18 The Evolution

From the gaping portal, a twisted, gnarled mass of branches and roots crawled outwards. The monster of bark and wood expanded in my vision, thousands of empty eyes staring at me from its spiny body. At the tree's center, the trunk caved in, creating teeth of wood. It twitched as it squirmed, more like an insect than a beast.

It’s size and stature dwarfed me. From the eyes, a hallucinating aura ebbed. Torix spawned something with a much higher level than me. Proceeding with caution, I inspected the creature.

Corrupted Treant | Level 150 - Once a member of sentient plants, this being has fallen from grace. Where it once basked in the sun, it now squirms in the shade. The treant race fought against the dominant species of their planet and won. They enslaved the humanoid race, ruling over them for hundreds of years.

The treants' opinions split, one side for the continued enslavement and the other against it. Much like wars throughout your species’ history, a civil war erupted between the two opinions. This particular treant was a nameless soldier, a member of the treant force siding for enslavement.

With hundreds of roots and branches, this treant pummels targets with innumerable blows from above and below. It strengthens in darkness and grows weaker in sunlight, designed as an assassin for other treants.

Be careful of its onslaught of attacks, or else you will be overwhelmed.

I rolled my shoulder, ready to test my new found agility. The monster whipped a wooden branch towards me, the air hissing as it gained speed. I shot towards the attack, dodging by a hair underneath it. That hair’s breadth extended far beyond what it once was. The distance no longer unnerved me, saving me time and energy with my movements.

All this, I gathered from the wind of its attack. Seven more strikes lashed out towards me, but I slipped past them, moving just enough to dodge. I wasted no movement, no lapses in my balance holding me back. Weaving around the onslaught of strikes, Torix gave me a begrudging nod,

"It always amazed me, watching a warrior fight with all three attributes unlocked. Any one I watched who did so, couldn't maintain it for long. With how subtle and slight your movements are, you might be able to extend your stamina further than most."

A reluctant grin traced my lips as I closed the distance between the treant and I. Knees bent, I kept my arms close to my sides. My jaw clenched square while my chin tucked down. A tentacle of wood lashed towards me, but I tilted my body. It swished past my face before I shifted around three more strikes.

The speed of the encounter left my mind reeling and unable to catch up. Despite the disorientation, my body reacted in time. Instinct and reflexes controlled me, letting me evade several strikes each second. Whipping towards the wood, I landed my first punch. Chips of wood splintered as force traveled down my wrist, into my shoulders, and back into my heels.

The connection point locked in without any wasted energy. As with all strikes, the impact blew back into my arm, and I almost fell backwards from it. The timing of the swing, the angle of the blow, even the way I braced myself, it came together like cogs in an oiled machine. The impact timed so cleanly that my heels left tiny cracks in the stone beneath me. The echo of the blow was like shattering a bottle full of thunder.

But this monster survived with ease. As the next vine snapped towards me, I sank a fist into the beast’s lower bark. My fist’s rebound blew back into my shoulders. It pushed my back like I wielded bombs in each hand.

The snapping vine sank into the rock in front of me. The blowback dodged the attack for me. Lucky me, as I lost my focus for a second, staring at my hands. I marveled at them and the destructive potential therein.

The density of my armor stopped my bones from crushing, even as I slid back from my hits. My skills came together by then, and the wood smashed to ruin at my touch. I gazed up at the treant, shifting wood and toothy bark raging. I grinned as it sliced four of those tendrils at me.

I whipped out four rapid strikes in quick succession. Each attack cleaved off branches with momentous impacts. Spilling sap and sawdust poured out in each direction, splattering onto my face. Splinters inched into my hands, but the monster reeled back, surprised by my retaliation.

It reassessed its position, trying to come up with a plan. I came at the creature, dashing towards it before it could. I snapped out my punches like a volley of sonic bursts, tearing through its tentacles. I overwhelmed it for a moment, chopping wooden vines with my fists. After rupturing a few more branches, the tree’s sap came to life.

The beast’s eyes locked in on me, and the tan ooze coursed over me. It created a solidifying gunk, congealing into a mass of amber. I solidified before it reared its branches back. A hailstorm of spears, the branches came at me. They tore through my armor, sinking in several inches before roots expanded out.

However, they left cracks in the stony amber. I shattered my confines, grabbing several clusters of roots. The maw of my armor opened, and it bit through the barky mass. Jerking the roots from my chest, the roots writhed in my hands before I squished them.

