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“It isn’t certain that I’ll be able to stay here, but if I can, I’d like a study and space for my animals,” a female voice explained. “Speaking of animals, you are some kind of hunter, yes? I would like some local fauna to be captured, without injuring them at all. I’d prefer a variety. I don’t know how long it has been but I’d already surveyed this region, so I would like to see if there are any changes.”

Terra and Skye led John into a tent. Inside was a spartan living area, furnished only with a bed and desk. On the desk were several papers and standing above them was an older dwarf and a girl John barely recognised as Agni.

There were few differences in her appearance but they had a large impact. The amber-coloured slime which once covered most of her body was now absent. Instead, cracked dark grey rock formations with an orange underglow covered her like a leotard, but leaving the centre of her chest and stomach exposed. Above her chest was a more dense collection of stone, forming a neck corset.

Her left leg was completely covered, while the stone on her left arm looked more like a glove which stopped at her elbow. Her other arm and leg had smaller patches of stone.

Her skin was pale with a warm tone, and her fiery red hair was voluminous. She stood poised, with an aura of professionalism.

The old dwarf stood with his hands behind his back, exuding a militaristic demeanour, looking down with a stern expression. His meticulously brushed and plaited beard hung down his front, adorned with several rings. Despite his receding hairline, he grew his hair long, pulling it into a straight ponytail.

“Oh, more guests?” Agni asked incredulously. “Just what I wanted. For all your apologies about keeping me sedated for literal generations, it seems you go out of your way to further burden me.”

“Apologies, my goddess. We thought it best to introduce our master to you,” Skye explained, bowing.

Agni groaned. “I’m not a goddess, I don’t claim to be, and you shouldn’t treat me as such. If you really must, you could call me ‘my lady;’ however, I’d be more comfortable if you didn’t.”

Trying to cut the tension, John stepped forward and extended his hand. Agni obliged, and despite the stony covering, it didn’t quite feel like rock. It was rough and noticeably warm, but the only way John could describe it was that it felt living. She shivered slightly at his touch and snatched her hand back.

“It’s good to meet you and I’m glad you’re finally awake. I’m John. I hope you’re doing okay,” he expressed.

Behind him, he could hear Ellie and Violet laughing and muttering under their breaths, “Hey, you, you’re finally awake.” He ignored them the best he could, giving Agni his attention.

Agni nodded, though she seemed distracted. “I, uhm. I have you to, to thank, for, for, uh, rescuing me, be, be-”

John quickly rounded the table as her eyes unfocused, and he placed his hands on her shoulders. She shuddered from the contact and the colour of her skin and hair drained, turning stony white and ashen grey respectively. The glow from the cracks intensified, and amber began to seep through, covering parts of her body and notably increasing the size of her breasts.

Confused, John turned to Skye and Terra. Unfortunately, both were equally unsure of what was happening. Looking back at Agni, her expression had changed, her eyes had focused and she looked up at him like an excited puppy. “It is you!” she exclaimed, her voice noticeably bubbly. “Agni is so glad you are here! Yep-yep!”

Her entire demeanour had shifted. She stood more relaxed and bounced on the spot, then without warning, she threw her arms around John, hugging him. She felt warmer than before, still not hot enough to hurt but bordering on uncomfortable temperatures.

She giggled and shivered again, then hummed softly as she gazed up at John from his chest. “Agni likes you. You make Agni feel funny,” she admitted, her cheeks taking on a slightly orange hue.

John gently eased Agni back before taking a step away. “Agni, are you alright? What’s happening?”

She looked puzzled, touching her cheek with a finger as she pondered his question. “Nothing is wrong, Agni feels wonderful, especially when John touches Agni, yep-yep!” she explained.

Agni was startled as a sizzling sound hissed, accompanied by steam seeping from her. The slime retreated back into her body, restoring the colour to her skin and hair. She straightened up, a look of concern crossing her face.

“I… I apologise for that display,” she said, her tone returning to its professional cadence. “That was unexpected. I must confess that this isn’t entirely my original body. I was **** to create and merge with a second body of my own creation, using mana-rich stone and a newborn slime.

“I had calculated that using such a young slime would prevent it from developing a mind. However, I didn’t anticipate being **** for such a long period so soon after merging,” Agni explained. “I hypothesise that my sedated state allowed the slime to develop in ways it shouldn’t have. Now it seems we must share this body.”

“That’s actually fascinating. It seems fortunate that she doesn’t seem dangerous or malicious, at least,” Ellie commented. “She seems particularly fond of John.”

