Summoned by Monster Girls

The feeling of hot water cascading over my head was almost enough to make me collapse on the spot in my shower. The loofa-cloth that I scrubbed with made my entire body tingle happily at finally being able to remove the sticky sensation of sweat and blood off my skin.

“Washing up in the stream helped, but I need to figure out if they have anything that would work like this. Something to add to that pack they said they’d put together for me.” I muttered, scrubbing the roughly textured cloth over my side where I’d been stabbed with the crude spear. The injury was fully healed, not even a scar remained behind at this point. Which, I reflected, was a good thing. If this first mission protecting the girls was anything to go on, I was going to end up getting hurt again. The fact that Kassandra could just patch me up with a spell was good. However, the fact that it cut into their budget made it bad too.

How did Kass describe it? They have a ‘spell budget’ that they are trying to remain inside of. Healing me eats into that, which means they may not have the funds to join in later. And they are already in a deficit from summoning and equipping me. We made decent headway in that department today, but that could easily change. Plus, they have to make enough of a ‘profit’ in mana to fund their studies each week. I thought while I scrubbed my body. Kass told me to not worry about it, and just let them manage it. And I should. It’s not my place to be dictating their finances after all. The fact that mana is money there just makes it hard to accept extra spending like the healing on me. So I need to be better prepared in the future.

I spent another ten minutes just enjoying the hot water in the shower and considering what I could do to improve for the future. Bringing a gun with me would help, I already had those after all. But there was no guarantee I’d be able to deal with problems before they closed to melee distance. If the kobolds had broken and run from the gun, it would have prevented my injury. However, we’d have had to chase them through the trees at that point. But that was moot because I couldn’t bring a gun with me. Not yet at least.

Thinking about transferring items and the powers reminded me of something Cariad had said before; one of the ways that the System would unlock powers was as a result of me investing the points that I earned. I was currently sitting on five hundred points that I hadn’t spent. Which brought to mind the connection I’d made earlier about how one of the stats might actually help with Shape-Shifting.

Not sure what was going to happen when I started messing with my physiology, I got dried off and left my tiny bathroom before heading into the living room. I only bothered to throw on a set of pajama bottoms out of habit.

Seated on my couch, I closed my eyes and regarded the System interface. The tabs were just as I remembered them and I started to open my stats page to check the numbers before sighing. I was stalling.

You promised you’d look after them. I reminded myself with a growl. In a fit of self-directed anger, I shoved my mind to the ‘Powers’ tab and to the untested power I’d spent so long considering.

Enhance Self (Minor) - Cost: 10 SP - Increase personal stats by a single point per purchase, up to a maximum of five points per stat.

May be selected multiple times.

Not letting myself hesitate, I activated the power five times in rapid succession and the counter in the upper right hand corner spiraled down from five hundred SP available to four hundred and fifty.

Nothing happened after that, but on a hunch I went back to my stats page and noticed that each of them had a +/- flashing next to them now. Committing to the decision, I mentally tapped the + next to ‘Mental Acuity’ five times and the number thirteen rapidly spiraled up to eighteen. A message popped up over my stats after that.

Processing changes… … … Changes applied to Travelers body.

New neural pathways are being forged.

Maximum effect of Enhance Self (Minor) has been applied to the status Mental Acuity.

To improve further, unlock the next rank of Enhance Self.

It is recommended that the Traveler rests to allow System time to make changes.

“Well crap. That means I can’t experiment with it yet.” I grumbled under my breath.

Sitting alone in my quiet apartment, I could only hear the faint sounds of Mrs. Kowalski’s Jeopardy playing through the wall on full blast and the distant sound of an argument from another of the neighbors' apartments.

“Fuck it.” I grunted and went back into the interface. I had plenty of SP to spend and nothing else I could buy just yet. Digging back into the ‘Powers’ tab, I carefully counted out the activations until I had spent the maximum amount of points on the power that I could, another twenty five activations and the power went silver in my interface. Flipping back to the Stats page let me dump five points into each of the other five stats as well.

