Bunny Girl Evolution [A Monster Evolution LitRPG]

80 – Aether Quests

Elise wasted no time in opening the skill and reading the new description.

[ {Rune of Fate}: A rune granted by !@#$%^&* that @#$%^&*. Allows the user to channel divinely-given aether. Current charges: 2/3. Cooldown: 30 days. !@#$%^&* ]

She felt proud that she had managed to uncover that part of the mystery, but she was also annoyed that it was only part of it. The new description didn’t even cover that it passively gave her more aether as well.

No sooner did she think that did the description shimmer and change again.

[ {Rune of Fate}: A rune spawned by the user’s natural traits that indicates their latent ability to channel and control aether. Allows the user to channel divinely-given aether. Current charges: 2/3. Cooldown: 30 days. Grants the following Skill Quests: {Aether Sense}, {Aether Manipulation}, {Aether Absorption}. !@#$%^&* ]

Now that’s more like it!

Elise did a backflip in midair for joy at having largely solved the mystery. There was still that bit of gibberish at the end, but since she had no idea what it could possibly be, she decided to just accept her victory for now, and worry about it later. After a few seconds, she calmed down enough to take a closer look at the new description, and think about its discrepancies with the previous ones.

The very first sentence had changed. And it didn’t just fill in the blanks like she had expected it to. It had completely changed. Was the rune not granted then? Was it just something she had naturally? She felt incredibly lied to. Why did the System make it sound like someone else had given it to her before? Were her own thoughts corrupting the information? That didn’t make a ton of sense, but then again, the System ran on aether, and aether was used for mental skills. Maybe her thoughts had influenced the description. She wasn’t sure on that, but it made enough sense, and she didn’t have any better ideas, so she shrugged and moved on.

“Divine power” had changed to “divinely-given aether”. That made sense. Her extra power was definitely divine, but knowing that it was aether rather than some other nebulous power made sense. Not that aether wasn’t nebulous, but now that she knew what it was called and had at least an idea of what it did, it seemed a lot more approachable.

Lastly, there were the Skill Quests. She opened them up excitedly, but the excitement faded slightly when she saw what the requirements to unlock them were.

[ {Aether Sense} (Skill Quest): Discover the existence of Aether. Reach Tier 5 in your class or species ]

[ Progress: 1/2 ]

[ Reward: {Aether Sense} skill ]

[ {Aether Manipulation} (Skill Quest): Discover the existence of Aether. Reach Tier 6 in your class or species. Acquire {Aether Sense} skill ]

[ Progress: 1/3 ]

[ Reward: {Aether Manipulation} skill ]

[ {Aether Absorption} (Skill Quest): Discover the existence of Aether. Reach Tier 7 in your class or species. Acquire {Aether Sense} skill. Acquire {Aether Manipulation} skill ]

[ Progress: 1/4 ]

[ Reward: {Aether Absorption} skill ]

It put a bit of a damper on her mood, but she quickly pushed that dissatisfaction aside. Five minutes ago, she didn’t know about aether, nor did she have a way to unlock those skills. Now, she not only had answers, she had a simple, straightforward way to unlock what seemed to be rather versatile skills. All she had to do was level up.

She turned her attention back to the sound of the monkeys a few hundred feet away. She still had about five minutes left on her divine aether, and a few more things she wanted to experiment with. She felt a little conflicted about using the monkeys as test subjects like some kind of mad scientist, but she pushed those concerns aside. She was going to hunt them anyway. What was wrong with testing her skills a little bit along the way?

Bianca wasn’t sure what happened. She went to sleep in a comfortable bed in her cabin on the ship. When she woke up, she was in a comfortable bed in a stone tower. Or at least, it felt like a tower. The suite was circular, and whenever it was mealtime, the food arrived through a hatch in the ground, but the windows were filled with more stone, so she couldn’t see outside, and the only noise was that which she made herself.

It was not an entirely uncomfortable place. She had been terrified when she first woke up there, but after more than a week, she was now simply confused. She had no idea where she was or why she was there. She assumed she was kidnapped, but whoever had done it had yet to reveal themselves.

They were treating her somewhat well. Her main bedroom was almost the size of her bedroom at home, and there was a sizable bathroom where she could take care of her hygienic needs, as well as a closet full of fine clothes. The food she got was simple, but well-made, and despite her early suspicions, it didn’t seem to be laced with anything.

The only real discomfort she had was the way the room was completely devoid of mana. Her own body had been drained as well, so she had no way to replenish. Without it, she had no way to escape, or even find information. Her physical stats were practically nonexistent, so she couldn’t even budge the trapdoor entrance, let alone try to break through the stone.

