3 Good Neighbors
The sensation of warm sand under my feet feels good as my companions and I walk across the beach. I mentally take stock of what is in my "Magic Backpack" as the item is apparently called, at least according to the potent power I possess dubbed "Upgrade".
Inside of the backpack are a number of handy trinkets, even an extension of my home's approximation of a computer monitor! I can sense the presence of items related to every single "Pathway" I am currently a master of, but at the moment I am focused on food-based items related to the "Culinary Warrior" pathway.
There's a free item which is related to items that affect the quality of food, and several "100 CP" items that generate healthy amounts of food, as well as a "300 CP" item that promises to enhance the flavor of food it is added to. I wonder what sort of meal I ought to try to make even as my companions and I march towards the ocean.
"Hey, do either of you know what spirits can eat?" I ask, opting to rely on my partners instead of doing everything by ear. My question isn't immediately answered, and I can almost sense the minds of my partners attempting to scan their internal databanks to see if they know.
"What do spirits normally eat, if anything?" is, in fairness, a bit of an odd question for me to ask. Heck, it's not even really important in the long run, as their dietary restrictions actually won't matter when it comes to them processing what I cook for them, but it is necessary for me to entice them to eat a meal in the first place so I figure I ought to know what they'd like to eat in the first place.
"I'm actually not sure. But the dollmaker did have us leave out monthly offerings to them and they did disappear the next day. We offered them fish and fruit." Raquel eventually tells me, causing me to nod at her appreciatively.
"Fish and fruit… Okay, I can do something with that." I reply, as I mentally examine my "Cornucopia" and my "Meat Locker", two of my items that generate food. The "Cornucopia" is an item that produces non-meats daily, and the "Meat Locker" is an item that produces a vast amount of meat products weekly.
The two things are within the "Magic Backpack" and as such I can now mentally parse through their contents thanks to the potency of the item itself coupled with my "The Vault" perk which is the very perk I used to make the backpack disappear in the first place. I quickly find various examples of both of the kinds of foods I'll need which brings a smile to my face.
The power of a "Culinary Warrior" is no joke, especially the power of a master. With my food I can do a range of things, and chief among them are bolster people, creatures, spirits, and even inanimate objects or the land itself. I can use that power to make friends, and to make them stronger by allowing them to eat my food.
"I'm going to cook food for all of us. I'd like for you two to eat as well." I tell my companions, as we make our way closer and closer to the edge of the shore. I spot another distant water spirit hurl itself out of the water and into the air, and chuckle even as my companions look at me curiously. I can supernaturally determine that it is not the same one I glimpsed earlier, but I can't tell any other sort of pertinent details which is a bit disappointing.
"I'm a… curious being, and the food I make can bolster those who eat it. I'd like to bolster you." I state, causing the eyes of my companions to warm a touch and they nod brightly at me.
"Yes, Mateo. I'm looking forward to eating what you make." Beth states, and Raquel nods, signifying her agreement with her sister. I grin even as I watch the second water spirit fall back into the ocean.
We eventually reach an area close to the ocean itself and I motion for us to stop. My allies look at me curiously, and wait to see what I have planned. I mentally reach into my backpack and do my best to envision myself taking ahold of two separate items: "Kitchen Space", and "Support Staff". This is a bizarre mental exercise, but it's one that works within the space of less than a minute, and when I feel my mental clutches wrap around the objects I open my eyes. I instinctively find that my perception of the world has changed a bit.
In front of me I see a 3D image of a massive, well-stocked, and fully modern kitchen. It is little more than a hologram, for the moment, but I find that I am able to move it as quickly as the description I read from "The Vault" told me I'd be able to, which is good. I move it directly in front of me and then mentally let it go, which causes it to abruptly appear in front of me, instantly. I also relinquish my hold on my "Support Staff" item, which causes no less than ten human-like creatures to appear around me, all of which are dressed in simple uniforms.
The creatures immediately set off and begin to turn on various devices, all of which are powered through some sort of unclear but efficient and persistent supernatural process. One of the creatures begins to grab things like cutting boards and pots and pans and places them on a massive kitchen island in the middle of the supernatural space and I approach the thing with unearned but technically merited confidence.
Supernatural knowledge fills my mind, informing me of the contents and functions of every part of the kitchen. I know where every mundane but brilliantly crafted item is located, and the precise functions and capabilities of every machine in the kitchen.
I was not much of a cook on Earth, but in this world, with my perks, I know for a fact that I am a skilled chef. I wish for one of the foods in my perk-granted inventory to appear in my hand and the thing does, a simple fish whose quality is visible even to the naked eye and with a glance I can tell that even this item-generated ingredient is effected by my perks.
