Bunny Girl Evolution [A Monster Evolution LitRPG]

88 – Aether Specialization

“Aether specialization comes in a few main forms,” explained Rayna. “Most of them are non-combatant. Nobility, merchants, entertainers, healers, pleasure specialists… As a monster, most of those are non-options for you, and it doesn’t seem like you’re interested in them either.”

“Not particularly,” Elise agreed.

“Still, while they are non-options, many of them come with useful skills for combatants,” continued Rayna. “While you will never be able to follow their paths, you can still learn from them. For example, nobility has skills for exerting a passive aetheric influence, as well as for influencing large groups. These skills are generally to help them handle their subjects better, but the exact same skills can also be used in other circumstances, if you so desire. The passive aetheric influence can make weaker monsters back off, or make you seem more appetizing, and I’m sure you can imagine how aethirically influencing a group could be useful in a fight against multiple opponents.

“Entertainers have similar skills to nobles, though typically more specialized. Merchants have more single-target skills aimed at reading and subtly influencing their target. {Suggest} is the most basic and versatile of these skills, but there are many others. And pleasure specialists…” Elise shifted uncomfortably, causing Rayna to smirk. “Well, I’m sure you get the idea.

“Healers are the most common and well-regarded type of aether specialist among the humanoid races, and they are few and far between among monsters. Sometimes, monsters that tend to form groups will produce healing variants, but really, fey is the only monster type that gets universal healing skills.

“The reason I explain all this to you is that it’s important for you, especially as a changeling, that you understand the extent of your options. While you may have no interest in any of those paths, taking them temporarily for the skills could provide great benefits. You may have no interest in ruling, but being a noble changeling comes with its fair share of perks. We don’t have time to go into great detail on each, but if you wish, I’d be happy to speak with you again before your next evolution.”

“That sounds good to me,” said Elise.

Rayna definitely wasn’t fully trustworthy, but Elise at least trusted the vampire was interested in at least making her stronger. Elise wouldn’t take everything she said as gospel, but if she was offering to provide free information, there was no reason to turn it down.

“Here, take this,” said Rayna, handing a small sheet of paper.

Elise grabbed it with {Telekinesis} and oriented it so she could read it. Well, not exactly “read” since there were no words. It had some intricate patterns on it, and some that even looked like runes, but none that she could understand.

“If you tear this, it will create an anchor for this,” she held up a scroll for Elise to see. “It’s a teleportation scroll. I probably won’t arrive instantaneously, but I have nothing hugely important to do in the next few months, so as long as you don’t move too far from the spot where you tear it, I will stop by shortly.”

“Are you sure?” asked Elise, staring at the paper with a newfound appreciation for its value. “Isn’t this, like, incredibly expensive?”

“Not to me,” said Rayna with a somewhat sinister smile that showed off her fangs. “Besides, even if it was, I think this is worthwhile. When else would I use something like this anyways? I keep it on me exactly for encounters like this one.”

“I guess…” said Elise.

“Anyway, back to the topic at hand. There are three main archetypes for aether specialists in combat: Illusionists, Supporters, and Self-Healers. Not all self-healers are aether-based, since healing can be done with mana as well, but it’s much more efficient with aether. There are also half-specialists who use aether to supplement their main fighting style.”

Like Hans, thought Elise.

“Illusionists, when we talk about aether, are not the same as mana illusionists. Aether illusions don’t exist in the outside world. Only in the minds of the target. These illusions can target any of the senses or emotions, though precision can be difficult at lower levels.”

Elise nodded along as she listened. Precision was indeed a problem with {Suggest}. It was incredibly effective for simple emotions like fear, or being attacked, but even adding a bit of complexity with a direction multiplied the difficulty many times over. Her old strategy of using words for more complex thoughts was somewhat effective, but since everyone interpreted those thoughts differently, consistency was more or less impossible.

