Chapter 2: The First Evolution
2367 Words
The forest trembled beneath the monster's roar.
Leaves fell from the trees.
Birds scattered into the night sky.
Even the moonlight seemed to disappear beneath the enormous shadow standing before Kael.
The creature was a wolf.
But calling it a wolf felt like an insult to the beast.
It stood nearly three meters tall when it raised its head.
Its black fur seemed to absorb the surrounding light.
Its claws were longer than Kael's dagger.
And its golden eyes remained fixed on the tiny creature standing between it and Kael.
The Lesser Wolf Pup was trembling.
Kael could see it.
Its legs shook.
Its ears were pressed against its head.
Its tail was tucked beneath its body.
Yet it didn't move.
It remained in front of Kael.
Protecting him.
Kael's grip tightened around his dagger.
“Run.”
The wolf pup looked back.
Kael pointed toward the forest.
“Go!”
The creature didn't move.
Instead, it growled.
“Why aren't you listening?”
The giant wolf suddenly disappeared.
Kael's eyes widened.
“Behind us!”
The wolf pup spun around.
BOOM!
The monster slammed into the ground.
Kael barely jumped away.
The impact sent dirt and stones flying.
He rolled across the ground and crashed against a tree.
Pain exploded through his shoulder.
“Gah!”
He struggled to stand.
The wolf pup attacked.
It leaped toward the monster's throat.
SNAP!
Its tiny jaws closed around a mouthful of black fur.
The giant wolf barely reacted.
With a casual movement of its head, it threw the pup across the clearing.
“NO!”
The wolf pup slammed into a tree.
CRACK!
Kael's heart nearly stopped.
“Get up!”
The pup didn't move.
Kael ran toward it.
The giant wolf turned.
Its golden eyes focused on him.
Kael froze.
Every instinct screamed at him to run.
But his legs wouldn't move.
The monster lowered its head.
Its lips curled back.
Kael could see its teeth.
I'm going to die.
The thought appeared calmly in his mind.
There was no dramatic realization.
No heroic speech.
Just certainty.
I'm going to die here.
The monster lunged.
Kael raised his dagger.
CLANG!
The beast's claws struck the blade.
The dagger shattered.
Kael flew backward.
He landed hard.
His vision blurred.
A sharp pain traveled through his chest.
He couldn't breathe.
The monster slowly approached.
Kael tried to stand.
His arms failed.
“Damn…”
His fingers dug into the dirt.
“I can't…”
He looked toward the wolf pup.
It was still unconscious.
Kael's eyes burned.
“You can't…”
He forced himself onto one knee.
“Don't you dare…”
The wolf pup moved.
Kael stared.
Its paw twitched.
Then its head lifted.
It looked at him.
Their eyes met.
Kael smiled despite the pain.
“There you are.”
The pup tried to stand.
Its legs shook.
It collapsed.
Then tried again.
The giant wolf turned toward it.
Kael's expression changed.
“No.”
The creature growled.
Kael's heart began pounding.
“Don't touch him.”
The wolf stepped forward.
Kael stood.
His body screamed in protest.
He had no weapon.
No armor.
No powerful magic.
Nothing.
But he stood anyway.
“I said…”
A strange warmth spread through his chest.
“Don't touch him!”
The wolf pup suddenly began glowing.
Kael froze.
“What?”
Blue light surrounded the tiny creature.
The monster stopped.
The forest became silent.
A familiar notification appeared.
But this time, the letters were enormous.
---
Critical Bond Condition Detected.
Summoner refuses to abandon summoned creature.
Bond synchronization: 7%
Hidden ability activated.
[Shared Growth]
---
Kael stared.
“Shared Growth?”
Another message appeared.
---
Shared Growth
A hidden ability possessed by an unknown class.
The Summoner and summoned creatures share a portion of experience gained through combat.
Additional effects may unlock as the bond develops.
---
Kael's eyes widened.
Unknown class?
But his status clearly said Summoner.
Before he could think further, another notification appeared.
---
Evolution conditions partially satisfied.
Lesser Wolf Pup
Current Level: 2
Required Level: 5
Required Bond: 10%
Special Condition: Protect the Summoner during a life-threatening battle.
---
Kael stared at the screen.
Level five.
Bond ten percent.
And one special condition.
He looked at the giant wolf.
Then at his tiny companion.
“You need to reach level five.”
The wolf pup slowly stood.
Kael smiled.
“Then let's do it.”
The giant wolf roared.
The sound shook the ground.
Kael raised his empty hand.
“Come on.”
The pup stood beside him.
Together, they faced the beast.
---
The giant wolf attacked again.
This time Kael was ready.
“Left!”
The pup jumped.
A massive claw tore through the space where it had been standing.
“Now!”
The pup lunged forward.
