Chapter 14: 14. Evolution and Atlas

Chapter 14: 14. Evolution and Atlas

"Wow, it's so big."

As soon as Dorothy entered, this was her first impression of the bookstore.

This was a standard witch's shop, which looked tiny from the outside but was actually immense inside. A clever Space Extension Spell expanded the internal space nearly a hundredfold. The neatly arranged bookshelves were like a forest, especially the ones that reached up the high walls, creating the feel of a library.

No, it would be more accurate to say that this was a library masquerading as a bookstore, as the collection of books here surpassed that of any ordinary bookstore.

Although the space was large and there were quite a few customers, the overall environment was very quiet. There was no noise inside, and even when there was a conversation, customers would draw close to each other and whisper softly.

This was certainly due to the witches' innate respect for knowledge, but perhaps even more so for the awe of the wise store owner's reputation.

Dorothy liked this kind of environment. She was naturally a homebody who preferred quiet over action, and as a witch on the Path of Omniscience, being surrounded by an ocean of knowledge felt incredibly wonderful.

"Maybe I shouldn't get into real estate after all. Opening a bookstore doesn't seem too bad either," she thought to herself.

"Sister, let's go over there. The textbooks are all in that direction," said Alice softly, tugging on her sleeve and pointing towards a section on the second floor.

As a witch on the Path of Omnipotence, Alice was never too keen on reading or studying. In her opinion, all she needed was to know how to use the necessary spells, and as for the principles behind the spells, who cares, as long as they work.

Thus, Alice's interest in the bookstore was merely average, similar to the way Dorothy lacked interest in picking out clothes. The little witch wished nothing more than to head straight for her target, grab the textbooks, and leave.

She was someone who loved lively environments and didn't really enjoy the somber and oppressive atmosphere of the library.

However, Dorothy wasn't in any hurry. While Alice headed straight for their goal, she leisurely walked along, eyeing the bookshelves on both sides, looking for books that caught her interest.

"Huh..."

Fortunately, the power of evolution isn't a one-time thing. The results of the evolution can be passed down through bloodlines, so if an ordinary witch fails to complete an evolution, they can pass the goal onto their offspring, striving generation after generation until one day they can reach that goal.

Many traditional and secluded witch families walk this path.

Generally, the evolution abilities inherited from witch parents are referred to as talents. A witch will at least inherit one talent from each parent, and witches with excellent talents may inherit multiple talents from their parents.

As for abilities that witches evolve later on by themselves, these are referred to as specialties.

Apart from the different naming, there is no real difference between talents and specialties. If anything, as talents are inherent from birth, they tend to fit the witch better, and thus their effects might be slightly stronger.

In any case, modern witches have thoroughly researched the evolutionary abilities of their own races. They have even developed dedicated evolution charts, comprehensively studying and cataloging the supernatural powers they encountered during their battles over the years with various supernatural races.

They have also categorized these powers into different levels based on their strength, from low to high: N, R, SR, SSR. Higher-level abilities are naturally more powerful, but correspondingly, evolving them requires consuming more of the magic power limit.

And the name of that book is "Witch Bloodline Talent Specialty Evolution Chart Detailed Explanation."

This knowledge is essential for witches on the Path of Omnipotence. For witches like Dorothy on the Path of Omniscience, it doesn't matter as much.

After all, witches on the Path of Omnipotence grow strong through talents and specialties with magic as just an aid, whereas witches on the Path of Omniscience rely more on knowledge and magic, with talents and specialties being secondary.

She had heard the name of the book before but had never actually looked at it. And now, having just encountered it, she seemed to sense a hint of fate guiding her, her hand involuntarily reaching out for it.

Then her hand touched another hand that had also reached out for the book. It seemed she wasn't the only one interested in it.

Dorothy immediately woke from her trance-like state and turned to look beside her.

A pure white girl had entered her sight.