Chapter 146

Primordial Evolution (1)

Adrian charged straight at the slumped ogre. He moved too fast for the eye to follow, yet the ogre reacted, instinctively raising its arm to resist.

But it was meaningless. Adrian seized its arm.

A twenty-meter monster. A human not even two meters tall. The difference in size was overwhelming. The ogre could have crushed Adrian in one hand.

Yet the scene unfolding before them was the exact opposite.

CRRRUNCH!!

Adrian tore off the ogre's right arm, the only one it had left.

GRAAAAAAAARGH!!

The ogre screamed. Blood poured down like a waterfall, and its enormous body trembled faintly. Its shoulders hunched inward. That massive frame now looked like a burden.

It no longer carried the intimidation of the strongest predator on land. Its overwhelming presence, the arrogance of a ruthless predator—all of it was gone.

Even the ogre understood instinctively that it was no longer the strongest predator on land.

Its chest wound gaped open, unable to regenerate. Adrian reached inside and seized its heart.

And there, before a true predator—

SPLURT!

The impregnable monster fell at last.

* * *

When I consumed the ogre's third heart with Predation[S+]—

◆You have consumed the genetic material of the entity 'Ogre'!

◆You have acquired the skill 'Enhanced Sensorimotor Control[A-]'!

I gained another of the ogre's genetic abilities. Its third, following Hyperdense Myofibrils[A+] and Ultra-Reinforced Skeletal Structure[A].

A sharp, tingling jolt shot through me. A strange shudder pierced my entire body. My nerves awakened, my cells reconfigured, and the neural network connecting my body transformed into an entirely different structure.

Where my old nervous system had consisted of a simple, single pathway, it now had a 'multilayer neural network structure.' Its fundamental workings had changed to process neural signals with greater precision and speed.

Even with my eyes closed, I could feel the air move. I sensed the ground's minute vibrations before setting foot on it.

Extrasensory Perception.

I could now move, react, and fight in an entirely different way.

But I wasn't done yet. The ogre's hybrid skill, Impregnable[S-], still had two more skills to give.

Yet I couldn't sense the ogre moving. I examined it closely.

The wound Dragon Impact[E] had left in its chest still gaped open. The additional explosive area damage had burned the wound, and without the ability to regenerate, the ogre couldn't heal it. That was why its heart had remained fully exposed until a moment ago.

But now things were different. No matter how long I waited, its heart showed no sign of returning. After all, Organ Replication System[A] was a biological evolutionary ability that created spare hearts in advance to replace destroyed ones.

And once it used up all its spare hearts?

The ogre could no longer replace them.

◆You have slain the ogre!

◆You have gained 613,400 combat experience!

The messages appeared before my eyes. That was a considerable amount of experience, but I didn't level up.

◆EEEEEEEEEEEEK?!?!?!?

Instead, wildly hysterical messages cluttered my vision.

◆W-what was that message just now!!??!

◆You have slain the ogre!

◆... Is that what it said?!?!

◆My mechanisms haven't malfunctioned, have theeeey?!?!

◆Then why isn't an Error message popping uuup?!

... I'd thought it had been quiet lately. And was I slowly losing my mind too? Somehow, this was even starting to feel endearing—

◆Are we really talking about THAT ogre?!

◆THAT ogre?!?

◆The strongest predator on land! The symbol of absolute strength!

◆The monster no one could defeat! The graveyard of heroes!

◆An entire kingdom's army? Gone in one gulp!

◆A legendary adventurer? What kind of snack is that?!

◆The only viable strategy is to run away!

◆Its mere appearance means an emergeeency!! A SUPER emergeeency!!

◆The crazy bastard that even hunts dragons!

◆Not a living creature, but a natural disaster!

◆A veritable nation-level power!

◆THAT ogre?!?!?

◆YOU?!?!?!?

◆For reaaal?!?!?!?!?!

... I take back what I just said. Not endearing at all. How did it manage to become more hysterical by the day? Had even the messages evolved to live up to the Evolution Quest?

Evolutionary hysteria. At this point, surely it had evolved into its perfect form—

That was when a dwarf's voice rang out, almost a scream.

"Human woman!!"

◆Don't liiiiie to meee—!!

The messages kept appearing even then. I hastily dismissed them. They continued to obscure my vision, but I ignored them.

And then—

ROOOOAAAAR!!

... I saw the runaway Arcanoheart. Light shimmered through its violently surging energy. Seraphia was desperately trying to control it.

"Nnnnghhh!!"

Her face was drenched in blood. Her eyes, her nose, her mouth—blood streamed from every opening in her face until she was unrecognizable.

"The mana flow has collapsed!! We can't stabilize it!!"

"The fusion core has taken too much damage!"

"At this rate—!"

EEEEEEEEEE!!

"Damn it! The core's about to blow!"

ROOOOAAAAR!!

A mana storm swirled violently. And Seraphia...

"U-ughhhh...!!"

... She was at her limit. This was no time to pay attention to evolutionary hysteria. It wasn't over yet.

The runaway energy was warping everything around it, and the fusion core's structure had reached its limit. But now that I had evolved by gaining the ogre's abilities...

