“There’s no need to rush if you can’t decide, darling. We’ve got all day.” Aunt Ighir said, as she threw a grape into her mouth.
That plate of fruits sure looks delicious. We sat around a table eating snacks and fruits while I tried to come to a decision.
“Then let me ask this; what makes higher rarity classes and evolutions better than others?”
Mom finished pouring cups of juice for me and Durreg, then she took her seat and answered me.
“Well, it’s a little different for evolutions and for classes. Remember how I told you evolutions mostly grant attributes and classes mostly grant skills? Rarity indicates how well they do that in particular.” She explained.
“Being a member of a powerful and high ranked race but not having a class leaves you with little options besides brute force and whatever skills and titles you unlocked individually. That means in the worst case, you’d be little more dangerous than a cunning monster. Conversely, the opposite is also true. It doesn’t matter if you have the most powerful mage class in the world when you don’t have the mana to cast a single spell from it. Even a rank F monster would be able to kill you with ease, like a regular peasant.”
“Well, I understand that Rank and Class levels need to be about even with each other for the best gain and all that, but how does rarity factor into this?”
“The devil’s in the details, my dear. Higher rarity races grant you more attributes per level compared to lower rarity ones of the same rank. Higher rarity classes grant you a larger number of skills, which are usually more powerful than a class of a lower rarity. Keep in mind that when you reach certain class levels, you can evolve your class, which is the reason getting access to legendary and mythic classes so early is making your cousin envious; you will always have access to at least one class advancement of the same rarity, with no secret conditions required. The same goes for evolutions.”
Huh. That’s neat. That’s the last push I needed.
“Well, I think I’ve made my decision.” I said, finishing my cup and standing up.
“What did you settle on?” Durreg asked, rushing to finish his cup and follow after me.
“I am going to go with dragon shifter and sovereign of gravity. I am always going to be able to cast magic from the other base attributes, but not necessarily gravity magic. It might even stop me from being able to use force magic, since I can’t tell whether it counts that as part of the base attributes or not. While my use of the base attributes may be weaker like this, I can end up having a bigger list of options to choose from, and my gravity magic should be more powerful than anything I can do with multiple base elements. The last thing was that being a Rainbow Dragon seriously weakens my body, and I know better than most that getting within melee range is a matter of ‘when’ rather than ‘if.’ Besides, who can resist a mythic class? It opens bigger doors for me down the line.”
“I guess that makes sense. But you’re like a man drowning in a desert oasis, gods damn it! Give me some of those options if you don’t want them!” he grumbled, and I laughed.
“Let’s just find an open space for me to go through with this because I’ve no clue how large I might end up becoming, at least initially.” I said as we started walking towards the gardens in front of the mansion.
Before we got much further, mom’s voice sounded out behind me.
“Make sure to evolve before you select your class, Kiara. The requirements said that you only need to unlock the Rank C evolution rather than go through with it without a class, but it’s better to be safe than sorry.” Mom said as she put down her own cup on a nearby table.
“Yeah, mom, I’m not that stupid. Don’t worry about it.”
“…Sweety, I know you’re old enough and everything, and you’re my pride and joy, but –”
“But what, mom?”
“…The door to the front lawn is that way.” She said, pointing directly opposite of where I was going.
***
Standing in the middle of the grass away from the other three, I took a deep breath.
“Okay, I am ready.” I said under my breath, suddenly nervous now that it’s time for me to evolve.
“Are you sure you don’t need a blanket and a kiss on the cheek before you go?”
“Shut up, Durreg!” I screamed, as my face flushed with embarrassment and Durreg snickered.
Aunt Ighir was laughing out loud again, and even Mom was struggling to keep a straight face.
This story has been unlawfully obtained without the author's consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.
“I’ll show you who’ll be laughing in a few moments!”
I moved to my evolution menu, and promptly selected Dragon Shifter. The familiar, overwhelming agony filled my mind as I was unable to scream; My height slowly increased by a head or two, until it resembled the height of a human teenager rather than an adolescent. My tail ceased to be thickest at its base, as it became as thin as two fingers throughout its length, yet it contained even more muscle than before. The tip of my tail changed subtly in a way that I can’t put my finger on, but among the changes were that it became much harder than the rest of my body, and that it had four edges rather than the previous two, like an arrowhead.
My claws, talons, and teeth fell out from their sockets, as new shining metal ones came out in their place, resembling the obsidian walls of the first layer. My scales, having already been too small to see with the naked eye, seem to have shrunk even further, since the same layers of skin were being exposed as they retreated. Soon, my scales fell off my skin, and a tickling sensation covered my body as new scales came to take their place. My scales seemed to be made of the same material as the end of my tail, claws, talons, and teeth, and they all seemed to contain a powerful but subtle amount of mana within them.
