Person was watching. There had been nothing for a while; a blankness as he had wandered next to Adam ignored for days on end. Then all of a sudden there was instead a desire to do more; to be more. With this awareness came the thought that the existence following and being used was not enough. A drive to be, to exist seperate and to surpass those around was born as well. For now though, Person watched.

With enough exp to level two of his skills Adam chose Transfer and Elemental manipulation. He glossed over the updates; Transfer catching his eye to come back and look once he had finished using his exp. His remaining points went in to increasing Sword Wielder to level 3, leaving him with a grand total of 18exp in the bank. The two attribute points earned giving him the perfect opportunity to jump from 12 to 14 recovery; skipping the number 13 that he had intentionally avoided.

With the allocation complete he looked once more at the update to Transfer

Transfer: Transfer Allows conversion of one [intelligent] being into a [follower]. Level Additional features 1 Can allocate Classes to followers 2 Can allocate Professions to followers 3 Can allocate a Divine Blessing for every five followers. 4 Common Ideology unlocked 5 Allocate a leader every ten followers of the same race 6 None 7 Teamwork unlocked 8 Unlock to reveal additional features

A new trait had been added. Teamwork gave his followers an increase in productivity or combat strength when working in a party with other followers.

Follower Traits: Trait Description Common Ideology Your followers will have a better understanding of each other and work better towards shared goals. Improves relationships between those of different races and cultures. Teamwork Followers working in a team have a 10% increase in productivity or combat strength and abilities.

Perfect, thought Adam. Closing off his menus as the vermite joined him around the fire pit.

"Good work on the inner wall Pa." Said Adam as he saw the scar-faced vermite appear to get some food. Pa nodded, a sense of satisfaction reaching Adam through the follower link. "Do you need any supplies for tonight?" He asked, delighted by the beam of excited surprise that appeared on Pa's face as he considered his answer.

Before he knew it Adam was being dragged round camp by his hand; Pa pointing out and making demands for tonnes of stone; piles of lumber and straw for roofing. He allowed himself to be swept up in the moment; caving to the demands by using Creation until his mana was drained. He left a disappointed Pa mumbling about needing a third tower to head back for some food and chat with Ma before heading to the mine for the evening.

He found Ma talking to Lei and waited to one side. She was explaining the changes that his Blessing had brought about. Adam watched as the look of confusion turned to delight as Lei understood the positive nature of the change.

"Should I have asked?" enquired Adam once Lei had left.

"No." Said Ma after thinking for a moment. "You are Adam, no need to ask. Also gifts are better when unexpected." She smiled.

He smiled back. "I see you found some more vermite to join the camp." He said; gesturing to the growing group that were already setting out on chores.

"Yes. That was the last family in the burrows that Ti found. I might go look in the caves but I think all the vermite are here now." Ma looked at him with a wry grin before continuing. "What skills are you after this evening?"

Adam grinned back and explained the Animal Husbandry profession before getting excited and sidetracked on Lei needing to make swords before the Sword Wielder class was much use. Taking a glance at the camp he stopped himself demanding another role and left Ma to choose how he could best use Transfer today.

"All the vermite are helping and they don't all need a profession; some would rather move from one thing to another. For example Pa doesn't do the building alone, he has a little group of three. Being a Builder makes him faster though and he has a better understanding of what is needed. There is another who goes to work with him every night, perhaps make him a Builder too so they can learn faster together." Said Ma. "Then we need another Archer; they can watch from the wall and protect us but also hunt and get food. Better than another Spear or Staff."

Adam used Transfer on the three vermite who Ma gathered before him. A petite female caled Ell gained Animal Husbandry and had the skill [raise] which would speed the growth of animals she looked after. Pel was now a builder under Pa but only having [fence] in his official repertoire had been duly sent by Pa to start at the beginning and learn each skill in turn. Ghi was the new Archer and bounded off to the archery butt to find Cade and get a bow.

One last chore, Adam explained Teamwork to Ma who was delighted by the implications. This done, he set off for the mine for what he hoped would be the last time.

Pointless and useless thought Person. Aimless was a better word. The system was there with all the guidance. Pick your strength and use the opportunities to improve it; hone it; become better at what you are good at. Instead Adam was flitting around. Person could do better. They watched and noticed the core of power inside Adam and gently drew some away towards them. The system would guide; take what was there to start and then pick a strength and grow.

Clearing the spiders and slimes had been easy. Teamwork was like a party buff, with the three vermite and Adam working together they were soon stood in the tunnel leading to the Great Slimes. Ti came up with the outline of the plan, she would use stealth and attract a few of the smaller level three slimes, then run back up the corridor where the group would be waiting to wipe them out. If she pulled a single Great Slime then they would take their chances. If it was both then they would retreat to the entrance with Adam using metal mana to hold them back.

The simple plan was complicated by Ti drawing only two slimes on the first attempt. These were easily dispatched and a second attempt was slightly more successful pulling eight slimes. This gave the group another opportunity to get used to the changes Teamwork had made to their combat capabilities. The third pull finally drew one of the Great Slimes and to Adam's relief only one not both.

They used the experience of the day before to outpace the Great Slime spreading out their foes. This cut down the numbers of level 3 slimes before attempting to fight the Great Slime. At the second pre-placed torch near the turn off to the spider nest Rai and Cae turned to form a frontline and hold back the Great Slime. Rai used thrust to knock back the Great Slime while Cae and Adam held back the few remaining smaller slimes. Then when it approached again they switched and Cae used thrust to push it back. Meanwhile Ti darted in putting extra pressure on individual slimes, dropping their numbers.

