545 Exp available, 22 cycles till next payment

  My stomach feels bloated. Pamulur out and probably asleep. Zelda squirms a bit but settles. She opens a vid on training her Int stat. Seems there are various puzzle games. She sends a message to Grant about them.

  Mail Notification: Reply to Int training games?

  Afraid these games are all based off of personal licenses. You will need to purchase your own. It's about 5,000 exp for a 10-20 trainer. I suggest the ‘Gixby Int’ series. Allow me to elaborate on your other stats.

  I do not suggest trying to spontaneously earn Will stats. They mainly focus on enduring mental stress, which for you will progress your condition. Instead use your level ups.

  The planet will help you reach around 25 for Str and Con. Agi is always raisable with a bit of dodging practice with an individual that has at least a comparable Agi stat. Which currently includes the entire crew you are with. Just don't let Pamulur catch you. Her last missive was rather long and distressing.

  Grant Pinok Yester the 3rd

  Zelda grimaces at the price tag. She was no longer bleeding exp other than compound interest, but neither was she earning a great deal of it either. The mana core she was creating should be usable for crafting. But she had no training nor was the core complete. Her mid section twisted again. What is going on?

  Zelda discomfort only grows as the morning passes.

  -----

  Pamulur walked into the med bay to find Zelda sitting cross legged on her bed with her sheets over her lap. Zelda eyes the doctor with a great deal of suspicion. The doctor pauses.

  “Are you alright there, Smith?”

  “Fine, fine.” Zelda shifts a bit, drawing her legs up to shield her lap. The moment Pamulur gets closer, Zelda agitation grows. Must protect.

  Pamulur steps back and opens a new screen. It shows Zelda clutching her stomach, then squatting. The doctor sighs. She gives Zelda a withering glare. It's returned by Zelda.

  The bunny speaks to the clearly mentally compromised Zelda, “You recognize me as your primary medical provider, correct?”

  “Yes…”

  “Then you would in turn want me to verify your clutch is healthy, yes?”

  It takes longer for Zelda to respond, “...Yes.”

  Pamulur simply stretches her hand out, eye contact maintained. It takes a bit more grousing but Zelda removes the sheet from her lap. She hands over a mainly brown with black dots egg. It requires both hands. Zelda watches close as the doctor scans the egg.

  “Two kilograms in the current gravity and unfertilized. Do you plan to continue trying to incubate or try to fight the instinct. I hear Dragon eggs require three years before they hatch. Though clearly not a true Dragon egg, being far too small, I don't know when your instincts will reject the egg.”

  Not fertilized. Of course it's not. But my baby. Zelda pupils expand and contract. She struggles with instincts she only just gained. It's not fertilized. I need to protect it. I'm not sitting on a dud. I must…NO.

  +1 Will

  Will is now 14

  “Is there any value in her…it.” Zelda murmurs, and she grips her temples with one hand.

  Pamukur watches Zelda warily, “Research, I am sure Grant is more than willing to pay for it.”

  “YOU'D HAVE ME SELL MY…no sorry, right. Could you store it or at least break my line of sight? I'm having a hard time thinking.” Zelda shakes as she says it.

  “Sure.” The doctor places the egg in a deep drawer for the moment. The drawer shuts and Zelda's agitation reduces. “So?”

  “I'll send a message to Grant…am I going to continue laying these monthly?”

  “I don't know enough to be honest, Zelda.” The doctor steps forwards and begins scanning her. She looks to the side for a moment then addresses the now eggless hen, “You need to eat more prior and after this. Your body used a great deal of your reserves to make that egg. I should have enough data to see the signs next time your body plans to make another.”

  Zelda struggles a bit but she sends the mail.

  Mail Notification: Reply to Selling my … Egg

  5000 exp per?

  Grant Pinok Yester the 3rd

  The author's tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

  Accept Counter Offer Decline

  Exactly what I need for my training game…Is he being generous or am I being fleeced? Damn it. I don't want to ask around. It's hard enough to get myself to even send a message about it.

  Zelda squeezes her eyes shut and mumbles, “Is five thousand a fair price for…”

  Pamulur looks up from her tablet, “For an omelet?” Zelda eyes snap open and glares at the green bunny, “Sorry, you could get more but that would require you to find a buyer. Do you want that level of attention? You're not exactly equipped to protect yourself.”

  Big enough target with my eyes. Zelda pushes accept.

  +5000 exp for Private Trade

  Pamulur receives a message. A moment is spent on a reply. Then she looks back at Zelda.

  “Big breakfast, no combat for today. Leave your sword and shield. Changes are negligible. Have you finished your core yet?”

  “No, doctor.” Zelda says sullenly. She condenses her mana again.

  -----

  “Could we go to the skill shop?” Zelda murmurs, fearing her attention. They were walking from the copy of the cafe. The cat hadn't asked why Zelda had requested seconds nor thirds.

  The cat turns to the girl, a glint in her eye. “Oh pet, fancy a bit of window shopping?”

  Zelda does her best to look small, mincing her hands, “I need to go buy an Int trainer.”

  She considers her for a bit, “I know we hadn't killed enough for one of those yesterday. So tell me pet, where did you find additional exp? I just finished filling your gluttony on the assumption that you were broke.”

