Since there's a hidden evolution path, Ethan wasn't about to let it slip through his fingers.
Double the evolution points? That kind of cost was nothing to him.
Right now, he had over 130,000 evolution points. A mere 20,000? Barely a dent.
[Hidden evolution path selected successfully. This evolution will cost 30,000 evolution points. Proceed?]
"Thirty thousand?" Ethan's mouth twitched slightly.
What about next time? Would it be 40,000?
If the system kept up its usual pattern, the next evolution would probably cost 100,000 points. And if it quadrupled, that'd be a whopping 400,000!
As expected, the system was never innocent. Every design felt like a trap laid by a greedy merchant, perfectly crafted to drain players of their resources.
"Whatever. Evolution points are meant to be spent anyway." Ethan sighed and finally hit confirm.
[Congratulations! You've spent 30,000 evolution points to evolve into the hidden path: Scarlet Skeleton Vanguard. Evolution time: 10 minutes.]
[Evolution commencing.]
As the system notification faded, Ethan's consciousness began to dim. The green flames in his eye sockets flickered out, and his skeletal body was enveloped in a crimson glow.
Lily stood at the cave entrance, watching Ethan through the defensive formation of summoned Skeleton Warriors. Her gaze was fixed on him, unblinking.
When she saw his bones gradually being covered in a blood-red hue, realization dawned on her. "Oh, I see. Mr. Bones is evolving again…"
She lowered her staff, resting her chin in her hands, her eyes brimming with curiosity.
"No wonder he asked me to summon Skeleton Warriors to guard him."
Her gaze lingered on Ethan, her mind swirling with questions and intrigue. Who exactly is Mr. Bones?
From the moment she met him, his combat style had always baffled her.
His monster-slaying techniques were so precise and practiced, as if every move had been honed through countless battles.
His awareness and reaction speed were almost inhuman. Every seemingly casual sidestep would miraculously avoid danger at the last possible moment.
At first, Lily thought Mr. Bones' strange movements were just random, uncoordinated steps.
But over time, she realized those "random" movements had an almost supernatural effectiveness.
Skeletons were naturally slow. Normally, after landing a single strike, it was nearly impossible for them to dodge an enemy's counterattack.
Yet Mr. Bones' footwork always allowed him to narrowly evade the Stone Golems' crushing blows. Sometimes, he even left those lumbering monsters standing there, completely confused.
If it weren't for the limitations of his skeletal body, which clearly held him back, his strength would probably be terrifying.
Lily even suspected that Mr. Bones could potentially take down four Stone Golems at once without taking a single hit!
That kind of movement… it felt oddly familiar.
Suddenly, a name popped into her mind—Phantom Step.
It was a legendary footwork technique created by her idol, a god-tier player.
The essence of Phantom Step was its ability to move like a shadow—attacking and then instantly repositioning to blindside the enemy, staying in their blind spot at all times.
She had only ever seen Phantom Step in her idol's tutorial videos.
In the game, with her current skill level, she couldn't even dream of pulling off such an advanced technique.
But Mr. Bones' movements… they seemed similar to Phantom Step. Not identical, but close.
Lily couldn't be sure if it was truly Phantom Step, but one thing was certain: Mr. Bones was no ordinary player.
"I wonder if I could learn it too?" A flicker of hope crossed Lily's mind.
But she quickly shook her head, laughing bitterly at herself for even entertaining the thought.
Her classmate Ryan, who was widely recognized as one of the best players in their school, had spent years obsessing over the game. Even then, he'd only barely managed to grasp the basics of Phantom Step, and could only pull it off occasionally.
As for her… mastering such a high-level technique was probably out of the question.
"Beep…"
Just as she was lost in thought, a sudden notification sound broke her reverie.
Lily's vision went black.
"Crap!" Her heart sank.
That sound… it was the warning for a power outage in her VR headset!
"It's over, it's all over! My Mr. Bones…"
The moment Lily took off her VR headset, she couldn't help but let out a sharp scream. "Landlady! Help me!"
The creaky, old security door clicked open, and a middle-aged woman with a hefty build stood in the doorway. Her face was scrunched up in irritation, and her tone was anything but friendly.
"What are you yelling about? Have you paid the rent? What about the utilities?"
"Uh… I…" Lily instantly deflated, her voice shrinking to a whisper, barely louder than a mosquito's buzz.
Right then, her stomach let out an untimely growl, loudly protesting its neglect.
It was only at that moment that Lily realized something: not only was her in-game character starving, but her real-life self hadn't eaten in what felt like forever.
"Tch. I've already cut off your water and electricity. Pay the rent first, then we'll talk."
Bang!
The door slammed shut with a force that made the walls tremble. The landlady's figure disappeared, leaving Lily standing there, dumbfounded and utterly dejected.
Still, she didn't complain much.
