Chapter 308 Duplicate
[Alchemists are beings who aim to create, shape, manipulate, and seek to discover the origin of all things. What happened and why it happened, how and why it came to be. An alchemist's path is to seek truth and origin.
Alchemist lords, a unique existence even among alchemists. Perhaps there is more after seeking the truth and origin?]
[You have proven to be worthy of the Unique Grade Job[Alchemist Lord] and can now evolve to rank 1],
[Do you wish to evolve now?]
[Y/N],
...
Ace would have evolved right away if this had been the only information on the blue panel in front of him, but it wasn't as Ace also saw what Andrew Dawn had previously discussed with him.
...
[Do you wish to evolve now?]
[Y/N],
[Note that a catalyst is helpful to successfully evolve to the next rank. Although not required it is advised to use one as it is needed...…]
...…..
There was more written after that, but it was mostly the same thing Andrew Dawn had told Ace.
To summarise, a catalyst is not required for one to evolve, but it is required if one does not want to have issues such as failing to evolve while evolving.
To avoid this, a catalyst of sufficient value was required because the consequences of failing to evolve can be very severe depending on the situation.
Someone could lose a level or more, while others could become crippled or even die.
It sounds exaggerated, which is exactly what Ace thought when he first heard Andrew Dawn say it, but after learning that this information was discovered because it happened to his men right in front of his eyes, Ace no longer doubted his words.
Because of things like this, Ace and other people in the true world questioned whether the primordial chronicle was truly there to help them because while it did mention that having a catalyst to evolve was important, it said nothing about the consequences that could occur if one failed to evolve successfully depending on the situation.
'Fortunately, I have a catalyst with me,' Ace thought as he turned to examine the bottle containing a goldish liquid.
Although the primordial chronicle stated that anything could be used as a catalyst, including monster bones, which Ace had in abundance in his storage ring, Ace still chose to use dragon blood as his catalyst, even though it appeared to be a waste.
Of course, there were reasons for this, which the primordial chronicle and Andrew Dawn both mention: perfect evolution and imperfect evolution.
Yes, it does become complicated.
One should have been able to deduce their meaning from their names alone, but the fact that they exist at all puzzled him at first, but after some thought, it made sense.
Ace couldn't help but think about the concept of perfect and imperfect evolution again as he considered his options for evolving. He knew that in the physical world, evolution was often seen as a process of adaptation and improvement, where the fittest survive and thrive.
This was very evident during the times when humanity was not civilised, but things were a little different in the magical world.
According to Andrew Dawn, perfect evolution was the ideal outcome, where a creature would become stronger, faster, and more skilled as it evolved. This was the kind of evolution that Ace wanted for himself, and he knew that using the dragon blood as his catalyst would give him the best chance of achieving it.
Apart from his storage ring, which was out of the question, it was the most valuable item he had in his hand at the time.
Imperfect evolution, on the other hand, was a riskier process, where creatures could evolve in unpredictable and sometimes dangerous ways. This was the kind of evolution that Ace wanted to avoid at all costs, as it could lead to unforeseen consequences.
*Sighs
Ace sighed, wondering why something related to magic had to be so complicated in some ways, but at least now he didn't have a time limit on his head where he had to rush things by risking his life sometimes in the true world just to meet his job requirements.
His job requirements were all completed, and the unique grade job was no longer at the point where he could lose it. He could now relax and do whatever he wanted, but this did not mean he would postpone his advancement to the next rank as a result.
This was for a variety of reasons, the most important of which was that he hadn't forgotten that the leaders of the races in the true world were about to have something unsealed from them.
He didn't know if what the primordial chronicle was going to unseal about the races' leaders was related to their powers or if their current power would be boosted, but Ace didn't think being unranked would be enough to survive if he encountered these races and their leaders in the true world.
Ace took the race issue very seriously, as he still remembers what Andrew Dawn told him about the race leader he encountered.
For example, a sealed level 25 creature was able to fight Andrew Dawn to a stalemate without much of an advantage.
Ace didn't know if this was exaggerated or not because he had witnessed Andrew Dawn's power before he fused with the dragon heart, but there was no reason for Andrew Dawn to lie about such things, so it was most likely true, and the fact that it was rose Ace's desire to have power and that the fastest way for him was to evolve.
This could not be put off for much longer.
Finally, Ace decided to evolve now that he was in a safe place and no one would interrupt him, but first, he needed to be in his best condition before attempting to evolve.
Andrew Dawn advised him on this, and he agreed that it was reasonable, so he decided to rest first to reach his peak state.
Fortunately, the dragon potion also healed his hidden injuries, so he didn't have to worry about that as well.
Ace dismissed the panel in front of him and returned to his room, the first thing he did was check on blue, and when he saw that it was still breathing, Ace made his way to the other side of his bed to take a short rest before attempting to evolve.
This was the intended plan, but the exhaustion that had not been fully extinguished from his previous rest caught up with him, and he dozed off.
***********
*Yawns
After shifting to sit on the bed and letting out a yawn, Ace turned to take in his surroundings for a time. When he noticed that he had fallen asleep instead of resting, he shook his head, got out of bed, and went to his lab.
Ace was not very concerned about Blue's continued sleep because it did not appear to be in danger, and instead made sure to concentrate on what he was going to do by pushing any distracting ideas from his mind.
Ace eventually came to the centre of his lab, which was ringed by the tables he had previously set up, while he cleansed his thoughts of all distractions.
Because of his experience with the dragon potion, Ace was unsure whether evolving would cause anything to come out of his body once more, but he thought that it was preferable for him to remain nude if it happened.
Even if it wasn't necessary at all, he still did it because it was his decision.
Blue was the sole additional individual in the mansion, so everything was fine.
After doing this, Ace sat down on the floor with his legs crossed and retrieved the ancient dragon blood from his storage ring.
After doing this, he called out the primordial chronicle in his head and prepared himself for what was to come.
[Do you wish to evolve now?]
[Y/N],
'Yes'
[Do you wish to use the [Blood Of An Ancient Dragon] as a catalyst or do you wish to continue without a catalyst?]
'Use it'
After the primordial chronicle got Ace's confirmation, he immediately felt different.
Ace felt a strange sensation deep within his body like something was stirring inside him. As the sensation grew stronger, he felt a sharp pain shooting through his body, and he could feel a strange energy coursing through his veins.
He had no knowledge of what was happening in him, but he instinctively knew that he was changing a transformative change.
The pain grew more intense, and Ace could feel something coming out of his body. A black, viscous liquid that smelled horribly was pouring out of him. It was as if the transformation was purging the remaining impurities from his body.
As the black liquid flowed out of him, Ace could feel his body becoming more perfect, more attuned to the world around him. His skin glowed with warm golden light, and his eyes shone with an otherworldly radiance.He was truly evolving into something more.