But something gnawed at him. Where was the system notification? Why hadn't he felt that familiar rush of power?
Arthur froze. The Serpent's body was too still. Too quiet. Slowly, realization dawned. He turned, eyes narrowing just in time to see the Serpent's jaws snap shut, crushing the salt crystal inside.
"Currrseee Youuuuusssss!" it hissed, voice ragged but alive. Before Arthur could move, the Serpent lunged, its massive maw catching his arm. There was a sickening crunch.
Arthur roared in pain as the creature tore through his thick hide, ripping his arm clean from his body. Blood poured into the water, thick and black, clouding his vision. The Serpent thrashed again, and Arthur's mind blanked with agony.
But something stirred within him. Rage.
The Synergy activated, twice the normal output, coursing through his veins like wildfire. His scales began to glow, a deep, furious red, the heat building within him. Arthur's muscles rippled as he turned, his one remaining arm catching the Serpent's jaw. His claws dug into its flesh, searing through muscle and bone.
"You should've fucking stay dead!"
With a snarl, he planted his feet on the seabed, using the leverage to tear the Serpent's maw open wider. The creature shrieked, thrashing with its last strength, but it was too late. Arthur pulled, using all his might, until the Serpent's jaws ripped apart with a sickening snap.
The body went limp, this time for real.
Arthur let the remains fall, panting heavily, his vision blurring from the pain in his torn limb. His blood swirled in the water, mixing with the Serpent's.
Arthur's mind was already fading when he felt a sharp pull within his chest. His Void Core, humming with primal energy, latched onto the dying Serpent's Spirit Core. Without warning, the essence of the fallen beast surged into him, drawn by the raw gravitational force of his Void Core. Arthur's body convulsed, a pulse of energy flooding through him, every fiber of his being screaming in protest as the dead Serpent's power tried to merge with his own.
Then, the system chimed in.
[SYSTEM NOTIFICATION]
Congratulations, Arthur! You have defeated the First-Stage Serpent of the Geothermal Abyss, a distant descendant of the Titan Serpent—Leviathan.
You have absorbed its Spirit Core.
Arthur's void core roared to life, greedily pulling in the Serpent's power, breaking down the essence of the ancient creature and fusing it with his own. The pain was intense, burning through his body as the Spirit Core's energy intertwined with his Void Core, seeping into every part of him. He could feel the Serpent's memories—the primal need to dominate, the suffocating pride of being an apex predator—mixing with his own thoughts.
[SYSTEM NOTIFICATION]
New Evolutionary Traits Available:
Corrosive Skin: Your scales become infused with a corrosive agent, causing physical contact with enemies to melt and burn.
Geothermal Mastery: Gain control over geothermal energy, allowing you to manipulate heat and pressure in your surroundings.
Essence Absorption: Absorb The Serpent's essence to progress your Void Core. Strengthen your connection to your elemental powers, advancing your abilities. Evolution To Stage Two Available!
Arthur's eyes flickered with exhaustion, barely able to focus. His mind was spinning, his body screaming in protest. Without a second thought, he selected Essence Absorption.
And then, everything went black.
As he faded into unconsciousness, one final thought crossed his mind.
Next time… finish the damn job before celebrating.
*
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Arthur's body felt heavy, almost like a gravitational pull was dragging him down to the abyss. The remains of the Serpent lay motionless, and Arthur's battered form sat on the seabed, unconscious yet undergoing a powerful transformation.
His [Void Core] hummed, vibrating deep within him, a gravitational force pulling in the ambient energy around him like a black hole. The water rippled, disturbed by the sheer force of the energy draw. The moment had come.
And then, the system chimed in.
[SYSTEM NOTIFICATION]
Essence Absorbed: Evolution To Stage Two Initiated!
Arthur's entire form began to glow, his flesh tightening, his molten claws retracting as his body was pulled inward, compressed by the system's demands. His consciousness drifted into a dark, dreamlike state, floating in a void as his physical body was cocooned in an egg-like shell that began forming around him.
What's… happening? Arthur's thoughts were sluggish, his mind adrift in the darkness.
But something stirred within him—an innate understanding, a primal instinct that guided his evolving body.
[SYSTEM NOTIFICATION]
Warning: Second Stage Evolution Will Invoke Heavenly Tribulation.
Survive to complete the evolution.
