Chapter 50: The Evolution.
This made the Shadowlife tree keep activating everything in its path, akin to a traffic officer slapping tickets on every car’s window in a parking lot!
While this was happening on the inside, Levi and the others were shown a completely different sight.
Shia’s tattoo was releasing a bright crimson light akin to a bat signal while her short hair started turning crystallized at the very bottom, making it seem like she was wearing ruby gemstones on each hair strand.
Meanwhile, Blee’der was the one truly undergoing evolution under the envious looks of O’rro, O’thnir, and Levi’s captivated gaze.
Blee’der was encircled by long, swirling strings of inscriptions, forming a spinning ring of shifting symbols. Each time one of the glowing strings pulsed, his form twisted, mutating, reshaping.
Again and again, the process repeated, until the original serpent-manta hybrid with shimmering red scales transformed. Now, Blee’der bore three massive crystallized scarlet stones jutting from his back, twin crystalline horns on his head, and a long, sinuous tail made entirely of the same scarlet crystal, gleaming with raw, refined power.
When the process concluded, the strings snapped off one by one until Blee’der was freed from their containment.
Blee’der had no idea about what happened to him since his consciousness was also locked in the Rooted Plane. But after the evolution concluded and the tree’s branches pulled away, they immediately woke up.
"It’s over..." Shia murmured as she glanced at her dimming tattoo.
When she looked up at her friends and saw the weird looks she was getting, she couldn’t help but tilt her head in confusion.
"What’s the matter with you? Did something grow in my face?"
She reached out to her face with a dreadful tone, knowing that perfect evolutions almost always result in a mutation spreading to the contracted human. The number of mutations and their quality depended on the Daywalker’s rank.
"Huh?"
Before anyone could say anything, Shia’s fingers brushed past the crystallized tips of her hair strands. When she pulled them close to her face, her eyes couldn’t help but sparkle in joy.
"Kyaa! So cute!!"
She swiftly stood up and brought out a mirror from her side bag, eying her mutated hair with a wide grin.
"I can use this as an excuse to grow my hair."
Jamal and the others’ eyelids twitched at the sight of Shia focusing on her hair more than the breakthrough.
"How?" They decided to entertain her.
"Mutations are mostly useful, so those gem-like strands can be used in battles. I am certain about it."
Jamal and Sergio nodded in agreement as they had also heard about this. Since mutations were already rare and appeared mostly in the later stages of one’s evolutionary path, most of them were geared for combat.
It was like the seed ensured that the mutation chosen wouldn’t be a liability or a mere cosmetic.
Meanwhile, Levi was having a different conversation with the nightcrawlers’ squad, whispering under his breath.
"How do you feel?"
"Never better."
Blee’der flexed his massive three-back rubies under the jealous looks of his friends. He also had the widest grin he could muster as he could feel the tremendous increase in strength compared to his previous breakthrough.
Daywalkers’ main source of strength wasn’t the mutations, the signature weapon, the battle arts, or even the innate abilities.
It was the steady increase in physical and mental prowess during one’s cultivation, as each stage completed implied a smaller boost in strength.
When a Daywalker broke through a plateau and evolved, the strength enhancement was considerably higher based on the quality of the evolution.
Since Blee’der went through a perfect evolution, he obtained the highest possible form of enhancement in his rank. If Shia wasn’t preoccupied with her hair, she would have noticed the difference too.
"Congratulations on your evolution." Levi smiled serenely, "I am happy for you guys."
"Thank you, little one." Blee’der went to Levi and gave him a solemn look. "If you need anything from me, don’t hesitate to ask."
"Much appreciated, but you don’t have to feel indebted." Levi shook his head, "We had a deal, and I simply carried my part of it."
"I know and I don’t care, I owe you one." Blee’der smirked, "Once you become a Daywalker, you will understand the true magnitude of your favor."
Levi could only respond with a quiet smile, fully aware that for Nightcrawlers, evolution was everything. Guiding one through a perfect evolution from one Tier to the next meant unlocking new layers of potential. If he continued along this path, however slim, there was a chance he could one day reach the final tiers.
After taking a moment to admire her hair, Shia stepped up to Levi and thanked him for staying true to his word. With a rare softness in her tone, she told him not to hesitate if he ever needed her help, offering it freely, without conditions.
Hearing the offer, Levi realized that he did need help with something and it would be less troublesome with Shia’s.
"Well, you guys know my brother and I are planning to participate in this year’s assembly, but I won’t lie to you, we kinda need help concerning combat." Levi requested, "It will be great if you can give us some pointers and such."
"That’s it?" Shia rolled her eyes. "We already had plans on training you guys."
