The Glorious Evolution

Jasmine rarely spoke.

Not because she was mute, but because speech without hearing was like painting without seeing the colors... With little to no sound returning to her, every word felt uncertain, unshaped. For Jasmine, who was born deaf? It was much harder.

Some learn to cope with it and still give it their all to speak, and some keep their voice sealed forever.

After spending some time chatting on the rooftop during lunch, everyone seemed to have figured out that Jasmine was the latter.

She never made a single sound, and even when she conversed through holograms, her sentences were brief and precise.

She made them feel like they were talking with an emotionless robot... a question, and an answer.

Though Levi didn’t seem to care that much about it... keeping the same serene smile on as he talked with her through hand signs.

As someone with a disability... he knew just how hard it was to fit in, and he refused to give up on Jasmine just because she wasn’t as responsive or lively as everyone else.

While the others switched to a different conversation, Levi and Jasmine were left talking alone on the side about their disabilities and why they weren’t healed yet.

-I have tried everything... from surgeries to a cyborg eye... My body rejected them all.- Levi signed, pointing at his eyes with a bitter smile.

-Ah... that’s unfortunate.- Jasmine tilted her head, -Then, if you don’t mind me asking... how can you see? Is it through echolocation, or something similar?-

Levi nodded and added, -Also through spiritual vision.-

He didn’t mention his Harmonic Spine mutation since he still hadn’t told or shown it to anyone... he wanted to see if it was possible to sneak in the mutation during his evolution through Pathfinder rank.

No one would find it weird even if he had two mutations awakened.

Levi was this cautious because he knew that if it were discovered he had undergone perfect evolution while also helping Shia achieve hers to Pathfinder rank, it would inevitably raise suspicion about his involvement in the treasury’s trade.

It was somewhat bizarre that, aside from Jasmine, the entire superteam had their perfect evolutions included in the booklet.

Levi preferred keeping it at the bizarre stage, rather than the suspicious stage.

-Ah... although it’s not perfect sight, it is still better than my situation.- Jasmine tapped on her ear with a fleeting, pained smile, -My ears are infected with a curse called Cindral Rot.-

-Cindral Rot?- Levi questioned, never heard of such a curse before.

-It’s a curse that causes its victims to lose all sense of hearing due to prolonged exposure to the corrupting howls of the Shadow Dimension.-

Levi frowned, thinking about how she could get exposed to such a heavy dose of corruption to catch the disease and still survive.

He knew that the Shadow dimension’s corruption was like a slow-burning radiation beam... they did damage based on their potency and exposure.

Even then, the corruption usually killed the person right away or infected them with so many curses, they wouldn’t last a week.

In the case of Jasmine... the conditions for her to survive with a mere hearing loss were too strict.

So strict, his mind came up with a single possibility... a possibility that he refused to accept. Just as he was pondering whether to ask for confirmation or not, Jasmine signed with a calm expression.

-I was born in the Shadow Dimension.-

Levi was left dazed...

He predicted the answer, but he didn’t expect Jasmine to air such a heavy secret on the first day of their meeting.

He could tell that her father must have warned her to keep it to herself, since if the news were to get out, many people might consider her a Nightcrawler in a human form, or at least, a Sleepwalker.

After all, to be born in the Shadow dimension as a human and survive to tell the tale? It was no ordinary story.

-I see... Is there any remedy for such a curse?-

Levi asked, not making too big a deal about it. Although he was surprised and curious about the inner details, the news didn’t move much in him.

After all, with everything he was hiding... such a situation was a normal Tuesday to him.

When Jasmine saw his genuine casualness on the matter, she couldn’t help but smile a little. She could tell he wasn’t faking such a reaction to not hurt her feelings.

He really wasn’t bothered by her origins.

-I don’t know...-

-If you don’t know, it only means that you aren’t at the right level for such knowledge.- Levi smiled, -Now that we have access to the CRS Platform, you can scour the dimensional network for answers.-

The moment Levi and the others signed the CRS Platform’s Rifter contract, they were given access to the dimensional network, anywhere, anytime, free of charge... unlike the Nocturnal Ring that handed such access only to territory owners.

As Levi and Jasmine were speaking, the others were fooling around in the dimensional network, discovering the immensity of the universe with their own eyes.

-Already tried... no one has a tested permanent cure.- Jasmine added, -My goal is to be strong and rich enough to hire an Alchemist to concoct a potion called The All Healing Elixir... it seems to be the sole solution.-

’The All Healing Elixir?’ Ash’Kral scoffed, ’Your little girlfriend is living in a fantasy world.’

