Chapter 3.5 - Up to Speed

Serin ran into his first big problem. He had no idea how to figure out what these people could do to earn their living. Every single changeling, without fail, had a class called "underdeveloped".

Serin then asked, "what is the class 'underdeveloped?"

Bilol looked downtrodden. "Our history is a harsh one, and very few of our stories remain. Since reading and writing was banned, our oral traditions are all we have to teach us." Bilol continued. "Changelings learn and develop skills slower naturally than other people. We do know that consuming the flesh of others can increase our abilities, especially if we have never eaten the creature or if we defeat it ourselves."

Bilol continued, "But our people were banned from consuming meat before I was born. The elves said it was to 'reduce the aggression of changelings'. But we know now it was so our people were easier to purge in future generations. Without it, we are less powerful than other creatures of the same level. And all of us are fairly low level."

Serin then understood. He then asked, "Does it work with the flesh of the living?"

Bilol shook his head, "No. it only works from those that have passed. Changelings also cannot eat other changelings. It can kill us. And we know immediately if something contains changeling meat. it smells..." Bilol shuddered.

Serin looked over to Ephraim. "Could the Demis be willing to take in guests? There are too many people to feasibly put them all in the bunkhouse, and until the changelings have developed plates, we have no idea what their skills will be, but without a doubt they are capable of assisting in general household chores."

Ephraim looked to his other representatives. "We would be glad to take in Changelings until they can find their way. We were once a people in need. However," he looked at Serin and grinned, "I will be informing my people immediately of changeling bonding rituals. Please be warned that most Demis that are bonded are extremely territorial over each other. If changelings try to interfere in that, it might get complicated."

Serin huffed, and then continued. "Alright, I see the hilarity of my situation will not die down. Bilol, if it is ok with you, I ask that changelings trade a little time each day to handle the daily chores of the house that sponsors you, and with the rest of the time you can choose to learn under a teacher, just as the younglings do."

Bilol smiled, but was a little sad. "It will take us quite a bit of time to learn skills naturally. We gain skills faster by consuming flesh. Can we volunteer to work in hunting or raiding?"

Serin then smiled, "our nation is a peaceful one, so there are no planned raids for the foreseeable future, however we can take groups of you out to hunt. Do you have any weapon skills?"

Bilol then said, "Many years ago changelings were banned from using or owning weapons, so we learned to fight with our hands and feet. It is not as useful against monsters, but against other races we were unbeatable in strength of arms. Only the elves' magics were able to defeat us."

Serin then smiled, "Then we will make you into weapons so you can hunt."

Bilol bowed. "Until then we will make due."

Serin then excused the Demis who had not wanted to become contracted protectors, and Serin then explained what would be needed to become contracted to the changelings.

***

The changeling's curriculum for instructionwas going to be different until the entire race was brought up to speed. On the upside, every changeling that applied to the Adventurer's guild was given the same quest of 'upgrade plate status from underdeveloped'.

So Serin developed a plan. He requested assistance from the four Demis Wildscouts, Allister, and Rachel.

Serin had purchased from the kingdom point store the [Map] Screen and [Advanced locator] feature. With this he was able to see not only the basic static resources he had discovered such as minerals, wild food, and the like but he was also able to see the wild animal populations, the ecological status, and any roaming or migratory animals that were within his town region. This function also extended out to any of the surrounding regions he had explored.

Then within his capital region he built a small hunting preserve by using earth to follow the contours of the land so no damage was done, and it could be reverted back to normal.

Serin then picked the first creature for the Changeling's hunt. With the removal of the goblins from the area, the population of horned rabbits was listed as "overpopulated". Serin then showed the map to the the Wildscouts and asked them to snare and capture 150 Horned rabbits. It was not too difficult of a task, as Demis Wildscouts were well trained in the task of snaring live creatures, something that made Rachel a bit jealous.

After sending all but 46 of the horned rabbits to the tamers for domestication, Serin worked to have their horns of the remaining 104 cut down and dulled. Not enough to kill the creature but more to make it less combat effective. This task took roughly a week. Serin had to heal several severe injuries from the process of dulling the horns. Horned rabbits may be small, but their horns were sharp, and if they attacked the untrained, they could kill. That was why, despite their cute appearance, they were considered dangerous omnivores.

When this was complete, Serin worked with Bilol to take the changelings one at a time. They were sent out into the preserve, told of their prey, warned that the horn (even if it was cut down) could hurt, and given time to hunt. And whether the changeling was strong or weak, plated or youngling, they all hunted with jubilee. Serin did not know why but Bilol had explained. "The Hunt is in our blood. We find nothing greater than the taste of the quarry that we had to fight to capture and kill ourselves. And each unique creature we consume makes us more powerful."

