"Oh? Back already? Faster than I thought," the tribe leader of the female village said with a knowing smirk. She stood tall, her arms crossed, her face trying to maintain a kind demeanor—though the unmistakable glint of greed in her eyes ruined the effect.
I dragged the remains of the boss monster behind me, half-eaten and barely recognizable, and dumped it at her feet. "Yeah... I'm back." I yawned, practically dead on my feet. The system granting me evolution made me want to sleep all the time, like a gamer running on zero caffeine after a marathon session.
The leader leaned in closer. "You seem tired. Let's talk tomorrow, and you can give that to the others." Her tone was sweet, but her eyes screamed MINE.
"Yeah, no," I said, waving her off. "I might be tired, but I can still see you drooling over it. Let's talk business now before I pass out and you pretend we made a deal I never agreed to."
Her smirk faltered for half a second before returning, sharper this time. "Fine, let's talk."
---
After what felt like hours of haggling (but was probably closer to 20 minutes), we settled on a deal. They'd provide weapons and armor, and in return, we'd give them food and a promise to help if they were in trouble. I thought that was pretty fair—until I realized that "help" might involve me fighting another oversized monster while they watched from a safe distance.
"Good doing business with you," she said with a grin, trying to rope me into staying. "Why don't you rest here for a while? We could—"
"Yeah, no thanks," I cut her off. "I've got 'goons' back home who'll probably eat each other if I don't get back soon."
"Hahaha, we used to have goons too, we left though due to problems, hope yer goons don't have that!" The leader said followed by a few nods from the other ogres....did I forget to mention the leader of this tribe is an Ogre? And that this village is called " Oasis"? They said it was cuz they wanted to run away and finally created their little oasis of paradise.
With that, I hauled myself away from the village, ignoring the looks of disappointment on their faces.
---
As I trudged through the forest, trying not to trip over tree roots or pass out, I opened up the system interface out of sheer boredom. I'd been ignoring it for the most part. It felt too much like cheating. Every time I accomplished something, it threw notifications in my face like it was trying to prove it had contributed.
[ System Interface
Name: Aria
Titles: Boss, Runt, Little Weakling, The One Who Killed 2 Bosses at Once (New!), The One Who Builds (New!)
Stats: (Locked)
Skills: Bite (Lv. 3), Squeal (Lv. 2), Spore Manipulation (Lv. 3), Spore Cloud (Lv. 2), Spore Burst (Lv. 2)
Magic Skills: (Locked)
Evolution: Y/N ]
I frowned. "Why does it say 'Magic Skills: Locked'? I unlocked mana ages ago!"
The system chimed in like an obnoxious tutor.
[ System Response: Mana and stats are separate. Unlocking stats will also unlock mana. However, stats remain locked until you evolve to a higher grade. ]
"So... I can't use it because I'm still technically a kid?"
[ System Tip: Correct! Unlocking stats and magic requires evolution. Would you like to evolve now? ]
"Not until I'm back at base. Show me the options, though."
The system promptly pulled up a list of evolution paths, and I skimmed through them.
---
Evolution Paths
1. Shadow Ogre: Stealthy and agile. Think ninja but uglier.
2. Ember Warden: A walking barbecue. Good for roasting marshmallows and enemies alike.
3. Spirit Ogre: Glowy and magical, like a spiritual lightbulb.
4. Primal Vanguard: All brawn, no brain. Comes with extra fur.
---
Each came with its own shiny abilities and stat gains, but I waved it off. "Yeah, no, not picking yet. I'm too tired to think about it. Save it for later."
[ System Response: Acknowledged. Would you like a bedtime story instead? ]
"...Wait, can you actually do that?"
[ System Response: No. But nice try. ]
I groaned and kept walking, determined to make it back to the base before collapsing. Evolution could wait, but sleep? That couldn't come fast enough.