Evolution: From Calamity To Accursed Calamity

Everywhere Aezaleon looked, the surrounding world was completely alive with untold stories. Groups of young students walked past in animated clusters, their serious academic discussions quickly dissolving into excited gossip about the upcoming academy tournament. Not far away, seasoned mercenaries and wandering adventurers exchanged dramatic tales of distant expeditions, disputed rewards, and dangerous Calamity hunts, with each successive story becoming slightly more unbelievable than the last.

Cutting cleanly through the heavy bustle were disciplined squads of city knights clad in striking black-and-white armor. They patrolled the lively district with measured, synchronized steps, maintaining strict order amidst the constant daily activity and ensuring that the strong did not "freely" prey upon the weak.

Continuing deeper into the vast sea of people, Aezaleon quietly observed the full spectrum of ordinary human life unfolding all around him. Young children chased one another through the crowded streets, skillfully weaving between the legs of irritated elders, while hardworking adults busied themselves with urgent errands, commerce, and their countless daily responsibilities.

His steady gaze swept across all kinds of unique individuals. He saw the cheerful and the miserable, the fortunate and the desperate, the honest and the deceitful. He noticed busy merchants enthusiastically advertising their various goods, stubborn customers loudly arguing over prices, wealthy nobles walking past with practiced arrogance, and humble workers hurrying along to fulfill their urgent duties. Some people moved through the dense crowd entirely alone, while others walked surrounded by close friends, loving family, and loyal companions.

It was a beautiful and chaotic convergence of countless different races, cultures, and diverse backgrounds. The stone streets overflowed with eager travelers, familiar locals, loud merchants, brave adventurers, quiet scholars, and hopeful dreamers, all of them sharing the exact same roads, the same grand city, and the same fleeting moment in time

It had been nearly thirty minutes since Aezaleon left the Bluesky Establishment where he had spent the previous night. During that time, he had seen, heard, and observed many interesting things. Among them, one particular subject appeared again and again in the conversations around him—the House of Legacy.

At first, he had naturally assumed it to be some highly influential noble family. However, after listening to the passing chatter a little longer, he discovered that the House of Legacy was actually one of Varion's largest restaurant chains and one of the absolute dominant names in the city's food industry. With prominent branches spread across nearly every single district, it was incredibly difficult to find anyone in Varion who had not at least heard of its reputation.

Naturally, the bustling Oakhaven District possessed one of its grand establishments as well. The very moment he learned that fact, his immediate destination was decided.

Since his birth, Aezaleon had tasted only two things: Clementine's potent blood and the intimate liquids of his devoted wives. While neither experience could ever be described as unpleasant—in fact, it was quite the absolute opposite—he had nevertheless never experienced what ordinary people would call regular food. As a direct result of this, he found himself feeling surprisingly curious. And admittedly, he was also more than a little hungry.

His close companions—Auguszta, Aphryne, and Anastasia—were all fast asleep at the moment, having returned to deep rest after the previous night's exhausting activities. That left him entirely free to explore the vast city completely on his own. Fortunately for him, finding the exact location of the restaurant would not be difficult at all.

Through the convenient Navigation Function of his Rank Five Legendary Runeweave Sovereign Bracelet, he already possessed a highly precise route leading straight to the nearest House of Legacy branch. All he needed to do now was simply follow the path.

"So, how much money do we have at the moment, dear wife?" Aezaleon asked quietly while maintaining his steady pace through the bustling streets. "It should be quite a lot after our exploits last night, yes?"

"Indeed. For a mere Rank Three, you can easily call yourself filthy rich, I would say," Clementine commented lazily as she observed the outside world directly through his eyes. At the moment, she was sprawled completely across her luxurious bed in an utterly unladylike posture, looking every single bit the slothful beauty that she was. "I'm hungry, husband~"

Her voice was incredibly languid and lazy, yet it still carried that naturally seductive quality that seemed completely impossible to separate from her.

Aezaleon's lips curled into a faint smile. "Good wife, if you want to feed on me, then I first need to remain healthy. To do that, I also need to eat proper sustenance. After I've had my fill, you can freely have yours."

"Tsk," Clementine clicked her tongue in response but nodded her head nonetheless. "Hm. So where were we? Ah, yes—the energy stones." She stretched her body slightly before expanding her powerful senses. "Let me check."

Her vast consciousness spread outward and quickly locked onto Auguszta, who was currently fast asleep in a comfortable room not far from her own. From there, Clementine effortlessly extended her senses into the spatial ring tightly linked to Auguszta's bracelet. Naturally, she encountered absolutely no resistance whatsoever. The bracelet and spatial ring were already fully synchronized with one another, and because Clementine's unique energy signature had been registered within the bracelet beforehand, the ring automatically recognized her as an authorized user. As such, it neither resisted her entry nor did it alert its sleeping owner.

The detailed answer came almost immediately.

"We've amassed roughly a hundred and ten thousand Rank One Primary Energy Stones," Clementine reported smoothly. "The actual amount is slightly higher, but I'm rounding the figures for convenience. The exact same applies to the other totals."

Her eyes moved through the vast internal inventory as she continued speaking.

"As for Rank Two, we possess approximately eighty-eight thousand Primary Energy Stones, forty-seven hundred Legendary Energy Stones, and around two hundred and ninety Mythical Energy Stones."

She paused briefly to let that sink in before moving on to the higher ranks in the inventory.

"Rank Three consists of eleven thousand Primary Energy Stones, eleven hundred Legendary Energy Stones, and one hundred and twenty Mythical Energy Stones."

"Rank Four consists of twelve thousand Primary Energy Stones, eight hundred and seventy Legendary Energy Stones, and seventy Mythical Energy Stones."

"Rank Five consists of seven thousand Primary Energy Stones, six hundred and ten Legendary Energy Stones, and seventeen Mythical Energy Stones."

Finally, she reached the absolute highest-ranked currency currently inside their possession.

"And for Rank Six, we have exactly thirty-eight Primary Energy Stones. No Legendary or Mythical variants are present."

For a long moment, a brief silence followed her words.

Then—