Perks like "Better Ingredients" which simply offer holistic boosts to the quality of the foods I'm working with. In turn those quality boosts raise the overall quality of the dish I'm going to be making.
The handsome fish needs to be deboned, and I put it on the cutting board before I smoothly grab a simple knife from inside of one of the drawers near the top of the island. In a series of impossibly smooth movements I effortlessly debone the fish, doing so despite the fact that such an action is unnecessary.
My powers make it so that so long as I wish for my food to not harm someone, it won't. I can, of course, purposefully make my food dangerous to eat, but powers like "A Heroes Feast", "Spirit of the Kitchen", and other perks allow both my allies and I to eat anything I cook without risk of harm, but there's something nice about doing things properly. Plus I happen to know that while I could use my powers as a sort of shortcut, actually putting in an effort when it comes to things like this boosts the quality of the final product, thanks, of course, to perks.
I can feel the keen gazes of my dolls on me, and I am suddenly hyper aware of the fact that I possess perks like "Nymph's Kiss", "Presentation", "Artiste", and very importantly in the context of cooking and crafting: "Form Equals Function". As my body enters a sort of auto-pilot I sense the impact of perks that affect both my appearance and the appearance of things I make working together to subtly bolster the effects of my labor. I even apply the potent "Secret Ingredient" item, which manifests as a dust-like spice I sprinkle on the various foods my servants and I are preparing.
In no time at all my "Staff" has prepped the kitchen fully, and I have gone on from deboning fish to issuing orders to the homunculi who serve me. I watch as the creatures dart to and fro, transporting ingredients into pots, pans, and into other vital areas.
I spend several minutes overseeing the process as we gradually cobble together the disparate components of a large platter of seafood and fruit tacos. I watch as the seafood finishes being cooked, and as the fruits get placed into the tacos, and I smile.
Moreso than nebulously "Sensing" the impact of perks that bolster the speed at which I prepare food, I can actually see the impact of such perks. Minutes have passed, and yet I can see most of what I want to make is fully prepared, and looking quite delicious. Knocking off a full fifth of the time it takes to make stuff is a heck of a boost.
I glance at the ocean just in time to see one of the mysterious water elementals leap out of the water and I get to watch its head snap in the direction of the kitchen and my allies and servants. I am a bit surprised when I don't recognize any glimmer of intelligence, but even so I can still see the excitement that flickers across the thing's eyes.
When the creature lands in the water I keep my eyes trained on its relative location and I am unsurprised when I see it nearly surface and begin to dart in the direction of the kitchen. I quickly notice another distant being also nearly surface, disrupting the water behind the elemental, and also begin to move in our direction, as if following the first spirit.
"Look alive, dolls! We're about to have company." I say, causing my companions to turn and look in the direction of the water, right as the elementals reach a place closeby enough that they rise from the shallow waters and their vaguely humanoid bodies are visible. Or rather, their humanoid forms are visible to me, and not to the dolls or my "Staff".
Two androgynous figures stand in the swallowest part of the ocean. They are both now eyeing me, though I still can't make out anything resembling any sort of human-level intellect in their gazes and since they lack facial features other than eyes I can't really get a bead on them. Their heads bob curiously, and I think the gestures must mean something approximating humans taking deep whiffs of something. Their refusal to approach is a bit curious, but for now I decide to make the first move. The auras that surround them are white, and I can sense that they must be something vaguely approaching curious.
"Hey, split off about a tenth of the food for the dolls and I." I say, turning my gaze back to my servants. They nod and do as I ask, and when they are done I walk to the table where they have placed the platter and lift it up. The motion feels fluid, more so than I personally ever did before I first woke up over two hours ago.
I deftly carry the platter, itself carrying the stunning looking tacos, across the remaining distance that separates the spirits from where the kitchen was placed. During my walk the servants shut off, as they are powered by my presence and cannot work if I go more than about seventy five feet from them. As I do I find it easier than ever to balance the object and in almost no time at all I find myself standing mere feet from the curious strangers.
"Hello! My name is Mateo, I'm… Well, I'm a neighbor of yours." I say, and I watch the eyes of the spirits widen. They turn and look at each other, before looking back at me and when they are gazing at me their eyes are filled with delight.
"You… See… Us?" One of them asks, with a voice that reminds me of rain. I nod at them, and this prompts a response from the other spirit.
"This…" It says, before gesturing at the platter with a limb made of water and then back at itself. I chuckle and nod at it.
"Yes, this is for you." I tell the creatures. This prompts them to move towards me, but when they reach the very edge out of the wet part of the beach they stop moving. I cross the remaining distance and when I am standing in front of them they reach out with appendages that are tendrils of water and grab a pair of tacos.
