of nowhere. He closed his eyes and sighed, deeply.

Alright Syla, thank you. Pick me up and bring me home.

Syla let out a squeal of excitement and scooped up Taka with both hands, beaming proudly. Next stop: elf village. Or so Taka thought.