Chapter 105

The time had come for him to undergo his evolution into Stage 2. As soon as he confirmed, the process of transforming his body into the next form began. Jake opened his eyes when he felt a strange sensation wash over him.

His transformation from a human into a mutant was very painful. However, at this moment, he felt no pain at all as his body, solely composed of a unique blend of obsidian-like material and mana, was changing into the next form. He could feel his body shift and morph in subtle ways. He was getting somewhat taller as his posture took on a slightly hunched form while his limbs extended ever so slightly. He also noticed his obsidian-black flesh was thickening and becoming denser.

The most significant change came to his face. He felt a peculiar sensation as his face began to elongate slightly. But what surprised him the most was the feeling of a mouth being formed. He had long since grown accustomed to not having a mouth and had thought he would never have one again. As it turned out, he’d been mistaken. Moreover, something resembling teeth extended from his newly formed jaws.

As soon as the process was complete, a single system message flashed through his mind.

The transformation into Evolution Stage 2 is finished.

Jake examined his transformed body. He was now somewhat taller, with longer limbs and thicker skin. Other than that, his body hadn’t changed much. He still had the general shape of a human being. Except for his face, of course.

He hesitantly reached up to touch his altered face. He still didn’t have a nose or ears. However, his face now had a slightly elongated, snout-like structure, and sure enough, it now had a mouth filled with jagged, pointed teeth. For a moment, he kept feeling them with his fingers.

Since his body didn’t have skin, he also didn’t have lips. Thus, the jagged teeth were always on display. They weren’t exactly teeth in the general sense of the word. Instead of being human teeth, they were natural extensions of his unique composition. They were larger than human teeth, triangular in shape, tapering to a point, and razor-sharp.

So the evolution into Stage 2 had given him a new weapon. In addition to his claws and tentacles, he could now use his jaws in battles, allowing him to bite his enemies. The thought of ripping pieces of flesh out of his enemies with his newly formed teeth filled him with a strange mix of revulsion and excitement.

He then gingerly closed his large mouth, and the jagged teeth interlocked with each other. They fit together seamlessly, forming a menacing barrier that seemed to blend flawlessly with the rest of his obsidian-like face—or snout, as it seemed to be a more appropriate term now. His teeth pressed so closely together that it appeared as if he had no mouth at all when it was closed.

He tried to say something, but no sound came out. Even though he had a mouth now, he still couldn’t speak. He didn’t have any organs for producing sounds—no lungs, no larynx, no vocal cords, no tongue, nothing. His body was still composed entirely of some kind of obsidian-like material, with mana stored within it.

Jake couldn’t see how scary he looked because there were no reflective surfaces nearby. However, he could guess that his new ferocious appearance was a stark contrast to his formerly featureless visage. If he previously appeared scary, his menacing unblinking eyes and snout-like face filled with razor-sharp teeth should now give him an absolutely terrifying look.

Finally, Jake withdrew his hands from his face and took a few steps across the roof. Immediately, he became aware of a few things. There was a fluidity to his movements that he hadn’t thought possible before. His agility and control over his body had reached a whole new level. His senses and mind had also become much sharper. He wondered why this was the case. Perhaps, he’d acquired new skills? It was time to find out.

He closed his eyes and summoned his stats. Instantly, a flood of system messages filled his mind.

You have successfully evolved into Stage 2 “Savage Ascent”. You will now receive 5 SP with each level-up.

Each of your attributes has received 20 points:

Body has gone up from 7 to 27;

Mind has gone up from 5 to 25;

Magick has gone up from 5 to 25.

The following of your abilities have been elevated from Common to Uncommon, unlocking 1 new upgrade:

Claws.

The following of your skills have been elevated from Common to Uncommon, unlocking 1 new upgrade:

Enhanced Senses;

Enhanced Agility;

Enhanced Intelligence.

The Evolution Stage 2: "Savage Ascent" section has been unlocked in the Genetic Development Interface.

You have received 5,000 XP.

You have gained enough XP to level up. Your level went up from 29 to 30. You have gained 5 SP.

Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on the original website.

Wow, Jake thought. He felt a wave of excitement wash over him. Receiving 20 points for each of his attributes explained why he was more agile and had sharper senses and mind. Each of his skills that had evolved to the Uncommon rarity now had a new upgrade available for purchase. These were all very exciting developments.

Also, evolving into Stage 2 had given him 5,000 XP, causing him to level up and granting him 5 SP. The prospect of receiving five skill points upon each level-up filled him with a great sense of excitement.

Finally, he dismissed the system messages and shifted his attention to his stats.