They don't bother lifting them to their faces and instead place the food directly into where a stomach would be on an actual human body. I watch as the food begins to dissolve, and let out an amazed gasp as the two elementals seem to shiver. The auras that surround them begin to change, becoming a soft shade of blue, and I instinctively determine that they are happy.
The elementals reach out for more tacos and gleefully toss them into their watery abdomens. They shiver again, and I watch as they become slightly, nearly imperceptibly, bigger. They grow by taking in quarter inches of water, but my senses are sharp enough to detect the minute changes that are occurring to them.
"De… Licious." One of them "Mutters", though I'm not sure they are communicating in a way that someone less empowered by perks would be able to hear. For several moments both of the spirits gleefully eat the meal I have prepared for them, and as they do they continue to very subtly and minutely grow.
Seeing the actual effects of my food on someone is impressive. My cooking is not so dramatically wonderful or so magically empowering that just one meal will make all the difference in the world, but my perk-empowered cooking is clearly good enough that if I feed someone for a week there'd be a meaningful difference between them at the start of the week and the end of it.
"This food… Much better than Amazonia." The other spirit mutters, evidently better at communicating than its peer is. Though "Amazonia"... What a name. It's probably a coincidence that it's similar to "Amazon", since I'm in a whole other universe, but if it's not… I'd love to see some muscular, warrior women.
"What's Amazonia?" I ask, causing the spirit to look at me curiously. I notice a subtle shift in its aura, a slight tinge of green appearing in it to indicate something approaching amusement.
"Amazonia is… Neighbor. Name natives give… to nearby 'Queendom'." The creature informs me, causing my eyes to widen. A "Queendom" named "Amazonia"? It could certainly be the case that this place is actually made up of warrior women… I'm gonna need to investigate that at some point in the future.
"Huh… I see." I reply, casually. I now know, even if this does turn out to be an island, I have neighbors that must be relatively nearby. That is curious.
"Yes. Neighbors make offerings… Not always good." The spirit who called my food delicious tells me. This causes its fellow spirit to glare at it. The whole time they've both been delightedly eating the tacos.
"Offerings always good. Just… not the same." The creature says, and I hear the other one emit a noise like the sound of hissing steam. It takes me a second to realize that that could be the sound of their kind laughing. There doesn't seem to be any true malice in this interaction, or any true annoyance, it's more like two friends making quips and inside jokes in front of a new person who hasn't acclimated to their style of humor.
"Well, if you like I could do my best to make an offering once a week." I tell the creatures, and their eyes, as colorless as the rest of their watery bodies, widen in delight.
"You could? That'd be wonderful. If you do… We will… attempt to protect this part of the coast." The spirit that is better at communicating tells me. I notice that in its excitement its ability to communicate has noticeably improved.
That makes me wonder if these creatures CAN communicate, but simply do so very rarely other than with their own kind. There's no way my food can so dramatically improve their ability to communicate, even with "Soul and Brain Food", a perk that allows my food to help the mind and soul the same way well-prepared food helps the body, in one go. Or at least if that's the case that's deeply unfair…
"Well I certainly welcome assurances that my home will receive some protection. I'm new to the area and I inherited the home you can faintly see in the distance," I say before pointing in the direction of the cottage-looking estate. It's considerably bigger on the inside than it is on the outside. "How far am I from Amazonia?" I ask, opting to at least ascertain its direction. I have means through which I can reach Amazonia in a day, so long as its not something like a hundred miles away. One of the spirits turns and points up the coast before speaking.
"Amazonia is… that way. It takes us about a quarter of a day swimming to reach… Coastal city." The creature tells me, causing me to chuckle inwardly even as I externally smile and thank the spirit. That mistake is on me… How would a spirit know about miles? That attempt at quantifying the distance is probably more than I deserve, but since I don't know how fast the spirits swim that doesn't mean much.
Still, having neighbors matters. The fact that we have neighbors means there is a chance I could meet people familiar with pathways to power, and learn from them. It also means I can do business with people, and make use of my merchant powers!
At this point, my dolls approach me from behind, and I turn to face them. I smile at them, even as my eyes widen in excitement.
"We have neighbors! There's a queendom named Amazonia up the coast." I tell them, and this news delights them, causing their auras to shift.
"'Amazonia'? So amazons have settled down here in the time since our maker died… Warriors, so close…" Beth says, and while there's a note of excitement in her voice I can also hear other emotions in there as well. This still causes my eyes to widen in excitement.
