"Damn, that's a lot of experience from just killing a single A-grade enemy," Aurus couldn't help but say in shock. Even though 200 might not seem like a lot for a late-game player, it was a lot for Aurus who had to start over from the beginning and the most he has gotten before was 30.
But of course, he didn't waste his time on being ecstatic after getting that much experience. He was inside the Tempest Cliff, a place where only X-Grade Inanimates are said to be safe...and anything lower than that is suicide.
"Before I evolve, let's see my current stats and compare it to how much I had when I was Level 1," Aurus decided to open up his status screen one last time before evolving. He didn't know why, but it felt like he had to do it before evolving.
"Open status screen."
Ding!
________
[Aurus] (Level 5/5)
Experience: MAX
Species: Wind Walnut Branch (Special)
Existence Level: Inanimate
Grade: B
[HP]: 10/10
[SP]: 150/150
Stats:
[Toughness]: 10
[Thickness]: 10
[Shell Hardness]: 10
Synchronization Rate: 20%
Unused Experience Points: 150
Unused Genesis Points: 0
________
Looking at his current status screen, he was able to see how much stronger he has gotten ever since he evolved. If he were to fight against a Level 1 version of his twig self, he would easily hundreds of them with a single offensive skill.
"Since I'm going to evolve and [Revitalising Fruit Creation] leveled up, the amount of fruits I can make has been increased to 16. I don't need a spare nut for evolving anyway so I'll just make everything SP storage," Aurus said this as he changed all of his nuts into SP storage. From there, his maximum SP capacity was raised from 150 to 170.
"Well... let's not delay this any further. Evolve!"
Ding!
In an instant, Aurus was given five choices for his next evolution. But once he continued to look at the choices, only shock covered his nonexistent face.
________
Please choose the species that Aurus will evolve into:
[Walnut Branch Formosus — Wind Raneiros (Special)]
[Walnut Branch Formosus — Wind Energistus (Special)]
[Walnut Sapling — Wind Raneiros (Special)]
[Walnut Sapling — Wind Energistus (Special)]
[Wind Walnut Spiritas (Rare)]
________
"A Rare class?!" Aurus couldn't believe it. He was only expecting to evolve to a Special class at most since his current species is a Special class as well. "How the heck...?"
"Gah, this is frustrating to think about." Ever since Aurus was reborn into a stick, only surprises filled his life. Thanks to the godly passive skill Kurohana gave him, he was able to transition into a Special class as a B-Grade Inanimate. And with the same passive skill he was able to beat an enemy of a higher grade and even gain access to evolving as a Rare class.
In ISE, most players have only heard of Special classes. Those classes alone have the ability to become great players at the Transcendent and God level, but all Special classes know there are rarer class compared to them. They know those classes' might and they don't want to fight against them ever. The lowest tier of those classes are...Rare classes.
Although Rare class are just one grade above Special classes, the gap between them is insurmountable. If Special classes can do things normal classes can't, then Rare classes can do things Special classes can't.
"I guess I know what I'm going to change into," Aurus couldn't help but sarcastically laugh. Who could pass up the chance of gaining a Rare class?
"Wind Energistus huh..." Since Aurus knew he was going to pick the final choice, he took his time on checking the other classes so he could know more about the enemies he could possibly fight against.
"If I remember correctly, Energistus variants are mage variants of that species. Since the word Wind is placed before it, then a Special class would be an elemental mage."
"What is Raneiros though?" Aurus asked the system as he quickly scanned his surroundings if any enemies were nearby. Seeing that there were none, Aurus paid attention to what the system said.
Ding!
'Raneiros are variants of a certain species that specialize in attacking enemies from a long range. Though they could fight against enemies unscathed and even control the battle, the cooldown time for their skills are exceptionally long. In fantasy terms, these variants are called rangers.'
"Heh...rangers and mages huh." At this point, Aurus felt that everything made more sense. All of the classes he evolved into in his previous life didn't really have any weird names like Energistus or Raneiros, but instead went straight to the point like Warrior or Guardian.
"How many variants are there? And what are they called in fantasy terms?" Since it's assured that Aurus would fight against enemies that had classes in the future, he had to prepare for every situation in case he had to fight a certain class.
Ding!
'There are 6 common variants as far as this system knows. These are Energistus, Raneiros, Ilucis, Azaril, Werei, and Belhazard.'
'The user already know the fantasy terms of Energistus and Raneiros, being mage and ranger respectively. As for Ilucis and Azaril, they're called illusionists and assassins in fantasy terms. Werei and Belhazard is warrior and berserker in fantasy terms respectively.'
"I see. I guess the variants are also based on the race the stick is from," Aurus deduced after a bit of thinking. To him, it might be the reason why there was no Walnut race warrior or assassin...something like that.
"I almost forgot...this is where true classes start to pop up."
Although it's said that B-Grade Inanimates gain a class, to be more specific, they're picking a race they want to be a part of. From there, once they reach the max level and evolve, that's where they truly gain their class.
"Well with that taken care of, let's see what offers do these evolutions give. I'll check the ranger variant of the Branch Formosus and the Sapling, the mage variant of the Sapling, and of course..."
"Wind Walnut Spiritas."
"Disable short evolution info. Identify the species I've just said."
Ding!
'The option 'Short evolution info' has been disabled.'
