章 174: Chapter 172

WARNING: much of this chapter is super [Skill] focused, since I don't think there's ever been a full run-down of every [Skill] and its evolutionary possibilities as of yet. Here, there finally is. Of course, throughout it all are Ashlani's thoughts sprinkled around, so, yeah. If that kinda crunchy element isn't of interest to you, you can skim from after Trai and Foire's interactions.

There had been no reason for me to expect anything different, but the keelish were unfocused, undisciplined, and unhappy as I guided them to leave our den as night fell. As the night continued, more and more of my subordinates wanted to range off to see if there was something interesting to hunt, or if there was still that relic of the past, or whatever other reckless action related to a foolish thought crossed their minds. Fortunately enough, between Joral and his wolfstags and their handlers, the majority of the keelish stayed close enough to stay totally safe, while those foolish enough to wander off could be left behind, for all I cared. They would only weaken the swarm.

I wanted Foire to do the majority of the scouting, given his magical proclivity towards it, but Trai had not grown more independent overnight. She could almost kind of crawl, and anyone who'd come close to her knew how sharp her little fangs were, but she was a true infant, unlike any we keelish had had before. Nobody could say exactly how long it would take before she was able to walk by herself, but until then, someone would need to carry her. When I'd approached Foire to ask who would be able to do so, his answer had been succinct.

"I will. She is my responsibility, and mine alone."

"And no one else will ever be her parent. If I need you elsewhere, or if you need to do something for Trai that she cannot be present for, though, please trust me to keep her safe."

Foire had taken several steps in silence after I'd said that, but after a short time, he'd flared his frills only barely enough to be seen. "Only if it is you, Sybil, or Vefir." Then, he'd returned back into her personal little world with his daughter, making teasing snaps at her with his jaws, his maw more than enough to swallow her whole. To his and my contentment, though, little Trai never began to fear her father, and only took his menacing jaws and clacking fangs as a challenge, her own little squeaks of valor doubling as infantile giggles.

As I had refocused myself on our journey, our easy but groundeating lope swiftly leaving miles behind us, I found something to occupy my mind with that wasn't the minutia of the swarm. My [Skills], and their required evolutions.

[Skill: Adversary; a passive Skill granted to those who have demonstrated their determination to conquer. This Skill grants an aura that incites weakness, aggression, and paranoia in those the Skill's holder has deemed an enemy. This aura allows the Skill holder to more easily break the morale of those targeted. This Skill can evolve. Skill evolution requirements: Defeat a foe with a greater Stat total than yourself, without substantial support from any other creature. Progress: 6/10.]

Before, I'd looked at this as a mostly simple and quick [Skill] to evolve, but now, I couldn't think of many creatures other than True or even High Speakers that would have a higher Stat total than me. Long gone were the days of a terrorbird outclassing me completely. I supposed that it was somewhat heartening that I only needed to defeat these foes, not kill them, but I didn't know anything friendly to me that had a higher Stat total either. I shook my head and continued reviewing my [Skills].

[Skill: Combatant's Bloodlust; when the Skill user deems it necessary, a mental state that veers away from absolute aggression and inclines itself instead towards a greater understanding of combat will envelop the mind. The Skill user will still experience a heightened desire for battle, yet this desire will be tempered by a pragmatic understanding of effective action. This skill can evolve. Conditions: evolution of Skills Adversary to Nemesis, True Dominance to Absolute Dominance, and Pack Tactics to Swarm Superiority required for further evolution. Acquire Skill: Imperial Bearing. Completed requirement: acquisition of Skill: Imperial Bearing.]

My tried and true companion. The more I used this [Skill], the more natural it became, especially since it had evolved this far and no longer so completely consumed my mind with a need to kill. In order to evolve it, though… I didn't know how many tiers of [Skill] were between [Adversary] and [Nemesis], though I suspected [Absolute Dominance] and [Swarm Superiority] were the next steps for [True Dominance] and [Pack Tactics] respectively. Thinking of those two [Skills], I focused on them next.

[Skill: True Dominance; a passive Skill granted to those who have demonstrated and begun to perfect the ability to force others to obey and submit to the Skill's holder. Those who have gained this Skill are beginning to understand the path of the tyrant, and this Skill assists them in that path. This Skill grants an improved aura that incites loyalty, obedience, and fear in others. This aura begins to force even those with the strongest will to submit their will to the holder, and allows the holder to more easily dominate those who stand before them, even without violence. This Skill can evolve. Skill evolution requirements: assert and establish dominance over five leaders of groups of at least 100 individuals.]

