Chapter 75: Evolution Requires Violence [Part 1] (Review Bonus)

Chapter 75. Evolution Requires Violence [Part 1] (Review Bonus)

I loosened the clasps of my outer coat and pulled it off, followed by the heavier layer underneath.

For now, I needed mobility more than warmth.

Both disappeared into my Dimensional Ring, leaving me in reinforced trousers, boots, gloves, and a lightweight black shirt that wouldn’t interfere with my movements.

Then I looked up at the enormous entrance.

Hollowgrave Dungeon.

What a wonderfully welcoming name.

The original Rey had been here before.

Alone.

His memories of the place weren’t particularly pleasant, but they were useful. Hollowgrave wasn’t some beginner dungeon where adventurers gathered slime cores and congratulated themselves for surviving three goblins. Most monsters inside ranged from B-rank to S-rank, with stronger creatures appearing the deeper someone traveled.

Which made this place absolutely perfect for me.

I needed kills.

Lots of them.

If repeated use was what Arcana Evolution required, then today I intended to abuse my magic until the system either evolved something or filed a complaint.

The monsters here were strong enough to force me to use my skills seriously, and their cores were valuable.

High-quality monster cores for research.

Corpses for materials.

Anything I didn’t need could be sold.

Money, research materials, skill progression, mana-core evolution...

A productive afternoon.

There was also one tiny additional detail.

Hollowgrave had a secret.

Something the original Rey had hidden inside years ago.

A treasure he’d deliberately concealed because he hadn’t trusted anyone else with it. Not his former companions. Definitely not the nobles circling around the Five Heroes after the war.

I’d seen fragments of that memory before, but only recently had enough of Rey’s memories settled for me to understand exactly where he’d hidden it.

He had intended to retrieve it eventually.

Unfortunately, the curse destroyed his plans before he could.

Well...

I needed it now.

For my revenge.

His revenge too, technically.

I stepped across the dungeon threshold.

Immediately, the temperature dropped.

The daylight behind me faded within twenty meters, replaced by faint blue crystals embedded naturally along the cavern walls. Their cold glow illuminated jagged black stone and enormous roots that had somehow forced their way through cracks overhead.

Water dripped somewhere in the darkness.

The sound echoed.

The passage was wide enough for perhaps ten people to stand shoulder to shoulder, although the uneven ground and stone pillars would make formations difficult. There was enough space to fight comfortably with precise magic.

Area attacks?

Terrible idea.

One badly aimed explosion could bring half the ceiling down.

Actually...

I glanced upward.

Considering my luck lately, probably the entire mountain.

No area destruction.

Good rule.

I should remember it.

Hollowgrave’s terrain also contained dozens of natural hiding places. Cracks between stone formations, elevated ledges, narrow side tunnels, shadows behind pillars.

A warrior would hate this place.

A large party would constantly trip over each other.

For magi and assassins, however?

Beautiful.

Plenty of cover.

Clear attack lanes.

Enough room for repositioning.

And endless opportunities for something unpleasant to jump onto your back.

I activated my skills.

[Abyssal Hunter’s Domain]

My awareness expanded.

The dungeon changed.

I didn’t merely hear the dripping water anymore. I felt vibrations traveling through the floor, tiny movements against stone, disturbances in the stagnant air.

Something was moving.

Thirty meters.

Right side.

Above me.

I smiled.

[Abyssal Eye]

Dark energy briefly crossed my vision.

The shadows sharpened.

Mana became visible.

There.

Clinging upside down to the cavern ceiling was a creature nearly four meters long.

Its body resembled a monstrous lizard covered in overlapping gray plates. Six muscular legs ended in hooked claws buried into stone, while its broad mouth contained two rows of serrated teeth.

Information appeared.

[Graveclaw Basilisk]

[Rank: B]

[Attribute: Earth / Venom]

The basilisk realized I’d noticed it.

Its throat expanded.

I raised one hand. "Let’s start simple."

Forbidden Energy condensed over my palm.

[Corruption Bolt]

Forbidden Energy condensed around my raised hand.

Five black-violet bolts materialized around me, hovering in a loose semicircle before I flicked two fingers forward.

They launched simultaneously.

The basilisk dropped from the ceiling.

One bolt missed its skull by centimeters and struck the stone above it.

-BOOM!

Rock fragments exploded downward.

The second clipped its armored back, tearing several scales away before the basilisk crashed onto the ground. Its claws gouged trenches through the floor as its massive tail immediately whipped sideways.

[Void Shift]

The world folded.

I disappeared.

Its tail smashed through empty air while the remaining three Corruption Bolts turned in midair, following my control rather than blindly continuing forward.

I reappeared behind the creature.

The basilisk’s six legs twisted unnaturally fast as it tried to turn toward me.

Too late.

I snapped my fingers.

The three waiting projectiles descended from different directions.

One slammed into its shoulder.

Another struck its side.

The third punched through its rear leg.

Flesh didn’t merely tear.

It burst.

Black-violet energy ripped through scales, muscle, and bone, leaving ugly holes before erupting from the opposite side in sprays of blood.

The basilisk screamed.

Its damaged leg collapsed beneath its weight.

Blood sprayed across the cavern wall.

Some reached my shirt.

The basilisk lunged anyway.

Its jaws opened wide enough to swallow my upper body.

I stepped sideways, letting those serrated teeth snap shut inches from me while Forbidden Energy gathered again.

This time, seven Corruption Bolts appeared.

They floated behind my shoulders like black-violet stars.

I swept my hand downward.

Three bolts struck its front legs.

Two slammed into its exposed abdomen.

The basilisk buckled.

I saved the last two.

With another movement of my fingers, they curved around its head from opposite directions and struck beneath the jaw simultaneously.

Its head snapped upward.

A wet crack echoed through the cavern as the combined force tore through its skull.

Blood and fragments of bone scattered across the rocks.

The enormous body staggered forward.

One step.

Two.

Then collapsed.

-THUD!

The remaining traces of black-violet energy faded above the corpse.

I stared at the corpse.

Then at myself.

Blood dotted my sleeve and cheek.

Corruption Bolt was essentially magical murder with the subtlety of throwing a cannonball through someone’s chest.

But that was exactly why I’d chosen it.

It was my simplest offensive Forbidden skill.

No elemental attribute.

If any skill could reveal the requirements for Arcana Evolution quickly, this should be it.

I looked at my hand.

Nothing.

No system notification.

Two successful attacks clearly weren’t enough.

How many?

Ten?

Fifty?

A hundred?

Did progression depend on casts or kills?

Perhaps damage inflicted.

Maybe total Forbidden Energy processed through the skill.

Or perhaps evolution required repeated use against sufficiently powerful opponents.

So many variables.

My pulse quickened.

This was going to be fun.

I crouched beside the basilisk.

Normally, I’d immediately extract the core and store the corpse.

Instead, I left it untouched.

Warm blood continued spreading beneath the body, running through cracks in the stone.

The smell thickened.

Metallic.

Raw.

Fresh.

This location was ideal.

Close enough to escape outside if something went wrong.

Far enough inside that the dungeon’s inhabitants could reach me.

Because Hollowgrave had another useful characteristic.

Its monsters were predators.

And predators smelled blood.

Why waste time wandering around searching for them?

I already had bait.

I leaned casually against a stone pillar.

Then waited.

Thirty seconds.

Nothing.

One minute.

Still nothing.

I sighed. "Come on. Free food."

My Domain twitched.

I straightened.

There.

Movement.

One.

Three.

Five.

No.

More.

My grin widened.