Chapter 40: Chapter 34- Small Change

Anyone can love whoever they want, really. Most may find the idea of wanting to have intimate relations with a wolf or other animal disgusting, rightfully so, but sapient-on-sapient relationships are almost never frowned upon. Human and orc, elf and chimeric, werewolf and vampire, even cyborg and undead relationships are not frowned upon. 

Beyond that, nothing is off the table. Two men, two women, one hermaphrodite and one anything else, everyone is happy as long as there is passion. Even for people who dislike romance altogether, there is nothing to really fear. These values contrast heavily with many of the stories heard from otherworlders; oppression based on romantic preference is a saddeningly common thing out there.

-Excerpt from the ‘Granulpedia, Vol. 5,’ section 3, chapter 12

 

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Mori’s night was filled with minor experiments with her new mana type. Lights, flames, even her death mana. She combined that odd brownish-blue mana with many of the normal mana types she had learned from the book as well. Her tests pointed to the idea that the new mana type was one that boosted the spell at an increasing rate up to a certain point, upon which point the gains in pumping more mana into the spell would have diminishing returns.

Her mind began spinning out of control with new possibilities as she watched it work with even the tiniest amounts of mana. At some point Mokan and Norta returned to the skiff, bags laden with luggage, with her other three death knights. As soon as Jel entered the dining hall, she rushed up to Mori with a fascinated glint in her eyes. The pyrausta parked herself next to Mori for the rest of the night, asking questions and giving ideas as to what could be done with the new mana type. Before long, Jel invited Pride to join them; he was seemingly fine with working with others if they asked first, Mori guessed. 

Before Mori knew it, the morning came and Fara walked out from the hold of the ship. Her face had grown in beauty to the point that Mori was sure she could swoon anyone who saw her with a single glance. Her skin had become an even richer shade of tan, looking as if she was sculpted from it. The beautiful woman yawned as she passed, “Morinin’ Mori…” she said as she passed with a strip of jerky, “Are you ready to start your rune training?” she asked.

Mori pursed her non-existent lips, “Fara… have you looked in the mirror today?” she asked, “You look kind of different.”

Fara scowled, “What happened?” she asked.

“Well, it’d probably be better to just show you,” Mori said, smiling, conjuring a hand-sized sheet of ice from what little water remained in the air, “Look at you! You could swoon anyone you see!” Mori giggled.

Stunned, Fara turned her face from side to side, rubbed her tanned skin, played with her blonde hair that seemed to fall beneath her head like a waterfall of gold, and blinked with more confusion with each passing second, “Damn…” she muttered, “This isn’t good…”

Mori tilted her head a bit, eye-flames going wide, “Why not? I think looking like that is great! I mean, I couldn’t tell you, being skin and bone without the skin, but you look gorgeous. I think anyone you find in the street would fall for you in an instant!” 

Fara averted her gaze, looking at her shoes, “That’s the problem…” she muttered, “I don’t like that.”

“Don’t like that? Are you, like, not into guys? Girls? Anyone?” Desire butted in from the side. 

Fara only spared the undead a passing glance, too caught up in her new conundrum to give the death knight’s words any thought. After a moment, Mori placed a hand on Fara’s shoulder, “Are you alright?” she asked softly, “Why is being pretty a problem?”

Fara, sighing, took a deep breath, “It’s just… I don’t like anyone like that. Men, women, human, elf, orc, chimeric, insectoid, oceanos, nobody…”

Mori shrugged, “So you’re… what’s the word? Asexual? Well, good on you!” she said with a pat on her back.

Fara shook her head, “That’s not it… I do have a type…” she muttered, “Have you heard of cyborgs?” 

Mori shook her head, “Nope. Not at all.” 

Fara sighed, sitting next to Mori, “Well, some of the really great mechanics, the best out there, are able to get a Trait called [Bio-mechanical Integration]. It’s kind of like your [Mechanical Integration], but it turns the machines they add to their bodies into a sort of mix between flesh and steel… Just imagining it makes me fall into daydreams…” she said, a big, goofy smile on her face. 

“Huh…” Mori let out, “That’s not the turn I expected… I’m kind of surprised that is a thing here, especially with the whole thing with, what’s her name? #^_%#&_*!? Yeah, the one who controls the Clockworks. I thought cyborgs would be hated.”

Fara shook her head, “You would be surprised, Mori. People are able to understand that people want to become stronger, and becoming a cyborg is definitely one way to do it,” she explained, “Do you get why I am so upset now? Looking like this, people will want to date me and stuff, but I don’t like people like that!”

“Then just say no,” Mori said, “I mean, sure, it may be difficult, but you have to put your foot down and tell them no. If you’re so worried about that, then just say you don’t have a type. The whole asexual thing I was talking about.”

Fara took another deep breath and calmed herself down, “Yeah… yeah, that could work. Alright, I’ll do that… But I’m still going to wear a hood as much as I can,” Fara stated, “I don’t want people to ogle me.”

