Mythical Monster Evolution

Kai stared at the monstrous-looking salamander in front of him, closely looking at its form as he tried his best to compare it to himself. The first thing that made it similar to himself was the color of its skin, or rather, scales. They were all dark green, just like Kai's. His claws also seemed similar to the small but important change in that they were a lot longer and a lot sharper than his own.

Noticing that Kai was one of its own, only a slightly younger version of itself. The salamander looked away as it started munching on the food in front of him.

The salamander made some squeaky noises, seemingly trying to talk to Kai. However, Kai didn't understand the slightest thing, which was weird, considering they were part of the same race. Still, the fact he couldn't understand the salamander didn't preoccupy him a lot. There was something much more important he needed to know.

"How do I devour this creature?" Kai asked Isla, who was still floating around him.

"Isn't it obvious enough? Or do I need to explain every single thing to you like the little baby you are?"

Kai frowned when he heard that answer, as he hadn't expected her to have such witty responses. Isla was most likely an NPC designed to help him. So, for her to answer in such ways was unheard of.

"Right, you told me I needed to kill it already…" Kai said as squeaky noises came out of his mouth.

The head of the salamander suddenly sharply turned toward Kai.

'Ah…fuck,' Kai thought. 'It can understand me, but I can't understand him. How is that even fair?'

The monstrous-looking salamander suddenly took on a fighting stance, ready to react to every single one of Kai's moves.

Nevertheless, Kai was a lot more intelligent than a salamander as he quickly analyzed the fighting stance of the salamander. He had spent quite a few hours playing other video games, and while he hadn't been able to move exactly like he had wanted inside of those. He had become quite good at analyzing stances from all types of people, whether it be an animal or a human.

And right now, the weakness was the salamander's right leg. It was shaking from the pressure the animal in front of him was putting on it.

"Just making sure, but if I die. I can say goodbye to this game forever, right?"

"Yes, you will never have a second chance in this world. So, make sure you win!" Isla said as she raised her little arms upwards as if encouraging Kai.

"Can't you help me?" Kai asked as he felt the salamander getting dangerously closer to him.

"What do I look like? Some sort of cheat that will carry you through your entire adventure in this world? Well, I'm not one. So, learn how to fight or die forever."

Kai gritted his teeth at her answer as he focused solely on the salamander. He knew that to win against it, the best method would be a counter-attack. So, that's why Kai did a little taunting…you know, just to rile up the salamander a little.

"Come on. Are you scared of me or something?" Kai raised his right paw and showed the salamander his right cheek. "You can do it. Just hit me right here."

Instantly, the salamander had fallen for the trap as it jumped forward, leaving wide open its entire body. Kai used this moment to run right under him and, more precisely, toward the weakness he had spotted earlier on.

Right as the salamander landed, it stopped moving for a single moment, and that's when Kai moved right in.

He attacked right away, his claws attacking the salamander's face, body, legs…everywhere he could possibly hit, and quickly enough, the salamander seemingly fell unconscious, falling onto the ground.

And right after it did, a bright golden light suddenly flew out of the salamander's body and entered Kai's. A strong flow of energy suddenly coursed through Kai's entire body, but more precisely, around his chest, where most of the energy was headed.

"Do you wish to Devour the Gloomander?" Isla asked right away, breaking Kai's stupor over the energy entering his body.

"Yes…but I thought that was already what I was doing."

Suddenly, a bright white light blinded Kai instantly, and when he opened his eyes again, he found himself in an endless white space, where there seemed to be nothing inside it…except for a strange-looking golden ball floating right in front of him.

"This is your Evolution Space," Isla said as she suddenly flew right in front of him. "Here, you will be able to access all kinds of information on both yourself and the beasts you have devoured. For example, you can try calling out 'Status,' and most of your stats should appear."

"Hm…just like any other video game. I see…" Kai smiled. "Status!"

A bright, translucent blue screen appeared right in front of Kai.

