World Evolution: Starting With The Wind Monarch

After eating, Evan took a short break before starting to arrange his things for entering the Dark Forest.

He took out a pouch containing light-blue powder from his Storage Ring and sprinkled it over himself.

The powder Evan had used was called Concealment Powder. It was a special powder capable of erasing the user’s scent and aura.

As long as someone didn’t see the user with their own eyes, they wouldn’t be able to detect them.

However, there was a limit to the effectiveness of the powder.

It could only conceal the user’s presence and scent from opponents whose level was below Level 10. If the opponent’s level was 10 or above, its effectiveness would be greatly reduced.

After using the powder, Evan entered the Dark Forest with Black Star in hand.

The Dark Forest was divided into three zones: the Outer Zone, the Inner Zone, and the Center Zone.

The Center Zone was the largest of the three, and Evan had no idea how vast it actually was.

To enter the Inner Zone, one had to travel approximately one hundred and fifty kilometers deeper into the Outer Zone.

The deeper one ventured into the forest, the higher the level of the magical beasts they would have to face.

Evan was currently at Level 0, so he planned to venture only into the Outer Zone, and even there, he had no intention of going too deep.

As he stepped into the Outer Zone, Evan noticed that the trees here were around fifteen to twenty-five meters tall and incredibly thick.

Not only had humans and beasts evolved after mana awakened on the planet, but the flora of the planet had also undergone tremendous changes.

The deeper one went into the forest, the thicker and larger the trees became.

The forest was called the Dark Forest because the trees in the Inner Zone became so enormous and dense that even during the daytime, it looked as though one was walking through the forest at night, as the massive trees blocked most of the sunlight from reaching the ground.

An hour after entering the forest, Evan was already approximately eight kilometers deep inside the forest, yet he hadn’t encountered a single magical beast.

Just as he was thinking he would have to travel even deeper, he suddenly noticed something crawling along the ground about fifty meters away from him.

He immediately hid behind the nearest tree and carefully observed the creature.

As he looked ahead, he saw a green snake crawling across the ground.

A look of interest appeared on Evan’s face, and he immediately used his Level Appraisal skill.

However, after seeing the monster’s level, he couldn’t help but feel somewhat disappointed.

---) Green Bamboo Snake — Level 6

If Evan hadn’t learned how to coat his sword with mana, he would have gladly killed this snake and obtained his first skill.

But now, he wanted to kill at least a Level 8 magical beast for his first skill.

Although it would be harder, Evan had already thought of something that would help him kill higher-level magical beasts.

’Just wait here. I will come back to pick you up after I get my first skill. You will be useful for raising my level.’

Evan mumbled inwardly as he looked at the green snake with a friendly smile.

However, his words were anything but friendly.

The poor snake suddenly felt a shiver run down its body for some reason, and it immediately fled from the area like a mouse being chased by a cat.

Seeing the snake running away in such a hurry, Evan couldn’t help but laugh and continued walking deeper into the forest.

As he went farther inside, he began seeing more and more magical beasts.

The average level of these magical beasts was around Level 6, so Evan ignored them and continued searching for a magical beast whose level was at least 8 but no higher than 10.

He knew that if he encountered a magical beast above Level 10, it would be extremely difficult for him to win with his current stats and skills.

In fact, forget about fighting anything above Level 10. He wasn’t even completely confident that he could defeat a Level 10 magical beast.

He was simply hoping to encounter an ideal Level 8 or Level 9 magical beast, obtain his first skill, and then start raising his level by hunting weaker magical beasts.

After walking for another hour, Evan finally found a suitable target.

---) Ratman — Level 8

While hiding behind some bushes, Evan carefully stared at the rat-like magical beast in front of him, which was gnawing on the corpse of a dead monster.

The Ratman was a magical beast that had evolved from an ordinary rat. Even after evolving, its appearance remained similar to that of a normal rat.

However, unlike an ordinary rat, it could walk on its hind legs and possessed a long, sharp tail that it could swing like a whip.

Combined with the creature’s swift movements, its tail was extremely difficult to defend against.

Ratmen usually ambushed their targets in groups, but this particular Ratman that Evan had come across was alone.

The defense of this monster was average, so Evan was confident that he could kill it with a single strike if he attacked carefully.

Thanks to the Concealment Powder, enemies below Level 10 couldn’t sense his presence.

Therefore, this Level 8 Ratman was an ideal target for him, as he had entered the Dark Forest specifically to obtain his first Active Skill by killing a relatively high-level magical beast.

Evan watched the Ratman from behind the bushes and waited for the right moment to attack.

After waiting for ten minutes, the moment he had been waiting for finally arrived.

The Ratman, which had been eating, finally finished its meal and slowly walked beneath a tree before sitting down lazily with its eyes half-closed.

Around five minutes later, the Ratman fell asleep.

Although it was asleep, Evan knew that magical beasts living in such a dangerous environment had extremely sharp senses, and it would immediately wake up the moment he got close to it.

Taking a deep breath, Evan’s eyes gleamed with cold light as he tensed the muscles in his legs, preparing to charge forward at full speed.

He immediately circulated his mana and coated Black Star with it.

A faint blue layer of mana covered the blade, making it sharper and more powerful.

After coating his sword, Evan released the tension in his legs and charged toward the Ratman as fast as he could.

His figure shot forward like an arrow and the instant he reached the monster, he swung his sword toward the Ratman’s neck.

However, the Ratman was also an expert at ambushes so even while sleeping, it was on full alert.

At the last possible moment, it suddenly opened its eyes and jumped sideways to avoid the incoming strike.

Unfortunately, it was still a step too late to fully avoid the attack.

Although the sword missed its neck, it still sliced through its left arm.

”SHRIEK!”

The Ratman howled in pain as its arm was severed, causing it to stumble across the ground.

Evan was genuinely shocked by the Ratman’s incredibly quick reaction, but his movements didn’t stop.

He quickly coated his sword with mana again and was about to rush toward the Ratman, which was lying on the ground three meters away from him.

But before he could move—

ROAR!

A terrifying roar suddenly resounded through the forest and something jumped down from a tree not far from Evan and the Ratman.

BOOM!

The creature landed directly beside the wounded Ratman and before the Ratman could even react, a massive paw descended.

BANG!

The paw crushed the Ratman’s head with a single strike, sending chunks of flesh flying in every direction.

Evan’s pupils contracted, and he immediately backed away.

At the same time, he used his Appraisal Skill to examine the magical beast.

And the moment he saw what kind of creature it was, his heart nearly stopped beating.

---) Forest Tiger — Level: Unable to Appraise