I nodded at Trai, who pouted as I stepped back from ambushing her. I'd finally made the progress I was looking for, and I quickly thanked her as I turned my attention to the [System] notification.
[Skill: Soundless Stealth; This is a Skill of one whose control over sonic waves allows them to manipulate how far sonic waves can travel from their current position. Through the use of sonic magic, all sound within a certain radius will be dampened according to the will of the Skill's holder. In order to extend the effective radius, the Skill's holder can expend more of their sonic magic to do so. This Skill cannot evolve, but it can be enhanced.]
Every [Skill] I'd gotten recently had that same caveat, that it couldn't evolve. Why was that?
❮❮ This is a bit more complicated, so I'll explain this way. Don't want to break your little mortal mind. The evolution of Skills is rather uncommon, and tends to be reserved for Skills gained by more monstrous individuals. As you have ascended closer and closer to Keel, the Skills you gain have been more "personlike". If a keelish, or Kha as you now call them, were to work to gain this Skill, they probably would gain, instead of Soundless Stealth, Inaudible Hunter. There certainly is a reason for it, but nobody truly understands why the System decides to delineate what it does where it does. I think that some of the Administrative Body have put most of their effort into understanding the System, but it's neither here nor there for me. ❯❯
With that deluge of information, I sent a quick prayer of thanks to Nievtala. She sent another message about the eggs, something that she did at least once a week. She was almost scarily invested in them, but I supposed, given that my father and mother in this life had certainly died in the escape from the Veratocracy, I supported the idea of a divine grandmother caring for my children. The three eggs shifted a little, and I continued to visit them daily to enliven them with [Nurturing Enunciation].
One day, as I did so, I got a welcome [System] notification.
[Skill: Nurturing Enunciation has evolved to Skill: Cultivating Presence.]
[Skill: Cultivating Presence; a skill granted to those whose mastery of using sonic magic to influence and bless the most vulnerable and weak has grown beyond the limitations of Nurturing Enunciation. Those whose development is assisted and guided by Cultivating Presence will gain additional Stats, Skills, Titles, and other benefits beyond those granted by Nurturing Enunciation. The benefits of Cultivating Presence will seep more completely into the affected individuals' cores, lasting for much longer without need for constant reapplication of the Skill's effects. Cultivating Presence will remain effective on any selected individuals until they have reached adulthood. Note: this Skill can only be used on fetuses, infants, and juveniles. This Skill cannot evolve, but it can be enhanced.]
Another instance of a [Skill] that the [System] considered to be more "personlike" than the one that came before. Looking at the description, it didn't seem to have any notable difference, besides how much longer it lasted and the potency of the [Skill] itself. So was the difference that the "people" just had better [Skills] because they didn't evolve as much? Or was it something else entirely? The more I thought about it, the more frustrated I got, until finally I just gave up thinking about it. If there wasn't going to be any real answer, and even if I had the answer, there wasn't anything I could do about it, then I wasn't going to worry about it.
❮❮ That is why I said what I said. Attempting to understand the System is the duty of those foolish and deluded enough to think that they can understand a superior entity. When they were mortals, they could not understand the gods, and now that they are gods, they cannot understand the System. That is the way that the universe works. ❯❯
"What you're saying is…" I trailed off. "Never mind. As you said, I don't understand. Chances are, I never will, and even if I do, it'll only be at the time that doesn't matter to me now."
You begin to understand.
Nievtala's approval and humor washed over me, and even though I continued to grow stronger and more accustomed to her presence, it pushed me to do something else that she'd enjoy, something else that would fill me with this same mirth. I tamped down the feeling and instead focused on my present. There were dozens of things that actively mattered to me and my people, the most pressing of which being dealing with how to deal with the incoming Misti Hawar attack, which could be coming any time in the next months or even weeks.
I pushed my thoughts of reasons for how the [System] worked away. Instead, I looked around myself and took in the preparations underway. Sticks set up to loudly break when something seemingly unrelated was moved, small triplines or holes to cause sound or just inconvenience to whoever passed, and clearing the forest more completely in the direct line of sight from the walls. Tar had said that the Misti Hawar kept the exact function of their magic as a secret, but that it kept them hidden from view. I couldn't help but wonder if they had something in common with the shadow wyrms, but there was no way to tell, and if Tar had knowledge of the real function of our latest enemies' magic, he let on no such inclination.
"Cut this brush down completely. We can use it on something else, but as it is, it's a hazard that could allow the Misti Hawar to approach."
Similar commands echoed around New Nievtra, while within, the walls were reinforced and homes were constructed. The ants had grown more and more active, but with three different Kou'Tal Keel, we had enough people to keep the entrance within the bounds of the city from erupting. I was conflicted with having to dedicate as much time and effort as we had to the insects, especially since it required a Keel to be there effectively full time. The Keel numbers had climbed to 32, but it was slowing. Most were from my swarm, with a couple exceptions like Chjell, and those who hadn't been through all that I had weren't showing any signs of ascending.
Interestingly, it seemed like Speaking the Second of the Words, "Through the tempering of the sacrifice of our lives are we completed" was the Phrase my people seemed to struggle most with. In retrospect, most of my people hadn't had the opportunity to have that as an option recently. We were living too safely, too stagnant. They didn't need to sacrifice anything more than sleep.
That reality had me grinding my teeth, but the time was nigh at hand for them to prove themselves. Perhaps a fight, a true war for survival, would provide the impetus for their evolution.
With that on my mind, I walked into the city's walls where I would work on my spear handling. After all, even though it came naturally to me, couldn't I get a [Skill] related to it?