World Seed_Expansion

by Justin Miller

  For fairness’ sake, I made another slight alteration to her aura to give her a psychic power. Although she couldn’t turn human like I could, her power should still be able to function, even if it is at a reduced strength. By now, Yo and Celeste were already back in the medbay and waiting for what was definitely the most awkward part of this.

  Letting out a long sigh, I looked to the slime girl, and beckoned her forward. “Yo… can you shrink your chest to the same size as Sharon’s?”

  “Uh… okay?” She shrugged her shoulders, not seeming to understand why I was asking, but did so anyways. I began examining her aura with my Mana Sense, focusing on the regions I had previously identified as being related to gender. I was a bit concerned that Yo would not technically have a gender, since she could switch to different forms whenever she wanted, but thankfully those aspects were still there.

  Once I identified the parts of her aura I needed, I began focusing more heavily on them, and compared them with what was in Sharon’s aura. Once I found one that was nearly identical to Sharon’s, I focused on that particular aspect. “Okay… Now expand your chest a bit, like you had it before, but slowly.”

  “Alright!” She responded more enthusiastically this time, and my face heated up because I realized just what it was I was doing. I felt as the change in Yo’s breasts corresponded to an alteration in the part of her aura I had been focusing on. I then repeated that alteration on Sharon’s aura. I watched as her chest slowly swelled, and she let out soft moans in her sleep that I had to do my best to ignore. I wasn’t sure how ‘big’ she was originally, so I stopped growing them just after what I assumed to be DD. If this was still too small for her… I wasn’t really sure my sanity could handle it.

  “Anything else, Papa?” Yo asked with a smile next to me, her chest back to its normal proportions.

  “No.. that’s all for now. You can go play some more.” After saying that, I watched as the slime girl ran off out the door. “Celeste, think you could scan her? I gave her the same psychic power procedure as I did for myself.”

  “Alright~.” While Celeste pulled out the scanner and got to work, I reviewed the window that had appeared while I was working.

  New Spell Unlocked!

  Aura Surgery - Mana Manipulation - ★★☆

  By manipulating your mana to match that of your 'patient', you are able to alter the aura of another person to match patterns you have studied.

  “Looks like she has a telepathy based power, with minor talent for empathy. It’s a lot easier to train than yours, so she should be able to do it even in an elf body.” Celeste spoke up, making me unreasonably nervous. “Yes, that means that, depending on the nature of her power, she might be able to read your mind soon.”

  “I… think this may have been a poorly thought out plan.”

  “Too late to take it back now, Captain.” Celeste grinned at me, because Sharon was starting to wake up.

  “So… did it work?” She asked groggily, before pausing and looking down to her chest. Then up at me… then back down to her chest. “They got bigger…” As she spoke, a smile began forming on her face, followed by a deep blush. “Did you…?”

  “Complete gentleman , I swear.” I quickly denied any accusation she may have been getting ready to throw at me. “Though I did give you a psychic power. Celeste should be able to help you figure out the details of it.”

  Sharon smiled more widely at that, looking to the Deus Ex as I excused myself from the room to get to my training. “Celeste, until we get to Gerin, I need you to give me some information. As much of the runic language as you can manage, and basic piloting skills.”

  The AI spoke up in my mind. “Alright, I can work on that.”

  For the next few days, Celeste was constantly pouring information on runes into my head, while her Deus Ex body was training Sharon. I wasn’t really surprised by what her power turned out to be. Celeste said it was called ‘Wild Voice’, and was essentially a universal translation power. However, it not only worked on sapient races, but animals and plants as well. Essentially, she could communicate with anything that had a soul. And since her power was less stressful than mine, within the first week she was able to train it to the point where it only caused her a minor headache to talk with Chrome and Jasmine for brief periods.

  Within that same week, I had finished learning the entire runic language. All ninety-nine million, two hundred and thirty thousand, seven hundred and sixty nine runes...Why would any language, universal or not, need that many words?!

  Of course, I was still training my affinities during this time, and managed to get the rest of them up to 15%. For the final week before we arrived at Gerin, I decided to practice my Toybox power. Over this week, I made several discoveries regarding how I could use this power. First of all, I was able to create a portal inside of my grove, with the second portal being outside. While this wouldn’t immediately be useful, it would mean that I could take magical items into my grove far easier than before.

  I was also able to ‘sit’ on a portal, by placing it down in a thin spiral shape. Doing so let me easily fly about, with only my mind. Of course, doing so required a big enough portal to support me, so it took quite a toll on my mind.

  The rest of the time, I had been practicing linking the size and shape as accurately as possible. With Celeste analyzing the rock I was using every time it passed through the portal, she was able to point out any small discrepancy. A few times, I managed to do it just right, and was now able to do small portals for pebbles with hardly any strain. Now if only I could do it for more useful measures.

