Chapter 87: Evolution and Job Change (Karl 1st)

Released:

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You have defeated the field boss, “Tarrasque”.

This marks the first subjugation party for the field boss, “Tarrasque”.

All participants will receive special rewards and 6 SP.

From now on, you can choose whether to engage in battle with this Field Boss or not.

Race level increased. Gained 1 SP.

Job level increased. Gained 1 SP.

The race level of your familiar has increased.

The job level of your familiar has increased.

Your familiar, Karnaghtul, has acquired the [Sharp Horns] skill.

The race level of your familiar, Karnaghtul, has reached the maximum level. Evolution is possible.

Isam, the owner of the familiar, should proceed with the evolution process.

The job level of your familiar, Karnaghtul, has reached the maximum level. Evolution is possible.

Isam, the owner of the familiar, should proceed with the evolution process.

The level of [Holy Magic] skill has increased.

Newly learned “Holy Ring” spell.

――――――――――

The battle against the Tarrasque boss monster was a long and grueling one. But at the same time, it was incredibly enjoyable! It was a battle where everyone gave it their all. The sense of achievement from our victory was beyond measure. Well, if someone were to ask me to do the same thing again, it would be quite troublesome, to be honest.

There were various tasks to attend to, such as claiming the rewards and exploring the new magic spell I acquired, but above all else, there was a priority. Of course, that was Karl’s evolution and job change!

“Kyukyukyuu!”

“Ah, there there, Karl. You were truly the star of this battle!”

“Kyuu!”

Despite losing one of his wings, Karl leaped towards me with boundless energy. I praised him while gently patting his head. Karl seemed delighted to be praised and pampered, and he snuggled up to me, crying with contentment. What was this adorable creature?

“Karl, you’ve finally reached level 10… the stage where you can evolve and change your job.”

“Kyu?”

“It means you can become even stronger. Now, are you ready to evolve?”

“Kyuu!”

Since he was my familiar, Karl’s evolution and job change seemed to require my personal input. I opened my status from the menu and touched the flashing entry under the familiar section, which read “Karnaghtul”. Karl’s status appeared on the screen, and it looked as follows:

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Name: Karnaghtul

Race: Juvenile Dragon Lv10 max!

Job: Juvenile Dragon Lv10 max!

Skills:

  • [Sharp Claws]
  • [Sharp Fangs]
  • [Sharp Horns]
  • [Tail Strike]
  • [Health Enhancement]
  • [Strength Enhancement]
  • [Defense Enhancement]
  • [Intelligence Enhancement]
  • [Spirit Enhancement]
  • [Fire Magic]
  • [Dark Magic]
  • [Non-Elemental Magic]
  • [Flight]
  • [Dragon Scales]
  • [Dragon Breath]
  • [Add a selectable skill]
  • [Add a selectable skill]

――――――――――

Oh, it’s here! This “Add a selectable skill” text was familiar. I had done some research on what would happen when Karl could evolve on the bulletin board in advance.

According to the information I found, when a familiar evolves, the player who is their master can choose to add any skill they want. However, it’s not a completely free choice, as the text suggests; it’s only for “selectable” skills.

The specifics of what can and cannot be chosen when evolving haven’t been fully confirmed yet. But there’s a rough idea. It’s believed that the familiar’s potential and the abilities the player can use are related.

In the FSW, the job for those who use familiars was called Familiarist. What’s interesting about this job is that, when you choose it, you can select whether you want the stat enhancements at level up to be focused on warrior-type or mage-type stats. So, there seem to be both vanguard Familiarists with warrior-type stats and rearguard Familiarists with mage-type stats.

Someone tried raising and training two goblin familiars simultaneously with warrior-type and mage-type stats and then compared the selectable skills when evolving. They found that most of the skills were common between the two, but there were a few that were not.

According to the information, the common skills that appeared included stat-enhancing skills like [Strength Enhancement] and weapon-related skills like [Sword Mastery]. For instance, when the player was a warrior-type Familiarist and they had Goblin familiar, they could choose [Shield Mastery] which the player possessed, while with a mage-type Familiarist, they could opt for [Fire Magic] and [Light Magic], both of which the player had.

