15 Minutes Earlier
Vey watches Sera from over its shoulder. It hadn’t really been paying attention to when she fell asleep, but it knows that it was at least before it got to its level up and evolution options. Thinking of those, Vey examines the options carefully, but first consults System Help for monster evolution while it stands up and walks to its seat at the table. As an afterthought, it prepares Sera some food from [Conjure Simple Meal] and commands one of the zombies to bring down the barrel of salted fish for Sera, since Vey thinks she’ll be hungry when she wakes up. Or, if she’s angry again, it can distract her with food. Either works.
System Help
Subject; Monster Evolution
Monsters can evolve after meeting certain criteria. These usually involve mastery over their innate abilities and fulfilling their ‘purpose’ as monsters(usually by killing non-monster mortals). Monsters do not need to be intelligent to evolve. When monsters evolve, in addition to their new race, they are given options for evolution paths, sorted by color. Each path focuses on something different, for example, Red focuses on the strength stat, Blue on AC. Monsters are also given a choice between enhanced emotions and communication, enhanced skills, or enhanced proficiencies when evolving.
That explanation strikes Vey as interesting, since that would mean that ‘race’ isn’t an immutable attribute, and there might be other ways to change it. That doesn’t matter now, but it would be something to look into in the future. Particularly if it can find some way to ‘evolve’ its fellow mindless undead, without having to rely on spells, that would be ideal. Still, right now, it’s options for evolution are as follows.
Evolved Skeleton
Middle Tier Undead
Evolved Skeletons are the basic upgrade path for a skeleton, and the second tier of undead skeleton that can be created by [Create Undead] as opposed [Animate Dead]. Evolved Skeletons boast a +2 stat boost to all stats, in addition to the boost from the normal Skeleton traits. It boasts the unique Flesh Guise skill, which allows an Evolved Skeleton to temporarily take on the traits of a Zombie.
Undead Golem, Arcane
Middle Tier Undead Construct
Undead Golems are undead, but no longer possess bodies comparable to any living creatures. They are usually large, hulking behemoths, made up of kludged together skeletons and corpses. Arcane Undead Golems focus on incorporating Transmutation magic as part of their bodies. They boast a +4 stat boost to Strength and Constitution and the Automata skill.
Necropolitan(Human)
Middle Tier Undead
Necropolitans are naturally sapient undead, usually created from living humans that willingly cross into the God of Undeath’s realm, or are evolved from lesser intelligent undead. Necropolitans boast a +2 to charisma, a body indistinguishable from a living human’s save for skin complexion, and the Human Adaptability skill.
Revived Fossil
Middle Tier Undead
Revived Fossil is an alternate version of Evolved Skeleton. Revived Fossils are created from and thus boast a more traditionally monstrous skeleton, usually Saurian or Avian, a +4 boost to all physical stats, and the Rampage skill. Revived Fossils lose proficiency in any weapons other than Natural Weapons and lose proficiency in all armors.
Night Skeleton
Middle Tier Undead
Night Skeleton is an alternate version of Evolved Skeleton. Night Skeletons have the same stat boosts as Evolved Skeletons, but trade the Flesh Guise skill for the Shadowform skill and the Partially Incorporeal magical effect.
Vey rules out Undead Golem and Revived Fossil practically out of hand. A larger, taller, and stronger form might be valuable were it a fighter or pure monster, but it isn’t. Vey is a mage, and one that lives in a place with very short entrances to a lot of its most used areas. In the opposite line of thinking, Necropolitan is useless, it feels, since Vey doesn’t plan to go into the village stealthily, if it ever does at all. Its final options then, are Evolved or Night Skeleton. While becoming partially incorporeal is somewhat tempting, after its experience with being legitimately injured for the first time and how Sera reacted to that, the Flesh Guise skill sounds more valuable.