As soon as I activated the last one, the Stats page vanished and another System message scrolled over my vision in brilliantly glowing purple lights.

Traveler had applied maximum bonuses to all stats from the power Enhance Self (Minor).

Traveler is advised to eat and then immediately sleep as the System will begin making comprehensive enhancements to their body.

Not a second after I finished reading the first message, another appeared under the first.

Enhance Self (Minor) has had the maximum amount of SP invested into it.

As Enhance Self (Minor) is a flat enhancement of the base Traveler, the ability is considered mastered.

A flare of gold light had me opening the ‘Powers’ tab once more and Enhance Self (Minor) was now lined in gold, rather than silver.

“Huh, neat.” I muttered, scanning the page for anything else that had changed. Nothing had, so I opened my eyes and the System interface faded away. “Might as well do what it recommended. I’m bushed from the fighting. Some food would be good.”

Getting up, the world spun around me as my body reacted far faster than I’d expected. The System was already at work making the changes in my body and I had to be careful as I moved. The sensation that I was moving faster than I should have, combined with the rest of the world moving a bit slower, was very disorienting.

It took a bit of work to get to the fridge and grab one of the tupperware containers I’d put my prepped lunches into. I didn’t trust myself to actually cook anything at the moment.

While eating, I got my phone and started watching videos about sword fighting and history, figuring that it might help me improve, even slightly.

<><><>

I learned several things both that evening and the following morning.

The first thing I learned was that YouTube was probably not the best source of information for practical sword skills, as anyone could post whatever they wanted without having any kind of official background. A lot of what I saw while eating gave conflicting information, so I’d chalked it up as something I needed to research in more depth when I had time, which I promised to do right after work the next day.

The second thing I learned was that using the System to enhance your body while you slept was both cool, and painful. Apparently increasing all of my stats at once put quite a strain on my body. Something I only realized in hindsight with my enhanced wisdom the next morning when my entire body ached like I’d spent hours in the gym.

I knew that some of it had to be the results of the previous day’s adventure as well, but parts of me hurt that really shouldn’t have. The improved mental scores told me that the most likely culprit was the Enhance Self power. I also got a more pleasant surprise while I was laying in bed that morning groaning.

New Powers available in the System interface.

Congratulations, Traveler.

Navigating to the ‘Powers’ menu showed me a new entry that branched off of the, now golden, Enhance Self (Minor) power.

Enhance Self (Lesser) - Cost: 50 SP - Increase personal stats by 5 points. These points can be spread out after, up to a maximum of ten points per stat beyond (Minor) effects.

May be selected multiple times.

If the previous tier was not fully exploited, that opportunity is not lost. Previous tier will become unavailable once max points are allotted from it.

I’d prodded the skill for more information regarding the last part, as it hadn’t manifested until I had already fully ‘exploited’ the previous tier, but it hadn’t given me anything to work with. Without much time before work, I’d been forced to hurry and get dressed.

The improvements to my physical strength and reflexes were surprising. I’d improved most of my base stats by between thirty and fifty percent overnight. I remembered that Cariad had said it would take a bit for my body to fully accept the enhancements and be able to utilize them, but I could already feel the benefit as well as see it in the mirror.

The spare tire I’d been carrying around my waist from eating too much fast food was gone, leaving only a thin layer of padding over my abdomen. My arms had gained an inch or more of muscle overnight and improved definition. I did have some concerns about what might happen if I boosted the stats even more. I had enough left over SP to add another twenty points to myself, with a cap of an additional ten points to any one stat. The idea of increasing my base by a further fifty or more percent was both tempting and a little concerning. I resisted the urge by focusing on the fact I needed to get used to what I had first. Where did the additional muscle mass come from though? There is no way I had that much spare protein in the food I ate last night? I thought to myself as I stared at my thicker biceps in the mirror. Magic, it’s the only answer. How did you get swole? Totally not steroids or drugs, it’s just magic folks!

