Don’t you just love it when you have nothing major to do, especially after, err... aiding guy no.2 that you’re interested in with defeating an enemy ranked higher than you, then rescuing a poor fairy-spirit-dungeon beast tribrid with deadbeat biological parents?  

Marcel certainly seems to not mind! He loves having some time to slack off doing absolutely nothing until he realized that he... after returning from Emperor Kardia’s... had not gone to visit his sweet dragon mama Alverona for a very, very long chat. Yeah, he was going to have to sleep over at Alverona’s for sure! 

And so, just like that, he packed a little, sent her a message, and in like five minutes, he met his usual ride to the Xiorahan floating islands, some poor wind dragon fellow sent to pick him up. Whichever one of the wind dragons it ended up being, they were always suspiciously on time, as if his thought processes were being monitored to find out when exac—oh, never mind! It’s no use worrying about it. After all the people he’s met, he knew that he was powerless against the people who wanted to monitor him; his fans as Dave, his enemies that lurked in the dark, and first and foremost, his ‘very powerful’ friends. 

Seriously though, Alverona sent a wind dragon his way and, as usual, he was transported to his beloved mother figure’s side. 

Yes, you heard me right! Over the years, Alverona’s position in Marcel’s life has gone from that of a very close friend, because um, isn’t everybody, to a straight-up mother figure, much to the Dragon Empress’ dismay. They were closer than Alverona was with most of her children, and she friggin’ gave birth to them too. When compared to the Dragon Kings and Queens that she raised with all her might from childhood, Marcel matters were of the utmost and most immediate importance. Nothing came first, and by nothing, I mean nothing. 

 

After he got there, they quickly got to spending time together. For the first time in nine years, things felt right again to Alverona. Marcel was back by her side and she couldn’t be happier. 

“You know you’re going to have to sleep over, right?” She asked as if stating the obvious.  

Marcel nodded. He was going to stay over for at least a couple days, at most, a few weeks. At this point, this ‘stayover at Alverona’s’ had become some kind of event, almost like the customary visits the Dragon Kings, Queens, and Alverona’s descendants pay to her every few decades and centuries, except this one was way more frequent.  

So, as I said, Marcel ‘had to’ spend the next few days with her, haa… as an amendment for, um, her brother kidnapping Marcel. She was excited too when she heard Marcel think about visiting her, that he had no choice but to go when she sent an escort dragon. 

Marcel arrived at her palace just in time for lunch. They ate together and discussed as if she knew not of his daily endeavors. Marcel pretended to not know that almost everyone around him was aware of what he went through regularly, even as he was worlds away. He shrugged, feigning ignorance, and Alverona, noticing this, was pleased. 

“He’s shrugging it off nicely! Maturing fast...” She thought as she watched her snookums nonchalantly navigate his way around their awareness and listen to her speak. He was learning the proper social cues of the Demon Realm. She felt so proud of him~! 

 

*** 

 

They continued to converse some more and as they did, Alverona looked at him with immensely focused eyes, her eyes changing for a split second as she peered. They turned golden. Marcel spoke undisturbed and she confirmed ‘it’ once more.  

“So, you really aren’t changing?” She said, grabbing Marcel by the cheeks and pinching them with immense force.  

“Ow! Huugh? What do you meeaann!?” Alverona still stretching his cheek caused Marcel’s words to deform quite a bit.  

“I mean, the transformation into one of the races, like my Dragon race, silly!” She laughed at him, “You did grow fast, but, um... shouldn’t you be showing signs of near death right about now?” Alverona couldn’t understand what she was seeing. Quite the puzzling situation they’ve got on their hands, she figured. 

Haha, Marcel didn’t get it either! 

“What?!! Like why?!” He sounded so panicked. Did Alverona just say that he had to die?  

“Because that’s just what usually happens! Haa...” She sighed in frustration.  

“Remember the estimated age of your current human life that I told you about the first time we met?” She added.  

Marcel nodded affirmatively, “Yeah, in like 500 or so years!”  

“500 to 600 years, to be exact! Do you know why that is?” She let go of his cheek, finally. Yeah, she’d been holding unto it this entire time.  

