Chapter 26 | Evolution Points Increase
"Since we’re all tired, we’ll rest only for today, and move tomorrow," Leon announced to all those still alive, his voice carrying a note of finality.
"Isn’t it more dangerous since the Sun Beast knows we’re here?" Sera asked, more cautious than ever, her eyes scanning the ruined cave entrance nervously.
"Well, if it wanted to come and attack us already, then I don’t think it would have run away," Leon shrugged, his expression thoughtful. "We’re all exhausted and need to recover our strength."
The only one relatively fine, Darian, was busy creating as many barricades as he could using the materials he had, his hands working quickly to fortify their position.
Meanwhile, Alicar simply sat against the cave’s walls, gazing at his status panel as he processed everything that had happened.
[Name: Alicar Soulveil]
[Class: Soulless (Unique), Elemental Mage (Special), Martial Demon (Special)]
[Talent: Infinite Evolution]
[True Title: None.]
[Level: 10 (0%)]
[Constitution: 14]
[Strength: 14]
[Agility: 16]
[Spirit: 30]
[Attribute Points: 4]
[Skills: Six-Elements Affinity (+), Elemental Attack (+), Demonic Arts (+)]
[Class Skill: Contract Slot (2/3)]
’Place 2 points in Spirit and 2 in Strength,’ Alicar thought to himself as he saw he still had four attribute points waiting to be allocated.
Ding!
[Spirit: 30 → 32]
[Strength: 14 → 16]
The group then ate the meat of a monster they had in their storage as night time arrived, and they went to sleep, their bodies aching from the brutal battle.
Since everyone in the group was fairly strong, Iris, William and Alicar could now join to take turns in guarding the cave if needed.
"It’s fine," Leon spoke, waving them off with a tired smile. "I don’t feel as tired as you guys since I didn’t do much, I’ll stay up."
And with that, Alicar fell asleep, hoping that tomorrow would be a better day after everything that had happened.
...
Ding!
[Evolution Points: 2]
The very first thing Alicar checked as he woke up were his Evolution Points, as usual, and this time, instead of only gaining one, he gained two.
"Well, I think it’s quite obvious now," he mumbled to himself, a grin spreading across his face.
The amount of Evolution Points he gained scaled directly with how many contracts he had active at any given time.
Since he had Iris and Leon now, this meant he gained two daily, doubling his progress overnight.
This would make leveling up his skills much faster than before, making Alicar excited about the future and what he could accomplish.
At the same time, he also decided to check the description of his new class to better understand its capabilities.
[Class: Martial Demon]
[Description: Countless martial arts exist across the Eternal Realm, but few can compare to the Demonic Legion’s forbidden techniques, crafted and perfected by Demon Lord Vorgath the Unbroken.]
[Those who inherit his arts wield the power to shatter even the mightiest of foes. Yet tread carefully, for Vorgath’s own ambition consumed him. Master the techniques, but never let them master you.]
"Sounds good," Alicar nodded, satisfied with the description. "Well then..."
He gazed at his skills panel, wanting to use his new Evolution Points immediately.
[Skills: Six-Elements Affinity (+), Elemental Attack (+), Demonic Arts (+)]
’I don’t have enough for Elemental Attack since it costs 4 EP now,’ he thought, calculating his options.
So instead, he decided to try it on his Six-Elements Affinity, as it was an Epic-Rank skill that he hadn’t evolved yet.
[Skill: Six-Elements Affinity]
[Rank: Epic]
[Level: 1 (+)]
[Evolve for 2 Evolution Points?]
"...Damn," Alicar muttered, his eyebrows rising in surprise.
Elemental Attack only took 1 Evolution Point to go from Level 1 to Level 2, but it seemed like it took 2 for Six-Elements Affinity, likely because of its higher rank.
But if that was the case, then he dreaded to think about how much his Legendary-Rank skill would cost.
[Skill: Demonic Arts]
[Rank: Legendary]
[Level: 1 (+)]
[Insufficient Evolution Points. Cost: 4]
"As I thought," Alicar sighed, confirming his suspicions.
Rank Common, Uncommon and Rare skills cost 1 EP at the start, and then it kept doubling after every level, Epic-Rank skills cost 2 EP at the start, and Legendary-Rank ones cost 4.
This meant it would be far more expensive to evolve the two higher-ranked skills, requiring careful planning and allocation.
But more than anything, Alicar was shocked that he could evolve a Legendary-Rank skill at all.
Did it mean there truly was a rank above Legendary, or simply that the skill would reach its max level at 10?
Either way, he didn’t have enough Evolution Points to try and do that right now.
’Should I try and evolve Six-Elements Affinity or wait until tomorrow to get enough Evolution Points for Elemental Attack or Demonic Arts?’
The more skills Alicar acquired, the more he’d have to think of ways to allocate his Evolution Points strategically.
’Or maybe there’s other ways to get Evolution Points beside waiting,’ he wondered, his mind already exploring possibilities.
For now he decided to keep them, deciding what to do later when he had more information.
The rest of the group woke up shortly after, and after gathering everything they needed, they headed toward the mountain.
"So, what makes it so dangerous?" Iris asked as they left the cave, her voice filled with curiosity. "Is it just that the Sun Beast attacks more often?"
"It’s not even that," Leon’s expression tightened, his jaw clenching. "It’s just that the further we go, the stronger the monsters present, with even some epic-rank ones."
"Oh," Iris replied simply, her face paling slightly.
None of them truly needed any more information than that to understand the gravity of the situation.
Leon had struggled against the Temple Guardian, a rare-rank monster in the forest, so if he were to face an epic-rank one, it would indeed be a horrible experience.
"But..." Leon continued, his voice regaining confidence, "Now that I have... this new ability, I think I can take them on. Iris and Alicar can also kill them easily, and William can focus on his advancement task."
Sera and Darian had seemingly become the weakest of the group after only a few days, though it didn’t bother them much, as they understood their roles.
Because with this new group, it was finally their one and only chance to head forward and escape this nightmare realm.
"Let’s go, everyone," Leon’s eyes flared with determination, his voice carrying the weight of a leader. "We’ll reach the Sun Temple and get out of here."
...
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