Its teeth struck the monster's leg.
BITE!
The monster snarled.
A tiny wound appeared.
Kael's eyes widened.
“It worked!”
The giant wolf kicked.
The pup flew backward.
Kael ran after it.
“Keep moving!”
The pup rolled and immediately stood.
Kael noticed something.
The monster was powerful.
Much more powerful.
But it wasn't fast enough to react to both of them at once.
I can't beat it with strength.
Kael's mind raced.
Then I'll beat it with strategy.
“Attack its legs!”
The pup charged.
The monster swung.
The pup dodged.
“Again!”
The pup bit its rear leg.
The beast turned.
Kael grabbed a fallen branch and threw it toward the opposite side.
The monster's eyes followed the movement for half a second.
That was enough.
The pup attacked.
BITE!
The beast roared.
Its health dropped slightly.
Kael stared at the status window.
---
Unknown Beast
Rank: C+
Level: 14
HP: 2,847 / 3,000
---
Kael's mouth fell open.
It has almost three thousand HP.
His wolf pup had barely scratched it.
But the important part was that its HP had actually decreased.
“We can do this.”
The monster charged.
Kael jumped aside.
The creature crashed into a tree.
BOOM!
The trunk cracked.
Kael shouted.
“Again!”
The wolf pup attacked.
BITE!
The monster turned.
Kael threw another stone.
The monster hesitated.
The pup attacked again.
BITE!
The creature roared.
Its health dropped.
2,700.
Then 2,600.
Then 2,500.
Slowly.
Very slowly.
They were winning.
But Kael made one mistake.
He became confident.
The giant wolf suddenly disappeared.
Kael's eyes widened.
Where did it go?
A shadow appeared above him.
He looked up.
The monster was falling from the sky.
“MOVE!”
Kael jumped.
The claws missed his chest by centimeters.
BOOM!
The ground exploded beneath him.
Kael landed hard.
Before he could stand, the beast's tail struck him.
WHAM!
He flew several meters.
He crashed into a tree.
Blood dripped from the corner of his mouth.
His vision blurred.
“Kael!”
The wolf pup charged.
The monster turned toward it.
Kael's eyes widened.
“No!”
The beast raised its paw.
The pup jumped.
SLAM!
The creature was struck midair.
It hit the ground.
Kael's status window appeared.
---
Summoned Creature HP: 3 / 35
---
Kael's heart stopped.
“No…”
He crawled toward the pup.
“Please…”
The monster approached.
Kael placed himself between them.
“Don't…”
His voice shook.
The monster raised its paw.
Kael closed his eyes.
Then—
DING!
A notification appeared.
---
Special Condition Fulfilled.
Summoned creature protected the Summoner during a life-threatening battle.
Bond requirement exceeded.
Evolution available.
---
Kael opened his eyes.
“What?”
The wolf pup began glowing.
The light became brighter.
The monster stepped backward.
The pup's body rose from the ground.
Blue energy surrounded it.
Its tiny body began changing.
Its fur thickened.
Its legs became longer.
Its claws sharpened.
Its ears grew pointed.
The tiny tail became larger.
Kael stared in disbelief.
The creature's body continued growing.
One meter.
One and a half meters.
Two meters.
The blue light exploded outward.
BOOOOM!
Kael raised his arm to protect his face.
When the light disappeared, the forest became silent.
Standing before him was no longer a tiny wolf pup.
A young wolf stood there.
Its fur was dark gray with streaks of glowing blue.
Its eyes burned with brilliant azure light.
Its claws dug into the ground.
Kael stared.
A new status window appeared.
---
Evolution Complete
Former Species: Lesser Wolf Pup
New Species: Azure Fang Wolf
Rank: E+
Level: 5
Strength: 18
Agility: 27
Vitality: 16
Intelligence: 8
Skills
Fang Strike
A powerful physical attack that increases damage against weakened enemies.
Azure Dash
A burst of speed that allows the user to move several meters instantly.
Pack Instinct
Increases combat ability when fighting alongside its Summoner.
???
Locked.
---
Kael couldn't speak.
“E+…”
His summon had evolved from F-Rank to E+.
In a single evolution.
The giant wolf growled.
The Azure Fang Wolf lowered its body.
Kael felt something change.
The bond between them had become stronger.
He could almost feel what the wolf was feeling.
Fear.
Determination.
Trust.
And something else.
Hunger.
Kael blinked.
“Are you hungry?”
The Azure Fang Wolf looked back.
Its tail moved once.
Kael laughed.
“Seriously?”
The giant wolf attacked.
This time, the Azure Fang Wolf vanished.
WHOOSH!
It appeared beside the monster.
SLASH!
Three blue claw marks appeared across the beast's side.
The monster roared.
Its HP dropped by nearly three hundred.
Kael's eyes widened.
