Evolution — The Gnolls Return

A thought stirred in Lu Yuan's mind. The Evolution Cube, orbiting steadily around his Gene Chain, blazed without warning into deep blue light.

*Evolution begins.*

The transformation struck harder than anything he had felt during inscription. Deep blue radiance poured into his Gene Chain, and what had only recently settled burst open in massive upheaval once again.

His muscles, bones, organs — every part of him, from the surface of his skin to somewhere deeper than he could name — felt as though it were being shredded and recast from nothing. Pain detonated through him. His mind went nearly blank.

Time passed. He couldn't say how long. The agony burrowed soul-deep, probing the limits of what he could endure. Then, at the point just before it became unendurable, the deep blue light began to slowly fade. The pain ebbed.

In its wake, a torrent of tremendous force rose from somewhere deep within him.

The same euphoric, suffusing warmth from Gene Inscription washed through him — comfortable, all-encompassing.

*Even inscribing a Transcendent Gene brings improvements across every aspect of the body.* He'd known that once before. *But this evolution is something else entirely.*

The sublime feeling lingered, then faded. Instinct delivered the answer.

**Black Iron Body.**

*Primarily enhances physical defense and strength. Also grants modest boosts to agility and explosive power.*

Compared to Common Grade Petrified Skin, Black Iron Body was more well-rounded — it boosted agility, which Petrified Skin hadn't — and across every parameter, the enhancement had jumped by nearly double what it had been before.

Double. And that was on top of the Beetle Claw enhancement. Double *that*.

The Evolution Cube's deep blue glow had dimmed to almost nothing. The cube looked nearly transparent. Most of the energy stored inside it — reserved for evolution — had been spent. To evolve again, he'd need to temper his Gene Chain considerably further. His body simply couldn't sustain another evolution right now.

*Evolution complete.*

No Biological Will had appeared. Of course — he'd already destroyed it during the inscription process. Nothing left to push back.

A smile pulled at the corner of his mouth.

*Brilliant.*

The implications were obvious. In the future, he could inscribe a gene at whatever grade his body could safely handle, then evolve it afterward. Zero danger.

*If Elite Grade can already do this much — what does Boss Grade feel like? Chief Grade? Lord Grade? And beyond King rank, Transcendent Genes at those tiers... how monstrous would those be?*

He let himself imagine it for a moment.

*As expected of me.*

Good thing he'd moved fast. Gene Warriors had considerably more intelligence than Black-stripe Gray Rock Beetles — smart enough to realize something was off about the plateau. If he'd stayed, he might well have been found.

He climbed down from the rocky shelf. Passing the Black-stripe Gray Rock Beetle corpses, he spared them a brief second glance, then picked a random passage and left.

Before his power had surged, navigating the plateau's exposed surface against the howling gales had taken careful effort. Now those same winds were nothing — a gentle draft brushing his face, barely worth noticing. He walked the plateau's crest without effort. He jogged. The sand that used to sting his skin now felt like soft fingers trailing across his cheek.

That included his dynamic visual acuity, which had sharpened naturally along with everything else.

He felt good.

Thinking about the Black-stripe Gray Rock Beetles made him think of the original two from the lair.

*Wonder how they're doing. Should I stop by and say hello?*

He decided to check. He left the shelter of the wind-break and retraced his path.

Before long he was back at the U-shaped plateau formation. He looked down —

And blinked.

On the ground below, both Black-stripe Gray Rock Beetles were dead. Their corpses had been picked over; the valuable shells were already gone.

Someone had beaten him to it.

Residual warmth still lingered near the ground — heat left behind from the fire wall he'd ignited earlier. It had apparently drawn other Gene Warriors to the area. He'd planned to deal with those two beetles himself. Turned out he'd been scooped.

*If I'd stayed here, they'd have found me.*

He let out a quiet breath of relief.

*Good call running when I did.*

With this much new strength coursing through him, he was fairly confident he could take on a Black-stripe Gray Rock Beetle one-on-one without much trouble.

*Let's test it.*

He picked up his pace toward the hunting area. Before long he spotted two Gray Rock Beetles gnawing at rocks near the base of a stone pillar.

At about twenty meters, both beetles snapped their heads toward him simultaneously.

No Biological Will. Just animal instinct.

They shrieked and charged.

Lu Yuan drew his Beetle Claw greatsword and walked toward them. As they closed the distance, his sword swept in a dark arc. The blade passed through both in a single motion. Their momentum died instantly — bodies sliding past him and collapsing behind him, short legs twitching, still.

He crouched, picked up the Spirit Crystals, stripped the Gray Stone Carapace from both corpses, and moved on.

*Two beetles that used to actually give me trouble. Gone in one swing.*

He continued hunting. A short while later, a lone Gray Rock Beetle crossed his path. He dropped it with a single strike and pocketed the Spirit Crystal.

