Lament of the Slave

“Is it okay for me to give the skill a try in here, or should we step outside?”

“As long as you don’t intend to make a mess of my library, I don’t mind, Miss Grey.”

“No, I don’t.” The very thought of trashing this place seemed like a crime to me. “I meant . . . there’s no enchantment to stop me from using the skills, is there? Well, not using it as to have it, but to manifest it. You know what I mean, right?” 

The old librarian smiled. “The walls of my library are full of runes and enchantments, but none that would interfere with the system in any way. It will guide you just as it does outside.”

Not losing what you once mastered without access to the system was one thing; letting it guide you in the way of a new skill was another. I simply couldn’t hope to figure out how [Ear Enlargement] worked on my own, short of a miracle.

“As a matter of fact, I am not aware of the existence of such runes or enchantments. Needless to say, it’s not really my area of interest.”

“I’ve heard of suppression runes, ones that don’t allow you to exert your presence and such, but even the Great Library in Wagonbrei didn’t have any of those,” Hazel chirped, doing her best to restrain her eagerness to urge me to try out the Sail-Ear Foxes’ skills already. “Good thing. It would only make visitors to the library uncomfortable.”

“I can imagine.” Being suppressed in any way would have ruined this divine place. “Are there many people in Wagonbrei that strong, capable of exerting their presence, who frequent the Great Library?”

A fair question, as I had heard enough about the capital of the Sahal Empire to pique my interest in visiting the city. Yet now, despite my earlier determination to throw myself into what I didn’t want to do, my thirst to learn more about Wagonbrei was only driven by stalling. 

After all, there was no guarantee that once I let my ears grow, I’d be able to change them back.

“I wouldn’t say a lot; people of that power have other interests than books, but more than in this city - hardly anyone comes here. I didn’t mean it the wrong way, Mr. Sandoval. I love this library.”

“No need to feel bad . . . who would I be if I berated you for telling the truth, especially since I’m not blind to how fond you’ve become of my library. That being said, please, Miss Grey, try not to make a mess of it.”

Damn the old man. He knew how to nudge me in the right direction.

He wasn’t wrong, though. Dragging things out any longer wouldn’t solve anything, so I got up from the table, walked into the fairly wide aisle between the tables under the windows and the bookshelves, swapped [Roundhouse Kick] for [Ear Enlargement], and checked out the skill.

 

Ear Enlargement

Active I

(Deviant - 30%)

Tier I - Bigger is always better, and you find no shame in having ears that attract more than the eyes of others, be it the sound, the wind, or the muck. Challenging as it is, living with big ears is not without its perks, as you can listen to a conversation 200m → 300m away as if it were unfolding right beside you while having your blood flow improved. 

[vitality] increased by 13%(10%)

 

There it was. Improved hearing, just what I thought my ears were all about.

That aside, a clinking sound echoed through the otherwise silent library as Mr. Sandoval set down his teacup, his eyes as bright as Hazel’s on me. Ignoring both of them, I took a breath and focused on the skill. It was an active one, so it should be as . . . simple as a single thought.

I was no stranger to shifting, but when my ears began to grow, goosebumps sprang up all over my body. The feeling was so strange. The ear base had grown larger, now extending from the top of my head all the way down to my neck. But that was nothing compared to the length and width of the ears. I may have joked earlier about them touching my ass, but little did I know how close I was to the truth. In fact, they stretched even a little lower, as wide as my forearm at the broadest point.

“I-I am at a loss for words . . .”

“That looked so easy, in-incredible,” Hazel squealed, immediately jotting down notes in her notebook. “How does it feel? I mean . . . you’re fine, right?”

“It’s weird,” I said, my own voice echoing strongly in my head now. “Everything’s a lot louder . . . but nothing I can’t handle.”

The echo of my own voice wasn’t the only one ringing in my head. I could hear so much more: the beating of my own heart, the air swirling in my lungs with every breath I took, and the guttural whining of my stomach. All the things I’d learned to ignore since my first mutation, when my own human ears grew into their current form. “I can hear your hearts beating and even Sah breathing back there.”