Name: Jake Turner

Race: Ex-Human Morphus

Evolution Stage 2: “Savage Ascent”

Level: 30

XP: 1750/3875

SP: 5

MP: 17,965

Body: 27

Mind: 25

Magick: 25

Claws: Rank II (100%) (Upgrades: 2 of 4) (Uncommon)

Swords: Rank I (100%) (Upgrades: 3 of 3) (Common)

Bladed Tentacles: Rank I (74%) (Upgrades: 1 of 3) (Common)

Enhanced Senses: Rank II (100%) (Upgrades: 0 of 4) (Uncommon)

Enhanced Agility: Rank II (100%) (Upgrades: 3 of 4) (Uncommon)

Enhanced Intelligence: Rank II (100%) (Upgrades: 0 of 4) (Uncommon)

Enhanced Reflexes: Rank I (78%) (Upgrades: 0 of 3) (Common)

Enhanced Strength: Rank I (0%) (Upgrades: 0 of 3) (Common)

Enhanced Regeneration: Rank I (0%) (Upgrades: 0 of 3) (Common)

Feral Instincts: Rank I (0%) (Upgrades: 0 of 3) (Common)

One by one, he used four skill points to raise Claws, Enhanced Agility, Enhanced Senses, and Enhanced Intelligence from Rank II to Rank III. He used the fifth skill point to increase Swords from Rank I to Rank II. The progress bar for each of these skills and abilities reset to zero, ready to progress once more. Each of the skills that had evolved from Common to Uncommon had a new upgrade available, but since Jake had no more skill points at the moment, he decided to check them out at a later time. He then opened the skill store.

Genetic Development Interface

Evolution Stage 1: “Primordial Form”

Abilities: 3 of 4

Skills: 7 of 7

Ability: Smashfists

Requirements: Body 2

Cost: 2,000 MP

Skill: Enhanced Senses

Requirements: None

Cost: Already Owned

Skill: Enhanced Agility

Requirements: None

Cost: Already Owned

Skill: Enhanced Intelligence

Requirements: None

Cost: Already Owned

Skill: Enhanced Reflexes

Requirements: Body 5, Mind 3

Cost: Already Owned

Skill: Enhanced Strength

Requirements: Body 5

Cost: Already Owned

Skill: Enhanced Regeneration

Requirements: Body 7, Magick 5, Mind 3

Cost: Already Owned

Skill: Feral Instincts

Requirements: Mind 5, Magick 3

Cost: Already Owned

Ability: Claws

Requirements: Body 1

Cost: Already Owned

Ability: Swords

Requirements: Body 3

Cost: Already Owned

Ability: Bladed Tentacles

Requirements: Body 2, Magick 1

Cost: Already Owned

It was the old section that contained skills and abilities from his previous stage, “Primordial Form.” The only ability he had yet to acquire from this section was Smashfists. As for Bladed Tentacles, they initially were not present on the list. Instead, they were added after he completed a mutation research quest. Anyway, having evolved to Stage 2, he could now access the second section of the Genetic Development Interface. He did so with a thought.

Evolution Stage 2: "Savage Ascent" (Level 25)

Abilities: 0 of 4

Skills: 0 of 4

Ability: Gravity Leap

Requirements: Body 43, Mind 40, Magick 37

Cost: 17,000 MP

Ability: Acidic Spit

Requirements: Body 45, Magick 45

Cost: 20,000 MP

Ability: Serpentine Form

Requirements: Body 50, Mind 45, Magick 50

Cost: 25,000 MP

Ability: Spikes

Requirements: Body 60, Magick 65

Cost: 30,000 MP

Skill: Enhanced Durability

Requirements: Body 30

Cost: 12,000 MP

Skill: Adhesive Secretion

Requirements: Body 40, Magick 35

Cost: 15,000 MP

Skill: Toxic Resistance

Requirements: Body 45

Cost: 23,000 MP

Skill: Adaptive Armor

Requirements: Body 55, Magick 50

Cost: 27,000 MP

Currently, there were four skills and four abilities in the section, but Jake was aware that more could be added after he completed additional mutation research quests, as was the case with the Bladed Tentacles ability.

Jake couldn’t help but notice that all the skills and abilities in the second section were much more expensive than those in the previous one. The cheapest one was Enhanced Durability, priced at a whopping 12,000 MP. While he could purchase it, he didn’t meet its attribute requirement yet. Also, buying it would have left him with only 5,000 MP, which probably wasn’t all that much now. Since he had just evolved into the next form and become much more powerful, his body would likely require significantly more mana to function than before.

The requirements for the skills and abilities in the second section were also substantial. Out of curiosity, he randomly chose some of the skills and skimmed through them without paying too much attention to the descriptions. Since he couldn’t buy any of them at the moment, he was mostly interested in their rarity. It turned out that each of them was of the Uncommon rarity and therefore had four available upgrades.

After Jake finished examining all the new information in both his stats and the skill store, he opened his eyes, causing all the information to disappear.

The first rays of morning sunlight touched his altered form. Having evolved into Stage 2, Jake was excited to continue his journey as a mutant, ready to tackle new challenges along the way.

Wheeling around, he ran toward the edge of the roof. With his attributes greatly increased, he moved with even more speed and agility than before. Reaching the edge of the roof, he easily launched himself toward the next building.