[Name: Kai Walker]

[Nickname: None]

[Class: Monster (Unique)]

[Monster Core: Tier 1, Bronze-Ranked(5/100)]

[Skills]

-Devour (Lvl.Max)

[Current Evolution: Gloomander (100%)]

"Hm…is the rank of my Monster Core any good?" Kai said, already kind of knowing the answer. However, he simply wanted to make sure.

"It's bronze-ranked, and it's also only Tier 1. So, no. That's literally the worst possible Monster Core. If it had been a diamond-ranked one, I might have said that it was passable. But no, you're trash," Isla said with a sigh. "I really don't know why His Highness chose you… Whatever, I'll show you the bloodlines from the Gloomander you just killed. I must say, you got lucky."

-Bloodline Origins-

[Gloomander (86%)]

[Green Salamander (8%)]

[Komodo Dragon (4%) (Degraded)]

[Nocturne Dragon (1%) (Degraded)]

[Various Undetermined Bloodlines (1%)]

"So, it's mostly a Gloomander…and the green scales mostly come from the Green Salamander?"

Kai's tone was quite indecisive, making it clear that it was a question.

Isla just shook her head in disappointment. "Out of all the things you could have mentioned…you talked about the Green Salamander? What about the Nocturne Dragon?!"

Kai had to admit that he might have confused his order of priorities for a moment. But he was getting there after talking about the Green Salamander…that's all. Still, Isla was focused on talking about the Nocturne Dragon.

"The Nocturne Dragon is a creature known for its great camouflage skills. And it is known to practically disappear once night falls. If you were to devour and absorb the bloodlines of the Gloomander, you could potentially obtain one of its abilities, although it will be a weaker one since the Bloodline is degraded."

"Then, let's absorb the Gloomander."

Kai didn't want to waste any time and wanted the effects that it would have on his body.

"Hm, alright. Just to confirm it with you, do you want to absorb and mix your current Bloodline with the Gloomander you just killed?"

Kai nodded right away. "Just one thing. How will the bloodlines from that Gloomander mix with my own?"

"Well, you will be able to isolate the bloodlines you wish to obtain from the monsters you devour in the future. However, for the time being, it's not a feature the system has access to because of your lack of strength. For now, it will be random. Nevertheless, you can still choose to absorb the Gloomander you killed, which would strengthen your Monster Core as a result."

Kai heard the two options, and his choice was quickly made. He had no idea when he would meet with a Dragon's Bloodline in the future. So, he might as well take his chances. After all, nothing bad could happen from the looks of it…he was 100% Gloomander, and this could only render him stronger.

"Mhm, make me evolve. I can always strengthen my Monster Core later."

"If only His Highness could see this…at last, that's not possible." She frowned slightly before smiling once more. "We're getting closer and closer to reaching his goal of creating the perfect being."

Kai frowned, hearing those words. However, he made sure not to think of anything. That way, he wouldn't alert Isla, who could read his mind…and he would be able to keep his suspicions hidden. Nevertheless, the more he learned about the lore of the game he was currently in. The more he realized that it was strange how real everything felt.

Never once had Kai felt like he was in a game ever since his sister had put on his VR helmet.

Still, he had no choice but to dismiss those worries for later as Isla started the Evolution Process. Kai knew that the result would be completely random. But he couldn't help but hope for great results. A strong golden light surrounded his body, and when he opened his eyes again, Kai definitely felt like he had gone through a certain evolution.

Wanting to note down the results mentally, he called out for his Status, and…some things had definitely changed. He was still mainly a Gloomander, but he had taken some of the bloodlines from much rarer creatures. In fact, the evolution name of the monster he inhabited had changed from Gloomander to something much cooler.

[Current Evolution: Dragonic Gloomander (Growth Stage: 2/5 | 25/100)]

[Gloomander (90%)]

[Green Salamander (4%)]

[Komodo Dragon (4%) (Degraded)]

[Nocturne Dragon (1%) (Degraded)]

[Various Undetermined Bloodlines (1%)]