Re: Evolution Online

[Ding! FLASH SALE!]

[Ding! Announcement: System Shop 133 is currently holding a flash sale! 50% off on all goods and services]

[Ding! Announcement: System Shop 133 urges you to come quickly and take advantage of the unprecedented discounts]

Liam trembled as he opened the system interface to once again look at the map. Just as he thought, this time there was a beacon of light marked on the map, the position of the particular shop that had made the advertisement and announcement just now.

His eyes moistened as he stared at the marking.

Eldrin could not understand. Why was this fellow getting so emotional over a damned sale? 

He knew in fact that these sales were basically scams where the sellers jacked up the prices purposefully and then gave a discount on the same, making it seem as if they were cheap but in reality, some products were sold at a higher price than usual. It was all lies and scams!

"Lord Liam… uh…" Eldrin wanted to give his sound counsel but the next second, Liam started talking in a hurry. "Here, take this." He handed out pills to Eldrin, Elira, and Lunaria. "These are disguise pills and you should appear human to anyone below level 1000."

"Oh?" Eldrin was startled but he accepted the pill. Were they already going under disguise? Did this mean he had found his family? He did not understand how things went from zero to 100 after a single system notification.

Nevertheless, he quietly consumed the pill. As did the other two. The effects of the pill did not take long to materialize.

Within moments of consuming the pills, Eldrin, Elira, and Lunaria underwent a remarkable transformation. Their appearances shifted, seamlessly blending into human forms.

Eldrin, still trying to piece together Liam's plan, asked quietly. "Lord Liam. But why this sudden move? What's at this shop? Do we need to prepare to assist you in combat?"

Liam shook his head. For others, this might be just an announcement but to see this announcement now of all the times, he was sure of it. This had to be Tilia!

He had hoped that the fairy would step in and help their guild when worse came to worse. Of course, there was no guarantee that this was going to happen and he did not dare to place too high hopes on it.

But now seeing this announcement, his gut feeling told him that the fairy had indeed stepped in. She did not go back on their arrangement and remained an ally even in uncertain times.

Liam clenched his fists as he tried to remain calm. He was failing. He took a few moments to settle down and examined the human figures around him. They looked convincing enough. However, his gaze then fell upon Luna.

Liam sighed. What was the point of disguising everyone? One look at this fox and everyone would know that he was back. This was not going to work.

After thinking for a while about the pill composition and the various restrictions, he nodded in silent contemplation. The pill he had should technically work for her too. 

"Luna, try eating this pill?" Liam walked over and extended his palm which had the same disguise pill he had given the elves.

Liam waited for the fox to eat as he wondered how the transformation was going to be. Unexpectedly, the little fox did not show any signs of eating the pill. 

She actually took a step back as if she really did not want to do that. The fox even looked away guilty, not wanting to see him.

Liam frowned. He did not understand the behavior of this little fox. Up until now, she had always jumped on the chance to help him and never questioned him. This was the first time she was doing this.

"I am sorry, Luna. This is not negotiable. You know why I am doing this." Liam tried to reason. He then stopped talking and looked at her silently.

Luna slowly looked up, taking a few peeks. The little thing saw that her master was not budging on the issue. A few minutes passed by just like this in a silent staring contest. In the end, it was the little fox who relented and bit the bullet.

She licked Liam's hand, sulking before reluctantly taking the pill from his palm. But surprisingly, she did not eat the pill. She spat it down onto the ground with a vehement disgust.

"Luna?" Liam was shocked. "Are you really going to-" 

Before he could finish his words, a bright glow surrounded the fox, fully covering her beast form from top to bottom. It looked like she was undergoing some transformation, but she did not take the pill?

Liam suddenly remembered something. That was right! The fox had some skill, didn't she?

[Shapeshifting]

At first glance, he simply assumed that this skill was just about her changing her size, but now a thought entered his mind. Perhaps… it was more than that. Maybe Luna had the ability to change her form completely, not just in size but also in appearance.

As the light faded, standing before Liam and the others was no longer a fox, but a young girl child similar to a human toddler of about three or four years old with features reminiscent of Luna's fox form. 

She had sleek, silver hair that flowed like moonlight, and her eyes retained the same intelligent, keen gaze she had as a fox. They were sparkling blue and the most beautiful pair of eyes anyone could have ever seen.

And in between those eyes were four diamond-shaped marks, each one of a different color, colors that coincided with the type of flame fragments Luna possessed.

Liam was speechless. He had never expected something like this. Was this her natural form as she progressed through her evolution stages?

And why was she still sulking? Did the transformation hurt too much?

Liam sighed in consideration. Even though he was in a hurry, he took the time to say a few words of comfort to the little fox. 

"I am sorry you have to go through this. You don't have to switch back and forth. From now on, you can stay like this if you want. Actually, that would be for the best. You look really pretty, Luna." Liam patted her on her head with a small smile.

But unexpectedly, his words of comfort only ended up doing more damage than good as the little child burst into tears, rubbing her eyes. "Master is so mean! I hate it! I hate it! I hate it! I don't want to look like a baby! Uwaaaaaaaa!"