Chapter 49: The Evolutionary Formula.
Although he was given all the necessary information, Levi wanted to be as precise as possible.
He knew that a simple mistake in any of the three Stages of creating an Evolutionary Formula would put both Shia and Blee’der into a whole world of agony.
That’s because the final formula’s job wasn’t to break through the plateau like it was some sort of magical elixir.
It was used as a way to unseal the stagnated evolutionary traits based on the materials used for the formula. Then, the Shadowlife seed would take it from there and evolve the Nightcrawler through the chosen unsealed evolutionary traits.
If the formula were flawless, all the evolutionary traits from Tier 2 to Tier 3 would be unsealed, allowing the Shadowlife seed to commence the so-called perfect evolution.
If it was great, but not perfect, a high number of evolutionary traits would be unlocked while the remaining ones would be sealed forever...This was called Remarkable Evolution.
Last but not least, if the formula was basic and was created just for the sake of breaking through the plateau, it would result in the dreaded Limited Evolution.
In this case, the Shadowlife seed forced the only available evolutionary path on its hosts, regardless of whether it was any good.
Since Levi promised a perfect evolution, he had to be flawless in the creation process.
"Big bro, I think I am done."
Arthur shared while looking at the messy, dark green mixture. Levi went to the mixture and took a deep breath. The moment a revolting acidic scent assaulted him, he nodded in approval.
"Good job, it’s perfect."
"Phew, what’s next?" Arthur sighed in relief.
Although he knew that the contract terms had changed and his brother’s life was not in danger, he still didn’t want to disappoint Shia.
"We have finished with the first stage, Formula Foundation. Now, it’s time for the second stage, Essence Extraction. It’s usually the hardest stage in the creation process of the Evolutionary Formula, but fortunately, we are required to just vaporize and purify." Levi shared.
"I have no clue what you just said." Arthur shrugged his shoulders, "Just tell me what I need to do."
"No, you will learn...The Evolutionist career has a massive role in the advancement of our society. Without them, most Daywalkers would be stagnated at lower levels for a very long time."
"This means, our strength as regions would crumble and we wouldn’t have what it takes to deal with the spreading infestation of nightcrawlers."
"Don’t forget, we might be protected under the Holy light, but we still need the natural resources from the wastelands to survive."
"You think such an important subject won’t be included in the Intelligence Trials during the Assembly?"
When Arthur realized that his performance in the Assembly might be impacted by this, he locked in immediately and requested his brother’s explanation.
"Essence Extraction is the most vital and complex stage simply because there are hundreds of ways to extract the essence of each mixture." Levi shared serenely while pouring the mixture into the boiling flask very carefully.
"Each mixture requires its own method that works best with its essence extraction. In our case, we are lucky since we just vaporize the mixture into a purified liquid. A process that would have been a bit complex for amateurs if we weren’t using some of the most advanced equipment in the region."
"I see, so the job is to extract the essence of the materials and make a purified liquid out of them?"
Arthur asked as he watched the mixture release vapor, which was turning into red drops. They were trickling into a small glass bottle.
"Not precisely, some processes might turn the mixture into hardened pills, and some remain as steam. The Daywalkers are required to breathe the steam during the process." Levi said with an intrigued smile, "There is so much to learn."
Levi was always an avid explorer of science and any matter related to nightcrawlers. He grew up reading all about them in his mother’s textbooks and research papers.
Now that he was applying some of the knowledge he had read, he was quite enjoying the experience.
After a couple of minutes, the process was concluded. The mixture turned into a blackened tart, tainting the flask. But the small bottle on the other side was filled with sparkling red liquid.
"Is this it?"
"No, we still have one last stage, Final Refinement and Activation." Levi replied.
Levi collected the small bottle and returned to the main table. He brought some pieces of equipment with him and introduced the process to his brother.
"This stage might be straightforward and easy, but if a single mistake is made, it will ruin everything." Levi shared.
"Why is that?"
"We have to enhance the formula and stabilize it. In our case, we need to pour three drops of catalytic reagents every two minutes. Once we are done, we will stabilize it with a dose of Prismalique Elixir."
While Levi was explaining, he was using his voice to paint a clear picture of the bottled formula in front of him. He brought the catalytic reagents and poured the required drops with great precision and care. Then, he stopped and continued his explanation for the next two minutes.
He repeated this process three times until the sparkle disappeared from the evolutionary formula.
"Now, to the final step."
With great care, Levi unsealed the last remaining Prismalique Elixir and poured it slowly inside the bottle, doubling its quantity. Then, he closed the lid on it and pulled away from it.
He and his brother stood a couple of meters away and started staring at the two liquids mixing on their own.
A few moments later, the formula released a bright flash of light and a low-pitched frequency only Levi heard.
Then, the liquid started to switch between a crystallized state and a liquid state, leaving Arthur to gaze at it in wonder.
Arthur turned to his brother, having no idea if this meant they succeeded or not. Levi walked to the table and picked up the bottle. Then, he listened to its shifting stable frequency. Without needing to ask anyone, he felt it within his bones.
"We succeeded." He smiled in contentment, feeling a new sense of conquest.
Levi always had a feeling that he would fall in love with being an Evolutionist, but he was doubtful if he had what it took to become one. Having perfect vision and amazing precision were just as important as being knowledgeable.
This success showed him that he also had an opportunity to take on this path.
