Chapter 455: Two of Them?

Julius found himself smiling like a loon. He had some doubts about what was happening and whether he was actually undergoing a soul evolution. He was just very relieved that it was and not something else.

Unfortunately, he didn’t have much time, and within five minutes, he needed to make a decision. He groaned grumpily as he staggered to his feet like a drunkard. His mind was still very fuzzy, and he wasn’t all the way coherent.

Why couldn’t the Words of the World make things easier, let him have more time to think about it? He was tempted to waste some of his precious time cursing out the Words of the World, but he showed immense restraint. Instead, he immediately looked toward Freya. Time was of the essence.

He recalled some of the information they had previously shared with him. They had explained that people were offered various rewards depending on their situation. However, there were still the standard options.

Much like his evolution the first time around, he was offered a choice to evolve one of his epic skills to legendary. And just like last time, he immediately rejected that choice. It was tempting, but he had already been warned by both Cain and Freya that he should never choose this option.

They said that it was only an option people chose if they were naive or plain stupid. It was a cheap boost of strength at the cost of sacrificing one’s future progression.

The next reward was also similar to the one he had been offered during his first soul evolution. However, the name was slightly different. He recalled that he had been provided a Lesser Soul Nourishment of some sort. This time, it had changed to something called a Soul Enforcement Pill.

From what it sounded like, it was a soul treasure that would help strengthen, or rather, enforce one’s soul. He also wasn’t that attracted to this reward. His soul was already powerful enough, and he was having enough issues because of that. He had a feeling that this painful soul evolution was a byproduct of his unique soul.

He would be lying if he said he wasn’t curious about what could happen if he consumed that item. Sure, he already had a powerful enough soul, but it was interesting to think about what might happen if he strengthened even further.

He shook his head and looked at his next option.

The Enlightenment Potion was somewhat tempting as well. Mainly because it no longer had “Assistance” in the name. It also didn’t say that the enlightenment was only for Concepts. It was entirely possible that the enlightenment could be anything he might require.

For example, he would need to experience some sort of enlightenment to transform his Emblem into an Authority. It might be the perfect item and might be able to help him with the process of gaining an Authority, something that was becoming more and more nervous of doing the closer he got.

He also thought it was possible that he could save it. From what he could tell, the reward said it was a potion, which also meant that it should come in some sort of vial or bottle. That also meant he might be able to save it for later consumption.

He might be required to select one of the rewards within five minutes, but he didn’t know if he would be required to consume the rewards within that same five minutes. That didn’t sound right, and he was slowly convincing himself that it might be possible.

Then he got to the next reward, and he was already leaning toward selecting it. The Additional Skill Slot was agreed by both Cain and Freya to be the most valuable reward for him, especially in the long run. There were no other known ways to increase one’s skill slots outside of their soul evolution; this wasn’t the same for the rest of the rewards. This automatically made the skill slot choice the most valuable out of all of them.

Still, he reviewed his other options. The options that changed depending on the person’s soul. While he had already made up his mind, he was still interested to see what he might have been offered.

There were two options present. The first one drew his attention right away. It was a Skill Combination Crystal. Julius didn’t need to ask Freya what it might do. He already had a pretty clear idea.

His mind immediately went to all the weeks he spent desperately trying to combine some of his skills and thought of how much easier it would have been if he had used this crystal. He sighed with regret and couldn’t help but feel drawn to this choice.

The last reward was something equally interesting. It was a soul-bound item of unique nature. Julius had been offered something similar when he had completed the Challenge Rift, but hadn’t taken it.

He knew that Reinera did, and she loved the magical focus she gained from it. He didn’t want to admit to her that he was a bit jealous, but he was. The staff she got was really cool, and even if he didn’t have to use one to control his mana, he wanted one.

He had been so focused on thinking about his rewards that he almost didn’t notice it when Freya’s nose pressed into his own as she tried to get his attention.

“Are you still here?” She asked him with a little shake.

He nodded out of his reverie. “Yeah.”

“Did you manage to evolve your soul?” She asked just to make sure.

He nodded again. “Yep. Should I just grab the extra skill slot right now?” He asked her, knowing full well that she had recommended that he grab the extra skill slot even over the non-standard rewards.

“What did you get offered?” She asked calmly, showing no concern that his timer was running out.

He quickly told her all of his choices. He made sure she knew the exact names as well, just to be safe. He saw her eyes widen with surprise when he mentioned the last two rewards.

This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

“You are sure that it says Unique Item, right?” She asked him with pursed lips.

He nodded firmly.

She sighed. “Such a shame. That’s quite a nice reward to get. It would have been nice if you managed to get it,” she said sadly.

“Why? Is it good or something?” He asked curiously.

She smiled. “Oh yeah, I actually got a similar reward from a rift in the past. You know that puzzle rod?”

He grimaced. “Perhaps.”

She grinned wider. “Well, that rod is actually the unique item I got from the rift.”

He flinched backward and quickly removed the rod from his storage ring. The familiar feeling weight of the rod felt oddly comforting and irritating. “You mean this thing? The thing you said to keep in my storage ring?”

“Hmmhmm.”

“It’s that valuable? I thought it was just a puzzle?” He muttered.

“It’s not just a puzzle. It’s a training tool that adapts to my needs. I used this thing to help me with my mana manipulation,” she explained with a nostalgic smile at the rod in his hands.

He looked at her with confusion. “Why?”

She tilted her head. “Why what?”