Alchemy.

  What was it, really? A mere craft? Some dusty old formus scribbled in battered tomes that Miss Hester kindly shoved my way? Or perhaps those violent, perilous concoctions that Lotte was always so keen to pelt me with?

  No, it was none of that, was it?

  Not just that, anyway.

  Something deeper lurked beneath. Something grander. Something far more elusive.

  What was it that y beneath? The answer was… rather simple: this raw, living, breathing symphony of transformation.

  The shimmer of copper, bubbling away until it blossomed into verdigris. The soft sigh of gss as it cooled, shifting from molten rage to crystal crity. It was all there.

  This melodic hymn of change.

  This lulby of becoming.

  Everything in the world held the promise of change, but those alchemical ingredients, they… carried it in its purest, wildest form. Every time I brewed a potion, crafted a salve, or melded ingredients together, it wasn’t just stuff I was making, it was this very transformation itself.

  And somehow, deep down, it always struck a chord with me.

  Now, as I stared at these books, these recipes, for my very own evolution—I couldn’t help but feel that this was the purest manifestation of thoughts that had been resting quietly within me. Unspoken. Something I could never put in words. The concoctions I’d brew from these pages wouldn’t just change the world around me; no, they’d change me.

  This feeling.

  To be elevated.

  To be perfected.

  My connection with alchemy was never just a matter of intellect. No, it was something far more visceral, more primal. My hands grasped a bck tome from the bottom shelf, and for a fleeting moment, I felt it again—the same pull, the same sensation.

  Yes. Of course.

  Nothing was different after all.

  I cradled the book, the world around me fading into insignificance for just a breath. The smooth cover, the weight it held. Even without opening it, I could feel it—the scent of endurance, the promise of protection.

  And above all, the whispered vow of transformation.

  On the cover, it read: Ironhide Hatchling.

  Naturally, I dove straight in. And…

  On the very first page? An image. A hefty, thick-scaled dragon, bulkier than my current form. Its wings were shorter than mine, though equipped with a leathery membrane. The tail, however, ended in a rather menacing spiked club.

  I flipped another page, and there it was:

  [Description: Toughened, defense-focused evolution.]

  [Stat Bonuses: +1 Durability, +0.5 Strength per level until next evolution.]

  [New Skills: Avaible for acquisition.]

  [New Organ: Dermal Shielding Ptes – Thick, interlocking scales providing superior primary protection over standard scales.]

  So, essentially, a bulkier, more defensive version of me. And I mean really defensive—extra pting over my already solid scales, plus a new organ I could mutate and upgrade?

  Wait a tick—

  “Yes, you can use mutagens to upgrade said organs,” a voice whispered in my ear.

  EEEEEEP! I nearly jumped out of my scales. Oh wait, I had no scales here.

  My doppelg?nger cackled. “Oh, that was priceless! You looked so utterly baffled just now.”

  Oh, the cheek of it! "Hah..." I grumbled. "I was literally just about to ask that! Couldn't you have waited, instead of spookily reading my mind?”

  “Pfft, if you were in my position, you know you'd do the same!”

  And... yeah, she had a point. It was me, after all. Who better to know what I’d tolerate or not? Ugh, it was all getting a bit too introspective. With a huff, I set the bck-covered book aside.

  “Didn’t fancy the defensive version of yourself, then?”

  “No, I did like it. It’s just... not quite what I’m after.” Please, for the love of dragons, let the one I need be in here.

  With that, I shifted to the second option. This one was titled Juggernaut Hatchling.

  Flipping it open, I was greeted by yet another image. This time? An even bulkier version of myself—think me but with… muscles.

  [Description: Brute-force evolution prioritizing maximum strength.]

  [Stat Bonuses: +1 Strength, +0.5 Durability per level until next evolution.]

  [New Skills: Avaible for acquisition.]

  [New Organ: Osteofibril Network – Complex dense fibers reinforcing the skeletal structure.]

  Still… not quite what I had in mind.

  With a sigh, I set that one aside too and reached for the final book in the Bck section.

