At the exact moment he was wondering how to make money as quickly as possible, the System spoke again.
[HOST, I MUST REMIND YOU THAT SINCE THIS IS THE FIRST TIME YOU HAVE BONDED A PET, YOU ARE ELIGIBLE FOR A FREE RANDOM EVOLUTION. WOULD YOU LIKE TO USE IT?]
Ethan was surprised. While he had been complaining about the prices, he knew that earning the money wouldn't be impossible; he could easily infiltrate a gang or a syndicate, or even work as a bounty hunter or an assassin by accepting black market contracts. It was well known that such work paid well, and with his skills and his parents' old contacts, entering that world would be no difficult task.
Even so, he wasn't about to look a gift horse in the mouth, so he accepted. "Yes, do it."
Seconds later, the System chimed again.
[DOES THE HOST AGREE TO USE A RANDOM EVOLUTION ON THUD?]
With a quick confirmation, Ethan agreed. He didn't have to wait long; the System's voice returned in less than a minute.
[EVOLUTION SUCCESSFUL.]
[THE RANDOM EVOLUTION OBTAINED IS TIER A (EVOLUTION – GENERAL ENHANCEMENT).]
[YOUR PET NUMBER 001, THUD, HAS IMPROVED FLIGHT SPEED
YOUR PET NUMBER 001, THUD, HAS IMPROVED STRENGTH
YOUR PET NUMBER 001, THUD, HAS IMPROVED WITH SUPER-DEVELOPED SENSES
YOUR PET NUMBER 001, THUD, HAS IMPROVED COMBAT EFFICIENCY.]
[THUD MORPHOLOGY: FLY
NUMBER: 001
EVOLUTION: GENERAL ENHANCEMENT
ABILITIES: NONE
SPECIALTY: NOT AVAILABLE
COMBAT POWER: 1,250]
Once the notification vanished and Thud's new attributes appeared, Ethan broke into a sharp, biting grin. Indeed, even though it was just a fly, the improvement was massive. Originally a weak insect, its entire body had received a total boost that changed it completely.
The most intuitive change was Thud's speed. A blur buzzed past Ethan's ear, and in the blink of an eye, it had flown from the kitchen table to the large window. The speed was so intense that even Ethan, trained since childhood, couldn't track its flight path; he could only hear the heavy drone of its wings.
Then came the power. Following Ethan's instructions, the fly was able to directly knock over the fruit bowl on the table. While knocking over a fruit basket might be child's play for a human, one had to remember this was a fly—a creature no one would give a second thought to until it was too late.
If Thud had the power to easily topple a fruit basket, then if equipped with sharp tools, wouldn't it be able to kill people invisibly?
Thinking of this, Ethan opened the fridge and found a watermelon the size of a soccer ball. Though it was slightly yellowed, the "stress-test" capacity of a watermelon skin was naturally quite high. It was perfect for the test.
He placed the watermelon on the table and found a needle among his mother's old things. Using a scalpel, he cut the needle, reducing it to a tenth of its original length, and set it aside. Then, he communicated mentally with Thud, ordering it to pick up the small piece of the needle and dive at full speed into the surface of the fruit.
With the System's help, giving orders to "pets" was simple. However, due to the lack of an "evolved language," he couldn't hold a conversation with the insect. All he could do was issue commands, but that was more than enough.
Under his command, Thud flew over the cut needle with great obedience and picked up the fragment effortlessly. Done with that, it beat its wings with power and sped toward the watermelon. Thud reached the target in barely half a second. Passing over the surface, Thud masterfully controlled the needle fragment, leaving a sharp horizontal gash in the rind.
"Pshht."
A faint sound was heard, and the watermelon, which had been perfectly intact, was sliced with a subtle cut. The opening was so clean it was almost invisible unless one looked closely. However, one had to keep in mind that a watermelon's epidermis is quite thick. If this had been a person's throat instead, they would likely be on the ground bleeding out by now—especially if the carotid artery had been hit.
Ethan couldn't help but feel a rush of adrenaline, laughing uncontrollably. It could be said that with this current lethality, while Ethan wouldn't dare face a powerful mutant head-on yet, he was confident that anyone who wasn't vigilant could end up dead in seconds.
For the first time, Ethan truly felt the power of the System. And this was just a fly, and it wasn't even an advanced-level evolution. Furthermore, it was a random evolution focused on general improvement, not a targeted evolution of a specific organ.
What if it were evolutionary tentacles, or brains, or wings? Wouldn't it be even more lethal? As he thought about it, Ethan grew more and more excited about the System's potential.
This sparked a bold idea. "System, you said a Direct Evolution allows for the evolution of any specific organ of the animal, right?"
[CORRECT. AS LONG AS THE HOST HAS THE NECESSARY PURCHASING POWER, THE ANIMAL IN QUESTION CAN BE EVOLVED TO PERFECTION.]
He immediately thought of Thud. Although it was now fast and strong, it lacked innate attack power. Thud couldn't go around carrying a piece of a needle forever. He decided to use the same concept, but as a Direct Evolution.
"System, if I wanted Thud to have cutting appendages, how much would it cost?"
[HOST, IN THAT REGARD, I WOULD RECOMMEND A TIER S DIRECT EVOLUTION FOCUSED ON EVOLVING CARBON STEEL BLADES WITHIN THE TARSUS OF THUD'S TWO FRONT LEGS. THEY WOULD BE RETRACTABLE. THE PRICE FOR THIS EVOLUTION WOULD BE $10,500.]
"Do it."
[DOES THE HOST AGREE TO USE A DIRECT EVOLUTION ON THUD?]
Just like before, Ethan accepted. After two minutes, the System responded.
[EVOLUTION SUCCESSFUL.]
[THE DIRECT EVOLUTION OBTAINED IS TIER S (EVOLUTION – GROWTH OF APPENDAGES).]
[YOUR PET NUMBER 001, THUD, HAS OBTAINED 10MM LONG CARBON STEEL APPENDAGES, RETRACTABLE WITHIN THE FRONT LEFT AND RIGHT TARSUS.]
[THUD
MORPHOLOGY: FLY
NUMBER: 001
EVOLUTION: GENERAL ENHANCEMENT
ABILITIES: CARBON STEEL APPENDAGES
SPECIALTY: NOT AVAILABLE
COMBAT POWER: 2,340]
Seeing the new status, Ethan couldn't stop smiling. With a single evolution, Thud's combat power had nearly doubled. He didn't want to wait to test it, so he asked Thud to try and cut the chain holding one of the hanging lights over the kitchen table.
Thud didn't keep him waiting and flew to fulfill the task immediately.
"Skree!"
A sharp screeching sound echoed. Ethan had to climb onto a chair to check, and a look of pure shock escaped him. The chain wasn't very thick—maybe half a centimeter at most—but each link was made of steel. Even so, one of the links had been sliced through completely, leaving a clean, visible line across the metal.
"Hahahaha!"
If Ethan was surprised before, he was ecstatic now. He finally had the means to achieve glory, but more importantly, to be powerful enough to live without compromise.