Chương 13: The Fork in the Road

The next morning Andy woke up feeling incredible. He had a new hop in his step. Pun definitely intended. And after a good stretch Andy managed to knock out his last 18 XP by lunchtime. [XP: 1600/1600] [TIER 5 EVOLUTION AVAILABLE!] [CONGRATULATIONS! YOU HAVE REACHED THE THRESHOLD FOR TIER 5 EVOLUTION.] Andy finished his lunch. He remembered at his previous evolution that time to evolve combined with the restructuring process left him pretty vulnerable.

So, he moved into the grasses and ferns beneath one of the glowing trees. If he was going to be safe anywhere. It would be here. [TIER 5 EVOLUTION: COMPLEX ORGANISM (ADVANCED)] [YOU WILL TRANSITION FROM A SIMPLE MULTICELLULAR ORGANISM TO AN ADVANCED COMPLEX ORGANISM. FULL ORGAN SYSTEMS. ENHANCED SENSORY CAPABILITIES. SIGNIFICANT SIZE INCREASE.] [CHOOSE YOUR BODY TYPE:] [HUNTER]- The carnivore path. Become adept in tracking, improved active hunting, bonuses to kills, night vision.

You've become proficient at killing. Now it's time to take your aggression to the next level. Eliminates Life Magic. Eliminates Horn. [SURVIVOR]- The rodent path. Early in your journey you began reproducing. Take advantage of those skills along with increased camouflage to grow your swarm. Eliminates Life Magic. Eliminates Horn. [LEAPER]- The path of the rabbit. Your powerful hind legs will become the main characteristic in this path focused on speed. Eliminates Active Hunting skill. Eliminates Toxic Skin.

[GRAZER]- The ungulate path. Camouflage and magic are the driving force of this path. Gain herd instincts, speed bonuses and hooves. Reduction in XP bonuses for killing. Eliminates Active hunting skill. Eliminates Toxic Skin. Andy sat in the ferns absolutely heartbroken. He read through the options again, for probably the fourteenth time. His spec, the way he'd been living since the day he'd chosen the pointy option, did not align with being a unicorn. So far, he'd been grinding XP from killing.

And as a grazer type, there would be no more of that. He would be re-speccing into what looked like a support class. The logical thing to do would be to choose the hunter type. He'd become rather good at hunting. That would mean trusting in himself to start over. To leave DPS Andy behind. Because, and he wished there was a logical explanation, he really did–he wanted with every fiber in his now golden-green glowing being to be a mythical unicorn. He decided to weigh the pros and cons once more of each path.

Hunter: Pros- Get to keep my skills, night vision, large beast. Cons- Not a unicorn, eliminates horn (although I was told that before) Survivor: Pros-Well.. A lot of reproduction I guess. Cons-Literally everything. I'm not picking this. Leaper: Pros- I enjoy jumping and speed, Can keep my horn I could probably become a bunnycorn.. A unibunny? Either way, could be cool. Cons- No more hunting, small And finally Grazer: Let's get this over with. Pros- Life magic, healing is a huge part of who I am… was? Want to be.

This is that mythic unicorn path. I have an unprecedented horn and I'd hate to screw that up and lose it. Magic. This is the only tier that specifically called out magic, and I mean magic. Cons- Complete re-spec, no more hunting, no night vision Andy did not move for over a day while he argued with himself. This was afterall, the biggest decision of his second life. [HURRY UP ALREADY.]"Excuse me? What did you say System?" [THE SYSTEM DID NOT SAY ANYTHING.]"You told me to hurry up."

[THE SYSTEM CANNOT TELL YOU TO HURRY UP.]"So then, why did you?" [QUERY NOT RECOGNIZED.]"Of course. Of course. Next thing you're going to tell me is I'm not actually arguing with the System, just with myself. Is that right?" If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation. [QUERY NOT RECOGNIZED.] Andy screamed. Now because Andy was a frog it sounded more like when someone blows up a balloon and then doesn't tie it but instead lets it go. Like that.

A deflating balloon at the peak of its trajectory. Andy selected Grazer. [PROTO-UNGULATE-TYPE: SELECTED] [HORN MORPHOLOGY TRAIT CHAIN: COMPATIBLE. TRANSFERRING.] [WHICH PATH WILL YOU CHOOSE?] [EVEN-TOED - Even toed ungulates include Tylopoda (camels and llamas), Ruminantia(Deer types), Suina(Pig types). Giraffidea(giraffes), and whippomorpha (whales, hippos, and porpoises)] [ODD-TOED- Odd toed ungulates include hippomorpha(horses, asses, zebras) and ceratomorpha(rhinos and tapirs)] Without hesitating Andy selected odd-toed. He didn't get this far to be a giraffe or a pig. And as much as he liked the idea of being a talking llama, that had already been done. [INITIATING TIER 5 EVOLUTION…] [WARNING: SIGNIFICANT BODY PLAN CHANGES. ESTIMATED SIZE INCREASE: 400-600%. FULL MAMMALIAN ORGAN SYSTEMS DEVELOPING. THIS PROCESS MAY BE DISORIENTING.] Four to Six hundred percent. From the size of a mouse to the size of what a dog? He was going to be bigger now. He was going to have hooves and a mane, and a body designed to run. Andy just now remembered how much he loved running. He'd gotten up at 5: 00AM every morning to run, regardless of weather. Yes, he was one of those people. Restructuring began. His limbs elongated, and his torso stretched.