Serin shook his head at the disparity between the changelings. Some were able to hunt and find their quarry within a few minutes. Some took about an hour. Some needed assistance from the scouts to help point the way, or to rustle the quarry out of a bush or hole. And then when it came to killing, some dispatched the rabbit with speed and efficiency. Some barely managed to kill it, and some after receiving several wounds, dispatched it only with a bit of slow magic cast on the prey.

But regardless of the speed of hunt, or the expertise of kill, or the damage received, every single changeling finished their hunt with a giant smile and wide eyes. Each one, without fail, offered a prayer to the creature as Bilol had explained, and then immediately skinned the animal, eating the heart, organs, and brain.

Bilol explained that it did not matter what part of the creature felled was eaten to absorb. But since the changelings could eat the organs without risk of sickness, and then share the meat with others. Serin smiled at this. It meant that nothing would go to waste. "The Changelings are offering the best cuts of meat to the houses that sponsor them or to those who assist them in the hunt. Or to you."

Upon eating the flesh, every single changeling, to include the younglings, received bumps to their attributes. Some were small. Some were large. Some gained access to a new skill called [quickstep] which was like Jericho's Dash ability, but only for a short movement. Others gained the [Headbutt] skill. But all of them were happy to have completed the hunt. Serin noticed that the harder the opponent was to conquer, the greater bonus the changeling earned. Serin made a mental note of those that were stronger. As the last of the fights were beginning to finish, Serin realized he was receiving an update from one of his [kingdom management] screens.

Serin then checked his [Map] screen. He noticed a herd of fae sheep had wandered into one of the regions bordering his land that the wildscouts had surveyed. Fae sheep were easy to domesticate, and their wool made excellent clothing. However they were extremely difficult to hunt and capture for normal folk because when attacked, they cast the spell [sleep] and ran away. The tamers informed Serin that when they were tamed, they were less likely to cast their spell on their tamers.

Serin smiled as he had their next project. But first, he owed a private bath to be built in the quarters of the weavers and the farmers, so he took a few hours to build those facilities.

***

The following week, Serin enlisted the help of the two Demis tamers. Timot and Ferrah, the tamers, listened to Serin's plan. When Serin started with the explanation of an expedition to capture fae sheep, the tamers grew excited. They also had fae sheep in their lands so they knew how to work with them.

When Serin explained out of the herd of 150, only 46 were to be partitioned to the tamers, they grew confused.

When Serin explained the other 104 needed to be herded and locked into a pen near Serin's preserve, the tamers looked defeated. Their easy task would be near impossible. But then Ferrah leaned over and started whispering to Timot. Timot shook his head in agreement. "We have a plan." Was what Timot said. "But we are going to need to borrow Lord Koni and his undead workers."

***

The plan that was explained worked. Serin and the two tamers enlisted the assistance of Lord Koni and the undead. As undead, they were immune to sleep. They traveled to the nearby pasture the fae sheep had wandered into. Serin used earthen magic to subtly close off the entire pasture without alerting the docile sheep. Then, Serin first used fireballs to herd the sheep into a corner. With the sheep herded, Serin raised another earthen wall.

From there, the undead were sent in to grab, bind in ropes, and carry the fae sheep to their needed destination. The tamers explained that the [sleep] spell only worked for a few minutes and could only be cast every few hours, but it still made it dangerous to transport the sheep a half day's journey across the land. So Serin and the wildscouts spent the day escorting a procession of undead carrying bound fae sheep around a mountain range and into their valley. The tamers had already set up an area for the fae sheep and explained that like the razor pigs, fae sheep can eat kitchen scraps and also scrounge from the land. It was the responsibility of the tamers to ensure that the grass regrowth was boosted through fertilizer and magical means, if necessary.

And with that, quite a few bonuses to his nation happened. The weavers gained access to wool, lamb was added as a newly discovered food source, and the changelings' next target was prepared.

***

It was another eventful week as the changelings hunted this next target. Serin had switched to having the wild scouts work in shifts, and the changelings were given hunts through both the day and night. This was because even with no offensive ability, without fail fae sheep had the upper hand so the hunts were taking much longer.

This didn't bother the changelings, as some were more than happy to take the night time. Bilol explained that each changeling looked at the world a bit differently, so what they could absorb and learn from the creatures they fought changed as well.

Serin couldn't help but laugh as he watched the fights though. Hand to hand combat is not ideal for this creature. Without fail every single changeling so far was put to sleep at least once. The stronger of them were able to shake off the spell after a few minutes. Some were left asleep the for almost an hour. One or two unfortunates fell asleep long enough for the fae sheep to recharge its spell.

