The Mortal Evolution

Hao-Yun and his group take their first step into the portal.

On the other side, they notice there's nothing. The land is barren. Not a single tree can be seen.

"How strange... From a single glance, even I can tell this must be because of the extremely hot temperature."

"So, why is it so cool here?"

Their group leader, a strong, muscular, and serious-looking person called Jin, comes forward.

"Researcher team, here! Right Now!"

"Yes, Sir!"

"What's the temperature of this area?"

"It's... 21°C, sir."

"Then how did this area become like this?"

"Regarding that, sir, our team will take some samples and try to get more information."

"Hmm... Do it as fast as you can."

"Squad No.27! Divide into groups and map the area within 10 kilometers."

"Roger!"

Hao-Yun is planning to explore alone. To avoid catching anyone's attention, he stands a bit far away from everyone. However, it unexpectedly stands out most.

A group of 5 people approaches him.

"Hello... aa... I'm Min-jun, the leader of this group."

"Would you like to join us?"

"Amm... Actually..."

Hao-Yun was confused; should he join them, or should he refuse them?

"Don't worry, our group is formed by former professionals; they all know their limits and won't do anything reckless."

"Is that so, then sure... heh-heh, I'll join."

"Really, then it's settled. We don't need more members, let's get going."

"Ah, before that, let's do a bit of introduction."

"Hi, I'm Ji-hoon, a former martial artist."

"Hello, I'm Hyun-woo, a former police officer."

"I'm Tae-hyun, a former Commando."

"Joon-seo, former pro wrestler."

"Nice to meet you, I'm Hao-Yun, a former secret agent."

"What?"

"Yeah, since the arrival of the System, Everything was disrupted, so I also gave my resignation."

"That's amazing. Everyone, don't you think Hao-Yun should be the leader of our group? Even after leaving the job, he doesn't seem to have lost his edge."

"What Nonsense are these people spouting? I just didn't want to say I am a former Slouchy part-timer."

"What do you think, Min-jun?"

"Yeah, I also think that's great! Hao-Yun looks reliable."

"What part of me exactly looks reliable to you, you damn four-eyed person?"

"So, it's settled then, Hao-Yun is our group leader."

"Here goes my chance..."

"Well, just do what I can and find a good chance to extract some minerals and monster cores."

"Ahem! I don't think I deserve this title, but still, if you are insisting so much, I can't say no."

"So, where should we go, leader?"

"Hmm, good question, Ji-hoon, let's go Northward, because North can't be wrong even if it's an alien planet."

"That makes sense, let's go North."

With that, Hao-Yun begins leading the group of former professionals. However, just after walking 5 kilometers, they were exhausted.

"Haah... Haaah... It makes no sense..."

"Right... Why are former professionals like us... so exhausted just after walking 5 kilometers?"

"Leader, you must also be exhausted, right? Let's take a break here..."

"Well, I'm not exhausted, but if all of you are... Then okay, let's take a break."

"Leader, how are you not exhausted at all?"

"Well, I gained some physical enhancements after completing System Tasks."

"We also completed our Tasks, but it seems like there's a big gap between us."

"Heh-heh, that's obvious, I've triggered hidden tasks 2 times, so my stats are way above you, not that I intend to tell anyone."

"It's not about physical strength. It's about gravity."

"What?"

"Yeah, did you guys still not notice? This planet's gravity is higher than Earth's, so it's obvious you are getting tired so fast."

"It's like someone has added some extra weights to your body since you entered this portal, so even if you try to recover, you won't feel the same as you did on Earth."

"Now that you pointed it out, I do feel heavier than usual."

"Me too..."

"Me too..."

"Listen to me, for now, mapping 5 kilometers of area would be enough. I think we should head back to the camp."

"Yeah, I agree..."

"Well then, let's go."

Boom!

"Hey, what's that?"

Whoaaa

"It must be one of those monster System was talking about."

"Did it just come out of the ground?"

"Yeah, that's what I think!"

It was around 4 meters tall. Its body was covered with metal-looking armor, and its face was like a mole, but a demonic one. It looked strong enough to knock down the whole group with its single attack.

However, except for Hao-Yun, everyone was already exhausted just from walking. He had no other choice left.

"Everyone, run as fast as you can and report it to Squad Leader Jin. I'll fight this monster."

"No, it's impossible, even for you! Just look at that monster! It could devour you instantly!"

"Don't worry, just run, we have no choice."

"But..."

"Not buts, just run!"

"Let's see how strong this monster is..."

Hao-Yun's hands were shaking; it was his first time fighting a monster outside a game.

Haaaa....

Blurpp...

"What?"

"Everyone, wait!"

"This monster isn't strong at all!"

"Huh?"

The group was confused, but Hao-Yun was even more confused. He knew this monster was strong, but for some reason, he killed it with a single punch.

"What? How is this possible?"

"Leader, are you possibly a god or something?"

"What? No, this monster isn't strong at all!"

"You can't fool us, leader, just by taking a single glance, we could tell how strong it is."

"Mmmm! How should I make you believe me?"

Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!

"Whoa! Just perfect timing!"

"Are you crazy, leader?"

"You just defeated one, and four more came. This time we will definitely die."

"Don't worry, just believe in me, try attacking it with the rest of your power."

"Huh? You mean punching it?"

"Yeah!"

"Well, we are going to die anyway, let's try it."

Ghaaah...

"What the hell?"

"Everyone, the leader was right! They just look strong, but they aren't strong at all."

"Really!"

Soon, the group began believing in Hao-Yun. The monsters weren't strong at all; instead, they were sloppy and slow to attack. While everyone was busy fighting those monsters, Hao-Yun used the chance to extract his first monster core and hide it in his bag.

"Although we couldn't kill it in one punch like the leader, but still, these monsters are too weak."

"Everyone, I think we should bring these monster corpses back to the camp and give them to the researchers. Maybe it will help us a bit."

"Yeah, you're right?"

A few hours later, in the Camp, all the groups sent for mapping and exploring returns.

"Has everyone returned?"

"Squad leader Jin, there are still 6 people who haven't returned."

"What?"

"Did something happen to them?"

"No-no, it shouldn't be. I must not think negatively."

Whaaa!

"Who was that?"

"What happened?"

"Squad Leader! Everyone! Look! Monsters! Monsters are coming!"