[Ding! You have learned Sovereign Grasp, a Rare grade talent.]
Strangely familiar yet unfamiliar memories appeared in his head; in just a breath of time, he understood the ins and outs of the newly acquired talent.
Finally, after a breath of time, a smile appeared on his face. He had hit a jackpot.
Of course, compared to its name, Nimo's talent wasn't all that powerful. It was just an innate talent that allows unattended, unsecured objects within a short range to travel into the user's hand upon intent. Using this, he had collected rare items without having to take the usual risks.
He was happy at the fact there was a possibility of stealing other awakeners' talents.
It was at this moment he noticed something strange.
Hmm, what happened?
Turning his head around, Lukas noticed the Basic Bonewalker's ash-colored bones were glowing slightly orange, like a sold piece of iron heated to an unreasonable degree.
Thinking of something, Lukas's heart fell. Don't tell me too much assimilating pushed the Bonewalker to its limits.
The Basic Bonewalker had used its sole skill at least half a dozen times; it was bound to put a strain on the skeleton.
Lukas's thoughts turned for the worse. Just as despair was about to fully fill his heart, a new system window popped up in front of him.
[All the evolutionary requirements successfully met.]
[Basic Bonewalker is ready to evolve.]
[Please choose the path which you want the skeleton to follow.]
[Available paths:]
[1. Astral Bone Vanguard]
[2. Assassin Bone Predator]
[3. Master Hunter]
Evolution paths...? Lukas's eyes widened in surprise. He was not expecting something like this at all. Moreover, why did it feel like the evolution paths listed below were something related to the bones that the Bonewalker assimilated?
However, before he could continue thinking, Lukas's ears twitched; he heard faint, blood-curdling screams coming from the distance.
This was enough to take him out of the distracted state. No, I cannot stay here any longer. First, I need to find a safe place to hide.
The commotion that his fight with Nimo had generated might attract unwanted visitors.
With all these concerns, Lukas hurriedly took his leave. He dismissed the Bonewalker, choosing to summon it again when he was in a safe place, as he was worried that its glowing appearance might attract other monsters.
Lukas retraced his footsteps, following the same path that he took to arrive here. Every couple of meters he would look around his surroundings to make sure no one was following him, not forgetting to check on the Star Crystals pouch.
On the way back he did not encounter any danger. Although Nimo was weak, he knew the Iron Forest like the back of his hand; he had chosen the safest route because of his condition.
Lukas also benefited from this.
After traveling for half an hour, Lukas finally managed to find what looked like an abandoned cave. Only after confirming that it was really abandoned did he make his way in.
The cave wasn't big; instead of calling it a cave, it would be better to call it a hole, big enough for Lukas to hide. So he wasn't going to complain.
Once he was in a relatively safe environment, Lukas turned his attention back to the evolution windows.
No matter what he did, there was no additional information available; he had to make his decision just by how the path name sounded.
Astral... hmmm, it must have something to do with starlight...
Lukas was most attracted to this path. Anything that had anything to do with the starlight energy was bound to be extraordinary.
Moreover, the second path was also self-explanatory: Assassin Bone Predator. It appeared somewhat influenced by the Traceless Steps; Lukas was tempted to choose this path as well.
And the last path: Master Hunter... Lukas had no idea about it, but from the name of it, it looked quite interesting as well.
Each of these three paths satisfied Lukas, but he could only choose one.
Time continued to pass. Finally, after a few minutes, a slight decisive look appeared on his face. He had made his decision.
He had somehow gotten a cheat, but even if he managed to learn talents of others, activating them would still be requiring Star Energy. With only two stars, his Star Energy reserves were non-existent; he could never compare with someone with multiple star reserves. So even if he learned many talents, it would be useless if he had no Star Energy to make use of them.
As such, he could only choose the first option, which might give his summon some ability related to Star Energy—or so he hoped.
Once that decision was made, Lukas wasted no more time. He quickly chose the first option, and immediately the window on his retina rippled.
[Your Basic Summon Skeleton Bonewalker has started undergoing evolution. Chosen path: Astral Bone Vanguard.]
[Legend: Long before necromancers twisted bones into servants, there were warriors who trained beneath open skies, drawing strength from distant stars. Their cultivation did not rely on earth or blood, but on constellations that watched silently over countless battles.
When such a warrior dies without regret, their bones do not fully surrender to decay.]
[Astral Vanguard have special runes carved on their entire frame, allowing them to absorb energy from the constellations deep in the starry skies.]
To witness the changes with his own eyes, Lukas tried to summon the Basic Bonewalker, only to realize he couldn't.
[Please wait while your summon is evolving...]
As Lukas waited, time continued to pass. Finally, one hour later, the air some distance away from him rippled and the skeleton appeared on its own.
Just one look and Lukas's eyes widened in surprise.
Compared to before, the Basic Bonewalker looked completely different. Its ash-grey colored bones glowed with a metallic sheen in the dim light of the cave. A deep blue flame dancing in its eyes seemed to flicker with slight intelligence. Multiple runic engravings were carved on its bony structure from head to toe.
All in all, it no longer gave the impression of a fragile skeleton that would collapse from a single touch.
[Congratulations! Your Basic Bonewalker has finished evolving into Astral Bone Vanguard, a Rare grade summon.]
[Ding! New skill unlocked: Fusion of Life and Death.]