Mori nodded, “Fair.”

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“If I got my extra Trait, what about you? Did you get yours?” Fara asked.

Mori shifted in her seat, “I haven’t noticed anything, honestly.”

Fara rolled her eyes, “You barely feel your skull bones shifting into whatever makes it up now, how would you feel it now?” 

“I… That’s fair.” Mori pulled up her Status Page.

[Name: Mori Athanatos

Species: Lich

Variant: Bargain Lich*

Level: 15(1%)

Traits: 

Physical: (Mechanical Integration), (Mechanical Skeletal Manipulation VII [+1]), (Mana Rib V), (Emotive Skull)

Spiritual: (Multi-rune Casting), (Mechanical Affinity), (Multi-sigil Casting), (Enhanced Mind VI), (Psychic Affinity IV), (Psychic Conduit), (Psychic Flail)

Granted Traits: (Universal Soul Language), (Adaptive Physiology), (Effeminate Skeleton)]

“Well, that solves that question,” Mori said, “I don’t think anything has changed, though,” Mori wondered aloud.

“Maybe,” Desire said from the side, “It’s some sort of effect of another Trait? Like, if you have a Trait that lets you manipulate your skeleton, then it will be your ‘base form’ or something like that?” Mori looked at the pyrausta, who was crouching with her two pairs of legs, and noticed the interest apparent in the undead’s eyes. Laughing a bit, Mori removed her gauntlet and placed it on the table. With a final moment to feel the Trait, she shifted her ‘base form,’ as Desire called it. 

Nearly instantly, her body began to change. It was like watching a video of a plant growing sped up, Mori thought as her body slightly shrunk. Her ribcage became ever so slightly smaller while her shoulders narrowed. Her pelvis widened a bit and her limbs got a small growth spurt. Generally, her body was barely different. She was a bit shorter, her arms and legs just a bit longer, and her waist slightly wider, but she was still her through and through. “Huh… Well, that was pretty much what I expected. It does feel a bit more comfortable, though, so that’s nice,” she said with a smile. 

Fara returned Mori’s smile, “That’s good then,” she said, “For now though, do you want to start your rune training? We may be able to actually get a few of those small skiffs you guys were talking about done as well.” Fara beckoned Mori to follow, who in turn beckoned Pride, Jel, and Avarice to follow her. The five of them left the dining hall and went to the floor of the mod dock. On a shelf in the corner of the warehouse, many bars of Clocksteel were stacked up, ready to be used. Just under them, buckets of clear paint sat, unopened, “Ah, nice!” Fara said, “This is some of the good multipurpose paint. So, do you guys have an idea or do you want my help?” she asked. 

The four undead looked at each other, shrugging in turn, “Dunno…” Jel said, “We need to be able to use it, but the three zombie sisters need to be able to use it too…”

“Sled,” Mori said.

“M-Mistress?” 

“We need a sled,” she repeated, “If we can make one move forward, then add some rudders or something, we can steer it even though it won’t be that hard to make.”

Fara nodded, “That is an idea that could work, especially since we need to make them for the pyraustas. The problem I see is it being too hard to use. A board that goes forward is a pretty simple concept, but it would take some skill to not fall off. How about this: a sort of narrow skiff like mine, but without a power cell? Doing that pretty much eliminates all types of mechanical fun you can have with it, but it won’t be too hard to enchant.”

Avarice did not waste a moment, taking a few of the metal bars and placing them on the ground. Looking at it for a small while, he sighed, “I can’t do anything without tools,” he said.

Fara smiled at the undead’s words, “Yeah, pretty much. That, however, is what renting a mod dock is for. Come on, I’ll show you!” she said, rushing off to the side of the warehouse. They followed her, only to find a strange contraption sitting in the wall.

It was like a coffin inlaid into the wall, with mana-ridden prongs protruding into the coffin near where the head would be. Beside it, Fara was fiddling with a few valves poking out of the wall, turning them by inches. After she was done, she stepped into the coffin and the prongs moved forward, just barely touching her head. Suddenly, the clocksteel arms that lined the walls began to move, unfolding themselves and stretching so that every one could reach anywhere in the great room. 

One of the arms, tipped with a claw, seized a bar of clocksteel and held it up in the center of the room. Runes on the arm flared and glowed with power as another arm, tipped with a strange three-pronged fork, moved beside it. More runes flared as a dull grey mana flowed from the second arm and the metal began to squirm. Slowly, the arm moved forward, dragging squirming metal along the bar. 

Another clawed arm pulled another bar of clocksteel from the ground and placed it beside the first in midair, runes once again flaring. As the forked arm circled the increasingly large clump of metal, a form began to take shape. It looked like a rough trapezoid with four grooves dug into the sides, large enough for feet. The front was angled into a pointed end, like a plow ready to cut through sand. Fara stepped from the coffin, smile spitting her face in twine, “That, is how you use the mod dock.”

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