I watched Norrin scratch Tesla's belly and make her purr. I considered for a moment before deciding to continue. "Norrin, Tesla has picked up some new skills and perks, would you mind telling us what you think about them, and maybe what you would suggest we try to focus on?"

"I don't mind at all," Norrin said while tilting her head to the side. "What kind of skills are they?"

"It would be a lot easier to show you," I said with a soft smile. "Tesla, would you mind moving down to the ground? Start with your form."

Can do!

Tesla jumped to the floor between us and, within seconds, had changed her form to be a Felisian. Norrin's eyes went wide, "What..."

She cut off as Tesla changed her form to the Dervish. "Size too, Tesla."

Tesla grew to her maximum size. In the Dervish form, she was as tall as me, but her shoulders were twice as broad as mine, muscled and actually quite scary. I stood up and put a hand on her bulging arm. "Tesla got a perk that lets her choose a few forms to keep. As far as we can tell, she can take on all physical traits of the other shape, modified by her own stats."

Norrin stood there for a little longer before shaking off her surprise and moving over to put a hand on Tesla's other arm and rubbing it through the coarse fur. "I feel like I'm dreaming. No one has ever been able to get close to a Dervish before because they are impossible to calm down. Tesla, do you mind? Could you slowly hold up your claws?"

Tesla gave me the equivalent of a mental shrug before complying. Each of the three claws on her hand was over 8 inches long. She had a shorter fourth claw that acted as a thumb of sorts, but this one was serrated.

"This is marvelous. She can act as another party member for you, and she can fill all kinds of roles." Norrin walked around Tesla's bulky form and stopped in front of me. Her eyes were shimmering with excitement. "Would you mind if I had her try some things for me?"

"That's up to Tesla. I don't mind making dinner at all, and I'm hoping to hit a breakthrough and get a perk today. Tesla, can you change back to your original form?" I watched as Tesla changed back but kept her size.

"Can I have the grill and stakes?" I asked.

Oh yeah! Here.

Tesla pulled out the grill plate and the stakes and set them on the ground.

"Wha... How..." Norrin couldn't finish her sentence, but her mouth kept moving like she wanted to say more.

"I didn't even think about it. I was going to have Tesla show Athena tonight, but she can hold a bunch of items in a space in her pouch. It can be pretty much anything, as long as it fits in her pouch. But you can probably see how it can be abused since Tesla can change her size and shape." Norrin's expression barely changed. She had gone pale, and her mouth was still open.

I moved to help Norrin sit down. It was a few minutes before she got moving again. Her voice was quiet when she began to speak again, "You are just like a hero from our histories." It took a while before she got her color back and spoke again. "They changed the landscape with their very presence, and I do not doubt this is one of those changes." I didn't know what to say, so I stayed quiet for a couple minutes.

I figured I should probably get started with dinner, so I tried to get things moving again. "Are you okay, do you need me to get you something to drink?"

"I can get it for myself, don't worry. I've got fish, flour, and honey inside that I was going to use for dinner. Come, we can get started."

I quickly took over all the Cooking once she showed me everything they had for dinner. Norrin and Tesla disappeared somewhere in the garden, and before I knew it, the fish was grilling, vegetables were roasting, and I made a fruit salad with what I had. Nothing needed my direct attention, so I headed out the back door to the garden, quickly checked on the fish, and looked for Norrin and Tesla.

I could sense Tesla out here near the corner of the yard. I walked past the vegetable garden and saw a small pond, and Norrin was sitting down with another demihuman.

"Where is Tesla?" I asked. I could feel her nearby but didn't see her.

Haha! Dummy!

"I'm right here!" I froze. It was the Demihuman on the bench that was speaking. She had Golden hair and fur covering short fox ears, golden pupils that split down the middle instead of circular. Her tail was long and sleek, and she kept moving it back and forth like she was an excited and happy puppy.

[Tesla - Human, Level 1]

Tesla had a huge smile on her face. "Rin asked me if I had tried changing into a Human or Kitsune! I copied Athena, but I had no clothes, so I turned back, and Rin brought me outside. She had me copy Athena again, so Rin gave me clothes. And then, I made a bunch of changes to make this form unique. But the best part is that I can talk like this!" Once Tesla finished her whirlwind explanation, she jumped to her feet and lept at me.

