Evolution

This wasn’t what I wanted. I felt like the Foresight skill had become useless all in one moment.

W-what’s happening, what am I evolving into?! I scrambled. Before I knew it, I was enveloped in a blinding white light, and my body felt weightless.

{Answer. You will now evolve into Oblivion Wraith}

It felt as though all my senses were dulled, and I could barely understand the ramblings of the system. I lost my footing and became a passenger in my own body as the light took control. My core, the centre of my being, stretched to twice its size as the stone frame around it grew in turn.

It was nice to know I’d grow even larger, but something didn’t feel quite right…

I regained some sense in my being, but I still couldn’t feel any response from my legs. No, I didn’t have any legs. I floated off the ground like a ghost, but not only that, my arms weren’t attached to my body anymore. Besides the torso around my core, I had no limbs attached to me.

Wh-what is this? It feels like my body’s incomplete or something. I felt myself from head to shoulder. I was more surprised at what was feeling me up, since it reacted to my thoughts like a hand usually would.

Where I once had a bulky, rock shape, I was now leaner, with sharper features. I had defined shoulders, but kept my broad chest and pristine white colour.

{Evolution successful. You have become Oblivion Wraith}

{You have gained the skill <Minor Fire Manipulation>}

{You have gained the skill <Flurry Cast>}

{You have gained the skill <Construct>}

{You have gained resistance to Mana-based attacks}

“Gra…grough?” I muttered from my open maw.

Wait, since when did I have a mouth? It doesn’t seem like I can talk, though.

{Oblivion Wraith Lv20}

Name: Atlas

Attack: 200

Agility: 10

Vitality: 500

Defence: 450

MP: 400

​

…

……

…………WHAT?!

I had to look over it again, just to make sure it wasn’t mistaken. Not only had some of my stats dropped, but my agility dropped by more than half! I felt completely bullied by my new form.

The only plus side seemed to be my new heightened MP stat, but that wasn’t my concern in this fight. The whole reason I wanted to evolve into the Boulder Guardian was the speed and strength stats that would help me protect Freya. Although my skills were a big part in slowing down my enemies, I relied on my strength and durability above all else. I’d have to change my entire style of fighting after this.

What’s the meaning of this? Explain yourself, Lost Oracle?! I plead bitterly.

{Evolution has been decided based on set requirements}

{Due to the parameters of evolved form <Oblivion Wraith> the users stats have been altered as a result}

Don’t just say it so casually, I never agreed to any of this! As I screamed my thoughts across, I suddenly felt a surge of mana in the air.

“Bruuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuugh!!” The Magia Golem roared in my direction.

I had been so caught up in my evolution that I nearly forgot the situation I was in. I immediately raised my fists, prepared to fight. Well, it’s more like they hovered in front of me.

“Groaaaaaaaaar!!!” I let out a fierce bellow in return.

It wasn’t planned, and I had no real reasoning behind it. I simply felt it was right, like an animalistic instinct had taken over.

My eyes flicked to the flaring blue glow along the Magia Golem's body, something I had become all too familiar with. It was going on the attack.

No way, he can still throw more of those things, even after that last one? That’s not fair, I’m still adjusting here! I retreated slightly, but moving without legs was something to get used to. I bobbed through the air, dropping and speeding up randomly as I got my bearings.

Everything about this feels so unnatural...

Blue ooze rose above the Magia Golem's head, and I turned to it with both arms raised out. I buckled on the spot, my eyes widened. Without the speed to avoid it, there was little I could do. I extended my floating arms forward and prepared to erect a Mana Shield when I recalled the skill I got before evolving.

{Parasite}

{When attacked by a Mana-based attack, the user will siphon a portion of MP from it. Replenishes MP at a higher rate depending on the source's mana output}

If it’s this, I might just be able to keep up with this guy. All I have to do is tank the hits, and I’ll have enough MP to go berserk on him!

As the massive ball of ooze rose above its head, I aimed my palms out towards the Magia Golem and cast my own skill, Fire Manipulation!

Scarlet flames gathered at my palms and burst out in a flurry of fire. Explosions erupted along the surface of the blue ooze, but ultimately couldn’t destroy it. Unfazed, it cast out the ball towards me with a wide toss.

Mana Shield! Pillars!

A thin bubble of mana stretched over me as a row of earth pillars rose up in front of me in succession. The ball of ooze crashed into the row with enough impact that it crumbled everything before me. It wasn’t long before it came up to my Mana shield and left an array of cracks along its defence.

