{Alex}

We did end up getting snowed in and I spent the next few days at home playing with ideas, dolls and relaxing. Gorloth made the walk through the snow to return Gen and begged me to let Orga stay at home. Not sure why he begged as I was going to let her stay there where it was safe and warm, Uta could cook for us. I know, it may be sexist, but I can’t cook anything that doesn’t come out of a box. After the second day, I had Lily start a reading class for all of us. Uta didn’t care as much, but Gen and I ate up every word. Now that I was forced to offer my full attention, it was far easier to learn it and I made several notes in a new section of my notebook. Other than that, we would cuddle on the couch under a blanket. Gen would often play with the training table while I tinkered. Now that I had a scrap of silver steel, I was reworking my bracelet. If I tied the cores together with the same silver steel, mana wire braid that the coins had something weird would happen. Before I was using linking runes, but with the wire braid, it would make my big goblin core larger and force the others to shrink. Could this be used to make larger cores. I wonder if I could force cores to merge making new ones. I would have to talk to Summoner.

“Lily, can I use you,” I asked. She blushed and looked over at Gen.

“Not right here.” God, she was in a mood ever since we had that wonderful threesome.

“I mean use you to remind me of things.” Why did she look depressed about that. “With so much going on I have been forgetting things and need your help.” Her eyes flew to me and started watering? Did I do something wrong? “I can understand if you don’t want to.” She jumped on me and started kissing me. They were fast short happy kisses, but her eyes were crying. “I don’t understand what is going on?” She pulled back and was still crying even though she was smiling. This was very confusing.

“I’m happy you trust me to take care of you.”

“Yet you are crying.” Reaching up, I wiped her tears. She smiled and held my hand there rubbing it with her cheek.

“You don’t know some people can cry when they are happy?” I just frowned at her; my eyebrows furrowed. “These are happy tears.”

“Tears aren’t happy. They are for sad things.” I spoke to her like she was a small child. With a cute laugh she leaned forward and kissed me softly.

“Master, my love, you are an idiot when it comes to people’s feelings. Tears can be happy at times.” This made no sense at all. With a sigh I looked at her.

“Will you tell me when people have happy tears?” She pushed her forehead to mine and smiled.

“I can do that, my love.” Why did my heart flutter when she said that? From that day on she became my assistant and would remind me of things. She would even help me when dealing with people. Safe to say my life got much better with her by my side. Boss asked me to make a large metal tree when the snow had backed off enough. It was quick work and now that I had one large goblin core in my bracelet in a makeshift engine on my wrist.

One cold night Gorloth knocked on my door, the town was at his back most had torches. Great this is the part where they run me out of town like Frankenstein. The man not the monster. He smiled at me, but I wasn’t sure what was going on. “Friend Runt, come with us. This is good thing.” With a sigh, I got dressed and followed the town out. The sky was clear, and the moon was full. They pulled me to the metal tree I had made. It glimmered in the clear night air. Fuck it was cold. He had me stand in front of it and everyone gathered around in. A large bonfire was lit giving off a sinister feel. “Remove shirt and coat.” Gorloth said. I did so not like any of this. A large bowl of something that looked like blood was brought between us. Not good. Nothing can be good of a large bowl of blood, a bonfire in the middle of the night. Gorloth started speaking in orc and Orga who was holding Gen translated for everyone.

“We are here to show Runt honor.” What? “Who will testify as to who he is?” She said beaming at me. Meathead stepped up and dipped his hand in the blood.

“Runt, I fought by your side and know you to be strong and honorable.” He said slapping the fucking freezing blood on my chest.

“When did we fight together?” I asked,

“When we saved the town from the flood.” Not sure that counts, but I wasn’t going to argue as this needed to get over with quickly. Woodcutter stepped up next.

“Alex, I owe you more than I could ever say. If not for you, I’d just be a woodsman and not a Commander. I fought by your side and know the man you really are.” That is close enough as I was there when he fought McDonalds. I just nodded and tried not to cringe as he slapped a bloody hand on my shoulder. Next up was Orga.

“You protected me when I could not fight for myself. I know who you are.” She slapped my other shoulder. My nipples were turning purple and I was not happy about any of this. What the fuck was going on? Gen dipped his tiny hand in blood and Orga brought him before me.

“Big brother good. Big brother strong.” He said in orc and slapped the blood on my stomach. I hoped someone washed his hand before he put it in his mouth. Battery stepped up next.

“You lit a fire in my soul and for that I will always respect you.” He slapped his bloody hand on my chest. One by one people stepped up and slapped bloody hands on my exposed chest. I hoped this would end soon. Finally, Gorloth stepped up and dipped his own hand in the blood.

