Jake suddenly felt empty, like he had just went a day without eating. He also found himself getting a bit giddy, hopping from foot to foot. He could finally Race Evolve, whatever that meant. He was realizing that, in some way, he was actually beginning to enjoy the boxes. They rewarded him for active thinking and genuine effort, which he had available in spades. He hurriedly opened his status to see what had changed.

Status

Name: Jake Ryder Lockstead

Race: Insignificance (Change Possible)

Class: N/A

Vigor: 2/10

Spirit: 0/10, Dark 0/5

Insight: 10/10

Skills: Complex Reason 3/10, Inferior Spirit Gem Creation 1/5, Inferior Insight Control 3/5, Inferior Spirit Gathering 2/5, Mental Speech (Innate), Sleeping (Innate)

Without even another second of thought he selected the change prompt. He felt slightly overwhelmed by the quantity of races he had available. Hopefully, the number would go down in the future, otherwise it would be quite hard to decide which route to take.

Races Available:

Inferior Life Intent

Inferior Soul Intent

Inferior Mind Intent

Inferior Light Intent

Inferior Dark Intent

Greater Insignificance

Before he made any decisions he made sure to read the descriptions of each of them. He started with Greater Insignificance, as that was most likely to not be his choice. That way, he could start crossing things off the list of options quickly.

Greater Insignificance: The bubble has now increased in both size and strength through a tougher Vigor shell with Insight rotating more rapidly inside to create a form of pressure seal. Though somewhat harder to kill, they still haven’t improved much. They are 3.5 cm in diameter and can only make the smallest of changes on their surroundings. They gain even but small improvement of all capacities.

Inferior Life Intent: Has changed into a solid core of Vigor with Insight and Spirit tightly packed in the center. Has nearly the toughness of a diamond, but as a result loses out on mobility and reduces possible circulation for Insight. Roughly 8.5 cm in diameter. Greatly increases Vigor capacity but does nothing for Spirit and slightly reduces Insight.

Inferior Soul Intent: Has changed into a mist-like being made of a cloud of Spirit and small amounts of Vigor throughout with Insight hidden deep inside. Is now capable of using Spirit in basic ways to attack aggressors, but they are lacking in terms of defense as a result. Roughly 50 cm in diameter. Decently increases Spirit capacity with small improvements to both Insight and Vigor.

Inferior Mind Intent: Has changed into a set of over 100 tendrils made of Spirit with a thin line of Insight inside each. These channels are each coated in a layer of Vigor to give more consistency. They are mainly focused on rapid intentional movement and reactions to confuse opponents. Roughly 15 cm in diameter. Sizably increases Insight Capacity with some improvements for Spirit but none for Vigor.

Inferior Light Intent: Has changed into a floating gelatinous cube made of Light Spirit with Insight webbing throughout it to allow fluid movement. Vigor is deep inside so as to be almost impossible to see from outside. Uses Light Spirit to change light around itself and become translucent or become bright enough to blind enemies and escape. Roughly 15 cm in diameter. Sizably increases Light Spirit Capacity with some improvement for Insight but none for Vigor.

Inferior Dark Intent: Has changed into a thick sludge made primarily Dark Spirit with Vigor permeating it to increase viscosity. Insight is deep inside and hard to find, but also struggles to move around in the sludge. Blocks any possible vision through it and makes escape and attacks almost impossible to accomplish. Has a volume of roughly 4 liters. Sizably increases Dark Spirit Capacity with some improvement for Vigor but none for Insight.

Right off the bat he could cross Insignificance off the list. He wasn’t interested in continuing to be a bubble, he desperately needed independence. Besides, he didn’t want to keep bothering Roger because he knew for a fact that he would continue supporting Jake as long as he needed it. The sooner he didn’t, the better.

A Life Intent sounded interesting considering it sounded nigh invincible. His only concern was that he would end up a meathead, and that wasn’t how he wanted to live. His mind was his greatest asset and had served him well, at least until he died.

Dark Intent was also off the table because Roger was already a Dark Intent and he didn’t want to create any issues there. He could have been wrong, but either way he didn’t want it to be a concern. Roger already did enough for him with how much he supported Jake, the least he could do was change it up.

Jake almost chose Light Intent, until he thought about it and realized he wouldn’t have access to Light Spirit at the moment. It was a shame too, as invisibility sounded like it could be incredibly useful for gathering Spirit and crafting Gems in his Soulscape. It was certainly the fastest way to stop bothering Roger, but it simply wasn’t an option.

That only left Soul and Mind. Mind sounded very interesting with its clearly fast paced method of survival, but he had yet to do much with Spirit. Besides that, Jake already had decent control of his Insight and he wasn’t really sure how it could improve. He needed more versatility, and since he already wasn’t going down the defensive route, that left the aggressive one.