Even though the landlady's tone was harsh, Lily knew the woman had a good heart. She'd helped her out more times than Lily could count, even when she didn't have to.
"Ugh, guess I'll have to borrow some money from Chloe again." Lily sighed, picking up her ancient, five-year-old phone from the desk.
The phone's screen was covered in scratches, and the touch response was so slow it could drive anyone insane. After several failed attempts—freezes, crashes, and endless lag—she finally managed to dial her best friend Chloe's number.
"Hello? Chloe? I need to talk to you about something…"
"Ah… oh… uh-huh, what's up?" Chloe's voice came through the line, but it sounded… off. There were pauses, strange noises, and a weird rhythm to her words.
"What are you doing?" Lily asked, her cheeks flushing slightly as she picked up on the odd tone.
"N-nothing! Nothing at all! Just tell me what you need… ah! Don't worry… you know me! I'm… always… super… helpful! I'd never… turn… you… down… ah!"
The unmistakable sound of moaning filled the line.
"Oh, I know you're the best!" Lily said with a playful laugh, her tone carrying a hint of teasing. "So, here's the thing—I was hoping to borrow—"
Beep, beep, beep.
The call abruptly disconnected.
Lily froze, her hand still holding the phone mid-air.
"…"
For a long moment, the room was silent. Then, a scream erupted from her bedroom, loud enough to shake the walls.
"DAMN YOU, CHLOE! WE'RE DONE! DONE! FRIENDSHIP OVER!"
Lily's face was flushed with anger, her cheeks puffed out like an angry chipmunk. She was so furious she nearly choked on her own frustration.
Gurgle… gurgle…
Her stomach growled again, reminding her of her hunger. This time, it was so loud it almost echoed in the room. Lily slumped back into her chair, on the verge of tears.
Just then, her phone screen lit up with a notification.
Ding! AT&T Notification: Your account balance is overdue by $30. Service suspension is now active. Please make a payment within 24 hours to restore your service and avoid additional fees. Manage your account easily at att.com or via the AT&T app.
Lily stared at the message, her entire body stiffening.
"Oh my god… I can't catch a break!" She pouted, her lips trembling with frustration, but deep down, she knew there was nothing she could do.
Go home?
She didn't want to.
Sell her in-game gear?
She couldn't bring herself to do it.
After all, most of her equipment had been earned with Ethan's help. Selling it would feel like betraying him.
And besides… with the power out, she couldn't even log in to sell anything.
"What am I supposed to do…" Lily groaned, running her fingers through her hair in frustration. She slumped back into her chair, completely defeated.
Beep…
Just as Lily was about to give in to despair, the only working appliance in her room—a battered old electric fan—sputtered to life with a rhythmic clack-clack-clack, its blades slowly spinning again.
The power… was back!
"Today's your last day! If you don't pay the rent, you're out of here, you little brat!" The landlady's voice rang out from the hallway, still as sharp and grumpy as ever.
But then, after a brief pause, she added, "Oh, and don't forget to come over for dinner tonight. I've got some leftover pizza piling up, and I can't finish it all."
Her tone was still harsh, but Lily's heart warmed at the words. A bright smile spread across her face.
"Landlady's all bark and no bite, as always," she murmured with a chuckle.
Rubbing her growling stomach, she sighed. "Ugh… looks like I'll have to talk to Mr. Bones about this. Otherwise…" Her voice trailed off, and her expression dimmed slightly.
She shuffled over to the sink, gulped down a mouthful of tap water to suppress her hunger, and then grabbed her second-hand VR headset. It was a clunky, outdated model she'd picked up from a flea market, but it still worked—barely.
Sliding it back on, she logged into the game.
In the game world, only about thirty seconds had passed.
Ethan was still in the middle of his evolution, motionless and surrounded by a crimson glow. But Lily quickly noticed something alarming: her character's survival stats—hunger, thirst, and stamina—were all flashing red.
She'd been ignoring them for hours.
In truth, her character had been on the brink of collapse for at least three hours now.
Her VR headset, being a fifth-hand relic, hadn't come with any starter supplies when she created her character. She'd scavenged a few water sources along the way, but she'd been too afraid to stop and rest, worried it might delay Ethan's evolution.
She didn't know why Ethan was so obsessed with grinding monsters, but she did know one thing: she couldn't afford to be a burden to him.
But now, the hunger and thirst debuffs had triggered the game's dizziness mechanic. Her screen blurred, and the system forced her into a twenty-minute offline recovery period.
Her character collapsed right in front of Ethan.
Nine minutes later, Ethan's empty eye sockets flared to life. The green flames that had once burned within them were now replaced by a searing crimson blaze.
His skeletal frame, once pale and lifeless, was now coated in a molten crimson glow, radiating an intense, fiery aura.
[Evolution complete!]