(AN: Wow, this chapter took really long to write as I had to create a whole evolution tree… Also, I finally got and contract offer. Don’t worry, I am not planning to make this novel premium for now.)
A sphere of fire descended from the sky, heading directly at yeti covered in white partially burned fur.
“Bang!” explosion of fire and evaporated snow shook nearby rocks.
[+150XP]
Ding!
//
You are now level 10
All stats increased!
+5 stat points
+1 ability point
You can proceed with your first evolution.
//
‘Finally!’ Vesuvius would be jumping in happiness if his dragon dignity allowed it. Tense from anticipation, the dragon spread his wings, gliding all the way from the mountain’s peak to its base. After his encounter with players, he spent most of his time hunting yetis to reach level ten as soon as possible to gain more strength, which would at least allow him to escape when players return.
His body penetrated clouds as he kept gliding towards the ground. Canyon quickly grew in size as he was closing on to it.
Finally, he landed, so impatient to start his evolution that he rushed inside his cave without even checking his surroundings.
He lay on his small hoard and opened up his menu.
,m //Evolution
Do you wish to start?
//
‘Yes! Show me quickly!’
//Evolution options
Effect of blessing activated, all evolution options will be replaced with stronger variants.
The effect of [Last Dragon] is activated, and an additional evolution option will be generated.
….
[Lightning Dragon] —> [Fireligtning Dragon] (Natural Evolution):
Description: Rare variant of lighting dragons that have the unique ability to use their lightning powers as a medium to spread their fire. They are fast with nimble bodies, causing them to have weak physical strength and small vitality.
Primary affinities: Lightning, Fire
Secondary affinities: Wind
[Steam Dragon] —> [Electrical Steam Dragon] (Special Evolution):
Description: Dragons that are permanently covered in a cloud of steam charged with electrical energy. They can easily blend with clouds in the sky. They are physically extremely weak; however, they can fly for an unusually long time without getting tired.
Primary affinities: Steam, Lightning
Secondary affinities: Wind, Water, Fire
[Magma Dragon] —> [Volcano dragon] (Special Evolution) (System Note: I like your name.):
Description: Bigger and more advanced cousins of Magma Dragons. Their whole body is covered in super hot black armour with cracks leaking magma. Thick volcanic smoke is naturally emitted from their whole body. They can breathe a stream of hot magma or pyroclastic cloud. They are relatively slow due to their bulky armoured body.
Primary affinities: Fire, Lava
Secondary affinities: Earth
Tertiary affinities: Wind
Bonus option:
[Firewind Dragon] —> [Giant Firewind Dragon] (Special Evolution):
Description: Giant subspecies of Firewind dragons that can grow to a massive size. They are enveloped by powerful winds made out of the flames. They can breathe massive waves of Firewind that can cover great distances. They are especially good at annihilating large groups of enemies.
Primary affinities: Fire, Wind (Special elemental fusion unlocked: Firewind)
//
Higher-ranking dragons often had multiple affinities. However, they weren’t all in the same standing. Primary affinities gave the greatest bonuses, such as immunity towards attacks with the same element. The secondary ones had only around fifty per cent effect compared to the primary ones. They also didn’t give immunity against damage, only resistance. And tertiary one gave only twenty-five per cent effects.
Vesuvius quickly checked through all of the options, his eyes stopping at the note next to the Volcano Dragon evolution, ‘I wonder if that theory is true or if it is just a myth…’
Players of LOMM sometimes noticed small jokes or other weird gimmicks made by the system. Most of them just laughed it off as an easter egg made by the developers. However, a small group spread an insane theory about AI behind the system getting sentient.
It was a scary thought for Vesuvius as his whole future would depend on the system’s gimmicks. If it was sentient, it could easily happen that he would somehow displease the intelligence behind the system, getting bad rewards and evolution options in the future. Vesuvius quickly shook his head, suppressing the scary thought as he returned to think about evolutions.
‘Hmm, in a long time I played LOMM, I never heard of most of these dragon species. It feels to me that blessing gave me access to directly get evolutions that would normally be available only during second evolution.’
He read through the options once again, just in case he missed something, ‘Well, for my current survival, Electrical Steam Dragon would be best as I could just hide in the sky, between clouds. However, it looks lacking in both defence and offence compared to the other three options, making it worse for long-term growth. I don’t want to just keep hiding between clouds, I need to quickly level up, and for that, I need power.’
Vesuvius crossed out the second option and started to think about the fourth one, ‘Well, it is directly in the description. Firewind will be strong against armies, but it doesn’t sound as strong against a single powerful foe, so that is out of the question too.’
Vesuvius sighed as he skimmed through all of the options once again, ‘Why are they all so fleshy? I would rather have something inconspicuous… All of these option will just make even bigger target.’
Vesuvius focused on the two remaining options, ‘Fireligtning Dragon feels to me like a typical glass cannon, great offence but small defence. If I was just playing a game, I wouldn’t mind giving it a try, but when death could easily be my final… no thanks. That leaves me with Volcano Dragon. They look like tanky ones, with their offence also being strong. The only downside is that they are slow-walking furnaces. Well, fuck it, I already have a volcano in my name, so I should stick with it. Also, it feels as the strongest one in pure, straightforward combat.’
Vesuvius picked up the Volcano Dragon option and confirmed his choice.