3 Crying Fowl

I open the Limited Abilities Menu and select Acquire Random Standard Class Ability x1. The menu disappears, and a series of colored orbs begin to spin around me. Since this is part of the system, I guess only I can see it, but other than common sense, I have no way to confirm that.

The spinning slows and eventually stops. Most of the orbs are varying shades of red, blue, and yellow, so I'm assuming that they're related to my attributes. One sphere is green, so I check that one out first.

[BETTER LUCKY THAN GOOD. This Art improves the user's Luck. Luck is most effective in situations where skill is lacking. Luck also affects the results of randomness, improving the likelihood that the user's desired result or the result that would best assist the user will come about. This property of Luck can be a double-edged sword, as sometimes what is best for the user runs contrary to their desires.]

Wow, that sounds pretty good. I should check the rest before making a decision, but if this is the level of power I can expect from these, I'm psyched. Let's check this dark blue one next.

[ON YOUR FEET SOLDIER. This Talent allows the user to animate a number of mostly intact corpses as zombie minions. The zombies have little in the way of reasoning ability and require a daily infusion of Mana to maintain their integrity. Still, there is much to be said of an extra set of hands and overwhelming numbers in a fight.]

That sounds gross and smelly. I'm pretty sure zombies are a bad guy thing. I'm already riding that line with Soul Scavenger, and I'm not ready to go full dark. Next up, goldenrod.

[BY THE PRICKING OF MY THUMB. This Art grants the user an innate sense of danger and malicious intent. Ill will is not considered the same as malicious intent. The threat does not need to be directed, and even hazards that affect a large area will alert the user of the general level and direction of the danger. This does not offer any protection from the threat, only an awareness of it.]

That sounds super useful. Like a certain web wielding wall walker. No more ambushes by wayward predators. My habit of being easily distracted wouldn't get me in as much trouble, maybe. It's a strong contender. How about the bright crimson one?

[IT'S JUST A FLESH WOUND. This Art significantly improves and speeds up the recovery abilities of the user's Body. This benefit includes both Health and Vitality. This Art will not regenerate severed limbs.]

Quick, simple, and to the point. I like it. I want it. But do I want it more than the other options? The alternatives could prevent me from being hurt, to begin with. This one is about fixing the potential hurt if those options fail. I think I'll put this one on the back burner. It would be great as a supplemental ability, but I need something more immediate. Next. Rust red.

[HIT ME WITH YOUR BEST SHOT. This Art improves the user's Resilience on a qualitative level, increasing the user's ability to shrug off damage from all physical sources as well as enhancing the other general benefits of the Resilience Attribute.]

This ability is yet another designed to help me avoid taking damage. I think the system is trying to tell me something. This world sounds more dangerous, the more I consider these options. Right now, I'm leaning towards the luck ability. It seems to possess the most, though random, utility. Alright, last one. Pale yellow.

[IT'S THE THOUGHT THAT COUNTS. This Talent gives the user the ability to move objects at a distance using the power of their Mind. Maximum weight, duration, and distance depend on the strength of the user's Mind. The ability can be quite taxing on the user's Esprit. Mastery of this ability comes with practice and a powerful Mind.]

Oh, hell to the yeah! Mine. Select. Select now. I don't have hands, so this is the best thing since having hands. Honestly, I've always wanted this ability. I wonder how far away I'll be able to move objects and how much I'll be able to lift. Oh, I hope it's not something ridiculous, like a twig or a pebble. On the other hand, I hope it is something ridiculous, like a tree or an elephant.

Will I be able to hurl objects with deadly force at my enemies? Why am I thinking about having enemies? Calm down. Let's do this. Select It's The Thought That Counts.

[Are you sure you want to select IT'S THE THOUGHT THAT COUNTS.

[YES/NO

Yes. Big yes.

The orbs all change color to a pale yellow and begin to spin again, increasing the intensity of their glow until they appear to be a solid ring around me. The ring shrinks, closing in around me. I feel like I'm being crushed as the light starts to merge with my body. It becomes hard to breathe, and I'm on the verge of passing out when there is a blinding flash of light, and the pressure disappears.

I gasp. I didn't know crows could gasp, but here I am.

[Congratulations. You have gained the Talent Ability IT'S THE THOUGHT THAT COUNTS.]

Immediately I go to the Talent section of the Abilities menu. Surprisingly, there are two entries.

[WINGED FLIGHT Level 1

[IT'S THE THOUGHT THAT COUNTS level 1

I thought there would be a more thorough explanation now that it is my ability, but instead, I just got the same description as before. Strength of Mind. Practice, practice, practice. Blah, blah, blah. Oh well, I guess the best way to learn is to do in this case.

I look around and see a broken branch almost directly below me on the ground. It's a perfect target for my first attempt. If it is like using a muscle, then I should be able to just think about lifting the stick, and it'll happen. I hope I don't have to go to the Ability menu to select an ability to use. That would make using skills in combat practically suicide.

