Chapter 126: Evolution: Runic Jotun (3)
The valley had become silent. This was not the silence that came from the absence of sound. No... It was rather the silence born of overwhelming reverence.
The heartbeat echoing from the colossal cocoon gradually slowed.
THOOM...
The surrounding mana rivers began returning to normal.
THOOM...
The countless glowing runes carved into the gigantic tablet dimmed one after another.
THOOM...
Then, everything stopped, causing Silas to frown.
"Is it over?"
The system didn’t answer immediately. Instead, every screen before him disappeared. For the first time since he’d awakened, there wasn’t a single notification. Not one. And that made him very worried.
He didn’t know what was happening, and that didn’t sit well with him at all.
"That’s unsettling..."
The old giant elder suddenly stood.
"So... it begins."
CRACK.
A tiny fracture appeared near the top of the mountain-sized cocoon, followed by another. Then another. Within seconds, thousands of cracks appeared on it. The emerald crystal shimmered as brilliant violet light poured from every crack.
The entire cocoon resembled a dying star, glowing so brightly that the place was lit up, literally, causing Silas to instinctively shield his eyes.
"That’s bright..."
The light intensified, and the cracks widened. The more it intensified, the wider the cracks became.
Then...
BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!!
The cocoon exploded. The explosion was not violent, but it was beautiful. Millions of crystalline fragments floated upward instead of falling.
Each fragment dissolved into countless glowing runes before disappearing into the sky; mana rained across the valley like emerald snow. The clouds parted, and sunlight broke through for the first time since the evolution had begun.
A single figure floated peacefully in the center of it all, and Silas forgot to breathe.
The giant tribes collectively lowered their heads. The ancient elder closed his eyes.
"Our Queen... has awakened."
She floated nearly two hundred feet above the inheritance grounds. Her body had changed completely. Her green skin remained, but it possessed a deeper, richer hue now, like a polished emerald stone infused with life itself.
Across every inch of her body stretched intricate crimson markings. They weren’t tattoos as they pulsed, moved, and shifted.
They were ancient runes intertwined with tribal patterns, flowing across her shoulders, arms, waist, thighs, and even the sides of her face.
Every few seconds, the symbols emitted a faint crimson glow before fading once more. They looked less like decorations and more like living scripture engraved upon flesh. Her long white hair had grown dramatically.
It flowed far beyond her waist, dancing freely in the wind despite there being none. Silver strands shimmered faintly among the white, giving it an ethereal brilliance. Even asleep, she radiated majesty.
Her features had matured. The fierce orc warrior remained, but now there was a quiet nobility about her. The playful and somehow clumsy aura she’d once possessed had transformed into something far older and far greater.
Power itself seemed to kneel around her. That was when Silas finally realized something.
"She’s huge."
Huge wasn’t enough to describe it. Gromda had once stood a little over seven feet tall, but now she towered above the inheritance grounds. She was nearly thirty feet tall. A true giant.
All her proportions remained perfect. She wasn’t bulky or monstrous. She was simply... massive. The giant tribes surrounding the valley suddenly struck their chests.
BOOM!
BOOM!
BOOM!
The thunderous sound echoed across Gorgath as thousands, no, tens of thousands of voices roared simultaneously.
"JOTUN!"
"JOTUN!"
"JOTUN!"
The mountains themselves seemed to answer.
Silas smiled and spoke, "You really became a giant."
The system finally returned.
[Evolution Complete!]
Another screen appeared.
[Race Evolution Successful!]
[Previous Race: Orc]
[Current Race: Runic Jotun]
Silas’s pupils widened.
"Runic... What does that even mean?"
The system explained.
[Runic Jotuns are among the oldest surviving giant races. Unlike ordinary Jotuns, Runic Jotuns possess naturally engraved World Runes upon their bodies. These runes continuously strengthen the body, mana, and soul. Their compatibility with mana is beyond exceptional.
Their compatibility with physical combat is at the supreme level, and her potential is beyond S-Rank. Further analysis is needed to determine her actual and current rank, but it will possibly be SS-Rank, just like Chloe.]
"..."
Silas slowly whistled.
"That’s... absurd."
The system continued.
[It is a unique Evolution. No identical Runic Jotun currently exists.]
[Evolution Classification: Perfect Evolution]
At that exact moment, Gromda slowly descended. She wasn’t falling, but rather, the world itself seemed to lower her gently toward the ground.
Thirty feet... twenty, ten, until her enormous bare feet touched the earth. The instant they did, every crimson rune across her body glowed simultaneously, causing a pulse to spread across the valley.
Grass instantly grew where barren stone had once existed, flowers bloomed, and mana in the atmosphere became noticeably richer.
Silas opened his mouth in disbelief.
"She just... made plants grow?"
The elder smiled faintly.
"The blessing... of the Rúnjötunn"
For several long seconds, nothing happened. Then, Gromda swayed.
"...?"
Silas immediately realized something was wrong.
"Gromda?"
Her eyelids fluttered weakly. She took one unsteady step, then another, causing her enormous body to lean forward.
"Oh, no..." Silas ran.
Compared to her new size, he looked tiny. Even so, he stretched out both of his arms instinctively, as though he could somehow catch a thirty-foot giant.
"I’ve got you!"
The giant elder’s eyes widened. Several giants moved forward, but it was pointless. She was just too large. But before anyone reached her, countless glowing silver, white, and pink threads burst from Silas’s fingertips.
They wrapped around Gromda’s waist, shoulders, and arms, not to restrain her, but to slow her. She smiled faintly in her sleep.
"Mate..."
Then, the newly evolved Runic Jotun lost consciousness completely.
Silas sighed.
"Figures."
Using every thread he could produce, he gently guided the colossal giant onto her side before she could crash into the ground. The impact still shook the valley, causing dust to rise everywhere.
Yet she slept peacefully, as though nothing extraordinary had happened. Silas wiped the sweat from his forehead before looking up at her gigantic sleeping form.
"How exactly am I supposed to carry you home now?"
He was totally out of juice. His mana was spent just from carrying her, but that was the least of his worries at the moment.