Several things went through Veil's mind as he was back into Lotus position in the meditation chamber. Firstly, he had somehow received an inheritance that could "RuLe ThE WoRlD and the rest of the freaking UnIvErSe...." Secondly, he had received some bonuses.
He recapped the news.
Druid Ring. Druid Mentor.
Message from Kubble: "Congratulations! You're a druid now. I guess I could call you a Druid Neophyte, but I have something better. Each of us druids gets titles given by their mentors until they can make one for themselves that is acknowledged at a Druid clan meeting. Might be a while. Until then, I decide. For now, your druid title is "Druid Young Butt." I consider you a mongrel, so it fits."
Innate Affinity: 'Primordial Energy.'
'World Assimilation Body' Special Mutation Trait.
'Emotional Contact Eyes' Special Mutation Trait.
Message from Kubble: "I've locked the ring to the proper finger on your left hand, young butt. You can put ki in it to turn the concealment function on and off. Now stop being a butt and get to work."
Spirit Cultivation Technique: 'Universal Growth Druid Body Art.'
Spirit Technique: 'Druid Assimilation Shapeshift'
Spirit Contract Technique: 'Druid Assimilation Link'
Spirit Ally: 'World Assimilation Hedgehog.'
Additional open soul contract slot.
Message from Kubble: "I know that you're currently on the run. Only trust yourself and those who have already proven themselves to you. The druid techniques that I have just taught you are far from the knowledge of this world. However, if anyone learns of them and shares that information with anyone who is in the know, you will die, most likely alongside Faera and the nearest 12 worlds. Probably a few more, too. Basically, anyone remotely close to you for the entire time you've lived, as viewed by the current masters of the universe.
You can use the concealment of the druid ring to go invisible, but this won't always work. You can also use the 'Druid Assimilation Shapeshift' technique to change your body to fit anything you've assimilated with. While your soul has already fully 'assimilated' the body you are in now, additional transformations are only possible once you reach a high tier of affinity with those transformations.
For example, to truly turn into one of your soul allies, you have to draw on their power using the technique. The closer you are to them, the closer the transformation becomes. If a druid spirit master as a Wolf Beast spirit ally, then upon first contracting it they might grow wolf ears. As they get closer to their spirit ally they'll begin to grow sharper teeth, a longer mouth, and fur. But they'll still look like a wolf/human hybrid: a werewolf. It won't be until they reach a full assimilation level that the druid would be able to turn into a wolf.
As you are now, you can only turn into yourself. But 'yourself' exists on multiple levels. You are old, you are young; you are fat, you are ripped; your bones are broken, your body is whole. A true druid can manipulate their body to such a fine degree that every condition they have ever been, or could be, is in the present. Keep this in mind.
The 'Universal Growth Body Art' is the ultimate druid technique. Only those of us with the most promise practice it. Not only do you have the aptitude, you're also the only one I know of learning it. So it makes sense to give it to you. No one else can learn of it. Those who do must die. If you give this technique to another, you will die. End of story. But congratulations on getting it! it's one of the rarest techniques in the universe!"
Veil shuddered. The killing intent emitted from the ring was fully palpable.
"The 'Druid Assimilation Link' is the contract technique we druids use. Simply put, it's better, stronger, and matches our skills. You can use it to contract any pets one tier above you, However, it also boasts one other feature: it can be used to 'link' without 'contracting'.
Once you 'link' to a potential spirit ally, or spirit being, it will become fully loyal to you. The catch is that, depending on the level of the spirit being, it will cost you a constant amount of soul energy. You can't feel soul energy at your current tier. However, it still exists. Basically, you should only link with small, low-bloodline tier-0/beginner tier-1 spirit beings at the moment, and you should stop as soon as you even remotely feel tired.
The good news is that after you initiate the link, the linked spirit being will slowly feed the soul power back to you on a rather exponential scale. Every time they tier up, the soul power that's pushed back to you will grow larger. You should be aware, however, that a linked spirit being is also uncontractable by others. In our honor and respect for the world around us, a druid will hold himself accountable for every spirit being he links to.
Because of this ability, I highly recommend going to a place where you can form links with a large number of low-level creatures, and forming or finding a small world that you can claim for yourself.
Speaking of Links and contracts, each time you tier up I was planning on giving you a spirit ally as a necessity. I was a tad bit worried you might be upset. But now, you have two slots each tier, so I really don't care.
This time I've given you the World Assimilation Hedgehog. You've guessed it, it has the World Assimilation Body. However, it is a lower lifeform. As such, it can suck an affinity from the world around it and represent it with one of its spikes. While it is doing this it will be unaffected by the affinity it inhales. The spike can then allow it to use the power of the affinity (up to the limits and quantity of the inhaled affinity). Alternatively, it can shed the spike to turn it into an evolution treasure.
While you cannot do this in public, the World Assimilation Hedgehog can. It's a rare beast, but it's not actually banned from existence. The World Assimilation Hedgehog also has a slightly more powerful assimilation, as it can assimilate to the top of its great tier. You, on the other hand, can only assimilate affinities at your same tier. Or at least, near enough. Much like spirit beasts, only eat what you can handle.
I gave him to you as a front. Use the hedgehog to assimilate the world in public, and assimilate the hedgehog in private. Congratulations. You're welcome. Have a nice day."
As Veil pondered his new abilities and the potential name for his new Spirit Ally, he began to plan around two of the things he could use at the Golden Alliance College. While he didn't want the GAC looking over his shoulder, he did want their numerous small worlds, as well as their school credits shop. You could generally find better bargains with school credits than you could ever find at an auction, which is where most high-profile items are found. These two things were the foundation of the GAC. Without them, the school could go on; but with them, the school covered their entire expenses.
