Endless Evolution As A Skeleton In A Game-Like World

Ark did not know how to feel.

He recognized the boy almost immediately, black hair, pale skin and evil eyebrows.

Seth was one of his fellow back benchers, one of the students that would roll up a ball of paper and toss it at the teacher’s head when he was not looking...

They were not friends, at least Ark did not assume they were. But his days at the academy had definitely been far more enjoyable because of him.

Now, that evil smirk he always seemed to have on his face, and his irksome personality were gone, snatched away by death...

For a few seconds, Ark was confused. But he knew that he did not have time to reflect on anything, there was no time to think if what he was doing was moral or not.

The longer he took, the more the chance another one of his classmates would be killed.

His party was already out of supplies, and now they did not have their mage, he needed to leave now.

And so Ark placed his hand on the dead boy’s chest and activated his skill.

[Harvest successful! You have successfully received SS-Rank trait, Endless Evolution!]

Ark was reading the system notification when he suddenly froze up like a corpse. SS... SS RANK??!

He had been stealing skills for the better part of the day and he had not gotten a single B-Rank skill, and now he had suddenly gotten an SS-Rank??

Ark wanted to open the skill window, but before he could issue the command, a number of screens appeared in front of him, detailing the skill.

[Skill: Endless Evolution!]

[Evolution is a core aspect of civilization, a guiding hand that has nurtured life for all of time. Endless evolution supersedes this natural law, it defies the very nature of evolution, allowing the user to evolve their race infinitely, beyond the limits imposed by the world, beyond natural law.

From the realms of mortals, to superseding flesh and bone, to rising to an existence beyond divinity. There is no upper limit to Endless Evolution.

With each evolution, your existence is made clear, enhancing your physical form and granting race effects that cannot be overridden]

Ark’s jaw dropped wide open.

”How is this even allowed...”

He already knew that if it was possible for him to get an ability like Dark Harvest, then there were likely a lot more people who also awakened abilities that were so broken that it defied logic.

But seeing it for himself was a whole other experience.

Seth had died with such an op ability because he never had the opportunity to make good use of it. What would have happened if he had survived and nurtured his talents?

Ark could only imagine how powerful he would have become.

[Next Race Evolution: Skeleton Shaman]

Requirements:

Reach level 20 (2/20)

Mana: 1000MP (190/1000)

Advance two Dark Spells (0/2)

’Shaman huh...’ Ark stroked his jaw. Shamans were somewhat like mages, the only difference between them and traditional mages was that they often practiced dark magic, often powered by a Demon, evil spirit or god.

Learning two dark spells would not be much of a problem, and all he had to do was frequently use them to advance it. As for his mana points, one thousand was a little steep, but Ark could understand the system’s intentions.

Shamans needed a lot of mana to prepare their spells, a shaman without mana was worth as much as a scarecrow.

It was obviously different for him since he was not a traditional mage, but still, he could understand...

It was only after Ark dismissed the stat screen that he realized that the worm had stopped moving, the monster seemed to be on its last legs.

”I guess it’s about time I left.” He stared at the ceiling and summoned [Destructive Flames.]

Unlike before when he was out of mana, and had to use it in moderation, this time Ark did not hold back. He poured his mana into fire, watching the flame grow so large that the entire stomach grew bright, and then he launched it right at the ceiling—

Fwoooosh!

The flames ate right through the thick muscle and burst out of the top, causing boiling blood to rush down into its stomach.

[You have slain a level 10 Grave Keeper! +50 exp]

[Ding! You have leveled up!]

[Level 2 >> Level 3!]

[+ 7 stat points!]

Sand poured into the stomach, which meant just like he had expected, they were still underground. Normally, this would have been a problem for him, but Ark had the [Dirt Drifter] skill, and had grown adept at using it.

He was about to leave, but he paused and turned to stare at his classmate’s body.

”Huu—” Ark breathed out slowly.

He was definitely being foolish, but still... Ark went back and picked him up. The inside of a worm’s stomach was far too morbid a place to be his final resting place.

Those who died in Eden never left Eden, meaning his body would be trapped in this tutorial forever, his family would be happy to know he was buried at the very least.

Once Ark reached the surface, he buried Seth beside a large tree, then walked away in silence. It was the least he could do considering just how much he had gained from him.

’Now how do I find Soo-jin?’ It was unlikely that they would wait for him, that would be foolish, and Soo-jin was not the type to make foolish decisions.

”I need to get a vantage point...”

Ark swung his hand at a tree, and shimmering webs sprung out of his fingers, wrapping themselves around the topmost branch, and then he launched himself into the air.

With a few extra steps he was already at the top of the colossal tree.

He was lucky that they had fought the worms atop a large mountain, if not, staring at the endless expanse of trees would have simply confused him.

”Aha, there you are...”

The mountain was so far that he could barely see its shape properly, but it was the only mountain in the area, it had to be it.

Ark summoned more webs and began to swing through the forest like a monkey.

The webs latched onto a tree branch, and he pulled it with even more force, increasing his speed, then once he got close enough, he did a flip in the sky, just before summoning another string of webs.

”Woooho! Now we’re talking!”

The cold air felt divine against his bones, and when he would swing high into the sky, it was almost as if he could touch the skies.

It felt like flying....

It took about twenty minutes of quick swinging for Ark to finally get close to the mountain. ’I need to search for clues when I land...’

Although not a hundred percent accurate, things like footprints, broken branches and depressed soil could give him a vague idea of where they were headed to.

But once he swung above the mountain, about to land, all his plans vanished, and a chuckle escaped his teeth.

”Soo-jin... when did you become so considerate?”

Carved into the very rock was an arrow pointing east. Soo-jin had left him a message.

— The Boss Has Been Located. Meet Up East!

Any other leader would have assumed he was either dead, or at death’s door. They would have never bothered to leave a message...

Just how much faith did she have in him?

Ark changed his direction while still in the air...

”Aye Aye captain... I’m on my way.”