I grunted out from my nose, blood spitting out onto the ground beneath me. The twenty foot tall behemoth ripped out several more vines, but I mastered my countering already. I pressed it back before it reached the colosseum's wall. Torix protected it with a shield of mana, keeping the runes intact.

Not needing to hold back, I pressed the tree into that barrier. It opened its toothy trunk and squealed out. It snapped those jaws at me, but I bit back with my hands. I crushed its teeth. I snapped vines to slop. I burst eye after eye of the horrid beast, approaching it like a guillotine racing towards an exposed neck.

Each root that came within my grasp, I eviscerated. Every vine that squirmed near me, I sheared. Every branch that attacked, I retaliated with an unwieldy force. The monster pushed itself up the wall, scrambling for further distance. It found none.

It fell sideways and timbered down. It pierced the ground, creating a barrier I couldn’t leave. I glared at it on the ground, “Come on. Who’s trapped in here with who?”

I pulverized the tree with gauntleted fists. As the tree monster died, chunks of wood and splinters littered the ground. Torix nodded his head in approval, "It’s rather interesting how well your blows connect. It creates a kinetic blowback that’s intense. Perhaps you could use it for evasion and such?"

I clanked my fists together, and they bounced back, “That’s a good idea, just like this training. I mean, if I’m honest, I can’t believe I’m having fun with this.” I spread out my hands, “But I am.”

Torix nodded before snapping his fingers. In an instant, the blood dissipated. The splinters dried, the wetness on my feet no longer pressing. Torix sneered, "Let's get that filth out of the way. It was beginning to congeal. Grotesque."

I gawked at the visual transition, “You...Wow, that happened faster than I could blink.” My armor bent out to consume the tree. Laying beside the treant, I raised a brow, "So, what kind of magic was that?"

"It was a basic cleaning magic, one that works off of known Schema algorithms. It combines silent casting, the perk for thirty intelligence, and some complex computations offloaded to my status. Interestingly, that kind of spatial warping is highly advanced, and I’m not particularly capable of it.”

Torix raised a finger, “Schema is, so I lean on him to ease that somewhat. That being said, it only works for cleaning debris. It’s an efficient spell for saving time, something Schema has many tools to assist with, should you use them.”

I listened, opening my status, “How would I get something like that?”

Torix’s eyes flared green, “Credits.”

“So money?”

“Something you likely have very little of. Worry not, as you’ll obtain these utility spells without needing to hunt them out directly. For now, your primary concerns should be building up your own offenses and creating multi-layered defenses. For instance, your mental resistance should be heightened as much as possible.”

Sitting cross legged, I put my hands on my knees and leaned forward, “Any reason why?”

“Mind magic. It’s difficult to learn, but it’s highly effective on anything that can be reasoned against. One day, you may come to rely on it.”

“Well, it’s good my armor helps me out there.”

Torix tilted his head, "Wait...The armor affects other resistances besides physical ones? How is that even possible?"

I shrugged, “No idea, but it definitely does. It raises the resistance cap and everything."

Torix grinned, his teeth yellow as parchment, "Then understanding these ruins has become my new priority."

He snapped his fingers and a chair formed beneath him, more a writhing shadow than a seat. It held him up as he leaned close to the runes. After a few moments, he shook his head in distaste,

"Every time I glance at this, my understanding of it lessens. Questions are answered with even more questions. Gah, I never held much talent in this particular field, and now it’s a point of contention for me.”

Torix leaned back into his chair, “This will take...time. A long time."

Before replying, I placed three points into intelligence. Unlike before, it no longer affected my mind. Instead, the intelligence pulled my flesh together. The density of the arcane bonds in my blood and bones thickened. It acted like a magical pressure, a center of gravity holding me together.

I raised my hands, a subtle red aura spilling out. My air conditioner hands pulled at the arcane bonds within me, disintegrating sinews and tissues alike. Using magic tore apart the basic bonds that the mana created within me. In essence, I sacrificed my body for the magic I casted, and it didn’t fatigue my mind as much.

Instead, I converted my body into magic. At that point, I pulled at those mana chains holding me together. A painful surge ushered out from my hand, the red aura spilling out. Like leaving my hand on a stove, I jerked it back and winced, more out of surprise than pain. I clamped my fist, killing the cast quickly. A notification echoed out.

