Summoned by Monster Girls

Apparently my little epiphany was amusing for the girls, because they spent a good bit of time giggling at me before they got back around to our discussion.

Since my power was basically unusable at the moment, Kassandra suggested that we get me some basic equipment like armor and a weapon. Idly, I’d asked about what sort of stuff they might need protection from. Given that I was in another world at the behest of two beautiful half-animal women, I had a feeling I was going to be fighting monsters and completing quests. It turned out that I was fairly on the mark.

“Sounds like a sort of work-study program, really.” I said as Kassandra finished her explanation to me.

“Sort of. Mana is expensive. And to practice magic you have to have the means to acquire it. Both Rieka and I could just use our own finances to purchase most of the mana that we need, but that would ruin the other half of the program.” Kassandra snuggled a little tighter on my right. Throughout the entire conversation, she’d been edging closer, using the fact her tail was wrapped around my hips in the grass to slowly pull herself in until she was leaning into me with the end of her tail stretching out alongside my legs.

“Yea. Any mage needs to stand ready to defend the country. It’s expected of those who have power to be ready to use it in defense of others. So we take missions on the weekends and holidays to practice on weaker opponents and get some real world experience.”

“I’m surprised that a princess doesn’t have any royal guards with her. Or a young noblewoman. Why not hire some protection?” My hand had stayed on Kassandra’s coil, about where her knee would be if she had legs rather than a tail, and her scales felt warmer under my touch now. Her blush at the contact had faded, to be replaced with a happy little smile.

“We could, but we can’t always expect to have someone safeguarding us in the future. Guards are only as loyal as their pay after all. Part of why we chose to summon a protector and why Rieka and I pooled our resources for it.”

“Which is why you both wanted to bond with me, right?”

“Yup! That and it means we can summon you more often. As well as provide you with more gifts to help grow your powers. Though since you don’t have a traditional power, it might take a bit to figure out what sort of gifts might work best.” Kassandra frowned cutely for a moment before shrugging. “Something to figure out though.”

“Kass, we need to get going. Class is going to start soon.” Rieka said, glancing up at the position of the sun in the sky.

“Shoot! Okay fine…We should let you get back to your work, Liam.” Kassandra grumbled, pulling my arm into hers and hugging it tight. Her tail slid up and around my waist so that she could hug me with it too. I would have expected such a strange sensation to be off-putting, but it just came across as cute and endearing when coming from someone like Kassandra. She just had this way about her that made it hard to be upset about anything.

“Probably for the best. My asshole of a boss is going to give me crap anyway. Fairly certain I haven’t been gone long enough to cause a problem. I can just say I had to take an early lunch or something.” I shrugged it off and smiled down at Kassandra. “I said I’d come when you girls called for me, so do it when you need me. I’ll work on figuring out this power I got in the meantime.”

“Evenings and weekends are the usual times, we’ll try to warn you ahead of time if that will change. It’s a bit different with an intelligent creature as a summon.” Rieka added in. We’d talked earlier about scheduling and since the girls attended their courses during the week, it worked out fairly well. I would just have to avoid picking up any weekend overtime.

“Sounds good. I’ll see you two tomorrow to figure out some basic equipment and then we can start earning you guys the mana you need for your classwork. It doesn’t hurt to have the extra on hand to summon me if you need, since the more often you summon me, the faster I can grow and get more powerful to help you out.” I shifted my grip to higher on Kassandra’s waist and pulled her to my side in a hug that made the serpentine woman hum happily, squeezing both my arm and waist tighter. The sensation of her soft breasts sandwiching my arm was far more pleasant than the firm squeeze around my waist, but both felt good for what they were.

“Sounds like a plan. We can figure out more specifics on training later, but this is a good starting point.” Rieka said, an odd smile on her face while her ears tucked back just a bit.

I was about to ask her if anything was wrong when flaring, blue-purple words flashed into existence in my vision and made me jump.

Assist your contracted companions, Kassandra Silverscale and Rieka Coldeye, in ascertaining how best to train you.

Reward - 100 SP

COMPLETED

A moment later they faded and another message flared into existence, but not glowing as brightly as the first.

New Powers available in the System interface.

Congratulations, Traveler.

“Huh, cool. Apparently that’s my first task done. We figured out how best to ‘train’ me.” I snickered. Kassandra bit her bottom lip and grinned up at me with mischief in her eyes.

