บท 12: Chapter 3.7 - Scion of Change

Serin was confused, as he looked over Olma's plate. All of her status, especially her physical stats, were entirely too high for a level 1 changeling.

Bilol then laughed, "Since no other changeling has claimed you, after three moons, Olma's claim was staked. This is not as much tradition as it is old magic."

Serin then looked at Bilol, "As much as i would like to pull that thread and discuss what that means, we will wait. That doesn't explain why she gained such increases in her Stats."

Bilol explained, "The two are intertwined, I promise. Olma received the magic of her claim while you were asleep from the dragon attack. Since this was something that had never happened in recent history, it caused a bit of an uproar. Within a few hours every single changeling had learned of it. They had learned that Olma was [Beholden] to you. "

Serin then asked, "What happened next?" Bilol kind of grew a little ashen, which Serin realized was their race blushing.

"I can answer." was the reply from Sakina. Serin recognized her as the recently plated Entomancer under Peter. She had accompanied the representatives to provide the missing details.

"Peter heard that Olma was [Beholden] and assumed it was like the pairing rite of his people. So seeing as you are his best friend, he wanted to surprise the couple with a gift." Serin still didn't understand. "What was the gift?" Sakina also blushed, "He didn't think you would take a gift from him, so he asked me what the best gift to give a changeling was. I explained how we grew stronger with each new creature we defeat and the greatest gift he could give Olma was a chance to battle and fight different creatures. So, as a gift, he summoned one of every deadly creature from within the limit of his power, and put on fights between them and Olma."

Serin stood shocked. "Olma ate bugs?" Serin knew there were some bugs that could be scary, but he had no idea.

"They were all properly bound by Peter. A Flame spewing beetle, Flesh eating giant leech, giant centipede, and an emperor scorpion to name a few."

Serin realized this madness couldn't continue. He had to ensure that even he, as a sovereign, was not given preferential treatment. He would not want the changelings to see this as Olma being given such power just because she was [Beholden] to him, whatever that meant. Serin then looked at Sakina, "He isn't still summoning them is he?"

Sakina shook her head. "No. it took all his power to subjugate each insect. I have been filling in for his daily work. He was definitely overtaxing himself."

Serin then asked, "When did he stop?"

Sakina kind of blushed, "Yesterday."

Serin then did the math. "So over twenty additional species were consumed?"

Sakina corrected him, "Over thirty. Some he was able to summon quickly and have matches twice or three times a day."

Serin then shook his head. "So that explains the stats. What Scion are you Olma?"

Olma perked up. She had been looking a bit guilty at the ruse. "I am the Scion of Change."

Serin then at the class, Aberrant Mage, and then at Bilol.

Bilol explained, "Aberrant Mages practice Aberration magic. The power to twist one's body into the shapes of the creatures that they have ingested. The more powerful the aberrant mage, the larger change the can produce. Tales of master Aberrant Mages tell of them changing into giant Chimeras capable of destroying cities."

Serin then looked at the Stats. All of Olma's physical stats were over 30. However her intelligence was only 15 "Why isn't intelligence higher if she is a mage?"

Bilol grinned. "Aberration magic uses stamina. The few spells that use Mana are used to target other people."

Serin then shook his head. "Olma, how many spells do you know?" Olma grinned and stood up, then proudly portrayed her spell list. Serin was stunned, She knows almost thirty spells!. He then realized that all Aberration Magic spells fell under endurance, Agility, or Strength. Three skills he leveled up the slowest. Serin then looked, "Show me."

***

In two hours Olma had demonstrated each of her Aspects enough times for Serin to learn the spell, and Serin had gained more to his Strength, Agility, and Endurance Stats than he had since he had to emergency bump them all to 100.

Olma was quite proud as she activated what Serin learned were called Aspects. Each Aspect was a spell that gave the form of one creature she had devoured. As she gained increases to her aberration magic skill, she could control a larger and larger change, as well as eventually controlling more than one change at a time.

Serin also realized that the magic grew out from her body and when the spell ended, the excess material just slumped off her body and quickly decayed.

Olma's Endurance was very high. As was her willpower. She was very quickly able to move from one form to another. This had to be what the Scion of change's poem meant.

[Scion of Change: A Dancer, on the wings of life, moving ever swiftly between the strong beats of the mighty drum, the stirring sound of deftly plucked strings, and the enduring sounds of the flute. All of Nature that joins the Scion's Dance becomes a member of its chorus, the composer of change.]

Bilol then shifted gears. "So this blessing presents us with a sort of cultural problem."

This explained why Elder Merrin and Lady Eris were here as well. "You see Serin, we have lost many of our tales in the generations. We once thought a Changeling's claim on a partner was just a story since the stories also tell that Changelings are less fertile when staying within their own race. We have been unable to partner outside our race for some time, another form of the Elves long term subjugation plan. Olma, with her new Perk, has shown that there is magic behind it."

