Chapter 126 – New shirt, new pants, new Gnome.


    The decision where to put those points was pretty easy. That went for both the Skill and Stat Points. The Skill Points were distributed between the three elementals that were not yet at maximum level. It seemed like it would yield the most immediate benefit – although he did contemte Aclysia for a moment too. For the Stats, he went with Endurance, he could use more of that. He also noticed a few more windows.


    That was nice. He already had an SEP for Gnome in stock but he could use one for Smander, she seemed to be the next who would get there. However, the other Achievement he got was a bit more confusing.


    The heck was that supposed to mean? Whatever could that reward be that he currently could not ess it? He sighed. ‘Not thatining about it would change anything.’ With that thought, he left the Bonus Level. No need to keep standing in a destroyed woond.


    While he stepped out of the gate he Observed the two new items he had gotten.


    Despite the name, the shirt was not actually made from earth, it just had a dark brown, earthy colour. The Attributes were pretty good so John put it on without thinking much about it. Immediately he felt a difference in the way he perceived the world. The trance-like state he had been in earlier returned to him as he walked over the grassy in and towards his “house”. It was less defined and not as clear a feeling but John felt more synchronized with the earth itself. Anyway, for the pants.


    Wisdom and Charisma or his current bonus to Agility? The answer, John found fairly quickly, was the former. He used Agility so seldomly it was of little use to him. Off with the old, the Agility Pants were damaged goods anyway (the Sporeling explosion had blown a giant hole into them). Now all he needed were new shoes and he was all set.


    But before all of that he had something else to do. He walked into his room and sat down in his office chair and rxed for a moment. This had been an intense day. He had gained two levels, so he was satisfied on that front. Facing the door, he followed the room gradually filling up with the other members of his party.


    Aclysia had entered directly behind him and now stood at his side. She shifted around a bit, John could feel that she was unsure whether to suggest cuddles (and more) or to wait until he had requested them by himself. He smiled at that. She had grown into a kindred spirit in lewd regards. Self-actualization was a wonderful thing.


    Sylph twirled into the room next. Doing a triple turn in the air before flying a giant loop and thennding on the pillow on his bed. She bounced high once and giggled, “Fluffy! I like fluffy, bouncy, and fluffy things are the best!” eximing, she finally came to a halt and, for a very rare asion, shut up.


    Smander quickly followed her. The fire Elemental did her best to stay away from furniture. She was able to control her body heat and keep it at levels that wouldn’t burn anything. As a mark on John’s desk proved, slight annoyances were enough for that control to go straight out the window. Staying rxed, she hovered safely by the window.


    Undine half stepped and half poured inside. Her light blue, translucent body left the floor perfectly cleaned. The first time Undine had walked around, John had been afraid that she would leave sticky trails everywhere but that, luckily, had proven to be false. Undine preferred to be somewhere quiet so she hid under his bed. John did notpletely follow the why but apparently it was her second favourite ce in the house, the first one being the shower.


    Gnome finally walked in. Each of her movements was heavy, even though her steps were careful. A discrepancy between her nature and her increasingly shy personality. Normally she would take her ce by the nt John kept as a neglected piece of decoration (although it had made a miraculous recovery thanks to being taken care of by Aclysia) next to his desk. However, today she walked up in front of him.


    She was still just like the first day he had summoned her. A small girl, four years of apparent age, with brown hair bound into small twin tails at the sides of her head and eyes of the same colour. She wore a youthful sundress, yellow like a buttercup, whose skirt reached just to her kneecaps. No shoes, no gloves, nothing else, just the sundress and two small bands that held her twin tails. Appearances belied the shard of an ancient realm she truly was.


    “Are you ready?” John asked as he pulled up his Stat Screen.


    Gnome took a deep breath and shook her head. She took another one, shook her head again. Then she exhaled ever so slowly and nodded. “Yes, I am, John,” she said. John used a Skill Evolution point on Earth Elemental Summoning.


