My vision warped—blurred shapes twisting into spirals—before agony tore through me. My spine arched at an angle no body should ever attempt. Heat, cold, and something electric crackled beneath my skin as every pore forced out thick, rancid fluids. They poured from my nose, eyes, ears—my mouth filled with bitterness so vile it burned my tongue.
At some point I collapsed, face pressing into the foul mess leaking from my own body. The stench was horrific. For a moment, I felt like an infant drowning in its own filth.
So this… this was evolution?
They said it hurt—they never said it was humiliating.
The pain didn't stop, but I endured it. Pain was something I had learned to live with.
I don't know how long I lay there convulsing, but finally the torture loosened its grip.
A notification flickered across my blurred sight:
[Evolution to ??? Complete]
I breathed out shakily. When I pushed myself up, my body reacted faster—too fast. My balance, reflexes, even the smoothness of my movements felt… refined.
Different.
I opened my stat window.
[You Are Now Eligible to Obtain a Class]
[You Have Ranked Up. Additional Stats Applied]
[Trait "Restriction" Has Been Strengthened]
[Bloodline Skills Have Been Reconfigured Due to Evolution]
[Due to Your Evolution, Several Skills Have Been Modified]
Essence: 303
Name: Lucen Noctis
Race: ???
Affinity: Astral Flame
Title: [Descendant of a ???], [Feral Conqueror], [Challenger (2/3)]…
Class: [Classless] LV 1
Rank: Adept
Trait: Restriction
Racial Skills: Blood Manipulation, Predation, Regeneration, Essence Drain
[Skills] [Stats] [Spells] [Inventory]
Astral Flame…
A variant affinity. Those were rare—very rare. But not unheard of.
I checked my racial skills first, and immediately saw the changes.
[Blood Manipulation]
Control the blood of others by injecting your mana or blood into their system. (Strength scales with Intelligence.)
The "Basic" tag was gone—good. One day, with enough mana, I could use this to help my mother.
I moved on.
[Predation]
Heritage of the Fallen. Converts the blood and flesh of the slain into Essence. (Slight possibility of inheriting memories or skills from the devoured.)
The added clause made my breath catch.
Memories… skills… even if the chance was low, the potential was terrifying.
[Regeneration]
Your body converts mana into vitality, accelerating natural healing. When activated, it consumes stored energy or mana to rapidly mend wounds, purge fatigue, and restore you to peak condition.
[Essence Drain]
Heritage of the fallen. Through physical contact—or consumption of bodily fluids—you siphon Essence, vitality, and mana from the living, replenishing your reserves while weakening your prey.
These two alone would drastically change how I fought.
Adept rank or not, I was no longer the same creature who entered this tower.
Next, I checked my trait.
Restriction
Placing a restriction on yourself for a fixed duration grants a temporary buff—or a permanent increase afterward.
Placing a restriction on another grants a timed debuff (3 minutes).
Beneficial restrictions can be applied to others with consent.
The time limit increased—but monsters stronger than me would still reduce its duration. Expected.
Finally, I opened the Skills tab.
A prompt immediately appeared:
[Compatible Skills Have Been Fused Under the Influence of Your Evolution]
Flow Counter, Evasive Motion, Battle Instinct, and Chain Assault fused into—
[Predator's Rampage]
When your health falls below 30%, a primal state awakens. Your instincts sharpen to a razor's edge, letting you sense attacks before they land. Your body reacts with explosive evasive bursts and fluid counters that turn enemy force into momentum for your own strikes. Each successful hit fuels the next, escalating your power in a relentless rhythm until the rampage burns out.
Another wave of notifications followed:
[Under the Influence of Your Evolution]
[Blood Burst → Blood Surge]
[Blood Sense → Alpha's Instinct]
[Blood Surge]
Consumes 50% of your total health to force your body into an overclocked state. All physical stats—except endurance—are amplified by 125%, unleashing overwhelming speed and strength at the cost of severe strain and vulnerability.
[Alpha's Instinct]
Heightened predatory senses allow you to detect nearby creatures through blood flow, heartbeat, and scent within 15 meters—making hidden prey impossible to miss.
Before I could close the window, another message appeared:
[Soulbound Domination → Umbral Domination]
Unlike the other evolutions, this one didn't simply refine itself—it transformed.
Its entire rank shifted.
The familiar golden glow faded from the skill's frame, replaced by a deep, pulsing indigo.
A color I had never seen before. Gold marked a Legendary skill, and above that was Mythic—signified by black.
But this?
This shade sat somewhere beyond either of them.
I opened the full description.
[Umbral Domination] (Pureblood Skill)
A chill crawled down my spine.
Pureblood?
Why?
What exactly had changed inside me during evolution?