Immersed by the meditation and breathing exercise, only Axel noticed the silence after a minute of constant light explosions. He turned to the direction of the backgate, only seeing houses and trees, praying for the safety of the Emperor.
A minute passed and the Emperor's presence was on sight. Axel hastily left the gate and scrutinized the condition of the Emperor. The Emperor sauntered without problem, turning his head left to right, seemingly trying to inspect something.
Axel thought. He must have sensed some signs of life. However, there's no way people would leave their houses. Simply because they did not want more competition on their resources since it's limited. Hence for them… the Emperor is not welcomed. His life doesn't hold meaning to them.
He shook his head and calmly waited for the Emperor to arrive.
However, his senses suddenly screamed behind his back. Out of instinct, he turned around and executed his ability by swinging his hand in a knife-shaped. His hand was able to control the air around it, concentrating and shaping to a sharp projectile, heading to the head of the third mortal stage zombie that was about to bite him.
The head was sliced in half as Axel jumped backward, his heart palpitating. Suddenly, a hand touched his shoulder and he panickingly turned around and was about to execute his ability once again when it was stopped by another hand.
"E-Emperor…" He was shocked.
The Emperor was sauntering a hundred meters away earlier and he suddenly arrived behind his back. Astounded, he scrutinized the Emperor's countenance, as the latter kept staring at the headless zombie, and mumbled, "Not bad reflex. Your agility and ability improved. I guess you have benefitted a lot from the breathing session."
Axel was in a daze. When he met the Emperor's gaze, he nodded absent-mindedly. The Emperor complimented me! But… how does he know I have improved if that was the first time he saw me battle with my ability?
Meanwhile, Eric glanced at the wall of texts beside Axel and was intrigued.
{Name: Axel Balgos
Potential: B
Title: Aspiring Agronomist
Stage: Third Mortal Stage
Abilities: Aero Blade
Age: 19
Strength: C
Agility: C+
Durability: C-
Stamina: C
Intelligence: C+}
Surprisingly, his physical attributes did not change much, except for his intelligence that has a minor level up. In fact, Eric's physical attribute status after evolving to the third mortal stage were all C-. It went to C after completing the exercise mission. He speculated it should be the same to others, who have D grade physical attributes.
He forgot to check their physical attributes after their evolution since Yeobui normally closed their status after seeing them at first glance. If he wanted to check it once again, he had to instruct Yeobui to open them.
So, those who have C grade will retain their physical attributes when evolving to the third mortal stage. It might change if they evolve to the second mortal stage, but… isn't this actually the reason why there's a chance for them to mutate to zombies.
If their body failed to physically control the energy of the Evolution Crystal they had eaten, the energy would take control of their body and the energy core, causing them to mutate.
He then recalled he tasked them to eat the Evolution Crystal while others kept watching over them. Zoe, Michelle, Samantha, Andrew, and Leonel… they have D grade physical attributes. If they experienced what I experienced without a breathing technique… they would have mutated, right?
Was it because of luck?
Ah, right. I have eaten dark red crystal, while they eat the grey crystal… Still, they should experience the same thing as me.
In Axel's perception, the Emperor was only in a daze for a second while staring at the air beside him… or should be the third mortal stage zombie on the floor.
The Emperor glanced at him and asked, "Can you narrate to me the evolution of Andrew and Leonel? How about you?"
Axel was stunned. He did not expect the out of the blue questions and instantly recalled the event transpired. That was then he realized he and Jasper had forgotten to report the crucial moments of Leonel evolution.
He bowed hastily and said loudly, "I apologize, Emperor, for failing to report Leonel's dangerous evolution! Please punish me!"
He did not even know why he wanted to be punished. Nevertheless, he said what he wanted to say.
Eric was stunned. He smiled and said, "Lift your head. It's fine. We have so many things to focus on, after all."
Axel heaved a sigh of relief, nodding, and narrated what he experienced first.
"When I ate the Evolution Crystal, I experienced excruciating pain but when it faded, I lost my consciousness and went to sleep. When I woke up, I already felt like there's something different on my body. The Evolution went smoothly, aside from Andrew and Leonel, saying veins popped up in my forehead and I broke into sweats."
"However…" He paused, recalling Leonel's evolution, and took a deep breathing before continuing. "When Andrew evolved, veins popped up not only on his bead but all over his body. His saliva dropped, his tongue wiggled outside of his mouth. His breathing changed, he almost became a zombie. We restrained him and kept motivating him. Eventually, before he fainted, he said he wanted to live.
At that time, we thought he had become a zombie, so we watched over him. When he woke up an hour later–to which we discussed if we should report it to you and eventually decided to wait and see first–with a smile on his face. Everything was fine, so we eventually forgot about it.
Now that you have asked, I recalled when we asked how the girl's evolution went, they were silent. Did they experience the same thing with Andrew?"
Eric nodded. "Possibly."
Silence ensued for a while until Eric continued, "However, their desire to leave might have stopped the energy from mutating them. Still, it's dangerous. In the future, there should be no one who has an Evolution Crystal with them, lest they will ignore my warning and eat it. They are just lucky."
Axel gulped and nodded. "Yes, Emperor."