“I can think of a few ways I’d like to train you, Liam. But that’s for another time and a bit more privacy.” She murmured. Before I could react, Kassandra pressed a kiss to my cheek. “Think fondly of us while you are gone, Liam!” Kassandra whispered again in my ear before she produced the metallic baton from behind her back and made a motion with it.

“Kass! I didn’t get to say goodbye yet.” Rieka protested as I felt the tugging sensation around my waist and shoulders. “Liam! Be safe!” Rieka called and her words stretched out like she was suddenly being pulled to a great distance as the sensation of movement caught me up.

A handful of seconds later, I landed on my feet in the back of the semi trailer. After the clean air of their world, the musty, sweaty confines of the truck were oppressive and I coughed. That sent me off balance in my squat and onto my ass on the dirty floor.

“Fuck…that was a little mean, but also kinda cute.” I laughed, pressing my fingers to my cheek where Kassandra’s lips had been a moment before. She’s remarkably forward for someone you just met last night. Maybe she just likes teasing people.

Unfortunately, my thoughtful silence was interrupted by the familiar whirring of little rubber wheels on concrete outside the truck and I scrunched up to hide better behind the trolley and its remaining stack of blue plastic totes.

“Liam! Where the hell are you?” Dutcher’s whiny voice echoed inside the back of the truck and I scrunched down further. It wasn’t an easy task since I’m a fairly tall guy, but combined with the dim lighting in the truck it was at least possible to stay mostly out of sight. “Fucking slackers, all of them. Where the hell is that big idiot?” Dutcher grumbled after a moment and I heard the whine of the Segway’s tires as he wheeled off. A brief flare of anger surged in my chest at his words.

“Calling me a slacker and you can’t even be bothered to walk up and down the dock?” I grumbled under my breath. I wanted to growl more, but it wouldn’t help. Even if it did make me feel better.

Tugging my phone out of the pocket that the System had helpfully returned it to when I came back from the other world, I checked the time. I need to ask what they call their world, I can’t just keep thinking ‘the other world’ every time. I thought while comparing the time I got back to roughly when I’d been summoned. It’s been less than an hour since I was gone, so I could just say I’d been at lunch.

One of the few benefits that we had was a paid lunch break, though more often than not it was used to push us to cut our breaks short or work through them entirely. I was pretty sure that was illegal but no one in HR ever answered when I asked about it. I’d eventually given up and just put up with it. The economy was in shambles as it was and this was a small price to pay for a job that let me afford rent. Well, it would be a small price to pay without Dutcher scooting about being an idiot.

“Okay, I need to get this work done.” I pushed myself to my feet with a renewed sense of purpose. I needed to focus on the here and now so I can get this done and get home. “Tomorrow, I get to head back and see Kass and Rieka again and really get a feel for this thing.” I cheered myself on and started shifting totes as quickly as I could.

The renewed sense of energy lasted for a good ten minutes and I was able to clear out the trolley’s that had been staged for this load so far. The picker’s, that’s the guys who actually pull the stuff off shelves and load it in the totes before they then bring the trolley’s over to me, were quick to notice the empties by my bay and hurried over to snag them and get them loaded again. I waved to Geoff, one of the pickers I actually got along with, as he hooked up his little, tugboat-like truck to the line of trolleys.

“There you are, Liam. Was wondering if you’d gotten sick of Dutcher’s fat ass and walked off the job finally.” Geoff laughed, his mutton-chop beard shot through with hints of gray. A squashed truckers cap with a faded Bass Pro logo on it sat jauntily on his head.

“Not yet, Geoff. Drive safe out there, some crazies on the road today I’m sure.” I tossed my head back towards the office, where I could see Dutcher’s Segway parked on its charging pad.

“Oh if only…I’d happily run him over if he cut me off out here, but his little nerd-chariot has enough get up and go that he’s dodged me yet.” Geoff said with a sigh, throwing his eyes to the heavens like he was begging God for an opportunity.

“Well, just make sure it looks like an accident if you do. Don’t need you going to jail, I’d never get anything done here after all.” I helped him get the last of the cars locked in and then Geoff was off to get the next load set up. Turning back to the trailer, I glanced at the loading manifest and sighed, I had to finish this layer of the truck with mostly cases of bottled water and soda. It was a pain to stack as the flimsy bottles often collapsed and that made a mess.

