Michael watched Evelyn as she skillfully used her current body’s strength to its full potential. Each fluid movement and strike were infused with both the skill and strength of a master athlete with unparalleled talent.
He nodded with approval.
The two of them were different in that regard. While Evelyn moved with Grace, Michael moved with precise simplicity. Both of them didn’t waste energy attacking their targets, it was simply how they moved that differed.
Eventually, Michael hears the cracking sound of a skull.
He felt surprised. He didn’t know that Evelyn had almost reached that stage. It seems that through his guidance, Evelyn was passing through the evolutionary barriers, that took him a few months to go through, in weeks. At this rate, she would have Michael’s current strength in 4 to 5 months.
He smiled.
That would be good. On the off chance something bad happened to him, she would be fine.
Bob screeched and pointed at the trembling monster ape.
Michael nodded. His body automatically enters a defensive stance. He knew that the creature was undergoing spontaneous evolution.
He forces himself to calm down. Entering a neutral stance, Michael observed the creature’s evolution.
If it was anything like the Deus Draco, then the two of them would be in trouble. But at the same, the newly evolved super ape wouldn’t be like the Deus Draco which had time to become familiar with its newfound abilities.
Nevertheless, a spontaneous evolution triggered by direct human interference will almost always create a powerful creature.
He frowned and gripped his knife. He impatiently tapped his fingers. He contemplated jumping in and killing the creature before it developed any other unique traits, like the Draco’s wings. But he stopped himself.
He knew it was important to engrave the fear of evolution in Evelyn.
Shaking his head, Michael takes a seat on the edge of the pit to watch.
He’ll just have to trust in Evelyn.
----------------------------------------
Evelyn felt a chill in her spine as she watched the ape slowly stand up. Its body was larger and taller.
Was it always this big?
The ape slowly turned to look at Evelyn.
What… the…
Before it evolved, the monster was a dark-furred ape-like creature. But after its spontaneous evolution, its fur slowly turned into a greenish hue. Then, it became bigger, almost twice as big as it was before. Its muscles become taut as if they wanted to escape its skin. Its face was full of hate and anger. Before, it was simply angry that it was forcefully taken from its home but now, its evolution turned it into a creature of rage and anger.
Now, it must rampage.
~ROAR!~
The evolved ape roared at Evelyn as it thumped its chest with its powerful fists. An invisible shockwave reverberated from its body, spreading across the forest. Michael frowns. He felt perturbed by the familiar shockwave coming from the evolved ape.
Once the shockwave subsided, the ape ran forward with its knuckles. The ground shook as its heavy frame moved with great speed.
Evelyn prepared herself.
The creature swung its fist.
Just have to do- no!
The fist suddenly moved faster as it approached Evelyn.
She manages to raise her arms to block the incoming strike but she feels an extreme amount of force hit her body.
What the…
Evelyn feels herself float and she is sent flying.
~THUD!~
“AH!”
Evelyn’s body strikes the wall with so much force that the air is knocked out of her.
~ROAR!~
The evolved ape charges forward again with the intent to make Evelyn a permanent fixture on the wall.
Seeing the approaching beast, Evelyn immediately moves. She had no intention of being a punching bag. She felt that she would be stuck in the ground till she died if she let the creature hit her like earlier.
~SLAM!~
Evelyn rolls away as she sees the ground she was on earlier get smashed. The floor shook but the creature wasn’t done. It leaps towards Evelyn. Using its momentum, it throws an attack toward Evelyn.
Fuck!
Dodging away, Evelyn takes a combat stance when she’s a few feet away from the beast. Having a few moments to breathe, Evelyn studies her opponent.
Now that her opponent has evolved, Evelyn suddenly felt a large disparity between their strength. Earlier, Evelyn was confident that she would win without any challenge. And without a weapon to close the gap between them, Evelyn started to feel that her fists might not be enough.
She swallowed the lump in her throat as she and the ape slowly circled each other.
They were staring at each other. Then they moved.
