The gem felt cool to touch. Based on its size alone, Dallion could probably get a mansion in Nerosal’s noble neighborhood, possibly even two. That, however, paled in comparison to what he would get if anyone found out that the jewel contained an actual skill.

“A natural skill gem,” Dallion said.

The only time he’d seen anything of the sort was back in the realm of the Aura Sword, back when he was part of the Icepicker guild. Even back then, the skill gem was considered something exceptionally rare. What he held in his hand was five times that.

According to Nil, natural skill gems were part of a magic creature’s very essence. Details remained vague, but such a gem could easily be obtained by hunting down and killing a magical creature. Apparently, the same also seemed to be true upon killing the creature’s shadow.

I wish I had your luck, the armadil shield said. A large part of the damage he’d received had been healed thanks to Lux, but there were still a fair amount of minuscule cracks along its surface. At this point, they were more like scratches—nearly painless, but ruining his entire appearance.

What are the chances of this dropping from a shadow? Dallion asked.

Before today, I’d say zero. The person who kills the creature always claims it. Even if it’s something they already have, its price is unimaginable. The mage who killed the real dragon left it behind for some reason, so it remained as part of the shadow.

To have the ability to take a skill gem and refuse to do so. As illogical as that was, it wasn’t the first time Dallion had witnessed it either. Back when he had taken the zoology skill gem, he had wondered who had taken the second gem on the twi-crown. The real question he should have been asking was why had the person left any gem at all.

“How do I tell what skill it is?” Dallion asked. “Without using it.”

As you do with everything else, dear boy, Nil replied. Enter your realm while holding the gem. The Moons always give you a choice, even to initiates.

“Right.” Dallion nodded. The Moons always gave a choice, just not the way people expected.

PERSONAL AWAKENING

The forest disappeared, replaced by Dallion’s tropical realm. The sun was just rising over the horizon, covering everything with a fine, warm light. Looking at his hand, Dallion saw he was still clutching the gem. It was even more radiant than before, glowing as if wanted to be used.

“What are you?” Dallion asked.

WRITING

Grants the ability to write, speak, and understand any script or language.

Do you wish to acquire the skill?

A green rectangle appeared on cue. Writing skills? Quite logical, come to think of it. The dragon was masterful at using illusions, which suggested that it had a high-level Mind trait. Still, there was something about the name of the skill that rubbed Dallion the wrong way. For one thing, he imagined dragons sitting at a library reading Shakespeare.

Quite fortunate for you, Nil said. It might have been art.

To be honest, at this point Dallion would have been fine with either. He had to admit, though, that writing skills were a bit more useful in the present situation. For one thing, he would be able to read scrolls first-hand, including the dryad scrolls that remained in his domain largely unread. Still, it would have been nice if it had been magic…

“How many magic creatures have these?” Dallion asked.

In theory, all of them. In practice, only the powerful ones. Dragons, as you would expect, are considered quite powerful. Of course, as you’ve seen, claiming one is often more difficult than it’s worth.

No arguments there. If the dragon hadn’t been a shadow—and in good disposition—Dallion wouldn’t have stood a chance against it. That only further made him aware of the power that magic granted in the world. The only mage he had seen in person—excluding those of the nearby village—was given the task of protecting a member of the imperial family, and another had managed to kill a dragon.

“What about magic?” Dallion asked. “Is there any way to get such a skill?”

Greed doesn’t become you, dear boy, Nil said in a critical tone. Magic is rare by any standards, almost as rare as your empathy trait. It’s everyone’s dream to find a gem that would grant them the magic trait, but some things are simply unachievable.

That was the answer Dallion pretty much expected. Reaching out, he pressed the small green rectangle that confirmed his choice of skill.

WRITING skills obtained.

MIND trait increased by +1

You now have the ability to write, speak, and understand any script or language.

“A Mind increase as well?” Dallion asked.

Natural skill gems do that, Nil said. It’s not much, but always a good bonus to have.

At this point, every trait increase was good to have. Dallion was seriously considering going achievement hunting again at the first opportunity. Now that his level cap had been doubled, he felt the value of his skills and traits were so low. Given the things in store of his life as a hunter, he was going to have to boost them quite a bit.

“Congrats!” Gen walked up to Dallion and gave him a pat on the shoulder. “This is big.”

“Yeah, I guess…”

“Not getting it as usual.” The echo shook his head. “Why am I not surprised?”

“Not getting—"

“You pass your hunter trial,” Gen interrupted. “And you learned writing doing so!”

Spoken out loud, the compliment didn’t have the effect one would hope, but Dallion got the point. This was a major achievement. At the same time, he also had to admit, that was just the first step. No doubt, Eury hadn’t expected she was sending him to fight a dragon’s shadow. If she had, she might have come along as well or taken other precautions. Even so, this was a task that he was expected to achieve. Everyone in the hunter party had gone through the same to get their apprentice medallion. This meant that once he joined them on the next mission, the kid gloves were off. He’d still remain the rookie, though not a packrat that would deal with nuisance threats or sneak into nests.

