Chapter 550 Good Luck

How should he choose his evolutionary path?

If Xia Nan were playing a video game in his previous life rather than surviving in a Secret Realm, he naturally wouldn't have overthought it. He would have just gone with the flow and picked whatever looked coolest.

Even if the opportunity to choose an evolutionary path had come just a bit earlier—before the battle he had just survived—he might not have been this cautious.

But after Xia Nan finished absorbing the residual energy from the dwarven adventurer's corpse and discovered that the proficiency of several combat techniques, including [Gravity Control] and [Ember Echoes], had increased, his entire perspective on the Secret Realm and his current situation underwent a fundamental change.

He didn't fully understand the mechanics of this Secret Realm. He only knew roughly that by killing the beasts possessed by other adventurers, he could absorb their energy and achieve life evolution.

He also hadn't figured out the purpose behind the ritual held by "Algae Scale" Dodd. Was he seeking class advancement? Pleasing the gods? Or was it a deal struck with some other faction?

None of that mattered.

What Xia Nan could confirm right now was that by killing the beasts the adventurers had transformed into, he could absorb their energy through the [Dream Weaving Corridor] and raise the proficiency level of his combat techniques.

Adventurers equaled proficiency.

That was enough.

The confusion and uncertainty he had originally felt about his path in the Secret Realm instantly vanished, replaced by unprecedented clarity.

He needed to improve the combat capabilities of this wolf pup body as quickly as possible, snowballing the advantages provided by his Attribute Panel.

With this foundation, he could turn the other adventurers in the Secret Realm into mere numbers on his panel's proficiency progress bar.

Under these circumstances, as the starting point of everything and the foundation for his future, Xia Nan needed to think carefully and choose the path for his First Evolution.

Well—he had to admit, even though it had been almost two years since he transmigrated to this world and he had spent as much of his free time as possible studying relevant knowledge, he wasn't exactly a biologist. It was impossible for him to identify every creature he encountered just by its name.

Of the three wolf advancement directions provided on the Attribute Panel before him, Xia Nan roughly knew about fifty percent of them—or rather, one and a half.

The one he understood best was Option Two, the [Worg].

Thanks to the healthy hobbies he had developed after transmigrating, Xia Nan had come into extensive contact with various goblinoid creatures over this time.

Therefore, he was extremely familiar with the Worg, a type of wolf tamed as a mount by goblins. Whenever he occasionally paid a visit to goblin tribes, casually slaughtering a few of them was a common occurrence.

Their combat ability was actually quite decent, significantly stronger than ordinary beasts, placing them in the category of "monsters."

However, compared to the Bugbear, a nightmare for low-tier adventurers, they were still far behind.

Their Challenge Rating was roughly around "0.5," similar to an ordinary hobgoblin.

However, precisely because Xia Nan understood this creature too well, he had instantly excluded this option the moment he finished reading the panel's information.

The true advantage of the Worg lay in its higher cognitive and thinking abilities compared to monsters of the same level. They were sinister, cunning, and could even learn the languages of other races.

At the same time, the symbiotic relationship some individuals shared with goblin communities somewhat increased their threat level to adventurers.

For the current Xia Nan, although he was in the body of a wolf pup, he possessed the complete soul of a veteran adventurer. The Worg's intelligence advantage over other monsters would be completely useless to him.

As for goblins—Xia Nan didn't have the slightest intention of associating with such filthy and lowly creatures, let alone acting as their mount.

Therefore, the [Worg] option was eliminated right from the start.

Aside from that, the remaining "half" of a species that Xia Nan understood was Option Three, the [Temple Nightwalker Wolf (Night Fog Forest Subspecies)].

The reason he considered it only half was because a long time ago, Xia Nan had fought a pack of Temple Nightwalker Wolves. He remembered that his party members back then included a Lycanthrope named Mint and a human Warrior from the seaside. From those two, he had respectively obtained the [Tears of Spring Breath] necklace and the ultimate fish-luring artifact, the [Tide-Surge Lure Pole].

Xia Nan's impression of the Temple Nightwalker Wolf was of a ferocious beast that excelled in teamwork. Their individual strength was impressive, and their packs could even produce elite individuals akin to a "wolf king."

If there had been a clear "Temple Nightwalker Wolf" option, it would have actually been a decent choice for him.

But what lay before him now was its "Night Fog Forest Subspecies."

Xia Nan hadn't even heard of it. Who knew what specific aspects of it had changed?

As for the final option, the [Western Wasteland Wolf], it was a completely unfamiliar species to him.