It was only on the 8th day that she finally met another person. As with her own arrival in the room, Bianca had no idea how the other woman got there. One second, she was alone, laying on her bed, staring up at the ceiling, and the next, there was another woman standing over her.

“Good evening,” she said.

Bianca scrambled back until she was pressed against the wall.

“Who are you?” she asked. “Where am I? Why am I here?”

The other woman was wearing an elegant dress the same deep black as her hair with a lower neckline than Bianca would ever dare to try, and her full red lips were pressed into a smile. Her eyes were as red as her lips, and Bianca couldn’t help but feel like they were peering right into her soul.

“I am the Lady,” said the other woman. “I apologize for the late introduction. I’m afraid I had to step away to take care of some business. Have my subordinates been treating you well?”

“I guess?” replied Bianca. “Where am I?”

“You will find out in due time. Now, stand up.”

“What does that mean?” asked Bianca.

“I said stand up,” said the Lady, her smile fading. “Do not make me tell you a third time.”

Bianca wanted to protest, but that last sentence made her blood run cold. Without another word, she crawled to the edge of the bed and stood up.

“Spin,” said the Lady.

Bianca spun. When she was back facing forward, the Lady was smiling again.

“You would make a fine addition to my Garden.” From the way she said it, Bianca knew it had nothing to do with actual plants. “Unfortunately, that will have to wait. You have a very important role to play soon. You’ll be our princess!”

“What does that mean?”

“All in due time,” said the Lady, clearly enjoying Bianca’s confusion. “Now that I’ve had a good look at you, I can see why your fiancé was so adamant about protecting you. You are quite lovely.”

“Nick?” asked Bianca. “Is he here? Is he safe?”

“He is near,” said the Lady, nodding. “And he is safe so long as he does not do anything foolish. However, you may find him… changed.”

“Changed? What does that mean?”

The Lady’s smile widened into a grin, and with her teeth bared, Bianca noticed for the first time how long and thin her upper canines were.

“Well, that’s all the time I have for today. ‘Twas nice to meet you. I look forward to working with you.”

“Wait!” shouted Bianca, but the other woman was already gone.

A week after Nick’s unplanned evolution, he had settled into a consistent routine of nothing. It was a more comfortable nothing than he had been doing in the cell, but it was really more of an upgraded prison than anything else. He hadn’t been booked for any fights, and had only left his house’s property to visit the Lady once.

When he got there, he was pleased to find that {Fighter’s Instincts} worked on the Lady now. Unfortunately, that only reinforced the feeling of helplessness. Even with his added stats from his evolution, and even with {Vampire-Bane}, which increased them by another 50% when facing a Vampire, he would die in seconds.

He had been a bit worried that she would kill him when she found out what she had become, but she only seemed a bit amused, and not at all bothered.

“I thought I planted a flower, but you’ve grown into a cactus,” she said. “A cactus can still look nice in a garden though.”

It was at this time that he had met a third vampire whose name was Lily. It was also at this time that he learned that Rose’s name had not originally been Rose. That was instead a name she had been given when she joined the “Lady’s Garden.” Nick was also a part of the Garden, and had been given the name “Hyacinth”. It didn’t really fit her cactus analogy, but he didn’t dare tell her that.

Of the Garden members, Nick was the only one not under the Lady’s direct control, and was therefore the only one not able to do as he pleased. He was constantly under watch, usually by Rose, and during the day, he was not allowed aboveground. Vampires didn’t do well during the day.

Fortunately, Nick still had plenty to do. He had spent the past week exploring his new skills, primarily {Aether Sense}. The description told him almost nothing, and the System refused to tell him more about it, but simply using the skill to observe his surroundings gave him a lot of information.

Everything alive had aether. No, it produced aether. Humans, insects, plants, and the burrowing rodents around all generated it from somewhere within their bodies. Over time, it slowly leaked out, and dissipated shortly after leaving their bodies.

Vampires, however, did not produce aether. Nick had learned in the past that they were classified as “undead”, so he assumed that to be the reason. Even so, they still generally had three times the aether of humans or more. Why? Because they stole it from others.

While he tried to ignore it, he couldn’t help but wince when he sensed someone being dragged underground and drained of their aether. He wanted nothing more than to charge in and save them, but there was nothing he could do. He wasn’t even confident he could handle Rose, let alone the other members of the Garden.

So, he bided his time. He trained his combat skills when he could, and studied aether when he couldn’t. He was left mostly unbothered, since Rose was his main supervisor and she didn’t talk much. Oddly enough, he hadn’t seen the Lady around lately. He knew where her room was, and according to Rose, she was usually there, but it had been a week and he still had yet to see her.

At the moment, he was sitting down and meditating, trying to figure out what else aether did. Beyond indicating whether something was alive, he couldn’t tell. He knew he produced a bit more than most people, and he knew that when he used {Absorb Aether}, he could increase the amount he had, but he didn’t know what it was used for. Occasionally, the other vampires seemed to use it, but whatever it did, he couldn’t tell.

