235. Second Evolution

This chapter is mostly about stat distribution.

Two days later, I woke up.

“……My body is still creaking……”

“For someone as strong as you, Kudo-san, to suffer that much… that’s a terrifying backlash. Ah, here you go.”

“Thank you.”

I sat up in bed and drank the coffee Nishino-kun had brewed for me.

Mm, it’s delicious.

(Unconscious for two days… It’ll still take a full day before my skills become usable again…)

The three-day skill lock from the “Heroic Hymn” backlash is surprisingly long.

It wouldn’t be a problem in normal times, but in the middle of a battle, misjudging when to use it could instantly put me in a dire situation.

(In the battle with the otherworlders, I’ll have to carefully gauge the timing to use it…)

The effect is powerful, but the risk is just as huge.

It’s fine for a quick blitz, but not suited for a long-drawn-out war.

“By the way, where are Ichinose-san and Aisaka-san?”

“They’re training with Libera-san. They were fired up, saying they were going to raise their levels.”

Ah, it’s true.

When I probed for presence outside, I felt the signs of combat.

Libera-san, Ichinose-san, Rikka-chan, and… Sora is fighting with them too.

(Libera-san isn’t even back to full strength yet, but she’s working hard for us…)

The power she exhausted in the fight against the Wolf King shouldn’t be fully restored yet.

Even so, I’m truly grateful that she’s already helping with the training.

“What about Momo and Aka?”

“They went to the coast to meet the Sea King. They’ll probably be back in a while.”

The transfer of power to Aka, then.

That seems to be progressing smoothly.

“Kyuu.”

『Kazuto, morning!』

Kiki and Shiro seemed to have been looking after the place; they came over as soon as they saw me talking to Nishino-kun.

While petting and fluffing the two of them, I asked Nishino-kun about what happened while I was out.

I was relieved to hear it had been peaceful with no monster attacks.

“And Arrogance?”

“Over there.”

The Magic Sword Arrogance was placed roughly in the corner of the room.

“I had Libera-san investigate it, but she couldn’t find out anything detailed. Apparently, it’s a case she’s seeing for the first time too.”

“I see…”

Then, a thought reached me from Arrogance.

『Looks like you’re awake.』

“Yeah, and you look as grumpy as ever.”

『Of course I am. That “Dead King”… she took advantage of the fact that this magic sword won’t break and did this and that to me… I haven’t felt alive for these past two days.』

Serves him right.

I’ll ask Libera-san to harass him even more later.

『S-Stop! Please! Just stop! I was prepared for death or annihilation, but to have that done to me was far beyond my expectations! I’ll cooperate with whatever you want! So just please, never let that woman near me again! I’m begging you!』

…What on earth did Libera-san do to make even Arrogance plead like this?

Well, as long as he’s being cooperative, it’s not a problem.

“How is everyone else?”

“President Igarashi is working on reconstruction with Katsuragi. As for Katsuragi, the circumstances are being kept secret except for a few people. The people who were turned into undead are currently being restrained together in one place.”

“I see, I’ve got the gist of it. Thank you.”

After hearing everything from Nishino-kun, I finished my coffee.

Ichinose-san and the others should be finishing their training soon.

(Now then, time to decide on my evolution.)

Let’s evolve into a new race.

After Ichinose-san and the others returned, we discussed the evolution options.

I got Libera-san’s opinion to narrow down the candidates.

As expected, the top candidate is “Demi-God,” with “High Shadow” and “Origin” as runners-up.

“Well, among these, Demi-God is definitely the most powerful. Unlike High Shadow, it doesn’t really have any drawbacks.”

“Eh? What’s wrong with High Shadow? Being immortal as long as there’s shadow or darkness sounds super strong.”

Rikka-chan tilted her head.

“To put it the other way, it means if the shadows or darkness are removed, you’ll vanish quite easily. If someone clears away all the shadows with light, that’s the end of you. Depending on the matchup, you could die very easily.”

“Ah, I see. When you put it that way, that makes sense.”

Rikka-chan nodded firmly at Libera-san’s explanation.

I had considered that drawback as well.

If I could get a unique skill to compensate for that, it might be an attractive candidate, but when I checked with the “Question Right,” none of the unique skills obtained as a High Shadow offered that kind of protection.

“Um, Demi-God is certainly powerful, but doesn’t it have a weakness? Like god-slaying weapons or skills—isn’t that a staple in games and manga? You know, chains that become impossible to break the higher someone’s divinity is.”