“Friend Runt, I have fought by your side and see the man you are.” He slapped his hand in the middle of my back, and I fought not to shiver. Gorloth brought out a necklace and put it over my head. It looked like his missing tooth bound in a strand of Orga’s hair. It had a few beads and looked very tribal. He spoke in orc and Orga translated again.

“I name him War Chief Weird One.” Everyone started cheering but stopped when the wind shifted and spun around me. A bolt of lightning struck the tree and flew into my back. This should have hurt, but I just felt a strange mana move through me. A screen popped into my mind, and it made me smile.

YOU HAVE BEEN JUDGED AND FOUND WORTHY. YOU HAVE BEEN GIVEN THE TITLE WAR CHIEF. ALL ORCS WILL NOW JUDGE YOU FAVORABLY. ONLY OTHER WAR CHIEFS CAN CHALLENGE YOU. YOU NOW HAVE ACCESS TO ORC MAGIC. NOTE THIS MAGIC IS INCOMPATIBLE WITH YOUR NORMAL MANA. HOLD ON.

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COMPENSATING FOR INCOMPATIBLITY. PLEASE WAIT.

Something hurt deep inside my chest. What the fuck was that? I felt my mana drawing in and filling with the new strange wild mana.

PLEASE WAIT. FORMING CORE.

What the fuck? I was getting my own core? Why did it hurt so bad? My throat was hurting. Why was it hurting? Oh, I was screaming. The wind picked up and I felt a deep burning in my chest. Is this where I die? FUCK THIS HARD IN THE ASS! Fuck dying here, fuck being this world’s bitch and fuck passing out all the damn time.

YOUR CORE IS INCOMPATIBLE WITH YOUR FORMER MANA. CHANGING MANA TYPE. FAILURE. CHANGING CORE TYPE. FAILURE. NEW MANA FOUND. REDIRECTING MANA. FAILURE. PLEASE WAIT.

Fuck this hurt. I wanted to pass out but was much too pissed to let that happen. My hair was throwing off blue mana sparks and I no longer felt cold. The bloody handprints were boiling off my skin.

CORE FORMATION FAILURE. UNABLE TO FORM CORE. DANGER MANA OVERLOAD. ERROR MESSAGE SENT. PLEASE WAIT.

This fucking sucks. I felt Lily and Uta grab my arms. Gorloth touched my back. Orga and Gen stayed back.

DANGER MANA OVERLOAD. OTHER MANA POOLS FOUND. PLEASE WAIT.

I heard them scream as mana sparks flew into them. It hurt my heart thinking about it hurting them.

MONSTER CORE FOUND. USING GREATER GOBLIN CORE AS PERSONAL MONSTER CORE. PLEASE WAIT.

Why the hell was it asking me to wait. I don’t have a fucking choice here. Everyone was standing back watching us writhe and scream.

MONSTER CORE FORMED. UNSUITABLE MONSTER CORE. SPLITTING MONSTER CORE INTO SUITABLE HOSTS. MONSTER CORES FORMED. YOU NOW HAVE A MONSTER CORE. PLEASE BARE IN MIND THAT THIS IS AN ABNORMAL MONSTER CORE. YOU MAY HAVE ABNORMAL EFFECTS.

Fuck me running that hurt. We all collapsed in the snow, our bodies steaming. My goblin core was gone and now I saw a small metal looking core in the back of my wrist. I didn’t pass out, but Healer looked worried as he pumped healing magic into us. He passed out and the townsfolk helped us to my house. Orga refused to leave Gorloth’s side. Lily and Uta were tucked in on either side of me. I couldn’t sleep though. It still felt like my mana was too high. I took a look inside each girl and found a new small core. I wonder what type of magic they would have now. What did it mean about abnormal core? I looked into it and found a deep well of mana. It looked like I could sink everything into it and it could still hold more. My own mana pool was still there, but now I had a new one. Like my own body had become an engine. This felt amazing. It took a long time for me to fall asleep. This was an upgrade I needed. Does this mean Gorloth has a core now too?

