Evolution part 2

Chapter 87: Evolution part 2

/An arch has opened up in Stormbraver. It appears to be low-tiered, standing in the middle of the noble's quarter. As per the analysis of the Mages' Guild, it is a temporary one, perhaps at the level of a rift. Not approaching a tear yet, luckily.

Many forces are outside the city dealing with regular occurrences as of right now, but a small adventuring party is currently performing the second scouting. If they do not return within 4 hours, we will launch a rescue operation, spearheaded by me.

The first scouting has given us some information. The area inside seems to be highly arid and hot, resembling a desert, yet the floor is not made from sand but rather dried and cracked soil. A little further in, a valley of crystal could be seen. Due to the low level, it is being assumed that the crystals are salt, rather than any magical material. We are waiting for confirmation of this intel.

There has also been a short sighting by the first scouting, but combat was avoided, as the troops were not prepared to engage. The monsters seemed to be large insectoids, thus we are expecting enemies resistant to heat, piercing and slashing, largely insectoids with chitin plating, such as redsting scorpions, which were sighted.

We have also considered and prepared the second scouting unit for the appearance of monsters such as leeching locusts and giant desertworms, though these are on the worse end of expectations. I will make a second report when further gathering of information has been completed./

A report by "lightfoot" Avery Beckham, submitted and sent to the general godseeker management center for northern Damoy.

- - - - - -

[Level Up!]

Heh? What was this all about? Perhaps it was time to ask an old friend once more. Appraisal?

[As mentioned before, experience is passively gathered whenever the individual does anything, extra experience is awarded for difficult feats, as well as for things that the individual wants to do.]

So what did that have to do with anything? He hadn't gone out of his way to do anything fancy, right?

[The decision to return back to the wilderness for introspection is a big one that aligns well with one of the individual's main quests. Thus, extra experience was awarded, and enough was accumulated to reach the level threshold. Please now pay attention to further notifications.]

Hey, what the heck, you can't just shut it off like tha-

[The individual has reached level 20. You are now eligible for evolution. Please choose one of the following:

Greater Zetraspa:

An evolved form of the Zetraspa. These are more resilient to any kind of weather conditions, and their mental faculties are improved. Some are able to instinctually use magic to regulate body temperature. They have been observed using a vast spectrum of communication rivaling that of young humans. Their physical ability has also increased, and some will now make use of simple tools to build themselves shelter.

White Ravager:

Featuring vastly superior size to most feline species in their evolutionary tier, white ravagers are physically powerful predators, looking very similar to tigers. Their claws are long and razor sharp, and their muscles are optimized for bursts of explosive power, making them good at finishing fights fast. However, their large energy expenditure does not leave a lot of room for extensive mental activities, as such, they rest for a large part of the day and often only think about what they will eat next.

Leyflen:

Leyflen are evolved versions of the Zetraspa adapted to living in forests. They maintain their small size, but their brains become larger. These usually live in smaller communities than greater Zetraspa, and strongly value their individual freedom, rarely commiting to deep relationships. They are self-sufficient and feature remarkable adaptability and self-improvement rates.]

Well, that was a lot. He wanted to give it a moment of thought, but just as he was beginning to debate in his own mind, the window suddenly elongated.

[The individual has shown great personal growth, beyond what can reasonably expected from their species. As more objectives and trials have been completed, a new species is being generated. Be warned that the future progress is unstable, as there has not yet been enough testing of this path, and quality consistency of evolutions may vary. Going down this path means that the individual will be required to show a great deal of improvisation and adaption, as there have been none treading here before.]

[The warning has been completed. Beginning generation of new Species. Success. Adding to options. Please choose one of the above or the following:

(Unique) Leyfal:

A unique adaptation to the usual Leyflen, the Leyfal comes with a few changes. Their average stats are overall very similar, albeit slightly lower. Instead, the Leyfal's adaptability has been heightened even further. Their affinity to various Skills is increased, and their general rate of gaining mastery is increased. A similar bonus also applies to abilities, which the Leyfal often are able to master slightly quicker than other species.]

[Running additional predictions on the species. Odds of positive development are high. Odds of stable lifespan seem below average. Redistributing. Physical stats will be lowered slightly to allow for stronger regenerative processes within the genetic material. Odds of stable lifespan are now high.

Calculating additional risks. Skeletal structure stable. Muscle composition stable. Nerval distribution stable. No conflict with other parts of the system, physiology stable.

Calculating signature evolutionary Skill. Extension of feline family detected. Unique anomaly detected. Weighing odds. Decision made. Evolutionary Skill split into two halves. Generating fitting Skill names. Completed. Skill profile stable.

Species stable.]

[The individual must now choose.]

... Yo what the fuck just happened?

