[Shifter] class... it felt... weird and with that skill... it felt more like a carrot being dangled just out of reach. Especially now when the only shifting I was capable of would happen if I was surrounded by girls or something. An impossibility on a ship filled with male individuals. They were people as Jel called but most had seemed to be more like me more partial abominations of humans or some sorta mythical animals part random fish. Talking underwater was tricky but my [Clear Communication] skill made it so I could talk with Jel really easily even with the medium of water making things tricky.
"Ah yes, I used a number of techniques to make my MerJellyfish shift itself into a more aesthetic area. Looking like this more people are willing to let me heal them. I can see your unease around other Mer or even looking yourself in the mirror so I bet you could imagine how looking nicer opens doors."
"About that... how hard are those treatments?"
"It's less hard and more time consuming... I'd also need a few alchemical potions, but with my [skills] and Jellyfish aspect it's far easier for me to do it. Still even if I discounted my work it'd still cost a few gold at least."
Then we continued with the journey while crew came in as Jel gave them checkups, did a few quick fixes here and there, and because of my [Lesser Insight] I began picking up some more subtle nuances... Such as Mer people were a pain to diagnose the proper procedures for. The base species + Mer species and then FINALLY [skills] made dosage really tricky especially with more combat type [classes]. Have a Minotaur with a whale mer and [poison resistance] and [greater endurance]? Well good luck using most medical treatments outside of a healing potion or healing gel. Likewise treating a halfling with an anchovy mer needed to be given small doses to prevent overdosing... which could present other issues. [Lesser Insight] also told me that outside of chronic issues which needed a more constant treatment the solution to most ailments could be fixed with healing potions/gels. Most people used straight up potions, but considering we're underwater some [Alchemist] mers managed to created a thick gel to make underwater consumption/application possible. It was a good healer that could find other ways and possibly save on costs.
As the Journey continued there were two main developments, the obvious one was that I was getting good at being Jel's assistant and by the end of the Journey well...
[Assistant] Level up: Level 10
Class Upgrade: [Assistant] -> [Medical Assistant]
Skill Obtained: [Tool Quickswap]
Skill Obtained: [Aspect of Master: minor]
[Tool Quickswap] was simple. I use it and I swap a tool I held with another one that was nearby. Useful if Jel needed a number of different tools and I knew which one he needed. [Aspect of Master] though... it was just minor, but it let me copy a bit of Jel. Maybe a bit of knowledge to help see how he thought, perhaps a bit of his grace... or...
It happened when I had some time alone and wondered if... "[Aspect of Master]" I whispered to myself as I felt a tentacle grow out of my shoulder. It was like Jel's... in a sense his... Becoming a woman I may have developed a crush on Jel, and... Masturbated a bit with his tentacle I got from the skill. I canceled it quickly but... I was a bit of a tf fetishist before I came here and... While the clownfish sea abomination thing didn't do much for me... turning into a woman became a lot less scary after I figured out there was a way to return to being a man and... Now I had tentacles... a tentacle but... I went to sleep a bit red in the face.
[Shifter] Level up: Level 8
Skill Obtained: [Flexible body: minor]
Skill Obtained: [Influence transformation]
I nearly woke up right from that... I had talked to Jel about levels and while low level it still took me a good week of hard work to get [Assistant] to level 10. While the [Shifter] class was low level, it was harder to level since I already had levels from [Assistant]... but just masturbating to a tentacle had gotten 7 levels?!? that [lust] bonus... perhaps it was added to my [Shifter] class because... I felt transforming was a bit sexual? At the very least creating a tentacle to fuck myself with was probably sexual. But now... well I wasn't a rubber man, but my body was slightly more bendable... I could more easily get things from smaller cracks and crevices, but [influence transformation]... that was exciting if it meant what I thought it meant... it was a low level skill in a low level [class] so far so probably nothing too intense but... I looked to my small breasts... Perhaps if I did shift from female to male I could make my male self more handsome or muscular? and if I went back maybe I could make myself more busty?
The following day we docked in Second Cross, and the city was large and only somewhat anchored to the sea floor. By magical anchors. Supposedly if needed the city could be moved or even surface. There were plenty of [Wizards] and [Aeromancers] Who made sure there was breathable air inside the city, but that didn't stop [hydromancers] and the like from enchanting rivers of salt water to flow through the air like highways of sorts. This was a magical city... I went back into Jel's office and said "Sad we can't stay here forever..."
Jel was packing some things when I returned and asked "I mean, I do take calls from outside but my main office is in the city."
"...I thought you were the [healer] of the ship?"
"I just got free transportation for doing checkups on the crew and some minor healing. If they wanted anything major they'd pay extra. Now would you assist me in packing things up so we can get home?" That I did, and it took awhile but... There were a lot more Mer like Jel in the city who had managed to merge with their fish a lot more cleanly... or aesthetically... "About half were born Mer and the other were able to pay for services from [healers] like me." Jel explained "And if your about to ask about Mer inheritance rules... that's a bit beyond me." It was exciting, and while Jel's actual office felt a bit more medieval in a sense... his body had most of the "medicines" he used, and there was a lot more magic. More actual healing crystals and less tools to cut into someone's body which was a lot more risky. Usually only done to remove something like an arrow head than to do organ surgery or transplants which were unheard of. Jel had actually asked "Do you think someone can live without a heart long enough for me to stitch another heart in them, and where exactly would you expect me to find a working heart?" Still now I had a wage of a few silver and a place to live... I could work, level, learn, and get enough to... [shift] a bit more...