Chapter 83: Evolved Vampiric Items

Sigrid placed the dagger on the floor alongside the rest of the items. Brunhild quickly recovered her energies and decided to give her Trait a try to see if she could evolve them.

There were even S Rank items among them, so she was not completely certain it would work. Still, she chose to make a genuine attempt.

“Evolve!”

FLASH!

The Trait activated immediately. All the items began glowing brightly as they absorbed the power of her Developing Divinity. Her Physique was drained of energy at a rapid pace, followed by the rest of her Soul. Her Mana depleted almost instantly, and then the divine power swelling within her Physique was drawn out until every single item had received some form of upgrade.

The items shone with intense light, transforming in fascinating new ways and gaining brand-new powers within them.

“It’s done…!”

Ding!

[You have successfully evolved the following items using your Trait: [Evolution]!]

[Because you have over-exhausted your divine power linked to Evolution, the Trait has entered cooldown.]

[Cooldown before Evolution can be used again: 24 Hours.]

“Wow, there’s a cooldown?!” Brunhild exclaimed, clearly shocked. “Well, I have been using this constantly since I got it… I guess this is my limit for now? Or maybe not. Freyja, what do you think?”

“I can feel it more clearly now,” Freyja explained. “The more you have used Evolution, the more defined it has become and the more deeply connected it is to your growing divine power. From what I can tell, Evolution appears to be an aspect of your developing divinity, some kind of star-like power residing in the depths of your existence.”

“Eh?” Brunhild looked confused. “W-What does that even mean?”

“Hmm, you could say it is developing into something greater,” Freyja continued. “But because it is still small and young, you have exhausted it completely for the time being.”

“I had no idea it was like a living thing that could get tired,” Brunhild sighed. “I imagined that like any other skill, I could just use it infinitely…”

“Well, you can use it for quite a while, but the stronger and bigger the requests, the more exhausting it becomes for the Trait,” Freyja explained. “Traits are different from Talents in that they do not work like them, nor like Skills. Traits are aspects added onto your existence, rather than abilities that were already pre-existing within you such as Talents. Talents develop and bloom naturally as you improve your own body and awaken what was already there, stimulating it to evolve into something more noticeable.”

“I see. And Traits are what you add on top that also become part of one’s aspect?” Brunhild asked.

“Exactly,” Freyja replied. “This is why your Physique is listed under Talents while your Divine Soul Orb and Herculean Body are Traits. You obtained and fused those powers into yourself afterward.”

“I see. Thanks,” Brunhild nodded. “So Traits are also like living things?”

“It depends on the Trait, but Evolution was born directly from your divine power as it grew,” Freyja explained. “It is like a Divinity in development, an Authority you have claimed for yourself. Amazing, right? Maybe in the future, you could become a Goddess of Evolution.”

“Sounds… okay, but I don’t really want to become a full-fledged god. That sounds like a huge pain,” Brunhild sighed. “Anyway, I guess that’s that. Any more explanations and my brain will be completely fried. Let’s move on and check the items. Then I’ll look at my status…”

Brunhild took a closer look at the evolved items and the detailed notifications she had received about their evolutions. Sigrid stood beside her, equally amazed by their shiny new appearances.

Ding!

[You have successfully evolved the following items using your Trait: [Evolution]!]

[Gold and Silver Coins] → [Spirit Gold and Silver Coins] x 300+

[Mana Crystals (C+ Grade)] → [High Quality Mana Crystals (B+ Grade)] x 100+

[Spirit Crystals (C+ Grade)] → [High Quality Spirit Crystals (B+ Grade)] x 100+

[High Elemental Crystals – Sunstone, Woodstone, Earthstone, Firestone, Windstone (A Grade)] → [High Quality High Elemental Crystals – Sunstone, Woodstone, Earthstone, Firestone, Windstone (S Grade)] x10+

[Blood Elixir (A Grade)] → [High Pureblood Elixir (S Grade)] x10+ 

[Abyssal Blood Eye Dagger (A+ Grade)] → [Abyssal Blood Lord’s Eye Dagger (S Grade)] x1

