Voracious Manaweaver.
A sleek, shadowy figure, poised with the grace of a predator. Scales shimred with an eerie smoothness. Veins of mana faintly glowing, pulsing, along my limbs and neck. My neck had stretched ever so slightly, my features now sharper, more refined—dare I say, elegant. Yet the jaw—oh, the jaw—still extended to my throat, a creature both elegant and nightmarish, beauty wrapped in terror.
I flipped the page.
[Description: Evolution centered on absorbing and refining mana. Enhances both fine-tuned mana control and the ability to consu mana-infused material, significantly boosting magical capacity.]
[Stat Bonuses: 2 Intelligence, 2 Will, 2 Durability, 2 Strength per level until next evolution.]
[New Organ: Mana Conduit Vasculature – A highly intricate network of mana-conducting veins spread throughout the body, allowing for extrely fine control over mana manipulation and greatly increasing efficiency.]
[Ability:Mana Devourer – User can consu mana-based objects, creatures, or energy sources to permanently enhance internal mana reserves, capped by current form limitations.]
[Unlocks Mana Core: Basic Monster Core – Enables internal mana storage and channeling for abilities or mana-converting organs.]
[Unlocks one affinity of choice.]
[Skills: Available for acquisition.]
I stared at the book, slack-jawed, when my doppelgänger let out a mad cackle behind . Of course. What on earth was this to doing in the Golden Section? The effects far outstripped anything else on this shelf.
An affinity of my own choosing? The ability to devour mana-laden substances? And the best bit—no ‘evolution exclusive’ nonsense. This ability was here to stay, not just a temporary gift to be whisked away with my next transformation.
The sheer lunacy of it all! To be able to permanently expand my mana reserves? Permanently! Absolutely bonkers. Oh, sure, the book said it was limited by my current form, but still—utterly ridiculous. Powerful beyond belief.
Well, decision made, wasn’t it? Not only would I get mana veins, but I’d also keep a dash of my ravenous side. The macro-trophic sac would remain with , even if Endless Hunger wouldn’t. More than enough for .
With a sharp snap, I closed the book and clutched it to my chest, shooting a glance at my doppelgänger.
"Guessed again, have you?" I pulled a face, eyebrows raised in exasperation. Honestly, it wasn’t much of a conundrum—she was , after all. Likely had a good ntal rummage through these very pages herself.
She nodded, smug as a cat who’d licked the cream. No surprises there. Of course she knew. And the way she was casually twiddling with those vials told she was already elbow-deep in concocting that potion.
“But how, exactly, did I manage this... evolution?”
“Oh, co now. You already know. Hunger wears many hats, doesn’t it? Yet it always, sohow, signifies that endless craving. This ti, your insatiable thirst for magic nudged you down this path.”
“How does that even—” My question was promptly interrupted by her burst of laughter. Cheeky cow!
“Kidding! Your last little ‘growth spurt’ ca from devouring all those valar rats. The system probably thought, 'Bliy, that’s quite the feat!' and kindly presented you with this shiny new option.”
Well, that was more believable. If feelings alone could whip up evolutions, I’d have been sporting mana veins during my very first evolution, given how desperately I crave the stuff. Still, couldn’t help but feel a little bouncy, all things considered.
…
Even if my doppelgänger’s insufferable smirk as she deliberately mixed those ingredients was really grinding my gears.
I squinted at her, a sly grin tugging at the corners of my lips. “You are infuriatingly smug, you know that?”
She raised an eyebrow, the picture of false innocence. “? Smug? Heaven forbid. I’m rely basking in the warmth of being right—again.”
I rolled my eyes but couldn’t stifle the chuckle that bubbled up. “It’s hardly impressive when, well, you’re and it’s a foregone conclusion you already know the answer.”
She shrugged, swirling the liquid in a vial with exaggerated nonchalance. “Knowledge is power, silly. Though I must say, I was almost convinced you’d set your heart on Ashenfla. Thought you fancied yourself a bonfire, did you?”
Ashenfla? Oh, not bloody likely!
“Oh, please,” I scoffed, puffing up indignantly. “As if I’d settle for being a glorified matchstick. I’ve got standards. Picture this: a proper, elegant dragon with impeccable taste. Hmm... You reckon I’ll be able to commission gowns for my dragon form in the future?”
