The Wanderer's Rebirth: Other Paths

After a short stint meditating, he was back to prime condition and once again ready to begin “studying”. Seeing as how he wanted to get back to peak physical condition first, he went back to pouring over what Altaea had left him on High Elans.

He was fascinated to learn that the traditional electron transport chain in cells was missing in High Elans. Not only that, but the entire chemical structure that supported that vital system was either missing or completely changed.

Yeah, not human… he mentally grumbled. His entire physiology had changed to the point of being practically alien. Well, he supposed that High Elans, and Elans in general, were classified as “aberrations”, so there was that.

Still, it unnerved him more than a little bit as he continued to study.

Another difference he found was that High Elans could reproduce sexually. What he found was both fascinating and a bit disturbing. When two High Elans sexually reproduced, they would produce another High Elan. That was simple enough. But if they sexually reproduced with a non-High Elan, they would almost always produce an Elan.

The phenotype of the two would be a mix of both parents, as though a human + *insert race/species here* had reproduced. Or whatever phenotype the High Elan appeared as. For High Elans could be made to look like any race or humanoid species.

Anyways, those Elans were then basically the standard Elan that he’d read about in his gaming manuals. Sure, they’d have a few slight differences depending on their other parent, but the basics were the same.

Now, the interesting part came when he read what happened when a High Elan sexually reproduced with an Elan. Normally, that wouldn’t be possible, for Elans couldn’t normally sexually reproduce. But when a High Elan was involved, they could. Which weirded him out almost as much as his incredibly changed physiology had.

Anyways. When the two reproduced, the High Elan could basically decide whether or not the resulting child would be another Elan, or a High Elan. The control was mind-breaking to him. Sure, a High Elan could control their reproductive organs such that they never needed to worry about accidental impregnation. But going so far as to determine what race would be produced when it happened was kind of scary.

Then there was the section on how to create new Elans and High Elans. It was… complicated, and not something that he was remotely qualified to even try at the moment. What caught his attention was how to reverse the process for a person. Because, he had kind of assumed that the change was on the irreversible side of things.

He was a bit torn, then. Would he always want to be a High Elan? Would there come a time that he’d want to return to being a human again? He wasn’t sure, and was once again torn when he read that another person was needed to complete the ritual necessary for the process. Meaning, that he couldn’t do it himself.

Joram came out of his mental study session and sprawled on the reasonably comfy bed he’d been sitting on, letting out a long breath.

‘That was a lot,’ he sent to Avi, not sure how soundproof the walls were.

‘Indeed.’

‘Do you think that Altaea left that last bit just in case I’d want to return to being a human one day?’ he asked, still a bit perturbed about the information and its implications.

‘That is likely, though probably not the only reason she left such information for you,’ Avi replied, seeming thoughtful.

He nodded at that, considering the other implications. If he wound up starting a family here, would his children suffer when they realized that they couldn’t have children of their own? Would he have to suffer alongside them as he watched their suffering? Or would they be happy about it? He didn’t know, nor could he know. He was in a completely different world than the one he’d left. Who knew if the culture around childbearing or rearing was the same here, or completely different from Earth? For all he knew, not having children here was the height of social taboos.

He shrugged, not really wanting to find out any time soon. He’d had enough of all that for a good while, so he needn’t worry about that any time soon. Heck, just through social osmosis, he’d probably find out sooner or later anyways.

Shaking his head, he stared up at the ceiling and wondered what life would really be like here.

He still wanted to build his house outside of town, as the costs were somewhat prohibitive inside the walls. Unless he wanted something small. Nah. He kind of wanted space. Space to have a few workshops in which he could mess around making things, space with which he could make his own greenhouse and grow his own food. Well, food that he’d use to feed guests and such. But he’d always wanted his own greenhouse, so there was that.

He’d probably need to build walls around the place, and perhaps add some sort of automated defenses. He then wondered if there was a way to detect dungeon creatures? Celys had mentioned that they were created from mana. So, there must be a way to differentiate them from other lifeforms here. Could he mess around with [Detect Psionics] to create something like [Detect Dungeon Creature]?

Hmm, that would take time and experimentation. Time in which he needed to concentrate on other things. Like experimenting with Psychometabolism powers.

The [Metamorphosis] line of powers was an interesting one. It could change his body in various ways, giving him several advantages and physiological changes that could come in handy. He idly wondered if adventuring was a thing here. He could have sworn Celys had mentioned a curated dungeon in or near Kirkwall. Did they just assign town guards to do it, or was there another organization that took care of those things?

If the latter was the case, then did he want to become an adventurer? Did he want to constantly risk his life for money? Or would dungeon delving provide other resources? Resources that, perhaps, were unique to dungeons like a lot of media liked to portray. Hmm….