Although the changelings had all learned the same martial arts, they applied it in extremely varied ways. Some grappled the sheep, some tackled and hit the sheep. Most simply struggled against a padded opponent. Bilol, who had gone first, sat with Serin on the observation stage after his hunt. He had recovered quickly from his drowsiness and defeated his sheep by running, tackling it, and swiftly using his legs to snap its neck.

Bilol wanted to see how his people were fairing. It seemed Serin wasn't the only one interested in his people's growth. Bilol sat with Serin in Serin's earthen observation platform and nudged him as the next changeling entered the preserve with a noticeable grin on his face. "Your girl is up next." Serin was confused, then realized he meant the young unplated girl Olma. The one that always smiled and waved at Serin, and perked up when he was nearby.

Serin watched as she pulled a small knife and had a bag of something. Bilol explained, "She offered to help the farmers in the field for a day for those spreading manure fertilizer." And with that some red fruit started pouring out. It was slightly overripened fruit from the greenhouse's fruit trees. Normally when fruit is missed and overripens, it is sent to compost in the waste management facility. Deftly she cut up the apples and placed them at the base of a tree, then scrambled up the tree quickly. Within a few minutes, the prey was at the base of the tree, and with a bit of hesitation began to quickly eat the cut up fruit.

As the sheep ate Bilol started talking. "She knows you are watching. I know you are here in case we need assistance, but she sees it that you are evaluating us. And if you are evaluating her," As he spoke Olma silently dropped onto her prey instantly snapping its neck with a downward kick, "she will want to show you she is worthy to be yours."

Serin was impressed. For a youngling, albeit almost plated, to take down something that the older changelings had difficulty with, and to do so without as much as a word. Serin was impressed.

Olma had opened the creature's chest and pulled out its still beating heart, and consumed it raw. At that moment she looked up at and made eye contact with Serin and she beamed with pride as she waived.

Serin just smiled and politely waived back, all the while thinking, 'what have I gotten myself into?'

***

Serin didn't understand why he hadn't purchased the [advanced map] feature sooner. The majority of the creatures he identified were in overabundance or migratory and could easily be domesticated. Removing goblins had removed the apex predator species from the area.

There was a plan moving forward. Serin worked with the Tamers to develop facilities to ethically tame, raise, and house various creatures he was able to identify and find. When he was not doing that, he was busy building additional housing in the main district, expanding the public bathhouses, doubling the school size, and assisting in the hunting efforts.

After the fae sheep, the next creature was the cockatrice. It was a large flightless bird which was known for laying bountiful eggs. It was fairly easy to domesticate for egg laying, but its gaze could temporarily paralyze any who made eye contact. Facilities were built, and several of the Cockatrice were set up for breeding. Besides setting up a future creature for hunting, this allowed Serin to achieve another quest board quest with the domestication of another creature. It seemed that this reward was additive in nature, as his reward in Kingdom Points was twice what it was before for the fae sheep and three times as much when the cockatrice was housed.

However, because of the around the clock work Serin had asked of the wildscouts and tamers, Serin had to prioritize their requests. They were being overworked, and it was only fair to reward them effectively. Serin could not wait until the adventurer's guild was set up and he could kickstart the economy. Right now the barter and trade setup was becoming exhaustive. But he did not want it to become a communal society. The economy was necessary.

Especially when trade with other nations happened. Free markets also ensured that there was not a monopoly created like the taxes he saw on adventurers in Ston.

So for now the wildscouts and tamers were happy with new wool clothes provided by the weavers, the weavers were happy with full glass and lighting for their facilities.

It was then that a truely game changing creature was discovered.

While scouting, Serin had noticed that the map screen showed a question mark (?) far away on the side of a hill. It was there he discovered an extremely large den over over 100 Night Vipers. When Serin viewed their color, it was yellow, meaning that this creature was a high level on its own. Extremely venomous, Serin realized that attempting to have anyone else try to handle the creatures was asking for disaster, so Serin simply used mold earth to encase the entire nest and carted it back himself. It must be a brooding nest. This can be taken to our advantage.

To reduce the risk of injury Serin personally handled the matches for the changelings. He reached his hand in, dropped the snake into a pit with the changeling, then closed the earthen case up. Most of the time he suffered several bites, and although it would normally cause sickness quickly and death within hours, Serin simply cleansed the poison from his body. His extremely high endurance meant he would probably shake off whatever effects the venom had, but it wasn't worth the risk. Plus it was an extra leveling of the cleanse skill.