It doesn’t plan on making the decision right now, though. The zombie finally brings down the barrel, and Vey sets out a few fish for Sera while it thinks on the order of operations for its current situation. Actually, that isn't very hard, as based on nothing more than complicated than the thought 'Wizard is better', Vey decides that the class level comes first, so it goes ahead and accepts the level up process. Vey hadn’t paid much attention to it the last time it leveled up, or the first time for that matter, but the process of its health and mana increasing is… strange. It can’t feel any changes, but there is a definite sense of something happening that it can’t feel. The process seems like it will be over quickly enough, barely a couple minutes from now, actually, and Vey doesn’t see any restrictions on its ability to look through more evolution information while it waits.
The evolution ‘paths’ as the system called them, are very… vague. Vague is the word Vey wants to use, as it doesn’t seem like there is actually a description for any of them beyond things like ‘focuses on strength’ or ‘grants increased skill efficiency’. The only one that Vey knows for sure would be useful is White, with the description ‘grants enhanced magical perception’, which is something that Vey wishes its own form of vision did by default, but that it doesn’t want to waste one of its prepared spell slots on [Detect Magic] to get.
You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.
Vey finalizes its decision, Night Skeleton is interesting, but doesn’t seem as generically useful as Evolved Skeleton, and White is the only evolution path that Vey knows for a fact it will use. Perhaps Vey is being too hasty in its decision making, and specializing a little is the ‘correct’ choice, but it firmly believes that since Wizard is a generalist spellcasting class, it would be best combined with a generalized statline as well. As for the choice between better communication, better skills, and better proficiencies, the choice is obvious. The latter two aren't incredibly useful to a caster, and emotions and communications are something it has been consistently struggling with, so enhanced emotions and better communication skills it is, though Vey admittedly feels a little bias to the options coming from a certain elf-shaped bulge in the fur blanket on the bed. Vey begins its evolution immediately as its level up finishes. The moment it mentally finalizes the start of its evolution, it feels its head start to spin, and pain-actual pain, that thing it is supposedly immune to-before falling unconscious.
Congratulations on your Evolution to Evolved Skeleton
Your Race is now Evolved Skeleton
Your Subrace is now White Evolution Path
You have gained 2 additional monster HD, your Undead Lieutenant and Awakened magical effects have been merged into the Undead Leadership skill, and their stat boosts have been merged into your base stats. Your race now grants you an additional +2 to all stats, including NAC, and a +5ft movement range. Due to your proximity to [Error], who possesses the blessing [Error], during your evolution, your race grants you an additional +2 charisma, for a total of +4.
You have gained the Flesh Guise active skill, You have gained the Evolved One title, you have gained the Evolved: Innate Arcane Sight and Evolved: Emotional Enhancement magical effects.
You now have a total HD of 6, despite being level 4. This means your further monster experience will be capped until your level is equal to your HD once more.
Due to your proximity to [Error] at the time of your evolution, [Error] has gained the Lifetime Achievement: Monsters Tamed[Error]: 1
Vey wakes to the sound of someone pulling out the other chair at the table, and sitting down. He-yes, he, he’s not sure why, but that feels more correct now-tilts his head down, and levels his gaze on Sera. Or tries to, as he is momentarily blinded by the sight of her faint magical aura, identical to the last time he had seen it with [Detect Magic], but more… vivid, colorful, even. Actually, Vey notices that everything seems more colorful with its new sight, and it can even see its own magical aura plainly by looking down, something [Detect Magic] couldn’t do. It takes Vey a second to realize what he is seeing. ‘Enhanced magical perception’ was evidently meant literally, as Vey now perceives magic the same way he perceives sight, if he is interpreting this correctly. Vey feels a bit of wonderment at that, the comparison between the muted colors, regardless of light level, that his former body saw and the sharp, more saturated ones he sees now.
“Hello, Sera. I-” Vey brings his left hand up to his skull and feels at his jaw for a moment, confused as to why his voice sounds so much more… human? Natural? And the look he spots on Sera’s face makes it clear that she is suffering the same apparent confusion. “I guess we should talk about this...”
