Drewells976
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Chapter 310 - Evolution
🕑 Added 2025-03-11 21:48:20 +0000 UTCA/N: Hope you like the Guide notifications. A lot of them.
P.S. Check the pdf for colors :)
YELLOW TIER ANNOUNCEMENT:
Hi, hope you’re doing well. Later today, I’ll be publishing the final chapter of Book 4 for the Green Tier. I didn’t want to take another pause given I recently came back, but I’ll need to at least skip Monday to plot out book 5. I’ve got a ton of work to finalize the lore, new characters and the worldbuilding of the next arc.
As many of you have surely guessed, book 5 will be an academy arc. It will link with many important forces/families of the Merian Republic and take place in completely different settings from those Kai has tread so far. So I want to have a solid foundation before I delve into writing.
See you next Friday!
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Water dripped from the stalactites in the cavern ceiling. Kai stared at the scroll window before his eyes. Ignoring the icy droplets that ran down his neck, his gaze focused on the words and numbers summarizing his entire life.
Maxing the profession skills wasn’t necessary to evolve his profession, but it was the surest way to improve his options of advancement. General skills and experience also played a part, but the benefits were nebulous to gauge. A single milestone might improve his choices or he might spend years without any gains.
I don’t know if it’s great timing or terrible.
This time, there would be no do-overs or gods exerting their divinity to fit his needs. Whatever he picked would affect the rest of his life.
“What is it?” Rain whispered, scanning their surroundings. “Have they already found us?”
Kai jolted from his thoughts and moved forward to hide his embarrassment. “Hmm… no. Just thinking.”
Hallowed Intuition hummed a somber tune in his mind. They might have evaded their pursuers for the moment, but they weren’t safe. The cultists would soon realize what happened and look for their tracks; by then, they better be far away.
We can’t stay put.
The safest place was on the move, cloaked in Shadow and inching closer to an exit.
Following Hobbes’ direction, they sneaked past a corridor hosting the sleeping quarters and several warded chambers. This section of the underground was nearly deserted. Hopefully, the cultists were on a wild goose chase away from the escaped prisoners.
I hope they’re okay.
He had done everything he could to help Kea’s group escape, though a knot of anxiety still gnawed at him.
If half the nonsense Derrell spewed about his Luck is true, they’ll already be out…
There was nothing he could do for them except escape himself. His status still hung in the corner of his vision, tempting him with promises of power.
Maybe just a peek…
He had long waited to advance his profession, not wanting to obsess over the options before they were final. In his plans, he’d sift through his options with a notebook and a warm cup of tea instead of the cold and damp underground, but wishes had to bend to practicality.
The lair of a crazy cult will have to do.
Evolving his profession to Orange wouldn’t net him any attributes till he leveled it, but upgraded skills and a potential new boon were immediate benefits. There would also be a feat if he recalled correctly. He couldn’t discard any point in Favor when his life was at stake.
And it’s not like I need to make a decision immediately if I see the options…
Curiosity burned his last shred of hesitation. Kai split his attention to keep track of his surroundings and sent the mental prompt.
Ding
Favored Son of the Isles [Red] has reached level 10. You’ve met the requirements to advance your profession to the next grade [Orange]. Do you wish to proceed?
Show me!
In a blink, several windows scrolled through his vision. Kai quickly folded them and increased their transparency to read while walking. He counted over a dozen options, following no particular order.
Do people really struggle to get a couple? This is gonna take a while…
Checking the turn of a corridor to ensure the way was clear, he began reading the first window.
Profession: Blessed Crafter
Main Requirements: Thrice Blessed; Mana Manipulation skill [Yellow]; Crafting skill [Yellow]; Knowledge skill [Yellow]; Enchanting skill [Orange]; Alchemy skill [Orange]; Favor 30+
Description: Blessed by three divinity, you’ve strived down the path of mystical artisanship since a young age. Continue to hone your mana and arcane knowledge. Perfect your creations through blessings and Fate.
Attributes: 1 Dexterity; 1 Mind, 1 Spirit, 1 Perception per level.
Boon: +1
Skill slots: +2
Hmm… not a bad start.
Split Mind wavered as more of his attention was pulled to understand what he was reading.
Blessed Crafter sounded like a general crafting profession with a unique twist: using his blessings and Favor to improve his creations. It was a fascinating idea, made all the more appealing by not being bound exclusively to Enchanting or Alchemy.