An Elite Transcendent Gene. An Elite Gene Armament. In a beginner zone like the Gray Rock Forest, he was practically untouchable.

*If Elite Grade is already this dominant, what are the higher grades like?*

He was already looking forward to finding out.

Then he heard footsteps.

He stopped. His head turned toward the passage the sound was coming from.

The footsteps grew closer. Two figures stepped into view — gnolls in black leather armor, long sabers at their sides.

One gray-furred. One brown-furred.

He recognized them.

The two gnolls froze the moment they saw him.

Just as the gnolls were bearing down, a group passing through a nearby passage caught sight of the standoff.

It was the handsome elf's group of four.

They all went still.

"Hey —" The tall thin elf squinted. "Isn't that the guy who got chased by the beetle swarm? And his two gnoll companions?"

The handsome elf glanced at the scene. "Probably a falling-out," he said.

The other three understood at once.

"Don't go over yet. Stay hidden and wait to see who comes out on top."

"Whatever the Boss says!"

The four slipped quietly behind a distant stone pillar and watched.

"What are they doing? Are they about to fight?"

"Heh heh heh..." one of them murmured. "Didn't expect a windfall today. Not bad at all."

"Business has been slow lately — can't find many fresh faces to fleece. Chances like this don't come around often."

The brown-furred gnoll broke into a savage grin, laughter tearing out of him:

"Hahahaha! Human Race — surprise! Didn't think we'd meet again, did you?! Let's see you run *this* time!"

Lu Yuan smiled. "I was actually hoping I'd run into you. Looks like my luck held."

The brown-furred gnoll's grin twisted with contempt. "Lucky to meet us? That Gene Armament gave you ideas, did it? Your confidence is worthless."

"Did you even know both of us carry Gene Armaments too?" He bared his teeth. "But thanks all the same. You're about to bring us some extra gains."

The gray-furred gnoll advanced alongside him:

"You blocked one. Think you can block two?"

"Human." The brown-furred gnoll looked Lu Yuan up and down. "Looks like you've already accepted you can't run. What, you're just going to let us kill you? Relax — your grandaddy here will make it quick."

As he spoke, he was already moving. He exploded forward and drove his saber in a vicious horizontal slash at Lu Yuan's waist — fast.

Lu Yuan raised his hand slightly.

*Clang!*

The Beetle Claw greatsword caught the blade clean. Steel rang out, sharp and bright.

"— Blocked?! How is that *possible*?!"

The rebound force shuddered back through the saber into the brown-furred gnoll's grip. Both palms went numb.

Lu Yuan's hand hadn't moved at all.

"What's impossible about it?" he said, with a smile.

At the edge of his vision, the gray-furred gnoll was watching. Every hair on his body had stood on end. The strength Lu Yuan had just displayed was so far beyond what he'd anticipated that his mind stalled for a moment.

He composed himself. Shot a sideways glance at the Beetle Claw greatsword, let out a cold laugh, tightened his grip, and advanced.

The brown-furred gnoll pressed in from the other side:

"Can you block two?"

*Clang!*

The Beetle Claw held firm, catching the gray-furred gnoll's strike without giving a centimeter.

Deep inside, the gray-furred gnoll's resolve had already caved. *We're not his match.*

Lu Yuan laughed. His right hand drove forward — a massive surge of force transferred through the sword into the brown-furred gnoll. The gnoll's body recoiled involuntarily backward.

The instant the brown-furred gnoll was knocked back, Lu Yuan's wrist rolled, the blade dropping into a low guard.

*Shhk!!*

Then his sword trembled — sharp, controlled — and the gray-furred gnoll was jolted back half a step.

A dark line of sword light swept across the gray-furred gnoll's throat.

Blood sprayed. The light in the gray-furred gnoll's eyes slowly went out. His body swayed once and hit the ground.

The brown-furred gnoll had been lunging forward to help —

He stopped cold.

"Brother?!"

He stared at Lu Yuan, wide-eyed, refusing to believe what he was seeing.

"Impossible! You were running from us just minutes ago — how did you get this much stronger this fast?!"

"Guess," said Lu Yuan.

He looked at the brown-furred gnoll — every hair bristled, body rigid — and let a warm, pleasant smile spread across his face. He walked toward him, one unhurried step at a time.

Then his expression shifted.

*Death.*

The handsome elf's group of four stepped out from behind the stone pillar.

Lu Yuan looked over at them.

Both sides held each other's gaze for a moment.

Then — at the same time — they broke into wide, brilliant smiles.

The tall thin elf blinked, a puzzled look flickering across his face.

The handsome elf glanced at him and said simply: "Unexpected windfall."

The other three understood immediately.

Lu Yuan collected the Spirit Crystals, stripped the Gray Stone Carapace from the gnoll corpse, and set off to continue hunting.

His feelings were a little complicated.

*I've definitely gotten stronger. But it seems like my skin's gotten thicker, too.*

He couldn't help the smile.

*As expected of me.*