The realm had long forgotten peace, the sky was dark crimson, painted in deep red as if it bled with the land below. Rivers carried blood instead of water, flowing past ruined cities and broken temples where curses whispered through the wind.

With the union of blood and curse, a being was formed in the world.

Turning his head, Lucian looked at his surroundings with a curious gaze. "Where have I come?"

Thinking, he wandered around. After moving for some time, he found himself blocked by something. Bringing his hand forward, he tried pressing, but it was stopped.

’Is there a barrier of sorts...’ Pondering, he moved around a bit more before sitting in a ruined temple. Bringing forth his panel, he looked at the options for his evolution.

<------------------------------------>

[These are your evolution options:

Adult Demon (Common)

Goblin Witch (Uncommon)

Adult Vampire (Uncommon)

Hexfangs (Uncommon)

The Thirteen Veins (Special)

<------------------------------------>

’Five... good... but there doesn’t seem to be something related to healing.’ Lucian was looking forward to becoming a healer for his master, but his evolution was riddled with curses and ruins.

Cursing his luck, he clicked on the first one.

<------------------------------------>

[Evolution: Adult Demon]

[Species: Demon]

[Rank: Uncommon]

[Description: Advancing in your life, you are no longer a demonling an....]

[Authority: Fire]

[Skill: <Fire Manipulation>, <Fire Resistance>]

[Bonus: +10 Spirit]

<------------------------------------>

As the evolution was just of common rank with far better options, he didn’t waste his time pondering about it much, scrolling past he clicked on Goblin Witch.

<------------------------------------>

[Evolution: Goblin Witch]

[Species: Goblin]

[Rank: Uncommon]

[Description: Grown among the goblins, you found their ways mischievous. With crooked fingers and a filthy cauldron, you learn molding curse on your own. Plenty of spells to test, you kidnapped some goblin child and put them in hexes.]

[Authority: Curse]

[Skill: <Dread Sense > and <Pain Conversion>]

[Bonus: +10 Spirit]

<------------------------------------>

’Why would I kidnap master’s subject when there are plenty of humans to go around?’ Confused by the description of the evolution, he clicked on its skills.

[Dread Sense: Being in the constant vicinity of dread, you develop an ability to sense it in your surroundings. If anyone is fearful, you can locate their distance.

Rank: Tier 1 (Upgradeable)]

[Pain Conversion: Why fear pain when there is something to learn from it. You love pain and inflicting it upon others. The more in pain, the more lethal your curse will be.

Rank: Tier 1 (Upgradeable)]

’The pain conversion is good... I can leverage my pain to kill the enemies in one go. But how do I do it? Can I break my limbs to do it? Probably. Huh! That girl can heal me...’ Nodding his head, Lucian put the skill in the back of his mind and clicked on the ’Adult Vampire.’

<------------------------------------>

[Evolution: Adult Vampire]

[Species: Vampire]

[Rank: Uncommon]

[Description: A taste of blood is nothing short of ecstasy, don’t you agree...]

[Authority: Blood]

[Skill: <Coagulate>, <Transform>]

[Bonus: +10 Stamina]

[Coagulate: Master of blood, nobody can make you bleed for long. Any open wound will stop bleeding within a few seconds.

Rank: Tier 1 (Upgradeable)]

<------------------------------------>

’I can already do this with the help of blood manipulation... is this evolution trying to scam me?’ Frowning, he looked down.

[Transform: You can transform into a bat-like creature for a short duration of time.

Rank: Tier 2 (Upgradeable)]

’Hmmm! This is good at least...’

The skill was good, despite that, Lucian finds this evolution lacking compared to the Goblin Witch. Disappointed, he moved to the next option.

<------------------------------------>

[Evolution: Hexfang]

[Species: Vampire]

[Rank: Uncommon]

[Description: Your teeth are a sentence. Every bite you land is a curse the target didn’t ask for and cannot deny. The curse was never in your blood... it was always in you.]

[Authority: Curse]

[Skill: <Cursed Bite>, <Hunger>]

[Bonus: +10 Spirit]

<------------------------------------>

’This seems decent enough...’ Nodding his head, Lucian clicked on its description.

[Cursed Bite: Your fangs carry the authority of Curse. Each successful bite brands the target with a minor curse; its nature can alter with your intent. Healing won’t erase the curse easily.]

Rank: Tier 2 (Upgradeable)]

’Hmm!! I have to get close to the target to deliver the curse, then... tsk! I already have Alter, which can deliver a debuff from a distance. Why would I go an extra step to do the same thing? Are all the options disappointing like this?’

[Hunger: Biting someone puts them in insatiable hunger, deteriorating their sense of self slowly but surely.

Rank: Tier 1 (Upgradeable)]

’If for this skill, then I can understand risking getting close to the enemy... anyway, how long is the time frame?’ Lifting his head, Lucian asked, but no answer came.

’This system is really unreliable... giving and not giving answers on its own whims...’ looking ahead, he blurted out.

"Can you at least tell me what will happen if I choose this evolution when I already have the authority in Curse?"

By reading Adult Demon’s evolution, he understands that one can gain extra authority from the evolution. There has to be something for those who choose evolution with the same authority, or else the system will be unfair. 𝐟𝐫𝕖𝗲𝘄𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝕧𝐞𝚕.𝕔𝕠𝐦

And no one wants to rely on something unfair.

To his surprise, the system responded.

[If the being already has a matching authority, their share in the authority increases.]

’Ohh!! That makes sense... what happens with the increase in authority?

[With a higher share in authority, the being skill becomes more potent compared with those of a lesser share.]

Hearing this, Lucian remained silent, multiple scenarios forming inside his head.

’Uhmmm... that is great... so one can be different in strength even if of the same tier. One of the ways to increase the share is to kill the correspondence of a similar authority. There is no such being in the dungeon. I have to venture out.’

Lucian was thinking of going out of the dungeon when his heart skipped a beat.

’...B-but how can I protect master...’

He thought of trying to fool himself, but the real reason he wanted to be in the dungeon was to be beside his master, protecting him from a close distance.

Sighing, he put the thought away for now and clicked on The Thirteen Veins. Being the only special rank evolution, he had great expectations from it.