Four members of the Viers Corporation were having a talk in the White Flowers Meadow. Viers’ body was currently busy but his soul was not.
“Question. Why are you calling us ‘angels’ sometimes?”
“Paina… Of all the things we should be asking, that is what’s on your mind? Seriously?” Farley put a hand on her forehead and shook her head left and right.
“But… Well, I’m curious… Aren't you?” Paina’s reply was like a meek squirrel. Viers and the other two gave her a penetrating gaze and so she was fidgeting.
Viers decided to humor her. “There’s this guy, called Charlie. He got these three women that worked for him. He called them angels. Seems similar to our situation, don't you think?”
“By the way, I want to know more about the songs. You’ve pulled out two. How many more have you got?” Clarissa drove the conversation in a more awry direction.
Farley looked as if she had just been betrayed and gasped sharply. “You too, Clar?”
“What? It’s so catchy and I like it. The first song was good too,” Clarissa shrugged. Paina’s face showed that she agreed with her. Kesha's Tik Tok grasped their heart already.
Viers chuckled in amusement. “All in good time, angels.”
“Yes, yes, the music was nice. Can we return to the monster topic, please?” Farley became the mature one compared to the 9000-years-old lamia.
“Fine, fine… so you need a water monster core to transform into one… Ah! The Rank 7 monster co-” Clarissa realized what was in Viers’ possession.
“I’m stopping you right there. I can only absorb, transform, and evolve up to my Level so what you're thinking of is impossible at the moment. What do you think my first attempt was when I found out I can transform into monsters? I tried.”
“Lord Viers, you said you evolve your transformations from their baser type. Does it mean you can control the direction of your evolution?”
“In a way,” Viers said flatly.
“Monsters can't do that, right?” Farley asked her fellow souls.
“More like they lack the cognition to attempt such a thing. They are beings of instinct rather than mind. When they evolved, they let the body develop naturally and it worked out okay for thousands of years. Monsters are still thriving in this age, right? There are exceptions though, sapient monsters exist. Better not to meet one. They are usually very old and very powerful,” Clarissa gave the scholarly answer.
“That is so cool! You can become a water dragon! So what if you must start from Rank 0 dragon, go for it! Evolve into it!” Piana urged.
“Sigh… It's not so simple. My forms are based on the core that I absorbed but to evolve to something different, I need to have the genetic information required to pull it off.”
“Genetic information?” Clarissa tilted her head.
“From cores or flesh. Let me give you an example. My Water Ghost Spider is Rank 1 from the start because the core I absorbed was from a Rank 1 monster. I can evolve to Rank 2 Water Ghost Spider just fine but to become a different, greater species, I cannot do it at the moment.”
While they were processing the information Viers went on.
“My slime is a simple water slime at first but to evolve it into the corrosive amoeba horror you saw earlier I had to consume many other monster cores or bodies that have the corrosion ability. As for water dragon, where can I find a baby water dragon’s core?”
“Considering what’s been happening to you so far, I think you’ll stumble upon one in the near future,” Paina scoffed. “What’s the name of your slime monster form?” She asked. There were too many kinds of slime monsters in existence. She didn't recognize Viers’ version.
“Don't know. Evolution doesn't exactly come with a name, you know. I named it Toxicell Slime for the time being.”
“Genetic information, huh? Interesting term,” Clarissa mused.
Clack. Clack. Clack.
In the real world, Viers tested the left claw that had been mangled, moving it around and making clicking sounds. After a few hours of recuperation, the Gigadia Crab had returned to full health.
“It’s done. Now’s the right time. Want to see me evolving?” Viers asked his tenants.
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The answer was a unanimous yes.
***
“Urgh, I think I’m going to throw up.” Paina, the girl who only exists as a soul without a digestive system, said.
“...” Farley also wasn't exactly comfortable looking at the sight of a frog swallowing a snake that was much bigger than the frog’s body. Mysteriously the small frog seemed to have no problem eating many times more of its body mass. The snake’s body seemed to be slowly disappearing into a bottomless pit.
“So that’s where the monster meat and cores you’ve looted have gone to. I’ve always wondered,” Paina said.
“To monsters, eating other monsters is one of the ways they get stronger. This isn't unique to Viers. All monsters possess this ability,” Clarissa explained.
“Believe it or not, you get used to it, even something like this,” Viers conveyed with his mind talk, or soul talk, Viers wasn't sure.
Viers took out a plethora of monster corpses and cores from the Thousand Treasure Casket and started to wolf them down with its toothless amphibian mouth.
