Jerald could only smile as he pulled his consciousness out of Ziara. He knew she with Cora now and after he heard her sobs, he hoped that she was on the right path. Negative karma was a difficult thing to overcome, because once you have it. Things like luck and fate tend to push you deeper in to despair. She just needed a chance to earn some positive karma to offset the negative and once she did. The negative effects she thought was a curse would fade away and she could try to earn a path with out the side effects of the negative karma getting in her way.

Cora had no karma at all when she left the soul pool, but now she had an opportunity as well. He had studied more about the effects of karma and found it truly was one of the most important things to surviving. Ziara on the other hand had was in negative karma by 2 and it would take much more effort for her to regain those two karmas back. He had Cora there to give her the best chance to regain her freedom from the dark fate she currently had from her past.

Her karma wasn’t far in the negative, but even 1 point in the negative would cause harsh treatment. His blessing of her with a friendly aura would help, but not enough. He found that there was a better chance of gaining or losing karma if they followed their own path. So that was what he suggested, and he would truly help them if he could.

He was still at work plotting his own turn that would happen when Cora returned. He was currently monitoring several island chains looking for the right one to descend at. He currently had picked twelve different locations to monitor. He wanted to make sure there were all the right requirements for him to succeed. He had decided that he needed to build his own power base with the humans and then and only then could he truly steer the humans in the right direction and gain acknowledgement from them at the same time.

The three major purposes of his attempt to improve the human race’s lot on the planet were as followed. First, he would find a place to build a settlement and a place of power. Second, he would have to introduce a bloodline to humanity that could help them balance the disadvantage that they currently had. The third thing he had to do was create a unique type of mana manipulation that would help the humans defend themselves from the other races on the planet.

If he could do all three of those then he would consider this experiment a success, and hopefully as he did all that he would gain a few followers for himself to help build up his sanctuary. He knew the other races already had several deities they worshiped, and were dedicated to them. The humans though had no deities at least openly dedicated them, and even though he didn’t think of himself as somebody that would be powerful. He could create a win/win situation for both the humans and his sanctuary.

He still had to figure a way of doing it with the least amount of help, but with the options open to him it wasn’t that he couldn’t. It was if he could afford it or not, because currently he still had not earned any UC. The next two weeks he worked hard and only stopped when he heard a prayer from Cora, and he took the time to listen and respond.

He smiled as he heard from Cora that everything was doing well, and they would become residence in a few days. That was almost a month in his time because the ratio was still so large. She was contacting him each night, and Alusha and Ziara. Alusha’s prayer was one requesting a blessing for her family, and Ziara’s prayer was thanking him for Cora’s help, which she knew as Vespa. He hadn’t spent the UC to respond to them, but he couldn’t do that every time even if the cost wasn’t much.

He was starting to fully understand small his UC was as he continued to plan his descent. He hadn’t even spent anymore on improving his sanctuary. He hadn’t planned to do anymore improvements, but Cora had suggested he create a dreamscape. He looked it up and discovered that the dreamscape was a private dream space that he could enter with out cost. If he didn’t go into other peoples dreams it would be free for him. He could though permit others like his followers to go into his dreamscape if they had permission and were attuned to him.

Jerald had to admit it wasn’t that costly to buy a good-sized dreamscape and it could pay for itself. It was also a place that he could meet Cora and talk with out costing and UC. It wasn’t quite cost effective yet, but in the future, it would be, and he could enter it after he descended. He could meet Cora as well by going there when he needed help and to give her orders if needed. He saw the need for it and two days later he purchased it.

The dreamscape could be designed to what ever he wanted, and if he left blank spaces of mist. The person that entered the dreamscape could form something that was comfortable to them as well. He realized that the fact he could change things so easily that it could be useful. He had been making plans to build his own powerbase in the human world, and he could use the dreamscape to design what he wanted to make in the real world.

“It really was a great idea.” Jerald said with a smile. “I will have to give her a reward later.”

Jerald added the dreamscape to his routine, and every night he would go to sleep. He would go to the dreamscape and slowly alter and create slowly over time. He was slowly making his dream palace and garden while getting a good night’s rest. He decided he was going to create it first and let Cora come to it if she so chose. He figured she wanted to because she was the one that suggested it, but he decided he wouldn’t do it until he changed the ratio to 1 to 1 from his current ratio setting.

“Now all I have to do is find an island that will match this, and everything will be set.” Jerald said excitedly. “Forty more days should do it I think.”

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

Jerald had already worked for 140 days, and to the outside world only 7 days had passed. The fact that he didn’t even notice how time passed Jerald thought how his whole psyche had changed since he was a human back on Earth. He always enjoyed learning new things, and the world before him was totally new. The culture, laws and how people thought were new to him at first, but at least on this planet the ratio of females to males is almost double. This made the family dynamic a little different from what it was on Earth.

