"Adam..." Holden muttered, meeting Leo's eyes. "He is fine, more than that, really. Whatever you did back then calmed him down. Ever since he woke up, he hasn't acted hostile once. We don't even need Ava to talk to him anymore."
Leo sighed in relief. It seemed like providing Adam with Essence from an Akirian did more good than harm. Still, the way the older man said this hinted that something could be wrong.
"You don't sound too pleased," he noted, instantly noticing the slight grimace that crossed the other man's face.
"It's not that... God knows it made the day a bit easier, especially when we were delivering the dead Voidlings," Holden said, shaking his head. "No, what worries me is Adam's continuous growth... He leveled up again, Hale, and it took only about half of the corpses you left to do that."
Shit, Leo cursed internally. That means Adam is already level eight, only one—no, wrong, two now—below Holden. I get why he is worried now. Not much we can do about it, though. It's either that or let the Void's curse consume Adam completely. And I won't allow that.
"This might be for the best," he said, trying to reassure the other man. "Each level is bringing him closer to evolution. It is still the only way to cure him... Unless you lot discovered something when I was gone."
"I wish we did, but no." Holden frowned. "And you don't understand. Adam is growing faster than anyone here, even me. Last time he went into a frenzy, it took three people to subdue him. None of them got away unscathed."
Leo closed his eyes for a moment, pushing his growing anger back. "I don't know what you want me to tell you. This is the only way. Besides, you said it yourself, he is better now. Maybe it will stay like that for the time being."
After a brief pause, Holden nodded. "We can only hope. We have enough problems as it is."
On that we can both agree. Leo stifled a snort before a thought struck him like lightning. Hmm, I might have something to soothe your mind anyway.
"Listen," he began. "Not sure if it will make you feel any better, but when I was a Tainted Human, the System locked me from leveling any further when I reached level ten. The same might apply to Adam."
Holden leaned back in his chair, his body relaxing ever so slightly. "That's... good to hear. Very good... If that's the case and he won't evolve right away, then maybe a few others and I might be able to do it first. Should give us another safety net."
Leo perked up, eyebrows raising. "How far away are you?"
"Two Crystalized Essences away from unlocking the recommended evolution. Depending on what it is, I would like to go for it. The one I have available now isn't bad, but it also doesn't offer much."
Not bad, not bad at all. Leo hummed, hiding one of his hands inside his cloak. Essence surged out, removing two small objects from his soul. Hope you appreciate this.
Pulling his hand out, he slid two tiny glowing rocks across the table and left them there. Holden's eyes widened, his gaze jumping between the Crystallized Essences and Leo.
"What?" the man muttered.
"Think of it as a token of trust," Leo elaborated. "Also, I recommend having someone you trust close by when you finally evolve. Nothing to worry about, but the process can be overwhelming at the end."
Holden, as if he barely registered his words, asked back. "Are you sure, Hale? Those things are rare. Bloody hell, we only managed to gather three since the beginning."
Leo frowned. Three? With Adam draining Voidlings for them, they should have a whole pile... Fuck, either they are unlucky, or Adam is somehow draining the crystals too.
"Take them. If you and your people are to protect my family when I'm not around, I need you all to be stronger," he said, leaving out the mystery of Crystallized Essence for now. "And you should ask Dylan about those crystals. I explained to him how to get them more easily."
Holden looked like he wanted to question him further, but nodded instead. "I will do that, and thank you. This will definitely speed things up." He stood up suddenly. "Now, while I know you would probably like to see Ava and Adam, I fear it will have to wait until tomorrow. Nighttime is almost here, and I can't let you stay. It's too risky."
I could probably stay in this room, and no one would notice, but whatever. I have some stuff to do outside anyway. And I don't really want to be trapped here.
Thus, Leo shrugged and rose to his feet. "I expected as much... Before I go, though, I have something else for you." He reached within his cloak again and removed the bag with medical supplies. "Here, that's all I could gather. Maybe you will find some use for it."
Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation.
Holden took the offered bag right away, sparing the contents a short glance before thanking Leo again. From there, the two left the room and went straight for the exit from the small warehouse.
"Good luck out there. I will see you tomorrow morning." Holden offered his hand.
Accepting the handshake again, Leo tipped his head and rushed out through the open door. He shivered as the Safe Zone's barrier washed over his body, letting him leave.
