The Mook Maker

The battle was over. The fleet ruined. 

 

Between the ‘Fleshspeakers’ ability to fly, a ‘Tidereavers’ control of the water below, and the ‘Displacers’ ability to teleport onboard, there was very little the pirate fleet could do to repel, avoid, or flee our attacks unless, and until, magic was involved. 

 

This time, it was not. We were lucky, though the host, in their ferocity, did not care.  

 

Realising we needed a floating platform should we try to raise another buried artefact from the depths of the sea, or a method to escape the lands we currently occupied, or to create a fall-back location, I wanted the ships captured. This was, as I soon witnessed, much easier said than done. 

 

The decision seemed sound in theory, but it turned into a disaster in practice.

 

It, however, wasn’t a matter of winning - there were no ‘casters’ and their ‘sealing’ magic - or even deciding what was smart, it was a matter of keeping the spoils intact. 

 

Execution. I really didn’t think it through. 

 

Four ships were lost to fire and subsequent collisions initially, and three more were already taking on water and ready to sink, and one was driven against the reef and not destroyed only because the ‘Warpstalker’ repeated their trick, pulling the entire vessel through the rift once again narrowly escaping another one being wasted. 

 

The idea of checking the rice paddies for a misplaced boat brought a little smile to my face with the sheer absurdity of it: a sea-going vessel, even in the ancient times, was no dinghy. 

 

It didn’t make our poor performance any better, though. 

 

Sailing was a specialised knowledge, unfortunately, one which I deeply underestimated and could only watch how it played out. One would think that steering the ship was the trifling matter of turning the wheel, simple and straightforward, I initially thought so myself, but it was not the case. Not only did the central rudder need several men to operate, and we got rid of those men, it was to be moved in the opposite direction one wanted to steer.  It didn’t even make a difference when the ship was still.

 

There was even another crash after we seized the ships - none of us knew how to steer them, or even roll the sails to stop us from being at the mercy of the wind still blowing from the sea. It was a complete chaos, barely put under the control by the liberal use of ‘Tidereavers’ magic, a deliberate damage made to the sails, or cordage, and eventually, putting the zombified crew to work as the entire operation descended into complete chaos before my own eyes. 

 

It served as the stark reminder that sailors, while poor in the past, were still qualified people who had to learn their craft the hard way, honed their skills working in unison, being something we sorely lacked at the moment, and had to compensate for with our powers. 

 

For us, it was ‘Tidereavers’ who could, and would, do anything naval related, for water was their element. 

 

Our inexperience was, ironically, the least of our problems. 

 

We were lucky that the small fleet we encountered didn’t have any ‘casters’ aboard when I thought of it - if the bubble, the barrier, we previously encountered could be attached to the ship, we would be in serious trouble. This way, we wouldn't be able to interact with the vessel, as the perimeter of their barrier was large enough to shield the entire castle.  

 

That was an issue, even before any weapon was involved. 

 

I knew that humans here already figured gunpowder, how far they were from cannons, and thus naval bombardment? 

 

They, in truth, didn’t need to invent a new weapon against us - a single ‘caster’ with their sealing magic could cause a serious problem to us, cause damage, then flee unmolested, if the wards could be applied to the vessel as easily as they could be to the static fortification, or even the sunk container. 

 

Would Nereida and her sisters be able to stop the ship that was warded against our magic? 

 

Would they try to ‘seal’ away as many of our people before simply sailing away? 

 

This made me worried. So worried, in fact, I wasn't particularly regretful about zombifying at least some of the surviving crew. 

 

It was no longer about interrogating people for answers about their homeland or if there were more fleets coming. Perhaps they were, but it ultimately didn’t matter from where the enemies came from. 

 

We needed sailors for the few surviving ships, as well as know how to repair the damages we inadvertently caused. 

 

More freshly spawned monster girls joined our ranks during all this, the system’s thirst for blood temporarily satisfied, while the surviving enemy crew has been pulled out of the water, either by the flying ‘Overseers’ capable of carrying more weight, or carried to the shore by the ‘Tidereavers’, but it may still not be enough. 

 

While I knew that the ships the natives used were called junk rigs, or simply junks or lugsails, back on Earth, it was nothing but a mere trivia, with no practical application here in the new world. It was evident from our clumsy actions. 