Work put my new willpower ability to the test as well. Dutcher was his normal annoying self, hovering when he could and pestering me at random. The little idiot continued to ride his nerd chariot around and would pop up at random to offer ‘advice’ on how to load the truck.

“You should set the water cases on the bottom, Cosgrave. Heavy items always go on the bottom. The totes are lighter and can go on top. You’d think that with as long as you’ve been loading trucks, you’d know something as simple as that.”

I bit back a growl of irritation and ignored him, continuing to shift the totes into place to form a flat wall that would help support what lay behind it.

“Are you listening to me, Cosgrave?”

“Nope. Just doing my job, Dutcher. There is a reason I do it this way.” I responded bluntly without looking up at the pudgy silhouette of the man balancing on his segway at the entrance to my trailer.

“Fine, if you aren’t going to take the advice I’m giving, then there is nothing I can do to prevent the complaints from the drivers that I’m sure will come as a result.” Dutcher shot back, offended venom thick in his voice.

Once again exercising my improved willpower, I ignored the attempted insult and just kept working. A minute later, I heard the quiet whine of Dutcher’s Segway as he scooted away from the end of my truck.

“Knob-goblin.” I muttered under my breath. Now that Dutcher was gone, I could go back to focusing on what else I’d been doing while loading.

Since I couldn’t watch videos or do research while on the clock, I probably could have holed up inside the trailer out of sight and fiddled with my phone but my integrity wouldn’t let me, I was practicing my Shape-Shifting as Rieka had suggested. Wearing long sleeves sucked, since the already warm trailer was even hotter now with the exertion of movement. Thankfully, my improved endurance was helping as well too.

Underneath the long-sleeve flannel, the skin from my wrist to my elbow on my left arm slowly hardened and thickened until it had transformed into the scales and hide of a crocodile.

Lifting up another stack of totes carefully, there was no way of knowing for sure how heavy each stack was going to be until I actually lifted it after all, I shuffled over to set it down while also focusing on returning my arm to normal once more.

It turned out that the increase in mental acuity had helped. Not by a ton, but it had helped. The shifting change to my arm only took around two seconds to complete in one direction. I had to focus, but it was easier. The shifting in combat had been faster, but I’d also been hyper focused on protecting myself and the girls while here I was splitting my attention.

Walking over to the pallet full of case waters, I checked to make sure no one was standing at the open end of the trailer before focusing on my right index finger. It took less than a second while I was actually focusing on it without any distractions. A claw sprouted from the tip of my finger that was black and glossy, like that of a hawk or an eagle. Using it like a box knife, I drug it over the plastic wrap. The talon wasn’t perfect for cutting, apparently natural claws and talons didn’t have much of a slicing edge to them. I already had plans to research dinosaurs and other clawed animals as well to see what I could do to improve myself more. At the moment it was just utility use though, beyond the improved defenses from adding the thicker animal hide.

I just hope I don’t end up having to bite people…the best natural weapons I’ve seen in the animal kingdom are always teeth and I really don’t wanna know what kobolds taste like. I thought idly before urging the claw to return to a finger once more before hefting several cases of water up and carrying them to stack on top of the totes. I refused to load things like Dutcher had suggested because the plastic that the water bottles were made of was so thin it wasn’t able to support much weight, and if one or two bottles crushed, everything on top of it would fall over. I’d explained it to him in the past, but he continued to think his method was superior because he’d come up with it.

Maybe I can grow horns…or antlers like Cerebaton has. I’d be more down for that than biting something. I thought while walking back to grab more of the cases of water. The section that I was currently loading would need several dozen of them so I was just counting as I went, I could scan them in when it was done. Thinking about Cerebaton’s antlers brought my mind back around on the track of the slate-blue daemon woman that was my caseworker and a thought occurred to me. Checking to make sure the coast was clear, I paused with my back to the entrance of the trailer and closed my eyes before navigating to the message tab of the System interface.

