“Give him a blessing anyway? Well I doubt…Although perhaps a…”

The goddess trailed off in her thoughts. Perhaps she thought of a solution to my problem. Just like Thoth had. Maybe this would be like one of those stories with a surprise power given as an exception to the rule which makes me overpowered. Yes, that’s what I want. Extreme power and then –

“I cannot guarantee any traits will form,” Ulla stated, finally joining us into her self-discussion. “Generally skills are condensed from the mana of varying affinities accumulated by the bestowal target. My guess would be a physical magic or perhaps some spacetime magic…although …Alright, let’s give it a shot and see what we end up with shall we?”

Perhaps she had gotten used to talking to herself as she drifted off in thought once again. Moreover I had absolutely no idea what she was talking about. But I still gave a quick nod acknowledging whatever her efforts might have been.

“Yes. Please,” I said with determination. Hoping I would receive something good.

“Then,” Ulla said, raising her hands in a gesture which made it look like she were playing table football. “I shall attempt the bestowal. Don’t get your hopes too high. I have no idea if the traits will stick.”

As her hands raised, I felt constrained. As if my body were constricting, condensing. It was the opposite to the feeling when Thoth filled me with energy. This time, my energy was being condensed. Hopefully into a trait.

I saw myself glowing slightly. Like a light were shining up through my skin.

When the constriction stopped a few seconds later a new sensation took its place. Like a breath of air caught inside my brain ready to be exhaled.

“It…It worked! I believe it was a success,” Ulla said, pleased with her actions. “I am truly surprised it took. You must still have some of Thoth’s magic. Although I cannot imagine it to be much.”

I again felt like I was being insulted, rather than praised. Still I was grateful to have something I could use to improve myself. I would be terrible if I made Bella do something like this by herself.

“Thank you,” I said graciously bowing to the goddess.

“I wonder what you were able to acquire,” she said, almost as curious as I felt. “Let’s see.”

With a wave of her hand, floating text appeared before her. It was backwards to me, but I could still make out the words

[Interpretation]

<Catalog>

<Study>

<Insight>

“Wow,” Ulla proclaimed.

Wow? Did I get something amazing? Am I going to be super strong? Will I be a hero after all?

“I can’t believe the traits actually took! And you received an ability too. Excellent.”

Now I was getting excited as she nodded clearly pleased with herself.

“Oh right!” she said. “Sorry. According to my findings you have gained a language ability, and three researching-type traits.”

I can see them you know. It’s not like the text is all that hard to read backwards. I just want to know what they mean. Still, researching traits seemed like a perfect fit for me.

“I’m glad you were able to get a translation ability,” Ulla said. “Without it you would not have been able to understand anything being said in Praecantio. With it you should understand the speech of any Praecantian language.”

All those hours spent learning German and now I can just speak and understand every language in an entire world. I wasn’t sure if I should be excited or hurt. I sort of felt a combination of the two.

“Now as to your three traits,” Ulla continued. “As I said, all three are research-based traits…I wonder if that has something to do with Thoth’s magic? Usually, traits form around a person’s affinities, interests and personalities.”

“Well, Elliot likes to study a lot too,” Bella chimed in, “Researching is one of his favorite past-times.”

The way she said that …

“I see,” Ulla stated as her head bobbed. “That explains it then. All three traits seem to be focused on researching. You have <Catalog> which will help you naturally remember and group things in your memory, <Study> which should provide a natural boost to your retention of information, and <Insight> which should allow your perceptions and understanding to improve slightly. There are some redundancies, but overall it’s better than nothing.”

Better than nothing? Isn’t this like some EXP boosting stuff? Shouldn’t that mean I can grow really fast?

Curious, I decided to ask. “Shouldn’t the research skills help me grow faster than normal?” I asked. “Isn’t that really good?”

“Well,” Ulla said, scrunching her face, “Yes and no. The boosting effects are proportional to your mana and mana affinities. With less mana accumulated you will have less effect. But there will still be some natural effects and it should grow over time.”

“Now for your bestowal, my dear hero,” Ulla chimed almost as if she were trying to hastily move on from my disappointment.

Ulla raised her hands again. This time her gesture was made with all of her fingers extended. Her pinkies separated from the other three and her hands connected at the tip of her thumbs. Perhaps a sign of a different blessing.

With a deep breath, Ulla began to radiate a vividly intense light. A glow you would expect from a goddess of light, brilliant and encompassing. Too bright to look at, I turned my head quickly to avoid being blinded. When she began to fade and I could again open my eyes, Bella began to glow. Gently at first, but then with increasing brilliance.

Bella began shining like the sun. A yellow light still too bright for my eyes. She continued to glow for nearly a minute, as I kept by eyes fully averted.

Finally, the light subsided, and I looked back to see Bella. Streams of glistening light flowing down her golden yellow hair. On her forehead rested a double-banded golden tiara adorned with a single blue gemstone glowing lightly at its center.