When I opened my eyes, the water had already cooled down. No, it wasn't cold; it was just lukewarm. The light from the gem was gone, and only white powder remained at the bottom of the pool.
"Ugh... what's wrong with my body?"
Mei stretched and stepped out of the water. But she looked a bit different. The black spots on her back had darkened, and the tip of her tail now had silver fur I hadn't seen before.
"Li-An, look at yourself. Your skin... it's so smooth."
Chen marveled as she touched my arm. Looking at my arm, the small scars from past battles had completely vanished. The muscle lines were more defined, and I could practically see the mana pulsing beneath my skin.
Jia stood up quietly and examined her hands. Her golden scales were no longer individual pieces. They were now tightly bonded to her skin like a single, thin layer of armor.
"The power of the gem forced us to evolve. Li-An, the vessel inside you has grown."
Jia was right. I clenched and unclenched my fist. Power surged to my very fingertips. If it felt like I was forcing the mana out yesterday, now it felt like the mana had been flowing with my blood all along.
We haphazardly threw our clothes back on. Our new skin, visible through the rips in our garments, looked strangely alien.
"Li-An, I'm hungry. But not for meat... I want to drink your blood again."
Chen licked her lips and approached me. Whether it was a side effect of the evolution, her thirst seemed to have intensified. Mei also wrapped her arms around my waist and nodded.
"Me too. I had a dream while we were sleeping. A dream where I ate you whole."
I let out a dry laugh and pushed their heads away.
"Let's just get out of here first. The door to Floor 14 should be open."
We climbed back up from the cave. The corridor of Floor 13 was still dark, but it wasn't cold anymore. In fact, the frost around us melted from the heat radiating from our bodies.
We stood before the stairs leading to the next floor. The grotesque cries coming from below didn't sound as scary as before. Instead, my heart raced. The thought of prey waiting for us made me feel alive.
"Alright, let's go. I need to see just how much stronger we've become."
I took the lead and stepped into the darkness.