After a few bites he learned if he chilled the earthen case down the vipers became docile. They became lively shortly after retrieval but it was enough time for Serin to put them into the enclosure.

There were many snakebites that week. Serin was present for every match and administered emergency healing magic on most of the changelings. Some changelings were bit several times and were near death within the time it took Serin to jump in the cage and administer emergency aid.

It was all worth it in the end. Since it was the defeat of an extremely dangerous creature, their racial ability heavily rewarded all of them. They all received moderate to large attribute bonuses to several stats, upping each one by 10-15 points.

With that over thirty of them received their full plates.

Serin took time to work with each one and find a niche for them, but their classes were all very unique.

Bilol was given class of Leader, which focused on spells and skills to increase the ability of those around him. Onna was given a class of archivist, which gave her skills in [papercraft] and [magical skrivner]. She had not known these skills but when she developed the plate that is what it gave her, most likely related to her work with Elder Merrin. Dana was given the class of [Consular], which dealt with mediation and conflict resolution. Both of these had offensive magic built in but it was not as expected. Onna could [paralyze] like the cockatrice and Dana could cast [poisonous cloud].

Additionally four changelings who gained the [paralyze] from the cockatrice and [poison] from the night viper were given the specific class of Assassin. Another three received the movement speed bonuses from their prey and the night viper's ability [camouflage] to blend into its surroundings and were granted the specific class of Spy. Both were considered under the Rogue main class but specialized in their specific skills.

Several who had just toughed it through the hunts gained the class of Fighter, a very versatile physical abilities skill. Another four who had just taken beating after beating gained the Defender class instead, which was like the fighter but leaned towards defense. Another seven were granted the warden class, which Serin had never heard of. It was like a mixture of a ranger and a fighter. Able to adapt to the outdoors, not as well as a wildscout, but able to fight one on one, but not as well as a Fighter.

Two were granted the class of Monster Hunter.

And one of the weaker ones, who Serin remembered was named Rufala, barely beat her targets and had to be healed dozens of times. In response she was classed as a Healer. She had gained poison immunity and the ability to cast greater [heal], [Cleanse], and [Purify].

Serin was excited for what the future held.

***

After the Nightviper trial, many things changed all at once. The Adventurer's guild opened up in full, staffed by two of the Attendants whom Serin was sure were divine beings just like back at the Walden Burb. They did not appear on his population count of the [Kingdom Management] screen. This included the side stall for the Bank, which Serin had been begging for.

The questboard began to populate with adventurer quests as well as kingdom quests.

And Serin started up the economy.

***

It was a hectic week. And it all started with a dinner and a glass of water.

Serin had called a town meeting. He began with introductions. "Welcome everyone, as we recently had several changelings earn their plates and earn their right to join the adventurer's guild, we unlocked the adventurer's guild and the bank. As I promised before, once we had an economy set up, you were guaranteed the fruits of your labor. That starts today." Serin showed his arm, where there was the mark that controlled his banking screen. "This mark gives you access to this world's banking system. It runs on a magical currency called a 'credit'." Serin then continued. "Credits are the universal currency used for buying and selling of goods. And although a good may change value, a credit does not change." Serin continued, "from this virtual bank credits can be transferred between people, and there is no fear of the credits being robbed from your person."

Serin then presented a Novice magical tome. "This book contains the novice spell [magelight]. In a city with an established magical skrivner, it would take roughly 10 credits of materials to make and an hour of time, meaning this item would sell for between 30 and 50 credits."

Serin then showed a large plate of food, and a glass of water. "This is a home cooked meal and a glass of clean water. This would cost roughly 10 credits in any inn in this world."

Serin continued. "The goods you produce are solely yours. With this system you will be able to more effectively barter."

Serin then pointed to the adventurer's guild quests. "The adventurer's guild quests provide valuable services such as monster extermination and area recon. These quests are provided by the divines just as the kingdom quests are. But unlike the kingdom quests, these often reward in credits and useful items."

Serin then smiled, "our nation can build itself to be a wealthy one, as the speed of growth is based solely on the amount of effort we all put in." Serin then explained, "If you unlock higher features of the adventurer's guild, you can use credits to purchase goods straight from their store." Serin then smiled, "But remember, what something truely costs is what another person is willing to pay for it. The area previously used as a materials swap will be the start of our market. Here people can trade their goods in an open area. Serin then pulled up his bank. "In an effort to get commerce rolling, every citizen will be given 100 credits."

And with that the market fluctuated terribly.

Serin then realized he should have used an example of something other than dinner. This was because the changelings put a much higher value on a cooked dinner, as this was still considered a delicacy to them.