I barely managed to catch her with a cushion of air before she tackled me into the pond. Tesla lurched a bit and landed on her feet but managed to avoid getting hurt. "Sorry! I forgot that I'm not so small right now." She said before moving closer and gave me an awkward... well, not a hug. She just pressed her head against my chest and rubbed back and forth.

I started laughing. I laughed so hard that my legs felt like jelly, and I fell to the ground and put my hands on my face as I took it in. The cheerful wall of words and the exuberance she exuded was too much. As I calmed down, I saw the smile on Norrin's face.

"She has the looks down, but she's going to have to learn to act if she wants to be able to walk around in that form with Athena and me," I said after I finished gasping for air.

"She is smart and cute, she will have it down in no time, I'm sure."

I felt the twinge go off in my head that signified a new perk, which reminded me of the food. "I think the food is done," I said as I stood up. "And, I think I got a new perk for cooking."

"Congratulations, Jak!" Norrin said with a clap of her hands. "Let's get back to the food before it burns."

We walked back, and I checked my Stratum for the changes.

Name: Jak Rollins

Level: 4

Race: Human

Class: None

Strength: 14

Dexterity: 21

Intellect: 20

Wisdom: 18

Blessings:

Identify

????

Skills:

Alchemy - Level 24 - [Perfect Measurement] +1 INT, +1 WIS

Bonded Companion [Tesla] - Level 21

[Strength of Bond] - Bonding a magical creature is no simple feat. The bond has strengthened your mind and body. Stats gained from this perk are shared with your Bonded Companion. +2 STR, +2 DEX, +2 INT, +2 WIS

Cooking - Level 21

[Cooking is a Science] Perfect Measurement and skill with Alchemy has allowed food you cook to increase regeneration or apply other beneficial effects without many downsides that come with processed ingredients. +1 INT, +1 WIS

Jumping - Level 6

Mana Blades - Level 13

Physique - Level 3

Running - Level 4

Strategy - Level 19

Tactics - Level 20

Wind Manipulation - Level 26 - [Air Compressor] +1 DEX, +1 WIS

I actually tripped and fell at this point. Tesla ran over to me and helped me up. "Are you okay?!"

"I'm fine... I just..." Norrin was watching me with concern. I breathed deeply before figuring out what I wanted to say. "I didn't just get one perk, I got two. And I have a second blessing, but it doesn't say what it is.

I think Norrin was pensive as we walked back to the grill. I checked on the fish before I took the time to look at Tesla's Stratum.

Name: Tesla

Level: 1

Race: Pictis(Mimic Slime Variant)

Strength: 8

Dexterity: 9

Intellect: 17

Wisdom: 10

Skills:

Bonded Companion - Level 21 - [Bonded Communication] +2 INT

Camouflage - Level 9

Jumping - Level 5

Running - Level 10

Shapeshifting - Level 22 - [Forms] +1 STR +1 WIS

Slime Body - Level 21 - [Transmute Mass] +2 STR

Storage - Level 8

Thievery - Level 4

Her stats had gone up as expected. As I walked the food inside, Antragus was there talking to Norrin, and Tesla was back to her small Pictis form on Norrin's shoulder. "Hello, Antragus."

Norrin and Antragus stepped apart, and they both turned to me. Norrin smiled and sniffed the air. "That smells wonderful, Jak." Tesla agreed in my mind.

It does!

"You gave Norrin a break from cooking for once. I'm sincerely grateful." Antragus gave me a firm nod. "I'll admit, I wasn't quite sure how to act around you at first, but Norrin tells me that she barely showed you where things were, and you handled the rest by yourself. And I take it you don't talk too much with people you don't know."

"It's mostly in groups," I said with a grimace and a shrug. "The fewer people that are around, the easier it is."

"I can understand. But I hope you know that we too consider you family for as long as you are protecting our Athena." Norrin nodded her head in agreement. "Our freedoms are greater than most, as we both have useful classes and skills. But getting Athena out of the city to do what she wanted was always going to be difficult. So when Wisham came by saying he had a way for her dreams to be answered, we were ecstatic. Athena has been much happier since spending her evening's training you and working with her Uncle."

"Is there no way for your family to go back home?" I asked with a frown.

"Not with these collars, and not with the portals guarded by the King. The King would have to repeal the Warcodes allowing war-slaves, and that isn't happening in his lifetime. The son, Aleksion, isn't likely to change the codes based on what is known of him, and he is the one in line for the throne. The Daughter, Siphora, is protective of her maids and would likely help us if possible." Norrin answered. "Not to mention that as long as we don't cause a fuss, we are mostly left to ourselves. We are given land that we can tend to for food, and then our masters let us take from the stock that would go bad at the end of the day. Martin even paid Athena the slave wage, which was helpful."