 

I needed shipbuilders, carpenters, navigators and sailors, and I was none of those things. 

 

My thoughts and worries about hiring the help we needed were suddenly interrupted by loud cheers sounding from the village, where the crowd of the fishers and farmers celebrated our victory, with another ship being pulled through the ‘Warpstalker’ portal to end up a beached shipwreck somewhere down the coast we might repair later. 

 

To see humans happy about us winning - this was unusual, to say the very least. 

 

The locals weren’t particularly keen on having us around, with some of them being suicidally belligerent to where the farmers eagerly threw stones at us, even if it meant ‘Purifiers’ retaliating with fireballs. 

 

Here, however, it seemed different.

 

Maybe they mistook our fumbling around as the humiliation of the raiders they feared, or perhaps it was just funny how bad we were in this, as ships burned, or crashed, or were displaced through the ever shifting portals. 

 

After everything since my awakening in this backward world, I cannot envision a native people here genuinely happy for us.

 

I watched as the group of villagers as they pulled an exhausted pirate from the water, and were about to lynch the man, and it seemed it was the former. 

 

Whoever those raiders, pirates, were, locals clearly hated them a lot. 

 

This settlement could be friendlier than average - it was the reason I sent Ari here - but it was still strange to see humans fighting each other while there were ‘Eviscerators’ and ‘Purifiers’ visible, baffling even. I watched it from the hill. It seems they even asked my girls out there to join, but I couldn’t make up the details. 

 

I did not interfere: It was unwise to side with someone the locals hated even more than us.  

 

When I thought of it, this settlement, they were something else: In fact, they even put up with the ‘Fleshspeaker’ project to grow giant, mutated crabs, let alone with the simple fact some of the girls were out there, in the open. 

 

I looked around, wondering about my next steps now when the capturing of the ships was reduced to either ‘Displacer’ or ‘Tidereavers’ trickery. 

 

My inner circle was here now, Miwah and Tama, and Ekaterina and Narita. 

 

Of course, Kasha, the ‘Personal Displacer’ was hanging around too, even more closely amusing even normally teasing Tama. Currently, my focus was on the pirate group, one so despised that even the fanatical hostility towards us paled in comparison. 

 

I wanted to know more, it was something I still did not expect to happen. 

 

“Capture as many of the pirates without zombifying them if you could.” I ordered, although it was something I already considered, or even commanded earlier, “Ask Nereida to help, and ask…”

 

I paused. 

 

“If any junk rigs survive, I want the sailors to crew them. Or have counters should one of those robed bitches shield the next one up…” 

 

Arke was busy with the ‘Lady’s little project. Any of her sisters would have to do: perhaps even Angela, as this time, she wouldn’t have to invade the other town, as this time, the humans came to us instead, and considering the reaction, they wouldn’t be missed. 

 

“...any of the overseers who were in charge of this, I want them there. Angela, Irene, Rye...” 

 

I was surprised I remembered the names, but it was not important at this moment. With a sweeping gesture, I pointed towards the sea, whereby chiropteran monster girls still circled above the remnants of the fleet. 

 

There were a lot of bats. There were, however, a lot of humans on those ships before. 

 

How many men does one need to operate the junk rig? I didn’t know. 

 

Eventually, they would pull out the captain, admiral, or whoever was in charge of this expedition from the water, and get the answers, one way or another. 

 

I had my doubts about the loyalty of the person involved, but I couldn't be too selective with experienced sailors. We had ways... 

 

If the kingdom we were in had any navy, it wasn’t here at the moment, but it didn’t mean we couldn't sail down the coast any day now. They, as contrary to the small fleet we scattered, would have their priestess - these were dreadfully common, I realised. Our familiarisation with the land was quite overdue, and I needed to know not only where the attack came from but also why it was so reviled. 

 

I looked at Miwah.

 

Perhaps, I thought, I should run around doing all the talking. 

 

I wasn’t any more of a diplomat than I was a shipbuilder, and the mystery of the ‘pirates’ would have to be addressed. A little advice wouldn’t hurt. 

 

“Miwah. You could change appearance…” I said, “Do so, and go to the Viceroy. Tell him there was a pirate attack on the coast…” 

 

As much as it pained me to not have my pale she-wolf by my side, I was in need of a trusted envoy, and I couldn’t think of anyone more fitting for that role than her, believing her presence wouldn’t disturb the whatever meeting the Viceroy held as much as Ekaterina with her armour and towering height. 

