So now I have 5 students in the language class.

Why's that, you ask?

Because of the 4 goblins who arrived, only 1 of them happens to actually read the common language. The other 3 don't.

Their plan was to let one of them read.

Of course, for that 1 goblin, I'll start him in advance on contract terms. Reading the language is a step in the right direction for sure, but it is nothing but the bare minimum. Just because you know how to read sentences and understand basic conjugation, does not make you ready to be a merchant.

Frankly, I'm not the best teacher for this subject, since I was used to dealing with the merchants as a lord, rather than as an appealing and new merchant.

But I recognize those two are more introverted and hardly able to teach the very idea of merchanting. Something that were I still a noble, would take notice of as a great weakness of the elven secret kingdom.

They are sitting there and listening in. I assume Lenore merely got curious, and Servante was more likely curious what manner of spell I'm teaching.

'First off, you're probably wondering how I planned to sneak you four in?" I say as the goblins nod curiously.

After telling them about how terrifying the outside world is for the skarpa race is, I also assured them of a way to blend in amongst the elves, thus allowing them to sneak into the romanan empire.

Redgar is the most average amongst the group, while the others vary in shape in size, bearing a silverish hair.

Fenil was a girl with black hair, though one would be forgiven if they couldn't tell. Female goblins have few differentiating features that would make them seem female, save for the longer hair, and any makeup they may choose. Of course, since goblins are viewed as something more akin to a transitionary stage, it's no surprise that for them makeup is minimal at that stage.

Borsch was a rather large lad, actually around the size of an average human, rather large for a goblin, bearing silver hair. He was "big boned" and contrary to his brutish size, was the one who actually knew the most about the romanan language and writing, and seemingly had a passion for magic.

And Damil was a sneaky looking lad, being a head shorter than Redgar and was the smallest of the group. Like Fenil, he also had black hair, fitting given they were introduced as siblings.

The four goblins nod, as the curiosity is obvious in their eyes.

And you're sure this skill will completely change my physiology?

[Yup, true shapeshift, while expensive to purchase, completely guarantees that your body changes accordingly, and each template costs a singular shop point each, with the skill itself being 20 skill points.]

Still think that's ridiculous.

[You're lucky you knew a transformation spell beforehand, and thus understand the basics of transformation. Otherwise the cost would be more like 100 skill points.] Stolidus said as he rolled his eyes, going back to the small handheld magical tool.

I get it, I got lucky.

Purchase the true shapeshift skill for me please, alongside the template of a high goblin please.

[Donezo]

[Skarpa(orc) base template acquired!]

[True shapeshift skill acquired!]

All right, the information is pouring in, and honestly the basics behind the spell seem simple enough.

Understandable enough to make me wonder if I could've learned this spell on my own.

Until the template rushes in, and I understand the true difficulty lies in the template itself.

So much information...

Glad that this system just kind of stuff the information in.

All right...

Focus...

Crick

crack

click!

The shifting of the bones is uncomfortable, but bearable, as I see my height shift, and my posture as well.

Lets see, fingers?

Check.

Arms?

Check.

Lack of shell?

Check.

Where's ore though?

Imagine my surprise when the tunic that seems to have been made alongside my goblin form seemingly flows, as a small metallic turtle head grows out of my tunic.

'Ore!'

It prominently declares, as it moved it's head around, seemingly showing off it's well being.

Good. I was worried for a bit where Ore would go, before Stolidus assured me Ore would be fine.

I'd like to experiment with this some more, but I have some priorities.

It's a bit weird being back on two legs, but fine.

I'm taller than the elves right now by a fair margin, thanks to choosing the orcish form. The spell requires the skarpa to be of at least one evolution above the base goblin form after all.

"So, tell me" comes my raspy voice as the class looks at me in surprise."

I ignore that in favor of focusing on my class, though the raspy voice still amuses me, as much as the bulging eyes.

"What do you know of the felatol spelll?"

Borsch, the big-boned and seemingly the pudgiest of the three raises his hand.

"The elfish troll?" he asked, directly translating the term.

Indeed, the term was exactly that, the elfish troll, referring to the supposed maker being a troll who sought to sneak into the society of man, using the form of an elf.

Of course, what I was referring to was the spell.

"No, the spell" I said shortly.

All of them shook their heads, indicating that they in fact, did not know this spell, causing me to click my tongue. I knew not all of their tribes knew the spell, since many of the skarpa tribes lived independently, rarely interacting with one another, so it's not too surprising.

Regardless...

"The name refers to the ability for the skarpa race to blend in with elves by using this spell." I explain as I begin the chant, a basic rhyme of skarpan words.

The magic begins dancing through the air, as the change can be felt on my skin, but venturing no deeper.

