New adaptation complete!

You have gained the adaptation minor shapeshifting! You may now increase your height by up to 5%. Through your knowledge of bird anatomy, you may now decrease your weight by up to 3%, though the chance of injury increases. Through your knowledge of the natural occurrence of melanin in your species, you now have complete control over the brown tones in your skin. Your natural hair can be replicated all over your body. You lack the knowledge and skill to create true scales or feathers. For now, you may generate a pattern of each in your skin tones.

Skin Color

Percent you are able to add

Brown

100%

Blue, Grey, Red, Green,

15%

The next morning, I woke up to see that the system notifications were front and center. Looking it over, I could feel the changes in my body. I felt more, flexible. I could also sense that all I would need to do was focus on my mental image of myself and channel mana into it, and my body would change. It would also take a hundred and fifty mana per minute just to maintain it, which sucked. Hopefully it would improve when I improved the skill. Shaking my head at future thoughts, I headed out of my room and to the kitchen for some breakfast. Though it was a bit early, I wasn’t really surprised that I wasn’t the only one up. Bribis’ father was sitting at the table, with a bit of a scowl on his face.

“Good, you aren’t a layabout. Grab some food and sit down, we have some things to talk about,” He said with a gruff voice. I shrugged my shoulders and did as he asked, wondering why he was in a bad mood. Loaded up with eggs, toast, and hashbrowns, I sat down and started eating by dunking the toast in the egg yolk. I smiled as it brought back my childhood, but the old man across from me quickly quenched those thoughts.

“I got a lot to say, and I don’t like interruptions. So I won’t think it rude if you sit there and eat instead of answering straight away, and you won’t annoy me with interruptions. Sound good?” I nodded, and he continued, “Good. First, thanks for how you gave the news about Carrigan. You gave enough to soften the blow to Bribis, while not going too far with any embellishments that would have offended Carrigan. Nicely done.”

“Unfortunately, we have bigger issues and are starting to face a time crunch. I’ll start with the better news that I have. Arianna has finally gotten her priests together and they are starting to purge their ranks of the infiltration. It isn’t easy, as several of the altars were rendered inert. They’ll take a few years, but the important positions have been cleared at least. The humans have also been warned of what is going on, though they aren’t as keen on cooperation as their goddess. It seems like Three Rivers wasn’t an isolated case, and there are a lot of people murmuring about fighting the other races. From what I hear, we can at best hope that the leaders are able to quell any more invasion tactics.”

“The demons aren’t faring much better. With much of their resources tapped into stopping incursions from the rift, they really ought to be getting reinforcements from all of us. Unfortunately, the humans are blocking the easiest ways to get across. Backstabbing bastards are asking a 20% tariff just to travel through their lands and ports! The king is working on it, but a lot of the nobility have always enjoyed free reign when it comes to taxation on their lands. So we are being forced south, through the elven lands.”

“And that brings me to our biggest problem. The idiot elves have some new religion rising, something about letting nature take its course on things. Normally it wouldn’t be anything we haven’t dealt with before, but this is getting a lot of backing from the royals in charge. Seems some of the priests were able to save the king and his brother, and they both converted. The crown paid to have churches installed in each of the major cities, and are slowly cutting ties with our old allies. The Soul Society over there is worried, as this is the first time in recorded history that a soul mage that specializes in reading the truth of people hasn’t been allowed to advise the king. Instead he is listening more to the human woman that saved him. According to her, she can see the heat flows in a person, and that no matter your training you can’t teach your body to lie. When asked how she got this power, she said it is from the black lizard that their religion worships.”

Fuck! I thought to myself. The turmoil in the human lands effectively eliminated their help unless a charismatic figure emerged to unite all of them. Highly unlikely, especially since there wasn’t any grand unifying enemy. I almost regretted taking out that calamity, but thought better of it. If Apophis thought it was worth it to give the thing a scale, then it was more than worth it to deprive him of the piece. “This religion sounds suspiciously like they worship Apophis in secret. I’m sure you came to that same conclusion, but there’s one thing I’m missing. What is the time factor?”