Still, Elise definitely fit more into the Illusionist archetype. At this point, her magic was supplementary. A necessary supplement, but still a supplement. Emilia had been more in line with the non-combatant types, probably falling in line with the nobility skills. It would explain why she had been so weak in direct combat despite being halfway to 8th tier.

“Supporters are, as the name suggests, combatants whose main role is to help stronger direct combatants, rather than to fight themselves,” continued Rayna. “Since aether also has effects on the System, they are very effective for helping others to fight above their level through temporary buffs and things like that. Fey also have some of this ability with their {Fairy Dust}, but for the most part, monsters avoid this route. It is reserved for monsters with strong group attachments.

“Self-healers are kind of half-specialists in aether, but on the more extreme end, I would consider them full specialists. Basic self healing is just half-specialization, but for those whose fighting style depends entirely on their ability to take blows and heal them off, it’s more than just a supplement.

“As a fey, I assume you fall somewhere in between an Illusionist and a Supporter, correct?”

“More Illusionist than Supporter, but yes, I think so,” said Elise.

Rayna nodded. “I am personally more of a Self-Healer, and if you chose to join the vampires, you likely would be too. But since you said no, then it’s probably best to stick with what you’re already good at. Unless you have a strong desire to change it up?”

“I think it’s too late for that.”

Her stats were far too unbalanced to switch to a Self-Healer archetype. Besides, she didn’t like the idea of taking so much damage. That hurt, and she wasn’t a masochist. She would rather sit back and fight like a coward and not get hurt. Besides, she was starting to like her Illusionist build. She had been initially concerned about leaning too heavily into her Charisma skills after she saw what Emilia had become, but at this point it was clear that their paths had already greatly diverged.

“You don’t have to fit perfectly into any one category,” said Rayna. “I use those categories more to describe than prescribe. You can mix and match without issue. It never hurts to have a self-healing skill or two, and while {Fairy Dust} can work for that, I’m sure you’re aware that it’s not as effective as a true healing skill.

“There are also some rare outliers. For example, Freddy.”

Elise’s ears perked up. She had barely any idea of what the man could do. Him being an aether specialist made sense, and explained why he was able to detect her {Inspect}. She had already been suspecting as much with how he seemed to revolve around contracts.

“Do you know how he got as strong as he is?” Rayna asked.

“I don’t,” said Elise eagerly

“He’s a one-of-a-kind aether specialist, as far as I’m aware. His contracts are certainly aether-based, but his fighting style is not. He is more of a pure mage when it comes to combat, but he is only able to be so because of his aether.”

“Does he get more powerful by signing contracts or something?” asked Elise.

“Something like that,” said Rayna, shrugging. “I don’t know exactly how it works either. However, I do know one of the ways he has become so strong. Did you know that it’s possible to sign contracts for stat points?”

It took Elise a moment to realize what she meant, then her eyes widened.

“I’m not sure the extent, but I have witnessed him signing a contract with another monster to resolve their problem in exchange for a portion of their Mana. I don’t know how big of a portion it was, nor whether it was a permanent addition, but the fact that it happened is undeniable. I don’t know if that’s a unique skill of his, or if it’s possible with more ordinary contracts and deals. In my opinion, it’s likely a skill that is unique to demons, but that doesn’t mean you can’t take inspiration. Fey have their bargaining skill, after all.”

System, can I take permanent stat points using {Fey Bargaining}? Elise asked.

“I’m sorry, but you don’t have access to that information.”

Can I get access with permission from an Administrator?

“Yes.”

She left that conversation there, knowing that any further talk with the System wouldn’t be useful. However, between her own experiments with the divine aether, and Rayna’s description of Freddy’s contracts, she had a realization: she was severely under-utilizing {Fey Bargaining}. The curses and blessings from {Fairy Dust} were useful, but the ones from {Fey Bargaining} were many times more so. She had barely been able to bring the plesiosaur down 5% with {Fairy Dust}, but {Fey Bargaining} had been able to take Emilia, a monster many orders of magnitude stronger than the plesiosaur, down by a full 40% in 2 broken deals.