“That's…”
The Azure Fang Wolf moved again.
Azure Dash.
The monster swung.
The wolf disappeared.
It appeared behind the beast.
Fang Strike.
Its jaws clamped onto the monster's leg.
The beast stumbled.
Kael finally understood.
Their roles had changed.
Before, Kael had been desperately trying to survive.
Now, his summon was hunting.
“Don't let it recover!”
The Azure Fang Wolf attacked.
The monster roared and tried to escape.
Kael pointed toward it.
“Chase!”
The wolf sprinted.
The distance between them disappeared.
SLASH!
BITE!
SLASH!
The giant wolf's HP dropped rapidly.
1,500.
1,000.
500.
The monster turned desperately toward Kael.
It charged.
Kael didn't move.
He trusted his summon.
The beast jumped.
The Azure Fang Wolf intercepted it.
CRASH!
Both creatures collided.
Dust filled the clearing.
Kael waited.
Then a notification appeared.
---
Enemy defeated.
C+ Rank Unknown Beast eliminated.
Experience gained: 680
Shared Growth activated.
Summoner Level: 1 → 3
Azure Fang Wolf Level: 5 → 7
---
Kael stared.
“Level three…”
He laughed.
He couldn't stop himself.
He had entered the forest as an F-Rank Summoner.
He had been mocked by everyone.
He had been told he was useless.
And yet tonight, he had defeated a C+ Rank monster.
Not alone.
Together.
Kael walked toward the fallen beast.
A strange black crystal lay beside its body.
He picked it up.
The moment his fingers touched it—
DING!
The system reacted.
---
Rare Monster Core detected.
Absorption possible.
Would you like to absorb the core?
YES / NO
---
Kael hesitated.
“What happens if I choose yes?”
No answer came.
He looked at the Azure Fang Wolf.
The wolf stared at the crystal.
Its eyes glowed brighter.
Kael smiled.
“Let's find out.”
He selected YES.
The crystal dissolved.
Black energy flowed into Kael's hand.
For one second, everything went dark.
Then—
DING!
---
Monster Core absorbed.
Mana capacity increased.
Summoning affinity increased.
Hidden system function unlocked.
[Monster Archive]
New Feature Available
Defeated monsters can now be recorded.
Additional functions locked.
---
Kael's eyes widened.
“Monster Archive?”
A new screen opened.
It contained only one entry.
---
Azure Fang Wolf
Origin: Lesser Wolf Pup
Evolution Path: Unknown
Future Evolution: ???
---
Kael stared at the final line.
“Unknown…”
He closed the screen.
The forest had become quiet.
The battle was over.
But Kael could no longer think of himself as the same person who had entered the forest.
He had awakened with terrible stats.
An F-Rank class.
A weak summon.
No special skills.
Yet hidden beneath all of that was something the Awakening Stone hadn't revealed.
A mysterious system.
A strange evolution ability.
And a bond capable of making his summons stronger.
Kael looked at the Azure Fang Wolf.
“You know…”
The wolf looked at him.
“I think we're going to have a lot of trouble.”
The wolf wagged its tail.
Kael laughed.
“Yeah.”
He looked toward the distant city lights.
“Let's go home.”
---
Meanwhile — Elarion Kingdom
Far away from the forest, beneath the capital city, an ancient chamber remained sealed.
For hundreds of years, nobody had entered it.
At the center of the room stood a massive black crystal.
It suddenly cracked.
CRACK.
A thin line appeared across its surface.
Then another.
CRACK. c***k.
A figure wearing a black robe opened his eyes.
He had been sitting motionless for decades.
His voice was barely more than a whisper.
“The successor…”
The crystal pulsed.
The figure stood.
“The Summoner has awakened.”
Another person entered the chamber.
“Are you certain?”
The robed man smiled.
“The system has chosen him.”
“Who is he?”
The robed man closed his eyes.
“Kael Arven.”
Silence.
Then the second figure whispered:
“The F-Rank boy?”
The robed man laughed.
“Yes.”
He looked toward the black crystal.
“And that is exactly why nobody will suspect him.”
---
Eastern Forest
Kael and the Azure Fang Wolf continued walking home.
Kael didn't notice the strange blue symbol appearing faintly on the back of his hand.
He also didn't notice the system window that appeared behind him.
---
Hidden Class Condition: 1/10
First Evolution: Completed
First C-Rank Kill: Completed
Bond Level: 17%
Unknown Potential: Increasing
---
Then one final message appeared.
---
WARNING
The attention of an ancient entity has been detected.
Survival probability: 12%.
---
Kael continued walking.
He had no idea that his awakening had already attracted the attention of something far more dangerous than the monster he had just defeated.
And he certainly didn't know that his little Azure Fang Wolf was only the beginning.
.......
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