A Universe of Bloody Evolution

"Do you regret it?" Lily asked out of nowhere after a moment of silence.

Leo furrowed his brow. "What?"

"Edward," she elaborated. "Do you still regret how you've never managed to fix things up with him? Maybe that's why your skill led you here. To get some sort of closure?"

He sighed as his gaze drifted to the spot where his father's husk had died. Could it really be that? No, he didn't think so. The regret was still there, buried deep within his mind, but it wasn't anything major. For the most part, he had already accepted that his issue with Edward would forever remain unsolved.

"That's not it." He shook his head. "I am far past the point of caring about that. What happened, happened. Got to accept it and live with it."

"That's... very mature of you." Lily chuckled.

"Don't act so surprised," Leo grumbled, shooting her a light glare. "With everything that's happening thanks to the Outbreak, holding onto regrets like this seems..."

"Pointless?" His sister offered.

"Yeah, pretty much."

"Huh. You really have changed. You finally stopped being a crybaby. I'm so proud," she snickered.

"Piss off," he flipped her off. "Void, I forgot how annoying you are."

"Rude."

"But accurate," he shot back.

"Whatever," she huffed, crossing her arms. "Have you checked your notifications yet?"

Leo shook his head. "No. You?"

"Nah. I was too worried about you to care what the System had to say. I just know that the Myrdrak is definitely dead. Kinda makes me wonder if only we three got that notification or if the others did too."

"Your guess is as good as mine. We will see once we get back," he shrugged. "Though now that you mentioned it, we should really check those notifications. It's best not to make them wait too long. Trust me on that."

Lily nodded, and her eyes glazed over as if she were looking at something that wasn't even there. Leo followed in her steps and summoned System's interference. The sheer amount of notifications was staggering.

Indomitus Myrdrak (LVL: 48) slain | Experience awarded | 742 Ether gained

No surprises there; Lily had already told him about this notification. Although, he didn't expect so much Ether for a single kill. And the less said about the Nightmare's level, the better. He didn't even want to imagine fighting this thing during the night.

Next.

Congratulations! Wolford Graveyard has officially fallen. Distribution of bonus rewards and experience to all contributors in progress. Survivor reward: +5 to all Limit Break attributes.

This was the only confirmation Leo needed to let out a sigh of relief. If the System acknowledged the Graveyard's destruction, then the Void could do nothing about it. The boost to Limit Break was also welcome.

Multiple enemies slain | Bonus Experience awarded | 173 Ether gained

Ah. He grimaced, knowing well where this came from. Even the System didn't bother counting how many Voidling he had killed once the lightning domain dropped.

Not even two hundred Ether. Damn. Monsters here really are weak. It's a miracle I even got that much.

The Inferno has quenched its hunger. Stages two and three of Ruthless Efficiency are now dormant. Expected recovery time: 12 Hours.

This is yet another message he had expected, but at least this time, his most powerful skill wasn't completely offline. Besides, waiting half a day to regain full functionality was nothing in the long run.

Technique Shadow: Manifestation obtained.

Now we're talking. Leo smiled. I have an idea how to activate it, but some more info is always welcome.

Shadow: Manifestation (Novice)
The pinnacle of shadow control. This technique allows the User to manifest a part of their soul in the real world. When activated, control over shadows becomes much easier, and other techniques require less Essence to form. Additionally, the armor created by Manifestation is in the User's complete control and acts as an extension of their bodies.

Leo blinked just to make sure he had read it right. Yet, the text didn't change. Some would say he was overreacting, but despite thinking he knew how to use this technique again, he had no idea it dragged his soul out in the open.

How? Essence is one thing, but a literal part of my soul? Damn, you really learn something new every day.

He sighed, dropping the issue for now. He could figure out how Manifestation worked later. There were still quite a few notifications waiting for him.

Distribution of bonus experience for destroying the Wolford Graveyard has been completed. 3000 Ether awarded. Please select your additional reward.

After that came a long list of items, all of them of at least rare quality, with quite a few epic ones. Weapons, armor, tools, even some materials, the System had it all. To be honest, the longer he looked at the large selection, the harder the decision became.

Is this how some people feel when they go shopping?

Weapons were out right away. He had his body and Blades of Chained Inferno for fighting. He quickly checked all of the materials and didn't find anything useful; that was stuff for people with crafting jobs. Tools fell under the same category; they were useless to him. And so only armor and clothes remained.

Leo looked down at his body and nodded.

Might as well.

Pants of Protective Comfort (Epic):
A very simple pair of pants made of high-quality cotton-like material. They are heavily enchanted to fit every User, no matter the modifications, and repair when damaged. They offer moderate protection from fire and physical attacks. Additionally, they can be adjusted to the User's wishes, be it length, color, or shape.

While some would say it was a weird reward for destroying a Nightmare nest, Leo really needed those pants. The scrapes of cloth around his waist threatened to fall off with every step, and he really didn't want to be running around stark naked. Being topless was one thing; having his ass and balls in the open was another.

I still have some decency left. He thought, confirming his choice. The list disappeared, and almost instantly, he felt something appear in his soul. He left the item there for now and moved on to another notification.

You have reached level 35. Class and Racial attributes have been distributed. Please assign your 3 free attributes.

The Evolution menu has been unlocked again. Warning! You may evolve now and obtain the remaining experience afterward or postpone the process and receive your levels at this moment. This is a one-time offer. Time limit: 15 minutes.

Leo's eyes widened. He knew that with level thirty-five, the option to evolve would come back. However, he never expected to be given such a choice from the get-go. It really put into question just how many more levels he got from killing the Myrdrak and destroying the Graveyard.

Shit. Would be nice to know if I have to evolve even if I don't like my current choices.

You don't. You may cancel your choice if the offered evolutions aren't good enough. Be warned that if you choose to proceed, the process might take up to two hours.

Huh, thanks. He nodded, only to freeze as realization hit him. Hold the fuck up! System, you answered! Did I hit some milestone that unlocked your assistance?

Yet this time, the entity remained silent, almost as if Leo had used all his goodwill with that one question. And maybe that was the case; nobody could really know for sure.

Back to normal, I see. He grumbled, glancing at the ticking timer. The choice seemed like a no-brainer now. He could check out his options and still postpone the evolution if he didn't like them. It was a win-win situation.

Just gotta do something first. He noted, nudging Lily with a claw. "Got a moment? It's important."

His sister's eyes once more focused on the world in front of her as she quirked an eyebrow. "What is it?"

Not wasting any more time, Leo quickly explained what happened, skipping over the System's weird behavior. They could talk about that another day.

"I don't see why you shouldn't at least check it out," Lily said once he finished speaking. "We can spare two hours if necessary. Just warn us if you decide to do it, okay?"

He nodded and turned to Nyx. "What do you think?"

The feline shrugged. 'What she said. The System is offering to make you stronger than you would be otherwise. Don't look the gift horse in the mouth.'

Leo grinned. "Look at you, using human sayings."

Nyx huffed. 'Some of them are interesting, and you have way too many of them in your head. Now make your choice. Stop wasting time.'

Yes, mother. He rolled his eyes and gave the System his final decision.

Acknowledged.

Loading the User's Evolution menu... Scanning memories and achievements... Analyzing the Three Pillars... Searching for fusions and advancements... Adapting mutations and affinities... Optimizing and tuning possible evolutions to their limit...

Welcome back, Leo Hale. Stage III is watiting.