Chapter 104: Evolution
The moon over Sorne hung like a burnished silver coin, casting silver light through the estate’s shadowed gardens.
Jack slipped from the gates without escort, boots whispering against dew-slick grass as he made his way toward the old oak trees in the distance.
The Carrion Raven perched on a low branch, eyes glimmering faintly in the moonlight.
As Jack approached, Corvin spread his wings in response to Jack.
[You are sneaking out of your own estate.]
’I’m taking a midnight flight,’ Jack replied inwardly, swinging himself onto Corvin’s back.
[A midnight stroll, to a secluded lake, with nefarious plans. Very casual.]
’Nefarious?? I’m just going to feed Corvin. There’s nothing nefarious about it.’
Jack smirked as Corvin launched them toward the sky.
Within moments they were soaring over pine-scented woods, following deer trails that threaded between ancient trees.
The flight was exhilarating in ways Jack would never tire of.
Flying on a bird that could go up to 100 mph was exhilarating. Not having to worry about monsters and just enjoy the flight made it more special.
Wind rushed past his face, carrying the scents of moss and cold water.
[Estimated arrival time: forty-three minutes at current velocity.]
’Perfect. No one will think to look for us out there.’
[Your definition of "no one" is optimistically narrow.]
After nearly an hour of flight, the lake was in sight.
Corvin descended in a controlled spiral, landing softly on the mossy shore. Jack dismounted, stretching his muscles before they got to work.
’System, let’s consume 324 Vile Cores’
[Consumed: 324 Vile Cores]
[Skill Points gained: 164]
’Purchase Flawed Sight!’
[Consume 250 Skill Points?]
[YES] or [NO]
’Yes!’
[You will see truths others cannot. Including ones you may regret.]
’Story of my life. Buy it.’
[Skill purchased: Flawed Sight. Existing skill Analyze has merged and advanced.]
[New Skill | Flawed Sight: reveals more attributes, potential weaknesses, and existential fine print. Side effects may include headaches, existential dread, and unsolicited enlightenment.]
Jack’s vision flickered.
He tested the ability on a nearby pine tree. Translucent text appeared:
[Ancient Pine]
[Age: 312 years]
A faint pressure behind his eyes promised future headaches.
Jack opened his system inventory and withdrew the Enraged Dread Core.
A sphere of crystallized fury that pulsed with crimson veins.
Heat shimmered around it despite the cool night air. Corvin hopped closer, pupils dilating as they fixed on the prize.
"Let’s see what this does for you," Jack said, offering the core.
The raven struck like a black shadow, swallowing the core whole. Power rippled outward from the point of contact, sending waves across the lake’s surface and making the very air tremble.
[Evolution to Dread Rank 50%]
’What! 50%!! Holy hotcakes. So an enraged core does 50× what a normal core does. That’s wild.’
Jack then fed Corvin twenty-seven Dread Cores from his inventory. Jack placed them on the ground for his raven to eat.
Corvin’s form began to blur at the edges as energy coursed through him, feathers rising like storm clouds gathering for a tempest.
[Evolution to Dread Rank 77%]
Finally, Jack materialized 330 Vile Cores directly onto the moss beside the water.
They smoked like dying stars, their combined malice creating a miasma that made breathing feel thick and metallic.
The scent mixed with the cool air until the air tasted like dark magic.
Corvin dove into the pile with ravenous hunger, devouring core after core.
Dark mana swirled around him in widening gyres, the smell of endings becoming beginnings.
Hours passed. The moon climbed and fell, and frost formed on the moss. The forest went silent as if every living thing could feel the magnitude of what was occurring.
[Your companion’s mana density is approaching a critical threshold.]
’Good. He needs to break through to reach the next level.’
[Critical can also mean explosive.]
’He can handle it. You’re the one who told me that I have his soul and he can’t actually die unless I say so.’
[....]
Jack had just outsmarted the system when it tried to make him nervous.
[Evolution to Dread Rank 98%]
The lake trembled continuously now, reflecting not just moonlight but the violet radiance emanating from Corvin’s body.
