Ding!

  You have learned the Skill [Swim].

  Though at first they stayed near the beaver dam which their mothers were sharing with a den of beavers, they soon were venturing forth to catch easy prey for otters, including various species of freshwater snails and crayfish. At their mothers’ insistence, the two stayed away for now from more dangerous prey such as [Snapping Turtles] and [Two-Spined Trout], though the pair were confident that such species were easy pickings. And despite watching their mothers do so successfully with a pair of rocks, the duo were perplexed at how to crack into the hard bivalves—[Clams], [Oysters], and [Mussels]—that resided nearby with resorting to their more powerful and distinctly non-[Otter] Skills.

  A few inconspicuous tests suggested that they could still use their Fell true magic. Admittedly, visually watching their XP fall and not recover was a shock to their minds, compared to the general sensation of emptiness when Fell used up their XP. So, while potentially still a useful tool to have, the two shelved the matter for now, instead diverting their XP to levels in the System.

  It took them significantly longer than they cared to admit, but they finally noticed a big, freaking change to the System:

  That’s right. Their Status picked up two more attributes: Endurance and Soul. The former was a new physical attribute and was to DEX what CON was to STR. The latter was a new mental or intangible attribute, and was to CHA what INT was to WIS.

  Curiously, none of their preexisting Skills updated to reflect any of the new attributes, though the Skills that affected all attributes affected the new ones as well.

  How the new attributes would come into play, they had yet to find out.

  Three months in, the pair were perched atop the dam, keeping a close watch for predators as their mothers trained their siblings in otterhood, when something brushed across the edge of Krateros’ perception.

   he sent as his head snapped to peer in the direction of the disturbance.

  

  

  

  

   she asked, as she began manipulating mana for a potentially lethal response.

  <45 seconds.>

  As the seconds ticked quietly and slowly away, the sound of the undergrowth being roughly moved aside finally reached the small stream that the power couple had called home for the first few months of this life. The other [Otters] quickly made themselves scarce as they heard the approach. As Otonia weaved her mana, Krateros stepped forward slightly to brace himself into position to launch at the intruder.

  Time passed slowly.

  Finally,

  <[Identify]> Krateros triggered.

  

  Ediard Tolkensen (L82) [Brillian] (UC) (L41) [Cleric] (Ra) (L41)

  

  “Wellen’ I be buggered off that there darn be two [Otters] here,” the [Cleric] muttered under his breath in [Western Kneet], before addressing his captive animal audience—who were staring at him in as much surprise as he was at them—in perfect [Eastern Kneet]. “Would you two happen to be Rhys and Edea?”

  The duo glanced at each other in near-comic fashion, before Otonia responded in [Eastern Kneet] with [Belly Speak]. “We are. Or were, depending on your point of view. Who’s asking?”

  “Adonite’s tits. Dey spake too,” he muttered under his breath, reverting again and totally oblivious that he’d have to be much quieter for them not to hear him perfectly. Clearing his throat to address them again. “I have a quest from holy Adonite. To write certain letters on a page, though I know not the language, and to deliver the message to two [Otters] responding to the names Rhys and Edea at this location between the second and third month after the start of spring.”

  

  

  “We’ll take the letter now.”

  “Alright,” he replied with a gulp, as a half dozen social Skills roiled over him inadvertently. He pulled out from his robes a small, rough scroll of parchment. The two [Otters] quickly dived into the water, only to pop back up on the bank, where Otonia quickly wicked away the water on them with a flash of mana. The halfling reached out gingerly with the message in hand, almost afraid that whatever wondrous events happening now might reveal themselves to be an illusion.

  Alas, they were not.

  When Krateros’ paw touched the message, a System message popped up in front of the pair.

  

  Ding!

  Quest received!

  Quest: We hope that the twilight years of your prior life, Rhys and Edea, were pleasant. Mortals who use experience to cast divine magic have been declared anathema by the Pantheon. Report such persons to the nearest [Cleric]-adjacent Class so that they may convey the message to the Pantheon. Alternatively, kill them on sight. Rewards variable. There is no penalty for failure.

  

  

  

   Otonia muttered as she took and unfurled it with [Mage Hands] to read. The letter was indeed not written in any language spoken on Slanemore—the [Brillian] was a give-away what continent they were on—and instead was written in [Ostesh], Otonia’s original tongue. It was sloppy—clearly the [Cleric] didn’t know the alphabet—but readable:

  

  Hey my favorite champions! It’s me, your favorite god/goddess Adonite. You should have received a System notification when you got the letter. Don’t worry about casting divine magic. The System itself can’t detect it and frankly none of the mortals probably could either (or at least distinguish it was regular magic). But the System was under scrutiny recently and was obligated to award that Quest to everyone as a result of that audit. And besides you went through all that hard work to learn it! Make sure you keep your practice up! But maybe be a little discrete as well? Better wait for my [Cleric] to leave. Oh, and definitely don’t ever do it in front of a god, if you happen to run into any (besides me of course). ??

  “The goddess asked you to draw a smiling face at the end of the letter?”

  What other emoji-like icons does Adonite use in her correspondence?

  

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  Total: 533 vote(s)