The Wandering Fairy [LitRPG World-Hopping]

Soren swiftly glanced back at his status page, confirming his suspicions. Indeed, all three of his Fairy Witness abilities had risen by one rank.

He was mostly focused on his new abilities and had forgotten such a change. Only now did he realize that his new abilities were actually influencing the ranks of the previous ones!

It seems ability rank ups are determined by the number of unique runes in my collection… Both Abstract Runes had influenced each other, propelling even the ranks of his new abilities as well.

In the context of [Record], Soren could now instinctively understand sheet music, as if the information had been implanted within him after the Soul Weapon upgrade. As he stared silently at the Vinuan symbols outlined on the new chronicled entry, a strange feeling began to envelop him. It was as if the outline of the melody could be read and processed, allowing him to 'replay' the song in his mind.

He could once again listen to the melody, despite it not actually being there.

How mystical… Soren couldn't help but feel impressed.

He then thought of something that made him chuckle, Couldn't the name, 'The Records,' also allude to music records as well? My Soul Weapon has transformed from an e-reader to a portable music player!...

A part of him craved to return to Earth as quickly as possible just so he could [Record] his favorite hit singles from the last two decades.

I wonder what has changed with [Eyes of the Fairy]? He thought inwardly. However, since the strangely silent worldsong had already ended, Soren couldn't use it as his target.

A shame… I could have tried another experiment… He wanted to see what would happen if he activated [Eyes of the Fairy] and [Hymns of the Unseen] at the same time. If they were both targeting the same thing, would the information overlap and cause chaos, or would they somehow work together?

Just as he was about to sigh, a sudden jolt of pain spread from his temples to the rest of his skull. He grit his teeth, holding his head tightly.

"What is this…"

The pain continued to increase slowly, unyielding in its torture. Soren was about to drop to the ground when he quickly remembered something.

"[Hymns of the Unseen]! Deactivate… I must deactivate it!"

As the mental command echoed in his mind, Soren quickly felt a rush of relief coursing through him. The pain had subsided…

"Sure enough, no ability of mine comes without its limits…" He shook his head dejectedly—aware that his expectations were far too high.

From his estimates, Soren was now certain he could only handle [Hymns of the Unseen] for about an hour before its negative effects grew substantially. And that time limit will shorten significantly based on what target he had decided to listen to.

With normal, mundane sounds of his surroundings, his estimate was around thirty minutes before the pain would kick in. But for something more spiritually significant like the worldsongs, the time would be cut even shorter, not allowing him to last for more than ten minutes…

I can't forget to mention the side effects of listening to a more mentally draining worldsong… The one he had listened to after his Soul Weapon was successfully upgraded inflicted pain and misery that almost caused his brain to short-circuit.

I'll have to be very careful with my usage of this skill in the future…

Even if its drain on his anima was less significant than the others, simply listening to things added up over time.

With that mental note out of the way, Soren refocused his attention back to The Undying Coil. This worldsong held a very strange description that Soren couldn't really understand.

As he stood up from the flower field and dusted his robes again, Soren glanced down at the bottom of the holographic window. Below the music sheet, a single line of information could also be read:

Worldsong Embodiment: 0.01%

"Point zero one percent? Only?..." Although he wanted to be surprised, the number was still fairly logical. After all, this was a world he had not yet even visited. He had no understanding of its societies, cultures, peoples, history… He didn't even know its name!

Not to mention, the gateway itself was still completely closed, leaving him with no way to actually enter inside…

Sighing, Soren glanced to his left. Three gateways away from the one he was staring at stood the entrance of both Yarian and Earth. Both worlds had strangely shared the same gateway ever since his first arrival here.

I wonder what percentage either of them are at… If he had to guess for Yarian, it would surely be around thirty to forty percent. There were still far too many things for him to learn about. As for Earth, Soren's understanding of his home world had been warped completely. There was no way to really know…

"Let's move on to the second ability…"

[Worldsong Murmurs] had a very strange description. Just like [Hymns of the Unseen], it too was Rank 2, proving his theory that both of his Abstract Runes influence and build upon each other.

"Give form to the world's melody…" He mumbled silently.

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The word 'form' suggested creation. The making of something from nothing.

No, it won't be from nothing… Whatever it creates comes from the existence of the worldsongs.

According to the Blossom Sword Flower, Cantor's Crown has the ability to summon spirits. Soren was certain this ability was tied to that in some way.

"Let's just give it a try…"

Taking a deep breath, Soren closed his eyes and cleared his thoughts. He began creating multiple mental commands based on the description of the skill.

Eventually, he landed on the best one:

The world's melody… Give it form… Shape it… Embue life…

With these thoughts forming in his mind, his Soul Weapon seemed to stir in response. Soren felt an instinct to choose a melody, as if The Records wanted him to select a target.

Since I still haven't really chronicled Yarian's true Worldsong, I'll have to stick with this one…

Truth be told, Soren wasn't very confident. He knew close to nothing about the Undying Coil. Nor did he understand the world it originated from.

