Chapter 729 - Final Touches (Patreon)

"OK, I think the last part is. How do you want your tail to be?" Tara turned to Hera.

"Do I have to have a tail?"

"Yeah. A Naga doesn't have legs. Your choices are legs and a tail or no legs and just the tail. Sorry."

"That's ok. So what are my options? Just size?" Hera was staring at the illusion.

After talking with Tara for a few hours, they managed to get this new version of a Naga basically done. The figure still had two arms and two legs following the proportions of a human, but it had scales around her back, with the thicker ones following the spine. The outside of the arms and legs also had the same scales, with softer ones covering both the hands and the feet. Her nails also differed from Hera's current body, but were not as claw-like as the Naga. Instead, it would be a long black nail that started right after the last knuckle of each finger. The nail was also thicker and considerably stronger, almost like an acrylic nail.

Despite the intimidating sight, the hands would be soft like skin, and so were the feet. However, Tara warned Hera that if she spent too long not wearing any shoes, the scales in her soles would grow to be thicker and more resilient to protect the foot. The inner part of the arms and legs, which would be facing her own body, would be covered with regular skin instead of the scales. The face would have a similar thing, but the scales would be coming out of the nape of her neck, going around the scalp and reaching around the back of her cheeks, jaw, and forehead. Her eyes were another big change. They would have slit-like pupils by default but could shift to round when exposed to intense light. Her nose wouldn't change much, but her facial features would become a bit sharper. However, the biggest change of all was in her jaw. As unique as being covered in scales was, it would pale when compared with the weirdness of being able to unhinge her jaw. Unlike what Hera always believed, it wasn't like the bones in the jaw would just detach from the rest of her skull. Instead, the bones in her chin would be able to split apart, pushing her jaw to the side. The skin in her mouth, throat, chest, and stomach would also be able to stretch enough and return to its original shape without worry. Her ribcage could do the same, and her heart and lungs would be longer to occupy less space in a single place. She wouldn't be able to swallow an elephant whole, but there was a chance she could eat an entire cooked turkey in a single bite. Not that doing so would be comfortable. There was also a pair of sharp fangs hidden inside her canines. When biting someone, she could control those fangs to deliver a powerful poison that was created in an organ that this new species would have. Her ears would also be different. A Naga was more attuned to high frequencies, having only an inner ear. Having an outer ear and keeping that ability required the structure of the ear itself to be different. They were a bit longer and pulled back, the tips reaching where her skull would start to curve. And also covered in scales. However, instead of a single spiral path, there were three long formations that were split into a dorsal fin-like structure, with thicker scales functioning as the divisions. Each segment had a unique spiral that would help filter specific frequencies.

Like Tara said, the genitals were still there and were just like that of a human. The one difference was the milk that new mothers would produce. Since they would have an actual organ that produces poison, breast milk would be slightly poisonous. Not too much. Any adult of another species who drank it would have only some mild discomfort. This was a way for babies to start developing some tolerance before the poison sac in their bodies actually started making the poison, which would only happen when they reached puberty.

"There is a limit on the maximum and minimum sizes of the tail. Also, it's girth, and if you want to add things like a rattle to them or not," Tara explained.

"No rattle. I saw one cut in half a while back, and that freaked me out. Now size… Can we keep it all sort of random?  Like with height. We don't have control over that, and each person grows in their own way," Hera suggested.

"We still have to set a range. Not to say that mutations can't occur in the future, but this will be the standard," Tara waved her tail, and the illusion was duplicated 10 times. Each had a different size of tail. It would start at one that barely reached the ground from her waist. Going all the way to one that not only reached the floor but also did two laps around the illusion.

"Oh… Ok, Let's not get that big one. It feels like too much. And it will be a nightmare to find a place to sleep. The smallest one also looks a bit silly. Like a kid's costume," Hera looked around a bit, "Can we keep between the fifth and the eighth options?"

Tara looked at the illusions, the shortest tail would still cover around half of the figure's butt, and there was a good 30 cm of it on the floor. For the longest, only the side of the cheeks could be seen, and there was around 80 cm on the ground. That was enough to reach around to the front, but that was it.