Does the system want him to essentially fucking beta test a new species or some shit?

[Affirmative.]

...

...

How's future developement potential looking compared to other evolutionary paths?

[Calculations predict it to be above average. Calculating numerical value. Race eclipses average development potential of all other available, non-unique tier three species by 13.863275%.]

Would he die immediately upon taking the species?

[Chance of immediate death: 0.0002%.]

That's very low.

[It is higher than the average by multiple hundred thousand percent. Reducing the chance would require additional testing. Unique species detected. No further testing available at this moment. Odds may not change as time passes.]

Dude, when did <Appraisal> start working fucking overtime? That bastard still told him a tree was a tree a couple months ago and now was calculating exact odds of termination from evolution. Well, those 0.0002% were lower than the chance of him dying in a car accident on the way to work, so really, why not live life a little on the edge.

Alright, if the system already went through all the trouble of making a unique species for him, he might as well accept it.

"I'd like to choose the Leyfal."

[Unique species selected. Additional care will be taking during the evolutionary process. The system has decided to remove the user's physical body from harm for the time being. Please be patient as modifications are performed.]

[The individual is now evolving.]

For a moment, the light seemed to disappear around him, as he was moved into a dark space. Then, very gently, a tiny sheen of white light laid itself down on his body, and he could feel himself changing shape. His tail got a little longer, and so did his legs and his spine, though he also grew a tiny amount slimmer. his fangs seemed to get sharper, and his claws definitely did so as well.

But then, the evolution seemed to go on a little longer than it had last time. Even after the pulling sensation on his skin and bones stopped, and then even after he could no longer feel the inside of his head moving, the light still seemed to cling onto him for a couple of seconds. And then it grew to be what felt like minutes.

"System, is everything alright?"

...

...

[Performing extensively careful modification. Steps being performed slower than normally. Answers may lag due to lack of computational power.]

Well, this was awkward. Then again, Mercury definitely appreciated the care. This probably reduced the chances to even lower than what he had seen before, and if he was entirely honest, that did make him feel quite a bit more secure.

The last evolution really had gone by way too fast. Like, just chill for a couple seconds and boom, he was done? That was definitely way weirder than it taking a little while. Then again, if the system already did that same evolution on millions upon millions of mopaaw, he could understand why it didn't take too long.

Oh well, after just a couple dozen more minutes, he felt his vision return, as the world around him grew back to being colourful. A moment later, the light that had clung onto his body slowly dispersed, floating upwards into the sky. And looking at himself, Mercury felt that he had grown noticeable stronger. The muscles in his body felt quite a bit denser, and even his head felt much more clear than before.

As for external change, his ears were a bit more spiky and his tail was longer, maybe even more elegant. His paws had also grown quite a bit to make space for his larger claws, and the same went for his jaw and fangs. If locked in combat, he was definitely more effective right now. Status, perhaps?

Status:

Mercury Rainfall Starlight

Level: 1

Species: Leyfal

Titles: <Tenacious Genius>, <Forest Usurper>, <Tutorial Completer>

Alias: Beast, Mittens

===

Hp: 275/275

Mp: 657/657

Sp: 265/265

===

Strength: 57 -> 64 (+5)

Vitality: 57 -> 60

Dexterity: 49 -> 58 (+1)

Agility: 43 ->59 (+1)

Intelligence: 87 -> 92

Wisdom: 60 -> 67(+2)

Willpower: 69 -> 79

Luck: 25 -> 30

===

Ability points: 21

World points: 47

Skill points: 960

===

Gold: 863

Beast familiars: 1/2

Whoa, that was one sizeable upgrade! Hells yeah!

[Main Quest: "Growth" has been completed.]

[Reward: 10 Ability points, 500 Skill points, <Meditate> mastery, "Repel" rune, 1500 Gold.]

[<Meditation> has levelled up! <Meditate lv. 92 -> 100>]

[<Meditate> has met the necessary qualifications for evolution. Evolve?]

[Please see your new rune in the "runes" tab of the system.]

[New Main Quest being generated.]

-

[Main Quest: "Ihn'ar"

Condition: Get <Breath (low)> to <Breath (medium)> and acquire another ihn'ar related ability.

Reward: 12 Ability points, <Patient Learner> title, additional inventory slot, immediate increase in power for any growth-type equipment.]

-

[You have acquired the Skill <Fast Learner lv. 1> through evolution!]

[You have acquired the Skill <Enhanced hearing lv. 1> through evolution!]

Wow, okay, that was a lot. Was that everything for now? Because he'd genuinely need some time to process this.

First of all, Mercury looked at the sky. It was starting to get a bit late by now, and quite frankly, he didn't want to wait until the sky turned black to run off. Instead, he decided to walk while thinking things over. Well, walk might not be the term.