Shaking his head again, he caught a glimpse of morning light shining through his window. Which probably meant that breakfast would be coming up soon. Though, he really wasn’t hungry, and eating was still… not his thing. Especially if it was anything like last night’s dinner.

Hmm….

He briefly considered checking his notifications from the System, but then decided to let them wait. It wasn’t like he urgently needed some new information that would change a life-or-death situation or something. But he did pull up his character window and clicked on the tab for Paths.

After a bit of filtering, he was happy to see that a few more Paths had opened up to him because of his new Skills. They were all pretty good, but still nothing that quite called to him, so he closed the window and began going over [Restore Extremity].

It was a 5th Level Psychometabolism power exclusive to that discipline, which meant that it was a bit harder to learn. He was sure that he’d get it eventually, though. Given that [Delve] was also a 5th Level power, and he felt that he was getting close to properly learning it, he was sure that he wouldn’t be far away from being able to use [Restore Extremity] in the near future.

The problem was the headache that came with it. As he lay there letting the headache subside, the idly wondered if there was a limitation in this universe like there was in Altaea’s home universe where you couldn’t learn a Power until your key ability modifier was of the same level as the Power. For example, a 5th level Power required a key ability modifier of +5.

Not that he was below that threshold or anything, but he did wonder. Maybe he was just the kid wanting to learn all the things about quantum mechanics while having no clue as to how basic physics worked. Probably.

Without a proper foundation, he was sure that he wouldn’t be able to learn the more advanced Powers that relied on a more advanced understanding of the principles behind it all. No cheating allowed for him!

He sighed. But at least he could access all of that information when he did manage to get those foundation laid. Which, really, was still a cheat. Just one locked behind a lot of hard work.

Then a knock at the door brought his attention back to the here and now. Then someone spoke, letting him know that breakfast was ready.

Not wanting to be rude, he called back, telling them that he’d be out shortly.

He looked down at the clothing he’d made yesterday, then dismissed them before using [Cleanse] to get rid of an accumulated dust and grime. With that done, he made himself some new clothing, deciding to try to the local style. Then paused.

‘Avi? Was that faster than usual?’ he asked, pretty certain of the answer already.

‘Yes. It seems as though you Metacreation manifestations are indeed completing faster than what would be considered normal.’

‘Huh,’ he huh’d, thinking. Then he remembered the [Quick Manifesting] Skill he’d “learned. More “earned”, he thought, shaking his head. Well, if he could manifest faster, he wouldn’t complain about that at all. Faster manifestations would mean higher survival rates for him.

Shaking his head, he also dismissed his crutches and brought a new pair into being a few seconds later. He wasn’t sure how they’d lasted more than twenty hours, but he wasn’t about to keep using them when he didn’t know when they’d expire. Especially when such an occurrence would be more than likely to have him fall on his face.

Now dressed and ready to go, he went to the dining room they’d used the night before and took his place at the table. He was then relieved to see a spread that he had missed for a number of years before this. Bacon-like meat, sausages, eggs, and toast. There even appeared to be some sort of jam-like spread for the toast.

Everything was relatively tasty, though. Well, he could have used some pepper, but he wasn’t going to complain about it. The sausages, though, were a bit lacking in seasoning. Though, given the general lack of seasoning he’d experienced, that should have been expected. Thinking a bit more, he was pretty sure that he’d make a killing if he opened up a herbs and spice store in town.

Then, before he could escape, Celys managed to get him to agree to accompanying her for the morning. Well, it wasn’t like it was forced or anything, as the explained reason was to continue showing him around town and to introduce him around.

Really, it was very nice of her, but given how badly he wanted to get back to studying [Restore Extremity], it was hard. But his social chameleon self forced the issue and so he went along with Celys. With Myra choosing to tag along as well.

As they walked, he noticed that the foxes were once again attracted to him, following along like baby ducks. And, again, he noticed the odd looks people gave him, though perhaps fewer than yesterday. Probably due to him being in the company of the village Chief. And their [Miko].

“And this is June. She one of our many grocers, providing fresh produce for us,” Celys said, introducing yet another person to him. He was starting to see a pattern in who he was being introduced to.

He nodded, exchanging pleasantries before they moved on as he thought about how Celys seemed to be trying to get him an easy job somewhere. Mostly in places that wouldn’t require him to walk around much, or do any heavy lifting… or any lifting at all considering his need to rely on his crutches to get around.

Surprisingly, he was introduced to a weaver, carpenter- though specializing in cabinetmaking and furniture-, and even the blacksmith, of which he was one of two in town. Though, he was introduced as the best in town, able to make the best quality armour and weapons. And he was a dwarf.

