Chapter 101: Race Evolution Options

POV Eliza

“I'd love to, I'll explain it to you.” <Luna>

I was unsure whether I had given the wrong answer. I feared another long explanation phase, but my MPs were noticeably less.

“I'll try to be brief. In addition to your race as a dark elf, the loss of control is also related to the reason why you have the Self Transformation and Regeneration skills. Every god has the ability to grant his followers a blessing. My blessing is both powerful and dangerous. Can you remember if you ever took the blood of others? I'm not talking about animals or monsters.” <Luna>

“Blood? What does that have to do with ... ah, I suspect something. In fights, I've often noticed that I can smell blood particularly intensely. I always thought it was because of my enhanced senses.” <Eliza>

“That's because of it too, especially for blood. So, have you?” <Luna>

“Let me think about it. I have a very distant memory of biting that handsome hero boy's hand once. It must have been right after I regained consciousness here on Narran. And I think I licked a bleeding wound on Dilara to clean it.” <Eliza>

“There you have it. Blood is the most effective way to transfer magic in this world. Many abilities react particularly strongly to blood. For example, you can sense creatures more easily when they are bleeding. This also applies to creatures that you cannot otherwise perceive or can only perceive with Sense Mana. Other skills and even spells also work via blood. If you want to poison someone and the poison comes into contact with blood, such as through an open wound, it is immediately more effective. Other skills even only work with blood. What forms can you take with Self Transformation?” <Luna>

“My self from the old world, a human male and a female catfolk. Ah, I think I understand. Urgh, does that mean I can transform into the handsome hero?!!? Urgh." <Eliza>

“That's exactly how it is. Your old self serves as the template for the human woman, the hero of Lumos for the male man and Dilara for the cat girl. If you now ingest the blood of others, you can then transform yourself into an image of them with the same characteristics such as age, height and weight.” <Luna>

“Is there no other option?” <Eliza>

“Yes, there is. There's a skill to steal mana from others. If you use it to drain someone's mana and add it to yourself, that works too. The other person can also voluntarily give you some of their mana, which also works. Alternatively, you can also use the skill that steals life.” <Luna>

“Hmm, that doesn't sound so easy and I don't have the skill. I'm not sure if I even want to be able to do that. But a skill is better than having to drink the blood. How can I learn the skill?” <Eliza>

“I can teach it to you by divine inspiration, but only after you have made your decision, which is still pending. This decision concerns exactly whether you want to benefit from consuming the blood of others, with all the advantages and disadvantages.” <Luna>

“What's the alternative?” <Eliza>

“I have one more thing to explain to you. I've already told you about my blessing and I have a confession to make. You already have my blessing and another thing you benefit from is taking blood." <Luna>

“Wait, what do you mean by benefiting? You also said that there are disadvantages.” <Eliza>

“That's right. One of the disadvantages is that your body can acquire a taste for blood. So far, I've placed a seal on you, which only gives you limited access to the relevant skills with their advantages and disadvantages and effects. However, this seal will become weaker and weaker the more often you come into contact with blood. So far, your mental selfcontrol has been enough to prevent you from suffering any disadvantages. However, your mental weakness when you got into the situation with Lynn meant that the seal was not enough. Although the seal was renewed when you calmed down and gave in to your urge to fight, it is much weaker than before.” <Luna>

“So every time I become mentally unstable, I end up in the same situation?” <Eliza>

“Yes, and the threshold is slowly getting lower. And it's not just when you reach your mental limits. Even if you get into a lifethreatening situation that you can't get out of, or if your LP drops below a critical level, your body takes over.” <Luna>

“But that would mean I'm in a vicious circle and will never get out of it. Is there anything I can do to improve my situation?” <Eliza>

“Yes, you can. That's the decision I was talking about. Put simply, you have the choice between offense and defense. Offense means you accept the restrictions that blood brings with it, while defense means you no longer suffer from the restrictions, but you also lose all the benefits.” <Luna>

