[The Wings of Evolution have evolved.]

[All stat calibers heightened.]

[Converting Six Wings to Nine Wings.]

[Available Stats: Battle Force, Sorcery Force, Harmony Force, Draconic Mana, Demon Force, Wraith Force, Kinetic Force, Holy Force.]

...

Nine wings flashed from the crouched Seong-Hwi’s back. Their hexagonal vein pattern shone with a beautiful iridescent light.

“Urgh...” Seong-Hwi groaned as he withstood the intense pain, his face red from the blood rushing to his head.

His veins bulged and wriggled, and he could barely breathe because he was too preoccupied with reining in his amplified power. After a period of endurance, he finally stood up and took a deep breath.

“Huff! Huff! Huuu...”

Seong-Hwi opened his eyes, which flashed like lightning. He smiled as he felt the power in his Wings of Evolution, which had significantly increased.

“Since you’re not dead, I suppose you succeeded?” Lina asked.

Her black hair was extremely oily; it appeared she had not showered for a long time. The dark circles under her eyes were almost as big as her glasses.

“Yeah. Thanks to you, the number of wings went up to nine,” Seong-Hwi replied.

“You had five wings before, and brought me three genes, so there should be eight. Did you happen to pick one up on the way?”

Seong-Hwi smiled bitterly, recalling the monster he had met in the dungeon.

“I got a gift from an insane demon,” Seong-Hwi answered.

“An insane demon?”

“That’s all I’ll say about it for now. I’ll explain in more detail later. Oh, speaking of gifts, I have one for you, too.”

He changed the subject as he pulled a syringe out of his pocket and handed it to Lina.

[Doctor S.G.’s Syringe (Artifact)

Rank: F(0)

Description: A syringe that can hold 100 litres of blood. It currently stores 5 litres. The mixed blood can be separated at any time. The blood of 23 individuals is held at the moment.]

“An artifact?” Lina wondered.

“I found it in the dungeon I went to. I had a feeling you’d have a use for it.”

“What an interesting artifact. Thanks, I’ll make good use of it.”

Lina examined Doctor S.G.’s Syringe with great interest. Meanwhile, Seong-Hwi assessed his body.

First, I’ll invest all my Karma, he said inwardly.

[Health B(7) obtained.]

[Health B(11) obtained.]

[Strength B(9) obtained.]

...

He restored the stats, which had fallen from the heightening of his caliber, to their original values. He could save some Karma thanks to his new artifact, the Gold Necklace of Queen Consort Muryeong. He had 30,992,200 Karma remaining, meaning he could open three A-rank stat cubes. He already knew which stats to invest in.

I’ll open two Destiny Force cubes and one Magic cube. My Destiny Force has fully reached the superior caliber from the gene absorption.

Destiny Force was like fuel for Seong-Hwi. It was consumed alongside mana whenever he used Symbol Embodiment and Borrowing Destiny, and it could also be converted to other secondary forces through the Wings of Evolution. Considering the above reasons, it was only natural that he would open Destiny Force cubes and a Magic stat cube.

[Destiny Force A(7) obtained.]

[Destiny Force A(7) obtained.]

[Magic A(8) obtained.]

...

[Cheon Seong-Hwi

Health: B(69+30) Strength: B(69+30)

Dexterity: B(69+30) Sense: B(99)

Magic: A(16) Destiny Force: A(22)

Karma: 992,200

Coins: 280,034,225

Destiny Weapon: Tarot Deck of Destiny A(5)

Skills (6) Traits (6) Items (9) Cubes (2)]

No matter how much Karma I earn, it’s never enough.

The Karma he earned from helping to reclaim seven cities in three weeks instantly bottomed out.

I wonder if I’ll get Karma from the Adaptation quest?

Adaptation was a race quest that rewarded humans based on the extent they helped the Lambs over 150 days. Because many people normally participated in race or world quests, they tended to give immense rewards.

I’m sure I’ll get some, considering I helped with the reclamations.

About a month had passed since the Lambs were Lost. Since there were still around four months[1] left until the quest was over, Seong-Hwi would have to wait and see.

Jurie barged into the lab and shouted, “Seong-Hwi! I found the base of those Earthly Branches bastards!”

“You did? Where?”

“The Capella Circus Theater on Broadway! It’s a massive venue that can hold twenty thousand people.” Jurie shook her head and continued, “I’m sure those brazen sons of bitches are holding all the beastfolk in one place! I’ve contacted the Fox Village beastfolk, too!”

“Alright. I’ll head there right away.”

***

“Urgh!” Seo-Yeon grunted as she tumbled across the floor with a black snake wrapped around her.

“Huuu, you’re good, cutie. I almost lost sight of you,” Snake said irritably as she swept her hair back.

Codename: Snake of Earthly Branches! Nancy the Black Boa, 547th on the human ranking, Seo-Yeon said inwardly as she glared at the black woman.

She was the Semi Ranker Nancy, who had caught Seo-Yeon as she attempted to sneak out.