    Sand. No, he did not n to fight in the desert any time soon and it sounded more like an offensive elemental anyway. Out of the calction. Nature Elemental seemed interesting. However, if it brought him into a simr situation as with Undine, whose offensive capabilities were really expensive mana wise, it seemed really not worth it. Gnome was his most versatile tool. She was good at defending him, had strong (if slow) attacks and a sturdy body. He aimed to keep that, he would have a hole in his party set-up otherwise. Therefore, it would have to be Stone Elemental.


    A clickter and Gnome turned into a pir of stone. Literally, the little girl in front of him suddenly transformed into a pir of light beige stone, reaching up to his nose in height, something that he only knew because he jumped up. The sudden change had really startled him. “Gnome?” he carefully asked. In answer the stone started to reshape.


    First it took a roughly humanoid shape, John could make out arms, legs, torso and head easily, although it was all a bit bumpy. Then the details started appearing from the feet upwards.


    She wore boots of a light ck, golden flower-like ornaments decorating these shoes, which extended far above her ankle and halfway up her lower legs. Her legs were bare, of the pale beige colour that the stone was made of. There was a skirt once again, but this one ended a bit below her waist and was ck with golden ornaments, like the boots, with a white frilling at the edge. John quickly realized that wasn’t all that was to the dress though. The in yellow sundress had been changed for a beautiful piece of design. Twoyered, the inner one was of the ck skirt but also a golden piece that was lying above the soft curve of her breasts, mostly hidden by the outeryer. The same yellow as her old dress, the outeryer looked like a sleeveless vest. Her arms had gloves of the same structure, the inneryer ck and flowers drawn in gold, the outer yellow, long sleeves dangling downwards, the whole construction closed by white, lily shaped pins.


    Finally, her face formed. A cute, round face with a fine nose and pale lips, curved into a warm smile, her hazel brown eyes were slightly almond shaped. Her features were framed by the dark brown hair that formed as thest part of her body. Straight bangs, two longer strands at the sides, the rest of her long hair bound into twin-tails that fell down to her slender back, secured by hairpins decorated with yellow cloth of a buttercup design.


    She had an oriental air to her, Chinese or Korean or Japanese, John was not secure enough in his ethnicity knowledge to make any exact guesses. Gnome was now a woman his age in appearance, perhaps even a bit older. “You are…you are very cute.” John stammered, still startled from the sudden change


    It was a mindless but truepliment. He was surrounded by women he would describe as sexy. Aclysia was a sexy maid, Rave a sexy half-asian perfect girlfriend, but Gnome looked more like the type one wanted to cuddle and protect, rather than plough her into the mattress. Not that his boner shared his opinion.


    His boner also had a very strong opinion about what John saw in that new and updated Observe Sheet.


    “T-thank you?” Gnome stammered and blushed. Her voice was soft and sweet and made John’s insides feel all fuzzy. Her eyes darted to the side, back to him, she blushed harder, eyes darting away again. She raised a sleeve covered hand to her mouth and mumbled, “Uhm… I… kind of…. Now that I- I’m looking and feeling… appropriate… I do… uhm… I want to try that thing you two are always doing.” Despite being all shy about it, there was little ambiguity to those words. John had not seen this side of Gnome before. How could he? It hadn’t really existed a minute ago.


    Aclysia, despite being horny herself, took John’s brain meltdown-induced hesitation to quietly round up the other elementals in the room. Undine took it with tact and left on her own while Smander had to be asked and Sylph openly shouted, “Nooooo! Unfair! I want to be a concubine too! This is mean, you are meanies! Somebody make me taller! Sniff! Sniff! Bawl! Do you hear that! I am crying! I am cryi-” Thud. The sound of the closing door cut off the green-haired woman.


    “Ca- can we do it?” Gnome still did that thing with her eyes, unable to look straight at him for more than a few seconds at a time without turning beet red.


    “S-sure,” John stuttered and mentally reprimanded himself. ‘You are sounding like that virgin that you were before you met Jane. Go get her tiger!’ he talked himself up and cleared his throat, “Yes, Gnome, I would love to spend the night with you,” he said in his best manly voice.


    Gnome looked at him for a bit longer than usual, then she giggled. It was not the intended effect but it worked well enough as Gnome’s nervousness reduced to a point where John could step in front of her and put an arm around her.


    Time to make both of them happy.