 

“Master?” the bear girl asked. She must have sensed the thought. I didn’t mind her towering over me. Ekaterina was gentle and soft to me.  

 

“You would stay with me.” I decided. Since the ‘Ravagers’ and ‘Obliterator’ commanded respect, and Kuma… 

 

“Yes. Master.” 

 

I considered Kuma to assist with the city security, being the protector instead of Arke. The Viceroy did not appreciate the large, chiropteran monster girl with a wingspan that could hug the room. 

 

Kuma might still scare people, but she wasn’t like a ‘Fleshspeakers’ challenging how nature should work every other day. 

 

“I want Miwah to deliver the message about the attack. I want to know if they are common, or how they normally deal with them…” 

 

While not absolutely necessary, it seemed like the situation where I should defer to the local authority for the sake of legitimacy, since this was, technically, a loyal territory. Maybe there were even shipyards, dry docks, bases to hold the ships that patrolled the waters. 

 

“...you could tell him we captured some raiders and ask whether he is to put them to trial. I trust you, Miwah.”

 

It didn’t matter that much if there was a death sentence for piracy. Once in the clutches of the ‘Fleshspeakers’, they were as good as dead. 

 

“Yes, Master,” she replied, and once again, looked to the horizon. In a few moments, a ‘Displacer’ was there to take her, while Kasha remained steadfast on my side. 

 

My Miwah could become invisible, teleport through shadows, and even have an illusion appearance, a set of powers that would lead her more towards the path of the spy than a diplomat, but she was calm and collected, less likely to be annoyed by the human’s mere existence. 

 

Her abilities would be wasted if she stayed with me all the time. 

 

Besides, I couldn’t use Arke’s invention for all communication.

 

Only when the shifting rift closed, I realised the ‘brain-bug’ would be involved anyway - Miwah could ‘look human’, but can’t ‘talk human’, which meant there would be the fleshy construct spouting the translations, anyway. 

 

I didn’t insist on knowing from where the local navy operates from, but I could do that later, when Viceroy believes he has authority.

 

Leave that to later, though. Our only fully magically bilingual translator was busy.  

 

And as for the ‘brain-bug’: Perhaps the humans should get used to the fact how fleshy everything would look - I forgot that Narita even wore the biological suit at the moment. 

 

“Tama?” I asked, still wondering who to send to carry out my original intention to investigate before we were interrupted. 

 

The vixen has been willing to speak to humans before. She could do it again, and this time, there wouldn’t be a priestess to seal her away, and now, she could potentially learn a bit how to prevent it. 

 

“Master?” 

 

“You go to the Sage.” I ordered, “Question him how they actually make Adepts…” 

 

Maybe, if it was ‘Purifier’ that scribbled the translations down anyway, Tama was not that bad of a representative for us either way. She had charm and elegance, too. 

 

“Don’t want me to watch when you paint Kasha white, Master?” She teased, not too bothered by the fact she would have to do the talking. 

 

After a brief pause, I shook my head: “Work first, fun later, Tama.” 

 

Maybe I liked the attitude. She was just being herself, after all, but…

 

“I need you to speak for me.” I decided. The ‘Brides’ and ‘Broodmothers’ would talk. The ‘Alphas’ have other issues to worry about. 

 

Helmy would be wrangling a few thousands of her smaller sisters right now. I had to delegate more of this to the others. Perhaps a new ‘Bride’ wouldn’t hurt, I thought. 

 

“As your wife, Master?” She smirked, her multiple fluffy tails rose, fanning out. The ‘Displacer’ kitten that appeared from another of their rifts even waited for the reply. 

 

“In fact, yes…” I admitted reluctantly. Very little time passed for such words, but bound by the powers that governed the ‘system’ - or perhaps the ‘Scroll’, we were not meant to be apart. 

 

“Yes, Master,” she said, satisfied, when the teleporting kitty pulled her to the portal, leaving me there in the company of Ekaterina and Narita, and me with mixed feelings regarding multiple ‘Brides’. 

 

I looked back towards the sea and the village. I had other issues to address first. 

 

Namely, whoever those ‘pirates’ were, the villagers hated them with quite a passion. 

