Free Web NovelChapter 63: Chapter 59: Rapid Evolution
The nameless hill in Newly Town, having undergone a rapid first phase of renovations, was now in the midst of a much larger second phase.
The workers weren’t wielding pickaxes. Instead, under the direction of alchemy apprentices, they splashed bottle after bottle of bubbling "Stone-to-Mud" potions onto the rock faces.
Under the potion’s effects, the hard rock rapidly softened into malleable earth.
Another team of artisans, like sculptors, then used massive molds to form the earth into orderly rooms and corridors. Immediately after, a "Mud-to-Stone" potion was sprinkled over them, giving the new walls a hardness comparable to granite.
Master Valerius followed Velin through the corridor born of Magic and labor. Finally, Velin stopped before a heavy iron door.
"...Velin, forgive my bluntness, but is this ’interesting experiment’ of yours just to show me these... dung-ball enthusiasts?"
Master Valerius adjusted his glasses, striving to maintain his scholarly decorum, but the slight twitch of his nostrils betrayed his true feelings about the laboratory’s odor.
The room before him was brightly lit, lined with dozens of large iron chests, each half the height of a man. The chests were swarming with dung beetles, all busy pushing their balls of dung.
"Rotten-Shell Dung Beetles. Level-one magically-altered insects. Other than a carapace that’s slightly harder than a normal insect’s, they have no alchemical value whatsoever."
Valerius gave his assessment, his voice tinged with confusion. "I really can’t imagine what makes them worthy of your personal cultivation."
"They have no value because the creations of the gods are full of too much redundancy and inefficiency." Velin walked to one of the large iron chests, his eyes glowing with fervor.
"Master, the essence of Alchemy is ’transformation,’ is it not? We use rituals and materials to grant matter new properties."
"Of course. That is the cornerstone of Alchemy," Valerius nodded.
"But that is too slow." Velin’s voice suddenly grew deep and profound, holding a strange allure. "What if, instead of ’transforming’ inanimate matter, we ’transform’ living things? What if, instead of searching the Magic Forest for materials, we... personally cultivate and select the very materials we desire?"
Before the words had even faded, he closed his eyes.
’Spring Messenger!’
A soft yet majestic emerald-green radiance emanated from Velin’s body, like the breath of a god, gently enveloping the iron chest in front of him.
At first, Valerius managed to maintain his scholarly composure. He reflexively took out his quill, attempting to document the miraculous scene. But soon, he found he could no longer write.
It was as if someone had hit the fast-forward button on the hundreds of dung beetles in the chest!
In the green light, eggs hatched instantly. The newborn larvae fed ravenously, molting and growing at a speed visible to the naked eye!
A life cycle that normally took a full year was compressed into a little over ten minutes!
The quill rolled to the ground with a CLATTER. Valerius’s eyes were wide with disbelief.
His mind went blank. ’Spring Messenger... is this how it’s supposed to be used?’
’Watching lives born and then die so quickly, repeating the cycle over and over... what... what is the point of it all?’
But before he could make sense of it, a new change occurred inside the chest.
Since his investiture, Velin could control his Spiritual Power with greater ease. His Spiritual Power was now precisely selecting individuals—the ones with larger bodies and harder carapaces became targets of his "special attention." Weaker individuals, just after mating, were torn apart and devoured by the stronger next generation—which had received more of his "boon"—as their very first meal! freewebnσvel.cøm
The CRUNCH of shattering carapaces and the sounds of frenzied chewing echoed through the room.
He was beginning to understand. ’This isn’t Alchemy at all! This is a blasphemy against the very laws of life!’
Valerius’s initial amazement had turned to horror, and the horror, in turn, was morphing into an expression mixed with revulsion and scholarly inquiry.
He abandoned all thought of taking notes. He simply stared, transfixed, at the glass chest, wanting to burn this perception-shattering scene into the very depths of his soul.
Time passed. Velin’s body began to sway, sweat dripping from his pale jaw. A single bead of blood even welled up on the tip of his nose.
But the light in his eyes only grew more feverish. He would burn through all his Spiritual Power just to witness the birth of this new species.
Inside the chest, the bloody feast was drawing to a close. Only two victors remained.
Before the two could clash, Velin thrust the last of his Spiritual Power, piercing precisely into the two remaining beetles.
"CRACK—!"
A sickening crunch of bursting bone erupted from within its body.
A cold, hard metallic sheen appeared on its carapace—which was now as large as a grown man’s arm—and its edges sharpened into menacing barbs!
Its hind legs, once used for rolling dung, grew thicker and more powerful. Their terminal segments, now like steel hooks, dug deep into the soil of the iron chest.
Velin slowly withdrew his Spiritual Power and exhaled a long breath. Fatigue washed over him like a tide, yet his eyes were brighter than ever before.
[Target individual has met the prerequisites for evolution.]
What made Valerius’s scalp crawl was the newborn titan’s reaction.
It didn’t move instinctively like other insects. Instead, it remained perfectly still.
Its compound eyes, as if possessing sentience, slowly swiveled and, through the wire mesh, locked precisely onto Valerius’s face!
That was no longer insectoid instinct, but... the first exchange of gazes between two intelligent beings!
"No... this isn’t transformation... It’s... creation..."
Valerius muttered in a daze, his entire worldview shattered by a scene that defied imagination.
Velin braced himself on the edge of the iron chest, steadying himself against the dizziness that came from exhausting his Spiritual Power.
He looked at Valerius’s shell-shocked expression and spoke calmly. His voice was not loud, but it was the key that unlocked the mystery of the frenzied feast they had just witnessed.
"Master, this is the hypothesis I mentioned before, the one I read about on an ancient parchment scroll," he said, his voice filled with an unshakeable conviction.
"Perhaps gods do exist, but most of creation was not crafted by their own hands."
"Since the path of natural evolution is already full of chance and struggle, what’s so wrong with me pointing them in a direction and giving them a little push?"
Seeing Valerius’s eyes, lost in deep thought, Velin revealed a satisfied smile.
’Good. Cracks are already forming in his old way of thinking.’
’To build a new skyscraper,’ Velin thought, ’you must first demolish the old foundation.’
’He was only a few more personally-conducted experiments away from overcoming the barrier of the Bloodline Purity Act.’
Velin straightened his back. His gaze passed over the two giant insects, which had begun to touch antennae, and peered into the deeper darkness beyond. He spoke as if to Valerius, but also to himself. frёewebnoѵēl.com
"Master, this is only the beginning."
The corners of his mouth curled into a faint, excited smile.
"Imagine... what if the one lying here today, receiving this ’optimization’... wasn’t an insect?"