He nodded, and continued, “Exactly right. Well, they are preaching that this lizard is a pivotal point in the food chain. It eats the smaller bugs, and is in turn eaten by the larger animals. Without it filling the role, the larger animals would die. Then they are pointing out how the human lands seem like one large beast, until you realize it is simply a bunch of smaller bugs banding together.”

“Because of course they are,” I groaned. “Ignore the fact that there are countless numbers of animals that eat bugs and fill the same role as their lizard, they are going to use the bug analogy as pretense to take over the human lands. And if someone bigger were to come along and take out the weakened elves, well that’s just the way nature intended things.”

“Got it in one. We have slowed them down as much as we can, but for a long time the elves have been purchasing increased quantities of iron and other metals from us. It was gradual enough that we didn’t notice, but now we suspect that they have been building up their army for nearly a decade. Can’t really fault the bastards for being good planners, but this is the absolute worst time for this shit!” He slammed his fist on the table, then shook his head. “Sorry Sean. It’s not your fault, I just have little tolerance for those who can’t see how easily they are being played. And the worst part about it is that Apophis isn’t weakening his forces at all! No matter who comes out on top in the approaching human and elf combat, Apophis wins. His enemies will be weakened, and trade from us to the demon continent will be all but stopped. Even if we avoid battle, the chance of armies ‘liberating’ supplies to help with the effort will ensure that nothing makes it through.”

“I know. To be honest, we believe the elf king was corrupted long before they were ‘saved’ by this new religion. That doesn’t matter much now, but we were planning on heading down that way soon. Do you know anything about their timelines?”

“Not perfectly. At a best guess, they will be ready to start operations within two to three months. In the past they would openly declare war, but I highly doubt that will be the case this time. They’ve done something that prevents scrying in the entire Southern Forest, so we can’t even tell which barony will be the first to fall.”

We both sat there for a few minutes, digesting the news. If we were going to make any difference, I was going to have to assume that two months was a hard limit before we had to be in the elven kingdom, hopefully freeing Elendria’s brothers from possession. That left us with a month to get everyone evolved and earn as much experience as possible. I wouldn’t be reaching max level, but hopefully I could reach level 20. Even if people outleveled me, with my stat gains that would likely still put me ahead. More important would be to boost up a few devastating attacks on single targets, as well as a few that would target multiples. I had a bad feeling that the elven nobility would be split, and I would need to be able to pick targets carefully.

“Good, you’re serious about this,” The old gnome nodded. “I’ll send word ahead to expect you. When you get to Oakhaven, the capital city, head to the Soul Society and ask for Millie. Even if the nobility are losing trust in the society, the commoners still wildly support them. She’ll help you get around, and get you a disguise.”

“Disguise?” I asked.

“Aye. Elves are notoriously picky about certain areas. Unless you look like an elf, or are part of an official delegation there is no way you are ever getting inside to see royalty.”

“Give me a moment.” I said, concentrating. I hadn’t come across many elves, but they were similar to fantasy back home. If I increased my height by a bit and kept muscle mass the same, I would look lanky enough. Elongate the ears a bit, force the hair to grow and lighten. Unfortunately, I could only picture that elf from a certain trilogy about a ring, but that was fine. Nobody would bother me with copyright here. So I went with that for a face, but added in a bit of tan with a hint of greenish hue. I felt the image solidify, and channeled mana into it.

And the itching began. It felt like my entire body was covered with scabs that were just about ready to fall off. I ignored the sound of a chair hitting the floor, knowing that if I lost the image before it was complete then I would have to start all over. The process took almost five full minutes, and when I opened my eyes Bribis was standing next to his father, staring at me.

Shapeshifting identity created!

You have created a shapeshifting identity! As a minor shapeshifter, you are able to store one complete image in addition to your original form. Would you like to store Generic Wood Elf?

Yes/No

I selected yes and smiled at the gnomes. “Good morning Bribis. Don’t worry, I’m still Sean, I just picked up a bit of shapeshifting along the way. So tell me, do you guys think that this is enough to get in to see the elven royalty?”

“By Bruin’s hairy nutsack, never do that in front of people again!” Bribis’ father growled at me. Shuddering, he continued, “Do you know how off putting it is to see you turn almost wax-like and have your features melt?”

