Chương 75: Blessed Evolution

Fortunately, I only blacked out for a few moments. By the time I came back to my senses, Raven was already gone, with my body. The fucker. And it's Halloween already? However, I had other problems to worry about, other than my forgetting about a holiday. Namely, I was overflowing with mana that demanded to be used. I opened up my notifications to see what options the chaos berries would give me this time. I figured they'd probably be powerful considering how many berries Raven had forced down my throat.

CHAOS BERRIES CONSUMED. Select an Available Evolutionary Option. Blessed Evolution: Activate evolutionary options for others. Masking Reality: Impose an alternative perspective on reality Sacrificial Offerings: Sacrifice something to gain something else Shadow of Death: Innate affinity with necromancy Unweaving the Web: Introduce Chaos into anything MESSAGE FROM GAIA. Aww, my boy is growing up. I resisted the impulse to roll my eyes at Gaia's message. Then I admitted, Well, I suppose, in a way, I am her child.

And the trickster gods are my deadbeat sperm donors. That thought almost made me gag, so I quickly looked at the five options to remove that thought from my mind. It only took me a second to realize that most of these were based on actions I'd taken. I'd already blessed my followers, but it was usually by accident, so Blessed Evolution was obvious. Sacrificial Offerings sounded an awful lot like what Pierre had done to get his power. As for Shadow of Death, that probably had to do with Bambi and the animal spirits.

As for Masked Reality, I wasn't sure. The same was true for Unweaving the Web. As for the last one, I had no desire to choose that one. It sounded like I'd either be cursing things, something I wasn't really comfortable doing. Sacrificial offerings sounded too transactional. While it did sound powerful, it also probably required sacrifices that had an equivalent exchange. So, nope, not something I was interested in either. I also dropped Shadow of Death. Although powerful, I didn't want to be a god of death.

I'm not that emo, I thought. Well, maybe when I was younger. That really only left me two options, one of which sounded amazing, but was also a little vague. As for the other, it actually sounded like something my followers would really benefit from. Sighing, I gave up my dream of being a glass cannon or a tank and followed the support path I'd apparently chosen. I chose Blessed Evolution. Then I almost blacked out again when the mana inside me started surging through my body chaotically.

However, while it was doing so, I was also realizing some of the things it could do. The knowledge flooded into me. Not instructions exactly, but more like... understanding. Whether instinct or divine intuition, I just knew how to use my new power. In some ways, I was disappointed, but in other ways, I was impressed. What disappointed me was that I couldn't just bless anyone for any reason whenever I felt like it. It hadn't been mentioned in the description, so I was a little annoyed.

However, the power did have perks. One of the perks was that, although I could activate it on my own, I could also set it up to act without me. For example, if someone actually believed in me and made a meaningful sacrifice or act of devotion, I could bless them. It was a lot like me being a totemic spirit and granting power to his believers, except automatic. If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

In fact, as the mana settled down inside me, I realized it was almost like answering prayers, but the only prayer I could answer was to allow someone to evolve. I could sense my followers now, really sense them. Now that I had some control over my powers, I actually felt much better. Yes, there were limitations on my power, but I could give out blessings, purposely. The feeling of controlling my own life quite appealed to me. One of the first things I wanted to do was make up for my earlier joke on Pierre.

He'd done a lot for me, and frankly, it was embarrassing to see him walking around in Team Edward clothing. Because of this, I reached out along the thread that connected the two of us and sent a thrum of power through it. I didn't have as much control over his evolution as I would have liked, but I was about to 'suggest' a few abilities that he might want. As for the others, they would be ones that had something to do with his nature or his desires. It was weird. I almost felt like Gaia.

I even got to leave a message. I couldn't keep the crazy grin off my face as delight bubbled up inside me. Damn, this feels great, I thought. Since I didn't want him to die, I wanted to give him a healing factor. Wolverine might be beyond my ability, but I could definitely buff his natural regeneration up to a respectable level. I also wanted to let him attune other items instead of just the joke clothes I'd bought him. However, if he wanted to get a new power and keep wearing the clothes, well, that was up to him.

As for the rest, I actually had no control over them. But I could see the choices that appeared, probably influenced by what he wanted or needed or by his affinities. When I saw the class change options, I had to admit I was surprised. The problem was that I didn't really know much about them. Weekend Warrior sounded kind of insulting, but it offered him two classes at the same time, which sounded useful. The Lycanthropic Bloodline almost made me laugh.

What was kind of annoying was that there was no way in hell that he was going to believe I didn't have something to do with it. He'd definitely blame me. Still, I could barely contain my excitement. I felt so good that I even gave him some information about each power, at least the ones I knew about. TOTEMIC BLESSING. Select an Available Evolutionary Option.

Attuned Items: Attuned items will be absorbed while shapeshifted Class Change: Noyasunai's Champion Dual Class: Weekend Warrior Lycanthropic Bloodline: Create your own bloodline. Rapid Regeneration: Heal quickly from wounds. MESSAGE FROM NOYASUNAI. Thanks for being you. Then I sent him the notification. A few seconds later, I knew that it had worked when Pierre came running outside, excitement clear on his face.

"Did you do this, Abe?" He asked me. I nodded and smiled. Still, it was difficult. I'd even signed it with my name. My god, what does Shelly see in him besides his abs? Now then, what's he going to choose? I wondered. Then Pierre ran back inside. I could hear Shelly squeal in delight a few seconds later. That was when I sighed and realized I had a lot of work to do. There were so many people I needed to retroactively reward.

I'd given the animals rewards already, but Luke, Claire, Shelly, Derek, and a few others deserved powers too. Suddenly, I heard Tala's voice come from behind me. I hadn't even realized she was there. It took me a second to realize what she was saying.

"You're smiling. That's different from your usual 'divine bullshit just happened, and I hate it' face," she said.

"I helped Pierre," I said, unable to keep the satisfaction out of my voice.

"I'm just waiting to see what he will choose."

"That's cool," she gushed.

"You have control over your powers now."

"Yeah, well, a little at least," I admitted.

"Cool," Tala said.

"I'm assuming you're planning on helping the others, too," she politely suggested. Although I had already been planning on doing so, I took the hint. Sooner rather than later. Got it. It did make me wonder, though, Can I give Tala, Mort, and Bambi blessings? Well, I could certainly try, I decided. However, before I could decide on who to bless next, I noticed a golden-green light flashing out of my guest bedroom. At that same moment, I also felt the threads moving, letting me know that something had happened.

Curious, I decided to see which gift Pierre had chosen. If I had to put money on it, I'd be Attuned Items. If it were me, getting rid of the cursed Team Edward clothes would be worth giving up the other powers. But that's me. With that, I opened up the notifications to see if I was right.