Chapter 61 - An Individual Emerges_Mobs (Monster Evolution LitRPG)

One moment Gi had light streaking from his fingertips set to end the adventurers that had killed half of his new clan. The next moment, he floated in that sea of white. The fervor of combat jarred heavily with the serenity of the realm between stages. He looked around not as satisfied as he should be for having finally passed the Adolescent Stage.

For one, he’d only succeeded because half of his clan had died. He hadn’t known any of them individually, but as a whole, they’d been his family. Despite their deaths, he hadn’t even been able to avenge them. At the very least, not listening to Elizabeth had been the right move. None of his Elites had even been injured and he’d finally pushed the power he’d started to cultivate towards doing what he wanted instead of everyone else.

Now that he was a Classer and his clan was behind him, Gi was finally going to exert Danna’s will on this world.

As though it had waited for his mind to settle, the system kicked in at that final thought.

Adolescent Stage has ended.

Primary Tasks completed.

No Optional Tasks for Adolescent Stage.

Current Level: 10

Hidden Achievement completed! Kill a monster in the Individual Stage as an Adolescent.

1 Heart Orb awarded.

Please choose a skill to become your Domain and Class.

Gi was intrigued by the Heart Orb reward for the hidden achievement that he’d gotten from killing Yom. He didn't know what it was for, but if it worked like the Child Stage with Adolescent Stage costs, it would be worth roughly four thousand Soul Orbs. He was sure that wasn't quite right anymore and perhaps it wasn't as large of a reward as a Classer now, but it was interesting.

The real reward for this stage though was his Domain. He’d been taking notes on this for awhile and he’d been confident that it would be something like this. When Elizabeth had fought Ferra, the two of them had released a field of ice and a field of wind respectively. Slice-Slice, the weak progenitor, had some kind of telekinetic domain of some unknown aspect.

Yom was tougher. He suspected the explosion type power he’d used had been his domain, but it didn’t match what he’d suspected from watching the battle of Elizabeth and Ferra. Hoping for more information, he queried the system for additional information on Domains.

A Domain Skill is an upgraded version of one of your current skills. Its effect grows into an area around the user that can be maintained and reinforced with Aether. Monsters with poor Aether control might not get much from their Domain skill if they choose something that requires a lot of Aether. Any skill, including passive ones, can become a Domain though they will change fundamentally.

Additionally, Domains become an inherent part of yourself and will not block other Skills from being used at the same time.

If Gi could do anything other than float, he might have lost his feet. Selecting a Domain had seemed strong when he’d simply thought of it as a strong area of effect skill. It was much, much more than that though. If he understood it right, he could select [Concealing Light] and not only could he have a whole Squad be invisible, but he could also still cast [Divine Bolt] behind that curtain of light.

He immediately pulled up his skills.

Trait Skills:

* Bishop (D)

* Danna's Conduit (D)

* Concealing Light (D)

* Celerity (D)

* Divine Bolt (E)

* Merfolk's Blessing (E+)

Skills

* Religion (E)

* Light Armor (E)

* Persuasion (E)

* Leadership (E)

* Blunt Weapons (E)

* Fighting Style (Unnamed) (E)

As he considered each skill, a vision of himself appeared in front of him demonstrating each Domain as it might exist. The system had never done this before and his assumption that it was getting more helpful as he passed through the stages had to be true.

Flicking through them quickly, he realized that only the Trait Skills came with a vision. He could still choose a generic skill as his Domain, but he was confident that it would much weaker than his others. It was a shame though as he was very curious how those would manifest.

Settling in, he decided to consider each one of his Trait Skills individually. This was an important decision after all.

At the top was Bishop. The vision showed Gi surrounded by six summoned pristine white Otters. Double what he could currently summon. Two used a mace and shield to fight off unseen enemies as they approached their position. Another wielded a river stone in one hand and used the upgraded [Celerity] to dart between each flank as a skirmish fighter. The other three let loose a barrage of light into the unseen enemies, each one working together to ensure there was an unending stream of light.

At the same time, Gi had activated [Concealing Light] and stalked through the ranks of his summons, waiting for the moment to drop a charged [Divine Bolt] where it was needed or quickly shifting over to attack an unprotected flank with his rock wielding summon.

