Chapter 26: Skills and evolutions

It took me a long time to find a way back to the surface, even with Depth Sense guiding me. The skill was far more subtle than I thought, passively guiding me towards my destination.

With that said, the skill was a bit too weak to understand where I exactly wanted to be on the surface. So, the rest of the day was spent searching for the stream and by extension the lake.

*Depth Sense (O) lvl 8/20 -> Depth Sense lvl 17/20.

Okay, I got more than lost in the caves and the skill shows it…

Anyway, in the evening I made my way back to Sairal’s tree, a faint hope that somehow, he would be there and that I could brag about reaching the maximum level so soon.

But things like that aren’t meant to be. The mushroom guardians still hang around his tree, far more relaxed now that his dryad heart has been regenerating at an astounding rate.

All of the dead branches have fallen off as if it has been shedding its skin. New branches grow in their place, slowly stretching out towards the sky to fill in the empty gaps. The leaves have also grown back, slowly spreading over the branches.

I let my own crown unfurl, enjoying the last few hours of sun as I go over my menu one last time before evolving. But first I need to do something with Claw Slash. Like everything, Sairal went over skill upgrades when we were confined to the upper branches of his tree, but naturally, he didn’t tell the complete story and skipped over some details.

I pull up the notification again.

*Congratulations. Thanks to your feats Claw Slash (B) has become eligible for an upgrade. Pick one of four options.

Okay, so this is a bit like Pursua’s hammer?

I shrug and open the four options for the skill.

*Option 1: Claw infusion.

*Option 2: Stronger infusion.

*Option 3: Efficient infusion.

*Option 4: Skip the upgrade.

*Warning! Picking options 1 to 3 will reset the skill’s level.

I scratch the back of my head as I read each option. One basically puts the focus on infusing stamina into my claws, so that I can always apply that energy and don’t have to use it for slashing monsters.

Option two gives will change the skill so that I can infuse more stamina into it and make the effect greater.

Option three will make the infused stamina do more with less.

The last option is a bit weird. Sure I can skip it, spend skill points to raise the cap of the skill and keep levelling it, but will new upgrades be offered?

Guess that option four is off the table for now. And option three is just bad. Who cares if I can push more stamina into the skill? It’s not like my body can handle it.

So that leaves one and two; versatility versus strength. If this world, or fighting all the monsters in this world has taught me anything, it is how you apply strength can matters more than the prowess you have.

Sairal isn’t that strong in the league of (E) grades, or at least according to him. He prepares for the fight and observes how to apply his strength in the best way possible.

And that fight with the juvenile queen. If Claw Slash had been any weaker, I wouldn’t have found any purchase on the ground. If I had that upgrade the ground would have been so much more easy to hold on to.

*Picked option 1

*Claw slash (B) lvl 20/20 -> Claw Infusion (C) lvl 1/20.

Claw Infusion (C) lvl 1/20: Infuse your claws with stamina, increasing their efficacy and manipulation. Expending more Stamina increases efficacy.

With that done, I go back to sunning, steeling myself to look through dozens of evolution options.

When the sun begins to set I head to my home, ready to evolve to the next grade. A weird excitement fills me as if I’m about to receive a Christmas present.

I shovel the dirt in the entranceway, making sure that there is just enough space to let air through. I lay on the bed and go over my menu once more.

Mandrake of nature lvl 10/10 (H)

HP: 85/85

SP: 45/45

Strength: 26

Agility: 10

Perception: 7

Constitution: 29

Endurance: 7

Mind: 5

Unallocated stat points: 0

Skill points: 10

Skills: 9/17 skill slots in use

Photosynthesis (C) lvl 19/20: Stand still in the light of the sun to catch its energy and make it yours. Increases Stamina and Health regeneration slightly.

Mandrake Screech (C) lvl 10/20: A mandrake’s scream is its only method of defence. Damages enemies slightly and has a chance to stun an opponent.

Identify (C) lvl 9/20: See through opponents and enemies alike. Allows the user to see basic information and gives access to the most commonly known knowledge.

Roots of Nature (R) lvl 8/20: You are nature and you are roots. Allows the user to make small changes to their root body and to manipulate the roots in their immediate vicinity.

Claw Infusion (C) lvl 1/20: Infuse your claws with stamina, increasing their efficacy and manipulation. Expending more Stamina increases efficacy.

Hide (B) lvl 6/20: Blend in with the surroundings to stand out less at the expense of stamina.