Yip! Yip!

Hiss!

Miho, Seo-Yeon’s D Weapon, struggled to escape the black snake’s constriction.

“Hoho, my Lara is sensitive to temperature. She can detect even the slightest temperature change,” Nancy said as she patted the black snake restraining Seo-Yeon. “That aside... So much for us letting you persuade your little sister with words, Rat.”

Seo-Gyeong, staring at Seo-Yeon with a hardened expression from behind Nancy, walked forward.

“Didn’t I tell you everything I’ve done is for you, Seo-Yeon? How could you try to run away from me despite all that?” he asked.

“Shut up! Everything you’ve told me is a lie! I won’t be fooled any longer!” Seo-Yeon shouted as she glared at him, her eyes filled with distrust. “I don’t think of you as my big brother anymore. You only want to use me, that’s all. You’re no family of mine! You’re just a filthy Dark Human!”

Seo-Yeon spat on Seo-Gyeong’s face.

Seo-Gyeong wiped off her spit silently and asked, “Who was it?”

“What?”

“Who told you about my D Weapon?”

Squeak! Squeak!

A small, brown rat appeared from inside his pocket. It was his D Weapon, a muskrat. Most humans with animal D Weapon established transformation rules, but Seo-Gyeong established a manipulation rule instead because it suited him better.

He manipulated the emotions of others through his rule to make allies and lower his enemies’ guard. He had thoroughly hidden his ability so that it wouldn’t be discovered.

Charming Musk has never been ineffective against Seo-Yeon. What changed? Seo-Gyeong wondered as he carefully examined Seo-Yeon.

He then asked, “I’ve never seen that earring before. Did someone give it to you?”

Seo-Yeon’s silence only confirmed to Seo-Gyeong that she knew about his ability.

“I don’t know how you found out, but it ends here. Take it off,” Seo-Gyeong ordered his muskrat.

It ran to Seo-Yeon and pulled out the earring.

[Canceling Debuff: Anosmia.]

“Huuup!” Seo-Yeon held her breath, but it did not stop the sweet scent from entering her nose. “Urgh... Stop! Stop it!”

“What a shame, my beloved little sister, Seo-Yeon. Why don’t you understand my feelings?” Seo-Gyeong remarked.

“Who are you calling your little sister?! You’re no family of mine!”

“That’s sad to hear.” Seo-Gyeong stared at Seo-Yeon’s face, red from holding her breath, and smiled chillingly. “We’re not family, huh? Kekek! Did you only realize that just now? We’re not even blood-related.”

“What?”

Seo-Gyeong bared his teeth and cackled, “Kekekek! Ahahaha! Did you forget we were raised in the same household? In that hell with a demented mother and an uncaring father? How could you still believe in family after that? You’re so naive!”

Seo-Yeon shouted in rage, “Don’t you dare... insult my mom!”

“Mom? You call that a mom? More like a psycho.”

“Shut up!”

“Kekek! A family, huh? I suppose we were, albeit a fake one. Everything about us was fake from the beginning.”

Seo-Gyeong approached Seo-Yeon and raised her by her neck, choking her.

“Kurgh!”

“Let me ask you again. Who told you about my D Weapon?”

“Gurgh...” Seo-Yeon groaned as she smiled and spat on Seo-Gyeong’s face again. “If you want to know, you’ll have to make me talk, you filthy rat!”

“You’re as bad-mouthed as always, my little sister... I’ll make it so you can never run your mouth,” Seo-Gyeong remarked as he activated an upgraded version of Charming Musk.

[Activating Unique Skill: Brainwashing Musk.]

An even sweeter scent filled the surroundings. He grabbed Seo-Yeon’s chin and forced her mouth open to make her inhale.

“Kurgh! Cough! Cough!”

“Well, I’m glad you think we’re not a family. I won’t have to feel bad about being cruel to you,” he remarked with a smile.

He thought, I’ll just break your mind and brainwash you. You’ll become a puppet that only follows my orders!

Seo-Gyeong had to do this sooner or later since he needed full control of the Millennium Nine-Tailed Fox. He planned to brainwash her slowly over time, but now that it had come to this, he decided to dominate her mind by force, even if it would damage her brain.

“Now! Kill those damn foxes and eat their livers!” he shouted.

Just then, a massive explosion sounded from outside and shook the basement.

“Snake! What’s going on?!” he asked.

“W-wait a second... Let me detect—Gasp! Humans are surrounding the base! There are at least over a thousand!”

“What?”

Seo-Gyeong’s eyes widened as he wondered, A thousand? Has the Union already taken action?

Seo-Yeon, still being strangled by Seo-Gyeong, stared at his darting eyes and smiled.

“Heh... Did you think—Kurgh! I came here... without any preparation?”

She had summoned Ma Sang-Sik, a trustworthy subordinate, after reading Seo-Gyeong’s letter and told him to go to the spec force captain, Douglas Montgomery, if she did not return by the promised time.