Ah, there are things like that.

Like the chains named after a certain friend in a particular game; it’s a common trope in mythology.

“God-slaying… well, I know of several weapons and skills with a ‘Holy’ attribute bonus against divinity, but Demi-God is a completely different entity from that, so you can rest easy.”

But according to Libera-san, Demi-God is something different.

I checked with the Question Right as well, but I couldn’t find any skills or weapons that would serve as that kind of weakness.

Alright, it’s decided then.

My new evolution will be “Demi-God.”

According to the Question Right, the evolution takes a full day.

The skill lock from the “Heroic Hymn” backlash still has a day left, so the timing is perfect.

By the way, it seems that even if I evolve and learn new skills while my skills are locked, those new skills won’t become permanently unusable or anything like that.

“Well then, I’ll leave the rest to you again.”

“Yes, please take a good rest while you evolve.”

“I’ll do my best so that I can evolve too by the time you wake up, Kudo-san!”

“Ohh, Nat-tsun is fired up! I have to work hard too.”

“Then, after a short break, let’s start the special training again. Leave these girls to me and evolve in peace.”

“Yes, thank you.”

Now then, I open the status plate and tap the evolution item.

≪Do you wish to evolve Kudo Kazuto’s race from ‘Newhuman’ to ‘Demi-God’?≫

Naturally, Yes.

≪Commencing evolution.≫

≪—Connection Access—Connection Access—Success.≫

≪Commencing reconstruction of the subject’s physical body.≫

≪Constructing new race.≫

≪Increasing various stats.≫

≪Commencing evolution.≫

Just like the previous times, the scenery in front of me warped and twisted.

Immediately after, I lost consciousness.

The next day, I woke up.

I sat up and immediately checked my condition.

(…Just like the last evolution, there’s no real sense of discomfort…)

It was the same when I evolved into a Newhuman, but physically it doesn’t feel like I’ve changed that much compared to before the evolution.

I wonder how my stats look?

Kudo Kazuto

Demi-God Level 1

HP: 3212 / 3212

MP: 1902 / 1902

Strength: 1145

Endurance: 1140

Agility: 3041

Dexterity: 3001

Magic Power: 435

Magic Resistance: 435

SP: 62

JP: 31

Occupations

Ninja God LV10

Tracker LV9

Jet Black Player LV10

Ascetic Monk LV5

Pantomimist LV9

Unique Skills

Early Maturity, Heroic Hymn, Diligence

Race Unique Skills

Divine Power Release, Curse/Poison Neutralization, Low-tier Divine Eye

Skills

Super Ninja Arts LV10, Super Ninja Tool Creation LV10, Sunset Territory LV10, Gale Breakthrough LV10, HP Conversion LV10, MP Consumption Reduction LV10, Throwing LV6, Odorless LV7, Silent Movement LV7, Concealment LV6, Night Vision LV5, Vital Point Strike LV6, Presence Concealment LV7, Appraisal Obstruction LV10, Tracking LV10, Terrain Grasp LV10, Wide-range Search LV10, Telescope LV10, Agility Enhancement LV10, Dexterity Enhancement LV5, Observation LV10, Eavesdropping LV4, Vanishing Shadow LV10, Shadow Mimicry LV10, Shadow Cage LV10, Fortitude LV6, Full Power LV6, HP Auto-Recovery LV10, MP Auto-Recovery LV10, Mimicry LV10, Physical Ability Improvement LV10, Swordsmanship LV8, Heat Resistance LV3, Danger Avoidance LV5, Riding LV4, Negotiation LV1, Escape LV4, Defensive Instinct LV1, Item Box LV10, Email LV2, Concentration LV9, Prediction LV9, Rage LV3, Mental Pain Resistance LV9, Acting LV4, Calculation Acceleration LV5, Intimidation LV3

Party Members

Momo (Darkness Dog) LV27

Aka (Create Slime) LV24

Ichinose Natsu (Newhuman) LV29

Kiki (High Carbuncle) LV3

Sora (Ancient Dragon) LV10

Shiro (Small White Dragon) LV8

“Seriously…”

Looking at those stats, I couldn’t help but go dazed.

My stats have gone up an insane amount.

HP and MP increased by 1000 each, and Strength and Endurance increased by 100, while Agility and Dexterity increased by 300 each.