“Sorry sir.” I immediately apologized, cursing myself for not thinking things through. “I hadn’t thought of what others would see, and I certainly didn’t expect it to take that long. I also only did it in front of you because I trust you with my secrets. We will probably need to come up with something to identify me in disguise in the future.”

The older gnome nodded, and finally smiled. “Aye, that’s a good idea. See if we know your brother Ricarang. It’s an anagram for Carrigan.”

“Ricarang. I can do that,” I nodded, continuing, “So about my looks. Good enough to get in to see the king?”

Bribis frowned and said, “The face is fine, but you need to lose the hair. Wood elves keep it close cut, and it is always a shade of brown. You will need to be at least minor nobility, which means decently fine clothes. Make them from a powerful creature, but don’t enchant them. In addition, you will need a bronze oak leaf and a small emerald earring. Copper or bronze for the setting, you want woodland colors without getting too expensive. Make sure it is in the upper right lobe as you want to be seen as still rising. Lower lobe rings are only for marriages.”

“Thanks.” I said with a nod. “That is incredibly helpful.” I made the changes, noting that the hair not only fell out but also dissipiated swiftly. Handy. Once I was done, the system asked if I wanted to replace generic wood elf with lesser noble wood elf, something I quickly agreed to. “Right, well.” I started, feeling slightly uncomfortable. Fortunately, Bribis’ dad came to the rescue.

“Get going. You don’t have much time for preparations. Two months, three tops.”

“Right. Bribis. I’ll see you guys later. Take care.” I nodded, then headed out. Once I was in a remote area, I went ahead and dropped my disguise and flexed my wings. I had a feeling that while shapeshifted they wouldn’t be available, and I needed flight. I shot out of the underground complex, rapidly gaining altitude and pointing towards the northeast. I had lost track of time a bit, but I hoped I could find Elendria and the demon brothers rather swiftly.

* * * * * * * * * * * * *

Elendria’s POV

“Look! Sean’s going to be coming back here to meet us. I don’t know what your big hurry is, but slow down and think for a second. Just how the hell is he supposed to find us if we leave?” I snarled, getting fed up with D’Vorak.

“I know you think he is alive, but-“ The insufferable demon started before I interrupted by slamming the marker the guildmaster had given us down on the table.

“This is linked to him you idiot! It says he is alive, so he’s alive. I don’t care if he is a day or two late, I’m staying here. What is your rush to get back to outpost? We haven’t killed any more of those pandacorns.”

“It’s just a feeling I have. Something tells me Lokir needs us to hurry.” Before we could argue anymore, the inn door swung open and Sean walked in.

“SEAN!” We all cried, though I was out of my seat and across the room before I knew what was going on. I gave him a quick look over, but couldn’t find anything wrong with him. “Why are you late?” I demanded.

“Easy, let’s take a seat and talk about it. I have some good news, some bad news, and some urgent news.” For the next half hour, he went over what he had been up to recently. Normally I would be doubtful of anyone claiming to have been able to destroy the eternal swamp, but if anyone could do it, it would be Sean. Plus we had all felt the tremor from the impact along with the system notification.

“So, that brings us to here. I need your guys’ help, and not just with the elves. I need help planning how to spend my attribute points, and we need to hurry our plans to head to the elven kingdom.”

“Right, well I am ready to head and start the evolution process.” D’Vorak said. “Staying out here a few days let me hunt down and track several new creatures. D’Vaen, what about you?”

“I’m good. I got a few new knife styles that should help out.”

I nodded, thinking, “Ok. The demons are ok. I’ll need to do a run through the dungeon, but it will be more difficult. I’m going to destroy my evolution so far.” Sean flinched when I said that, so I quickly explained, “I was forced to take this evolution. Part of being a slave. I’ve expanded some of my soul skills to the point where I should be able to get some better evolutions. It’ll cost me half of my attribute points since evolving, but I’ll be able to form a hybrid type evolution rather than the pure ice evolution I was saddled with.”

“Ok. That is a little better, I thought you would be doing something incredibly dangerous.” He said, and my heart fluttered a bit in my chest.

