An image of Alsvartr hanging from the ceiling chomping on a large juicy bug appeared in my head. As soon as she finished the first bug, another bug would appear in her claw, which she quickly started chewing on as well. This scene repeated again and again for a minute before I grew bored.

Despite the boringness of the dream, I had actually learned several important details. One of those was that I could see into the dreams of others using the telepathic gift. Another was that the time within her dream had not been faster than the time I experienced in the waking world. This meant that there was no time compression in her dreams.

Sometimes when I would hit the snooze button, I would go back to my dreams. It would seem like a long dream occurred before I woke up a few minutes later. However, it looks like there is no time dilation effect. Maybe it is sort of like listening to your wife nagging you. It seems to go on and on forever, but actually only lasts your lifetime.

“Interesting,” I muttered to myself. “Now then, what else was there? Oh yes, the Detect Magic ritual.” I figured that although I did have magic points, the points were only needed when I cast a spell, not a cantrip. However, the only spell I had to use spell points on was the Sleep spell. From my ancestral memories, I knew that I could cast the spells as rituals and it would not cost anything except the time to cast the spell.

Although I was quite concerned about getting too close to the bridge, I edged closer to it so that I would be able to detect the magic, if there was any, that might be protecting the bridge against intruders. The steps to the ritual flowed into my mind as I reached a spot near the bridge.

Sitting down, I looked at the bridge and began to regulate my breathing, almost as if I was meditating. I calmed my mind and thought about the spell. I slowly collected and directed the magical energy into the Detect Magic spell I had shaped in my mind. While I knew that I wouldn’t normally need to use magical words or gestures, when casting detect magic as a ritual, I needed to speak them. In fact, I had to repeat the words again and again.

I clearly spoke the magic incantation while I made the appropriate gestures with my hands again and again. I felt like Doctor Strange casting his first spell. I continued to repeat the words and gestures for ten minutes before I noticed a faint aura appear around the bridge.

Staring at it a moment, I realized that there was some type of protective spell that conjured something if the spell trap was activated. “Curious,” I said as I continued concentrating on the aura, trying to figure out more about it. From what I could guess, if someone crossed the bridge, something would happen. I was sorely tempted to throw a rock to see if that would activate the spell trap.

I really wanted to know what would be conjured. Would it be some type of dangerous substance, such as acid? Would it be something more benign? Perhaps an entanglement or web spell? Maybe it would be an alarm that would sound if someone crossed the bridge. Whatever it was, I didn’t want to risk it.

Just as I was about to let my concentration lapse, I noticed something small half-buried in the dirt, radiating a weak aura in the dirt next to the bridge. What was strange was that I actually couldn’t see it. All I could see was the aura. For a few seconds, my curiosity to figure out what the item was went to war with my apprehension of the bridge. It wasn’t fear; it was just a healthy sense of respect. Finally, my need to know won the tug-of-war.

Slowly, I eased forward and squatted down next to the item. Brushing away the dirt, I picked it up. “Weird,” I muttered as I realized I had picked up an invisible ring. “Nice, maybe I can turn invisible while wearing this ring.” Deciding to give it a try, I slipped the ring on my finger.

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Nothing happened. Frowning, I asked the ring, “Do I have to say a magic word? Do I have to drop blood on you to claim you?” Not getting a response, I tried to see if I could access any memories about magic items. Finally, a vague memory of that you had to attune to some magic items before you could use them emerged from the depths of my memories.

Wondering if the Guidance cantrip would help, I said the words that came to mind without thinking, “Fylgja vísa.” Magic surged within me, abruptly disturbing my concentration. However, I quickly realized that wasn’t how the cantrip was supposed to be used. Realizing it was useless for this situation, I moved on to other ideas.

I then sat down and started concentrating on attuning the invisible ring. I wasn’t sure how long it would take, but I was willing to wait as long as I needed to attune the ring. I continued concentrating solely on the ring, wanting to make it mine so that I could sneak into places. After all, I had gained proficiency in stealth.

After an hour of concentrating on the ring, nothing had changed, and I was annoyed. I had just wasted a lot of time. “Come on now! Aren’t transmigrators and reincarnators supposed to get the ability to identify everything? Why didn’t I get that spell as well? Stupid ring.

“Wait a second. I do have that ritual. Maybe I can use that on the ring.” I was about to start the ritual when I realized that I would need some components to cast the spell. “Of course I don’t have what I need to cast the ritual. Unless…” I trailed off, muttering in disgust. I could cast Identify as a spell using spell points. With Sorcery, I wouldn’t need the components. However, I was worried about wasting the spell points.

I was tempted to throw the ring away, but changed my mind. Instead, I threw the ring into the back of my throat and swallowed before I thought too much about it. I used to overthink, or not think about, things in my last life. I might as well stay true to myself. If I could use obsidian as an evolutionary material, maybe I could also use magic items in the same way.

EVOLUTIONARY MATERIALS INGESTED: INVISIBLE RING. Do you wish to assimilate the invisible ring to evolve your draconic bloodline or extract the magical energy?

“Fudge you! Oh my goodness. Really? Would it kill you to provide a little more information? I mean, come on. This raises so many questions. Does it evolve it completely? And if so, should I wait until I get a better magic item? Do I even really want to evolve? Twilight dragons sound kind of cool. Would I gain the bloodline of an invisible dragon? Would I gain the bloodline of a magic dragon? Would I need to change my name to Puff the Magic Dragon?”

As for extracting the magical energy, I was pretty sure the magic extracted would not amount to much. All the ring apparently did was be invisible. It didn’t even turn the wearer invisible. That might be why it was on the ground. Someone probably got sick of it and threw it away. Either that, or they simply dropped it and were unable to find it.

I really wanted to increase my pitiful strength, or even get more health, but I also wanted to see what an evolved draconic bloodline would involve. Maybe I could then use the ether breath or even fly. I was annoyed that the system wasn’t giving me additional information.

I didn’t even know if the system had a name? For example, is it the High Kobold System, the Draconic Transformation System, the Keep Nóttormr in the Dark System? Could I upgrade the system to get more information? Do I need to sacrifice something for answers? A ding sounded, and my eyes rolled back in my head like I was possessed by demons. “Are you kidding me? I can’t…” I trailed off as I looked at the pop-up window.

SACRIFICIAL OFFERING DETECTED: INVISIBLE RING. Do you wish to sacrifice the invisible ring to increase the amount of information provided?

I immediately clicked on the “Yes” button. I might want both the reinforced physical attributes and the evolved draconic bloodline, but I was already exhausted trying to figure out all the new things being thrown at me. I needed more information, and sooner rather than later. After all, knowledge was power. Hearing a ding, I quickly looked at the information screen to see what new knowledge I had acquired by sacrificing the invisible ring.