Based on this information, the conclusion drawn was that the selectable skills when a familiar evolves might be influenced by the familiar’s inherent qualities and the player’s possessed skills.

“But having two slots for selectable skills… that’s the mark of a true dragon.”

However, as per the reports on the bulletin board, all the creatures mentioned had only one slot for selectable skills upon evolving. It seemed like, even in this aspect, dragons were favored.

Having multiple slots was a welcome advantage, but the real dilemma was deciding which skills to choose. Karl was a dragon, so he had excellent innate qualities as a dragon race. Therefore, he could practically select any of the stat-enhancing skills. Moreover, since I, as the master, had been acquiring magic skills one after another, I had plenty of choices when it came to magic-related skills.

The first skill had already been decided. It was [Regeneration]. Unlike a skill that simply increased health recovery over time, this one used magic power to mend wounds and regenerate missing body parts.

In the last battle, Karl had lost one of his wings. With |Regeneration], it seemed possible to restore it.

However, the real dilemma lay with the second skill. What should I choose? Hmm…

“Kyukyu. Kyu!”

“Hmm? What’s the matter, Karl?”

As I pondered, Karl, whom I was petting, began tapping my mask. Had something displeased him?

“Kyukyukyu! Kyukyuu!”

“…Could it be that you have a skill you want to acquire?”

“Kyu!”

Karl nodded vigorously. It appeared that Karl had a skill in mind that he desired. In that case, it seemed only right to respect his choice. However, I had something I wanted to ask him first.

“Karl, could you consider choosing [Regeneration] as one of the skills at least?”

“Kyuu!”

An if saying “Of course!” Karl responded with an attitude that implied his understanding. It seemed he had truly felt the inconvenience of losing a wing. He was a clever creature. Now, let’s let him choose the other one on his own.

“What would you like? Stat enhancement skills? Martial techniques?”

“Kyukyu.”

Karl shook his head. Huh, not those?

“Alright, how about magic skills?”

“Kyu!”

Ah, it appeared Karl wanted to learn a magic skill. Well, he was my familiar, after all. So, which one would be best?

“Composite magic… Can you choose that? There are eleven types besides the three you already have…”

“Kyukyu!”

Oh, it seemed he wasn’t interested in elemental magic. Did he prefer something a bit different?

“Then, how about [Summoning Magic], [Enchantment], [Talismanry], [Magic Circle]…”

“Kyukyu!”

He doesn’t want these too? In that case, what’s left is…

“By any chance, could it be that you want to acquire Abyssal magic?”

“Kyu!”

What a surprise! It seemed that Karl wanted to become a practitioner of the Abyssal magic, a forbidden and evil art considered taboo among people.

Well, why not! Karl, my familiar, who wanted to become an expert in Abyssal magic, it didn’t seem too strange. In fact, it felt quite fitting!

“So, which one would you like? There’s [Necromancy] [Curse], [Trap Magic], and [Spirit Channeling] among others.”

“Kyukyu!”

“Huh? Could it be that you prefer [Witchcraft]’?”

“Kyu!”

Oh my! You’re actually requesting [Witchcraft]? This one has some seriously dangerous spells… Well, if that’s what Karl wants, then let’s go with it! I have no idea what’s going to happen, but why not!

――――――――――

Your familiar, Karnagthul, has acquired [Regeneration].

Your familiar, Karnagthul, has acquired [Witchcraft].

Your familiar, Karnagthul, begins to evolve.

――――――――――

“Kyuoooooooooo!!!”

At the same time as I heard the announcement in my head, Karl let out a roar. And then, with a crackling and popping sound, his body rapidly grew larger.

“Kyuo… Guooooooon!”

Karl’s voice had transformed from its previous cute tone to a more majestic, deep-toned resonance. It seemed that the evolution had successfully concluded.

――――――――――

Your familiar, Karnaghtul, has evolved into the Lesser Dragon.

