Born in apocalypse

Unlike last time, Dhruv didn’t panic as his body began to melt into a gooey substance. Instead, he readied himself for all the decisions he would have to make.

Last time, Dhruv had to forsake a good evolution due to circumstances, but he wouldn’t let that happen again. He had a solid plan for this evolution.

The last of his thoughts drifted as he completely transformed into a liquidy goo. Instantly, the liquid began to meld together, forming the shape of an egg.

The outer shell began to harden, taking on properties from the elemental affinities he possessed. Within seconds the outer shell of the egg transformed from biological material into metal.

The transformation didn’t stop there.

Cracks began to appear within the metal structure as veins of molten lava and flames pulsed with intense heat. The flames occasionally burst forth from the metallic shell, dancing along its surface in a mesmerizing display, almost as if alive and dancing.

As the seconds passed, the entire egg became shrouded in a shimmering aura that distorted light and perception. It began glitching as illusions formed around it.

"Huh! What an interesting change from tier III," Azarex thought as he found that the transformation hadn’t stopped there either.

The elemental concentration increased as the ground around the egg began to fill with a high amount of metal mana. Azarex could see a very minuscule amount of metal and minerals rising from the surface of the device.

Suddenly, the minerals caught on fire as pockets of molten rock and fire appeared, dancing between them.

It was getting hard for Azarex to focus on the egg as the environment around it began to get cloaked in a veil of illusions, causing him to see mirages and phantom images.

In tier IV the very affinity had begun to affect the very reality.

Looking at the scene in front of him, Azarex couldn’t help but smile as the thought of what sort of effect his egg would have on the environment appeared in his mind.

***

The realm of metal, fire, and illusion remained unchanged for the most part. There were very small changes here and there but they weren’t worth mentioning.

Suddenly, a tremor appeared as the owner of this place arrived in the castle. Sitting on the throne, Dhruv opened his eyes.

Looking at his room, he couldn’t help but compare it with the queen’s room. Dhruv sighed as he found that it was not on the level of hers... for the time being, that is.

As he was looking around, Dhruv noticed a change in the room. When there were only three chairs in his room during his previous evolution, now there were four.

An additional chair had appeared, and someone was sitting on it as well.

’Is that Grec...’ he thought, looking at the silhouette of this being.

Knowing that he was ultimately a part of his soul, Dhruv found it reasonable that he had appeared as well. All four of his guardians were resting in their respective chairs, undisturbed by anything.

After looking around for a while, he smiled and opened the panel for which he had come...

...

[You have reached the maximum level of your species.

These are the options available to you. All these options are from the species Asteri:

- Warrior Ascendant (Rare)

- Starlit Steel Vanguard (Rare)

- Flame Enchanter (Rare)

- Great Illusionist (Epic)

- Stellar Battlemage (Epic)

- Asteri Progenitor (Unique)]

...

’Ahhahaah! three rare, two epic, and one unique. A total of six... Five if I exclude the progenitor one,’ Dhruv thought as a giggle escaped his mouth.

From the looks of it, Dhruv seemed satisfied with the number and quality of the evolutions.

’So, which one should we check first...’ thinking this, he began to read the names of the evolutions aloud.

A moment later, the decision was made... he was going to start with the Progenitor, the one that had appeared in his last evolution as well.

Dhruv remembered he didn’t take this option last time because during the second quest, he needed an immediate strength boost and this option didn’t give any.

Now that he wasn’t in the same condition, he thought of giving this option another chance. With a calm nod, he clicked on the option.

...

[Asteri Progenitor: You are the creator and the first member of the species Asteri. With this evolution, you will proclaim your seat as the progenitor and will truly become one with your species.

Your strength will correspond with the number of members in your species. As a progenitor, what you need most is authority.

With this evolution, you will be given an affinity to the concept of Authority. With the affinity, you can use the [Authority magic]. Your rank in the Authority magic will be set to ’SS’.

Four organs will be given during the evolution. The energy spent to buy an organ will decrease by two-thirds. There will be a bonus of 45 in all of your stats.]

...

’Huh! Unlike last time. Taking this option would not make me lose my affinity... well isn’t that a great win already,’ Dhruv thought.

As he read the description of the option, the smile only broadened. From what he can understand, there have been many changes in this evolution option. 𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝚠𝚎𝚋𝗻𝗼𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝚘𝐦

And the changes only made this option more enticing.

’...So as I’ve thought, the Authority magic is really a concept and not an element like fire and metal. Interesting...’ Dhruv thought, trying to understand which would win in a battle.

An element or The Authority.

’What am I talking about... of course, Authority would win. And I think with a huge margin as well.’ Scratching his chin, he compared both forms of power.

Dhruv was really satisfied with this, even though the rewards had been decreased compared to how they had appeared last time.

The rank of affinity changed from SSS to SS. He will only get four free organs and the energy spent increased from half to two-thirds. Even the bonus decreased by 5 points, which in total would be a loss of 20 stat points.

A simple smile changed to a creepy one as Dhruv thought, ’Well, aren’t you great? Let me check others, I will surely give you attention this time...’

With the same smile, he clicked on the [Warrior Ascendant].