Evolution

Man, I hate it when I'm alone. It's just so quiet.

For now, I will be focusing on my skills. First, get Absolute Fire Manipulation.

I've been exploring the forest for a while and I encountered a pack of Blazing Mane Wolves. There were about twenty of them.

I need to get Fire Manipulation and Fire Summoning in order to get Absolute Fire Manipulation. So, it's time to take these puppies for a walk.

I sent a wave of water blades at them, taking out a few.

[Level up!]

[Level up!]

[Level up!]

Looks like the 2x level up rate is doing its job. Ten wolves have just been diverted into 3 levels.

Hmm, I actually want to try something.

As the remaining wolves were processing what just happened, I was focusing water into one point. I want to see if I can summon this.

Grrrrr~

[Mp: 31,032/32,142]

"There we go," I said as I opened my eyes. In front of me was a lion made of water.

"Yeah, water lion! Now go kick their asses."

The lion roared and darted towards the wolves. The wolves activated their fire manes but it was useless against a lion made of water.

The lion tore apart the wolves like they were paper. I didn't even need to move a finger. This is easy, I should just send summons all over the forest and have them kill monsters for me.

But then… where would the fun be in that? I want to test my strength.

Ding!

[Level up!]

[Level up!]

[New Skill(s): Fire Manipulation, Fire Summoning…]

Ring!

[You have acquired Fire Manipulation, Fire Resistance, and Fire Summoning. Absolute Fire Manipulation is unlockable.]

Alright, let's get it.

[New Skill(s): Absolute Fire Manipulation]

I looked at my hands and concentrated.

Fwoosh!

A ball of fire appeared in my hand. Now I can manipulate fire and water. I wonder how many elements there are? If I were to guess there would be earth, lightning, wind, light, and probably darkness as well.

But… I may be wrong… or not.

Anyway, I should get grinding once again. I think I'm nearing the 30 level mark.

"Status."

———————

[Info]

[Moniker: Yamato Pharaoh]

[Race: Monkey]

[Class: Vacant]

Soul Rank: Cruel

Core(s): Scarlet Dragon Emperor Core (Lvl1)

Title(s): Vacant

[Stats]

Level: 27

Hp: 11,448/11,448

Mp: 62,998/62,998

Strength: 61(+100)

Agility: 60(+100)

Defense: 61(+100)

Perception: 59(+100)

Intelligence: 59(+100)

Stat Points: 15

[Skills: Absolute Water Manipulation, Absolute Fire Manipulation, ???, ???, ???]

[Passive skill(s): Heart of the Red Emperor, Scarlet Dragon Emperor's Legacy, Wrath of the Scarlet Dragon, Dragon Tongue]

[Active skill(s): ???]

———————

Hmm, now that I notice it, I think my Mp has a higher rate than my Hp. I can't do the math but I know my Mp has a higher rate than my Hp. I also think it's a little broken but I'm not the one who created this system.

I deposited my stat points equally and moved on.

Now then, I should go find myself a strong monster to defeat.

1 hour later…

Standing in front of me is a large bear. A… what is it?

[Analyzing…]

[…]

[Analysis complete.]

[Black Horned Bear]

Mmm, I can see that very clearly. There is a horn right on top of that thing's head. What is its weakness?

[A Black Horned Bear's weakness is: It's horn]

…

Well, I didn't really need to ask, did I?

[Task: Kill the Black Horned Bear]

I looked at its large horn. That thing is literally wide open. I could kill it so easily.

"Grrrrrrrr~"

The bear growled and rushed towards me.

"No, sit you stupid bear."

I launched water blades at its legs and it tumbled onto the ground. It began crying as it couldn't move. Well of course, I did just immobilize it.

I walked up towards it and it tried to bite my legs off.

"HEY, HOW DARE YOU TRY TO BITE THIS MONKEY'S FEET OFF!"

Huh? Why did I refer to myself as a monkey? Oh no, this monkey thing is getting into my head.

It attempted to bite my feet but I jumped and landed behind its neck.

"I'll just rip your horn off."

I'd place my hands on the horn and start pulling it.

Crack!

A crack appeared on the bear's horn and it roared in pain. I'd step on its jaw.

"Shut up you."

But then suddenly, I received cuts all over my arms.

"What the?"

[Hp: 11,102/11,448]

[Notice: Black Horned Bears are able to control the wind element from their horns.]

Huh? So they create wind from their horns? Could've told me that earlier.

Crack… crack…

More cracks appeared on the horn. I would put all my strength into pulling and within a few seconds, the horn snapped.

The bear roared in pain. It would struggle to get me off but I'd blast it with fire right after.

Fwoosh!

[Level up!]

[Level up!]

[Level up!]

[Task Completed!]

[New Skill(s): Wind Manipulation…]

"Alright! I'm finally level 30! Now how do I become human? I mean, humanoid?"

[Soul Rank Ascension is available.]

[Task: Upgrade your Soul Rank]

"Huh? No ability to become humanoid? Are you kidding me, was I scammed? Am I stuck as a monkey forever?"

Wait… maybe if I upgrade my soul rank, then maybe I'll receive that humanoid form as a reward. There is only one way to find out.

[Requirements: 10 cores, Int >70, and 1 Ephemeral Fruit]

T-ten cores? That much? Where the hell am I gonna get that?

…

Oh wait, nevermind. I literally have a pile of dead wolves. I should go get them. But, I should also get the one from this bear as well.

It took me a while to extract the core from the bear but I eventually got it.

"Whew. Now, onto the wolves!"

Along the way, I opened up my stats.

