The Glorious Evolution

Shia cleared her throat and turned back to her research.

”Then let’s put it to work.”

Nurah’s smile widened, but Levi pulled the sample tray closer before the conversation could stray any further.

He could already tell that the girls were never going to stop teasing him about his new mutation.

He selected a combination from the files and checked its proportions... keeping Shia’s genetic profile in mind, he measured out a trace of nectar, a few grains of pearl powder, and a fragment of coral, then placed them on his tongue.

A foul taste spread through his mouth as his mutation assessed their compatibility.

His expression soured as he shook his head.

”Never.”

Shia checked the corresponding entry in her contracted Alchemist’s report.

”That was one of the combinations he wanted to try next.”

”Tell him to save the materials.”

Shia forwarded the rejection to her alchemist, asking him to hold off on purchasing the materials.

The girls had signed one-year research contracts, so they still needed to cooperate with their alchemists.

Those professionals invested time in each project and used the experiments and discoveries to deepen their understanding of alchemy... allowing clients to drop them whenever they pleased would disrupt months of ongoing work.

Levi could spare the girls unnecessary expenses and help advance the research, but they still had to honor the contracts’ duration and agreed terms.

It wasn’t so bad since Levi’s alchemical skills weren’t good enough to concoct a Tier 5 perfect evolutionary formula, which was graded as Grade B.

So, he rinsed his mouth, replaced one of the ingredients, and tested again.

This time, his tongue recoiled before he managed to retract it.

Nurah pressed her lips together at his reaction.

”Worse?”

”You have no idea.”

Another mark appeared in Shia’s records.

By the fifth rejection, the three girls were smiling from ear to ear.

Levi paused with the next sample in hand.

”I’m glad someone’s enjoying this.” He smiled wryly.

”Sorry.” Shia’s smile widened despite the apology. ”That last attempt would have required another order of Blood Pearls.”

”And several days of waiting,” Nurah added.

Jojo nodded.

They knew perfectly well what those small shakes of his head meant.

Each eliminated combination would ordinarily have demanded proper portions, extraction, and a paid alchemist’s time... they would have waited for a report, read the explanation for its failure, and funded the next attempt anyway.

Here, Levi tasted a few specks of material and spared them so much trouble that they had absolutely no idea how they could live without him anymore.

So watching him reject something had never made them happier.

Arthur pulled up a chair.

”I should’ve brought snacks.”

Levi turned toward him, offering him the same combinations.

”You’re welcome to taste these.”

”I’m supporting you emotionally.”

Arthur gave him a thumbs-up, staying clear of the station.

Fortunately, the first encouraging result came later that afternoon.

Levi tested a combination containing Bloodwell Lotus Nectar and Redmarrow Coral, then paused before reaching for his water.

Shia raised a brow in surprise.

”What?”

”Better.”

”How much better?”

”I don’t want to scrape my tongue afterward.”

Levi smiled as he recorded the proportions and tested the ingredients separately again, examining what each contributed.

The lotus nectar carried essences that supported blood replenishment. The coral supplied concentrated vitality, making it a reasonable candidate for a bloodline whose recovery depended heavily on access to blood.

Yet, adding more of either quickly spoiled the combination.

Levi reduced the coral.

The taste improved.

He adjusted the nectar.

It worsened again.

’What am I missing...’

The mutation could tell him when something suited Shia, but understanding why required some studying.

He pulled Alzhukar’s notes closer.

”What are you checking?” Shia asked curiously.

”Why adding more nectar made it worse. I wanted more of the essence that replenishes blood, but that extra drop increased everything else in the nectar too.”

Levi brought up its composition and pointed out the other components.

”One of these might be interfering with the coral.”

He checked her alchemist’s extraction methods, searching for a way to isolate the useful essence.

If he could separate it, he could increase that essence alone and test whether the combination improved.

Shia watched him record the options.

”Wouldn’t it be faster to keep trying until something tastes good?”

”Probably,” Levi admitted.

”Then why...”

”Because I want to understand what I find first.”

Levi reached for another sample.

His own Solarbound evolution remained far away... the Nine Senses Seed had only just reached Warden, and he had no reason to begin throwing credits at researching its next formula yet.

