Being a frog is weird.

I mean, the whole wisp thing was weird too, but it was also surprisingly intuitive. I didn't have to get used to limbs I wasn't familiar with, and moving around was as easy as thinking about it. This is considerably less easy.

I did figure out how to swim, in the end, between large amounts of trial and error as well as a half-remembered documentary on amphibians I'd watched years ago, so at least I'm not totally immobile, but it's still wildly disorienting.

For one thing, frog eyes are wildly different than human eyes. Who knew! That is bringing up an interesting point, though. My wisp form didn't have eyes at all, but I was seeing just fine. Was that a result of that skill I had, what was it called... Um...

Awareness! That was it-- Whoa.

Suddenly, I can see everything around me, just like before. The murky water, the occasional fish- Is that one glowing- not important. What is important is that I can see the frog I'm possessing too, and it's leaking a very familiar glowy mist out of its mouth and eyes, which is starting to condense into a ball in front of it. Huh. I guess the description I got did say this skill had a limited duration, didn't it.

I wonder what happens when it- Oh. The last bit of mist comes out of the frog, and I am once again a tennis ball sized orb of mist. Also, I'm underwater.

The frog goes limp, starting to drift towards the surface, but I barely register it, much more preoccupied by the sudden feeling of wrongness as water seeps into me.

|Warning: Continued saturation of soul-infused water will result in one or more of the following; Complete loss of personhood, subsumption of the body into the Worldswell directly followed by assimilation and dismantling of the mind by [REDACTED], and direct ascension to the Third State of Corruption.|

That... Sounds bad. I quickly float the the surface, breathing a mental sigh of relief as the feeling dissipates. I should make a mental note not to try and go swimming in the future. It doesn't seem like it affects me while I'm possessing something, but I don't want to risk 'assimilation and dismantling of the mind' if I can help it.

The system had said 'soul-infused water,' but it looks pretty normal to me. I risk floating a little closer, and stare deeply into the water, trying to catch a glimpse of anything out of the ordinary. Nothing at first, but then... Holy crap. Did I just see a face?

|Awareness branch skill unlocked: Spirit Sense 1- Allows the user to see things others cannot.|

Oh, awesome, I got another skill!

I look away from the pop-up, and the slight giddiness from the achievement fades. The water has turned into a writhing mass of pale faces, mouths opening in silent speech as they fight to near the surface.

...Why???

After a few horror-stricken moments staring vacantly at the horror movie-worthy tableau, I realize that if I can toggle Awareness, it seems pretty likely I can turn this off too. Um... Spirit Sense off?

...Oh thank god.

Wait, never mind, we're not on speaking terms after the whole 'you are now a will o' wisp in the haunted swamp level from an RPG' stunt.

Thank the system! Thank you, system.

|You are welcome, user.|

...Huh.

I eventually regain my courage and turn Spirit Sense back on, bracing myself against the sight of the face-filled water. My guess is that if I keep it on, it'll level up, and I'm pretty interested in seeing what happens after I get all ten level ups I need to evolve.

|Spirit Sense level Up!|

Speak of the devil. Guess this means I was right, then.

A roar echoes through the swamp just then, loud enough that it seems like it should shake the ground. It sounds frustrated more than angry, although I'm not sure how I can tell, and I'm not sure what I should do. Should I run, or try and see what's happening?

The source of the noise decides that for me, bursting through the tall grass with a crackle of fire. A huge lioness wreathed in black smoke. She gives me a narrow look, stalking closer as I back up subconsciously.

"Can you understand me, spirit?" The voice is feminine but rough, halfway into a growl.

The lioness tilts her head, and it strikes me that she's the one talking, somehow. I give a little bob that's as close as I can manage to a nod, and she lets out a relieved sigh.

"I would not do this if I did not have to, but circumstances have forced my hand. I would like to make a bargain with you, spirit. I will bestow my power upon you, and in return you will act as guardian and caretaker for my children."

|Smoke Shadow 'Black Flame Lioness' would like to enter a contract with you following the stated terms. Accept?|

Oh! Um, yes.

The screen disappears, and the lioness nods in satisfaction before turning back the way she came from.

"Follow me, I will take you to my nest."

I do as she says, and after a few minutes of silent trekking, we arrive at a thick patch of tall grass, in the center of which is a nest woven of the same substance containing two white eggs. I stare.

Lions are mammals, right?

Apparently unbothered by the blatant violation of the laws of biology, the lioness nods at me again.

"Take care of them, please."

And with that, she fades into a puff of smoke.

O...K...

I'm now babysitting a nest of lion eggs, whose mother has just turned into smoke after asking me to raise her children for her. System, what gives?

|You have been in contact with a Smoke Shadow, a type of ghost left behind after the death of a fire elemental monster.|

Oh. Right, I have Spirit Sense. I guess she probably couldn't find anyone else that could see her, huh.

That makes a little more sense. But still.

I look at the eggs. Upon closer inspection, I can see a glow coming from inside them, like a lit candle shining opposite a piece of paper.

What am I supposed to do with these? 

ElectronicStars

Our main character here makes getting Spirit Sense look considerably easier than it would be for most, since one of its prerequisites is Awareness 10, which is pretty much exclusive to the monsters that get it as an inborn skill, and the other is that you have to be looking directly at some kind of spirit as you try to get it, which is very tricky to manage if you don't already know where one is.