Chapter 178: Healing Upgrade

“I’m not trying to say anything. I just want to know what happened and what you remember happening,” she said.

He didn’t see the point in not telling her. She deserved to know, considering all the help she had given him.

“During the blast, I managed to obtain a Concept of Phoenix,” he told her.

“During the blast?” She asked skeptically.

“Why, what do you think happened?” He asked her. He had a feeling she already had a theory in the works.

“I don’t know,” she said, looking like she was lost at sea.

She shook her head and smiled at him reassuringly. “It doesn’t matter. All that matters is that you are alive.”

***

As they were sitting down on the patio of the cabin Julius couldn’t help but think back to what Alice had said. She seemed pretty sure that he died and he was inclined to believe her. He didn’t really want to tell her about his experience in his soul though. It felt much more personal than sharing his skills.

Not only that, but something stood out to him. She mentioned that she saw him die. Meaning that she was there and possibly following him the entire time.

He always knew that was a possibility. She was after all a Tier 6 powerhouse, so it wasn’t a shock or anything like that. No, what made him pause was whether or not she had anything to do with the two men following him.

The guy said it was a coincidence, but Julius found himself not believing in coincidences as much. She had let him leave Dante’s too easily for his liking. It was almost like him giving up and leaving was a part of her plan.

He didn’t have any proof, but if she had anything to do with the two men finding him, he wouldn’t be too happy about that. He didn’t die, so he wasn’t too upset, but it was very important to note that he should have died. Which meant that she would have been responsible.

He didn’t know how he would exactly feel about that if it was true, so he decided not to confront her just yet. He wanted to settle his own emotions before that.

However, the more he thought about it, that idea was becoming more and more likely. If there was one thing he learned about Alice over this past month or so, was that she always had her own agenda.

It wasn’t necessarily a bad thing, but it was something he was aware of.

He shook his head, trying to put those thoughts to the back of his mind. He had a healing skill to evolve. A skill that other than [Spatial Perception], was one of the most anticipated skill evolutions for him.

That was the reason why they came back to Dante’s cabin. Alice wanted to help him evolve his skill once she learned that he had gotten it to level 20. He explained that his soul felt pretty amazing and that he doubted he would need any help, but she told him that it was better to be safe than sorry. He couldn’t argue with that reason.

He sat down alongside Dante and Alice, both looking at him with a mixture of curiosity and nervousness. He ignored their looks though and focused on the latest of his notifications.

[Pseudo-Phoenix Renewal] has reached level 20.

Appraising requirements…

Congratulations. Skills requirement met.

Congratulations. Concept requirement met.

Congratulations. Soul requirement met.

Would you like to evolve the skill [Pseudo-Phoenix Renewal]?

He didn’t hesitate for a moment, he instantly selected yes. Afterward, he felt a surge of energy, and his Concept of Phoenix activated with a resounding boom.

Skill evolution commencing…

Skill [Pseudo-Phoenix Renewal] is evolving… possible advancements: [Phoenix Renewal], [Phoenix Body], and [Revival of Ash].

Julius reviewed the options with an unsteady frown. The first skill wasn’t unexpected. It was the skill he assumed it would become once he evolved it, dropping the pseudo from its name. It was also probably the safest choice he was offered.

He already knew what the skill entailed and could pretty confidently assume that the skill was similar just more powerful than the previous version. It wasn’t like his healing skill wasn’t powerful, in fact, it was extremely potent for its rank.

However, the problem he was having was that the other two skills sounded really nice as well.

I know, first-world problems. But I really like the sound of the other skills, they are really interesting.

The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

He was having a mini-internal crisis. For one, [Phoenix Body] seemed like a ridiculous skill. It was a skill that appeared to be giving him a closer connection to a real phoenix. He didn’t know what the skill would entail, but it was a pretty safe guess that it was a good skill.

He just didn’t know if it was a better choice than [Phoenix Renewal], a skill that hadn’t let him down yet. His soul damage notwithstanding. But he also didn’t know what it did. Was it a physical enhancement skill that used fire and life to bolster his body? Or maybe it was a healing skill that acted differently [Phoenix Renewal]