Rykol Food delivered mostly to gas stations and convenience stores. I honestly pitied the drivers that had to back a big rig into a gas station just to drop off cigarettes, bottled soda, and milk. It was enough of a pain in the butt to load it up, but unloading it after trying to get parked at night? No way. I tried my best to make sure the loads were balanced and secured properly so they wouldn’t shift, figuring I should do what I could to make their jobs easier. That didn’t make my job any easier, but it was at least something nice I could do.

Stopping next to the wrapped pallet of bottled water that sat on the main loading dock, I glanced over my shoulder at the rest of the dock to make sure no one was coming my way and held one hand in front of myself.

I need to get the hang of this shifting thing…what was I doing wrong? I was glad that the girls had the funds to at least get me a weapon, but if I was going to actually protect them, I needed to get the hang of these powers. Who knew when they might need me and I wouldn’t have time to grab a weapon.

Focusing in on one hand, I imagined the tip of my right index finger growing harder and sprouting a claw. Just one finger. I focused on the idea of a sharp claw, like a cat’s claw or an eagle's talon. I’d tried a wide range of things earlier, maybe I’d have better luck with something simple and smaller in scope than my whole hand.

At first I felt something resisting me, like a general disbelief that this was real. I threw the sensation of Kassandra’s scales under my fingers at that doubt and my mind returned to the feeling of her lips on my cheek.

The tip of my finger darkened and then extended forward into a sharp, black tip that was several inches long. The claw itself merged seamlessly into my finger like an eagle’s talon, and the finger itself had bulked up some, thickening with extra muscle and the tendons needed to support the claw. All of that happened in the course of a second and without having to even consider the extra bits.

“Huh…” I muttered, flexing my hand slightly. The claw felt odd and heavy on my hand. The tip of my finger was numb like it’d fallen asleep but when I tapped the claw against the pallet of water, it easily pierced the plastic wrap holding the cases in place. Using the claw like a box knife, I slashed through the layers of plastic wrap easily. Huh, okay so it works, but it’s slow. Also, I only have the basics of how to fight like this. I doubt swiping at stuff like Wolverine is going to be effective, especially without his healing factor.

I was just considering how to get rid of it, so I didn’t puncture one of the bottles, when a voice made me jump.

“Liam! Where the hell have you been?” Aaron Dutcher’s tone tried to be angry, but just came off as petulant instead.

Jamming the hand with the claw on it into my pocket to keep it out of sight, I whirled to meet Dutcher’s eyes.

“Been working, was on lunch and got back a bit ago. Why, did you need something?” I did my best to act innocent despite my initial worry that Dutcher had seen the claw on my hand. I could still feel it in my pocket and touch it with my other fingers. I tried to focus and urge it back into a regular finger, but the suspicious look on Dutcher’s pouchy, almost bullfrog looking, face made it hard.

“Lunch break. Right. I looked in the lunchroom and didn’t see you there.” The fat man said suspiciously. He would have looked more intimidating but the Segway scooter he was balanced on just made me think of him like some kind of low-budget, video-game villain instead.

“Might have been while I was in the bathroom then. I was on break at the time, Dutcher. What did you need?” I tried my best to be civil, but the guy was annoying to an extreme and I was still short on sleep from the previous night anyway.

“It’s ‘Mr. Dutcher’, to you Cosgrave!” Snapped the overweight manager, his cheeks growing more florid as his irritation got the better of him. “You will respect my position or else you will be looking for a new job here soon!”

“What did you need, Mr. Dutcher?” I did my best not to sigh, though my soul died a bit inside to cave to the man’s threats. I had no idea if Dutcher could actually fire me, but it was the last thing I needed right now. How fast would my world traveling escapades end if I was homeless? Would the girls still want a protector who was a hobo?

Kassandra’s kiss on my cheek played back through my mind and the soft sensation combined with the smell of her, a faint cinnamon and musk smell, bolstered my spirit.

“The driver is here for your truck. You need to get it loaded ASAP.” Dutcher snapped, his little eyes flaring with malicious glee.

