6 First Evolution and Magic!

By the time John reached the teleportation zone, the sun was beginning to set, and as he felt the light drain from the world around him, he felt an immediate sense of dread that woke him from his post-meal stupor.

'Let's get out of here, Mel,' said John as he tapped his four feet on the exact spot he had been teleported to in the first place. 'I don't like how this place feels at night.'

[Commendable foresight. At night, it is true that more predatory species roam these forests. You sense threat long before it is visible.

Then I shall now initialize the Teleportation…]

John felt rainbow light envelop him, completely drowning out his vision, and then nausea hit him again as his body felt the effects of teleporting again. It felt like he was constantly falling, and the sensation was both uncomfortable and terrifying.

But it only lasted for a few seconds, and when it ended, John found himself spat out inside of his cave, falling from several meters up and crashing into the hard, rocky ground below.

'Ow! Could you make the landing any better?' complained John.

[Not so] said Mel simply. [The teleportation operates off of two affixed points. Once they are fixed, they cannot be changed.]

John sighed, but if he could smile, he also would have.

Despite the dangers of this world, he felt proud of himself for having accomplished this much. He could already reach the next evolutionary stage.

And it had just been one day!

Already, John felt his body warming up, starting to uncomfortably itch all around as his body fully digested all the Essence he had devoured, ready to shed his old skin for something new.

'Mel, how do I evolve?' asked John.

[You are already feeling the sensation of evolution overtake you. Simply allow it to wash over, and the Molting process will begin] said Mel.

John closed his eyes and did as Mel said, focusing on the heat inside of him and letting it overtake him. He felt relief from it, the same type he would have felt from a nice, hot shower after a long day back on earth.

He opened his eyes to find that his body was…glowing!?

His previously soft and green scales were now glowing a pure white.

That was not just it, either.

John felt his body get bigger. His muscles grew thicker, his bones elongated, his teeth grew sharper, and his claws grew longer. His body, wreathed in a layer of shining white, was growing in real time.

In just a few seconds, John found himself nearly twice as big as before!

As big as a fully grown adult man if he stood on his hind legs, and a great deal stronger, too. The proportions of his limbs became less stubby while his youthfully large and wide eyes started to slim down into the more typically angular and ferocious glare befitting a dragon.

>>>

*Evolution from Hatchling to Whelp achieved*

Current Evolutionary Stage: Whelp

Essence Level: 150/1000

Next Evolutionary Stage: Wyrmling

>>>

[Now do you wish to incorporate Origins from the creatures you have devoured?]

'Of course!' said John with unbridled enthusiasm.

After all, this was the reward for all he had gone through!

Tearing his leg muscles for that crab and getting poisonous thorns stuck in his tail.

All of it...for this!

[Then remember the battles you fought with the creatures. Remember the taste of their flesh.

Carve the memory of that victory into you and visualize what it is you desire from those you have felled. The images should resonate within you quite strongly.]

John began to realize that Mel was not actually doing anything for him.

To be fair, she WAS giving him useful information about this world, but his actual powers, she was only teaching him to learn HOW to use them.

Because in ten days, no, nine now, Mel would be gone, and John would be left all alone in this whole wide and new world full of dangers. It was a terrifying thought to think about, but he pushed it aside for now.

The present was far too dangerous to be worrying about the tomorrow so easily.

John followed what Mel had said and remembered how wonderfully savory the Mudclaw Crab had tasted.

Then, he visualized its shell. The brown, muddy shell that his teeth and claws could never hope to pierce. As he did so, he felt pinpricks of warmth around his body.

He noticed with some surprise that his scales were changing. As the white light shimmering from them died down, the green scales turned brown, and where before they were soft, they were now hard and thick like armor plating.

There were even more powers that John wanted from the crab, though. He closed his eyes and thought of the claws that would have easily crushed his bones and then the gills that let it swim freely under the water.

Like magic, or rather, because of magic, John felt gills growing around his neck in triple slits of feathery white, and the stubby claws on his legs became longer, thicker, and sharper, capable of cracking into rock.

>>>

Body Composition:

-Mudclaw Crab: 90%

>>>

John saw information emerge from his status.

'What is my Body Composition?' said John.

[The traits and abilities of the creatures you devour may manifest upon you, but at your fundamental core, your Origin is that of a Dragon.