"Status please."

———————

[Info]

[Moniker: Yamato Pharaoh]

[Race: Monkey]

[Class: Vacant]

Soul Rank: Cruel

Core(s): Scarlet Dragon Emperor Core (Lvl1)

Title(s): Vacant

[Stats]

Level: 30

Hp: 19,781/19,781

Mp: 172,867/172,867

Strength: 67(+100)

Agility: 66(+100)

Defense: 67(+100)

Perception: 65(+100)

Intelligence: 65(+100)

Stat Points: 9

[Skills: Absolute Water Manipulation, Absolute Fire Manipulation, Wind Manipulation, ???, ???, ???]

[Passive skill(s): Heart of the Red Emperor, Scarlet Dragon Emperor's Legacy, Wrath of the Scarlet Dragon, Dragon Tongue]

[Active skill(s): ???]

———————

All right, I need my intelligence stat to be at 70 so five into intelligence and the remaining four into the others.

I eventually arrived at the pile of dead wolves. Now to extract their cores.

***

[Mp: 172,867/172,867]

That was my Mp from before, now they look like this.

[Mp: 169,294/172,867]

I think the Mp rate is a bit too overpowered but I won't complain. This is actually pretty good.

Anyway, I managed to extract the needed amount of cores. Now I just need an Ephemeral Fruit.

But where do I get one? And how do they look like?

That's when suddenly, something hard dropped on my head.

"Ow, what the?" I looked down and picked up whatever just dropped on my head.

"What is this?" I say as I inspected the glowing blue fruit. It was the size of an apple and it gave off an eerie feeling for some reason.

Ding!

[Please place the cores on the fruit.]

Place the cores on the fruit? Do I have to do some kind of fusion?

[Precisely.]

Alright then, whatever you say.

I'd huddle the cores around this mysterious blue fruit and placed my Mp into them. Suddenly, the fruit glowed brighter and it looked like the cores surrounding it was being absorbed.

"Whoa, what the?"

Ring!

[Ephemeral Fruit obtained!]

So this is the Ephemeral Fruit? It looks a bit… interesting.

It was now translucent and I could see swirling blue and red energy circulating around the fruit. I'm guessing I have to consume this like I did with the cores.

I took a bite out of the fruit and… nothing happened.

"Hmm, that's weird. It should do something after I take a bite out of it right? Maybe I have to consume it whole. Well, that's fine with me, it does taste kinda nice."

Eventually, I finished the whole fruit. Hmm, it didn't even have a stem or seed. And recalling a few seconds ago, it did just fall out of nowhere. Kind of weird.

Suddenly, I had the feeling to fall asleep. Whoa, is this the effect of the fruit?

[Soul Rank Ascension is available.]

Oh, now it appears? Well whatever, just ascend me already.

[Soul Rank Ascended!]

[Soul Rank: Brutal]

[Task Completed!]

[New Active Skill(s): Double Edge Mode]

[Next Soul Rank Ascension will be available at Level 50]

Then at that moment, I lost consciousness.

***

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[Evolution Available.]

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[Accept Evolution?]

You're telling me to accept an evolution, but you haven't given me the info of what I am to become. At least tell me what I am going to become first!

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[3 Available Choices]

And what are those available choices?

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[Demon Monkey]

[8-Handed Ape]

[Great True Primate]

What the fuck are these evolution choices? 8-Handed Ape? What the fuck is that gonna look like? Actually, I don't even want to imagine it. Great True Primate? What is that gonna make me? Even more monkey? Hell no. Demon Monkey?

Hmm… maybe. If I recall, the monkey king is a demon. Maybe… just maybe…

I'll take it!

[Demon Monkey has been chosen.]

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[Processing Evolution.]

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[Evolution Complete!]

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[You are now a Demon Monkey.]

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***

I woke up with the sun in my eyes.

"Ahh god, that's really blinding," I said with a deep and calm voice. Wait a minute, I sound a bit different. I don't sound like a monkey anymore.

Hmm… how do I look like?

I ran out of the forest and towards the pond, then stared at my reflection.

I was completely different than before. My arms and legs were covered with fur except my hands and my feet. My upper chest was only partially covered with fur; my chest was the only part that wasn't covered in fur. My tail looked a bit longer and my fur was maroon.

Ignoring the fur, I had a muscular and well-toned body. I looked at my facial features. Seems that I look more human than monkey. Thank god.

For some reason, I seemed to look a bit gothic. My eyes had heavy shadow trims around them and my eyes were crimson red. Maybe the eyes are the effects from Pharaoh since he had crimson eyes.

My hair was really wild, which reached down to my shoulders. Uhh, I wish it was a bit shorter.

Well, good thing is that I was given a humanoid form. Now I don't have to walk on all fours now and then. Now if I were to guess, I'd be around 195 cm.

[Ding!]

[Try out your new Active Skill, Double Edge Mode.]

Double edge mode? I wonder what that does.

[Double Edge Mode: Allows you to switch between full human and your original form-]

So I can become fully human?

[However, once you become fully human, you lose 20% of your strength and defense. Of course, these effects are not permanent but are only active in human form. The pros of becoming fully human is that your agility and perception are increased by 20%]

Oh… so that's what it meant by double edge. I lose strength and defense, but I gain faster speed and reflexes. It's a fair trade if you ask me.

But so far, I actually like this form of mine. Though I just don't like being naked. Can I get clothes from somewhere?

[Yes but you need money for that.]

Can you provide me with clothes?

…

Of course not.

Well then, guess I'll have to resort to one option.

Rob a random human that passes by.

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