Biologist Shadyna, working hard to unveil the secrets to the ultimate life form!

Is not what a biologist does or how biology even works, but apparently no one cares because it's a fantasy world~!

_ Pet expert #1: What the heck is this!!!

Gelly. Race: Jelleaf. Edible, because Sateri is a psycho~

_ Pet expert #2: How do you even get these evolutions?!

I was hoping YOU would tell me though?!

_ Pet expert #3: Squish squish~

Pretty sure you don't need to do that to [Inspect]!

_ Pet expert #4: So cute~! I want to bring her home!

That's not even Gelly! Let go of Lutena you maniac~~~!

Due to criminal negligence totally on my guild's part, I wasn't aware that pets could evolve into stronger races until now. And since I am already in the best summoner town with a few coupons from , I accepted Mister Corpse's advice to use the evolution guidance service in the pet shops in order to figure out the best evolution paths for my pets here.

…I didn't expect the shopkeepers to freak out THIS much though.

Apparently, aside from the actual evolution "quest" one must do to evolve the pet, you must first unlock the evolution itself. That prerequisite usually involves achieving one or more milestones like level, skills, titles. In a way, it was not that different from the profession system, except more useful.

A~nyway, after fulfilling the prerequisite, you can see the evolution conditions by using high-level [Inspect]. The prerequisites are fixed whereas the "quests" vary between individuals, so players will usually look the former up on the board then visit a shop like this to have the experts advise on the latter.

Jelleaf, despite their rarity (and uselessness), are actually quite popular as pets thanks to someone totally, absolutely unrelated to me causing troubles with one. As a result, this shop is not unfamiliar with these immobile blobs of cuteness, and well-versed in pretty much all of the common evolution paths known to the player base.

Yes, there are multiple evolution paths for each pet, just like players having multiple professions they can choose from.

When put that way, it is not that surprising to see Gelly having some… additional evolution paths it can take. After all, we are talking about the cute blob who dealt more damage in a single battle than some players in their entire playtime, actively participated in two unique boss raids, achieved space exploration, and most importantly, has a very cute master~!

_ Magni: That's not it.

_ Cenny: *Nods* Not it.

Sad cry~

_ Pet expert #1: As top summoners, we must always pursue new knowledge, lest ourselves be left behind in the ever-changing meta! Let us DISSECT… I mean STUDY this specimen and uncover its secrets, in the same of SCIENCE!

Magni and Cenny promptly "escort" the mad scientist out of the room before I could help him discover the maximum speed one can drop dead from negative HP regen. What the heck was that all about…?

_ Corpse player: Sorry, we pride ourselves in being the best when it comes to summoning playstyles. Some may take it a bit too seriously.

Sounds like quite an understatement if you ask me.

_ Pet expert #2: Please, O Great Sprout Lady, teach us what one must do to be one step closer to your greatness!

Stop it. I already have a guild full of muscleheads worshipping me and calling me Lady. I don't need another one kneeling before me, or worse, my pets!

_ Corpse player: This is the third time already! Do you want all of us to be burnt alive again?!

…I guess the other two happenstances would be Elri and my apprentices? doesn't show off Yassyl outside of combat much as far as I can tell.

And Mister Corpse, the way you tell them off is totally out! I am a pacifist, dammit~!

…

After a lot of [Inspect], discussing, theory crafting, and most importantly, Su sending us a mail detailing everything we need because she was actually inspecting my pets every day (silently), we now have a rough understanding of all the available options for Gelly's upcoming ascension~!

I will also have a lo~ng talk with Su about consents and whatnot later. That darn degenerate elf~!!!

Anyway, the evolution paths~!

[Elder Jelleaf: A Jelleaf that has survived the harsh world far longer than its fellow Jelleaf. A rare plant-type form that is a step up from Jelleaf in every way. Edible.

Experts' opinion: It's just a slightly bigger Jelleaf with "Elder" added to the name and some stats boosts. It's also the weakest path.]

