Chapter 226: Species Evolution Options

Alex did not say anything for a while. Even though everyone was exhausted, he still wanted to clear the dungeon because of the Sunken Vault dungeon he planned to explore later and the portal on Hell Difficulty that he eventually intended to conquer.

Those portals were all likely accompanied by huge amounts of Origin Energy, so there would almost certainly be powerful monsters around them. To conquer the portal, he needed to be strong. If he wanted to become stronger, avoiding every dangerous situation was not an option, but entering a dungeon where all the monsters might be Mid-rank Species was still not something he could take lightly.

Alex thought about the situation carefully before making a decision. He wanted to enter the dungeon, but he did not intend to rush into it without considering the dangers.

After thinking for a while, he finally spoke. "We need to enter the dungeon."

"What do you mean?" Joseph asked, looking at him in surprise.

"I have a spell that lets me detect my surroundings, and I’ve already sensed many monsters around this hill. They probably came here while trying to escape the rising water, and if we fight one group of monsters, the noise could attract another group and then another, and so on. We could end up being exhausted to death without even getting anywhere. The monsters inside the dungeon will probably be stronger, but at least we can fight them normally instead of constantly being surrounded by more monsters," Alex explained.

The group fell silent as they considered his words. They also seemed worried after realizing that the only reason they had not encountered many monsters on the hill was because Alex had been detecting them beforehand, and without him, they might have already been surrounded.

Even so, entering the dungeon was not an easy decision. They essentially had two choices, and neither one was particularly safe.

"Let’s enter the dungeon," Frank suddenly said.

Everyone looked toward him, and Frank met their eyes with a determined expression. "This is Hell Difficulty, so there are definitely many more dungeons like this one. How long can we keep avoiding them? If we don’t take this opportunity to get stronger, we might not survive when we eventually encounter something even more powerful."

The group looked at one another before slowly nodding. They were exhausted and injured, but they all understood that becoming stronger was the only way they could survive. If they kept avoiding dangerous situations, they would eventually encounter something they could not escape from.

Alex was surprised to hear such words from Frank. It seemed Emma was worried about the same thing, and when their gazes met, they both nodded, deciding to talk to Frank about it later.

"Alright, then. Give me a minute and we will go inside. Also, only I will fight until Emma, Joseph, and Petra level up," Alex said.

"Alex—"

"After they level up and recover completely, you can all join the battles properly," Alex finished before Yulia could complete her words.

The old woman sighed before eventually nodding. In their current condition, Emma, Joseph, and Petra were in no state to fight, so Alex would have to help them level up by killing monsters while allowing them to make small attacks so their contribution would count.

That said, even for Alex, fighting multiple Mid-rank Species together was not simple. What if there were two Level 20 Mid-rank Species, or five Level 15 Mid-rank Species? He needed to calm his nerves and prepare himself before entering the dungeon.

’First, let’s check the species evolution options,’ he thought.

A screen materialized before him as soon as he thought about it.

[Your Species can now evolve. Choose an evolution: Homo Noctis, Homo Ferus, Homo Vitalis.]

There were three options. It was quite a lot. He had expected to see only one or two options, since all of them were likely to be strong. He was wondering which species was Mid-rank and what abilities they possessed when another screen suddenly appeared.

[Homo Noctis (Mid-rank Species)]

[Fast, sharp humans adapted to darkness and nocturnal hunting.]

Alex was surprised to see that he could obtain extra details by focusing on the names in the evolution list. After thinking about it for a moment, he realized that this was probably intentional because otherwise, people would have no idea what they were choosing.

The System was a strange AI, or being, if it was actually a being, but it seemed to have rules of its own. Since Species Evolution required a great deal of effort, it was apparently gracious enough to provide a short explanation of what each species could do.

The second thing Alex noticed was that there was no sarcastic comment or strange joke. After thinking about it for a moment, he realized there was probably a reason each items had two lines, with one giving the description and the other showing its effects.

It seemed the System’s first priority, or perhaps its inbuilt rule, was to provide accurate information, while it could do whatever it wanted outside of that. Since species evolution only had one line of description, it had no room for its usual nonsense.

’Can’t make a joke here? Serves you right.’

Alex mentally insulted the System, feeling slightly satisfied that it could not argue back.

After making his small joke, he focused on the description of Homo Noctis. This species seemed to have come from a combination of three Gene Potentials: Netherclaw Prowler, Baby Badger, and Jadescythe Mantis.

Netherclaw Prowlers seemed to be nocturnal creatures judging from their name, while Baby Badgers and Jadescythe Mantises were both fast and sharp. Netherclaw Prowlers were only Low-rank Species, but the other two were Mid-rank Species, so combining all three had resulted in another Mid-rank Species.

The best thing about this option was that it would allow him to fight more effectively at night. Alex did not know exactly how he would be adapted to darkness, but he might gain improved night vision or enhanced senses, which would be extremely useful in their current situation.

There was almost no light around them, and creating light would reveal their location to nearby monsters. If Homo Noctis could help him see or sense his surroundings without relying on Firespheres, it would give him a significant advantage.

Alex then focused on the second option.

[Homo Ferus (Mid-rank Species)]

[Physically powerful humans with strong instincts and attunement to life affinity.]

..

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