The Glorious Evolution

Jojo’s contracted nightcrawler, Zar’Vhulek, frowned a bit... he wasn’t too pleased with Ash’Kral’s disrespectful reaction.

”Disagreement is understandable, but don’t scoff and remain silent,” Zar’Vhulek said. ”State your argument and defend it.”

”I don’t need to state or defend anything,” Ash’Kral yawned. ”I doubt you will even understand it if I tried... might as well save my saliva.”

Levi’s eyebrows twitched at the displeased expressions painted on his friends’ nightcrawlers. Even Blee’der, O’rro, and O’thnir didn’t seem too fond of Ash’Kral’s arrogance. If it hadn’t been for him being Levi’s contracted nightcrawler... and they liked Levi so much... they would have already insisted on a humbling session.

”Try me... I am always interested in expanding my horizons.” Zar’Vhulek bowed his head a little, not too bothered by Ash’Kral’s shitty persona.

Ash’Kral smiled for a moment, deciding to entertain him. ”Let me tell you a short story, and you can decide what to take from it,” he said, his voice as still as the breath held before betrayal.

Then he began his narration.

”Once upon a time, there was a king who believed in fate and destiny to the point of reverence. One day, he heard news of a famous traveling prophet visiting his country. The prophet was known to have all his predictions come true, making everyone seek his guidance and knowledge.

The king invited him over, promising all sorts of riches for a single prediction...” Ash’Kral lifted a wing and asked, ”When will I die?”

”The prophet agreed and came to the palace. Without accepting any payment or riches, he told the king that he had only a week to live. Then he left the palace, uncaring that his prediction was like a death sentence for the king.

For the next week, the king was paranoid, sick, and uncaring about his kingdom’s matters. All he thought about was the fast-approaching day of his damnation.

His guarding knight was worried and displeased, for he knew his king was healthy and well protected. It was simply impossible for him to die in a week unless he did it himself.

Worried that the illness and mental burden of this unfavorable destiny would take the king’s life, the knight decided to intervene. He searched for the prophet and brought him back to the palace. Then he asked the prophet to predict the day of his own death.

The prophet smiled and said he still had twenty more years to live. Under the stunned eyes of the king, the knight pulled his sword and sliced the prophet’s head off.

The end.” Ash’Kral concluded abruptly, leaving Levi and the others in stilled silence.

He didn’t tell them what happened to the king later, but the meaning of the story dug a hole in their minds.

For Zar’Vhulek... a firm believer in fate and destiny... this story didn’t convince him of anything. In his eyes, the prophet could have been a swindler and lied about his predictions... or he could have known his death would occur in the palace since he refused any rewards and remained there even after telling the king he had only a week to live.

Meanwhile, Levi realized that if the king hadn’t believed in fate and destiny from the start, and had simply ignored the prediction, his health wouldn’t have deteriorated so severely. He might have laughed it off and carried on with his life. Whether the prophecy came true or not, at least he wouldn’t have summoned his own death through his strong belief.

In simpler terms...

”Fate and destiny might exist... or they might not... but living a life fully committed to them would do more harm than good,” Levi murmured under his breath. ”Just like the king... almost self-fulfilling the prophecy of his death.”

”What are you whispering about?” Shia’s voice resounded near Levi, breaking him out of his daze.

”Nothing... just having a conversation with the nightcrawlers,” Levi smiled.

”I know you can’t help it, but I prefer if you join our side of the discussion,” Shia said. ”We were talking about crafting your weapons, and tips to make them as good as possible for your fighting styles.”

”Oh... I am all ears.”

***

After some time, the party concluded, and everyone went to their homes to prepare for the first day in the Grand Daywalkers Training Center.

Seraphis had given them a week to pack up and report to the center... those who made the first stage before their first day would skip the early lessons and move straight to real training.

Those who fell behind would be placed under the guidance of his assistant instructor until they caught up with the main group. No one wanted to be left behind.

Since the nightcrawlers were masters at feeding their shadowlife seeds, they didn’t leave their partners to their own devices. The moment a partnership was established, the nightcrawlers did everything in their power to help their partners get stronger and faster.

Fortunately, Seraphis gave them access to the Training Center’s online store, allowing them to spend their coins to purchase growth totems and such.

Right now, Levi and Arthur were sitting on the couch and opening the holographic screen of the store.

”How much do you have, big bro?” Arthur grinned. ”You must be rich after winning the wager.”

”I have about thirteen thousand... and a 40% discount.” Levi anwsered.

”Haha, you are rich, rich!” Arthur laughed, happy for his brother.

”We are rich.”

Levi smiled, having no intention of hoarding all the coins for himself. He knew if his brother had the same amount, he wouldn’t hesitate to share it with him.

True brothers share everything... except women.

Additionally, he already had access to the divine light, which was all the energy he needed to cultivate at the early stages, and still possessed insane speed.

Hence, he didn’t hesitate to offer his brother six thousand coins to purchase what he needed from the store.

”Nah, you keep it. Lord Idriss has promised to take care of the necessary resources I will need until I become a Junior Daywalker,” Arthur grinned.

”Oh... that’s generous of him.” Levi raised an eyebrow in surprise.

He knew that sponsored candidates receive some assistance from the agency in the early stages, but it would never be as heavy as ensuring a consistent supply to the Junior rank.

While Levi was their true sponsored candidate on paper, Lord Idriss had spent most of his time with Arthur and considered him their real sponsored candidate.

Levi had no plans to go knocking on their doors, begging to be sponsored. He was already satisfied with just being left to participate in the assembly and not get disturbed after it.

He was called by Lord Idriss earlier, and instead of scolding him for their ploy, he only congratulated him on acing the assembly and getting contracted...Then, he hung up, keeping the conversation brief.

