6.43 - Evolution
“Sweet. Now we have a juiced up super detective from Earth roaming the northern wastes. What could go wrong?” Theo asked.
“We don’t know what his plans are.”
“Is it a coincidence that I cast Twist from Death’s realm at the sa ti Jan went rogue?” Theo asked. “He’s going after Twist. They knew each other, and the relationship didn’t seem friendly.”
Aarok’s brow furrowed as he steepled his fingers. “Twist was a snake. If he dies, he dies.”
Theo sighed, rolling his shoulders. Aarok wasn’t wrong to assu Twist had an agenda, but was it malicious? He wanted sothing in the northlands back in the day, so he must have found it. That was likely how he got to the true heavens… But Twist had been a big help with information. He had warned them about the underground area, especially after Pogo and the Russian rock people stopped defending the area. No, the masked elf’s motives were too rcurial for even the alchemist’s high Wisdom and his Soul ssages.
“We’ll let them fight, if only to keep our people out of it.” Theo leaned against a bare wall, allowing his intuition to search all possible outcos. “Unless we feel like trudging north. Which I don’t.”
“I don’t like rogue adventurers under my watch.”
“Then go find him. But be warned. If the system gave him access to what he had before, I don’t think you’ll fare well. The more I learn about Earth before my ti, the more I’m convinced I know nothing.”
Aarok folded his arms, gazing up at Theo with a grumpy look on his face. “Bah.”
“Cheer up. It could have ended poorly. Better to let the overpowered idiots fight it out in the wastelands.”
Aarok sighed, but eventually nodded.
“Anyway, I’m faster than hell now. If Jan wants to start sothing with us, I’ll wrestle him.”
Aarok looked up from his desk, raising an eyebrow. “Are you serious? Do you need to see a healer?”
“Yeah, I’m serious. Co on, try and hit . I’m fast now.”
132 Dexterity was a lot of Dexterity. But that wasn’t the only reason Theo was so fast. He watched as the ghostly image of Aarok stood from his desk, withdrawing a bow from nowhere. He knocked an arrow, pulled the string back, and released an arrow. The arrow would have slamd into the space next to the alchemist’s head. When the real arrow flew, he snatched it from the air and sent it spinning back at Aarok. The arrow thumped into the desk.
“Okay.” Aarok said, looking between the arrow and Theo. “I’m a bit impressed. How did you do that?”
“I’m fast. Faster than I should be—and I’m only going to get stronger.”
“I should put you in the militia.”
“No, thanks. But if Jan shows up, I’ll have sothing for him.” Theo thought about any other topics they could cover. That seed to sum the problem up well enough. Twist was gone and Jan was gone. Unless either returned, there was no reason for them to act. Jan had only even got away because he was working on the railroad project to the north. The only person who could have chased him was Aarok, but he wasn’t built for combat.
“We’ll leave it where it is for now. I guess.” Aarok dismissed the conversation just like that. Theo found his way out of the office, but knew the leader of the guild would establish more patrols. More night watches. Anything to keep the town safe with another loose end out in the world.
Theo had other things to worry about. Glantheir might have given him so ti with his Drogramath cores, but that ti would run out soon enough. It was better to get it over with now, transitioning to the Tero’gal cores while he had a mont to take a breath. The only cores he wanted to worry about today were his alchemy, herbalism, and governance cores. The power in his Toru’aun core was fading slower than the others. He could delay it by a few days.
Making his way to the temple, Theo passed a few people along the way. Most were those who had visited the temple to get their cores changed, so it was an interesting contrast to the task he had before him. Considering his Drogramath Governance Core as a stepping stone to this mont, the whole thing seed cyclical. The Drogramath Dedication ability had set him on the path of changing cores, and now here he was. Ready to switch away from devolution to a pretender god.
Theo sat on the steps to the raised platform in the temple, focusing on the power of Tero’gal. Becoming a conduit for that power had beco second nature. He allowed it to flow into his alchemy core, feeling it fill with renewed energy. The change it produced was strange. There was an invisible connection he used to feel. Sothing that linked him to Drogramath. With that god gone, he was left feeling a vague sense of emptiness that only his Tara’hek Core and Tero’gal filled.