His entire knowledge of this type of wolf came purely from the description on the Attribute Panel.

Xia Nan's gaze shifted back and forth between the [Western Wasteland Wolf] and the [Temple Nightwalker Wolf (Night Fog Forest Subspecies)] options.

Finally, after careful consideration, his eyes settled on the latter.

The [Western Wasteland Wolf] was actually quite good. Its advantages in smell and endurance might not have been particularly unique, but specialties in such basic attributes were a relatively safe bet under any circumstances.

What truly made Xia Nan decide to give up on this option was this wolf's primary habitat—wastelands and deserts.

It was just like how polar bears evolved hollow, transparent fur to adapt to the freezing cold of the polar regions, or how cacti turned their leaves into spines to conserve water in the desert, using their stems as water-storage organs.

Although he didn't know exactly what the [Western Wasteland Wolf] looked like, there was no doubt that it had definitely evolved certain traits to survive in harsh environments like deserts.

Yet Xia Nan was currently in a primeval forest filled with towering trees and dense bushes.

In comparison, the Nightwalker Wolf variant, which was capable of climbing trees and possessed a light and agile body, was undoubtedly far more suitable.

Pondering this, Xia Nan made his decision.

With a thought, he gently tapped on Option Three on the Attribute Panel.

"Buzz—"

The translucent characters floating in the void before his eyes instantly dissipated.

At the exact same time, the strange, warm current that had been forcibly stagnated within his body once again regained its original vitality.

As if drawn by some invisible force, it was guided to converge toward several specific areas of his body.

His tiny, fluffy body curled into a ball.

Xia Nan only felt waves of warm, tingling sensations spreading all over his body. It wasn't painful at all; instead, it felt like bathing in a hot spring after a bout of exhaustion, as if his very soul was being soothed and relaxed by the wash of the warm current.

From an outside perspective, one could clearly see that the body of this coyote pup huddled on the meadow was expanding at a visible rate.

In just a few seconds, his size had already grown a full circle larger than the best-developed pup in the same litter.

Even so, he didn't appear bloated in the slightest. On the contrary, because the Temple Nightwalker Wolf bloodline within his body had been activated and evolved, his limbs became more slender, lithe, and agile.

His originally somewhat rounded Wolf's Maw quietly elongated, adding a bit more aggressiveness to the wolf beast.

His grayish-blue wolf eyes were filled with a golden yellow unique to nocturnal creatures. Even in an extremely dark environment surrounded by fog with minimal visibility, he could achieve clear night vision relying on whatever meager light sources were available.

The brown fur of the Woodland Coyote gradually took on an ink-like shade resembling the night sky, spreading upward from the roots of his hair follicles.

It was just that this dark shade was currently hidden beneath his downy fur due to his incompletely developed pup stage. Once he grew a little older, his coat color would change to a pitch-black perfectly adapted for the night.

Evolving from a "dog" into a "wolf."

Primitive and wild blood surged through his veins, and a far more powerful strength than before lay coiled and ready in his denser muscles.

Xia Nan abruptly stood up!

His fangs, now far tougher and sharper than when he was first born, interlocked. His Wolf's Maw parted slightly, unconsciously emitting an instinctive low growl.

He felt that he had taken the most solid step on the path of evolution. Next, all he had to do was—

Right as his emotions surged and thoughts flashed through his mind...

A moderate force suddenly came from the scruff of his neck.

His paws left the ground, and his body was suspended in mid-air.

As if a vital pressure point had been struck, his muscles abruptly stiffened. His newly elongated limbs hung down naturally, and his long, brown-and-black-tinted tail unconsciously tucked upwards between his legs, pressing tightly against his belly.

The mother wolf stared warily at the wild boar's corpse ahead. Quickly grabbing her pup in her mouth, she retreated toward the den.

Being just an ordinary beast, she might have fully witnessed the entire battle, but she was unable to connect the wild boar's death with her own pup, nor did she have any strange thoughts about the sudden changes in his body.

Purely out of instinct, the mother wolf believed that the current environment might pose a threat to her offspring.

She carried the newly evolved Xia Nan straight back into the burrow.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the Secret Realm.

Deep in the wasteland, inside a certain cave.

A pungent metallic tang mixed with the distinct stench of corpses permeated the air.

This was originally supposed to be the nest of a litter of sand rats.

But at this moment, within the narrow cave, all six rat pups and their parents had turned into stiffening corpses that were gradually growing cold.