For a while, the silence sat while everyone kept to their thoughts before I asked Antragus about his travels. Antragus hadn't been speaking for a full minute before Athena came in yelling from the entryway. "Mother, how long until Jak gets here? I want to change and brush my hair before..." Athena walked around the corner and saw me standing with her parents. She had removed her shoes and started unbuttoning her shirt as she came around the corner. I saw her face turn red, and she bolted down the hall to what ostensibly was her room.

"Not much you could have done," Norrin said with a shrug. "Hopefully, Lena and Arterian will be here soon." As soon as she finished speaking, someone knocked at the door. Antragus got up to get the door, and he came back with Lena and Arterian. Norrin played host and sat Lena and Arterian at the table. It was going to be barely large enough for all of us. After Norrin, Antragus, and I sat down, I noticed that the last seat was next to me.

Norrin caught me looking at the chair and winked at me. It definitely feels like they are trying to set me up with Athena. And not just as her master. I felt my face warm slightly. I've never been in a relationship. I've barely talked to girls, and to be honest, I'd say 90% of my interaction with any female has so far been with Athena.

So when Athena came back wearing a willowy dark blue dress, my mind basically stopped. I only noticed a few things before I focused on my food. First, Athena's face was still pink. Second, when she got close, I smelled something sweet and citrusy. The thought of trying to talk to Athena in this group made my chest hurt, and it felt like my throat was constricting. So I tunnel-visioned and ate mechanically. It took a mental poke from Tesla before I started listening again.

I looked up, and Arterian was looking at me. "Are you okay?" He asked.

I coughed into my arm and quickly answered, "I'm fine. Sorry, just distracted."

"We were all marveling at the food. Did you do something to it? We had all been feeling tired from the day's work, and the fish seems so fresh, it feels like it's giving us all energy."

"Ah, that is probably my new perk. I forgot about it." I said quietly. But it didn't help because everyone was watching me. "It, uhh." I took a deep breath. "It is a combination of Cooking and Alchemy. I can use various ingredients to impart beneficial effects from the food. I got it while cooking this meal, and I didn't know that it would affect it. I'm sorry."

Lena was the one to speak up. "Sorry?! This is amazing. I've never felt any effect quite like this." I started checking in with myself to see if I noticed anything. It took me a moment before I realized it kind of felt like the effect an energy drink had. It was filling me up with a need to move, but it wasn't as bad because it didn't make me feel jittery.

I listened as the conversations drifted off. Lena was talking about Alchemy, and Arterian was keeping up and pushing the conversation along when it needed it. I caught him glancing my direction occasionally, a slight look of concern on his face.

I had already finished and got up to gather dishes, taking them to the sink to wash them. Halfway through, Athena walked up, "Jak, I've got some stuff for you, and Wisham left some instructions I think you'll want." I dried my hands, snagged Tesla from the table, and Athena led me down the hall to her room. It wasn't at all what I was expecting.

The room was clean and well lit with a mat on the floor in the middle. The walls were covered in maps and had spears, and shields of all different sizes mounted on them.

One of the maps was different from the rest. It had a picture of a tree trunk in the middle, and splitting off were branches. The branches fanned out and held lakes with landmasses floating on them. I could recognize the continent we were on, but none of the others were familiar. I heard a cough behind me.

"Wisham dropped these off for you, three books on strategy, a couple of adventuring travel logs, and then a survival guide. He also was stupid enough to try to get you to figure out his obscure and terrible hints about the weapon he gave you." She pointed to one of the Skyblades on my hip.

I grabbed the oddly shaped hook, and she motioned me to sit down on the mat. I sat with my legs crossed, and she did the same in front of me. "These," she motioned again to the curved metal in my hands. "Aren't really blades, or swords, or whatever you want to call it. The set you got was called the Skyblades because the Kitsune that used the before named them." She held out her hand and motioned for me to give it to her. "Grab the other one, I won't be able to do it because I lack the affinity for it, but I can instruct you at least. Hold it in your hand and touch the gem.

I followed her instructions and waited. "Make a mana connection to the gem and then spread mana across the Manasteel. You can use your hands to shape the metal while you infuse it."

I pushed lightly at the metal and jerked to a stop. It felt like clay in my hands. "Wow."