Chapter 147: Ferocious Evolution

Eden seized one of its limbs, twisted, and drove his shoulder into its torso. He used the creature’s own forward momentum to hurl it toward the ground.

The impact shook the forest.

Before it could recover, Eden was already moving.

He planted one foot against its chest and drove his Dark Matter blade through its body, pinning it to the earth.

The creature thrashed violently.

Its claws tore deep trenches into the ground. Its wings beat furiously, generating enough force to send nearby branches tumbling from the canopy.

Eden held firm.

He shifted his grip, rotated his body, and redirected the creature’s frantic movements into a single, devastating motion.

The blade cut upward.

Its torso split apart.

For the first time, the creature’s regeneration faltered.

Its Essence flickered, struggling to maintain the structure of its body. Black cracks spread across its torso, branching outward like shattered glass.

Eden withdrew his blade.

Then he drove it down again.

He twisted the blade, before pulling it free a second time.

He continued this process, creating a puddle of purple blood beneath the creature.

The creature’s body convulsed.

Its crimson eye dimmed.

And finally, the guardian stopped moving.

Eden stood over the corpse for several seconds, watching carefully to ensure it wouldn’t spring back to life.

When nothing happened, he exhaled.

"Now that was a workout."

He dismissed his Dark Matter blade and crouched beside the creature.

"Let’s see what you’ve got."

Crimson Essence poured from his hand, spreading across the corpse. Mouths and teeth emerged from the writhing mass, devouring the creature’s flesh, armor, and the strange energy that sustained its existence.

The corpse began to disappear.

Then the familiar system notification appeared.

[Skill acquired: Evolution [A].]

Eden’s eyes lit up.

’As I thought. It was an Evolution-type.’

The creature’s ability to recover from injuries and grow stronger with each regeneration had likely been connected to the skill. Depending on its precise mechanics, Evolution could prove extremely useful.

Perhaps it allowed the user to adapt to damage.

Perhaps it strengthened the body in response to danger.

Or perhaps it did something far more complicated.

Eden was already considering how he might use it when another notification appeared.

[Warning: Devour is attempting to corrupt and fuse compatible skills.]

His smile froze.

’...!’

"...Again?"

The crimson Essence covering the corpse suddenly surged.

It didn’t merely consume the remaining flesh. Instead, it spread toward Eden’s hand, crawling along his arm and sinking beneath his skin.

A familiar sensation spread through his body.

The same sensation he had experienced when Devour decided that simply stealing a skill wasn’t enough.

"Ugh!"

[Compatible skills detected.]

[Evolution [A].]

[Warrior’s Spirit [B].]

[Violent Vitality [A].]

Eden’s expression changed.

The crimson Essence erupted.

An unbearable pain tore through his body.

Eden’s knees buckled, and he collapsed onto the forest floor. Blood burst from his mouth, splattering across the dark soil as his entire body convulsed.

His fingers dug into the ground.

For a moment, he couldn’t breathe.

It felt as though every bone in his body had been pulled apart and reassembled incorrectly. His muscles twisted beneath his skin, while his Essence channels burned with an intensity that made even his previous skill evolutions seem tolerable by comparison.

He clenched his teeth.

"Damn... it..."

He had experienced this before.

In Theory, the result is bound to be promising.

But the process itself was a nightmare.

It was as though his body had become a battlefield, with three different skills fighting for dominance inside him.

His vision blurred.

Blood dripped from his chin.

He tried to force himself upright, but his arms gave out, leaving him sprawled across the ground.

Then he heard a familiar voice.

"Eden!"

A swirl of dark Essence appeared beside him.

Sylvia manifested, her pale blonde hair falling over her shoulders as she hurried to his side. Her scarlet eyes widened at the sight of him.

"Master! What’s going on?"

Eden tried to answer.

Instead, he coughed up another mouthful of blood.

Sylvia’s expression tightened.

She immediately knelt beside him and wrapped her arms around his shoulders, pulling him against her.

"Stay still. Don’t try to move."

"Wasn’t... planning to..."

His attempt at humor came out as little more than a strained whisper.

Sylvia ignored it.

She held him firmly, one hand resting against the back of his head while the other pressed against his shoulder. Although she couldn’t stop the fusion from happening, her presence gave him something to focus on beyond the agony tearing through his body.

Eden gritted his teeth.

He had always hated this feeling.

The helplessness.

The inability to do anything except endure while something beyond his control decided what would happen to him.

It reminded him, in the worst possible way, of his first life.

Back then, he had been powerless because he lacked strength.

Now, even with all the power he had accumulated, there were still moments when he could do nothing but grit his teeth and survive.

The irony wasn’t lost on him.

’Seriously—’

’Could you at least have some damn courtesy and warn me?!’

The pain intensified once more before abruptly beginning to recede. The burning sensation in his Essence channels faded, and the violent fluctuations inside his body gradually settled.

Eden’s breathing steadied.

His fingers relaxed.

Finally, the system notification appeared.

[New skill acquired: Ferocious Evolution [S].]

For several moments, Eden didn’t move.

He simply lay against Sylvia, breathing heavily as he waited for his body to stop trembling.

Sylvia brushed his hair away from his forehead.

"Master? Can you hear me?"

"Unfortunately."

Her shoulders relaxed slightly.

"Don’t joke about this! You were coughing up blood!"

"I’m fine, don’t make a big deal about it."

"You were shaking so much I thought you had a seizure!"

’She really likes to blow things out of proportion.’

[I can hear that, Master.]

’...’

"All right, all right. I’m sorry."

He managed a weak smile.

Sylvia stared at him for another moment before releasing a long, exasperated sigh.

"You really are impossible."

"Isn’t that part of my charm?"

"That is not what makes you charming."

"Then we’ll have to agree to disagree."

Sylvia looked as though she wanted to argue further, but ultimately decided against it.

Instead, she helped him sit upright.