“What the fuck!” The single female human of the group called out at the sight of the dead flame bear; her face filled with horror. Though from the facial expressions of almost all of the others, she wasn’t the only one with that thought, just the only one to express it. After a couple seconds, some of their expressions calmed down as they realized that it was dead. “Thank Hephaestus it’s dead.” After she stated her observation, the remaining ones calmed down as well.

Philip was the first to notice the confusion painted on Sylvia’s face. “The beast I told you about was large and colored similarly to its element as with the bear. So, I, and I assume the rest of them, was reminded quite vividly of that situation. It is of course common for beasts to be colored similarly to their affinity, but I don’t think reason was what we reacted on.” From her expression, he could tell that his explanation had satisfied her.

“Without knowing the beast you encountered, I can assure you guys that this bear was nowhere near its level, and regardless of that, I killed it weeks ago. So, what do you say to moving on to another topic? Maybe you guys could introduce yourself.” As Philip was about to say something, Sylvia held a hand up to silence him. “Actually, I think I will introduce myself to you in my different forms, as I do not intend to limit my actions based on your guys’ presence here. Now, let’s not do it in the darkness of the cave.”

With that said, she turned into Frank and deposited the basket with gear, before making his way outside. Once everyone was looking at him, he began his introduction. “Nice to meet you guys. My name is Frank, but I assume Philip already told you guys that. As long as I’ve existed in this world, I’ve had the ability to change between different forms at will. If you wish to remain here, then do not question or complain about it.” As he spoke, he made sure not to tell a lie that could go against anything he may say in the future.

“While not necessary, I would prefer you to use the correct names for my different appearances.” He figured that he may as well get used to being called by different names, as that would happen if he were to enter a city at some point. “One day, I just awoke out here in the forest. I have some random knowledge on different things, so don’t be surprised if there are things you guys find obvious that I’m oblivious to.”

Having finished what he wanted to say, he switched over to Sylvia. “This form is named Sylvia and is what I mainly use for combat, so when you see me training, it’ll often be in this form.” Then the time had come for Calysta, and with that transformation, she suddenly towered over all of them, especially the dwarfs. “And in this form my name is Calysta. If it wasn’t obvious, I’m a Bearfolk when like this.” She gestured towards Philip. “I think it’s now your guys’ turn, and you can begin.”

For the first time really, as she now had nothing more important going on, Calysta actually took in the appearances of the different people as they spoke.

Based on her Earth standards, Philip looked to be somewhere in his mid-twenties, though his hair was already an ash grey color. He stood at somewhere around 180 centimeters and had a slim but muscular build. He wore a basic shirt and a simple pair of pants, the former in a light grayish color and the latter in a darker variant. He also had a simple black vest made of leather on.

With a nod, the man responded. “Alright. I’m Philip Adderman and is an Experienced Blacksmith. I ended up being the go-to leader for the group because my level was the highest, but if the others are fine with it, I wouldn’t mind you being the leader. Unlike us, you seem to actually have some idea as to what you’re doing.”

At his last statement, the others looked like they had something to say, but Calysta simply held her hand up and sighed. “You can say your thoughts after you’ve introduced yourself, I currently don’t care to have to listen to you guys speak loudly all at once.” She wasn’t exactly used to how loud things could be through her hearing in this form yet, so she didn’t want to risk it turning into a heated debate immediately.

The next person to introduce himself was one of the two she assumed to be dwarves. Like most dwarves she’d heard about in fantasy stories, he had a big and surprisingly well-kept beard, considering their condition for the past two weeks. He was about one and a half meters tall, which put him at a height slightly taller than the average Japanese woman. His brown beard and hair went down to around his chest and middle of his back. Beneath his bushy eyebrows, Calysta saw two intelligent blue eyes return her gaze.

“I’m Corrin. My profession in masonry and I’m nearing the end of the experienced grade.” For some unknown reason, he sounded quite proud of that fact. “I may not be the best craftsman here, but I’m definitely the oldest and next best.” As he spoke, his eyes darted over to the female human. “With regard to who’s the leader, then I don’t really care as long as I can practice my craft.”

The next one up was the other dwarf, but unlike Corrin, she had no beard. Even her hair was shorter than his, with it only reaching slightly past her shoulder, though its auburn color gave it a nicer look. In fact, almost everything about her was smaller than on Corrin. In height she came in a good 30 centimeters below him, not to mention her shoulder width or general body mass. The place where she was larger than the other dwarf was with regard to her breasts, though small was probably also the correct word for those.