The evolved ape acted first. It struck again but Evelyn gracefully moved downward. She stands up with force. Using her momentum, she delivers a powerful uppercut to the beast. When her fist connects, Evelyn expected the creature to flinch but it didn’t budge.
Evelyn sees the creature’s arms move to grab her with her peripheral vision. She immediately ducks down to avoid being crushed. Evelyn immediately retreats and surprisingly, the creature gave her space. The beast seemed to enjoy toying with her.
Evelyn frowned.
It didn’t even flinch… I don’t have enough strength to hurt it…
Still focusing on the large ape, Evelyn cautiously raises her eyes to see if Michael was still watching. Surely enough, Evelyn sees Michael and Bob sitting at the edge of the pit.
Bob was swaying his feet and eating some small nuts that Michael stored in a pouch for him. Michael on the other hand was intently observing the fight.
Michael… I know that they evolve now… I could use some help…
Then a thought comes to Evelyn’s mind.
Was he fighting these things all alone?
But she didn’t have the time to contemplate Michael's time in Teremarae as the evolved ape releases a powerful roar.
~ROAR!~
The beast rushes forward with immense momentum. Seeing the ape, Evelyn felt as if a train was rushing toward her.
Evelyn knew that she wouldn't be able to harm the creature with her attacks. She focused all of her efforts on dodging.
The ape reaches her and smashes the ground. Evelyn dodged but with each attack, the ape was getting closer to hitting Evelyn.
While Evelyn was dodging for dear life, Michael was intensely studying the evolved ape. He decided to name it the berserker ape.
Berserker Ape
Classification: Animal (Mammal)
Description: A powerful monstrous ape-like creature with a body built for combat. They are a very aggressive species. Unlike their cousins from Earth, the berserker ape species have very well-developed thumbs, allowing them to grab and grip items with dexterity equal, if not better, to a human.
Possible Effects: The berserker ape’s blood may have a large concentration of anabolic steroids.
Evolution Number: 2nd Iteration - After taking an immense amount of physical punishment that its species is not used to, its body started to adapt by growing its frame and strengthening its muscles.
The berserker ape scraped the bottom of the superspecies category. In fact, it would be more appropriate to put the berserker ape at the top of the normal category.
Michael was about to intervene until he saw a change suddenly occur.
Despite her best efforts to dodge, Evelyn could not fully escape the overwhelming might of the berserker ape. Eventually, she feels the heavy fist of the berserker strike her body.
~THUD~
Evelyn felt her skin bruise from the strike, an achievement that not even Michael can do.
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~THUD!~
Evelyn felt the monster strike her face. She feels something wet drip from her nose. Without having to check, she knew that her nose was bleeding.
She was starting to get angry.
~THUD!!~
Evelyn felt another powerful punch strike her stomach. She felt a bitter liquid go up to her throat as the monster proceeded to pummel her body.
~THUD!!!~
Evelyn is sent flying to a nearby wall as the creature knocks her away. She hits the wall and ricochets back to the ground. Bloodied and beaten, Evelyn lies on the floor.
Yeah… fuck this.
“AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!”
Evelyn screams. Then she stands up. The ape sees Evelyn. Her eyes were bloodshot and had a crazy look in them. She spits out a thick ball of blood. Evelyn feels the rage build up in her body. She was tired of dodging and blocking. She looked up to see Michael was not interested in moving.
Fuck! He doesn’t want to help me?! What! Do I die here?! FINE!
Evelyn put up a basic fighting stance and her eyes focused on the ape’s face.
I’m not gonna die here! If that bastard isn’t going to help me, I’m going to do it myself!
Evelyn felt her body harden. Her fists and arms become rougher as it slowly changes into something she isn’t aware of yet. When Evelyn is about to take damage, her body reacts immediately so that it can protect her. Her body’s hardening was a reactive ability, never an active ability.
But now, Evelyn temporarily hardened her body.
She charges forward while screaming her lungs out.
“AHHHHHHHHH!”
The ape charges as well, roaring as it approaches Evelyn.
~ROAR!!!~
Getting close, the ape delivers a powerful punch.
