I knew from day one that there was a potential for people to change their race upon evolving. The system had told me that when I first entered the tutorial. Up until now I hadn’t gotten any new races offered to me, and aside from Grant I knew nobody else who had. My guess was that they were more commonly offered at later evolutions, but given that I was the first person in the tutorial to reach this point I couldn’t really confirm that.

Despite the fact that these races seemed like my only choices, I had a strong feeling that I could choose to not change my race at all. It wasn’t a feeling I could explain, and was probably one being forced upon me by the system. At least I knew that I could remain human if I really desired to.

Unlike the classes, which had been shown to me on massive stone pillars during both of my previous evolutions, my new race choices were all displayed on the pedestals of very large and very lifelike statues of myself. Each of them looked like me, but had slight changes. One of them looks like a taller, more muscular version of me. Another looks like a slightly more handsome, pointy eared version of me. The last doesn’t seem to have any changes from my current appearance.

I randomly pick the taller statue to check out first. I walk over to it and read the description carved into the pedestal.

Arch-human (Tier 2)

A human who has broken through the barrier of level 100 and ascended past their base form. Arch humans receive a bonus balanced across all attributes as well as the skill Endear (Special)

Race requirements: Level 100, Human

Something about the race felt wrong. I double checked my stat screen and confirmed the feeling, noting that the tier of the race was the exact same as my current one. Did that mean I’d be getting the same amount of stats from my race as I was before? I really hope that isn’t the case, because that increase is one of the main things that contributed to the massive power gaps between evolutions.

Obviously there had to be some benefit to picking this race over sticking with my current one. Perhaps it was the attribute bonus the race provided that was supposed to provide the increase to power. Maybe there was some benefit to remaining at the same tier as before. I could deliberate more and decide once I checked out the other two options.

For no reason in particular I decide to run my hand over the text on the pedestal. As soon as my fingers come into contact with the stone, the world around me transforms into an arena much like the one I’d been in not long ago. Before I have a chance to question it, a flash of movement in front of me grabs my attention. Two monsters clashed against each other, both a blur as they exchanged blows and cast spells at one another.

For a brief moment their weapons lock long enough to give each creature pause, which gives me enough time to see them. On the left was a tall monster with green skin and heavy metal armor. It looked like a stereotypical orc. On the right was not a monster, but someone that looked a lot like me.

No, that is me.

This copy of my was a bit taller and a bit more muscular, clearly visible through the armor. It wielded a sword made of mana in one hand and my staff in its other hand.

The two beings once more turned into a blur of speed and exchanged blows that shook the ground under them.

Well, I didn’t have to worry about not seeing a jump in power anymore. If this was supposed to be a preview of what choosing this race was going to be like, then I could confidently say this was better than whatever increase in stats not changing my race would provide. I still didn’t know what the Endear skill would do, but that would just be a side benefit compared to the raw power this option could give me.

After about thirty seconds of watching the intense fight, the world once more fades to the black void that is my evolution space. I look to my right and see one of the other statues, this one the pointy eared version of myself.

Half-elf (Tier 2)

A mix between the elven and human races, taking the best of both worlds. Half elves have a greater aptitude for magic than humans, while not being quite as magically potent as their pure-blood counterparts. They also display physical strength beyond what elves possess, while being weaker than a human. This class provides an increase to magical abilities as well as the Coalesce (Special) skill.

Race requirements: Legendary Mana Manipulation skill

This was clearly meant to lean more towards magic and away from close quarters combat. Aside from how obvious that was, it was also confirmed when I placed a hand on the pedestal and got to see my half-elf self in action.

Once more in the arena, there were two slightly slower blurs of speed from before. While they were slower, the power they displayed was no less than what was shown off by the previous option. What made up for the lower speed was the sheer power behind every single spell that launched out from the staff the half-elf wielded. Dozens of spells fired towards the orc that was being fought, each one rivaling the strength of a triple cast mana blast at point-blank range.

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On top of that, the shell of mana around the half elf shrugged off every attack from the orc as if they hadn’t even made contact. It didn’t even shimmer as mine tended to do when taking powerful attacks head on. If I had to bet on it, I doubted that I could break through that shield without activating my innate skill. Even then, I wasn’t too confident.

After the display ended, I moved on to the last statue. It was visually the least interesting, looking exactly like me. For that reason I’d saved it for last.

Manaling (Tier 1)

The manaling has become so intertwined with their mana that they incorporate the energy into their very body and soul. A manaling’s body is primarily made up of their mana. Provides massive magical potential as well as the Reconstruct (Special) skill.

Requirements: Legendary mana manipulation skill, Legendary Aura manipulation skill, Mind attribute primary focus - Capacity

This one was an even lower tier than the other two, and had much steeper requirements. It required not one, but two legendary skills. It also required me to have capacity as the primary focus for my mind stat. I didn’t have that at the moment, so I assumed it meant capacity would be forcibly switched into the primary slot once I selected it.

