The roar came again.
Closer this time.
Kael stood on the remains of the black tree, the strange metal artifact resting in his palm.
The Evolutionary Map continued changing.
Red zones appeared throughout the city.
Then yellow zones.
Then several locations turned completely black.
Kael stared at them.
"Black?"
The system responded.
[Evolutionary Map updated.]
Red Zone: High evolutionary energy
Yellow Zone: Extreme evolutionary energy
Black Zone: Information unavailable
Warning: Black Zones may contain lifeforms beyond current analysis capabilities.
Kael looked toward the nearest black zone.
It was several kilometers away.
He wasn't going there.
Not yet.
The Level 11 Guardian had nearly killed him.
A creature inside a black zone could be something far worse.
Kael looked down at his status.
Level 6.
Strength 18.
Agility 20.
Perception 19.
His numbers had improved considerably.
But the difference between him and the truly powerful creatures was still enormous.
He needed more.
More levels.
More skills.
More adaptations.
More experience.
Kael turned toward the city.
"Time to hunt."
Three Hours Later
Kael moved through the streets alone.
He had abandoned the central roads.
They were too exposed.
Instead, he traveled through buildings, rooftops and narrow alleys.
His enhanced senses continuously searched for threats.
Then—
[Threat detected.]
Kael stopped.
Something was moving beneath the street.
Fast.
Very fast.
He crouched.
A crack appeared in the pavement.
Kael jumped backward.
BOOM!
A creature burst from underground.
It looked like an enormous armored centipede.
Its body was covered in pale plates.
Dozens of legs moved beneath it.
Its mouth opened.
[IRONBACK CENTIPEDE]
Level: 5
Classification: Mutated Beast
Evolution Stage: Stage 0 — Ordinary
Strength: 24
Agility: 31
Vitality: 27
Endurance: 35
Perception: 21
Skills
Burrow — Level 2
Iron Shell — Level 2
Ability
Underground Hunter
Kael smiled.
"Level five."
The centipede charged.
Kael moved.
Its body slammed into a wall.
Kael ran along the side of the building.
The creature turned surprisingly quickly.
Kael activated Threat Detection.
The system marked several vulnerable points.
But the creature's shell covered almost everything.
Kael narrowed his eyes.
"Then I'll make an opening."
The centipede charged again.
Kael fired Web Control.
The web attached to a streetlight.
He pulled himself sideways.
The centipede missed.
Kael landed behind it.
He struck the rear section.
CLANG!
The metal weapon bounced off.
"Too hard."
The centipede turned.
Kael jumped.
Its jaws snapped shut beneath him.
He landed on its back.
The creature began twisting.
Kael grabbed one of its armored plates.
The system appeared.
[Adaptive Evolution activated.]
[Repeated exposure to armored lifeform detected.]
[Analyzing structural weakness...]
Adaptation: 0.74% → 0.77%
Kael looked down.
A small gap existed between two plates.
There.
He smiled.
The centipede suddenly slammed itself against a wall.
Kael jumped away.
He landed.
The creature charged.
Kael waited.
Three meters.
Two.
One.
He stepped aside.
The centipede crashed into the wall.
Kael immediately rushed toward the exposed gap.
He drove his weapon inside.
THUD!
The centipede recoiled.
Kael pulled the weapon free.
The creature turned violently.
Kael jumped backward.
The centipede charged again.
Kael repeated the maneuver.
Attack.
Retreat.
Wait.
Attack.
Every exchange weakened it.
Finally—
[Target critically weakened.]
Kael stepped forward.
One final strike.
The centipede collapsed.
[Ironback Centipede defeated.]
[Experience gained.]
[Level Up!]
[Level 7]
[5 Attribute Points received.]
Kael smiled.
"Seven."
Then—
[Skill extraction available.]
Iron Shell — Extraction Probability: 34%
Kael selected it.
[Extracting...]
[Success.]
[Skill acquired: Iron Shell — Level 1]
Effect: Temporarily hardens the body's outer defenses.
Kael immediately equipped it.
A faint sensation spread across his skin.
Not armor.
Something subtler.
His body could reinforce itself.
He opened his status.
[KAEL]
Level: 7
Evolution Stage: Stage 0 — Ordinary
Strength: 18
Agility: 20
Vitality: 11
Endurance: 13
Perception: 19
Unassigned Attribute Points: 5
Skills
Enhanced Hearing — 61%
Threat Detection — 68%
Blackhide — 54%
Web Control — 48%
Blood Scent — 25%
Iron Shell — 0%
Titles
Solo Hunter
Night Hunter's Prey
Elite Slayer
Unique Trait
Adaptive Evolution
Adaptation: 0.77%
Kael assigned:
Strength +1
Agility +1
Vitality +1
Endurance +1
Perception +1
His attributes became:
Strength: 19
Agility: 21
Vitality: 12
Endurance: 14
Perception: 20
He closed the status.
Then he noticed something strange.
The Evolutionary Map was showing movement.
Hundreds of small dots.
They were spreading.
Not randomly.
They were moving toward the newly created evolutionary zones.
Animals.
Insects.
Birds.
Even plants were changing.
The city itself was becoming an ecosystem.
Kael watched silently.
Then a notification appeared.
[Global Evolutionary Event detected.]
[FIRST EVOLUTIONARY MIGRATION]
All nearby lifeforms are beginning to move toward concentrated evolutionary resources.
Competition between species has begun.
Warning: Human settlements located near resource zones will experience increased monster activity.
Kael looked toward the distant residential district.
People were still there.
Thousands of them.
And now monsters were heading toward them.
Kael's expression became cold.
Not because he suddenly wanted to save everyone.
He simply understood what was coming.
The city was about to become a battlefield.
And staying in one place was becoming dangerous.
Kael looked at the artifact in his hand.
The strange message remained engraved on it.
WE WERE NOT THE FIRST.
He slipped it into his pocket.
Then another message appeared.
[New System Feature unlocked.]
[EVOLUTIONARY MARKET]
Available resources may be exchanged for:
Skills
Evolutionary materials
Attribute items
Equipment
Information
Rare abilities
Current currency: 0 Evolution Points
Methods of acquisition:
Defeat powerful lifeforms.
Discover evolutionary resources.
Complete achievements.
Discover hidden evolutionary locations.
Kael stared at the final line.
"Evolutionary Market."
His eyes narrowed.
If the system had a market, there had to be things far beyond ordinary skills.
Weapons.
Evolution materials.
Information.
Maybe even ways to accelerate Adaptive Evolution.
Kael smiled.
He finally had another reason to hunt.
The city was changing.
The monsters were becoming stronger.
The resources were appearing.
And Kael had only reached Level 7.
He looked toward the nearest red zone.
Then toward the yellow zone beyond it.
His smile widened.
"Let's see how far I can go."
Kael disappeared into the ruins.
Alone.
And somewhere beneath the city—
something ancient opened its eyes.