Chapter 62: Rank 2.5 And Evolved Skills
〖Success! Conditions met! Your Astral Tortoiseling has awakened its Foundational Path!〗
〖Congratulations! Your Astral Tortoiseling has established: Primordial Path!〗
〖Condition 1 | Scholar Path〗
〖Condition 2 | Primordial Path〗
〖Condition 3 | Arcane Path〗
〖Ding!〗
〖Congratulations! Your Astral Tortoiseling’s Fortitude has increased!〗
〖Congratulations! Your Astral Tortoiseling has evolved the following skills to the next tier:〗
〖All-Seeing Eye to Dateless Sight〗
〖Divine Bookkeeper to Otherworld Bookkeeper〗
〖Congratulations! Your Astral Tortoiseling has acquired a new skill: Nature’s Call〗
"Would you look at that!" Amigo exclaimed, turning around to show off his new form. "I evolved!"
His species hadn’t changed yet, but his appearance had. That was what shocked Luke.
Amigo had grown significantly, almost twice his previous size. This was the final stage of the Astral Tortoiseling species. His scales were thicker now and more flamboyant. Even the armor he was wearing had grown to match his new size.
The biggest change was his face. A third eye between the other two. Luke wasn’t even sure Amigo knew it was there.
"Amigo... you look... good," Luke lied. "I wasn’t expecting you to grow a third eye out of nowhere."
"Huh?"
Amigo crossed his eyes and tried to look upward.
"Oh! That’s how my adult species is supposed to look, Master! I finally grew into it! Quick! Check my profile! I want to see what else I gained!"
Luke agreed and opened the panel.
〖Species: Astral Tortoiseling (Mythic)〗
〖Type: Support〗
〖Rank: 2.5 | Potential: 9.9〗
〖Skills: Otherworld Bookkeeper | Dateless Sight | Nature’s Call〗
〖Description: A highly intelligent creature, one of the hatchlings born beneath the roots of the World Tree. Exposure to the Eternal Mind that flows through the tree grants Astral Tortoiselings extraordinary reasoning ability and thirst for knowledge〗
"You climbed to 2.5," Luke explained. "That must be why your body changed, and why your skills evolved to the next tier. Could this be the final stage of the Astral Tortoiseling species?"
"I think so," Amigo nodded. "I’ve never looked more like an Astral Tortoiseling than I do now. The next time I evolve... I don’t think I’ll be an Astral Tortoiseling anymore. I can’t wait to see what I become next."
Luke nodded.
"That must be the role of your Foundational Path," he concluded. "To decide what you become next.
After we fulfilled the second condition, we unknowingly chose an evolutionary path. The system says if we had completed Condition One—taking you to the Genesis Library to study for one month—we would’ve established the Scholar Path instead.
And if we had completed Condition Three—feeding you one drop of Sage Ink—we would’ve established the Arcane Path. It looks like a beast’s future isn’t fixed at all. There are different roads it can take, and the Foundational Path is what decides which one opens up."
Amigo listened carefully while Luke continued explaining what the system had revealed.
〖Scholar Path: Pursues knowledge, objective truth, history, civilization, and reason. 3 Branches.〗
〖Primordial Path: Pursues nature, origins, evolution, instinct, adaptation, and the laws that shaped life. 5 Branches.〗
〖Arcane Path: Pursues mystical principles, aeon, runes, sorcery, and the mechanics of life. 14 Branches.〗
Luke couldn’t believe it.
Was this what it felt like to have your own beast?
Ever since childhood, he had spent years studying for the day he would finally get to raise one himself. That was why this excited him so much. It was something he had always dreamed of.
Because of how seriously he took his studies, Luke understood better than most of his peers just how important evolution paths were. But his expectations were never near Mythic-tier.
Paths are the philosophy of the beast.
Three Foundational Paths mean three different futures despite belonging to the same species.
For example, all Amigo’s Foundational Paths still fall under Support and his thirst for intelligence.
The only difference was the kind of wisdom he’ll pursue.
Scholar? Recorded wisdom.
Primordial? Natural wisdom.
Arcane? Mystical wisdom.
"Truthfully, I would’ve preferred knowing this beforehand so we could choose on purpose," Luke admitted, stroking his jaw. "But... I actually think the Primordial Path suits you best."
"I think so too, Master!" Amigo agreed. "I really want to learn about nature, evolution, and how all living things came to be! That sounds more exciting than getting a degree or memorizing runes!"
"But the problem is, you’ll still have to adopt a Branch under the Primordial Path," Luke said. "Branches are like specialisations of a Path. The Path determines your destination, while the Branch determines how you reach it."
Luke opened the panel again.
Under the Primordial Path, there were five branches.
But just like before, the system didn’t reveal their names, only the conditions required to adopt any.
〖Condition 1: Witness the hatching of a dragon egg.〗
〖Condition 2: Consume the sap of a Life Tree.〗
〖Condition 3: Cultivate a species alongside another until both evolve twice.〗
〖Condition 4: Complete every other Primordial Branch prerequisite.〗
〖Condition 5: Consume the remains of a Primordial beast.〗
Luke could only smile bitterly.
The conditions were as bizarre as they came.
From witnessing the once-in-a-lifetime birth of a dragon to consuming the remains of a Primordial Ancient-grade beast, none of them were remotely achievable for an ordinary summoner.
"Should we count our blessings and go for the easiest one?" Luke suggested. "The Insect World has a Life Tree after all. Even if we choose that Branch first, it doesn’t mean we can’t pursue the others later. It’s easier to attempt more than one Branch than it is to establish another Foundational Path."
"Yes! Yes!" Amigo nodded excitedly. "As soon as all the customers collect their armor, let’s go!"
"But first, we’ll need permission," Luke reminded him. "The Life Tree belongs to the royal family. We’ll have to speak with the Princess and the elders before we can attempt Condition Two."
Luke thought about their chances.
Luckily, Cicadelle had already invited them to the royal palace for dinner whenever they wanted. There was no better opportunity than today.
Luke couldn’t wait.
As soon as they sold off the armors, he counted and stored his profits while preparing to leave.
"Let’s go," Luke said, stretching. "Time to pay the royal family a visit."
"I wonder what they’ll serve us," Amigo said. "I hope they remember I’m a vegetarian!"
Luke laughed.
Amigo’s evolution had given both of them something to look forward to.
Maybe the turtle deserved a bigger share of the supplies Luke had been saving for the Dragonlord. After all, a stronger Amigo meant a stronger future for both of them.
Together, master and beast headed to the palace.