Breakthrough achieved! Apprentice level unlocked for Arcane Blood Manipulation

(lvl 1) ----> (lvl 26)

I tilted my head, "Torix, have you ever heard of breakthroughs?"

He waved me off as he stared at a jagged character on the wall, "Of course. They aren't that uncommon."

"Alright, cool. Can you spawn another monster?"

"Sure, sure."

The cycle continued like this for a while. Torix spawned abomination after abomination, and with my improved dexterity, I ripped them apart. He kept them around the same level as the treant, slowing my level gain, but we achieved the level we aimed for. Popping up in my status, our real goal’s completion cropped up.

Evolution gained. Harbinger of Cataclysm II unlocked. Evolve Y/N?

My hand lingered over the notification. Memories of the armor and how it terrified other people rushed into my mind. The horror of the feelers of my armor filled my chest, making me itch for a moment. I even envisioned Michael and Kelsey disgusted with me. My hand hovered over the no option for a while.

Before I pressed down, other thoughts ran into my mind. I remembered the plasma knife coming at my throat and my armor saving me. My armor helped me at pivotal times, making a huge difference for me. More than anything, my fears guided me.

My eyes widened as nightmarish imagery flooded into my head. Kelsey and Michael gurgling on their own blood. My body swelled and split as monsters infested under my skin. I covered my mouth, overwhelmed by those possibilities. After I collected myself, I put my hand over the notification once more.

I selected the yes icon.

There would be no more heading back any longer. I trembled as my armor clasped deeper into my body. I grabbed the sides of my head, stumbling backwards as Torix turned to me, “What’s going on? Is something in your eye?”

I writhed as thousands of needles from my armor stabbed deeper until they reached my bones. I scream out, the sheer torment unbearable. It flashed in my vision, a wave of torment. All became pain once more. I could do nothing but convulse on the ground.

Torix paced over, recognizing something was off, “Daniel, what’s happening? I’m about to sedate you if you don’t calm down.”

I thrashed on the ground, grabbing the sides of my skull. Every inch of me burned like I dove into a pit of magma. A pit of acid. Of fire. Of pure pain. My flesh eviscerated as the armor squirmed deeper, tearing into bones. In a panic, Torix created a green ring above me, lined with incantations. He generated a spell with his giant tome.

“I’m taking you to a healing center. You’ll be responsible for the payments thereafter.”

I raised a hand, gasping, “Evolution.”

His eyes flared bright, “Oh...That’s what this is. Then, I suppose you simply must bear through it. I shall stay here until it is over.”

The pain lessened, and it allowed me to think again. My armor kept eating my flesh for an undetermined amount of time. When it finally stopped, I laid in a pool of my own blood and sweat. I stared at the ceiling, not knowing what happened. I turned towards Torix.

He sat on the ground, reading a dusty, ancient book. I glanced back at the ceiling. Lamps made of mana kept the room lit, along with Torix’s shambling zombies. I rolled onto my front. As I did so, I noticed my gauntlets. They were smoother, more like skin. An intense, red light reflected off the stone floor from my helmet's slit.

Despite its radiance, the red glow left my eyesight unaltered. Laying there, Torix turned to me. He closed his book, “Ah, you’re awake. Finally.”

I pushed myself upright, wobbling onto my knees. Torix grabbed one of my arms, steadying me. He mouthed, “Come now. You’ve just undergone some sort of agonizing transition. Surely standing so soon benefits you little.”

I shook my head, nothing hurting. If anything, my mind cleared and my body strengthened. I took a deep breath, trying to breathe out that experience. My expression numbed, “Ah...That was awful.”

“I appeared like something atrocious, most certainly. It appeared as though your armor blended the body beneath it. To what end? I’ve no idea.”

I got my bearings, and Torix let me stand on my own. I opened my status screen, inspecting the results of that spine chilling experience.

II The Harbinger of Cataclysm | Body Type, Legendary - Armor mirroring eldritch skin and an unknown substance. This extension of your body can absorb rift energy, also known as ambient mana, for evolutions. These evolutions may add other special effects.

Note: Cannot be removed, only altered. Armor is regenerated with health.

0/4,000,000 Mana left till next evolution.

