by Joe Kuster
Kallista snorted. “Because it’s a fucking useless talent compared to the divine insight Serina gave us.”
“Huh? Useless? The Duchess knew I was a Breeze Dancer and asked me about it,” TJ replied.
Abby suggested, “Master, ze fact she had to ask you what zat meant highlights why it is considered a poor talent choice in comparison. She had ze words, but no context.”
Kallista added, “Most of the time, pedants only see what they think they know or suspect. It just converts their thoughts to numbers. See a big guy with muscles, and it tells them he has high strength. Their divine might add something if they spend even more boons to improve it, but it can be wrong or filled with crap that would only matter on other realms.”
“So… I’m not getting why that’s a bad talent other than they might have gotten something else instead,” TJ said.
Kalli laughed. “For fuck’s sake, birdbrain, Serina talks to us directly. You’ve got no fucking clue how rare that is. Think about it. An actual goddess drops everything else they are doing to hang out and ask about our day, or whispers to us if something important is going on that we need to know about. If she’s not available, our magic guides us in ways that are a lot better than reading some weird shit in the air. If their divines gave a damn about them, they’d do the same, but it’s less work for their patron and means they don’t have to deal with their followers’ day-to-day bullshit.”
TJ frowned. He’d never thought of the gut feelings his magic gave him as a talent, but he supposed it made sense. Still, he wasn’t entirely convinced.
Trying to illustrate her point, Kallista continued, “Dunno about you, but I knew that big dude was a divine champion without spending the time to whip out a skill and analyze him. The nudges and insight we get from divine guidance are like intuition, but… better. There are plenty of ways of fooling pedantry. Even giving a false name when giving an offering at a temple can screw it up. For a lark, I did that, and for over a year, I showed up as Melody on their scan thing.”
“Remember when Serina told you to go clean out that goblin nest?” Bethany asked. “She told you exactly where to go and where the spell was hidden. Someone like Gerald with the pedantry skill would just have some vague text telling them to find the goblins or something. It might have taken you days just to find the cave, and then you’d still have had to find the hidden spell. For me, she told me exactly where you were and how to find you after the battle.”
“Ask yourself this, TJ: Would anything you’ve done be easier if you knew the numbers involved? We become faster and stronger. Our skills grow; you feel it, as we all do. Would you like to do mental math just to know if you could cast a spell? Do you need to see a spell list to know what you can cast? More importantly, would having text in front of you at any point have changed what you’d have done?” Rachel asked.
TJ mulled it over, then shook his head.
“There you go. Don’t overthink it, husband,” she replied.
TJ pivoted in his saddle to begin the next part of their journey but paused as a large insect zipped into view. It dashed back and forth as it followed the roadway, then shifted trajectory, zooming their way. As it closed in, he realized it wasn't a bug, but instead something he hadn’t seen in this realm yet.
The fairy came to a screeching halt only inches from his face. She was blonde, fair-skinned, and wore a silvery plant leaf as a dress.
She bowed then spoke in a tiny fluttery voice, “Ah, there you are! Greetings, Count Skyridge. I am Lulu Lemonfall, messenger of the Solar Grove. I carry a missive from your King. As your royal quest, he is sending you on a diplomatic mission to the north. The full details and your ambassadorial seal are available with the harbormaster at the port of Norwich. He beseeches you to—”
A shadowy tentacle shot out in a movement too fast to follow and ripped the fairy from the air. TJ looked down in horror to see Faith crunching on Lulu’s mangled body. With a solid gulp, the cat swallowed the remains.
What?
She was tasty.
TJ looked slowly side to side, making sure they were alone, then asked, “So… we’re just going to pretend that didn’t happen, right? Right?”
Thank you, reader!
I hope you enjoyed reading Lightfoot. If you enjoyed it and want to see more stories of TJ, Rachel, Abby, and Kallista’s adventures, please leave a review! Every review or rating helps me out more than you’d guess, so it’s incredibly appreciated.
[Angry Meowing]
No! Not that, please! I just bought those curtains!
[Sounds of fabric being shredded]
[Pained gasps]
And Faith! Don’t forget about Faith! Our… lovely shadowcat, who deserves to be worshiped and in no way is keeping me hostage.
[Mutters under breath] Frigging little demon…
[Angry hiss]
[Crashing of furniture]
Ack! Not the eyes! Not the eyes!
Found a typo, or want to know when the next books will be released? Hit me up at: [email protected] or report it directly here: https://f8s.link/ReportATypo
My Facebook Group that’s full of early chapters, artwork, IT security stuff, intelligent debate among brilliant readers, and me posting lots of stupid memes:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/joekuster
I’m also very active over at:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/haremlit/
If you’d like to support the book series further, my Patreon site is at: https://www.patreon.com/joekuster
Other authors you might like
William D. Arand – Maintains an epic level interwoven universe that ranges from far-flung Sci-Fi, high fantasy, to urban fantasy detective series. SSOSH and Fostering Faust are a few of my favorites and well worth a look.
Daniel Schinhofen – Manages to take the VR simulation and transported to another world genre to another level with characters that have incredible depth. If you are looking for a slower pace slice of life with a lot more emotional connection, anything he writes is worth looking at.
Prax Venter – Possibly some of the most innovative, and smutty, takes on the immersion VR and artificial intelligence. One moment, it’s sci-fi, the next, it’s full high fantasy realms, then post-apocalyptic, then off to starships. You wouldn’t think it’d work, but it does, so check out Enthralled if you haven’t. You might find it “meaty.”
Special thanks to
Editors
Adam Loupa
Original Character Art
Alice Voit
https://www.artstation.com/elistraie
Alpha Readers, Beta Readers, & Advanced Readers
Ryan Cranfill
Douglas Grimes
Blaine Hopkins
Pete Kujath
Dennis Palsson
Jesse McGillen
Ian Brownson
John Milster
Aric Schroeder
Ron Gailey
Dean Robb
John Brandon
Patreon Followers (Wetware & Up)
Yitzhak Brill
Jeremy Bowman
Michael T. Swisher
Josh Seda
Beau Bryant
Nyx Wylder
Chris Edwards
David Taylor-Fuller
Milksteak
HamboneTX
kopf
pheonixblue
Chris
Paul Barron
Release Version 1.2