Instead of dodging, Evelyn blocks it by raising her arms. The berserker ape’s fist connects but instead of feeling pain and being knocked back, Evelyn’s arms absorb the impact and almost nullify all the force.
Michael’s eyes widened. He was genuinely confused.
Evelyn wasn’t able to block that attack earlier but now she ignored the beast’s attack. Taking advantage of her active power, Evelyn moves forward to strike the ape.
Full of arrogance, the ape believed that Evelyn wouldn’t be able to hurt it. It doesn’t dodge.
That was a mistake.
Evelyn’s arms and fists were actively hardened, making them unbelievably tough which allows her to ignore high levels of damage. At the same time, her hardened body had the same toughness of industrial steel but the flexibility and maneuverability of a peak human athlete.
With Evelyn’s strength augmented by the hardened skin, she delivered a powerful strike to the ape’s chest.
~Crack!~
For the berserker ape, breathing suddenly becomes impossible. It felt something sharp poking its chest. It tries to roar but it feels immense pain when it tries to make a sound.
“YEAH! YOU FUCKER!!”
Leaning downward, Evelyn takes a swing at the creature’s knee. The ape whimpers in pain as its kneecap takes a powerful punch. It falls on one knee.
Using the same move she did earlier, Evelyn jumps up and spins, delivering a powerful kick toward the berserker ape’s jaw.
~Crack!~
When the berserker ape spontaneously evolved, it healed most of its wounds but there were still remnants of damage. Empowered by her almost superhuman strength and unbelievably tough body, Evelyn’s attack shattered the ape’s recently healed jaw.
The ape falls backward but Evelyn follows through. She delivers an overwhelming combination of attacks. Desperate and in pain, the berserker ape covers its shattered face with its arms, but Evelyn attacks other undefended parts.
Quickly and brutally, Evelyn unleashes a lifetime of repressed rage and anger on the berserker ape. It tried to stand up but Evelyn shattered its other knee. Then it tried to block Evelyn’s attacks with its arms but Evelyn started bashing its elbows. Even the evolved berserker ape’s strong arms couldn’t withstand Evelyn’s steel-like arms.
Eventually, the berserker ape no longer had a way of defending itself. Its strong resistance slowly broke down until Evelyn was simply attacking an unmoving and unconscious mass of flesh.
Michael and Bob watched Evelyn with frowns on their faces.
+Michael? Evelyn, angry?+
+I think so. Let’s avoid her for a bit.+
+Hide?+
+Yes but we’ll have to fetch her later.+
+Evelyn scary.+
+Yes. Yes, she is.+
Eventually, some of Evelyn’s rage subsides and she regains control of herself. Her arms were slick with the berserker apes’ blood.
Looking at her enemy’s bloodied body, she then raises her hands and roars.
“AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!”
She then looks up at Michael. Raising her blood-soaked arm, she screams at him.
“Go down here you fucker! I’m going to beat the shit out of you!”
+No.+
Michael’s prompt reply pissed off Evelyn.
“WHAT DO YOU MEAN NO?! YOU THREW ME DOWN HERE! YOU BETTER BE READY FOR THE CONSEQUENCES!”
Michael shrugs.
+You wanted to learn about evolved creatures.+
“Are you an idiot! There are so many other ways to show me!!!”
+Experience, part of training.+
“What would you have done if I died?! Huh?! Don’t you care about me dying at all?!”
Michael immediately jumps and lands in front of Evelyn which surprises her. Michael stares at her with intensity.
Then he mouths the words instead of signing them
*I would hate it if you died.*
Understanding Michael, Evelyn mellows down a bit.
“The-then! Why did you let me fight that thing?”
+So, you would be more familiar with the monsters of this world. You’ve seen its growth in power right?+
Evelyn felt a bit flustered but she stood her ground and curtly replied.
“Yes.”
+Now imagine each creature in the world capable of becoming this.+
Michael gestures to the berserker ape’s corpse.
Evelyn pales at the idea of fighting thousands if not millions of berserker apes.
