The Disciple Of Aoide

"My grace, I surrender to thee this musical instrument of mythical quality." Arthur sacrificed the staff that he looted from the zombie general to Aiode. Since he was not able to utilize it himself, perhaps he would be able to find an alternative use for it by sacrificing it to his patroness.

Soon, the goddess' voice appeared in Arthur's headspace. "Interesting, this should be the Bell of Hailing Soul. It's a ceremonial instrument commonly used in Daoist practice to summon the souls of the dearly departed back to the world of the living."

This was not the first time Arthur had heard the goddess but even so, he still had problem getting used to the power inherent in her voice. This was amplified by the fact that sea of voices that surrounded Arthur rock and boil with the cadence of her every word. Aoide's voice was moving the very structure of the Voice Library.

The content of Aoide's words was actually lost on Arthur. The young man was not familiar with culture that was beyond his own. Daoist was a term that he had heard for the first time in his life. Based on the context, it sounded like a type of religion. In any case, Arthur felt generally happy because from the sound it, the goddess was interested in his humble sacrifice.

However, what the goddess said next stopped his good feeling right in its track. "Unfortunately, even though the bells are of mythical quality, they come in sets and this is not the first one in my private collection." A trace of dissatisfaction was laced through her voice.

This worried the young man. He was familiar with the divine's capricious nature. They could smile at one moment and turn angry the next. Perhaps the goddess might punish him for wasting her time, summoning her to sacrifice something that she already had. Divine punishment was not something that could be bore by anyone.

"However, let it be known that I am a person of my word. Since I've promised to reward you, my disciple, for the sacrifice of musical instruments so it shall be done. Hard work shall always be rewarded. Furthermore, there are many musical instruments of similar nature in this world. If you have to avoid repetition, not much sacrifice can be made."

Arthur was surprised that the goddess was showing such a degree of understanding. He was lucky to have found her in a good mood. She could be cruel or kind without any sense of reason, after all, divine behavior could not be perceived via human comprehension.

"Since this is the first time this has happened, I shall heed my promise and reward you with a new power to utilize the Magic of Voice. However, if this happens again, things shall be different."

The goddess only mentioned that 'things shall be different', she did not specify how it would be different. Maybe she might punish Arthur for sacrificing to her repeated items. Therefore, the young man asked for specification.

"Of course, it shall be a reward." After a moment's pause, the sweet voice asked in a dark tone, "My disciple, do you suspect that I will maltreat your hard work? Do you have such little faith in your patron?"

"Of course not! I'm just asking for clarification," Arthur quickly explained.

There was a silvery laugh that followed Arthur's answer. The young man had no way of telling whether that meant the goddess was joking with him or there was other meaning. It was already difficult for Arthur to read a mortal woman's mind, to have him read the mind of a goddess, that was simply impossible.

Arthur could only take what Aoide said at face value and placed his trust in her.

"Enjoy your new power and spread the glory of thy voice…" Aoide disappeared and Arthur found himself alone at the Voice Library.

Arthur did some self-reflection and he had a feeling that he was swindled by Aoide. It was not even his fault that the goddess already possessed the bell in her collection. There was no way he would have known something like that.

Instead of a guaranteed new power, now he would get something else when he sacrificed a musical instrument that happened to be of similar nature to the items in his patroness' collection. Of course, there was a chance that the something else would be better than a new power but Arthur seriously doubted it. In any case, he would need to find such a musical instrument before he could tell for sure.

At the end of the day, Arthur would still benefit from his discipleship to Aoide. He only stood to gain. He would still get stronger from his devotion to Aoide but perhaps the rate of growth would be slower compared to before. That was ultimately not that bad of a deal.

[Double Vocalization]

Power Details: Enable the Voice User to employ two channels of vocalization at the same time.

Arthur was in a gleeful mood after he read the description. This was a very useful power. He could already think of many useful ways he could make use of this skill in combat.

Arthur eventually exited the Voice Library and when the young man opened his eyes, he was surprised by the discovery that he chanced upon before him.