The muscles in my body trembled, as I started flopping on the floor like a fish on a beach, rearranging themselves as my body grew to become toned, chiseled, and wiry enough to contain a horrifying amount of power in them. I felt my bones being crushed and remade into the now irritatingly familiar metal that covered other parts of my body, judging by how solid and heavy I was beginning to feel. My eyes grew slightly larger, and the slits in my pupils grew sharper as the mana in the world began to color my vision of the world. The world grew much more detailed, and I was able to see even the tiniest layers of ice crystals on the ceiling of the iceberg hundreds of meters away.
Horns began to grow out of the back of my head and along the sides of my head, only to curve and stare at each other from the edge of my forehead. The magic anchor on my back trembled, as it began to absorb the mana in my body. It did not change in size, but it felt much more powerful, stable, and complex. The pain began to fade away as the changes slowly began to cease. My breathing was ragged, and my senses were hazy as I was feeling overwhelmed by new and powerful sensations. A few moments later, the world slowly began to make sense again, and I realized I was being held in someone’s arms. Mom’s, as a matter of fact.
“Does every evolution hurt more than the one before it or something?” I chuckled, trembling weakly.
Mom’s grip on me tightened.
“Your whole body is being destroyed and reforged, so it shouldn’t come as a surprise that it hurts. How much pain and change you go through depend on the Rank you’re evolving to, the rarity and power of your new evolution, and how similar it is to your previous evolution. The biggest hurdle to reaching the rank S evolution is overcoming the fear of triggering it and surviving the ordeal, rather than gaining enough experience.”
Her uneasy smile turned into a deep frown.
“Even by those standards, your evolution was much more harrowing than I expected. It was more akin to a rank B or rank A evolution. Just how much did your body need to change for it to reach this level of agony…?”
I struggled a little in mom’s embrace, which was a little tight and starting to feel embarrassing.
“Mom, I am alright now, can you let me go?” I said, and she sighed in exasperation as she helped me up.
As I took in my body, it occurred to me that the changes were less obvious at a rough glance compared to my previous evolutions, but much more substantial. I took a glance at my status, and it was much more impressive than I could have hoped for.
…
Evolution Complete.
You have evolved into a [Dragon Shifter]!
For evolving into a gold race or higher for the first time, [Divine Shard] gained!
[Night Vision] upgraded to [Draconic Vision]!
[Regeneration] upgraded to [Greater Regeneration]!
Racial trait obtained: [Dragon Combat]!
Racial trait obtained: [Dragon Breath]!
Racial trait obtained: [Shapeshift]!
Racial trait obtained: [Greater Appraisal Obfuscation]!
[Claw Strike] subsumed into [Dragon Combat]!
Skill [Tail Strike Lv. 3] subsumed into [Dragon Combat]!
Skill [Mana Perception] subsumed into [Draconic Vision]!
Name: Kiara Azoth
[Dragon Shifter]
[Level 1]
EXP: 457,201/1,000,000
Divine Shards: 2/?
HP: 8600/8600
SP: 2100/2100
MP: 3700/3700
Vitality: 400
Strength: 380
Dexterity: 390
Intelligence: 450
Wisdom: 430
Racial Traits:
[Sapient Creature]
[Dragon Combat]
[Dragon Breath]
[Draconic Vision]
[Draconic Scales]
[Draconic Sorcery]
[Greater Regeneration]
[Shapeshift: Base Humanoid Form]
[Greater Appraisal Obfuscation]
Class: N/A
Level: N/A
EXP: N/A
Class Skill Points: N/A
Class Skills:
N/A
Skills:
[Appraisal Lv. 7]
[Sneak Lv. 5]
[Ambush Lv. 5]
[Poison Resistance Lv. 7]
[Spark of Ambition Lv. 3]
[Corrosion Resistance Lv. 2]
[Paralysis Resistance Lv. 4]
[Mental Resistance Lv. 5]
[Mana Manipulation Lv. 3]
[Pain Resistance Lv. 3]
[Frost Resistance Lv. 1]
[Soul Resistance Lv. 1]
[Fate’s Jester]
[Hurun’s Mercy]
[Asexual Reproduction]
Titles:
[Ferocious Underdog]
[Abyssal Cockroach]
[Avenger]
[Indomitable Will]
[Progenitor]
[Giant Slayer]
[Class Available]!