I made a bracelet around my core as not to show it off to everyone. Only Lily and Uta knew. Gorloth was extremely sorry for the lightning thing. He didn’t expect the spirits to acknowledge me. Hell, I didn’t expect that. It did make things far easier at work and by spring I had the other two Kinghts fixed up and ready to go. Woodcutter took one and I had it customized to his needs. I even made twin axes that had wands near the head. We made a sled for the extra Knight and a carriage for us. It was a far cry from the RV I had panned, but that would come with time. It was early spring, and we were ready to go to the convention. Boss had demanded Lily come with us to keep me in line. Today was finally the day. We packed everything up and loaded the Knight on its sled. I had just altered it enough to get us some extra coins. Woodcutter was staying behind and Pilot two was escorting us with Meathead pulling the sled. It would take us a month to get there, and we would only be there for a week. All and all it should be a nice relaxing trip. A group of hunters would be going with us, but they rode on the sled making us slightly faster than the trip I took to Happy Valley. I was allowed to pack a supply of metal and mana wire. The sky was clear, and I kissed Uta goodbye, gave Gen a hug and went to go get settled.

“Take care of him.” Uta said to Lily. Lily gave them both a hug and went to join me. Gorloth was coming with us and kissed Orga goodbye, his hand lingering on her stomach. Was she putting on weight? Best not to point that out. Some women can be very touchy about that. Once everyone had said their goodbyes we started off. The weather was nice and pleasant. It was a calm spring morning. Snow clung to the shadows and the night would be cold, but I would have Lily to keep me warm. At long last the first step of my plan to make this world mine was finally starting. Boss looked over at me and coughed gaining my attention.

“What are you going to do?” He asked. Lily looked away trying not to get involved.

“What are you talking about?” I asked.

“How are you going to talk about that Dire Knight?” I froze and just looked at him blankly.

“What?”

“You have to tell people about it. I don’t know enough. Only you know how it works. You plan to stand in front of everyone and tell the world you made this?” Fucking hell. He started laughing. “Figured you didn’t think about that.” He pulled a mask out of his pack and handed it to me. It looked like the upper jaw and head of a wolf. “This may help, but I know how to make it work for all of us.” Lily was watching me closely. “Contract Magic. Any time you are wearing that mask, your voice and all outward expressions will be that of a noble. In exchange I will keep your real identity a secret. Do you agree?” This could work.

“I agree.” I didn’t feel the feeling settle on my shoulders. “I still feel normal.” Boss was leaning forward, and Lily was locked on me.

“Put the mask on.” He said with a strange grin. With a shrug, I put it on and felt my body sit up, my right leg crossed the left. I crossed my arms and spoke.

“Fascinating.” I had meant to say interesting but said fascinating and my voice was deeper and with a natural growl. It seemed to fit the mask and I couldn’t fail to notice that Lily was biting her lip. “This is a bit strange.”

“I wasn’t sure that would work.” Boss said, looking at me in wonder. “Lily, you teach him everything he needs to know about being a noble. Now we need a name.” Lily poked me and I looked over at her and smiled.

“You seem to have an idea of what to call me.” she backed off as though looking at a new person. She blushed and coughed.

“Savage.” She said meekly. Boss leaned back and laughed hard.

“I love it. Pleased to meet you, Lord Savage.” I smiled calmly at him “Gods, even that smile is different.”

“The pleasure is mine, Yavlten Gon Hervot.” He blinked at me, and I was surprised as well. I wasn’t sure when I had learned his name.

“Call me Boss, it isn’t right that you start calling me by my name now.”

“As you wish Boss.” Even that came out differently. I wasn’t sure I liked it, but it would be easier than fighting off a collar. I looked over at Lily and smiled. “My Lady, you seem troubled.”

“Not sure I like this. Nobles tend to be cruel to Beasts.” I reached out and she pulled back. With a frown, I cupped her cheek and pulled her close to kiss her forehead.

“Lily I could never look at you unfavorably.” She just blinked and blushed. I wanted to call her Honey Bunny, but this new side of myself wouldn’t. I still felt like me, but a filtered version. For the rest of the trip, she lectured me on the best way to act as a noble. This may lend us more clout and maybe more coins down the road. Boss would join in offering advice. When we were a day away from the convention, he offered me an outfit. It made me look pompous and stuffy but matched the mask. I like the idea of an exiled noble and the personality was easy to play on. The day had finally come. Monsters had stayed away and even the bigger ones didn’t want to be in our path. With all that, it had only taken us three weeks to get there. Meathead called out to us the moment we saw the town.

“My lord Savage. Permission to test the howl?” He asked. I just gave him my new winning smile. He stopped Lobo, leaned back and let go with a ground splitting howl that seemed to make the world go quiet. Good call on his part. Let’s tell the world boldly that we were here to show off something new and intense. We soon had an escort of ten Knights that had thought they were showing up to fight some wild super-sized wolf. Safe to say we made an entrance that would be talked about by everyone.