 

If there was someone more despised by the natives than we were, I would not challenge that, especially not publicly, they could have their justice or vengeance, but before the Viceroy could pass the judgement, I would question whoever was in charge of this. 

 

Fourteen ships were, in my opinion, too high a number to be considered a random pirate attack. 

 

“Perhaps we should let the Viceroy know it was fourteen ships instead of just one…” 

 

I reasoned, still presuming that actual pirates would operate on their lonesome, to slip past patrols if they were any, not in groups or fleets. Unless something was very, very wrong here. 

 

“Yes-yes, Master.” Narita said, now being the closest, or rather senior-most since Kasha insisted she would stay near me no matter what, to carry me away to safety at a moment's notice. 

 

“For Master” The kitten meowed, but it was necessary to be worried. For a while, the fog didn’t give birth to any new girls, meaning the battle may be truly over. 

 

“Let us check that first …” 

 

I decided, and pointed out towards the beached vessels, and Sora’s greater achievement as she never portalled something so large, and Kasha was eager to bring me through the rift onboard. She may be proud of what her bigger sisters did. 

 

Kasha was still a little ‘Displacer’, not like the ‘Warpstalkers’, with their powers overcharged by the fruit. 

 

The marooned ship survived the trip through the ever shifting void beyond the ‘Warpstalker’ portal relatively unscathed, with the sails uncut, and the hull seemingly unbroken, laid nested in its last resting place among the overgrown, mutated fields surrounding the village. 

 

The same, however, couldn’t be said about its crew. 

 

The merciless forces that governed the portals were not kind to them, turning the former sailors into the broken, battered husks left lying on the deck, and below it, in the puddles of blood. Even the ‘Warpstalkers’ abandoned it, and Sora was gone again. 

 

The stench of death was only barely pushed away by the aggressive odours billowing out of the twirling green hell, and the few ‘Mutators’ and ‘Corruptors’ already arrived to strip those of their possession, struggling to toss the carcasses overboard. The plants were hungry, and my girls worked tirelessly. 

 

I shuddered, my sight briefly landing on the weapons and armour being gathered haphazardly on the deck. 

 

Solid breastplates, swords, bows and polearms.

 

I wasn’t certain if these were pirates - after all, the skull and bones flags were not a thing in this world - but peaceful merchants, they were not. Too many weapons, too many armed men for a trading convoy.  Even if none could survive the portal, their presence still signalled trouble. 

 

Even armour, solid breastplates, one of the ‘Corruptor’ presented, seemed like metal, covered in leather to preserve against the elements, and the symbol on it I didn’t recognise - a flower, perhaps leaves, not a dragon flag I saw elsewhere. 

 

I was hardly familiar with the human factions. 

 

“Do you know what this one means?” I pointed at the symbol. 

 

“For Master?” 

 

“The symbol, I mean.” 

 

The armour breastplate was perhaps a little too big for the girl. My scaly companions were a little kobold-like with the diminutive statue, but it would fit the ‘Eviscerator’. We probably didn’t want to confuse people with the heraldry. Or, perhaps, we should. 

 

“For Master!” She replied, blinking excitedly. The ‘Corruptors’ did that a lot. 

 

“What do you mean, there is more? More pieces of armour?” I scanned the deck, where the other of my little reptilian worked to separate the mangled corpses from clothes, weapons and possessions. 

 

“For … Master!” 

 

“More symbols? Three different?” 

 

“For Master!” 

 

Of course, she didn’t know, though I didn’t like the implications of antagonising several factions, presuming those humans - supposedly pirates - didn't simply steal the equipment without caring whose symbol it was. 

 

Nevermind, I thought - it was another question without an immediate answer. I waved the ‘Corruptor’ off. 

 

“Thank you.” I said, “It doesn’t matter right now anyway, just put it aside.” 

 

 If we ever found someone in charge of this, I would be interested in what was behind it. 

 

The ‘Fleshspeakers’ may be prying the information from the minds of others as we speak. I would let them work, and failing that, we would question the Viceroy about the geopolitical situation. I knew there was a war, but that hardly meant this country bordered only with the single other - after all, they had access to the sea.  

 

Considering I should dispatch the ‘Displacer’ with one piece of the armour to Miwah, and let her question the ruler whose heraldry the flower or leaf symbolism was, but there was a dire shortage of my teleporting felines, aside of the still very affectionate Kasha. 