“Um......” Even after some time, Marcel still couldn’t come up with a suitable answer. Typical of him, I guess!  

“Because that’s about the normal time I’d take you to become an S-rank, with you heroes’ absurd growth speed and all... At least, that’s what should have happened!” 

“What?!” Marcel exclaimed. He was surprised because he certainly would not be an S-ranked existence before the Demon Lord’s ‘I’ll pop the marriage question again’ deadline comes along, if that’s how it’s supposed to be! Why did he feel like that man drew another fast one on him? He probably wouldn’t stand any chance of physically beating him by then! This must have all been calculated before that bastard decided to trick him. Like really, fuck his younger, ignorant self who thought he’d be an old man at age 56!!! 

“You started your life here at age 16, right?” Alverona asked. Marcel nodded to her question. 

She continued, “As originally predicted, you’d blaze through the power of E-rank and become a D-rank in the span of a few months, then from there, to the C-rank in a couple years. After that, your growth speed would start to slow down and by the time you reached the B-rank, quite some time would have gone by... around 20 years or so. After that, there would be an almost stagnant period where you hardly accumulate any energy to grow further, leading to a general ‘polishing’ period where you mostly figure out what kind of hero you would be. This usually lasts anywhere from 100 to 300 years for the slowest among your kind before you become an A-rank.” 

“300!!?” Marcel exclaimed loudly, “That’s like such a long time!” He added. 

Alverona didn’t quite understand this, like really, is it such a long time? That’s like a short break from work for her.  

Speaking of breaks, she really should go on one very soon. The Demon Lord, the true workaholic, is there, so it should be fine if she leaves! Ooh... going on a break right after his official engagement ceremony to Marcel should be the perfect time for some payback. She’ll swamp him with all the work she can as revenge for taking Marcel from her, hehehe~!  

Now, how will she punish the other bastard who caught Marcel’s eye? I’ll look forward to it! Now, back to the discussion... 

 

“300 years will pass by when you aren’t even looking! Besides, requiring that much time to become an A-rank is good for your future growth. You’re actually lucky it takes just around 300 years for the weakest amongst heroes while, for regular folk, it could take literal millennia to grow after the A-rank. A solid foundation in the basics decreases the time needed to become an S-rank by almost seventy percent.” 

“How much ‘time’ is that, Alverona?” 

“If we’re talking about getting acknowledged by Vitalis to then open the opportunity to become a half-S-rank, preparing, then actually entering the Realm of Magic, which could take anywhere between about ten years to many millennia to make the journey and back, then... um... seventy to a hundred years minimum!” 

“Seventy to a hundred years?!! That’s so long!” Marcel dreaded having to spend that much time inside himself, exploring some weird and fantastical otherworld full of who knows what. Also, does anyone have any answers as to why that realm is connected to the soul?  

Fortunately, Alverona had a bit more news to give him. He thought that it wouldn’t make him feel any better about having to potentially spend hundred-or-so years away from the physical world... but it did. 

“Yes, but that’s usually the time it takes for normal people to ascend to the S-rank. Heroes have been shown to be capable of doing the same thing in time between 3 and 20 years. You all are naturally attuned to receiving this world’s ‘gifts’, after all!” She smiled favorably upon him, as did Vitalis and the world itself. Heroes really have it good, don’t they? 

“Early, you said something about the S-rank and the unavoidable end of my human lifespan...?” Marcel brought it up again. 

“I was going to get there very soon. You see, there’s another reason it generally takes you so little time to do all that and become an S-rank, aside from your talents and gifts, of course. It’s because... you should be on the brink of death by then because the energy of a race in this world has chosen you!” She answered. 

“I don’t get it!” 

“You shouldn’t! It’s just something that normally happens. Around when you become an A-rank, whatever energy seed of a certain race takes root inside you would start germinating. It’s to prepare you for whatever body you’ll possess after becoming an S-class since most races in this world can achieve such a peak.” 

“Hm... I see!” Marcel wasn’t surprised to hear Alverona confirm this theory of his that he made a while back while researching the various races. The only thing that differed between various races was how long it took to get there. Hehe, quick hint: You have to technically be alive and kicking to successfully evolve, though, making it while temporarily dead is also acceptable, as some have managed to do so right after passing into the underworld and back. 