+Do you see why I want you to be strict when it comes to following the rules?+
Evelyn nods.
+So, next time when I tell you to kill them, you make sure that they’re dead.+
“Yeah…”
As Evelyn slowly mellows down, her hardened arms slowly return to their normal state.
Michael watches the transformation and he nods. Wanting to steer the conversation in another direction, Evelyn asks Michael a question.
“So, how did I do?”
+Good, really good.+
Bob jumps onto Michael’s shoulder. He signs the same word to Michael with a question at the end of it.
Michael nods.
“You think I’m good enough for the caves?”
She gives Michael a smirk. She knew that she was.
+So so.+
“Heh.”
Evelyn pats her clothes to remove some of the dirt but quickly realizes that she just wiped copious amounts of blood on her clothes.
She groans.
Michael looks up and takes out a rope with a wooden hook on its end from his pack. He swings it and hooks it on the edge of the pit. He signs for Evelyn to use the rope.
Evelyn climbs up first, followed by Michael and Bob.
The three of them walk quietly.
Michael starts to sign. Evelyn looks at him.
+I would have never let you die. If for a moment I saw that you were in any actual danger, I would have immediately gone down to protect you.+
Evelyn stares at him. He seems to blush a bit. Evelyn looks away, a bit flustered.
“Thank you.”
The three of them silently reach their resting area. Michael checks their supplies.
“What are we going to do next? Waterfall dangling? Blindfolded dodging? Running with weights attached to your leg? Hunting wolf beasts with only a dagger?”
Michael turns around after checking their supplies.
+Going underground.+
“Wait, what?”
Michael puts on a heavy supply pack behind him.
“Is my training done? Wait, isn’t that quick?”
Michael hands the heavy supply pack to Evelyn.
She carries it with ease. She sniffs the pack and smells dried meat and other important everyday necessities.
“When did you prepare this??”
+Long before. If you defeated the evolved ape, I knew you would be ready, otherwise, it was just a few more days of extra training.+
Michael turns around and walks. Bob signs at her to come.
“Wait, is that why you packed so much food and supplies today?!!”
Bob makes a shushing sign and Evelyn covers her mouth.
Evelyn sheepishly nods. Michael ignores the two of them and replies.
+Yes. We’re not going home until we finish our underground trek.+
Evelyn puts on the heavy backpack and runs toward Michael.
Once beside the mute superhuman, Evelyn starts her barrage of questions.
“Hey hey, why didn’t you tell me anything? You knew I was excited to go and test these bad boys.”
Evelyn flexes her body and for a moment her arms harden. Bob sees Evelyn and he flexes as well but unfortunately, he cannot harden.
Michael smiles.
“Come onnn, tell me. There’s nothing wrong with being curious right?”
+____ killed the cat.+
Figuring out the first word through context, Evelyn replies.
“But I’m not a cat. I’m a strong proto-superhuman. That’s what you called me at least, right?”
Michael nods.
+I’m not sure what you are anymore. That ability you showed earlier is not something I know or have.+
“I… well it appeared when I really wanted to win… no… not win… I wanted to survive.”
Michael thinks.
+It might be your divine gift.+
“Oh? Unbreakable? You called it that right?”
Michael nods.
He summons his log.
Evelyn doesn’t bother looking. She’s tried multiple times to read the log. Michael even lent it to her when she wanted to try, but no matter what, she couldn’t read it. Michael told her that it might be because the gift is only his and no one else’s.
Evelyn Moore
Classification: Animal (Proto-Superhuman)
Description: A human at the peak of the human condition and more, Evelyn Moore was sent to Teremarae as the second human being. Her constant training under the supervision of Michael is allowing her to evolve at a faster rate.
Divine Gift (2nd Iteration): Unbreakable - Evelyn has an extremely durable body that can withstand large amounts of punishment, exceeding normal human limits. During her battle with the evolved berserker ape, Evelyn’s defensive gift evolved. Her passive durability was raised to a higher level. In addition, she can now actively harden her body even without the presence of damaging effects.