 

“For…Master?” she asked, confused, as I looked on the horizon. A ship out there, in the waves, disappeared into the shifting nothingness, answering my question about where my kitties were. 

 

They were still doing this - the previous thought about looking for boats among the rice paddies was becoming less of a foolish joke, and more of the course of the day. I didn’t know where this one ended, my feline companions had quite a range. 

 

“No matter, this could wait…” I murmured. 

 

In the meantime, I needed someone else than the ‘Corruptors’ or a ‘Mutators’ to help with the bodies. It was unfair, considering the little reptiles were small, and the moths quite frail. 

 

My little ones couldn’t exhaust themselves here. I would need them, and their control over plants, to grow and bend any wood required for the repairs, should we find the shipbuilder, or a carpenter. 

 

“Kasha, bring Narita here. Or just any Devourer or Defiler. I want this ship sterilised…” I said, “The Ravagers will haul the bodies…” 

 

It was for the best. 

 

I didn’t want to risk the plague, with that many corpses around, even if most, if not all, ended up as a fertiliser for the rapidly expanding green sea with its creepers, vines, and otherworldly flowers. 

 

Our attempt at medicine would, ironically, be the ‘Defiler’ induced healing either way, so better to do it now than later. 

 

We couldn’t reliably heal humans, at least not yet, and there was a nearby friendly village. 

 

I pointedly ignored the noise coming from it, especially the pained wails.

 

There were too many things I had to worry about already

 

“For Master?” Kasha meowed, uncertain. She seemed to be the only ‘Displacer’ around at the moment. 

 

“Yes. Go, don’t worry.” I waved her off. “Just bring who we need and get back to me.” 

 

The ‘Corruptors’, being the little, scaly busybodies, continued their work, undeterred by the fact they weren’t particularly fit for the heavy lifting they were doing, feeding the ever spreading creep around its ship and its sickly glow. 

 

As much as Lily was with feeding the addictive berries to humans, her little lizard-like family were our builders, and now, a body disposal crew, and with Mai busy with the eggs, it was the new ‘Alpha’ that ran the show. 

 

It reminded me I was going to promote - or ‘evolve’ even if I debated the term - her. 

 

“Hey….” I caught one of the ‘Mutators’. 

 

They were even less useful in heavy lifting than the scaly ones, even if they were quite cute little moths, flapping their insect-like wings, with their mandible twitching and eyes shining in excitement. I could sense her thoughts. 

 

She was one girl responsible for the pools that the ‘Fleshspeaker’ used for algae, and this was free fertiliser. I hated to damper her enthusiasm. 

 

“Tell Kirke to come here too. With some of her sisters and the arcane fruit…” 

 

“For Master!” 

 

She acknowledged the order and buzzed away. The little monster girl moth, relying on her wings instead of waiting for the portal, was a telltale that the teleporting felines were busy, though it raised a question of what they were all doing. 

 

Nevermind, I couldn’t blame them even if they needed a nap. Carrying us through the rifts back and forth must be exhausting. I could wait until there was a little less urgency. 

 

I looked around, in the meantime, inspecting the ship itself, my walk unsteady on the deck of the ship, with every board groaning and creaking under my steps. 

 

It didn’t inspire much confidence, especially considering the deck could, and would, be easily washed by the higher waves if the entire vessel wasn’t currently marooned on the dry land, but at the very least there was very little to be hidden from us, with the lower desk being mostly the storage, and surprisingly, the place for oarsmen. 

 

They, too, didn’t survive contact with the void beyond the portals. 

 

However, despite the place for quite a few men, there weren’t any cannons on board. A small mercy. 

 

Armament wise, there, however, was a single ballista, or perhaps a massive crossbow, mounted on a wooden tripod on the back of the ship, on the elevated platform on the left side of the ship. 

 

I didn’t remember if the left was a starboard or port, but it didn’t matter at the moment, as I made my way towards the weapon, wondering why there was only a single one. 

 

The ship was thirty metres long, with three masts, and the platform - the balcony of sorts - was even mirrored on the opposite side, but there was only one massive crossbow. 

 

Not heavily armed, it seemed, but who knew if they were supposed to be fired in barrages? 