“You serious, Grey?” echoed from the shadows of the library.

“Unless someone else is hiding there besides you, I am, Sah.”

“Tits!”

“Sorry for being a freak.”

“You definitely are. A good thing.”

“Seriously?”

“If you weren’t, my job would be boring. Besides, it is you who keeps reminding me how inadequate my skills are.”

“I did offer to set up training with mossbears for you.”

“And I’m telling you again, those are not the skills I need to hone. I so wish those two were here already, and I was free to try the system stuff like you and Deckard.”

“Those two?” Hazel almost shouted, only for me to realize that she merely spoke her mind in her usual tone, and I had been whispering to Sah the whole time.

“T-The agent is getting backup.”

“Ah,” Hazel breathed, relief spreading across her face instead of the fear I would have expected - people weren’t exactly fond of Imperial Agents, after all.

“I only have myself to blame for my slip of the tongue, but that’s not supposed to be public knowledge, Grey, Mooney,” Sah whispered a warning, adding, “Though it’s no secret either.”

“Noted, Sah,” I tried to speak at a normal volume, each word literally tickling my freakishly long ears. So much, in fact, that a shiver went down. A small movement, yet it swayed my ears, giving me more shivers.

“S-Shit. Anyway, the same goes for both of you. The sooner you master the proper use of the system, the better.”

Another shudder.

“I’m afraid my bones are too old to try anything new, Miss Grey.”

“I . . . don’t judge me, last night when I . . . I don’t know what I was thinking . . . but I swapped one of my skills.”

“It can’t be that bad.” I laughed, wincing as it made my ears hurt. “The last time I got hammered, I proudly proclaimed how great it was to go barefoot and look at the city now. Before that, I took advice from the other guards about my skills and woke up with several that I had no idea I had taken.”

“Then maybe it’s a good thing you’re having such a hard time getting drunk now.”

“Uh-hmm,” Hazel agreed with the old librarian. “I just read slower now - and it’s not the hangover - but you . . . Medvin’s hairy balls; please tell me the next time you want to get drunk. I want to be there.”

“Even after last night’s experience?”

Pushing her glasses up her nose, she waved me off. “I just wasn’t prepared.”

“Sure.” Whatever made her pride hurt less.

“I hate to interrupt you and your planning for nights of revelry, but shouldn’t we focus on those incredibly long ears - I mean, Miss Grey’s skills here?”

Nights of revelry? Was that what they called partying in his youth, or did the old books whose pages he spent most of his time in twist his tongue? Whatever the case, the old librarian was right, again. Yet mistaken at the same time.

My freakishly large ears hadn’t slipped my mind. “I’m doing my best to get used to these ears. Talking to you helps me a lot.”

The old librarian’s eyes widened. “Ah, I didn’t realize. My apologies.”

“And?” Hazel blurted out, gripping the quill in her hands tighter over her notebook. “Do you still hear my heart beating? Any other discomfort?”

“If I drop my concentration, I can still hear it. Other than that . . . my ears are pretty heavy, though I think my neck muscles have gotten bigger, too. My ears were sensitive before, but now . . . every little movement makes them tingle. It’s really annoying. It drives me nuts. And it makes me want to sneeze.”

“But you haven’t yet,” Hazel pointed out, taking notes.

“I haven’t moved much until now.” All I did was stand still, shuddering now and then, when the itching in my ears became too much to bear.

“Do you think it’s a matter of getting used to it, like the sensitivity of your hearing?” the old librarian asked, taking a bite of biscuit with his tea. The crunching of the sweet delicacy between his teeth struck my mind as if I had a shredder right between my ears.

“I ho-hope so.”

“Will you try to move?”

“Just give me a moment, Hazel. It’s just not as simple as . . .” I may have made it harder for myself than it needed to be. If the two librarians were right, as they seemed to be, then Sail-Ear Foxes were my ancestors. As such, I should be able to lean on them and benefit from their experience.

Stupid me!