The real Gi, still floating in that sea of white, was in awe. Not only did it double his summons, it freed him up to truly fight while they were out, provided them increased durability, and better coordination. This Domain would be hard to top.

He focused on the next one. To his disappointment, [Danna’s Conduit] didn’t really show much. The vision simply had him sitting there. Despite the unexciting vision, it did come with some additional details. Danna would be able to use him to wield her power much more effectively. Compared to his current skill, it would be the difference between a spark and a lightning bolt.

It could be a hugely effective tool. He trusted Danna to guide and lead him, but the fact that he didn’t know exactly what it would do turned him off.

“My apologies, Danna,” Gi said, lowering his head slightly.

[Concealing Light] was next on the list and it worked exactly like he’d expected. He could hide an entire Squad inside of it and even fight from within it. Even if he was solo, he could pull the Domain back with much greater control than before making it way more efficient. He could be a sneaking assassin in the sunlight.

For some of his current plans, that would be very, very useful. He put it on the short list and moved on to the next.

[Celerity]. In it’s upgraded form, his Aether slowly built up charges and could use that to do a short teleport. He had to actually be able to reach there on foot. That last stipulation went away with using this as his Domain. He could teleport freely anywhere within his Domain and he could teleport allies as well. The number of charges went up from three to six as a Domain meaning anyone trying to fight him in a Squad would be in danger from every angle.

The vision itself was chaos as Gi and his clan within his domain would teleport to the side of an enemy with a two handed mace that the opponent would need to block. As soon as they turned, Gi would appear with his shattered light version of [Divine Bolt] into their back. Just as soon as one of those unseen enemies would turn to attack Gi who’d appeared in their midst, he was already gone, charging another attack from far away.

Just imagining it while training with Doyle brought a smile to his face. That crab was too fast for his own good.

[Divine Bolt]. His core skill.

This vision cycled through two different modes for Gi’s benefit. The first an aura of light surrounded Gi. Any monster that walked into it would be slowly damaged over time. This version did less than his current attack, but it was an area of effect and it didn’t prevent him from using the standard version of [Divine Bolt] within the aura. It was a pure benefit that would be good against weaker enemies or help him win a war of attrition against a tough enemy. Imagining having that against the Ghasts in the Child Stage made him want it immediately.

The second form was similar to how Ferra’s functioned. There was a diffuse light throughout his domain and beams of light would occasionally shoot out, adding on damage in a way that would work well in a duel.

The best perk was that this was his main skill. He could still attack without disrupting any of his other skills. This Domain would provide a ton of flexibility for that reason alone.

“All right, last one.” He pulled up [Merfolk’s Blessing]. He didn’t have high hopes for it, but the vision immediately changed his mind. The passive skill that allowed him to breathe underwater and swim more quickly had completely transformed as a Domain Skill.

A dome of water surrounded Gi in the vision. He swam through it even swifter than he could move on land, throwing out [Divine Bolt] at his unseen enemies. Even his otters could swim in the water provided. Anyone that had an upgraded Constitution such as Tiria would also be able to breathe underwater. Assuming his Quicksilver Body was something inheritable like he assumed at least.

Lastly, it essentially allowed him to fly. As long as he had Aether, he could fly through the air. The upper levels of Igna would no longer be barred from him. If a Spiked Eagle tried to dive on him from above, they’d have to fight him in his element without him losing the ability to chase after them. That provided a ton of uses.

Every single one of his skills would be amazing as a Domain. But what to choose?

Gi thought through his plans that he’d had to set aside until he brought his clan into this world. Ultimately, he wanted to convert all of Igna - through diplomacy or force. To do that, he’d have to be able to fly, but he already had some ideas for that especially after seeing these domains.

As amazing as it would be, he decided to write off [Merfolk’s Blessing] for this reason.

Next, he crossed off [Concealing Light]. As cool as it sounded, practically, it had some hurdles. Even as a Domain, it didn’t block sound nor did it work especially well in the dark. Not being able to use his Domain skill effectively half the time made that one get dropped. Too bad as a suddenly appearing army would be very effective for what he wanted to do.

