Chapter 5: Second Evolution

On a certain island—

Boom!

A volcano erupted. Crimson lava flowed downward as thick smoke billowed into the sky, blotting out the sun. A harmless little white dove slowly flew past.

"Hello everyone, welcome to Ivy’s livestream. I’m your host Ivy. As you can see, this round of Evolution Battle Royale has already reached a critical stage!"

"As players continue to grow stronger, the game has quietly entered the era of ancient beasts awakening. Let’s look forward to what comes next..."

Game streaming was a hugely popular profession in this world.

Streamers might not be the strongest players, but they had massive audiences. Ivy was one of them, a top-tier streamer with enormous popularity.

Of course, the biggest reason was simple.

She was stunning, with long legs and a great figure, paired with solid gameplay skills. She consistently ranked among the top three streamers.

Her chat was flooded with messages.

"Ivy baby!!!"

"Evolution Battle Royale today, nice."

"Ancient beasts are no joke."

"True, but it’s also an opportunity. If you take one down, you’ll snowball instantly."

"Easier said than done. Those things are huge and tanky. Even if they stand still, you might not break their defense."

"Fair point."

"This is where the skill gap shows. I remember someone from a major guild soloed an ancient beast on stream."

"Derek from AXN, right? I remember that name!"

"Yeah, that’s him!"

Ivy circled above the island. Unfortunately, she hadn’t spotted any awakened ancient beasts here, leaving her slightly disappointed.

"Guess I’ll check somewhere else... hm?"

Suddenly, she froze and looked up.

The sky had darkened.

It was as if something had completely blocked out the sunlight.

"What’s going on?"

Before she could figure it out—

Boom!

A colossal claw descended from the sky. It was unimaginably massive, like a pillar holding up the heavens. It slammed into the ocean, sending waves soaring.

One surge of water later, the island below was completely submerged.

"You’ve got to be kidding me!!!"

Snapping back to her senses, Ivy stared in shock, unable to believe what she was seeing.

Even ancient beasts shouldn’t be this big.

At the same time, her viewers witnessed the scene.

The chat froze for a split second.

Then exploded.

"What the hell!!!"

"What the hell what the hell what the hell!!!"

"WTF is that?!"

"Are there ancient beasts that big in this game? I’ve never heard of this!"

"Hidden event? Did someone trigger something?"

"Ivy, get closer!"

"I have megalophobia, I’m done for!"

"That’s just a claw. How big is the whole thing?"

"Isn’t this like an endgame boss?"

"Bro, even in late game, this isn’t something players can handle."

Roar!

A deafening roar came from the sky. Thick clouds were torn apart instantly as a blazing blue beam crashed down into the ocean.

Another wave surged skyward.

This time, Ivy finally saw it.

A monstrous, awe-inspiring super beast hovered in the sky. Its golden eyes shone like suns, and from its mouth erupted a massive blue beam of destruction.

Ivy’s pupils shrank.

"Is it trying to destroy the planet?!"

The chat surged again.

"That beast looks insane!"

"So cool!"

"It’s blowing up the planet? This is insane!"

The stream didn’t last much longer.

The planet’s fate had already been sealed the moment Caelum unleashed his Plasma Breath.

In an instant, the beam pierced through the planet’s core.

The overflowing energy erupted violently, tearing the entire planet apart into countless fragments. Everything on it, all life and all players, were wiped out instantly.

The explosion blasted Caelum into space. Fortunately, his body was tough enough that aside from some pain, he was unharmed.

At that moment—

Evolution Points surged wildly.

[Evolution Points +220]

[Evolution Points +11800]

[Evolution Points +80]

[Evolution Points +1000000]

[Evolution Points +600000]

Caelum skipped the details and checked the total.

[Evolution Points: 15132987543]

15.1 billion Evolution Points.

The sheer number filled him with excitement. Even more surprising, the prompt for evolution appeared again.

[Evolution Points reached 1000000000]

[Spend 1000000000 Evolution Points to perform Second Evolution?]

[Upon completion, you will gain a new form and advance to Tier 3 Life]

"I can still evolve further at this level?"

Caelum was stunned.

No need to overthink it.

As usual, he upgraded himself first. In his Celestial Colossus state, a single full enhancement now cost 100 million Evolution Points.

But 100 million meant nothing to him now.

[Consumed: 1000000000 Evolution Points]

[All Attributes Enhanced +1]

[Hundredfold Enhancement Triggered]

[All Attributes Enhanced +100]

Then—

[Consumed: 1000000000 Evolution Points]

[Second Evolution initiated]

The evolution began.

Starlight poured down, intertwining with the boundless darkness of space. Cosmic energy formed a shell around Caelum’s body, encasing him completely.

Once again, he fell into a deep sleep.

Silently, his second evolution progressed as he drifted through the galaxy, pushed deeper into space by passing meteors.

At the same time—

The real world exploded with chaos.

The reason was simple.

Ivy’s livestream had captured the moment Caelum destroyed the planet.

It drew massive attention.

The topic surged to the top of trending lists. The Evolution Battle Royale forums became more active than ever.

Because nothing like this had ever happened before.

Players flooded the discussions.

"Has anyone figured out what that thing is?"

"Ancient beast?"

"More like a cosmic beast from outer space."

"I just want to know how to trigger this event and how to kill it. Where are the strategy teams? Stop sleeping and get to work!"

From beginning to end—

Not a single person made the bold guess.

That this wasn’t an ancient beast.

Nor a cosmic monster.

But a player.