In Valley View Academy Observation Deck.
“Principal, the Island Holder trials have entered their third day.
So far, sixty-seven students from our academy have successfully awakened as Evolutionists.”
A line of instructors stood behind Meinhard Janek, delivering the previous day’s reports.
The mood in the room was heavy, almost suffocating.
Three days in, the deadline was drawing near; anyone who hadn’t awakened by now was essentially facing guaranteed elimination.
And Valley View Academy had sent a massive contingent into this year’s trials: three thousand students.
“I just hope…
they can survive until the seventh day,” Meinhard Janek murmured, shaking his head with a heavy sigh.
Once initiated, the Island Holder trial could not be paused or aborted.
Only on the seventh day would a single egress point open, granting participants a brief window to withdraw from the Endless Sea and return safely to Terra.
But that survival came at a terrifying cost: surviving until day seven meant braving the massive, overwhelming wave of sea monsters set to storm every shore.
It was the sole reason why, year after year, a grim sixth of the graduating class remained buried on those desolate islands.
Though for some, survival seemed to be the last thing on their minds.
“By the way,” Meinhard Janek asked, curiosity finally getting the better of him.
“What has Reed Newt been up to?”
The instructors exchanged awkward glances.
One of them let out a strained, dry chuckle.
“He’s…
well, he spent the entire day playing with monkeys.”
Meinhard Janek froze.
Baffled, he stepped up to the massive projection screen displaying Reed Newt’s island.
Sure enough, five wild monkeys were bounding around Reed Newt, scratching their ears and chattering frantically.
Meanwhile, Reed Newt himself was stretched out on a hand-carved wooden chair, leaning lazily against a matching table.
Atop the table sat a delicate ceramic teapot, several matching cups, and a whole roasted chicken, glistening, golden-brown, and practically radiating a mouth-watering aroma.
It was an utterly idyllic scene.
While every other student on the archipelago was desperately fighting for their lives against ferocious sea beasts, Reed Newt was basking in paradise, living like a retired king. New chapters come out on g.com first.
“Has he…
completely given up on building his stronghold?” Meinhard Janek stroked his chin, thoroughly bewildered.
Just yesterday, he had watched Reed Newt blast rock faces using improvised gunpowder to clear ground for a stone city.
Why was he suddenly slacking off today?
“Build a city?
How could he possibly build one alone?” an instructor scoffed quietly.
“A single boulder weighs hundreds of pounds!
Unless he awakens as a physical Evolutionist, it’s impossible.”
“And if he does awaken, building a stone wall is a waste of time anyway; focusing on personal power is the real path forward!” another added, shaking his head.
“It’s tragic, honestly.
The boy has brilliant talent, yet he insists on wasting it on frivolous distractions.
When will he finally wake up?”
Disappointment rippled through the observation deck.
The longer they watched Reed Newt, the more frustrating it became.
He possessed obvious genius, yet he continually put the cart before the horse.
Improvised explosives might work against weak beasts now, but once the Tier-1 sea monsters made landfall on day seven, his little fireworks would be completely useless.
He was walking down a dead end.
“Wait…
look closer at those monkeys,” Meinhard Janek interrupted, his brows knitting tight as realization struck.
“They aren’t just hovering around him; they’re listening to him.”
The instructors paused, shifting their focus back to the projection screen.
Now that they were looking closely, the behavior of the five wild monkeys surrounding Reed Newt was utterly bizarre.
Their wide, dark eyes sparkled with uncanny attentiveness, devoid of any wild aggression.
Reed Newt casually flicked his wrist.
Immediately, a large monkey scampered up behind his wooden chair, balled its small fists, and began deftly massaging his shoulders.
Another pair busied themselves kneeling at his feet, carefully kneading his leg muscles.
Most shocking of all, a fourth monkey snatched up an iron kettle, trotted down to the shoreline to scoop fresh water, and then scurried over to a makeshift hearth to kindle a fire and boil it.
how on earth is he doing that?!” The instructors gasped, leaning forward in utter disbelief.
Wild beasts on the islands were notoriously vicious and untamable; no one had ever seen creatures act with such human-like deference.
These weren’t just tamed animals; they were acting like a team of trained workers.
“It isn’t an evolutionary skill,” Meinhard Janek murmured, his eyes flashing with sharp interest.
“There are no energy fluctuations around him whatsoever.
He domesticated them purely through mundane talent.”
Among high-tier Evolutionists, beast-masters could compel monsters through spiritual contracts or raw energy coercion.
But Reed Newt had achieved total submission through sheer psychology, training, and strategic reinforcement, a classic combination of the stick and the carrot.
To thoroughly break and train five wild primates within a single day was a staggering display of mastery.
On the Island, beside the Log Cabin, having devoured the roast chicken and enjoyed a full-body massage, Reed Newt offered a long, satisfying stretch.
He stood up from his reclining chair and stepped out into the crisp island air.
Waving a hand, he motioned for his five monkeys to fall in behind him, heading straight back toward the jungle where the rest resided.
By the time he returned to camp, he had managed to coax and herd over a dozen more wild primates back with him.
On the way, his path crossed with three wild elephants.
Utilizing his mastery of advanced beast-taming techniques, he easily pacified the behemoths and led them back toward the log cabin, ready to begin their conditioning.
These beasts were the crucial first batch of “laborers” he needed to construct his fortress.
With their immense physical strength and agility, construction speed would jump tenfold.
While the new animals settled in, Reed Newt snapped a sturdy branch off a nearby tree and began etching intricate schematics onto a flattened sandbox near his cabin.
“Once the main keep is built, I’ll need to figure out paper-making and ink,” he muttered to himself, sketching swift, precise strokes in the damp sand.
“Drawing in the dirt is getting tedious.”
Guided by deep, instinctual architectural mastery, the design of a massive, one-hundred-meter-square fortress rapidly took shape on the sand table.
He mapped out four towering outer walls, reinforced main gates, and an expansive inner courtyard.
Inside, he zoned dedicated areas: a colossal central warehouse to categorize and store raw materials, alongside specialized quarters for a blacksmith forge, carpentry shed, pottery kiln, meat-curing smokehouse, underground food cellars, and residential living quarters.
Every detail was accounted for.
The foundation for a self-sustaining empire was officially laid.