The change didn’t take long. Theo felt the essence of his core changing. He felt his connection to Tero’gal grow, as though he was standing right there. A flash of recognition moved over him, giving so unseen nod to his actions. A mont later, he was on the floor, looking up at the high ceiling of the temple. He read the ssage that appeared in his vision.
[Core Evolution]
Your [Drogramath Alchemy Core] has evolved into a [Tero’gal Alchemy Core]. The following abilities have also evolved:
[Drogramath Distillery Specialty], [Drogramath Inventory], [Drogramath Dedication]
It made sense those abilities would evolve. They were specific to Drogramath, after all. He went through the list of abilities, checking for changes.
[Tero’gal Distillery Specialty]
Alchemy Skill
Legendary
You embody the perfection of distillation. Distillation produces potent forms of extract, although these extracts are considered extrely volatile.
Effect:
Allows the user to operate specialized distillery equipnt at near-perfect efficiency. Tero’gal distillation equipnt focuses on the production of potent potions, distilled from magical reagents.
Allows the user to gauge, by eye, the exact quantity of mixtures in units.
12 Wisdom
Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.
The changes here were subtle. The increased wisdom—from 2 to 12—was welco. But the text of the description had changed, along with the first line of the effects. It ntioned Tero’gal distillation specifically, which was interesting. This must have been the thing Salire wrote in her notes. The ntion of potent potions was concerning, but they would push through that like everything else. Drogramath Inventory had changed, but only by calling it Tero’gal Inventory. It had no changed effects, granting the sa 32-slot inventory as the one before.
Theo suspected Drogramath Dedication to be the ability most impacted by this change and inspected it. He wasn’t wrong.
[Tero’gal Beacon]
Alchemy and Herbalism Skill
Unique
The holder of this skill is a beacon that reflects the ideals of Tero’gal. They are either held in esteem or are one of the creators of that world.
Effect:
Removes the ta barrier between the core user’s soul and all Tero’gal cores.
Two Tero’gal cores may be selected, never again to be removed.
All other cores will be considered sub-cores, and may no longer add to your personal level.
All other cores will be capped at the average level between your two main cores.
Once per day, you may infuse any skill, spell, ability, crafted item, etc with the power of Tero’gal, increasing their effect significantly, depending on the power of Tero’gal.
The skill still provided the base for what made Drogramath Dedication an excellent skill. Theo was happy to see he hadn’t lost that advantage. But it also removed so restrictions, and added an effect similar to his Zaul core. Could he Tero’gal-wrap sothing now? That required testing. He inspected the core itself before moving on.
[Tero’gal Alchemy Core]
Legendary
Alchemy Core
Bound
5 Slots
Level 33 (25%)
[Alchemy Core] given to the followers of Tero’gal
Effect:
Increases the synergy of [Alchemy] abilities.
12 Wisdom
[Unstable Material Handling]
[Tero’gal Distillery Specialty]
[High Pressure Refining]
[Reagent Deconstruction]
[Tero’gal Beacon]
No surprises there. It had taken the Drogramath Alchemy Core and made it slightly different. Theo focused on evolving his herbalist core next. It was much like the first process. The core drank the power up as though dying of thirst, evolving just as quickly as the last one. Theo got a similar ssage when it evolved, once again sending him to his ass.
[Core Evolution]
Your [Drogramath Herbalist Core] has evolved into a [Tero’gal Herbalist Core]. The following abilities have also evolved:
[Drogramath Herbalism], [Drogramath Ferntation]
Theo cracked his knuckles, inspecting the first skill on the list.
[Tero’gal Herbalism]
Herbalism Skill
Rare
Denizens of Tero’gal inherit their creator’s knack for identifying reagents. This skill allows you to identify the properties of reagents by tasting or decomposing them.
Effect:
You have a sense whether sothing will produce alchemical ingredients.
6 Intelligence
This was the most plain change for his skills. It was clearer on what he could do to find properties on reagents, but only added another three points for his intelligence. He moved on to inspect the next skill on his list.
[Tero’gal Ferntation]
Herbalism Skill
Epic
Ferntation allows an herbalist to extract even more from reagents. Accepting this skill allows you to understand the fine workings of reagents, pulling even more from the already useful plants.
Effect:
Ferntations you perform happen rapidly, compared to those without this skill.