[Great Jelleaf: A Jelleaf that not only survived, but thrived in its environment. A rare plant-type form resembling Jelleaf, but is actually a more powerful race that can compete against predators instead of hiding from them. Edible.

Experts' opinion: Much better stats than Elder Jelleaf, and it is big enough to be used as a mount! This path requires getting to level 20 however, so not many possess the patience to grind such a weak creature to that point.]

The first few evolution paths are not exactly evolution in the sense that gamers are used to. They are pretty much still the same pet with stronger stats and maybe some appearance modifications. Not advised for weak pets like Jelleaf, as they are not exactly much better post-evolution in these paths. A big Gelly that I can ride on sure is tempting though!

…

[Jelria: A new race branching from Jelleaf to better compete in its environment. It can harden parts of its body at will, allowing much better physical offense and defense compared to its previous form. Edible.

Experts' opinion: Now we are talking! This physical-oriented path makes it actually viable to use Jelleaf as a combatant. More spikes on top of its head too. So cool!]

[Jelshia: A new race branching from Jelleaf to better compete in its environment. It can cast magic from its leaves even if the main body is underground, allowing much better magical offense and defense compared to its previous form. Edible.

Experts' opinion: This is the magical-oriented path. Its ability to cast spell while buried is good for ambushes. Its leaves are sparkling by the way! So cute!]

Up next are evolution paths which have actually significant changes, be it in stats or role specialization. Summoners can expect a lot of work to accommodate the new playstyles that come with them, after the work put into unlocking these generally expensive evolutions that is.

…

[Avitus Jellicola (Purity): An ascension form of Jelleaf by absorbing the essences of an Avitus Caelicola. A two-faced being blessed with divine power and ability to switch between offense and defense at will. Edible.

Experts' opinion: Judging from the black and white flowers on its head, this is most likely a reward from defeating the mask-face Avitus Caelicola. Because did not get one from defeating Schennul and there is no path for the other Avitus Caelicola, the unlock conditions must be more demanding than just participating in the battle.]

[Intus Jelmersa: A new race of Jelleaf that emerged from the aftermath of a bloody battle. Its light weight and powerful bounces make it a very agile flanker or throwing weapon. Can also hold its own using various offensive capabilities. Edible.

Experts' opinion: We heard about this from , but what the heck did you do to get a new evolution path out of a single battle by throwing your pet?! Throwing specialization is a first too. Are the four leaves on its head supposed to spin like helicopter blades?]

[Anis Jellare: A new race of Jelleaf that emerged from the harsh environment of the void. A powerful magical attacker that explores and adapts to the new environment before its competitors. It traverses using flight instead of jumps with its new wings. Edible.

Experts' opinion: It can survive the void?! How do you even stay in that death trap for any extended period of time, let alone evolve?!]

[Mor Jelcilla: An ascension form of Jelleaf granted by the embodiment of death and destruction. It adopts a half-humanoid form to better serve its tamer. Loyal and fearless, the all-rounder servant will stop at nothing to complete its mission. Edible.

Experts' opinion: All-rounder usually means weaker stats overall. However, humanoid form may indicate a higher number of equipment slots. Is it possible to learn this power to unlock humanoid evolutions? We can't learn that from apparently.]

And last but not least, the weird evolution paths that can only be described as Sateri's various attempts to turn my pet into a last boss. Stop slandering my cute wriggling blob out of jealousy, you beautiful psycho Goddess~!

It somehow remains edible no matter the evolution by the way. Yes, even the half-humanoid path. Is this species cursed with tastiness or something…? In a way, it's both amazing and terrifying at the same time.