"You are foolish if you thought we were going to throw you at the assembly like this." Jamal supported.
"As long as I get the chance to beat Arthur, I am down." Sergio cracked his knuckles with a wicked grin, sending shivers down Arthur’s spine.
’What did I do?’ Arthur cried inwardly.
"Much appreciated, truly." Levi smiled.
Although he knew that Ash’Kral already had plans to train him, Levi wanted to be more proactive. He understood that Shia had the resources to prepare them more efficiently for the assembly, such as weapons, training grounds, battle experience, and more.
Meanwhile, Ash’Kral might be a monster, but Levi recognized that he might be a bit out of touch with matters related to his current level...With him being a true asshole, he could already see him cursing all of his generations for failing his tasks.
Plus, it would help him mask his newfound strength now that he could utilize echolocation in battles, giving him a new edge.
"So, what kind of ultimate ability have you unlocked?" Jamal returned to Shia’s breakthrough, asking her with an intrigued tone.
Levi and the others’ ears perked up in anticipation as well, knowing that besides the normal innate abilities unlocked at each stage, they were capable of unlocking an ultimate ability after each evolution.
Those ultimate abilities were considered the best possible abilities for each Tier. That’s because the Shadowlife seed combined the mastered innate abilities to create the best possible ultimate ability in each rank.
In this manner, not even the nightcrawler would know what kind of ultimate ability it would be.
Of course, the grade of the evolution played a big part in the ultimate quality of the ultimate ability.
"It’s better to show you. Let’s go to the agency’s training center."
***
Sometime later...
Levi and Arthur found themselves standing before The Blood Hunters Agency’s Tamara branch. While it wasn’t as glamorous and big as the headquarters in the capital, it still oozed with overwhelming dominance.
As Levi watched the Daywalkers walk in and out with varying auras and unique nightcrawlers, he felt like this was his call.
Joining a powerful Agency and going out on adventures, participating in Raids, Expeditions, and winning back territory to honor his region.
He might be intelligent, but Levi was still a hot-blooded teenager who grew up reading all about the heroism of Daywalkers.
If avenging his parents was his destined goal, then the Daywalker’s life was his dream, as it made him feel like it was the only way for him to escape from his disability.
"Don’t be shy, my people don’t bite...Well, most of them." Shia chuckled as she led the Larson Brothers inside the agency’s branch.
After going in, Shia was greeted by everyone on their way to the training center. Levi and Arthur had caught some attention, too, especially Levi. But, no one came to bother them, not even nightcrawlers...Being with the daughter of Lord Idriss was enough to tame everyone’s arrogance.
A few minutes later, Shia and the others entered a massive, sealed training ground, which was separated into dozens of smaller areas.
Each area had its own door and needed a permission slip to rent it for some training, testing abilities, or even sparring between Daywalkers.
However, Shia ignored those closed-occupied doors and went straight to the end of the corridor.
She walked to a big stainless steel door with a small keypad on its side. Then, she scanned it with her Neuralens, and access was granted immediately.
Just as the door was about to slide open, Levi alerted Shia, "Someone is already occupying the room..."
"Hmm? It can’t be?" Shia raised an eyebrow in confusion.
She knew that this room was exclusive to her father, and only his children had access to it. Her big brother was out on a mission while her father was in the capital. Or at least, that’s what she believed.
As the door slid fully open, Shia’s pupils narrowed at the sight of a giant specimen swinging a great sword in a monotonous and repeated motion.
The man was well above two meters in height, and his bronze, sweaty muscles were big enough to make even Arthur reconsider if he was truly putting in the work in the gym.
Every time he took a step, it left a faint imprint on the ground, his sheer mass making the steel floorboards groan beneath his weight.
When he noticed their presence, he stopped mid-swing and slowly turned his head to face them.
Everyone gulped a mouthful after his piercing, dark hunter eyes landed on them. His face was chiseled and decorated with a thick scarlet mustache and a long scar running from his forehead to his left cheek. Adding his short red buzz-cut made him ooze with uncontrollable barbaric masculinity.
One look was enough for anyone to reach this judgment: He was The Man.
"Greetings, Lord Idriss!"
Sergio and Jamal immediately bowed their heads in respect, feeling a sense of awe at the notion of meeting their leader face-to-face.
Although they hung around Shia a lot, they were still mere Combatant Members at the bottom of the ladder in their agency...This limited their meeting with Lord Idriss greatly.
"Dad, what are you doing here?"
Meanwhile, Shia asked coldly with her arms crossed on her chest, not bothering to greet him.
"Do I need a reason to be in my training room?" Lord Idriss asked calmly.