Ding! Ding! Ding! Ding!
________
[Walnut Branch Formosus — Wind Raneiros (Special)]
Existence Level: Inanimate
Grade: A
Rather than staying rooted in one place and accepting the blessings of the world, the branch decides to forge its own path of power, becoming a stronger form of itself, a Branch Formosus. It has also decided to become calm and collective in its decisions, even going as far as attacking from long range, sacrificing time for power and control. With the branch's affinity for Wind, this is also imbued in its attacks, gaining an edge over normal classes.
The Special class active skill [Tempest Nut Arrow] is created.
The Special class active skill [Tempest Bind] is created.
The Special class passive skill [Wind Raneiros Seed] is created.
The species' active skill [Forging The Path] is created.
The species' active skill [Spirit Plundering] is created.
The species' passive skill [Spirit Manifestation] is created.
________
"That's a lot of skills for a single evolution," Aurus couldn't help but say. For the normal evolutions from C-grade to B-grade, only around 2-3 skills were given. As for Aurus who obtained a Special class as a B-grade evolution, he was given 4 skills. "Having a Special class does have its benefits."
"Since there are two paths for evolving as a species, then there are species-specific skills as well. I wonder what species-specific skills the Sapling path has."
________
[Walnut Sapling — Wind Raneiros (Special)]
Existence Level: Inanimate
Grade: A
Accepting the blessings of the world, the branch stays rooted to one place, getting stronger passively as time passes. It doesn't mean that the sapling couldn't move though. It has decided to become calm and collected in its decisions, also sacrificing time for power and control. As it has gained an affinity for the Wind, all of its attacks are imbued with the element of Wind, gaining an edge over normal classes.
The Special class active skill [Tempest Nut Arrow] is created.
The Special class active skill [Tempest Bind] is created.
The Special class passive skill [Wind Raneiros Seed] is created.
The species' active skill [Root Binding] is created.
The species' active skill [World's Intent] is created.
The species' active skill [Rooting Underground] is created.
The species' passive skill [Life Manifestation] is created.
________
"Oh? The Sapling path offers 7 skills rather than 6? If I didn't have a Rare class as a choice, then I would surely choose the Sapling path," Aurus couldn't help but say after seeing the things the Sapling path offered.
"Well then, let's check the Energistus variant."
________
[Walnut Sapling — Wind Energistus (Special)]
Existence Level: Inanimate
Grade: A
Accepting the blessings of the world, the branch stays rooted to one place, getting stronger passively as time passes. It doesn't mean that the sapling couldn't move though. Having a lot of energy within its body, it has gained the ability of manipulating this energy and using it to do unfathomable things. With its strong affinity with the Wind element, all of its attacks are imbued with the element of Wind, gaining an edge over normal classes.
The Special class active skill [Lowest Spell Core (Wind Variant)] is created.
The Special class active skill [Energy Sacrifice] is created.
The Special class passive skill [Wind Energy Core] is created.
The Special class passive skill [Wind Energistus Seed] is created.
The species' active skill [Root Binding] is created.
The species' active skill [World's Intent] is created.
The species' active skill [Rooting Underground] is created.
The species' passive skill [Life Manifestation] is created.
________
"Oh?" Aurus' eyes lit up after seeing that a Spell Core skill was given to this class if he evolved into it. "So that means if I evolved into an Energistus variant, I wouldn't need to evolve my offensive skill into a Spell Core skill anymore. I could use it to surprise my enemies then."
"There's also something called an Energy Core, though I might find that out once I evolve into the Rare class..."
"Wind Walnut Spiritas!"
________
[Wind Walnut Spiritas (Rare)]
Existence Level: Inanimate
Grade: A
Not wanting to delve the path of the Branch Formosus, nor the Sapling, the branch has decided to shed its stick body and delve both paths, becoming a Spiritas, a pseudo-sentient spirit. Spiritas can come in many shapes and sizes, even having many forms as well, but they're mostly known for their great control over their energy, manipulating it to do things that are impossible for a normal mage.
Spells learned by a Spiritas are of the Spirit series, spells that can be controlled even after casted, as if they had a spirit of their own. Since the branch has great affinity with the Wind element, the Spiritas also gains this affinity as well, imbuing its attacks with the Wind element, setting itself from other Spiritas and other classes.
The Rare class active skill [Lowest Spirit Spell Core (Wind Variant)] is created.
The Rare class active skill [Spirit Energy Sacrifice] is created.
The Rare class active skill [Spirit Channeling] is created.
The Rare class passive skill [Spirit Energy Core (Wind Variant)] is created.
The Rare class passive skill [Spiritas Seed] is created.
The Rare species' active skill [Form Morph] is created.
The Rare species' active skill [Wrath of the Spiritas] is created.
The Rare species' active skill [Unyielding Spiritas] is created.
The Rare species' passive skill [Treader of Two Paths]
The Rare species' passive skill [Spirit and Life Vessel Manifestation] is created.
________
Seeing that the Rare class offers even more skills, Aurus finally chooses his evolution and confirms it without hesitation. Not long after, he falls unconscious just like how he fell unconscious after evolving to a B-Grade Inanimate.
A few minutes later, a notification sound left unheard by Aurus popped up.
Ding!
'[Aurus — Wind Walnut Branch] has evolved into [Aurus — Wind Walnut Spiritas].'