This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

_ Magni: We don't use this one because its material level is too low, but we do use plant-type monster meat in place of vegetables to save costs. Leader forbids us from using plant meat in vegan meals however…

You girls would be on a tour to apologize to all the vegans in the world if you did that, just saying…

I never thought about the price of vegetables in this virtual economy to be honest. Guess this is what happens when the majority of manpower are professional marauders rather than farmers huh? The corruption raid rendering nearly all land uninhabitable just pushes the price up further. All in all, I suppose it's much easier to grind materials from monsters than the monotonous foraging and [Farming].

That is about to change soon however. We have reclaimed a good chunk of land with our expansion effort, so the more peaceful players will have a base where they can [Recall] to after a raid, and more importantly, affordable agriculture land to do [Farming] on.

As a pacifist who loves nothing more than an uneventful, steady virtual life with my wives, I truly am happy for those farmers… and the land tax portion they would have to pay me. There's no need to resort to violence when I can accumulate wealth by doing nothing. Commence typical evil ruler laugh~

_ Cenny: The face of someone looking forward to a Jelleaf hotpot…

How the heck did you come to that conclusion?!

…

Now then, how am I going to choose between these (probably) OP options? Anything already known to the experts here is out, obviously. At least one of the experts preemptively offered me additional Jelleaf in case I want those common evolutions. They really are desperate to see the new paths, aren't they…?

Let's not say anything about Gelly's unique stuff like [Against All Odds] or [Tamed Beast Origin], un. I won't ever hear the end of these maniacs' pleads to study its (and my) dark history. No thanks to that!

That leaves me with the last four unique evolutions. We can't view their post-evolution stats and skills, but I have no doubt that each will be powerful one way or another. It's Sateri's handmade designs after all~

In that case, ma~ybe I can get away with choosing purely based on looks?

_ Magni: Owner, please take this seriously. This is a matter of life and death.

I'm pretty sure it's not!? Shouldn't you have informed me if it was so important instead of waiting for me to come across it by pure chance?!

_ Cenny: For us, that is.

It's MY pet though?!

_ Magni & Cenny: That's why…

_ Magni: You should pick Anis Jellare.

_ Cenny: You must choose Intus Jelmersa.

… Taking it seriously my cute butt. You girls are just telling me your preferences!!!

Wait, why are you glaring as if the other had just insulted your ancestors? I would love to say "Please don't fight because of me~!", but I have a feeling I would be dragged into something troublesome, and pointless, and troublesome. It's going to be sooooo troublesome, I had to say it twice!

_ Magni: Cenny, you should read the patch notes sometimes. cannot throw Gelly to mask her thinly veiled violent nature anymore, and that happened many patches ago.

_ Cenny: Magni, you are talking a lot about meta for someone who doesn't know the meta. If you had bothered to watch the no-damage challenge footage, you would have known that the only use has for a mage is healing duty.

There are so many sparks flying between them, they have become a fire hazard! So are the snarky insults, but for some reason I feel like I am caught in the crossfire as well?!

_ Magni: I see. It appears that we have reached an impasse.

At least pretend to try talking to each other before saying that!

_ Cenny: Uhm… Lovers quarrels are forbidden. How about we settle this with a competition instead?

A-are you seriously calling it a lover quarrel with a straight face like a hero facing an overlord in the ultimate battle? One that challenges the overlord to some niche sport game just to gain an edge at that.

_ Magni: You're on. Whoever kills more PKer out there in one hour wins.

…Well, blood sports certainly can be considered niche. In addition, Magni will have an advantage by being a mage possessing ranged and AoE attacks. Fair fights are for losers, am I right~?

_ Cenny: Minus point for civilian killed by friendly fire.

Oh~ By turning it into an escort mission, Cenny would negate Magni's advantage in AoE, and add her own advantage from her defense-oriented playstyle at the same time!

I wonder if I should begin explaining all of that out loud in a dramatic voice while making a funny surprised face? That's how it usually goes in sport-related plots right?

_ Magni: Kuh… Sly little fish you are. Fine. My victory is still inevitable though.

_ Cenny: …I wouldn't be so sure about that. Let us begin.