Serin then looked at Olma's perk.

[Beholden: You have established a bond, by the traditions of the people who change. You will always be your best self when touched by the aura of your beholden. Beholden to: Serin]

Lady Eris spoke up. "She is also the first person to graduate from our school, and she is a beacon for the rest of the changelings in the school." Lady Eris then looked at Olma, "Olma, you are recognized as an adult, however we must speak with Serin not as an adult to an adult, but as Representatives to their Sovereign. If you can go with Sakina and wait outside, we will come and get you when we are done."

Olma looked a little sad, then nodded her head. Serin realized she was only about a year younger than himself. He felt much older than he was, and looked older than he was as well.

Lady Eris continued, "She has already made quite the commotion. When her plate appeared, She showed everyone the [Bonded] perk. Whether you like it or not, there is an expectation among the younglings, and most of the changelings, that you take in Olma."

Serin didn't know how to respond. He looked at Ephraim and Billol. Ephraim started, "The Demis have taken in quite a few people, but to be honest, her power would be seen by some of our older generation as taboo. She might have a rough time developing if she is with our people."

Serin then looked at Bilol. Bilol grinned, "As a changeling, I have to lean towards Olma being under your care to continue to foster the magics of our tradition. As a Representative, I have to remind you that you pledged every citizen would teach their craft to another, and the precedent has been set that every house should take in at least one Changeling until they found a home. Yours just happens to be empty, and I don't foresee any changelings challenging Olma's claim, now that she is bonded."

Serin had been backed into a corner.

Serin then just exhaled, "Alright. I give in. Olma may live with me."

From upstairs a giddy scream could be heard from behind the front door.

***

"So what do we do today, Darling?" Serin didn't know this word, but it seemed to be said with affection. His first day with Olma was not bad.

After settling Olma in, and going to bed, Olma had woken Serin up with a cooked breakfast of razor hog and cockatrice eggs. It was quite the pleasant way to start the day.

Afterwards she had waited for him to dress and then followed him out. Serin would play his part. "Today Olma we will need to acquire new furniture for you. I am aware you slept on a bedroll. Anyone who shares my home should do so in comfort. We should also register you for the guild."

Olma held his arm as they walked towards the adventurer's guild. When he arrived, he spoke to the attendant. "I would like to place a quest, and have Olma register as an adventurer."

The attendant's gaze fell on Olma, Olma looked at the attendant and changed. Olma stood in front of the attendant but it was as if looking at two of them. Olma gave her a smile that offered a perfect mimicry of the attendant, to such a degree that even Serin could feel the waves of power from her as if she was an attendant. Olma then said in the attendant's voice "You are very pretty, miss. I wanted to be pretty like you, even if it was for just a moment." Then Olma changed back.

The attendant chuckled. Serin was awestruck. He had never seen an Attendant chuckle…

The attendant looked at Olma. "Olma, Scion of Change. Your flattery will not work, no matter how genuine. However, besides your recognizable skill, very few are able to copy both my appearance and my gaze, even among your kind. That alone shows you have the aptitude to join the guild. When you wish, there are quests available on the board. If you have any questions, feel free to let me know."

Serin was somehow more surprised. Olma had just gotten her way into the adventurer's guild, past the attendants who still showed off more power than Serin, with nothing but charm and guile.

Olma smiled at her new identifier in her status plate. She then looked at Serin. Serin continued. "I want my people to grow into protectors. And to ensure people can meet my mandate for joining, I put quests up twice a day, with a reward of 5 Luck attribute points.

Olma then asked, "What kind of quests?"

Serin smiled, "Mostly resource locating and extractions. Some recons. A hunt for an overpopulated species when needed."

Serin then looked at Olma, "Some have nothing to do with adventure. Today's quest is for someone to make you a normal quality Bed, Desk, Mirror, and trunk to organize your belongings."

Serin then looked at the Attendant. And placed the quest using his normal 4 person 5 point parameter. Olma then asked, "Why 5 points to 4 people?"

Serin smiled, "I want people working together to solve their issues. It is safer and also builds cohesion."

Serin saw Olma eyeing the quest board. "Did you see a quest you can do?"

Olma nodded. "It's a quest for Salt. The request is for two kilograms of it. And the reward is 10 attribute points of Luck."

Serin remembered hearing Jericho complain he had not been able to add salt to his meal, and since most of the towns of the Northern kingdoms were near the coast salt was always readily available.

Serin looked at Olma, "do you think you can do this?"

Olma smiled and nodded her head. Serin showed her how to claim the quest.

Olma then looked at Serin, "can I borrow a big copper pot from the kitchen?"