***

After about a week, the market righted itself. Serin, Rachel, and Allister still had to provide spawned rations for quite a few changelings, but the number was far fewer. The area previously reserved for swap meets had farmers creating stalls to sell produce and the weavers selling clothing. Ephraim had setup selling various tools and fixtures..

This was because as soon as the adventurer's guild opened, Bilol had led his group over, and they began taking quests.

Serin noticed that the quests they were given were to start to deal with the monsters that had slowly started encroaching on the valley since the goblins had left.

Serin just needed them to be careful. It was too soon to be taking casualties. He relayed this information to Bilol. "Please don't take any quests that are too dangerous. You are the last of your people. I don't want your eagerness to extinguish this second chance."

Most importantly, Bilol had spoken with Serin about where he wanted to house the changelings. "A lot of us wish to live together. We wanted to hunt as a group and work on staying as a group, so if possible, we would be happy with a large bunkhouse like the one you built. We will help gather the stone ourselves." Serin cut him off, "You focus on growing your people. I will make a new home for you."

So Serin worked to build a bunkhouse for the combat oriented plated changelings. But that was not all of them. The wardens went to go live with the wildscouts. The spies and assassins wanted to stay in the main bunkhouse, but Serin shook his head. He then realized, 'I can just add a third level to this place for this sort of thing. It's going to be a government building eventually right?'

So Serin acquiesced and built them their own floor of the bunkhouse.

As for Rafala the healer, Serin set her up with a clinic. She was one of the changelings that initially needed to eat the spawned rations, but within no time at all she was responding to accidents all over town. Working the fields, tending to animals, and making clothing was not without its fair share of scrapes and injuries. Serin had been the one to heal people, and would do so again in an emergency, but from now on he wanted the town to start functioning on its own.

And before long, he noticed that his Kingdom points were steadily increasing. Serin then saw a small message. "All banking transactions give 1% conversion to Kingdom points. Private transactions are exempt."

Serin headed back to the bunkhouse to get some sleep, his first night off in a few days, then shook his head. He wanted a place to sleep but he still slept in the bunkhouse. At this he was frustrated. So he called over Lord Koni.

"Lord Koni, we are building a new building. I need you to design it. I leave the design to your discretion, but at the minimum It will have a massive garden, a large private bath, workshop, sorcery chamber, medical recovery bay, a master bedroom, six extra bedrooms, equipment storage, library, training room, secret tunnels throughout, and of course a hidden escape room able to withstand a star falling on it from out of the sky. It also has to look like a simple cottage from the outside."

Lord Koni lit up at the explanation. "Is it what I think it is?"

Serin grinned, "Yes. it will be my home." Lord Koni beamed. He had been saving his plans for just this moment. "I will make sure it's fireproof so Ignis can come out to play more."

Serin hadn't played with his familiars in a long time.

***

Serin looked at Ignis. Ignis looked at Serin. Serin could see the magic swirling over Ignis. His strengthened connection to the world made it so. Ignis was happy to spend time with his Master.

Ignis had also grown. He was roughly 1.5 meters in length. His capability to breathe fire was that of a novice firebolt. Serin would have to introduce him around to others. It also seemed that Ignis was using his front feet to grab things as often as he walked on them.

Serin formed another toy for him, this one out of Basalt. "Ignis, I have a new target for you."

Ignis was overjoyed at the chance to face a new opponent. Serin was aware that it would take much hotter flames for Ignis to defeat something made of Basalt.

As for his songbird, it was told to fly about and look for treasure. Serin realized it would be very slow leveling up in this stagnant area, but it was better than not being summoned at all.

Serin knew it would take quite some time to build the structure he wanted for his home. He was also aware that the projects Lord Koni was proposing would cause their entire town to quickly run out of metal. So he went over to the adventurer's guild to ask how to make a request.

***

The layout of the adventurer's guild felt familiar, and Serin could already see that Jericho had placed seating for his tavern between that and the guild. Serin saw that there were a few of the plated changelings looking at some of the simpler quests that were populated. Serin also saw that there was a radiant quest available "Recon the wilds" which required someone explore and identify any resources. Serin then realized that this must feed his Advanced Kingdom map.

Serin walked up to one of the attendants. Their blazing golden stare still set Serin on edge, even if their smile was friendly. "Good afternoon Serin, it has been quite some time since your last quest with us. We are aware you have not turned in your quest rewards. If you still possess you vouchers, we can fulfill those at this time."

Serin remembered not only did he have the homunculus vouchers, he also had vouchers for skill books.

Serin shook his head. He was on a mission. "I was wondering what it took for me to make a request."

