I Reincarnated As A Stick

Chapter 429: Evolving in an Instant

“Evolve to Grand-grade at any time?” Once the four heard that, they could not help but look at each other, inwardly laughing at the absurdity of Aurus’s statement. However, Herellia and Horell, who had been listening in on the conversation all this time, remained silent. After all, the two of them had seen the absurd leveling speed of actual Aurus from back then, so it was no surprise that this ability would be carried over into the Aurus in front of them. In fact, Herellia was so certain that Aurus could truly pull it off thanks to the system he had with him.

In any case, none of the four truly laughed at Aurus’s words, thinking that it was just some sort of hyperbole in order for them to not lose hope in him. To them, even if it took a few months for him to reach Grand-grade, it wouldn’t matter much. That’s how much belief they had in his words… basically none.

As for Aurus, he could not help but shrug his shoulders as he commanded the system in his mind, “System, I would like to evolve to the next grade.”

Ding!

Unsurprisingly, the voice of the system quickly resounded in his mind as it told him, “You have met the necessary requirements to evolve to the next grade, the Grand grade. As your current species is incredibly rare in the world of Erudinia, there are no evolution choices for you to choose from.”

“The species you shall evolve into is the Lesser Origin Spirit Lord. Would you like to evolve right now?”

“Yes.” As if trying to prove a point, Aurus accepted the prompt, instantly starting a small whirlpool of gray energy around him. Noticing this whirlpool of gray energy, the four could not help but look in silence, only to look at each other once more as they all thought the same thing at this moment.

‘It seems we were in the wrong this time.’

Whoosh! Whoosh!

Slowly but surely, the whirlpool of energy surrounding Aurus rotated faster and faster as it gradually expanded, soon covering about a quarter of the room. However, that was where it stopped expanding, instead intensifying in light before quickly contracting as the energy emanating from Aurus had undergone a massive boost.

Bang!

At that very moment, the flooring under Aurus seemingly cracked from the pressure brought by the contraction of the whirlpool as the aura Aurus emanated was now a tad stronger than it was before. In fact, there was even a hint of majesty from the aura he exuded, making the four feel like they were looking at a being that was higher up on the food chain compared to them. As for Herellia and Horell, once they felt this aura, they could not help wryly smile inwardly as they recalled another being that exuded a similar aura.

Ding!

‘[Argentum — Lesser Origin Spirit] has evolved to [Argentum — Lesser Origin Spirit Lord].’

‘Well, it’s no surprise that the system won’t change the name that easily,’ Aurus thought to himself, slightly chuckling. ‘Nevertheless, I’ve finally evolved to Grand-grade. It’s quite unfortunate that I won’t be staying in this state for too long, though.’

“System, allocate all of the unused experience points I have into leveling up,” he commanded not long after, recalling that he still had over 20,000 experience points left over after he maxed out his level while he was still a Magic-grade Pseudo-Animate.

With that, another surprising sight was shown for Felix and the others as they quickly noticed that the aura surrounding Aurus had grown significantly stronger within a matter of seconds. For the silent duo, especially Herellia, they looked at this sight if it was just a normal occurrence.

Ding!

‘Congratulations! You have leveled up to Level 12.’

“It seems I still have to obtain more experience points if I want to max out my level,” he muttered inwardly. “In any case, my stats are definitely a lot higher than before. Though, now wouldn’t be a good time to check that.”

Taking in a deep breath as he acclimated to his newfound strength, Aurus then looked at Felix and the others with a light smile on his face as he reactivated [False Visage of the Animate] again. “So? Do you now believe me when I said I could evolve to Grand-grade at any time?”

“Well, you just did it, so it would be a lie at this point if we said we still don’t believe you,” Felix said in response, a wry smile apparent on his face. In fact, thanks to this, the four were reminded of Argentum’s monstrous talent. Even though it had been a while since he had made a move in pursuit of greater power, this made them realize that he had not lost that talent at all.

“So, Felix. Mind giving me that technique?” Aurus asked soon after, prompting Felix to let out a light sigh as he placed a finger on Aurus’s forehead, quickly sending a strand of energy into him. Of course, this strand of energy was filled to the brim with information, which Aurus quickly absorbed within seconds.

After closing his eyes for a bit, he looked at Felix and asked, “What type of technique is this exactly?”

“I’ll be the one to explain that,” Eleanor replied, slightly catching Aurus off guard. Then again, as long as his question was answered, it did not matter as to who gave the answer to him.

“Although techniques like these are known by many names, there’s a name for them that almost everyone can agree on. Existence Transition techniques. From the name itself, it would allow a being at one existence level to transition into another existence level,” she explained. “However, the only ones that can use this are Inanimates, Pseudo-Animates like me and Felix, and Animates like Rosalia and Helios.”

“Through an Existence Transition technique, one would be able to transition into the two other possible existence levels as long as they accept that they would have to sacrifice something in exchange. On top of that, they would have to reach a certain level of power beforehand, or else they might end up as an incredibly weak version of that existence level, making the transition useless in the first place,” she concluded, looking at Felix after that.

“As for the technique I’ve given you, it’s called the [Mortal Grasping Corporeality Manual].” Naturally, Felix noticed the sign Eleanor gave him and continued where she left off. “From the name itself, it allows a Pseudo-Animate to transition into an Animate. However, it would also allow a Pseudo-Animate to transition into an Inanimate, though there wouldn’t be much point into it.”

“The requirements to use the technique is to reach the peak of Grand-grade. As for the thing you’ll have to sacrifice, it would be a great portion of the skills you’ve accumulated until now, with only the skills that are important to you being left behind. Naturally, the more skills you sacrifice for the technique, the better the transition becomes,” he said, prompting Aurus to become silent for a bit. After a while, Aurus nodded before telling Felix, “Thanks.”

“No problem,” Felix nodded in response as he replied.

“Well, with that done, is it fine if we head back to our respective inheritances again?” Eleanor asked sometime later, eliciting a light smile to appear on Aurus’s face as he replied, “Why the rush? Don’t you guys want to hear the plan I have in mind once I transition into an Animate?”

“Hoh?” Unsurprisingly, with Aurus placing great emphasis on this question, it was difficult for the four to not be curious.

“Well, before I start explaining my plan, have you guys heard of a Super Animate before?” Aurus asked, to which the four nodded as one of them responded, “An Animate that could fight against those one to two ranks above them. What about it?”

“Then… how about an Ultra Animate?” he said soon after, noticing that all of their expressions froze in place as everything clicked in their minds.

“How sure are you of achieving this?” Helios asked, his tone now serious. “You know very well to not joke around with us regarding things like these.”

“I can guarantee becoming a Super Animate at the very least, while becoming an Ultra Animate wouldn’t be far from the realm of possibility,” Aurus solemnly replied, making the four wonder if they were even talking to the same being they knew in the past. “In any case, I’ll have to delegate the duty of managing the town’s affairs to the vice leader of this town while I try to achieve this. After all, we can only do so many things at once.”

“Speaking of which, I have something else to propose,” he said soon after, catching everyone in the room off guard as he looked at Horell. With a light smile, he asked him, “Horell, how about you transition into an Animate with me?”

“Eh?” Naturally, Horell was surprised to hear this from Aurus. After all, he had never even thought about transitioning into an Animate at any point in time. “Why though?”

“Let’s just say that you and Herellia are somewhat important variables in the plan I have in mind,” Aurus said in response.

“How about it, Horell?”

“Why not give it a shot?”