After Martin approved the purchase, the system's high-pitched voice echoed in his ear, displaying his new stats:
Claw Demon Minion
Level: W1-Demon
Strength: 0.7
Agility: 0.8
Vitality: 0.2
Intelligence: 0
A smile spread across Martin's face, but his thoughts turned to a new kind of urgency. While he was making progress, he felt he was moving too slowly.
The Fire Mountain Organization, mentioned by the villagers, was expected in five to six days.
He needed to make significant improvements before they arrived, either by evolving his current creature or acquiring a more powerful one.
Just then, the system spoke again.
"The user has reached a certain level of knowledge. New information will now be transmitted."
For about two minutes, Martin felt as if he were in a trance.
The system then informed him about the process of evolution.
It explained that evolution was a creature's physical adaptation to change after a stat exceeded 1.0. For instance, if the Claw Demon Minion evolved in Agility, its legs would change, and its speed would improve in a new way.
Each evolution changed a creature's quality, even its name and level. To fully evolve a creature, at least two of its stats had to surpass 1.0.
While Martin was processing this, Taint and Garlin were in a large room.
A doorbell rang, and an old man entered.
His eyes gave off a strange feeling. Garlin and Taint greeted him and offered him a seat.
"Garlin, who do you want me to find?" the old man asked.
"Master Malim," Garlin began,
"I need you to find a killer, likely a shapeshifter, in our village. This killer has murdered our best blacksmith and one young shapeshifter."
Master Malim, a shapeshifter whose creature was built for reconnaissance and exploration rather than combat, nodded.
He was often hired by nearby villages and even powerful groups for his unique talent.
Garlin had hired Malim for 10 silver coins, unwilling to tolerate a killer shapeshifter in his village.
A few minutes later, Malim stood up.
Smoke engulfed him as he transformed, surprising both Garlin and Taint.
The entity that appeared was a human skeleton holding a candle lit by a blue flame.
The skeleton made a few hand movements, and the flame turned a normal, fiery red.
A few seconds later, Malim was back in his human form.
Skeleton Fortuner
Level: W2 - Mage Undead
Strength: 0.2
Agility: 0.2
Vitality: 1.0 (Hard bones, good defense against slash attacks)
Intelligence: 1.1 (Weak Fortune Level 1)
Abilities:
Fortune Telling: 30-second cooldown
Bone Spear Conjuration: (Level 1)
After sitting back down, Malim spoke again.
"Somebody who lost their family..."
"Lives alone in the village."
"Young and able-bodied."
"Do you have anyone like that in your village?"
Garlin and Taint were thinking hard, the wrinkles on their faces deepening. Suddenly, Taint's face lit up with excitement.
"I know! Martin!"
Both Malim and Garlin looked at Taint. Taint coughed slightly.
"Martin is a young man in his 20s who lives here. He lost his parents ten years ago."
Malim smiled slightly.
"And what does this young man, Martin, do for a living?"
Taint raised his eyebrows and replied,
"He's a lumberjack, if I remember correctly." The words hit Taint hard.
The weak boy had been killed with an axe.
He immediately shared his realization with Malim and Garlin.
Malim stood up.
"We'd better hurry. He likely felt something when I used my ability."