Sanguine Paradise
Chapter 89: [Day 50] – “Change” {End of Arc 2, The Arena}

∼ Day 50 ∼

To say that I was stupefied would be a grave understatement. While I could guess the 'Sanctioned Lord' thing had to do with the fact I apparently was the 'Sanguine Lord', although I still don't exactly know why the hell I had gotten the moniker. But I had no idea what this 'Promethean Candidate' was or entailed. I essentially only knew that I apparently was one by the prompt that this odd wooden box gave me.

While these new terms caused confusion and some apprehension in my mind, the line about the relic caused excitement and anticipation to sprout in my heart as a replacement. Since the prompt said that it needed a Sanctioned Lord of the 4th-tier to be unsealed, I could only store it in my newly acquired storage ring for later use.

I only need about thirty minutes to sweep the entire room clean of documents of magical experiments, useful items, the magic draining dagger, and other interesting curios. When I had picked out what I wanted from the room, I had filled about a fifth of the ring's total space. Immensely satisfied with my harvest, I quickly made a way out of the Mistress' blasted castle and out into a courtyard filled with the cold night air.

Inhaling deeply, savoring the sweet smell of freedom, I took to the air. From above I could see the Mistress' domain and castle that had been turned into a ruined ghost town littered with corpses and widespread destruction, but I hardly spared it a glance as the gaze of my mental sense was directed outwards.

Towards Mia and Bob.

Flying high, the torch and lantern-lit city of millions moved under me as I relished in the purest form of freedom. My body and soul unshackled, no one was ever going to rob me of my liberty ever again.

If they should try, I would send them off to meet their ancestors.

***

I had been coursing through the skies until I felt the rays of the twin suns on my body as they crested the horizon to begin the day anew. I had not only made sure to create quite a bit of distance between the greenskin city and me, but I had also been scanning the earth below for any discreet and suitable resting places.

Once my sense felt out what was apparently a large cliff face of a smaller valley, I dove down. On this particular cliff face, a small cave could be found. Landing within the obscure and inconspicuous cave within the valley, I scanned around for any potential inhabitants. To my luck, only a small blue bird and its nest of wooden sticks could be found within the relatively small rocky cave.

"Sorry buddy, but you'll have a roommate for a little time." - Me

Sitting down on the cold stone ground, I took deep breaths to stabilize my mental state. To my immense surprise, the maddening desire for blood and carnage that had ruled me for so many days in the bloody arena had completely vanished. Well, I did still desire to fight and kill seeing as ever since I've become a monster I've thoroughly enjoyed it, but the uncontrollable need to kill anything living in sight had been snuffed out by my newly improved will and determination.

I had been gravely worried that I would've fallen into insanity if I didn't manage to keep it in check any time soon, but the push of seeing Mika's death was what got my undying will over the tipping point.

One long last exhale escaped my lips before I had finished shedding my mind of the regret of not being powerful enough to pave my own path, being captured, beaten and tortured, the plaything of another. I was not going to let that happen ever again. It was time for my next evolution.

I could try and min-max every little single aspect of my power before taking the evolution, but I knew I was pretty much already at the zenith of what my body of a 3rd-tiered monster could possibly achieve. Gaining more attributes also wasn't really an option since I could instinctively feel that I really only needed the EXP of one or two more weak creatures before forced evolution would start; the influx of EXP and attributes from the warlords and the Mistress had been just that great.

So without further ado, I called up the evolution prompt.

-Evolution!-

[Available evolution paths]

Baital (Grand): Rank - D / Primary ATTR. - STR, VIT, AGI / Requirement; VIT - 80, AGI - 80

Hideous vampiric creatures of both man and bat. Their overgrown bodies with their broad and wings make them aerial fortresses of doom.

Mandrin (Rare): Rank - E / Primary ATTR. - STR, VIT / Requirement; STR - 15, VIT - 45

Tall and insidious insect creatures sharing the humanoid stature but is everything but human. Don't be fooled by their hunchback appearances as their many serrated appendages can crack steel shields like broken twigs.