The girls’ research gave him a practical way to train his mutation while accomplishing something they needed.

Every material he tasted enriched his growing library... every failed combination allowed him to compare what he expected with what actually happened.

He needed both before moving to Crowglass’ planet... Cerridra.

A Grandmaster Alchemist would certainly find uses for a tongue that could identify components and assess compatibility... Levi could already imagine an endless line of bottles waiting for him each morning.

However, he wanted to participate in her research.

He wanted to understand her questions, follow her reasoning, and eventually offer suggestions she had reason to consider.

That required him to do more than recognize a pleasant taste... he needed to gain so much knowledge about materials and their properties that no one would dare question it.

Levi entered his prediction for the next combination before testing it.

A moment later, he grimaced.

Shia glanced at the prediction.

Then, very carefully, she deleted it.

Over the following days, the laboratory settled into use.

Arthur and the girls returned to their own training, though Shia visited whenever she could, often finding Levi surrounded by open sample cases and unfinished notes.

Sometimes, she arrived to find another tray of rejected samples beside him... Sanguine Moss, Heartroot Resin, Crimson Antler Powder, Bloodglass Salt, and several others.

Sometimes, she arrived while he was feeding his seeds, the materials sealed away until he could give them his full attention again.

His Sun and Void Seeds still required steady progress, and he refused to let them fall further behind while he buried himself in research.

Yet, the moment he returned to the station, another sample found its way onto his tongue.

The rejected combinations gradually filled several pages.

The promising ones occupied less than half a page.

Levi worked through those more carefully.

He changed proportions, compared substitutes, and ordered fresh samples whenever an ingredient ran out.

Occasionally, a material he had dismissed worked surprisingly well after something else in the combination changed.

Those discoveries kept him at the workstation longer than he intended.

One evening, Shia arrived with some snacks for him just to find Levi holding a fine strand of Bloodvein Vine between his fingers.

”Still that one?”

”Yep.”

Its affinity for carrying blood-related essences made it useful alongside the other materials, but Levi repeatedly found himself caught between two disappointing results.

Too little left the combination lacking.

Too much introduced an unpleasant sharpness that overwhelmed everything else.

He had already replaced it twice.

Both substitutes performed worse.

Shia sat beside him and opened the latest records... since it was her formula, she had hung around him until she began to understand these records.

”You reduced the pearl powder again?”

”It was better without so much of it.”

”And the coral?”

”The same.”

Levi checked the portions arranged before him, then removed a little more of the vine.

Shia watched the tiny fragment fall back into its compartment.

”That’s barely anything.”

He gave a distracted nod.

The difference seemed almost insulting after the amount of work he had put into reaching it.

Still, he recorded the change.

He wet the measured powder with a trace of Bloodwell Lotus Nectar, then added the coral shaving and fine vine fibers, completing another variation of a combination he had nearly abandoned.

Levi brought the sample to his tongue, not thinking much of it... But then froze with his hand halfway back to the table.

An overwhelming rush of pleasure flooded his mind.

His lips parted as his tongue sent wave after wave of bliss through him, each stronger than the last, while the black array kept flashing with a purplish hue.

Within seconds, he forgot to lower his hand... completely stunned.

He had never experienced anything like it.

No meal, drink, or delicacy had ever come close.

His tongue seemed to have triggered every source of pleasure in his brain at once, drowning his thoughts in enough dopamine to make him feel as though he had swallowed pounds of the finest drugs in the universe!

His shoulders loosened, and a helpless smile spread across his face, akin to that of a junkie on a high.

”Levi?”

Shia got closer, weirded out by his reaction.

Until now, every sample earned a grimace, a thoughtful pause, or another complaint about the taste... this time, he sat before her with a dazed expression, smiling at absolutely nothing.

”Levi... what happened?”

Levi barely heard her voice.

The bliss kept washing through him, leaving him content to sit there and savor it for as long as it lasted, until the array dimmed out.

Shia touched his arm, and only then did Levi break out of his daze.

He slowly turned toward her, his smile widening until she could see his fangs.

”It’s Perfect.”