To live is to level. Someone wise probably said that. Me personally, I agree with that sentiment. Levels are great. However, levels are also holding me back in a way. If I had just snatched up a space mage, we could be over to help Darkness already. But we aren't. Because we aren’t strong enough. But we will be.

  Far below within the deepest roots of the great tree is a cavern, so dark not even I can see. But the essence is as rich as in the spire. A few days ago I reached level 49. It would take only a single wolf to level up to level 50, but there are preparations to be made. An evolution is a big thing, so big in fact that most go their entire lives without ever evolving once.

  Some may wonder why I am absorbing as much essence before evolving as I can. Apparently Aftermath Brought Snowstorm a couple hundreds of miles into the sky, where the cold essence was thickest.

  How much essence do I have? 40,455. How much do I need? 50,000. It'll likely be another day before reaching the limit to essence. And there is a limit. 50,000 is apparently the limit to how much my body can carry at the moment. It'll increase exponentially at tier 2, and even further in tier 3 and so on. I'm trying my best to stay awake, since essence gathering slows when sleeping, but my short naps every day are balanced out by my decreased need for sleep that comes from a high stamina, as well as the increase in essence absorption efficiency that comes with level. Essence can't increase the efficiency of gathering more essence. That comes with level. The same goes for mana. Your mana pool increases the higher your level. It can be trained too, like a muscle, but you have to expend your whole mana pool in order to train it over and over, which is both tiring, a waste of mana, and extremely dangerous at high tiers. Some higher tier beings reserve entire planets to practice mana. Others actually buy and rent out high tier planets which are desolate wastelands of mana. These planets are referred to as knull planets.

  Planets with higher mana tend to have more life. Knull planets are the exception to this rule, with high mana and no life.

  Is my essence pool filled yet? 45,907. Im taking a quick nap…

  <{(0)}>

  The highest canopy of the great tree has a large platform in it. A platform that Aftermath himself claims he would have a hard time breaking. Because apparently, tier breakthroughs are messy. The platform I sit on is not the only platform. 22 platforms rest on far off branches in the distance. I got the centermost one, and Snowstorm got the one closest to it.

  “Are you both ready?” Aftermath's voice rings in my mind. He's nowhere to be seen. Probably some divine powers or something. Or maybe mental magic. Whatever, theres only one answer to give.

  “Ready as I'll ever be.”

  “Then begin”

  {The requirements have been met. Would you like to evolve?}

  Yes.

  {Evolution has begun. Examining Karma.}

  {Species selected. Evolving.}

  The whole world went black. And in the distance, the whole world went cold.

  <{(0)}>

  The whole city felt it. A tier evolution. Not exactly a rare occurrence, but certainly an uncommon one. However, this one was different. Firstly, there are 2 going on at once, which only happens quite rarely. Citizens halted in their daily workings as the energy could be felt of 2 lifeforms evolving into greater lifeforms.

  The second difference was the type. One would expect the mana of life, or perhaps Space. Maybe even Destruction, though that is quite a rarity. What nobody expected was for the entire city to slowly be enveloped by 2 energies. All the head was pushed out of the forming domain on one side, creating a world of cold. Citizens shivered, forming small fireballs or snuggling into eachother or blankets to keep warm. But they had it easy compared to the other half of the city. The other half of the city was shrouded in absolute darkness. Nobody could see. Even other's mana senses were muffled. It took some time for the billions of affected individuals to get their bearings, but the evolution was still happening. Normally an evolution would last a few minutes, so everyone planned to wait it out. How long did it last? 30 minutes. The longest tier 2 evolution in recorded history. Just what did those individuals evolve into?

  <{(0)}>

  {Evolution complete. Level up. You have reached level 50}

  Slowly light returns and I open my eyes. I blacked out for a moment, I think.Looking to the distance it seems that Snowstorm is waking up too. Wait, how can I see so far away… double wait, why does he look like a human…?