Serin knew he needed to advance the plates of many of the changelings. He was also aware that he needed metal. And finally he knew he still needed to keep developing his own power.

The attendant smiled. "When you make a request through us, we determine its inherent cost, and determine the price. Usually this is paid in credits, but if you want to have the reward be something other than credits, we will need Mana."

It seemed even the attendants had begun using the slang term for Magical energy. Serin thought this was a change for the better.

"If I wanted the reward to be in attribute points, what would it cost?"

The attendant smiled. For that, it would depend on the cap. If the point was only available to those with 49 or less points, it is a low point, so its cost would be much less than a mid point, which is 50 to 150, which is much lower per point than something 150 to 300." Serin then asked, "What about a point above 300?" The attendant smiled, "uncapped points are only available when the quest is provided by the Divines, or is powered through the collected will, or deaths, of many people."

Serin then remembered back to Walden Burb. Their extermination quest was wanted by the entire town.

Serin then looked, "What is the cost of a low point?" The attendant responded, "If it is unallocated, as in can be used in any attribute, its 500 mana per point. If it is allocated, its 300."

Serin smiled, "I would like to make a request to find a source for any metal, and retrieve 200kg as proof of the metal vein's richness. Required part size of 4. Reward is 5 Luck points per party member."

The divines smiled. "I have determined that the reward meets or exceeds the minimum requirement for the assigned difficulty - iron member quest. The cost will be 6000 mana or powdered magical essence."

Some of the changelings had heard the quest and were already trying to coordinate a team. Serin then looked at his stats. It will take me almost 4 hours to recover that much mana. Serin smiled, "I will pay now."

The attendant placed a jet black orb on the counter. "Please place your hand here, and we will pull that much mana from your reserve. If you cannot fulfill payment, when you run out of mana, it will stop and you can come back to pay the rest. The quest will not populate until the mana has been collected, and should you die, another may donate mana on your behalf."

Serin put his hand over the orb and felt the magical energy quickly leaving him. It was like becoming mentally tired, almost like he was going to get a brainburn, but right before he would. Serin had a little over 6000 mana to use so it wouldn't drop him to zero mana.

The attendant smiled, "Thank you for your payment. We will let you know when the quest is complete and the materials are ready for pickup."

Serin decided to go for a walk. While waiting for his mana to fill up, he would make a visit to the liquid gold mine.

***

"Oh hello Serin! It is nice of you to come visit today! I still have more jars, so you didn't need to bring anymore. I wanted to thank you for the help. I can be a bit scatterbrained at times. Sakina has been very helpful in keeping me organized." Peter was excited to have a visitor. Especially the leader of the town. Serin had made a business arrangement with him. He provided all of the glass jars for Peter, And Peter provided 10% filled jars of honey in return for the town treasury. He also promised to keep 'Serin's Larder's stocked with honey' should he ever have a completed home.

Serin looked and saw one of the unplated changelings helping process the honey with the strange tooling that Serin had provided him. When Serin was asked to construct the strange device, he couldn't understand its use. Now with it in use, he could now understand what the items were for. It extracted the honey without destroying the hive. Which would make it easier to repopulate.

Sakina was still a bit off from earning a plate. So until then she would keep helping. Access to as much honey as she wanted probably didn't hurt.

Serin knew he had four hours to burn until his mana would refill and he would make the most of it.

"Peter, we do not know about Entomancy in this world. I would like to learn about the magic you possess, and the spells that fall under it. If I am to lead my people, I need to learn more about them."

Peter was overjoyed. At best, other Demis had regarded him as a necessary inconvenience. At worst, outright disdain. Even with Serin's decree that all plated creatures are equal, some prejudice still lasts.

But Serin was interested in everything he did. Serin saw his value, and now Serin wanted to learn what he could do.

***

Peter was giving a class, and had several jars of insects. "So the four Novice spells an Entomancer develops are [Summon Insects], [Control Insects], [Identify Insects], and [Quell Insects]. [Summon Insects] calls insects of a specified variety to your location. [Quell Insects] calms down angry insects. [Identify Insects] identifies everything about the insect you are looking at. It is more powerful than a master cast [Identify] spell, but only works on insects. And [Control Insects] issues simple commands to insects you have formed a bonding with, or can be used to subjugate individual insects to you if it is given enough power." Peter took time to illustrate each of the skills that he was talking about. Serin watched as different insects did different tasks according to his will.

"The two intermediate skills are [Bond Insect] and [Reproduce]. These bring insects under your control, and command them to increase in number. The Advanced Skills are [Control Swarm], [Defensive Swarm], and [Swarm Sacrifice]. These work with groups of insects. [Swarm sacrifice] is an offensive spell that makes a swarm attack a target, and will do so to their death if necessary. The Master level skill I know is [Influence Biology] which allows me to change insects over time. It is how I am able to make bees that don't sting humans." Peter could easily work as a teacher. His flowing voice was quite received.