Serin looked confused, then shook his head in agreement. Olma then looked at Serin, "Would you like to come with me?" Serin was going to say no, but he could tell Olma wanted to teach him something. Serin knew knowledge was going to be his weapon in life, so he followed.

***

Within an hour they had found a game trail. It had led them near the rocks that turned into the sheer cliff surrounding the valley. Rachel then followed the game trail and found what she was looking for, A large brown stone. Then Olma looked at Serin "We need to get a big piece of cloth."

Serin stopped by the weavers. The four Demis girls blushed and hawed at Olma and Serin out on the town. They gave Serin the cloth Olma wanted. He only paid about 50 credits. With that Serin headed back to the House.

When he arrived, the Rowdy bunch sat waiting. Serin waved at each one, passed on the [Link-Message] spell, under the Psionics skill under Willpower. They left and said they would be back the next day.

Olma was confused by the exchange, but Serin said not to pay it any mind.

Serin then wrapped the cloth that Olma picked out around the large brown stone. She then changed her arm into a large hammerlike pincer and hit the cloth smashing the stone inside the bag. She then set the bag with rock bits in a large metal pot to boil.

After about an hour, Olma took the bag out. It was noticeably much lighter. Serin was impressed. Olma started to explain. "The animals like salt too. This rock was popular for animals because it is very salty. I am taking the salt out of the rock and putting it in the water."

Serin then looked at her, "How do you get the salt out of the water?"

Olma smiled, "I remove the water from the pot, but I leave the salt inside."

Then she left the pot to boil for a few hours. Olma took this time to go with Serin and retrieve another stone from the Mountain. Olma explained the animals can find the salt better than we can.

Serin was impressed. Olma repeated the process with the stones, and then started boiling the water faster. Soon enough it was a large vat of white liquid. Olma then said "By tomorrow the water will be gone if we leave this outside."

Olma moved the pan outside.

***

The day continued with Serin taking Olma to visit Rachel and Allister.

Both Rachel and Allister knew Olma. All of the younglings accompanied Rachel and Allister when they went on hikes or spent time in the woods learning survival skills.

Both Rachel and Allister remembered Olma mostly because whenever she wasn't talking about how amazing Serin was, Olma was asking Rachel and Allister about him.

So when Olma and Serin arrived, Olma holding his hand in hers, Rachel and Allister grinned. Serin shot them a look that made them grin more.

Serin looked at the two of them, "Olma has now been plated. I wanted to see how she fairs in combat. She is a physical combat mage so I thought I would put her up against Allister for a round."

Olma had seen the matches that Rachel and Allister put on. She was excited to compete. "I will gladly fight the ragdoll."

Rachel and Serin both laughed at Allister's nickname. He no longer coughed all the time so coughing king was not applicable. However Rachel beat him unconscious every day, so his nickname had changed from 'coughing king' to 'ragdoll'.

Allister and Olma faced each other. Serin looked, "Only use your bodies for this match, ok? And Allister, please remember she is just level one."

The match began, and Olma ran straight at Allister. Allister raised his fists up and shot a fist towards Olma's head. Serin realized Allister's physical status must be much higher because his speed was much higher than it was a month before. The issue was that Olma didn't change her direction. Instead she changed her forehead to be that of a horned rabbit, and even if it was only partially formed, Serin still watched as Allister's own strength worked against him as he broke his hand and seriously cut his his forearm as it grazed off her head. With Allister startled, Olma then wrapped her arms around him and bit into his neck, ripping out his vocal cords and arteries. Allister fell instantly and started bleeding out on the ground.

Serin, surprised, ran over, with Rachel following behind. Watching as Allister's HP was plummeting, Serin immediately cast regenerate on Allister. Rachel started feeding Allister with Greater Heal to keep his HP from bottoming out.

Olma jumped up and down in excitement with her victory over one of the few humans in town, as well as a Representative. "I leveled up! Three times!" was her reaction.

Rachel looked at Serin, "Serin, you know this is 100% your fault right?" Serin had no idea what she was talking about. He was about to object when Rachel cut him off, "You just put Allister up in an unarmed no mana match against a changeling. Changeling? You know, the race raised from birth to know how to kill with just their hands, feet, and most obviously teeth. Those who are known for their unparalleled skill in unarmed combat lethality. Against the one who is a scion of their people? Out of all the times I have beaten him near death I knew what i was doing. You just took the bonehead crown."

Serin was shaking his head and felt sorry for what he just did to Allister. Allister fully regenerated, and let out a wheeze and a cough. His voice sounded a bit hoarse. He looked at Olma in surprise, and she waved and smiled a kind smile. Allister smiled and waived back, letting her know there were no hard feelings with his near death experience. Then Allister looked at Serin, "I would be mad at you, but I am just relieved you are going home with her and not me."

Rachel laughed and Olma looked confused. Serin looked at Olma, "Olma were you worried about killing Allister?"