"Yeah, that works. We can increase the range a bit if you want."

"I don't think we have to. The fourth's tail barely touches the tip on the floor, and I'm guessing that will feel very uncomfortable. Like, walking around stones will make you keep feeling the tail hit things over and over instead of a constant feeling. While the ninth completes a full lap around the body. I don't like that, it's too much. How well will we be able to move those tails, by the way? Can I, like, pick up plates or hold a weapon?"

"With some training, yeah. It won't be as nimble as an octopus leg, but you can do some basic things without many problems. Holding a weapon might not be the best idea, but I'm sure you can craft something to attach to it. Like some blades or a fork."

"So it won't be able to use random tools, but tools made for it could work?"

"Yep," Tara nodded with a smile.

"That's interesting. So this is it, right? Everything we needed to do is done. What do you think, guys?" Hera turned to her court.

They all looked at each other for a moment, and Livy was the one to speak first, "Should we tell what we think?"

"I mean, she is asking about it," Nimbus sighed.

'Yeah… I think we should answer,' Amber added.

"You guys know I can hear you, right?" Hera rolled her eyes, "Yes, you can say what you think. I know this is about changing species, but I still want it to look good."

"I like it," Livy announced with a big smile.

"Of course you do. She's going to look a lot like you. Even more than like me and Nagas are supposed to be snakes!" Daskka huffed before turning to Hera, "I like it too, but the part where the scales and the skin connect is a bit too harsh. Like, there is not a smooth transition."

Tara looked at the illusion, "Yeah… I see that. How about this," changing the illusion. She made the scales directly touching the area with only skin smaller and less pronounced. That would continue getting progressively smoother until it was just skin. When the change was over, a larger area was covered in scales, but that gradient formation brought the entire look together.

"Wow, this looks much better. I don't know why I didn't think about that sooner," Hera smiled as she turned to Daskka, "Thank you."

"No worries, mum. I'll always watch out for you," Daskka puffed her chest proudly.

"It's a bit of a shame. Now, you won't look like you have a plate of armor around you. I kind of liked that," Lurize sighed.

'You would be one to like armor,' Chris chuckled.

"What's wrong with having a preference?" Lurize huffed.

'Nothing, but when we are talking about armor, you are not exactly unbiased,' Dao tapped Lurize's shoulder with his pommel.

Hera smiled. She ended up ignoring her court during most of this process, and seeing them interact like that warmed the Empress' heart. She turned back to Tara, "So this is it, right? We are done?"

"On the appearance side of things. Yes. Now, it's the skills. To check them, we need to do the tests I talked about."

"Ok, no problem. How do we start?" Hera nodded.

"First, can I see your status window? I need to know your attributes."

Hera nodded and opened her status window. She had leveled up three times in the past few months. Her attributes were already past 100. Unfortunately, she didn't get anything extra when crossing that threshold. A few of her skills also increased their ranks thanks to Grasshopper's guidance.

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Hera Kingsley -- Role: Explorer Level: 38
Legacy: Court of Blades [Blades]
Title: Mana Touched, Wardbearer

Total Stats:  636
Strength:  106 Endurance: 106
Agility:  106 Charisma:  106
Intelligence: 106  Luck:  106
Mana:   3 935 219/3 935 219
Passive Mana Regeneration: 5 313/s
Active Mana Regeneration: 10 166/s
Remaining attribute points: 17

Skills:
Legacy:
Court Ruler, Courtship, Bestow Title, Army of One, Revocation of Nobility,
Royal Quest, Bestow Gift, Royal Seal, Venomous Arsenal, Blade Graveyard