The words flashed in his mind, but they barely registered. Arthur's body had already been encased in a crystalline egg. The outside world, once full of deadly predators and ruthless battles, now felt distant. All that mattered now was survival. His essence swirled within the egg, pulsating like molten energy waiting to be unleashed.
Then, the environment changed.
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Outside the egg, the ocean seemed to freeze in anticipation. The water around Arthur's The cocoon lay dormant, shrouded in the oppressive quiet of the ocean's depths. But the sea knew what was coming. There was a strange tension in the water, a stillness that even the long-dead bones of ancient creatures seemed to sense. The seabed quivered, as though bracing itself for something inevitable. Then—
CRACK!
The first bolt of lightning struck. It was a sharp, searing blast of energy, carving through the water like it was air, defying the laws of the ocean. The surface trembled, and the earth groaned under the weight of divine force. A soundless roar tore through the water, followed by a massive shockwave that sent everything rippling outward.
Another bolt— BZZZZT!
This wasn't normal lightning; it was heavenly. The kind that didn't care if its target was in the depths of the ocean or high on a mountaintop. It came directly for Arthur. The forces behind evolution had chosen him for their wrath. His egg, a fragile thing against the cosmic forces bearing down on it, trembled under the pressure. Each crackle of lightning zeroed in, bursting through the water in waves of white-hot fury.
Inside, Arthur was no longer aware of the physical world. He floated in his mindscape, a dark void illuminated only by the piercing flashes of divine judgment. He couldn't scream. He couldn't even move. Trapped within the cocoon, his body was being systematically torn apart, rebuilt with every painful second. It wasn't just the lightning that was reshaping him—it was the very essence of Light and Darkness swirling in a chaotic storm within his core.
CRACK!
The egg split with each strike, its crystalline surface spider-webbing with bright, glowing cracks.
"Will I survive this?" Arthur thought, a rare flicker of doubt creeping into his mind. The Heavenly Mandate wasn't just testing his body—it was testing his resolve, his will to evolve, to ascend.
BZZZT!
The lightning hit again, harder this time. It wasn't just pain anymore—it was raw, unrelenting power. His core, the Void, struggled to contain the onslaught. The elemental forces of Light and Darkness clashed violently, each bolt pushing and pulling at his essence, threatening to tear him apart from the inside. His thoughts blurred, the agony so intense it felt like fire burning through every fiber of his being.
[SYSTEM NOTIFICATION]
Tribulation Progress: 30%
Endure the Heavenly Lightning to complete Stage Two Evolution.
Arthur's teeth ground together, though he had no physical form within his cocoon. His consciousness trembled under the weight of the trial. His body was being tempered like steel under a hammer, yet he gritted his metaphorical teeth and held on.
The tribulation wasn't a quick ordeal. Days passed—weeks even. Time had become an abstract concept. His mind reeled with exhaustion, the continuous strikes of lightning battering at his will. He was beyond pain now—he was surviving on sheer grit. The darkness around him pulsed, growing stronger with each strike, and he clung to it, drawing strength from the deep void.
[SYSTEM NOTIFICATION]
Tribulation Progress: 60%
Endure. The trial nears its peak.
The cracks in the egg deepened, molten light pouring from them, each bolt reshaping him more violently than the last. Light and Darkness surged in his core, each fighting for dominance. Arthur was their battleground. Synergy, the delicate balance that kept him together, wavered, threatened to collapse.
"Not yet. Not now."
The egg glowed brighter, searing red and deep black swirling within it. His muscles expanded, his body growing larger, his tail longer, his claws sharper. The very heat of the abyss began to feed him as his new form solidified. Wings—larger than before—pulsed with the primal energy of the ocean, preparing for deeper waters.
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[SYSTEM NOTIFICATION]
Tribulation Progress: 90%
Hold steady. The final strike approaches.
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The last bolt of lightning came like a hammer blow. CRASH! The water exploded in a surge of force, a blast that rocked the entire seabed and sent tremors through the ecosystem. The bones of ancient creatures rattled as the final trial began. Arthur's egg shattered, the divine energy bursting out in a blinding flash of light that temporarily turned the dark ocean into day.
Arthur, within the shattered remnants of his cocoon, felt the power coursing through him. The elements—the Void, the Light, the Darkness—all coalesced inside him, forming a new, more powerful form. His body had been broken down and rebuilt, his muscles stronger, his claws sharper, his scales harder.
The system was the first to chime in.