The X Cell seeped into their systems, spreading like wildfire.

A rush of heat ignited from their abdomens as their cells devoured in a frenzy.

Their bodies seemed to have found a new path toward evolution, and every cell embraced this new biological data.

Their muscles squirmed, their bones creaked, their arteries restructured, and extra sets of essence pathways were formed.

Their brains developed the embryo of a new organ sitting at the front of their foreheads — the legendary third eye.

The true reason Awakened creatures could release their wills from their bodies.

Their skin shed in flakes, toxins seeping out from their pores.

Biology wasn’t the only thing acting. Essence simmered bright around all five figures, forming physical tendrils. The pure, chilling essence of Origin coiled into their bodies, reforging them in the heart of its mighty torrents.

Seth wasn’t idle. This was the perfect chance.

Their minds were in a euphoric state, so they would find it hard to resist.

His will spilled, seeping into the bodies of his friends, coiling through their systems and witnessing their entire beings evolve at once.

His will sank further, beyond the physical plane, beyond the chaotic realm of pure energy. His will strained.

Seth gritted his teeth as it felt like he was stretching himself too thin. A tiny backlash and his will would crumble — which would lead to his mind fracturing.

But Seth was in a trance-like state, his control of his will showing impeccable edge.

He caught a glimpse of what he was searching for. Even though it was merely a peek at the void of souls, it was enough to rattle his mind stiff.

His brain suddenly grew murky, aches pulsed from every side, blood streamed down his lips and nose.

But Seth’s eyes still remained tightly closed, sitting in a lotus position at the center of his friends.

He understood why his brain was breaking down — he had consumed a level of information his intelligence stat was nowhere near enough to process.

But Seth still pushed on. His jaws clenched so tight blood seeped from his gums.

He merely had this little juncture of a few minutes before their bodies were whisked away to the Origin Realm.

His will congealed, forming knots which he anchored blindly to their souls, since he no longer dared take a look around this new void layer deep in human existence.

The knot was weak before the brilliant luster of the soul, but it still met its target, anchoring quite smoothly.

It was at this point, in tandem, Seth felt the space roiling around all four. His eyes narrowed. No — the Origin wouldn’t take them.

He would.

He reached out to the brilliant Origin Gate revolving with myriad clusters like a galaxy in his mind.

Space warped around his figure, and just before it swallowed him whole, he tugged on his will, yanking all four of his buddies with him.

Their silhouettes barreled through a tunnel at the bridge of realities, and before they could even take a good look, space bled them out into their destination.

[Welcome to the Origin Realm!]

Their bodies simmered in the night sky, plummeting into streaks like falling stars.

Essence flowed into their bodies in waves. They evolved further, breaking through the restraints of the Shackled Rank.

Blinding bright essence spiraled around them, congealing into cocoons of sorts, landing in various regions of the Savage Oasis.

No matter how Seth tried, he couldn’t drag them to his pinpoint location. He could only settle for bringing them into the Oasis. 𝘧𝓇ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝘣𝓃ℴ𝓋𝑒𝑙.𝑐𝘰𝑚

He stared at the sky as their glares pulsed like falling stars, drawing simmering streaks in their wake.

He could only silently pray for them in his heart.

If things went as he wanted, he’d bring them with him and they could face the Night Hoard together. As the strongest, he could guarantee their safety.

But the truth was that this would hinder their path of progression. After all, the more near-death encounters a human faced, the stronger they became.

So though this outcome was undesirable to Seth, it was still the best he could hope for.

Suddenly, a screen flashed in his view.

[You have been detected to be outside of the range of the GreenFold settlement!]

[You have triggered a Special Time Event Quest!]

[Details: A certain Saint once had a treasure, one guarded by monsters fed his will, to burn with a savage intensity.]

[Clear condition: Vanquish the Night Hoard and claim the treasure!]

[Rewards: Still processing...]

Seth smiled. It was just as he thought. The moment he heard about the Night Hoard the first time, it got him thinking.

The Origin was a universal order, but even it had a set of rules and goals to achieve.

And one glaring thing Seth couldn’t help but notice was the fact that the Origin functioned like a game.

Meaning a lot of things would be similar. So when he heard that there was a Night Hoard that trampled on whoever remained outside the GreenFold settlement by nightfall...

To Seth, this smelled too much like an event trigger more than anything else.

Seth could already feel the faint reverberations of the stampede of whatever type of Origin Beasts loomed closer.

Fortunately, he had gotten everything he needed back from those thieving elders.

That included his Grim Executioner’s legendary set.

One had to recall, this was an evolvable item. And this stuff was too goddamn useful and powerful, which was why Seth could never pass up on a chance to evolve it.

A private quest page appeared before his eyes.

[Royal Grade Set Evolution Requirement: Behead 0/100 Awakened.]

Seth was stunned. Upgrading a mere Shackled Rank weapon set actually required him to slay so many Awakened?

’Holy fuck, wasn’t that a bit too extreme?’

But Seth decided to complete this quest. What better time to do this than now, when he was just about to take on a beast hoard?

The ground trembled and rattled, the reverberations growing louder and heavier.

Seth steeled his nerves, a heavy lance appearing in his hands.

His skill Absolute Weapon Resonance thrummed to life, feeding the lance with a qualitative leap in power.

A wave of royal purple spilled from Seth, his eyes simmering even brighter. He met the vast gazes of the sea of crimson eyes heading his way.