So far, being a dot wasn't as peaceful as it sounded.
Sure, he didn't have to pay rent anymore. No one knocked on his door asking if he was "still alive in there." And there were no deadlines, no homework, and no group projects where he had to carry three other people and pretend not to be dead inside.
But on the flip side… he was small enough to be mistaken for a sneeze and eaten by river bugs.
So, you know. Mixed bag.
He floated through the river, bobbing gently in the current, just one lonely atom with a glowing system voice in his head and a growing hunger for anything that moved.
[Progress: 22/100]
He needed more. More algae. More bugs. More weird magic leftovers from wannabe wizards who were too busy chanting to notice the sparkling dot in their sacred river.
"Seek," he muttered mentally, "what's the fastest way to evolve?"
[Absorb stronger life forms. Or higher magic sources. Or both.]
"Yeah, okay, let me just ask the river dragon politely to jump into my mouth."
[You do not have a mouth.]
"You're very good at killing the mood."
[Thank you.]
He sighed, or at least pretended to in his own head. Then, a flicker of movement nearby. Tiny fish. Not the same ones as before — these were quick, twitchy, and weirdly aggressive.
He drifted closer.
[Target: River Flickers – Tier 0.5]
[Low intelligence. Weak defense. Delicious.]
Perfect.
He edged in, quiet as a breath, which, again, he didn't have.
The fish didn't see him. He latched onto the smallest one, wrapped his presence around it like a hungry cloud, and drank it.
The taste? Fishy. With a side of mild lightning. Not bad.
[Progress: 23/100]
He went for the second fish. It fought back. Somehow. It twitched so fast he lost track of it.
"Okay, that one's got ADHD," he muttered.
Eventually he caught another, then another. The fish started noticing something was wrong. One even darted off and vanished under a rock.
Whatever. He was still eating.
[Progress: 29/100]
That's when he sensed something... new.
Not just a creature. Not mana. Bigger. Heavier. Dumber.
It was… a rock.
Well, it looked like a rock. Until it opened its mouth and revealed teeth.
[Warning: Rocktoad Detected – Tier 2.5 Predator]
[Not Actually a Rock. Also Not Friendly.]
The rocktoad blinked its gross eyes and snapped at the water. Just barely missed him. Water splashed. Tiny fish scattered. He froze.
Then realized something.
The toad had mana. Lots of it. Thick and sticky like soup made of lightning and tree bark.
"Can I eat it?" he asked, whispering in his brain.
[Not recommended. Unless you enjoy being digested over six hours.]
"Cool, cool. No toad-eating. Got it."
He drifted low, hiding under river weed. Waited. The toad didn't notice him. It croaked, snapped up a fish, and paddled away like a lazy underwater demon.
[Note: Target's Mana Trail Left Residue.]
"Oh?" He floated toward the leftover gunk. It shimmered in the water like sparkly oil.
He slurped it.
And whoa.
This was better than the wizard mana. It was raw. Untamed. Chaotic. Like licking a battery that had been soaking in moonlight.
[Progress: 37/100]
[Skill Upgrade: Mana Digestion Lv.2]
[New Skill: Mana Sense Lv.1 – Passive]
Suddenly, the world changed.
Not visually. He still didn't have eyes. But he felt everything clearer. Like going from a cheap phone mic to studio audio.
He could sense creatures farther away now. Mana flows. Warm-blooded things. Cold rocks. Everything had a pulse. Even the river itself hummed like an old engine.
It was… overwhelming. But cool.
Until he noticed something else.
A pulse. Huge. Old. Slow.
[Danger Level: Unknown. Recommended: Immediate Retreat.]
"Oh no," he muttered.
The water shifted.
Far above, something ancient stirred. He couldn't see it, but the whole river got nervous. The fish dove. The toad swam away. Even the plants tensed.
Then he heard it — a sound deep and echoing like thunder rolling through bones.
[New Entity Detected: Elder Current Serpent – Tier ???]
That many question marks? Never good.
It didn't look like it was after him. Not yet. But its presence filled the water like a god dropped into a puddle.
And it was headed downstream.
Right where he was going.
"…Seek?"
[Yes?]
"I think I need a detour."
[Agreed.]
The current pulled hard now. No way to fight it. So he turned his focus inward.
Eat more. Get stronger. That was the plan.
He floated past magic moss, absorbed it. Scooped up more bugs. Siphoned magic drips from rocks. He was a vacuum with no shape, slurping everything like a depressed Roomba.
[Progress: 58/100]
And then he felt it — a click. Like a gear snapping into place.
[Evolution Threshold Approaching. Remaining: 42 Lifeforms.]
He was close.
So close he could taste it. Well, if he had a tongue.
That night — or what passed for night — he rested under a fallen log, absorbing leftover warmth from a fire crystal embedded in the wood.
He pulsed softly with energy. Growing. Slowly. Silently.
A tiny dot in a giant world.
But not for long.