Everyone stepped back another step in shock at my declaration like a bunch of whipped animals, but who could blame them? The past shit didn't matter for these wretches anymore, but I tried to take a different approach.
Instead, I pulled my hand back and called out to the runt, Ganth. He seemed to be the most confident of the group.
"YES!" Ganth called out in a small but determined voice, even if he was shaking a bit.
"Come here, kid, you got the most spunk outta all of the lot. I want to show you what freedom feels like. All you have to do is take my hand, Ganth," I explained to the boy as he walked up to me, using a more relaxed voice this time.
'Nice tone! That one kind of did sound cool!' Gripton said, complimenting me.
My face almost cracked into a grin, but I clamped down. I kept a straight look plastered on my expression as Ganth walked to me.
'Fucker, you almost ruined that! Save the commentary until after I've convinced them I'm not another Thurman!' I growled.
As the runt walked up to me, I reached out my right hand to Ganth, and he took it. The moment our hands connected, a flash of light like before burst from the boy.
Even though the light didn't bother me, I could see the others turn away, or put their hands up to block the light. I could feel the small hand get bigger in mine, and when the light cleared, a new Ganth stood holding my hand.
After the light cleared, Ganth and I almost stood eye level, and his body had filled out. This was not what had happened before… or was it?
"WOAH! How is this possible? Did I grow a head taller? HOW AM I NOT HUNGRY ANYMORE!" Ganth shouted with excitement as he let go of my hand to run it over his new body.
Everyone seemed just as dumbstruck by this as I was, but now thinking back to Kalita, maybe the same had happened. The girl had been covered with scrapes and cuts, but after she touched me, she had been fully healed.
The kid was almost as tall as me now and built like a brick shit-house. The scrawny frame was now filled out and muscle, but all the kid could think about was his stomach.
In the end, that is what made everyone rush forward more than the idea of becoming more. Sigh, that prick had starved them, and now they were all ready to jump at me.
I slipped my glove back on and told them to step back. Everyone needed to understand what was actually happening right now, and so did I.
"I know you're all hungry. I get it. Each of you will get this, but first, you all need to see what actually happened. Ganth, I want you to use your magic again," I explained, and motioned for him to go.
Ganth did as I asked without question, and bent over to pick up a small rock, but I stopped him. I wanted to see just how much his magic had changed.
I grabbed a fist-sized rock and handed it to him instead. He only glanced at me before taking the rock and stretching it.
The moment he did, Ganth's eyes went big as the rock became soft in his hands. This time, it seemed to be a lot easier for him to mold it.
'While the rock does seem to be easier to work, not much has changed. The boy can do it on a larger scale, but I don't see any improvements past that,' Gripton remarked, but I didn't think this part would change much.
'Don't get your panties in a bunch, just wait!' I growled at the old man.
"Now, I want you to make that rock into a spear, just like before," I explained to Ganth, but he gave me an unsure look.
"I don't think I can. This is much bigger then what I am used to," Ganth explained, but I just nodded my head and motioned for him to continue.
Ganth sighed, but started working as the others and myself watched. His new power allowed him not just to stretch the rock, but mold it now, and on a large scale.
I watched as he created a long spear, but then molded the tip to make a broad point. After he finished, Ganth handed the spear to me, proudly.
I took the spear, and dropped it on another rock to the horror of Ganth. The poor kids… guys eyes went wide as he watched the spear fall to the rock.
Before, the thin spear Ganth had created had shattered, but this was the real test.
The spear bounced off the rock, leaving a mark, and then rolled to the side. I reached down and picked the spear back up, and looked over the shaft, but there was no mark.
Everyone was staring like they were seeing a complicated magic trick for the first time. I suppose it was, for them, considering how they lived a life where there was no chance to improve your power.
"Do you all see this and understand what it means?" I asked, holding the stone spear above my head for everyone to see.
They all shook their heads "no," and I blinked.
'HAHAHA!' Gripton roared in my head.
"Oye, you meatheads! It means all your magic and bodies will be a lot stronger!" I growled, and brought the spear down to stick in the ground.
"AH!" Coursed the crowd of idiots.
I rolled my eyes at them, but I needed to have some patience. Even though I thought all of this was impossible, I was the real impossibility to these people.
"Now, there is another point that I forgot to mention, and I really should have said this first. Once you take this power, you are pledging yourselves to serve me. This means that I could ask you to do something in the future, and you will not have a choice in it," I explained, but none of them were really listening.
