Chapter 286: Yulia's Problem

Matthew nodded. “Understood. We’ll keep an eye out for anyone who might have come there.”

With the plan settled, the two groups began preparing to leave.

Mia stayed behind with the Netherclaw Prowlers, apparently wanting to scout another area with them. Alex reminded her to be careful before leaving with his group, and Mia simply meowed in response as she watched them disappear into the distance.

The ground was still wet from the water that had risen during the Lightless Night, but it wasn’t enough to cause them any trouble. They continued walking at a steady pace, occasionally stopping to check their surroundings before continuing toward the location of the portal.

After some time, Yulia moved closer to Alex and spoke quietly. “Alex, I had something I wanted to talk to you about.”

Alex turned toward her. “What is it?”

“All of my species evolution options are Low Rank. What should I do? I don’t think evolving into a Low Rank species would be very useful, but I’m already at Level 10 Species’ Level and can’t change the evolution options anymore,” Yulia explained.

Alex immediately understood what she was talking about. This was probably the problem he had vaguely sensed while he was trapped in his trance, when something had happened involving Yulia but his attention had been too focused on understanding Mana Breathing to properly investigate it.

Not being able to evolve into a Mid Rank species was a serious problem in Hell Difficulty. Considering the strength of the monsters here, Yulia would eventually struggle to contribute against large groups of Mid Rank species, while fighting High Rank monsters would put her in an even more dangerous position.

Yulia and Frank had both absorbed Low Rank Gene Potentials during the early stages of their journey. Later, once they had access to stronger materials, they began absorbing Mid Rank Gene Potentials instead, but Frank had simply been luckier and received a Mid Rank species evolution while Yulia had not.

Alex noticed that everyone was looking at him, waiting for his answer. The group had gradually begun treating him as their de facto leader, so even a problem that directly concerned Yulia was now something they expected him to help solve.

“Don’t evolve for now. We’ll check with the Merchants and see if they have anything that can help. If they don’t, I’ll have someone communicate with the locals of the Land of Origin and ask whether there’s a way to remove the Gene Potentials you’ve already absorbed or something similar,” Alex said after thinking about it.

He continued, “Once you evolve, the change might become permanent, so I don’t think we should take the risk until we know more. It’s better to wait for a while than make a decision that we can’t undo.”

Yulia nodded, and some of the worry on her face disappeared after hearing his confident answer. She still didn’t know whether they would actually find a solution, but knowing that Alex was willing to look for one made her feel considerably better.

The group continued toward the portal, but they quickly realized that they had seriously underestimated the size of the area. Even after walking until noon, they hadn’t seen any sign of the portal, and the surrounding landscape still seemed to stretch endlessly in every direction.

They encountered several groups of Low Rank monsters along the way and eliminated them without much trouble. Eventually, they found a suitable place to rest beneath some shade, and by then the ground had already dried enough that sitting down was no longer uncomfortable.

Emma prepared some of the Basilisk meat they had stored, and everyone ate while discussing the route ahead. Once they finished, Alex, Frank, and Emma decided to return to Earth for a short break before continuing their journey.

Alex activated his Return skill, and a notification immediately appeared before his eyes.

[4 Origin Energy consumed.]

His consciousness faded, and when he opened his eyes again, he was sitting on a bed. He rubbed his eyes before realizing that the soft surface beneath him wasn’t a table, meaning someone had apparently moved him after he left for the Land of Origin.

[Synchronization will now begin.]

Alex calmly went through the synchronization process before stretching his body and looking around. He pulled the curtains aside and saw the moon outside, which immediately told him that it was already late at night.

‘Looks like it’s somewhere past midnight.’

The time difference between Earth and the Land of Origin had made his internal sense of time increasingly unreliable. He checked his phone and confirmed that it was currently one in the morning.

Alex then opened the post he had put on a timer earlier. The number of comments surprised him, with many people discussing the information he had shared about Adept Rank and the rewards available for completing Additional Class Evolution Requirements.

Several people were particularly excited about the fact that Mages received two additional spell slots after reaching Adept Rank. Others were discussing the increased stat gains per level and trying to figure out which reward Alex had personally chosen.

[How does Alex already know this much about Adept Rank?]

[Because he is obviously Adept rank, doofus. I’m more curious about his level. It must be at least Level 13 or Level 14, right?]

[The two extra spell slots are already insane, but the Additional Class Evolution rewards are even more interesting. I really want to know which one Alex picked.]

Alex continued reading for a while and eventually confirmed something important. According to the comments from other Mages, everyone received the same additional reward choices after completing their Additional Class Evolution Requirements, which meant the information he had shared genuinely helped other people.

He also noticed that his follower count had reached fifty thousand. Just a day ago, he had barely had a hundred followers, so the sudden increase was almost ridiculous.

..

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