Growing Pains

         The town wasn't very big and along the main street that held the shop I'd just been in, there were a few restaurants-slash-taverns. I decided to go into one and have an early lunch packed with protein, as I'd be making use of them soon. Luckily, my body didn't produce much waste and it was all expelled through my exhalation and in trace amounts through perspiration - thanks to my nanites, of course. Also, I could keep anything I'd consumed ready and waiting to be used by my growth system - also thanks to the nanites.

This meant that I could eat the 16 ounces of steak in front of me right now and turn it into a fun new tool for later. Of course, after I ate at the first restaurant I went to another to have yet more 'construction materials' and then another again. After blowing 14 silver on delicious meals, to the absolute astonishment of my servers, I felt a bit too heavy to keep eating, and I had developed a very slight bump from the food that I had stopped my body from completely digesting.

So, weighed down by the necessary materials for what I had planned, I walked back over to the inn where I sold that wolf. The room was surprisingly cheap, only 4 silver a day and another for included meals, so I paid for a week with meals - costing me only 35 silver total. I trudged up to my room on the second floor and walked in to a rather simple affair. There was just a single bed, a medium trunk at the foot, and a desk with several tallow candles.

I ignored the finer details beyond this, went straight to the mattress and collapsed face first onto it. Calling up my growth menu, I selected a few options and closed my eyes, knowing that I'll wake up in less than 2 hours.

Level: 1 / 99 [-]

• [Exp: 04/05]
• [Skills: 3]

Growth: [-]

• Hair Lengthening [0] [0.00 hr]
• Reproductive Organ Growth: External Genitalia [1] [0.35 hr]
• Breast Augmentation: Minor [1] [0.20 hr]
• Organism Augmentation: Lesser [2] [1.0 hr]

***

I awoke to the sun in my face and the feeling of my torso being constricted and immediately realized my mistake. With a groan of frustration at my stupidity, I stored all of the clothing I was wearing and re-summoned it onto the bed as I stood up. "Haaaah..." I could only lament my carelessness as I looked at the damage I caused. The robe was mostly okay, it seems Noelle had foreseen something like this occurring and made the robe rather durable. The wrappings and sandals were also okay, just a little stretched if anything. The majority of the damage was done to the first set of simple underwear I had made. 

As I had planned to expand and resize them later, I had made the seams relatively weak. I knew this would mean they would fall apart more quickly but the way I saw it, I'd be touching them up fairly often anyway. This meant that the bra and panties I made had snapped completely, thankfully there was no damage to the soft cotton itself but the threads were totally ruined. With a sigh, I pulled out my own sewing kit and rethreaded the undergarments.

The task in front of me done, I stretched and inspected my improved body. My hair was longer, now falling to roughly mid back. I was also a good bit taller, 160 cm now, but my figure hadn't suffered for the most part. I did feel absolutely starved and I noticed the lines on my body were much harsher, even when I hadn't chosen any kind of muscle enhancement. My chest was only slightly bigger, despite my choices, so I assumed that I hadn't had quite enough fats for the growth and my body pulled from where it could. Oh well, a good ole 'wheel o' cheese' will probably set me right.

Speaking of growths, that was just as impressive as I had hoped. I was about 10 cm soft and my testes were proportionally large. There were further options for growth, but I didn't want to be too big for the diminutive women I might be entertaining tonight. Nothing else had changed, and my 'original' set of genitalia remained.

My self inspection done, I picked up the underwear and went to put it on only to find it stuck at my hips... I facepalmed. Hard. and angrily took them off and unthreaded them in the blink of an eye. Quickly, and boiling with frustration at myself, I took a few measurements and fixed the multiple sets of bras and panties I had made. Finally sitting on the bed with a sigh, I realized that I really need to slow down. I was moving constantly and it would only help me to get my thoughts in order.

So I meditated. No gathering of power, no mindscape. I simply breathed deeply and let conscious thought fade. Through my mind, images of my time since waking up on those clouds flashed unbidden. I don't even know exactly how long it's been since I first saw those alien stars above me. It felt like a few hours and a week at the same time. Nevertheless, my entire experience up till now played in what felt like moments.

With a final long exhale, I opened my eyes to see Alyx standing just past the closed door with a blush. She was staring at my body intently, tracing the muscles of my abdomen and biting her lip every time her eyes flicked down. I was currently cross-legged on the bed, arms on my knees, so she could see my new addition quite well, though her gaze never dared to linger too long. She had apparently missed my eyes opening, so I decided to play with her a bit. As revenge for ogling me when I was unconscious , I took advantage of one of the first modifications I chose (not that I minded at all, though I did kick myself again for leaving the door unlocked).