I’ve been steadily raising my stats and skill levels through special training with Libera-san, but evolving has made them explode even further.

In terms of Strength, Endurance, and Agility alone, I’m already above Libera-san.

And a new section for Race Unique Skills has been added below the Unique Skills.

“Divine Power Release,” “Curse/Poison Neutralization,” and “Low-tier Divine Eye,” huh.

I can more or less guess what “Curse/Poison Neutralization” means just from the name.

The description says it completely neutralizes diseases, poisons, and curses, and Poison Resistance, Paralysis Resistance, and Virus Resistance have disappeared from the skill list. They were likely integrated.

But Heat Resistance remains in a separate category.

What kind of skills are the other two?

• Divine Power Release

  • During combat, damage dealt to enemies increases by up to 100%.

  • During combat, damage received from enemies is reduced by up to 50%.

  • During combat, the effects of stats and skills increase by 35%.

  • During combat, reaction speed, thought speed, and reflex speed increase.

• Low-tier Divine Eye

  • Allows viewing of the target’s stats and skill effects. Obstruction neutralization.

  • Blind spots disappear, allowing one to “see” from any angle.

  • Allows one to “see” various things that were previously invisible.

Both of them had incredible effects.

“Divine Power Release” is similar to the effect of “Heroic Hymn,” but this one feels specialized for the individual.

While “Heroic Hymn” strengthens all party members, “Divine Power Release” further strengthens me personally. But they can be used for different purposes, and since they can be used together, it’s a very convenient skill.

“Low-tier Divine Eye” feels like a high-tier version of Appraisal.

The fact that blind spots disappear is quite convenient, but what does it mean to see things that were previously invisible?

Well, I suppose I’ll just have to try the details in practice later.

I’d been struggling because I couldn’t get Appraisal until now, but being able to obtain a skill that surpasses it is a great result.

“Ah, Kiki and Shiro have evolved too…”

Kiki evolved from a Carbuncle to a High Carbuncle, and Shiro evolved from a Little White Dragon to a Small White Dragon. …What exactly is the difference between Little and Small?

Ichinose-san is also just a step away from evolving, and Momo and the others have leveled up considerably.

While I was unconscious and evolving, everyone must have been training seriously.

I can feel the signs of them still training outside right now.

“Now then, time to distribute the points…”

First is JP. Both “Tracker” and “Pantomimist” are at LV9, so I’ll raise them both to LV10.

By the way, I had raised the level of “Jet Black Player” to 10 by the time of the Arrogance battle, but no further advanced job was offered.

Apparently, for this occupation, this is the end of the line. That was a bit disappointing.

≪Tracker level has reached the limit.≫

≪Advanced and derivative jobs are available for selection.≫

≪Advanced job ‘Watcher’ has been unlocked.≫

≪Advanced job ‘Senior Ranger’ has been unlocked.≫

≪Advanced job ‘Senior Combat Engineer’ has been unlocked.≫

≪Pantomimist level has reached the limit.≫

≪Advanced and derivative jobs are available for selection.≫

≪Advanced job ‘Masquerade Master’ has been unlocked.≫

≪Certain conditions for occupations have been met.≫

≪Derivative job ‘Street Performer’ has been unlocked.≫

≪Derivative job ‘Training Instructor’ has been unlocked.≫

≪Derivative job ‘Barrier Master’ has been unlocked.≫

≪Derivative job ‘Contractor’ has been unlocked.≫

The advanced jobs for Tracker and Pantomimist were offered respectively.

New derivative jobs appeared as well, but since all five occupation slots are already full, I’ll ignore those.

If there’s a way to change occupations, it would be worth considering, but I’ll set that aside for now.

Since there’s only one option for Pantomimist, that’s fine, but there are three for Tracker.

Now, which one should I choose…?

I looked it up with the Question Right, and as expected, the best one is “Watcher.”

This is a pure high-tier upgrade of the Tracker job.

The remaining “Senior Ranger” is more attack-oriented and “Senior Combat Engineer” is an advanced job for ambushes, but since I already possess jobs and skills that cover those areas, there isn’t much benefit in taking them now.

Therefore, I choose “Watcher.”

