“Evolution stone?” I turned the stone in my hand over as I looked at it curiously. I had yet to read anything about evolution stones, so this was something I would need to look into. But one thing I did not understand was how to use it. “Do I eat it?”

[Acquired An Item!]

[Inventory System Unlocked.]

[Evolution Stone Detected!]

[Evolution System Unlocked!]-.

“Inventory system? Evolution system?” I was done being surprised by all the notifications popping up, but it seemed my system liked to add things as I get them. “I should make myself scarce first before someone comes to investigate.”

I could only sigh. I kept having to run away from the scene of my crimes. I figured it would probably be best to head back towards the cliffside before it got too late. I had plenty of time to explore the forest to look for places to level up at, and find places to experiment with my magic. To be honest, I have really been living on that fine line of exposing myself ever since I entered the forest. I was fine when I was just fighting horned rabbits, but now I have created a huge mess in two places. This was not good. If the village expands its patrols within the forest, I might end up losing my training ground. And that would ruin all my future plans.

But before anything, I really needed to wash up. I had blood from horned rabbits caked on my skin and mixing in with my sweat. I needed to find a spot to wash up that was not so exposed. Out of what is called everyday magic, there were a few that were perfect for these situations. One was called hot rain magic, which allowed you to create a ball of hot water that will rain down onto you like a shower back on Earth. Ever since I learned of it, I have always used it when I can. Then there was the warm breeze magic that was nothing more than warm wind that you could blow on your body or clothes to dry them, and lastly, there was whirlpool. The best thing about this kind of magic is you could make it an actual attack or just a simple washing machine. You could create a small one in front of you and toss your clothes into it with some soap to clean them. Because of these spells, day-to-day life was rather simple when it came to hygiene and clothes washing.

I ran for about fifteen minutes before looking around to find a spot without any monsters. I ended up finding a spot by a huge tree that had some low-lying branches. I created an earth version of ice wall called earth wall to make an enclosure. Only when I was surrounded did I finally strip my dirty clothes off and toss them into a whirlpool before taking a shower.

About an hour later, I was fully dressed and feeling refreshed once again. I have always had a habit of staying in the shower for way longer than needed. There was something about the hot water beating down on my skin that always relaxed me. “I should figure out where I am….”

Undoing the earth wall around me, I climbed the tree next to me and made my way to the top to look out over the area. It was my first time getting a good view of the area, so when I saw the expansive sea of forest that led to the other side of the long plateau that my village was perched on, I was quite surprised at just how big the area was. I turned to see the edge of the forest not far from my position. While I had run at least a mile into the first, it was not far enough from the forest edge to make me completely lost. “Okay, that way is out. I will just need to get to the forest edge then circle back around.”

I sat on the tall tree branch looking out over the forest, taking in the view for a moment before deciding to just go ahead and check out the new additions to my system. I quickly opened the menu to see two new additions. First, I opened my inventory and looked at it. It looked no different than any video game inventory that was based on a slot system. It was just I had no idea how to put anything into it. Scratching my head, I plucked a leaf off the tree and, following what I normally had to do, I concentrated on it, but this time I thought of sticking it into the inventory.

[Add Leaf to inventory?] A message popped up in front of me asking if I wanted to add the leaf to the inventory or not. “Yes…” After I spoke what seemed to be the magic words, the leaf disappeared from my hand and now took up a slot in the inventory. When I focused on the leaf, a secondary window popped up, giving me details about the item. Although the information was no different from what I would see if I appraised it. Only there was a button underneath the information that said retrieve. If I concentrated on it, it would light up as if I was hovering over it. “So it’s basically a mental type control system when dealing with things. Same as with the skill system…. But at least this is helpful. I can now carry many items with me without needing to actually carry them.”

I used the retrieve button on the leaf, and it once again appeared in my hand. Or more like I subconsciously reached out to grab it as it appeared. A kind of strange feeling as if I had no control over what I was doing. But I was sure I would get used to it over time. I would rather be controlled for a few seconds to grab the item that was appearing than letting, let’s say, my evolution stone drop to the ground and break and become waste.

Speaking of the evolution stone. I set aside the inventory to test it more later and went to check out the new evolution system. “Hmm? This is kinda amazing!” My eyes widened when I looked at the evolution system. “Only the top two are lit up and show a slot above the name. The evolution stone must go into that slot?”

I tilted my head to the side as I looked the menu over before checking out the two options I had for evolution. “Let’s see…. First one is a Dragling…. A young dragon race that can not transform into humans until they are older but are ten times stronger than other young dragons.”

I pursed my lips. There was no way I would want to evolve into a dragon race that I can’t actually stay human in. My eyes quickly fell onto the next option that was lit up. “Dragnoid… An evolved form of Dragonkin. A humanoid dragon race that can transform into dragons. Size and scale is dependent on current age. A Dragnoid’s dragon form is five times stronger than its human form. Partial transformation is possible with practice. Will acquire skill dragon breath for both humanoid and dragon forms. Takes one hour to complete evolution.

“Now, this is more like it. But the question is will I still look the same after evolution? Will I still be the cute me that I am now?” While I know I may sound narcissistic, my current looks have to stay the same, at least enough so that my family can recognize me. I did not wish to turn into some kind of freak of nature or end up looking like someone completely different. But the idea of becoming an actual dragon was kind of enticing. I mean, it’s a dragon, right? I might have dragon aspects already, but aren’t baby dragons supposed to be cute?

I was really debating on what I should do. But I was worried about what would happen to me physically. I tapped my chin and pondered but still couldn’t come to a firm decision. I decided to wait for the time being. I stuck my evolution stone into my inventory and climbed down the tree.

I left the forest as quickly as possible and walked along the cliff edge, making my way back towards the road that leads to my house. It was there that I saw my brother walking over to me. I smiled brightly and waved my hand at him. “Brother!”

“You idiot! Where did you go!?” My brother yelled, causing me to flinch slightly. I lowered my head and dared not to look up.

“I….” I wanted to say something, but before I could, I was pulled into his embrace.

“Faith, you have no idea how hard Mother, Father, and I have been searching for you. There have been explosions going off in the forest, indicating a powerful monster battle. We thought maybe you were caught up in them.” I kind of felt bad because I know for a fact that those explosions were my doing. So in truth, I was caught up in them. But I could not tell him such things, or I would definitely be locked away.

“I…. I was on the other side of the village exploring the rocky area.” I lied… I hated it, but I had no choice. I am sorry, brother!

“The rocky area?” My brother sighed as he released me. “That place can be a maze sometimes. There are also elementals that sometimes appear there, so you need to be careful in that area. Come on, let’s go find Mother and Father. They are very worried right now.”