-----
Partner got so strong! What the heck? Now I am jelly! …But she’s such a sweetheart, hugging me and stuff.
“Y-You don’t have to hug me all the time, alright?” I asked.
*Crackle*
Partner quickly let me go from her skelly embrace, finally allowing me some room to breathe.
“Now that you’re evolved, I will evolve too, so keep your guard high and don’t let any sneaky wisp get inside to annoy us,” I said.
“Rattle!”
Partner rattled her metallic bones as she seemed to nod. I quickly pressed the [Evolution] Option once and for all, only to find that there were… options!
[Evolution Options]
[Ghost]
[Dark Ghost]
[Phantom]
…
Three options?
I would assume Ghost lets me become a Lesser Ghost, huh. Dark Ghost… maybe it strengthens my Dark Magic? And Phantom is… I don’t know. what’s the difference? Let’s see… My excellent Unique Skill: System, comes with the wonderful Analyze ability, so let’s use it to analyze these babies.
…
[Ghost] [Rank: F-]
A Ghost, a soul, infected by miasma, has become an Undead. Their bodies are ethereal but can materialize for short periods of time. Although their physical damage is very weak, they have the ability to spook people, drain the life out of people, and curse them.
…
[Dark Ghost] [Rank: F+]
A variant of the Ghost Monster evolved from a soul shrouded in dark and negative emotions, becoming closer to the dark side… Its soul is infused with shadows and darkness, resembling a mass of shadows. Dark ghosts are amazing at using Dark Sphere as their primary attacking method and can hide within shadows to ambush victims from behind.
…
[Phantom] [Rank: F]
Phantoms are souls that had not properly rearranged their appearance and had become flawed. They resemble a mass of phantasmal essence and can change shapes at will. They usually are less aggressive than Ghosts, living in desolate areas. However, they would sometimes haunt large manors and move things around with their ability to lift things into the air. They have great Stealth potential and are very hard to detect.
…
They look quite good… But I am inclined between Dark Ghost and Phantom.
With Dark Ghost, my offense will increase a lot… And I could even hide in shadows! Wait, does this means I can hide in the night? Meanwhile, Phantom comes with a very faint presence, and you can even sneak around people in the bright of day without any issue as if I were just a mass of air…
Hmmm… Yeah, it’s obvious what option I will take.
Ding!
[You’ve chosen the [Dark Ghost] Evolution Option!]
FLAAASH!
The moment I picked this evolution, my entire body was shrouded in phantasmal essence and darkness… a lot of darkness!
Alright… let’s prepare… Ugh… this feels weird. It feels as if my entire body is being bathed. Some impurities are being moved away, while this new power, the shadows and darkness, are quickly entering my soul.
And just like that, the evolution finished.
My appearance has become… mildly humanoid. I think I can take the shape of a mannequin or something. But I can’t recreate my real face yet… And my phantasmal body is now shrouded with darkness… It’s as if I had embraced the edginess that lies within my heart!
Ding!
[You have evolved into a [Dark Ghost]!]
[All your stats have increased]
[The Levels of all your Skills have increased]
[You learned the [Dark Gale: Lv1] and [Shadow Sneak: Lv1] Skills!]
Oooh, I got two new Skills right off the bat! And I feel quite stronger than before. Like, my body seems more “real” to an extent… It’s hard to explain it properly…
Anyways, I decided to check my stats.