Where else would he have the privacy to do this wantonly other than the secure quest space? In the world outside the book, Viers was very vigilant about his monster transformation. Every action he took as a monster was reserved for times of great need which was few and far between. He could be dissected like a lab rat if some powerhouse found out.
Inside the book, at least only Aletro knew. And the guy seemed disinterested in Viers' unusual abilities.
After eating a lot, Frog Viers stopped.
“Girls, I’m evolving.”
The Terribilis Frog started emitting a dense poisonous purple cloud that covered its whole body; hiding it from sight. For 15 minutes, Viers fell into solemn silence. There was no fanfare or light show but when the fog receded, The Terribilis Frog was now a Rank 2.
“That’s it? There are no changes from before.” Piana confusedly examined Viers from every angle, still a blue frog with black spots the size of a soccer ball.
“No… the poison. It became so much more potent. I can feel it from here.” Farley grimly said. “If we’re flesh and blood, without defensive Arte we would already be in critical condition.”
The girls were able to sense things because of Viers’ skill in the soul department. He gave them the five senses occasionally, such as when Viers recreated the tasty food he had eaten for the girls. He did this because it was good for their mental health.
“...Oh. Good thing we’re only souls, right?”
“Don't be so sure, Paina. There are poisons that can affect the soul,” Clarissa warned.
While the girls were talking to each other, Viers was relishing the euphoria of evolution.
If this is a LitRPG, this is the part where the updated status screen and new skills are shown. A parade of numbers and specs. Shame I don't have it; I've got no system.
“Odd, Lord Viers should be bigger though,” Farley noticed the abnormality of the frog’s size. “Don't all monsters get bigger when they evolve?”
“I converted almost all of my evolutionary power to my poisons. What little remained got used for several minor mutations. My physical spec doesn't change much from before the evolution.”
“Lord Viers, won't that make you brittle against damage?”
“Farley, that’s what his water Artes are for. Haven't you realized his monster forms are specialized for one thing?”
Oh? Viers didn't expect that talk from Paina. He was pleased with her growth.
“Right… Viers has the offense, defense, and mobility trifecta covered with his Artes so he chooses to specialize, no, overspecialize on the monsters’ distinctive traits!” Clarissa came to the correct conclusion.
“I see,” Farley touched her chin while thinking. “Terribilis Frog’s poison, Water Ghost Spider’s stealth… Gigadia Crab and Toxicell Slime are pointed towards battle though?”
“Different genres. The slime has great resistance against physical attacks. It’s too good to pass,” Viers said. “The added corrosive toxicity makes it a bane of all physical oriented beings. Imagine the future where the slime corrodes absolutely everything, from iron to adamantium. Kishishi,” Viers dreamed of a beautiful future.
After the frog’s evolution, Viers changed into Water Ghost Spider and ate the rest of the feast of monster corpses. He also wanted to evolve the spider to Rank 2 in one go.
The white, sleek spider with eight pointy legs was only the size of a cat but it bit, gnashed, and swallowed its food like a starving grizzly bear.
“How many monster forms do you have, Viers?” Clarissa asked while Viers was busy eating.
“Five.”
“Other than the four we’ve seen, the last is the fish transformation from when you escaped Freya, huh? Why not have more?” Paina inquired.
“Too many varieties would be a burden. I need to evolve them, you know? It takes resources. Quality rather than quantity. I’ll evolve them all to their legendary forms! And I’m still looking out for more… exotic species to be added to my repertoire. Got to keep some space open, heh.”
“Lord Viers, aren't there many unknowns about monster evolution? There are many monsters who got stuck until their lifespan ran out without evolving further. How can you be so confident?”
About the matters of evolution, hehehe… How many monster evolution stories have I consumed so far? Too, too many! Goblin, slime, snake, undead, ant, dragon, Pokemon, Digimon, all kinds of things! I have too many references to chart the best evolution path for me. Who is my rival in this? I’m a walking fantasy monster encyclopedia, bwahaha!
“Don't underestimate me, Farley. I have a doctorate degree in monsterology,” Viers shamelessly boasted.
“Oh, oh! The thought just came to me. Can you change into soul monsters?” Paina wanted to know.
Nice question, Farley and Clarissa were also piqued.
“Don't know. Never met monsters with soul affinity before, let alone getting the core of one. Water Ghost Spider is named so because of its ghost-like stealth, not because it is a real ghost, therefore soul.”
“Oh, that’s a shame. I would love to see one,” Paina said.
“Those are rare, but you can find them in specific places. I’m sure we’ll meet one eventually,” Clarissa pitched in.
Well, I’ll add a monster form and evolve it to something with soul attribute if I really need it… Damn, I'm good!