The Glorious Evolution

”Interesting…” The Titan raised a brow. ”Using the Soulleech Maw as an organ not just for spiritual perception, but also as a tool to explore the Sense of Taste… I believe this is the first in history.”

Levi and Ash’Kral nodded, sharing the same expressions... a mixture of curiosity and slight unease.

The moment Levi started exploring the Soulleech Maw and its powers, he found out that its tongue could extend, enlarge, and even split. Sure, controlling it wasn’t an easy task, as he had been struggling to communicate his thoughts to the Soulleech Maw due to its limited intellect... But he did envision the immense possibilities this tongue could have if it were utilized with the Sense of Taste.

The sole problem was… no one had ever done this before, not even Ash’Kral. Hence, he had no clue if the unlocked innate abilities could be utilized using the Soulleech Maw or not, considering that Ash’Kral had mastered them with the capabilities of his own tongue, not the tongue of a cosmic entity connected to three realms.

”Whether my abilities can translate well to the Soulleech Maw’s tongue or not, I still think it’s the best option,” Ash’Kral advised. ”It will give you the possibility of masking the Soulleech Maw’s true identity.”

”True.” Levi nodded.

He understood that if he used Aether Flames with it, it was a dead giveaway. However, if he linked the Soulleech Maw to taste-based powers, it would become a totally different mutation even if the Soulleech Maw’s appearance remained the same.

The only one catching on would be the Gamemaster, but Levi had the option to plead the fifth when it came to his abilities and powers... it was within the signed contract that the Rifters were allowed to maintain the annonimity of their powers if they choose to... The only problem was the conditions to activate such term needed to be within reason. Not any power could be hidden unless Nocturn’s Adminstration, which was partnered on running the CSR Platform, saw an actual need.

As for the rest of viewers, the universe was vast, and there were many other beings with parasitic plant-based entities attached to their palms that utilized different powers. As long as no Aether Flames were used, he was in the clear.

”Sense of Taste… I still fail to understand how you can create so many abilities out of such a limited sense compared to the others.” Levi smiled wryly while floating in front of the Sense of Taste petal, feeling like his imagination was limited.

He could figure out the obvious utilizations, but thousands of abilities if not more? That was different.

”Don’t obsess over the quantity too much… ninety percent of my abilities are low-grade and have a single utilization, like enhancing my taste for delicacies, alcohol, or such, but…”

Ash’Kral floated to the middle row, where the number of abilities had grown much fewer, and added, ”This is where I got creative and spent decades of my time on a single ability. The quality of these abilities is so high that unlocking one of them means the birth of a whole new fighting style... or a tool capable of speeding up your cultivation, believe it or not.”

Hearing this, Levi’s heart skipped a beat. He had a feeling that the Sense of Taste could help with the speed of his cultivation, since it involved digestion as well. Anything that involved digestion had a connection to cultivation, since many natural treasures could increase one’s growth.

The only issue was that solar energy was the dominant source of growth for the majority of Seed owners. This meant they were limited to natural treasures that could be digested for solar energy, which increased the demand for them significantly.

Meanwhile, Levi was different. His Nine Senses Seed could devour any type of energy in the universe.

He was never limited to solar energy. He used it mostly because he had already given it a try once with a natural treasure and realized that the extracted energy through his digestion system was too little.

Most of it had gone to waste, since his digestion system wasn’t built for that type of work.

”I don’t know if you’re lucky enough to unlock it, but with your current level of strength, you can skip the lower brackets entirely and go straight to the middle row,” Ash’Kral shared with an eyelid twitch. ”You should give it a try… fortune has always been on your side when it comes to unlocking abilities.”

”Damn it, Ash…” Levi’s expression turned annoyed. ”Do you have to jinx it?”

”I doubt jinx applies to you.”

”Just shut up already.”

Fearing that he might genuinely jinx it with his irritating jealousy, Levi swiftly made up his mind and stepped in front of the middle row of illuminating leaves. Then, he took a deep breath and reached out to a random leaf with a single finger.

The instant his finger touched the leaf, it detached from the nanogon flower and hovered in front of him. Then, the flower disintegrated into crimson particles, awaiting the day he reached the second stage.

”Sense of Taste… here it goes.”

Levi flipped the leaf and exposed the details of the chosen innate ability:

//Ability Name: Palate Parasitic Takeover.

Type: Parasite Aspect.

The user’s tongue gets infested with Palate Parasites… the moment the user’s tongue touches someone directly (skin, flesh, blood, etc.), the parasites’ eggs will invade their bloodstream and reach their tongue… they will hatch in the tongue and terraform their palate to share the same taste and feeling as the owner.//

”…”

”…”

”…”

Levi, Ash’Kral, and the Titan were left speechless at once. They weren’t taken aback by the ability itself, but by the unlocking of the Parasite Aspect.

Ash’Kral immediately looked in the direction of the Ancestral Nine Senses Tree with a deep frown. Usually, he would act upset at Levi’s insane luck, knowing for a fact that unlocking these abilities was up to fate.

But now… he wasn’t so sure.

’Is she manipulating the odds to favor him, or are other unseen powers at work?’ Ash’Kral looked around, a peculiar feeling of unease gnawing at his mind.

He knew that the basis of fortune and misfortune was their interchangeability. One could be lucky and unlucky at times... but never always lucky when it mattered.

”Alright… what are the odds of unlocking a Parasite Aspect right after unlocking a parasitic mutation?”

Even Levi killed off his excitement, feeling that something was off at last. He could excuse the previous times, but now… he wasn’t so sure that ”luck” was the deciding factor.

”Well… this situation does seem off when adding the fortunate hands you’ve had before, but you guys shouldn’t think too deeply about it,” the Titan used the voice of reason. ”The middle row barely had twenty abilities to choose from. It’s one-in-twenty odds, which aren’t so bad, considering that each ability is amazing on its own. Plus, if you were really lucky, you would have unlocked one of Ash’Kral’s previous ultimate abilities.”

”I hear you, Old Bark. But I would have accepted Levi unlocking an ultimate easier than this…” Ash’Kral uttered with the same solemn look. ”After all, from the millions of abilities and tens of Aspects, what are the odds of Levi landing on one of the few sole abilities that unlock access to the Parasite Aspect right after he obtains the Soulleech Maw… the Queen of all Parasites?”

When it was put like this, even the Titan’s heart skipped a beat. Sure, this might just be a freak incident that happened at the wrong time and shouldn’t warrant this kind of attention.

However, both Ash’Kral and Levi were molded from the same cloth. They always asked questions when things seemed too good to be true.