  “Everyone, please report to the bridge. We’re about to pull out of subspace in the Gerin system.” Celeste called out, and everyone moved towards the bridge. Ever since the aura surgery, Sharon has been taking the chance to wear her clothes which emphasize her new bust. She seemed quite happy with them now… and Chrome and Jasmine liked to snuggle into her chest even more now too.

  As we got to the bridge and sat down, we got ready to enter into the next chapter of our adventure. To the elven worlds!

  Chapter 13 - A Show of Force

  “So, what information do you have on this system?” I asked towards Celeste as we pulled out of subspace.

  “From what I read of their history, and taking scans with the Seraglio, there are currently three inhabited planets within this system. At this point in time, elves have already mastered rudimentary terraforming, but their specialty is in genetic modification. The fact that there are so many elven races in the future is due to this, because they modify their bodies to adapt to specific environments.”

  “Okay.. do they use any kind of wireless network that you can tap into and learn more?”

  “I’m not picking up anything, but there are multiple satellites surrounding each of the planets. Once we get closer, I should be able to access whatever networks they use.”

  “Alright. Well, once we are within range, we can get a scan of the planets to determine where we’re going. Then, Sharon and I can head on down.” As I said that, Celeste looked at me in confusion for a moment. “We don’t have a spare body for you, and can’t afford to lose the one you’re using. Not to mention, we need you here to watch the ship while we’re going, and make sure it isn’t attacked.”

  “....Fine… but you have to be careful! I already set up clone controllers for Yin and Yang. I’m still researching how to set one up for Yo, so I’ll keep her back here with me for now. Deal?”

  “Deal.” I nodded my head as we gradually drew closer to the first inhabited planet, which was the sixth planet from this system’s star. “Anything on the scans yet?”

  “Not from the satellites. It’s possible that the planet-side communication towers were hit by monsters already. I should be able to start a more detailed scan of the planet in a few moments…” Celeste closed her eyes and focused. “Okay, pulling up the information now. There are life signs scattered all over the planet, some bigger than the rest. Those are likel
y to be the ‘boss’ class monsters. However, either through accident or a previous rampage, each of these three bosses are in an area where there are almost no significant signs of life within fifty miles.”

  “Let’s avoid those for now… Celeste, while we’re gone, I want you to have your construction drones start working on making orbital weaponry. If they have anything like that around their planets already, prioritize fixing it..”

  “Roger, captain. So far, all of their satellites seem to be focused on communication or deep space scanning. If they are still functional, then whoever is controlling them has likely detected our arrival. I’ll add stealth technology to the list of things you want for the next ship.” Celeste smiled at me, and I nodded with a sigh. I decided to take this moment to review my skills and status while Celeste got the scans for the nearest planet.

  Name

  John Hulett

  Race

  Wood Elf

  Titles

  Vengeful Heart, Amateur Brain Surgeon, Spider Slaughterer

  Fame

  1000

  Level 41

  32%

  Class

  Druid

  Advanced Class

  Xeno-Shifter

  Deity

  Malthan

  Health

  310/310

  Health Regen

  0.52

  Mana

  1300/1300

  Mana Regen

  4.92

  Strength

  15

  Wisdom

  166

  Agility

  26

  Intelligence

  130

  Dexterity

  22

  Charisma

  15

  Vitality

  31

  Luck

  20

  Points Remaining

  0

  Earth 15%

  Fire 15%

  Wind 15%

  Water 15%

  Lightning 15%

  Light 15%

  Dark 15%

  Plant 15%

  Void 16%

  Metal 15%

  Magnetism 15%

  Plasma 15%

  Skills

  Mana Manipulation - Advanced Level 5: 1%

  Nature Magic - Intermediate Level 9: 49%

  Wild Luck - Basic Level 8: 33%

  Sketching - Basic Level 6: 60%

  Herbology - Novice Level 2: 1%

  Gathering - Beginner Level 9: 6%

  Alchemy - Novice Level 3: 2%

  Mana Signatures - Advanced Level 5: 0%

  Cooking - Basic Level 4: 10%

  Flight - Basic Level 1: 0%

  Aura Sight - Intermediate Level 3: 1%

  Technomancy - Intermediate Level 5: 89%

  Programming - Intermediate Level 4: 5%

  Enchanting - Basic Level 6: 30%

  Engineering - Novice Level 2: 18%

  Maintenance - Basic Level 9: 24%

  Dodge - Beginner Level 5: 24%

  Swordsmanship - Beginner Level 5: 29%

  Marksmanship - Basic Level 3: 59%

  Energy Weapons - Beginner Level 9: 42%

  Soul Arts - Beginner Level 8: 9%

  Psychic Power: Toybox - Basic Level 2: 9%

  Piloting - Beginner Level 5: 3%

  Navigation - Beginner Level 2: 12%

  Weapon Systems - Basic Level 1: 13%

  Shield Systems - Basic Level 1: 0%

  A few things of note. First of all, after learning around twenty million runes or so, I was considered ‘fluent’ in the language, and it removed itself from my skill list. Secondly, there were four other shiny new skills at the bottom of my list that Celeste had been training me in. This was so that I could take over the Seraglio at important moments if she needed to focus on other things. I imagined that Sharon had a similar addition to her skill list as well. Finally, I had received an increase to my Fame stat… though I wasn’t really sure why. I had never gotten a message regarding it before.