  {Species evolution concluded. You have evolved from “Juvenile Time dragon” to “Timewarp Demi-dragon”}

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  {+40 Stamina. +30 Durability. +30 Strength. +20 Speed. +10 Intelligence}

  {Species skill gained:Demishift(Low)Rare}

  Demiwhat? Slowly I get onto my feet. My two feet. I raise my hands. Hands. Or more accurately one hand, one scaled talon. My right hand, and in fact the entire right side of my body looks human. Light, almost pale skin. Summoning a mirror of illusion mana, I see my face. Deep purple eyes, a nearly hairless face save for eyebrows, and messy black hair on my head. However, that is where the humanity ends. 2 horns jut out of my hair, followed by the scaled bits jutting out with membranes attached, like in my dragon form, going down along the back and bottom of my jaw and skull a bit. 2 large wings, nearly as large as my draconic wings. Between my legs a long scaled tail flicks about. But most strange is the entire left side of my body is covered by scales. My left foot and hand have claws in place of fingernails. My left eye, unlike my right eye, is draconic, with a slitted pupil.

  “woah…” I mutter. It feels strangely natural to speak despite not being used to this body. I give my wings a little probing flap. Slowly, a smile begins to form on my face, which is how I discover my . I wonder…

  Demishift

  Slowly, the scales and claws melt away. Now I just look like a normal human. A normal, naked, human.

  “Uh… aftermath?”

  <{(0)}>

  Through the streets, 3 humans stroll. One has black hair, pale skin and purple eyes. One is a short, thin boy with long white hair, light skin and deep blue eyes. And the third is a brute of a man with bulging muscles, white hair, and green eyes.

  “To think you two would get these evolutions!” Aftermath says. His voice lacks the divine energy normally coursing through it. This is a casual outing after all, we don't want the attention.

  “Yes, I have heard of the demi-dragon species, but did not expect to achieve it myself. It is not only rare, but quite flexible. I must say I'm quite satisfied.” Snowstorm said with a nod. “The hands are a blessing as well.”

  “To summarize, cool evolution, lots of choices, nice hands.” I say wisely, stroking an imagined beard like some sage.

  “Have either of you checked your statuses recently?” Aftermath asks.

  “I have.” Snowstorm says.

  “I have… not.” I say, sitting down on a bench. “Let me check, one sec.”

  {Name:Abhor

  Level:50/150

  Age:16

  Titles:Timebreaker, Barterer, Tier 2 evolution, Humanify, TIME

  Strength:80

  Durability:80

  Speed:70

  Stamina:103.5

  Intelligence:60

  Essence:50,002

  Class:none

  Soul weapon:Unnatuned

  Timewarp demi-dragon[2/5]

  Skills: Night vision(Low)Uncommon, Greater Enhanced stamina(High)Rare, Bartering(low)Common, Heat resistance(Low)Uncommon, Breath of time(Low)Rare, Voice of the word(High)Rare, [LOCKED]Unknown, Illusion mana manipulation(Low)Uncommon, Shadow warp foundation(Low)Uncommon, Demishift(low)Rare

  Techniques:Mana manipulation(E), Time manipulation(F), Mana defence(E), Potential(???), Calm(D), Overload(C), Confusion(D), Illusion mana manipulation(C), Shadow warp(C)

  Mutations: Void seer eyes(B)}

  “Its official, I'm strong.” I say with a nod of shock.

  “You are, and always have been. Now it’s time to use your essence.” Aftermath says, sitting beside me, Snowstorm quick to join in.

  “So, why have me collect so much essence before evolving?” I ask curiously.

  “Because every evolution, the cost to increase your stats increases by 100 times. To increase a stat by one costs 100 points now.”

  “OH.” I blink. “So now we have magic inflation? Screw this magical economy!” I sigh.

  “I thought I was sitting on gold here.”

  “You are. Use those to increase all your stats as high as you can.” I nod and look over the numbers.

