NOVEL NEXT Chapter 51: Seagull
I, Viserys, came to this world with three goals: ride a dragon, ride a dragon, and ride a dragon! But currently, I don't even have a dragon egg, and the Magic Tidal Wave is still a few years away. Becoming a Skinchanger is a very good alternative.
The Stark children can control direwolves and roam the wilderness. Some of the wildlings Beyond the Wall also possess this talent. Imagine invading the body of an eagle and feeling the power of the wind firsthand. In this era, such a talent is invaluable for a general. It's like having constant battlefield awareness, eliminating the fog of war. This is mastery at its finest.
But I can't yet invade an eagle, so I have to start with a tadpole. The lower the intelligence and the less developed the brain, the easier the animal is to invade. So, I chose the tadpole. It probably doesn't even have a developed brain, just a few nerves.
'Master, you have to imagine that you have entered the target's consciousness. Imagination is very important.'
Staring at the tadpole in the basin, I conjured up the experience Kyla had described. I imagined the sound of water flowing in my ears and that I had entered the basin. Suddenly, my eyes rolled back, and I slumped to the ground. The next moment, I realized my vision had become extremely poor. There was only faint light and shadow in front of me, and a slight sound of water flowing around me. There was no sound at all when I moved through the water.
"I did it!" I was excited to realize I had entered the body of the tadpole. I wiggled my tail and swam around the basin. I barely felt the basin walls when I touched them, indicating the tadpole's nervous system was not well developed.
After the initial excitement, the limited vision and poor sensory feedback became boring and unsettling. To return to my body, I had to imagine it. I pictured myself sitting on the sofa. Soon, my eyes returned to normal, and I moved my body—Viserys again.
I opened my panel. My Constitution was now almost 87.9. In ten days or so, I would reach 90, giving me a better chance of winning the tournament.
'What should I name the sword if I win it?' I wondered.
Lost in thought for a moment, Viserys continued to review his other attributes:
Spirit: 100
Health: 77
Magic: 27.9
Thanks to his continuous chanting of the Moonsingers' songs, Viserys's spirit was the first attribute to reach 100. It seemed to be the upper limit, as if restricted by something invisible. He had no idea what it was.
His magic value had also increased significantly, from a dozen points initially to nearly 30 now. The Moonsingers' songs were indeed useful. He had planned to visit the Moonsingers' Temple for higher-level chants or the Temple of the Lord of Light for something like a "Song of Fire," but various events had prevented him from doing so. He'd have to find another time. For now, he knew the value of these things and didn't need to worry.
"It seems that magic is consumed during warging. So, it costs magic as well," Viserys mused, glancing at his stats. Sure enough, a new skill had appeared:
Skinchanger: Beginner (12/100)
He smirked, then looked at his other skills and started reallocating points. He hadn't improved his swordsmanship recently, so his other skills had naturally gained a lot of proficiency. After nearly ten minutes of clicking, Viserys had accumulated more than 600 points of general proficiency.
Skinchanger: Proficient (142/1000)
As his Skinchanger skill improved, Viserys felt a deeper understanding of consciousness invasion. A small tadpole was no longer sufficient for him. He got up and walked to the small nest behind the door, where a wounded seagull that had nearly recovered was resting. He had found it at the pier, its leg broken by a child's stone. He had brought it back, nursed it, and developed a bond with it.
As mentioned in the original tales, the ease of consciousness invasion is related to the closeness between humans and animals. Initially, the seagull, nicknamed 'Fries,' had been resistant to Viserys. It was a free seagull, resistant to being tamed. However, food and shelter had softened its stance. Now, as soon as Viserys approached, the seagull nuzzled its head close to him, allowing him to stroke it.
"Little seagull, I'm coming in!"
Viserys soon entered the seagull's body—well, his consciousness did.
Viserys looked at his own fallen body and thought, 'Damn, I'm so handsome! A beautiful face in the prime of life!' After admiring himself, he tried to take a few steps around the room. Because of his smaller size, the room now seemed much larger, transforming from a standard bedroom into a small theater.
He instinctively spread his wings, feeling the power of the wind lift him. His body soared into the air, the white figure hovering in the room. What had once felt spacious now seemed a bit cramped from this new perspective.
Viserys, now in the seagull's body, landed safely on the window sill and looked out at the sky. It was clear and blue, with white clouds floating by and a few birds flying overhead. The sight made him feel happy and relaxed.
"The sky! I'm coming!"
He flapped his wings, jumped forward, and his body drew a white arc in mid-air, then shot straight up into the sky.
"Wow~ Take off!"
He squawked, feeling exhilarated. It was like the first time Tony Stark put on the Mark One suit. The power to fly into the sky and dive to the ground made him feel invincible.
After ascending a few hundred meters, Viserys looked down and saw Braavos from a bird's-eye view for the first time. Though it was called the "City of a Thousand Islands," most were just small rocks and mounds. The city was primarily composed of four larger islands. He saw the Long Canal that ran through Braavos and the white Temple of the Moonsingers.
He continued to fly, passing the three great houses, the blue Sealord's Palace, and the red-rocked Temple of the Lord of Light. The sights flashed by beneath him.
"Aegon the Conqueror, is this what you saw?" he murmured, flying towards the Titan of Braavos. A journey that would normally take nearly two hours by carriage or boat took him less than twenty minutes. He flew straight up to the top of the giant statue.
The gray-green statue's face was blurred, likely due to its immense height and lack of maintenance. Viserys soon arrived at the top, where a few seagulls were cooing as if conversing.
One of the seagulls noticed him and moved closer. 'This seagull is so annoying,' Viserys thought. 'Wait, could it be that I am... a female seagull?'
He glanced down at the seagull, then flapped his wings and flew away. However, the seagull seemed particularly fond of him and followed closely behind.