Effects:

A Harbinger's Might - Increases Damage reduction cap by 1.5% | Current Max: 96.5%

Shell of Eldritch - Additional 10% increase to total health | Current Total Health: 110%

The Walking Calamity - Gives unique ability Oppression | Current Damage: (6000 + 20% of your health/min) within a 120ft radius

Abhorred - Decreases Charisma by 10% | Current Total Charisma: 90%

- From a different world I rise. We usher forth creation through ruin. Our might is our union, our hunger a weapon. All crumbles in our wake.

These bonuses accentuated my bulk and longevity, but having an attribute lowered, well, it sucked. In the grand scheme of things, it wouldn’t matter much. I planned on increasing my charisma to over thirty, get the leveling perk, then not worry about further investment. So, despite the hit to charisma, the battle bonuses more than compensated.

The last lines of the armor gave me chills, however. It spoke as if two people existed, me and my armor. The metal reacted to its environment, even showing emotions with its wicked grinning. Evolutions might strengthen that personality, but whether that rang true in the future, only time would tell.

Centering back in the moment, I turned towards Torix, "Alright, let's continue the training."

Torix raised a hand to me, "You’ve risen to a suitable level of strength now. There’s really no need to be fearful any longer, as you’ve filled out your combat perks for the most part. You should go find a nearby dungeon. The cores are simply obtained, and can be exchanged for powerful artifacts. You’d be gaining resources rather than depleting mine as well."

I put my hands on my hips, "Huh. When you're right, you're right. Any pointers for where dungeons could be?"

Torix gestured around, “Look for any nearby physical features of interest, as there will likely be a dungeon of some sort there. The more extraordinary the feature, the more likely a dungeon exists of a high level. Considering the brevity of your world’s systemization, the monsters will be easily dealt with."

“You make it sound like they’ll get stronger.”

“They will. Much, much stronger, in time. This dynamic creates a power curve. Should you fall behind it, you will be at the monster’s mercy. If you stay ahead of it, you will gather immense resources. This has and always will create a feast and famine way of life for anyone in Schema-owned space.”

He turned towards me, “You lie well ahead of this curve because of your unique circumstances.”

I flexed my arms, “Hell yeah.”

Torix’s fire eyes rolled in his head, “Do keep the bragging contained to those that will be impressed. Now, as unlikely as they may be, do be aware of scavengers or scouts from various guilds. They will target you as an unknown. Your death is mere experience to them. Also, that aura, you may wish to use it only when necessary. It sterilizes your surroundings, leaving notable traces of your presence.”

I gave him a nod, “Alright, sure thing. Anything else?”

He placed his hands behind himself, “You wish for more advice?”

“Absolutely. You know what you’re talking about.”

His eyes flared red for a second, and the lich coughed into a hand, “I-I do pride myself in my knowledge. It’s good you can see the value in it. For now, there’s nothing else you need to know. Good luck with your dungeon delving.”

I left out of the BloodHollow, pacing past the undead and the Sentinel. Once in the sun, I stretched out my arms. The smell of rich earth, fresh wind, and sun baked trees refreshed me. The sunshine warmed my armor while the soft grass cushioned my feet. Man, I loved and love nature.

Speaking of nature, I opened my minimap to remind myself of my surroundings. A few places like Pier’s Creek or Red Hill came to mind, but they loomed in the shadow of the Evergreen Ravine. The fifty mile trench cut a path through the hills and caves, hosting pine trees on both its sides.

I mentioned trees because they didn’t grow outside of the ditch. The water level raised as you went deeper in the ravine, some spots even holding a few natural springs. They stayed in tiny grottos spread throughout, but that let the larger plantlife thrive. Michael and I visited there several times.

Michael helped me out each time because he lived in the woods with a camper’s family. They went towards all kinds of landmarks, and that’s why Michael and I went caving in the first place. I frowned, wondering where the guy was. Peering down at my armor for a second, I regretted evolving it.

That passed as I imagined the monsters I’d fight in the future. Going into that future, I sprinted towards the Evergreen Ravine. My feet tore clumps out of the earth as I ran. The wind pressed against my armor with a comforting cool. Birds sang songs in trees while I passed by wildflowers of all kinds.

Baneberries, bee balms, and bloodroots littered the forest floor. Mushrooms marked rotting logs, and Pier’s creek shined towards the sky like beaten silver. Keeping my pace high, I traversed twenty miles of the forest. As I did, less wild game roamed the area. Deers stayed on edge, guarded and afraid. The squirrels darted away long before neared them, and even birds flew off.

