Bloodline Mutation

It had to be something rare-grade at the least!

Kaden's thoughts churned in a frantic spiral, struggling to wrap around the sheer absurdity of what had happened. This wasn't how evolution was supposed to work.

His fingers dug into the bark of the tree, grounding himself as his mind replayed the sequence of events. He had accepted his F Rank evolution, expecting the usual requirements—perhaps a trial, a skill refinement, a temporary boost. Instead, he had been swallowed into that cocoon.

If he had hijacked that creature's evolution, then what exactly had he evolved into? Did he absorb some of the genes of the beast? Was he going to take on some of the beast's characteristics? Was that going to make him more powerful or less?

He looked at himself silently. His muscles still felt human. His skin, while stronger, didn't have scales or chitin. But something was different—he could feel it, a raw, coiled energy thrumming beneath his flesh, waiting to be unleashed.

He stared at the trees surrounding him trying to make sense of everything, only to end up letting out a sigh. No matter how much he thought about it, he couldn't arrive at any conclusion. He simply did not have enough information.

Wait, he did get four or five quests. He quickly opened up the system notifications and stared at the quests. His gaze directly went to the one about his bloodline.

[Ding! Your bloodline has undergone successful mutation and you have initiated the evolution process]

[Ding! New Quest activated: Bloodline Evolution II]

[Your body has forcibly assimilated the essence of a foreign, higher-tier entity. This process is incomplete. Your bloodline is unstable. Absorb an energy-rich catalyst to stabilize the bloodline.]

Kaden's brows furrowed as he reread the notification, his grip tightening on the branch beneath him. A bloodline catalyst. He had never heard of such a thing before—not in his past life, not from any of the elite players who had reached the higher ranks.

Your bloodline is unstable.

The words gnawed at the edges of his thoughts. His evolution wasn't just incomplete; it was on the verge of collapse. If he didn't find this so-called catalyst soon, who knew what would happen?

Would his body break down? Would his mind unravel? Would he become something else entirely—something not human?

His fingers twitched. He needed answers. Fast.

"The system shop," Kaden muttered under his breath. "If there's anywhere to find a catalyst, it's there." In a few days time, there would be more changes coming to the new world and one of those was the opening of a system shop. This was the only lead Kaden had for now.

He exhaled sharply, forcing his nerves to settle. He couldn't afford to sit here and contemplate the unknown when he was standing in the middle of a war zone. The priority was clear—escape.

The fact was he had stolen something valuable from a high-tier beast. He needed to get the hell out of here first. 

He had no idea why the beast horde had disappeared. Maybe some other beast attacked it and the thing was vulnerable? Eitherways, he did not want to rely on that. It was best to run and get as far away from here as possible.

Kaden looked at the system map for a second before decided to go with the eastern direction. He had been there before so he was somewhat familiar with it. This meant that his chances of survival were higher. Especially now that he was going to step out of the protective barrier.

Taking another breath, he jumped down from the tree. He then started running. 

Kaden gritted his teeth and ran as fast as he could, but quickly the constipated look on his face was replaced by an exhilerated expression. His body felt amazing. His limbs felt extraordinary. 

He took every step with ease and he was able to move through the uneven terrain with an almost unnatural grace. 

This was different. This was beyond just a simple increase in stats—his body was responding in ways it never had before. Every shift of his muscles, every bend of his joints felt optimized, as if he had been reforged into something superior.

Was this the effect of the bloodline mutation?

He leapt over a fallen log, landing lightly on the balls of his feet without breaking his stride. Before, even with his agility stat, there had always been a human limit to how he moved. Now? Now he felt untethered, unrestricted. He didn't just move through the environment; it was as if the environment itself moved around him.

A grin stretched across his face.

Even with the looming danger of his unstable evolution, even with the uncertainty of the future and what he was becoming—he couldn't ignore the sheer power thrumming through him. It was intoxicating. If he could run like this, maybe… just maybe he could outrun his past.