[Your body has subconsciously absorbed the bloodlust from the boss]
[Bloodlust has reached a threshold]
[Skill: Tangible Bloodlust has been granted]
…
"Option 2," I mutter.
[Skill Book: Glacier Blade has been granted]
I immediately reached into my inventory and grabbed it, taking Mia's concentration away from me and putting it towards the book.
"What is that?" She asks, and I glance at Electra towards the opposite side of the room.
"A skill book for Electra," I respond, and Mia frowns.
"You're not getting away yet!" She shouted, relighting the pink flame that burned brightly within the center of her palm.
But suddenly, as she was chasing me, she stopped in her tracks and stared blankly at the ceiling.
"What's wrong?"
"I-I can evolve again?"
"HUH!? HOW ARE YOU ALL EVOLVING SO FAST!?"
"N-no, it says I can evolve again because I beat a monster 5 ranks above myself,"
"It's the same for me!" Everybody else within the hivemind shouts while Sophia is just perplexed.
I ignored her for now though, as I wanted to focus on these new evolutions.
"Then do it quickly- wait! Except for Electra! Come here!" I shout towards the girl who was being comforted by Ethel despite her arm not even being fully regenerated.
It was still hanging on by a thread, but thankfully due to her increased regeneration and Clio and Celestine's help, she was able to keep her arm.
The healing process was going to take a while… but evolving would just make up for that.
"Don't mind healing her. Just evolve, and you'll be good,"
Clio and Celestine nod their heads while Electra scampers over to me.
Upon looking into my eyes, she shrinks back a bit.
"What's wrong?"
"I-I thought you were glaring at me?"
"Why would I be glaring at you?"
"Y-you're still glaring at me,"
"Oh, is it because of my new eyes… Well, I guess it looks like I'm glaring all the time,"
"Yeah, you look like a thug,"
"..."
"..."
"Yeah, never mind. I'm not giving you this skill book," I say before opening the book, but before I could entirely flip it open, Electra stopped my hand.
"I-It was just a joke. Chill out,"
"Heh… Here you go," I say, tossing it at her ċhėst and sitting in the corner of the room.
"What are you doing?" Amanda asks.
"I'm waiting for you girls to evolve… What else?"
"Oh, then are you protecting us?" She responds, so I just nod my head for confirmation.
And all of a sudden, they disappear, leaving only myself and Sophia in the lonesome cavern that we called a dungeon.
"Aren't we going to get teleported out of the dungeon soon?" She asks while running over to me and sitting in my ŀȧp.
"I don't believe so. I don't think the system will allow that,"
"What is this system?" She asks, eyes filled to the brim with curiosity.
Holy shit, she's so cute…
I wrap my arms around her waist and hug her tightly while rubbing my cheek against her cheek.
"You're so cute. You can get any man in the world with such a cute face," I say, completely ignoring her question on purpose.
To be honest, there is still a part of me that doesn't trust her as she is not part of the hivemind.
The hivemind is a guarantee that none of us will betray each other, and even though Sophia is so fuċkɨnġ cute, I still couldn't tell her.
"I already know that," She says, puffing her ċhėst out proudly.
"Would you like to do some training as I also want to test out a new skill,"
"Sure, why not," She responds before hopping out of my ŀȧp and picking up the steel sword that she had laid next to me.
"Are you ready?" I ask as her demeanor suddenly shifts, and she takes a fighting stance.
Her sword was ready in front of her, two hands on the grip as if it were a katana.
[Tangible Bloodlust]
Blood red aura rose from my body, and as if it were alive, it began to eat at my mind and take a physical shape around my body.
My eyes slowly shifted over to Sophia, who stepped back a bit, sweat dripping down her cheek.
Crackles of lighting sparked next to her and slowly began to cover her sword.
The sword was used as a conductor as she spun around to build up momentum and then swung her sword right at me.
A basic line of lighting traveled at an impressive speed, but all I had to do to dodge was just ċȯċk my head to the side.
"I was sitting down, and you aimed at the only mobile part of my body… Didn't my mom teach you to avoid something so basic already?" I say after gaining control over the ŀust for blood.
It took much less effort to suppress the bloodlust than I had expected.
"Tch… Take this!" She shouts, and I just roll my eyes before standing up and swinging my arm downwards.
A wave of the blood-red aura around me quickly approached Sophia, and it was so big and sturdy that she couldn't do anything with her puny attacks.
She was strong, but I was just stronger.
She was brought to her knees before passing out.
"*sigh*... Are you watching me?" I muttered before walking over to Sophia's limp body and setting her in my ŀȧp.
Though she was knocked out, her body still shook with the after-effects of the bloodlust.
"Are you watching me?" I muttered again before glancing up at the panels in front of me.
[The dungeon was unable to teleport you]
[The dungeon was unable to teleport you]
[The dungeon was unable to teleport you]
[The dungeon was unable to teleport you]
[Reason is being investigated]
[Reason has been provided]
[You are unable to teleport out of the dungeon due to parts of your consciousness being stuck in the dungeon]
[Forceful removal from the dungeon could result in the shattering of the soul]
"Is that goddess watching me? Can you give me a sign? Any sign at all?"
But nothing.
I just sighed deeply before stroking Sophia's long soft hair.
A few hours passed, and Sophia had finally wakened, but the other girls were nowhere to be found.
"Lucy, when are they coming back? I'm getting worried,"
"Anytime now… Anytime,"
Suddenly, my vision distorted, but it stopped before anything could change around me.
[Your blood kin have evolved]
[The Blood Kin Section has been unlocked]
Suddenly, all the girls reappeared in front of me in their new forms.
Some hadn't changed much, while some looked completely different… like Mia who's skin had turned a light shade of purple.
"What the hell," I muttered to myself, but as they weren't awake yet, I just decided to check out the blood kin section in my status.