That was far from ideal. Potency being my primary focus meant that I pretty much always had firepower far stronger than anybody else my level. Now though, it would be a smaller margin than it was previously. I wonder if Grant had been forced to change his attribute focuses when he changed his race.

I place my hand on the pedestal, and what I see sucks any objections I may have had right out of my mouth.

As soon as the preview started, it was instant action. My copy was still fighting the same orc as before, throwing spells and fighting with weapons made of mana. Each individual spell wasn’t quite as powerful as they were in the preview of the half-elf, but they weren’t too far off. On top of that, the spells were coming out of every part of my body. They shot out from my hands, arms, shoulders, hips, back, and legs.

On top of the massive quantity of spells that were firing out, I could feel the massive amounts of mana stored within the body of my copy. The description wasn’t lying when it said my body would become primarily mana. With how much power was sitting in that body, it felt like I was staring at a massive bomb ready to explode at any time.

About halfway through the preview, the orc seemed to use some kind of skill as it swung its massive club down to cave in the head of my copy. To my amazement, my copy raised its arm, transforming the limb into a shield to deflect the blow.

The preview ended not long after that. My mind was pretty much made up by now. I still wasn’t completely sure what the tiers of the races meant, but given that the requirements for this race had two legendary skills instead of the one that the half-elf required, I felt that this was probably the rarer option of the two. Besides, the previews showed that the lower tier wouldn’t result in a significant loss of power, so it couldn’t be that bad right?

I resolve to choose manaling as my new race, and a confirmation prompt appears before me.

Are you sure you would like to select Manaling (Tier 1) as your new race? Upon confirmation, capacity will be automatically slotted as the primary focus of your mind attribute.

“Yes.” I say. Once the word leaves my mouth, I can feel my body start changing. A tingling sensation spreads across every inch of skin, and after about a minute it fades. I look down at my hands and legs. Nothing has visually changed, but I can feel that they are now made entirely of mana.

I spend a few minutes looking through my body and taking note of all of the changes. For starters, it seems the only parts of my body not replaced by mana are my brain and my heart. Everywhere else has been replaced by extremely dense mana. Even that might be an understatement, as one leg alone contains more mana than my entire body did pre-evolution. I don’t know how much of that I can access before it starts damaging me, and I resolve to figure that out as soon as this evolution is complete.

I take a look at the familiar stone pillars that had appeared while I was becoming a manaling. Each one had a class and a description on them, like they always did. I begin reading through all of them, giving each a once over.

Mana-Made Menace

Striking fear into all who dare oppose them, a mana-made menace displays overwhelming power over those weaker than them. The mana-made menace specializes in defeating hordes of enemies of a similar or lower level, gaining strength as they become outnumbered. Grants the Overpower (Special) skill upon selection.

Innate skill unlocked upon selection: Suppression

Dimensional Warden

Showing total control of the space around them, the dimensional warden wins their fights not only through self empowerment, but through the sabotage of others. Using their skills to weaken all within their aura, the dimensional warden traps all who enter. Grants the Dimensional Chain (Special) skill upon selection.

Innate skill unlocked upon selection: Lockdown

Auric Annihilator

A battle can be one before it ever begins. The auric annihilator aims to use their aura to utterly and thoroughly destroy any who cross their path. With far more ease than any other, the auric annihilator can shatter the aura of their opponent, leaving them vulnerable at best, and dead at worst. Grants the Aura Crush (Special) skill upon selection.

Innate skill unlocked upon selection: Aura Dominion

Peerless Dimensional Duelist

An utterly undefeatable foe in a fair fight. The peerless dimensional duelist looks higher for true challenge, often facing opponents of far greater power than themselves, taking them on alone. Now being comprised entirely made of mana, the peerless dimensional duelist is harder to put down than ever. Grants the Indomitable (Special) skill upon selection.

Innate skill unlocked upon selection: Untouchable

Wow.

In my previous two evolutions, there had been one or two classes that obviously stood out from the rest. A few that were so obviously better that the rest weren’t even worth considering. This time, all four looked like they would be extremely powerful if used to their fullest potential. This was not a decision I could make lightly. None of my evolutions were, but this time it was especially important for a few reasons.

From talking to Talus, I knew that my next evolution wouldn’t come until level 200. That meant that whatever class I picked now would be what I was stuck with for far longer than I’d had any of my others. The only class out of this list that I had any reservations about was the Mana-made Menace due to it seemingly clashing directly with my current class. If I picked it though, it would mean that whether I was fighting those weaker than me or stronger than me, I’d be receiving a boost to my stats. I’d be able to take on armies by myself. It would make me far more versatile. But would that versatility be worth the trade off of not specializing further by becoming a Peerless Dimensional Duelist?

This is going to take a lot of thinking. So, that is exactly what I do. I plop down on the floor, cross my legs, and begin to think about what choice would be the best pick for me.