Serin watched as Peter showed each of these skills. Serin was genuinely impressed, but more importantly, by closely observing all of these spells, Serin gained full access to them.

He sat with Sakina. Each of them was eating toast with honey. In the middle of the field Peter showed his skills several times until Serin felt the familiar burn, and then Serin would ask about the others.

And just in time for Serin's Mana to refill, Serin had learned 10 new spells. He wished he could have Sakina learn as much as he did, since she was easily being put to quite a bit of work keeping up with Peter. Serin then leaned over and asked, "Sakina, can you gain skill by eating bugs?" Sakina nodded, "only if they are an opponent though." Serin would have to ponder this one.

With that Serin noticed his Mana was almost full so it would soon by time to return back to put in another request for metal. "Peter. I have very much enjoyed listening to you. Is there anything that you could use to make your workplace better?"

Peter thought for a minute. "Well there is a creature I have heard of here that we also had in our land called a 'Pixie'. Normally they were considered a menace creature, but I had learned that they love the taste of honey. And If you set up an area for them to live, their dust can be collected. It gives a mildly euphoric effect. And any hives they live near get mixed with it, which in return makes extremely valuable honey wine."

Serin felt like his people were very much left out of the loop on many joys in life. Wine, an alcohol for the rich, made from honey, usually a substance reserved for nobility and magistrates, as a common beverage was a completely foreign concept. Compound that with adding a mildly euphoric stimulant to it, he figured out how this could be used to his advantage.

We won't have to fight wars if everyone wants to be our trade partner.

"Peter, if I can get you some pixies, can you come to an agreement with Jericho to make this honey wine?"

Peter grew very excited, "I would gladly show Jericho how to make honey wine. There is no change to the process to use Dusted honey."

Serin then grinned, "if you wish we can make an agreement for honey wine just like we did for the honey, just let me know what you need." Serin then knew what he needed to do. And his second business venture started itself.

***

Serin was excited. He promised to provide all of the materials for starting up and expanding Peter's facilities to include mead production for a 10% share in the market. Now all that was needed was to get the materials. Most of it was metal or glassware. Serin was happy he put in the request for metal prior. That metal was his, so when it was brought in Serin would be using it for projects. Serin just hoped it was not iron. He had seen stills and brewing vats in inns and they always seemed to be copper or brass.

Serin walked over to the Adventurer's guild. He had a piece of parchment with what Peter needed, other than his honey, to produce his honey wine.

Serin arrived at the adventurer's guild. He was greeted by the same attendant as before. "Welcome back Serin. I regret to inform you that your request has not been fulfilled yet. Is there something else I can assist you with?"

Serin smiled, and answered, "I would like to make a request. I need 10 pixies captured alive and unharmed."

***

Serin went for another stroll. Peter had given him designs for Glass bottles. Peter had also said he can use beeswax and to seal bottles. He said something about making the wax red by using dyes of one of his bugs, but Serin stopped him there. He would rather not know, but he would request that Peter start breeding those beetles in a variety of colors. He offered to again front the materials and startup for 10% stake in the business.

Serin also knew that dyes were not very common. The only colors people were able to dye things were green, black, and brown, because that is what the earth had. Other coloring was usually done with magic, and illusion magic with permanence was rather costly. If Serin could make Dye available to those without magic, he would have yet another great trade good.

Serin knew that there was a special wood used for making the corks for wine, so he would need to ask Jericho about that.

***

Serin knew he needed metal. He needed money. He needed time. He also had to keep progressing. He knew he would have to always protect his people, so he knew he would have to prepare to meet any threat.

So with a thought, he went to Jericho's Tavern. On the days he wasn't training, Jericho was building his tavern. He had put up four walls and a ceiling, but it was still missing the 2nd and 3rd floors, making it one giant room. For now there was only a little spot for Jericho to sleep in the corner. Serin arrived as Jericho was sitting down to some food from the larder. He made sure to keep it as stocked with game as he could, keeping in mind Serin's note on not overhunting.

Right now Horned rabbits were still overpopulated So Serin had let the leaders know it was still free game on them until otherwise noted.

Serin sat with Jericho. Serin looked exhausted. Jericho mirrored the sentiment.

"How are Allister and Rachel?" Serin asked. Jericho chuckled, "Beating the crap out of each other. Rachel still wins every fight but it's no longer as one sided. Allister's marches are getting longer and longer. And Rachel's Intelligence stat rises each time she has to use life magic to sort out Allister's mangled face of fill his spent stamina." Jericho leaned over to Serin. "How about you? How goes the life of a national leader?"