Experiments, runes and recipes swirled through his mind. He could spend days theorizing the potential applications. Not that he would ever pick it in the end. Even if he weren’t in a hostile land, he had long resolved that the life of a crafter wasn’t for him.
The window faded with a thought, together with a myriad of possibilities.
No point whining. What’s next?
Profession: Subject of the Spirit Beasts
Main Requirements: Mana Sense skill [Yellow]; Blessing of the god of the Hidden Sanctuary, Zervathi; Familiar skill [Yellow]; Contracting a Spirit Beast
Description: You’ve struck a familiar bond with a spirit beast, a feat requiring equal parts Luck and skill. Travel the land to contract more spirit beasts and share their power.
Attributes: 1 Mind, 2 Spirit, 1 Perception per level.
Boon: +1
Skill slots: +1
Uh…
Another intriguing option. Kai wasn’t certain what a spirit beast was—something to do with elemental magic if he had to guess.
What do you think, Hobbes? Would you like to have some new friends—
A sharp and irked No severed the thought at the root. Hobbes filled the bond with an outrage that bordered on murderous.
Just kidding, bud. It was a joke. No new siblings for you. Let’s focus on getting out of here.
Hobbes sent a last imperious wave before turning to scouting. Clearly, the furball liked being an only child and wasn’t keen on sharing.
Definitely not this one. Spirits, how many more are there?
Profession: Lucky Swordsman
Profession: Mana Scholar
Profession: Elemental Conjurer
…
Oh boy, this is going to be painful…
Kai quickly flipped through a dozen pages. In another setting, he would have loved to pour his mind over every detail and word, but circumstances didn’t allow him to dally on options he knew he wouldn’t pick. His academic curiosity must be put on hold.
While the Guide allowed him to push his path in multiple directions—especially in the early grades—the further away he went from his original profession, the weaker the evolutions got. He understood himself enough to know he wouldn’t be happy with a suboptimal pick.
Whispers of danger lingered at every turn of the underground—it wasn’t the time to hesitate. Hardening his resolve, Kai discarded any profession that wasn’t a direct evolution of Favored Son of the Isles.
I’ve still got four left…
It wasn’t too surprising since the scope of Favored Son of the Isles was quite broad. Skimming through them, their attributes, skills slots and boons were noticeably higher than the other choices.
Let’s see the good stuff.
Profession: Champion of the Isles
Main Requirements: Favored Son of the Isles; Weapon skill [Yellow]; Body Enhancing skill [Yellow]; Danger Skill [Yellow]; Battle 100+ Yellow foes; Defeat 10+ Yellow foes in solo combat; Favor 50+
Description: Recognized by the Great Spirits, Kahali and Yatei, and tempered in Zervathi Hidden Sanctuary, you’ve survived every trial and repeatedly defeated the odds. Test your skills against mortal foes to grow stronger. Balance your life at the edge of a blade, slip through death and triumph.
Attributes: 1 Strength, 1 Dexterity, 2 Constitution, 1 Perception per level.
Boon: +1
Skill slots: +3
Now we’re talking.
Three additional skills and one boon. In addition, he’d likely receive upgrades to those he already had when picking a direct evolution.
It’s a martial profession….
From the requirements and description, Champion of the Isles focused on melee combat and survival over spellcasting. He didn’t overly mind that—it might even be ideal in the situation. A physical profession didn’t prevent him from cultivating elemental magic on his own. The issue was the attributes. The numbers were good, but the lack of Mind and Spirit would affect the growth of his mana skills.
I still can’t exclude it in this situation.
Profession: Favored Scholar of the Isles
Main Requirements: Favored Son of the Isles; Mana Sense skill [Yellow]; Analysis skill [Yellow]; Knowledge skill [Yellow]; Decipher the basics of a Language of Power on your own; Favor 50+
Description: Recognized by the Great Spirits, Kahali and Yatei, and the god of the Hidden Sanctuary, Zervathi, you’ve explored ancient ruins and delved into forgotten knowledge. Uncover and decipher the myriad of paths of the arcane.
Attributes: 1 Constitution, 3 Mind, 1 Spirit, 1 Perception per level.