I leaped in front of Seraphia.

"Seraphia!! Channel the runaway energy toward me!"

"B-buuut—!!"

"I'll take it!!"

Her hands trembled as she hesitated.

"Now!!"

At my shout, she gritted her teeth. A portion of the energy she had been controlling swept toward me.

WHOOOOOOSH!!

"Grrrrgh!"

The tremendous magical power tore my skin and set my nerves ablaze. An immense weight crushed my entire body, leaving me barely able to breathe. If I hadn't strengthened my body by consuming the ogre with Predation[S+], that energy would have blown me apart instantly.

She'd been controlling this all along?

... Fucking hell. Ogre or no ogre, we would all have died without Seraphia.

"GAAAAAAARGH!!"

"B-Brother!!!"

... I couldn't hold out. Willpower or anything else meant nothing. This wasn't something you could endure through sheer determination!

"Sever the fusion circuit!!"

Brumbar shouted at that moment.

"We have to sever the fusion circuit and cut off the mana supply!! That will calm it down temporarily!"

"B-but, Chief!"

"If we force a shutdown like that, the Arcanoheart will...!"

"We can't stop the explosion now!!"

"But someone will still have to stay behind to control the Arcanoheart—!"

"I'll do it!"

"Chief...!"

"There's no time to hesitate!!"

But then—

"N-nooo!!"

"Human woman!!"

"I'll—! See this throoough—!!"

"You're already at your limit!!"

"Your precious hooome—!"

"A land that demands sacrifice is not Feractrum!!"

"But then, Chieeef, you're—!"

"This is my responsibility to bear!! Not yours, human woman!"

"But—! Buuut—!"

"Human woman!! You don't have to sacrifice yourself!!!"

Brumbar's shout was almost a howl.

Even then, the runaway energy never stopped. The fusion core was hurtling ever closer to total collapse. There was little time left, but I gritted my teeth and shouted.

"Isn't there another waaay?!"

"Don't you start being stubborn too!!"

"Another way!!"

"Why are you doing this?! Why should you sacrifice—!"

"Anoootheeer waaay!!!"

I shouted with dogged desperation, and Brumbar ground his teeth.

"The fusion circuit can't withstand the pressure of the runaway mana! If we could take that pressure in its place and ease the burden on the circuit—!"

It was impossible. I was in this state from taking only a fraction of it.

"I'll do it!! So sever the fusion circuit! We can't stop the explosion anyway!"

One way or another, someone would have to sacrifice themselves.

Just as Brumbar forced that exhausted body to move—

◆You have cleared the Evolution Quest, [There Cannot Be Two Suns Under Heaven]!

◆You have gained 4,366,500 quest experience!

◆You have leveled up!

◆You have leveled up!

Messages suddenly appeared before my eyes. The evolutionary hysteria had apparently run its course. I had gained two levels. Even with the ogre's experience added in, that was all I got.

But it didn't matter anyway. In this situation, +2 to my stats wouldn't help in the slightest—

◆Awakening the Protohuman Bloodline.

Another message suddenly appeared. Awakening the Protohuman Bloodline. It was none other than the Evolution Quest's reward—

◆Some functions of the 'Primordial Genome' imprinted within the player will be activated.

◆Primordial Genome

: The primordial genome containing the original traits of all life. By activating its functions, the player can evolve the fundamental characteristics of life.

More related messages followed, flooding my vision indiscriminately.

①Anti-Mana Specialization (Anti-Mana Evolution)

: An evolutionary form based on pure life energy that excludes mana to an extreme degree. The player will no longer [Interact] with [Mana] under any circumstances, and mana that comes into contact with the player will trigger [Anti-Mana Resonance].

At this time, the player's Predation[S+] will be activated as [Mana Predation], [Completely Nullifying] [Mana-Based Energy].

②Pure Physical Specialization (Pure Physical Evolution)

: An evolutionary form that maximizes life energy to transcend the limits of the body. The player will become immune to [Aging, Cellular Damage, Disease, and Poison], reaching the domain of [Theoretical Immortality].

At this time, the player's Predation[S+] will be activated as [Biological Predation], allowing the player to detect and absorb a target's [Life Energy], [Reinterpret] its biological traits, and integrate and apply them.

③Environmental Adaptation Specialization (Adaptive Evolution)

: An evolutionary form that freely alters the body according to the environment, ensuring extreme survivability. The player can generate or remove additional [Bodily Organs and Structures] as needed, such as creating [Gills] for [Underwater Breathing].

At this time, the player's Predation[S+] will be activated as [Adaptive Predation], establishing an [Independent Energy Conversion System] and enabling the player to produce [Their Own Energy] from the natural environment even without external resources.

What the...?

My mind went blank for a moment. Explanatory messages filled my vision, but none of their contents registered. I didn't even have time to read them.

◆Select one specialization ability.

ROOOOOAAAAR!!

A raging torrent of magical power.

... There was no time. No time to read explanations or anything else—!

◆Primordial Evolution will now begin.

At that very moment—

"No!!!"

"Brother!!"

The exploding mana storm swallowed me in an instant.