Night time planning.

John was exhausted, not really physically, but more at his core. There was a limit to what his new body could sustain, and staying so focused, using his powers in such a precise way for hours on end was pushing it. The treatment of Algernon's family had been easier than his own, as their biological make-up was less chaotic than his own and the data gathered from him had allowed Tricia to lessen the range of products used to only what was necessary for each of them.

Thankfully, the kingdom offered a wide array of ways to relax after more than 6 hours of continuous efforts. And the one picked in the end could easily be one of his favorites: lying on what was with no doubt the best bed in existence, naked, two wonderful, equally naked girls snuggling against him.

Tricia's ability to lose herself in her work and still execute it to perfection was uncanny, but it took its toll when she stopped, and it took little convincing to have her agree to a relaxing nap. Anna for herself had had to deal with 13 starving and dizzy ratfolk that had been magically grown threefold. With the assistance of Cali and Daphne (mostly to serve them), she had cooked enough food to nearly empty their reserves in the aim of satisfying their ravenous hunger. Most of the real world supplies were missing now, and with Sylvia absent it would take a while to harvest new herbs, fruits and vegetables from the kingdom.

John needed less sleep these days, but it had been a long and trying day and he was feeling too comfortable to resist the call of slumber.

He came back to his senses some 5 hours later, his two bedmates still asleep but no longer clinging to him. Just as he was trying to figure out how to extract himself from the bed without waking them, the living mattress began to move him to the foot of the bed as if he was on a conveyor belt, without disturbing the girls one bit. John would have stayed longer, but he was parched and had no drink in his inventory.

He got out of bed and the room without a sound, and on his way to the kitchen, he was met by a rather shocked Stella. She sat at the dining table eating some leftover barbecued meat on which she nearly choked.

"You really weren't kidding about the dress code!" she said after catching her breath.

"Sorry, I didn't expect anyone to be here. And honestly, you get used to it after a while. So far the weather here has always been at a temperature where you can comfortably be naked. Don't mind me, I'm just getting something to drink," he explained.

"You're not going to get dressed?" she asked as he got into the kitchen.

"I really don't see why. Maybe if I do something that requires clothes later. Damn, we're out of soda, iced tea and fruit juice... There's only water left," he complained, coming back to the dining area with a large glass full of water with ice. He sat at the table, opposite to Stella to face her.

"Sooo, you're the real deal? You really care about the people and creatures here... Your girl, Anna, she told me what you were doing up there yesterday," she told him. John looked perplexed and checked his menu for a second.

"Why yesterday? It's still the same day we met," he corrected her.

"What, no, it's nearly 4am. Also, what's up with days here, it goes from night to day very fast," she asked.

"It's actually only 23:15 on Saturday as far as the outside world is concerned. Time in my kingdom goes at 1,6 times the rate as in the real world. And here there's a cycle of 4 hours of day and 4 hours of night, I might try to extend them a bit if I can," he explained.

"Weird, but good to know. Sooooo, what's up with my room being a sex dungeon?"

"Just so you understand, part of my powers and a lot of what is in this kingdom is based on quests or lists of requirements I have no input on. This room was a requirement to unlock some further features and it's one of only 2 bedrooms in the place, with mine. I have plans to build more rooms for general use that are not requirements, but so far I was limited by resources so I had to focus on things that helped me advance. Just bear with it for a few days, will you?" he explained.

Suddenly he got from his chair and began calling someone on his phone. He dialed it while chugging his cold water. He could see from the corner of his eye that Stella's eye was following a certain part of his anatomy. It made him wonder about the function and capabilities of the patch that was grafted over her left orbit. From the shape of it, it did not look like there was an eye left underneath, at least not in any comfortable way. But his call was answered and it would have to wait.

"Hi there, it's John. I hope I'm not bothering you. I just have a little thing to ask, do you have some free time tomorrow?" he said.

"Newman, do you know what time is it?" said a feminine voice on the other end."

"A bit past eleven, sorry. I had no idea how late or early you did stuff. I wanted to take you up on your offer of a bit of sparring. I got some new stuff that will change how I fight and a few people that could use some formal training rather than go from instinct," he explained.

"I knew it, it's never simple with you, so you want to hire me as a trainer?" said Kim Moon, trying to decipher his intent.

"Well, I figured that you must spend a lot of time training yourself anyway, so I want to offer a chance to do it as a group. You get a sparring partner, a few people watching to learn a thing or two, nice food and more important extra time. Remember that you get more training for your time coming to do it here," he argued.

