To evolve, one must undergo mutation. To mutate, one must affect his genetic configuration. To affect one's genetic configuration, one must learn how to use the virus in his body.

And this knowledge was bared to him inside his prey's mind. But...

He was no human. He was what the humans called a plant. Human methods to mutate repeatedly to evolve into more refined, more powerful forms weren't viable for him. He was already a mutant, at least a grade- 1 creature in the scale humans used. But he didn't understand how or when he had become one. The concepts underlying the process were too hard to understand. Despite trying his best, he couldn't glean much except a rudimentary outline. It would take a very long time to comprehend all of it.

He was distraught, fearful, desperate for an alternative solution... And he found one, hidden deep in his prey's mind.

He discovered a concept called divinity.

These humans, most of them, worshipped superior beings. These superior beings were said to have incredible powers, enough to tear the world apart!

Terrifying!

Although their knowledge of these superior beings was based more on blind beliefs, there was one certain memory he managed to forcefully unearth from his prey's brain.

It was the most impactful scene he had ever perceived. A seemingly infinite number of stars were falling from the sky, lighting up the entire atmosphere. Every inch of the sky had been covered by their fiery glow.

One human stood ahead, with his back facing him. He put his arms up in the air, as if welcoming the army of falling stars, shouting,

"Limitless, this lowly one prays for assistance! Save us!"

Suddenly, a sapling pushed its way out from the sand just a few meters away. At a visible speed, this sapling grew, its stem rising higher and higher at an increasing speed.

Branches grew along the stem, travelling almost horizontally to cover everything around the growing plant like an impenetrable shade.

Soon, the tree became so tall that they could no longer see where its top was, nor could they estimate how far its branches had reached in all four directions.

In the sky, the sight of countless falling stars was no longer visible. The seemingly infinite black leaves jutting out of the innumerable golden branches were the only two colors up above.

Frozen in shock, both the man and his prey had stood stock still at that time, humbled by the majestic, incomprehensible display of power.

For several minutes, the scene stayed the same, no one, nothing moving.

And then, a fire breached the shield created by the tree's branches and leaves hundreds of meters above. Like paper crumbling on a candle flame, the tree burned away at the same speed it had grown.

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Yet, as its ashes rained from the fiery sky, the two witnesses saw no falling stars about to crush the entire region. The sky was bright blue, as clear as it could possibly be.

Where had those things disappeared?

The question was answered soon. Countless pieces of tiny rocks fell alongside the ashes. They couldn't tell how such huge objects had been reduced to this state, but they understood what kind of power one needed to achieve that feat.

Yet, such a miracle had been performed by a random plant that they didn't even know existed here.

"Lord Limitless, your grace matches your name! You are Limitless, without doubt!"

The man in front of him prostrated on the sand, shivering, weeping, praising this unseen savior of their world.

That was the end of that memory.

And this was the beginning of his ambition.

If that tiny sapling could become powerful enough to block and crush an army of falling stars from the mere touch of that being named Limitless, then what about him?

Would he have to fear anything except other similar existences in this world? And these existences weren't like the humans, trying to loot and kill everything that they came across. He would be safer near them!

He wanted to find a way to reach this being named Limitless. But he couldn't pray due to his physical limits. He made his prey call for the being several times on behalf of him. But it didn't work.

Unable to bear the torture, his prey eventually admitted a secret. To call the so called gods, one needed to offer sacrifices and conduct complex rituals. Neither of them knew how to do the latter...but sacrifices could be managed.

All he had to do was trap more humans and learn from them. Perhaps one of them might know a ritual. Even if they didn't, that was fine. He could use them to reproduce, creating more companions to help him. All of his companion plants listened to him. The more their numbers grow, the more power he would command.

And right now, he had one such human in his grasp. They were mentally connected, and he could sense how weak this human was. He was even weaker than the previous human prey. At least she had put up a fight when they had met in the realm of thoughts.

This human didn't even understand that his mind had already been infiltrated. So what if he wasn't allowed to touch this human's brain directly? His seeds would travel through blood to reach every corner of this body!

The other human was injured. Inside his foot, there was still one active seed feasting on his body.

Both humans were already as good as dead.

Puny creatures...do you think your mental fortitude can stand for a second against my assault?

His hunger was once more making its existence known. His body had detected the new prey on the chopping block.

Usually, he killed his preys more directly. His seeds would be forcefully injected into them and break their bodies down. Later when his seeds grew into a plant like him and joined his army, he would be able to exact the gift, the knowledge that his seeds had procured from the mind of the parasitized creatures.

To break down the mental defense of the human who had just become connected to his mind, he employed the most common tactic to make ordinary creatures submit.

One of the seeds in the human's bloodstream began to secrete a special liquid, a stimulant for his body. The humans called liquids like this hormones. But his 'hormones' were different.

This stimulant would directly provide the human's body the drive it needed to pursue a mutation. When ordinary creatures were assaulted by this drive, this sudden urge, they almost always gave in to the illusions immediately, knowing that they were in grave danger and any powers provided by a mutation might help them escape this powerful tree!

But this ultimately would lead them to their demise.

The entire stimulant reserve of his first seed mixed in with the human's body in a matter of seconds.

Eagerly, he waited for the human's mind to give in and shatter from the uncontrollable changes his body would experience upon his decision.

However, the human standing in front of him showed no reaction at all as seconds accumulated into a minute.