"Aghh! What just happened?"
Holding his head as he sat up, he closed his eyes, trying to recollect what had happened before he lost consciousness.
"I remember enjoying the sun on the ship just a moment ago… then that happened. Wait—how am I even alive?"
Yes, just moments ago, as he was sunbathing peacefully on his long-awaited holidays, a wave so enormous—no, rather, a tsunami—raged toward the cruise he was on, covering the sky and everything around it. But surprisingly, not a single person on the ship screamed upon facing impending death.
Yes, death. Nobody on that ship had any hope of surviving that disaster, yet they were all immersed in the beauty of the view. More specifically, the view inside the wave, which was filled with stars, auroras, and scenes magically floating in and out of existence like an illusion.
"That was really out of this world…"
He remembered that just before the wave crashed down on them, a huge tower appeared. And just calling it huge was an understatement—it literally covered the world as he lost consciousness.
"Anyway… what is this place? Is it the afterlife?"
He thought as he stood up, looking around at the white, cloudy space surrounding him.
[WELCOME, CLIMBER]
As soon as he thought that, a deep male voice resounded through space. The clouds around him began to condense, forming a humanoid shape in the air.
Despite the magical sight before him, surprisingly, he remained calm as he thought to himself:
Oh yeah. I'm so dead. I lived an honest life and didn't do much evil, so hopefully I get to go to heaven.
He started counting his sins in his head, hoping they wouldn't outweigh his good deeds. But before he could finish, the cloud-shaped being spoke again.
[O CLIMBER, WELCOME TO PRIMORDIA SEPULCHER]
[THIS IS THE PATH OF SURVIVAL AND EVOLUTION.]
[SO CLIMB, O CLIMBER, AND SURVIVE.]
"Wait, what are you talking about? Climbing what? If I'm dead… is this Hell?"
[YES. YOU COULD CALL IT THAT. FOR SOME, IT IS HELL.]
[CLIMBER, RECEIVE YOUR GIFT. I SHALL AWAKEN YOUR SOUL.]
The cloud spirit gestured with its hand, and a small cloud shot forward and entered his body.
"Wha—AAAHHH! It burns!!"
The moment the cloud entered him, his entire being ignited in pain. White, cloudy flames gnawed at his consciousness.
The cloud spirit watched in silence before speaking once more.
[CLIMBER, ENJOY YOUR GIFT. AND REMEMBER—IN PRIMORDIA, NOTHING WILL EVER BE GIVEN FOR FREE AGAIN.]
AAAAH! IT BURNS! WHAT BULLSHIT IS THIS CLOUD CAKE SPEWING?!
He resisted as long as he could, but the pain overwhelmed him, and his vision faded as he closed his eyes.
--------------
Woosh
Aghh!
"Where am I? I was just in a white space but—!"
His eyes snapped open as he stood up and examined himself.
A 1.9-meter-tall, ripped, brown-skinned man in his twenties stared back at him from a nearby reflection. He had a relatively handsome, manly face, a beard, and short hair reaching his ears.
"I'm not burned at all… actually, my physique got better. I feel full of strength."
Aggh!
A burning sensation flared on his back for a moment but he ignored it. He looked around.
"So this is the forest of the first floor… then everything that thing said was true."
As the cloudy fire burned him earlier, a stream of knowledge had flooded his mind—information about the first floor, the world map, and how to reach the next one.
"SOUL RECORD."
A scroll unfolded before his eyes.
[Name: Wuyin James
Age: 27
Rank: First Order – Zero ★
Physique: 9
Intellect: 9
Energy: 0
Soul Ability: Serpent of Destruction and Reincarnation
Physique Trait: Infinite Evolution
Cultivation Technique: None
Order Skills: None]
Among the things he awakened was the ability to access this Soul Record.
"Hm… it should be around there."
After scanning his surroundings, he began walking north.
A few minutes later, he reached a lake.
"As I thought. Seems my time surviving in the wild wasn't wasted."
With a smug grin, he approached the water and looked at his reflection.
"Well, wow… my irises turned white. And this…"
This must be related to my ability.
On his back was a white tattoo of a snake coiling around a tower.
"Floor status."
[First Floor
Objective: Survive for one month
Description: You have been dropped into a forest infested with mutated monsters in the world of Freya. Survive for 30 days to receive rewards based on performance.]