Boon: +1
Skill slots: +3
Another solid option with solid benefits. The attributes were even higher—at the upper limit of what Orange could offer. From the description, Favored Scholar of the Isles would help grow his mana skills and expand his knowledge. He might even be able to decipher the cultists’ jagged enchantments and make sense of their journals he stole.
But it has no direct combat application…
That was the biggest flaw. Knowledge might be power, but it requires time and planning to be useful.
Scholarly knowledge couldn’t save him when the cultists held a blade to his throat. It was a pity, but the circumstances didn’t allow him to take this choice into consideration.
A flick of his finger made the scroll window disappear together with the others. His eyes moved to the last two options.
Profession: Favored Mystic of the Isles
Main Requirements: Favored Son of the Isles; Water Magic [Yellow]; Nature Magic [Yellow]; Space Magic [Yellow]; Mana Sense skill [Yellow]; Mana Manipulation skill [Yellow]; Water, Earth and Space Affinities 50+; Favor 50+
Description: Recognized by Great Spirits, Kahali and Yatei, and the god of the Hidden Sanctuary, Zervathi, you’ve learned to deftly shape the Essence of the World to your purposes. Attune to the elemental forces of the isles and unleash its forces to bend the laws of nature to your will.
Attributes: 1 Constitution, 2 Mind, 2 Spirit, 1 Perception per level.
Boon: +1
Skill slots: +3
Kai exhaled a relieved breath, glad to see an evolution focused on mana. The benefits were equal to the previous choice but aimed in a much more palatable direction.
Thud. Thud. Thud.
Steps echoed from the corridor behind them, pulling his attention away from the Guide. Rain stiffened on his back, a stream of mana twisted around his arm, ready to be unleashed.
“Hold,” Kai whispered, raising his hand to halt him.
By coincidence or skill, the cultists were getting closer. He stilled in the crook of a cavern and tightened the cloak of Shadow. Seconds slowly ticked by; it seemed an eternity when the patrol finally passed them.
“We’re safe for now.” Careful to avoid brightly lit areas, Kai hurried to follow Hobbes into a cavern with a slight upward incline. They were getting closer to the surface. He didn't know where they would exit, but he needed to make a decision.
One more.
Profession: Chosen of the Isles
Main Requirements: Favored Son of the Isles; Intuition skill [lv50+ Yellow]; Defeat 10+ followers of a hostile divinity; Favor 80+
Description: Blessed by Great Spirits, Kahali and Yatei, and the god of the Hidden Sanctuary, Zervathi, you've been lifted from your mortal coils to be their herald. Bring glory to the gods of your homeland and become Zervathi's envoy to spread his teachings throughout the land.
Attributes: 1 Constitution, 1 Spirit, 4 Perception per level.
Boon: +2
Skill slots: +2
Not in a million years.
Kai didn't care if this profession offered two boons; there was no world where he became the priest for some narcissistic god. The fact Chosen of the Isles specifically mentioned Zervathi aside from the others was already suspicious.
Over my dead body. Did he tamper with my options?
He clenched his fist, wishing he could curse out loud. That damn snooper must be spying on him. His temper was still flaring when Hobbes informed him he had found a way out.
Are you sure? Is it safe?
From their bond, the wards woven around the exit were too tight to see the other side without risking detection. Kai spread his senses through the cavern ahead. The way was clear of cultists, though he was too far to examine the exit and Hallowed Intuition’s low hum hadn’t quitened.
Almost out.
If he wanted to advance his profession, he had to make up his mind now. It irked him to pick without breaking down every pro and con, but annoyance didn’t matter if they died. Until they were safe away from here, he couldn’t ignore even the tiniest advantage or he’d regret it.
There are only two options, really.
Champion of the Isles or Favored Mystic of the Isles. While he leaned toward the second, a martial profession was usually easier to use than finecky mana skills. The mention of escaping death was also a perk.
Kai chewed the inside of his cheek and raked a hand through his hair. He hated making these decisions.
Better attributes still win.
He was working with vague guesses and the difference advantages were too thin. If he had to carry this profession for the rest of his life, he’d pick what benefited most.
Ding
Are you sure you want to evolve Favored Son of the Isles (lv10) [Red] into Favored Mystic of the Isles (lv0) [Orange]? Warning: This choice is irreversible.
Go ahead.