She cackled, setting the vial down and folding her arms. “Oh, ‘class’, is it? As if gnawing on mana-soaked rocks and energy sources is the pinnacle of sophistication. Truly, a fine display of high society.”
“Oi, don’t knock it 'til you’ve given it a go,” I fired back with a grin. “Besides, I’d keep myself in tip-top condition—teeth polished, scales gleaming. Stealth already makes quite the graceful creature!”
She leaned in, “And here I thought you preferred things a bit on the ssy side. What was it you said when you tore through those Valar Rats? I’m certain you wouldn’t have cleaned yourself since that little escapade…”
I smirked, shaking my head. “One ti.” Then, visions of that spider encounter and those bug-monsters flashed in my mind. “Alright, maybe a few more. But in my defence, I haven’t exactly had the ti—or the luxury—for a proper scrub down.”
Honestly, I hated ss. Always had. Even now, the thought of being a grimy dragon, sticky sap still clinging to , sent shivers down my spine. I was a walking disaster. I probably had enough muck under my claws and scales to plant a bloody garden.
The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.
Oh, I really should’ve asked Barn for a deep clean before he left...
“Anyway, enough of that. Just pick one of these.”
I blinked, eyeing the colourful array of tubes she’d suddenly produced from nowhere. Reds, blues, greens, yellows—she had the whole rainbow lined up. Twelve of them, to be exact.
“What are they?” I asked, counting them up.
“Forgot already? Your affinities.”
“Ahh, right! The choice!” I clapped my hands together, before a frown crept across my face. “But why twelve? I thought there were only ten affinities… Or are there advanced ones in the mix?”
She shook her head, lips quirking. “Nope. All of these are base affinities.”
“I’ve... never co across anything beyond the usual ten.”
Fire, water, earth, air, lightning, nature, ice, tal, light, and dark.
Those were the only ones they’d ever drilled into us. Sure, there were advanced versions—like Fire’s advanced form, Inferno. And there were so fancy combinations too, like Fire and Earth forming a Magma affinity. Though combinations were quite rare, what with multiple affinities being rather uncommon. They existed, of course, even triple affinities. That vile bitch Elise was a dual affinity mage, and the very thought of her left a bitter taste in my mouth.
But one day—one day—I’d have my revenge on her.
Bah!
“What are these other affinities, then? New base ones I’ve never heard of? So thrilling new discovery? NEW MAGIC?!”
She grinned. “Better than telling you—why not see for yourself?” And, as if by magic, a parchnt appeared in her hand and she passed it to .
Fire
Water
Earth
Air
Lightning
Nature
Ice
tal
Light
Dark
Chaos
Spirit
The affinities lay before in a neat little row, and just a glance was enough to confirm it. Two new ones, staring right in the face.
Spirit... and Chaos?
"Chaos is an affinity too?" I muttered, incredulous.
"Indeed," she replied. "Though I wouldn't recomnd it, unless you've got an organ to convert mana into Chaos. The natural conversion of mana to Chaos mana? Doesn’t exist. No matter how strong your affinity is. Sa goes for Spirit.”
I raised an eyebrow. Barn ran on Chaos, didn’t he? So it was just another form of mana, then. Strange. For every other affinity, having just the affinity ant you could convert ambient mana straight into your preferred flavour—fire mages could pull it from their cores and turn it to fire mana, no faffing about with external matrix fiddling. But Chaos? Spirit? Apparently not so simple.
It seed both would be useless to if I couldn’t naturally convert ambient mana into them. What’s the point in that? Unless I found a place teeming with those specific mana types, I’d be as good as a fish out of water. And the only place I knew Chaos existed was the bloody Netherworld.
Lovely.
Wait… “If Chaos mana only exists in the Netherworld, what about Spirit mana? Does that co from so other realm governed by Parda too?”
She shrugged, nonchalant as ever. “Well, I wouldn’t know. I only deal with things related to you and your dragon biology, nothing beyond that.”
Fair enough. Made sense, considering the system had made her that way. Still, my eyes drifted back to the parchnt. “At least tell their strengths and weaknesses. You know, like how Fire’s weak to Water and Earth, but Water is strong against Fire and Earth.”
Her eyes lit up. “Oh! You want a strengths and weaknesses chart?”
“YES!” I exclaid.
