"-So, any idea how we'll do this?" Todd asks, glancing over at me from his place inside the bush. For some damn reason I couldn't understand, he decided that the best way to survey the village was to sit inside a bush, letting only our faces peek out.

"...Maybe. But I'd rather not use the, uh, skills I were provided with. For the sake of my personal health," I say, trying not to let him know that the two faerie's songs would be perfect for this situation. Todd scratches at his cheek.

"Well, can't hurt to aggro him! Then he'll be right over here, and we won't have to disturb the villagers with this whole thing, right?" Todd suggests, and I nod in agreement. The mini-wizard might get mad at us for doing this, but... it'll be fine, right? My only fear apart from that would be the whole... well, I'm not sure if I want to gamble it. If this goes wrong, I could lose one of my most powerful skills in exchange for something useless like human language.

I look over at Todd, and he seems overly excited for someone who is about to have a wizard chasing him.

-I guess it'll be fine if I lose a skill or two.

"Let's go," I mumble, and Todd steps out of the bush and into the open. I'm still sitting on his shoulder as he stalks over to the tall stump, and even though he walks smoothly and confidently, there is just the slightest tremor in his body. We're both just a little bit scared, I can tell.

We pass the stump, and less then a second later...

"YOU DARE TR-,"

We don't hang around to hear it, but instead, boot it back to the bush. On the horizon, we can only barely see the wizard popping up before heading back. Oh, right, I never told Todd how this worked.

"-The checkpoint is the tall stump, and he'll turn around the moment we're behind it."

"Oh. Oooohh, okay, let's try again!" Todd says, clenching his fist in front of his face.

We redo it. Walk up to tall stump, the wizard shouts and runs at us, and I have officially seen this one time too many, I'm just not scared anymore. Once the wizard comes close enough, Todd stumbled back a bit, crossing the tall stump once more. The wizard turns around to walk back, and I realize there's only one thing I can do.

"So, dude, what now-?" Todd asks.

"...I think I might know a way to get him to follow us into the woods. You-, you have to promise not to laugh, okay?" I ask, the embarrassment of having to sing in front of people already turning my cheeks red. Todd shrugs.

"Sure, okay."

I look back to the wizard. I have no idea how to activate this skill, but here goes!

Faerie's Song, Calling!

...

Fuck me. I really have to sing.

"Er, ehem-," I clear my throat and glance at Todd, who seems confused. Let's see here, I don't know too many songs by heart or nothing, but...

This one should work.

I start singing. Just some old blues song my dad used to play before I had to work, on the evenings when he didn't have to work either. I have no idea how I still remember it, or why that particular song popped up, but... I sing it. The words simply dance out of my mouth, driven by something beyond me.

I don't have to sing loudly. I can tell it works. He turns around, moments smoother and softer than ever before. Sure, it's not like his eyes have suddenly gained some new lustre, but there's a purpose in his gait. Now, we just need to get him into the forest. Don't want the villagers to see us pillage their local wizard, do we?

I glance up at Todd, hoping he understands my non-verbal cues. He... doesn't seem quite himself-? Dude, dude, move it! The wizard's coming, damn it-!

I jerk my thumb at the forest and poke him with one of my insect segs, all the whilst still singing my awkward little blues.

"O-, oh! Okay, yeah, of course!" Todd says, his body jerking at being forced out of the illusion, and starts pacing back into the forest, away from prying eyes. We continue through the woods for a good while, all the whilst the wizard moves behind us as if hypnotized. Well, I guess he technically is? I almost stop singing a few times, but every time, I just re-sing the refrain. Doesn't seem like anybody notices.

After a short while, we enter a glade, a different one than the one I've conducted all my other business in so far. Perfect.

Now, all I need to do is shift to the other song and this should work like a charm.

I stop singing. The wizard snaps out of it instantly, but he doesn't quite know how to act at first. He just sort of... stands still. Right, better act quickly before he understands what just happened.

Faerie's Song, Pacifying!

I'm not sure why, but when I started singing again, the first song that came to mind was an old Swedish folk-song that Buddy thought me after walking in on me singing to the chickens. He's always been a nerd for all that Scandinavian stuff, but I don't know why he wanted me to learn it. Even so, as foreign and strange as it is, it does have a place in my heart, if only since Buddy thought it to me. Uh, don't tell him that, okay? I'm not sure if he was joking or not when he told me to learn it...

Whatever the song I sang was, it seemed to work. The wizard's eyes glazed over, and he slipped over ever so slightly, wobbling side to side, perfectly incapacitated. However, as it seems, my song is a bit too powerful, since it even affected Todd. A swift poke to the neck got him out of it though. He looked at me, and I looked at him. We both nodded.

And so, I took to the skies, spreading my six pairs of wings wide. The difference between Advanced Flying and Master Flying is... as extreme as Novice Flying and Intermediate Flying. I manoeuvre to the back of the wizard's neck with trained ease, and before he has time to snap back to reality, I've already used Hijack. No fuss, no butts, no coconuts.

Skill (Hijack) has been used, you have temporarily gained the following skills Monster Radius Localization(Village(Toum) 133m), System (Quest) Interference, Gulliver's Input(Brobdingnag), Intermediate Fire Magic, Advanced Water Magic, Intermediate Ice Magic, Novice Earth Magic

You are unable to gain (FORBIDDEN) skills

"Is it time?" Todd asks.

"It's time," I reply. Now that I think of it, there's a fair chance I'll get a hold of some forbidden skills, isn't there? If he has a skill, I should be able to get it. We'll have to see.

Let's see here... Uncertain Trade!

Are you sure you wish to use skill (Uncertain Trade) on Quest-giver Mister Brobdingnag?

Y-, yes. Probably.

As soon as the skill comes into effect, I can feel something being ripped from me. Some little essence that I can never get back, something crucial, but in turn... something enters me. Something filled the hole that was left.

Skill (Uncertain Trade) has been used. You have lost the following skill:

Hijack Lv.3

Oh sh-,

With that information, I clatter to the ground, falling off of the wizard as if I had never hijacked him at all.

You have gained the following skill:

Pleasebethequestonepleasebethequestone-,,

Gulliver's Input(Brobdingnag)

I-,, what-?

"Did you get it??" Todd asks.

"I don't think so-?..." I admit, unsure of what just happened.

The wizard grunts.