A more basic spell compared to the true shapeshifting spell on the shop.

Once I've done the neccessary steps, I finish up, saying the command.

"Fe-ra-tol!"

Another change ripples through my body, as I grow shorter, and my skin pales as it takes on a similar sheen to Servante's and Lenore's.

my bulk is replaced by an air, an absence, as my body thins out.

The hair goes on to take a blonde shade, and my teeth pull back into a more humanesque layout.

The goblins waste no time as they quickly begin observing the change I had pulled off, inspecting me from all direction, with Borsch being the most curious.

Servante was more curious about other things of course.

"What was that first spell?" he asked as he studied my face. "The second spell is interesting to be sure, but that first one is... weird. I can't even begin to follow it." he admitted, and I could see how deeply it piqued his interest.

Sadly, I had to shut that down.

"Don't know." I admitted, before preparing to mix a little lie with truth.

"I picked it up from a mysterious master from the Eastern lands."

Servante's eyes went round. "You mean the Qing empire?" he asked, as his interest increased.

"You know of them?" I ask, curious to once more test how much the elven kingdom actually educates their knights.

"A little." he said. "Not a lot though. Most elves who head to the east rarely come back and those who do..." he paused, as if recalling an unfortunate memory. "... Rarely ever come back the same."

I nod as I relate to that. "The land to the east is a mysterious and terrifying place. There's a reason the Romana empire has never managed to gain any significant footholds in that land, with it being filled with an unnatural energy called qi."

I move on.

"There's a mysterious elder who has traveled from the eastern lands and settled in the Gamecas marquisate. I managed to have a run-in with him once, and he taught me a rather interesting shapeshifting spell."

He didn't of course, though I did know that elder, and he did teach me many things, some of which I'll be using soon enough.

Servante seemed to buy it, as interest grew in his face. "Well then, I guess the detour in our trip can't all be bad then." he said, almost begrudgingly. "But why show it now? I thought you said it can't be used until you've reached the C-rank?" he asked, being puzzled by my choice to show him this prematurely.

I shrugged. "The whole point of showing it is to show that it is possible for them to disguise themselves as elves. It looks rather real, right?"

"It does. How strong is it?"

"Relatively, to the extent that it can take a good fight or two before it wears off. It also wears off after a day and requires reapplication."

Servate rubs his chin thoughtfully, raising his finger as if to ask something, before Borsch interrupted.

"How does it work!?" he asked excitedly, with a genuine sparkle in his eyes.

I have to chuckle seeing the desire to learn in those eyes.

"Well, seemingly it taps into the skarpa races connection to the elven race." I say as I do my best to recall the basics behind it. "Supposedly, the spell only works with elves, so people theorize that there's something special that connects elves and goblins. Some people imply more... crude reasons, but that only works for feral skarpa, as the civilized side rarely came into contact with elves. I've heard outspoken theories that the skarpans and the elves are actually relatives, and that changing is more akin to flipping a switch, like werewolves do."

"I assume it's the elves who objected to this?" asked Servante as he seemed appalled at the very thought, but to his surprise I have to show a waving hand. Not quite.

Because looking at the skarpans, you can see they quite hate the thought as well, using the simpler sign of sticking their tongues out.

"It's a mutually disliked idea actually, the skarpans dislike the thought of being connected to elves, who they see as lesser versions of themselves, unable to evolve. And elves see skarpans as a bunch of barbarians, if not beasts, the few that even know of them. "

Servante made a difficult face upon hearing this, but I do kind of understand where they're coming from. The skarpans have the ability to evolve and in general, are far more expansive than the elves, who are either hiding in their kingdom, or merely integrating into the societies of others. Arguably, when seen from that angle, the elves are the ones with a smaller presence and existence.

I don't say that of course. No need to lay it on that thick.

"Regardless," I say, moving on from the topic, "this should work in tricking others, right?"

Servante nodded thoughtfully. "It definitely should. It could even fool me if I didn't know what to look for."

Seeing that I managed to demonstrate successfully, I undid the true shapeshifting, as well as the feratol spell, returning to the form of a turtle once more.

Lenore pursed her lips. "I was fun seeing you in elven form." she admitted, and I chuckled.

'Charmed?'

"No, just a lot easier to deal with than a voice mysteriously popping into my head.

'Fair enough.'

"Like that."

I was willing to concede that could get annoying, considering that I used to be on the receiving end of that.

'Well, if it so suits you, I'll use the elven form more, or the orcish one, so you only have to deal with the telepathic voice less often.'

"Deal."

I chuckled.

Anyway, enough time was wasted on shapeshifting. One can never slack on children's education.

'So how about we talk about the history of Skip Village?'