"Is there any way I can advance the Ranks without these resources?" Seth didn’t want to give up hope.

[No, X cells are a vital element required to stimulate the genes in order to evolve into a higher form of life.]

[Trying to evolve without it is like trying to grow without food. As much as your body needs nutrients to grow, your genes need the X cell to evolve.]

"I see..." Seth sighed hopelessly.

Suddenly, a chime rang out. His pupils quickly darted to the Flash Sale screen.

[Flash Sale has begun!]

[Purchase: Cosmic Nectar (Unique Elixir) Y/N]

[Price: 320 Flash Points]

[Timer: 00:00:02]

Seth didn’t even blink as his finger punched the transparent Yes button.

[Congratulations! You Have Purchased Unique Elixir "Cosmic Nectar"!]

[Details: Also known as the Nectar of the Gods! Contains extreme concentration of X cells!]

[Warning: Vial contains 7 drops. In user’s current body, one drop will be an overdose. You will have to dilute a drop by a hundredth for safe consumption.]

Seth blinked. At this point, no one could convince him that this system wasn’t sentient.

What were the odds that the Flash Sale he happened to get right now was exactly what he needed?

Seth still hadn’t forgotten — in the beginning of all this, the system had communicated with him.

Though it hadn’t since, that was proof enough for him.

But regardless of sentience or not, Seth felt giddy.

Didn’t this mean he could advance?

His eyes flashed with excitement as he summoned a violet vial. Examining it, he instructed the Oracle:

"Tell me everything you know about evolving to a higher form of life."

The Oracle Crystal pulsed and bobbed in the air.

[Evolving to a higher form of life requires ingesting the crucial element X cells. By doing this, your genes become stimulated, and your physical body ascends to the Origin Realm, in which your existence will be reforged!]

Seth paused. "Origin Realm?"

[Yes, Host — the Origin Realm! This is a special plane, existing in a higher dimension of reality, accessible only to higher-level life forms.]

[The Origin Realm can be divided into zones, each zone corresponding to each Rank!]

[Once the Host evolves, you will become Awakened and you will be able to access Zone 1 of the Origin Realm!]

This... this just got more interesting!

Seth smacked his lips. A whole other plane, accessible to countless infinite life forms across the cosmos...

’Count me in!’ Seth’s expression lit up with excitement.

"Tell me more about this Origin Realm!"

The Oracle Crystal complied.

[The Origin Realm, as said previously, is a plane existing in a higher dimension. Unlike this dimension, there is nothing like space and planets — only infinite land.]

[A stretch of infinite land, containing Origin Beasts, countless resources, and boundless opportunities!]

[The Origin Realm can be accessed across all of space, making it accessible to all life forms connected to the Origin!]

Seth’s eyes literally lit up with stars. What more did he need to hear?

Heck, this made things even more exciting.

He didn’t waste time and rushed to the bathroom, switching on the water to pool the bathtub.

The moment he had made contact with the vial of Cosmic Nectar, information on how best to use it had flowed into his mind.

It could be ingested, it could be absorbed through pores — there was no difference in effect between the two methods.

Only the user’s preference mattered. Seth carefully extracted the smallest amount of nectar he could and...

"Oracle, scan this. Is this a hundredth of a drop?"

Seth didn’t dare be careless. After all, if the volume was even slightly higher, he’d explode and die!

[That is precisely 67th of a drop!]

Seth extracted a little bit more and asked again.

[156th of a drop.]

He reduced...

[91st of a drop.]

He added...

[121st of a drop.]

Seth carefully reduced...

[99th of a drop!]

’Fuck it, this will do.’ Seth muttered. The back and forth was already getting frustrating.

He was human, after all — not a perfect measuring machine.

Using his hands to stir, he mixed the nectar into the pool of water in the tub.

Slowly, the water darkened, sparkling glints flickering in its now abyssal depths.

It was a stunning sight as cosmic sparks swirled in the water like stars in the night sky.

Seth swallowed. To be honest, he was quite nervous.

Evolving to a higher form of life — his heart blazed with anticipation.

Those smug bastards thought they had put a cap on his potential...

He smiled deviously, flashes of what they had done to him and his father flickering in his mind.

"They really won’t see it coming!"

With that, he stripped naked and submerged himself into the pool.

Submerging his body totally in the water, leaving only his face afloat.

He closed his eyes and concentrated...

Slowly, he could feel the infiltration of an alien force... no, it wasn’t infiltrating. His pores sucked it in willingly.

Just like the instinctive reaction of a child sucking its mother’s breast, his pores became mini black holes, devouring all X cells hungrily.

He felt the sudden bubbling of his blood as a scalding heat flooded his veins.

But compared to what he had suffered at the Earth’s core, this wasn’t even worth mentioning.

His senses delved into his body. He could feel every organ, every muscle, every blood cell.

And he could feel it — everything organic about him fed on the X cells like starved dogs.

Crack! Pop!

His bones creaked and his joints popped. The transformation had begun, starting from his marrow.

His jaw clenched tight as he felt the ongoing pain of his organs morphing.

His lungs grew more complex, denser, capable of taking in more oxygen.

His heart was bolstered as his blood flow soared.

His body slowly transformed on a fundamental level.

As much as Seth felt pain, he could feel the exhilaration in his heart. He was becoming something more...

[Life evolution detected!!]

[Transportation to the Origin Realm has been initiated!]