The Sixth Evolution (4)

[I dont want to die death is so cold]

[Why are you trying to kill us?]

[You are still alive. Leave us be]

The corrupted souls, undead of the soul but not of the flesh, did not have powerful physical attacks like the monsters on the Rookies Battlefield. Instead, they had strong magic that tried to penetrate my mind. It wasnt enough to faze me, however. I had been developing the strength of my soul with Ls help. Not that Im sure how to eat them yet. I couldnt just kill them. So instead of a weapon, I shaped the Demons Claw into a thin shield to protect myself.

[Youre exposing your soul.]

[Kekeke, lower the shield and lend me your body!]

[Its an elfs body. Itll be mine!]

I already figured it out. I could assimilate Demons Claw into Blood Shadow to slay the monsters before, so why couldnt I imbue the black smoke from my Predation skill into the Demons Claw? Shouldnt my Demons Claw be enough? Well, easier said than done. Just because I know what I need to do doesnt mean I know how. The idea was simple enough at its base, and I thought it should be possible.

A huge explosion went through my head, feeling as if someone lit fireworks inside my mind. My heart pounded wildly as if it were readying to burst free from my chest. My body, my soul, my abilities, my Predation, my heart. Thoughts of all the things I could or couldnt do, thoughts of my future, overwhelmed my mind and then, just as quickly, flowed out.

A vision of the future, or just a moments delusion? It didnt matter, nor did it matter that I couldnt think of even half the things that had just been running through my mind. What I could hold onto had little meaning to me anyways. It didnt matter; I would never forget this moment. This was the time that everything would start to change. I felt like I had been able to put my feet on firm ground for the first time.

My Demons Claw morphed, capturing that idea of Predation only able to manifest in the flesh before, and expressing it now as a form of my soul. It stretched out to the limit of my body, encompassing all I had learned in my dealings with matters of the soul. The enemy was quick to realize what had happened. The mutated souls were sensitive to my change in appearance and power. Well, its to be expected theyre sensitive to changes in a soul.

[Its wriggling.]

[Run away or be eaten!]

[Ill die!]

The Demons Claws rose up to both of my shoulders, now long tendrils like those from the monsters in the Rookies Battlefield. The undead attempted to flee to avoid me but couldnt escape the Colosseum. Such a short distance meant nothing to me in this space.

Lets finish this fast. I observed the undead who had been flocking to me, aiming to attack my soul fleeing to the Colosseums edge. Using Ubiquitous to jump into the middle of them, I was buried amongst these spirits, surrounded by malice and evil energy. But I had no worries.

[Aghhhhhh!]

[Im scared! Dont!]

[I dont want to die!]

The Demons Claw wrapped around me like a snake, tendrils of gloomy gray energy expanding out to wrap around the undead. It was already over for them; they couldnt run away. The only fate that awaited them was to be devoured by my power of Predation.

[Magic has increased by 1.]

[Predation became Lv6. Predation has become more efficient.]

I could feel the power they had acquired by becoming undead souls flowing into me. I could feel it, as the one who was devouring them, that they were being completely destroyed by this. I wouldnt be able to capture their souls, any chance of that lost. I felt a brief flash of guilt, but it was gone as soon as it had arrived. I wont stop here. I have much more to devour. If I wanted to grow stronger, I couldnt let this stop me. I had to look ahead and keep pushing forward. No matter the value of a soul, I couldnt compare it to my own life.

[Aghhhh!]

[My soul, my power!]

It took me only seven minutes and thirty seconds to conquer the third floor of Jinmas Tower. For the first time since I had entered, I was able to conquer the Tower without dying.

[Conquer the 3rd floor of Jinmas Tower 1/1]

[Quest Completed!]

[You have earned 24,810,000 experience.]

[You have received 13,000 gold.]

[Level up!]

[You have obtained 25 air balms.]

[You have obtained 3 vitality potions.]

[You may now evolve.]

The Colosseum faded around me, replaced by a smiling A who watched me as I retracted the demons claw.

Have you put on a little weight?

Dont joke, Im tired. I retorted, pulling up the evolution notification window.

[Please select a race to evolve into.]

[1. Crimson Elf Blood Walker]

[2. Crimson Elf Shadow Runner]

[3. Crimson Elf Taker]

The first of the three specialized in weapons and armor, the second in using artifacts. The third seemed to be related to my abilities that I had been perfecting through the Rookies Battlefield, and this floor of Jinmas Tower. I wasnt sure which to pick, but I figured I could grow stronger without any issues regardless of which one I chose. Which meant it didnt matter which one I picked. I quickly picked one, looking at A, who was watching me with blank eyes.

I may look different in a moment, but its still me. I told him quickly before the pain of evolution overtook me.

[Quest!]