Without further hesitation, I closed my eyes and reached for my inner beasts. The world screamed at me, everything for a heartbeat louder and clearer than before, new sensations flooding my mind. Every whiff of air I could now feel on my ears - the fine hairs covering them, the swirl of air caused by Sage swaying slightly behind me, the ripples caused by the movements of Mr. Sandoval and Hazel, even their breaths.

 

[Ride of Ancestors] reaches lvl 119

[Ride of Ancestors] reaches lvl 120

[Ear Enlargement] reaches lvl 2

[Ear Enlargement] reaches lvl 3

[Ear Enlargement] reaches lvl 4

 

The fact that the early levels of [Ear Enlargement] came easily to me was not surprising. It was the growth of [Ride of Ancestors] that gave me pause. I didn’t do anything different from my usual; I didn’t push my limits. The only difference was that I used my ears properly for the first time.

Not dwelling long on the reason for the unexpected skill growth, I took a first step - and gasped.

The way my freakishly large ears swayed behind me took my breath away. “Are you all right, Miss Grey?” The old librarian asked promptly, and Hazel shot up from her seat to help me. Unfortunately, her kindness didn’t really help any of us. The sudden movement reminded her of her hangover headache with a rush of pain, while the gust of wind blowing in her wake sent a rush of tingles from the tips of my ears, down my spine, through my crotch, to the end of my tail.

Coping with the onslaught of new sensations seemed to be too much even for my ancestrally guided inner self - at least this out of the blue.

“I-I’m . . . still getting used to them . . .” I reassured the two librarians, blushing a little.

“Is it really that difficult . . . I mean, I can’t imagine . . .” Hazel stammered, the pain of the hangover still in her eyes.

“After the first injection of the essence, when my ears grew, I - I begged the madman to cut them off. It was hard enough to get a wink of sleep when all the other slaves in the other pens were screaming in agony. It took me weeks to get used to the ears, at least a little.”

Hazel paled, covering her mouth with her hand. The thought of what I went through there obviously didn’t do her any good. In fact, I had to swallow another angry growl myself. Getting used to new limbs reminded me too much of the times when my body was forced to go through the mutations.

A few calming breaths later, I took another step and then another. It wasn’t long before I was pacing the aisle between the bookshelves, ears flapping behind me.

 

[Ride of Ancestors] reaches lvl 121

[Ride of Ancestors] reaches lvl 122

[Ride of Ancestors] reaches lvl 123

[Ear Enlargement] reaches lvl 5

[Ear Enlargement] reaches lvl 6

[Ear Enlargement] reaches lvl 7

[Ear Enlargement] reaches lvl 8

[Ear Enlargement] reaches lvl 9

 

No further progress. 

Apparently, I had reached a bottleneck, and getting used to the ears wasn’t enough to push the skill into another tier. Not something I really wanted, anyway. Alas, if I wished to get even a wee bit closer to flying, there was no other choice. I had to see if these ears were the key to my flying.

“Do those foxes spread their ears when they want to fly?”

Neither Hazel nor Mr. Sandoval had to flip through a book to give me a nod. The younger of the librarians then eagerly took it upon herself to explain further. “They do that. They jump off the cliff and spread their ears. No flapping like wings. They more or less glide.”

Perking up the ears or swiveling them in joy was one thing. Lifting and spreading these huge sails that were now growing out of my head seemed like insanity. Seriously, lifting arms or wings required so many muscles, muscles that my ears simply didn’t have. Not to mention the lack of joints on the skull and bones in them in general.

Still, I gave it a shot.

The few muscles at the base of the ears only swayed them a little. The giant ‘bitches’ were too heavy.

Or so I thought.

Drawing once more on the experience of my inner beast(s), my heart pounded mightily, blood rushed to my ears, and I found them standing as tall as rabbits.

“Oh, my . . .”

“Balls!”

“Tone it down!” I barked back in a whisper, their voices louder once more. If I had to guess, all the blood flowing through my ears now made them very, very sensitive.

“Now you’re going to be an even bigger pain in the ass to hide from, aren’t you?” spoke softly Sah from the shadows of the library, while the two librarians whispered their apologies. To all of that, my ears danced between the three of them, doing their best to catch even the faintest tone of voice . . . or noise.