To see how his new musculature held up, Mercury decided to run, and when he did, he felt like a lightning bolt. He could definitely notice that he had slimmed down a little, he felt like he weighed only a tiny bit more than before, ye this power was much more explosive, and the air almost parted to let him through. It felt amazing, feeling the wind rush against him, and with his ears, he could more than hear it as well.

Talking about his hearing, it would certainly take some time to get used to. His spatial awareness was off the charts, and he had no trouble exactly pinpointing where a sound was from, which was honestly a little jarring. It was so much clearer now than back when he was still human, and even then his hearing had already been accurate. This right here was still on a whole different level.

But of course, that was far from everything. In addition to all those sweet little benefits, he could also feel his brain working overtime, filtering out where there was a mouse scurrying along the ground a couple leaps over even up against the wind. He even felt strictly aware of everything that went on within him, how his muscles coiled and relaxed, how his lungs heaved, and how his eyes darted around, he could feel it all. The entire experience felt much more real than he had ever done before.

And crazily enough, he didn't even get tired after quite some time of running. His physical form was now better than it had ever been, and the same went for his mental faculties. Mercury felt like a whole different person, and with how giddy he already was, he could help but give <Telekinesis> an attempt.

The results were crazy. His control was incredibly precise, and it still worked somewhat even when using two instances of it. With this, he had two fully functional ghost hands, ones that were maybe even more versatile than normal ones. Oh yeah, it was all coming together for him. Fuck yeah.

After exhausting some of his energy, Mercury decided to slow his random run down into a walk, still grinning like a madman. He felt strong, and it was just so fun, but he still had things to take care of. First of all, he wanted to evolve <Meditate>. Options?

[Evolution confirmed. Engaging. Please pick an option to evolve the Skill into. The price will be the same, no matter which you choose.]

[1. <Heightened Mana Regeneration>

2. <Heightened Mana Sensitivity>

3. <Precision Mana Control>]

Three options, all doing exactly what they said on the tin, huh? That sure made his decision no easier. Mercury shook his head a little in disbelief at that. Might as well take a look at them at the very least.

[<Heightened Mana Regeneration>: Aids the individual in condensing gaseous mana back into liquid form. Mana within the core will absorb magical energy much more quickly, and return to liquid form sooner. Also allows for easier creation of mana crystals.]

Mana crystal?

[Mana crystals: The solid state of mana.]

Oh. Well, that was simple at least. The Skill seemed handy, and since the evolved Skills still carried all the benefits form the basic versions, it's not like he would lose something, so it was certainly worth considering, though Mercury didn't exactly feel like this was the area he needed the most help with. Next?

[<Heightened Mana Sensitivity<: This Skill helps the user in sensing the differences between mana, allowing them to differentiate what triz carries more magical energy within it, and perhaps detect trace amounts of elemental affinities.]

Well, this Skill was definitely more mysterious than the first. Then again, he also didn't exactly know what he could use mana crystals for, whether those were inside or outside of his bodies, so there was also that. This one seemed pretty useful, but judging that he didn't know what half the things it did were about, he was a little hesitant to pick it. What was the last one exactly?

[<Precision Mana Control>: This Skill assists the individual in their control of mana. Both evaporating it to gain magical energy for personal usage, as well as simply manipulating it into different shapes will become easier and less taxing. The finer the amount of mana controlled, the more of a difference this Skill makes.]

And here was something he felt like he really didn't need. Mana fine control was something he was more than familiar with. He had absorbed nothing but individual triz of mana for like a dang year, so he felt pretty good about handling small doses of it. Well, that meant one of the Skills was out.

Thinking back to that absorption also made him think twice on the mana sensitivity Skill though. After all, he certainly remembered already being able to feel differences between the triz after a while, and just not being able to quite nail down what they meant. It felt like he would get better at that with experience, and didn't exactly need a Skill for it.

But mana crystals? Those he had never seen, nor even heard of, so quite frankly, it was suddenly the most interesting Skill to him. Well, <Heightened Mana Regeneration> it was.

[Evolution selected]

[The individual has acquired the Skill <Heightened Mana Regeneration> through Skill evolution!]

Alright, so that was finally finished. Mercury could definitely feel that something in his body was going faster, almost like his metabolism had sped up. It was pretty weird, but not uncomfortable.

Then all that was left now was... ah, right, <Fast Learner>. Appraisal?

[<Fast Learner>: This Skill allows the user to gain increased mastery for all Skills. Additionally, it helps them learn any subject matter faster. This includes increased memory capacity, more detailed memory, greater reproductive ability, greater ability for self-discovery of new skills, etcetera. As these bonuses are very widely spread, all of them are fairly slight.]

Finally, all was done.