The Wandering Fairy [LitRPG World-Hopping]

As he sat beneath the shade of a colossal crimson tree, Soren's eyes couldn't help but twitch slightly. What he was reading astonished him greatly.

"Traveler?... My vocation is Traveler now?..."

This was the biggest shock of them all. For the longest time, he had always referred to himself as a scribe and traveler. This was a moniker he had adopted from Mr. Unknown, who named the Blessing they granted to Soren as 'The Traveler.'

Although he was extremely suspicious of this hidden existence, Soren still found the title relatable to his current circumstances. It reflected his journey perfectly.

Never did he expect for it to actually become his Vocation title…

Vocations, according to the Blossom Sword Flower, are a reflection of one's Runic Existence. He recalled. Their merger with Abstract Runes influences their representation.

When Soren first obtained the Fairy Witness rune, his identity became that of a Scribe. Now that Cantor's Crown was added to the mix, his Runic Existence evolved, causing his identity to ascend with it.

But what exactly makes me a Traveler?...

The thought made him wonder. After all, the ties between a Scribe and the abilities Fairy Witness grants were obvious. That rune allows him to collect massive amounts of information, so it would make sense for his identity to reflect that action.

So then, how exactly would the combination of Fairy Witness and Cantor's Crown tie into him becoming a Traveler?

No wait, Soren's eyes widened as he realized something. I can't forget to include The Faerie Court as well… That forgotten rune fragment likely also impacts my Runic Existence's representation.

Although he had several theories, none of them were conclusive. At least, not yet. Soren needed to explore Cantor's Crown further to make sense of why this change occurred the way it did.

His eyes naturally trailed down toward the 'Soul Weapon' section where it listed his Tier. This once again confirmed that the ritual had been successful—the evolution of his Vocation title was not an accident or mistake. Further down, he could also see Cantor's Crown being listed in the 'Rune Collection' section, which further cemented this as reality.

Though strangely, there were some changes he noticed there as well. Fairy Witness had jumped to 1 Expression and 4 Insight fragments total. He theorized that it might have had to do with the historical knowledge he chronicled regarding Yarian's 4th Age of Fantasia. There was also the Nagashi Tribe massacre that he witnessed through Cassia's subconscious and also the knowledge obtained on the War of Swords through his involvement in the Mirror Game. These were all reasonable explanations.

Cantor's Crown, on the other hand, left him with no clear answers…

How did a rune I just managed to merge with gain another Insight fragment?

Soren could perfectly recall the Blossom Sword Flower saying She possessed only 1 Insight fragment total. He never had 2 fragments from the start.

Did I somehow spread the rune's influence? Already?... He couldn't understand how that would be possible. After all, he had yet to even use his newly upgraded Soul Weapon…

Or have I? The thought made him wonder.

He instantly remembered the strange reverberations he had heard earlier that almost drove him mad. At the time, he had assumed it was caused by one of his newly acquired abilities, but he had yet to confirm it.

Soren once again glanced at the holographic window, gazing directly at the 'Skills' section.

"[Hymn of the Unseen]. Sense the hidden rhythm of the world…" He murmured to himself in silence.

The description matched somewhat to what he had experienced…

Did I accidentally activate this ability, causing me to listen to things I shouldn't have heard? He glanced up at the dark yet glimmering skies of [The Faerie Court], countless thoughts brewing in his eyes.

Perhaps those reverberations were from [The Faerie Court] itself. After all, it does qualify as a 'world,' does it not?

Or maybe… It came from outside this enigmatic space?

Soren had always wondered about the true location of the Realm of Realms.

Since arrival here always required passing through the Rift first, he naturally assumed that it existed somewhere in that infinite void. However, he could never fully verify it, since 'falling' toward this space always entailed passing through a different layer that was hard to understand. Moreover, distances and time itself was always hard to perceive, so any calculations he made were utterly useless. There were also those strange galaxy-sized shadows… If not for them, he might have considered using [Eyes of the Fairy] to verify his theories.

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Which begs the question: if there were no coordinates or navigation paths, how exactly does his Soul Weapon know where to lead him through the Rift?

In that moment, he was once again reminded of Figment's importance. Although Figment was simply a clone of himself with slight differences to his inner workings, Soren always found having someone else to bounce ideas off of extremely useful.

Soren shook his head and stood up, frowning as he slowly dusted his clothes.

"I doubt I'll find these answers anytime soon." There were far more important matters to verify first.

Namely, his new abilities.

The incident from before was both sporadic and dangerous. By sheer luck, it ended quickly, sparing him from fully turning into a mentally ill patient. He needed to verify their effects, limitations, and overall capabilities as soon as possible.