 

Maybe they just wanted to board the enemy ship, rather than damage it. That was plausible, and enormous weapons were merely an afterthought? 

 

Mounting the stairs, and towards the weapon, I inspected it, unsure how it should be operated considering there was but a single lever, not a crank, or trigger. Quite boxy, too. 

 

No bolt though.

 

“Master?” 

 

I jerked in surprise from the voice behind me, and from the sudden feedback from the mechanism as it fired idly, bruising my arm slightly. I shook my hand, instinctively, to make it go away. 

 

With a sudden infusion of energy, the pain from the slight bruise disappeared as soon as it appeared, casting it away along with the tiredness, or even hunger. It felt somewhat wrong, wasteful, to use the ‘Defiler’ magic as that, but it did help and Narita looked somewhat worried rushing to me. 

 

“It’s OK. I am not hurt.” 

 

I said, assuring her, now I had not only the little kitty Kasha to fawn over me but also the rat lady. Not all of my felines were busy, however, and they brought the ‘Defilers’ with them, and the ‘Ravagers’ as well as the ‘Displacers’, making the vessel suddenly feel rather small. I even wondered if the ship could bear the weight of the ursine ladies. 

 

Narita on the other hand was more concerned whether the mechanism didn’t harm me too much. 

 

“I didn’t know how it worked…” 

 

I blurted the excuse, looking back, it was quite obvious. It must be a huge repeating crossbow, and the pirates must have run out of bolts… 

 

If they were pirates, considering their equipment, and numbers. 

 

“Be careful, Master. You should. Ask Arke, for the suit, to protect yourself…” 

 

She said, flexing her arm, reminding me about the outfit she was wearing herself, a construct of the flesh and bone, and keratin, and carapace, born out of the mind of the ‘Fleshspeaker’ that defined comprehension and the power that defied nature. 

 

I was somewhat used to Narita wearing it, but couldn’t imagine it myself. How could one even have something which could have a limb of its own, with extra talons wrapped around the body, as it was in this particular one? 

 

Shooking my head, I dismissed the thoughts. 

 

“Anyway…” I concluded, seeing that Kirke herself had arrived through yet another rift. The ‘Displacer’ was probably already bored with the prospect of teleporting above the water. 

 

“...before we go to interrogate the survivors…” I said, “The old way, this needs to be taken care of…” 

 

The ‘Mutator’ offered the fruit I asked for before, helpful. 

 

“One arcane fruit for Narita, right now…” 

 

Needing no one to channel the energies bound within the arcane fruit, Narita grabbed it in her clawed hands, draining it, her body reacting immediately, growing, stretching, until it settled into its new form with the triumphant notification of the system announcing the transformation complete: 

 

Unit evolved! Narita, The Broodmother of Life Ethereal 304 could be Evolved until innate resources run out.

 

Narita wasn’t exactly looking different; she was the same female anthropomorphic rat with the impressive, even if out-of-place horns one would associate with a different creature, with the same white soft fur, and ruby red eyes glowing with the eldritch powers. 

 

I reached for her face, to gently caress her face. 

 

“Sorry I didn’t give you one earlier, Narita,” I said. “It was unfair…” 

 

Normally, Narita has a petite frame, but it was not the case anymore. Now, she was bigger, taller, even slightly taller than me, with her horns, and just like the ordinary ‘Defilers’ that grew in size when infused with the energies of the arcane fruit, she looked considerably more.feminine, with more curves and bosom. 

 

Strangely enough, the biological armour the ‘Fleshspeakers’ had made grew with her, to support the shape, something I didn’t notice before except with the bat-girls themselves where I assumed they used their power to make it grow … 

 

“Like my look now, Master?” she asked, visibly energised, 

 

“I always liked your look.” I said, kissing that furry muzzle. 

 

It was true I was somewhat afraid of them, initially, but now it was the opposite, and my monster girls looked gorgeous. 

 

“But we still have something to do…” Disregarding the idea of resting, I motioned for a 'Mutator' to bring forth another spiked fruit infused with otherworldly energies. It was actually astonishing how the little moth looked, fluffy, a ‘mini-me’ version of Kirke. I even got used to how their jaws worked.  