”At least take three thousand coins. I have bet your own money as well.” Levi shared.

”Oh... okay, I might need to buy some goodies from the store.”

Levi wired him the coins and refocused on the store. With ten thousand left...and effectively half after discount, he could clear dozens of totems at once.

If there hadn’t been a purchase limit for each product, he would have used his discount to buy for his brother and friends... but the Training Center’s principal wasn’t foolish enough to leave such a loophole.

After Levi asked Astra AI to name the products in the store and their prices, he envisioned them as:

Sealing Totems: 150 coinsGrowth Totems: Grade F – 50 coins Grade D – 100 coins Grade C – 250 coins Grade B – 900 coins

Assault Totems: Blazing Fang (F) – 100 coins Radiant Wrath (D) – 200 coins Sunpierce (C) – 600 coins Dawnburst (B) – 1 200 coins

Protection Totems: Wardlight (F) – 180 coins Illumination (D) – 290 coins Sacred Shell (C) – 1 100 coins Celestial Guard (B) – 1 900 coins

Recovery Totems: Minor Mending (F) – 59 coins Vital Flow (D) – 99 coins Purity’s Breath (C) – 750 coins Spirit Rebirth (B) – 1 600 coins

Skill Totems: Quickened Hands (F) – 350 coins Spell Echo (D) – 700 coins Hidden Leaf (C) – 1 100 coins Thunderstorm (B) – 3 400 coins

The prices displayed were before the discount, which made Levi smile at the possibility of clearing tens of totems at once.

The best part? He didn’t need much growth totems; his divine light and sunlight sufficed for early cultivation. But since everyone knew he’d gotten rich off the assembly and the wager, no one would be surprised if he reached the first stage in a week.

”Now, what do I need?” Levi muttered. ”I’m allowed six growth totems, ten sealing totems each week, and three other totems every fifteen days.”

Levi first bought ten sealing totems... knowing he’d need them for his new Nightmount. With the 40% discount, he spent only nine hundred instead of fifteen hundred.

Then he bought one grade D and two grade C assault totems, bringing his balance to eight thousand two hundred and sixty. A couple of protection and recovery totems followed, cutting his balance to six thousand.

After reading the details of each skill totem... of which there were dozens... Levi purchased only those he believed might come in handy in serious situations. He still had four thousand coins left for emergencies.

”Big bro, I’m going outside to feed the seed,” Arthur said after putting on some clothes.

Levi nodded and watched him walk away with a smaller version of Khu’zan floating behind him. He smiled, relieved that his wild brother was in Khuzan’s care.

He believed his composure would keep his little brother’s reins checked... right?

...

A few minutes later, Levi and Ash’Kral were inside the Ancestral Rooted Plane.

Now that his contract was official, he no longer needed to hold back... knowing his spiritual talent was abnormal, no one found it strange that it was stronger than normal at the first stage.

Levi floated to the massive, shimmering nonagon flower and chose the sound-sense petal. Then he closed his eyes and muttered, ”Please be good to me again...”

He reached out, plucked a random leaf, and the flower collapsed into the still ocean below.

Levi opened his spiritual eyes and turned the leaf.

//Thunder Chant: A rhythmic chant that builds up a thunderclap... with power increasing the longer the chant goes uninterrupted.//

”Hmm, not bad.” Ash’Kral nodded in satisfaction.

”Thunder Chant... sounds interesting.”

Levi pressed the leaf to his forehead, absorbing its knowledge. His eyes widened.

”Wow... it stacks to infinity? This defies logic...”

”Logic? Brat, I didn’t spend millions of years mastering these abilities to perfection to have their logic questioned.”

Levi’s lips twitched, knowing from his answer that he had no plans of explaining it. But he was already numbed and didn’t bother wasting his breath on it.

He swiftly landed on the still waters with a thrilled expression, rearing to test it out. He transformed Ash’Kral to the Judgment’s Chainstaff, and then, he activated his new ability.

The moment he smashed the staff against the still waters, a faint thunderous rumble resounded in the area. Yet, Levi knew that it was only the beginning.

Rumble Rumble...

He kept smashing the staff around, each contact produced a much powerful thunderous clap than the previous one. It kept building up until Levi felt himself incapable of holding the Judgement’s chainstaff.

It was vibrating strongly, making his arm shake nonstop.

’So forceful...I feel like I am holding a caged dragon, smashing against the bars to escape and release its fury.”

Levi used his other hand to keep the staff controlled and glanced at the waters beneath him.

Then, with an eager grin, Levi smashed the staff on the waters while shouting, ”Thunder Chant, release!”

Ruuuuuumble!

Before he knew it, Levi found himself flying backward without his judgment staff and numbing pain coursing through his forearms.

Yet, he didn’t care about any of this. His spiritual eyes remained affixed on the gigantic circular tsunami born from his attack!

It was at least ten meters long and was charging through the endless still ocean while being pushed by the thunderous shockwave.

As Levi stood up and watched the tsunami rushing towards him, he merely spread his arms welcomingly with a wide grin painted on his lips.

The tsunami smashed through his spirit and sent him packing to the real world. When Levi regained his consciousness, the first sentence he uttered was:

”Teach me sound manipulation!”

After experiencing Echolocation, Levi fell in love with the sound element, but now that he had tested Thunder Chant and recognized its untapped destructive potential, Levi could no longer wait.

He had to explore more sound abilities, and the only way to do this consistently was to start creating his techniques.

’I was wondering when you would ask... Sit down.’

When Levi sat on the cold floor, Ash’Kral asked him, ’Do you have an understanding of how the Solarity system works?’