Liam

Hey, had a quick question for you, Cari. The first mission I went on with the girls was rough, made it through fine but it highlighted that I don’t really have the knowledge I need to protect them properly. And Earth isn’t really the kind of place you can learn to fight with a sword easily. I know it’s a long shot, but do you have any ideas of things I can do to close the gap? I’m making progress on Shape-Shifting, but it’s not quick enough for me.

With the message sent to Cariad in hope she might have a solution or idea, I walked back towards the pallet of water where it sat on the dock. I had barely made it ten steps before the edges of my vision flashed to signify a message had come back. Grabbing three cases quickly, I hurried back into the truck and checked it.

Cariad

Of course, Liam. This is why I’m here after all, to help you get settled into the situation you find yourself in. Congratulations on the successful mission, as well as on mastering an ability. The System only noted that you had mastered your first one. I’m betting that it was Enhance Self (Minor) since that one is a lot easier to master than Shape-Shifting (Minor) is. What sort of help did you need specifically? I am guessing that, since you mentioned learning sword fighting, you want to improve your weapon skills?

Liam

Yea, that is the issue. I ended up using the sword the girls bought me more like a baseball bat than anything else. The shopkeeper we bought it from actually recommended a mace for me, but I wanted a sword…now that the girls spent the money on it, I need to learn to use it properly. I was trying to research it on the Internet last night and videos can help, but the problem is that there aren’t really any ‘sword masters’ around. Not real ones anyway, the closest I found were guys who trained in weapons along with martial arts, but I don’t have that kind of time. I need to focus on weapon training specifically. I did learn how to use Shape-Shifting to give myself stronger skin though, and that has paid off.

Cariad

I’m glad that you are keeping in mind protecting yourself, Liam. That is a very important consideration to have. If you are looking for something with weapons though, I’d recommend contacting Mr. Cerebaton about it. He might have a business contact he can leverage to get you help. He’s actually just walking across the office right now. Let me ask him!

I set the stacked water down and kept working, wondering if Cariad’s boss might have an idea of what could help. The idea that the big man might have business connections to someone on Earth that could train me was surprising. Then again, it wasn’t the strangest thing I’d thought of. That was currently taken by the image of Cariad sitting in a traditional office space with a number of other strange people that were Daemons as well. Given the difference between her and Cerebaton, I could only imagine what others of her species looked like. Maybe five minutes later, the edges of my vision flashed and I closed my eyes to check the messages.

Cariad

Mr. Cerebaton said that he’d be willing to tutor you himself actually! You just have to meet him around six tonight at the city park nearest your apartment. He wants to see where you are in skill level before fully committing to it.

Liam

Cari, I appreciate his offer but how is that going to work? Someone his size and…well color is going to stick out like a sore thumb at the city park.

Cariad

Oh don’t worry about that. Mr. Cerebaton has a bit of Shape-Shifting as well, so he can disguise himself. Just meet him by the gazebo in the middle of the park. He said he has some training equipment that he can lend you at the very least.

Liam

Thank him for me, would you? I plan to thank him tonight, but please pass that to him in advance.

Cariad

Of course! Anything else I can help you with?

Liam

Only if you can tell me what I have to do to unlock some way to transfer items. I’d be able to protect the girls better if I had a gun I could bring.

Cariad

Not something I know, unfortunately. It’s considered a ‘regular’ power for most Travelers as far as the System is concerned, but when it becomes available is entirely up to the individual.

Liam

Okay, thanks a bunch, Cari. Have a good one.

Cariad

You too, Liam.

“Huh…training with Cerebaton? That’ll be…interesting.” I muttered while rubbing my eyes. I’d been pressing them closed in focus while messaging Cariad and now I had sparkles dancing in my vision.

“Cosgrave!” Dutcher’s squeaky bellow made me sigh in exasperation and I headed over to find out what the idiot wanted this time. He only used that particular bellow when he had some task he wanted to assign to an unfortunate.