A light pink blush tinted Agni’s cheeks. “A-apologies for that. I’ll try to keep her in check until I’m able to separate us,” she promised, brushing herself off before she cleared her throat. “As I was saying before… that happened, I owe you gratitude for liberating me from the state I’d been trapped in.

“I should introduce myself properly. I am Lady Agnelia Vandermeer, though given the time I’ve likely been missing, I suppose ‘Lady’ may no longer be appropriate.” Agni’s face changed, her brow furrowing as if listening to something. “What? No, yes, my name is Agnelia not Agni. I… No, I suppose you can call yourself that.”

She grunted in annoyance and shook her head before looking at John. “Apologies again. It seems my co-inhabiter is quite stubborn and attached to the name Agni. To avoid confusion, you may address me as Lia, it was the name my grandfather used to call me.”

John bowed his head slightly. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, again, Lia. So, Agni is aware of your surroundings right now and you two can talk?” he asked.

“She is quite conscious, and also very conversational right now. I suspect our communication is facilitated by my magical capabilities. I believe she may be able to control my powers, allowing her to both communicate and share senses with me,” Lia explained, running her fingers through her untamed hair.

John nodded. “Alright. In that case, It was nice to meet you too, Agni. I hope if we meet again, any surprises might come with a warning,” he commented.

The elder dwarf cleared his throat, catching John’s attention. Realising he’d been focused on Agni, John quickly sidestepped Lia and moved closer, to shake the dwarf’s hand. “I’m so sorry. I didn’t intend to ignore you. I’m John, it’s nice to meet you.”

“Aye, tis’n’t a problem. And it’s a pleasure, young Newman. The Great Bearded One spoke highly of you. Our group is here to assist you and to establish a hunters’ outpost,” the dwarf explained. “Ya can call me Merl. I’ve been designated the overseer and foreman of our group. Any problems, questions or requests can be directed at yours truly.”

“Thanks, but I have to ask, why are you here?” John inquired, a hint of confusion in his voice.

“Ah, well,” the dwarf began, ”you were owed a reward, I’m told. And as I’m sure you know, dwarves are expert craftsmen. Building a little hamlet wouldn’t be any trouble at all for us.”

A yell came from outside of the tent and a troubled expression settled on his face. The elder dwarf let out a quiet grumble. “Seems I should be off. Need to make sure everything’s running smoothly. Catch ya again sometime soon in the future, an’ don’t hesitate to come find me if there’s anything ya need.”

With that, the dwarf hurriedly exited the tent. Lia gestured for the group to come further inside. With a lack of chairs, the slime golem pushed the desk aside and sat on the floor, encouraging the group to join her.

The two drakelings bowed slightly. “We will wait outside while you speak,” Skye said, exiting with Terra.

John sat cross-legged on the floor and chuckled when he found himself crowded by the girls again.

“Once more, I want to reiterate my gratitude,” Lia expressed. “Without you, I would still be in the mountain, unable to think clearly. It is also appreciated that you brought me here and allowed me to stay while recovering.

“The drakelings did invite me to stay long-term as an apology for their treatment of me, though I understand that you are the one with any final say in the matter. With that knowledge, I would ask permission to remain here, at least for the time being,” Lia said, looking directly into John’s eyes.

John opened his mouth but paused thinking, ’I should probably be smarter and give a more political answer.’

Clearing his throat, he said, “Accommodating you shouldn’t be a problem, though you would need to be respectful and avoid hurting anyone or taking anyone else's property. My other condition is that once the settlement has been established, you’ll need to contribute in some way.”

Lia considered John’s words, nodding. “Those are all reasonable conditions and I agree. As for my contribution, my research might prove useful. I am what you could call a biologist, which is someone who studies animals. I specialise in animals with elevated mana and creatures created by or enhanced by magic. I would like to run some light tests on the drakelings. Their metamorphosis fascinates me, and they’ve even retrieved a cadaver for comparative study."

John’s voice took on a more diplomatic tone, “I’m not sure how right now, but that could be useful and I’d be okay with your tests so long as they’re not too invasive and your subjects consent. I think it best to have an impartial observer for any tests too. No offence, but placing unconditional trust in you would be irresponsible, given what some have done in the name of science in the past.”

Lia seemed taken aback. “I’m impressed, you seem to be so well-versed in this kind of field. I understand the need for caution, though I’m not entirely happy to have someone overseeing my work.”

Ellie smiled and chimed in, “Oh hey, I’d be happy to volunteer as an observer when I’m around. Plus, I have a dozen little critters you could examine when you get a workspace.”

Lia’s eyes sparkled with excitement. “Oh, what kind? How many exactly? Are they all the same kind of creature? Do you have a habitat for them or are they domesticated?”