 

Alverona continued, “Think of this seed as something that’ll slowly grow, absorbing all the vitality within you to grow as rapidly as it possibly can. It drains you while you’re in the middle of preparing to become an S-rank. Do you perhaps know what happens to your senses when your life force is constantly being preyed upon and the threat of death looms near?” 

Marcel thought about the answer to that question and then, it just clicked. He got it... everything! 

Alverona, spotting his reaction, continued, 

“Well done! You understand. Your senses sharpen to an almost unrecognizable level when death almost claims you, with your situational status of being between life and death leading to the generation of massive sensory data. This data needs to be processed as, if left unchecked, would lead to the soul overloading and exploding.  

“To accomplish this, your thought processes are boosted to nearly a thousand times what it previously was. Everything in the outside world starts to move slowly for you as a result of this boosted perception! It’s one of the reasons why many like me perceive time much differently than everyone else. Do you know the amount of mental fortitude required to live through every day, with such immense processing power that everything around you moves at a snail’s pace? That, in itself, is torture to beings not made for it, especially mortal ones.” 

Yes, this is why beings like dragons and elves, designed to be long-living, are usually the ones who manage to evolve to the S-rank and beyond. Surely, you jest! You need to adapt to the changes to your mind and body before insanity pushes you to kill yourself. I’m sorry if this just took a very gruesome turn, but that’s just how it is! 

“Huh? I didn’t know that!” Marcel was puzzled and intrigued to learn this new fact. Who knew that not everyone was meant to evolve past a certain stage no matter how much they try? 

“While you’re going through all that shift in general perception, the seed is still germinating and soon, its energy grows strong enough to overpower the human energy that you once had. It’s genocide against the human energy and in turn, the physical body that the human energy once provided its owner. What happens next is pretty excruciating!” 

Marcel couldn’t possibly imagine what Alverona was going to say next, nor was he glad to be blessed with such information, 

“Your body breaks down with the continuous growth of the seed, with your senses heightened to thousands of times greater than it originally was. Every bone, sinew, vein, and muscle in your body is broken and reformed and you won’t stop receiving detailed information about every wear and tear your body sustains. If you aren’t careful, or lucky for that matter, you won’t make it past going mad from the pain. 

“Should you survive past the maddening pain, then it shall be rewarded when one day, your body has keeled over and in your dead state as a half-S-rank, your soul enters the Realm of Magic. Your reward for making it through all that torture will be the secrets of the Realm, which allow for one’s transcendence into the S-class.” She added. Marcel didn’t want to imagine what else Alverona would say, and it was indeed nothing like he thought it’d be. 

His eyes widened when he heard it, “You unlock the first secret of unassisted resurrection: Successful Anchoring, when you attain S-class magic capable of completely reviving your body and anchoring your soul to it as well as finishing the last stages of the seed’s germination, transforming you into whatever race that the seed originally came from and their S-rank form. Such is the ultimate fate of a hero’s first life!” 

 

Wow, being a hero is tough! Marcel was suddenly thinking of requesting Vitalis to maybe relinquish that title and get a new one after hearing all that. Also, after going through all that pain, how is it that the other heroes didn’t go insane and just kill everything?  

Oh, wait! That’s just him; cold, heartless killer version of him, to be exact! Spoiler alert: Some of them did go crazy and had to be forcibly suppressed to bring them back under control.  

Now he really wasn’t sure if he should look forward to becoming an A-rank and suffering all that pain so he can become an S-rank... or not? 

Alverona, noticing that he was worried about the future, patted him on the head to reassure him. 

“You know, sitting out all that pain is generally what makes the evolution happen faster as all possible limits are transcended! Also, you get to walk away with the [Pain Immunity] skill after that if you don’t have it already, and a thought processing speed of almost a million times compared to a normal person, you know, like ours! Shouldn’t such rewards be something to celebrate, especially the ‘special surprise’ that you might receive from Vitalis?” She asked, she sounded excited for him. 