“I think I hear the outside.”

“Interesting, are you sure Miss Grey?” Mr. Sandoval asked curiously, his voice telling me that I might not be hearing things - so to speak.

“There is a lot of wood creaking all over the library, but I do,” I said with certainty, after listening for a moment.

“And . . . can you tell from where?”

“There,” I pointed to one of the rafters in the ceiling. “Unbelievable. That’s where Margaret said the runes needed some care.” Margaret, his old friend, the one who did the maintenance on the library, the flame of his heart - the last time I remembered, the old man had dared to open up to her again. It made me wonder where their relationship stood after almost nine months . . . and what that strange rustling sound coming from the depths of the library was?

“Mr. Sandoval, is . . . is there anyone else in the library besides us?”

“No, why do you ask?”

“I can hear the pages turning.” The ghost came to mind.

“Pages turning . . .” he murmured, stroking his beard, puzzled.

“Could it be . . . you know, a ghost?”

“You mean a phantom or a magical construct like Idleaf, Korra?”

“Yeah? I guessed something like that.” It could hardly have been Idleaf, though. She sure as hell wouldn’t be browsing through books. Besides, the sound came from farther away than she could manifest her spirit from me.

Sah moved, taking steps in the direction my upright ears swivelled.

“Oh, that must be my restoration press. I left it running,” Mr. Sandoval exclaimed a little too loudly for my taste. “Before you arrived, I was working on repairing the [Complexity of the Order of Atarine]. The binding of the book was practically falling apart.”

No ghosts, then. 

What a relief.

So much of a relief, in fact, that I lost my concentration, and my ears slowly dropped. With them hanging back down my back came a dull ache from pulled muscles - the few I had in my ears.

So weird . . . and uncomfortable.

My attention, however, turned to the system notifications.

 

[Ride of Ancestors] reaches lvl 124

[Ear Enlargement] reaches lvl 10

[Ear Enlargement] reaches TIER II

.

Ear Enlargement

Active I → Active II

(Deviant - 30%)

Tier I - Bigger is always better, and you find no shame in having ears that attract more than the eyes of others, be it the sound, the wind, or the muck. Challenging as it is, living with big ears is not without its perks, as you can listen to a conversation 200m → 300m away as if it were unfolding right beside you while having your blood flow improved. 

[vitality] increased by 13%(10%)→ 19%(15%).

Tier II - You’ve tuned into the tones of your great ears, opening the door to more than just the chimes of voices. For as you can attest, the voice is not only what you hear but also the quivering of the air that you can now feel through your ears.

 

With a bit of disappointment and regret in my heart, since neither Tier I nor Tier II of the skill was something that would allow me to fly, I deactivated [Ear Enlargement], and my abnormally large sails shrank to their usual size. The hum of the world faded. Not the ache in my ears, though.

That was until regeneration took care of it.

“Not the way it seems,” I breathed, unable to keep the dismay out of my voice.

“It seems so,” Mr. Sandoval nodded, very much aware of what I meant. “I would not, however, give up hope yet. There are still those other skills that you and the Sail-Ear Foxes possess. Although my library isn’t exactly the place to practice wind magic or gliding.”

“No, it’s not.” I smiled slightly at the thought of jumping off the top of the bookshelf to learn to glide.

“Even so, I’m wondering . . . you should be able to make your ears bigger without a skill now, right?” Hazel asked, adjusting her glasses.

“Not so simple, but yes. With a little training. Why?”

“I know it’s a bit of a wild assumption. After all, [Ear Enlargement] is a specific skill associated with Sail-Ear Foxes . . .”

“So?” She was taking her sweet time.

“Well, it could just be something related - and unique - to their physiology, their body structure, your body, but . . . isn’t there a possibility that it’s something that could be applied to your wings?”

“...” Like being able to enlarge my wings?

“You know, w-when you master the skill; the ins and outs of it.”

Could it be possible? For all I knew, it could. 

“Thank you, thank you, thank you,” I took Hazel in a bear hug. The hope of me flying had not been entirely lost.