Chrysalis

[Hello, Tiny, it’s good to see you again.]

Tiny nods as he steps into the cramped room and sits down, his back to the wall. He remembers the little stone people from the last time he evolved, they were very helpful, and he’s happy to see them again. He knows he isn’t as smart as he could be, that would require sacrificing precious muscle mass, but he’s smart enough to know it’s best if someone else does most of the thinking for him.

They’d helped him with his last two evolutions and he was pleased to have them on board for this one as well.

[Hello,] Tiny said, and waved at the three of them. It was good to be polite, that was something his little brother had been trying to teach him.

[Good to see you, big guy,] one of the other, slightly smaller golgari said.

[Welcome, Tiny, well done on reaching another evolution,] the other one said.

Tiny nodded, thought for a moment, then flexed. It seemed like a good opportunity.

[Well then,] the larger golgari went on, consulting the pieces of paper on the table in front of him. [Tiny, we know that what you want from your evolutions is generally fairly straightforward. You want to be physically strong, that is to say, have a high Might stat, and punch things really hard. I’m going to assume that is still the case?]

Of course it was. Tiny gave a thumbs up. He spent well over half his time thinking about punching things. Most of the rest was spent thinking about flexing.

[Well, we’ve done a lot of work in the last two evolutions making sure your body is capable of withstanding its own strength. Reforged bones, muscles, mutable tendons. I take it that you’ve been satisfied with the outcome of those changes?]

Tiny was listening as best he could, but it was becoming difficult. This was a lot of thinking about punching he could be doing. He nodded, frowning with the effort of maintaining concentration.

[Great. There’s a few things we found that can help you punch harder, but there’s more to your evolution than just that. For example, your last evolution, into an Elder Kong of the Storm Summit, was mostly focused on developing your lightning powers. A Storm Heart, Storm Generators, Bolt Channels, all of these things helped make you much stronger when using your lightning. Did you find those changes helpful?]

Tiny shrugged.

Shooting lightning was fun, but he spent way more time punching his opponents than he did blasting them with lightning. Actually, that wasn’t quite true. When he thought about it a bit longer, he was extremely satisfied when he was punching while shooting lightning at the same time.

He nodded, indicating his shift in opinion.

[Alright. Well… let’s do this. Whenever you’re ready, start the evolution and we’ll go through the options.]

Keen to get going and explore the potential muscle mass he would put on, Tiny triggered the evolution menu and quickly moved through to look at his options. Naturally, anything lower than Mythic was instantly discarded. Less Might at the base level? Not acceptable. He would punch those options if he could.

A source reminder: this text was taken from NovelPhoenix without approval, and the author's chapter there supports the person who wrote it.

He tried to punch them without success. It’d been worth a shot.

[Is everything alright?] one of the little stone-people asked him worriedly.

Tiny shot them a quick thumbs up. Next, he focused on his options and began to communicate them to the stone people, only half taking in what he was seeing.

[Mythic Evolution: Ancient Kong Supreme (Mythic). +1 to Cunning. +150 to Will. +500 to Might. +300 to Toughness. The Pinnacle of the Kongs, wise and powerful. Your arm is as mighty as an avalanche, your strength able to break mountains. Fur will be reforged with World Infused Fibre. Fists will be reforged with Ancient Bone. A Manifestation of Fury will be granted for free. Well of Corporeal Intent will be granted for free.]

[Mythic Evolution: Young Primordial Ape (Mythic). -20 to Cunning. +200 to Will. +400 to Might. +300 to Toughness. Reborn from the wild and untamed energies of when the world was newly formed. You are what came before, feared and revered in equal measure. Boundless strength and indomitable force are your birthright. Energy Conversion Gland will be reforged with Primordial Flux. Fists will be reforged with Primeval Granite. A Well of Dawn will be granted for free. Aeon Dynamo will be granted for free.]

[Mythic Evolution: Elemental Primal (Mythic). -40 to Cunning. +200 to Will. +300 to Might. +500 to Toughness. The storm is part of you. Let the lightning run through your veins, crackle in your flesh and burn through every sinew and fibre. It is no longer enough to Channel it. Become it. Storm Generator will be reforged with Plasmatic Weave. Storm Heart will be reforged with Lightning Seed. Lightning Transition Engine will be granted for free.]

Well, Tiny knew which one he wanted to pick.

[Slow down, Tiny,] one of the rock people warned him. [I know you want Ancient Kong because it has the largest bonus to Might, but there is more to consider. You may be able to punch even harder with a combination of other evolutionary elements.]

Tiny sighed, then nodded. What they said was true. His understanding of punching had only grown stronger as he’d gotten older, and he knew that there were many elements that went into a successful punch. Strength was a big part of it, but not the only part. There was much more to think about.

Which was annoying, but it was worth it in order to maximise the power of his fists.

[Ancient Kong is interesting. World Infused Fibre would make Tiny’s fur incredibly durable.]

[And valuable.]

[Well… that’s not as much of a concern where he’s going, is it? Who can get to him in the sixth?]

[Good point.]

[I’m not sure about this…] the oldest one said. [What’s the Well of Corporeal Intent?]

They weren’t sure, but Tiny could figure it out. It took a while for him to explain it to them.

[So you could manifest your ‘intent’... into a physical attack? That seems… strong.]

Tiny agreed, Ancient Kong was the clear choice.

[I like Primordial Ape,] one of the others said thoughtfully. [Rather than the pinnacle of a species, it’s a ‘young’ version of a new one, which could lead to an evolution chain at tier nine. The bonuses are strong, well balanced, although I can’t say much about the new organs and such.]

[This evolution would give Tiny great explosive power and endurance,] the older one said. [A physical transformation that would keep him fighting longer. Along with additional changes, it could be exactly what he needs.]

[What about the last one?]

[Well… if I’m not mistaken, it would let Tiny change into lightning.]

Tiny blinked, thinking. He’d seen that before, hadn’t he? Yes! The wolf that had jumped about, flickering into a lightning bolt. That had been fast.

[Well, we’ll talk about it longer, but the final decision is up to you, Tiny. Anthony wants you to have final say with everything.]

Tiny took a deep breath and nodded. It was going to be hard, but he was going to do his best.