My evolution options must be great this time.

Different evolutions have different requirements, like a certain size, a number of stats, a specific title, etc...

I have very high stats for my level, an incredibly diverse and high-level skillset, a couple of high-tier titles, and lastly, I have a ruler skill and title.

Any one of those alone can satisfy the conditions for a strong evolutionary option by itself, let alone all of them combined.

So, depending on my race tree, I could have up to five options!

Without further ado, please show me the available options, Manager-san!

 

{There are multiple options for evolution. Please choose from the following.

•  Ompse
• Maius Inci Vole
• Kleus Ektabe
• Laethoul Rimae

                                                                                                                                          }

 

Great, there are four options.

The first one should be the unevolved Sir Blobfish while the second should be the evolved blade-fish, I never saw the other two before.

I’ll appraise them all anyways, there may be some hidden potential in a race that unintelligent monsters couldn’t bring to play.

Starting off, we have Sir Blobfish Jr!

 

{Ompse: Evolution Requirements: Small fish-type creature, [Iron Defense] [Overeating] skills. Description: A rare fish-type species that inhabit the ocean’s depths, not much is known about them. They have high defense stats focused on their scales making them harder to swallow, so predators are known to ignore them unless they are in a state of starvation.}

 

Sooo, this evolution just gives me more body mass and defensive scales...?

No new attack methods, lower speed, and a larger body all in exchange for some scales doesn’t seem to be a good trade at all.

I’m pretty sure the only reason these guys are rare is that the Iron Defense skill is relatively hard to get.

Hard pass, thank you.

 

{Maius Inci Vole: Evolution Requirements: Small fish-type species with high speed stats. Description: A gregarious common fish-type monster that depends on its sharp side fins to slice its enemies. They compensate for their relative weakness by gathering into dense swarms consisting of as many as thousands of individuals, a real-life example of ants that can kill elephants.}

 

This one should be the worst option, I gain bladed fins and higher speed, but I lose my sharp teeth in exchange.

Also, my attack methods would just change instead of increase, and it isn’t even an advantageous change.

Like, I’d totally sacrifice my sharp teeth if I gain a long-range attack in exchange as it would work better with Stealth.

If I join some swarm, safety and stable experience income would be guaranteed, but I’d be effectively abandoning the road to becoming strong.

Please move on to the next one, Manager-san.

 

{Kleus Ektabe: Evolution Requirements: [Poison Resistance] [Stealth] skills. Description: A rare fish-type species unknown to land dwellers. They camouflage themselves on the sea floor and hunt unsuspecting prey using their poisonous stingers.}

 

Finally! This one satisfies all my requirements.

It even comes with a new attack method that isn’t dependent on stats! Absolutely perfect for hunting stronger monsters.

The only problem is that it’s still a race that depends on melee combat, you need to sting the target to get the poison in after all.

If the last option doesn’t give an absolute advantage in a field, I’ll be choosing this one.

The last one, if you would.

 

{Laethoul Rimae: Evolution Requirements: A fish-type species with very high stats, [Stealth] [Deadly Poison Resistance] skill, [Ruler of Greed] title. Description: An extinct fish-type species. A monster that should not exist anymore, the manifestation of your greed breaking through the shackles of evolution. A specialized assassin that hunts by launching poisonous spikes at its prey from the shadows.}

 

...Huh? Excuse me...?!

I can totally understand why such a monster is described as shouldn’t exist, it’s an unreasonable creature, to say the least.

You can launch long-range poisonous attacks while hidden in Stealth, and all of your stats are high because of Greed.

Most monsters have some sort of weakness, but this one has nothing but advantages.

A taratect monster is weak to fire and levels up fire skills a lot slower, but a Laethoul Rimae can bypass a similar problem by massacring hundreds of creatures with fire-type skills and stealing their proficiencies.

Although the problem of non-suitable race skills being unavailable still exists, a Laethoul Rimae’s attack method is among the best in its category.

But even without considering all of these reasons, I’d choose this one even if it had low stats or if I didn’t have Greed.

It just has incredible compatibility with my style, or in anime words: I feel like it is calling me.

This is the one for me, Manager-san.

 

{Individual serratus saven will evolve into laethoul rimae.}

 

I do wonder what trap is waiting for me this time... D certainly won’t give freebies like these.

As long as it doesn’t result in my instant death, I can cope with it.

Imagine I get a message after evolving that says: Detected extinct species. Starting extermination process.