She had already posited that she could steal names, and even body parts. What she would do with a stolen name or tail or something, she had no idea, but the mere idea that she could do it was exciting. It got less exciting when she realized that testing this would be difficult, since anything capable of making a deal would be something she would be uncomfortable testing skills like that on. Maybe if she ran into someone else like Yuri or the Boss though, she wouldn’t mind so much…

“It looks like you’ve had some ideas?” asked Rayna.

Elise looked up and realized that the vampire had stopped speaking a full minute ago, and had just been watching as Elise fantasized about her powers.

“A few,” Elise replied, embarrassed.

“Good,” said Rayna, smiling. “You seemed a bit excited about them. That’s always good. If you are excited about your own powers, you are much more likely to progress them. I was going to warn you not to try to take a path not fit for you. Even if you think that one method may be more effective, if you don’t enjoy it, it will be worse. Beyond the obvious motivation issues, the System also takes your own desires into account when shaping evolution options, including subconscious desires. If you are on a path you do not enjoy, many of your options will be to take you off that path, and you will have fewer that take you wherever you’re actually trying to go.”

“I see,” said Elise.

She had not known that, but it made sense. She hadn’t done anything especially changeling-like before getting that evolution option, but she had wanted to be human again. It also made more sense that she only got one Emilia-style manipulator option, despite that being most of what she did during that tier. She specifically wanted to avoid becoming like Emilia, so the System had acknowledged that, and not tried to railroad her into becoming that anyways.

However, that did raise a few other concerns. For example, why was she getting demonic options every evolution? Especially that Demon Consort option. She didn’t think she interacted enough with Freddy for a mythical class relating to it to be offered. Did she subconsciously want to “consort” with him?

Her immediate reaction to that thought was one of confusion and disgust, which told her that was wrong. Perhaps it was because Freddy wanted her to be his “consort”? That was even worse.

She pushed that thought aside and went back to what she was originally concerned about with the earlier demon options. Perhaps they had just been generic options. Or maybe they really were based off her subconscious. While she didn’t want to be Freddy’s consort, and her initial reaction to being a demon wasn’t positive, she also didn’t think it would be that bad either. Especially now that she saw they could look like normal humans. Maybe it was just offered alongside the more fey-like options as a route to a human form.

She continued talking with Rayna about aether and what was possible with it for the next twenty minutes or so until the monsters participating in Operation Blood started filing into the conference room again. The final debrief was mainly just a summary of what had been discussed earlier. Elise felt that the information presented was largely pointless after the earlier meeting, but she had to admit it was very effective at setting the mood. She had been half-lost in her own fantasies about the future after her talk with Rayna, but the mission meeting brought her back to reality.

Less than 24 hours from now, she would be breaking into the Blood Syndicate’s headquarters to rescue Nick. It would be chaotic and dangerous, and there was a legitimate chance that her, or someone she cared about could die. She still had 2 charges of {Rune of Fate} activated, but even those would be ineffective if she couldn’t make it to her target in time. She felt the stress build up within her, and took deep breaths to calm herself.

Most of the rest of the monsters present were solemn as well, but a few, including Jerry, still seemed laid back and unbothered. She supposed it was a confidence that came from experience, but even then, she couldn’t imagine feeling so relaxed when getting ready for something like this.

After this final debrief, she, Hans, and Jag returned to the main ballroom to say some final goodbyes before they teleported back to the Jungle. Elise thanked Rayna for the information, and the vampire extracted a promise from her that she would actually summon her when needed.

While they spoke, Elise caught the eyes of the warg, who was still sitting in the far corner. He had been stealing glances at her all night, and Elise could still detect plenty of animosity in its gaze, but it somehow felt less. Time healed all wounds, and whatever she had done to its legs was already plenty fine, plus it had Freddy to try to teach the evil out if it. All the better for Elise.

