Evolution

by A R Chen

  I wish I had another father, Mottle thought, then frowned. That didn't come out right… Mottle immediately recanted his thought. Different father I mean, the one I already have is bad enough, I don’t need two.

  When Mottle finally broke away from his thoughts, he found that his aimless, sullen wandering had left him in an entirely unfamiliar place. They had arrived near Niti last night and were camped out in the forest as they were exhausted by the long march.

  It was now early morning and most of the village troops were still sleeping. They had brought a thousand warriors. Coupled with their mages and hired rogues, they were a formidable force. At least, at the village level. Mottle knew that these forces couldn't be compared to the town level at all.

  Mottle looked around at the plants, trees, and rocks that he didn't recognize. He was definitely lost. Well, fuck, he thought dejectedly. Oh well, it's not like Father would miss me, anyway.

  Mottle walked in circles for a while, trying to find the way back, but he hadn’t paid any attention to how he got here. After half an hour, he was still completely lost. He walked a bit more, until he arrived at the top of a small cliff. By now, he was tired. He had never been the outside type of child growing up. While all the other village children had played in the sun and would come home bruised, he stayed at home and read books. They grew strong and tanned, out in the world, while he gained abstract knowledge of it from his books. Because of this tendency, nobody had wanted to play with him, even though he was the son of the village Elder.

  Some were forced to by their parents, because of his status, but Mottle picked up on this early on. It was depressing to know that the only reason people talked to him, was because of someone else, not himself. Books soon became the only good thing in his life, but all that reading had never gotten him anywhere. The knowledge that he gained was never put to use, since he didn’t have connections.

  Mottle had learned over the last few years that in order to succeed in this world, one must have connections, but it was too late for him to form them with the people of his village. He had made himself a pariah by never getting to know anyone very well. To make it worse, he was now known as a ‘useless’ second son of the formidable village Elder. Now that his father had become a Lord, the feeling had grown even worse. He was a young adult now, with nothing to do or live for.

  Mottle considered the cliff. Maybe he should just accept that life wasn’t worth the trouble. He sighed, something he’d been doing a lot recently.

  Better at least be sure it’s high enough first. It’d be painful and embarrassing to screw up even this. Mottle cringed at the thought as he walked over to the small cliff.

  Those are… His eyes widened at the sight of hundreds of swarming insects. Why is there an army of ants so close to Niti?

  ***

  The whole crowd remained frozen and silent for an entire minute at such a display, then at a signal from the Elder, they began to disperse. They had to prepare for the upcoming fight.

  Leffer and his Left and Right all bid Steve farewell and headed off to direct the preparations. Ash wasn’t going to wake up for a few hours, anyways. His body was undergoing a change now, and he would need time to understand what gift had manifested from the power that god Steve had given him.

  Steve wasn’t sure what to do after this. Changeling was his number one option right now, but it was astronomically expensive. He would have to hope that the cost came down with further practice, or it was going to be impossible. Though the currently high cost might be for the best. He couldn’t evolve until the five-day countdown was over without breaking another rule, and he wasn’t willing to do that, even though not all the consequences had been bad. At least this way, he wouldn’t be too tempted to evolve early.

  “Changeling depends on your Energy mostly, then aptitude.” Bonnie was volunteering information, once again. “They are a unique race that is extremely rare. This option is powerful, but, like it says on the list, it depends on your own power. You’ll get more information about the races later. This is the trade-off you made when you broke the rule.”

  Steve understood this. He was going to have to wait. The countdown timer read:

  2 Days 17 Hours 40 Minutes 35 Seconds

  The ceremony had taken a good amount of time. This meant that the next memory would come in 40 minutes.

  Azra had come up to him while he was checking in with Bonnie.

  “What will you do today, god Steve?” Azra asked hurriedly. It was obvious enough to Steve that she was trying to get her mind off the upcoming battle with the Mottor.

  Steve took a moment to consider the question. Originally, he planned to go to the Lake and train his energy. However, he wasn’t sure what kind of aptitude or energy level was best for his evolution. It seemed like the Lake was a huge source of available Water elemental energy, due to the large Crystal inside of it. At least several times as much as all the crystals he owned combined. Even though he’d been nowhere near it, the sense of energy he’d gotten from it was immense.

  “I’ll continue training in magic,” Steve decided. For the upcoming fight, he would need to be able to simultaneously cast his Gravity and Area Drain spells. He was confident that this tactic would destroy any non-mage enemy in this world, as he found this world’s technology was lacking in comparison to his old world. At least from what he’d seen in Niti—it could be better in the capital.

  It looked like everyone here relied on magic too much, making them unable to advance technologically. Maybe after his evolution, he would be able to do something about the sad state of this world’s technology; he did remember a few tricks from his academy memories. There was nothing he could do about it at the moment though, as all the technology he remembered required hands, so he didn’t think about it too much.

  Azra had gone off to do something else, so Steve headed back to his guest house alone. When he reached it, he began practicing again.

