The rain wouldn't stop.
It fell in heavy sheets, drumming against the cracked sidewalk as I walked home from work. The city was dark, soaked in grime and headlights, and I was just another shadow lost in the crowd. No one noticed me. They never did.
My name?
Honestly, I don't even remember anymore. Maybe it didn't matter.
I worked at a convenience store on the graveyard shift, where I spent most nights behind a counter, selling instant noodles and cheap cigarettes to half-asleep strangers. No family. No friends. Just me, a few torn uniforms, and a hole in my wallet.
The streetlight above me flickered as I crossed the road.
That's when it happened.
A blinding light.
Screeching tires.
Pain—brief, sharp, like a nail driven into my ribs.
Then... darkness.
No one called out my name. No hands reached to help me. I felt my heart stop on the wet pavement, my eyes staring up at the clouds.
And then I fell.
Not down into death.
Down into... water.
I gasped—but no air came. My lungs didn't burn. In fact, I didn't have lungs anymore.
I opened my eyes.
Blue.
Everywhere.
Light danced across the surface above me, rippling like a silver curtain. Strange plants swayed below, their tendrils curling like fingers. Tiny creatures darted through the water around me, sparkling like stars.
I floated. No pain, no weight. Just the soft pull of the current.
[SYSTEM ACTIVATED.]
A strange voice echoed in my mind, calm and mechanical.
[Species: Common River Fish (Juvenile)]
[Status: Weak / Inexperienced]
[Evolution System Activated.]
[Level: 1]
[Available Stat Points: 0]
[Survive and Adapt to Evolve.]
Wait, what?
A system? Like in a game?
I looked down—if you could call it looking—and saw a tiny silver-blue body. Slippery. Slimy. Two thin fins wiggled uselessly on my sides. A tail flicked behind me.
I was… a fish.
No joke. No metaphor. An actual fish.
Panic surged through me, and I darted forward instinctively—but quickly smacked into a rock.
"Ow!"
Well, I didn't say it, but I felt it. A dull throb spread through my tiny body, and the system popped up again.
[-1 HP]
[Current HP: 4/5]
"Only five health points?" I thought. "I could die from bumping into a crab."
Just as I had the thought, I saw movement in the sand below. A shadow crept out from under a shell. A crab. Large. Its eyes locked on me with hungry intent.
Nope.
I flapped my tail, darting through the water like a man possessed. The crab gave chase, claws snapping shut with terrifying force.
[Instinct Skill: Burst Swim (Lv.1) Activated]
A sudden jolt of speed shot through my body, and I shot forward like a bullet. The crab fell behind, its claws snapping at empty water.
I hid behind a cluster of riverweed, heart racing. Or whatever was pumping in my fishy chest.
That was too close.
Time passed. I wasn't sure how long. Minutes, maybe hours.
I learned quickly.
Food was everywhere—tiny water bugs, floating algae, even decaying flesh from a larger creature upstream. Disgusting? Maybe. But hunger drove me to bite down on anything that looked remotely edible.
[You have consumed food. +1 EXP]
[You have leveled up.]
[Level: 2 → 3]
[Stat Points Gained: 2]
A warm sensation flowed through my body. It felt... good. Satisfying. Like something inside me had clicked.
[Distribute Stat Points?]
I had two choices:
AGI (Agility) – Swim speed, reflexes.
STR (Strength) – Bite force, durability.
VIT (Vitality) – Health and resistance.
INT (Intelligence) – Unlock abilities, faster evolution.
SEN (Senses) – Improve vision, smell, awareness.
After a moment's thought, I dumped both points into AGI.
Speed was survival. I couldn't fight anything yet, but I could run—or swim—away faster.
[AGI increased by +2]
I tested it immediately, dashing between rocks and weeds. I moved like a blur, much faster than before. It felt natural.
A school of smaller fish swam nearby, curious and dumb. I watched them scatter as a long, shadowy shape slithered through the water behind them.
A snake.
Long, sinuous, black and green. It moved without a sound, mouth open, fangs gleaming.
It didn't see me.
But I saw what it did next.
The snake struck, faster than a blink. One of the small fish vanished in a cloud of bubbles and blood.
[Predator Detected: River Serpent Hatchling]
[Danger Level: High]
Yeah, no. Time to leave.
Days passed—or maybe weeks.
I grew stronger. Faster. Smarter. I learned to recognize threats by the way the water shifted, how shadows moved, how scents changed.
I leveled up.
[Level: 5]
[Stat Points Available: 5]
More importantly, I reached a new milestone.
[Evolution Available.]
The screen appeared suddenly, golden and glowing.
Choose Evolution Path:
Swiftscale Minnow – Increases AGI greatly. Gains passive Evasion skill.
Bitefin Perch – Balanced evolution. Moderate STR and AGI.
Stonehide Carp – Tank class. Boosts VIT and defense.
Mutant Path: Venom Fang Sprat – Adds toxic bite. +INT requirement.
The options tempted me. Especially the mutant one. A poisonous bite? That could change everything.
But I didn't have enough INT yet. I needed 3 points, and I had only 1.
In the end, I chose:
Swiftscale Minnow
[Evolution Initiated...]
A golden light surrounded me. My body tingled, then a wave of pain hit me like a current.
Bones stretched. Fins split and grew sharper. My scales shifted, becoming sleeker and iridescent.
When it was over, I wasn't just a fish anymore.
I was something faster. Sharper. A predator in the making.
I hunted.
Not just for food—but for experience.
I darted through schools of fish, snatching stragglers. I avoided larger predators and learned to use terrain to my advantage. I even started laying traps, baiting curious prey toward tight spaces where I could strike.
I leveled up again. And again.
[Level: 10]
[AGI: 15]
[STR: 4]
[VIT: 5]
[INT: 2]
[SEN: 6]
I was evolving.
But something was coming.
The river grew colder. The currents stronger. A strange pull drew me downstream. My instincts told me to follow.
And then, I saw it.
A massive rift in the riverbed—a black hole, deep and ancient. I floated above it, heart pounding. From the darkness below, something stirred.
Eyes.
Huge ones.
And then a voice, deep and rumbling, echoed in my mind.
"Another one dares to climb the chain…"
I froze.
"Little fish. Do you truly believe you can rise above your form?"
I didn't answer. I couldn't.
"Then prove it. Survive me."
The current exploded.
Something enormous shot upward from the darkness. A creature unlike anything I had seen—serpent, eel, dragon? I didn't know. Its body coiled like smoke, and its eyes glowed like suns.
I turned and swam.
Not out of fear—but out of fire. I was not going to die again. Not without evolving to something greater. Not without breaking free of this fragile form.
And somewhere deep inside, the system whispered:
[Mythic Evolution Path Unlocked – Conditions: ???]