I focus on the stick. It's bigger than me, probably twice or three times my weight. I can only hope that since I was human once that my Mind is still as powerful as a human Mind. How strong is a human Mind is a question I'd prefer not to ask. I will the branch to rise. Slowly warm energy flows out of me centered around my head, and the stick lifts off from the ground. I attempt to smile before realizing that I'm a bird, and my beak lacks expressive muscles.

I don't let that get me down, though. I have a goddamned superpower, and it is fantastic. I move the branch around below me for several minutes testing the limitations of how far I can move it before a wave of exhaustion nearly knocks me out of the tree and the branch falls to the ground. What the hell? I check my status and identify the issue immediately.

[ESPRIT: 0/27

I guess that explains it. It was less than five minutes before I ran out of juice. It probably would have been smart to check what my Esprit was at before using my ability, so that I could get an accurate measure of what I can do, but honestly, I was too excited to think about something boring like that.

I'm really exhausted at this point and after a brief moment of worrying about whether I'll fall off the branch, I drift off to slumber for who knows how long.

When I wake up, I'm relieved to find that I'm still in the tree. It's strange to feel relieved to still be a bird in a tree, but here we are. Better than being dead I suppose. I'm not sure how long I slept but the sun is still up but approaching the horizon. I check my status and the only one that is still not full is my Health which is still at six out of nine. I guess I haven't rested long enough to recover from the beating I got fighting the fox. Maybe I should have taken that healing ability, but then I wouldn't have my super cool mind powers.

I want to practice, but I don't want to wear myself out again so soon. I realize then, that I have those ten Free Attribute Points to spend. I wonder how high I can buy my attributes? I'm sure there is a limit. I need a user manual for the system. I decide I want to increase my Intellect since that relates to learning and improving my abilities, so I go to the Attribute menu where I see a new indicator.

[FREE STANDARD ATTRIBUTE POINTS: 10

I enter the Mind menu and select the plus sign next to Intellect Attribute.

[Congratulations. Intellect increased from 2 to 3.

I hit it again.

[Congratulations. Intellect increased from 3 to 4.

I figure I'll move Intellect to five points and then add a few to Agility, Resilience, Endurance, and Strength. Those seem like the best options to survive this bird eat fox world. I click once more on the Intellect plus sign.

[Failed. Insufficient Standard Attribute Points to improve Intellect. Please select a different Attribute.

Come again? I have ten points and I only put two points into Intellect so far. I back out to the main Attribute menu.

[FREE STANDARD ATTRIBUTE POINTS: 3

What? Where did the other points go? I didn't have to think for too long to figure out the basics. Each rank cost the number of points you were buying to. I bought the third level of Intellect for three points and the fourth level for four points. This is why I said I needed an instruction manual.

I sigh. There is no point in getting upset. I'm in the learning mode and I've been pretty lucky as far as this is concerned. I think the goddess placed me in a relatively safe area. It's not like I've seen rampaging monsters or anything. This is a place to practice and learn the steps.

Alright, I have enough points to move one of my attributes from two to three. I choose Agility for speed, accuracy, and reflex improvement. Once I finish I back out of the Attribute menu and notice something interesting.

[ESPRIT: 30/30

My Esprit has increased by three points. the exact number of points I increase my Mind Attributes by. Good to know.

My stomach growl. I take off and fly around the forest to look for food. I occasionally land on a branch... badly, but I'm getting better. My ribs still hurt though the pain is less than I expected it to be. I see a tree with acorn-like nuts and fly over. I land on a branch- still badly- and pull an acorn free from a cluster. The frigging shell is more trouble than the nut is worth.

The light is starting to get dim. I can still see fine, but I can tell that dusk is upon us, when I hear a skittering sound from the ground below. Several chipmunk-like creatures are rustling around eating the sprouting nut seeds from the ground below. The bird in me says that these little critters are good eating. I guess it's time to test my mind powers again.

First off, let's see if I can just drag one of those little critters up to me. I reach out with my mind and try to snatch one from the ground. It works... sorta. the effort is significantly greater than lifting the much heavier stick that I practiced with earlier and I can only hold it for a few seconds before it starts to break free. I redouble my efforts and yank it up to me.

I'm able to press it against the trunk and with a lot more brutality than I thought I was capable of, I pierce its chest with my beak, killing it instantly. The small golden orb rises from its chest and I swallow it. I check my system.

[Defeated Lesser Chipmunk. Gained 3 EXP.

[Used SOUL SCAVENGER. Gained 4 EXP. Gained 4 CARRION COINS.

I also check my Esprit reserves as I'm already feeling fatigued from just those few seconds. It wasn't even thirty seconds from beginning to end but I burned through a third of my Esprit. I guess unresisting targets are easier to deal with than resisting ones. Or maybe it's all living targets? I'll experiment later. For now, it's dinner time.