"I was sure you would heal him, just like you healed us in our matches." Olma stated as a matter of fact.

Olma's logic, however cold, was perfect. Serin couldn't argue with it.

***

Serin and Olma then made a stop at the schoolhouse. Olma wanted to say goodbye to her friends. She was about a year older than the other changelings so they would be at the school much longer. The Demis children were also happy to see that even orphans have a bright future in this nation. Lady Eris let Serin know that the Demis would start aging out of the school, and gave Serin what she thought their respective classes would be, to assist him with planning housing. Serin took note.

Olma and Serin then took a visit to Peter. Peter had promised to always keep his personal larder full of honey, so Serin came to collect it. Olma and Sakina chatted away. Serin got the distinct idea that Sakina had grown fond of Peter. Serin was just glad that Peter had company. No man was meant to be alone. Peter then showed Serin the different varieties of beetles he would use as dye. "When they molt, their old shells can be turned into a powder that works well as a dying agent. The beetles don't get hurt, and the colonies can be adjusted based on how much of each of the colors are used. Serin was thoroughly impressed. Serin then spoke a bit to Peter, "Peter, out of anyone here you understand the ecosystem almost as good as me. I have a feeling some changelings may try to get you to summon opponents for them. I ask that in the future, only do this if there is a quest involved, or if payment is rendered. You should give nothing to anyone, even me, for free." Peter understood and nodded.

Serin then went home. He wished to practice his artificer craft. He had cracked open the crates from the Sarween Technocracy. One box was full of bolt-action rifles with attached spellcasters and a few hundred rounds. It was the same model as Serin's rifle, prior to his modifications He still had a few crates to check but for now this is what he needed.

Serin had taken apart his rifle, and using advanced crafting and terramancy, Serin created a copy of his rifle's modifications, magazine, and bolt-thrower. Serin did this by something his dad taught him. That way he could create magical devices at a lower crafting level if he broke them down to their simplest components and made duplicates of a bench copy. Each individual component was not a magical item.

He collected these pieces and put them into a box. In all he now had a copy of his own rifle, with the scavenged pieces from the crate rifle. Serin was planning on visiting Ephraim, but instead he cracked open the other crates.

Serin was extremely excited by what he saw. In the first crate he discovered what he knew were called 'pistols' like his rifle but meant for much shorter distances. There was also a smoothbore rifle that Serin knew was called a 'scattergun'. Serin knew these were used by the grand general in war, but Serin's father had always told him that the designs were kept secret and no crafter was allowed to see a completed model.

Once Serin had made modifications to the Pistol and Scattergun, Serin took them apart and placed a bench model into two boxes respectively. Then he headed to Ephraim. Olma never far behind.

Ephraim was usually busy with requests. As the town's only blacksmith, Ephraim was busy making tools, brackets, and building supplies. When Serin stopped by he was in the middle of making a second set of blacksmithing tools.

"Ephraim, can you make copies of everything you see here if you had access to the national metal supply?" Ephraim looked over the components. "Mithral, Aluminum, Steel, and Adamantine. Internal rifling and gas exchange tubes. The shells are made of copper, spark rock, and blast rock. These are weapons like yours, correct?"

Serin nodded. "I understand most Demis and Changelings focus on melee combat, but with a dragon's attack we have learned that some creatures are impossible to engage with at close range." Serin then pointed at the box. "With these we will at least be a bit more prepared." Ephraim nodded. Olma poked at items around the shop.

Serin then smiled, "Nothing is for free. I will put in 10 quests at first. Each quest will be for a rifle, pistol, and scattergun, with 100 rounds of each. The reward will be three Attribute points." Ephraim looked excited. He was the only person other than Serin who could complete this quest."

Serin walked over to the adventurer's guild and put in five of the quests. He would put in the other five in the morning.

Serin then walked with Olma back home.

***

Serin was worried when it came time for a bath and bed Olma might try to overstep. Serin was relieved. Olma let Serin bathe in private, and had simply laid a towel out for him. Serin then decided to get an early night's rest. His normally quiet environment was slightly interrupted. He heard Olma slip into the bath. Then he heard her tiptoe back to her room.

Sometime in the night, Olma snuck into Serin's room and curled up against him. It felt nice to be held so Serin didn't mind her overstepping too much.

***

The sun started to crest and the magic of the lights started to light Serin's room. Olma was curled against him, using his shoulder as a pillow.

Serin gave it a small smile, "Olma you have your own room, yes?"

Olma woke, stretched, and Serin blushed as he realized she was only wearing a nightshirt. Olma looked at him and smiled, "You said no person under your roof should have to sleep in discomfort, correct?"

Serin chuckled as he realized he would always have to watch what he said.

***

Olma, ran off, got dressed, and then started to make breakfast for Serin. While it was cooking, Serin watched as she scraped the salt into a small cloth bag.