  Juvenile Razorhorn

  [Description: High-impact evolution specializing in charging and piercing.]

  [Stat Bonuses: +0.5 Strength, +0.5 Durability, +0.5 Will per level until next evolution.]

  [New Skills: Avaible for acquisition.]

  [New Organ: Cranial Impact Node – Dense bone structure around the skull, amplifying charge attack power.]

  They did look rather snazzy as options, and honestly, I might've locked one in if I hadn’t already set my sights on something else.

  Come on, now!

  The bck ones were sorted, and above them were grey-coloured tomes. I began flipping through them, one by one.

  Windrunner Wyrmling

  [Description: Speed-oriented evolution optimized for agility and dodging.]

  [Stat Bonuses: +2 Strength per level until next evolution.]

  [New Skills: Avaible for acquisition.]

  [New Organ: Tendon-Extensor Array – Specialized muscle/tendon system enhancing movement speed and reflexes.]

  Hold on—did the stat boost just get bigger? With those bck evolutions, I was only getting a 1.5 stat bump per level. Curious…

  "Are they, like... rarities? These colours?" I asked my doppelg?nger, who was already faffing about behind that strange apparatus, tinkering with the tubes.

  “Yes, one might put it that way. They even come in colours you might find... familiar.”

  “Yeah, I noticed.” The colours matched the tiers of a mage’s mana core, from the lowly bck to the illustrious gold.

  I quickly started rifling through more books.

  Next up: Juvenile Shadowstalker—basically, a stealthy little number.

  [Stat Bonuses: +1.5 Strength, +0.5 Intelligence per level until next evolution.]

  [New Skills: Avaible for acquisition.]

  [New Organ: Acoustic Dampener Pouches – Specialized muscles that absorb sound during movement.]

  There were only two books in the grey section. And no, it wasn’t in these ones either. Oh crikey, did I not unlock the achievement like Lotte had said? I set the books down, feeling a bit miffed, and rummaged through the single yellow-covered one next.

  There was just one book here too.

  Shadewalker Dragonling. Looked like a higher rarity version of Juvenile Shadowstalker. That extra 0.5 stat bonus seemed like the kind of perk one’d get as they climbed up the rarity dder.

  [Stat Bonuses: +2 Strength, +0.5 Intelligence per level until next evolution.]

  [New Skills: Avaible for acquisition.]

  [New Organ: Reticuris Veil – Organ maniputes light, making the user harder to detect visually.]

  Hmm, I already had something for dodging visual detection, but this would pair nicely with my camoufging scales, wouldn’t it? Ohh, the agony! So many tempting options, and here I was, skipping some real gems. But no, I had to stay focused. Eyes on the prize, as they say.

  Above these, there were the red ones, even rarer. I wasn’t entirely sure how much stronger they were, but the stat difference was crystal clear. Plus, who knew what new and fancy skills I could snag upon evolving? If my guess was right, I could nab them with Skill Points. Speaking of which, I still hadn’t spent the point on Crush Cw yet—just didn’t feel urgent at the moment.

  I tossed the question to my doppelganger, who responded with nothing more than a shrug. “Newer skills depend entirely on the evolution you pick. Before you evolve, even I haven’t the foggiest clue what sort of skills you’ll unlock,” she said, before going back to her odd little alchemy project. She flitted about, gathering liquids from beakers and tipping them into spindly gss tubes. A bright yellow liquid fizzled as she sprinkled in a red powder.

  Honestly, what was she doing? Not just doing, but... concocting, maybe?

  Oi, Jade! Focus! Stop getting distracted by alchemy and weird experiments!

  There it was, standing out like a sore thumb above the yellow section—one solitary red book. Naturally, it was the first thing that caught my eye next.

  Fmecore Hatchling

  The first page had a picture: wings rger than mine, a body darker red than bck, sleek, sinuous, a more elegant version of my current self.

  [Description: Evolution focused on fire-based attacks, enabling the user to weaponize mana into fmes.]

  [Stat Bonuses: +2 Intelligence, +1 Agility per level until next evolution.]

  [New Skills: Avaible for acquisition.]