≪Tracker has been changed to the advanced job ‘Watcher.’≫

≪Occupation has become Watcher. Acquired skill ‘Monitoring.’ Acquired skill ‘Wide-area Terrain Grasp.’ Acquired skill ‘Thought Acceleration.’ Acquired skill ‘Ultra Wide-range Search.’≫

≪Skill ‘Wide-range Search’ will be integrated into ‘Ultra Wide-range Search.’≫

≪’Ultra Wide-range Search’ level has risen from 1 to 3.≫

≪Skill ‘Terrain Grasp’ will be integrated into ‘Wide-area Terrain Grasp.’≫

≪’Wide-area Terrain Grasp’ level has risen from 1 to 3.≫

≪Pantomimist has been changed to the advanced job ‘Masquerade Master.’≫

≪Occupation has become Masquerade Master. Acquired skill ‘Program.’ Acquired skill ‘Mask Creation.’ Acquired skill ‘Costume Creation.’ Acquired skill ‘Stage Enhancement.’≫

I change the two occupations to their advanced versions.

I’ve obtained new skills as well.

The ones for Watcher are more or less self-explanatory, but the ones for Masquerade Master are quite intriguing.

For now, I’ll use my SP first to raise Wide-area Terrain Grasp and Ultra Wide-range Search to LV4, Monitoring to LV5, Thought Acceleration to LV2, and Program, Mask Creation, Costume Creation, and Stage Enhancement to LV4 each.

Then, I’ll use the remaining 11 JP to raise Watcher and Masquerade Master to LV3.

This also raises the level of the attached skills by one.

With this, the stat distribution is complete.

Kudo Kazuto

Demi-God Level 1

HP: 3312 / 3312

MP: 2102 / 2102

Strength: 1185

Endurance: 1180

Agility: 3141

Dexterity: 3101

Magic Power: 485

Magic Resistance: 485

SP: 2

JP: 1

Occupations

Ninja God LV10

Watcher LV3

Jet Black Player LV10

Ascetic Monk LV5

Masquerade Master LV3

Unique Skills

Early Maturity, Heroic Hymn, Diligence

Race Unique Skills

Divine Power Release, Curse/Poison Neutralization, Low-tier Divine Eye

Skills

Super Ninja Arts LV10, Super Ninja Tool Creation LV10, Sunset Territory LV10, Gale Breakthrough LV10, HP Conversion LV10, MP Consumption Reduction LV10, Throwing LV6, Odorless LV7, Silent Movement LV7, Concealment LV6, Night Vision LV5, Vital Point Strike LV6, Presence Concealment LV7, Appraisal Obstruction LV10, Tracking LV10, Wide-area Terrain Grasp LV5, Ultra Wide-range Search LV5, Telescope LV10, Monitoring LV6, Thought Acceleration LV3, Agility Enhancement LV10, Dexterity Enhancement LV5, Observation LV10, Eavesdropping LV4, Vanishing Shadow LV10, Shadow Mimicry LV10, Shadow Cage LV10, Fortitude LV6, Full Power LV6, HP Auto-Recovery LV10, MP Auto-Recovery LV10, Mimicry LV10, Program LV5, Mask Creation LV5, Costume Creation LV5, Stage Enhancement LV5, Physical Ability Improvement LV10, Swordsmanship LV8, Heat Resistance LV3, Danger Avoidance LV5, Riding LV4, Negotiation LV1, Escape LV4, Defensive Instinct LV1, Item Box LV10, Email LV2, Concentration LV9, Prediction LV9, Rage LV3, Mental Pain Resistance LV9, Acting LV4, Calculation Acceleration LV5, Intimidation LV3

Party Members

Momo (Darkness Dog) LV27

Aka (Create Slime) LV24

Ichinose Natsu (Newhuman) LV29

Kiki (High Carbuncle) LV3

Sora (Ancient Dragon) LV10

Shiro (Small White Dragon) LV8

Now then, I want to test my new skills, so I’ll join Libera-san’s training too.

I want to check Ichinose-san and the others’ stats as well.

With Arrogance in hand, I headed outside.

Addendum:

The stats are shown in a state where I had already finished distributing points before the Arrogance fight, starting from Chapter 201 when stats last appeared. This covers the period between Newhuman LV16 and Newhuman LV27. During that time, I also raised Jet Black Player to LV10, but no advanced job was offered. Various other skill levels have also increased. The author screamed at the first stat distribution in a long time.

I’ve also updated the side story, so please check that out too.

Volume 1-4 of the light novel and Volume 1-5 of the comic are also on sale.

End of 235