“’Tis a pleasure ta meet’ya Joram,” he said, holding his hand out for him to shake.

Which he did, impressed at how firm a grip the man- dwarf, had.

“If you wouldn’t mind, could I watch you work one day?” he asked, a bit shy. He’d dreamed of becoming a blacksmith as a youth, images of creating wonderful armours and swords drifting through his romantic brain.

“Sure!” Magmyr said, clapping Joram on the shoulder and nearly knocking him over. “Hmm, sorry. Anyways. Anyone who wants ’ta learn is welcome here!”

Happy with that outcome, they then left to continue their tour. He got to finally see the east side of town, which actually wasn’t as bad as he’d thought it would be.

Sure, the houses were very close together, barely leaving room for a sidewalk that led to a very small back yard, though still larger than the front yards. Then there were the condo-like buildings, as well as the obviously apartments. Those, he was told, were for rent. Usually the elderly who didn’t want to keep up a larger house moved into the main floors, while the upper floors were usually taken up by younger people who hadn’t yet saved up enough to buy their own house yet.

He then found out that people usually only bought a house when they married, thus consolidating their residences and, ultimately, saving money. Which made sense.

“Don’t the elderly usually live with their children here?” he couldn’t help but ask, knowing that North America had been more the exception on Earth when it came to caring for one’s aging parents.

“Yes, that’s indeed the case,” Myra replied, surprising him more than a bit. “But sometimes people don’t marry for one reason or another, or their children pass on before them. So, small apartments like that suit them well enough,” she explained as he nodded along.

After that, he got a bit of a tour around the various small plots of land that were either vacant and waiting for someone to build on them, or being used as community gardens. He, once again, noticed many foxes going about their business, and couldn’t help but finally ask what that was all about.

“Foxes are considered sacred here, so they’re allowed to live as they are wont,” Myra explained, then went on to further explain their various habits and such.

He was still intensely curious about their tails, though. While he was thinking about that, he also wondered what was up with Myra and Celys having two tails. He hadn’t yet seen another foxkin with more than one tail, so he was sure that it was considered special in some way. But when he remembered the tongue lashing he’d gotten for staring at her tails when they’d first met, he decided to keep quiet.

That said, he did notice that Myra’s tails were once again out today, making him wonder if she’d initially hidden her tails because of his looks that first day. Feeling even more embarrassed about it, he resolved himself to both not ask about them and to not stare… even though they were quite lovely and mesmerizing to watch.

Eventually noon came and so they stopped at a street vendor for some lunch. He was impressed to see the selection of the vendors, and they eventually decided on some skewers. He wasn’t sure what kind of meat it was, but was happy enough to see that they’d inserted various vegetables between the respectable chunks of meat.

Again, the dish seemed to rely on the natural flavours of the meat and veggies, though he did detect some salt as he ate his one skewer.

“Are you really feeling all right?” Celys asked, having taken note of him only ordering one skewer. “Someone your size really should be eating more than you are, especially at your age,” she said, her mother side starting to show.

Having three of the skewers each, he supposed that him only taking one stood out more than a little bit.

“I don’t actually… eat much,” he finally said, though he changed what he’d been about to say. Claiming to not have to eat would likely cause a reaction that he wouldn’t be comfortable with, especially out in public like they were.

Celys continued to give him the side eye after that, obviously trying to determine a few things. Like if he looked healthy or something like that. He also noticed that her ear closest to him was thereafter pointed in his direction, possibly to hear if his stomach growled or something, thus proving that he hadn’t been truthful with them or something.

Even Myra appeared to be concerned with his appetite. After they finished their skewers, they purposely dragged them by the other stalls, musing out loud about whether or not she should get something else, all the while commenting on what this or that tasted like.

He quietly suffered through their misguided concern for his nutritional well-being and was happy when Celys got back to playing tour guide.

The food stalls and carts had been primarily located near the centre of town, so she went on to point out their town hall, their local branch of the country’s bank, as well as the Exterminator’s Hall. The first two made sense, but the last one needed explanation, so he asked.

“Oh, they’re tasked with things like monster bounties, exploring dungeons, as well as keeping dungeons from overpopulating,” Celys said, basically describing an Adventurer’s Guild. “Also, they’re contractually obligated to help defend whatever settlement, village, town, or city they’re located in, in terms of defending from monsters that is.”

Yeah, that’s a bloody Adventurer’s Guild all right, he thought, a grin spreading across his face as he looked at the large building.

What he didn’t notice was the concerned looks he was getting from both Celys and Myra.