“What… Happened to you? How long was I asleep? What-” Sera starts, confusion and concern present in her voice, but Vey holds up one of his hands to stop her.
“I evolved. And leveled up. It couldn’t have taken longer than twenty minutes.” Vey says calmly, and holds up his arms for Sera to see. “Do I look that different?”
“You’re… whiter, sort of like snow… and taller… and your eyes are bigger. Is that what evolution does?” Sera asks, holding out her hands as if to ask for Vey’s. He puts his left hand into both of hers, and Sera lightly tugs at some of Vey’s fingers. “And the blood between the knuckles is gone… By the gods, you’re…”
“What's snow? And I'm an Evolved Skeleton now. When I evolved, some things popped up from the system, saying I was ‘in close proximity’ to someone with some sort of blessing. Do you have anything like that?” Vey asks, letting Sera play with his hand for far longer than was probably necessary, but he knows that Sera does like being in physical contact with him after waking up. Vey watches as Sera’s eyes focus on something that isn’t him for a moment, before she shakes her head.
“I don’t see anything like that… Just… It says I’ve tamed a monster, but it isn’t telling me what type.” Sera lets go of Vey’s hand, and starts fidgeting with her own for a moment before continuing. “What level are you now?”
“I’m level four, but my monster evolution means I’m technically on par with a level six mortal, as far as the system is concerned.” Vey pulls his hand back as Sera takes a bite of the salted fish, her face straining a bit at first, probably from the salt, before she chews and swallows, and then opens her mouth to begin speaking again.
“So… wouldn’t that mean the system thinks I tamed you?” Sera’s tone seems to be skeptical of even herself, and Vey wasn’t prepared for what she said either. He loses focus on her for a moment, his equivalent of ‘blinking’, before evaluating the implications of that.
“Is that incorrect?” He asks, in a similar tone to Sera before him, which prompts the two to simply stare across the table at each other for a moment. Vey’s vision seems to finally be coming to terms with his mind, which also apparently comes with the perk of examining Sera’s face in greater detail than before. He wonders if she was always this expressive with just her eyes alone, or if he just never noticed before.
“Ha… I… I don’t want to try and answer that… It feels wrong to say that something like you isn’t a monster, but… It still feels wrong to think of you like a thing that can be tamed.” Sera’s response comes after a full minute of staring, during which Sera leaned back in her chair to get more comfortable. “Plus… Even if you’re an undead with no gender or parents or-”
“I have a gender now, though.” Vey interrupts flatly, to a look of total, all-consuming shock on Sera’s face as he continues. “When I came to just now… That felt more right, calling myself ‘male’ in my mind… I don’t know why. I think it has to do with me being a proper sapient undead now instead of an awakened skeleton.”
“Huh? That’s…” Sera’s voice sounds shaky, and Vey spots a definite look of fear flash across her face briefly. Shit. I should have thought of that before I told her… How do I make her think that- Vey catches himself thinking about lying to Sera at the same time she continues. “I… I’m going to need some time to get used to thinking of you like that, but I suppose it doesn’t really change anything between us this far down the rabbit hole.”
“Sera… I wasn’t thinking about that when I interrupted you just now. I’m sorry.” Vey tries his best to use the same tone and phrasing Sera does when apologizing to him, but finds her shaking her head at him.
“We don’t need to avoid talking about that anymore. And I know you aren’t like that. It was just… It's a little hard to process all at once.” Sera’s assurance now firmly in mind, Vey mentally sighs and takes a moment to think to himself while Sera starts eating in earnest.
“I… I want to explain my full status to you. You asked me before not to lie to you, but I think I understand now that what you actually meant was to not hide things from you when you want to know them?” Sera nods in response, and Vey feels a little bit of excitement at being able to better comprehend what Sera wants of him, so he continues in earnest. “This might get a bit long… My race is Evolved Skeleton, subrace White Evolution Path, Alignment-”