[Reached threshold: Evolution to ??? possible]

[Evolve?]

Hands trembling, Eik initiated the evolution while his cat honed her claws on his shirt as his eye lids began to grow heavy. The last thing he saw before the world went black was his cat’s tongue go straight for his face.

***

Plip. The sound of a droplet of water.

Plip. Plip. Again they fell.

Now the gentle drumbeat of a spring shower.

A downpour. A torrent to wash away everything.

A flood to annihilate all life in an extinction event.

Eik’s eyes flew open. He was surrounded.

The world around him was an overwhelming expanse of luminescent blue.

It was a world of Profound Toxin.

Again.

It was just like last time he was here. He hung floating freely in a vast ocean of poison. Stretching a hand in front of himself, he could only barely make out his fingers through the opaque liquid. How he was breathing he had no clue but this place was… extremely comfortable.

It was disturbingly quiet and still, not a ripple to be felt. Previously it had been beyond violent. Eik called upon Profound Toxin like he had done so many times before and immediately felt a response, but not any kind of response he had ever experienced before.

Normally he felt it well up inside his body and he could will it out into the world. This was almost the opposite. When he established a connection with the mysterious skill within this ocean, everything answered him back. It was all a part of him now.

When he ordered it to move the result was less impressive. He could only really influence whatever was immediately around him and all he got was a mild current. Nothing like the crushing billow that had manifested itself last time.

Quiet and relaxed felt better.

Just as he thought that thought, the space around him began to rock, like rhythmic waves on a gentle sea. But that didn’t last long as it built up more power, soon pulling him this way and that.

He felt his body begin to rotate as bubbles rushed and spun about his body. From one moment to the next, the slow twister grew into somehting monstrous that ripped at his naked body like countless blades.

The force of it unceasingly until he was sure his limbs were about to be pulled off.

And then it was suddenly quiet again.

With a deep, humming whoosh at all scattered, leaving him hanging in a white space that stretched into the distance endlessly. In front of him floated a tiny blue bead.

“So here we are again, huh?” he said out loud. There was a slight echo.

The bead of Profound Toxin swelled to ten times the size, about that of a fist. It wiggled in enthusiastic response.

“I’m guessing my next rank up won’t be to D-rank then?”

Another affirmative, this time more eagerly.

“What’s it going to be instead?” he asked tentatively. “I honestly wasn’t that impressed with Acolyte of Toxin. My friends have more physical strength than me so I practically have to dope myself with poison to keep up.”

The blob seemed to tilt slightly to the side like a dog tilting its head in confusion.

“I’m saying it had better be more powerful than regular D-rank,” he clarified.

The toxin shivered in a gesture that Eik wasn’t quite certain how he was supposed to interpret. His best guess was scathing indignation. It stretched and undulated, coiling in on itself in an alien attempt at communication.

“I don’t know what that means, mate,” Eik said. “Can’t you just write it out like you did before?”

There was a pause before it separated into multiple blobs that aligned to form letters, then words, and then a sentence.

[Evolution possible. Current path derived from intimate relationship with — (Unique) Profound Toxin]

[Return to standard path possible: Evolution to D-rank possible]

[Evolve?]

[Advancement along current alternative evolutionary path possible: Alternative evolutionary path derived from intimate relationship with — (Unique) Profound Toxin]

[Alternative evolutionary path: Instinct of Toxin]

[Evolve?]

A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

Instinct of Toxin? What was that supposed to mean? It did sound better than Acolyte of Toxin… Probably? Kind of esoteric but then again, so was everything about his Worldbreaker ability. Not much made sense and the lack of a coherent instruction manual was a crucial flaw in Eik’s opinion.

And he could still revert his path back to the standard one and go for D-rank instead. It was tempting in its own way. He’d been the target of Rock Fist Bart’s ire a few times at this point and the man’s strength had frightened him since the first day they had met. Bart and everyone else were living proof that the standard path had great potential.

Profound Toxin and Instinct of Toxin though? There was no telling how it would turn out. Physically it was certainly not up to par but what about other aspects. Nobody else had his abilities so he had nothing to compare to. Was the degree of control he had now a result of evolving into Acolyte of Toxin specifically, or would he had been this capable even if he had chosen E-rank instead?

What about the potency? Would his 72000 point damage score have been worse if he hadn’t chosen Acolyte of Toxin? Would it have been the same?

As he contemplated the options the [Evolve?] for Instinct of Toxin slowly swelled until the letters were more than twice the size of the others.

“Yeah, yeah, I get it. At least let me pretend to think about it for a little, alright?” he grumbled. “You’re always so impatient, man.”

It only grew even bolder, remorselessly. It even added a little wiggle.

He sighed. It wasn’t like he was going to go back to the standard path at this point. He was invested, and he had to believe that the unique path was worth it in the long run.

Without further hesitation, Eik initiated the evolution to Instinct of Toxin. He already knew what would happen next.

With narrowed eyes he watched as the floating letters rose up above his head and coalesced into a long, thin spear several times the length of his own body. The tip was terrifyingly sharp, and unseen source of light glinting in the bubbling fluid as it spun languidly around itself.

Abruptly, it rocketed down and pierced deep into his chest, continuing its path until the entirety of it had disappeared into his body. For a moment his lost his breath and before he could regain it, the blue ocean materialized far above, like a mirror world.

He saw it fall. But there was nothing to be done. Instinctively, he shut his eyes.

