"That is joyous news! We must prepare a feat to celebrate immediately!" Po said with excitement more intensely than Evelyn was expecting.
Just like her recent sendoff party at the Inferno Field Ranger's Fortress, Evelyn failed to react quickly enough to prevent a giant celebration from happening. Po had already flown off and started spreading the word by the time she realized what was happening.
'Whatever. I'll just let them do as they want.' Evelyn thought, resigned.
She wasn't one for large parties, especially when she was the center of attention, but she figured she might as well let the burrowing owls have their fun. After she reached the tyrant rank, there was a good chance that she would never return.
While Po was busy preparing for the celebration, Evelyn headed towards her room within the burrowing owl's home.
Having stayed here quite a bit she had a comfortable bed set up along with some decorations to liven the place up.
Looking around, she felt a sense of sadness welling up inside her. Soon she would have to abandon this place forever. So far, she had kept off the radar of the people after her, but once she evolved and went on the offense, there was no doubt she would attract a great deal of negative attention. Coming back after would only serve to bring danger to the little owls that had treated her so warmly.
'I can't linger on any regrets. I already chose my path and will see it through.' Evelyn thought, pushing any glum thoughts out of her mind.
Once she had her emotions fully under control again, she moved over to her bed and fell asleep. She was exhausted from her journey here from the Inferno Field and knew she would need her energy for the undoubtedly enormous festivities Po and the other burrowing owls would prepare.
...
The next several days went by, and to Evelyn's surprise there was not just one party, but multiple. Every day the burrowing owls celebrated Evelyn's success in obtaining the grand fire elemental's heart and the Sylphid's Tear.
This nonstop celebrating was tiring for Evelyn, yet the burrowing owls only seemed to become more invigorated the longer they partied.
Nevertheless, on the day that the magic spring finally showed signs of activating, all of the fatigue Evelyn had been feeling was washed away at once. Her excitement quickly swelled, and she could not wait for the moment the spring became full.
Time seemed to tick by both incredibly quickly and aggravatingly slowly, but eventually the spring glowed with an immense amount of magical energy.
Evelyn let out a deep breath to calm herself and pulled the five catalysts she needed out of her storage cuff.
First came the graviton gem she had nearly gotten crushed to obtain, next was the magic core of the human fire magic expert she had killed within the Verdant Warlord's Domain. After that she brought out the grand fire elemental's heart and the Sylphid's Tear which were the prizes she had earned during her recent excursion into the Inferno Field.
Lastly, she grabbed the evolution potion she had made which would act as a substitute for the final item she normally would have needed to obtain.
Each of the five items glowed with the magical energy Evelyn had charged them with and she could feel them beginning to resonate with her.
'Not yet. If there isn't enough magical energy present, I could end up with a stunted evolution or outright perish.'
With a swift flap of her wings, Evelyn hovered into the air and then flew around the magic spring.
As she went, she dropped red and purple magic crystals she had obtained from the mine that the burrowing owls controlled. There was no telling how much magical energy she would need to evolve so she was not stingy and emptied her entire stock of higher-grade magic crystals.
She could already tell that her evolution would end up incomplete, but that did not matter to her so long as she could continue on. Even if she became a monster, she would see her goals through.
Except, as the cocoon of magical energy was almost finished wrapping around her, Evelyn heard a loud splash next to her.
This first splash was then followed by several more and the magical energy in the surroundings rapidly increased.
'I see. Thank you, Po, and every single one of you burrowing owls.' Evelyn thought before completely losing consciousness.
Thanks to the immense amount of magical energy spread through the area, Evelyn's feelings had been transmitted to the burrowing owls and they had sensed her plight. In a desperate attempt to give her the energy she required, they had gathered up any and everything they had and thrown it into the spring.
From magic crystals to precocious treasured fruits and herbs, everything was offered up to Evelyn.
Now having the necessary magical energy, the cocoon fully enveloped Evelyn and swelled in size. The final step of her evolution had begun and only time would tell when it would be completed.
Unlike the times when she evolved from a wild beast to a fiend beast, and a fiend beast to an awakened beast, Evelyn did not just grow larger and more powerful. Her entire body and soul felt like it was melding with magical energy and being remolded. She was undergoing a profound change to her entire existence.
There were times when she would gain an awareness of what was going on and would either experience an unbearable pain, or a warm bliss like being enveloped in hot water after a stressful day.
Evelyn eventually could sense that the end was coming near and that her transformation would be complete.
But just before her evolution was achieved, she heard what sounded like a booming voice in her head.
'What is it that you wish to become?'
Taken aback, Evelyn did not know how to respond. However, the voice soon repeated its question and in the depths of her very being she already knew what she wanted.
'I want to be the strongest. I need the power to make sure that no one ever takes from me again.'
After giving her answer, Evelyn felt the magical energy cocoon around her begin to fade.
The strands of magical energy broke apart slowly until cascading all around her and dissipating into the air.
With the power that had been supporting her gone, the effects of gravity pulled Evelyn downwards and towards the magical spring.
Luckily, she had been expecting this since she had witnessed the exact same thing happen to Otis after his evolution.
Activating her gravity magic she halted her descent and when she touched down on the surface of the water, she stood atop it without sinking.
Evelyn's eyes then burst open and she looked down at her body that had undergone a drastic change.
Before her eyes were no longer feathered wings and clawed feet, but bare skin and the arms and legs she remembered having when she used to human.