’With Ash’Kral’s infinite knowledge of nightcrawlers, if I were to become an Evolutionist, I would most definitely leave a mark.’ Levi thought to himself, ’He just needs not to be an asshole about it and share it.’
Levi had already asked Ash’Kral how he knew about Blee’der’s evolutionary path, and the answer he received didn’t please him one bit.
He told him that it was related to one of his unique senses, and if he wanted to know, he should work hard to unlock the unique sense first.
Levi assumed before that Ash’Kral must have some knowledge about Blee’der’s species’ evolutionary path since his pool of knowledge always seemed infinite.
If he didn’t know, Levi trusted that he would have gone ahead and found out about it if he was truly adamant about signing him...But he didn’t expect it to be related to a unique sense.
Knowing that he wouldn’t be unlocking them anytime soon, Levi could only hope that Ash’Kral would cooperate with him.
...
Soon, Levi and Arthur entered the waiting room and noticed that the mood was solemn. No one was laughing or speaking. It was like they were waiting at the hospital for surgery to be finished.
The moment they spotted the Larson Brothers, Shia held her breath in anticipation.
"It’s a boy." Arthur said solemnly.
Levi kicked him in the leg and swiftly announced the success of Shia’s perfect evolutionary formula, pulling it from his pocket akin to a holy treasure.
Shia and the others immediately ignored Arthur’s stupid joke and rushed toward Levi, gazing at the small glass bottle with utter astonishment.
"You actually succeeded?" Shia exclaimed with mixed emotions running amok in her body.
She kept seeking to grab the bottle, but hesitated midway. She believed that if she were to touch it, it might disappear.
Although she was filthy rich and had seen many peculiar treasures belonging to her father, this single bottle toppled everything.
It was the perfect evolutionary formula that would unlock a whole new evolutionary path, something she didn’t think would be possible.
After all, perfect formulas were so rare, so coveted that agencies and families spent billions of credits across decades in research and still wouldn’t result in anything noteworthy.
"Take it, it’s yours."
Levi smiled as he placed the bottle in Shia’s hand. Shia held the bottle close to her chest, fearing that she might drop it.
Blee’der popped out in his weapon form and said excitedly, "Shia! Quickly, let’s do it here! I can’t wait another second!"
Blee’der’s rush was understandable, considering that Shia had wasted six months being a Junior Daywalker when she could have already broken through, given the resources at her disposal.
"Here?"
Shia looked around her and realized that it wasn’t so bad. The waiting room was spacious, and their privacy was somewhat guaranteed.
After all, contracted nightcrawlers were forced to remain near their Daywalkers inside such establishments, or they could be reported for breach of privacy.
But, for the other rogue nightcrawlers? Most of them do not bother hanging around contracted nightcrawlers as they consider them disgusting traitors.
"Screw it, let’s do it."
Shia slipped off her oversized black jacket and settled onto the ground in a meditative pose, cradling Blee’der in his weapon form across her lap.
"Is this really happening?" Arthur wondered with a sparkling look.
He had never seen a live evolution before, and he was about to witness a perfect one at that. He was bound to feel excited.
"Sit and don’t talk; she needs to be focused," Levi said.
He pulled his brother, and they sat on the soft blue couch, their buttocks sinking at first touch. Then, they watched Shia and Blee’der’s evolution from two different perspectives.
Arthur was looking at Shia while Levi was staring at Blee’der. When it came to evolutions, the nightcrawler must not take his weapon form since his physical form would be affected primarily...Being in his weapon form would negate it.
Shia took a deep breath and brought the bottle to her face. Without further ado, she unlocked the lid and drank it in one gulp. Since the seed was connected to them both, it didn’t matter if she drank it or Blee’der.
"Wish me luck."
Shia glanced at her friends one last time before closing her eyes, focusing her spiritual vision on her Shadowlife’s seed. Next, she pulled the red jacket sleeve to her elbow, exposing an inked tattoo of a flying serpent-manta with two tails striking out of the tattoo’s border.
It was illuminated faintly with crimson color, informing her that she had reached her breakthrough point. If she were to press on it without drinking the evolutionary formula first, the seed would force a much worse version of limited evolution.
The Daywalkers called it a Brokie Evolution since it was free, and anyone stupid enough to consider it deserved to be called a brokie.
It was as if the seed offered its hosts a choice: accept the bare minimum, or strive to enhance the quality of their evolution by mastering the formulas.
Shia pressed on the inked tattoo and immediately, both her consciousness and Blee’der’s were sent inside her Shadowlife seed’s Rooted Plane.
It didn’t need just the touch, but her willingness to undergo the breakthrough, which meant it couldn’t get activated by a mistake.
What stood before them was nowhere near what Levi had witnessed. An above-average-sized golden tree with a shadowy, deathly reflection on the bottom.
Shia was used to this sight already.
She sat on the still waters and watched as the tree’s branches started to move towards her and Blee’der, akin to tentacles.
In no time, the branches got hold of them, making it seem like they were going through some freaky bondage play.
But in reality, the tree was reading through all of their evolutionary traits at their correct level. If a Daywalker chose the limited breakthrough, the tree would activate only the most prominent evolutionary traits during its scanning phase.
But now that Shia had consumed the evolutionary formula, it had already done its magic and had unsealed every possible evolutionary trait of Blee’der and was running its diagnostic on the best evolutionary path fitting them!