Serin sat at breakfast with Olma. Olma sat and ate, "I want to be a protectorate." Serin then looked at Olma. She continued. "I want to always stand with you, and since you want to protect us all, I want to do that as well." Serin had already prepared a contract for Olma. he smiled, got up, and walked over to his study. He then brought the contract. "When you sign this, I will teach you the secret of how to become a protectorate, and if you succeed you will be made into one."

Olma didn't hesitate as she did her best to write her name. Understanding of the Common language was not a skill for any human Serin had met, but for Changelings and Demis it was seen as one.

When She finished, Serin looked at her "To join the ranks of the protectorate, you must bring your luck to 50. I highly advise doing so before any other Stats reach it.

Olma just smiled, "then we better drop off the salt I made. I put my level up points into Luck per Lady Eris' instruction and with this it will bring me to 50."

Serin just blinked. She had literally plated two days ago. And now she was already at Luck 50. 'She may end up more powerful than me.' Serin laughed.

Serin just smiled and walked with her to the guild, she held his arm the entire time.

***

Serin yelled into the tavern next to the Adventurer's Guild. "Jericho wake up, Olma is fulfilling your request."

Serin heard as Jericho stumbled out of bed and within 30 seconds he was mostly dressed and a little less than awake. He followed right behind Olma. "How did you do it? What did you use?"

Olma just smiled, "Nothing in this world is free Mister Jericho." She then handed the salt over to the divines. They checked the weight of the bag, confirmed its contents, partitioned it into two bags. One tightly bound bag exactly 2kg, and a much smaller bag with roughly one quarter of a kilogram.

Jericho just greedily looked at Olma. "What do you want for the secret to making your salt?"

Olma smiled, "I will teach you the three ways I know to make salt. Make three quests. What you think the information is worth. Don't make the quest reward Luck attribute increase unless it's for over 50."

Jericho grinned and looked at Serin, "I like this one."

***

That day Olma joined the Rowdy Bunch in getting skill. She had raised her luck up to 50 with that last quest, so Serin had her added to the Nation's protectorate, formerly the Bone Arrow guild.

Serin felt bad for Olma getting brainburn, so as a bit of preferential treatment he gave her one of his few remaining brainburn potions.

'I really need an alchemist to show up. Or at least find knowledge of Alchemy so I can do it myself.' Serin thought.

Serin gave her the potion. The Rowdy Bunch didn't care, or if they did, didn't show it. Olma learned the [Housekeeping] skill. The Rowdy Bunch learned another Psionics spell, Mind Link. Besides being a good skill for a team of adventurers to all know, it was a willpower based spell, so the more they used it the closer they would be to not having brainburn.

The Rowdy Bunch left to sleep off their brainburn back at their Lodge. Soon enough Jericho arrived.

"I have come to learn to make salt".

***

"The tan salt you made is from the rocks the animals lick?!" Jericho was stunned. He was not a hunter by trade, so Olma walked him through the entire process. Using a smaller rock, smashing it, and boiling out the salt. Olma boiled it almost all the way down. Then she put it outside. "For this big of a pot, it will take an hour and it will be ready. But you can see the salt starting to form at the bottom." Olma then smiled, "Does this satisfy your quest?"

Jericho laughed, "Yes, yes it does."

Then he looked, "What about the next method?"

Olma continued, "for that we head to the forest."

Olma walked Jericho and Serin out to the woods, As they walked through the trees, Olma pulled various flowers and weeds. "Dandelions, Red Wings, Blue Thistle, and Rogue's Tear. Pick these."

Serin watched as she started to pick and taste the plants, Serin then felt the familiar burn of learning a new skill. Surprisingly he had not known that Olma had the Apothecary skill. Serin knew it was a non-magical version of Alchemist. They still knew how to make many potions, medicines, and poisons.

He would have to ask Olma about it when they had a moment.

For now, Olma carried a bushel of weeds back to the kitchen, stripped the roots off of them, washed the roots, and cut them finely. Then she started to boil them.

Olma looked at Jericho, "This will make a brown salt. It reflects the earth it was borne from." After about 40 minutes, the pot had rendered down to a brown liquid which Olma strained through cloth into a glass jar. She then set it outside to finish drying.

Olma smiled at Jericho, "Does this satisfy your quest?"

Jericho shook his head but still answered, "Yes. yes it does."

Olma smiled. "We are off to the Tamer's ranch now."

A short walk later Olma had retrieved a small pig from the Tamer. Jericho had paid full price for the pig because it was one generation since the razor hogs began their domestication. Or as the tamers put it, "These pigs aren't really for sale until they have matured and given birth. But I am sure we can come to an arrangement."

Olma brought the small pig on a rope to the kitchen.