  Steve had almost reached the point where he could hold both the Gravity and Area Drain spells indefinitely. He wasn’t quite there yet. It had been a large mental strain when he had started using both the spells at the same time earlier; even now it became too difficult after about thirty seconds.

  When his Gravity spell became easier to cast earlier in the day, he’d felt a breakthrough in his mind, and whatever that change was, it had been reflected on the evolution list. Steve was determined to make a similar breakthrough happen again, to help Niti Village combat this threat. The fact that the battle may gain him a lot of energy…that was just a bonus.

  I wonder how the others are doing. Steve found his mind wandering once more. He was still training, trying to improve his chances of achieving a decent evolution within the next few dozen hours. Bonnie told me I wasn’t the only one.

  From what she’d said, about him being the first one to break a rule, he could infer that there had to be more entities just like him.

  Practicing magic took focus, but not so much that Steve couldn’t think about other things at the same time. Thus, he found himself going through his very limited memories and speculating about what the greater implications of every detail might be. It wasn’t very mentally stimulating, being limited to this small village and its outskirts. He occasionally saw Niti villagers busily preparing for the upcoming battle, but generally, there was not much to keep him from becoming wrapped up in his own thoughts.

  After a while, the countdown hit:

  2 Days 17 Hours 0 Minutes 0 Seconds

  Chapter 16

  Steve opened his eyes, but there was nothing to see. He blinked a few times, but his eyes couldn’t adjust; there was no light whatsoever. This was different from the previous flashback with his father; it wasn’t that there was something in front of his eyes, there was just pure darkness.

  Steve felt a gnawing sensation begin to build at the back of his mind. Then, it crashed into him—a massive wave of fear, nausea, and anxiety. He despaired.

  He tried to move, to get away from thi
s sensation but found that he couldn’t. Something kept him immobilized; he couldn’t move a muscle. It seemed that whatever was restraining his movement was also blocking his memory from coming back.

  Since deep down he knew that this wasn’t real and thus couldn’t hurt him, he felt a little bit better and began to adjust after a while. Steve was glad this wasn’t the first thing he’d experienced; he knew that if he didn’t have his other memories of the new world, and understanding of what he was experiencing now, he’d be completely panicked.

  The feeling didn’t get any better after that though. The irrational fear that he would be trapped here forever, made him weak and desperate.

  The dark and inability to move was awful; it was almost like being buried alive, except he could still breathe. Steve didn’t know what to do, so he just waited for it to be over.

  ***

  Steve did nothing after coming to. He tried to process what had just happened for long minutes.

  He didn’t know what that was or where the experience came from, and he just couldn’t move without trying to figure it out. It had been a terrifying flashback—that was, if it really was a memory from his past life. Whatever it had been, it rattled him to the core.

  It had seemed as real as his other flashbacks; he was in a human’s body. Most humans relied on sight; it would be fair to say it was their main sense. Being trapped in absolute darkness as a human had been traumatic enough, but Steve wasn’t used to being human. The flashbacks and memories gave him insight to what a human’s vision was like, but it wasn’t a lifetime’s experience—it wasn’t even a fraction of the few days that he had already spent as a ball of light. Steve felt out of place whenever he was forced into these flashbacks. Having an omnidirectional view of his surroundings, as he did now, was a far greater ability. So being robbed of vision was even more terrifying.

  Okay, then, Steve thought. He was recovering, albeit slowly. I think I’m alright.

  There was no way he could focus on training his spells now. It was time to take a quick walk, or rather, a quick float.

  Steve decided to go find Azra. Quite honestly, he didn’t know the way to the Lake by himself yet. He’d been there a few times now but had always been focused on practicing magic, as he was driven there by someone else. Ash was likely still out of commission, for who knew how long. Steve had been a little concerned but the villagers had acted like it was normal. So, Steve wasn’t too worried about the young man.

  He floated back through the village; there were a few of the villagers still milling around in the center. The majority were busy preparing for the upcoming battle with the Mottor. The two Workforces Steve had created were being used to carry supplies around and for other general preparation. Steve had temporarily put them back under the Elder’s command so they could participate in the battle as well.

  All the prisoners in the village were going to be given a chance to prove their worth to the village. This meant that if they did well, they would be pardoned for their crimes. Facing such a massive threat, the Elder had decided to use all available resources. After all, they would be fighting the forces of two villages.

  In the past, the Niti clan had always been superior to the Mottor clan. Ever since the two villages were founded by the Empire, they had always been in competition, under the command of two high-ranking military leaders.

  Niti Village and Mottor Village were initially created as rewards for service to the Empire way back then. The founders had been friends and the villages had enjoyed good relations initially. However, after so long, friendship turned into a rivalry, and now the rivalry had escalated into a war.

  It’s funny how history works, sometimes, Steve thought. Ash had described it as a long-lasting and totally meaningless feud, as nobody even remembered how it had started now.

  There were two oddly dressed men watching over Ash, who still lay on the platform. Steve approached them for directions to Azra’s place. They pointed then bowed to him as Steve went on his way.