“You know what this calls for, right?” the echo asked.

Dallion’s first reaction was to suggest getting drunk. However, not only was that a bad idea, but absolutely impossible. There was no way to create food or drink in a personal realm; rather, any created in such fashion didn’t have taste or substance.

“Time to party.”

“I’m not in the mood, Gen,” Dallion said.

“I know your thoughts, remember? Besides, time won’t pass on the outside. It’s been a while since everyone got together for a laugh. Let loose for a change.”

As much as Dallion wanted to claim that it was a difficult decision, in fact, it wasn’t. This was the moment he’d been hoping for long before Eury had sent him out to kill the avian, even before his trip to Halburn. The day Dallion had left his guild to live with the gorgon, he had hoped he’d get a chance to become a hunter, and how that dream was all that much closer. Naturally, this was only the first step. His official training would have to start, after which he was going to face the real hunter trial—something that no one liked to talk about. Still, being an apprentice hunter meant he had a valid chance.

“Fine,” Dallion said. “Just a bit, though.”

“You got it.”

As everyone expected, the “bit” continued late into the night. Everyone gathered at the central beach of Dallion’s domain, to spend a fun time, and to Dallion’s surprise they were a lot more the partying crowd than Dallion remembered. Gleam was the center of the show. Using her illusions, she transformed from person to person, much to July’s amusement. And that was not all. The young echo, usually quiet and keeping to himself, had someone else his age to chat with, even if Onda could be a bit too much at times.

Vihrogon was there in a slightly scandalous outfit, this time also accompanied by the guardian of the bowl. Even Nil had come out of his library, sitting on a rocking chair on the beach with Nox snoozing on his lap.

“They have changed a lot, haven’t they?” a combination of sounds asked.

Dallion glanced over his shoulder. Harp approached, standing next to him. She was right, of course. Less than a year ago, the only being in his realm was Nox. Back when the crackling cub was small and full of energy, constantly eager to fight and claw. Then, Nil had joined in… and Harp. Vihrogon had taken a while to be linked. Lux had been easier, and Gen, then Gleam and July. One couldn’t forget the Vermilion, of course. Despite Dallion’s initial concerns, the island snake had been quite calm, only stirring as a result of the shardfly’s pestering. Finally, Onda and the bowl guardian had become part of the realm as well in less than a month.

“You have as well,” the nymph continued.

“I’m just the same goof I was when I first got here.” Dallion looked at the horizon. “The same confused, naïve goof.”

“That’s not a bad thing.”

“Where’s the avian?” Dallion asked all of a sudden.

“Disappeared the moment you destroyed the shadow.”

“So, it was an illusion after all…”

“It could have been just a crackling linked to the shadow somehow. At this point, we’ll never know.”

That was true. At this point, all was guesswork.

“Do you think he’ll appear here? The dragon, I mean. It would be interesting to have him as a familiar.”

“I don’t know,” the nymph replied. “However, you need more echoes. There aren’t enough of us to guard your realm against a serious attack. And the ones you have are several ranks lower.”

It was funny that she would say that. Dallion was thinking the same thing. Both Gen and July had been created when his awakening level was much lower. Unlike him, they weren’t capable of improving, forever stuck with their present skills. If Dallion were to create an initiate, he would have to do it now. However, he strongly preferred not to. Creating a simple echo was nothing special—like a poor photocopy given life. Dallion preferred to convince a flaw to transform and remain in his realm. For that, though, he’d need another trial with an appropriate enemy.

“Soon,” he replied. “For now, let’s enjoy the moment. It’s a long trip back to Nerosal.”

The nymph nodded.

At nightfall, Lux and Gleam filled the sky with fireworks, as bright and intricate as neon paintings. For hours they would keep creating more and more elaborate designs to everyone’s cheers until Dallion could no longer keep his eyes open.

Finding a good spot in his realm, he curled up and got some well-deserved sleep. A split second later, he was back in the real world, getting on his way. Sadly for the bowl, he didn’t stop at the mages’ village, moving on through the forest until he reached the plains. There, he passed by the place that had taken him in briefly.

It wasn’t a long visit. Exchanging some words at the front gate, Dallion only went in for long enough to tell the village chief that he had dealt with the dragon, then was on his way. He didn’t accept the chief’s offer of hospitality, nor did he take any of the gifts the villagers had prepared for him. After all, he had gotten plenty of rewards. Even now, he was on his way towards the greatest reward of all.

Let’s see what you think of this, Eury, Dallion thought. She had effectively failed him last time, but there was no excuse for her now. The moment he set foot in the gorgon’s workshop, he was going to be made a hunter apprentice. That, even the Star couldn’t change.