Still, this was the only option he had for now.

With the target selected, Soren awaited the skill's activation.

He felt a portion of his Astral Anima being siphoned, which confirmed the skill had worked. However, nothing else really happened…

Soren waited for a few more seconds in silence, unsure of what to expect.

"Just as I thought, my understanding of the worldsong likely needs to be higher…" He shook his head and sighed, ready to move on to other things when suddenly, a strange tremor was felt within the furthest reaches of his mind.

Before he could even form a single thought, a flash of light enveloped his vision as his body began to feel weightless.

What the hell is happening?! For a moment, he considered deactivating the skill. But before he could decide, the infinite light surrounding him shattered to pieces, and with it, his consciousness.

Soren awoke amidst a strange yet terrifying feeling. His body perceived itself differently, as if his arms, legs, neck, fingers, toes, eyes, and mouth had all been morphed into something far more alien and surreal. Even his breathing was strange—there wasn't a nose to siphon in the air. Instead, his skin seemed to absorb it automatically.

What the hell have I become? Where am I? What's happening?! Panic settled in his chest as he tried to examine his surroundings, but his vision was utterly impaired.

Before he could think any further, Soren suddenly felt a change.

His body… it was shaking?...

Vibrations?...

He couldn't make sense of anything, but he for some reason knew instinctively the reverberations were a good thing. Soren decided to focus on them. The rhythm was becoming more and more pronounced.

After a few more seconds, his eyes suddenly opened on their own.

A picturesque scene unfolded before him. A colossal golden hued sky plastered with countless nimbus clouds rolling above the horizon. Awe filled his gaze as he focused in on the strange disk of light in the distance.

Is that… the sun?...

The hollow disk seemed as if it were unmoving, with the land and clouds all orbiting around it. There were strange creatures floating amidst the golden sky, chasing the clouds in the distance.

Where am I… He asked again, but only became more confused. What's more, Soren quickly realized he wasn't in control of his body. It was as if he was simply possessing whatever creature he currently was, witnessing everything through its eyes.

Suddenly, he heard a voice reach him from behind, "XXXXX?"

The words sounded strange yet familiar in other ways, but Soren couldn't recognize them. He stood there, perplexed. What are they saying…

Realizing it was a completely unknown language, he decided to try and activate [Eyes of the Fairy]. He wasn't sure if it would work since his Soul Weapon wasn't currently with him, but he knew he had to try.

Almost instantly, he felt his vision shift on its own, displaying an array of fractals. Indeed, the ability had succeeded!

But strangely, he noticed a few differences from the normal Beyond he had grown used to. The fractals here seemed to hold a more cyclical shape, as if they were all loops. What's more, the pastel colors that flooded his eyes held completely different shades.

Is it really what I think it is…

Is this a different world? The world that the Undying Coil originates from?

Knowing the questions won't answer themselves, Soren cleared his mind and began to issue a target for his ability: the strange language he heard before.

"XXXX… XXXX…"

He continued to observe the words with his mystic eyes until finally, a few things began to click:

"Hear me not? Can it? How…"

The sentences felt jumbled in his mind, but after a few more seconds of listening, he was able to piece it together:

"Venerable? Mind not awoken—time given must be…"

Soren continued to observe the fractals, watching the words slowly manifest in the Beyond. More and more words continued to stream into his mind.

Eventually, the strange creature he was possessing turned to its right, revealing more of the world. It was only then that Soren realized they were actually standing on top of a massive cliff overlooking the clouds.

Sitting at the cliff's edge in front of him was a strangely cloaked old man who donned worn out robes. A bell-shaped helm blocked the sunlight from his eyes, but where one would expect woven reeds, there was only cold, riveted iron. The gaps in its metalwork allowed for slivers of light to pass through, casting an eerie, cage-like shadow across his eyes.

The old man stared back at Soren indifferently, as if pondering over his next steps. For a second, many dark thoughts flashed through his mind. Soren didn't know if he could trust this stranger—his reactions were hard to gauge and understand. He began formulating several plans in case their meeting turned sour.

Suddenly, the man spoke again, his voice husky and deep:

"Take your time. Yeongwon waits for all equally…"

Yeongwon? This was the second time he was hearing this word. Although he couldn't understand what it meant, he was certain it held a lot of significance in this world.

Suddenly, he noticed a small puddle of water right before him. Glancing at his reflection, fear and confusion knotted in his stomach, forcing him to mentally recoil.

Meeting his gaze was not a human face—only a stalk adorned with golden leaves and crowned by a luminous, violet-colored cap. A swarm of butterflies circled above it, weaving a messy halo of light for all to see. Beneath the brim of the cap, two golden eyes burned with terrifying intelligence, staring back at him through the reflection.

Soren stared—the reality crashing down on him:

"A mushroom?! I've become a mushroom?!"