  As he neared the residence, he picked up on sounds coming from inside. It sounded like shouting. A few seconds later, he could discern what was being said.

  “No! I will participate,” Azra was yelling. “This fight includes all of Niti, which means me too!”

  “You will not. We don’t need you and you’ll be a hindrance,” Amon said flatly. “Just watch over your brother, he’s still consolidating his future power.”

  “But I want to be near the frontline, casting or doing something useful,” Azra replied petulantly. Amon seemed to think she was weak. Hearing them argue now, Steve wondered if it had always been this way. “I’m practically a three-star mage, only short a couple of spells. Ash isn’t that much better. I bet if he was conscious right now, you’d let him go fight!”

  “I wouldn’t—” Amon started, but cut off as Steve floated in. It wasn’t good to bicker and waste time in front of a god. “We’ll continue this later.”

  “I hope I’m not interrupting anything. Azra, come with me.” Steve didn’t have time for whatever this was; he had something on his mind. Steve wanted to go to the Lake. Merely absorbing energy didn’t take that much thought.

  ***

  They walked along the path they had taken before. Steve recognized a few landmarks as they went, but it was still hazy. If he’d been forced to go by himself, there would be no chance of getting there before tomorrow morning. His memories now, just like when he was human, weren’t perfect. In fact, he thought it was like his mind was still in human mode, just stuffed into another body. A light body. Memories were truly a tricky thing.

  “My father thinks I’m useless just because I’m a girl,” Azra started. She spoke freely, now used to Steve’s presence. They had been walking in silence for a while and she just couldn’t stand it any longer. “Like, I’m already almost a three-star mage. That’s so much better than what he was when he was just fourteen. Just because girls don’t have Naming ceremonies, that doesn’t mean they can’t be mages. I even hear stories from the local merchants about girls in the Capital doing something different for their powers.

  “…you know? Like, it’s hard to get my father to be serious about me doing magic. Apparently, it takes a lot of money to make a girl into a mage, rather than a boy. There’s something specific about the ceremonies for girls that just…requires a lot of money. Or something, I don’t know. Vim told me that. He’s the village merchant, so he travels a lot and stuff. He’s a cool guy. He wanted to bribe you, you know? Vim was talking about how the Elder should just, make a deal with you. I don’t know…”

  Steve listened in silence. He really couldn’t relate; his own father had been kind to him, at least in the memory he’d relived of him. There was no way he could understand another person’s experiences except by listening.

  “There’s no way I won’t be able to contribute to this battle,” Azra told him. She then looked below Steve. “You believe me, right?”

  Something had changed over these past two days. She was no longer frightened of what he could do or what he was. Children adapt easily, after all. Steve sensed that Azra now considered him to be her ally, in a way. He brought her on adventures and showed her marvelous sights. That, for the young country girl, had apparently been enough.

  “Yes,” Steve said. He just told the truth. It was also the first time he spoke in ten minutes. Apparently, by village standards, a three-star mage was considered more than decent. This was because out of the thousands of people in a village, only a few hundred were considered to have any magical talent.

  Being able to do magic and being talented at magic was not the same thing. Almost anyone could do an extremely basic spell. But few could do it quickly and efficiently at a young age; that was the difference. There were only a handful of children in Niti that had aptitude like Azra and Ash.

  “But, instead of being on the frontlines, I want you to assist me,” Steve said. He wanted to use her abilities for the upcoming battle.

  Azra nodd
ed enthusiastically. This was what she wanted. Would there be a better view of the battle from Steve’s side? This was exciting! And besides, even her father wouldn’t dare contradict Steve now that he had asked for her assistance. She understood the reason that the villagers didn’t speak to Steve. Most of them, having never met a god before, stuck to tradition. Most of them, not including Leeroy, Jenkins, or their crew wouldn’t risk giving even the slightest offense. They’d chosen to ignore the law; they’d incurred his wrath and were now paying the price for it.

  One doesn’t speak to a god unless it speaks to you. One doesn’t deal with a god unless it deals with you. And so on. These age-old rules were established alongside the Empire, when it first came into being. Along with the charter for every village, town, and city came instructions for dealing with other beings. If a god or similar being came to a village, they were to be treated with the highest respect. Any village found to be in violation of these orders would be immediately cut off from the Empire’s support.

  The two continued their journey in silence. After about an hour, they had almost arrived, when they saw a curious sight. Azra was stunned, while Steve was curious.

  It looked like the centipede he had absorbed when he first came into the world. It was a brown-colored bug, about a foot long. Only here, it had a couple of its brothers in tow. A lot of brothers, and sisters, it seemed. Steve wasn’t sure how these things reproduced. Did female centipedes even exist? Why was he even thinking about that in the first place?

  “We have to warn the village!” Azra suddenly understood the situation clearly. “The centipede army…This close to the lake. We can’t venture out of the village’s inner walls!”

  A chill ran through her as her skin prickled with goosebumps. If these centipedes were here for what she imagined, Niti was in a precarious spot.

  “We weren’t heroes…” Azra turned to Steve with tears in her eyes. “We have to go back, now!”