"Sender!" The voice continued. Eventually, it was done. "MASTER!" Nano yelled.
Veil was shifted from his thoughts. "What?" He asked, mumbling.
"Sender, there is a priority threat to your life. I recommend evacuation."
'Wait, what?' Veil thought. "Tell me what's going on."
"Sifting through the files at the Golden Alliance College, I have found multiple sources and can credibly confirm collusion between the lowlife Julian, the man known as Richard Jamieson, and an outsider who has put a large amount of money down as a bounty on your head. I am running traces on the identity of the outsider, but for now it will take some time and effort, even for me. Keep in mind, Richard Jamieson has left the premises of school grounds. Based on the information on his personal devices I assume that he will be back in approximately two hours."
Veil was somewhat stunned, but he was used to it. Backstabbing was the heart of his last life. Why should it not be present in this one. More so, though: if he could find the identity of this person, and the reason why Julian and Richard were after him, he could learn why his parents were killed. While the butterfly effect was present now, it wasn't before. Things were mostly coincidental to his last one- but only as far as people were concerned. The places, organizations, and things, the how: were very different.
"I am continuing the trace and have an avenue out as long as you can keep yourself concealed."
"Nano," Veil interjected, "I have learned an new skill for shapeshifting. I would like to stay around this school at the least, but to do so I'll need to exit swiftly and safely. Can you give me an identification token so I can come back as part of your plans?"
"Recalculating. If Sender shapeshifts into another form, I can use my credentials on the school database to create an identity for the shape-shifted form."
Veil went to the bathroom and began to shapeshift. He was now in his 26 year-old form. He made sure to add a fair amount of sinewy muscle. Since it was a photo id, he kept his hair short and made sure not to add any to his face.
Looking at himself in the mirror, he was very pleased.... He then tried to put his clothes on, but they didn't quite fit. So he lost some muscle and got a bit skinnier. 'I wonder...' He looked down. 'It works! I'll turn it back for now.' He began to redress. Satisfied with his shapeshifted persona and the fit of his clothes, he responded to Nano. "Okay, I'm ready."
"Picture edited. What is your registered pet?"
"Hedgehog, Mysterious type."
"How old do you wish to be?"
"24." For a guy, it made sense to be a couple of years younger than you look, right? Maturity is cool.
"Where are you from?"
"Omuha, Cornlands." When he awakened, he regained the memories of his life on Faera. 'Transmigrating is the same across the board.' If asked, he could share a decent amount of knowledge about the place. Enough to get by, at least.
"Name?"
Veil thought on this one. "Warren Denunya." He decided.
"How many credits do you want?"
Veil gawked. If Nano was asking this, then... "What is the upper limit?"
"There is none, However, I recommend only adding enough not to raise suspicion."
"Then, give me the most you can within that frameset."
"...I have created a new identification for Sender as 'Warren Denunya,' a free-roaming trial teacher. While you will not have to teach, you are registered as a teacher and have the privileges as such. You can also get paid as a substitute. You will have to teach again next semester, but I can override the classification at that time. I have also created a background social profile, including schooling and doctored medical records.
I now recommend leaving as fast as you can. Here is the plan I have formulated. The spatial coordinates for this location are hidden within the school database. This location is actually buried underneath the school and is a wake-up location for newly awakened Spirit Masters, normally used for privileged elites."
'He lied!' Veil thought. He was now more aware of the level of duplicity Richard could handle. It deserved more than just a pat on the back. Knowing he'd have to play the game, he shapeshifted into a 60-year old man.
"Nano, add this identity to the school with plausible randomized values and continue."
"Done! I can hijack the school's portal to send to coordinates pointing to your location. I recommend we work as fast as possible. There are six portals. Five of them are currently in use. The sixth is currently undergoing maintenance. Using one of the five could cause the deaths of those using it, and there is a person standing watch over the portal. As for the other portal, there was a tier 1 poison-affinity leak that got stuck on the floor. As such, two students are cleaning it as punishment for calling a teacher to the office and casting a student into an illusion."
"What was the illusion?"
"The student wouldn't tell. The reason he gave the disciplinary department was, 'It would hurt my reputation.' Apparently it was vicious enough that he left the school for a short while."
"Who are the students.?"
"They are listed in the database as Sia Alexandra Warsaw, and Miya Honea Kruschnikov. Miya's parents are millionaires, but have no influence on the outside world other than some stakes in small businesses that keep with their spending habits. Miya has shown a kind character to those around her, and has high enough grades and a figure to be known as the fourth-ranking school belle. Sender has met her before on the most recent bus ride. Miya is also the cousin of Sia Warsaw.
Sia is the daughter of the prominent businessman and politician, Mr. Xander Warsaw. She has entered the school as a freshman just this year. According to the school, she did not wish to be heir to her father's fortune.
Mr. Warsaw's files are currently unaccessible. Additionally, Sia is listed by students as the number 1 school belle. According to the school belle fanbase she has never dated anyone as known by the authors. She wears a necklace with a small stone on it. Nobody knows the stone's origin. I recommend that Sender does not go near her for the time being, as that may cause political and potentially life-threatening issues."
"That'd be a problem." Veil said. "I'm the one who gave her the stone. So, I guess... At this point in time... She's still my fiancee." His sheepish grin portrayed it all.
"Re-running algorithm due to high plausibility. It appears that Xander Warsaw is the one who put the hit on Sender. Recommending deep cover as person Xander Warsaw has an AI assistant near my level. ...To clarify, it is still below my capabilities."