The world warped around Simon as he felt a transcendent shift into greater dimensions.

His brightly lit frame appeared, free-falling through the skies.

But his heart didn’t beat with fear — he felt euphoric as X Cells did their work.

Essence congealed into bright tendrils, weaving through his body to form a pulsating cocoon.

It streaked down from the skies like a falling star itself.

Essence fueled his evolution as he underwent metamorphosis.

Boom!

A cloud of dust accompanied by a wave of compressed wind. The earth caved from impact, forming a deep crater.

Sitting at the center, unharmed, was a brilliantly shimmering cocoon.

[Congratulations! You have undergone the first Evolution of Life. You have transcended the Shackled Rank and become an Awakened Rank lifeform.]

[You have been assigned to Zone 1 of the Origin Realm!]

[The Origin Realm is a land of myriad mysteries and opportunities. Your current soul state is unable to endure long durations of stay...]

[Current duration: 23h:42m:34s]

[If you die in the Origin Realm, you will be sent back to your world, and all loots and gains acquired during the current session will be forfeit. Dying will damage your bridge with the Origin Realm, which can take months to self-repair.]

Simon’s eyes fluttered open as the golden cocoon chipped.

Gleaming white cracks surfaced, spreading before it shattered completely. The shards swirled around his body, absorbed into nothing.

Simon stared at his hands as he clenched and unclenched.

He could feel the energy passing through his nodes, could feel the density of his heart as blood circulation skyrocketed.

His lungs had become a complex mechanism, stripping both oxygen and essence from the air with every breath.

Simon glanced at his surroundings, only to find himself in a rocky expanse. There was hardly any greenery except for sparse patches here and there.

The plains were jagged and uneven. The night sky didn’t help further, as the silver moon’s cadence could only light up so much.

Simon’s heart hammered against his ribs as he stared out into the darkness of the unknown.

Goosebumps rose across his skin with a sudden chill, as he felt something staring back at him from beyond the darkness.

But he had already prepared for this.

’If I don’t get stronger, would I still have the face to be Seth’s father anymore?’

In terms of raw talent, one could say old Simon was one of the most talented humans on Earth.

Unlike Seth, who had awakened a Royal-grade skill from the start, Simon had awakened Monarch-grade skills.

Naturally, the quality and density of his essence were leagues above anyone else.

On paper, he had every reason to be the more powerful one. But reality proved different.

Simon stepped forward into the cold embrace of the darkness beyond. His heart steeled. Just like the system explained, he didn’t have much time to waste.

He had to face the unknown to get stronger...

---

Back on the Savage Oasis... 𝘧𝓇ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝘣𝓃ℴ𝓋𝑒𝑙.𝑐𝘰𝑚

Crack!

A chip drew across a brilliantly lit cocoon.

Crackle!

Gleaming cracks spread wide before the shell made of pure energy shattered.

Revealing the beautiful figure of Elaine beneath.

Her jade skin glowed in the night sky, under the silver brilliance of the moon.

Her icy-blue hair billowed wildly as her naked frame levitated in mid-air before gently touching back to the earth.

Naturally, Seth had prepared them for their evolution, so she had a set of armor ready to wear the moment she came to.

Though it was merely Shackled Rank treasures, she had to make do with it.

A crystalline silky dress embraced her figure, fluttering wildly in the wind, making her appearance more enchanting.

Her vision lit up as the same welcome prompt appeared, giving the same context of the Origin Realm.

Her gaze narrowed. "To think this place could be even more wonderful than Seth expressed."

She was fascinated by the fact that death here wasn’t permanent. It made her marvel at the wonders of the Origin.

Suddenly, her head snapped toward a specific direction.

Her pupils glowed with a deathly chill, piercing through the veil of darkness.

She saw an Origin Beast — a being of countless legs and thick armored carapace, its mandibles clicking with a glint that promised to tear through flesh and bone.

She frowned. She wasn’t very strong. Yes, she had a Monarch-grade skill, but like Seth, due to her low stats, her combat output was severely limited.

And this monster felt unfathomably consolidated in strength compared to her.

A thin layer of frost crept over the grass around her as her essence churned.

It wasn’t like she could run now, could she?

Like unfathomably deep pools of ice, Elaine’s eyes just stared as the creature slowly encircled her.

And when the centipede felt it could strike, her skill pulsed with brilliant intensity!

She used a special effect of her skill — Winter’s Call.

A billowing haze of icy cadence blasted forth. Everything it passed was left frozen in an icy-blue crystalline texture.

The millipede was no exception. It let out a horrendous screech as the deathly chill sank into its being.

An attack that disregarded all its armor and strength, going straight for the kill.

This effect of Elaine’s skill was a powerful aspect that required vast sums of essence to use back when she was Shackled.

Instead of turning a corpse into a Frozen she could command, it turned the living into Frozen — freezing them from the inside out.

And now, bolstered by the essence of an Awakened Rank being, even at the early stage, it was countless times more powerful.

Seeing that her new skills seemed inaccessible at the moment, she had to make do with what she had.

Though her current physical prowess was nothing to write home about, her skill alone made her a powerhouse.

The millipede, who barely had time to strike, writhed in a struggle of life and pain.

Icy-blue patches surfaced on its skin but shattered right after. But the call of the frost was stronger than it could imagine.

It was like its own essence had turned against it, freezing its innards with every circulation.

Its body slowly grew stiff as the ice finally ebbed away the last reluctant bit of the beast’s life force.

The intent of the Origin descended. Elaine felt it.

[Congratulations! You have slain a Low Leader Grade Awakened Rank Creature!]

[You grow stronger...]

[+6 Strength]

A revitalizing chill spread through her cells as her strength rose palpably.

[Do you wish to sacrifice drops for intact corpse? Y/N]

This time it was her trophy, her prize. Her eyes flickered as her lips moved. "Yes."

The body of the Origin Beast sank into a deeper frosty chill. Its beady eyes now glowing blue snapped open.

It moved, bowing its head to its new master. The pressure of power it gave off was not one bit lesser than it once was.

That was the broken part about Elaine’s skill. Though she rose, she could build her army of undead unlike normal necromancers.

Her undead army would never get weaker, would never decompose, because they were protected by the endless frost and cold.

She stepped onto the back of the monster, and the ground began to tremor.

Her eyes flashed as a prompt appeared in her view.

[You have been detected to be outside the GreenFold settlem

ent!]

[You have met requirements for Special Time Quest Event!]

A soft smile played on her lips.

’Hehe, this time first place won’t be so easy, Seth~’