Dance of Death (C) lvl 1/20: Enter a special kind of meditation, increasing your focus to a pinpoint while making things such as pain and emotional distress fade into the background at a small expense of stamina and health.

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Warning: This skill can only be activated when the being is in large-scale fights.

Fire Resistance (B) lvl 10/20: Basic resistance against fire.

Depth Sense (O) lvl 17/20: Grants a sense of the depths and a vague awareness of where the surface is.

Good. I press the evolution button with my mind and I feel my consciousness drift away from my body, or deeper into it.

Darkness subsumes me, air is stolen away out of my lungs. I stay calm, having experienced this before.

I fall and I swim to the surface of my soul, getting pulled along by divine force.

The inner sanctum of my soul is revealed, as the water pushes me to the surface of the black ocean that freezes into a mirror under me.

Things have changed here. The aurora is larger, more vibrant, but more importantly, some colours have faded away, consumed by the green that has taken its place.

I spend moments, seconds, hours, looking at the aurora above.

Time stands still and yet I feel like I need to move on.

On my command, the panels of light appear around me like flickering stars around me. They are a smattering of colours that range from ocean blues to electric yellows. Naturally, most of the panels are shades of green that range from shades of lime to the deep green of moss. However, the is not a single red one that represents fire or the deeper red that might represent magma, thanks to me having cut those paths of with my previous choice.

Without further ado, I summon the notification.

*Congratulations. You have unlocked 47 evolutions. Pick one.

This is gonna take a while.

I organise the panels in a line in front of me, the least solid ones in the front.

Okay, the first one.

Greater mandrake (Common)

+5 HP +5 SP +1 Strength +1 Agility +1 Perception +1 Constitution +1 Endurance +1 Mind per level.

Walk the common path.

You have reached the peak of (H) grade and therefore you have shown that you can advance to the next. This evolution focuses on stability and nature. It improves all abilities of the mandrake, giving all mandrake-related skills +2. This evolution upgrades photosynthesis (C) to Photosynthesis (Un).

Ouch. This one sucks. The stat allocation is a bit weird with no free stats. And the rest are just things I can get on my own in the near future.

Who cares about extra skill levels? I’m here to get the things that are difficult to get on my own. The resources I receive from this evolution are bad too with ten resources per level instead of the nine I currently get.

Moving on.

Mandrake of health (Uncommon)

+7 HP +5 SP + 1 Strength +1 Agility +3 Constitution +2 Endurance +2 Unallocated stat points per level.

Embrace the healing aspect. Become-

Never!

I go through a few more options that all are Common and Uncommon rarity. Most of them are the same with only different stat distributions. There are, however, some that I consider to be quite strong already like ones that give almost double my stats, but those come with hefty penalties such as only being able to move in direct sunlight.

After discarding another panel, I find one that stands out.

Mandrake of bloom (Rare)

+6 HP +6 SP +1 Strength +1 Agility +1 Perception +2 Constitution +2 Endurance +1 Mind +2 Unallocated stat points per level.

Embrace the sun and grow together with your friends.

You have found pleasure in photosynthesising and you have made friends in this world. This evolution focuses on empowering the friends you have made through temporary and permanent stat increases. This evolution will give the skill Fruit of the leaves (R).

I double-tap on the window scanning over the skill. I can grow fruits in my crown of leaves over the course of weeks. Those fruits will start off giving temporary effects that kind of suck but as the skill grows, I can give more permanent stat bonuses to the fruits. In return, I have to stand in the sun for weeks to produce a single fruit. But if I level my Photosynthesis and upgrade the skill more…

It boggles my mind that things like this are even possible in this world.

But this evolution makes me even more wanted. Anyone who captures me will just put me in a cage in the sun and force me to grow fruits for the rest of my life.

I keep reading the details. Damn, it also says that I can’t use the fruits for myself since they are or have been a part of me.

And I can’t even fight with this. My crown of leaves is a weak point already. I don’t want to make that worse by adding fruit into the mix.

I put it into the ‘maybe’ pile, some part of me still hoping that this could be my life for a while.

Okay next up.

Mandrake of the tides. Strong but no.

Sun-skinned mandrake. No combat potential.

Cave crawler slayer Mandrake. With this one, I can only level by fighting those pests.

Spelunker mandrake. Too dangerous.

Mandrake of the living forest. I still don’t want to become a tree.

I take a small break and lay down on the still ocean, staring at the aurora above. All of those evolutions certainly are interesting but not what I want. I would go crazy if I spent so long in the caves. The same with sitting around, or standing in the sun the whole day.