Her feelings had not changed. In fact, after her experience with the Boss, her mind was even more set. The warg had been sentient when it killed Sylvanna and Corwin. Perhaps it had never been taught morality or anything like that, but it was still sadistic and cruel. Even now, it showed no remorse.

Because of it, Sophie was still missing, and Nick and Bianca had been captured by one of the most powerful evil organizations in the world. They were in a living hell, and the warg didn’t even have the decency to join the mission to try to free them. As soon as the Grays were safe, before she did anything else with her long-term goals, she would be hunting it.

She didn’t think she could take it on as she was. She might get close, especially now that she knew more about aether and how to use it. However, she was confident she could take it out once she evolved one more time. Each evolution thus far had drastically increased her stats. Her next one would only be stronger. She would still be a full tier below the warg, but that didn’t matter, as long as she played the fight right. However strong it was, there was no chance that its Charisma would be anywhere near Elise’s. With the right tactics, she might never be in real danger.

“See something you like?” asked Hans, catching her gaze.

“What?” replied Elise with an expression of utter disgust that apparently didn’t come across in her rabbit form.

“He’s an interesting one,” said Hans. “Young, but powerful for his age. I talked with him for a bit earlier.”

“I see,” said Elise coldly.

Hans seemed to catch her tone at least, and decided to change the subject.

“Anyway, are you ready to go?” he asked.

“Yes.”

They waited another minute for Jag to finish up his conversation with a cheetah-like monster, and then Hans tore another scroll, and the three were whisked back to the Jungle.

When they returned, Penelope was sharpening her sword while Maia was meditating with violent dark mana leaking out violently from her body. Hans filled them in on the important information from the meeting, then ordered everyone to lay down and sleep. Elise knew she needed her rest, but actually sleeping was easier said than done, and from the sound of it, the others weren’t faring much better.

Still, she did eventually manage to get to bed. She woke up drowsy, but the drowsiness vanished as they all started silently preparing for the mission. Once their camp was fully packed up, Maia was sent back to mark the beginning of their path as unoccupied for the other monster hunters, and the group set off through the Jungle.

They went far deeper than Elise had ever gone, to the point where safety was a legitimate concern. They did not encounter any real trouble, since Elise could hear threats from far away, and Jag and Hans could take them out without getting the other three involved, but progress was slow, and it took them most of the day to reach their destination.

The Blood Syndicate’s headquarters was located in an odd section of Jungle where no monsters spawned. Whether this area was created by the Syndicate, or if the Syndicate had chosen that place due to the lack of spawning, they didn’t know, but it extended conveniently far out, allowing Hans and Jag to rest for a bit and replenish their mana from out of sight.

While Hans and Jag rested, Elise, Penelope, and Maia were restless. They knew the actual operation wouldn’t start until sunset, but knowing they were so close to the ones they had come to save without being able to do anything yet was rough. Even Elise felt some of it, despite not knowing Nick and Bianca as well. Still, the entire operation was dependent on catching the Syndicate while they were distracted and all in one place for whatever event was happening. Attacking early would ruin it, since many of the Syndicate’s higher-ups hadn’t even arrived yet.

Once Hans and Jag were recovered, they put on some basic camouflage and started sneaking closer. The camouflage wasn’t anything fancy, but anything was better than Elise’s bright white fur or Penelope’s highly reflective armor. They didn’t dare get too close, as it would risk being detected by the guards who patrolled the perimeter of the camp, but they got close enough that Elise could just barely hear what was happening in the arena in the distance.

It started nigh imperceptible, but slowly built up to a rumble as thousands and thousands packed inside and talked amongst each other. After about an hour, it was reaching the point where Elise thought the others might have been able to hear it as well. Then, as the setting sun turned the sky orange, the crowd suddenly erupted into cheering.

The others all definitely heard this, and looked toward the direction of the noise. The Syndicate’s event had begun, and now, so too would Operation Blood.