  Zelda winces as her heart clenches, “A private trade.” I whisper.

  The cat woman studies her closer, Zelda prays to Gods she is quite certain she gave up on after fleeing her home. Please don't pry more. She gets a reprieve when Dagnit replies, “Sure, let's go get you fleeced.”

  She leads her down the boulevard. Frankie and Flocks were heading elsewhere. They entered the shop that was laid out exactly the same as the one where Zelda had bought Zip. Instead of space magic corner, Zelda follows Dagnit who walks over to the sign that says trainers. The Int ones are all in small cases. She picks one up and hears a bit of movement in the box. She looks at Dagnit.

  “Make sure it's rated to your species, they are printed on contact lenses.”

  That would have been an embarrassment. She looks to the side of the box and finds it unreadable. Many of the others are in languages she can't read. Ah, this one is in Insectoid. She sees the efficient scratches of the bug people. Their spacing is always so compact.

  “Grant had suggested Bixby but I don't…” Zelda trails off.

  Dagnit grabs a box, puts it back then grabs another and hands it to her, “Do you have a reading implant?”

  Zelda shakes her head which causes the cat to take it out of her hands and put it back on the shelf. “All of these are worthless then.” Zelda frowns, “Can't exactly train your mental reflexes if you don't understand what you're reading, pet.”

  “How much does the implant cost?” Zelda asks, dreading the answer.

  “Twenty thousand, for most languages. Might be more since your language is new.” Cat says without any hesitation.

  Zelda pales and murmurs, “I sold my egg for nothing.”

  Cat eyes widened, Zelda sighs and goes to explain. Dagnit stops her, “Not here, pet.” The cat looks to the side for a moment.

  Mail Notification: Don't tell others.

  There are plenty of myths and the like for Dragon eggs. Aside from just hatching their own personal pet they say you can get permanent stat boosts from eating one. Some even claim aspects can be granted by such. I have no idea if any of that is true or true about yours but it's best you don't reveal you are laying them.

  It is Zelda's eyes turn to widen. She gets a nod of understanding from Dagnit. I sold my baby for too low a price…egg. Sold an unfertilized egg. She huffs out an annoyance.

  “Still leaves me unable to get a trainer.” Maybe next month, I'll only need to earn five thousand personally, and not buy anything else.

  “Soooooo, can I have the next one?” Dagnit asks, there is a bit of drool hanging from her mouth.

  Zelda rears back from the predator, she shakes her head in the negative.

  -----

  Zelda had returned to her med bay prison. She sent a message asking about him possibly buying her a reading implant. Instead of a reply a screen opened in front of her showing Grant.

  “No, and it's not because I am not willing to issue you more debt. A reading implant requires messing with your eyes which we are not even sure how they work. Have you perhaps thought about learning to read in one of the more common languages?”

  Zelda blinks at that. “I could, but that puts off training my Int stat.”

  There is a musical trill coming from Grant, “Zelda, your Int stat is low enough that learning a new language will count as training. There are some vids from the collection that will teach you.”

  Zelda frowns at that, “How can I learn a new language if I have an implant that auto translates everything I hear into english.”

  “Ah but you are learning to read a language, not speak it. In this case the vids are built around the assumption that your translator mod will guide you through definitions. Specifically they read the words out to you. It's not perfect but depending on which you choose it should be enough.” His eyes crinkle.

  “Any suggestions on which to learn?”

  “Astaros is pretty universal.” He thinks on that for a moment, “After you get a good grasp of that, I will ask Pamulur to adjust your implant to not auto translate Astaros for certain hours in a cycle. I think gaining that language over all would be advantageous to you.”

  Zelda frown returns, I'm going to give myself wrinkles. “Why?”

  “Your biology is changing Zelda, there is no guarantee that the auto translator implant is going to continue working for you. At least with Astaros you can learn more languages from there.”

  “I'm still going to have ears, right? It can't be that different.”

  It’s Grant's turn to frown, “A dragon is a creature that lives in space. There is no guarantee it even has the ability to hear. If it does, is it through an ear canal structure or do they feel vibrations through a different organ and understand sound from that? I am studying you to learn such. I will say this. There are no ear holes on the dragon heads that have been seen. Granted there could be a flap covering such but–”

  Grant continues on about his theories. Zelda wishes she wasn't wired to be awake at the moment. She instead tries to tune him out. It is only moderately successful. She starts browsing the vid catalog for Astaros primers. Finding one she looks back up at Grant who surprisingly is still going, not noticing her inattention.

  “Ummm Grant, thank you for answering my questions. I'm sure you're busy.”

  Interrupted, he blinks at her, “Ah yes, quite. May your studies go well.”

  The screen winks out. The Astaros primer vid opens. Symbols on the screen appear. They change colors as a voice says what they are. It starts in the right corner and flows downward. Wasn't expecting how they write to be so different, shit, I need to pay attention. She goes back to the beginning and focuses on the words that light up.

  “Jark run here now.” Zelda eye twitches. “Jark run there now.” A headache forms. “Jark mirth at run.”

  I fear I choose a bit too simple of a primer. Zelda settles in for the incredibly basic life of Jark. Could have at least provided pictures.