"Hmmm," Ryuk hummed a bit as a runic circle appeared in his eyes.
Immediately, the entire world zoomed out under his gaze, quickly landing on the Inn. His eyes narrowed as he looked at its state.
Right now, it was half-severed and burnt out, and it was clear to see that the source of it was from his floor.
If he had not been thrown out, the entire Inn would have probably been burned fully to the ground.
"How much for the damages?" he asked the bartender, who sighed before replying.
"40,000 Adventurer’s Points."
"And the Guild will want a report on what caused such destruction, especially if it’s not taken care of quickly and returned to its previous state..."
He sighed, but then Ryuk brought out his Adventurer Card.
"I’ll pay for it. Although I’d like to avoid the Guild’s query if possible..."
The bartender nodded.
"It’s fine..." he said before bringing out the scanner, quickly swiping Ryuk’s Adventurer Card as a beep rang out from Ryuk’s device.
"Done. You still have three more days before your time in the Inn runs out. Just give me 12 hours, and your room will be back to normal," he said before rising into the air and soaring into the distance.
Ryuk looked over his shoulder before bringing out his device and looked at the points.
{Total Adventurer Points: 950,000 Adventurer Points.}
"Finally, this should be enough to get what I want," he muttered. But then, he watched as a figure appeared before him—it was none other than Isha, with uneasy tears still present in her eyes.
She sighted Ryuk before running toward him and giving him a hug.
He didn’t know why she was in tears until the notification flashed.
[She was by your side when you decided to level up and was burnt a bit. Also, when you were unconscious, the pet world was deactivated by me, and that kept her trapped in it, unable to come out.]
[Must have shaken her up a bit.]
"I’m sorry for scaring you, Isha. It was a breakthrough of mine, and I didn’t know it would cause such a scene." He apologized, wiping her tears as he watched her calm down before he asked,
"Hey, Isha?"
"Uh-huh?"
"What do you think about your next evolution?"
"Do you feel it near?" Ryuk asked, and Isha’s eyebrows wrinkled.
"No. Frost Wyverns are at the peak of their evolution curve. They can no longer evolve further. That’s what Elder Celine said..." Isha replied with a focused expression, and Ryuk lowered to her eye level.
"And what if there’s a way to evolve you into something greater, faster, more powerful than a Frost Wyvern?"
"Would you take it?" he asked her.
"Would it make me as strong as you?"
"Yes. Perhaps even stronger than I right now. Although you might lose your Frost Wyvern form—and maybe your human form too..." Ryuk said, as Isha’s brows furrowed in thought. She then turned back to him and said:
"I’ll take it. So far I get stronger..."
’And stop you from being hurt ever again. Then, I’ll take it.’
"Good."
’Hey system?’
[Next Evolutionary Path Available.]
[Evolution Path Model:
Ice Serpent (Superseded)
Ice Python (Superseded)
Frost Wyvern (Currently Achieved)
Frost Hydra (Next Evolution)
Ice Wyrm (Yet to Achieve)
Ice Dragon (Peak Evolutionary Model)]
[Evolutionary Card possessed: 1]
[Does Host wish to use the Evolutionary Card to evolve Isha from a Frost Wyvern to a Frost Hydra?]
The system asked as Ryuk nodded his head.
In the next instant, Isha disappeared, returning to the Pet Space—and Ryuk’s eyes slowly shut as he found himself appearing in the Pet Space too.
"Use Evolutionary Card..." he ordered. Immediately as he said this, a bright light lit up on Isha’s forehead as she immediately changed back to her true form.
Ryuk watched as the runic symbol of a three-headed Hydra suddenly appeared on her forehead, and immediately after, the same runic image emerged within Ryuk’s gaze.
Staring at Isha’s four wings, he watched as they became a flash bulb of light and her consciousness slowly slipped as her wings began curling around her figure.
Immediately, blue energy spilled forth from Isha’s forehead, forming a cocoon of light around her and wrapping her up until she was completely obscured from Ryuk’s view.
[Evolutionary Card has been successfully used.]
[Evolution of Host’s pet from a Frost Wyvern to a Frost Hydra has now begun.]
The system confirmed as Ryuk’s consciousness faded away from the pet world and returned to the outside world.
[Congratulations on Host using the Evolutionary Card!]
[Host can now gain a single ability from the pet’s array of abilities.]
[What would Host like to obtain?]
1. Glacial Breath
2. Ice Spikes
3. Glacial Glide
4. Frost Armour
5. Icy Precision
6. Vastly Increased Intelligence
The system asked as Ryuk’s brows drew together at the skills.
This time, they weren’t tempting.
What made Isha powerful was the full combination of these skills, but not only that. Isha had learned Frost Wyvern Battle Arts from Elder Celine, which made her even more powerful.
Ryuk could neither obtain all of this nor could he inherit battle arts. So, he couldn’t help but feel that among his current array of skills, none of the above would do much.
That was what he thought... until a notification pulsed into existence.
[DING!]
[Congratulations on Host completing a Secret Quest!]
"A... secret quest?"
[Quest: Possess both a chance at an Evolutionary Ability from possessing an Evolutionary Card and also possess 2 High-Grade Skill Evolution Cards!]
[Reward: A Skill Spin!]
The system declared, and Ryuk’s eyes gleamed.
"What’s a Skill Spin, system?"
[It’s a very rare opportunity, where you choose two of your available Frost skills to undergo an evolutionary change.]
[The system will spin these two skills, along with the evolutionary ability to be obtained from Isha, to create a completely new skill that combines attributes of all three, including a random skill from the pet’s possessed skills.]
[You’re essentially giving up two of your Frost skills, and a skill you could have obtained from evolving Isha. In return, you’ll blindly receive a fused ability from the system’s roulette—something most likely far superior....or worse.]
[That’s essentially what a Skill Spin means.]
"Really? It’ll give something better in the end?"
[Not a 100%, but most likely.]
"Then Skill Spin my Sovereign of Eternal Frost skill and my Frozen Physique skill," Ryuk muttered as he watched the notification panel immediately change to something that made his heart unconsciously thump harder.