Seeing Ellie uncharacteristically pull back from the lava golem’s enthusiasm, John stepped in. “Let’s get you somewhere you can do your work first before you start your study. Better to get one task at a time dealt with rather than spreading yourself too thin.”

Lia inhaled deeply before sighing. “Indeed, you are correct. Now that I’m free from my broken body and mental prison, I have all the time in the world. I’m very curious though, and it will become an unwelcome distraction. Would it be a problem to at the very least ask what kind of creatures are in your care?”

Ellie nodded, taking a deep breath and seemingly mentally preparing. “Sure. Right now I have twelve volcanic elemental wyrmlings. Six are fire-aligned, while the rest are earth-aligned. They’re very young though, which is why I’m apprehensive, they’re not even two weeks old yet.”

Lia attempted to contain herself but she still let out an excited peep. “Oooh my goodness, adorable! Those particular creatures are quite interesting, especially because it is possible to switch the mana they can channel while young. Since they already have an alignment, if they’re close to a source of certain mana or if you purposely expose them to one type of mana or another, they can change over a short time. It can go by quicker if they’re purposefully trying to switch too.”

Ellie found this interesting and opened her mouth to question her more, but Lia’s hair and skin began to change. “This is soooo boring, yep-yep,” Agni’s bubbly voice interjected as orange slime reappeared.

She crawled closer to the group before flipping over onto her back, and laying her head in John’s lap. “You should get to know Agni better too, yep-yep,” she said, smiling up at John.

“S-so, uhm. C-can you just switch p-places w-with L-L-Lia whenever you w-want?” Alison questioned, her voice soft and quiet.

Agni turned her head to look at Alison, who rested her head against John’s left arm. “Hmmm, Agni waited till Lia was distracted with her thoughts, then Agni took control, yep-yep,” she replied. “Agni was bored and wanted to play.”

“This is the first time you’ve been in control of your body, right?” Ellie asked. “Could you see or think before taking control for the first time?”

Agni smiled, turning to look at John’s other arm where Ellie was. “It is the first time Agni has been in control, yep-yep,” she said before looking up in thought. “The first thing Agni remembers is being in John’s arms. Agni was hot but not because of fire or lava, she just wanted to be closer to John and… hmm?”

Agni’s head tilted and a thoughtful expression crossed her face again. “Agni is not saying anything weird. Agni is just telling John how nice he makes her feel. It is not wrong! Lia likes being close to John too, so why can Agni not feel that way?”

“Is s-she talking t-to Lia?” Alison asked, looking at John.

John shrugged. “I mean, I assume so, maybe?”

Violet chuckled, tightening her arms around his chest, she’d been so quiet and he’d become so comfortable with her there that he’d almost forgotten she was here. “Seems that you have another two admirers and they’re super cute too,” she murmured, leaning in to kiss him on the cheek.

Agni looked up at Violet with a broad smile. “Agni thinks you are cute too, and you, and you,” she said, looking between Violet, Ellie and Alison.

“So what else do you like, Agni?” Ellie asked, smiling at the lava golem.

“Hmm, Agni likes John? And Ellie and Alison and Violet,” she responded.

Ellie smiled and stroked the girl's hair. “I like you too. What else?” Ellie pressed.

Agni pouted a little. “Agni does not know, mmmh, Agni likes outside, maybe?”

“M-maybe w-we could go outside and s-see if w-we can find other things you l-like?” Alison suggested, glancing at the others, feeling a little uncertain.

Agni sprang to her feet. “Oh, Agni likes that! Agni would love to spend time with John and Ellie and Violet and Alison and try to find other things Agni likes, yep-yep!”

Ellie chuckled. “Well, now we have to, don’t we? You wouldn’t want to make Agni sad, now would you?” she asked John, who nodded.

[ I don’t think we would ]

John sighed, and before he could complain about Gaia’s comment, another screen popped up

New Quest: I Can Show You The World

Agni has spent many years trapped inside a mountain as well as her own body for her entire existence. It’s time to show her a whole new world!

Quest Objective - Help Agni find 5 interests

Reward: For each interest discovered you will receive a related reward. Once completing the quest you will receive a bonus reward. All rewards are issued once the quest has been completed.

Accept: Yes | No

John blew a lazy raspberry and clicked Yes. He liked the idea of getting to know Agni more, and helping her, though he couldn’t help thinking about how they’d only been here for a short amount of time and how they’d lost Robin already. Not to mention his to-do list was growing longer by the second.

Shaking his head, he pondered, ’Hmm, what would a lava slime golem even like to do?’

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