Jericho then looked at her. Olma deftly roped the pig's back legs and hung it from the ceiling. Then she put the large pan under it so that the pig slightly hung in it. Then Olma calmed the pig by petting it, and then swiftly sliced into the Pig's arteries in its neck. Olma commented. "You get more blood when you hang them upside down first. And if you are fast with a sharp blade, the pig does not squirm as he does not feel any pain. "

While the pig was draining, Olma asked Serin to bring the oven to a hot fire using magic. Olma commented, "A little magic to get it going is all we need. We won't need sustained heat for this."

Olma then poured the blood onto a large shallow basin and set it inside. "Now we wait until all of the water bakes off and the blood turns into a dark red powder. "

Due to the heat of the fire, it only took about twenty minutes.

Afterwards Olma pulled the pan out of the oven and set it on a stone counter. She looked at Serin, "Darling, can you cool this with magic? I lack the spells. " She smiled at Serin. He realized that this young woman's true value was immeasurable. Serin snapped back to reality, and cast [Cold Touch] on the pan at a low level. He did not want the metal to cool too quickly, as his [crafting] knowledge told him it can cause the metal to become damaged.

So after five minutes of cold the dark red block was cool to the couch. Olma looked at Jericho. "I know that Serin has the spell [extract]. Can you use it Mister Jericho?"

Jericho looked at the girl, then nodded. Olma smiled, "use that spell on the blood cake. Target salt." Then she handed Jericho a glass jar. Jericho did what he was told, and from the dark red block, blood red powder started to be pulled out and was slowly siphoned into the jar. When he was done Jericho had a jar of Blood Red Salt. Jericho tasted it. It was salt, but it was red.

Jericho blinked. He knew that blood was a waste product from the butchering process, but he could offer a few credits to the tamers to collect it for him.

With that Olma smiled, and then for the third time she looked at Jericho and said "Mister Jericho, does this Satisfy your quest?"

Jericho took his small batches of salt. "I will immediately inform the Adventurer's guild that your quests are completed. Now if you will excuse me, I have a bit of work to do."

Serin came over and patted Olma on the head. She hugged Serin tight. She was only about a foot shorter than him, so she buried her head in his chest.

***

Serin still had a national problem. His nation had many changelings without a home. They weren't without shelter, but a side room of the Demis residence or the second floor of the transient barracks to sleep, assisting with cooking and cleaning for staying was no way to live. Without a home, a home base, those changelings would fall back into the only life they knew, one of servitude. And without a good job they might just fall back into those habits.

Serin looked at Olma. "Olma, where do Changelings like to live?"

Olma smiled, "we mostly like to live in the middle of big cities. Changelings try to blend in, and the more faces there are, the easier we are to go unnoticed as someone else."

Serin then made a plan.

He walked over to the adventurer's guild. When he arrived at the guild he was greeted by the divine attendant. "Good Afternoon Serin. You are early today. Are you putting in another quest today?" Serin then asked, "Am I allowed to build a home and give it as a quest reward?"

The attendant grinned. "That is quite the possibility, however we will have to inspect the land, domicile, and any additional amenities to determine what the maximum difficulty would be."

Serin then asked, "can it be contractual?"

The attendant looked at him, "What were you thinking?"

Serin then asked, "Could I make a domicile, build it next to a large training hall, and then state that the person who lives there must give a lecture once a week to keep achieving the quest?"

The attendant smiled, "Serin, a quest must have a completion. So I am afraid we cannot help you with this. If we could, we would, as I think it is an admirable plan."

Serin bowed to the attendants. "It was worth a shot. I will have to make separate arrangements."

And with that he went to find Lord Koni.

***

Olma hugged Serin's arm a bit tighter in the presence of Lord Koni. She was still very much afraid of the undead, despite Serin's assurances.

Before visiting Lord Koni, Serin had a meeting with the council members. He had thought to develop the city center a bit more, specifically making the current market area into buildings for stalls, and installing two additional floors on each stall for additional housing. For the houses that existed now, Serin thought it prudent to add additional floors. Serin had thought about building a new district, but it might lead to segregation issues. He had already planned out roads for several districts surrounding the capital, but for now they were just outlines of roads made in stone.

Now Serin met with Lord Koni. "Lord Koni, I would like you to take over architectural duties in the expanding of our housing infrastructure in the town center. I would like 2 or 3 levels added onto each building for additional housing. Please turn the current market area into market stalls, and add additional housing above. Leave Ephraim and the weaver's buildings as they are, unless they agree to the expansion. Also please make the construction work with the current resident's schedule. They will be made aware it is happening, but it is still best to be courteous."