Humans was even more skewed in this regard that lead to a male dominant political and social structure. The opposite was for many of the other races, but that was because that the bloodlines made females in the other races as strong as or even stronger than male humans. It was for that reason the human races were so low in the world states and were often though of as slaves at best and vermin at worst.

It was for this reason that he had to be well prepared for his descent, and the fact that Cora’s suggestion of the dreamscape helped so much. He smiled and knew that he had quite a long way to go before he completed his plan. He then would make a location just for Cora in the dreamscape as a present for her help.

_____ _____ _____ _____

Cora looked over at Ziara and could only smile at her quick progress and how eager she was to learn. She found that it was a pleasant feeling to do things because she wanted too and not because she was following orders. She was helping Ziara because of the request of her master, but she soon realized it was mostly because she wanted too. It wasn’t his order, but her choices that led to this point, and she started to understand a little what her master was trying to teach her.

Ziara was a perfect example because she had negative karma she was treated so poorly. She had only a negative 2 karma and it has caused her all sorts of pain. She had been blessed which reduced her negative karma by one temporarily, but still people feel uncomfortable around her. Cora has lived with negative karma but in the past her powers allowed her to overcome it. Ziara doesn’t have that talent or ability but in Cora’s eyes she is truly has remarkable willpower. The last ten days she had seen it and every night she prays to her master and Cora could see her true faith grow with each passing night.

Cora walked over to Ziara which was in a meditative state increasing her own mana pool. She only eats, meditated and prayed pledging to get stronger to serve the one that helped her with out asking anything in return. Cora also did this routinely leaving the task of preparing everything to Ket and Simala. Over the last week Ket had confirmed their residence status and that included Ziara’s new status. He also was in negotiations with he purchases of two plots of land near the central rise of the city near the merchant district.

The first one was there residence, which was a small villa just off the main merchant street, and the second was the location where Cora planned to build the temple for Mercer. Simala had on her orders went to a few the orphanages or children’s workhouses. Her goal was the gather a dozen or so young girls to be trained as temple maidens and at least a half dozen young boys to be trained by Ket as protectors. All of this was being funded by her and the location near the merchant district was perfect, because he was the god of luck and fortuitous intentions.

She hoped the construction would be starting in less than two months, and as for the Villa. Ket and Simala would be furnishing it and making contacts as they go. It had only been ten days and things were going smoothly for now, but she expected at some point in time things would get a little rocky. The gods typically didn’t like others taking away from their flock, and would be only time before things would start to happen.

Cora walked over to where Ziara was meditating and sat down beside her. She waited patiently and then finally Ziara came out of her meditation and looked at her. She gave Cora a smile and just waited patiently for her speak.

“I just wanted to see how you were doing and what your thoughts on what we talked about earlier?” Cora asked.

“Is it alright though for me to become a priestess of Mercer?” Ziara asked with a serious tone.

“The only requirement to become a priestess is for Mercer to accept you.” Cora stated. “He is not a rigid god as you know and believes in freedom. On the other hand, I think Mercer also believes that those should take responsibility for there actions as well. In some ways it might be more difficult to serve him.”

“My life was a living hell before he and you saved me.” Ziara muttered to herself and then resolve seemed to grow in her eyes before she said. “I want to try to become a priestess of Mercer in the future. What do I need to do to serve him?”

Cora smiled. “The true important factor is what you are showing now. The fervor and honest want to serve him. He can see into your heart and if what he sees in true then I believe he will accept you. You know the doctrines he has put forth, and I personally believe it is important to stay close to them. I would suggest for now grow stronger and take his doctrines seriously, and then act freely on your understanding of them. Your actions will be seen and weighed in his eyes and heart and if they are true then that is all he askes I believe.”

“I will try my best.” Ziara said with a determined voice.

“I am sure you will and so will I.” Cora said as she stood up and walked away from her so she could go back to her mediation.

Cora walked out of her room and went over to check on everything with Ket and Simala. In the next ten days they would move to the small villa and then things would truly start. She could only smile to herself as she walked toward them, but then she paused, and she realized something. She in her old life had created the best opportunity for her master, but in the past life she always felt a bit of hatred for what she was doing, but now none of those feelings were here. She truly was making her own choices and the weight of those choices were equally heavier than in the past.

She started walking and thinking that maybe she would have to do things a little more differently now. In the past life she didn’t have to feel worried about the result because she was being ordered to do things. Now since it was her own choices, she realized that she had to take other people into consideration. Her conversation with Ziara was exactly that, because it was her choice to suggest Ziara devote herself to her master. She still thought that was right, but maybe she should let Ziara come to this on her own instead of rushing it.

“Having freedom maybe be tougher than having none at all.” Cora whispered to herself. “Though it sure does feel better.”

Cora couldn’t help but smile brightly as she headed off to make sure things all went smoothly. She had pushed Ziara toward her master, but what did she truly want herself. This persona was here to learn about freedom. Maybe that meant she could get what she truly wanted as well, and her smile grew wider as she started to realize what that truly was.

_____ _____ _____ _____