Thus, you can only allot a certain amount of your body to foreign forms.

It seems that you have nearly maximized your body's capacity with the Mudclaw Crab's Origin.

This capacity will increase as you obtain higher evolutionary stages, though finding creatures worthy of scaling to your future draconic might may be difficult.

You have a small amount left for the Origin of another species, or you may choose to draw upon even more of the Mudclaw Crab. You may also readjust your composition entirely.

That is the beauty and flexibility of the Molting process.]

'I see,' said John. He twirled around, trotting on his legs, and felt that he was much heavier. His head was basically helmeted in the Mudclaw Crab's brown shell, making it much sturdier.

This was enough protection for now.

Even though John was bigger and stronger, too much shell armor might slow him down more than he would like. Currently, as he moved around, testing his speed, he felt he was at a good balance.

Instead, John closed his eyes again and thought of the Quill Ferns. Their sweet, cool, syrupy taste. Then, he remembered the black bulbs and the poisonous thorns they shot out. He willed those bulbs to grow on his tail, and they did.

At the tip of John's tail, six black bulbs emerged from gaps in the crab shell scales. Thorns with potent paralyzing agents were stacked in them, ready to be shot out at a moment's notice.

>>>

Body Composition:

-Mudclaw Crab: 90%

-Quill Fern: 10%

*New Skill Obtained*

-Thorn Spray (Tier 1)

Eject the thorns of the Quill Fern to afflict painful piercing damage to soft flesh. The thorns are laced with a paralyzing agent that in sufficiently high doses can cause internal organ failure.

-Limb Replacement (Tier 2)

The Mudclaw Crab's ability to regenerate lost limbs, though regenerating other body parts is not possible.

>>>

'What are skills, Mel? Tiers, too,' asked John as he curled his tail to his face, peering at the black bulbs. He could not manifest too many of them, but even with six, he figured he could take down creatures a good deal bigger than him provided he landed all of them.

And the Limb Replacement ability was one John had not known about but was more than happy to have.

John presumed there was a distinction between Skills and random natural things that living creatures could do, because otherwise having a Skill for something like breathing or walking made no sense.

[Skills are natural abilities derived from the Origin of creatures.

They are distinct from regular physical capabilities in that they require mana to maintain or activate.

They may be strengthened with additional mana as well, but only to a certain point.

The tier of a skill or spell determines its complexity and power output. Tiers range from 1 through 12, with higher tiers possessing exponentially more power than those beneath them.

The Core Ascension Grade of a creature will determine the upper limit power of their Skills. Thus, it is prudent to prune and remove Origin Skills from lower grade creatures as you ascend further.]

'I see. That seems pretty simple. Which reminds me, I don't think I've used mana or magic yet,' said John.

[Once you lock in your Origins and fully evolve into a Whelp, you will be capable of doing so,] said Mel.

'Okay then, I think I've got what I want. I want to finalize this form and get started on magic,' said John, also because he was incredibly excited to feel how using mana and magic was like.

After all, wasn't that one of the biggest perks of being reincarnated? Using stuff that didn't exist back on earth like magic!

[Are you certain? Once you set your Body Composition and finish the Molting process, you may not make alterations until you reach a successive Evolutionary Stage]

'I'm certain,' said John. 'I like how I am now. Mostly defensive, but I have to make sure I survive more than anything else.'

[Then simply will it so.

You are a dragon.

Soon, your will shall become akin to law, with none of the races of the Finalis able to oppose your desires.]

John could tell that the dragons of this world were just as prideful as they were depicted on earth, and he tried to get into that mindset.

His will was law.

Nothing could oppose him. Well, that was not true for now, but that was what he was working towards.

But then what would he use his will for? What was he going to do in this world?

Before he could fully reflect on that, John felt the light around his body dim down, and the heat and itchiness surrounding his body cooled. He felt a lot more comfortable in his new skin, or scales, rather.

And-

'Huh' said John as he felt two wings on his upper back, right below his shoulder blades.

They were small wings obviously not meant for carrying his weight, even without the crab armor, though he figured he could fan them out to glide if he had to.

Mel's voice rang in John's head. [Take care that the Molting process is done in a place of safety. For now, in this nest. In the future, when you may unlock Domain Magic, in your lair.]

'Right, magic. Mel, you said I can use mana now. Does that mean I can also use magic? Like the Domain Magic you're talking about?' said John. He trotted out to the mouth of the cave and watched night fall over this world.

