Evolution. . . Success!
Puck the Infernal Imp successfully evolved into a Shade!
Shade
Name: Puck
Core: Infernal
Rarity: Magic
Possible Evolutions: 2 (Ifrit, Greater Shade)
When Puck’s voice touched my consciousness again, it’d utterly changed. The high-pitched tone had been replaced with something rougher, deeper, and crackling, like slate breaking underfoot. “Ah, Master. You honor me.”
“I reward those who serve me well,” I told him. “Scout the mountain and report any movement.”
“When I return, shall I shout from the stairs again?” he asked sarcastically. “In case you’re busy with the troll? Or this new core clinging to your mind, like a snail to its shell?”
Abby’s gem flared in indignation, but I just chuckled.
“Not tonight,” I told him. “Go forth, Champion.”
I looked over him, and I couldn’t help but admire just how much more terrifying he looked—far more fitting to my darkness-drenched halls of volcanic stone than a bowling ball with wings.
“You let your minions sass you?” Abby asked.
“They’re my champions,” I replied, “and banter is healthy.”
As Bertha entered the First Floor, Puck took to the air and vanished up into the newly-widened vents.
Bertha’s mouth dropped. “Was that… Puck?”
“Yes,” I answered from my jewel. “The essence of the adventurers has the potential to make my champions stronger than even they could imagine.”
Bertha’s eyes widened as she realized what I had in store for her.
“Yes, Bertha. You’ll also be getting an upgrade.”
Chapter Twenty-Seven
“The War Troll,” Bertha said immediately. “I’ve heard tell of the greatest warriors of my people. They were gifted with incredible wrath by a dungeon that made them capable of slaying legions. My use to you, Master, is in speed and handling weapons, not raw power and armor. The Cave Troll is a mighty creature, but it would not serve my function to you.”
Bertha might as well have read my mind.
I was a little worried that the beautiful half-troll’s appearance might become more like a troll, but I needed her to be stronger. The loss of her good looks would be a worthy sacrifice if it meant a more powerful champion.
Power rushed through me as I grasped the Soul Essence and poured it into Bertha. Her body tightened as the gold energy flooded from the floor under her. Her purple tattoos blazed bright, flooding the antechamber with a visceral amethyst. A moan of pure ecstasy fled from my champion’s chest as I waited for the physical changes that had shifted and changed Puck.
The half-troll’s skin shimmered, and her tattoos lengthened, becoming more thorned as they etched themselves deeper into her flesh. Her powerful form grew less muscular, more refined and angular. She had always been beautiful, but now she was a picture of feminine beauty. Yet her purple eyes still carried a lethal and cunning edge.
Evolution. . . Success!
Bertha the Hell Troll successfully evolved into a War Troll!
War Troll
Name: Bertha
Core: Infernal
Rarity: Magic
Possible Evolutions: 2 (Black Troll, Blood Troll)
The gold light faded, and the last of the Soul Essence flowed free of my core. My champion took a long, deep breath, and then opened her eyes. They were alight, her irises shining like gems. She rolled backward to her feet with a slick agility I’d never seen before. She stretched her neck, and I heard a rippling crackle of pops as she loosened her shoulders.
Bertha flexed her hands, and the muscles in her forearms striated. Despite the increase to her size, she was still attractive. She produced a familiar bloodthirsty grin as she took up her poleaxe, rotating it so fast that it turned into a blur. She spun it again and again, from hand to hand and around her body.
Bertha allowed the weapon to still by her side. “Thank you, Master.”
“You’re welcome. I like your new moves.”
“They’re not the only ones I’ve learned.” She took a step forward, and then cartwheeled through the air without so much as a hand on the ground. Her weapon whirled around her, repeating patterns that would have required years of practice, but her evolution granted her them in a second. She continued the masterful display of fighting skills that I’d never seen before, in a game or the world I’d left behind.
I stirred the Hellbats and the Sprites into a frenzy, and they swooped down from the vents. Their screeches filled with chambers of Zagorath with a hellish din that reverberated off my walls. Bertha halted and looked up as the minions swirled around her. I willed them to pick up the pace, and they raced through the cavernous spaces before I extended my consciousness and settled them down. I felt a tickle of almost flirtatious energy, and then turned my focus to Abby.
“What do you think?” I asked as her consciousness danced around mine.
I imagined her shaking her head as awe colored her voice. “It’s incredible. I’ve never seen anything like this before. You’re so new, and yet…” Her voice faded, and her avatar slid into existence beside one of the brand-new pillars of the First Floor.
Finding Von Dominus, I summoned him and left behind the omnipresence of Zagorath to possess his mind. I stepped off the impressive new dais and strolled toward her. The storm avatar’s pale fingers tracked the glittering sable patterns of the newly-forged obsidian.
I smiled at her. “This enough to change your mind about Infernal Dungeons?”
“I don’t trust Lilith,” Abby said, turning her eyes to me. “But I trust you.”
“Funny what a little roll on a mountaintop can do, isn’t it?”
Her skin went a bright red, but her wonderful coral mouth curved into a shy smile. “It’s not just that. Having seen how fast you can move, learn, adapt. . .“ Her eyes lingered on mine. “That kind of power must be intoxicating.”
I moved closer, feeling my blood warming as our gaze deepened, turning into something else entirely. The charm of my elf continued to surprise me.