Static prickled Jack’s skin.
When the last core vanished, Corvin spread his wings wide.
[Evolution to Dread Rank 100%]
Dark energy, like concentrated shadow crackled along his feathers.
The air grew heavy.
The transformation accelerated.
Feathers darkened becoming more black as midnight. But the tips of the feathers were now purple.
His body swelled, wings stretching nearly twice their former span. When he turned toward Jack, his eyes had become pools of violet fire that seemed to pierce through Jack’s soul.
[DING!]
[Companion Evolution Complete]
Corvin
Rank: Dread Class
Level: 32
Strength: 125
Stamina: 45
Agility: 120
Vitality: 140
Endurance: 70
Magic: 100
Mana: 900
HP: 8,200
Affinity: Dark
Skills: Flight, Death Sense, Scavenging, Shadow Strike
[New Skill learned!]
[Carrion Swarm: Summon spectral ravens to aid in battle.]
’Wait, he learned a new skill! Thats awesome. Wait... why is he still level 32?’
[Processing...]
[Corvin will remain the same level until you level him up with Death Tokens.]
[Potential Class Advancement available. Requirement: 25,000 Death Tokens to initiate.]
Corvin ruffled his wings and released a single, resonant caw rolled across the lake like a promise of darker things to come.
CAW!!
’Twenty-five thousand Death Tokens,’ Jack mused. ’That shouldn’t take too long.’
[Greatness is rarely on discount.]
’Well it seems like either you, or whoever gave me this system, really want me to climb the Tower of Tartarus.’
[....]
’No answer, huh. Figures, answers would not be that easy.’
Jack sat on a fallen log, the cold of the moss seeping through his boots. ’Enraged cores give fifty times the value when feeding. Two Nightmare creatures might be enough to push him to the next rank.’
[Smart thinking. Hunting Nightmare ranks would be beneficial.]
Careful, that almost sounded like approval.
[I merely calculate. Approval is a human bug.]
He chuckled despite the chill.
Corvin’s shadow loomed larger now, stretching across the water. Above, the stars seemed to dim around the Carrion Raven’s aura.
Corvin opened his beak, and a ripple of darkness poured forth.
Dozens of spectral ravens burst into existence.
They circled the lake in perfect silence, their eyes glimmering like dying stars.
Jack shivered as their chill passed through him.
"Impressive," he said.
The lake reflected the eerie procession.
Moonlight fractured by the ghostly wings, ripples catching violet highlights from Corvin’s new aura.
Pine boughs creaked in the rising wind.
Corvin settled beside him, feathers rustling as he landed.
The great Carrion Raven lowered his head until his burning eyes were level with Jack’s.
For a moment they simply regarded one another. Man and beast, partners bound by more than instinct.
"You’ve earned the power," Jack murmured, brushing his gloved fingers lightly over the raven’s crown.
A low, rumbling caw vibrated through Corvin’s chest, almost like agreement.
Jack stretched his legs toward the water, the cool mist beading on his boots. The System flickered in his vision, lines of blue code scrolling like frost.
[Remaining Inventory: 286 Vile Cores]
A faint pressure pulsed behind his eyes from Flawed Sight, but he kept the ability simmering at the edge of his brain.
Its new layers of truth were too tempting to silence.
The lake felt alive, like it was seeping mana.
"You feel that too, don’t you?" he asked quietly.
Corvin tilted his head, violet embers glinting under the heavy moon.
Suddenly Jack felt something stirred from behind him.
The pines swayed though no wind stirred. Moss trembled on stones as if disturbed by steps too heavy for sound.
Corvin’s head snapped toward the treeline. His spectral swarm dissolved instantly, fading into black mist that curled back into his feathers. The great Carrion Raven’s talons dug into the earth, wings half-open, body tense as a drawn bow.
Jack rose, heart ticking faster. He let Flawed Sight flare.
[Warning: High-level entity detected.]
[Analyzing...]
[Level: 124]