Allows the modification of reagents to produce special modifier essences.
12 Wisdom
The skill had switched from Intelligence to Wisdom, which was strange. But it was effectively the sa thing. Theo read through the text a few tis before he was satisfied. His most important cores had evolved into sothing he could use without worrying about if Drogramath died or not. He sat in the temple for a long ti, looking up at the ceiling.
When Theo entered this world, he viewed Drogramath as an antagonistic figure in his life. As he thought back on it, he realized he was right. No matter how a person looked at it, the false gods of the world had tried to use him for their purposes. From the first ti Drogramath tried to interdict him, to the placating tone he used when the end was near. Mortals were puppets for the ascendants to use, and the alchemist couldn’t be happier after they had been cast from their false thrones.
Bowing to Void, Death, and the others seed like a fine thing to do. Because those gods had not interfered with the mortal world. Yes, Void had visited the mortal world, but only for a mont. After he teleported way, he joined the heavens and never returned. So long as those gods kept to themselves, he would be happy. Whatever the new system of divinity was, it would be better than the old one.
“Copper for your thoughts?” Tresk asked, coming to sit beside him. She had avoided him, trying not to get her cores evolved until the last mont. A Wisdom of the Soul ssage appeared.
[Wisdom of the Soul]
Check the new pantheon. You have a bad feeling that a shadowy dude not only evaded the wrath of the new gods, but found himself a seat at the table. You know this because the power in your Zaul core hasn’t faded. Neither has the power in Tresk’s cores.
“We might have a problem,” Theo said, patting Tresk on the head. “You’ve never t Zaul, have you?”
“Nope. He whispers stuff to sotis, but I can’t ever understand him.”
“You know what?” Theo asked, dusting his butt off after leaving the dirty floor of the temple. “Sounds a lot like not my problem. Just expect your cores to evolve soon. I think Zaul ascended to true godhood.”
“That nutty buddy?” Tresk asked, snorting. “You sure?”
“I’m almost positive. Co on. I want to check out this new alchemy Salire is working on.”
Theo headed off from the temple, Tresk following close behind. He paused outside of the temple, turning his head slowly to gaze at Alex. He blinked a few tis before he could understand what he was looking at. A pair of lizard feet were poking out of her chest, and her normal webbed feet were looking more like that of a dragon. He swallowed, turned, and walked toward the Newt and Demon. Stranger things had happened.
Tresk hopped up the stairs first, screaming as she threw open the third floor’s door and scaring Salire. Theo was up soon after, finding his assistant panting for breath and hurling curses at the marshling. She had moved all the equipnt around, placing them into sections of the lab.
“How is it looking?” Theo asked.
“Bad.” Salire said, pausing to make a rude gesture at Tresk. The marshling returned the favor. “I’m questioning the stability of essences when they co out of the stills. I’ve got a sample over there I don’t wanna touch.”
Theo spotted the sample she was talking about. Moving to inspect—without touching—he found it was a first tier Healing Essence. Nothing fancy. But silver globs of sothing rested atop the mixture, dancing and sizzling. It was a different kind of reaction than he was used to. Impurities had snuck into the mix, but instead of creating an unusable essence, they had risen to the top after distillation.
“This is very weird,” Theo said, looking closer. He planned on grabbing it, but watched as a phantom version of himself hoisted it only to explode. “Yeah, no one touch it. Actually…”
Theo took the essence into his inventory. “There. Well this is a big problem. Theories?”
“Yeah, I’ve got a still coming that should help. Unfortunately, our production is going to be much slower.”
That sounded fine to Theo. The frantic way they treated potions now always annoyed him. It was a constant grind to get more. As interesting as the industrialization of potion making was, it was exciting to see another way. The alchemist withdrew the book he and Salire had written, thumping it on the table.
“I hope you’re ready. We gotta write a new book.”
“Boo. Books are boring,” Tresk complained.
“Books are not boring. You’re boring.” Salire glared at her again.
Tresk could be abrasive at tis. She had drifted far from the tis where she would watch Theo perform alchemy in his lab. But she had her own life which usually involved stabbing things. “Let’s get to it,” Theo said, clapping his hands. “Maybe we can cobble together sothing that will work.”
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