  [Unlocks Fire Affinity.]

  [Unlocks Mana Core: Basic Monster Core – Enables internal mana storage and channeling for abilities or mana-converting organs.]

  Hmm… Lotte might have been onto something. It was ranked sky-high in rarity, and, well, magic! But… now that I saw it, I realised it wasn’t quite the irresistible trap I’d expected. The perks weren’t that dazzling. Though, to be fair, the form did look pretty amazing.

  I set the red book down and gnced toward the gold section. And, above that, a set of rainbow-hued books that looked as if they belonged to a whole different css entirely.

  One golden book sat alone. I had only one in each of these higher rarity tiers, it seemed. But when my eyes locked onto the title, my heart gave a little leap.

  Was this it? Was this finally it?

  Hungerborn Hatchling

  Without a second thought, I cracked open the book.

  What greeted me on the first page was unlike any other evolution I'd ever seen. Most evolutions were mere extensions of my base form, but this—oh, this was something else entirely. My maw stretched unnaturally, like one of those creepers, down to my throat. Elongated, grotesque. Teeth curved inward, perfectly crafted for ripping, tearing, and devouring with ruthless efficiency. My scales were a dark, almost sickly green, wings jagged at the edges like a serrated bde. My tail, even longer than before, thinned into a whip, perhaps fit for strangling prey. Yet the pièce de résistance? My stomach—bloated, immense, prepared for relentless consumption.

  I flipped the page in haste.

  And there it was, the description:

  [Description: Gluttonous form allowing user to feed endlessly and rapidly process consumed material into usable energy. Optimal for prolonged survival or combat in resource-rich environments.]

  [Stat Bonuses: +1 Intelligence, +1 Will, +2 Durability per level until next evolution.]

  [New Skills: Avaible for acquisition.]

  [New Organ: Macro-Trophic Sac – Specialized organ expanding stomach capacity, enhancing nutrient absorption and resource processing into stamina or rapid healing.]

  [Evolution Exclusive Ability: Endless Hunger – User’s metabolism adapts, permitting continuous feeding without reaching fullness.]

  Of course. Lotte had been spot-on again. When was she ever wrong? This was exactly what I needed. The key to unlocking magic.

  Lotte had said that the more I devoured, the higher my chances of evolving with organs simir to those I consumed. To finally gain those physical mana veins the var rats had, I would need to feast on them—devour them as if the sun wouldn't rise again. How much would I need to eat? I hadn't the faintest clue. But I knew the amount was no small figure. Lotte had made it quite clear: unlock a hunger-based evolution at all costs. She'd even advised stuffing myself until I teetered on the brink of death before triggering the evolution.

  This was a sacrificial evolution. It wasn’t for my overall improvement, but a crucial step on the path to where I needed to be. I clutched the golden book tightly. This was my ticket to magic. The real, proper magic I had longed for. So, so long.

  And now it was within my grasp.

  "Looks like you’ve finally stumbled upon it," my doppelg?nger quipped, as she carefully heated the gss tube, gripping it with metal tongs, hovering it above what appeared to be some kind of runes. Naturally, there wasn’t a fme in sight. Utterly bizarre, that. And yet…

  "Why do I get the nagging suspicion you knew exactly what I was after?"

  "Of course I did!" she chirped.

  "And you also knew which book it was?"

  She nodded, positively beaming.

  "And it never crossed your mind that perhaps—just perhaps—it might’ve been more efficient to tell me?"

  "Efficient? Oh, darling, I’ve already begun brewing the evolution potion. Watching you wade through those stages of despair while flipping through book after book was simply far too entertaining to interrupt."

  I swear, I felt a vein bulging in my temple. Was I always this infuriating to others? No, surely not. She was clearly exploiting my innate generosity!

  Even so, as I clutched the golden book, my gaze wandered yet again to those two peculiar rainbow-hued volumes. My hand, quite without permission, reached towards them.

  But before I could touch them, my doppelg?nger's voice echoed from behind me.

  “I wouldn’t want to see what’s inside those if I were you.”

  Huh?