Kael stared at the black marker on his Evolutionary Map.
842 meters.
The distance was shrinking.
Fast.
Whatever was approaching wasn't walking.
It was hunting.
Kael looked at the survivors.
"Leave."
The man hesitated.
"But—"
"You're going to die if you stay."
His tone wasn't threatening.
It was simply certain.
The survivors exchanged glances before running.
Kael turned toward the approaching presence.
His smile disappeared.
A Level 17 creature.
Stage 3.
Superior.
That was two evolution stages above him.
His system couldn't even identify its classification.
That alone was enough to make him cautious.
Kael climbed onto the highest remaining building nearby.
The wind moved through the ruined city.
Then—
BOOM.
Something landed in the street.
Dust rose.
Kael narrowed his eyes.
A creature slowly emerged.
It was humanoid.
Nearly three meters tall.
Its body was covered in dark armor-like scales, but unlike the Crystalhorn Predator, those scales appeared to have grown naturally from its flesh.
Six thin limbs extended from its back.
Four were arms.
Two were used as powerful legs.
Its head had no visible eyes.
Instead, several glowing lines ran across its face.
Kael's system finally responded.
[UNKNOWN LIFEFORM]
Level: 17
Classification: Unidentified
Evolution Stage: Stage 3 — Superior
Strength: ???
Agility: ???
Vitality: ???
Endurance: ???
Perception: ???
Skills
Predator's Sense — Level 5
Adaptive Combat — Level 4
Superior Regeneration — Level 3
Unknown Skill — ???
Ability
Evolutionary Assimilation
Title
???
Kael's expression hardened.
"Can't scan the stats."
That meant the difference between them was enormous.
The creature stopped.
Its faceless head tilted upward.
Toward Kael.
Kael's eyes narrowed.
"It can sense me."
The creature vanished.
Kael immediately activated Threat Detection.
Danger.
He jumped.
A black blur passed through the building.
BOOM!
Concrete exploded behind him.
Kael landed on another rooftop.
The creature was already there.
Kael barely had time to react.
A fist came toward his face.
He crossed his arms.
Iron Shell.
BOOM!
Kael was launched through a wall.
He crashed onto the next floor.
His body hit the ground.
[Critical impact detected.]
[Vitality loss detected.]
[Adaptive Evolution activated.]
Adaptation: 2.17% → 2.20%
Kael stood.
His arms were shaking.
"That strength..."
He looked through the hole in the wall.
The creature stood outside.
It hadn't even moved.
Kael smiled.
"You're fast too."
The creature attacked again.
Kael activated Web Control.
A web attached to a nearby pillar.
He pulled himself sideways.
The creature's fist missed.
Kael swung around and struck its back.
CLANG!
His weapon bounced off.
"Armor."
The creature turned.
Kael activated Blackhide.
Then Razor Edge.
He rushed forward.
The creature raised two arms.
Kael attacked the opening.
CLANG!
Again.
Nothing.
Then the creature's other two arms moved.
Kael's instincts screamed.
He ducked.
Four strikes passed above him.
Kael rolled backward.
The creature followed.
Too fast.
Kael activated Enhanced Hearing.
Nothing.
No footsteps.
No breathing.
It was moving almost silently.
Kael's Perception wasn't enough.
He activated Blood Scent.
Still nothing.
"No blood scent."
The creature suddenly appeared behind him.
Kael turned.
Too late.
BOOM!
He was sent through another wall.
Kael rolled to his feet.
His breathing was heavier now.
The creature walked toward him.
Then something strange happened.
One of its arms changed shape.
The fingers elongated.
The limb became a blade.
Kael stared.
"Adaptive Combat."
The creature had copied the shape of his weapon.
Kael's eyes narrowed.
"So that's your ability."
The creature attacked.
Kael blocked.
The impact nearly forced him to his knees.
He twisted away.
The creature's blade sliced through a concrete pillar.
Kael's eyes sharpened.
It wasn't simply strong.
It was adapting to him.
Every attack he used gave it information.
Kael stepped back.