How many evolutions remain? I look at the row of panels next to me, the more solid ones now appearing.

They shake as if this all is a card game and that they are the rare card at the back of the pile, sparks almost flying off them.

I roll my eyes at them and stand up. Fine, let’s get on with it.

Protector of Luxia (Elite)

Strange, this one doesn’t have ‘mandrake’ in the name. That’s a first.

+10 HP +10 SP +1 Strength +1 Agility +3 Constitution +3 Endurance +1 Mind +4 Unallocated stat points per level.

Protect your home. Because where would you be without it?

This mandrake has protected its home from multiple invasions be they human, Fortress beaver, or Cave crawlers. With this evolution, you will excel at defending your home. This evolution grants the skill Detect outsider (El). In addition, it adds a +2 to all nature and mandrake-related skills.

WARNING: This mandrake will have a 50% deduction from their stats and resources when outside the borders of the Luxian forest.

This is what I wanted all along, wasn’t it? Strength to protect myself, my friends, and my home. But why does it come with that painful price?

To sacrifice the future to live in the present. That is what this evolution is. I stuff it into the ‘maybe’ pile and move on.

Magical Mandrake (Elite)

+5 HP +5 SP +6 MN +1 Agility +2 Constitution +2 Endurance +2 Mind +3 Power +1 Unallocated stat point per level.

Embrace the magic. Let it flow through you. Let it become you.

The Magical Mandrake has not only accepted the gift of magic but has become it. Along with golden sap, magic flows through its veins. This evolution unlocks the MN resource and the Power stat. This evolution grants the skill Earth Manipulation (Un) along with Earth Conjuration (C).

Warning: This evolution requires a strong magical density to sustain itself. When not in areas with a high magical density, the being will suffer from magical decay.

I want this too. I want magic. With this, I can manipulate and create earth. Just imagine what I can do with this. I can build castles in the forest for myself to shoot stone bullets from. In the caves with stone all around, I will be an absolute menace.

But this evolution suffers from the same problem. Sure, this time around I can also actively leave those places but suffering from magical decay sounds nasty.

After looking at the details and what magical decay is, I discard the evolution. I still have next time and the time after that to unlock magic.

Moving on.

Cursed mandrake (Elite)

+11 HP +11 SP +2 Strength +3 Agility +3 Perception +1 Constitution +1 Endurance +1 Mind +2 Unallocated stat points per level.

Curses can become strength.

Cursed. Not by element but by blood and body. Anyone — everyone — wants you. For skin products to potions. You are invaluable. That is the curse you have accepted. Due to your acceptance, you will now be able to turn it into your strength. It is a narrow line to walk on. This evolution enhances the medicinal properties of the mandrake. In return, this evolution will grant the skill Curse of the mandrake (El).

I look up the skill and nod. That skill is insanely strong. Upon touch, I can push my resources, any resources, into a being and convert them into curse energy that will do terrible things to someone’s insides. But it isn’t instantaneous. I need to touch them longer to push more curse energy into them.

With these stats, my claws and that skill, I will be unstoppable in my grade. But I also need to give up everything; trust no one, always on the run. Always alone.

I put it into the ‘maybe’ pile.

The next screen that flickers in front of me is a mossy green.

Mandrake of moss and decay (Rare)

+5 HP +6 SP + 1 Strength +2 Agility +2 Perception +1 Constitution +1 Endurance +2 Unallocated stat points per level.

Friends are forever.

You have become friends with Sairal the dryad. You have saved his life and he has saved yours. This evolution grants the skills Shield of Moss (Un), Spores and I (Un), and Communication Sairal (R).

But be aware. Being friends often comes with strings attached.

A chuckle leaves my lips as I read the description and all the skills I will get. The communication skill is really good and will get more distance with each level with a hundred metres for each skill level with a base of two kilometres.

The odd thing is that this evolution is Rare rarity and somehow the system thinks that this fits more with me than any of the ones I’ve read through before this.

The weirdly worded warning is something else. I know that he has some kind of special past and isn’t an ordinary dryad living in the outskirts.

I only have Purple to compare him with, but he’s far higher levelled, he has been in the inner forest, and maybe he even lived there for a time.

And forest dwellers and dryads wandering traders refuse to trade with him for some reason.

It all paints a strange picture reinforced by the system. What happened to him that the system saw fit to make a warning for it?

I add it to the ‘maybe’ pile and move on to the last few evolutions I have to look through.