All able to finally direct their attention to the Great Slime Rai and Cae combined their attacks to slow its attacks; Ti moved around behind the creature to put pressure on from another direction and Adam used split which was the only offensive skill he had that could help. As with the first slime they encountered several days before the battle turned into one of attrition. Dodging the acid spilling from the Great Slime soon became more tricky as the wounds to the slime increased.

"Fall back. Fall back." Shouted Adam. Using a combination of metal and air mana he pushed at the Great Slime to give them time to retreat. Rai and Cae stepped back; both sporting acid burns on their arms and the front of their jerkins. They moved swiftly away as Adam waited for Ti to move round the Great slime, using the side tunnel to skirt around the pool of acid that had formed around it. Her new boots protected her from the splashes as she ran through the acid to join the others.

The next stage of the fight saw Adam; Rai and Cae all taking turns to slow the Great Slime as they moved down the tunnel. As it started to look like a partly deflated balloon through loss of acid it became more erratic and quicker in its movements. Ti sustained an acid burn to her arm as her bracer failed to fully protect her and Cae was knocked over while trying to defend her. He lost HP, a large bruise forming on his thigh, but avoided the acid and ongoing damage it caused. As the slime shrank Adam could sense the metal better within it and found he could use his mana to manipulate the ore more. Two attempts to exploit this later he managed to push a piece of ore out of the Great Slime, a gush of acid leaving with it.

"Rai, cover me while I try that again." Said Adam, stepping back to build up his metal mana control once more. This time he grabbed two pieces of ore; pushing one and pulling the other. Both left the slime with a 'plop' and combined with the dagger and spear wounds was too much for it to maintain its integrity and it exploded outwards.

"Rai, watch out." Adam shouted pointlessly, knowing there was little the vermite could do to protect itself. At the same time he grasped at the only defensive spell he had developed and pulled hard at the water mana causing a barrier to form in front of the group.

The group of vermite were completely silent as they stood behind the shield of water Adam had formed to protect them. Acid split down the semi-transparent hemisphere for a few seconds before it all fell to the ground as the mana dispersed. Adam was as surprised as the others at his sudden instinctive use of the skill. While he didn't want the vermite to think too much of him; he had to be honest that it was quite nice to see the reverence in their gazes right now.

"Come on, let's get ready for the other one." Said Adam after a brief period of rest.

The acid from the Great Slime had been absorbed into the ground leaving little pock marks and a pile of ore lay where it had been defeated. They moved past this to collect later and made their way to the main cavern again.

Person explored the system while watching Adam. They needed to build on their strengths. That was what the system was designed to help with, but what were their strengths? Each of the vermite seemed to have a role; the two males defended and the female was sneaky and agile. Adam would defend; then attack. Moving from close combat to ranged. A physical attack was followed by magical. Person could feel the system appraise and approve of the use of two magical attacks back to back using different mana types. They sensed as a reward formed around Adam and was soaked in to his core.

The core was key thought Person; that was how they would know what power to develop; which direction to develop in. They felt their way towards the swirling powers within Adam along a small thread that led to their centre. Even distracted as he was Adam repelled Person's attempt to reach for the powers. So Person continued to watch, and to wait.

"Ti, I have an idea." Said Adam before they reached the cavern. "We need just a few of the smaller slimes to try it out."

She nodded and went once more to pull a few of the smaller slimes; easier to do now she only had to avoid one of the Great Slimes to do so. Soon she was stood back behind Rai and Cae who held back the slimes with their staffs. Adam moved in with his spear and punctured the nearest slime before moving back and using metal mana at the same time to pull the single piece of ore from the slime.

"Watch out; move back quick." He shouted to the vermite as he tried to pull the ore out of the slime's membrane. With a popping noise he succeeded the slime bursting as the ore left its interior. The acid splash was much smaller with the standard slime but it proved his theory that a cut in the membrane near the ore made pulling it out of the slime's interior easier. Three level 3 slimes later Adam was sure this tactic would help defeat the Great Slime, they just had to be careful of the acid.

The entire team tactics changed for the second Great Slime. Instead of trying to kill of the smaller slimes first Adam focused on the Great Slime and the vermite worked together to support him and hold back the others. Once Adam had pierced the membrane of the Great Slime he would use metal mana to force out one of the ores and the whole party would then rush away from the acid spill and regroup further down the tunnel to face the wave of slimes again.

With only three slimes left Adam used split to hit one of the smaller slimes at the same time as striking the Great Slime once more. He rolled to dodge out of the way as the Great Slime lunged towards him with surprising agility. Each of the larger wounds left by Adam's metal mana attack oozed acid with a damage over time effect on the slime. The longer the battle was going on the more likely they would win and with few injuries to show for it so far. An incessant beeping grabbed Adam's attention away from the fight and he glanced quickly to his watch to see the time was already 23:45.

He was out of time, the slime had to die. He leapt back towards the Great Slime, activating split once more and building the metal mana to pull out another ore. He had completely engaged the Great Slime's attention and in the moment between the physical and magical attack the slime pounced once more at Adam. The ore was wrenched from within the Great Slime causing a final gush of acid that Adam had no time to defend against. Instead he could only roll to one side to avoid the worst of the second wave of acid that came as the membrane of the slime finally burst.

140 HP suddenly seemed a pitiful amount as Adam lost 124 in one go by being drenched in acid. He lay panting by the side of the now disintegrating Great Slime wishing he could remain in place. Instead he willed himself to his feet; allowing the recovery power of his HP to heal the worst of his wounds. What started as a limping walk up the tunnel quickly turned to a walk and then jog. He knew his stamina was low so needed to reach and finish exploring the cavern before midnight. Then there was the question of how far he could get out of the mine before his stamina drained. He looked at the vermite who were cautiously following him; would they be enough to protect him through the night?