“Dammit!”

Seo-Gyeong slapped Seo-Yeon, sending her flying across the room. Seo-Yeon trembled on the ground, resisting the mana of Brainwashing Musk.

The pale-faced Nancy turned to Seo-Gyeong and asked, “What do we do now, Rat?!”

“What else?! We stop them!”

“This is the Capital! We can’t win! We have to run!”

“Send the Heavenly Stems and make them stand their ground! I’ll be there soon after creating the ultimate weapon!” Seo-Gyeong grabbed Seo-Yeon by her hair and dragged her to the cages holding the fox beastfolk. “I refuse to submit until we’re ready to retreat!”

***

Thumper, who had become well-versed in the Capital’s layout from his daily adventuring, guided the Fox Village beastfolk and Seong-Hwi.

“Are we heading the right way, Thumper?!” Stroppa asked.

“Yeah! This way! There it is!” Thumper answered as he pointed at a giant, colorful tent, the Capella Circus Theater.

However, others had arrived before them.

“Earthly Branches! Come out with your hands up!”

“Dark Human Kim Seo-Gyeong! You have run the spec force’s reputation through the mud!”

“Earthly Branches is over! Come clean and be tried willingly!”

Seong-Hwi stared at the humans forcing themselves into the theater and mumbled, “It’s the spec force.”

Stroppa and the other fox beastfolk charged at the circus theater.

“Yowl! Out of the way!”

“Follow the chief!”

“Our fellow fox beastfolk are inside!”

The spec force members were caught off guard by the fox beastfolk’s intimidating charge.

“What the hell?”

“They’re fox beastfolk!”

“They’re from Fox Village! What do we do?”

A mana ball the size of a fist was suddenly shot at the fox beastfolk.

“Hah!” Stroppa shouted as he gathered mana and Beast Force on his right fist and punched the mana ball, creating a dust cloud. He blew away the dust with his tail and asked, “Yowl! Who dares get in my way?!”

“Whoa there, don’t be so impatient,” a man said as he walked out of the crowd of spec force members.

He was a middle-aged white man, chewing gum as he leaned on one foot. He tapped his shoulder with a cue stick as he stared at the fox beastfolk.

He continued, “Let me tell you something, beastfolk. This is the Capital, a human city. I ask that you stop running wild.”

“Our people are held in there! Step aside now!”

“You must be Stroppa. I read your interview. You seemed to be a good talker, but I suppose you’re not a good listener.” The man pointed at the circus theater with his cue stick and said, “The spec force has already broken in. Outsiders should stay out.”

“Who are you calling outsiders?! The residents of our city are held in there!”

“It hasn’t even been confirmed that the fox beastfolk are in there. I ask that you consider our position as well. We’ve been called incompetent left and right lately, so we can’t afford to suck our thumbs and wait as we leave things for another race to handle.”

Stroppa shouted in rage, “How dare you?! What right do you have to get in our way?! Will you take responsibility if your actions break down the relationship between the Union and Barbaria?!”

The man sighed and shook his head. “Huuu. Look, diplomacy isn’t that simple. We are simply preventing the fox beastfolk of Fox Village from obstructing our work. We are not picking a fight with Barbaria as a whole.”

He then slammed his cue stick on the ground and continued, “Also... by what right, you ask? I’m Douglas Montgomery, the captain of the special cases task force, seventeenth in the human ranking. I think I have plenty of right.”

Douglas exuded mana as ferocious as Stroppa’s Beast Force.

He declared, “I will execute my foolish subordinate myself.”

“Yowl! If you will not let us through, we will get through by force!”

Seeing that words would not convince Douglas, Stroppa charged at him as he activated a skill.

[Activating Unique Skill: Black Fox Feet.]

Black footprints remained on the ground with each step he took. Fox clones that looked exactly like Stroppa were generated from his footprints and simultaneously charged at Douglas.

“Impressive,” Douglas remarked.

“I will not hold back! Move if you don’t want to get hurt!”

Stroppa took fifty steps as he approached Douglas. In other words, fifty Stroppas charged at Douglas. Douglas calmly pointed his cue stick at Stroppa.

“Very well, let’s play,” he said as he activated a skill.

[Activating Unique Skill: Billiards.]

Mana balls of different colors gathered to form a triangle. A white ball appeared before Douglas’s cue stick, and he hit it.

“Nice shot!” he shouted.

The white ball hit the colorful mana balls gathered into a triangle, and they flew everywhere like a shotgun. The clash between Douglas and Stroppa echoed throughout the surroundings.

“Ahhh! This is bad, Friend Seong-Hwi! What do we do? We’re fighting the wrong people!” Thumper expressed his worries as he hopped in place, but Seong-Hwi did not answer. “Huh? Friend Seong-Hwi?”

Thumper looked around, but Seong-Hwi, who had been beside him until now, was nowhere in sight.

1. The original text said three months for some reason, but if my math is correct, it should be four... ☜