"Let's not waste time. I still need to find shelter and—"
Rustle.
A sudden sound came from the bushes across the lake.
Startled, Wuyin quickly retreated behind a nearby tree and observed carefully.
Is it a wild beast?
A creature he had never seen before emerged.
So this is what they meant by mutated…
It was a small, green, two-legged creature about one and a half meters tall. Skinny overall, but with a disfigured physique—bulky in some places and bone-thin in others. The goblin-like creature held a stone dagger as it cautiously circled the lake.
Suddenly, it stopped and stared directly toward the tree Wuyin was hiding behind.
Jolt.
It's coming this way!
The creature suddenly charged, screaming strange sounds.
"KIEK! KIEEEEK!"
"Well, no other choice then."
Wuyin stepped out to face it head-on.
"KIIIIK!!"
Angered, the goblin lunged, stabbing toward his chest.
"What a crude fella."
Wuyin calmly waited.
Step.
At the last moment, he sidestepped and tripped the goblin, sending it crashing face-first into the ground.
Before it could recover, Wuyin stepped on its dagger hand and pinned it down.
Thud!
Gah!
The goblin lost its grip. Wuyin snatched the dagger and plunged it into the creature's nape without hesitation.
"Kiiiiiii—!"
It thrashed violently before collapsing.
It's been a while since I hunted… Back on Earth, I used to hunt often. After graduating, life just got busier.
Zing.
A white, transparent wave of light shot from the goblin's body into Wuyin as a burning sensation spread across his back as the wave of light merged into his body. Wuyin stiffened for a moment, then slowly relaxed.
That should be my ability… Infinite Evolution.
He focused on the sensation, and fragments of understanding surfaced in his mind.
As long as I keep killing living beings, my body will absorb their remaining energy.
The tattoo on his back pulsed faintly.
That energy accumulates inside me, feeding the evolution of my physique.
He clenched his fists.
When the entire tattoo turns black…
A shiver ran down his spine.
I'll gain a new form or a new ability, depending on the types of energy I absorbed.
There were no instructions, no voice explaining it to him—just instinctive knowledge, as if the ability itself was whispering its rules directly into his soul.
So this is how it works…
Ting.
A sharp sound echoed beside Wuyin.
The air in front of him distorted, and a translucent, hologram-like panel appeared. Cold, emotionless, and completely detached from him.
Wuyin's eyes narrowed.
"So this is the Tower's thing…"
The panel displayed its message without acknowledging him.
[Tower Notification]
[Target eliminated: First Order – Zero ★ Goblin]
[Reward issued: +20 Spire Coins]
Nothing else followed. No explanation. No guidance.
The hologram lingered for a brief second before flickering out of existence.
"I should move. Shelter comes first."
-------------
Three days later…
"This is the twenty-sixth one."
Three days had passed since he landed in this forest, and he had already grown accustomed to surviving here. He had settled in a cave along a cliff and survived mainly on berries found on goblin corpses, which—surprisingly—were edible.
During those three days, he had encountered many goblins and hunted them down, some through traps and others through ambushes. From what he could tell, they all belonged to the same tribe. Each one bore the same tattoo on their shoulder: a goat-like face.
"They always seem to show up around this area…"
From his previous encounters, Wuyin had roughly mapped out their range of activity.
Hide.
As if to prove his words, it didn't take long before another goblin appeared, crouching as it picked berries from the ground.
Let's do this.
A dagger flew.
Throw.
Hit.
"Kieeek!"
The dagger buried itself into the goblin's shoulder. It screamed and spun around in pain, desperately searching for its attacker.
Before it could react—
Another dagger flew from the opposite direction, striking its waist.
"KIEEEEEK!"
Confused, injured, and enraged, the goblin turned and bolted, running blindly in one direction.
They rely on their sense of smell… good thing I covered myself in mud.
After roughly fifteen minutes of pursuit, the goblin's movements slowed. Its breathing grew heavy, its steps uneven.
"Your job's done."
Stab.
The dagger slid cleanly into the goblin's neck. Its body stiffened before collapsing to the ground.
Wuyin quickly dragged the corpse away, hiding it deep within the bushes before retrieving his weapons.
…Are they celebrating?
Faint noises drifted through the forest ahead—voices, movement, something unnatural.
Carefully, Wuyin crept toward a clearing hidden among the trees.
"What in the hell is going on?!"