[Vampiric Rose Maiden Dress (A+ Grade)] → [Vampire Queen’s Dress (S Grade)] x1

[Werebat Fang Visage Helmet (A+ Grade)] → [Cursed Bat God’s Fang Helmet (S Grade)] x1 

[Trait Awakening Scroll (A+ Grade)] → [Trait Awakening Scroll (S Grade)] x1

[Vampire Skill Awakening Scroll (S Grade)] → [Pureblood Vampire Skill Awakening Scroll (S+ Grade)] x1

[Vampire Profession Selection Scroll (S Grade)] → [Pureblood Vampire Profession Selection Scroll (S+ Grade)] x1

“Well, this is great…” Brunhild said with satisfaction. “Looks like the coins evolved into spirit coins? Huh…” She rubbed her chin thoughtfully. “I wonder if merchants will still accept these as currency?”

Her eyes quickly moved to the crystals. “Both Mana and Spirit Crystals have become much higher quality now. And the Elemental Crystals are noticeably larger and more potent! With these, I might even be able to upgrade the churches of the gods.”

She picked up a bottle of High Pureblood Elixir and examined it carefully. “This elixir is now made using the core of a pureblood vampire?! Wow, this is incredible. With this, it could probably regenerate any kind of wound, right? It might even have other powerful effects…”

Despite what some people might assume, elixirs crafted from the Blood Cores of vampiric beings did not turn those who drank them into vampires. That curse was carried specifically by a vampire’s own blood. During the process of refinement, the cores were cleansed of that curse, becoming a pure crystallization of blood energy. This energy could be safely absorbed by living beings to heal and restore their bodies, naturally transforming into pure life force.

After inspecting the elixirs, Brunhild turned her attention to the other items, particularly the equipment pieces.

“Wow, the dagger got bigger. Isn’t this practically a short sword now?” Sigrid asked, eyes wide. “Do you think I can wield this properly?”

“I mean, you were the one who insisted on taking it, Sigrid,” Brunhild replied with a teasing smile. “I would gladly take it off your hands if you—”

“N-no, no, no! It’s mine now! I claimed it, it’s my reward,” Sigrid said quickly, hugging the dagger protectively to her chest. “I’ll learn how to use it. I’m already getting the hang of it anyway, I swear!”

“Okay, calm down,” Brunhild laughed warmly. “I wasn’t actually going to steal it from you or anything. Anyway, this dress is… honestly really beautiful, isn’t it?”

“Yeah, but I don’t know if anybody would actually wear that…” Sigrid replied hesitantly. “Your mom, your sister, or even Kala… I doubt any of them would want to wear it, even with the nice bonuses it gives.”

“Hmm…” Brunhild ran her fingers over the fabric of the dress, feeling its surprisingly sturdy yet soft texture. “It’s really more like armor shaped as a dress. It’s made of some kind of special thread that’s harder than most metals, yet it still offers incredible flexibility. It’s so pretty.” She smiled, clearly fascinated by the garment.

Despite her first life having been that of a man, Brunhild had adapted quickly to her new life, largely because she felt little attachment to her previous self. As she grew up as a girl, she had discovered many new interests, including a genuine love for feminine clothing. She enjoyed wearing skirts and dresses, colorful accessories, and often painted her nails when she had the chance. Brunhild was thoroughly enjoying her newfound femininity.

And this particular dress had strongly awakened that love within her.

“It’s really dazzling now that I look at it more closely,” she said, swallowing hard. “You don’t really see dresses like this around here, huh?”

“B-Brunhild, are you actually considering wearing it?” Sigrid asked curiously.

“O-Only to fight, of course,” Brunhild muttered, though her cheeks flushed slightly. “I mean, I bet it has lots of strong bonuses… My armor all ended up breaking during that last fight. It was too brutal. Atlas was barely revived using every last piece of our destroyed weapons and armor, including the stag helmet and the demonic wolf coat. So I don’t have much left besides my basic leather clothing and the things my sister made for the cold…”

“Heheh, I’m sure you’ll look stunning in it!” Sigrid said with an encouraging nod. “Give it a try then!”

“Later,” Brunhild replied. “I feel like the dress isn’t in its complete form yet, though…”

“Huh? What do you mean?” Sigrid asked, tilting her head in confusion.

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