Wondering what was up, I spotted species I didn’t recognize in the woods. I wasn’t exactly a pro or anything, but anything unusual caught my eye. Some of the plant life near caverns carried the bioluminescence I came to expect from dungeons. If anything, the rifts leaked out with new wilderness.

Those batches of oddness kept me entertained until I found the beginning of the Evergreen Ravine. As I closed in, the trees and forest gave way to a hill. I paced up the slanted plain before reaching an overlook. Even a cursory glance confirmed my guess. Schema transformed the pine forest into a thriving jungle, wild and shaded like an emerald in sunlight.

Flowers of all kinds bloomed in that vibrant green, bright and beautiful. Batches of glowing orange and yellow lined the tops of trees. These shining fruits lit the forest as I jumped down into the expanse. Sliding down the stiff cliffs, I got my first good look at the forest floor.

Glowing wildlife created pockets of light in the shadowed darkness. I paced around before a hulking lizard walked out. Lean, muscular, and powerful, its muscles rippled under its scaled skin as it walked. Orange stripes lined its sanguine sides. Black drool leaked from its mouth like motor oil.

It locked eyes with me. We stood as predator and prey for a moment, not knowing who was who. Making a decision, it roared at me, four rows of teeth lining the bottom and top of its mouth. Its legs lifted out from its body, hobbling sideways as it charged me.

Nearing me, I slammed my fist into its face. It blew back while the ground gave way beneath me. Armored, orange plates cracked around its head, and the eyes of the creature opened wide. Those eyes pulsed as veins bulged in the iris’s of its eyes. The bull sized lizard charged me once more, its tail swinging back and forth.

I tucked in, keeping my arms close. I walked towards the beast with patience. It snapped forwards, the disgusting maw gaping open. I lifted my foot onto its bottom jaw as I grabbed the creature's tusks with both hands. With a quick stomp, I ripped off its jaw before shoving it aside.

The bloody jaw crushed under my foot, and the creature stumbled into the ground. Gurgling while its tongue flopped in all directions, I lifted my right hand and struck the creature's head. Bone cracked, flesh tore, and skin split. With a few mauling strikes, the creature fell limp. Curious about it, I rubbed my left hand against the creature’s plates, marveling at it.

It was a bonafide dinosaur, and according to my calculations, dinosaurs were awesome.

I culled a few more of the lizards after that. They stood no chance, my level too high for them to really take me down. I got into a rhythm that way, and in that sort of haze, a whistling entered my ears. The squealing sound gave way to a wet gush, pain roaring up my chest.

I spit out a bit of blood, a metal harpoon slicing straight through my chest. It lodged me into the ground, my vision jerking down. I peered around before another spear sliced straight into my hand like nailings through wood.

The deafening crack registered in my ears this time, and I turned to the sound. In the distance, a thin, lithe figure wore a suit of metallic armor. Nestled between glowing fauna, the armored person aimed a massive gun at me, a clip of harpoons resting above the barrel. Clear cases full of red goop pumped the crimson liquid into the individual.

It pulled a trigger along the side of the gun, a spear chinking into place. As it did, tubes siphoned the red fluid straight into the figure’s arms, shoulders, and chest. The armor’s mechanized hydraulics glided smooth as snakeskin when she aimed at me.

Crack.

Fast as a lightning bolt, a lance plunged into my other hand, pinning me down. The recoil of the rifle lobbed straight into a momentum sink in the back of the gun. It hissed steam, and the individual pulled another spear, aiming it at my face. I glared at her, and Schema gave me her inspection.

Althea Tolstoy | Level 123 | Status: Unknown - Althea is a scout working for a dark, powerful force. She’s receiving training in a newly formed world where someone is attempting to turn her into a powerful fighter. Her unknown status makes the resulting bounties irrelevant, as she’s already rewarding to kill.

My eyes widened as I gritted my teeth. She used me for training, huh? I clenched my hands onto the spears pinning me down. Jerking them from the ground, I stood up with the third lance sliding out of my chest. Sliding the spears out of my hand, I reared an arm back, harpoon in hand.

Throwing the lance with a burst of effort, the scout rolled sideways. The rod stuck into the ground as I reared my other arm back, the other spear above my head,

“Where do you want it? Through your chest or through your face?”