Jake’s mind made up, he selected Inferior Soul Intent. The red lettering that appeared at the bottom afterwards sent a shiver down his spine.

Warning, you are currently within your Soulscape. Attempting a Race Change in this state will subtract 50% from Evolution timer but also put you in a stasis similar to nonexistence. This has been known to cause mental trauma. Would you still like to continue with this process?

Evolution Timer: 1 hour (30 min. in Soulscape)

At least now he knew what this area was called, but it unnerved him nonetheless. He briefly considered staying, then thought better of it considering the relatively short timer. He wasn’t sure how to leave his Soulscape however, short of waking up, but he didn’t know how to do that. Maybe he could try reconnecting to his outer self?

Jake sat down and closed his eyes, trying his best to enter a meditative state like he’d seen in the past. He stayed there for a while slowly expanding his Insight in every direction, eventually realizing this space was practically endless. So he simply focused on breathing and calming his mind. It would come to him when it came to him.

Inferior Insight Control increased to 4/5

As he was doing this he slowly pulled his insight back in until it reached him. He then tried inverting it, pulling it into his body, and was satisfied when he found it possible. Upon doing this he quickly realized it permeated his entire body, so he constricted it even further. He was determined to find the center of Insight in his body. Jake breathed methodically, pulling his Insight with every inhale and holding it in place with every exhale. He wasn’t surprised when eventually it reached his head, but was when he noticed something seemed off. There was a channel at the back of his mind that didn’t seem to have any Insight ever flow into it. He began reaching for it with the lightest touch of Insight, using all his will to maintain his control.

Inferior Insight Control increased to 5/5

Inferior Insight Control upgraded to Minor Insight Control 1/10

Just like that, it became ten times easier for him. Not only that, he also gained a higher level of understanding of the channels within him. And luckily for him, the one he was reaching for was directly related to consciousness. With one final exhale, he pushed his Insight through the channel and felt it all rush down his spine.

* * *

Jake felt his entire consciousness wrench awake all at once, which would’ve given him a headache if he were capable of it. As it was, he simply felt odd not feeling even the slightest bit tired. He would have to make a habit of that, as he had greatly enjoyed his full body while it lasted.

[So, you’re finally awake? You were trying to change your Race, right? Then got stopped by the System Warning?] Roger then paused, doing something akin to shaking his head. [Sorry about that man, weird vibe went over me. Anyway, yeah, it’s not always a bad idea to do that. For example, right now I’m a Greater Dark Intent. Took me a day to Evolve. It would’ve taken 2 if I hadn’t done it in my Soulscape.] Roger paused again, this time for a much longer time. [I just… Ryder, if you aren’t sure you can handle it, don’t do it. I barely got out of it intact, man. It… it was the worst.] This was the shakiest Jake had ever heard Roger’s voice before. He sounded like he would’ve been crying if he could.

[Hey, it’s ok Roger, you’re out now. It’s over now, you’re back, I’m here. I promise I won’t do it unless I’m absolutely sure I can handle it.] Jake stated this in a firm tone, as an attempt to reassure Roger. [You just relax and do whatever it is you do to relax, ok? Maybe do something interesting with your Spirit? I’m going to Evolve now, but I’ll be right here.]

Jake pulled the Evolution box back up and selected Inferior Soul Intent.

Evolution Timer: 1 hour (30 min. in Soulscape)

Are you sure you would like to continue?

He confirmed the prompt and immediately felt his capabilities reduce. Whereas his Insight was normally swirling gently when he didn’t control it, in that moment it felt like a thick immovable sludge. His thoughts also felt like that, but he found himself unable to really worry about it. He wasn’t sure why though.

As practice, and because he couldn’t do much else, he tried counting out the seconds. He felt like he was already good at it, plus he really wanted the skill for it. He kept on counting and counting until he counted out a total of five minutes. As he finished doing so, he felt the Insight around him begin to swirl again as his thoughts quickened.

Race Evolution complete!

Base Vigor Capacity now at 15.

Base Spirit Capacity now at 25.

Base Insight Capacity now at 15.

Skill Unlocked: Basic Time Awareness 1/5

Skill Unlocked: Inferior Spirit Symbiosis 1/5

If Jake felt empty before, he now felt like a veritable chasm, and now in every possible way. He became distinctly aware of his mental limits and paper thin physical protection. He would need to ask Roger how he could fix that as soon as possible. Also, he realized just how poorly he was registering time. Luckily, now that he was aware of it, he could improve upon it.

Complex Reason increased to 4/10

Jake paused for a moment, remembering Spirit Symbiosis. He had no idea what that could possibly mean, so he looked at the description.

