Evolution

"Pain."

Scott felt as if his head was struck by a severe migraine. Centuries of time emerged from a vivid and lifelike dream, transforming into countless grains of sand—an overwhelming flood of information surging into his mind. It was as if a mountain flood had erupted within the depths of his brain, shaking and colliding, until it crashed directly into the cerebral gland near the middle of his brain.

The flesh between his eyebrows trembled, like the budding trunk of a tree upon which rain had fallen. Something was about to pierce through his skull, break through his body, and rise!

Suddenly, an indescribable sensation overcame Scott.

It felt as though his outer form was tightly bound, like a person wrapped in a shroud, and with each pang of pain, a hole was torn into his shell. His five senses sharpened dramatically, allowing him to perceive an exquisitely real world.

In the blink of an eye, he counted 148 cracks in the ceiling. He clearly saw dozens of tiny letters engraved on a teacup over four meters away.

He could also hear the sound of flesh striking flesh from the room downstairs, 25 meters away.

"What the hell is this? This is practically... an incredible awakening."

Scott blinked, and with each blink, the world became clearer. Countless brilliant colors, whose names he could not even articulate, flooded his visual cells. The collision left him dizzy and blurred his vision, yet his heart swelled with excitement.

He rubbed both hands forcefully against the flesh between his eyebrows. He tried to clear his thoughts, but the information in his mind surged like a devastating tsunami—an uncontrollable torrent, like a raging river.

"123,456 multiplied by 147,852 equals 18,253,216,512… The winning lottery ticket last year, number 43 35 52 14 13 74, awarded a prize of 10 million dollars. After a 10% special tax deduction, the winner received 9 million… The total land area of the Dawn Sun Guild is 40 square kilometers, with a total population of 11.65 billion… The army comprises 27.235 million soldiers…"

"Is this a mistake? How can I suddenly think of all these things and process so many scattered thoughts at once? This is exactly like… a wizard's intuition."

Scott shuddered at the realization and jumped up. Wizards possessed a supernatural sense called "spiritual foresight," allowing them to perceive everything in their surroundings, both material and immaterial, while also expanding their memory capacity. This sense evolved as the wizard grew stronger. He recalled the moment he had escaped from that grand dream and felt a shiver at the back of his head.

Closing his eyes, he clenched his thigh tightly, using the pain to focus his thoughts. He entered a state of serene concentration, analyzing the cause and effect.

Soon, dozens of critical pieces of information surfaced within his brain's "information archive." They were like gleaming pearls, formed by connecting the dots of scattered clues.

"Crystal Processor. Activate."

Scott let out a light breath. At the foot of his bed, a crystalline processor appeared, emitting a faint beam of light. After a series of soft "ding-ding" sounds, the beam spread out, forming a massive holographic projection.

He accessed the internet, opening a website called "Wizergl," known for its vast amount of information—especially regarding guilds. In the search bar, he entered the three words "Iron Sovereignty Guild" and gently pressed "Search."

The webpage flickered with dazzling lights and vibrant colors. The seven hues of rune script danced chaotically before assembling into several short paragraphs of runic text.

> The Hundred Smelting Guild was a guild that existed more than 50,000 years ago, thriving during the era of Ancient Traditional Magic. It was once a prosperous guild located in The Great Sovereignty World—the most powerful and mysterious realm among the infinite dimensions. Their specialty was craftsmanship, weapon forging, and the creation of legendary artifacts.

Notably, their 72nd Guild Leader (real name unknown), renowned as "The Monster-Slaying Blacksmith," was a widely recognized and influential master blacksmith. He was mentioned in numerous ancient texts and records.

Around 49,300 years ago, the headquarters of the Iron Sovereignty Guild was obliterated in an unexplained massive explosion. Within a century, they vanished like smoke in the air, perishing completely.

According to written records from wizards of that time—only recently uncovered—it is believed that The Monster-Slaying Blacksmith had created a specialized transmission system capable of traversing time. However, when conducting the first experiment, he accidentally triggered a colossal surge of Mana Energy, which led to an explosion. He was ultimately disintegrated, his consciousness shattered and destroyed.

However, no trace of the Iron Sovereignty Guild has been discovered to this day. All information regarding it originates from ancient writings, classified as indirect evidence. The true cause of the sudden death of the Monster-Slaying Blacksmith and the collapse of the Iron Sovereignty Guild remains unknown.

Scott scrolled through the previous paragraphs multiple times, reading and re-reading.

