<div> Chapter 49: First Evolutionary Step
 Adyr stood in silence, watching the light fade from the wolf’s eyes.
 He didn’t move. Didn’t speak. He simply felt the soul leaving the body, a strange sense of peace washing over him, as if bearing witness to a personal ritual.
 He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. Slowly, his muscles relaxed, and a calm settled over him. It wasn’t his own, not entirely. It belonged to the thing inside him, the monster. Its hunger had finally been satisfied, its thirst for blood quieted since yesterday.
 Now, with the fight over, his attention shifted. From the corner of his eye, he caught movement—tiny figures watching him through a crack in the cave wall.
 The pups.
 The moment they realized he had seen them, they scurried back into the shadows.
 Adyr walked over slowly and peered inside. Five wolf pups huddled together, trembling, drawing what little courage they could from one another’s closeness.
 "Sorry, boys. That’s how the world works. You should know it by instinct," he muttered with a sigh. Though still small now, in a year, they would grow into ferocious beasts like their parents.
 Then, reaching behind him, he unwrapped the bundle of leather tied to his back and pulled out the Dawn Raven.
 Since yesterday’s meal, it had looked healthy, but signs of hunger had begun to show. Normally, it fed at least one person a day. By now, it was starving.
 Adyr loosened its muzzle and released it toward the pups.
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 </div> As the creature moved in to feed, he turned away and walked back to the two dead adult wolves.
 "Now, let’s see what you have for me," he muttered, kneeling down. With practiced movements, he skinned the wolf using his short sword, then cracked open its skull.
 Just like with the old alpha, he found a single energy crystal inside—Level 2.
 It pleased him, but also brought unease. This confirmed it. If these wolves carried energy crystals, then the pack was definitely under the influence of a Spark. Yet there was still no sign of one.
 He repeated the process on the second wolf, extracting its crystal, cleaning both carefully, and swallowing them to absorb their energy.
 [You have consumed an Energy Crystal (Lv.2). Your Energy has increased by 1.]
 [Energy]: 13.6 / 25 → 14.6 / 25
 ...
 freēwebnovel.com [Energy]: 14.6 / 25 → 15.6 / 25
 Once he was done, he turned toward where the Dawn Raven had been left. It had already finished its work, and all that remained were five small skeletons.
 He picked up the creature and secured its muzzle once more. Then, with little hope, he checked the remains.
 To his surprise, a smile formed on his face.
 "With these, I can finally evolve," he said quietly.
 In his hand was a Level 2 energy crystal—just like the others. With the crystals from the other skeletons, he now had five in total. Exactly enough to trigger his evolution.
 —
 After leaving the cave, Adyr returned to the village—but didn’t head straight to the underground shelter.
 Instead, he searched for a clean, sturdy house. One that was spacious, structurally sound, and easy to defend. Once he found it, he stepped inside.
 The interior resembled a typical village home. It hadn’t been touched in two days—everything was left as it was, scattered and unsettled.
 Adyr locked the door behind him and double-checked the windows, making sure he was safe. Then he removed the leather bundle from his back, loosened the straps, and met the eyes of the Dawn Raven.
 "Hey, buddy. How are you feeling?" He asked with a faint smile.
 He had finally reached twenty energy—and it was time to take the first evolution step. And he had chosen to do it with the Dawn Raven.
 Vesha had warned him to wait. She said there might be other rank 1 Sparks that could serve him better. But Adyr didn’t care.
 It wasn’t just about strength or utility. There was something personal in this choice. He had formed a connection with the Dawn Raven. It was the first Spark he had encountered, the first he had touched, and he wanted it to hold a special place in this new life.
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 </div> This wasn’t just a decision—it was a ritual.
 The Dawn Raven gave no response. Maybe it didn’t understand what was coming. Or maybe it was just a dull Spark. Either way, it didn’t matter.
 Adyr opened the system interface and began scrolling through the log, searching for the earlier messages.
 [You captured a spark. Do you want to start your evolution process?]
 – Cost: 20 Energy
 – Rewards:
 Evolutionary step: Dawn Human
 Unlock: [Sanctuary]
 Unlock: [Spark]
 "Let’s see what this evolution is about," Adyr murmured, a flicker of anticipation stirring within him. Then, calmly, he said, "Yes."
 Almost immediately, he felt it—the familiar yet still strange energy within him beginning to siphon out. But unlike the Talent Register process, it wasn’t vanishing into the void. This time, it gathered visibly, surrounding both him and the Dawn Raven in a shimmering, translucent glow.
 The hue reminded him of the same mysterious light he had seen when first unlocking the fifth path.
 The energy lingered for a moment, wrapping around them, binding the two forms together. Then the Dawn Raven began to dissolve into pure energy, its body fading as it merged with the glowing aura.
 The entire mass of light started flowing into Adyr, pouring into every pore of his skin, every fiber of his being.
 Up until that point, all he had felt was warmth and calm.
 But the moment the last trace of energy entered his body, it hit.
 A violent spasm surged through him. It felt as though every muscle was being reshaped, carved with a blade. His body burned from the inside out.
 Yet he didn’t flinch. Not a sound, not a twitch. He knelt there, perfectly still.
 He welcomed it.
 Every wave of pain. Every internal shift. He absorbed it all, feeling power take root beneath the agony.
 From every pore and sweat gland, a thick, dark, foul-smelling fluid began to seep out. His body was purging itself, expelling waste and weakness. Beneath the grime, his pale skin began to shift—brighter, firmer, subtly radiant.
 His irises changed. The deep brown darkened further, becoming pure black, endless in depth.
 His fingernails and toenails detached and fell to the ground, only to be replaced moments later by sharp new ones, tearing through the skin as they grew. They looked human, but up close, they glinted with a faint metallic sheen.
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 </div> And then, the most dramatic change began—on his back.
 His shoulder muscles tensed. His skin tore open along his shoulder blades with a sickening crack. From the wounds, white bone erupted and arched outward.
 The bones shaped themselves into a perfect pair of wings. Flesh quickly formed over them, followed by feathers as white as snow. And with it came something else—his mind stirred. A strange sensation rippled through his thoughts, like memories not his own being forcefully inserted.
 They weren’t memories of a life lived but genetic memories—instinctual knowledge passed through blood.
 Flight. Hunting. Survival.
 The core instincts of the Dawn Raven now lived inside him.
 When the final wave of transformation passed, Adyr slowly rose to his feet.
 Behind him stretched a pair of majestic wings, nearly two meters long, white as fallen snow. He gave them a slow, heavy beat.
 They didn’t feel foreign. They felt natural.
 As natural as his arms or legs.
 If he had been standing under an open sky, he might have taken off without hesitation.
 He then opened the updated status panel and examined the changes.</div>
 

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Chapter 49: First Evolutionary Step

Chapter 49: First Evolutionary Step Adyr stood in silence, watching the light fade from the wolf’s eyes. He didn’t move. Didn’t speak. He simply felt the soul leaving the body, a strange sense of peace washing over him, as if bearing witness to a personal ritual. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. Slowly, his muscles relaxed, and a calm settled over him. It wasn’t his own, not entirely. It belonged to the thing inside him, the monster. Its hunger had finally been satisfied, its thirst...

Unholy Player

Chapter 49: First Evolutionary Step

Unholy Player - Chapter 49: First Evolutionary Step