Sofia remained riveted, her eyes locked on Alexander's actions. The more she observed, the more her heart tremored.

"Ah, this godly level of prediction, this celestial awareness—He's even more formidable than those so-called twelve Gods," she mused.

"So, what exactly is the origin of this skeleton?" Sofia found herself staring at Alexander, a touch spellbound.

"Level 7, experience reduced. Time to switch locations," Alexander muttered to himself after slaying a skeletal bear. He paused and pondered. "I've also got 2000 evolution points. Time to evolve."

For a moment, choices appeared in his mind, "Spend 1000 evolution points to evolve into a Heavy Infantry Skeleton, Blade-Wielding Guardian Skeleton, or Assault Vanguard Skeleton."

"New evolutionary paths," Alexander's eyes narrowed, his focus intensifying.

"Evolution Path 1: Heavy Infantry Skeleton."

"Increases: 500 Life, 30 Attack, 50 Defense."

"Skills: Blade Awakening, Hunting."

...

"Evolution Path 2: Blade-Wielding Guardian Skeleton."

"Increases: 300 Life, 50 Attack, 20 Defense, 10 Agility."

"Skills: Swift Blade Art, Dual Blades."

...

"Evolution Path 3: Assault Vanguard Skeleton (Hidden Evolution)."

"Increases: 300 Life, 100 Magic, 50 Attack, 50 Defense, 20 Agility."

"Skills: Assault Armor, Plunder."

"A hidden evolution path?" A notion stirred within Alexander. The hidden evolution boasted significantly greater attributes and appeared to include rather spectacular skills.

"To evolve into the hidden path requires double the evolution points. Do you wish to proceed?"

"Double?" Alexander's skeletal hand clenched, making a cracking sound.

It was a habitual motion. When pondering issues, he'd usually rotate his wrist as a form of mental respite. But after his transformation into a skeleton, he found it a bit awkward.

After a moment's hesitation, he chose to evolve along the hidden path. More expensive, perhaps, but strength was the ultimate currency.

Evolution points can be earned again, but missing this hidden evolutionary path? Who knows if there will be a next time.

The server has been live for only three and a half hours, and player levels are still low. Many are grinding near the starting zones, but they'll catch up soon enough.

There will come a day when he'll clash with players, and when that happens, only sheer power could be his safeguard. Hence, evolving in the strongest possible direction is imperative, no matter the cost.

Perhaps when he gains enough strength to break the rules, he might even return to the real world. Anything's possible!

"Choose to evolve!"

"Congratulations, you've spent 2000 evolution points to evolve into an Assault Vanguard Skeleton!"

"Evolution initiated. Duration: one minute."

In Sofia's amazed gaze, a stream of azure light suddenly flowed into Alexander's skeletal frame. In the blink of an eye, he grew from 5 feet 2 inches to roughly 5 feet 8 inches.

The azure glow vanished as swiftly as it had appeared. From the empty sockets of his eyes burst two flickers of azure flames.

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"My goodness, my adorable skeleton is evolving again?" Sofia looked elated. "That was fast!"

In such a short time, Alexander had evolved twice. His previous evolution fortified his blades with remarkable durability, imbuing them with a metallic luster. The blades had become formidable, laying waste to the skeletal bears. A skeletal bear with 100 health points stood no chance against him.

This time, although the blades didn't appear to change much, his skeletal frame looked far sturdier. What was once hollow eyes now housed flames resembling the fires of souls.

So, what new capabilities would this evolution bring?

Anticipation filled Sofia's eyes.

Sofia couldn't see Alexander's attributes, so she had no idea just how formidable he had become. All she knew was that Alexander's first evolution had catapulted her to the top of the leaderboard.

If a single evolution could achieve such potency, what would a second evolution make him—invincible?

Chances were that no one else's summon was as powerful as hers now. While she harbored a quiet sense of delight, she didn't forget her duty to stand guard beside Alexander.

Her stunning face bore an expression of vigilance, as if she feared that monsters might suddenly spawn. Evolutions couldn't afford to be interrupted, and she didn't want any mishaps to hinder Alexander's path of evolution.

But something felt off. Technically, she was the player here; shouldn't Alexander be protecting her instead? Why had the roles reversed? Who was the summon, anyway?

"Evolution into Assault Vanguard Skeleton successful!"

"Health increased by 300 points, magic by 100 points, attack by 50 points, defense by 50 points, agility by 20 points."

"New evolutionary skills acquired: Assault Armor, Plunder."

As the system's notification rang out, Alexander woke up. Instinctively, he opened his eyes—or what served as eyes for a skeleton—and noticed something different. It felt like there were now movable elements within his eye sockets.

Just as Alexander was about to explore this new sensation, a stunning face appeared in front of him.

Her features were flawless, her expression adorable. Her big, clear eyes sparkled with a hidden blend of expectation, curiosity, and excitement as they met his.

Alexander couldn't help but admire how breathtakingly beautiful his mistress was—both in looks and spirit.

If he were to give her a rating, Alexander would easily offer 99 points. The only downside was that she wasn't particularly bright.

Once, she had even tried to emulate his technique for slaying skeleton bears and nearly ended up respawning. Even now, he suspected that her necromancer's robe still bore the bloodstains from when she was sent flying by a skeletal bear, landing on a sharp rock.

Had he not intervened in time, she might have found herself back in the Hall of the Dead. In this gaming world, death for a player meant losing levels and dropping items.

Moreover, Alexander had no idea what would happen to him if Sofia died. Would he vanish too? So, between killing monsters, he also had to make sure she didn't off herself, making his existence somewhat exhausting.

"You've evolved?" Sofia flashed a sweet smile. "That's amazing."

"What new abilities have you gained? Ugh, it's so annoying that I can't see your stats. What kind of a crappy game is this?" She seemed slightly irritated.

Alexander wanted to smirk at her comment, but alas, he was just a skull—incapable of making facial expressions. Since he couldn't communicate through speech or expression, he decided to first check his newly evolved attributes.

Name: Alexander

Level: 7

Race: Assault Vanguard Skeleton (Belonging to player: Sofia)

Health: 520

Magic: 200

Attack: 64 (Explosive Bone-blade Steel Sword +30)

Defense: 64

Agility: 30 (Attack speed: one swing every 2.5 seconds; movement speed: 2M per second)

Weapon: Explosive Bone-blade Steel Sword (Elite)

Skills: Assault Armor, Plunder, Quick Slash (Level 3)

Evolution Points: 0

Enhancement Points: 3

Wow.His stats had tripled! His health was an impressive 520 points, and his defense stood at 64.

This heightened security would make monster-slaying far less precarious—even a skeleton bear's attack wouldn't pierce his defense now. His attack speed had changed to one swing every 2.5 seconds.

One delightful surprise caught Alexander's attention: this evolution hadn't overridden his Quick Slash skill.

This meant he could still upgrade Quick Slash using his evolution points—his speed could rise yet again. It made him itch to test his newfound might on a couple of skeleton bears, but he restrained himself.

"First, let's see what this Assault Armor is all about," he thought.