Krackle looked on curiously as it's master presented it with a shell, amongst a whole pile of weird things like mushrooms and feathers.
'Master wishes for Krackle to eat shells and things?'
Richard nodded in agreement, confirming the statement. "Yes, I want you to eat this whisper conch."
'Very well, Krackle will eat wind shells for master.'
"Pandamonium tired of Krackle's third person speaking, Pandamonium wishes Krackle would- OH GOD DAMMIT SHE HAS ME DOING IT TOO! STOP DOING THAT!"
'Krackle refuses.'
Richard sighed, wondering, where he went wrong with Krackle. It wasn't bad, just annoying. Richard could feel himself wince every time Richard heard- ah.
'Thinking in third person again.' Richard sighed.
----------------------------------------
Richard, after seeing the floating fish, seemingly found his solution, which seemed obvious when looking at a dragon's greatest tool: their wings.
If Krackle did best in a water environment because of maneuverability, then the obvious solution was to make it easier for them to maneuver on land, and no amount of walking on land could produce the same level of flexibility. Not while limited to the ground.
So why not fly through the air.
'System, is there any way to make Krackle capable of flight? Would perhaps eating something change the path of her evolution to flight?'
[Of course, cultivators use that solution all the time. In this case, I can list a few dozen items from the system shop that can imbue Krackle with the necessary wind attribute, though there is no guarantee this will result in flight. Altering an evolution through your own efforts can produce unique results.]
Ah, the system shop. Richard hadn't used it or browsed it honestly. He wasn't wanting for anything up to this point, and even if he didn't use it, the points could be put to hatching more familiars. Not only were they cheap, but they could be valuable long term. They just seemed more valuable to him than whatever could be present in the shop.
Of course, he wasn't exactly summoning anything either, on the pretense of saving rather than spending pointlessly.
And it paid off right about now. 25,000 points to spend on what he needed.
"So what's your recommendation, since you're the one with the most knowledge?
[...]
[Give me a minute, setting up a date with another guide.]
[Upon inquiring from guide 0, it's recommended to purchase these items:]
[Whisper conches]
[Gust feathers]
[storm elemental tears]
[Wyvern lungs]
[balloon shrooms]
...
"Did you say date?"
[Of course. Guides have their own lives as well. We just don't inform players of it.]
Support the creativity of authors by visiting Royal Road for this novel and more.
Huh. Richard now felt a little bad about not calling the guide by any sort of name.
[No worries. Guides are often noted by their number rather than names, though some are given names by their players. One guide has been called Stolidus, as in the ancient latin word for stupid. I'm often designated as 15.]
Oh. Alright, definitely more to unpack and inquire about. But he was getting off topic, and he wanted to focus on his new grocery list.
"So uh, could I get a description of each of the items listed above?"
[Gladly]
[whisper conches]
[It's said that when you put your ear to the entrance of a shell, you'll hear the sound of the ocean calling you. In the case of the whisper conch, you can hear that and more, with whisper conches picking up sounds from the wind bringing sounds from anywhere near them, from the likes of a talk between two lovers, the screams of beasts, or even, the ocean.]
[Gust feathers]
[Birds of the wind attribute often drop these, and thus they are merely feathers with the attribute of wind, though most often picked from gust raptors, due to how hated they are by the locale. Good for imbuing arrows with the wind attribute, they're also often used for feather pens, and used to make pens that make the writer work faster.]
[Storm elemental tears]
[Only a true monster(or moron) would make a storm elemental cry, but those who could would have themselves the tears of a storm elemental, a powerful catalyst, though many would argue unworthy the effort the required. It is good for potions, making magic circles, and stimulating the wind and storm element within creatures. ]
[Wyvern lungs]
[Wyvern lungs are strong and powerful, meant not only to help wyverns generate elemental magic for breath attacks, but also help wyverns circulate air during flight. The lungs suggested in this case are the ones used by wyverns dependent on speed for stronger lungs specializing in extreme circulation. More often used as a medicine for either good health, or in cases like these, to attune one to the element desired.]
[Balloon shrooms]
[Balloon shrooms are shrooms that will blow up to fly away, ensuring pollination as they float away into territory far from it's forefathers. Used for medicines, makeshift bombs and sometimes bags, one has to be careful because inflated shrooms are know to explode. Although not deadly, it is still very much unpleasant. ]
"Alright, how much for all of it?"
[10,000 points for multiple buckets full of balloon shrooms, 5 sets of wyvern lungs, a bottle full of elemental tears, a bucket full of whisper conches, and a pillow's wort of gust feathers.]
Richard's eyebrow creased.
That sounded expensive, being little less than half his points gathered.
But, he didn't plan to purchase much else anytime soon, or any familiars, and this was an investment into his familiar Krackle, who would probably feel more comfortable out of water thanks to this.
"Buy it."
[Purchase is confirmed. Would you like the purchase to be placed inside the inventory, or would you like it to be placed next to you?]
"In my inventory, preferably."
[Done.]
A ding like that of a bell found on a counter dinged, and although nothing else happened, looking into his territory did confirm he had in fact, received the purchases he made.
----------------------------------------
Sister Alexandria was a little confused when he whipped the stuff out but accepted it when he said it came from his blessing. It wasn't technically incorrect, and by this point Richard guessed he and sister Alexandria had basically come to a silent agreement in regard to the blessing. It was obvious there was more to the blessing, but she ultimately chose to not ask, which Richard was grateful for.
She also happened to agree with the sentiment of an air type evolution for Krackle.
"She does seem to be more of an offensive familiar, as well as ambush. Ambush would be fine without the air attribute, but as a more versatile familiar, jumping around is hardly a solution, nor is plopping around on the floor. An air attribute would be a boon for her as an aquatic monster."
"Actually, how many sea monsters end up with air attribute?" asked Richard out of curiosity. Frankly, the angler was a unique experience. He can't really think of a time when he'd heard of flying fish.
"Relatively often; though the relatively often applies to fish who use the wind attribute to manipulate currents or flying fish who use the wind attribute to fly just a little longer. Fish that actually use the flying attribute are pretty rare, only appearing in sink or swim situation. Honestly, I assume the anglers you've seen underwent a similar tribulation, and thus were forced to adapt the wind attribute in an act of desperation."
Richard nodded thoughtfully. It made sense. Not all monsters were sentient enough to actively pressure another monster into evolving a certain way. No, desperation and the correct environment seems like the correct stimulator for a change of evolution. How far does that go then? What ways can a monster change as they evolve, to what extent can this manipulation of evolution occur?
'How curious' thought Richard as he mused on his thoughts.