The blood in my body flowed eagerly to the tool between my legs, and it responded as energetically as it could. I watched Alyx's eyes widen and her blush deepen as she was entranced by 22 cm of thick flesh. With a smirk, I cleared my throat, and she nearly jumped out of her skin. "Like what you see~?" Her eyes widened in panic and the red on her cheeks gave way to a pale white as she turned her face away and started to stutter and wave her arms in front of her. "I  w-was just knocking a-and you didn't answer, s-so I came in and I panicked a-and closed the door behind me. I swear I wasn't standing here for long!" She embellished her stuttered apology with a deep bow, her eyes scrunched tightly - as if bracing for a blow that would never come.

I laughed loudly, drawing far too much amusement from her fluster. I stood and faced away from her to put on the freshly fit underwear, and to help her relax. When I looked back at her, she was still bowing, her hands clenched on her robe at her side, and her face tight with worry. I sighed, walked up to her and lightly grabbed her by the chin, making her stand - our height difference now only half of what it was. "It's fine~. I'm the one that forgot to lock the door, Alyx. Now, what did you need so urgently that you couldn't wait for me to answer?"

Her face flushed once more at our proximity but to her credit her voice remained firm, untouched by her earlier panic or current embarrassment. "The Ritual," she swallowed nervously, glancing at my lips, "It's gone, even if I try to write it from memory the symbols and geometry simply slip from my grasp..."

It took me a moment before I realized what had happened. "Ah... right. I told you before you'd given the Arbiter extra work, yeah?" As I answered I had let her go, and walked back over to my bed. Slipping on my resized robe, I continued. "That's what I'd meant. She's probably done by now, but she told me that she'd erase any and all traces of it to stop my situation from happening again."

I started to take out all of my useless nanite 'artefacts' while I spoke, preparing to make the jumpsuit I'd dreamt up. "That's not a problem, I trust?" Looking over my shoulder at her, I noticed her gaze was locked on the artifacts though she did nod fervently. Thankfully, there was no greed in her eyes, only fascination at the devices I was pulling out. "Hmm~, you do like to stare don't you~?" This startled her from her daze, and she apologized again with a blush before approaching the bed. "Are these..? They come from your home, don't they? Could I..?" With a small chuckle at the pleading curiosity in her voice, I grabbed one that would be suitably safe and handed it to her.

"Yes, though now that I am no longer there, most of them lack the resources to perform efficiently. The one in your hand is one that will continue to work for quite a while but it's ultimately useless so I'm scrapping it - and every other thing I've pulled out - for parts." She was fiddling with the device, twisting it in her hand this way and that, while being very careful not to pull the trigger near the base of the 30 cm brass tube. "What does this do? It seems to be a hollow tube with a reservoir of sorts... Maybe a device to ease casting..? Then why the trigger and reservoir..." She finished her muttering and looked back at me. "Can I press this? Is it dangerous?" her curiosity overwhelming her good sense.

I simply gave her a nod and advised her to point it straight up, as that's the most efficient way to use it. She didn't notice that I had distanced myself from her after saying so; thus, she pointed the tube up, at arms length, and lightly squeezed the trigger. A small pop echoed through the room causing Alyx to squeak and drop the brass tube as it shot a stream of sparkling gold glitter - covering her from head to toe as it fell. I was already grinning from ear to ear before she pressed it, but when she was painted in shiny gold I lost my composure. A short chuckle had turned into a full belly laugh at her misfortune. She was simply standing there, arms raised to the side and glaring at me like I had stolen her lunch.

Wheezing and holding my stomach, I reached down and picked up the cursed tool I had made to prank Grelda. I got one last good look at Alyx's furiously flamboyant new look before pressing a button on the side of the tube and pointing it at her. She flinched and seemed as if she was about to yell, then all the glitter that covered her and the room was sucked back into it. Her verbal berating of me cut-off before it could start, she stared at me with a red face full of anger - though there was a hint of amusement in her eye... I think. "Why do you have such an infernal device!?" Ah, not amusement after all...

"Calm down Alyx, no harm done. Just think of it as a little payback for ogling me while I was technically unconscious." I said with a roll of my eyes. She flinched at that, and the flush of anger on her face was replaced completely by embarrassment. "Ah... well..." She was wringing her hands in contrition and looking anywhere but at me. Eventually, her eyes landed back on my artifacts and she seemed to deflate. All the frustration and embarrassment leaving her with one long breath.

"It's my fault any way, I guess. Handling unknown artifacts is always dangerous, no matter how benign the effect may be. Though, I can see why you got on so well with the gnome twins now..." She muttered with a shake of her head. They were gnomes? So glad I didn't assume they were dwarves. She pulled herself together, regaining some measure of confidence before speaking to me again.

"I sought you out because I thought you might like to know that another incident such as yours won't be happening again, at least by my hands." As she spoke, she fixed her glasses and straightened her robe, trying to scavenge for some professional demeanor no doubt. "I'm glad you've settled in well enough, Xerin. If you ever have the time I'd love to talk more; you will likely have a rather …unique perspective on the nature magic, and I'd be remiss as a wizard if I did not take advantage of such a thing."