[As you grow in strength, others around you are growing stronger as well. Your allies are few, and your enemies many. Life belongs to those who take it. The moment one story ends, a new one will begin. Run through the dungeon faster than anyone else.]

[Predation of monsters in the 5th floor of the Black Palace District 7 0/150,000]

[Predation of high-ranking species in Black Palace District 7 5F 0/500]

[Predation of a Giant Troll 0/1]

[Conquest of the 4th floor of Jinmas Tower 0/1]

[Garden of Naks 3rd game won 0/1]

After I had finished evolving, I waved goodbye to A and opened the door to the store. Stepping through, Rain was wiping down a glass with a dry cloth as always. No sign of L.

Youre back Fateoh my. Youve grown quite a bit again, havent you?

Is that so? As I evolved this time, I had assumed my appearance wouldnt change that much, but Rains reaction indicated otherwise.

I think its your eyes more than anything. Eyes like a man possessed, with a firm goal in mind that cant be shaken, much different than my dead eyes. You look pretty cool, Fate. I felt a bit embarrassed by Rains praise, even more so because he was self-deprecating. I opened my question to respond but stopped myself short. I wasnt sure how I should approach this, given how delicate the subject I wanted to broach was. So, instead of talking about it, I took an item out of my inventory and displayed it to Rain.

Could you check this out for me Rain? I produced the egg I had acquired.

Hm, a Fortune Egg. Ive only seen one of these once before its an item that I dont sell here too. It must have been rare indeed then. Rain wasnt an elf, and I could only guess at how long his lifespan was. I knew it hadnt been short, and yet, he had only seen something like this twice. Even better, its not an item he is able to sell hereup until now I thought I could buy anything here as long as I had the money.

Theres no knowing what sort of creature may hatch out of this egg or how to get it to hatch in the first place. I know just one thing: it is said the luck of the person holding it is said to influence it. Thats why it has the name of Fortune Egg.

Ah Luck. Was that the one ability in my status that was still a mystery? I hadnt thought about it lately because I couldnt figure it out by myself, and I didnt want to ask anyone. But maybe I acquired a Fortune Egg because I have high luck?

HmI can tell it has already started to resonate with you, Fate. Can you feel it?

Huhnow that you mention it The light pulsated within the egg in tune with my own heartbeat. Furthermore, it felt like it was drawing my gaze to it, slowly sucking me in.

Please be patient. This egg will be affected by you. Your magic, your soul, your will. All of them will help this egg hatch. Youre involved with this creature now. Rains look lingered upon the egg before he handed it back to me, a look almost like that of a doting parent.

If your future is not clear, it will influence this egg. However, the trajectory you are on will lead you to great thingsalthough you dont need me to tell you that. I accepted the egg and brought it to my chest, feeling a sense of burden and confidence blooming inside me in equal measure.

My future The path I would takea path no one else could walk. I put the egg back into my inventory and turned around, heading back deep into the Black Palace.

And so, time continued to pass.

I could not count how much time had passed by the watchs hand, though Mireina told me an entire year had passed since the Great Fusion. Rain was still kind and gentle, still polishing the glasses and pouring out alcohol. As I needed to return to him for advice less and less, I felt like our relationship continued to deepen. At first, I had felt like he was a dependable older brother, and I, a snot-nosed younger sibling. But now, I felt as if we were drinking buddies.

As blunt remarks never softened, but I realized it was his way of caring for my well-being, even if he did offend me once in a while. He had lived lifetimes more than I had, but he was much more awkward around people. I made a point to keep that to myself, fearing retaliation. L was much the same. No matter how much my appearance changed, she still recognized me by the appearance of my soul. Her presence wore at my mind at the same time it refreshed me. She had been working on building up my interior, and now she was focusing more on working on the external aspects of the soul.

Now I was on the 7th floor of the Black Palace District 7.

[Captain.]

A voice rang out in my head, causing me to snap to attention. I was in the midst of a battle with higher-level advanced monsters, but my combined skills of Surprise and Fairy Tale were enough to ensure my safety even here.

[Im here, whats going on?]

Reaching out with the highest level of Detection I could manage, I felt some sort of abnormality out in the dungeon.

[What we were worried about is happening.]

Only

[What is?]

I already had a feeling of what was happening, but I wanted more time to prepare before the worlds attention turned toward me.

[The guild is coming, with the intent of killing the dungeon elves.]

I let out a sigh as I swung my greatsword down, cleaving off the neck of an ogre that tried its best to hold me back. Blood splattered on my sword and clothing, the body of the ogre unable to hit the ground before the black smoke consumed it without a trace.

[You have gained 3,850,918 experience.]

[You have received 12 gold and 38 silver.]

[Im on my way now.]

I started sprinting down the dungeon passages, on my way to a war with these humans.