“The Lady has returned.”

Nick opened his eyes and looked up to see Rose standing over him, her expression as blank as ever.

“Where?”

“I’m not sure, but she is near. I expect she will be here soon.”

“I see. Thank you.”

He waited a moment to see if she had anything else to say, then closed his eyes and returned to his meditation. He wasn’t sure if he could call himself close to Rose, but she was by far his favorite person there. She was quiet and calm, and often did him unsolicited favors. More importantly, unlike the others, she didn’t seem to enjoy her position in the Garden. He was sure that if given the choice, she would run away.

Unfortunately, she didn’t have a choice. On top of boosting his stats when facing vampires, {Vampire-bane} also gave him a mental encyclopedia of vampire knowledge. Vampires who could create other vampires were called Progenitors, and vampires created by Progenitors could not rebel against their creators unless they became stronger than their creators, or their connection to their creators was somehow severed, which was nearly impossible without divine interference.

“She is coming,” said Rose.

Nick opened his eyes again, and a few seconds later, he sensed it as well. The Lady’s aether was by far the strongest he had ever sensed, and unlike everyone else, it never seemed to drain. It was perfectly contained in her body, only exiting when she wanted it to exit. She was aboveground, something that Nick knew shouldn’t have been possible, but at this point, he just assumed she was 9th tier and was allowed to break some of the rules.

Not more than a minute later, she was descending a staircase on the far side of the underground complex with a wide grin on her face.

“Hyacinth!” she called.

Nick scowled and stood up.

“I just had a wonderful conversation with your fiancée.”

“Bianca?” asked Nick, stepping forward. “Where is she?”

“Around,” said the Lady. “You needn’t worry. I won’t lay a hand on her. Yet.”

Nick could barely contain his rage.

“Anyway, how has your time in the Garden been? I’m sorry I couldn’t be around this past week.”

“Where. Is. Bianca.”

“That sounds an awful lot like a demand.”

Nick sensed her aether tense within her body, and immediately knew that he had to stop.

“Apologies, my Lady,” he said through gritted teeth. “Could you please tell me where my fiancée is?”

“Well, since you asked so nicely, I suppose I can tell you a bit,” she said, smiling as her aether relaxed. “In three weeks, the Blood Syndicate will be hosting a very special event. One in which you and your fiancée will be playing a major role. The ordinary fights can be entertaining, but we’ll be having the top brass attending, so a simple program won’t do at all. Instead, we’ll be putting on a special performance of the age-old Princess and the Dragon, retold in real time.

“I wasn’t able to find a real dragon, so we’ll have to make do with a drake, but your fiancée will make a lovely cursed princess, and I thought you would be perfect for the role of the dashing knight.”

Nick took a deep breath to keep himself from exploding before he replied.

“My Lady,” he said, his voice trembling. “Is it possible to not involve Bianca in this?”

“Unfortunately, the plans are now set in stone,” she replied with a false frown. “But don’t worry. I won’t make you do this for nothing. It’s no fun without stakes, after all. If you succeed, I will not only let your fiancée remain with you afterward, I will even offer you a chance to escape. And I mean a true escape. No strings attached.”

Nick narrowed his eyes. He had no idea what to think of that. He obviously didn’t trust the Lady at all, but at the same time, it would be completely in character for her to do something like that.

“And you won’t come after us once we escape?”

“I would not,” she said. “I would offer to make an oath or sign a contract, but I’m afraid I don’t do either of those things anymore, so you’ll just have to take my word for it.”

“...Thank you, my Lady.”

Nick didn’t understand why she was offering this, but on the off-chance it was real, he wasn’t about to throw it away. If he did manage to escape with Bianca, he could alert the Jelorian knights, and they would be able to come back in full force and wipe out this hideout, and hopefully the Lady with it.

“Well, I’m off to the baths,” said the Lady, turning away. “Care to join me, Hyacinth?”

“No.”

“Suit yourself,” she said. “Rose, if you would,-”

She stopped midsentence and turned her head sharply to the right. Rose did the same, and even Nick could sense what had made them pause. Far in the distance, an enormous amount of aether had suddenly appeared. Nick had no idea where it was, since it was so far away, but he had a gut feeling that whatever its source, it was far more than even the Lady had.

“Looks like we’ve got a little priest running around,” said the Lady, her lips curling up into a smile.

She reached over to Rose and put a hand on her shoulder. A wave of aether flew out, surrounding Rose like skin-tight cloth, completely blocking all of the younger vampire’s aether leakage.

“Rose, go investigate. You have two hours.”

“Yes, My Lady.”