The people now demonstrated a much wider range of forms, for the system that displayed the status had a broader definition of human. Whilst most adults had simply created younger versions of their previous bodies, the children had shown no such restraint, adding animal features or turning their skin what would have been unnatural hues.

Sarah Tonin, previously Serotonin, had been an elf but had given that up for a form that fitted her better, one of the few adults to make more significant changes, her ears significantly less pointy, about what the gods expected from a half elf, a thing that wasn't possible in her old world, you either were an elf with human blood or a human with elf blood. She looked like a female human for the most part, if one with blue skin and green hair. She had a fuller figure than before when she'd looked more like a classical work of art.

Sarah had been the most familiar with the sea of all the candidates and in spite of identifying as a shipwright had been given a district core and appointed harbour master by the combined will of the assorted deities. She would have two subsidiary buildings at the start in addition to the harbour office, a dry dock and a cooperage where a man called James was going to be resident.

She called up the configuration menu for the core, it had an bird's eye view map of the district, which had been set by the mayor who controlled the town core. There were three highlighted areas, representing the valid placement for the three buildings. The dock needed to extend into the water but be partially on land, whilst the other two needed to be wholly on land and not overlap with another building. Satisfied with the locations, them being in a row that ran from the docks to the town square, she tried to assign a road going past all three, after a few false starts, the core cottoned on to her intentions and marked it out but presented an error suggesting it would need stone to complete to the intended standard and would just be represented visually for now.

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There was one more task before she could leave the core menu, she had to assign the shifts for the building. It wouldn't let her put in anyone for more than eight hours a day, and if there were more than six she had to include a break. She also couldn't assign anyone more than five days in seven or on their designated worship day. Apparently the core had inherited the labour laws of something called the European Union. That said it had its upsides, automatically calculating wages and dealing with people being unable to work, whether through illness or injury. It reported the status of the tools too but that was a double edged sword as it enforced a minimum standard.

Now the essential management tasks were done, Sarah was ready to meet James. He proved to be more conventional in appearance, close to what a dwarf had looked like on the old world, a little under five feet and with a torso that reminded her of a barrel taking up about half his height, his skin tone was a preset refered to as Eastern European though Sarah suspected wherever that was would not be so homogenous, he had the matching black hair and brown eyes. He was focused on the core for the cooperage when she arrived, presumably setting opening hours unlike the office which needed to be staffed what was now twenty four hours a day, seven days a week including high holy days. She suspected he'd be allowed employees, possibly journeymen and apprentices or even maybe lesser masters.

When James acknowledged Sarah's presence, she introduced herself "Sarah Tonin, former elf, journeyman shipwright and somehow master of this harbour."

"James, now James Cooper, by the old standards master barrel maker but by the new I need one more piece."

"Good to meet you James, as you may have noticed, I have set out system markings for where a stone road will connect the dock to the square going past the door to your shop."

"I'm feeling a bit strange about the fact the Etiquette skill seems to be making changes to me. The taboo against nudity being gone and us only being concerned with clothing for safety."

"That skill more reflects changes you make yourself that bring you in line with how the gods want it to work."

As the two of them talked, getting to know each other, the cores were manifesting the items they had placed, soon a dripping sound interrupted them. It was where the slave of the cooperage, Coop, a creature of black liquid was due to appear, apparently its body was being formed drop by drop.