“It’ll be fine. Now, about you. If you drop one point into constitution every two levels, you will end up with plenty of minor adaptations. I think that’s got to be something we prioritize. One point out of forty won’t be missed too badly. We need to keep endurance somewhat close so that your regen stays close, so maybe five per level. The rest I would split between intelligence and wisdom. That will boost your magic the most, and we can always change things up every so often. Maybe every other level split between dexterity and agility, with a few on occasion spent in strength. Keep it somewhat close to even, though strength can lag since you aren’t a physical fighter.”

D’Vaen was nodding along, and added after I was finished, “Start with boosting the wisdom. You already have a fairly large mana pool. If you get your wisdom up high enough, you will likely hit the point where intelligence doesn’t matter anymore. You will literally be generating more mana than you can use. Intelligence will boost a spell’s power to some degree, but having the ability to continuously cast spells is a huge advantage in combat. Not to mention the buffs you have that are constantly draining your mana.”

“Sounds good,” Sean nodded, thinking things over. “Alright, so here’s the plan then. We’ll stay here one more day, then head back to Outpost and get everyone evolved. Spend at least a month hunting and leveling as a team, then head down to the elven lands. Everyone on board?”

We all agreed, and the demon brothers headed off to finish up their business in town. Before Sean could go, I placed a hand on his and got his attention. “Do you mind if I stay with you tonight?”

He gave me that quick smirk that sent my heart racing and said, “Sounds good. I have a surprise for you.” Damn bastard, I couldn’t think straight for the rest of the day because of that one little comment.

* * * * * * * * * * * * *

Later that night, I slipped in to Sean’s room to find him standing in the middle with his shirt off. “Hey.” He said, smiling at me.

“Hey yourself.” I said, and I felt a wave of his magic surround the room.

At my raised eyebrow, he explained, “Walls are thin. Just a bit of soundproofing. Now, I’m told this is a bit disconcerting to watch, so if you don’t mind.” With that, he sent a glob of darkness that covered my eyes. Though I was blind, I could clearly hear him and still sense the rest of the room. A few minutes later, I could see again and heard him ask, “Well, what do you think?”

I blinked my eyes into focus, only to see a strange elf standing there wearing Sean’s pants and talking with his voice. Obviously a wood elf, his muscles seemed just a bit bigger than what they would normally be. Human hybrid?

“Speechless? I thought you would enjoy me turning into an elf. Perhaps it’s the face?” I watched as his original face reformed, my eyes getting big.

“You. You can turn. Into. An. Elf?” I growled out as my heart started racing and butterflies started flying like mad in my stomach. My nose flaired as I struggled to breath in as much as possible, and BY THE GODS HE EVEN SMELLS LIKE THE DEEP FOREST! Before I knew it, I was plastered against his chest, running my hands all over his incredibly toned body. “Aura. Hit me with it, now!” I ordered as he chuckled. Those stopped almost immediately as the sheer force of his aura caused my legs to lose all strength.

“You ok?” He asked, giving me that grin again.

“Need you. Inside me. Now.” I growled between kisses, trying to force him to the bed. I had never been this overcome by anyone before, and I could feel the magic inside me responding to everything he was doing.

“You sure?” He asked, and I simply removed my clothes. The rest of the night was pure bliss, as I finally surrendered myself willingly to the man I knew would be the central part of my forest.

* * * * * * * * * * * * *

Name: Sean O’Carrol

Age: 33

Titles:

Chosen of Ariana

Blessed by Lokir (hidden)

Otherwordly traveler (hidden)

Summoned Hero (hidden)

Grandmaster Sage

Divine mage

Heretic

Shalora’s Gratitude

Calamity Bane

Attributes:

STR – 27 (+10)

AGI – 31 (+15)

DEX – 34 (+15)

INT – 58 (+10)

WIS – 69 (+20)

CON – 38

END – 45 (+10)

Health: 240/240

Mana: 13340/13340

Health regen: 0.21/min

Mana regen: 384.99/min

Spirit: 220/220

Spirit regen: 1.8/hour

Level: 6/100

Exp to next level: 38%

Free attribute points: 0