I was muttering to myself, messing with several pieces of wood carved and shaped for various purposes. I grabbed one of the particular pieces that wasn't more than a chunk, channeling the mana inside and attempting a transmutation. This time however, I was experimenting with another material entirely, this one being a bit of clay.

"C'mon… work you bastard…" I muttered.

{Transmutation failed!}

"Fuck… scratch 'silt' off of the components list we can use…" I told Lulu, followed by the scratching noise of charcoal on her paper against the slab table. She didn't fully know the what the words meant, but she did know we were doing things in order. "Hmmm… maybe we should start mixing and matching the other components other than wood. There's no telling what other opportunities might come of it through trial and error"

"Maybe we should take a break?" The white lizard girl asked. "It has been a while, after all"

"Mmm, maybe you're right. Wouldn't do to drain my mana completely before the day is out. Maybe just a moment, to let it recuperate"

It's been… about a month now. Time's been flying a little more quickly now that I'm with a crowd of people and things have worked into a rhythm. I've more or less become a dedicated teacher for the tribe, and the only reason the lizardmen haven't thrown me out is because of the fact that I've been sharing my human knowledge with them. They simultaneously refuse to trust me because I'm human, to the point that those I never have frequent contact with are practically shunning me, and yet they're more than content to let me spill every secret to them when it suits them. I really need to go on a hunting trip or something, but I need to see how worth it it is to grind for what I need with actual 'scholarly' stuff instead. If I don't get anything by next month I'm definitely running out for some monster hunting.

Back to our experiments… the purpose of this was to see whether or not I could discover the means to actually transmute things on my own. Granted, I know absolutely zilch about what I'm doing, but it doesn't hurt to at least try. I'm more than capable of making things like a shelter or binding resin to make tools because I already know the concepts behind such things, in no small part thanks to my old man. In essence, my goal is to better understand the limits of the system in order for me to get the most out of it I can. My primitive living style has brought me this far, but now it's up to the age old method of scientifically bashing my head against the wall of progress until I come across something.

Speaking of science, I have some thoughts I want to ask of Crusch. "Lulu, I wanna pick your brain on something… what do you think of the transmutation process?"

"It's as you said, it isn't the use of a spell itself, which is… amazing, simply put," The lizardgirl began. "I'm not sure where to go with it admittedly, but if such processes exist for creating materials such as metals or food then it's something that would give us a much needed edge over other tribes or even the entirety of the forest"

I nodded at that. "Alright, but as for the functionality of it. I told you firsthand that my experience with transmutation is a fairly stunted one, so I wanted to see if you might have noticed anything about the process itself?"

She hummed in thought at that. "Well… what if the components as a whole matter as to how we'd transmute something? The petrification transmutation transforms the wood into a significantly stronger material, the only component aside from wood required being ash. I know you said you wanted to transmute materials into other, more high end materials, but maybe we should start small? If this experience theory of yours is anything to go by, then maybe the so-called 'recipes' you've been attempting to recreate are simply out of reach at your current level of strength?"

That's… what I was afraid of was the case. I was hoping a level into any classes such as Translucer or Transmuter wouldn't have been necessary, but it seems that her insight corroborates with that. I can't help but shake my head with a chuckle.

"Y'see Lulu, this is exactly why I'm glad to have you helping. I woulda been banging rocks and sticks together until something went my way. Thanks, I mean it"

There she goes, thumping her tail again and looking down, not letting me get a good look at her from under the hood. It's kinda weird, she's started wearing that thing even indoors. Not that I'll stop her, I imagine that blanket is leagues better than any bush.

"So Lulu, speaking of banging rocks and sticks together… how goes the construction efforts of the fishery? I've had my hands tied recently so I can't visit, and not many of the other tribesmen will exactly share that knowledge with me"

"It's been slowed down by the chief," The albino admitted, slowing in her tail thumping. "The side mostly consisting of the youngsters and the few older members that trust the word of the Greenclaws do believe that it will help with future starvation, while the chief alongside the elders and a few others are against it, believing we'd be better off to just eat the fish inside it already"

"Hmm… that's… a bit of a pickle. I know a few fish were safely secured in new pens, are they kept under watch at least?"

"When they can. I know they built it near one of the kinsmen that volunteered to handle them"

"That's good I suppose. Hmmm… your people can eat more than just fish though, right?"