All in all, she looked more like a regular human shrunk down to around 120 centimeters, while Corrin looked like a classic fantasy dwarf. For clothes she had baggy orange-brown pants and a pretty tight-fitting orange shirt.

“I’m Sophia and the youngest of us. I barely managed to become an Experienced Tailor before we left for the project.” As she was about to continue, she was interrupted by a pat on the back from a smiling Corrin. “She’s a really talented young lad, I was just somewhere around Journeyman when I was her age.” Sophia looked both happy and embarrassed at the sudden compliments. “Anyway, I also have really good senses, so I can understand why you wouldn’t want everyone to talk all at once. I also share the same opinion as Corrin on the leader topic.”

The fourth person was one of those Calysta assumed to be human, though she’d quickly be proven wrong once he introduced himself. He had short black hair and a well-trimmed extended goatee along with pitch black eyes. He wore a long tunic that looked to be made of linen with a blue sash going around his waist. Sticking out under the tunic were some loose blue pants. Height wise, he placed the lowest of the three human males, with him standing at around 165 centimeters.

“The name’s Korrak Boran. I’m a dragonborn and an Experienced Builder. I may the physically strongest in the group, but don’t think that means I’m an idiot.” A light undertone of annoyance plagued his words and made it clear that he’d experienced that previously. Calysta also noted that dragonborns look surprisingly like humans. “As for the leader situation. I don’t mind you being the leader. As Philip said, you seem to at least have some idea of what you’re doing.”

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Next up was the last human male, though she was no longer so sure. This guy had green eyes, brown hair, and an extended goatee that was quite a bit more unkempt than Korrak’s. Besides Corrin, who looked like he may carry quite a lot of muscles, this guy was definitely the most muscular of the group. He had a simple linen-colored shirt and a pair of green pants. When it came to his height, he was a bit taller than Philip, at an estimated 185 centimeters. The most outstanding feature was that he was actually smiling.

“Nice to meet you too. I’m Adam, Adam Edderton. I’m an Experienced Carpenter and in general quite nifty with my hands. If you need something made of wood, I gotcha covered. That’s the least I can do as thanks for both saving us and providing some lodging.” For a moment, it looked like he was about to extend his hand for a handshake. “I like the idea of you as a leader. Your ability also fascinates me, but I will try to refrain from asking questions.”

Last up was the second female in the group, the human female. Standing at around 170, she had a confident glance in her fiery orange eyes, and despite there not being any wind, her flame-colored hair moved ever so slightly anyway. She wore a linen tunic that went slightly past her waist, and a pair of brown pants. From her hands, Calysta could see that she was used to physical work.

“I’m Enelise FlameBorn. Though my level is almost the lowest and only Sally is younger than me, I’m the best craftsman here. I’m a Proficient Blacksmith of a year, and for a long line of generations, my family has been blessed by the god of fire, the forge, and craftsmanship, Hephaestus. I have the best blessing in generations, but DO NOT treat me like I’m some special existence.” She didn’t shout out ‘do not,’ but her tone left no room for arguing.

“Like any proper craftsman, I aim to earn recognition for my work and not my linage or blessing. I fully support the idea of you as the leader, as while don’t like you know too much about the world, the dead bear in the cave is more than enough to prove that you’re not someone to offend.” Then a smile began to take form on her face. “And imagine if you got a proper weapon for fighting, you’ll be able to accomplish a lot more than what you can achieve with your stone spear.”

With a nod to the woman, Calysta returned to being Sylvia. “You will most likely see me in this form the majority of the time, as it tends to be my go-to for a lot of stuff. Now, I think we should get around to looking at how we’ll be doing sleeping arrangements. While the room in the cave is big, I don’t exactly think it’d be a great idea to make it our sleeping quarters.”

“Instead, I say that we figure out how we want our quarters to look and be split up, after which we’ll dig out those rooms. I have an amount of mana that should be decently larger than the average person, and I have a medium affinity for earth magics. So, it shouldn’t be all that hard to both mine out the rooms and stabilize the cave.” Done with her suggestion, she held back to let the others speak their mind.

