-----

[Jobs Available]

​​

[Armored Thrower], [Cursed Armor Brawler], [Phantasmal Armored Shield User], [Armored Artillery User], [Soul Breaker], [Metallic Thread User], [Light & Darkness Spirit Caster], [Armored Tamer Mistress], [Murderous Metallic Mistress], [Hollow Witch], [Self-Body Alchemist Crafter], [Cursed Shapeshifting Demon Vehicle], [Tartarus Executioner], [Abyssal Soul Demon Armor], [Synthetic Phantasmal Engineer], [Malevolent Necromancer Witch of Dead Spirits], [Metallic Self-Golem Transmuter], [Acheron Ferrier] (New!)

"Only one new Job this time… well, it is not like I don't have a bunch already… and Acheron Ferrier? Is it related to what I did in that strange dream or something?" Veronica wondered, although it seemed enticing to choose Acheron Ferrier, she decided to go for an early Job to choose from.

"This Job, I promised Shade that I would change into it to strengthen him, but I guess it took me some time…" thought Veronica, selecting her desired Job Change.

[You changed Jobs to [Light & Darkness Spirit Caster]!]

[The Levels of the [Mana Control; Level 4], [Spirit Magic; Level 4], [Automatic Mana Recovery; Level 3], and [Increased Mana Recovery Rate; Level 3] Skills have increased!]

Shade seemed to immediately notice the changes within his bond and that of Veronica, they had clearly become closer, and he felt a different yet akin fascination for her like those that the dead spirits felt.

He also felt as if his own ethereal existence had become stronger and more vigorous, even his body appearance seemed to have become bigger, and he gained a new pair of bat-like wings.

"Oh? You have leveled up your Spirit Magic Skill? I can feel your presence way clearer now… and I think I became stronger, though I cannot really tell with certainty as I lack a status…" said Shade.

"Yeah, I changed to that Spirit Caster Job so you could get a bit stronger as well. Your help is always vital for me in battle, so I thought it was the minimum I could do for you" said Veronica.

"Hahh… You talk as if it were some kind of gift for me…" said Shade.

"Well, it kind of is, isn't it? You even got a bit bigger and got a new pair of wings to the sport!" said Veronica with a teasing smile.

"W-Well… I can't deny that I like these new wings…" said Shade.

"Big brother Shade looks terrifying!" said Ozgeth, praising Shade.

"Indeed, he looks devilish!" said Legion.

"Shut up!" said Shade, as the two ghosts ruined his little time with his master.

"Ohoho, as vigorous as ever," said Ozgeth.

"An admirable big brother," said Legion.

Shade sighed as Ervas glanced at his available evolution options after seeing Veronica evolve and change Jobs.

"Let's see what I get, hopefully, nothing too strange… well, it is already strange that I can drink blood…" said Ervas.

"Ervas become Vampire!" said Gaia as she floated over Ervas' head.

"A Vampire does sound enticing…" thought Ervas, glancing at his available options.

[Available Evolutions]

[Crimson Blood Specter Dhampir Half-Demon], [Phantasmal Lich Dhampir Half-Demon]

"…Dhampir? Isn't this… a bit too similar to- never mind… it is natural to become a Dhampir I suppose, another step before reaching the state of a Vampire," thought Ervas, as he had, for a moment, remembered that certain fictional character that was also a Dhampir.

Although it was sudden, according to his own father, Ervas' mother came from a lineage of demons that had mixed itself with many other races, mostly because the Dagvaarder Demons, the race of Ervas' mother were very few, and most of the time they would never find another partner of the same race that was not a close relative such as a sibling, so they often had a husband or wife that was of other humanoid demon races, such as Vampires, Banshee, Ghouls, and even other races such as Dark Elves, Poison Elves, and in some cases, beastmen.

Ervas wondered if he would someday awaken all these hidden aspects of his long lineage…

If it were not because he had the Samsara System, it would be completely impossible for him to do so, as Demons could not evolve.

