NOVEL WEB Chapter 706: Evolution Ticket
Back in his room, Nox absentmindedly scrolled through his System shop with a serious expression on his face.
He skipped some of the mediocre items and went straight to the section for skills.
He still had enough skill slots left thanks to his status as an Expert Rank.
After a brief scroll, he finally found a skill that interested him.
[Beast Form]
The name was quite striking, and it easily caught his attention amidst the cluster of skills.
However, the absurd amount needed to purchase the skill made him hesitate a bit.
It was one of the most expensive skills he had come across.
"It better be worth the price," he mumbled to himself as he clicked on it. Instantly, information about the skill appeared in his retina.
[Beast Form (Ultimate Skill): Transforms the user into their contracted beast's form, copying its appearance and stats for 5 minutes. While transformed, gain access to a temporary skill tree based on the beast's type. Cannot use human skills during transformation. Cooldown: 1 hour.]
After reading the skill, Nox's eyes flashed sharply. He realized the skill was truly worth the price it was being sold for.
"Makes you wonder what the shop points are used for," he mumbled to himself. The only person who knew the answer to that was Terra.
He made a mental note to talk to her more about his system as he purchased the skill.
[Ding! You have successfully learned Beast Form.]
He didn't test the skill right away, as there were still a few more things he needed to purchase from the Beast Shop.
Naturally, he came across more powerful skills. However, due to their absurd cost, he skipped many of them. He even came across one that cost a whopping 250,000 points.
After a while of window shopping, his gaze finally fell on an interesting item.
"Evolution Ticket," he mumbled to himself. "If this is what I'm thinking..."
He clicked on the item.
"This..." Nox's eyes widened in disbelief. A ticket that could bypass evolution requirements and forcibly evolve a monster to its next form?
Finding and completing evolution requirements was very tedious and time-consuming. Not to mention dangerous. Some evolution quests required high-tier monster cores, rare materials, or absurd feats that risked his beast's life.
But this?
This was a straight-up skip button.
He read the description again just to be sure.
---
[Evolution Ticket – One-Time Use]
Cost: 50,000 Shop Points
Effect: Allows one contracted beast to forcibly evolve to its next evolutionary tier, regardless of current level or conditions.
Warning: Evolution is permanent and may come with changes to temperament, abilities, or behavior.
---
"Even the warning sounds like a sales pitch..." Nox muttered, a small smirk tugging at his lips.
He glanced at his point balance.
[330,000]
If he purchased the Evolution Ticket, he'd be left with 280,000. However, considering that he wouldn't have to travel around the world looking for resources, he paid the price instantly.
A golden ticket appeared in his palm. Its texture seemed to scream luxury. Several golden runic details shimmered across its surface.
He tried to read a couple of them but failed.
"It's probably a runesmith that can discern this," he mumbled to himself. "This reminds me of that girl, Helen."
Helen was the original owner of Runic Dominion—the downgraded version. The two had crossed paths during the tournament.
Ironically, she was the only runesmith Nox had come across.
'I wonder if she's still alive,' he thought absentmindedly.
Without hesitation, he slowly rose to his feet to go look for the Ant Queen. If there was anyone that deserved this upgrade, then it was her.
---
While he went to look for his pet, in the outskirts of the Cromwell Barony, a hooded figure slowly approached the settlement.
The figure paused when he saw the giant tents and thousands of undead and human soldiers stationed right in front of the town.
A small smile appeared on the hooded figure's face. "They're doing far better than I thought," he mumbled as he resumed walking.
As he moved closer to the tents, a few guards raised their weapons in caution.
"Stop right there!" one of the soldiers barked. "State your name and purpose!"
The man didn't panic. He raised his hands slowly and said in a calm voice, "I'm a survivor… from the Western outpost."
Murmurs rose among the nearby guards. Survivors from the other towns were rare—but still, protocol was protocol.
The head guard quickly tapped the person closest to him. "Call Lord Nox, Commander Hans, and the others. We've got a potential survivor at the gate."
The guard nodded and quickly left to carry out his duty.
---
Nox was on his way to the underground ant nest behind his mansion when his communication crystal buzzed.
'Hmm, I guess I have to put this on hold for now,' he frowned and quickly dashed toward the entrance of the town.
Moments later, he arrived and calmly looked at the supposed survivor.
Unlike the others, Nox didn't react nervously. He assessed the figure from top to bottom. There was no bloodlust, no tension in his posture, no demonic aura leaking out.
'No enemy would be this careless,' Nox thought.
He stopped a few feet away. "Take off your hood."
The figure hesitated for a moment before obeying. The cloak slid down, revealing silver-white hair and a familiar face. His eyes were blindfolded with a strange black cloth.
Nox's pupils narrowed. 'No enemy would be this careless to approach us like this—unless they're that confident.'
... which was pretty laughable, because not even he would approach an enemy of this magnitude so casually.
"Zarek," he said.
The figure raised a hand and pulled down the edge of the blindfold just enough to reveal glowing red eyes beneath.
"It's you," Nox muttered.
***
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