Chapter 31: Reckless Evolution

Chapter 31 - 31: Reckless EvolutionThe sun had barely risen when Richard was already in the gym room, his feet pounding steadily on the treadmill. His breath was controlled, sweat forming on his forehead.

Then, a familiar blue panel appeared in front of him.

[ Daily Quest Completed ]

Rewards:

+5 Stat Points

+1 Skill Point

+ 10,000 SP

He slowed his pace, stepping off the treadmill, then wiped his sweat with a towel. "About time."

Sitting down on the nearby bench, he pulled up his status screen.

Status

Name: Richard Santamo



Age: 23

Weight: 136 lbs

Height: 6'1"

SP: 630,000

[ SHOP ] [ SKILLS ]

Stat Points: 280 Attributes:

STR: 18

CON: 31

AGI: 19

PER: 19

VIT: 19

INT: 19

Technology Learned:

Vector Core

Skills:

Information Processing (Lvl 2)

Knowledge Acquisition

Keyboard Warrior

"Damn, 600K SP? And I haven't even touched my stats yet."

For the past two months, he had been hoarding his points, prioritizing the Vector Core's completion over personal growth. He had deliberately kept his stats just below 20, avoiding any drastic physical or mental changes that might raise suspicion.

But now?It's time.

He started with +5 STR.

A warm sensation spread across his body, his muscles subtly expanding, his abs becoming more defined. He flexed his arm slightly—his muscles felt denser, stronger.

Still manageable.

Next, +5 AGI.

His legs tingled as if electricity surged through his muscles. His movement felt lighter, more controlled. He threw a quick punch in the air.

Whoosh!

It was fast—far faster than before. If he were in a boxing ring, he'd be unstoppable. But fighting wasn't his goal.

+5 VIT and +5 PER.

His stamina surged, his breathing became sharper, his awareness heightened. Every sound, every detail in the room felt crisper, like his senses had been cleaned of impurities.

Then, the real challenge.

He hesitated for a moment before pumping +5 INT.

A wave of clarity rushed through him. His thoughts quickened, his ability to process information became sharper. It was like he could hold more threads of logic in his head at once.

He clenched his fists. Not enough.

+20 INT Dump

The moment he confirmed the change, an intense pain shot through his skull.

"Agh—!"

It felt like thousands of tiny ants were burrowing into his brain, rearranging something deep inside. His vision blurred, colors intensified, and for a moment, he thought his head was going to explode.

But his Constitution (31) kept him from passing out.

The transformation continued.

His thoughts expanded—his ability to comprehend complex systems reached new heights. Every line of code he had ever written, every algorithm he had ever studied, every bit of knowledge he had consumed aligned perfectly in his mind.

His Information Processing skill leveled up instantly.

[ Skill Upgrade: Information Processing → Level 3 ]

"Holy shit."

He exhaled, gripping the bench tightly. His mind felt limitless, like he could construct entire software blueprints just by thinking.

Richard exhaled deeply, his heartbeat steadying after the massive INT upgrade. The rush of knowledge, the heightened mental clarity, and the sheer power of comprehension made him feel like he could rewrite the world with just a thought.

But that was just one aspect of his evolution.

"Might as well keep going," he thought, eyes flickering toward his remaining stats.

With zero hesitation, he pumped +20 into Constitution.

The pain was immediate.

It was a deep, crushing force, like his body was being reshaped at a molecular level. Every muscle, every bone, every cell in his body compressed and expanded at the same time, sending waves of agony through his nerves.

His heart pounded like a war drum, his lungs burned as if he had been running for hours. But he gritted his teeth, embracing the suffering.

If he was going to upgrade, then he would go all in.

As the transformation settled, he expected his frame to bulk up, but instead—his body felt tighter, more compact.

He stood up, rolling his shoulders.His muscles were more defined, his posture more powerful, yet he didn't feel bloated or oversized.

Then he noticed something else.

His height had changed.

Status Update

Name: Richard Santamo

Age: 23

Weight: 136 lbs

Height: 6'3"

SP: 630,000

[ SHOP ] [ SKILLS ]

Stat Points Left: 215

STR: 23

CON: 51

AGI: 24

PER: 24

VIT: 24

INT: 44

"I just grew two inches? Damn."

His confidence surged. He felt stronger, faster, more resilient—like his body had become a perfectly optimized machine.

Still, he wasn't done.

Pushing the Limits


Ignoring the slight warning signals in his mind, he dumped +20 into Strength.

The pain was lesser this time, more like a dull pressure rather than searing agony. His muscles didn't just grow—they compressed, becoming denser, more explosive.

Next, +20 to Vitality.

His stamina expanded, his breath control became almost perfect. He felt like he could run a marathon, then fight a war afterward without breaking a sweat.

Then, +20 to Perception.

The world slowed down.

No, not really—but his eyes now processed fast-moving objects in a way he never had before. The subtle shifts in the air, the twitch of a muscle, the tiny movements of dust floating in the light—he could see it all.

It was intoxicating.

But every human who gains immense power does the same thing.

They get reckless.

Richard stared at his remaining 175 stat points.