It’s so heavy— I held the shield as long as the skill allowed, but had no chance of keeping it at bay. The loud crash signalled its break, and a second later, I was hit with the full weight of another blue ooze attack.

{-95 HP}

{Gained 150 MP}

​...that’s it? I rose from the floor, still in one piece.​

I worried about my lowered speed and attack, but maybe focusing on MP wasn’t so bad. I floated closer to the Magia Golem, only then realizing how much bigger it was. The towering frame of that thing was no joke; it put a puny golem like me to shame.

Two massive fists plummeted towards me, and I instinctively raised my arms in defence. Wait– It was too late, by the time the punch connected, my body felt the force bury me into the ground. Even reduced, my defence stat was still higher than most monsters at my level, so I was able to survive it.

{-150 HP}

That strength is no joke… I can’t rely on my old way of thinking. I need to adapt fast!

As the second arm reeled back above me, I rose from the ground with both arms extended above me. A whirlwind of air concentrated at their palms, bursting into a long stream of wind which softened the Magia Golems' impact. I escaped just in time, before the spot I floated above was reduced to a crater.

With some distance between us, I softened the dirt under it and watched its heavy frame slowly sink into the ground.

The grooves along its body practically burned blue, as a fiery substance flared and hardened the mud. The dirt solidified and crumbled with every shift of its body.

Pretty resourceful, well, I have some tricks of my own. Oracle, what did I get from evolving?

{Construct}

{Creates any form or structure from a selected material source. Shape and size is proportional to the users proficiency with that source}

W-whoa. Isn't that a little too boring? That seems more like a house building skill than a useful ability. I’ll keep it in mind for now... What else?

{Flurry Cast}

{Create multiple magic-based abilities at once. The amount is proportional to the user's MP stat}

That’s the winner! Until now, I’d been using my skills in succession, but this skill cut that out entirely and would save a lot of time, allowing me to use them all at once. The only drawback would be my MP bar running out, but with Parasite in effect as well, that wouldn’t be a problem.

If that's all I can do, I'd better go all out!

The space around me was lit up with a spectrum of colours as magic circles spawned in the air, aimed at the Magia Golem. In a burst of elemental power, wind, earth, and fire all flew towards the towering golem in concentrated beams.

A deep crack ran along its raised arm, splintering further to its shoulder. Even with its arms raised in defence, it suffered the damage all the same. My jaw dropped at just how much damage it did.

Wait, I actually managed to damage it with that? My previous hits with the pillars did next to nothing against him, though. I wonder what’s different? I studied the crack along its arm with widened eyes. The flared magic that ran along its grooves seeped out into the cracks like blood.

Now that I think about it, he might have the same weakness I had before evolving. He’s susceptible to magic-based attacks.

A barrage of magic circles hovered in the air around me, all glaring a spectrum of colours ranging from green, orange, and red.

I’ll keep my distance and fire off more until he drops. It’s a bit cowardly, but I can’t exactly be picky about that sort of thing right now.

With each barrage of attacks, its health bar steadily declined. It felt almost one-sided as the Magia Golem stumbled back, littered in cracks and splints along its body. The slapped-together stones that made up its form were crumbling, oozing blue from every mark along its body.

One more should finish it off. I’ll use firepower and combine it with wind for extra effect. A fervent wall of light, made from many small magic circles, hovered behind me. The combo of green and red surged together as the wall erupted with beams of heat at the staggering Magia Golem.

It vanished under a veil of flames, and I waited for the experience point announcement to follow.

Another second passed, and still nothing came.

What’s going on? That should’ve done it. Is it still alive– What the?! A massive flaming frame barreled through the veil towards me, fist raised.

The Magia Golem hurled itself at me in a last-ditch attempt to kill me. The fragments of its HP bar continuously dropped, but there was no worry of death; it was a puppet and served its purpose fully.

Its shadow enveloped the area around me until all I could see was the flaming figure that towered over me. I froze on the spot.

I need to… No, there’s nothing I can do from this distance.

“Heed my call and deliver a bolt of fire– Flash Burn!!” The command rang out behind me, shaky yet fierce.

A sudden flash of red and blue streaked through the space above me and collided with the Magia Golem. The explosion blew off the Magia Golem's shoulder, and the arm aimed at me crumbled, sending debris raining over me.

Freya stood up on the small island of solid dirt, surrounded by a mound of mud. She clutched her staff, still radiating the intense red energy that delivered that spell. She wiped the sweat from her brow, her eyes glued to the Magia Golem.

“I told you before that you should wake me up when there’s trouble, didn’t I?”

​{Gained 1050 Exp}

{Level Up}