Chapter 21: Plot Twist

“Alignment path? hmm, I have never heard of this… what does that do?” well, Logier’s answer was within my expectations. Yet, I couldn’t help but feel disappointment form it. In the first place, it was my fault for pinning my hopes on him. He might know a great deal about the dungeon and other related stuff, but about these finer details, I guess those didn’t matter to monsters. Perhaps Cathie could have helped me, but, she wasn’t here.

I fell upon a dilemma on which path to take. Should I take the safe path or go for the unknown!? Generally, when such options appeared before people, perhaps more than half would go for the unknown path just to feel the thrill of it. However, I am not a thrill-seeker. Having already known the dread of this world and cruelty that lies upon it, I couldn’t make any careless decisions. Forget about revenge, I can’t even preserve my life.

For a gentleman, even ten years is not too late for revenge. I don’t care if it takes ten years or a hundred, I will not make any careless decisions that could jeopardize my future. In the worst-case scenario, I was also prepared to abandon the thought of revenge if it means I will remain safe and secure.

Revenge was good and all, but what use of that revenge when it could forever condemn me to a path of no return? This world is a world of magic and monsters, who says that things like hell, devil, curse or eternal condemnation didn’t exist? Should I suffer for an eternity just to destroy some kingdom that would perish on its own in sands of time? I didn’t think it’s a good bargain.

You might think I am making excuses or I am a coward, and maybe that’s the truth. Yet, I am fine with it. No sane person who is capable of doing calm judgments would take such rash decisions. In the end, after coming back from that brief talk, I went into the hole and decided to take the adult Dream Weaver path.

Before I went in, however, I gave Logier an order, “don’t engage in combat until I am back. If the goblins attack, just concentrate on defense. By no means, engage in an all-out war.” I hope he takes this warning seriously. I am not worried about the strength of orcs, I am worried about the unique class. If it could make something like those purple fumes or potion that could make the goblins lose their sense of pain, I am worried about the other things it could do.

But, after the completion of evolution this time around, I can do certain things. Metamorph and Nightmare Seed, I guess these two would be my trump cards, which would lead us to the victory against that unique class. With a never exhausting army of goblins, who were both low in IQ and EQ, it was very easy for it to control them with his superior stats and strength. Besides, I also didn’t know how long had been that goblin existed before me. For all I know, it might be years or decades. Its individual strength also couldn’t be underestimated.

Therefore, with everything considered, I made that order. Before making sure of the enemy’s true strength, I didn’t want them to blindly rush into their deaths. I know how horrible a chemical weapon is. While I personally haven’t experienced it, history had a vivid record of its involvement in many conflicts. Time and again, humanity’s own inventions had brought tragedy upon themselves. I don’t want the same tragedies to befall upon the new ally I have found.

You have chosen the Adult Dream weaver as your Evolution Path.

-90 EP

The evolution will start in five minutes and end in 24 hours. Host is advised to find a secure place while the evolution undergoes. You will lose your consciousness during this time.

Your time starts in

4:58:21

And just like that my evolution started.

Exactly 24 hours later, when the countdown timer finally stopped at zero, I woke up slowly, feeling energetic all over the body. My vision still dyed in red, which was an effect of having an infrared vision. This fact always made me confused, though I have Infrared Vision skill, it wasn’t passive. Then, how come it remained activated all the time? What energy does it consume to remain active?

Shaking my head, I pushed it back to the deeper depths of my mind, and excitedly opened the system to see my stats.

Name: Alex Race: Adult Dream Weaver

HP: 100/100 MP: 106/106 (Regen: 2 MP/min)

STR: 5 AGI: 7 INT: 43 WIS: 20

Evolution Points: 10/1000 (?)

Passive 1: Nightmarish Body (!)

Passive 2: Shadow Meld (!)

Skills:

Infrared Vision (Lv 5), Cast Illusion (Lv 8.03), Nightmare Manifest (Lv 3.02), Metamorph (Lv 0), Nightmare Seed (Lv 0)

The stats made me somewhat pleased, but the large disparity between INT, WIS, and other stats started to become apparent. Not only that, but the existence of another passive also came in as an unexpected surprise. Before evolution, I remember the system mentioning nothing about it. How come it just added just like that!?

Shadow Meld (Passive)

When enshrouded in dark places, AGI increases by 120% and will remain in effect up to five minutes of leaving the dark place. While in darkness, the user’s life signatures, including visibility will be lowered by 90%, making it harder for the user to get caught or discovered by others.

Talk about convenience. Since the beginning, I have started to observe a pattern. While passives aren’t necessarily stronger than active skills, their versatility and usefulness made up for it. Moreover, it didn’t require MP to active. Unfortunately, I am not an avid game player back when I was on earth, or else, I would have understood how to use these things to my advantage. I could only learn from trial and error on a perfect combination.

That aside, the skills aside from the new ones all gained three levels each. Added information regarding them already appeared in my head. The new upgrades to Cast Illusion and Nightmare Manifest unlocked some properties. Closing my eyes, I went through all the finer details. It took me some time but I was able to digest everything.

Aside from some minor upgrades and a huge MP cost cut off, not much happened. However, in this round, the biggest winner was Infrared Vision. Its range increased from 10 meters to 50 meters, a new ability to see through solid objects had been added. By concentrating on the body temperature of a living being or any object emitting heat in general, now, I would be able to see through obstacles.