Lord Koni bowed. Serin then commented, "Please use your knowledge to make the outside aesthetically pleasing. Ensure that biodiversity is still available through rooftop gardens, building surrounding courtyards with trees, and balconies with available garden space"

Serin knew with that out of the way, he looked at his [kingdom management] screen. The farmers figured out if they treated Mana as another resource that can be grown and exchanged, they would be able to grow in power. Additionally with the homunculus working overtime to collect fruit and care and prune plants, not only were the farmers able to make their wages, they were able to develop enough skills to join the adventure's guild, as their objective was to work together to preserve and store 500kg of food in the government larder.

Serin additionally was already growing and harvesting a vast variety of plants as spices. This was his personal supply, but it was still counted as existing in the kingdom. The massive variety of spices and fruit plants he had in his greenhouse maxed out the "variety" scale under food. Right now Serin was greatly lacking in infrastructure. There was also a growing need for security. Serin saw that this was slightly in the green, but 7 low level protectorates for his town was just not enough. It was not an army, it was barely an adventuring party.

Serin needed to keep up the level progression. He also needed a way for his changelings to fight creatures. But he also had to make sure that the town was safe. If his buildings had been wood instead of basalt, the red dragon may have wiped Serin's nation from existence.

Serin would leave it up to Lord Koni to work the infrastructure, and for now Serin would stay the course. He walked back to the adventurer's guild. Serin put in a quest and Olma picked up her quest reward from the attendants. Jericho had not been cheap. Olma received 2000 credits for the first quest, a novice spell voucher for the second, and a large barrel of honey wine as the third reward.

Olma was excited. She looked at the attendants. "Can I purchase spells here?"

The attendants nodded, "You can use book vouchers or spend credits here for spells. However you may only purchase skills directly linked to your class, and the starting cost is 20,000 credits."

Olma looked downtrodden. Serin then looked at the attendants. "I was wondering about the skill book vouchers I had. What is the limit due to my class?"

The attendant smiled, "There is no limit for you Serin. Any voucher you redeem can be of any skill the book is good for."

Serin then handed a voucher to the attendant. "I would like an Abberant Magic Spell of Advanced level please."

Serin was handed a spell book for a spell called [Adapt]. Serin absorbed it, and recognized its significance. It was a passive spell that, while active, gave the user the ability to adapt to their current environment, whether it be the intense heat of a volcano, or the crushing depths of the bottom of the ocean. It hardened skin to heat and grew gills and webbed fingers. Burrowing claws for underground and light sensitivity for darkness.

Olma was excited. She looked at Serin, "I know you said you would teach a skill once a day, but can I learn this one from you? If I know it, then when I reach an advanced level of aberration magic I would learn a different advanced skill and I can repay you then."

Serin then chuckled. Her wisdom was without flaw, and Lady Eris' lessons on magic must have paid off.

Serin knew the brainburn potion would last the entire day so ho acquiesced and taught her the advanced spell.

Olma excitedly jumped up and down and hugged onto Serin, kissing him on the cheek. Serin did not mind. He realized this young changeling truely loved him. She had even gotten a perk to prove it. And as for political marriages go, She would not be a bad pick. It shows that the Sovereign of the land did not show preference to race, and he was willing to take in a changeling when he had a home, following the request he had asked of his own people. And she was cute. Serin's musings were brought back to the present as Serin and Olma finished their business at the adventurer's guild and with that, Serin and Olma went back home.

***

Serin took the rest of the time to take stock of the valuables that Jericho had brought over from the general supply and put into Serin's personal treasure room and storeroom. Jericho had made sure to label where everything came from. Serin found a small stack of non-magical books on various subjects from the zombie drops in Walden Cemetery. It brought back memories.

'We need an extermination quest.' Serin mused.

The problem was there wasn't anything to exterminate. They needed a controlled source of violence so that the sword's edge of his people remained sharp. Serin then realized it was why the grand general was always taking territory. He needed his people to stay in fighting shape. One missed generation and his armies would crumble.

Serin wouldn't make this mistake. He would find a way.

But for now he would focus on a bit of crafting.

Serin looked into the last crate of the Sarween Technocracy. Since Serin had [Comprehend Languages] spell constantly in place, he was able to figure out that this box contained explosives, hand thrown devices that detonate and cause one of four different effects. The first one releases a spell to paralyze everything within 15 meters. The second explodes into a bright flash, blinding enemies. The third released a mass of black smoke, blocking vision and heat sensing. The forth just exploded, sending metal in all directions.

'Using Identify i can tell that the spell being used is [Overload], but i have never heard of it and don't know its level or school of magic. I also know that there is another spell called [Delay] that is cast from the user breaking the cap. I will need to get these spells if i want to truly arm our people.'

Everything else about these explosives could be reproduced using alchemy or crafting various metals and powders. It was the core that held all the power.

He boxed up the crate for now and threw it under a few piles of books. 'No need for people getting curious.' Serin thought.