…
[Name: [Maria Fuentes Belles]
[Race: [Dark Ghost]
[Level: [5/12]
[EXP: [0/600]
[Rank: [F+]
[Status: [Strengthened, Cursed]
[HP: [37/37]
[MP: [185/185]
[Attack: [24]
[Defense: [22]
[Magic: [185]
[Agility: [36]
Characteristic Skills:
[Unique Skill: Supreme Magic]
[Unique Skill: Mana Siphon]
[Unique Skill: System]
[Unique Skill: Goddess] (Sealed)
[Undead: Lv--]
[Dark Element: Lv--]
[Death Element: Lv--]
[Fiend Language: Lv2]
[Shadow Sneak: Lv1]
Resistance Skills:
[Status Effect Immunity: Lv--]
[Magic Damage Resistance: Lv2]
Normal Skills:
[Ghost Touch: Lv3]
[Lesser Curse: Lv3]
[Life Drain: Lv2]
[Possession: Lv2]
[Dark Sphere: Lv4]
[Fake Life: Lv3]
[Stealth: Lv2]
[Dark Gale: Lv1]
Title Skills:
[The Dark Witch: Lv--]
[Bringer of Misfortune: Lv2]
…
Oh, I am indeed looking quite extraordinary there! My MP and Magic had increased by a nice amount, and my other stats don’t look that bad either. Although I guess the only vital stats for a glass cannon like me is having more Agility to evade. Sadly, there are no such things as stat points here to relocate them around. The rest of my Skills leveled up except the new ones and… Eh? Even my Title Skill leveled…
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I would chose the Phantom one for the "change shapes at will"
Not to mention the telekinesis and better stealth the phantom has. Overall, phantom might be a weaker evolution right now, but i think it was less limiting for the future. Her real power comes from her OP unique skills anyways, so her evolution has less of an impact on her overall combat power. Added telekinesis, being able to change forms at will, and excellent stealth would be better additions for the long term. Now, all she has is darkness and more darkness going forward, kinda boring to specialize like that...
@N0xiety I've written characters that can use every element before, let me tell you that it gets pretty boring, meanwhile having a single or a few other elements is better in the long run because the character has to come out with new ways to use his abilities instead of just using another element for everything, specializing can be very fun, even in games
Yes! Phantom could of been a whole bunch of Evolution options! Having a single Element kind of makes you screwed if they know your powerset.
@N0xiety Think of it this way too; Having all forms of magic means you have none. Jack of all trades, master of none. You couldnt make mountains form unless you specialize in earth magic, just like you cant make thousands of abominations without dark magic or necromancy.
@poobradoor Ah, but you miss a part of the quote! "A jack of all trades is a master of none, but oftentimes better than a master of one"! Besides, with magic, there's always the possibility of combining elements, all sorts of synergies and combi-elements and whatnot. For example, combining air and fire magic to create fire tornados, and to feed the fire pure oxygen to make it burn hotter, or fire and water to create steam explosions, air and earth to create sand/dust storms, stuff like that. And perhaps combining two elements can grant access to a 'higher' element, like fire+earth=lava (or metal), earth+water=plant/life. Perhaps even fire+light for holy fire or purification.
@Dr.Steel Bruce Lee's philosophy and Sun Tzu's.
@Dr.Steel ah but you searched it up didnt you
@poobradoor No its how I always remember the Saying.
For someone with a shaky reaction to the dark and dour impression her living self supposedly left, and one who commented on being worried about daylight effects on her, this choice seems kinda weird..
Furthermore, with supreme magic she really shouldn't specialize at all, especially with the combination of the dark witch title skill, she would be severely limiting herself intentionally, which is extremely counterproductive in a real situation, where survival is more important than maximizing entertainment.
@tyran285 Its not like she can choose the elemental affinities she has? She's stuck with whateevr she has, which is Dark and Death, your whole argument seems to lack this incredibly vital knowledge which is stated a bazillion times in the novel
@PancakesWitch And never did i say that she had those affinities, or could choose them, i merely suggested that her current path would be more likely to seal her into these affinities. Whereas the phantom path suggests a wider potential. Even the regular ghost path is likely to have more widespread options.
I'm aware it's shown in her status and general use of magic that she only has death and darkness affinity, but i don't remember it being stated she couldn't obtain others through evolution and/or other conditions along the line.
@tyran285 I guess, but due to her circumstances she was prioritizing short-term benefits over long term ones, such as picking the strongest evolution that makes her specialize more to get more power quickly rather than picking a weaker one with more potential. I've always seen the opposite happens with every single evolution novel, and I am honeslty tired of how illogical it is sometimes, based in your current state, you dont think that far in the future, especially if a few more stats can save your life in the present. That was my line of thinking when giving her the evolution options