Most of the pups had died from bite wounds, whereas the two adult sand rats were bizarrely skewered by gravel spikes that had thrust down from the ceiling of the burrow, killing them in a single blow.

In the deepest part of the burrow, floating above one of the dead sand rats, a ball of glowing blue light was rapidly congregating toward a certain direction.

The Gravel-Scale Lizard possessed by "Algae Scale" Dodd slightly raised its head, feeling the chaotic warm current surging through its body as the glowing blue light motes seeped into it.

Its body, originally covered in sand-yellow scales, expanded and grew at a visible rate. Its claws and the scales on its back gradually revealed a metallic luster.

Feeling the changes in his body, a very obvious hint of disappointment appeared on Dodd's face.

His plan had actually gone very smoothly.

After hatching from his shell, he had rapidly grown and developed using the nourishment provided by his littermates. Without wasting even a single second, he had rushed toward the closest adventurer within his perception.

He was very lucky; the beast possessed by the other party was merely a weak sand rat situated at the bottom of the desert food chain.

For a dangerous monster like the Gravel-Scale Lizard, whose Challenge Rating could reach as high as 1/2 upon adulthood, he could effortlessly wipe them out even before fully maturing by using his physical body and a slight special ability to control gravel.

It was a pity that even though Dodd, utilizing his status as the architect of the ritual, had planned out a perfect starting point as a "Gravel-Scale Lizard" for himself—putting him leagues ahead of the other adventurers right from the start—when it came to absorbing energy to achieve a higher First Evolution, he was just like the other adventurers in the Secret Realm; he couldn't control the path and direction of his evolution.

He could only rely purely on luck and evolve randomly.

Right now, after finishing absorbing the residual life energy of the sand rat, he could feel the changes and improvements in his body.

Although he didn't know which species he was advancing toward, it was clearly a far cry from the "giant dragon" evolutionary path he had envisioned.

Of course, the ritual had only just begun. Dodd naturally wouldn't be overly discouraged.

Considering he had just arrived less than a day ago and had already completed an evolution, it was likely that no other adventurer could catch up to his progress.

Going forward, his advantage would gradually widen upon this foundation, reaching a point where the others would never be able to touch him no matter what.

As for the direction of his evolution—

In Dodd's eyes, as long as he could absorb enough life energy, even if the final path his evolution skewed toward was less than perfect, successfully completing the ritual and claiming ultimate victory would be enough.

Opening his mouth, he swallowed the corpses of the sand rat pups on the ground whole.

He concentrated, carefully sensing the positions of the other adventurers within the Secret Realm.

He could tell that the vast majority of them were in an active state, moving around from time to time.

But a small portion seemed to be frozen in place, without even the slightest change.

Dodd knew clearly that the beasts possessed by those adventurers were likely already dead.

This was perfectly normal.

Although those pulled into the Secret Realm were all elite adventurers with rich combat and adventuring experience...

...after all, when they first arrived, they were all just beast pups lacking the ability to protect themselves, and the outside environment was unpredictable.

The possibility of dying prematurely absolutely existed.

From another perspective, for "Algae Scale" Dodd, this was actually a good thing.

Because the death of an adventurer wouldn't cause their life energy to dissipate along with them.

That glowing blue orb of light, which could only be seen by participants in the Secret Realm, would still float above their corpse even after the adventurer died.

When the time came, Dodd wouldn't even need to fight; he could just follow the perception in his mind to find the location of their death and go directly over to absorb it.

It was just a pity that the light motes in his perception that were completely inactive now—even the closest one—were quite far away from him.

Crossing such a vast distance specifically for it, consuming a large amount of time and energy, was quite unworthy during this most crucial initial developmental stage.

It wouldn't be too late to make plans once he had the chance to evolve flight capabilities or the ability to rapidly travel long distances later on.

While considering this in his mind, "Algae Scale" Dodd's attention suddenly paused.

He abruptly realized that in his perception, at a place extremely far away from him, two light motes had quietly overlapped.

Then, like colliding bubbles, one of them completely shattered, while the other flared brightly for an instant before returning to its original state. Dodd, of course, knew what this meant.

At the exact same time he had completed his evolution through killing, another adventurer in the Secret Realm had also achieved their First Evolution.

"Tsk, what good luck."

He naturally didn't think the other party could perceive the positions of the other adventurers like he could. It was probably just a coincidence that two participants had landed in close proximity when they arrived.

But even so, seeing that an adventurer had actually caught up to his progress couldn't help but raise a hint of impatience in his heart.