’Why are you saying that?’ Levi’s brow twitched, not falling for his teasing.

’The All Healing Elixir is an ancient grade SS Potion capable of literally healing anything wrong with a person, even if they were cursed by the Tree of Death itself. Also, it increases their longevity x10 regardless of one’s age.’

’It’s that potent?’ Levi was startled, not expecting Jasmine to have information about such a sacred Elixir.

The answer came right away.

’It is, and because of its potency, its recipe has long been erased with anyone capable of concocting it... I don’t know what kind of information she has, but it’s either fake or a scam artist trying to swindle money out of people’s desperation.’

The moment Levi heard this, he felt a wave of sympathy wash over him as he gazed at the tint of resolve in Jasmine’s eyes.

She really wanted her hearing back as badly as he wanted his sight... real sight, not through vibrations, even though it was superior to what he had.

He was missing something that was part of him, and he wanted it back no matter what... he could tell, Jasmine felt the same way as him.

Thus, he kept such knowledge to himself... because he knew that if someone came to him right now and told him that his chances of retrieving his eyes and sight back were zero, he would feel more devastated than appreciative.

’I have no right to shatter her dreams... the universe is vast, and Ash’Kral doesn’t know everything in it.’ Levi murmured inwardly, ’As long as she keeps treading on her journey, an opportunity might arise... but, if she gives up without trying, her fate will be sealed forever.’

Levi lifted his cup of bubbling minted tea and pushed it in front of Jasmine with a serene smile. Understanding that he was going for a toast, Jasmine lifted hers, and they clicked their cups together while doing almost the same sign.

-To retrieve what’s ours.-

-To take back what was stolen.-

Meanwhile, when Nurah and Shia saw those two hitting it off and even making toasts, they couldn’t help but glance at each other... they saw it in each other’s eyes.

A real threat was here.

***

Sometime later...

Everyone gathered at the Blood Hunters’ Headquarters main training center... Lord Idriss and Madam Naima met them together, their expressions stern, yet failing to hide away the euphoria of finding the perfect evolutionary formula booklet.

They weren’t foolish... when they found the cleared-out treasury and those pages stuck on the walls, they were utterly outraged. They understood that someone came after and cleared them out, avoiding the eyes of their scouts.

They didn’t put any scouts from their agency alone, but hired powerful ones from the Midnight Slayers as well... for the treasury to still get cleared out, it made them understand that either a much more powerful entity had done it or someone had sneaked within the mountain through the Shadow dimension.

But, before their rage could consume them, they found the pages and had their details checked by their private Evolutionists... they didn’t expect much from them, believing that it was some kind of a joke. Yet, their Evolutionists had proved the validity of the formulas, telling them that each one had a perfect theory!

That’s when it hit them... they might have just gotten the best trade of the century.

Still, they didn’t celebrate until they tested each formula in the Boundless Expanse, hiring the services of one of the many Alchemists who had turned their territories into private testing grounds for any type of formula or potion... With their high omnipotent authority, they provided testing subjects fitting each formula’s requirement.

Of course... they were real testing dummies.

This costed a fortune compared to testing formulas the normal way... through trial and error. Thus, they tested only a couple of formulas using this method while leaving the others to their private Evolutionists to test out on desperate Daywalkers for evolutions across the world.

One would be surprised how many would sign up for human trials if the formula’s grade were perfect.

With results coming back positive, Lord Idriss and Madam Naima were on cloud nine ever since then.

”Lord Hicham has updated me on the situation... Congratulations on becoming Raiders.” Lord Idriss nodded once and then continued before anyone could feel happy, ”Your first raid is in two weeks, which isn’t a lot of time, but we have been working hard in the background to kickstart your preparations.”

Madam Naima stepped forward and announced calmly, ”We have decided to help all of you push three stages at least and evolve if it’s possible before your raid... but first, you have to sign an NDA contract.”

”NDA contract?” Shia frowned, ”We have signed our lives to fight against monsters for our region’s glory and benefits, and yet, we are still required to sign such contracts?”

The others weren’t as ballsy as Shia to phrase it like this, but from their expressions... it was clear, no one liked it.

”The NDA is to keep you and us safe from what we are about to give you.”

Lord Idriss pulled out four boxes from his dimensional wallet... each box appeared luxurious, making everyone’s breath hitch a little.

”I am down.” Arthur immediately caved in, offering his signature.