Even if there were side effects, as long as he maintained diligence and prepared to restore himself with [Fictionalization], the danger should remain minimal… Taking this step forward was a crucial one.

As he walked toward the center of the forest's clearing, Soren spotted the remnants of their ritual. The glass-like Emberbloom Shroom Caps had all shattered just as he expected, unable to withstand the powerful vibrations. Luckily, this occurred only after he completed the ritual.

Nodding in silence, he walked into the mushroom circle and removed the silver tuning fork planted at the center. Soren positioned himself in its place then closed his eyes and took a deep breath.

"[Hymns of the Unseen]..." His thoughts were steady and calm, like an ocean without waves. He cycled through multiple mental commands before finally finding the right one:

Sense the hidden rhythm…

The cold wind whistled by as the moments passed. He continued standing there, awaiting some kind of result.

However, nothing happened…

After a while, he opened his eyes in disappointment. Did I just not give the right mental command? Perhaps I need to understand it more deeply—what does 'hidden rhythm' even mean?

Just as he was about to consider divination or other techniques, a sudden low whistle flew by that seemed both distant yet close.

His eyes widened. It's the same sensation I felt earlier! Did the skill really activate?!

He scanned his surroundings once again, trying his best to pinpoint where the sound was coming from. Unlike before, this one was both soft and soothing to the ear, as if sung by a true canary. It didn't seem to pose any danger to his psyche.

He walked around in a daze, trying his best to trace the sound to no avail. Then, it suddenly stopped. Soren tried again and again to hear anything, but he was only met with silence.

His frown deepened. What the hell is wrong with this ability?! Shaking away the frustration, he continued listening for a while longer, trying to see if the sound would come back.

But in the end, the result he was looking for never arrived. Shaking his head, Soren decided to deactivate the skill to focus on gathering his thoughts.

But just as he did that, his surroundings sprung to life in a cacophony of noises.

Soren immediately jolted, What the hell?!

It was the sound of water dripping through leaves, the grass rustling from the wind, birds chirping in the distance… There was even the sound of insects buzzing loudly from the trees.

"The sound of the forest?..." He mumbled before finally realizing something.

That skill… It only allows me to hear what is hidden or unseen!

It was similar to [Eyes of the Fairy], but rather than changing his eyesight, it instead altered his hearing… What's more, Soren quickly understood why he felt as if his mental command didn't work earlier. It was likely because the skill had been active the entire time!

Unlike [Eyes of the Fairy], [Hymns of the Unseen] was far more passive in its methodology. It didn't require anima or immense concentration for its continual usage, only when he heard things would it finally register a cost.

What's more, it likely required a target for it to filter through. The 'hidden' rhythms it references could be anything…

Perhaps because I was trying to embody the worldsong during the ritual, that mental goal intertwined with the acquisition of these new abilities, causing it to activate subconsciously…

This was likely why he couldn't hear any of the forest's sounds until the skill deactivated. The target had been set on something otherworldly and unfathomable, causing any mundane sounds to not be registered…

Soren shook his head and sighed. I should have noticed sooner… But then again, his exhaustion paired with the mental anguish he suffered from those strange reverberations, certainly made it easy to overlook such things.

"This is good though," he smiled. "If I simply change my target to something more mundane, sensing my surroundings will be far easier!"

For the longest time, Soren had to rely again and again on [Eyes of the Fairy] for even the simplest of tasks. This naturally made him more adept at using the skill, but its drain on his anima and the pain it inflicted forced him to be more conservative in its usage.

However, now that he obtained [Hymns of the Unseen], Soren finally obtained an alternative. When scouring through dungeons or other dangerous places, keeping this skill active will be enough for most cases. [Eyes of the Fairy] could then be reserved for more serious circumstances that truly demanded its attention.

Closing his eyes once again, Soren decided to reactivate the skill—this time, his target was the surrounding forest itself.

He immediately felt the changes. Every tree, grass blade, leaf, bird, and water droplet held its own distinct rhythm that he could sense and understand. Even his own heartbeat now felt distinct—he instinctively knew it was his from the sound itself. His mind was processing all these different echoes in tandem, as if forming its own mental map of everything in his surroundings.

Suddenly, he thought of something ironic and chuckled softly.

Am I not my own worst enemy now? If for whatever reason, I had to face a magi with the same Mesmerism affinity as me, they would never be able to fool me!

As outlandish as this idea was, it did make him feel a tinge more satisfied.

Taking a deep breath, Soren decided to change the skill's target once again. This time, he was going to try and hear those otherworldly sounds more clearly.

If they're related to the worldsong, they likely hold important clues…