Chapter 30

“We should have enough cores for all of us to evolve,” Mike said when it was clear I was finished learning my new skill. “Unless someone just really wants to run the floor again, I propose we go ahead and evolve before moving on to the next floor.”

“Yes! I’m so ready for something different,” Cora agreed.

We’d all already agreed to challenge the twenty-first floor for at least a few days before leaving, if for no other reason than to earn more funds before officially becoming adults.

Since we’d need to start paying for things like food and rent as soon as we left the dungeon, spending a few days acquiring more valuable loot seemed only logical.

A few weeks earlier, we’d had to undergo a briefing with the rest of the iron rankers who were approaching their first evolution. The priests and priestesses had made it clear that we were all expected to provide for ourselves as soon as we completed our first evolution.

There would be no more free support or interest-free loans for gear or skillbooks. Once we left the dungeon, we would be officially recognized as adults, with all of the responsibilities that came with it.

They also made sure to remind everyone that upon reaching the first evolution, we would all become very fertile. Birth control was obviously available and cheap, but since unevolved ‘youths’ were functionally sterile, it was an important enough change that they made sure to remind everyone.

The inability of unevolved individuals to procreate was definitely something that hadn’t existed before demons started invading. In fact, there had even been small communities of people who never reached the first evolution, and they had been able to reproduce and have families just fine.

The clergy had provided some other useful information, but the biggest takeaway was that we’d need more funds when we left. And while all four of us had additional funds being held through our respective apprenticeships, it seemed prudent to earn a bit more, just in case.

Realistically, what I’d earned through healing and enchanting was probably more than enough to sustain us for a while, but I knew better than to offer such a thing.

I also wanted to use some of the funds I’d saved to finally get an asolade. I’d already been in contact with a Tamer whose pet had recently given birth, so all that was left was waiting for them to be weaned and buying a companion skill of some sort.

I could get the asolade without the companion skill, which was what I’d done in the simulation. But I wanted a stronger bond – a companion instead of a pet.

“I’m fine with evolving now,” Stephen said, drawing me out of my musings.

“Me too,” I agreed.

There really wasn’t any reason to wait. As much as I liked the scenery of the twentieth floor, I was looking forward to something different.

I was also a little excited about the more ‘open floor’ format, as well as the potential to interact with other delvers inside the dungeon.

There was always a risk that the other groups might become hostile, but such things were rare enough, even if they did occasionally happen.

Every so often, a party (or what remained of one) would exit the dungeon and report that they had been attacked by fellow delvers. The clergy had ways of knowing when someone was lying, and such reports were always taken seriously.

Because nobody was willing to cross the church or the Delver Association, family connections were not enough to save someone if it was determined that they were guilty of murdering other delvers.

Self-defense and duels were two exceptions that were fully allowed by the goddess, but intentionally killing other delvers wasn’t something Dia looked kindly upon.

Of course, someone had to be alive to complain. Otherwise, it took a lot of death to draw the goddess’s attention.

With the room completely clear and hours left before it reset, the four of us settled in and began absorbing essence cores. While we could have attempted our evolutions within my demesne, I didn’t want to risk the isolated nature of the space causing a problem.

Gaining levels inside my demesne had never presented an issue, but I didn’t feel confident that the same would apply to something as important as evolution.

I reached the threshold faster than expected. Had we run the floor again, I would have made it through another room or two at most before I’d have automatically begun my evolution.

It was supposed to be instant, so it wouldn’t have put me in any danger had I crossed the threshold in the middle of a fight. Even so, I was glad to have initiated the process outside of combat.

My surroundings fell away, and I once again found myself in a transitional space similar to the one that I’d appeared in immediately after my ascension to this realm.

“Welcome back,” Rho greeted with a smile. “You have progressed well in the short time that you’ve been here.”

“Thanks,” I said somewhat awkwardly.

I hadn’t expected to encounter the goddess clone again, though I probably should have realized that Ascender evolutions would be a little different than most others.

“Yes. The evolution of Ascenders is handled a little differently from natives. However, I will point out that the rare Travelers who appear in the realm also receive special treatment, at least for the first evolution.”

“How rare is it for individuals to go from one realm to another?”

“Very. Usually, such crossings are part of an agreement with compatible realms.”

“What about cases like Erogos?” I asked, thinking back to the play I’d watched with Stephen.

“There are always exceptions,” the goddess clone said with amusement. “But now is not the time to worry about such things. Tell me, how would you like to balance your advancement?”

While I couldn’t control how my soul developed, I was able to dictate how much essence was dedicated to my mind and body. Without a special constitution, the most I’d be able to dedicate to either area would be eighty percent, leaving twenty percent to go toward the remaining area.

I’d given a lot of thought to how I’d distribute my essence, so I’d already decided to do a 65/35 split in favor of my mind. Most delvers who focused on magic over brawn went with an 80/20 or 75/25 split, with the opposite being true for those focused more on physical strength instead of magical strength or intellect.

Since I fought in melee often enough, I’d added a bit more to my body than I probably would have otherwise.

The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

“65/35, mind to body,” I said. Though Rho could read my mind, it seemed some things required verbal confirmation.

“So noted. Now let’s get started on the fun part – your skills,” Rho said with a grin. “This is always my favorite part of any evolution.”

A list of my skills and their rarities appeared before my eyes, with no distinction between core skills or regular skills.

***

Demesne (Epic)
Stasis (Unique/Uncommon)
Restorative Healing (Epic)
Lightning Bolt (Epic)
Divide Space (Unique/Rare)
Dimensional Anchor (Epic)
Teleportation (Epic)
Herbalism (Uncommon)
Haste (Rare)
Repulsion Aura (Rare)
Telekinesis (Rare)
Identify (Uncommon)
Enchanting (Rare)
Ice Blade (Rare)
Eruption (Uncommon)
Shrapnel (Uncommon)
Cooking (Uncommon)
Minor Illusion (Common)
Gust (Common)
Void Strike (Common)

***

I’d made no progress on any of my new skills, but that was to be expected. Even for (Common) skills, it took a while to upgrade them without some kind of experience with them.