  “Strength needs 70. Durability needs 70. Speed needs 80. Intelligence needs 90. And Stamina needs…” I take a second to crunch the numbers and realize the easy solution. Remove the 15% increase(my stamina evolved so now it went from 10 to 15%) from my number and I have 90.

  “Stamina needs 60.” I say with a nod eventually.

  “Strange. You got more in different areas then me and less in others.” Snowstorm says with a nod. “But we both got a total of 130 stat points.”

  “There's also the soul weapon and class thing.” I point out. “What are those?”

  “Abhor, we spent 4 months learning about the class system humans have.” Snowstorm says flatly.

  “Oh. Anyways…” I probe. Snowstorm sighs.

  “If you poke at it, you can choose between warrior, mage, rogue, ranger, and healer.” He explains. “Classes level with you. Since you are level 50 you will immediately be offered the 2 class evolutions you missed, and with the second one you will get a soul weapon depending on a few factors. Since you are half human now, you can get a class, which is the best part of the race.”

  I nod.

  “so I just…”

  {Would you like to choose a class?}

  “Oh, that was easy. What should I pick?”

  “I recommend picking warrior. It's the only one that fits you.” Snowstorm says with a shrug. “I picked mage.”

  {Class: Warrior selected. Class evolutions available. Would you live to evolve your class?}

  “So now I get to evolve my class.”

  “It's yours to pick. Pick carefully.” Snowstorm says with a nod. I sigh and nod.

  “Should we do it out he- where are we?” The bench was transported back to the platform in the canopy.

  “I moved us.” Aftermath responded simply.

  “Divine cheats. Cool.”

  “No, just space magic.” Aftermath sits down on the bench and gestures for me to sit in the center. then a menu appears for me as I do so.

  {5 options available:Brawler(Common), Swordsman(Uncommon), Spell brawler(Rare), Swordmaster(Rare), Spear master(Rare)}

  I immediately discard the swordsman and brawler option. Brawler because it is only common rarity and swordsman because there is a better option that is the same thing.

  The first I look at is the spell brawler option.

  {Spell brawler(Rare): A beginner in martial arts and magic alike, yet proficient in weaving them together into a whole more powerful then the pieces put together. Gains skill:Mana fist(Uncommon) + mana boost(Rare)}

  First of all, I don't plan to fight with my fists. Even as a human I can use my claws and teeth. So, sure, this class is good, but its not for me. Next.

  {Swordmaster(Rare):One who shuns all else to wield the blade. A master in swordsmanship who aims to cut all. Nothing shall survive your blade. Gains skill: Stamina slice(Uncommon) + Stamina boost(Rare)}

  This one has a similar problem to the last one. I don't want to wield a sword when I have claws and teeth. I want my weapon to add to my fighting style, not remove from it. However, this third one bives me some hope.

  {Spearmaster(Rare): A novice walking the way of medium range combat. To hold a spear is to pierce your enemy through without them ever reaching you. Grants skill:Impale(Uncommon) + Energy boost(Rare)}

  Now this is more like it! I have no means of medium range combat at the moment. My claws and teeth are perfect in close range, and my magic is great for long range(though I don’t know many spells yet), so a spear could slide into my mid range perfectly! I select spearsmater!

  {Spearmaster(Rare) selected. Skill gained: Impale(Uncommon). Skill gained:Energy boost(Rare)}

  {Impale:Grants assistance when impaling an enemy on a mid-ranged weapon.}

  {Energy boost: Accelerates movements of stamina and mana through your body, temporarily providing a 10% boost to all physical stats. If pushing higher there will be a short period of fatigue. Pushing too high may result in physical damage or death.}

  “I finished the first evolution.” I call out to Snowstorm and Aftermath, who both sit on the bench. “are you gonna put the bench back?”

  “Oh, yeah, I should do that, shouldn't I?” Aftermath sighs. “I'll do it later. Are you going to evolve your class again?”

  “Can we get lunch first?” I ask. Snowstorm’s stomach rumbles as if an angry bear were trying to claw its way out.

  “You read my mind.”