"How many more experience points do I need to achieve level twenty?"
"Eight thousand one hundred and seventy four EXP."
I press accept and open up my Inventory. Here goes nothing.
I open several Rookie bags until all I have left is fourteen. Fourteen bags? That's pitiful. He's right, I have to complete missions soon.
Nine more tickets from almost thirty bags.
I opened the Gacha page and noticed the event was over. Left in its place were three events. Tools, medicine, and system functions.
Better than nothing. Let's just do it evenly. I put three tickets to each event and pressed play on each.
Hmm. Wow, that's actually pretty cool. "Hey guys, we got an icebox, a blender, and a…toaster! Aja, I got more herbs, a medicine jar, and a mortar and pestle, whatever that is…"
She jumps up and claps. "Gimme."
Ok…I pull it from the screen and hand the tools to her. She almost drops them, she's so excited.
"If I make it an offering to you will it be easier for you to hold it?"
She nods, and I make a note to do that later.
As for system functions.
Penguin sees a notification from the corner of his eye, and a new screen appears next to him."Ria, what did you do?" Then another. Then another.
Guilty, I averted my eyes."Nothing. I just completed a mission like you asked."
[Congratulations, Host! You've obtained the System Function: Training Ground.]
[Congratulations, Host! You've obtained the System Function: Incense Room.]
[Congratulations, Host! You've obtained the System Function Garden.]
Mel shouts from outside. "No! Give me a big fat break….!" I think it expanded again. Oops.
[Congratulations, Host! You've reached Level Twenty!]
[Evolution options loading…]
Penguin set down his pan and walked over to the table. "Ria, I would advise that you think this through. Do not choose by yourself, let us help you."
[Evolution Options...]
[High Dark Elf]
[Pure-Blood Vampire]
[Godkiller]
[Champion of Nyx]
[???]
"What is this?"
"It's an evolution list. Choose one and you'll forfeit your old body to form a new one. I will try to take your requests into account when I reform it."
"What's [???] and what happens if I choose just one. Will all the other races I was born into disappear?"
"??? is unknown. I have no idea what it means. You could turn into a lobster." He presses a blue screen next to him and glances at the drop-down of cautionary warnings. "Yes. For instance, if you choose High Dark Elf. You'll lose your vampire side and vice versa. However, if you choose this, you'll be unable to explain to the outside world why you are different. Which could jeopardize our existence."
"So I can't choose the elf, vampire, or godkiller. I can't give up any of them either, or I'll lose something. What does the champion do?"
Penguin smiles without it reaching his eyes."You'll essentially become an avatar of Nyx. A spare limb. An extension on earth if you will—"
"Nope. So that really only leaves one option."
Scrolling down, I hit [???]
Penguin lunges at me. "Ria, wait—"
Here goes nothing. I pressed confirm, and my vision swam. My entire body, along with the space, shuddered, and I blacked out.
Oops.
In the real world. Cage and Quill snored quietly as they leaned against each other to gather warmth. Something called for Quill's attention, though. She blearily opened her eyes and widened them.
"Cage…Cage!"
Cage woke up with a start and crinkled her nose. Her black hair stood up on her head, and she yawned. "What?"
"Look."
Quill stared ahead at the blinding light that had encased the baby who had thrown them in the pit. Like a cocoon, it swallowed her whole and expanded slowly but surely.
"..."
"..."
"Kill it?"
"Yes."
Cage summoned a flame and threw it at the cocoon. Instead of injuring or leaving a mark on it, her mana was instantly consumed. Like a vacuum the mana she released and was currently releasing was sucked into the coccon.
Cage, now fully awake, stopped using magic and regarded the cocoon with vigilance. "It doesn't feel like a monster. Could it be a spirit or plant?"
Quill gave her an incredulous snort."You think that's a plant? What kind of plant do you think could suck up magic like yours and a person like that?"
"It's a shame I kinda liked Eira. I'm gonna miss her cooking." She licked her lips in remembrance.
"Maybe she's still being digested. Anyway, we should run, right?"
Cage stilled and repeated the words that had been drilled in her head. "You can't leave the cave. It's against the rules." She pauses and adds. "I've tried. Someone has to lower a rope down, and you know that. Climbing simply isn't an option unless you want to die. In that case…"
"No. We'll just wait and see. It's not attacking us, so maybe it can only defend itself right now?"
Cage leaned back on Quill's shoulder and closed her eyes. "Wake me up when it wants to kill us."
"..."
She slept soundly while Quill watched with reddened eyes as the cocoon grew bigger during the night.
The next morning, she was constantly jerking as she committed to staying awake. Blearily, she opened her eyes and jumped up. Cage choked and coughed as the sudden movement had caused her to swallow the wrong way. "What?"
"Is it just me, or is that her?"
"..."
Cage got on her knees and crawled over to where Quill was now sitting. The cave was pitch dark, but they both had night-vision so they could see the person sleeping peacefully in front of them.
"What…what is that?"
"That's Eira. Look. Our fae promise is right there."She raised the sleeping girl's sleeve so they could see her bare wrist. A golden thread revealed itself and shimmered in the darkness.
Cage pointed out the obvious."But she's bigger."
They couldn't make out any specific features due to the low visibility. But they could easily tell how tall and old this child was. Perhaps four feet bordering on five feet tall, with long white hair that caught light even in the dark. Tiny breaths escaped her mouth, and her chest rose and fell steadily in her sleep.
No.
That's a completely different person. Cage tried to convince herself. "Maybe a monster replaced her?"
Changelings are rare, but not that rare. Quill shook her head. "She has no claws, and her appearance is almost the same. She even has the fae promises we made around her wrist. Even a changeling can't mimic that. Besides, a changeling would mimic the exact appearance. This just seems like a growth spurt."
"No." Cage grows quiet. Then it dawns on her, and she pales. "Like a monster evolve."
"What?"
"Sometimes monsters evolve in the dungeons. They change their appearance, get stronger, and gain new abilities. A cocoon similar to that one forms around them until they emerge. She's a—"
"No. No, she's not. If she were a monster, one of the elders would have noticed. They would have slaughtered her at her reading."
Cage remained steadfast in her assumption, and Quill bit her lip as she searched for a plausible reason to refute that statement. "Let's look."
Even though it's forbidden to do so without permission. Quill felt desperate enough that she removed just the garments on the girl's lower back to see if she had it.
Heaving a sigh of relief. "See? She's been baptized. Do you really think a God would make a mistake?"
Cage frowned but reluctantly nodded. "So why? Monsters evolve when they face a life-or-death situation or when they have reached the bottleneck of their current form."
"Perhaps training? She was stressed and mistook it for a situation where survival was uncertain?"
"What?"
They both whipped their heads down to look at the small elf lying down between them. Her hand rubbed at her eyes, and she blinked, showcasing her unique set of irises. She sat up, and they moved back.
Curious, she looked down at her hands and flexed them. Magic gathered around them, and Cage felt the hair on the back of her neck raise. Eira blinked sleepy tears away, yawned, and stretched. Her hair fell down in waves down her back, and she moved it to the side so it wouldn't tickle her neck so much.
"Hungry?"
"..."
"..."
Cage started. "What are you?"
She looks to the side like she's listening to something."A witch?"
"No. You know what I mean. What was that?"
She thought quietly to herself and stared back at Cage with vacant heterochromia eyes. "That's none of your business. Now, are you hungry?"