Spouting cliché lines which can only be heard in a dramatic final match, the two rush out of the shop.

Judging from the explosions that follow suit, I now have some doubt whether either of them will get a positive score by the end…

Whose bright idea was it to make these gorgeous genocidal maniacs my bodyguards again?

_ Corpse player: Uh… We would appreciate if you could make a decision before those two reduce this town to a pile of rubble.

I don’t mind, but you probably should file complaints directly to them instead of me.

What do you mean, I am the guildmaster and therefore responsible for their actions?!

Well, it's fine as long as I choose one right? Let's see…

Avitus Jellicola is a black/white blob with a glowing black leaf on one side and white leaf on the other. Considering its distant cousin Yassyl, I'm confident that it can change color and skillset using a transformation skill. I kind of want to pick this one just for the compatibility with my outfits' color palette alone~

Cenny's choice, Intus Jelmersa, resembles a shuttlecock used in badminton. This form is almost spherical in shape, with multiple protruding leaves that are proportionally much bigger than any other paths. I suppose it is supposed to be more aerial dynamic? If Sateri hadn't banned me from throwing Gelly, I would love to craft a racket and do another no-damage challenge for my badminton career debut~

On the other side, there's Anis Jellare, Magni's preference. This one is best described as a starry dark blue Jelleaf, with wings. I don't think biology works like that, but it's cool so I'll let that slide! I wonder if it's possible to grab Gelly and fly without [Friendship Engine] in this path~?

The last option, Mor Jelcilla, is what the degenerate patrons in the cafeteria would call a "slime girl" or "plant girl", depending on which part draws their attention more. The main wriggling blob is still there, now in dark purple color with half a human body made of the same semi-transparent material on top, which sprouts from the surrounding big leaves. Her outfit seems to be a heavily armored dress inspired by the tavern waitress outfit. Really giving off the atmosphere of a high-class servant for an evil villainess there, this path…

Before anyone asks, yes, I am judging purely based on appearances. As much as I want to put the stats and skills and playstyles into consideration, there's really not much to go on with just vague descriptions from [Inspect]. More importantly, I do not dare ask the experts because they are also fighting each other over which form to recommend to me!

Dear customers, reprimand the useless shopkeepers for neglecting their job instead of joining in the "discussion"!

Capable guards of , stop the two outside instead of barging in here to question me and participating in the civil war!

_ Corpse player: …It's now in our guild chat. The whole guild is coming to settle this once and for all.

You are NOT helping!!!

Screw the meta at this point! I'll just pick the cutest!

_ Shadyna: Everyone, stop! I choose Mor Jelcilla!

Other forms are all cute one way or another, but having a cute plant girl is double the cuteness! You can never have too much cuteness, end of discussion!

_ Everyone: YOU BE QUIET!

My opinion doesn't matter at all to these maniacs!!!

…

The ensuing "debate" turned into a full-blown war that lasted for three whole days after that. It involved not only summoners, but also players wanting to prove the superiority of their playstyles. By the time I finished a makeshift debuff totem to prevent the complete destruction of the town, there were at least eight major factions engaging in the melee based on the incoherent screams in the chat.

This player base gets agitated by the weirdest reasons, I'm telling you…

Thanks to the totem doing exactly as advertised, the damage to surrounding buildings was minimal. One would think the murderous maniacs would stop once they realized that their damage was non-existent, but nope~. They decided that my debuff was a challenge for them to prove their (playstyle's) worth, and escalated even further!

In the end, I figured that there was nothing I could do to stop them, not without turning on [Solar Radiance] and killing everyone at least, so I left for the edge of the world to do the evolution quest. Since it was a corpse-gathering task, I quickly burnt a good portion of the ecosystem there and evolved Gelly while the war was still raging on across the world and board.

No, I refuse to say anything about Gelly requiring a mountain worth of corpses to evolve. This cute pacifist won't be pushed around by Sateri's online bullying~!