Without further ado, when I tried to test the skill, the glowing wall before me, which used to limit my vision, vanished, showing faint red humanoid outlines. On the top left of these outlines, I was able to see a point gushing with red brilliance. It was, without a doubt, the heart. I was able to even see the heart!

Closing my eyes and taking a deep breath, I tried to calm myself down. When I felt that I was adequately calm, I opened my eyes again. This time, my normal vision returned. The world of red dimmed a lot and I was able to see every other colour aside from red and black. With my internal upgrades tested, I now moved to physical changes.

When I moved my hand to the crotch area, where I finally able to feel it. It was tiny, but that didn’t bother me. Before when I was an infant, I didn’t have it. In that place, there was only a small protrusion, which was covered by a leathery skin attached to the pelvis area. When I felt the need to pee, the pelvis protrusion would just expand and exhale out streams of black liquid. I don’t know if it’s because of their high metabolic rate or some other reason, these Imps didn’t have a back door. Not even when I am an adult Dream Weaver.

I wonder why though…

The return of dick was indeed was an occasion worth celebrating. However, with the current state the dungeon was in, this has to be pushed forward a little. After we won against the goblins, I will celebrate. Perhaps, I would be able to undergo a few more evolutions during that time.

After the pelvis part, I switched to other parts. However, there was no physical change aside from my tail becoming a little longer and the pointy arrow-like end changed to a trident. Also, when I moved my tail, I felt certain strength exerting from it.

Swish!!

Suddenly I was startled and instinctively threw my tail towards the wall beside me. While I was observing it closely, the trident suddenly started to rotate anticlockwise, like the pulley of a motor. However, when my tail slammed against the wall, I didn’t feel any pain, rather, the wall had a deep thin impression of my tail due to the force at which it landed against it.

It was, yet another discovery about myself. It wasn’t noted in the system upgrade list. Had it not for this little accident, perhaps I wouldn’t be able to discover it even after I evolved into a higher form. I was able to understand that not everything was mentioned in the system, there are many things I have to discover about each race I evolve into myself. Thankfully, it wasn’t too late to realize it.

Nodding to myself, I decided to keep this little function of my tail as a trump card. I can use it to wiggle out of some sticky situations in the future.

After making sure that I learned about every aspect of my changes brought by the evolution; I crawl out of the hole. Thankfully, since there was barely any change in my overall physique, I was still able to use the hole as my home. Despite how much I claimed that I don’t care about it, deep in my heart, I had a lingering attachment to that place. After all, from perspective, you can say that it was my birth home.

When I came out, a thin orc ‘female’ who was in the charge of tending to other orcs came running towards me and bowed respectfully. Then he kneeled on one knee and started speaking while hyperventilating, “Lord, you are finally out. Something bad happened. Lord Logier has suffered a life-threatening attack by a goblin and is currently incapacitated.”

What? I thought while blinking my eyes, what the hell this orc just said!?

I couldn’t catch on immediately and took some time to process it. Then my eyes widen and my chest rose and fell as I hyperventilated, mimicking the orc kneeling before me. Unfortunately as a Dream Weaver, I didn’t have a sweat gland on my body. Or else I would also have sweated.

“What the hell happened? How is he?” I asked in a hurry.

“Lord Logier is alive, but he lost an arm and suffering from some internal wounds. Currently, he couldn’t contribute to the war anymore.” The orc explained.

“Take me to him,” I ordered feeling a strange weight pressed on my chest. It was just twenty-four hours; I couldn’t begin to fathom what happened in this one day for such a big thing to happen. More importantly, who was it that could force him to such an extent? Was it some powerful goblin? Or was it that unique class!?

As my thoughts began to swirl around, clouding my mind and rational thoughts, we arrived at a densely packed place. Many powerful-looking orcs guarding another who was laying on the floor as his body marred with black bandages. When I filtered through the crowd, I saw Logier lying flat on the ground, with one hand over his fat belly and a stump on his left shoulder where his hands used to be at. Aside from that, he had no other visible wounds, but, his complexion was pale and his breathing was ragged.

“Logier? What the hell happened to you?” I shouted. Although I was worried and surprised at that time, I still took note of my smooth voice. At least it was smoother than when I was just an infant.

“Little friend? You finally came out! Sorry, I wasn’t able to heed your warning and this happened...” the first thing he did was to apologize to me. Indeed, I have advised him to not engage in an all-out war, because I have anticipated an outcome like this one. It because orcs were disadvantaged in number, that I asked him not to go on the offensive and only stick to defense.

Huge numbers with low intelligence, the aid of potions, and chemical weapons… the combination of these three formed a very lethal force. Combined with the unique class’s intelligence, the goblins would be an unstoppable force unless they go against another force backed by a unique class. Whether I am a unique class or not, I don’t know. Nevertheless, I have intelligence at my disposal. Even if I couldn’t win against it, I could ensure a draw or at least safety of the orc tribe.

“What the fuck happened? Who made you like this?” Curses flowed from my mouth like a sailor. In just a day, everything changed like flipping a table. But, more than anything, It was necessary for me to know the conniver of this incident.