[Skill: Pack Tactics; a passive skill granted to some leaders whose position comes with a physiological change and/or evolution, especially if their evolution is tied to combat and military guidance. This Skill blesses the holder with an innate understanding of command, allowing for clearer communication on the battlefield, as well as a rudimentary understanding of tactical advantage. Skill Evolution requirements; command 10 large scale battles, each ending in the Skill holder's foes' complete defeat. Note: to qualify as a "large scale battle", the Skill holder must be in command of at least 50 troops. Progress: 5/10.]

These two [Skills] worked somewhat together, but against each other, as well as with [Conqueror's Rebuke]. With all three, though, I suspected that the greater the swarm I controlled, the more territory I claimed, and the more "Keel" I became, the easier it would become to evolve these "war" [Skills]. With a quick glance over [Conqueror's Rebuke], I noted the differences in the three requirements for evolution: Asserting dominance, my foes' complete defeat, and my foes' complete rout.

[Skill: Conqueror's Rebuke; an active Skill granted to those who have earned and are granted the innate ability and right to rule, and will use that ability to conquer. The use of this Skill imbues the user with the ability to lead their followers into battle, and has two effects. Effect one: gives a 10% bonus to all Stats of all followers while under the Skill user's command. Effect two: give a 5% debilitation of all Stats of all foes who hear the Conqueror's Rebuke. This Skill can evolve. Evolution requirements: lead a group of subordinates numbering at least 100 into battle, and emerge victorious in the form of a complete rout five times. Progress: 1/5]

Moving down the list, [Evolutionary Foresight] was one of the few [Skills] I had that I actually believed when it said that it couldn't evolve. As a matter of fact, I'd never gotten a full [System] explanation of the [Skill] before. With that thought, more information appeared before me.

[Skill: Evolutionary Foresight; a passive Skill granted to all System users that permits them to view the requirements for further evolutions. This Skill cannot evolve.]

About what I expected, though still disappointing. The rest of my supposedly unable to evolve [Skills], even [Exceptional Individual], I suspected could evolve further.

[Skill: Exceptional Individual; at every "growth period", or, in the Keelish race's case, every 6 days until sexual maturity is reached, the Skill holder will receive bonus Stats. This Skill cannot evolve.]

Again, unsurprising and somewhat disappointing, though I long recognized the immense influence this additional growth I'd sustained had on me. [Exceptional Individual] evolved, though, could become any number of things, so far as I knew, since its stated effect of granting bonuses in stats to me whenever I'd hit a new level of maturation had long run its course. On the other hand, did I think that [Evolutionary Exemplar] would change in anything other than scope at this point? The fact that, with this [Skill], my mere presence could spur others into evolution and further growth, and an additional evolution to it could be… insanely impactful.

[Skill: Imperial Bearing; a passive Skill granted to those who have earned and are granted the innate ability and right to rule. This Skill grants a heightened ability to resist the influence of any Skills, Titles, Occupations, Races, and any other ability that may affect the Skill holder's ability to control themself. Additionally, every Skill, Title, Occupation, Race, and any other ability that the Skill holder has that influences others is heightened in power, scope, and proficiency. This Skill cannot evolve.]

[Skill: Innate Leadership; a passive skill granted to all leaders whose position comes with a physiological change and/or evolution, such as Alphas. This Skill grants that those of the same species will more easily engender a greater fondness and subservience towards the Skill's holder. This Skill cannot evolve.]

[Innate Leadership] seemed mostly to be a facet of [Imperial Bearing] at this point, and I wondered if eventually the original [Skill] would disappear and be consumed by an evolved version of [Imperial Bearing].

[Skill: Improved Vision--improves clarity and range of vision by 100%. This skill can evolve. Skill Evolution requirements: Use exclusively light-based vision for 18 days. Progress: 0/18]

[Skill: Pain Tolerance; Passive Skill that allows the User to ignore pain to a certain degree. NOTE: The ability to ignore the feeling of discomfort does not allow for the Skill holder to ignore the repercussions of the damages sustained causing said pain. This Skill cannot evolve.]