――――――――――

It seemed that Karl had evolved into a lesser dragon. I had half-expected some sort of new attribute to come with the evolution, but that didn’t seem to be the case.

In terms of outward appearance, there wasn’t much change apart from his significant increase in size. Well, that size now allowed me to ride him comfortably. He had grown from his previous small dog size to that of a horse in a single leap. Perhaps he had grown a bit too much?

Well, considering the colossal size of the Dragon Lord, Agnasrelim, that seemed to be reasonable. If he raised his level to about 70 or so, he would probably be able to grow to that size. I wanted him to become as strong as possible.

“Gurururururu♪”

“Oh, there there. You’re still as affectionate as ever, Karl.”

Despite his increased size, it seemed that his personality hadn’t changed much. Karl was still rubbing against me and seeking affection, as he always did. Even though he had grown much larger than me, I couldn’t help but find him adorable. Maybe I was just a doting parent?

“Well, I guess it’s time for the job change as well.”

I continued by tapping on Karl’s job change option, and to my surprise, there was only one job option available.

“Is Lesser Dragon the only job you can choose from…? Come to think of it, Dragon Lord Agnasrelim also had the Dragon Lord job.”

I couldn’t be certain, but it seemed that Dragon-type creatures like Karl might inherit the same job as their race. There was probably some reason behind it, but I decided to save my analysis for later. Regardless, it was time to let Karl undergo a job change!

――――――――――

Your familiar, Karnaghtul, underwent a job change and became a Lesser Dragon.

With the job change, Karnagthul acquired the skill [Roar].

――――――――――

Oh? It appeared that, in addition to evolution, a job change also granted new skills. And [Roar] was a skill that Jigoro had evolved from [Intimidate], right? Karl was truly getting some special treatment.

“Grururururu♪”

“What!? Whoa!”

After completing his job change, Karl suddenly stuck his head under my crotch area and lifted me high! Perhaps he was delighted that his body had grown large enough to carry me.

I was taken aback by this sudden gesture and wanted him to stop, but when I saw his innocent and joyful expression, I couldn’t bring myself to scold him right away. Ah, I was definitely spoiling Karl too much…

“Ooh, brother. Karl evolved too, huh?” Jigoro said.

“Yeah, that’s right.”

Since he said “Karl evolved too”, it was clear that Jigoro had also evolved. Since there was generally a one-level difference between me and my brother (Jigoro), I realized it when I reached level 39 in the battle earlier.

While straddling the base of Karl’s neck, I gazed upon the evolved form of Jigoro. There didn’t seem to be any significant changes in his appearance, but I noticed that his horns had thickened slightly and his skin had taken on a darker shade. I wonder what kind of race he has become.

“Karl evolved into a Lesser Dragon. How about you?” I asked.

“I’ve become an Infernal Thunder Demon (Oni). It’s got a bit of a Japanese flair to the name,” Jigoro replied.

An Oni… well, considering how he had been slaying players and monsters left and right, I couldn’t really complain about that classification.

Even so, as Jigoro pointed out, the name had a somewhat yokai-like quality to it rather than a monster. It was said in Japanese, so it made me wonder if there were regions where yokai-like creatures roamed.

If that were the case, there was a good chance that there were other Infernal Thunder Demons like Jigoro in such a place. If such a location existed, I definitely wanted to pay it a visit.

“Hmm? Is it already this late? Shouldn’t we head back to our base and log out soon?”

While my thoughts had been wandering to unexplored territories, Genjuro’s reminder jolted me awake. I was so absorbed in the fierce battle that I almost forgot that tomorrow was just another regular workday! I needed to go to bed promptly!

“Everyone, let’s head back!… Base Teleport!”

And so, our men-only adventure came to an end. It was a bit chaotic at the end, but it had been a lot of fun!

2 responses to “Chapter 87: Evolution and Job Change (Karl 1st)”

  1. Noel Avatar
    Noel

    What about the items? Did the boss drop nothing?

    1. Wraith Avatar
      Wraith

      I really hope they didn’t forget to collect them. There’s also all those Dragon bones to collect as well.

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