 

“I promised the one for Lily…” I said, so the little one ‘Mutator’ stopped gaping, “Get a Displacer to teleport her there and…” 

 

The rift spat out Lily, and of course, Kasha, who slipped out to get her scaly cousin.

 

When she transformed, I think it shocked her as much as it shocked me, since Narita’s essence transfer was now an instantaneous burst, while the notification declared: 

 

Unit evolved! Lily, The Hexkeeper Alpha 303 could be Evolved until innate resources run out.

 

She blinked, staggered, and looked disoriented. 

 

Even Kasha stopped in her tracks as she rushed towards me. 

 

Lily may not have grown in size - the ‘Alpha’ was adult sized by default - but she underwent an abrupt colour pallet swap that shocked even herself. 

 

Still a lizard-girl, yet now, instead of the normal shades of green, she was the array of black and purple, with the glowing eyes like tiny beacons flickering as she made the typical blinking expression all of her kin had. Much finer were her hair feathers, more significant than her horns, and she looked at her clawed hands.. 

 

“It suits you…” 

 

“Master?” 

 

“I said I’ll hand you the fruit …” I said, “You still have the entire new set of berries to engineer…” 

 

“But Mai didn’t get the evolution yet, my Master?” She sounded happy, though, being 

 

“She would.” I replied, “But I suppose you are the Alpha, you need to take care of the food for all of us. Now that I think of it…” 

 

I glanced around, ignoring the girls for the moment, looking at the ship stranded among the fields out of their usual environment, marooned. Another one just slipped through the huge portal with a thud among the fields. Sora and ‘Warpstalker’ had fun doing this, it seems.  

 

“...we need something non-perishable for long voyages, which won’t give us jitters, something different from the berries you made for humans. It’s up to you. Mai is taking care of the eggs.” 

 

“Yes, Master!” She jumped out, her feather tipped-tail lashing around, and I thought if she would glow in the dark where her normal kin were perfectly hidden among the greenery they manipulated. Unfortunately, she rushed away, with such speed I never saw from her before. 

 

“We could try something, Master.” Kirke commented.

 

“Hmmm. Kirke…” I retorted, considering whether the very moths could be enhanced by the substance they create since they were themselves labelled as ‘arcane’ by the system and continued thinking aloud: 

 

“I think I need you to help with fixing the ships instead…” 

 

I originally thought that our ships could be docked up south, in the now destroyed town which has a solid docks seemingly intended for the sea going ships, but the current practice of teleporting them on land could… 

 

“We could guide the ships. You are our beacon, Master.” 

 

A ship landed among the fields from the rift, another, less gentle, a loud crack of timber breaking startling me. 

 

It would cause problems, I was certain, especially if we couldn’t find carpenters to fix the damaged hulls, or produce enough canvas to repair the sails. 

 

“We can’t keep doing this. We can’t rebuild the ships!” I protested, “Even the cloth…” 

 

Then my eyes set on Kirke’s outfit. The mommy moth had quite an hourglass figure, but the anthropomorphic femininity wasn’t what attracted my attention. My eyes glanced away, to the little version of her. The ‘Mutators’ were only breed that could produce their own outfits with decent quality, no Hawaian dancer’s grass shirts, it was closest to cloth we could make ourselves even if it was still grass, 

 

“....you have finer control than Corruptors. You could do more than that. You could weave cloth, reshape wood, and come up with substances to seal hulls, perhaps even a way to mend the broken beams, and damaged keels.”

 

I paused. The ‘Corruptors’ always manipulate plants, but ‘Mutators’ - the moths, even the small ones, could make themselves an outfit that doubles as cloth, which at the moment wasn’t even alive. 

 

“It may not be a living wood, but it is an organic material. There could be a way…”  

 

Kirke visibly thought about it, I could feel her ideas, racing around, and then with the spark of understanding in her eyes, she confirmed eagerly: 

 

“Yes, Master!” 

 

“I would task you with the coast in general too,” I said, “Rye could have their mutated crab projects, you help with the flora part and oversee humans.” 

 

Lily, now absent, would likely not push the berries here. 

 

Only problem was, there were only a few ‘Mutators’ around. 

 

I waved towards her helper, still clutching the unused glowing fruit. One I could use on Kirke to become even more, assuming it would not collide with her existing speciality. However, this was a problem which would inherently happen with ‘Ravagers’ too.