These two [Skills] seemed so unimpressive after my magical, amazing [Skills] that I nearly blitzed right past them, but I forced myself to recognize how important both had been to me, as [Improved Vision] allowed me to actually see, and [Pain Tolerance] helped me to stay effective in a fight. Looking at the long-term requirements for [Improved Vision]'s evolution, I reluctantly changed my perception to my "normal" vision and immediately stumbled over a root in the darkness. Nievtala bless me with patience…

Finally, though, I looked at my "true" magical [Skills].

[Current Organ: Fathomless Sonilphon; an exceptionally advanced version of the rare magic manipulating organ, Sonilphon. This organ is developed by those who have moved past elementary understanding of what sonic magic can do, and are understanding what sonic magic is. Due to evolution, there is an additional +10 bonus to the Magic Stat and a +5 bonus to the intelligence Stat. The Fathomless Sonilphon's reserves for magic are expanded greatly from that of the Profound Sonilphon, and the Fathomless Sonilphon's rate of ambient magic conversion to sonic attributed magic within the organ is enhanced beyond that of the Profound Sonilphon. Additionally, any development of a new Skill related to sonic magic and the Sonliphon will be rewarded with bonus Stats. This organ can evolve. Requirements: Unqualified, 0/2]

[Skill: Crippling Cry; a skill granted to those whose mastery of sonic magic has grown beyond the obvious and immediate, now allowing the resonance of their magic to more deeply influence and harm even the most hardened and prepared. The initial use of sonic magic for most is a simple sonic blast, and Crippling Cry serves as an evolution to the simple and mundane. Crippling Cry sends a blast of sonic magic in the direction of the user's choosing, and easily serves to unsteady, weaken, and, in extreme cases, kill outright. This Skill can evolve. Requirements: Kill 5 creatures directly and solely with Crippling Cry. Progress: 0/5]

[Skill: Debilitating Diatribe; allows the Skill holder to use their words and lace them with magic to sap energy, excitement, and morale, as well as to occasionally incite obedience in the listener. Once a Skill holder holds both the Skill Debilitating Diatribe and Innervating Address, the holder can discern which individual listening to give either effect. This Skill can evolve. Requirements: Use Debilitating Diatribe as the primary catalyst for the surrender in a hostile force of at least 100. Progress: 0/1.

[Skill: Innervating Address; a Skill granted to those whose mastery of sonic magic has grown to allow them to use their words laced with magic to grant greater energy and confidence in the listener. Once a Skill holder holds both the Skill Debilitating Diatribe and Innervating Address, the holder can discern which individual listening to give either effect. This Skill can evolve. Requirements: Use Innervating Address to significantly raise morale of a force of at least 200 while in battle. Progress: 0/1

[Skill: Nurturing Enunciation; a skill granted to those whose mastery of sonic magic has grown beyond the obvious and immediate, now allowing the resonance of their magic to influence and assist even the most vulnerable and weak. Those whose development is assisted and guided by Nurturing Enunciation gain Stats, Skills, Titles, and other benefits more easily until they have reached adulthood. Note: this Skill can only be used on fetuses, infants, and juveniles. This Skill can evolve. Requirements: Use Nurturing Enunciation to more than double what would be the Stat total of a creature. Progress: 0/50.

[Skill: Quaking Claw; an active Skill that sends a concentrated flow of sonic magic to a specific location. The sonic magic's vibrations cause the affected area to vibrate in a way that facilitates cutting and tearing. When paired with a sharp extremity or sharpened held tool, Quaking Claw will show its greatest effectiveness. This Skill can evolve. Requirements: Hidden.]

Still no idea on how to evolve my Sonilphon, though I supposed that wasn't surprising. [Crippling Cry] would be interesting to use during this journey, since plenty of weak prey wouldn't have been scared off by our nearby home and I might actually be able to evolve this one. I internally shelved the idea next to [Improved Vision] for constant use.

With [Debilitating Diatribe], [Innervating Address], and [Nurturing Enunciation], I simply needed to look for more opportunities to use them, and I internally cursed myself for forgetting to use [Innervating Address] during our fight against the humans. Suns burned fool for forgetting such a simple part of myself. I also wondered how using [Debilitating Diatribe] to force surrender in a hostile force would interact with completing the requirements for [True Dominance], [Pack Tactics], and [Conqueror's Rebuke]. As I wondered, an additional notification from the [System] flashed for my attention.

[The Administrative Body has deemed it unnecessary to divulge that information.]

With a wry, almost familiar feeling from the Administrative Body shutting down my curiosity, I focused myself entirely on not tripping and falling while walking in nearly perfect darkness.