Chapter 3 - Evolving
In a part of the dungeon with a biome similar to a savanna, roars of a creature could be heard, along with the sound of footsteps and slashes. A battle was unfolding.
Alice took a few steps back from the Grin in front of her. With a deep breath, she entered a combat stance again, her sword held firmly with her right hand above her head, the tip pointed at the enemy in front of her, and her left hand supporting the blade in a beautiful yet threatening posture.
The Grin in front of her was more powerful than those Alice had faced in the last 6 hours, being at least of Red - bright level, possibly at the top of this level. Its long arms and legs boasted devastating claws at the tips of its fingers, its body covered in brown fur, and its mouth filled with sharp fangs ready to tear flesh and bones alike. The creature resembled a type of primate, standing just slightly shorter than Alice, who is 1.60 meters tall.
Without further ado, the Grin viciously and recklessly charged in a direct attack. Alice, taking advantage of her posture, executed a circular slash to gain momentum. The slash came from below, causing a deep cut in the Grin's left arm. With a smooth and graceful movement, Alice repositioned herself, dodging the attack but not retreating. Instead, she took advantage of the enemy's reckless attack and managed to position herself laterally in a blind spot. Using the remaining momentum from the previous slash, Alice performed a second cut, hitting the Grin's face and damaging one of its eyes.
The Grin screamed in rage and pain and tried to grab Alice, who was now within reach of its fangs, but to its surprise, Alice disappeared, leaving only a slight breeze.
Moon Step, using one of her class abilities, Alice reappeared behind the Grin and delivered a heavy attack, holding the sword with both hands, causing a deep cut in her opponent's neck. Even though her level did not favor her much and she did not yet have access to her aura or Sword Intent, she managed to break the defensive aura and cause a deep enough cut to be fatal. The Grin tried to counterattack, but it was already too late. Despite being a mana creature, they originate from the interaction of life on the planet with mana. Therefore, their bodies follow a logic similar to life on Earth, with organs and blood that must flow to feed the organs with more mana and oxygen.
After a few agonizing moments on the ground, the Grin finally died. Its body quickly began to disappear, and part of its mana crystallized into a mana crystal.
“Hmm, this one has a lot of mana, much more than the other 4,” Alice said to herself.
In the 6 hours inside the dungeon, Alice had defeated 5 Grins, including her last battle. Mana crystals vary in value based on how much mana they carry. This amount of mana varies depending on the strength of the Grin and how it was killed. If the Grin has half its body destroyed, the mana crystal will have less mana than if it had been killed more cleanly.
Alice looked at her status to see her progress.
Name Alice Niveus Age 21 Race Human Class Moonlight Sword Dancer Titles Daughter of the Moon Level 5 Class Abilities
- Sword Dance - Expert
- Song of Healing - Beginner;
- Song of Purification - Beginner;
- Moon Steps - Beginner
- Night Vision*
Mana Heart
Red - Dark
Satisfied with her progress, Alice used ‘Song of Healing’ on herself, healing the small cuts acquired in the last 2 battles. A low yet clear sound could be heard emanating from Alice, just a few notes of a harp, but the healing effects could be seen with the naked eye, as the small cuts and bruises quickly healed.
Alice sat on a nearby stone. ‘Hmm, my rations are almost gone, and I’m nearly out of water. I think it's time to go back,’ Alice thought.
While resting, Alice observed the dungeon again. The sky was completely dark as if it were a complete void. The biome she was in consisted of arid land, mostly flat. The trees were small and spaced apart from each other. Thanks to being a plain, it was easy to find Grins. Alice had so far avoided areas with denser vegetation or that could favor ambushes and attacked isolated Grins.
Dungeons are creations aimed at helping humanity. Therefore, the mechanism to enter and exit is simple and easily accessible to anyone. To exit, you just need to be in a safe place, with no enemies nearby, and ask.
“I want to leave,” Alice said with expectation. It didn’t take long for a portal with the same black color as an infinite void to appear. Alice entered the portal and reappeared at the dungeon entrance, where she could see the typical movement of awakened ones and energy companies.
Before Alice could walk 10 steps, she was approached. “Hey, awakened young lady, you just came out of the dungeon, right? Sell your crystals with us. We offer 10% more than any other place,” said an employee of one of the crystal buying stands. Before she could say anything, another employee from another stand said, “We cover any offer and have a partnership with the famous Dragon Claws organization. If you negotiate with us enough, you might even get a recommendation.” Other stands noticed that she probably didn’t have a contract yet and started shouting their offers. Feeling pressured, Alice used Moon Step and quickly moved towards the South gate to enter the city.
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‘Ahhhhh, seriously, how insistent,’ Alice thought as she waited in line to have her documents checked to enter the city.
Of course, the insistence of these buyers is totally justified, as mana crystals are the main energy source currently. They not only power practically everything in the city but are also in high demand by new awakened ones to evolve their mana hearts. The demand far exceeds the supply.