“That's a difficult decision. What are the restrictions?” <Eliza>

“Unfortunately, yes. I've already mentioned that your body has acquired a taste for it. It has tasted blood, so to speak, and no longer wants to go without. That means you have to take blood at certain intervals. Blood from magically gifted people is more effective, while animal and monster blood is significantly inferior. It should also taste significantly worse. In addition, you will become more sensitive to sunlight. But clothing and increased light resistance can help.” <Luna>

“That sounds like I'm a vampire.” <Eliza>

“The comparison is apt, even if it doesn't quite match the knowledge you have of Earth. You don't get the ability to turn others into vampires, nor do you turn to dust. Otherwise, however, there are many similarities. But it's not the only option you can choose.” <Luna>

“What are the other options? And why do I even have several options? I don't understand that.” <Eliza>

“You've already heard about the class upgrade. In this case, it's about the further development of your race, although the term is also misleading. It's more of an add-on, all with different effects. You will have noticed that you cannot increase both regeneration and self transformation any further. The maximum of these skills varies depending on the addon.

The most offensive choice is vampiric. This gives you the best regeneration and good transformation skills. In return, you also get an increased weakness versus sunlight. The next strongest choice is werewolf. This gives you the second best regeneration, but only limited transformations. There transformations are all combat-oriented. The most balanced choice is the shapeshifter. It has the best transformation skills, but only limited regeneration.” <Luna>

“Are there any other advantages and disadvantages? I lose everything with the defensive choice, don't I?” <Eliza>

“Yes, with the defensive choice you are treated like a normal human or, in your case, like a normal elf. First and foremost, you lose two of your skills, namely regeneration and self transformation. Elves don't have these advantages, so you lose them.

Other advantages are related to two other skills that I have already mentioned. Drain Life and drain mana. Vampires on Narran, just like in your world, regularly need blood, which they steal from other creatures. However, they can also steal mana or eat bloody flesh meat instead. That compensates for a lot. Now I finally come back to your original question. The combativeness you felt is a typical side effect of a lack of blood. You become more aggressive and combative so that you can get blood faster. Combined with the genetic combativeness of dark elves, this results in a dangerous mixture that needs to be well balanced. On the other hand, another advantage is of an everyday nature. For a vampire, blood can also serve as a food substitute.

Drain life and drain mana together can only be learned by vampires, while drain mana is also available to shapeshifters. Otherwise, these two skills cannot be learned in the normal way. You need necromancy as magic for it or to be undead yourself to learn it.” <Luna>

“Does that make me undead too? Vampires are undead, aren't they?” <Eliza>

“Not in this world. Any other way would be bad, because then it would be harder to disguise yourself. Vampires can be created through necromancy though. They are undead. So, what's your decision?” <Luna>

“Do I have to make it right away? I'd like to sleep on it for at least one night. I've been given so much information that I need to process first. Besides, I'm out of MP.” <Eliza>

“Of course, this decision needs to be carefully considered. The advantages are great, but there are also disadvantages. Vampire is clearly the strongest option, while shapeshifter is the safest. If you choose defense, I'll remove everything that makes you a vampire and you'll be a simple elf. No matter what you choose, I'll support you either way.” <Luna>

“Thank you...” <Eliza>

Meanwhile somewhere in the heavenly realm:

“I see you're done.” Woman

“Yes, the connection has just been interrupted.” Luna

“Did you finally tell her everything?” Woman

“Sigh. No, we didn't get to that.” Luna

“How long are you going to keep her in the dark? She's your champion and I thought she was more than just a tool to you?” Woman

“I'm a little afraid of her reaction. I just managed to make her my acolyte. Any more would be too greedy and she's just about to decide if and how I should remove the seal around her core." Luna

“That's not what I mean, and you know it.” Woman

“Of course I know that, but I don't want to talk about it right now. And now be quiet.” Luna

“Are you embarrassed? Nice view, Luna.” Woman

“Stop teasing me and shut up already.” Luna

“I've already left, but don't take too long. You're not the only one and you know it.” Woman

“Shh!” Luna