She cocked her head at that. "Technically, I suppose, though we don't have much experience with what is edible in the area for us and what is not. It's not as though we're keen on finding out through trial and error either. Even if we knew what was good to eat it's hardly nourishing for us compared to meat, and fish in particular is incredibly delicious"

I sigh at that. "Figures, but we should still look about getting some plants prepared as well. They're not nourishing perhaps, but they'll still stave off the worst of starvation, that's something your people need to consider"

"Right," She simply responded.

I lay back and lay down on the floor of the hut, breathing deeply. It's a lot to consider. Solving the impending food crisis, providing a means for them to have materials they can't normally obtain in the swamp, as well as teaching them reading and writing. Speaking of which, I need to devise a method for them to store messages and books safely. A swamp isn't exactly the safest place in case something like a flood happens and ruins the papers.

"Why do you do it?" I heard her ask, the question admittedly confusing me.

"Do what?" I replied.

"Help us," She said. "You're getting very little out of this. At any moment you could have asked for directions and left us but you haven't. Instead, you're staying around to teach our young, help us feed ourselves, and even protect ourselves. Why?"

Oof. Alright, I do have some selfish reasons for it, but… I can't exactly say 'Oh gee willikers Crusch, I really kinda need a place to lay low in the future if I need to, and it's because if I don't do it all of your people will probably be crushed and put under boot ten years from now hurga-durga-dur!'. Fuck me, I've grown attached to them have I? Tried rationalizing it as me just having a nation at my back to help with exploration and keeping my six watched, but now that I know what exactly is going on here it's a little more than that. Like, they were fucked all the same by Ainz, but maybe… maybe I can steer things different?

"That's… a little difficult to answer, Lulu," I admitted. "I'll admit that some of my reasoning is selfish. I'd like a place where I can lay my head when I need to, and most humans are a little more… divided, than your people are. Even if your people don't necessarily trust me, at least they aren't going to outright gut me either if I do something they don't fully like"

Let's see how far I can take my bullshit today.

"Tell me, Lulu, what do you suppose the position for your people would be if you had the strength to defend yourselves against even the strongest of human nations? The numbers and materials to make sure no-one could ever put you on the run ever again? Or the means to ensure starvation was a thing of the past?"

I didn't wait for an answer, continuing with my speech. "I'll tell you what position you'd have, you'd still have your homeland and full bellies. I know what it's like to be without a home, worrying about when your next meal will be, whether or not you'll wake to see a new morning. I… had been on hard times once, and I can't imagine anyone ever having to suffer like that. I offer help not just because it feels like the right thing to do, but admittedly… in doing so, I'll have someone I can rely on when my shit goes wrong, or someone that can help me with getting certain things I need done, so there's something I'm getting out of this too. Sure, I could always run out to humans for that, but the thing is… everyone's so god damn stuck in their ways out there. You guys kind of are too, but at least you're willing to give the benefit of the doubt. If I tried to do what I'm doing right now out there? I guarantee some shit head noble would have gone well out of their way to lynch me just because it 'wasn't the way'. Not all of 'em are like that, but just enough that it would most certainly have not been worth the risk. And besides, it's kinda fun helping you guys out. Gives me something to do other than kill and sleep"

There's silence, and I can't help but admit that I'm kind of worried she won't accept my answer as a good one.

"... You truly want to help us, don't you?" I heard her ask.

"I mean, yeah," I said. "I wouldn't go spouting off shit I didn't fully believe in, I personally feel that transparency is kinda key to the foundation of a strong relationship. Like I said, I will be getting something out of it, it's just a matter of perspective as to what I want being valuable or not. Even if it were the case that I was gonna turn tail right away and leave you guys all alone, I was raised to always see things through. If I offer you advice on how to do things, I should at least stick around long enough to make sure you're taking that advice in"

I lean up, and get back into a sitting position, though as expected I couldn't get a good look of her face. "That satisfy your curiosity?"

"Yes," I heard her murmur squeak. I rolled my eyes at that. I guess she was pretty close to being a shut-in in the anime with her condition, makes sense I guess.

"Back onto the topic of experimentation," I started. "You mentioned that the materials themselves may have something to do with the outcome… and I actually agree with that. I'm wondering if maybe we're just looking at things wrong, purely expecting to turn wood into copper or iron just by slapping some river mud onto it. I think I have an idea actually"

If this idea turned out to be a failure then I'd feel like an idiot, but this was actually to a small degree based off of scientific knowledge. I pulled my knife out and brought both it and my hand out over a bowl.

"What are you-" She began, but I shushed her.

"Blood contains trace amounts of iron. I want to see if I can, rather than turning a component into metal, simply extract the metal from a source and burn off anything that isn't what I'm looking for".