Passive:
Exponential Growth (21)
Observe: Red sight 3
Treasure Map
Handaxe Combat 3, Chakram Combat 3, Glaive Combat 3, Sword Combat 3, Two-handed Sword Combat 2,
Dagger Combat 3, Scimitar combat 1, Axe combat 1, War Axe Combat 1, Knife Combat 2, Tonfa Combat 2, Rapier Combat 1
Wire Trap Style 3, Subtle Strike 4(+1), Dorohla style 4(+1)
Battle Dancer 3(+1), Attack Pathing 2, Synchronized Battle 3 (+1)
Dodge 4(+2), Run 4(+1), Improved Stamina 5(+1), Flee 2, Jump 2
Mana Recovery 5(+1), Mana sensitivity 4 (+2), Shaper of Mana 2 (+1), Mana Vessel, Reinforced Mana 2 (+1)
Improved Regeneration 3
Ailment Mastery 3, Poison Mastery 2, Allergy Mastery 1,  Chain Mastery 1 , Regeneration Mastery 1,
Earth Mastery 1, Lightning Mastery 1, Sound Mastery 1, Frost Mastery 1, Lava Mastery 1, Steel Mastery 1
Elemental Mana Mastery
Earth resistance 2, Wind resistance 2, Water resistance 2, Sturdy Body 4 (+2),
Magic Armor Proficiency 3  
Naga poison 6, Naga Scales 3(+1)
Nature connection 1
Silver Lining 2
Ancient language 5
Pathfinder 1

Active:
All in 2
Inspect 2
Hide 4, Sneak Attack 3
Weapon Maintenance 4(+1), Weapons Rebalance 3, Weapon Break 2
Etching 4
Medical Reference 3, Identify Ailment 1
Green Thumb 2
Chain of Command 5
Poison Coating 3 (+2)
Toxic Mist

Role Skills:
Local Guide
Private Room, Meeting Room
Explorer's Assassinate
Explorer's Map
Hunter's Catalogue, Explorer's Hunt
Explorer's Research
Explorer's Blueprint
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[Shaper of Mana] already helped her control her spells with more ease, but the effect was now even better. That skill became even stronger thanks to the increase in her [Mana Sensitivity]. [Reinforced Mana] made her spells a bit stronger and cheaper, but the big benefit was that her maximum mana would increase even faster, thanks to that skill.

"Wow, your stats are high! And everything is the same. I didn't expect that," Tara smiled before closing her eyes. Suddenly, she vanished inside her hat, which started growing bigger and bigger. From underneath it, suddenly, a full-grown Naga appeared. It had proportions similar to Casks, whom Hera saw in the dungeon long ago.  A pair of muscular arms with clawed hands, a snake head, and a torso that turned into a long tail. Despite that, the face was still that of a certain small purple snake. And, of course, it was still wearing the same velvet blue hat.

"What the… Tara?" Hera gasped.

"Yep. That's me! I'll be doing the test with you so we can understand the strengths of each species to make the racial skills."

"Right. I forgot about that. How does that work? I asked the people of Boothudurn, and almost no one seemed to have a racial skill. The only ones were Risli and Telanz. And both of them had a skill related to healing," Hera frowned, "From what I understand, that also happens with others."

"Yeah. So, last time we talked, I messed up one thing," Tara pulled her hat to cover her face, "I'm sorry, but not everyone has a racial skill.  However, everyone, aside from humans, can have one. All they have to do is figure out how to get it. For the other new Naga, or whatever the name will be, this will also be true. For you, on the other hand, things will be different. Since you are the progenitor of this new species. You will have all the skills they can have from the get-go, and if the system ever creates a new one for someone else, you will also get it," as she continued talking, she let go of her hat and slowly revealed her eyes again.

"Wait. I'll get skills from others?" Hera frowned.

"Not from them. With them. Let's say someone gets a 'Naga stealth' skill, and you don't have it. Then, when they get that skill, you will get it, too. Perks of being the progenitor! Oh, and I don't actually mean Naga skill. I mean the name of this new species. I don't remember if I told you, but we won't be the ones choosing the name. It will be the system," now that she had arms, Tara gesticulated a lot when she tried to correct herself.

"Ok then… That skill thing doesn't feel really fair, but I won't complain about it," Hera chuckled, "Now. How do we start those tests?"