It had been a few hours since Exedra woke up from that strange dream and received a load of surprise notifications from the system.
After that, he naturally couldn't go back to sleep no matter how hard he tried.
Currently he was lying motionlessly in bed, with his two lovely wives sleeping comfortably in his arms.
Sunlight had finally begun to spill into the room through the balcony window and he was partially elated to know that they would be awake soon.
'Although, I will miss these cute sleeping faces...'
Since Exedra had nothing to do the entire time but lay here staring, he'd also been familiarizing himself more with his system.
He was elated to learn that he was now able to access the evolution section.
Previously, he was unable to open it no matter how much he begged the system to listen to him.
The system didn't seem interested in telling him why it wouldn't open for him either so he eventually just left it alone.
After seeing that notification earlier, Exedra realized that the reason why he couldn't open the menu was because he couldn't evolve yet.
It was a theory that made the most sense when one thought about it.
Evolutionary paths and requirements are directly carved into your soul upon birth, and since his soul is not originally of this world, he couldn't evolve.
< Exedra Avernus Draven >
< Evolution Path : #%*^€£$@? %^{!€¥ [Fallen Abyssal Species (Variant) ]
< First Stage Conditions :
- Conquer Five Dungeons
- Consume the hearts of ten worthy enemies.
- Gain a total of four affinities. (2/4 completed.)
'This is... criminally unfair.' He thought with a cheeky smile.
Normally, he would have to stumble around blindly to evolve just like everyone else in this world.
However with his system, he not only got to know all of his conditions, but he also gained a small insight into what he would become.
'Although I must admit, I'm a bit nervous about entering a dungeon for the first time.'
Dungeons are naturally occurring labyrinths that contain rare non-sentient monsters and are found all over the world.
They are the most favored way of growing and gaining strength by the lower races such as humans and beastkin.
Longer lived races, such as vampires, dragons, and phoenixes rarely use them as their bodies have evolved so that we gain strength naturally as they age.
They literally absorb mana from our surroundings with every breath and use that energy to stimulate the cells within their bodies.
While it's a slower method, given all the time they have to evolve as well as their natural defenses, it hardly matters.
As such, dragons view those who enter dungeons freely as lowly or individuals with nothing better to do.
In Antares, there are a total of fifteen dungeons each ranging from beginner to elite difficulty.
While beginner could probably be cleared by a small party of thirty or a single extremely talented individual, elite dungeons have wiped out whole parties of thousands.
It wouldn't be difficult for Exedra to acquire a pass into a beginner dungeon as a member of the royal family, so the hard part would merely bet finding the time to go.
'Maybe when I do that, I'll finally be able to get something out of this...'
< Shop >
< Demon's Axe of Banishment (1,500)
< Passive Skill : Diamond Scales (1,000)
< Skill : Primordial Demon's Will (7,500)
< Affinity Stone : Lightning (10,000)
< Affinity Stone : Space (20,000)
< Ring Of Repulsion (7,000)
< Abyss King's True Death (100,000)
'Damn it.. I really did not miss the feeling of not being able to buy things.'
The system explained that he earn shop points by completing missions and killing monsters, so this was a money problem he would be able to solve fairly soon.
Ignoring his empty pockets for the time being, he turned his focus to the two affinity stones that were going for an exorbitant amount of points.
Though when one considered their actual value and history, they were actually quite cheap.
Affinities, like evolution are decided from birth.
Though that is where the similarities end.
Not everyone is born with an affinity, and some are born with two.
To pull off certain high level spells, the user must have its coordinating affinity or risk fatal backlash upon completion.
Affinity stones occur naturally, and they allow anyone who crushes them in their palm to gain the element inside.
They are incredibly rare and difficult to find.
Even the wealthy and treasure hoarding dragons have only found six in their millions of years long history.
The difference between using a spell with its affinity versus without is like comparing a car explosion to a nuclear one.
Due to Exedra's makeup as a perfect hybrid, he possess his mother's fire affinity and what is assumed to be his father's darkness affinity.
'I wonder how many affinities my body can handle?'
"*Yawn* Good morning, husband."
Exedra was pulled from his thoughts of elemental dominance by the cute and sleepy voice of Bekka who was the first to wake up.
The glimmering light of the morning sun shone against her black skin and made her look incredibly radiant.
As she sat up on the bed, she looked at Exedra with her bright orange eyes filled with love and drowsiness, before they changed to show utter confusion.
Although, Exedra had not noticed that yet.
He was too focused on the surprise message he'd just received from the system.
It was one that would undoubtedly change their lives forever.