I slice my hand with a grimace, and let the blood flow, the sight of it making her flinch visibly. It's an almost dark color, not exactly helped by the dim lighting of the hut's torches. Once the bowl was filled to about halfway, I cast {Cure Wounds} and shut the cut. Then, I placed both of my hands over the cup and began the transmutation process. C'mon you son of a bitch, work…

{Extracting…}

Extracting? That's a new prompt.

{Extraction Successful!}

{Prerequisites met, new classes 'Blood Mage' and 'Scientist' unlocked!}

{Blood Mage: You've tapped into what many would call taboo, draining away your very own lifeblood for the sake of power and progress. As a result, you have limited control over the vitae of all creatures, capable of using it to enhance both your spellcasting and refresh your mana pool}

{Scientist: In the search of knowledge for the good of all, you're constantly on the boundaries of science seeking to make revolutionary discoveries! As a scientist, you're capable of identifying and extrapolating outcomes that may come from any experiments you undertake, as well as the ability to better take notes on any given subject you choose to research!}

Huh, I didn't actually think there were any classes outside the small list I had. So I have to actually unlock them to find more if I wanna use them? Weird, but I'll take it I guess. Anyways, blood magic… that's not good. Definitely not putting any points into Blood Mage any time soon, even with how juicy some of those perks sound, I don't wanna be seen as evil right off the bat just for practicing that. Scientist sounds pretty alright though. I'll have to check that out later. I was distracted by what was happening in the bowl however as evidenced by Lulu's gasp. I took a look, and instead of blood was… a pitiful amount of black dust, barely enough to make a single tack. Iron, if I had to wager a guess.

"Alright, so good news is it works. Bad news is, we'd need a lot of blood if we wanted any decent results. Doable I suppose, provided we ask the hunters to save any blood from the animals they kill. So at least we have a proof of concept now"

She stared in awe, grabbing the cup to get a better look at the iron dust in the cup. "That was… unsettling. You could have just asked me to try and get some blood for this instead you know!"

I shrugged. "Eh, I didn't want it to be a waste of time if you did. At least now we know it can be done so it won't be a waste of everyone's time"

She thwacked me overhead with a leafy plant we'd gathered for the experiments. It didn't hurt much, but it still stung.

"Ow! Hey! Knock it off!" I yelped between strikes, trying and failing to block it. Despite that, I couldn't help but laugh between strikes, only earning myself more ire.

I leaned back against the wall by my bedroll. Todone was practicing writing by the campfire light, even when he wasn't in the classes themselves. I saw him sitting there, trying to understand the structure of English words. Believe me man, it's nowhere but down with English. Though he still has issues with it, he's managed to keep up with the others through sheer effort. No wonder the kid is a mutant compared to everyone else level wise, he doesn't do shit in half measures.

What was I doing myself? Taking notes on the scroll of paper as to what additional things we could do or needed to do. The lizardmen didn't have much in the way of defenses outside unless you wanna mention those dollar store palisades and sentries, so there's that. A sturdier wall needs to be made, but I don't know the first thing about carpentry or masonry aside from simple mudbrick laying. Er, technically cobblestone too, but that was always a side thing thanks to my uncle, so my skill is kinda shoddy.

Fisheries were making progress, but as Lulu said earlier, not really going to get things going easily for that. Having more variety than just the carp would also be nice on account of their bones, but their easy breeding and survivability makes them a good starter for proof of concept I suppose. Some crayfish now, that's where the farming should be. Maybe if I can get these lizards to lay it on a bed of steamed rice with some sauce, if I can find some seeds for the rice… mmm, that'd be the ticket

We technically have a source of iron, but it's so miniscule that we wouldn't be able to do a whole lot aside from maybe make some dedicated tools for making other tasks easier. The problem is, I know that a few of these lizardmen are going to want more than tools. They're going to want iron weapons, and that's not going to be easy to pull off considering both the amount being produced. If I had to wager just how much blood of mine produced a couple tacks worth of iron, I'd say half a cup's worth. Doing the math, a whole gallon of blood would probably just make me a single knife or a hammerhead. Yeah… that's a lot of blood. Not to mention how much I'd need to make an anvil to properly shape things, and I don't even know how to make an anvil.

I sigh, annoyed by so much to do with me not even knowing whether or not I'll be able to pull things off without no small amount of assistance. What I need is a captain, a farmer, and a blacksmith. And some booze, while I'm at it. Sadly, the only source of booze among all of the tribes seems to be a bottomless pot of wine. Note to self, make for a diplomatic visit to the Dragon Tusk tribe.