They didn't even pause to consider my words, but Ganth did give me a look. The look made me feel dirty, even though the look was determined.
"I am sorry that I didn't tell you-," I started to say, but Ganth got down on his hands and knees in front of me, making the words catch in my throat.
"I will serve you for as long as I draw breath! You have given me a new life, and now I am in your debt. Whatever you ask of me, I will do it!" Ganth pledged to me at his feet, but I grabbed his arm and made him stand back up.
"No, I don't need that, nor do I want any of you grooving at my feet! You are my friends, and now are going to be something like family to me. All I ask is that you respect me, and I will do the same to you," I explained after Ganth was standing.
I made sure to look around at each of the group as I spoke. I didn't want subjects, I wanted people that trusted me.
The others looked excited, so I motioned for all of them to step forward. The other four crowded around, and I had to get them to line up to save myself from being grabbed at.
First in line was Trem, so I took off the glove from my right hand and patted his bare shoulder. The man was so thin, I could feel the shoulder bones through his skin.
When the light cleared, Trem was the same height, but he had filled out the way he should look. Trem started to do the same thing that Ganth had, running his hands all over his filled out body.
Looking stunned still, I gave Trem a little shove, and he stumbled out of the way. I don't think he even noticed I pushed him.
Next up was the shy girl Krya and she spoke, "Please be gentle," and then stepped closer to me.
Up close, Kyra was a lot cuter then she had been from afar. I was curious to see what "enhancements" she would receive.
'Oh, I am sure you are!' Gripton jested in my mind.
I reached my hand out and gently took her cheek in my hand. The moment I did, like the others, she burst with light, but this time, the others put up their hands.
This time it was my turn to have my damn eyes nearly fall out of my head. The shy girl was gone, replaced with an…Elven Cat Girl?!
'Ay, caramba! And those are wolf ears!' Gripton explained with shock.
'You said it! Those are some sexy cat ears!' I exclaimed, ignoring Gripton's comment.
'No! She is not a cat! She is from the Kingdom of Wolven!' Gripton tried to explain to me, but I was dealing with another issue.
I was distracted because Krya rubbed her face into my hand that I still had on her cheek. When I looked into her eyes, the look that I got made me turn away and say next.
'Oof, she wants to jump those bones even if she has to rip the flesh off to get at them!' Gripton joked, but he sounded distracted.
'That look was… disconcerting. Those were some hungry eyes!' I remarked as I examined a knot in a tree nearby.
'That was a radical change! There must be some kind of change to your magic. I'll be back!' Gripton promised, and then was gone.
'Wait!' I shouted in my mind.
*No answer*
'Fucker!' I growled, but it was useless, the old fart had left.
I motioned for Kyra to move, and she did. The problem was that she didn't go far, in fact it was the opposite.
Kyra came over to my left side and stood uncomfortably close. Practically standing on my foot, and I could feel my heart rate rise.
I wasn't used to this kind of attention, and she was making me feel nervous. I was eighteen and tough as shit, but I have never been good with the girls.
Now with this one all up on me, I didn't know what to do. Of course, this is the moment that damn god would take a vacation when I needed him the most.
I sighed, and motioned for the next person to step forward. I needed to push all these thoughts out of the way, and concentrate, but that was easier said than done.
Next up was Kadence, personally one of my favorites to see improve. Fire magic is always cool in the comics and mangas I read as a kid in my old world.
I offered Kadence my right hand, and she took it without hesitation. The moment our hands connected, The girl burst with light.
As this happened, Kyra latched on to my left arm, and then pressed her face into my bare chest. This completely distracted me from Kadence.
All my thoughts went to if Kyra could hear my heart pounding in my chest.
When the light died, Kadence's medium length long locks of flame red hair with orange streaks. She was also now garbed in a black robe with a red inside lining and black wizards hat.
A new fire burned in her eyes, and it was more than just excitement. Kadance looked deep into my eyes, but unlike Kyra, this look was filled with burning passion.
The two of us held gazes for a moment that felt like an eternity, but when she looked away, I wanted more. Kadence took place on my other side, giving me more breathing room than Kyra.
Harmon was the last one to step forward, but I had to pull my arm free from Kyra. After she unlatched from me, I put my hand on the spear that Ganth had made before speaking.
"So, last, but so far from least, Harmon!" I said loudly with a smile, but then warned everyone, saying, "Close your eyes everyone, it's about to get bright!"
I made sure I gave Harmon an introduction because I knew that's what they wanted. I got a fancy curtsy in return, with his hand out.