Dhampir (Grand): Rank - D- / Primary ATTR. - AGI, MAG / Requirement; Crimson Aligned Core, AGI - 75, MAG - 35

A creature usually born from the union of the legendary Vampire and a human, the Dhampir are quick and deadly monsters. Although their human side tends to gravely hinder their power, their vampire linage gives them power beyond that of any normal human.

Sith (Epic): Rank - D- / Primary ATTR. - AGI, CHR, MAG / Requirement; Dark Aligned Core, AGI - 40, CHR - 10, MAG - 20

A vampiric creature of allure, that uses its charms to seduce and hunt its prey. Usually found integrated into non-monster societies as they feast upon the unknowing. The magic they wield, they use to dominate and corrupt others, creating mindless slaves that do all their biddings.

Strigoi (Grand): Rank - D / Primary ATTR. - VIT, MAG / Requirement; Crimson Aligned Core, VIT - 65, MAG - 50

Undying, Unkillable, Unyielding. The ancient Strigoi, vampiric beings, are said the be incarnations of immortality. Legends tell tales of the Strigoi, and how they're the closest known species of the true Vampires, however, they are also known as mortal enemies due to their opposing lineages. They wield the very essence of every living being through their magic and uses the vitality and vigor of others to refine life into themselves, making themselves even more powerful.

Lesser Daemoni (Epic): Rank - D- / Primary ATTR. - MAG / Requirement; Any Core, MAG - 25

The lowest rungs of the demon society, besides that of imps, of course, the Lesser Daemoni are usually considered Incubi or Succubi in their infancy. Maturing and becoming a true Incubus or Succubus is the ultimate goal of all Daemoni, however, the slower they progress, the more likely they are to succumb to their desires for power and fall into insanity.

The more I read through each of these options, the more excitement bubbled up within me. It got to the point where I barely could sit still as I read the last evolution option.

The first things I noticed about the options was the discrepancy between the average rank of each of these evolutions weren't all that great. But that was really only true when you didn't take the power difference between each rank at that level into consideration.

I've already experienced first-hand how much more power somebody at the D rank holds compared to D- rank. It was truly staggering how different ranks become the higher you go; the C-rank being where the real monsters lay.

Glancing over the description of the evolution of the Lesser Daemoni, I couldn't help but scoff condescendingly. It was no wonder why the Mistress had turned so batshit crazy. Before I even went on to the others, I had already written that damned evolution off, having no intention to pick it, what so ever.

Going over the other evolutions, it became very obvious that the options had become much more tailored to my abilities and actions ever since coming to this world. My vampiric tendencies seemed to have had quite an effect on the path I was walking.

Hmm, who knows? I might just become a fucking vampire at some point or another if I keep this up... However, vampires are kind of dull.

I was honestly a little surprised not to already see the option for a vampire when I pulled up the prompt. But from reading all these descriptions, it would seem that I had severely underestimated how powerful an existence a true vampire actually was.

It was the same with Succubi and their male counterparts, the Incubi. From my first interaction with the Mistress, and from the things written here, I could easily see that things like those monsters of legends were truly world-shaking creatures. If the Mistress was simply a demon in its infancy, just how powerful was a full-blown Succubus?

The thought made me shiver.

Moving on to the five remaining choices, the next choice of possible evolutions I could take was the Mandrin. While of course, none of these evolutions were even remotely weak from their descriptions, the Mandrin definitely wasn't up to snuff compared to the others.

It was obviously a physical strength and tank-based monster, which barely even fit my capabilities. The only reason for it even being an option was most likely due to my insanely high vitality and the fact that I was an Azde; a humanoid insect monster.

Down to four, I was left with one Epic evolution and three Grand. I guessed that the Grand rarity was the one above Epic, so I was pleasantly surprised when I saw that I even had three to choose between. Well, for now, let's look at the Epic one.

The Sith. I was originally quite confused when I heard the name, but after some thinking, I remembered hearing about a certain monster of legend called a sith. However, I was quite confused when I also distinctly remembered that the Sith was specifically a female vampiric monster.