All right, I better be quick about it. He took a deep breath as he sprinted towards the old trainyard. The night might be close, but he still had one more hunt to finish.
Just in time, Leo thought, sliding into an empty house just as the Sun disappeared behind the Horizon. A moment later, the System also delivered its usual message, signaling the true beginning of the night.
In a record time, he barricaded the same bathroom he had used during the last night, and plopped down on the floor. Only then did he let another notification from the System appear.
Congratulations! Task, Extermination: Earth finished successfully. Do you wish to receive your rewards now?
Yes, he answered, grinning as his Ether counter jumped up, filling it a good dozen above what he needed. Thank the Void for those bloody ants. Anything stronger and I would have been in deep shit in my current state.
Ether: 768
"And now, I have enough." He chuckled, only to wince when the few partially broken bones reminded him of their existence. His healing factor had already fixed most of the worst injuries, but there was still some stuff left.
"Let's see."
Mutation: Enhanced Vision (Gamma Tier):
For many, vision is the most essential sense. So why not make it stronger? Let nothing hide from you with this mutation. Follow your prey where the light doesn't shine.
Effects:
Grants slightly improved eyesight along with strong night vision. In the event of vision loss in the past, this mutation will repair all damages and make your eyes slightly more resistant to damage.
Requirements: 750 Ether, Eyes from a level 15+ beasts, 2 Crystalized Essence.
Required components detected within the User's Soul Well. Do you wish to proceed with this mutation? Estimated time to complete: 1 hour
I do indeed. And no, I'm not destroying my current eyes just to make them a bit stronger. I'm not that desperate yet, Leo commented, and the System listened right away, replacing the mutation's description with another notification. One hour, though? A bit long, but nothing I can do about it.
Choice Acknowledged. Beginning Mutation. You can proceed with whatever actions you want, User, as long as they don't impact your eyes.
Instantly, his vision darkened, a weak tingling spreading across his eyeballs. Before, he could see the dark contours of the bathroom, but now, even repetitive blinking didn't change anything.
He was blind...
The first minute passed as the tingling grew stronger and stronger. It was as if someone kept stabbing his eyes with tiny needles, injecting liquid fire into them. Nonetheless, he just gritted his teeth and leaned hard against the wall.
Well... the System said I don't need to wait for the process to end. Might as well try to focus on something productive, he decided. Not that it was easy with the System trying to melt his eyeballs.
Let's just try this...
Shadow Essence spilled out of his body in waves, directed to float a foot or so above his hands. Even with his focus wavering with every spike of pain, he commanded the cloud of shadows to change shapes, each more complicated than the last one.
He tried to make the constructs as solid and stable as possible, going a step further than he did in the past. Projectiles that didn't burst into a cloud of shadows were his end goal, and he would reach it no matter what.
Time flew by as his mind slowly learned to deal with the constant pain. It all faded away as only images of shadow weaponry remained in his head. He soothed every imperfection and filled every gap before destroying the construct and starting anew.
The lack of sight taught him much in this short time. He learned how to see his Essence in detail without truly seeing. Hell, he even managed to sense some particles of energy in the air not tainted by the night.
As such, it was no surprise when the System announced its presence before the mutation process finished. A completely new notification flowed into his head, letting him read it without his eyes.
Shadow: Creation (Adept):
A technique born thanks to the User's relentless practice and the will to improve. Creation is the base of anything in the Universe, and now the shadows are ready to be born stronger than before. The User's current mastery improves the quality and the speed at which the constructs are created even further. Additionally, a direct connection to the creator is no longer necessary.
There it is. Leo smiled, letting the shadows around him dissipate. Now, his affinity could become a true offensive power, not just a supplementary one. Although I wonder how I can improve it even further. What else is there to shadow creation?
However, before he could even give the subject more thought, the burning in his eyes disappeared.
Mutation completed. You may open your eyes, User.
"What? When did I even close them?"he muttered as he realized that his eyes, indeed, were closed. Okay, the moment of truth.
Inch by inch, his eyelids rose, filling his vision with shades of grey and violet. Nothing could hide from his sight now, not even the darkest corner of the bathroom.
Is this how some animals see the world after dark? Leo marveled, scanning every inch of the room. Night vision was one thing, but the quality of his eyesight also improved, even if not by that much.
As he finished the inspection of the bathroom, Leo picked up a shard of glass and gasped at the wide, glowing violet orbs staring back at him.
Wow...