Marcel, however, was even more concerned for a different reason because, with a thought processing speed just double that of a normal person’s, he finds himself incredibly bored sometimes. What was he going to do when his mere ‘two’ turned into a million? He might, like, build a spaceship and take to the starry skies to explore or something or create sentient lifeforms for fun. Shit, that sounds like Allan! 

Wait, Allan... he’s been suffering all this time, and didn't tell him?! 

Alverona, hearing this thought, quickly interjected before he was wrapped with guilt for apparently being the catalyst for his best friend’s and his friends’ evolutions, “You know... no pain, no gain! Also, your friend is from a race of this world, which means evolving entails simply recasting his body to accommodate his soul’s growing power, same as your other friends!” She said to him while patting him on the shoulder. 

Still, Marcel felt the guilt Alverona tried to take from his shoulders nonetheless, which led to her giving her trying again; this time, in a very different way, “Don’t belittle them! They knew what they were signing up for when they willingly accepted the Spirit Administrator’s blessing to undergo evolution. They could feel the consequences of their attempt in their bones, even though they knew the risks of ending up as broken souls should they fail.” 

This shook Marcel to the core. Broken souls? They’d become those if they failed? Wow, that’s heavy! You don’t return from becoming one of those either who or complete enough to continue your existence, seeing as your ego fragments beyond recognition. Yeah, you might as well have become another person, who’s also, um... pretty dead to boot. 

Yeah... Alverona’s second attempt made Marcel feel even worse. Who figured? Now he was beginning to wonder if anyone who accepted the conditions of receiving Vitalis’s blessing to undergo the evolution was even in their right mind. 

No wonder! Becoming an S-rank isn’t for the faint of heart. No wonder only one-eighth of people who start the journey survive to receive its gifts, especially the last part: entering the Realm of Magic and returning with a portion of its power. 

“I’m incredibly worried!” Marcel uttered unconsciously.  

Alverona heard him and hugged him, “But, there’s nothing to worry about though...” 

Huh? Nothing to worry about? Of course, there’s a lot to worry about, though why Alverona was saying otherwise confused him a bit, “Hm?” 

“Because, um...” Alverona got closer to his ear, hugging him tighter, “...You seem to have forgotten, but... your body...” 

“My body...?” Marcel was puzzled. 

Alverona left him to figure it out for himself. It took quite a while, but when he finally did, he was so excited. 

“I can’t have a seed! My body is incredibly pure!” He uttered without a shred of embarrassment. He had no idea that, to others, what he said meant something else entirely. 

“Mm-hm! You don’t have any race’s seed, despite the energy we’ve invested in your body, hoping that one would settle in. I confirmed earlier that, aside from a few remnants of our energies, everything else has been broken down and either refined or destroyed...” Alverona looked saddened by this fact, “It’s a shame, really, but you won’t turn into either a dragon, an elf, an Oni, and possibly, not even a fully-fledged witch. You’ll undergo a different kind of evolution, and I wonder how it will play out.” She sounded deeply disappointed, though isn’t that what life is supposed to be; disappointments and subverted expectations? It’s also what makes it so exciting, by the way! 

“I see! Though, how will not having any race’s energy seed impact my evolution into S-rank as a hero?” Marcel was regaining some hope. He wanted Alverona to add to what he currently held within. 

“I... have no inkling of an idea, seeing that this is the first time such a thing has happened since we first began dealing with heroes. Your evolution will probably play out like everyone else’s, maybe without all the immense pain and a bit less mental fortitude gained at the end. I expect it to be worthy of the power you’ll gain afterward. I also expect your evolution into S-rank to take longer than the other heroes.” She answered honestly, and really, Marcel was satisfied with this answer.  

Knowing that he won’t be deprived of all the experiences of his predecessors made him feel a bit more excited about his future developments. Also, he wondered if he’ll stay a mix of a mysterious unknown race and a person with a witch bloodline like he currently was or transform into something entirely different. He didn’t know, and he couldn’t speculate either. 

“Don’t worry! Everything will be all right!” Alverona reassured him once more. Marcel was starting to believe it too. He’ll look forward to his future.