The Evolution Dilemma
I agonized for a long time over whom to evolve. Which one should I use the Evolution Ticket on? The Dog Spider with its disabling abilities. The Jellyfish that grants powerful buffs. The Fire Slime, whose raw strength stood out the most. Even after weighing these options carefully, the outcome of evolution ultimately came down to luck. While a monster's current form and abilities usually influenced the result, exceptions existed— it could transform into something entirely unrelated.
In other words, its appearance or powers could change completely. Ah, what to do? I just couldn't decide. If only I had three tickets.
As I rubbed my chin, lost in thought, the supporters chimed in with their opinions.
Cutiebug was the nickname for the Dog Spider. Ppururu didn't want to evolve it.
On the flip side, Ha Yu-mi wanted to evolve the Dog Spider. Her reason? Simply because it was the first one I'd tamed.
What are you even saying? Type something, would ya?
The supporters' opinions were split.
Ppururu was a bit mistaken about evolution. We couldn't predict the Jellyfish's evolved form for sure. Assuming it would definitely become a Jellyfish Queen was wrong. They might be unrelated, or even if connected, evolution paths weren't fixed. It could evolve into something else entirely.
Best not to mention that—it'd just split opinions again.
The short debate converged on one choice.
I gathered the monsters in front of me. I had to hear their thoughts too.
"Kids. I'm about to evolve one of you. If any of you really wants to evolve, step forward."
The monsters glanced at each other in silence. None stepped up eagerly. They seemed to be gauging reactions.
"You all don't hate the idea of evolving, right?"
[Sii.]
[Pii.]
[Srung.]
From their responses, they didn't seem opposed to evolving.
"Just express if you want to evolve..."
They still hesitated. I spoke gently again.
"Don't worry about each other. If you want to evolve, take one step forward."
A brief silence followed. Then the Dog Spider, Jellyfish, and Fire Slime cautiously stepped forward at the same time.
[Sii?]
[Pii?]
[Srung?]
The three startled at the sight of each other. They glanced around and, as if by agreement, retreated simultaneously.
It was frustrating, but the scene brought a smile to my face. Their warm consideration for each other shone through.
"...I'll just decide myself. That cool? No sulking if I don't pick you?"
Nod, nod. The monsters bobbed their heads vigorously.
Dog Spider. Evolving it risked losing its disabling power.
Jellyfish. Same deal—its useful buffs might vanish. Even if enhanced, I planned to keep myself off the front lines as much as possible, so it wouldn't be that helpful. If I was just spectating safely from behind, the current buffs sufficed.
Weighing those factors—and the supporters' input—I decided on the Fire Slime. It had the strongest base combat prowess. Evolution might develop other abilities at the cost of its strength, but that was luck's gamble.
I took a deep breath, readying the Evolution Ticket. No physical ticket existed—it activated by my will alone.
Evolution didn't always raise threat level. It could become a higher variant within the same grade, or weaken despite that. I skipped explaining.
I declared the Evolution Ticket use in my mind. Target: Fire Slime.
Shaaa—
Light gathered around the slime instantly. Dazzling white light enveloped the Fire Slime. I blinked.
The intense glow shifted—from pure white to silver, then pale gold. Finally, it condensed into an egg-like form.
As the question crossed my mind, text appeared before me.
Time Remaining Until Evolution: 12:00:00
Not as long as I'd thought. I could sleep it off.
Day 3 in the Labyrinth. No monster attacks again. And the Poison Apple I'd kidnapped for food production died. Seems they die after a set time off the tree.
If it'd met special conditions to unleash its power, would it have lived? Who knows. Not worth dwelling on.
With the food generator gone, I'd have to grab a new one from Passage 5 later.
I glanced slightly left.
Time Remaining Until Evolution: 02:55:31
Freshly awake, just over three hours left. No cave exploration until the egg hatched. Couldn't risk leaving it vulnerable to attacks.
I couldn't scout with just the Jellyfish and Dog Spider either—too risky. No attacks so far, but no complacency. Most labyrinth monsters guarded their territories, but wanderers could intrude anytime.
While waiting, I checked yesterday's tickets. The intangible ones appeared as text only I could see.
Dispatch Ticket. Send a monster to another dimension for 24 hours. What benefits? Maybe fetch items from other worlds? If so, super useful. I'd test it on a rest day.
Designated Dispatch Ticket. Same as above, but to a world I specify. Since it mentioned linked dimensions, probably places like my isekai world or Earth.
Did regular dispatches create links too? I'd find out later.
Transferable Return Ticket. Returns someone to their home world— I couldn't use it. Physical form possible. Hand it to a wanderer after they cough up loot. Fair trade for sending them home. I wasn't volunteering.
Reverse Support Ticket. Send items back to supporters. Currently only Ppururu. I'd ponder uses later.
Time Remaining Until Evolution: 00:45:39
RED-grade supporter ‘Mysticism’ tears through dimensions and manifests, gazing at you.
With 45 minutes left, Mysticism arrived. Time ticked on.
Time Remaining Until Evolution: 00:05:30
GOLD-grade supporter ‘Ppururu’ slithers in wiggly-style and watches you.
RED-grade supporter ‘Yumi’ toddles over and gazes at you.
Ppururu and Ha Yu-mi arrived shortly after, alarms set for evolution time apparently.
The chat livened up. Bantering with the supporters made the five minutes fly by.
And then—
Crack-!
The egg finally began to crack.