  “Okay, I’ve got a visual scan of the surface. It’s not looking good.” Celeste muttered out from her seat near me. “There are fights all over the planet, with elves against monsters. Their weaponry isn’t as evolved as Earth, since it seems like they had a fairly peaceful uprising. Their most advanced weapons appear to be tesla guns, and they completely lack any orbital or nuclear weaponry. As expected, there do not appear to be any elves wielding magic.”

  “Alright. Get ready to set us down somewhere that we can make an entrance. I’ll get Yin and Yang ready to go.” After I said that, Sharon nodded and headed for the medbay to get into her own clone body. Meanwhile, I summoned the demi and the gustwing out of my grove. “Yin, Yang, we’re about to head down to the planet. Want to come with us?” I asked with a gentle smile, trying to reassure the winged woman who was afraid of space.

  “Y-yes please… though.. can I stay in your grove until the fighting is over, Master?” Yang looked to me pleadingly, and I accepted. Even though we’re leaving the ship, she still wouldn’t enjoy being in a large fight. As for Yin, she simply nodded her head in approval. According to Celeste, she had already managed to cultivate her Wind and Water Affinities to the level needed to evolve, and was merely working on her Lightning Affinity now. Even that was not too far from the level needed. Heading down to a real planet could help her cultivate quite a bit.

  “Alright, then let’s get the two of you suited up.” They appeared confused when I said this, but followed me to the medbay. There were two clones more than there had been the last time I was in here. One looked like a pure white bird with lifeless eyes, while the other was the same generic human clone that mine and Sharon’s had started as. Celeste helped them get strapped in while I put on the headset and logged into my own clone. After Yang was in her clone, I sent her into the grove so she could relax until it was safe.

  Once we were all ready, we moved to the teleport bay, where there were a dozen small metal plates lining the ground. “Alright, just stand on any one of those and we can begin.” After Celeste spoke, Yin was the first to rush towards the plates, understanding that this was her way off the ship and down to the action. Yo, however, just looked at me with pleading eyes.

  “Papa, can’t I come too? I promise I won’t get in your way..”

  “Sorry, Yo. You stay up here and help Celeste for now. Once we’ve taken care of everything, we can bring you down to the surface and let you walk around. If you’re good and help Celeste with her research, then next time you might be able to come down and join us.” I offered her a bit of an incentive, hoping it’d encourage her to be helpful rather than sulking the entire time we were gone. Thankfully, the slime girl rapidly nodded her head, sending a bit of green slime splashing around before it began sliding back towards her body.

  “I’ll be good, papa!”

  “Alright guys.” Celeste spoke as she stood near a console. “I’m about to send you down to the planet. Once there, I won’t be able to connect with you for about five minutes, since this will drain a lot of the ship’s power. I’ll have to focus on refueling first, and then I will make contact. Until then, try to stay out of trouble.”

  I felt an odd sense of foreboding from that. “Add a better generator to the list..”

  She giggled slightly, nodding her head. “Will do, captain. If you’re lucky, maybe they’ll offer you a ship as thanks for saving them.”

  “Since when do I get that kind of luck?” I sighed, shaking my head. “Well, beam us down.”

  Sure enough, dozens of lights began surrounding us, and I got ready for the likelihood of appearing in a battlefield. After the lights briefly blinded us, there were shouts and various sounds of battle filling the air around us. Sharon quickly waved a hand, and pulled ten of her strongest wolves out of her grove. Three of them were naturally the worldwolves that we had previously evolved in NeoLife, but surprisingly four others had evolutions as well.

  One had become a two headed diamondback wolf, fire emitting from its m
ouths. Another was a wolf whose entire body seemed to crackle with lightning, giving it a fearsome appearance. Finally, the last two each looked like larger, more ferocious versions of a lesser orthrus, each having two heads and black fur along their bodies.

  Looking around, we were in a wide plains area, where the elves were shooting lightning from various sized weapons at swarms of goblins, minotaurs, and… giant walking trees. I’ll call them treants for now. Anyways, their weapons were moderately effective when they hit, but highly inaccurate. From my count, there were fifty goblins, twelve minotaurs, and five treants on the battlefield, against roughly two hundred elves. However, the elves were still being pressed back.