I can evolve everything

After experiencing the changes brought about by the evolution of the "Tortoise Chapter", Renn sat back on the bed and slowly began to meditate again, sinking into the misty corridor once more.

The information on the wall has changed a lot since the last time Raine came to check his attributes after he had just finished evolving his skeletal form.

Name: Ryan Wilder

Race: Human

【Occupation: Knight (Apprentice)】

[Level: 4]

Strength: 18+3

Agility: 14+2

[Constitution: 18+2]

【Intelligence: 13】

[Perception: 13+1]

【Charm: 13】

【skill:】

[Gambling Skills (Proficient)], [Street Fighting (Beginner)], [Knight's Basic Swordsmanship: Iron Wall Stance, Straight Slash (Proficient), Half-Step Crushing Sword (Proficient)], [Black Rock Breathing Technique: Heart Chapter, Skeleton Chapter, Organ Chapter, Torso Chapter]

So, according to the schedule, the next step should be to evolve the "Limbs Chapter" of "Black Rock Breathing Technique".

Raine walked up to the wall that displayed his various skills.

"Let's begin."

Without hesitation, Raine placed his palm on the black mist covering the limbs.

[In progress: Black Rock Breathing Technique - Limbs Chapter]

The gray fog swirls, and words emerge.

[Evolutionary Branch: Black Rock Breathing Technique - Limbs Chapter (Compression Amplification)]

[Description: Enhances the density and instantaneous contraction ability of red muscle fibers. Significantly increases explosive power. Doubles instantaneous sword strike speed and starting speed. Possesses extremely terrifying grip and pushing force. Side effect: Slightly reduces fine motor skills, unsuitable for various micro-management techniques.]

[Required Resources: Energy Reserves (22 days)]

[Time required: 22 days.]

This time, the time required was reduced by a few days compared to the last evolution of the "Tortoise Chapter".

Raine raised an eyebrow slightly as he looked at the line of text.

This evolutionary branch has a simple, brutal, and efficient effect.

This perfectly aligns with his current combat system—a heavy sword with no edge, great skill without artifice.

Having chosen a heavy weapon like a two-handed greatsword, Rein naturally wouldn't choose to practice the agile swordsmanship like Ella. What he needed was pure power that could cleave enemies in two, shield and all.

The only thing that made Renne hesitate was whether the slight decrease in fine motor skills caused by this side effect would affect the accuracy of his blocking.

In the past, Renn might have hesitated for a moment, to see if he could get better keywords.

But now, a major battle is imminent.

Every second can determine life or death.

Instead of wasting time and energy gambling on an unknown evolutionary branch, it's better to seize the tangible and seemingly decent evolutionary effect right in front of you.

"You're the one."

Ryan decisively chose to confirm.

As the thought was locked on, the line of text instantly froze, transforming into new characters imprinted on the wall shrouded in swirling gray mist.

Twenty-two days.

Although he felt nothing in reality, Renn knew that the seed of evolution had been planted. In the coming war, with constant fighting and feeding, this seed would sprout, grow, and eventually transform his limbs into true killing machines.

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

The next morning, at the west gate of the Northern Fortress.

The sky remained overcast, but the snow had temporarily stopped.

The 22nd Patrol Team has been assembled.

In addition to Ryan, Ella, and the original twenty soldiers in the patrol, there were fifty new faces in the team.

These were soldiers temporarily transferred by the Knights from the standing garrison of the Northern Fortress. Although they were not as familiar with the battles outside the fortress as veterans like Hank and his men who had carried out numerous patrol missions, they were all fully equipped and seemed to be of high quality.

At the very front of the line stood two people who seemed somewhat out of place.

One was a woman dressed in portable chainmail, covered by a white holy robe. She appeared to be around twenty years old, without a helmet, and her blond hair was tightly coiled back. In one hand she carried the staff commonly used by priests, and in the other she held a large flail.

The other was a man wrapped in several layers of sheepskin robes, somewhat disheveled, who looked like a vagrant.