In fact, Demons who have many ancestors of different races rarely showcase any aspect of their previous races into their current forms, and hybrids are extremely rare, this is how even when the Dagvaarder Demons were so few, they were still able to have a long-lasting lineage that lasted up until Ervas, their latest descendant. Even after mixing with other races, the children would often always be of either one of the two races, or the parents could keep having children until a Dagvaarder Demon was born.

Of course, Ervas' mother showcased some latent abilities from her long lineages, such as strong physical strength, senses, and the ability to recover mana by drinking the blood of the Vampires.

As long as Ervas could keep evolving… he might become an existence so unique, sharing so many different traits from so many species that he would resemble a chimera… or so he feared.

Ervas glanced at his two available Evolution Options with Appraisal and discovered that the first option was a straight upgrade from his current evolution, while the second one was a combination with the previous option that he did not choose, a Lich…

Ervas wondered if his ancestors were Liches or if this was related to his Death Attribute affinity? But from what he remembers, Liches were not capable of reproducing through intercourse, and could only create more Liches through a ritual where they would place living people into graves, seal them inside with countless bones for a week, and then they would awaken as Liches… it was a very rare and mythical ritual that would only happen very rarely across hundreds of years.

However, Ervas remembered another type of Liches… these were 'alive' liches that remained skin and flesh, often named as Living Zombies rather than Liches, they were a special clade of Undead-type Demons similar to Vampires that had pale blue skin and were born from a Lich's experiments into creating a body of flesh and skin again… he succeeded but his research was destroyed in an accident, but it seems that he was one of the few people in the world of Kritias that created an artificial Demon race, that could change Jobs and not evolve, so it was classified as a 'person' by the System.

These special Living Zombies had all the abilities of Liches, and some even showcased the ability to control their inner bone structure… as they were still pretty much a Lich with a coat of flesh and skin over them.

Of course, these Liches, or Living Zombies, had long disappeared, the last one being dated hundreds of years in the past, or so was what Ervas remembered on his research as Anastacia on his previous life.

"Could it be that some of my ancestors… had a husband or wife which was an actual Living Zombie?" wondered Ervas, as he decided to select the second evolution option and see what happens.

[You Ranked Up into a Rank 5: [Phantasmal Lich Dhampir Half-Demon]!]

Flash!

Ervas entire body felt a bit of an uneasiness that quickly disappeared. His senses became even greater than before, and his sense of smell could feel the blood in pretty much everyone in the tribe he was… their scent and their sweetness… but it is not like it controlled him, he was still more interested in eating the orc skewers.

Ervas glanced at his body to find that he had not converted into a living skeleton, sighing in relief. However, he felt a bit… strange inside of his flesh. He also checked himself in the reflection of a water bowl to find out that his ears had grown rather sharp, while his hair had turned completely white this time, and his little white horn had grown one centimeter.

"Well, everything seems fine… Let us see what I got…"

Ervas glanced at his system window to see the increase in power that the evolution gave to him.

[The Levels of the [Mind Encroachment; Level 3], [Soul Break; Level 1], [Long-Distance Control; Level 3], [Soul Materialization; Level 4], [Phantom Materialization; Level 4], [Life Drain; Level 2], [Golem Transmutation; Level 3], [Soul Binding; Level 3], [Dominate Created Undead; Level 3], [Superhuman Strength; Level 2], [Soul Void; Level 4], [Phantom Form; Level 4], and [Phantom Form Transformation; Level 3] Skills have increased!]

"So many skills leveled up… and I'm just Rank 6,"

[You acquired the [Inner Skeleton Form Manipulation; Level 1] Skill!]

"…What? So that was it,"

It seems that Ervas discovered why he could feel his bones much better than before.

-----

[Mana Control]

A Skill acquired by those that have attained mastery over the use of Mana, and that can keep doing so by leveling up this Skill.

Anyone that uses Magic would often have this skill, even those Warriors that have their Magic Skills at level 1. It is an important skill to have as it not only decreases Mana needed for Spells but also for Techniques, as techniques also require Mana to be used.

The strongest Warriors will always have a high level of Mana Control, so they can easily continue to use their favorite techniques without wasting as much Mana as they would originally.

Even physically oriented warriors need proper knowledge about the handle of Mana to be stronger.