***

Serin walked out to a delicious smell in his kitchen. As he went to investigate, he ran into Olma, who was using a broom to sweep dust into a pile, then using a pan to collect it into a bin. The bin was made of woven reeds, so for the purposes of collecting dust it was perfect. There was a large aluminum bin in the kitchen for trash. Although Serin could have created a rifle with the amount of aluminum he used for his trash bin, he thought as it was his estate, it was important.

Serin looked at Olma, "I can just put in a quest for someone to come clean." Olma smiled, "It is my home as well. I must keep it clean. Also, I must work twice as hard as a changeling to increase skills like [housekeeping]. Or eat a servant. Then I will not have to worry about brainburn."

Serin smiled, not knowing if it was a joke or not. He then walked to the kitchen, "what is that smell?" Olma cut off his approach. "You go find a place for us to sit and have a nice dinner. Serin looked. There was nowhere. He still had almost no furniture in his entire house. So instead, he brought out a spare blanket from his bedroom and two of the pillows. Serin made seats for the two of them.

Olma brought out the food. She looked odd, carrying a large covered tray while wearing a loose white shirt and her leather work pants. They did fit her lithe frame fairly well. And of course she moved swiftly in them. She was still slower than Serin, but she had infinitely more ability when it came to unarmed combat. Without his magic, Serin wasn't sure he could best Olma.

She set down a pair of silver plates with silver forks and knives. Serin realized when Olma had made him breakfast he didn't own any silverware or plates, so he quickly used some of the silver from the dragon's hoard to make some simple unadorned plates.

Then Olma brought out the plate that Serin had been smelling.

Olma had cooked the entire pig from before. She had covered the base in diced apples and the pig was glazed with what Serin thought might be honey. This is a dish fit for a king. Serin smiled, and Olma beamed with pride. "It is honey ham. I heard from the Demis about how to make it while I was in school. They had a plant called 'pineapple' where they came from but i did not find one here, so i used apples instead."

It wasn't a large pig, but it would be more than enough food for the two of them.

As they sat and ate, Serin asked Olma "Olma, where did you learn about so much of the forest?"

Olma smiled, "My grandmother raised me. We were far away from the cities, as grandmother did not trust the elves. She had seen with her own eyes what they had done to the other races, and thought we might be next. So she hid me in the forests and taught me how to live off of the wilds. I only learned a few spells from my grandmother, but I did learn how to cook and how to forage for goods and make potions. We would have been fine forever, if she had not gotten sick."

Olma looked a bit sad. "When she fell ill I tried every potion I knew but nothing worked, so I packed a bag of expensive ingredients and headed for the nearest town. I found the elven guard and explained what happened. They said they would take care of it."

Olma's voice trailed off. "I remember the forest burning. They then put a collar on my neck and put me with the others in the large metal box." Serin could tell she was horrified, "I do not know what happened to my grandmother, but I know, wherever she is, she is happy."

Olma looked at Serin. "You gave our people a second chance. You also gave us all a new home. And valuable work. You have worked tirelessly every day to help our people break the mental chains that bound us for so long." Olma smiled, "But for me, you saved me. Not like how you save all our people. You personally stepped in to defend a sick youngling from whatever tortures that Elf had planned for me before my passing. You then removed the marks left by those ugly elves."

Serin hadn't thought of it from Olma's perspective. He could now see why she felt the need to claim him.

Serin just smiled. "Our town, our nation, is blessed with being Open to all. You will always have a home here."

Olma just smiled. She ate her food silently while a few happy tears trailed down her face.

After a minute, Serin thought of a way to liven the mood. "You know that cask of honey wine you earned is the first cast to be produced in this country?"

Olma grinned, sat up, ran and grabbed two golden gem encrusted goblets from the dragon's horde, and popped the cork, pouring wine into their glasses.

Serin enjoyed the flavor. And thankfully, his body's inherent poison resistance did not work on harmless wine.

So they had a few glasses, and laughed and enjoyed dinner. Before long Serin felt he needed some sleep. Serin moved his plates to the kitchen. Then he walked to bed. Olma tacked him from behind. Playful as it was, for a girl who can't weigh much more than 50kg, she still causes Serin to fall. And whether it was play or fight, in an unarmed match Olma was able to beat Serin. He flipped over to escape her hold just in time to have her pin him down. And with a smile, Olma kissed him on the lips.

Serin wasn't expecting it, but he had grown to appreciate Olma's beauty. Besides her physical beauty, Olma strength of will and ability to persevere through hardship, her steadfast dedication to what she believed in. She wanted to be the best, and wanted to stand by Serin no matter what happened.

So when Olma kissed Serin, he kissed her back.

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Srinlife

Who saw this coming?

I didn't! And I am the author!

Writing a story like this is like walking a dog in a new neighborhood. Its a lot easier to follow the story where it naturally wants to go. I will do my best to keep it PG-13 because children have access to the internet.

Have some idea about my story? Comment it and let me know.

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