I gave her a look, silently asking her who exactly she was trying to fool right now. "I might have time tomorrow, if I finish making what I need at the smithy by evening. If not, then the day after, when I've retuned from a hunt." She nodded her head at that, stating that as long as there was light left in the day I should come see her before I left town. With a final affirmation that I would go talk to her eventually, she gave me a respectful bow and left me to my project.

Softly shaking my head, I turned back to the array of devices on my bed and grabbed one from the pile. This one would technically still work - as would many of the others that I've taken out - but using them meant burning out the nanites they were made with, and I was never a fan of consumables in the first place. So, I pulled the nanites from it with my will and returned the leftover materials to my soul-pocket. I continued to do so with the rest of the items until I had a grey bowling ball sized mass of programmable atoms. Thankfully, without the overarching matrix present, I had full authority over the machines and could use them as I wished.

I pulled the roll of processed fel'gar wing from my storage and spread the material on the ground. I then pressed the grey mass against it and willed them into the structure I had in mind. A thin dark layer spread out over the shiny black material, dulling its luster slightly. When the material was completely covered, I pulled a pile of large uncut diamonds from my soul-pocket directly onto it. Immediately, the gemstones dissolved and the leather seemed to thicken and change to grey.

Over the course of an hour, during which I had to maintain a physical connection with the machines doing all the work, an atomically small honeycomb lattice formed on the surface of the wing leather - millions of layers thick. Finally, after being stuck on my knees for so long, I stood up. The material followed, bonded to my hand as it was. With a simple thought, it started to shift and slither up my arm. If anyone had seen what was happening right now, they'd probably be very alarmed at the flat grey snake that was coiling around my body. Eventually, I was covered completely - from just under the chin down to the tips of my toes.

It was a snug fit and very breathable but, beyond the pleasant compression, it really didn't feel like I was wearing anything aside from my underwear - which I quickly moved into my soul-pocket. I looked down at my body and had to swallow the saliva that instantly pooled in my mouth. I was in what looked like a matte grey spandex bodysuit that perfectly conformed to my figure, defining my breasts, the strong lines of my muscles, and the bulge in-between my legs far too well.

Distracting myself from the "unintentionally" erotic sight, I began to stretch every way I could - even contorting myself into various shapes and doing light calisthenics - and found no limit to my range of motion in just the jumpsuit of my future armor. Nodding my head, I willed the new piece of equipment into a looser state. It thinned out, increasing it's dimensions and losing the compression on my body. It remained tight in some places, like my waist, shoulders, forearms, and ankles; it also didn't cover my hands when set this way, though they could be if I wished. This was merely to mimic the look of normal clothing and not hang off of me like an oversized tee. It still felt as if I was wearing nothing, honestly, but it was far less revealing this way and probably the main way I'll wear it unless necessary. As an added bonus, I could wear my undies with it like this and it won't look weird. Satisfied at the functions of my new undersuit, I willed it into its dormant state. All of the material compressed upon itself repeatedly, eventually settling on my neck as a dark grey choker with no visible seam, summoning my underwear back onto my body as I did so.

Finished with my little project, I summon the cloak, boots, and gloves I'd bought earlier onto the bed. The cloak, a rich forest green lined with a muddy brown, is perfect for travelling the forest, to hunt or otherwise. It's thick, well-insulated, and the length is easily adjusted by folding it along the shoulders. The pale brown, knee high, cuffed leather boots are similar in their aptness for traversing difficult terrain. I suspect Nadia was being generous in what she gave me and the price she quoted. I wasn't one to snub generosity, though I'd likely outgrow the boots sometime in the near future, sadly.

Fortunately, my most recent growth spurt hadn't left me shoeless, but I did have to chastise myself again for not buying a pair a few sizes up. I'll either have to buy a new pair in the future, or make a pair like I did my jumpsuit. Sadly, I'm not very well versed in crafting shoes, much less boots, and making some purely out of nanites is impractical; I only have a limited supply of the machines that I'd rather save for future repairs to my jumpsuit and armor. Eventually, I'll be able to make more but that'll be far into the future - when I set up a dedicated base of operations.

I shook my head, chasing away worries best left for the future, and quickly altered the robe to fit. I was surprised at how easy it was until I realized that this was just another example of Noelle's thoughtfulness. So, my first important tasks done, I put on the simple black robe and grabbed the foot wraps Alyx had given me, before wrinkling my nose and tossing the wrappings into storage. Fed up with having to wrap my feet, I decided to bite the bullet and make myself a pair or two of short stockings that I can pull on and just sell them when they're too small.

After an hour of measuring, cutting, and sewing, I was finally done with a serviceable pair of knee length stockings, perfect for folding down over the shaft of my boots to keep them from falling. Slipping them on and putting on the slightly tight boots, I decided to go back out on the town. It was probably a few hours past noon based on the light from the window, and I had some restaurant food to collect.