Spirit Symbiosis: Allows for the direct sharing of Spirit with others for an increased gradual return to yourself. 10 + 1n% increased return for shared Spirit as long as you have the necessary capacity. Current rate is 10 + 1n% over 2 min/1 Spirit where n equals skill rank.

Well that would definitely make keeping track of time easier. He also supposed that was why Roger didn’t mind sharing his Spirit with him, especially if the skill was at a higher level for him. Speaking of Roger, he needed to make sure he was doing ok. Before Jake Evolved, Roger was in a bad spot mentally.

[Hey Roger, how’s it going? Are you feeling at all better?] He sincerely hoped the answer was yes, or even just a casual statement.

[Huh? Oh, you’re done Ryder? Awesome work, I can probably actually let you out now. You’ll probably outgrow me soon, man.] Roger still didn’t sound all there, which made Jake sorely regret doing his evolution so quickly.

[What do you mean I’ll outgrow you? You’re already way bigger than me, there’s no way I could catch up now.] He asked the question already knowing the answer.

[I’m done, man. I don’t want it anymore. I don’t want to be frozen for so long anymore. That’s why I don’t always talk to you, I’m stuck in stasis. And I can’t anymore, it’s killing my vibe. I’ll stick with you, don’t think I won’t, but I can’t keep going. I can’t keep growing. Being stuck in my Soulscape ‘til I wake up or being stuck in stasis waiting out the timer, I just can’t do it.]

Jake hated the fact that he saw it coming. He’d heard men struggle with this back when he was a captain. The moment they said they couldn’t do it anymore, that was it. There was nothing that could be done except take them back to land. Except there was no land for Roger. All he had was Jake as far as he knew, and that wouldn’t be enough to pull him through every growth period.

[You don’t know how to leave your Soulscape?] Jake was surprised at this, he figured Roger knew most, if not all the things he did.

[Nah man, I can’t figure it out. I can’t figure out how to bail so I’m stuck for days. I used to feel super amped about making some new gems, but now it sucks. It’s not a big deal though, I got your back no matter what Ryder.] Jake knew he meant the last part, so he decided to let it go for the time being.

[In any case, I think it’s about time I get out of you, Roger. I think I should be safe outside, especially with Spirit Symbiosis. Actually, I have an idea now that I think about that. Do you think we’d be able to form a link that supplies both of us with energy at the same time?]

Insight +1

Insight 11/15

Complex Reason increased to 5/10

With that Jake knew the answer was probably yes. Jake allowed a connection between his and Roger’s spirit to open and felt the Spirit start rolling in.

Inferior Spirit Symbiosis increased to 2/5

Inferior Spirit Symbiosis increased to 3/5

Inferior Spirit Gathering increased to 3/5

Wow, he had never seen a skill increase by two levels at once. Maybe it was even better decision than he thought.

With that set up, he decided to check his status and see what the next step for Race Evolution was.

Status

Name: Jake Ryder Lockstead

Race: Inferior Soul Intent (0/2)

Class: N/A

Vigor: 2/15

Spirit: 0/25, Dark 0/5

Insight: 10/15

Skills: Basic Time Awareness 1/5, Complex Reason 5/10, Inferior Spirit Gem Creation 1/5, Inferior Spirit Gathering 3/5, Inferior Spirit Symbiosis 3/5, Mental Speech (Innate), Minor Insight Control 1/10, Sleeping (Innate)

Inferior Soul Intent: Has changed into a mist-like being made of a cloud of Spirit and small amounts of Vigor throughout with Insight hidden deep inside. Is now capable of using Spirit in basic ways to attack aggressors, but they are lacking in terms of defense as a result. Roughly 50 cm in diameter. Decently increases Spirit capacity with small improvements to both Insight and Vigor.

Race Change Goal(s): Create at least 5 Spirit Gems of any one kind of Spirit, excluding Light and Dark.

Progress: 0/5 Water Gems

0/5 Air Gems

0/5 Lightning Gems

0/5 Earth Gems

0/5 Fire Gems

Get Spirit Gathering up to Minor Spirit Gathering 5/10

Progress: Inferior Spirit Gathering 3/5

Jake certainly had his work cut out for him, but before he could do anything, he needed to leave the safety Roger was providing. He had no way of gathering the Spirit he required from where he was.

[Roger, I think I’m ready to be let out now. Is it safe for me to leave?] Jake was honestly unsure of the answer. And considering Roger was probably massive by that point, he needed to be sure that the edges weren’t fraught with danger.

[Yeah man, lemme get you outta there. Get ready though, you probably won’t see this coming.] Jake had no idea just how true that statement would turn out to be.