Having already decided against [Danna’s Conduit], that left [Celerity], [Divine Bolt], and [Bishop]. [Divine Bolt] despite it flexibility would really only help him do what he already did better. It wasn’t a bad option, but cutting down weak monsters wasn’t that difficult and the other version would only make him a better duelist.

If he just wanted to be a good duelist, it was better to pick up [Celerity]. The amount of flexibility and tricky, awkward angles that he could fire from with that would put [Divine Bolt] to shame by far. It had a little less pure damage, but the increased mobility meant that any single monster was almost doomed.

Of course, he would rarely ever fight only a single monster either.

All of them sounded really good, but after going through them, he could only choose [Bishop]. Three more fighters that didn’t take up Squad slots who could use also his Skills? They’d be good against a single fighter. They’d be good against multiple fighters. He could use [Concealing Light] to sneak close and then make a summoned army appear out of nowhere. His mobility would be less than with [Celerity] and his single target damage would be less than with [Divine Bolt], but he felt it was a good trade off. On top of all that, any skills he gained in the future would continue to improve his summons.

Taking that into consideration, the choice seemed obvious.

He selected [Bishop] mentally and his very soul trembled. The pathways in his body that Aether moved down to activate his skills thrummed like a plucked string as their intrinsic nature changed. The [Bishop] skill had always felt like it was near his head, but that section of his person seemed to diffuse into his Soul. It wasn't just a part of him. It was him.

The pathways moved and shivered as they changed, simultaneously like a ripple on the surface of a pond with turbulent waters beneath. The dichotomy of smooth waves and churning essence felt uncomfortable, but more like when you are trying to pop your back and you're just slightly off from doing it correctly.

With a snap, the sensation finished and [Bishop] fully suffused into his soul. However, it wasn't [Bishop] any longer.

[Archbishop] - May summon six otters to fight for you. They will have increased durability, increased control, and will be able to use your skills.

A smile crossed his face. With this skill, he'd start to conquer Igna, but there was only one more thing he needed and the system would provide.

Adjust Clan Distribution?

Cleric: 43%

Fighter: 57%

Gi was surprised that Cleric wasn't higher as that was the job he'd taken after all. Maybe the stat bonuses that he'd gotten from Danna back in the Child Stage were skewing the results. Still, he needed more information. Focusing on each category split them out into groups similarly to how he'd broken them out in the Dungeon. He was loving the more helpful system.

Spawn Ratios

Damage Cleric - 35%

Healers - 8%

Guardian - 24%

Agility Fighters - 33%

Spread of 10% available.

He definitely wanted more Healers. The utility that the Angelic Mice brought couldn’t be denied, but he didn’t want to continue to empower them with his needs either. He was tempted to put the full ten percent into Healers, but where to pull from?

If he had more healers, the guardian like Samba would be much more useful. Even if not, his clan could recover from their wounds much more easily. Swapping them with Damage Clerics seemed like a good idea, but he needed a strong ranged option if his plans could come to fruition.

That left Agility Fighters as the odd one out. They were over indexed due to how he’d planned his build in the Child Stage, he was sure. He pulled all ten from Agility Fighters and placed them into Healers.

Spawn Ratios

Damage Cleric - 35%

Healers - 18%

Guardian - 24%

Agility Fighters - 23%

After looking it over, he decided that it was good enough. He didn’t want to pull more from his Clerics nor did he want to change the balance of anything else. If he could pull three more percent, it might be different, but with a ten spread. This was what he wanted. He gave a mental selection.

With his ascension from Adolescent Stage done, it was time for him to step into the Individual Stage as the Progenitor of a soon to be powerful clan. He had rivals in the Illusor Guild, enemies in whomever the followers of Noctua Dominus were, and an overbearing Sky Clan that he had to pay tribute to.

Even with all of the problems coming his way, Gi couldn’t help but feel excited. The Underbridge Clan was rising.

End of Volume 1

Gi's character sheet at the end of Volume 1:

Name: Gi

Race: Gang Otter (Archbishop - D)

Job: Cleric

Class: Archbishop

Level: 10

Squad: None

Stats

Strength - D

Agility - D

Vitality - D

Wisdom - C

Leadership - 4

Domain:

* Archbishop (C)

Traits:

Intelligence(Inherited)

Rally

Expanded Pocket