Possible Effect: NA
Evolution Number: 1st Iteration: Peak of the human condition.
Michael reads the log’s information and he sees Evelyn’s gift is currently on its 2nd iteration. With the log’s help, he confirms that divine gifts can evolve. This evolution was different from the person’s body, allowing them to separately evolve both their gift and body.
Evelyn’s body was on its 1st iteration but her divine gift already reached its 2nd iteration. Michael’s body, on the other hand, was in its 2nd iteration but his divine gift was still in its 1st iteration. Michael frowns when he realizes that his gift was more likely harder to evolve than Evelyn’s gift.
Dismissing Evelyn’s information, Michael then makes a claim in the log.
Claim: Humans can spontaneously evolve.
Answer: True
Michael sees the log’s reply and he starts to contemplate. Seeing Michael deep in thought, Evelyn calls out to him.
“Heyyyy… soooo… where are we going?”
Despite his contemplation, Michael didn’t stop walking. Evelyn frowns when Michael ignores her. She looks at Bob.
+Where are we going?+
Bob stared at Evelyn while picking his nose. He was too lazy to reply.
Evelyn stared at Bob as the monkey stared back at her. She got annoyed but they continued to travel.
While traveling, Evelyn notices that the environment starts to change. Michael’s contemplative expression slowly turns into a serious one.
+Be careful, we’re out of our territory.+
Evelyn nods. She felt cautious.
“Yeah. Wait, territory? We have a territory?”
+While we don’t mark our territory, the animals here recognize our territory, the same way they recognize the territory of the Draco. They try not to bother me or the Draco.+
“So, what does that mean?”
+It means, we’re no longer protected by our own territory. There are more dangerous creatures here. Which puts us at risk of getting attacked. If someone owns this place though, we can just avoid it.+
“Another creature that can claim a territory… Can other creatures even contend with the Draco??”
Evelyn looked at Michael. He nods.
+Yes.+
Evelyn shuddered.
Once they reach an area with tall grass, the two proceed to crouch and sneak.
“How far till the cave?”
+Not far.+
~Stomp~
Evelyn hears the heavy footfalls of a large creature. She felt her heart rate skyrocketing. She started to look around. Then she sees the source of the sound.
Standing a few meters away from them, there was a four-legged animal that was reminiscent of an elephant. It had 6 tusks instead of 2 and its ears were smaller. Its skin was also brown rather than gray.
“Oooh… is that a herbivore?”
Michael shakes his head.
+Carnivore.+
“What???”
It looked extremely similar to an elephant so Evelyn was sure it was a herbivore.
+It uses its tusks to gore its enemies then it uses its long trunk with hidden tentacles to devour its prey.+
“You can’t be serious??”
Michael stares at Evelyn.
+I recall that their favorite prey is noisy humans that won’t stop speaking.+
“Wha–....”
Michael frowns.
+It means that you should stay quiet for a bit. We can’t risk being caught.+
Evelyn nods but she can’t help but be annoyed.
Following Michael’s lead, Evelyn watches the elephant-like creature while avoiding it as well.
Eventually, the three of them reach the end of the tall grass and they enter another side of the forest.
As trees start to obscure their field of view, Evelyn sees a large cave in the distance.
She taps Michael and points at it.
“Is that it?”
Michael nods.
“It’s pretty big.”
Michael nods.
Bob signs to her.
+Cave there. Big. Dark.+
Evelyn nods. She replies to Bob.
+Yes, it is a big dark cave.+
Once in front of the cave, Michael pulls out his knife. He signs toward her.
+Evelyn, once inside, you must be absolutely quiet. No speaking and do your best to not make any noise. Understood?+
“Okay?”
+What did I just say?+
Evelyn rolls her eyes and signs back.
+Okay.+
Michael nods approvingly.
+The creatures in the cave hunt based on hearing rather than sight. So you must keep quiet no matter what.+
She nods.
+Then, are you ready?+
She pulls out her stone knife.
+Ready.+
Michael looks at the cave.
+Good.+
Then he moves.