Chapter 14: Evolution and the Atlas
"Wow, it's so big."
The moment she stepped through the door, this was Dorothy's first impression of the bookstore.
This was a standard Demoness shop; from the outside, it looked small, but in reality, it contained a Universe within. A clever spatial extension spell had expanded the interior space by almost a hundredfold. The neatly arranged bookshelves resembled a forest, and the tall shelves against the high walls particularly created the feeling of a library.
No, it should be said that this was a library disguised as a bookstore. The richness of its collection far exceeded the scope of an ordinary bookstore.
However, despite the large space and the not-so-few customers, the overall environment was very quiet. No one was boisterous inside; even when communicating, customers would lean in close and whisper softly.
While this was partly due to Demonesses' inherent respect for knowledge, it was more likely out of awe for the reputation of the wise shop owner.
Dorothy liked this environment. She was inherently a homebody who preferred quiet to activity, and as a Demoness of the All-Knowing Path, being surrounded by a sea of books and enveloped by knowledge felt incredibly wonderful.
"Perhaps I shouldn't go into real estate in the future. Opening a bookstore seems like a good idea too."
She thought to herself.
"Sister, let's go over there. The textbooks are all over there."
Alice gently tugged at her sleeve, pointed in the direction of the second floor, and whispered.
As a Demoness walking the Omni-Path, she had always been indifferent to reading and studying. In her view, one only needed to know how to use the necessary spells. As for the principles behind the spells, who cared? As long as they worked, it was fine.
Therefore, Alice's interest in the bookstore was quite ordinary, just as Dorothy wasn't very interested in picking out clothes. The Little Witchwished she could go straight to her goal, grab the textbooks, and leave.
She was a lively person and didn't particularly like the dull and oppressive atmosphere of a library.
However, Dorothy was not in a hurry at all. While Alice was heading straight for her destination, she strolled leisurely, observing the bookshelves on both sides, looking for any books that might interest her.
"Oh?"
Her gaze swept over the nearby bookshelf, and she stopped. A book on that shelf caught her attention.
"Detailed Explanation of the Demoness Bloodline Talent and AcquiredSpecialization Evolution Atlas."
The reason Demonesses achieved their current status is largely related to their powerful evolutionary ability. They can constantly self-evolve according to their needs. For example, if they were burned by fire today, their fire resistance would evolve. If they almost drowned tomorrow, they might quickly master the ability to breathe underwater like a fish.
They might even envy birds' ability to fly so much that they wish they could grow a pair of wings and soar in the sky. If that belief is strong enough, that Demoness might genuinely grow a pair of bird-like wings.
Early Demonesses relied on such evolutionary power to overcome difficulties step by step and gradually grow stronger.
However, back then, Demoness evolution, to put it nicely, was learning from nature; to put it harshly, it was random and chaotic evolution, evolving wherever they thought of, completely unsystematic. By now, this evolutionary ability has long been thoroughly researched and self-controlled by the Demonesses.
This cheat-like evolutionary ability also requires the consumption of magic power, or rather, it is a manifestation of the omnipotence of magic power. However, such evolution consumes not just simple magic power, but the upper limit of magic power.
In common gaming terms, it's not burning mana, but the length of the mana bar.
But the growth of the magic power limit is very difficult, so the number of evolutions a Demoness can undergo in a certain period is actually limited.
So, looking at it this way, there's no need to specifically evolve for things like underwater breathing, which can be accomplished with a simple spell. Such low-value evolution is an extreme waste.
This was unavoidable. Early Demonesses were limited by their horizons; all they could access and learn from were some wild beasts in nature. Abilities they evolved, such as the strength of a bear, the speed of a leopard, or the eyes of an eagle, also had limited potential.
But now, the horizons of Demonesses are vastly expanded. The various extraordinary races in the Multiverse are all their targets for learning and imitation, especially the three ancient Calamity Races.
Angels, Devils, and Dragons—these Calamity Races are the best templates on the Demoness's evolutionary path. Many Demonesses specifically evolve in the direction of these three great races.
Of course, as near-divine races, those three Calamity Races are not so easy to 'pirate.' For a Demoness to evolve from scratch into a Calamity Racewould require an immense amount of magic power. Generally, only Demonesses of the Omni-Path can afford such consumption. This continuous process of self-evolution is inherently the main way Demonessesof the Omni-Path grow stronger.
Fortunately, this evolutionary power is not a one-time thing; the results of evolution can be passed down through the Bloodline. So, if an ordinary Demoness cannot complete an evolution, they pass the goal to the next generation. Through the efforts of successive generations, they will eventually reach that goal.
Many relatively traditional and closed Demoness Families follow this Dao.
Generally speaking, the evolutionary abilities inherited by a Demoness from her parent Demonesses are called Talents. A Demoness will inherit at least one Talent from each parent, while an excellent Demoness may inherit multiple Talents from her parents.
As for the abilities a Demoness evolves herself through Acquired means, they are called Specializations.
Other than the difference in names, there is no other distinction between Talents and Specializations. If one had to say, Talents, being brought from the womb, are slightly more compatible with the Demoness herself than Acquired Specializations, so their effects are a little stronger.
In short, regarding their racial evolutionary abilities, modern Demonesseshave basically thoroughly researched them. They have even developed a specialized Atlas of evolutionary abilities, thoroughly researching and registering the extraordinary powers possessed by the extraordinary races they have encountered and fought against over the years.
They have also divided these abilities into different Ranks based on their strength, from low to high: N, R, SR, and SSR. Naturally, higher-Rankabilities are more powerful, but correspondingly, evolving them also requires more magic power from the upper limit.
And the name of that book was precisely this: "Detailed Explanation of the Demoness Bloodline Talent and Acquired Specialization Evolution Atlas."
This is essential knowledge for Demonesses of the Omni-Path, but for Demonesses of the All-Knowing Path like Dorothy, it is irrelevant.
After all, Demonesses of the Omni-Path grow powerful through Talents and Specializations, with magic as an auxiliary, while Demonesses of the All-Knowing Path rely more on knowledge and magic, with Talents and Specializations being auxiliary.
She had heard of this book's name before but had never actually read it. But now that she had just encountered it, she inexplicably felt a sense of destiny's guidance, and her hand involuntarily reached out.
Then her hand touched another hand; it seemed she wasn't the only one interested in this book.
Dorothy immediately snapped out of her enchanted-like state. She turned her head to look beside her.
A pure white maiden had thus entered her line of sight.