 

“But first, let’s try with Ekaterina…” I decided, “Narita, infuse her.”

 

The effect was, once again, nearly immediate, and yet another message confirmed it. 

 

Unit evolved! Ekaterina, The Broodmother of Ruin and Steel 302 could be Evolved until innate resources run out.

 

An instant regret washed over me as the bear lady screamed in pain as her steel armour constricted her, squishing her growing body, bringing her to her knees, but the discomfort quickly passed as Ekaterina absorbed her own outfit, and Narita quickly healed any damage it may have caused, but could not wash away my worry. 

 

“Are you alright? I am so sorry, we almost killed you.” 

 

It was worth it to sacrifice some of the greenery for my girl.

 

“There is no need, Master.” She said, calmly without the trace of anger or blame, with but a warm smile: “In you, we are forever.” 

 

I inspected her, kneeling myself to check, though doing so only made me look tiny in comparison. 

 

A problem with ‘Ravagers’ was - they were big. Taller than me, larger than me, heavier, and more muscular, even if somewhat plump. 

 

I didn’t care, though. 

 

She seemed to appreciate my attention, and touch, rather than being displeased with it, as aches very clearly went away, and I had a lot to appreciate. If anything, the infusion of power, and the fruit of the arcane, did her still originally plumply figure an exotic makeover to the fluffy amazonian standard, albeit with the well placed mix of scales among the fur, almost as to provide an additional layer of armour.

 

Ekaterina pulled me closer with the hug. 

 

The ‘evolution’ may give her some scales among the fur, and a more than hybrid-like appearance, but she was still very warm, and pleasant to touch.

 

Mine, I thought, even as Kasha demanded that she, too, would need a hug. 

 

Soon, however, I was interrupted by another rift, tearing apart the canvas of reality. This time, small, for a single person.

 

The human girl with the bright, glowing blue eyes stepped through, her colourful dress seemingly untouched by the soft breeze, almost as it wasn’t there. 

 

“Miwah…” 

 

I almost forgot she could do this, even if it was a unique, rarely used skill that convinced me to be our envoy. The blue, gleaming eyes might be too much for the human, but I preferred her in her natural form anyway.

 

“Back so soon?” I asked, breaking away from Ekaterina, It would be not fitting if I asked her to carry me around to enjoy her hug a little longer. 

 

“Yes, there was a little to speak about, Master.” Miwah said her eerily illusionary figure was still unaffected by anything. 

 

“The Viceroy said that the raids hadn't occurred for years now…” 

 

“Oh? So they are common? Or, were they common?” 

 

“I didn’t understand this part,” She explained, and I must say it was weird to hear Miwah’s voice from the human form, “There was a treaty with the Tokomura government that stopped all the raids long before Viceroy even before he was appointed.” 

 

“Wait. Who is Tokomura? What should we do with those people?” 

 

I was rather puzzled, standing up, looking around. 

 

Perhaps I should have sent those armour pieces to the Viceroy, asking about symbols, whether they belong to the country, or noble house, or it is how the actual pirates mark their ships. 

 

Out there, among the rice paddies, and between the beached ship, a lone human tried to flee through the puddles of mud and water, as the one of the hulking, mutant crab pursued him. He didn’t get far, the smaller ‘roach-hounds’ caught up on him. 

 

So, there were survivors that slipped out. 

 

I gestured out, to get my girls’ attention, but they already knew. 

 

“So is there any diplomatic procedure for this?” 

 

I shook my head, my attention returning to Miwah. The idea of my girls even having a human shape was, somewhat, distracting. Her words, however, become too puzzling. 

 

“He suggested you boil the captives alive, Master.” she said, calmly. 

 

“I see…” It wasn’t just the fishers who hated those guys. Would anybody even miss so many ships? 

 

It also raised the question whether the reaction would be the same, or similar, if someone was able to determine those ships' allegiance. There was an option to simply query the advisor instead, about anything from heraldry to diplomatic relations, but I already sent Tama to obtain the information. 

 

“We cornered the human-thing on the beach. Rye says. He was one who convinced the people for this raid. The face. Was in the drone's memories.” Narita said.

 

It sparked my curiosity. 

 

“Oh, a leader then?” I murmured, “Let’s go to see him.” 

 

Who else could help us to fill the blanks than the mastermind behind this operation, after all.