Although I wasn't completely sure that isn't a male version of the Sith, I'd still rather not replace out by picking it. I must say that turning into a woman did not stir my fancy...

Anyway, it also lacked in attractiveness when you looked at it compared to the remaining options. Down to three, the Baital, the Dhampir, and the Strigoi, I honestly spend a great deal of time simply looking over each, very much indecisive as to what to pick.

For a good long moment, I just stared at the Baital evolution, hesitant to give up on it. While the description sounded cool as hell, I wasn't much of a fan of becoming a giant human bat abomination. A deep sigh escaping my lips, I redirected my focus towards the Dhampir and the Strigoi.

They both were enticing evolutions, to say the least. The Dhampir promised lethal speed and magical prowess. It even also mentioned that it was part vampire, or at least to a certain extent. In terms of power, being part vampire couldn't be a bad thing, right?

Lastly, the Strigoi. I was honestly a bit perplexed by its description since it seemed to come from stories and legends compared to the other descriptions. It didn't describe how it looked, or just what truly it was. But the part about wielding the very essence of every living being, it must mean Blood Magic.

Instead of the Dhampir that promised deadliness in speed and magic, the Strigoi promised an undying constitution and power through magic. The Dhampir would obviously suited the path that I've been running down ever since coming to this world, specializing in speed and lethality through swift attacks.

But recently, I've begun to move down a different path, opting for physical resistance and vitality. Lesser Eldritch Vitality and my carapace that gave me an insane amount of resistance and health, combined with my healing capabilities, I've become virtually unkillable to anyone of my own level of power.

If I had to be honest, I felt that this path suited me the best. While I definitely wouldn't give up on the lethality that speed brought me, the new things I've learned in the Arena and the skills and traits I've gotten have shown how truly frightening this path could potentially be. Contemplating my options and reasonings a few more times, I became sure of my choice and picked Strigoi.

-Strigoi!-

I didn't know if it was because the system or whatever entity that governed the evolution took pity on me after everything I had gone through in the hands of the Mistress, but it didn't wait until I was going to be caught off-guard to start the process as only after a few seconds a white hue started to radiate out from my body.

The crackling of bones shifting beneath my skin and the morphing of flesh could be heard escaping from the small cave and out into the canyon. By now I would've usually been screaming on top of my lungs in pain as I had done with all of my other evolutions. But this time around, the pain had become utterly inconsequential to me although it was racking my body with much greater intensity than last time.

Pain had become nothing more than just a distant memory, an afterthought.

Feeling the sensations of my ruined body return to me, I couldn't help but let a smile blossom on my face. Actual vision slowly returned to me as my eyes were restored, and my left arm started growing out once again to fill what had been lost to me.

But those weren't the only things that caught my attention as underwent the massive changes to my body. I couldn't help but marvel at my entire body that was transforming and growing.

Originally I had started out with the height of a twelve-year-old human boy when I first evolved into an Azde, although I looked like a hobbit instead of a boy from my matured appearance. But from there, with each level, I had been growing taller and larger in size, just like the rock beetles of the rocky hills did. I grew until I had reached the height of a sixteen-year-old human, or rather when I had reached the level cap of 35.

But I was more than delighted to see that my body steadily grew larger, shedding the diminutive figure I've become so accustomed to. Holding out my hand, I saw the claws that sprouted from the tips of my fingers slowly faded into beautifully unblemished and slender fingers that somehow mesmerized even me.

I kept feeling all the changes all around my body, but I intentionally kept my mental sense restrained, letting the entire process complete. Now that I wasn't wriggling on the ground in pain and suffering, the evolution actually took less time than the evolution into an Azde, however, I could distinguish that the pain was still greater; not that it mattered.

Slowly retracting back into my body, the white hue of evolution disappeared, signaling the end of my transformation.

[Evolution Completed]

[ALERT - The trait Siphon has had a qualitative transformation due to overlapping trait of the Strigoi]

[Congratulations! You've reached an impressive milestone of power. You've managed to entertain a higher being, and they have deigned to bestow upon you a True Name as a gift]

[All hail, Xavier Tal'chor the Sanguine Lord!]

