Chapter 20: Evolution? But Why?

My eyes finally opened from what felt like an eternity. They were still adjusting to the brightness of the room. I was still in a daze when it finally hit me—how long was I asleep?

I quickly took my hand off the book, which unexpectedly worked. I looked for my bracelet, as it would indicate what time it was.

I found it. I looked at the time.

"What?!!" I exclaimed, my eyes widening in shock.

Not even an hour had passed since Emily left. Then… what was the time I spent in that darkness? The time I spent going through what seemed like an infinite amount of Second Sleep. How is that even possible? For time just to stop?

"The book! Yes, the book!" I said aloud, shifting my attention toward it.

There it was… seemingly harmless on the bed. What was once a pure white book was now golden in color, both the magion crystal embedded in it as well as the cover. It looked majestic. I reached out toward the book but quickly stopped my hand.

I was reluctant to touch it. What if I went through the same experience I had earlier? Still, it was like the book was calling me.

I decided to gather my courage, calming myself down. I hesitantly moved my hand closer to the book. With every second, my heart raced faster.

I touched the book. I closed my eyes in anticipation, expecting something to happen.

"Huh? Nothing happened?" I sighed in relief after slowly opening my eyes.

It didn't begin to absorb my magion. It was just a normal book—at least until I opened it.

Upon opening the book, a bright light illuminated its pages. It was a warm light, not blinding to the eyes.

Only one page had a drawing on it; all the other pages were blank.

"This drawing... it looks like the cabin where I got those magion-containing fruits," I said, inspecting the drawing.

As soon as I said those words, something came out from the book. It looked like an image made out of magion. It resembled the magion fruits.

"What's this… some type of magic… or maybe a skill?" I said, calmly observing the fruit.

I proceeded to touch it. At first, it felt like touching nothing, but the feeling of holding something became more vivid the longer I held it.

The fruit had now changed color from gold to shifting through multiple colors—blue, red, purple, green. It was like every single color.

It took me a while to decide what to do with it.

"Should I just eat it? Even if it contains poison, I'll be fine thanks to my [Immunity] skill," I said, staring at the fruit.

It felt smooth and hard, almost like I was holding a marble. Would I even be able to bite through this?

I decided to take a bite. I allowed my teeth to retract, as I thought it was needed to bite through it.

I barely bit through it, but I didn't bite a piece off. I felt fluid entering my mouth. It was warm and tasted like nothing. As I kept drinking this fluid, the colors on the fruit disappeared one by one, shifting through fewer with every sip I took, until finally, the fruit looked colorless before it disappeared.

I could still feel the fluid moving through my body. The mark on my arm started to flash violently.

---

[Warning]

[Evolving into an Ancient Vampire]

[Conditions met]

Mark of the Ancients

Fruit of the Ancients

Blood of the Ancients

+10,000 Magion gained

[Evolution Successful]

[Vessel will shut down automatically.

Required period of sleep: two days]

---

"What? Why did I just evolve into an Ancient Vampire? No—what exactly is—"

Before I could finish speaking, my mind went blank.

***

I opened my eyes.

"What… happened?" I exclaimed as I got up and sat upright on the bed.

My hair had grown longer again, brushing against my cheeks and the mark that was on my arm had disappeared.

"Yes! I remember—I went through an evolution into an Ancient Vampire," I said with excitement.

I was also a bit concerned, not knowing what I had become. There shouldn't be such an evolution for us Vampires… or not that I know of.

There are four races we Vampires have:

Newling: Similar to a human

 ↓

Vampire: Gains magic and skills

 ↓

Vampire Lords: Massive increase in magion

 ↓

Progenitor: Every aspect becomes stronger

"So… what is an Ancient Vampire?" I sat on the bed, trying to wrap my head around what I had just become.

It felt as though I had gotten much more powerful than a normal Vampire.

I decided to use Sei to see if maybe it could tell me what I currently was.

---

Race: Vampire (Ancient)

Age: 16

Magion Amount: 25,000/25,000

Stats:

Strength: 22 → 30

Speed: 20 → 25

Reflexes: 15 → 20

Skills:

Race Skills: [Sei]; [Ei]; [Regeneration: Mid]; [Night Vision]; [Accumulation]

Accumulated Skills: [Accelerate]; [Copy]; [Sound Control]

Created Skills: [Compress]

Copied Skills: [God's Sense]; [Immunity]; [Poisoner]

Magic:

Element: [???: Locked]; [???: Locked]; [Water]

Spells: None

---

"It also doesn't know," I sighed my shoulders dropping.

But at least I've gotten stronger. Maybe the book knows more about this.

I turned toward it. It was still lying open on the bed, but the previous drawing of the cabin was now missing, and the page was black, almost as if it was burned.

What was happening? My sudden change… and the book? What exactly was this book?

"Arrghh!!! I don't understand!" I yelled in frustration as I fell backwards onto the bed.

Nothing made sense. Okay, let's calm down and think.

I decided to take a deep breath and gather my thoughts. I took in the silence to calm myself.

My sudden evolution was a result of eating—no, drinking—that fruit's liquid. The fruit came out of the book, and I found the book in the Ancient Cave. Everything leads to the Ancient Cave.

But how would I even find the correct Ancient Cave when there are at least five? Should I ask Victor when I get out?

Click.

The door unlocked and opened. The guard entered, carrying a stack of books. For a split second, his eyes flickered with confusion as he glanced at my noticeably longer hair. But just as quickly, he masked his expression, returning to his cold demeanor.

"Here. The headmistress ordered me to give them to you. She said you should read them if you've made up your mind," he said coldly as he placed the books on the floor and left immediately after.

Click.

The door closed again.

I had completely forgotten with all that was going on, but I still needed to make my decision—whether to join Magia or not.

My biggest reason for not joining had just been solved thanks to my sudden evolution and increase in strength. Now, it also became my reason for wanting to join. Maybe they know what an Ancient is.

I didn't think of this before, but what if I can't evolve into a Vampire Lord anymore?

But... I'm still not fully ready to make up my mind yet. I'll decide after a couple more days.

***

After a few days, I made up my mind—I would join Magia. To learn more about Ancients, about this strange book, and about what I have become. But first, I needed to address a big problem—my knowledge of magion. If I wanted to pass the entrance exam, I needed to pass that hellish test.

I guess I'll be doing nothing for the next year except studying. I sighed, climbing off the bed and sitting on the cold floor, opening one of the books the guard brought in.