"You always have a good excuse for everything? How do we do that?"

"Just come to my house in the morning and I'll let you in. If anyone saw you or asks why you visited me, you tell them we have an art class assignment together, which is true. And yes, I try to have something for any occasion. See you soon," he told her before hanging up. He then walked towards the stairs going up.

"Hey, where are you going? You often call girls while naked to invite them to beat you up?" Stella taunted him.

"I have something to check upstairs, and it would be a first for me, last time she beat on me was at her place."

John walked to the office set for Anna. He noticed some papers on the desk. At some point she had found the time to plan a few things for the kingdom and he wanted to talk to her about it. But it was not the reason for his visit. He stepped in front of the Ring Altar and used Observe to check a few things.

He wasn't crazy then. After the last events Algernon and the 12 of his children that had been enhanced were now eligible to become full subjects of his kingdom, as was hinted by an achievement that he had quickly dismissed during the procedure.

New achievement unlocked: Intelligent Design
By combining magic and technology, you have equalled the gods of yore and made full people from base critters.
Rewards:
Kingdom Enhancement - Evolution Caster
One commemorative painting of this historic event to be placed on the wall or ceiling of your choice in the castle
Extended supply of Endless dust (replenishing but bound to the Lab)
1000xp

Kingdom Enhancement: Evolution Caster
This ensemble of arrays and machines set on the roof of the highest point of the castle allows you to activate the Ascension protocol.
Once a non humanoid species of the kingdom has been fully analyzed in the Ascension Lab, the protocol will make some individuals of the species within its range of action slowly mutate into the humanoid form of their species.
The range of the Caster depends on the height it is installed at.

He couldn't wait to tell Tricia about this; he was pretty sure that she would be elated at the idea of this new project. It was so close in nature to the one that made her decide to get into this little agreement with him. She was amazed by this place and wanted to know everything about it already.

With 13 new subjects (he couldn't see any of the ratfolk rejecting the offer), he would get yet another ring, leaving him with 2 spares. And with Sylvia's sisters soon to arrive, the count would go to 30 subjects and probably one more ring. Three rings... It was becoming clear that Tricia was taking an important role in the kingdom, and she was trusted by the Order but not their lackey. When he asked for her help with Algernon's issues, she had accepted without hesitation and she had bought the parts that she needed to finish the machine herself, never asking him to foot the bill. If there was one Abyssal ally he'd feel safe giving a ring to, it would be her. For the next two, as much as he'd have liked to give one to June, to let her improve her art and customize things in Arcadia, he just had an idea.

Not everyone would get one of these rings and they were a mark of honor and of his favor, giving them to those that both could get the most out of them and deserved them the most was a given. It was why Cali bore one: as a Ranger she both had sworn to protect the kingdom and provided to it greatly with all the meat that she hunted; having the ring greatly improved this.

There were two people that had been of great use and would take an even greater role, two that were or would become leaders, two that contributed the most to the number of subjects and the unlocking of new rings.

Sylvia's worth wasn't to prove anymore to anyone that knew her. And at the times she shared the spare ring with Cali, she had excellent results with it. With her elixir being the main source of income and seven of her sisters working with her, it would be the most obvious choice.

Algernon had the entirety of the ratfolk, big and small, behind him. The ring would allow him to do himself a lot of things he depended on John directly to do. And it would improve the productivity of his whole clan to a point where they would begin producing goods for the kingdom and not only themselves.

Those two would become the first non royal nobility of his kingdom, with many more to come.

He checked the Altar for the other thing he wanted to see. He still needed to add a few runes at the Arcane Sanctum to unlock upgrades to the travel function of the rings. It was becoming clear that a short trip was in order. With a bit of chance, the girls who needed more sleep than he did would snooze for three or four more hours and not even notice him missing.

At the door he was met by two surprises. Daphne was waiting for him and with a caress on his cheek filled his mind with the thought that she was beginning to feel weak and would need to visit the glade. Fixing his impossible slime girl’s coreless status was also high on his list of priorities, but he had no clue how to do it yet.

The other surprise was that the quad wouldn't start. He could start the engine but it would puff out and die a few seconds later. The cause was easy to find, the fuel in the tank and in the extra cans attached to the machine had finally ran out. He didn't really feel like getting out of the kingdom and having to wake his mom for her to drive him to a gas station in the middle of the night. He decided instead to get his improved bike, that had had little use since he got the quad, and to let Daphne cling on him like only a slime could.

A short and easy trip, village, Glade, Sanctum, back home to his sleeping beauties.