"'Warriors'? So amazons here ARE like amazons back home… Oh that's excellent." I mutter, and I can tell my eyes are glowing as I think about the shapely, curvy bodies of female warriors. My remarks cause Raquel to smile.
"So is that your preference? Warrior women?" She asks, causing me to pause for a second and then let out a gentle laugh.
"I don't know if it's fair to call it a 'Preference'. I just think muscular, warrior women are… nice. In the same way as I think pampered, soft women are nice." I tell her, at least somewhat truthfully. Beth's eyes widen and I see a gentle, white glow of surprise blanket her aura. I can immediately guess what has happened, and I turn to see the spirits wearing new guises.
The spirits now have the form of two androgynous looking humans. Neither looks particularly masculine or feminine, and both are certainly visible to my companions. I smile at the creatures, even as one of them steps forward and looks at my companions.
"Mortals? Names?" It asks, causing the two dolls to giggle and look at me curiously. I nod, giving them permission to answer the curious spirit.
"Not mortals. Something else. Raquel." Raquel explains, introducing herself and causing the spirit's eyes to change, filling with confusion and curiosity. Beth steps up next and points to herself.
"Beth. Golems, kind of." The bubbly redhead explains, causing the spirit's eyes to relax. It seems that it has some understanding of what golems are, which is curious. The other spirit moves towards me and kisses my cheek.
"Mateo friend. So long as Mateo make offerings, Mateo friend. Now Mateo not only kissed by nymph, but also by nereid." The creature tells me, causing the object in my backpack connected to the computer to glow and begin to vibrate.
The spirit who just kissed me backs away, smiling, and turns to its companion. Its friend nods at it, and the two wordlessly head back to the ocean, though not before grabbing the final tacos on the platter. As they enter the ocean I hear them both mutter one word, at the same time; "Delicious".
When the spirits have entered the ocean and are beginning to swim away from us, I reach into the air in front of me and will my hand to enter the void where items I force into my inventory are stored. My hand disappears, as I grab ahold of the chunk of the computer monitor already in the backpack and then reappear a second later, holding the iron-like substance that is already displaying shifting symbols. I study the object and find that it is something akin to a portable monitor. The symbols shift for several moments until they spell out a surprising message.
"Notification: First Clergy powers awakened. Please review Clergy list for further details. A selection of tamer abilities unlocked, due to your actions involving nereids. 'Tamer' is a lesser pathway to power. Details on it are available in its section on the list of origins and perks available to be reviewed elsewhere. Once a pathway is partially unlocked, the key to mastering it lies in using its abilities and in being active in areas related to the pathway." The thing reads.
This causes me to realize, definitively, that the key to unlocking new powers is to make use of existing ones in ways that are relevant to the different paths I wish to travel down. I tap on the device and replicate the motions I first used to see what pathways to power I possessed and could walk down earlier today, and in moments I find myself studying the list of "Clergy" powers which I can now see for the first time.
Unlike before I don't have whole sections of powers unlocked, but this is still a pleasant surprise. Again the list of perks is divvied up into "100 CP", "200 CP", and "300 CP" areas, in order of ascending power, but unlike before I only have a moderately small section of powers at my disposal.
The 100 CP perks I have unlocked are "Faith", "Comprehension", "Insight", "True Believer", "Confessor", "Confessor", "Communion", "Divine Visage", and "Rites And Ceremonies". As I read through this part of the list I hear a faint gasp from Beth, which I assume must be in response to "Divine Visage", an appearance boosting perk which boosts my appearance in proportion to the "Power" of my soul.
The "200 CP" perks I possess being with "Higher Power", a perk that is about worshipable beings that actually grow in power with worship, with three specific choices; "Self", "Eldritch Powers", and "Nature Spirits". After that I have "Blessings and Benedictions", "Assuagement", "Santification", and "Spirit Channeling".
There's a lot of emphasis on healing and boons in these choices, and none of them are exceptionally potent either, but put together… It's a decent boost to my powers focused on nurturing me in a very "Support" centric way. That's the one flaw with my current development, a lot of my stuff is focused on utility and support based things, rather than making me personally powerful.
My "Tamer" abilities are like that as well, with perks like "Awakening", "Instructor", "Home Cook", "Beast Whisperer", "Medicine Man", and "Anthropomorphize" being some of the key new abilities of mine. These powers allow me to bring out potent qualities in others, and boost them, but it seems that if I want to keep myself safe I'm gonna need to rely on well-made equipment and trusted allies.
"I sure could use some potent personal powers…" I mutter, though I'm cognizant that "Hedge Mage" gives me an okay-ish amount of personal power, along with "Iron Chef" from "Culinary Warrior", which links my cooking ability and my skill as a warrior. Together they give me enough that unless I completely lose my shit and act like an idiot I sure be fine. I glance at the descriptions of "Clergy" and "Tamer" to familiarize myself with them.