***

Mis leapt from her comfortable spot on his chest with a yelp as he shot up from the bed. His back was covered in sweat and his heart was racing madly, breath coming shallowly in ragged gasps.

He frantically fumbled for the wooden plaque, practically ripping his shirt in his haste. A gleeful guffaw took hold of him and rocked his body as he stared down at the new message.

[Successfully pioneered an alternative evolutionary path — (Unique) Instinct of Toxin]

When the evolution had still been “loading” he hadn’t wanted to go to his friends with the news for fear of having to explain more than he felt he could, but now that it was finalized and done with he couldn’t wait to tell them.

In his eagerness, he put a hand on the corner piece of the footboard of his bed for support, snapping it off at its thinnest part.

“Oh, uh… Oh, crap,” he mumbled and tried to stick it back on somehow. His cat watched from a chair with a face that couldn’t care less.

As he placed the broken off piece carefully back where it had been attached, his newfound strength now embarrassingly apparent, the embers of anger inside were stoked. Finally, with this, he might be able to go toe to toe with Rock Fist Bart the next time they clashed.

Heath was hanging out in Michael’s apartment when Eik came in. They were searching for the Ak’ki in their bodies, while Sonja had preferred to do it alone in her own room.

“What’s up, man?” Heath raised a hand in greeting from the floor where he sat cross-legged with his back against Michael’s bed. Michael sat in a chair with his eyes closed as he tried to follow Eik’s advice to “dive” into his own head. That had been the best he had been able to come up with to describe what he more or less did instinctively at this point.

“I hit D-rank today,” Eik said flatly, barely containing the grin that threatened to break through.

“What?” Michael exclaimed and flew to his feet, almost knocking over a flimsy-looking coffee table. “That’s crazy!”

“Wha— but…” Heath mumbled, seemingly unable to form a coherent sentence. “How? You plaque. Does it really say D-rank now?”

Eik nodded. “Speaking of, once you guys get a handle on your auras, I’ll teach you how to hide your statuses. It’s super easy.”

“I didn’t know that was possible,” Michael said. “How did you find out?”

“Atla taught me. Apparently sneaking a peek at someone’s status or even just asking to see it is considered pretty rude around here. I’ve learned to passively block incoming notifications until I’m alone to check them. Really useful.”

“Hmm. Then we have to figure it out quickly.”

“Forget that!” Heath said. “I want to see what you can do if you’re D-rank!”

Eik chuckled. “What, you want to fight me, or?”

“Damn straight I want to fight you! Let’s see what you can do!”

***

They picked up Sonja on the way to the training grounds and she insisted on joining Heath against Eik. When he had still been Acolyte of Toxin there would have been no way he could win a match like that. Sure, if they had been mortal enemies and Profound Toxin had been fair game, he could probably at least have ensured their deaths in addition to his own. But in a friendly spar he would have been destroyed.

Now, however? His heart was bouncing to find out.

“Are you joining in, Mikey?”

“Nah, I’ll sit this one out. You guys go ahead. I’ll just watch from here.”

They squared off at opposite edges of the arena. Eik felt the power well up in him, incomparable to Acolyte of Toxin. He had both homemade clumps of poison in his belt satchel as well as the new Potions of Mighty Strength class 1, which he was sure he could produce with ease now, but he didn’t touch them.

“Ready?” Heath called. There were about twenty meters between them. The tank already had his shield out and both he and Sonja wielded dense batons instead of their regular weapons. Sonja also had her bow but had exchanged her regular sharp arrows with a variety sporting padded tips. They would still hurt though.

“Yep, I’m ready.”

“Let’s get to it then,” Heath whooped and charged, Sonja staying back but dancing sideways to get a clear shot. She pulled the string taut and took aim at Eik as Heath lifted his shield in preparation for the clash. Eik still hadn’t moved.

As she watched, Eik disappeared in a blur of motion that she had no chance of following. Heath didn’t have time to react before Eik landed briefly between the two siblings only to vanish once more.

“He’s using Movement Boost!” she shouted as she moved the readied arrow tip from side to side in search of the poison user. Heath was already on the way back to her. “He won’t be able to keep it up forever.”

Suddenly Eik’s grinning face materialized in front of hers, sending her stumbling back with a jerk of surprise. “Hello!”

She released the arrow which he ripped out of the air mid flight, shocking even himself. She went for the baton instead.

Heath was coming in from behind, leading with his own baton. Eik slapped it to the side and kicked the tank’s shield hard, sending him reeling while Sonja swung at full power for his head. He reached out for Movement Boost again and found it repsonsive as it sent him whirling around Sonja’s strike at blinding speed.

He wasn’t confident enough in controlling his new strength to outright punch her so he simply kicked the feet from under her. She scrambled away on all fours, grabbing her bow on the way while Eik rushed Heath who was regaining his balance.

With just his fists, he released an onslaught of attacks on the tank’s shield, pressuring him to the point where he didn’t have a chance to mount a counterattack.

The sound of displaced air warned him of an incoming projectile but all he managed to do was turn his head, the arrow coming for his face. He raised a hand to bat it away but wasn’t quick enough.

Reflexively, his eyes clenched shut but the pain of the impact never came. Instead the thunk of an arrow impacting something solid echoed across the grounds and when he opened his eyes again, a blue, semi transparent barrier had grown out of his shoulder to block the projectile.

Almost forgetting the fight, he reached out and ran his fingers over the surface.

It was Profound Toxin, but it wasn’t a fluid — it was solid.