Right as the Evolution Process was completed, Kai reappeared once again in the middle of the forest he had been inside just a moment ago. However, something else than his appearance had changed.
"Isla...why is it that I feel cold? As if I don't have an ounce of warmth inside me."
"Most likely because of the Nocturne Dragon. They are known to be affiliated with the darkness affinity, which makes them extremely related to death itself. The way they gather their energy is also at night when the temperatures are at an all-time low," Isla said before forming a smile. "Nonetheless, there's a chance you inherited one of its abilities."
"Is the amount of abilities I inherit related to the Growth Stage of my Monster Evolution?"
"It is. The more evolved you are, the more abilities you will learn. And I just checked, but you didn't obtain any abilities from the Nocturne Dragon. Oh well, its bloodline was very degraded, so it's not surprising."
"I see," Kai answered, turning his attention toward his surroundings. Nothing much had changed within its absence as he could still see the same fishes as earlier jumping above the small river. However, when he looked to his left...he realized that there was something he had missed.
It wasn't a forest, or some kind of hidden cave. It was a small village in the middle of nowhere from the looks of it, a few kilometers from where he was standing. He could see a bunch of minuscule figures of humans walking and running around. The village wasn't too developed with few houses and infrastructures.
Still, seeing everyone having fun made Kai realize the unlucky situation he was in even more.
He also wanted to have fun and play with the rest of them. However, he couldn't. In fact, if he showed up to the village, then the only thing that would await him would be death. After all, he had no way of proving that he was a human, he couldn't even speak the human tongue...
He had no choice but to look away as a message popped up right in front of him.
[Please choose your nickname for the announcement.]
A frown found its way to Kai's face right away. 'What announcement are they even talking about?'
Not thinking too much about it, Kai dismissed the message. However, it reappeared right in his face once more. The game really wanted him to choose a nickname.
"A nickname? Well, uh...what should a monster call itself while being discreet..." Kai thought for a quick second, rubbing his chin until he found the best gamertag possible. "Notamonster."
He actually let out a giggle when he thought of the gamertag.
[Are you sure that you want to be named "Notamonster"?]
"Yes, I'm sure."
-Beep!
[Nickname confirmed. Announcement has been launched.]
The screen in front of him disappeared as that announcement seemingly took place. However, nothing appeared before Kai. There was no message, nothing. He wasn't sure how or why...hell he didn't even know if there was an announcement.
"Weird..."
Unknowingly to him, he was the only one who ignored the announcement's content as the rest of the world had received it.
[Player Notamonster has become the World's First Player to have Evolved!]
***
One hour later, the world was in turmoil from the game's first announcement.
Rich and powerful companies in the real world began searching for the player Notamonster in hopes of obtaining confidential information. However, due to the privacy measures in place by the game, it was a near-impossible task.
The game had made it so that no one could see the gamertags of others unless he accepted to do so on his own accord.
After many resources and time looking for Kai, people quickly gave up as they knew that the only way for them to find Kai would be for him to reveal himself on his own accord, which was the last thing he currently had on his mind. However, some people didn't give up as the entirety of the game forums was filled with Kai's name.
People knew that evolving so early into the game would make him extremely powerful, and some people were literally offering thousands to recruit him into their guilds. Video games had evolved so much over the past years that 90% of the population was a virtual gamer, with people earning hundreds of thousands every month through ads.
It only made sense for them to want to recruit a powerhouse so early into the game.
After all, evolving so early into the game wasn't something anyone could do. All the players had seen that it required them to either complete a hidden quest or reach level 100 to evolve further into their race. Thus, since it hadn't even been a day since the game had been released, everyone knew that Kai had completed a Hidden Quest, or so they thought.
***
While everyone was trying to find out about his identity, Kai was trying his best to become stronger, having no clue about what was happening in the outside world.
Due to his system and strange Monster Core, he didn't need to fight anything stronger than himself to grow stronger. Simply absorbing the energy from weaker creatures would make him grow and evolve, albeit a bit slower than if he were to fight against much stronger beasts. But Kai was in no rush. He knew that death in this game meant he would never be able to come back. His survival was his very first priority.
Thus, Kai was on the top of a tree branch, making sure to make as little noise as possible with every step he took. His instincts and abilities to move his body were getting better and better, and he didn't even need to think about how to move anymore. Everything felt natural as if ingrained within himself.
After taking a few more steps forward on the tree branch, he was right over the river, where a bunch of fish had been jumping. In fact, apart from those fish, there wasn't anything else close to him from the looks of it.
He hadn't seen any Gloomander ever since he had killed the one from earlier. The only monster he had been able to spot was those fish, which was why he was trying to kill some.
Kai stayed immobile for a few moments as he looked below him, licking his lips.
Then, his instincts kicked in, and he abruptly leaped downward, his mouth wide open.
-Splash!
He fell into the water, and while he was in midair, he snapped his teeth into one of those blue fish. The blood released from the fish caused the water to turn red for a short moment as Kai headed outside the river.
As soon as he came out and the fish stopped moving, a golden energy came off from the fish, powering up Kai's body.
However, over the last hour, Kai had gotten used to such a feeling as he simply uttered to Isla, "Absorb." It was the third fish he had caught, and he was getting better and better at this.
He also didn't want to Devour those fish, as their bloodlines would only create a very strange mix with his, and Kai was extremely scared of being unable to breathe air by evolving with a sea creature.
Instead, he simply absorbed their Monster Core Energy, strengthening his own. However, that wasn't the only effect it had on him, as the same messages as earlier appeared in front of him.
[You have gained 25 Experience Points toward the 3rd Growth Stage of Draconic Gloomander.]
[Growth Stage: (2/5 | 100/100)]
[You have reached the 3rd Growth Stage.]
[You have gained 5 Monster Energy for your Monster Core. Current Progress: 20/100]
Kai was excited when he saw that he had finally managed to reach the 3rd Growth Stage of the Draconic Gloomander. He couldn't wait to find out if he would obtain an ability out of it.
He noticed that he still had some work to do to increase the rank of his Core, but he didn't have time to think about it right now. Even stronger energy shrouded his body, and he felt it change almost instantly. He was back inside the endless white space as his body changed by the second.
Kai felt himself becoming taller and stronger, and he also felt something growing out of his ass. After the light dissipated, he noticed that a long green tail had grown out of his ass. However, that was only one of its changes, as he now had a few black scales mixed with his green ones.
However, what really caught Kai's eyes was the blue translucent message that had just appeared before him.
[New Ability Gained!]
[Ability: Shadow Claws]
[Description: A basic low-level ability of the monsters related to darkness and shadows, such as Shadow Bears, Shadow Wolves, or the Nocture Dragon. One imbues Monster Energy within one's claws, turning them into literal shadows and giving them the potential to cut through anything. The more energy imbued, the stronger the attack.]