The first to speak up was Korrak, which wasn’t partially surprising as he was the builder. “I think that’s a decent idea as a start, then we can make houses later once we’ve gotten everything sorted. More than anything, I wonder what we’ll do with food. The bear will eventually spoil, or we’ll have eaten it before that ever becomes an issue. We need a more stable supply of food, especially for once winter eventually comes around.”

Sylvia brought a cupped hand to her mouth in a common thinking gesture. Sensing that a more filling answer to the question could help, Enelise elaborated on the answer. “Let’s think about food later. Currently, we have what we need to survive and get by, so let’s get settled a bit before we worry about a sustainable food source. And to answer the question, while some countries care more about splitting between genders and whatnot, we are all from one that doesn’t place much emphasis on that, though it’s still common for larger groups to split by gender.”

“So, we can either make a single large room or maybe a couple of three- or four-person rooms. I’m personally for the four-person size, as that means we only need to make two rooms, which should by far be the quickest.” Finished with what she had to say, she gave the others room to voice their input, of which Philip was the first. “Sounds good to me. That’s not all that unlike how housing tends to be for large collaborative projects, like the one we were on our way to.” The others expressed their agreement with the idea like it was pretty self-explanatory.

‘It would appear that I worried for nothing. That’s quite nice.” Sylvia thought to herself before saying, “Great to hear; that makes things quite straightforward. Let’s just get to work then. We still have some hours of daylight, so no point in wasting it.” She led the way inside the cave and over to one of the sides where a tunnel would go parallel to the outside. “If we do it here, it should be decently out of the way and allow for expansion, both for more sleeping quarters and for other types of rooms.”

“Yea, this is a decent spot. You just dig, me and Sally will take care of stabilization.” Corrin told her before she began, after which Korrak informed her that it’d be best if the stones could be somewhere between 70 and 100 kilogram each, as that’d be the most efficient with his strength. To his surprise, she instead carried over the basket. “Use this instead, makes it easier for the both of us.”

Having decided what had needed to be decided, she placed her hand on the rock surface and sent out her mana in a 3D spiderweb pattern. “Split.” To make it clear for those around her what she was doing, she spoke her intent out loud instead of just thinking it. That simple command was all that was needed for a bunch of cracks to form along the surface, with the outer rim forming the outline of a hallway.

“Alrighty, let’s get the rocks into the basket. Move away a bit.” Once everyone had moved away, she placed her hand on the wall half a meter away from the outline, and then she made some of the rocks change shape. This made the structure unable to hold up, so the fist sized rocks well forth until they had formed a ramp shape leading inside the hallway.

“Now we just need to clear this up, and we can move on to stabilizing. Rinse and repeat from there. Unless you guys know of a more efficient method?” Corrin shook his head at her question. “That’s also the method we use when mining, at least when we have enough mana at our disposal. Doing it properly is both the fastest, safest, and easiest way to dig tunnels.”

By the time evening came around, there was now a hallway and the two rooms that hadn’t been there that morning, and Sylvia had just barely spent half her mana, as the procedure was quite mana efficient. “You weren’t lying when you said that you had more mana than the average person. You’ve only spent half of your mana pool on an amount of rock that usually takes at least two dwarves at my level. Though your affinity does help quite a bit.” Corrin’s opinion of Sylvia had improved as they worked together.

Once they’d made their way back outside the cave, the decently sized pile of rocks from the cave entered their vision, but they had already decided to figure out what to do with it later. Enelise then handed over a couple of bowls with stew to them, as while they’d been hard at work excavating, the others had taken care of other things, like making food. “Good job you guys.”

While they ate, Enelise got around to a question she’d been wondering about for quite some time now. “Sylvia. That construction over there wouldn’t happen to be a bath or something, would it?” With a wide smile, Sylvia answered. “Absolutely, I made one in my previous cave before it had a cave-in, so I never had the chance to use it. Instead, I used the time my leg recovered after my encounter with the bear to make a new one here. I use my water affinity to create water for the bath.”

Sparks of excitement began to spread through the gathered people. “Nice that you have a bath here. If it wouldn’t be much of a problem, then I think it’d be a good idea for us all to have a bath. It has after all been over a month since we left town.” “Seconded.” “Thirded” “Fort…” One by one, each of the craftsmen called out in agreement. With a happy expression, Sylvia concluded that while gender didn’t sound to be something their culture was much concerned with, bathing was a whole other ordeal.