The golden light of the system window flooded Hide’s vision.

[Class Evolution Initiated]

Syncing physical vessel with dark mana core...

Restructuring cellular damage...

Class Rank Evolving.

Hide fell to his knees on the volcanic sand, his teeth grinding together as an agonizing, boiling heat surged through his veins.

It felt as though every single muscle fiber and bone in his body was being melted down and reforged in a furnace. The ambient dark mana of the jungle spiraled into his chest, feeding the violent transformation.

And then, just as quickly as the pain had arrived, it vanished.

It was replaced by a profound sense of clarity. Hide took a deep breath, the air filling his lungs feeling impossibly crisp. He slowly pushed himself to his feet. His body felt lighter, yet unimaginably denser.

[Evolution Complete]

Class Rank Increased: (E-Rank → D-Rank)

15 Unallocated Stat Points awarded.

Evolution points awarded.

Hide looked at the notification with narrowing eyes, there was something missing and he soon realized that unlike last time, he had not received a new talent.

He was a little excited to see it, but alas he would have to wait for the next evolution for that it seems.

Hide didn’t have time to marvel at his new stats. The distant, chaotic roars of the Calamity horde echoing from the clearing reminded him of exactly where he was.

He did notice that the space above the beast was shimmering and soon the anchor of the gate materialized and fell to the ground. Hide scooped it up, not believing it for a second.

He was, it seems a lot more lucky than he thought.

Using Phantom Step... he made his way back from where he had come.

Within seconds, he reached the edge of the volcanic clearing.

Sora and Gideon were still there, breathing heavily, their weapons dripping with dark blood. But they weren’t fighting anymore. They were simply standing over Ryan’s unconscious body, staring dead ahead in absolute awe.

Hide followed their gaze.

Commander James Maddox was back, his hands lazily shoved into his pockets. He didn’t have a weapon drawn or to that fact, he was not even moving.

But every single Calamity Beast that charged at him simply ceased to exist before they could even reach within ten feet of him.

It was incredibly similar to the Supreme Presence talent used by the old man, the head of the Sihue clan, but refined to a lethal, weaponized edge.

The beasts were being physically flattened into the black rock by the crushing weight of the Commander’s gaze.

Hide’s heart kicked against his ribs. A wild, greedy thought surfaced in his mind.

’If I step into that area of effect... the system will adapt. I could get a S-Rank skill.’

Hide took a half-step forward. Instantly, his newly evolved D-Rank Perception screamed. A cold, visceral sweat rolled down his spine, raising the hairs on the back of his neck.

His instincts were painting a vivid, undeniable picture in his mind: if he walked into that, his bones would instantly turn to dust before the system even had a chance. He wouldn’t survive it.

’Fine. Direct contact is suicide,’ Hide thought, his eyes narrowing. ’But no one asked me to go in there myself.’

Hide reached up and swiftly plucked a single strand of silver hair from his head. Waiting in the shadows of the tree line, he spotted a beast preparing to swoop down toward Maddox from the canopy.

Hide caught the beast before and struck his hair onto it.

Then he grinned, waiting for the beast to enter Maddox’s death zone and trigger his biological connection to the system.

"Come out. Why are you hiding?"

The voice echoed directly beside Hide’s ear.

Hide jumped, a violent creep crawling up his skin. He snapped his head toward the clearing. Maddox was still almost fifty yards away, but the Commander was looking directly at the exact bush Hide was concealed behind, an amused, knowing smirk playing on his lips.

’The old fox knew I was here the whole time,’ Hide cursed internally.

Seeing no other option, Hide stepped out of the tree line, lifting a hand to awkwardly scratch the back of his head, trying to play off his sudden disappearance.

"Hey, Volter! You’re back!" Gideon bellowed from across the clearing.

At that exact moment, the beast with Hide’s hair attached to it swooped down. But not towards the commander but him.

Gideon took a massive, running leap.

SMASH! Gideon’s heavy shield connected squarely with the beast mid-air, completely obliterating it into a cloud of blood and bones against a nearby boulder.

Hide stopped walking. He just stood there, blinking blankly at the giant Warrior. His foolproof system exploit—ruined by an overzealous classmate.

Hide let out a slow, deeply exhausted sigh. ’Idiot. The beast too, that bastard. Why did it had to jump at me?’

Maddox looked Hide up and down, his sharp brown eyes catching the subtle shifts in the boy’s physical density.

"You feel a little stronger, kid," Maddox noted, raising an eyebrow. "Where did you run off to? weren’t you supposed to be with your teammates?"

"Hunting," Hide replied smoothly. He pulled out the spatial anchor of the gate he had found and threw it towards the commander. "Luckily I found the anchor."

Maddox caught the orb effortlessly, inspecting the high-quality crystal. The questioning glint in his eyes faded into an impressed nod. "Good... that solves half the problem. Now we just have to kill every beast to use it. So go on, get it done as fast as you can."

"Yes Sir!"

For the next three hours, it was pure massacre.

With Maddox occasionally stepping in to flatten the larger packs, Hide, Sora, and Gideon were pushed to their physical limits. Hide didn’t even need to summon Zenith. His Twin Viper Blades sheared through the feral beasts like hot knives through butter.

By the time the final beast collapsed at Gideon’s feet, the clearing was completely unrecognizable, painted entirely in dark blood and ash.

A flurry of system notifications had stacked in Hide’s peripheral vision.

During this time, Hide had leveled up once to level 31 and also gained two new skills, which were not so useful.

Hide dismissed the windows, wiping the sweat from his brow. His Carapace retracted, leaving him standing in his blood-stained jacket.

"Well done," Maddox declared, stretching his arms high above his head until his spine popped. He reached into his coat and pulled out the crimson, perfectly spherical anchor.

Maddox channeled his white mana into it.

The space directly above the center of the clearing violently warped. The air tore open, revealing the swirling, bruised-purple vortex of the gate’s exit portal.

"Kids first," Maddox smiled, gesturing to the portal.

One by one, they stepped through the spatial tear.

They were back in the stadium.

But the stadium wasn’t empty anymore.

Hide blinked against the harsh, bright stadium lights. The massive indoor arena was absolutely swarming with people.

Dozens of NEA technicians in white coats, while heavily armed perimeter guards had their assault rifles raised directly at the swirling gate.

When Hide, Sora, and Gideon stepped out, the armed guards tensed, fingers hovering over their triggers. The atmosphere was thick with terror. A Four-Star gate in the middle of a city was a national emergency after all.

But then, Maddox casually strolled out of the portal.

The Commander had one hand shoved into his pocket, and slung effortlessly over his right shoulder was the drooling, unconscious body of Ryan—who still hadn’t woken up from Hide’s chokehold.

A collective, massive sigh of relief washed over the entire stadium. The guards instantly lowered their weapons, and the technicians slumped back into their chairs.

Hide looked around at the frantic administrative chaos, then at Sora and Gideon, who were staring at the stadium lights like they had just returned from the dead.

Hide let out a small, quiet exhale.

Well, all was good. For now, at least.