His skull began stretching and contorting, reshaping around his brain and horn (which were both growing as well) His thoughts were getting sharper in real time, as was his vision. His skin thickened and developed a short coat of coarse hair. His gills sealed shut for the final time. Even if he returned to the water he would have to rely on his lungs now. His toes fused. Three on each foot, the digits merging into something between a hoof and a claw. The promise of something that would become proper hooves.

His tail grew thin and bony and covered in thick coarse hair. Hopefully, it would become a magnificent flowing tail down the road. For now it looked like a thick rat tail attached to some amalgamation of a fox meets a large rodent. All that to say–not awe-inspiring. His horn stayed right where it belonged at the top of his cranium. As the skull continued to reshape it slid along the frontal bone settling slightly north of his two developing eyes.

It fixed itself here and Andy knew it wasn't going to be going anywhere. He was peak horny. [HORN (UNGULATE): DETECTED.] [MYTHIC CREATURE PREREQUISITE: HORN MORPHOLOGY - MET] [MYTHIC CREATURE PREREQUISITE: LIFE MAGIC AFFINITY - MET] [MYTHIC CREATURE PREREQUISITE: EQUINE BASE FORM - UNMET] [REMAINING PREREQUISITES: SEE TIER 6 AND TIER 7 EVOLUTION REQUIREMENTS.] He was getting closer. So close. He had his horn, he had magic. Now he just had to get to becoming a horse.

He wasn't sure on how many tiers it would take to get to the end of his evolution chain, but it looked like he had at least two left.

"Mythic creature. I'm going to be mythical." Andy thought as his bones were still growing and his muscles were forming. I've either made the greatest decision or the most elaborate dick joke the universe has ever been told. Either way, I am here for it." [TIER 5 EVOLUTION COMPLETE] [NEW SPECIES: PROTO-UNGULATE] [BODY PLAN: QUADRUPEDAL MAMMAL. BILATERAL SYMMETRY. FOUR LIMBS WITH SEMI-HOOVED FEET. FULL MAMMALIAN ORGAN SUITE. ENHANCED VISUAL, AUDITORY, AND OLFACTORY SYSTEMS.] [ABILITIES UPDATED:] [ACTIVE HUNTING] - Converted to: [ACTIVE AWARENESS]. Multi-sensory environmental monitoring. Threat and prey detection at long range. [GALLOP] - Quadrupedal running gait. Maximum speed: Moderate-to-High. Endurance: High. [ENHANCED SENSES] - Significantly improved vision (color, distance, motion detection). Enhanced hearing (directional, frequency range expanded). Enhanced olfaction (tracking capability). [TOXIC SKIN]: REMOVED - Mammalian body plan does not support dermal toxin secretion.

[REGENERATION]: RETAINED, REDUCED- Healing rate decreased from amphibian levels. Standard mammalian healing augmented by Life Magic Affinity. [LIFE MAGIC AFFINITY]: RETAINED AND ENHANCED - Horn channels life magic with increased efficiency. Passive healing aura (self only, minor). [CALCIUM SPIKE]: RETAINED AND ENHANCED [HORN LIGHT] - enhanced with life magic green-gold [HORN SONG]- RETAINED [EXIST]- RETAINED [CAMOUFLAGE] RETAINED AND ENHANCED [IMPROVED THERMAL TOLERANCE] RETAINED [HORN MORPHOLOGY: ACTIVE. TIER 5 OF 6. TRAIT CHAIN: UNPRECIDENTED. GROWING. PREREQUISITES ACCUMULATING.] Andy opened his eyes. His new eyes. The world was not as blurry as a VanGogh but was something approaching the visualization that Andy had been used to prior to his truck incident. There was depth and detail and color that his frog eyes hadn't even seen. The grove, which had been beautiful while blurry was stunning. There were a dozen different shades of greens and browns.

The fern which was no longer above him but sort of squished to the right was a deep forest green dappled with sunlight. And oh the sunlight. Individual beams filtered through the canopy striking the grove's floor in golden columns that moved with the breeze. Andy worked his way to his new feet and stood on stubby legs with his horn glowing, his three-toed hoof-claws raked at the soil and he took it all in. This. This was worth everything.

This was worth dying and being a cell, and various other subtly larger species. This moment, The sights, the smells, the connection. This was the reward. Andy attempted to take a step (hop) forward and fell over onto his face. Apparently, his brain hadn't gotten the memo that his legs operated differently now. He looked like a cave drawing of some kind of indiscernible mammal that would probably be hunted for food.

"I look like someone described a badger fox, sloth to an AI and the AI had a stroke halfway through." Andy projected at no one in particular as he climbed to his feet and took the first wobbling steps of a newborn colt.

"But I have a horn, I will always have this horn. Every version of me being horny is going somewhere and when I reach the end of this mythic chain, I am going to have a word with whoever is in charge." Amusement was the feeling that came projected from tall grasses nearby.

"Hello? Is anyone there?" Whatever had been there skittered off further into the wood and out of the grove. Unsure of what to do and mostly unable to follow, he took a step, wobbled, caught himself. Took another, wobbled a bit less. Forward. [XP: 0/3000] [NEXT MILESTONE: TIER 6 EVOLUTION] Three thousand. The numbers kept getting bigger, but then again so did he. He was a weird, ugly, stubby legged, three-toed, horn glowing proto-ungulate with the soul of a virgin vet tech. Magnificent.