A dangerous, reckless grin stretched across his face.

"Fuck it. Let's find out how far this goes."

He dumped +49 straight into Constitution.

Breaking the Limit

This time, it wasn't just pain.

It was pure suffering.

His bones expanded, then compressed violently. His muscles stretched, then tightened to inhuman density. His organs pulsed, adapting to his new superhuman endurance.

His entire body screamed for release, but his pride refused to let him.

He bit down hard, gripping the gym bench as his veins pulsed like molten lava was running through them. He could hear his own heartbeat like a roaring drum, feel his muscle fibers twisting and realigning, becoming something beyond human.

His height shot up again.

Then, after what felt like an eternity of agony, the transformation stopped.

Richard staggered forward, breathing heavily. Sweat dripped from his forehead, his fingers trembling.

And yet—beneath the exhaustion—he felt it.

Power.

Pure, undeniable power.

He clenched his fists.

He could feel it radiating inside him, a gut instinct, an unshakable certainty.

He had become something else.

Not just stronger.

Not just faster.

But something beyond normal human limitations.

A smile stretched across his lips, his hands shaking slightly.

Richard lay motionless on the cold gym floor, his body drenched in a pool of black, viscous liquid.

The thick, tar-like substance clung to his skin, reeking of something unnatural—something old. It wasn't sweat. It wasn't blood. It was the impurities his body had purged, the remnants of his former self, expelled as if his very biology had rejected them.

He let out a weak chuckle, his breath ragged.

"I'm... changing."

This was no longer just a physical transformation—this was something far greater.

His body had evolved, but so had his mind.

And deep inside, a creeping realization set in—he was stepping away from what it meant to be human.

But was that really a bad thing?

To become something beyond?

To reach the next stage of evolution, one had to shed the past—the limitations, the fears, the beliefs that shackled progress.

His glowing eyes dimmed as he steadied his breath, closing them momentarily.

There was one final step.

Richard understood one universal truth—knowledge was power.

But power was dangerous when mishandled.

If he wasn't mentally strong enough to handle the knowledge, it would consume him.

The system's technologies, skills, and abilities were beyond modern science. If his brain wasn't prepared to process them, the information could crush him, unraveling his very consciousness.

He needed to adapt.

He needed to prepare his mind to grasp the impossible.

To build a dam big enough to hold the ocean.

To forge a mind vast enough to contain the universe.

"This is it."

His fingers trembled slightly as he dumped +56 stat points into Intelligence.

The moment he confirmed the stat allocation, reality itself seemed to glitch.

Then, pain.

Unimaginable. Unrelenting.

It was as if his skull had been cracked open, and something was forcing its way in.

A burning inferno ignited within his brain, spreading like a wildfire, consuming every synapse, every neuron, every thought.

His neurons fired faster than the speed of thought, processing millions of calculations per second—more than what any human mind was designed to withstand.

Richard screamed.

A sound so raw, so primal, it shook the very foundation of the mansion.

His brain was breaking free.

The evolutionary limiters placed by nature, by biology, by the constraints of the human condition—shattered.

His mind expanded, pushing past the boundaries of logic and reason, opening doors that were never meant to be unlocked.

The hidden potential within the human genome—the latent abilities that had lain dormant for millennia—began to awaken.

Jack was jolted awake in his bed, his heart hammering against his ribs.

What the fuck was that scream?!

He threw off the covers and sprinted toward the gym, his gut twisting with a sense of impending doom.

Down the hall, Estello and Anita were already up, running toward the same direction, panic in their eyes.

Maria, the maid, clutched her chest as she rushed after them, her breathing shaky.

Then—

They felt it.

A pressure in the air.

An invisible force, radiating from the gym in waves, thick and suffocating.

The walls trembled as if an earthquake had erupted inside the mansion.

The lights flickered, casting eerie shadows across the hallways.

As they reached the gym doors, a sudden blast of force sent them staggering backward—as if a hurricane had erupted from within.

They struggled to push forward, their bodies resisting the pressure, their instincts screaming at them to run.

But they had to see.

They had to know what was happening.

Inside the gym, everything was floating.

Dumbbells. Barbells. Even the heavier gym machines had lifted off the ground, suspended in midair, weightless.

The mirrors cracked, unable to withstand the force of the energy pulsing through the room.

The paintings on the walls warped, their frames bending as if reality itself was being distorted.

And in the center of it all—

Richard.

His body was levitating, feet inches off the ground, his arms hanging loosely by his sides.

His eyes glowed, not with light, but with pure, raw energy—an otherworldly power radiating from his very being.

Then—

Everything stopped.

Richard's body dropped.

He collapsed onto the cold, hard floor, completely unconscious.

The floating objects crashed down all at once—weights slamming into the ground, machines shaking violently before settling.

The air became still.

Silence.



Then—

A system panel flickered before his fading vision.

A message only he could see.

[ Trait Unlocked: Psionic Level 1 ]

[ System Requirements Acquired ]

[ Upgrading to System Level 2 ]

[ Initiating Sequence... ]

[ ... ]

[ ... ]

Richard's consciousness faded as the system began its next evolution.

The world had changed.

And so had he.