When everyone woke up, they bid me farewell and took off back to the continent. Nico said I should go to Tamery to get my reward from her goddess for saving Tyr and reviving her. Come to think of it, the Endiku said something similar regarding the God-King wanting to reward me for turning the entire adult population of Erdu into classers.
Still, I am in no mood to meet with him any time soon after what happened when I returned. Something is seriously wrong with that country.
There was also Hurun, who said I should go for a visit, so that he could tell me more about my previous life.
“Looks like a visit to Tamery is in order. Maybe I’ll find a solution to my trauma there.”
***
“Absolutely not.” Mom said.
She was sitting on her bed with Madeil in her arm, feeding them with some kind of mana-rich liquid in a strange, comically small bottle.
Was it just me, or was Madeil an inch or two bigger than yesterday?
“The continent is a dangerous place, and I am not sending you as you are now. You’re not going back until we can heal your trauma and the continent settles down.”
“Mom, look. I am not going to make any progress by just sitting around and twiddling my thumbs. I want to go to Tamery to ask Hurun about my past life. I also want to see what kind of reward Nico’s goddess has in store for me. I won’t be going anywhere dangerous or doing any fighting, then I am coming right back. Surely that’s not asking too much, is it?”
“Hmm…”
Madeil was already snoring mere moments after draining the bottle. Chuckling, mom laid Madeil back into the crib before responding.
“I suppose if that’s the case, then I have no reason to object. But before you go, make sure to take your cousin with you. Durreg finally unlocked a legendary rarity rank B evolution and advancement, so he’ll be able to keep you safe. While you’re at it, you should pay a visit to Dimri. Since this is your friend that you want his help for, you should be the one to ask for it.”
“Yessss! Thanks, mom! You’re the best!”
I quickly hugged mom and raced out of the room and down the stairs to head to Dimri’s first.
“Don’t forget to say please and thank you!” I heard mom say as I made my way out of the house.
***
“I see. It’s unfortunate to hear what happened to your friend.” The Life Dragon said.
We were sitting at a small table in front of the large tree on his floating island, and he insisted on offering me some herbal tea. It tasted a lot sweeter than I expected.
“Fafnir’s case was unique since rank S cores are entirely different from the lower rank ones. There’s also the fact that the magic circle I designed was designed specifically for him and the core he brought. It’s not going to be possible to simply repeat the ritual with your friend.”
At his words, I visibly deflated.
“I guess it was a one-time miracle after all. Thanks for entertaining the idea anyway.”
“Now, now, I didn’t say that there was nothing we could do.” He said with a smile.
Immediately, I perked back up. A little entertained, Dimri chuckled before carrying on.
“The fact that she’s a peak rank B creature works in our favor. It’s actually a lot simpler to deal with her than it was to deal with Fafnir. The ritual we’re going to need is going to be a lot simpler and different from Fafnir’s, though the result may end up being similar.”
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He put down his empty cup as he slowly began to refill it. Mine was still half-full.
“What do you mean by that?”
With a fresh cup of tea in his hands, he took a sip and sighed in satisfaction before carrying on.
“Sorry if this may seem like a bit of a tangent, but bear with me. What do you know about evolutions and their relationship with the system?” He asked.
I scratched my head a little but shrugged in the end.
“Can’t say I know much more than that you kill stuff to unlock your next evolution.”
Dimri nodded.
“You are correct. I am not sure if Azoth had taught you about this yet, but for our purposes, you should know that a long time ago, even before the Celestial War, the system did not exist. How do you suppose evolutions occurred?” He said.
Seeing my puzzled silence, he continued.
“Sapient beings evolved in the distant past by absorbing mana and precious materials into their bodies, nourishing their body and soul. Once they grew into a particular threshold, their bodies evolved naturally, suiting the shape that their souls have taken. The mana core in particular drives this process, as the link between the body and the soul.”
Putting down another empty cup and refilling it, Dimri continued his explanation.
“Those times were particularly bloody, since materials were rare and your opponents’ very bodies could constitute evolution material. I have not met the person or group that created the system, but whoever they may be, I suspect that they created the system to put an end to the bloodshed.”
“I see. But how do you know that?” I asked.
“Well, it’s evident from the way the system works. When you kill a monster, or in the case of your classes, make use of your class skills for their intended purpose, you gain experience points. Experience points are essentially a form of credit the system holds for you in place of the energy and nourishment required for evolutions. When you reach the required thresholds, the system grants you that energy at once, allowing you to evolve in the direction of your choosing. Even allowing you to choose the kind and quality of your evolutions is a luxury that the people of old did not have.”
“Wait a minute, where does the system get all that energy from?”
“That’s the question, isn’t it? I asked the same question centuries ago, and through some experimentation, I found my answer. When a soul dies, all of its excess nourishment dissipates into the world, returning it back to its most primitive state. Normally, that energy would be wasted, but the system collects it upon a creature’s death and stores it. That, combined with the credit left behind by dead creatures halfway through their evolutionary lines and ‘energy taxes’ on certain system abilities grants it the power to continue functioning.”
“On another tangent, that’s also why it becomes harder to have children with higher starting ranks – the newborn soul starts at rank F and has to be pushed to a higher rank before birth or hatching, which is a process that is stressful for both the mother and the newborn.”
A lot of things started to make sense as I thought about the implications of this explanation.
“In any case, back to the topic at hand. What I did with Fafnir was essentially forcing a side-evolution into another rank S body. The process had its fair share of complications, but that was because of the unique characteristics of rank S mana cores. Since your friend is a peak rank B creature, her soul is already prepared for rank A, and it's just her body that needs to follow. We would need to find a rank A core of the same element and rarity as her evolution. What is your friend’s attribute and evolution rarity?” He said, putting down what must’ve been his sixth cup in this sitting.
“She’s a legendary rarity, fire-attributed human. If it matters, she specializes in the light branch of fire magic.”
“Hmm… The specialization isn’t the problem; all branches are just derivatives of the base element. The problem is that legendary rarity, fire-attributed rank A cores can only be found in the fourth layer of the Abyss or lower. Aside from the difficulty of finding legendary-rarity monsters, which begin appearing in the lower layers of the Abyss, rank S beings also begin appearing at the fourth layer. While they may be rare at such an early layer, rank S encounters are still incredibly dangerous – even for adult, fully mature dragons. I imagine your mother would not allow you to go there, and she shouldn’t.” Dimri concluded.
Just as I was feeling disappointed, it hit me. A fire attributed mana core from a legendary-rarity creature.
Don’t I have one?
“…If I manage to conjure one out of thin air, would you still be able to perform the ritual?” I asked.
Dimri raised an eyebrow.
“I hope you aren’t planning on sneaking down to the fourth layer. I should talk to your mother about this after our talk is over.”
“Wait, wait, wait! I already have such a core from the monster horde! The one that erupted with the mana pillar. It came from a legendary rarity, rank A monster called the [Scorching Phoenix]!” I hurriedly said.
Dimri stared me down as I tried my best not to look away.
Eventually, he sighed.
“When we’re done, we’re going straight to your home so that you can show me this core. Or to have a talk with Azoth, depending on how truthful you’re being. In any case,” he said, lying back down into his chair, “It would take me a few weeks at most to redesign my circle into something suitable. Most of the difficult research is already done, and since the Scorching Phoenix is an elemental creature, there is even a chance that your friend will become one at the end of the ritual. Fortunately, if that happens, she won’t have to deal with the stress of becoming one this early since she won’t be destroying and reconstructing her body alive. All in all, this might be a boon to her, though I cannot guarantee that she will remain in the human evolutionary line.”