I took it to play along, and Harmon burst with light, way more than the others and longer. I wasn't sure what was different this time, but it might have just been because their magic was already strong.
When the light cleared, I couldn't believe my eyes. In my hand wasn't a man's hand; the hand shrunk.
"No, Fucking, Way…" Slipped out of my lips as I stared at the gorgeous female in front of me.
'Holy shit, where did the girl come from?' Gripton exclaimed from out of nowhere, startling me enough to break my near drooling stare.
'HEY! About damn time you got back here! Where have you been?' I shouted at incompetent god that had popped back in my mind.
'Just be glad that I came back, you ungrateful brat! New text was appearing faster than I could read, and new pages were being filled out so I had to stay and study them!' Gripton growled.
'And?'
'It's crazy. Why was this magic even available? The stronger the desire of those touched, the stronger the boost. On top of that, you can reforge the contract one time using your left to break the first one. If you do this, they will get a completely new magic, but if you break the second one, they lose their magic forever!' Gripton explained.
I was having trouble comprehending what all of this meant, so I just replied with, 'That is crazy!'
'So is this girl waving her hand in front of your face!' Gripton mentioned, and I realized that I had let my mind wander.
"Hello? Hyde? Did my change stun you that much?" Harmon asked in a female voice, but then said, "One thing didn't change!"
Harmon lifted up her new dress to flash us with her penis that was still there. That snapped me fully back to reality, and I looked away in shock.
Well, that does it! Now I don't need to eat for another day. Speaking of food, I was starting to get hungry.
"Put your damn dress down, ya weirdo. Well, that's that, now let's see what ya got! Show me da magic!" I shouted as the girls came back to both latch on to me this time.
Harmon declared that it was only right that they went first. I didn't argue in fear of getting flashed again.
Ganth handed one of the spears he had been working on. I had planned on handling the one in front of me, but the girls had latched on to me before I had the chance.
"From now on, I want you all to call me Harmony! I might not be fully a woman, but that is how I feel!" Harmony shout in declarations to all of us.
"Sure, I will call you that, and refer to you as a woman if that's what you want. You are all free to be what you want, and what other people think doesn't matter. I want to create a place that everyone can live without fear of judgment or hate. I am sure that sounds impossible, but so was the possibility of your magic ever improving!" I told them all, looking at each one of them as I did.
Everyone nodded in agreement, but then I put up a hand for Harmony to wait. She was about to throw the spear, but it had just hit me what that meant.
"I am sorry, but I am going to have to ask you to wait. Even if you throw the spear into the sky, it will make a loud noise strong enough to be heard for miles around! If you throw it in any direction, I am sure that you will probably cause untold amounts of damage," I explained, and Harmony looked disappointed, but then grinned at me.
"That means even you are scared of how strong I have become! Mwahaha!" Harmony cackled as she walked over to stand beside Ganth, who was also smiling.
The two of them must have been friends before this, or maybe even more. Whatever they did was their business, and I wasn't the type to judge.
'That was a good call on your part. The power that she wields now could level an entire village with one throw! That kind of power isn't meant to be played with,' Gripton mentioned, and I agreed.
'Yes, but now I know how to make them stronger! The key will be trying to figure out what each person wants,' I replied.
'Oh? I guess I see what you mean, but wouldn't just getting them to focus on the magic they have be better?' Gripton asked, but I mentally shook my head no.
'I am sure that would work, but I think we can take Harmony's transformation as an example. I am sure that the first four wanted their magic to be stronger, but I don't think Harmony wanted the same,' I explained.
'Hm, you might be onto something. I guess that a person's true desire could be the key to unlocking greater potential,' Gripton replied appreciatively.
'Yeah, but first, what do I do about the cat humping my leg?' I asked, looking at the sexy little cat-elf rubbing up on me.
Kyra was cute, and if we were alone, I might be more receptive, but there was things that needed to be done. There was also another girl on my other arm!
'Do you have to ask?' Gripton asked, laughing at me.
'Don't play stupid with me, old man! How do I get her off me?'
'Off? Didn't you say before that you were gonna get all the bitches?' Gripton accused me, but now was not the time!
'Listen here, pervert! Just because I don't know about women doesn't mean shit!' I growled.
'Try ignoring her?' Gripton suggested as my heart started to pound hard like a piston threatening to burst from my chest.
I tried to walk away from her, but that made Kyra wrap her arms around me. Then she started to climb up onto my back and my face started to get hot.
This was not helping.
'BWAHAHA!' Gripton cackled as I was mounted.