“Are you all-”
“YES!” Four exasperated voices shouted, interrupting me. I sighed, not willing to hold it against them. It had been five days since the dungeon boss fell, and three since the party started subtly asking when we were going to leave. When I’m good and ready was apparently the wrong answer, which in retrospect was obvious. I had just thrown my hands up and told the group that I did literally have a lizard brain and to cut me some slack.
“Alright, alright,” I said in a faux calming voice specifically designed to annoy, “hold your horses. This is a big moment for me. I apologise for trying to give it some gravitas.” Theatrically rolling my eyes, I pulled up the System menu and accepted the final confirmation for the dungeon quest.
Evolution Quest - Return To The Start Of The Path
The Dungeon which you claimed as your own was but one version of events. Return to the entrance and find it remade. The unfamiliar territory must again be conquered, but beware. The smallest of changes in the past can lead to the largest differences in the future.
Reward: Upgrade to Tier E
I screamed, agony accenting the sound with true fear which caused Serge to move towards me. Even before he reached me, I was cracking up and the joke was obvious. “It’s like pretending to get shocked when changing a lightbulb,” I chuckled, “works every ti- HEURK!”
Sludge. Black sludge bellowed from my guts, straight out of my maw. Poor Serge took it right to the chest, but everyone else was quick enough to jump away. I had no recourse, and the stench was bad enough that my vomiting wasn’t distracting. Rot, foul ichor and putrid mass were expelled from my open mouth without end, like I had become the conduit of the very river of Styx. There were System messages pinging, but I was in a stinky oblivion. The whole thing didn’t actually take that long, but each second was a unique torture.
Evolution In Progress, the System prompts told me when I could see them through the tears, Biology Evolving, Contaminants Purging. I was rarely glad for the System, but at least it told me what I suspected. Whatever this foul gunk had been originally, it was being removed to make place for less mundane organs and muscles. All I could do was endure. I even found a little inspiration towards my Dao in the chaos. I endure.
As with all things, the flow eventually ceased. It was still a long while before anyone wanted to stand next to me, but that was fine, too. I wasn’t sure they would be safe. With a flex of my hand, I could feel the strength now held within my muscles, that power I had only been able to tap into with Divergent Strikes prior was now mine to wield full-time.
We all moved to a location much farther away while I got as much of the mess off as possible and inspected my System messages. There were only three, but they were important.
Evolution Complete - Tier F -> E
Achievement Unlocked - Planetary Forerunner
The barrier between grades is the true watershed for potential. You are blazing your path faster than any others of your generation. Congratulations.
Effect: Attributes +10%
Race Evolved - Gem Kobold (Tier 0) -> Gem Kobold (Tier 1)
I had expected the prompts to give a little more information, but the System had decided I was hands off for the most part since becoming an Outsider. The changes in my physique were easy enough to tell. I stood a little taller, my shoulders were broader and my tail was longer. I felt much more sturdy in a bunch of different ways. “How do I look?” I asked, giving an over-the-top spin to the party. I almost preened when Vee whistled a cat-call, despite myself.
A shimmering portal appeared, promising exit to the dungeon, but no one made for it immediately. There were a few sighs of relief, but all eyes were on me. The group were watching me with an appropriate mixture of awe and trepidation. “Finished spewing rotten filth? How is it joining us up a Tier?” Serge asked, and I appreciated his bravery. Even pretending that my evolution was the same as theirs was a way to smooth things over and calm the humans down. The whole party was on edge, eyeing me like an approaching natural disaster.
Apt, I thought, and didn’t stop myself from feeling the exhilaration this time.
“Joining?” My reply held enough challenge in my voice to make even Serge flinch slightly. “Not quite… Tier One and a change from Grade F to E. How do I feel?” I let the question flow to each limb, each muscle fibre being asked the same thing, each cell replying the same. I flashed a toothy smile at the huge man and leapt to a nearby building.
Serge completely lost sight of me, though the other three were able to keep up somewhat. My feet planted into the hard stone and crushed it like putty, creating footholds in the outer wall. With a heaved launch, I threw myself horizontally and didn’t cushion myself at all for the second building. I smashed straight through, the resistance of the higher tier material meaning nothing to me now.
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A few minutes later I returned, having lost my composure a little and revelled in the destruction a little bit too much. A general reception of wide-eyed respect greeted me. As the sounds of more distant structures crumbling could still be heard, I waited to continue with my grin plastered on for the foreseeable future.
It was hard to stop playing around with my new strength at all, but there were more pressing things than messing around to be getting on with. “In answer to your question, I feel fucking amazing. It’s like there’s no upper limit to my strength, my magic is flowing more naturally and the container within feels dozens of times bigger.”
Four bobbing heads nodded along, with Vee speaking up. “It’s a little intoxicating, right? Reaching the threshold and then finding out it was simply a first step.” I liked the energy in her words. She wouldn’t stagnate if the draw of the climb was enough. I nodded in approval, but had to interrupt.
“Oh yeah, absolutely, for sure. The amount of energy needed to evolve again feels like a staggering reservoir that I’m super excited to fill, yep. Except, that’s not the container I was talking about…” I felt the mood start to shift, first from Javed, who had been the closest to me over the past days of inventory. He began whispering nos under his breath. “Oh yes, Javed Shadewalk, my carrying capacity had just exploded.”