"That I can do." She snatched the parchnt from my hands and, with a flourish, pulled a pen out of thin air and began scribbling. Monts later, she proudly presented her work to .
Elent
Strong Against
Weak Against
Fire
Nature, Ice
Water, Earth
Water
Fire, Earth
Lightning, Ice
Earth
Fire, Lightning
Water, Air
Air
Earth, tal
Ice, Lightning
Lightning
Water, Air
Earth, tal
Nature
Water, Earth
Fire, Ice
Ice
Air, Nature
Fire, Lightning
tal
Lightning, Earth
Nature, Fire
Light
Dark
Chaos, Nature
Dark
Light
Fire, Lightning
Chaos
tal
Light
Spirit
Lightning
Dark
Ah, I knew the base ones well enough, so my eyes skipped straight to the bottom. Ah-ha! Chaos didn’t play nice with Light, and Spirit had a bone to pick with Dark. Still, I had no clue how they actually worked or what sort of spells I could fling about with them.
Barn had so sort of disintegration magic, but I wasn’t about to assu I’d get anything similar. Anyway, it seed I’d have to choose from the ten affinities I knew. Chaos and Spirit weren’t exactly calling to , although, there was a niggling thought – what if, one day, I could craft so fancy mana-to-Chaos or Spirit conversion organ? A whole new school of magic, entirely by ! The re thought sent a delightful shudder through my bones. Ah, well, that’s a future worry. If it ever cos about.
Still, curiosity got the better of . “Do advanced versions of these exist? Or mixed versions, like Chaos and Spirit thrown in with other elents?”
She gave a half-hearted shrug. “Probably, but I haven’t the foggiest. Maybe when you get to that level, the system will give the lowdown too.”
Fair enough.
“So, what’s it going to be?” she asked, gesturing towards the glass tubes once more.
Ti to think. There was only one magic path I really knew—Winter Salamander’s path. Light magic. Illusions. And even that, I’d only had a nibble at, just the basics. Every affinity had its strengths and weaknesses, no real downside to picking one over another.
But there was always one path that had captivated . One so elusive, so out of reach, that I hadn’t even dared dream of ever using it. The affinity of energy and speed, the most unruly, rarest of them all.
Lightning.
I grabbed the vial that shimred with a violet hue. My doppelgänger grinned, her eyes gleaming with excitent. Before I could blink, she snatched it from my hand and gleefully dunked it into the beaker. The solution bubbled furiously, changing from pure white to a deep, electric purple. Once again, it toyed with my vision – claws, slitted eyes, flickering and vanishing in the liquid. She stopped swirling, but the potion never did, buzzing with a restless energy.
She handed the beaker.
But just as I was about to take it, my gaze wandered back to those rainbow-coloured tos.
“You can have a look, if you fancy,” my doppelgänger said, nonchalantly.
I shook my head, a wry smile tugging at my lips. “If the potion’s ready, those books are nothing more than a tease. No sense torturing myself, knowing I won’t be getting my claws on what’s inside. Just spill the beans – I’d rather not sully my mood leafing through them, all the while wishing for the unattainable.”
She shrugged. “If you insist. All four are about sun or light, more or less. First two are pretty much identical as the last ti – bit of a stat boost, with an extra organ thrown in for good asure. The last pair... well, I suspect they were a result of your, ah, voracious appetite.”
Oh, I could already picture all the ways it could be gloriously overpowered. Part of itched to dive into those tos, but… not today. So, I tore my eyes away, grinned cheekily at my double, and lunged forward, scooping her up into an unceremonious hug.
She yelped, surprised, before relaxing into it with a smile, squeezing back.
“Looks like it’ll be a while before I see you again,” I murmured, a strange numbness creeping over . It hadn’t been long, but there was this bizarre bond between us – sothing familiar and oddly comforting about her presence, like this place was wrapping itself around my mories.
“You know,” she whispered conspiratorially, “ti flows differently outside. You could stay a bit longer, if you like.”
We pulled apart, and with a mischievous grin, she grabbed a few extra vials off the shelf, waiting for my response.
I glanced at the beaker, my evolution potion for a mont, before eting her grin with one of my own.
“What sort of experint are we cooking up, then?”
“Fischer esterification?”
A lovely ester with a fruity sll? Hell yeah!
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