After entering the city, Alice ordered a car through the same app as before, this time to the commercial area near her home, as drivers do not accept entering her neighborhood. After thanking the driver, Alice headed towards her apartment. Alice walked quickly, entered the building where her apartment is, climbed the stairs to the fourth floor, and went straight to her apartment. She locked herself in, sat at the table, and finally let the tension drain from her body. “Ahhhhh, I’m really tired. The day was longer than I expected,” Alice said to no one in particular. The day was already ending; it was almost 7:00 PM. Alice took the 5 crystals out of her backpack and analyzed them. Four had a small amount of mana, with slight variations between them, all with more or less the same amount as the 2 Alice sold earlier. The 5th, originating from her last battle, was more impressive even to a layperson. Just by looking, it was possible to notice the difference.
Alice took the largest crystal in her hand and left the other four beside her, sitting cross-legged on her sofa. “Level 5 should be enough for me to evolve my Mana Heart without repercussions.” Using the meditation technique she learned from Kate’s legacy, Alice began to absorb the crystal and feed her Heart.
A few hours and 3 crystals later, including the highest quality one, she felt her body burn. She lay down and endured the burning sensation. A few moments passed, Alice composed herself, stood up, and did some stretches, feeling her new power.
With a thought, Alice activated her aura, which quickly enveloped her body in a protective barrier. The aura was invisible to the naked eye and enveloped her entire body like armor. “Finally, I have access to my aura,” Alice said with excitement and a wide smile.
The aura armor is the most basic aura technique of an awakened one. It can still be used at the initial levels. More complex uses will require higher levels and a much more powerful mana heart, but Alice will get there. For now, she is happy with the small evolutions.
Alice looked at her status again.
Name Alice Niveus Age 21 Race Human Class Moonlight Sword Dancer Titles Daughter of the Moon Level 5 Class Abilities
- Sword Dance - Expert
- Song of Healing - Beginner;
- Song of Purification - Beginner;
- Moon Steps - Beginner
- Night Vision*
Mana Heart Red - Bright
Alice contemplated her options. “I should be able to elevate my mana heart to the top of Red - Bright. However, attempting to evolve to Red - Pure would be foolish. It would be better to reach level 10 before doing that, or I could end up cooking myself. The academy recommends level 15, but level 10 should be manageable,” Alice said to herself.
Alice studied at a preparatory academy for people with high chances of awakening. These chances are calculated in childhood based on the child’s body’s adaptability to mana. Alice was rated with high chances due to her high adaptability at a young age. However, fate is unpredictable. In fact, her high adaptability was due to a condition that made her born with high adaptability but prevented her from progressing with age like most people. Over the years, all the children at the academy surpassed her, and eventually, her adaptability became lower than that of an average person of the same age. Alice was removed from the academy at 16 when her adaptability was much lower than a normal person’s, condemning her to never awaken. Just 1 year later, her mother died. Even though she was removed at 16, Alice learned a lot at the academy. Therefore, she is well familiar with the basic concepts of an awakened one, as well as some best practices in the evolution process. Levels are an indication of a new awakened one’s adaptability. They can be increased naturally with exposure to the mana of one’s heart, but very slowly, or by absorbing the mana from the death of Grins. This mana is emitted by Grins upon death and can be absorbed by awakened ones because it is a type of mana that has “learned” to interact with carbon-based life. It must be absorbed immediately after the Grin’s death, as seconds later it returns to its normal state.
Having a high enough level and, consequently, a body capable of efficiently handling mana is necessary before evolving one’s mana heart. Otherwise, you can cook your body with the new intensity of your heart. Therefore, the balance between level and mana heart is paramount.
It’s almost midnight. Alice is exhausted and decided to end the day by lying down to sleep.
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“Are you crazy?” Kate shouted with a rage she had never felt before.
“Hahaha, crazy? No, you fools fight against the natural way. You don’t realize you’re being manipulated. Your false gods are nothing but demons. If it weren’t for them, we would have already unified with mana and become perfect, as the one true god intended. Can’t you see that?” exclaimed a male figure with a distorted smile on his face.
Kate wanted to tear each limb from the man, one by one. However, she had more important things ahead. A horde larger than she had ever seen of Grins painted the horizon, and this traitor had just rendered several of the fort’s defense mechanisms useless. Kate didn’t know how he attracted so many, but she could think about it later. If the fort falls, the rest of the humanity she knows will be eradicated. Kate looked at the traitor just to see him fleeing on a horse towards safety.
“Coward, after all that nonsense, I expected you to at least face the consequences,” Kate shouted with palpable fury.
“Why should I die? I am part of the chosen ones to lead the world to the final unification. My mission is not over yet,” said the figure as he ordered the horse to gallop. Kate wanted to pursue him it would be very easy for her to kill him. However, the screams, grunts, and roars of the approaching horde made her give up. The fort cannot fall…
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‘Boom! Boom! Boom!’ Alice woke up to the sound of loud bangs on her door. This is the first time she has had such clear memories of Kate. Until then, everything was hazy.
Boom! Boom! Boom! The violent bangs threatened to break the door. Before Alice could reach the door.
Bang! The lock broke, and the door opened with an impact. Four men entered Alice’s room with smiles that could only be described as ‘disgusting.’
“Rumors say that a foolish little girl spent all her savings on awakened equipment, even without any chance of awakening,” said what seemed to be the leader of the group, looking at Alice with a lascivious gaze. “Looks like we hit the jackpot guys, money and fun,” the men laughed with lust as they devoured Alice’s body with their eyes.
Alice decided at that moment. “None of you will leave here alive,” Alice said coldly, with an emotionless look.