He had a stubble beard and held a short staff with a ruby ​​at the top.

"Is this the support the commander is giving us?"

Ella, mounted on her horse, whispered in Renn's ear, "That priest looks fierce, and that mage... looks like he was just picked up from the roadside somewhere."

Rein ignored Ella's complaints. In this world, there are only a limited number of people who can master divine arts and magic, let alone extraordinary individuals who are willing to be stationed at the Northern Fortress.

He dismounted and walked up to the two men.

"Captain of the 22nd Patrol, Renn Wilder." Renn bowed, his gaze calmly scrutinizing the priest and mage before him. "Welcome to the team."

"War Priestess, Vina."

The pastor returned the salute with a brisk and powerful movement. Her reply was cold: "Don't expect me to sing you hymns. If someone is injured, I will heal them; if someone tries to run away, I will smash their knees with this."

She shook the flail in her hand; its spikes gleamed coldly.

Renn nodded.

He turned to the mage who looked like he was about to freeze to death.

"Thales. Battle Mage."

The man glanced at Raine with blurry, drunken eyes:

"I'm a fire wielder. As long as you can create an environment for me to deal damage and keep the monsters away from me, I can roast them. But if they get close... then I'll have no choice but to self-destruct with them."

Simple and straightforward.

"very good."

Ryan turned around and remounted his horse.

He glanced at the group of nearly eighty people behind him.

This is no longer a simple patrol team, but a small combat company.

"Everyone, check your equipment!"

"Target: Shattered Tooth Canyon."

"Set off!"

With a command, the winch started beating again. The west gate swung open.

This time, it wasn't just them.

Ryan looked back from his horse.

Beneath those towering black city walls, a dozen or so teams of similar size were gathering.

They were like streams, branching out from the massive fortress and extending to the city walls at the horizon.

Some headed east to Eagle's Beak Cliff; others headed west to the Black Pine Forest.

The leaders of each team are mostly official knights, with virtually no apprentice knights like Renn.

They all knew what they were about to face—a harsh winter without any protective barrier, and a beast tide that could strike at any moment.

But no one backed down.

The wind blew through their cloaks, making them flutter.

This is a scene worthy of being recorded in an epic.

Human courage transformed into a torrent at that moment, charging against the wind and snow into the deepest darkness.

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

The camera pans upwards, passing through swirling snow and bustling northern fortresses, stretching all the way north.

Crossing the Shattered Tooth Canyon, crossing the frozen Black River, until reaching that far northern forbidden zone.

The wind here is ten times stronger than around the northern fortress, and the temperature is so low that even steel becomes as brittle as glass.

On a solitary, towering ice peak.

A figure draped in a black cloak stood silently on the edge of the cliff.

He was very tall, but his figure was somewhat hunched. No skin was exposed beneath his cloak, only a pair of eyes burning with a ghostly blue flame, gazing through the snowstorm towards the southern fortress.

"They're out..."

His voice was dry and hoarse.

Behind that person, amidst the perpetual blizzard, a massive silhouette slowly emerged.

It was a giant wolf.

Its size is like that of a giant nearly three meters tall, and its silver-gray fur ripples like waves in the wind.

The Dire Wolf King.

But this overlord of the wasteland was now like a docile hunting dog, lying prostrate at the feet of the man in black robes, whimpering incessantly.

The man in black robes stretched out a hand, a hand completely devoid of flesh and blood, merely bones covered by a layer of black, dry skin, and gently stroked the head of the dire wolf king.

"Go."

The man in black robes said softly.

"Lure them out. Scatter them."

"Then……"

He looked toward the direction of the Northern Fortress, deep underground where the [Eternal Furnace] was buried.

"Before the fire goes out, let us put a bloody end to this long wait."

"Awooo!!!"

The dire wolf king looked up and howled to the sky.

The roar pierced through the clouds, shattered the ice and snow, and rolled southward.

The war is about to begin.