On an unrelated note, Magni and Cenny were scolded and got their salary docked for causing a lot of infrastructure (and collateral) damage during their rampage on the other side of town.

The competition result? Disqualified by having negative score, both of them.

Sigh~

____________

were patrolling the streets of Ample Chest when they received news of an(other) attack in the central market. Being the guardians of justice, protectors of newbies (don't mind the grumpy assassin), and most importantly, part-timers for , they quickly [Recall] to subdue the PKers.

Upon arriving at the crime scene, they immediately found the dead body.

…They didn't expect it to be the PKer's though.

_ Maximus: …Oi, , Merashiel. What the heck happened here?

In front of them is the surreal scene of two crazy women taking turns beating the dead corpse, with their [Artifact]-grade weapons, repeatedly.

_ Hessenria: This maniac attacked us unprovoked while we were shopping.

_ Tippe: Unforgivable!

_ Merashiel: I know right~? And I was so~ looking forward to enjoying our date too~

_ Tippe: Absolutely unforgivable!!!

The smiling maniac sure is enjoying herself though.

_ (Dead?) PKer: I'm sorry! I will not PK anyone again! I promise!!!

_ Merashiel: E~h~? You wanted to cause pain and suffering, did you not? That's why~ We will teach you a lesson… on how to do it properly~

_ (Dead?) PKer: Somebody help meeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!!!

It's a miracle, or a curse, that the criminal's corpse has not disintegrated from the constant assaults, is what most witnessing players are thinking, probably.

To the experts of the game, however, there is no such thing as miracles. With a quick [Inspect], players have figured it out.

The shining staff in Merashiel's hands is enchanted with [Resurrection]. In other words, the idiotic PKer there is being revived by the crazy healer, and then killed the next moment by the lead waitress. Over and over again.

_ Ignar: *Sighs* Don't bully the new guys too much, okay?

_ Merashiel: Understood~

_ (Dead?) PKer: Somebodyyyyyyyyyy!!!

Despite the questionable value for educational purpose, the PK stream was well-received by the community afterwards.

--- Topic: PK War Room ---

…

## The Dark Knife

The Ranch is in total chaos! I don't know what you guys did while I was offline, but we did it! (≧ロ≦)

##

## UnseenMurdererY

We didn't do anything though…?

EDIT: Just went back there. What the heck happened?!

##

## StoneHoarder

You guys made Torenis bring "her" to the branch, so it's your fault. (╬ ಠ_ಠ)

By the way, between one strong summon and multiple weak summons, which do you think is better?

##

## The Dark Knife

I don't feel happy one bit when you put it that way… (*￣m￣)

##

## SilentKillerX

Considering how defense works in this game (I was learning!), wouldn't a single strong summon have an overwhelming advantage?

##

## StoneHoarder

(＃ﾟДﾟ)

@SilentKillerX: Come to The Ranch. I'll show you how REAL players PK around here.

##

## SilentKillerX

Wait, why?!

##

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--- Topic: Strongest playstyle? ---

## Shining Knight

As thread name. Just curious since people were talking a lot about playstyles today.

##

## Deeply Intelligent

"Talking" is a bit of an understatement. We are literally killing each other over here.

Numerical and firepower superiority is the way, obviously.

##

## Fire mage of Justice

You guys want to start ANOTHER flame war here as well?! щ(ﾟДﾟщ)

##

## Bountiful Hunter

Money for the best equipment, obviously. Without good equipment, you'll end up like this [Link]

##

## GoldBar9999

How envious! (´▽`)

Money buys good allies too. You can't go wrong with having more money.

##

## Nearseeing Sage

True answer: The playstyle that allows a single player to compensate for the whole Phoenix Ashes who pulled back to do this *BEEP* bickering! ヽ(`Д´)ﾉ

##

## Mage of Sin

I'm too scared to ask what is going on at the edge of the world at this point (￣□￣;)

##

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