A new beginning [5]
"You did it, master! Now it's finally time for you to choose what kind of evolutionary trait you want to become part of!"
It was as weird as ever seeing the expressionless Tatiana speak with such enthusiasm, a feeling that the goblin on the side didn't quite seem to share as he let out a very uncharacteristic, "Tch!"
Ignoring the goblin who still remembered the epic fight I had against the giant slime, I simply nodded at Tatiana, while making sure I hadn't been mistaken about my success, which thankfully, I hadn't.
===Status===
Name: Aldric the Demon King
Race: Imp [Evolution Available]
Level: 10
Strength: 12
Agility: 12
Stamina: 12
Intelligence: 20
Free stat points: 0
Demonic energy: 100/100
Traits: [Blood of the Patriarch]
Skills: [Demon Claws]
==========
Having already washed my body in the open bath that was located on the third floor of the tower, which was extremely out of place when thinking about what the dark tower looked like on the outside, I was finally ready to face my destiny.
"Then, just go to your core and you should be able to choose whatever kind of demon you want to become. Oh, do close the door after you enter so you don't spoil the surprise for me and Gob."
"Sure..."
Entering the door on the side, which was now a permanent addition to the throne room, I faced the red core head-on, unsure as to what would happen when I put my hand on it.
Fortunately, it didn't take long until I found out.
==========
Evolution available!
List of available evolutions:
Alp
Archdemon
Behemoth
Bifron
...
==========
'That's... too many options...'
The list of demons went on and on for a lot longer than I would have liked it to, as it made choosing something so much harder for me. Even worse was the fact that I didn't even know a fifth of the names that showed up on the list.
'Alp? What is that?'
Fortunately, the demonic core somehow responded to my emotions, and the screen flickered, switching to a description of the demon I was thinking about.
[Alp is a magic specialist which uses their magic hat Tarnkappes to draw forth immense power.]
'Wow, that's lame!'
Continuing to scroll through the list, I tried my best to find something that I was at least a bit familiar with, while at the same time trying to find something that fit the intelligence specialist build that I was going for.
It took such a long time to read through all the descriptions, which I could barely understand anyway, that it felt like I spent hours upon hours staring at the transparent red screen in front of me.
In the end, there were only five options that I found that looked like they fit that bill, as well as sounded like they would be powerful enough for me to regard as options. As the demonic core was quite nifty, it also allowed me to eliminate the other options so that I could have a look at the five options I had found in isolation.
==========
Archdemon
Fallen Angel
Djinn
Lich
Vampire
==========
All five of these seemed to be pretty good in their own rights, though I was still quite skeptic about becoming a demon made of fire by choosing Djinn, no matter how enticing it was to think about being in absolute control of flames.
I was also quite torn when thinking about becoming a lich, as that would mean I would have to become some sort of zombie-like creature, even though the upside was to become a ruler of life and death.
After just a couple of moments of pondering, I decided to mentally get rid of those two options, as that would likely force me to walk the path of someone who had absolutely no chance of getting accepted by the other races on Terros.
Yes, I still hadn't let go of the hope of trying to find another way to fix my deplorable situation, despite Tatiana trying to make it seem like I had no other options. Even in the worst case, where I would be forced to go up against my classmates, I could at least try and become strong enough to the point where they didn't dare to fight me.
It was quite a far-fetched dream coming from someone who had just earlier today gotten swallowed by a slime, but it was still my dream nonetheless.
Therefore, purely based on how powerful they sounded, I was stuck choosing between Archdemon and Fallen Angel, both of which I assumed had the potential of growing to become very powerful in the future.
[The archdemon is a high-ranking demon who stands above all other demons, and is also most often the race of the demon king.]
[The fallen angels are of the direct lineage to Lucifer, who got cast down from the heavens, and later became the king of hell.]
It was unfortunate that my core wasn't able to let me know more details about the demons, telling me things like what kind of abilities they carried or something along those lines, but I was at least happy to hear a bit of their lore.
For all intents and purposes, both of these choices weighed equally in my head when thinking about what to choose. Therefore, I simply closed my eyes and injected my energy into my core while thinking of both of them at the same time.
'Hmm?'
Just a second after, I suddenly felt the energy that I injected into the core return, only it was a lot more powerful than the energy I had sent out, making my body instantly start to feel like it was on fire.
"Gah!"
Falling to my knees, as my body got hotter and hotter, almost feeling like my bones were melting inside of me, I couldn't help but think that I had made a horrible mistake. Because I truly believed that this was the end.
Then, everything went black, as my eyes seemed to have followed along with the rest of my body melting, only to a moment later open again, with the pain having now completely disappeared.
Despite this, I kept lying down on the cold stone floor for a bit longer, enjoying the cool sensation against my body, as the upper part of my black school uniform had gotten lost in the evolution process.
'I'm alive...'
I had no idea what had just happened to me, but somehow I had a feeling that this was simply a normal part of the evolution process. A very, very painful part of the evolution process.
Putting my hand on the floor to support myself getting up from the floor, I was a bit surprised to see that nothing had changed about it, with my skin still being very human-like, just like before.
Without thinking, as my head was still a mess after experiencing that horrible pain, I stumbled back out into the throne room again, where I was quickly met by the expectant gazes of my underling and my guide in this world. Both who suddenly looked at me with weird expressions.
"Gob?"
"I agree. Our master seemed to have made a pretty weird decision, didn't he?"
Taking a few steps forward, I tried to act like I didn't mind their rude comments, mostly because I myself was still not sure what I had become. Which I now felt like I had to figure out as soon as possible, making me subtly bring up my status, not wanting them to realize that I still had no idea what I had picked.
===Status===
Name: Aldric the Demon King
Race: Fallen Cherubim
Level: 10
Strength: 10
Agility: 10
Stamina: 10
Intelligence: 26
Free stat points: 0
Demonic energy: 130/130
Traits: [Blood of the Patriarch]
Skills: [Demon Claws], [Flight],
Talents: [Light magic - Beginner], [Dark magic - Beginner]
==========
There was a lot of new information that I had to take in as quickly as possible, while still not revealing to Tatiana or Gob that I was currently reading my status.
'Light and dark magic? That must mean that I chose the fallen angel, didn't I? But what even is a cherubim?!'
Suddenly, I could feel an entirely new sensation on my back, and although I hadn't noticed them before, they somehow instantly felt like they had always been a part of my body as soon as my mind registered their existence.
Two large wings, one black, and one white were now sitting proudly on my back, explaining just why I had gotten the new skill [Flight].
Feeling like this was enough for now, I prepared myself to face the two individuals still judging my decision with faked confidence, not wanting to look like a fool.
"You may believe whatever you want, but I can assure you that this choice wasn't wrong."
Although Gob had already completely lost faith in me, at least I managed to make a bit of a twinkle appear in Tatiana's eyes. However, what she said next was enough to almost make me lose faith in myself as well.
"I see. Then you must be prepared to struggle a lot, seeing as you chose a race that is famous for how hard it is for them to grow stronger!"
'Say what now?'