Chapter 192 16: Evolution - Part 1

"Waaaa~ so tired! P'ella is dying!"

Vincent floated across the dark sky; a few hours after fighting against the outer soldiers of Valestraz keep. His body filled with a silky shine from the small amount of sweat on his body; truly trying to fight with magic right now always felt like there was something that hampered him, stopped the anima-like blockage in a fat man's arteries.

The pain caused a slight pain whenever he abused his magic; or tried to fight for long periods while moving the anima through his body; a throbbing pain would be the first sign, then a burning ache in his chest and abdomen from the second, until his body became coated in a thick layer of sweat and his magic stopped working.

'This damn sweaty girl is rolling on my back!' He complained, feeling the wet feather's dripping with P'ella's sweat; she began to get excited, slaying the monsters with her magic, forcing Vincent to keep filling her up like a rechargeable oil torch.

They landed near a tree, one of many scattered throughout the forest. As soon as they touched the ground, P'ella rolled off his back, standing up and stretching her muscles; her feathers rustled as she shook her head and stretched her arms overhead, cracking her spine.

"Mmmmm, hard work, hard work!" Her cute little voice chirped as if all her work and she had carried Vincent home.

'Ah, I am sorry for being too tired to fly... Vincent, you looked in pain. Is everything alright?'

"Don't cry, Vincent, kiss!" P'ella skipped forward, looking fresher than ever before as she kissed his cheek, a loud smooth sounding before pulling away as she flicked her wings and pulled out her tongue; not liking her wings being soaked with blood and sweat as she began to flap them wildly; thankful there was a river to their side, slowly flowing in the peaceful night.

Vincent nodded in agreement as he wiped some sweat from his brow, "Yeah, it was pretty tiring; let's find somewhere more comfortable to rest for a little while."

P'ella nodded in response, walking alongside him as he walked deeper into the woods, following the stream; before it was deep enough to jump into, as her dress flew off, tossed into the sky before landing on a twig as if she planned it.

'There's no way; this girl is a clutz!' Vincent was adamant. "Whatever, I need a bath, and I'm too tired..."

Vincent was truly exhausted, not because the fighting was too hard, but rather because his body was normally throbbing; the pain would subside, allowing him to relax, but the thick sweat continued to pour from his body; feeling heavy, he stumbled towards the water; almost falling inside with a loud splash, his ears listening intently for any intruders.

Sadly the damn harpy was flapping about, jumping and playing in the water, making it difficult for him to find them even if he tried.

He sighed and continued his mind reaching a tranquil place, only paying attention to where he put his feet as he kept his hands busy stroking along the water's top, a calming sensation, letting himself relax as the cool water washed over his skin.

'Silvari, can you please come to me? I need you.' Vincent's voice was neither lustful nor showed a sense of urgency, but the voice that all his spirits and connected women heard caused them all to feel jealous; it was a simple sentence filled with so much information. In his time of need, it was Silvari that he called for and not them.

Efrita, however, stood a few hundred metres from Vincent, always watching him since he headed towards the fort; they both knew each other's presence and were extremely comfortable with each other. Thus he didn't count her as an intruder.

She watched the newest addition to their group, the cute harpy dancing on the top of the water, almost skiing across the stream using her wings to lighten her weight. 'A funny girl; she's really smart in stupid places.'

"Silly women, don't they realise it's because he needs to advance..."

A husky voice left Efrita's lips as they curved into a delighted smile, turning away as she sensed the rapid and excited approach from her younger sister, Silvari, practically oozing her happiness into the air.

However a part of Efrita was jealous, because she could no longer help him with this problem, forced to watch in silence as her own anima and blood would just make his pain worse, causing the break down of his body to hasten.

Vincent could feel her, the only person apart from Vera that could help him right now; the only reason he didn't choose Vera as they were yet to become close enough to perform the act he would do with Silvari; it needed deep trust and for him to let down his guard completely to allow her to infuse him with her blood.

He took one vague look towards his attributes and status, a strange feeling coming over his body as they were too different from the past.

<Status>

Name: Vincent Schwartz

Health: 100% Stamina: 100% Mana: 100%

Race: Daemon (Stage 2)

Bloodlines: Abyssal Phoenix, Abyssal Dragon

Class: Summoner

Level: 35

<Attributes>

Strength - 59

Agility - 57

Stamina - 58

Wisdom - 47

Intellect - 45

Charisma - xx

(average stat of same-level warrior = 10)

<Skills>

-Ruina: Shoot dark shadow blades and spikes at the enemy, causing moderate damage, and can be cast multiple times to barrage the enemy.

-Anima Flare: A huge blast of flames, using one's soul as fuel, shooting towards the enemy and causing high soul fire damage, ignoring all resistances.

-Overcharge: Cast a single spell with double the power and effect, which costs double the mana.

-Enhanced Flight: Able to fly faster and with more speed and flexibility than normal flight, reduces all damage taken while flying.

"It's much simpler than before; my forms were merged and, for some reason, no longer increase my attributes, so annoying... Although my base status did increase to compensate. Although it looks lower, my attributes are now compared to the average warrior my level; it will take time to adjust; Meiya said as enemies get stronger, the single digits will become less relevant..."

However, even though his attributes now meant he was almost 6 times more powerful than another level 35 warrior. It caused his growth to seem slower; his thoughts were disturbed as a woman's figure began to skitter over the trees.

A fairy, beautiful and ethereal. Silvari's body flew with her ice blue wings fluttering, flapping with huge movements to send her body metres forward with each second; her cold body, covered in crystalline ice, shimmered in the moonlight, and soon, it would be replaced by the sun's golden glow.

"My beloved husband, why did you call me with such a strange voice?" A beautiful voice danced with the wind as if searching for the sole recipient and only for his ears to hear.

She swayed in the air before hearing the noisy splashes of the harpy and noticed her cute husband, his body in severe condition as blood was leaking from his cracked flesh; the very light of his eyes was dim, almost looking like a corpse.

'Vincent! Don't make me worry like this in the future...'