His eyes flicked to the portal and I cackled. “Go, go make sure the city is okay and find somewhere to put your loot. I have some things to put in my pockets real quick.” The threat of joining me for more deliberation on which table was of higher quality and the like was enough to send Javed running at full speed. He was soon followed by his mostly-confused brother. Serge went next, shouting that he would be going to a bar and disappearing for a week.
I waited, but Vee did not make for the exit. “Did you want to rearrange your inventory with me?” I asked, surprisingly touched until she vigorously shook her head. I saw now that her eyes weren’t on myself, nor aimed in the direction of the loot sectors I had set up. She was staring wistfully at the dust still settling from my quick bout of wanton destruction a few minutes prior. “Ohh, I get it.” I waved a hand in a general air of dismissal, both for Vee and for the property she was going to destroy. “Have at it.”
The normally reserved woman actually squealed and bounced on the spot before tearing off, the rock of the floor pushing her feet forward to increase her movement speed. Nice trick. Each of the party members were getting more and more used to their Dao and magic, using them with a natural ease which had not been possible before rising a Tier. Soon, the cacophony of demolition started in the distance and I shrugged.
I had only destroyed the buildings because they were nearby, I’m a show-off and I literally needed to move. My muscles had been screaming that they needed some form of expression and my body had done the rest. Random razing of property was actually not my idea of fun, though I could see the appeal. For Vee? It was either the most enjoyable activity in the world or she really hated her time in the dungeon.
“Who am I to judge?” I asked aloud. “My own idea of a good time is this.” Dozens of rows of furniture, artwork, even structural oddities from the fancier buildings were arrayed before me. I couldn’t see all of the city’s accumulated wealth, but I had some work to do. The draconic blood inside of me demanded I squeeze the dungeon for all it was possibly worth. The humanity within me had seen how barren my city was and wanted an easy fix for the problem.
A win-win.
“Indeed, at this point, you’ve destroyed the Segacean world so thoroughly, you might as well do the rest.” Ledge grumbled at my waist and I patted the skull gently. They had been grateful when I started taking souvenirs for them, but actively sacking the city was apparently a step too far.
“Did you want me to lose, little skelly?”
“Of course not,” Ledge answered. If they had eyes, they’d be rolling based on the many voices inside inflecting their words in the same drawling way. “We admit this is not the Segacea we knew, it just leaves one a tad morose.”
I frowned. Ledge was a weird existence, but they were and existence. This was the second time their world would disappear without them being able to do a thing. I made a decision. “Hey Ledge… do you want to hear my story?” The skull confirmed they did and voiced curiosity alongside their agreement. I jumped, more than clearing the tops of the nearest buildings and landing on the lip of one. I took the skull from around my waist and directed their vision towards the city, crumbling in the distance.
“My name is Isaac and I’m from Earth, except like you, I’m from a different version. I watched my planet turn into space dust before being given a second chance…” Ledge listened in respectful quiet, only asking questions at appropriate moments and otherwise letting me explain my own lived history. I told them of Gaia, of the goblins I had come to care for, of the massive underground cities and wonders I had seen there.
I told them of the torture, the dangers and the gods which controlled them all. Eventually, my story ran its course and more explanation would be over the top. With the increasingly distant sounds of Vee finding her catharsis, I began collecting everything which made sense from the fallen city. Ledge asked to stay, so I left them watching as the second version of their world was picked apart.
Once I was done, I collected the skull and the demolition expert and finally left the dungeon. Those first steps outside were blistering, the Saharan desert immediately making itself known. Soon, Vee said her goodbyes and I told her I would find the others tomorrow or the next day for a debrief of sorts. I took the pensive Ledge and placed them in their spot in my home before slinking off alone.
A short walk later, I was in my favourite spot. A group of mages had challenged themselves to create a lucious park, despite the arid location, and the result was beautiful. I meditated in the quiet of that parkland and let my energies settle within. There had not been a true moment of calm within the dungeon and only now could I relax and let my power equalise.
I didn’t let calm fall into my soul. I may have taken the first step, but it was a tiny hop compared to where I needed to be. My eyes turned skywards, towards a night sky which had snuck up on me. I must have been lost in my thoughts for quite a while. The stars twinkled back at me and I felt the threat from each of them. I hadn’t even become a big fish in a small pond yet, let alone powerful enough to survive the gargantuan monsters out there. The gods who waited above to take whatever they wanted.
I snarled and decided it was time to sleep. Tomorrow was a new day, one where I would continue clawing up the booby-trapped ladder of the System while remaining apart from it. A day to keep myself moving forward, each step with the express intent to take revenge on those who had taken from me. Whether that be Dion, if he still existed, or the Tree itself. I would burn everything which was not my own.
Onwards, I told myself, taking one last look at the taunting night sky. I felt my Dao ripple in answer. I move onwards, claiming the past as my own and defending it for my own selfish reasons. The energy inside swelled, before returning to its original size. There wasn’t much better encouragement than the literal magic in one’s own soul agreeing with them, and I accepted the confidence I was trying to instil in myself.
Onwards, I repeated internally, until there is nothing left to take from me, and no one left to take it.