A slight tingling spread from his chest through his limbs; his channels subtly shifted and grew in new directions. The evolution was so smooth and quick that by the time Kai realized it, it was already over.
If Rain noticed the change, he didn’t say.
If this is so easy, why does advancing my race hurt so fucking much? He huffed, stretching the mana through his new veins.
A wall of notifications soon spread to crowd his vision.
Ding
Congratulations! Favored Son of the Isles (lv10) [Red] has advanced into Favored Mystic of the Isles (lv0) [Orange].
Ding
Your boons have been enhanced by Favored Mystic of the Isles (lv0):
Gifts of the Earth: Increase the mana capacity of your body and your kinship to Nature.
Kahali’s Retribution: Each wound received in battle fuels your power, letting you ignore pain and fatigue.
Spatial Attunement: Improve your intuitive perception and understanding of spatial forces.
Ding
Your profession skills have been evolved by Favored Mystic of the Isles (lv0):
Natural Prodigy (lv100) > Natural Prodigy (lv1) - Your innate understanding of Nature allows you to grasp the use of herbs and enhance your Nature spells.
Rippling Echo (lv100) > Echoing Empath (lv1) - Improves your understanding of mana skills used against you, allowing you to more easily learn and improve them.
Astral Pathway (lv100) > Astral Pathway (lv1) - Allows you to connect with the sea of Space mana floating in the cosmos to refill your reserves wherever you are.
Ding
New Profession skill learned! Water Cannon (lv1) – Shoot a condensed ball of water with great destructive power.
Ding
New Profession skill learned! Nature Healing (lv1) – Allows passive recovery from wounds by absorbing the Nature mana in your surroundings. The skill can be exerted once per day for a quick bout of healing. The higher the concentration of Nature mana, the stronger the healing.
Ding
New Profession skill learned! Spatial Shift (lv1) – Allows teleportation to a nearby location based on skill level and affinity (currently 9 meters). The skill causes a heavy strain on your mana channels, requiring a prolonged recovery time that grows exponentially with repeated use.
Ding
Boon granted! Minor Elemental Attunement: Gain a minor boost to your elemental affinities.
Ding
New Feat: Professional Advancement [Orange]: For training your profession to the peak and advancing to Orange, you are awarded: +3 Favor!
Kai found himself grinning as his eyes flashed through the slew of information. His mind ran at lightspeed to digest all of it. How he wished to be sitting in a cozy inn with a notebook.
“Mat?” Rain poked his back, his tone unusually tense. “We’ve got company.”
Comments
Gorane
Lowkey I feel that the rippling echo change was a nerf. I recommend that you make it that can still copy someones skill with just observing it, but he can pick up skills much faster if they are used against him. As it is written right now, he cant copy/learn skills that a mentor is trying to teach him and that just seems silly
An Than
Loved this!! The power system and LitRPG aspect are probably my favorite things about this novel, so it's always cool to read chapters like these!
A B
Edit suggestion: The following passage is repetitive. When speaking naturally, people try to avoid using the same word or phrase that quickly. "forces of the isles and unleash its forces" I'd suggest swapping out the second 'forces' with something else. Either just a printing like "unleash them" or something related to using the forces.
piranha
I need more more more… i’m addicted 😭
Keid
The PDF link is already broken? It says "expired URL".
Mina She
I think there must be some work around, to optimize learning something without having a skill for it. Kai has been growing so fast but we are starting to see how hard it is growing as your race progresses. Imagine living for 200 years and you can’t really learn anything new because you are limited by your skill slots.
Polaris
Yay progress!
Sloth
I think it’s been stated profession skills are a lot more mechanical than regular skills, as the skills are literally a part of your mana channels. I don’t think this prevents someone from modifying the skills or free forming parts of them. So yes, I think with study it could boost his understanding
Mina She
Yah, it has been mentioned that it’s almost impossible to fight up a grade. It’s just the first thing that entered my mind that could cause Rain to become tense. He is generally nonchalant about most things
Doug Wills
If you'd like to know, I have the numbers (they've been posted on Discord).
Doug Wills
The expected number of boons at orange is less than 1. No, they cannot match that.
Blake N.
Nah, that’s too soon I think. There will probably be another arc after the escape and then he’ll run into a green guy later when it’s possible to have a chance
Disclancer
That would be pretty cool, though I fear we might have to wait until he's yellow in his profession (as fire was only at 9 I think) and green in his race (cause what would he cut to make room for the magic skills!?, the true tribulation of rank!)
