(A/N: Bonus Chapter).
Skullius hadn't expected stuff like this to be honest.
He expected the STUPENDOUSLY DESIRABLE luck he had gotten to earn him some form of convenient evolutions but this was much more than that.
Each of these three evolutions were capable of turning his life upside down in a very good way.
Weakness?
Inadequacy?
What were those?!
Under specific circumstances, any one of the options before him could make him stronger than even his Hybrid Luman form when it had realised its full potential!
At least that what Skullius thought after reading the descriptions to these evolutions over and over again.
With this came a predicament.
"How on earth am I supposed to choose between any of these?!" Skullius thought.
He scooted away from Yuyui who pouted directly in his face as she was still yet to get over Skullius devouring a cute child. This wasn't the time for that!
An important decision had to be made here!
What Skullius could say made his life a little easier was the fact each of the evolutions options had a common benefit.
Each offered a Veneration art!
Or at least a chance at earning it.
The first two options had additional flaws above the one he was used to as Penetrator, as they were part of the series while the third option had its own type of flaw that was pretty infuriating.
These didn't help Skullius still as he was left to dissect each option critically.
The Elder Sage of Penetration was very attractive. It offered a huge amount of mana and intelligence, which Skullius wanted as well as a different path for growth.
Runes.
By the looks of it, these runes were different from the ones he had seen being used here in Aigas. The words GRAND and MYTH didn't exactly strike him as referring to the ordinary.
The description said that each rune was more powerful than any calibre of Special skill at the very least, which was a very big deal considering Skullius had witnessed some pretty powerful Special skills.
Even his own Special skill in the form of [Basic Evil Sanction] was extremely powerful and using it as a benchmark, this meant that any rune of the mentioned THOUSAND RUNIC STAPLES he could learn was stronger than that!
The description also said something about rivalling DIVINITY and this was the runes alone, not even accounting for the overall strength Skullius would cultivate after all that!
This evolution offered a lot and the future gains were also ridiculous!
Skullius drooled in wonder at what a WORLD CREATION rune could be!
What an ANTI-MANA rune could be!
These could be some world-breaking runes!
However, the fact that each rune could take a year or more to learn was...
'That's ridiculous. I don't even have that long until Doom Factor 2 strikes. Maybe the combined power of [Epiphany] and some legendary artefacts can increase my rate of learning these runes but... even if I solved that, I can't learn any more skills if I choose this evolution. I won't probably won't be able to extract skills too...' Skullius thought.
That wasn't too bad but...
The Penetrator moved on to the next evolution.
The Eternal Storm Veil Penetrator.
Now this was a very attractive choice through and through.
Skullius rubbed his bony hands in excitement.
Apparently, this evolution had the finest mastery of Levin and could exist as a massive storm cloud or even live within it while sending out avatars that could act on its behalf!
This was insane!
The most attractive part was that Skullius could learn all of what his avatars learned and have all their power added to his!
This suited his templates for growth very well!
Too well even!
The only problem was that some of the skills belonging to this evolution required him to have a blue core, which wasn't really an issue since he would have his blue core for his true form in about six days when [Bringer of All] went off cooldown!
If he could have an avatar, or two or three roaming around Aigas while hunting Clusters and learning new skills...
The thought made Levin spark wildly from the Penetrator!
'How would an avatar work with [High Cosmetic Body] though? Would it also be capable of using my Insurgent Magnus abilities? Could me and the avatar use these skills at the same time? If not, that would just make the avatar's life a reclusive one, which isn't bad if its job is to gather knowledge and power I guess,' Skullius thought.
Though there was a small chance of earning a Veneration art for this evolution, Skullius still liked this one.
Lastly was the Archfiend Warlord, an evolution that brought him to question...
"What really is a Null Badub? I've seen this name so many times..." Skullius said to himself as he stroked his chin.
Its abilities were extraordinary. The physical attributes, the fact that it could use different variations of Levin and this Dreading Spatial Haze that allowed it to have its own pocket space...
This paled in comparison to the fact that it would have a weapon of its own though.
A Fond Calamity!
A weapon that would either be Legendary grade or above!
While Legendary items were not very special in Aigas, their strength changed drastically when they were dubbed so in the Null Verse as evidenced by how even a Unique grade item generated from [Unbound] could rival the effects of a Legendary weapon in Aigas!
There was also a possibility of the Fond Calamity being above Legendary!
Skullius shuddered at this.
Just how strong would that be?!
If his luck extended to this as well, then he could get a Mythical or Transcendent weapon right off the bat!
As if this wasn't enough, this weapon could be AWAKENED for another form, which was ridiculous!
The future prospects for this evolution which had a mutation was surprising to him as this suggested that a Null Badub could be a... beast? A Penetrator certainly wasn't one right? At least in the conventional sense.
And what was this AUTHORITY that he could earn? It was attached to the Null Badub side of the Archfiend Warlord too.
Skullius didn't know.
These were the things he wanted to learn from Serenity but she claimed she couldn't tell.
Still, this was thrilling.
Skullius went deep into thought, digging into his future plans and schemes.
What he really needed right now...
What he wanted...
What would be best in the long run...
The Penetrator raised his head as he went with the one that excited him the most.
He wasn't going to take centuries deciding.
It was clear that any of these would work for him.
Defense.
Versatility.
High chances of immense future growth.
Skullius made a choice.
It had to be...
"I choose Eternal Storm Veil Penetrator," Skullius thought.
This was it!
This was what he needed!
The guidance field immediately responded appropriately with a flurry of notifications while Skullius felt a massive surge of power rumbling in his bones!
[You have chosen 'Eternal Storm Veil Penetrator' as your race]
[Your race is being upgraded, changes in progress...]
GRRRRRMMMMM!
Mana surged over the cloaked Penetrator.
High above, a cluster of pitch black clouds that distinguished themselves cleanly from the night sky appeared, forming a thick, expansive cone shape with a gaping hollow where Levin shone within the misty clouds!
A radiant type of Levin that was so bright that each of its flashes made the lands beneath experience a beautiful slice of summer light for fractions of a breath, showed!
It roiled within the hollow as the Fulgurant Bone Penetrator looked up with excitement!
It had been too long.
This feeling of being elevated was more thrilling than the more advanced fashion in which humans did it.
Evolution was more intriguing and animalistic.
Wild yet orderly!
He loved it.
Yuyui and Ferex looked up at the sparkling lights in the sky, wonder plastered on their faces, the Penetrator a distance from them opening his arms wide to receive it all.
Then, in a manner of flashy, alacritous manner, a massive bolt of the sharpest and most condensed Levin in existence silently bore down on the Penetrator who happily welcomed its grace...!
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