Hmm… I can't think of any easy way to get what I need, not without dragging the kid along or leaving him here, and I can't do either for various reasons. I leave him here, I'm gonna constantly be on guard in the forest, and that's just stressful. Not to mention, I'm more or less leaving him alone with the lizardmen, something i know he's already uncomfortable with. I take 'em with me though, and that's dragging the kid along with my bullshit significantly farther away from the lake and his tribe. So either way's not a good choice, just gotta rough it out until winter to drop him off with his folks.

Going back to the other tribes actually, there's a lot more than I remember being mentioned in the anime. Or maybe I'm just thinking about after their little hunger issue reached its peak. I know there was mention about some from before the famine, but it's not like I have wikipedia to cross reference here.

Out of all of the tribes… none of them are allied with the Red Eyes. Apparently the superstition of albinism is fairly deep amongst even them. Hopefully Zarusosa can help me change that, the old gecko seems to have enough of a tie with the villagers here than we can cinch an early-on alliance. And in a way, that would bring us into a greater fold consisting of the Green Claws, Small Fangs, and Razor Tails.

Dragon Tusk is neutral with pretty much everyone, and I kinda don't blame 'em. With all the shit that's been going on, it kinda makes sense that they'd wanna stick to themselves. That's something we'll need to change though. Sorry Zenberu, no big fight with Zaryusu for you. This is one thing I'll be okay with fucking with if it means getting everything situationally prepared. I just don't know who I'm gonna talk to when that time comes since it's definitely not going to be Zenberu to begin with.

The more aggressive and overall savage tribes… Yellow Speckle and Sharp Edge. Unfortunately, it seems as though Zaryusu had to get Frost Pain from somewhere, and the Sharp Edge tribe is currently in possession of it. That actually puts them in a pretty powerful position considering they have ice to cast on everyone else. Unluckily for them, if war breaks out I'm one hotblooded bastard that can sling ice right back.

Er, well, realistically at my current level they'd rock my shit. Hence why I really wanna figure out a way to level up fast. From the looks of it though, my experience might not rise fast regardless of what path I take. I mean, I've been exercising when I can as well, but that can only do so much I suppose.

I sigh, finishing my writing and carefully slipping it into a special little 'folder' I've made with resin and tree bark. Not that useful, but it helps keep the charcoal writing from smothering and smearing onto separate pages. I place the folder down at the side of my bed roll, and lay down. I've got as much planned as I can, now all that's left to do is hopefully get some smattering of iron in here… and teach it to the villagers while I'm at it.

Nolan Potts, Human (Karma: 50 [Neutral]) [17/21 Spell slots used]

Classes: Brawler (5), Ranger (3), Druid (4), Clothier (3). Total Level (15).

Spells (Druid): Frostbite, Entangle, Create or Destroy Water, Guidance, Jump, Cure Wounds, Dust Devil, Protect from Poison, Hold Person, Spike Growth, Lesser Restoration, Water Breathing, Darkvision, Sleetstorm

Spells (Ranger): Animal Friendship, Speak to Animals, Ensnaring Strike

Gear: Canvas Clothes (Sturdy, Weathered), Oak-Handled Brush-hook, Canvas Coyote Pack of Holding, Bundles of Herbs (Medicinal), Bundles of Smoked Bug Meat, Bone toolkit

Items of Note: {Humble Beginnings}, {Emerald Moon}

Party Members are as follows…

Member One: Todone, Son of Kodrotti, Toadman (Karma: -30 [Neutral])

Classes: Toadman Warrior (9), Brawler (8), Total Level (17).

Member Two: Crusch Lulu of the Red Eyes (Karma: 50 [Neutral])

Classes: Awakened Elder Blood Lizardman (1), Druid (6), Spirit Shaman (3), Summoner (1), Total Level (11)

AN: Alright, so I think I've gotta say, I feel like I'm starting to build up a momentum with this story. Now that there's 60k words, it feels like there's no reason to stop. Also, everything's going smoothly, I've got orientation in two days for my new job, so now that that's set I'll probably pop out some more chapters later tomorrow. With that said, let's get to the couple of reviews I got worth mentioning.

NumberJuan15: Lmao, don't worry, I'm not gonna mess with that. I'm a firm fan of that club myself.

Anonymous (Guest): A shame I don't know who you actually are, but you certainly know who you are. Thank you for pointing out my spelling error, I normally just copy and past from the previous chapter and make edits, but I forgot to do that... twice. FML