"Tamer" is one of the lesser pathways to power as a large portion of it relies on beasts and only the greatest tamers can really maximize its potential. "Clergy" is an extremely rare pathway to power but it reminds me of a fusion of D&D-style warlocks mixed with D&D-style clerics from the description which focuses on the fact that clergy, in this setting, can both get power from higher beings, gods, spirits, demons, angels, those kinds of creatures, and can help lead cults and even become higher beings themselves, given enough time.
I glance at my dolls and they smile at me. For a moment I consider what to say next, before coming to a realization.
"I want to adventure, and make use of my abilities." I begin.
"There is a whole world to explore, and I have the ability to master any and all pathways to power, so long as I work at it. I just unlocked the pathways of the clergy and the tamers, but I'm not a master of either. If I want to master the two of them, I need to explore the world." I tell the creatures, causing both of them to look at me pensively.
"I want to master as many things as possible and actually make use of my abilities. For now… I think we should go home, and I should make use of my powers to create excellent items and then we go to Amazonia sometime in the next few days and introduce ourselves." I tell the two creatures who have accompanied me here. Raquel's expression sours a bit, but Beth's brightens.
"Our maker wanted to retire here. He chose this place because, at the time of his demise, it was an isolated region that was, to our knowledge, uninhabited. But now there are people here..." Raquel tells me. I can tell that she has very mixed feelings about that.
"There are people here! Well… There. We could make friends, and maybe even create new sisters someday." Beth says, almost giddy with excitement. Raquel looks at her and silently expresses some of her mixed feelings on all of that.
"For now… Let's head home. We can talk about this in the days to come and come up with a plan that is as agreeable as possible." I eventually say, even as I wave a hand in the direction of the kitchen and call the remaining food to us using telekinesis. As I do that the kitchen, servants and all, vanishes. The tacos reach us and float in front of us and we all reach out and grab them. I lift them to my mouth and take a careful bite, before my eyes widen.
The taco is the single best thing I've ever tasted. My allies watch me, and then bite the food curiously, only for their eyes to also widen in surprise. I can taste every single ingredient my servants and I cooked, from the soft, well-prepared fish, to the delicious and well-cooked fruit, as well as the spices we put on to accentuate every single flavor. The food is incredibly delicious, and as I begin to eat I feel the nutrients seeping into me, all while sensing perks like "You are what you eat", and "Soul food and brain food" activating, filling me with power both temporarily and, to a much lesser extent, permanently.
"Whoa…" I mutter, inarticulately. My enhanced senses allow me to really feel the difference between this food and food I had back on Earth. I grab another taco and I bite into it, and I am delighted to find that it is as delicious as my other taco was. I'm easily a better chef than any chef whose food I was able to eat back on my homeworld, and that knowledge both fills me with joy and is also quite humbling.
In minutes my dolls and I are back home, armed with contemporary knowledge about our surroundings. I elect to hurl myself into my work, now that I have a goal, and in no time at all I am actively working in one of the rooms in the cottage; a room filled with blacksmithing equipment, from a gigantic forge to stores of metal, to a selection of molds.
During this time I quickly equip myself with items such as "Tools of the Trade" and "Blacksmith's Apron" two "Enchanter" items that are handy for moments where I can really hurl myself at my work.
I also get to experience the sensation of well and truly letting my body be guided by my instincts rather than my conscious mind, since while I am creating the arms and the armor I am making I am completely relying on alien instincts and perk-granted knowledge. Normal teens on my Earth did not work a forge or handmade weapons and armor. It is eerily easy for me to do this, and I am almost astounded when I find that it only takes me hours to begin to complete individual products.
In no time at all I have a few different swords, and even pieces of armor! I'm no historian but even I know this has got to come down to perks, as this is blatantly nonsensical. I'm a lone blacksmith even with modern knowledge and modern equipment it should not take me less than an hour to forge something.
By the time the sun sets and I take a break to create a perk-powered dinner, I have a few swords and a few different helms and greaves, all of which are made of iron. During this time my dolls check in on me occasionally, but they are mostly free to do as they please. They tell me they walked to some of the "Grand Constructions" their master crafted, long ago, like the dock I saw back on the beach, and a nearby mine that he somehow enchanted.
I eventually call it a night about an hour after dinner, and when I go to sleep I do so alone in the actual bedroom located in the generic living area in the house. I fall asleep almost instantly, and I dream of the depths of the ocean, of verdant, alien paradises located deep beneath the waves. The dreams are peaceful, if a bit odd.