He could see clearly through the night as it seemed that dragons had night vision, but he far preferred the light of the sun over the dark of night.

There was just something about the light that made him feel safe, secure, and confident.

[There are two types of magic native to this realm,] began Mel, and John prepped himself for the lecture.

[The first that you are now familiar with is Wild Magic. It is the evolutionary magic of the body, derived from the Supreme Father, and the vast majority of beasts will utilize this.

Skills can be considered the 'spells' of those engaging in Wild Magic.

To utilize Wild Magic is simple, for fundamentally, it is merely an expression of the physical body. All one needs to do is will mana into their actions.

The second type of magic is Arcane Magic.

All mana exists in this world and all others in this realm through a crux dimension called the Swirl.

The Swirl is governed by the Supreme Mother deity, and creatures compatible with it may carve inscriptions or words into the Swirl known as Arcana.

By then uttering or writing that Arcana in the physical world, great magical effects may be produced.

Utilizing Arcane Magic, however, is a more complicated and delicate task than the physically innate Wild Magic.

Arcane Magic requires both a connection to the Swirl and a thorough understanding of what each Arcana inscribed within means, for elsewise they merely became words or sigils with no significance.

In addition, certain Arcana are only compatible with certain beings.

Thus, Elvish Arcana may not be utilized by humans, nor our Draconic Arcana used by any else.]

'Interesting,' said John as he sat on his hind legs and put a clawed hand to his chin like a thinking human. So Wild Magic was more body based while Arcane Magic was more conventionally wizard like.

Wild Magic was innately easier to use while Arcane Magic was more complicated.

Kind of made sense when John thought about it. The Supreme Father he had met, that good for nothing senile Deus, fit the bill for sponsoring simple magic.

And yes, John still felt lingering bitterness about how Deus had royally screwed him up, but he was adapting.

'You mentioned Domain Magic too, Mel, and this whole teleportation thing,' said John. 'Where do these fit in?'

[The teleportation spell that ferries you to and from here hails from a Draconic Arcana] said Mel. [As for Domain Magic –

In this realm that holds twenty planets, exceedingly few creatures are capable of using both Wild and Arcane magic.

Either their bodies are capable of evolution and their souls unable to connect to the Swirl or their souls attuned to the Swirl and their bodies incapable of evolving.

However, dragons reign supreme in that we may easily perform both.

Not only this, but we possess a Magic unique to us.

That is Domain Magic.

The capacity to cultivate our own Inner Worlds and expand them outwards in the form of a lair.

The mightier and more aged a dragon is, the more complex their Inner World is, and thus the stronger their lair becomes.]

'That's seriously cool,' said John. 'So, when do I get to start cultivating my Inner World?'

[When you reach the Wyrmling Evolutionary Stage, you will gain a Draconic Affinity that determines which element your breath is most suited to and the beginnings of an Inner World.

Through the Inner World, you may also access the Swirl to personally attain Draconic Arcana when I am no longer here to guide you.

For now, I will simply grant you one Arcana, for your current body can only handle the power of one.

Tell me what manner of Arcana you desire, whether it is healing or destructive, and I shall engrave it into your being.]

'Can you go into more detail about what kind of Arcana there are?' asked John. If he was going to be stuck with a single spell for now, he wanted to make sure it was going to be as useful as possible. He wanted to know every option he got.

[There are thirty-three Arcana that we dragons have inscribed into the Swirl. Many of them are beyond your magical capability to access. However, there are three basic ones that are available to you.

Drokynthis – the word of power.

Ragarrin – the word of healing.

Valar – the word of wisdom.]

'So I say the word, and magic happens, but exactly what kind? If I use the word of power, for example, do I shoot a fireball? A bolt of lightning? Or does my body get stronger?' asked John.

[Just as every soul is unique to an individual, so too is Arcane Magic unique to all. How an Arcana manifests is entirely dependent on you.

Power, healing, wisdom, all of these hold different values for different beings.

For myself, Drokynthis creates growths of impaling wood that can sunder the mightiest of strongholds.

For another, it may be a pillar of flame. Or, as you say, a mighty bolt of thunder from the heavens.

Thus, how your magic manifests is solely dependent on you.

This too shall allow me to glimpse what your Draconic Affinity shall end up being.]