“If he’s here already, he’s at least three hours early.” I stared at Dutcher pointedly and he just smirked back at me. I doubt the driver is actually here. I thought with a mental sigh, clearly Dutcher had decided to be a pain in the ass to make sure I ‘knew my place’. “Can I get back to work?” I did my best to be pleasant, but apparently my lack of reaction to his orders irritated Dutcher worse, because his scowl deepened.

“When you are done here, I need you to move down and help Matheson finish loading his truck. He’s also behind.”

That made me bite my tongue. Matheson was one of the worst slackers on the dock. He always reeked of weed and a nasty smelling patchouli cologne that he apparently believed covered up the scent of marijuana. I’d caught him rolling blunts inside his trailer twice this month already, but at least the idiot knew better than to actually smoke them inside the building.

“Sure.” I said flatly before turning back to the pallet, no longer caring if Dutcher was irritated at being ignored. He wanted the truck loaded quickly, so I needed to get to work on it.

Apparently, he wasn’t irritated, or at least didn’t want to whine at me anymore. A minute later, I heard the whine of his scooter as it slid off. Pulling the hand with its claw out of my pocket, I focused on it intently and imagined it returning to normal once more. A few seconds later, my hand was back to normal again.

“Well that could be useful, but if I have to do it finger by finger, it’s not going to be practical at all in a fight.” I muttered to myself.

Remembering something, I closed my eyes and focused on the ‘Powers’ menu in the HUD that popped up. The menu dropped open and I saw that a new power set was no longer fogged out and the whole display had rearranged itself. There were three distinct tabs that popped up under the ‘Power’ menu. Body, Mind, and Spirit. Mind and Spirit were still blank, but two changes had occurred on the Body tab.

First was the new power, sitting right next to the entry for Shape-Shifting.

Enhance Self (Minor) - Cost: 10 SP - Increase personal stats by a single point per purchase, up to a maximum of five points per stat.

May be selected multiple times.

“Huh…okay.” I blinked as I thought it over. I’d looked at the ‘Stats’ tab the other day and it had only said ‘calculating, please check back later’. Cariad had advised that it was likely due to the fact that the System hadn’t had a human Traveler in awhile and was having to calibrate to me. Navigating out of the ‘Power’ menu and over to ‘Stats’, I checked that one to confirm a suspicion.

Name - Liam Cosgrave

Strength - 13

Agility - 11 (9)

Fortitude - 16

Willpower - 15

Mental Acuity - 13

Wisdom - 11

Powers Acquired - Shape-Shifting (Minor)

“Looks like it’s done calculating then. I wonder what the parenthesis on agility means.” I muttered to myself, still keeping my eyes shut. Another window opened with an explanation.

Due to bodily injury, the relative score is lower than its potential peak. Seek healing or rest to recover.

“Handy. Okay, so I can start bumping stats if I want then?” I pushed back from the status screen for now and delved into the ‘Powers’ entry once more. I’d noticed one other change in here and wanted to check into it. Now that I was thinking about it, the stiffness in my back and shoulders was likely the ‘bodily injury’ that it mentioned. Need to be careful lifting, the last thing I need is to actually be hurt and for it to get in the way of what I need to do.

The second change was relating to my first power. Shape-Shifting was still the same entry as before, but the mastery entry had changed. Where it had read 0 out of 1000 before, the silhouette of a bar had appeared behind it and was starting to fill in with golden light. The readout read 2 out of 1000 as well. Wondering what it could mean caused another help interface to pop up.

Mastery is the measurement of one’s skill with a given ability. Practice and creative use of a System granted ability will increase mastery. Once the mastery bar is full, further upgrades and modifications will become available.

Mastery cannot be purchased. Only earned.

“Okay, so I need to find a way to practice this then…maybe it gets faster the more I practice it?” I muttered, blinking my eyes open and lifting the first three cases of water up onto my shoulder and carrying them into the trailer. I let my mind wander while I focused on the exertion of the work. Despite the fact that Dutcher had assigned me to help keep the slacker from falling behind further when I was done here, I wasn’t going to drag my heels. It wasn’t the drivers fault after all, no reason to make their jobs harder.

If I’m lucky, I’ll be able to unlock that Dimensional Pocket power that Cariad mentioned. I thought to myself, setting the water cases down and returning for more. Would make protecting the girls even easier if I could bring dad’s old rifle with me.

“I cast ‘gun’!” I snickered under my breath while hefting the next set of cases up.