He lowered his weapon.
The creature stopped.
Kael smiled.
"Then I'll stop fighting the way you expect."
The creature charged.
Kael threw his weapon away.
The creature paused for a fraction of a second.
Kael rushed forward.
His fist struck its chest.
BOOM.
Nothing.
The creature grabbed him.
Kael activated Web Control.
The web attached to the creature's arm.
Kael pulled himself upward.
He kicked its head.
The creature staggered.
Kael landed.
Then immediately sprinted away.
The creature followed.
Kael jumped across rooftops.
He wasn't retreating.
He was searching.
The Evolutionary Map flashed.
A resource zone.
Three hundred meters ahead.
Kael's eyes narrowed.
"Perfect."
He sprinted toward it.
The creature followed.
Kael entered an abandoned underground station.
The creature stopped at the entrance.
Kael looked back.
It didn't enter.
Interesting.
Kael smiled.
"Can't enter?"
The creature's body shifted.
Its limbs compressed.
Its entire form changed.
Then it entered.
Kael's smile vanished.
"Of course."
The creature adapted again.
Kael ran deeper into the station.
The walls were covered in strange glowing roots.
Evolutionary energy filled the tunnel.
Kael felt his body react.
[High-density evolutionary environment detected.]
[Adaptive Evolution efficiency increased.]
Kael kept running.
The creature gained on him.
Twenty meters.
Fifteen.
Ten.
Kael turned sharply.
Web Control.
He attached several webs to the ceiling.
Then pulled.
The ceiling collapsed between them.
BOOM!
Dust filled the tunnel.
Kael didn't stop.
He reached the center of the zone.
A huge glowing structure stood there.
It looked like a tree.
But it wasn't made of wood.
It was made of crystal.
At its center floated a sphere of pure evolutionary energy.
Kael's system immediately reacted.
[EVOLUTIONARY HEART]
Grade: Rare
Compatibility: 97%
Warning: Absorption may trigger forced evolution.
Kael stared at it.
A forced evolution.
Exactly what he needed.
The creature broke through the rubble.
It saw the Evolutionary Heart.
For the first time—
it hesitated.
Kael understood.
It wanted the Heart.
"So that's why you're here."
The creature charged.
Kael stood between it and the Heart.
His body was already exhausted.
His opponent was still barely damaged.
A normal fight was impossible.
So Kael changed the rules.
He grabbed the Evolutionary Heart.
The moment his hand touched it—
BOOM.
Evolutionary energy flooded his body.
[WARNING.]
[Foreign evolutionary energy entering biological system.]
[Adaptive Evolution responding.]
[Forced evolutionary process beginning.]
[Evolutionary Stage breakthrough detected.]
Kael screamed through clenched teeth.
His body felt like it was being rewritten.
The creature charged.
Kael opened his eyes.
They were brighter than before.
The system appeared.
[EVOLUTIONARY BREAKTHROUGH]
Current Stage: Stage 0 — Ordinary
Target Stage: Stage 1 — Awakened
Requirement: Survive forced evolutionary transformation.
Failure Result: Biological collapse.
Kael laughed.
The creature was almost upon him.
"Finally."
He released the Evolutionary Heart.
The energy remained inside him.
His muscles tightened.
His senses sharpened.
His body began changing.
The creature struck.
Kael raised his arm.
BOOM!
The impact pushed him backward.
But—
he didn't fall.
Kael looked at his arm.
Then at the creature.
His smile returned.
"That would've knocked me through three walls earlier."
The creature attacked again.
Kael stepped forward.
For the first time—
he met it head-on.
Their attacks collided.
BOOM!
The entire underground station shook.
Kael slid backward several meters.
But he remained standing.
His system flashed.
[Adaptive Evolution: 2.20% → 2.41%]
[Strength adaptation developing.]
[Impact resistance developing.]
[Evolutionary energy integration: 31%]
Kael raised his weapon.
The creature changed its arm into a blade.
Kael smiled.
"Let's see which one of us adapts faster."
The battle began again.
And this time—
Kael wasn't running.