Gradually, his eyes began to shine. His mind raced as he read telepathically. Countless thoughts, like interwoven threads, tangled into a precise and intricate pattern.

So that was it. The Iron Sovereignty Guild was an ancient guild. The Monster-Slaying Blacksmith was also a master craftsman of extraordinary talent. 49,300 years ago, he invented a time machine capable of traversing time and even conducted experiments on himself. He never expected it to trigger a catastrophic explosion that would shake the world and lead to the destruction of the Iron Sovereignty Guild.

But then, a puzzling question arose in Scott's mind—what was the connection between the Monster-Slaying Blacksmith and the mysterious shadow?

"Did he come to this era because of the time machine? No… even if he successfully built one, even if he were a great wizard, his body wouldn't have survived such a massive Mana explosion."

Scott thought at an astonishing speed. Then suddenly, a lightbulb went off in his mind.

"The Infinite Void Sea."

An image of a vast, pitch-black sea—boundless and endless—flashed in Scott's mind.

He recalled a place in the Great Sovereignty World known as the Infinite Void Sea, the most dangerous location in that realm. Even the Titan Leo warned them never to approach it. They only ever hunted iron sharks along its safe borders. Even the most powerful wizards would meet their demise there, their souls absorbed into the Infinite Void Sea. Anyone who fell into that abyss was never seen again.

"Could it be that the Monster-Slaying Blacksmith's soul fell into the sea during the time-travel experiment? And could it be that those glowing crystals were actually the souls of people who had fallen into the Infinite Void Sea?" Scott wondered, running his thumb along his chin.

"But this is strange… Why does the Monster-Slaying Blacksmith have the exact same name as me? And why is his name completely absent from all modern websites? And what was that shadow I encountered on the train? What did it want? Also… I'm just an ordinary person. Why did the shadow come after me? Was it just a coincidence? And where the hell did it come from? What exactly is it?"

Scott's thoughts surged like electricity, then flipped on themselves. He muttered to himself for a moment, then recalled his grand dream—when he was about to marry the daughter of the Grand Guild Leader in a wedding hall. At that moment, an eerie disturbance had emerged.

"I almost lost myself entirely back then… Maybe it was my strong will and sense of self that allowed me to survive. Who knows what would have happened if I had lost myself? Maybe I would have lost all my memories… my current self… and truly become the Monster-Slaying Blacksmith."

Suddenly, a light shone in his mind.

"Wait a moment… That means I now hold within me the souls of countless legendary wizards from the Great Sovereignty World who fell into the Infinite Void Sea!"

Scott could feel it. He could sense the dark void that had once imprisoned him. He felt that he could access it again. If that was the case, then… the greatest wizards across the infinite dimensions resided within his body.

"Haha! If this is really true, then that means… I will be invincible!" Scott laughed loudly. An ordinary young man, not even an official wizard yet, now possessed the souls of legendary, high-ranking sorcerers within him. This was something unheard of in the world of magic!

No matter how slow Scott's reactions were, he was fully aware of the drastic and terrifying changes happening to his body. His thinking speed was at least ten times faster than before.

Not to mention the other transformations—just the fundamental information he had painstakingly pieced together was now processed within five minutes with precise clarity. If it had been the old him, it likely would have taken five whole days to understand.

One of his teachers had once told him that the highest state a person could achieve was entering an unmatched slow-flowing river of time—where while one minute passed in reality, an entire year could pass in the mind. It was an extraordinary state. If someone could enter that state, their magical essence would increase dramatically.

"While I was in that grand dream, 700 years had passed… Could it be that I truly entered the mental realm? And was I also refined by the immense mental power of the Monster-Slaying Blacksmith? Did my processing ability increase dramatically while I was unconscious?"

Scott had heard his teacher say before that increasing one's processing ability would allow a person to recall vast amounts of memories in the blink of an eye, enhance analytical and computational abilities, and sharpen their thinking and perception.

A direct sign of this was the pineal gland between his eyebrows. He could feel something growing there, ready to erupt.

These signs matched exactly what was happening to his body.

"A real evolution… I have no idea how much my magical essence has increased, but do I now have the power to crush those arrogant Blue-Class sorcerers and turn them into roasted sausages?"

Thinking about this, Scott clenched his fists tightly, filled with determination.

"Alright, Scott Walton from another life… I will make good use of your vast 700 years of knowledge to achieve my goals. So rest easy—at the very least, you've made one person very happy with your wisdom."