She’d totally do such a thing and then say it was just a prank...

However, call it intuition or just a feeling, I’m sure she wouldn’t do me like that.

 

{Evolution completed.}

{Individual race has become laethoul rimae.}

{All basic attributes have increased.}

{Skill proficiency evolutionary bonus acquired.}

{Proficiency has reached the required level. Acquired skill [Poison Spike LV 1].}

{Proficiency has reached the required level. Acquired skill [Piercing Enhancement LV 1].}

{Proficiency has reached the required level. Acquired skill [Expel LV 1].}

{Proficiency has reached the required level. Skill [Taboo LV 3] has become [Taboo LV 6].}

{Skill points acquired.}

 

Maybe I should stop using dual swords and go for double short spears...?

I do have a strong foundation in all types of weapons, and my future battles would provide the required combat experience for battles.

Sage is more proactive than Archives Manager, and this world’s system has a movement correction skill for all weapons, so I can easily go for it.

My spikes have my own stats attached to them and their poison is related to my skills, so they’ll become better with my growth, making them a great material to forge the spears from.

This also covers my low reach flaw, and I can even use the spears as throwing javelins for long range attacks.

And if I want, I can fully change my style to close combat where I grow spikes all over my body, like the Kaguya clan from Naruto with their bones protruding out from all parts of their bodies but adding poison into the mix.

All right! I see no downsides, so I’ll go for it!

You’d think the goddess of knowledge would be a mage, huh? Sorry, we don’t do that here.

Enough of that, let’s check on my new evolved appearance.

Manager-san, I want a 3D image of how I look right now, please.

Yep, you hear it right, 3D image! Manager-san gained too many new functions when she was updated to Sage, I still don’t know them all, but I always give it a try whenever I have a new idea.

A grey interface shows up in my vision with my current body form displayed on it, looks just like a video game’s character creation screen.

To start with, the most suitable description of my new appearance would be a mutated lionfish.

Just imagine a one-meter-long lionfish with violet metallic scales protecting its body like armor, amethyst clear eyes, and spikes growing from every possible location on its body

My small transparent side fins became exponentially larger, and spikes grew on their tips, the same goes for my dorsal fin and tail.

Don’t let their appearance trick you into thinking they work like claws though, every single spike on my body is a product of the Poison Spike skill, meaning they can all be detached and launched with the Expel skill, then regenerated by spending some SP.

With such full-angle sphere coverage, I can aim at enemies through my Spatial Awareness sphere, and shoot spikes at them from any location in my body.

Another nice surprise was that my sharp teeth didn’t degenerate.

Instead, they were reshuffled in my now reshaped jaws, they now look similar to a shark’s teeth which are arranged into multiple rows.

All in all, it’s an appearance worthy of a strong monster like me!

The only problem may be my violet color being too conspicuous if it’s in open waters, but since I have Stealth, and I’m planning on getting Camouflage soon, this issue will fix itself.

I should aim for the Stealth derivatives as well, especially the Heatless skill as those guys down in the depths might rely on Heat Perception to see in the pitch-black darkness, rendering my Stealth useless.

By the way, you might be wondering about how I’d land my shots without the Hit skill, but I found out that this skill is useless for me.

All my shots will be calculated by Manager-san before getting launched anyways, so the Hit skill becomes obsolete.

That’s it for now...

Hmmm, I should stay here until I’m strong enough to kill those sniper crabs, then start moving with the goal of leaving the caverns.

Actually, forcing myself to stay in such a narrow space isn’t conducive to my attacks.

Before, my small size made me easy prey in open waters, but that was because of my lack of stats and skill levels.

Right now, my stats are going to keep increasing as long as I use Greed, and my small size combined with Stealth is more effective in darker open waters than in small caves.

I’ll probably need to max out Fear Resistance before doing it though...

Don’t judge me, okay?! Darkness by itself is too scary for me, not to mention the dark ocean depths which I’m certain are populated by horrors I couldn’t possibly hope to imagine.

What if I’m actually entering the mouth of a behemoth without realizing it? What if a huge eye suddenly appears in front of me?

I was terrified of such things on earth not to mention this unknown monster-infested new world.

Unfortunately, it’s an unavoidable outcome...

The only things that hold my sanity together are Manager-san’s voice, my obsession with becoming stronger, and the desire to reunite with my loved ones.

Therefore, there’s no room for hesitation, I will keep pursuing those goals as long as I’m still breathing.