The Glorious Evolution

Nyx recognized in a heartbeat that Levi’s strength didn’t stem solely from these gifts... it was truly his intelligence, innate understanding of Aspects, and quick wits that allowed him to harness the Origin Seeds’ Aspects in such a unified manner.

The Aether Two-Note Detonation was proof... a Technique born from Aether, Sound, Sun, and Void all at once.

Not everyone could think of such a technique, even if they possessed the same powers, since it required at least 15% Resonance Access with all three Origin Seeds.

”Right now, I want to know just how the hell you won the last fight.” Nurah swiftly went to the final clip. ”I can tell you were already at your limits.”

The girls and their nightcrawlers thought the same... Although Levi had won against Drayven, he hadn’t come out of it unscathed.

In their eyes, there was no way in hell he still had enough fumes left in him for another battle... especially against none other than the Ruiner from the fearsome Angrath Trueborn Bloodline.

He had seventy kills before the game even started and ninety billion views for deleting an entire battlefield with one ability... a true beast disguised as a soft-spoken gentleman.

Yet, Levi simply raised his violin and cast a musical spell... one that slipped into the frequency of a rage no one had ever dared to soothe before.

And the Red Beast resigned a promotion match to a seventeen-year-old blind boy who defeated him with a lullaby...

As the final tune rested in everyone’s ears, not a single word left their lips.

The last notes of the violin lingered as Levi was crowned a Baron Noble, leaving the girls’ hearts beating to the same cadence as the echoing tune.

Yet, it wasn’t only the melody that had captivated them. It was the way Levi carried himself through every battle, turning each movement, each spell, and each note into something impossible to look away from.

Only now did they understand why billions of strangers kept visiting this fan-made website just to catch another glimpse of him.

They were already his friends, had trained, eaten, argued, and knew him quite closely... yet, sitting there now, they almost felt like fans themselves.

”I genuinely can’t believe you’re the same blind boy who couldn’t walk without his cane less than a year ago.”

Shia sighed, her mind finally crashing out as memories of her first meeting with Levi took over... The boy who had been rejected by everyone as a Daywalker was now threading his way down a path far beyond anyone’s reach or understanding.

”Baron Larson... it does have a nice ring to it.” Jojo smiled.

”You must be the youngest Baron ranker in our planet’s history.” Nurah teased, ”How does it feel to be an actual recognized noble?”

Although the girls came from rich, noble-like families in Heliodor and had family members recognized as Teraowners in the Boundless Expanse, only a few had ever made it to Baron rank throughout their families’ histories.

”Well, the benefits are decent, but I am not too focused on this at the moment,” Levi replied.

”Makes sense... only start a nation when you’re fully prepared to invest in and manage it.” Nurah advised, ”My mom shared with me the details of when my grandpa tried to establish his own Baroness during his prime... all I can tell you is that the expenses and conditions are absolutely crippling for those without support.”

”Same here.” Shia raised a hand.

”Look at them... lowkey bragging that they had a Baron in their families,” Arthur whispered near Jojo’s ear, but everyone heard him.

Instead of supporting him, Jojo swatted his mouth away with an annoyed look. ”Get off me... Your breath stinks.”

”...Asshole.”

Arthur sulked to the side under Jasmine’s soft chuckle... Although they weren’t using dimensional messages, her device turned their conversations into holographic sentences for her to read, which she preferred whenever they sat together, as it allowed her to see them actually conversing with emotions instead of merely sending silent dimensional messages for her sake.

So, one could imagine that Jasmine felt like she was watching a live TV show on mute with subtitles every time she hung out with them.

Ignoring the bickering duo, Levi nodded in agreement with the girls’ statements.

He knew that managing a Baroness proved to be an expensive endeavor completely unrelated to the actual rank itself.

After all, becoming a Teraowner didn’t imply receiving free territory... one actually needed to purchase it, preferably in a decent area: the Borders, a Province, or a Citadel.

Turning that territory into a Baroness also came with many conditions that needed to be fulfilled, costing a great sum of money in the hundreds of thousands and beyond.

This was one of the reasons Levi was aiming to claim House Targon’s territory... If he ever wanted to create a nation, it had to start in a Province, not on his small island in the Boundless Void.

But he kept these ambitions to himself for now.

”I guess that’s all for now? Any more questions?” Levi said as he moved his head from left to right, scanning their expressions.

He could tell that they had dozens of questions that could clear up their confusion further about the Origin Seeds, his weapons, his multiple evolutionary paths, and such... However, none of them dared to step over the line and ask about such private matters.

The details of one’s evolutionary path must never be asked about unless the person was willing to share them voluntarily or their relationship was as close as Levi’s with his brother.

In this case, even if Levi had opened up about some major secrets, he never had any intention of telling them the exact details of his three evolutionary paths or how he was managing those Origin Seeds.

They didn’t even ask him where he had gotten them unless he was willing to share it... But they weren’t foolish.

It was clear that Levi’s contracted nightcrawler was involved, since he was the one who had changed everything for Levi the moment he stepped into his life during the Daywalkers Assembly.

If only they knew that Ash’Kral had been grooming him for a decade.

***

The Next Morning...

Levi sat at the camp with his friends around a table filled with delicious-smelling breakfast dishes... The shift in mood was noticeable, as the atmosphere resembled that of a family rather than merely a group of friends.

Jokes, roasts, and laughter prevailed at the table... Levi was even bullied into summoning his violin and playing one of his tunes.

At first, he rejected the request, but when he saw just how resistant Ash’Kral was to such a humiliating performance, he went for it with the widest grin he could muster.

Last night, it wasn’t only Levi who had shared some of his secrets... Deep into the night, once everyone had gotten comfortable, each of them shared a piece of themselves that they had kept private.

Of course, their secrets weren’t as mind-blowing and soul-crushing as Levi’s... Still, it made everyone feel less guarded around each other, even more than before.

Levi hadn’t gone around telling them about his identity as Mr. Problem yet... He felt that what he had already shared was more than enough for now, as he didn’t want to overwhelm them with everything at once.

Soon, the conversation naturally switched back to Jasmine’s decision to join the Nocturnal Ring... She had already joined the platform yesterday, but had yet to participate in her first Death Game.

’Are you planning on picking a Death Card now?’ Levi sent a dimensional message while focusing on the ever-silent Jasmine.

Jasmine nodded and manifested a visible dimensional screen showing her profile details and another displaying dozens of face-down dark cards.

The moment they appeared, Arthur and the girls held their breath... They were nervous and, at the same time, expectant.

Based on Jasmine’s results, they might consider taking part in the Nocturnal Ring as well... at least, the first game since they wouldn’t die under the First Game Grace Period.

’A dozen cards... as expected, after evaluating your average Nocturnal Power Level, the system found it difficult to matchmake you.’ Levi said calmly, ’That’s the Off-Season for you.’