Blake N.
Good job subverting expectations there. A lot of these stories present a “martial” class that MC doesn’t want because it doesn’t have magic, then a magic class they don’t want because they like to fight before they get to the end of the list and see the last option is a perfect mix of the two
Mina She
Yah they are all called elemental affinities. I hope we will have a chapter where he rechecks everything. Flying and fireballs may not be that far off in the future.
Mina She
It really is and I am expecting the knowledge is transferable to his space magic skill.
Mina She
4 boons at orange is exceptional. If I remember correctly, generally most people don’t get boons with a red proffession. The really talented ones get 1 boon to start. Because of the interference of the gods of the Archipelago, Kai got two extra boons at red. Hopefully we will have a chapter that will clarify how his proffession compares but it’s definitely better than most.
Reodude
Plus, have we had confirmation either way on whether ppl can learn from their given skills? Could he boost his understanding of water magic from a system skill?
Nurgle
His orange class seems to be good, but is 4 boons considered excellent? I think the talented kids at the Republic academy can match that..
Nurgle
The former. The number of general skills that Kai has can only be increased when he gets to Green race grade.
Draega
Are the +3 skill slots just referring to the three new profession skills or to an expanding of the general skill cap for race grade.
Ryan Hall
Thanks for the Chapter. Kai's classes seem to be snowballing in power rather quickly. 4 boons and 6 skills seems like a ton. Can't wait to see what he ends up getting at yellow.
Heidi McCracken-Weaver
It was a joy to read. Now to see how he uses the new skills!
Disclancer
So I went back and checked book 2 and yeah it looks to be them all, so his 5 major and 13 minor affinities according to that.
Immutably Empty
I'm hoping it boosts all of his affinities like it says. Though I could see it only boosting the 3 associated with the profession (nature, water, space).
Sloth
You’re right. Just hurts the little voice in my head that demands minmaxing skill usage, even if it’s not particularly efficient when taking other things into account.
Some Guy
It sounds like it's anything he already has an affinity for.
kiewitz
He couldn't really use water offensively unless he spent a lot of mana to make a big, high pressure beam and the ice spells he mostly uses were said to be less efficient because he doesn't actually have a high ice affinity so it's a big win, the nature one is great because he can't do this with nature mana at all right now + there's the passive effect, the spatial shift will probably have a faster activation and more efficiency no matter how good Kai will get with space. Overall all of those will probably be useful indefinitely
Sloth
LOVE the new skills, though I’m not a huge fan of using up skill slots for things he could feasibly do without a skill. It makes sense for the blink and healing skills, because he’s particularly bad at those, though I’m not sure the water cannon is necessary. We’ll have to see how much more destructive it is than what he can produce on his own. I like the new boon as well, even if it doesn’t really change anything. I’m curious to know by how much it raises his affinities, but it’s real power is the fact that the boon will get better every evolution
kiewitz
Spatial shift is huge, 9m is enough to go from a street to the top of a mid sized residential building or if you're sneaking around - teleport thru a small to mid sized room, a guarder corridor, go 2/3 floors up, hell if used in concert with earth and nature magic it may allow him to increase the size of some underground earth pocket and teleport there when running from someone, depending on how it scales it may be incredible
Mina She
It really was.
Mina She
Can’t wait for the next chapter, I am guessing the fully green cult leader has joined the party.
Mina She
4 boons and 6 skills, that’s amazing . The new skills also shore up quite a number of weaknesses Kai had. Especially love the healing skill. That definitely would come in handy. Echoing empath sounds super interesting especially considering Kai just had a boost to his affinities and it will help him grow his magical skills faster. Water cannon adding large scale destruction and the spatial shift giving him a bit more range when needed. Kai is looking more and more like a combat mage.
Disclancer
Maybe? 🤷♂️
Some Guy
TFTC
Mina She
Aren’t they all elemental affinities ?
Disclancer
Minor Elemental Attunement seems quite the boon, I can't remember what counts as an elemental affinity though? Certainly better than a Minor Water Attunement or the like :))
Andreas Kristensen
Jesus that was satisfying to read
yosef melul
Noice
RedInkQuill
Thanks for the chapter