Serin shrugged. "Learned about the 10 Entomancy spells Peter knows." Jericho didn't seem to be impressed until Serin said his next line. "Did you know you can make wine from honey?"

Jericho's expression of excitement and surprise was one Serin will remember forever. Serin then said, "That's right old man, you better hurry up with your damn tavern so we can start drinking. Also do you know how to make corks?"

Serin then stumbled off to find the farmers. It was time he learned about what they do.

***

Sadly the farmers who showed Serin their magic were not as impressive. Their spells, unlike Life magic, were of the Nature Domain. They dealt with encouraging growth of any plant, and then organizing its growth to meet their needs. Serin knew the [Vine Growth] spell of the life domain only effected vines, and they grew from any available material. So Serin listened intently. Both of the farmers, Simone and Javrik, were only farm hands back in their world. They had only managed to learn a few Novice and Intermediate Nature Magics. Specifically, [Early Spring], which caused seeds to germinate early, [Maturation] which made crops grow to production size quickly, and the Intermediate spell, [Form Growth], which helped control and curb the growth of plants so they stayed highly productive at a manageable size. After conversation, Serin realized they knew of other magics within that domain, however they would need to find a way to develop those skills naturally, or receive them as rewards from the guild. Serin let those thoughts rattle in his head.

Serin knew his current production food facilities were nearing their capacity. Serin looked at the farmers. "What would it take to produce more food?"

Simone and Javrik laughed, "You misunderstand the situation. We are producing more food that we can pick, and given the current layout of our large facilities, we are easily able to boost the growth and food production, but we are only 2 people. 4 on the days when we have our changelings assist. We don't need more plant space, we need more support."

Serin then thought. "If I provided you with workers, what would their pay be?"

Simone and Javrik looked at each other, "Well they would have as much produce as they could eat." Serin shook his head. "You have Mana correct?" the Demis nodded, "but it is not that high. Our skills are mostly towards growing, and our stats are pretty evenly distributed." Serin shook his head. "Then I will make you a deal. I want you to join the adventurer's guild. I can give you help now that will assist 16 hours a day. Although you currently don't have the mana to make serious quests, you can start by making requests offering rewards like attribute points or experience, which you can pay with mana. Your mana just sits in its reserve. Might as well have it earn money for you. You could easily setup quests to increase your quality of life. The divines will help you setup rewards and costs."

With that Simone and Javrik agreed. Serin stopped off at the Adventurer's guild and turned in a voucher for a Homunculus. The divines delivered a 2 meter tall humanoid doll with no face. Serin thought it looked a little strange. He had seen a homunculus before, but it always wore a mask. Now Serin realized why. The divines smiled, "It will follow all the commands of those that hold this manual" and with that Serin was given the Homunculus Manual, which the divines had written in the Human and Demis language. He then returned to the farms with the new worker in tow.

Upon arriving, Simone and Javrik were a bit stunned. Serin started to explain, "This is a homunculus. It is a machine of magic. It will take a few days to train, but when you have thoroughly trained it, it will perform all of the manual tasks you have set for it in the order you have specified according to this manual. It will work without pause 16 hours a day, but you must still check on it. It does not have advanced intelligence, so it will only do what it has been trained to do."

Serin then smiled and left. As he walked away he said, "I have kept my word and provided you with a worker that can work 24 hours a day. When you have trained your new assistant, please make your way to the Adventurer's guild. I look forward to your participation in future quests!"

***

Serin put in a third quest before he headed off to the bunkhouse to sleep. This one was to "Collect 100 pairs of shirts and pants and 100 prepare 100 sets of leather boots."

Serin kept the same rules. 4 party team to complete. 5 Luck points each. Capped at Luck 50.

And with that Serin headed to the bunkhouse to sleep. He had no idea what he would do with these clothes, but he knew he didn't want to have to deal with his next refugees be naked, so he thought it best to stock up now.

Serin settled into the bunkhouse. Most of the Changelings had left. The ones that stayed were either still unplated or not general combat, so they did not join Bilol in his bunkhouse. Instead they took quests like the wildscouts and wardens exploring the surrounding territory, or worked around the town cleaning or collecting supplies.

Serin couldn't wait until his home was complete. The transient barracks was not his ideal place to live, and most of his personal possessions were in general storage. Serin didn't mind this, but he wanted to make sure that in the future his personal supply of powdered Magical Essence was kept on hand. Until then he would sleep in the transient barracks, on a bed of young spruce.

***