[Skill - Lesser Mana-Infused Exoskeleton has turned into Lesser Mana-Infused Skin]

[Skill - Shadow Manifestation has been added to the skill list]

[Skill - Stygian Transformation has been added to the skill list]

[ALERT - You have reached the skill cap 27/25, but due to your trait Skill Shop, you've been awarded the skill Synergize!]

[Skill - Synergize has been added to the skill list]

[New skills will be locked until the skill cap has been increased or until the user does not exceed the limit]

[Congratulations! You've reached the benchmark in an attribute, an Advancement Path has presented itself!]

I clenched my fists and felt the absolute raw power rushing through my veins, unlike anything I've ever felt before. At that moment I didn't need my status to tell me just how much more power this body wielded, I truly felt like I now stood a slight chance of facing the Mistress if she was still alive and healthy.

With the flurry of prompts that overwhelmed me, I pushed them aside for later perusal. Getting to my feet, I had to use just a few moments to gather my bearings since the change in both body and height. Neither in this life of my previous life had I ever been this tall, probably reaching over two meters in height, which I very much was satisfied with.

Before pulling up my status and seeing the numerical results of the transformation, I wanted to see what my new form had truly become. Standing at the cave mouth, I looked out, feeling the morning breeze flow through the valley and hit my skin.

As if I utterly defied gravity, with one graceful leap that surprised even me, I flew a handful of meters into the air. Cresting the ledge, I elegantly landed on the grassy earth beneath.

To my right was a small pond, also the goal for why I had exited the cave. With a flash, I suddenly disappeared and reappeared right next to the bank of the pond. As I peered down and took in the look of my new form, I was utterly baffled by the sight that entered my eyes.

I didn't look like some ancient and old vampire, I didn't look like some abomination of either bat or insect. What met my gaze in the reflective waters of the pond was the face of a dangerously handsome young man.

An angular face with slight but chiseled features. Pale skin, a silver mane of hair that reached just shy of my shoulders, and sharp elf-like ears, completed the face of someone who could swoon any woman's heart, regardless of their piety.

And the eyes...

My eyes had become vibrant with life in their crimson irises. But what truly stood out, was the shadowy darkness and viscous crimson that swirled within my irises whenever I rotated my mana or touched upon it.

My face wasn't the only thing that had gotten a generous touch-up though, seeing as my body looked to be almost a masterpiece chiseled from stone. Ripped abdominal muscles that leaned into a slender figure and a peak athletic body structure.

The skin-like carapace that encased my body had turned into what seemed like true skin, pale and delicate like porcelain or jade. All the scars, including the one that ran most of my entire body length, simply faded and disappeared into nothing, leaving only flawless skin.

But what really caught my attention, was the more than generous endowment that this body had. While I could get by with the Azde body, being back in a human -or well, humanoid, and having proper equipment as a man was a relief, to say the least. But with a gust of some particularly cold morning air, I was reminded that I was stark naked and alone in a monster-infested forest. If anyone was to see me here, they would probably think me some lunatic.

Well, yeah...

Hmm... let's just check my status before I go off to replace some pants...

-Status!-

[Status]

Name: "Xavier Tal'chor"

Race: Strigoi (Blood Fiend)

Sex: Male

Rank: D

Level: 1/50

Health: 855/855

Stamina: 275/275

Mana: 294/294

[Attributes]

STR - 20 ⇒ 25

VIT - 82 ⇒ 110

AGI - 80 ⇒ 87

DEX - 28 ⇒ 30

INT - 28 ⇒ 30

CHR - 10 ⇒ 33

WILL - 35 ⇒ 38

MAG - 56 ⇒ 92

[Trait, Titles, and Skills].

Skills - 24 ⇒ 27

Traits - 8

Titles - 3

Skillpoints - 3

[Resistances]

Phy. Resistance - 18 ⇒ 22

Mag. Resistance - 15 ⇒ 25

Men. Resistance - 20