[...] Klik roared, a sound of pure, agonizeddecision.
He shoved the [Formian Legionnaire Core (E-Rank - Mid)]into his mouth.
He bit down.
KRAK!
The sound wasn't just in his skull; it echoed in the cavern, sharp and brittle. Blue-black energy, cold and alien, flooded his senses. It wasn't just power; it was information, the chitinous logic of the Hive, the scent of a million pheromone trails, the presence of the distant Queen. It tasted like ozone and static.
[WARNING: HOSTILE E-RANK (MID) INSECTOID ESSENCE DETECTED!]
[ENERGY OVERLOAD! SYSTEM INTEGRITY COMPROMISED!]
[ALERT: FOREIGN HIVE-MIND SIGNATURE DETECTED!]
[ATTEMPTING [Hive-Mind Integration (Mental-Attack)]!]
The voice. It slammed into his mind not as a request, but as an imperative. A crushing weight of collective will, demanding submission. SUBMIT. JOIN. OBEY. BECOME HIVE. Images flooded him – endless black tunnels, the rhythmic clicking of millions, the suffocating comfort of the collective, the overwhelming presence of the Queen Mother at the nexus of it all. It felt ancient, inevitable, absolute. It wasn't just attacking his thoughts; it was trying to rewrite his identity. The edges of his human memories blurred, the face of his mother in Douala fading behind a screen of chitinous masks. His goblin cunning felt primitive, chaotic, wrong. DISCARD. ASSIMILATE. BECOME PERFECT.
"NO!" The roar wasn't just vocal; it was psychic. His 46 Intelligence, the impossible fusion of a Cameroonian bookworm and a nascent goblin-king, ignited. It wasn't just a shield; it was a weapon. He lashed out, not with logic, but with identity. I AM KLIK! KING OF THE BARRIER! FORGE-MASTER! I BOW TO NO QUEEN! He threw images back at the Hive-Mind – the agony of his fused armor, the fury of the forge, the terror in his tribe's eyes, the satisfaction of the Legionnaire's death. THIS IS MINE! YOU CANNOT HAVE IT!
His will, forged in literal and metaphorical fire, slammed against the alien presence.
[INT Check (46) vs Difficulty (35)... CRITICAL SUCCESS! RESISTED!]
[FOREIGN HIVE-MIND SIGNATURE PURGED! RESIDUAL [Command-Pheromone] data absorbed. Psionic Resistance increased!]
The mental assault shattered. But the physical consequence was just beginning. The blue-black energy, denied his mind, poured into his body, a tsunami seeking purchase.
[EVOLUTION CONDITIONS MET! (Forced - Unstable - Insectoid Dominant)!]
[WARNING: EVOLUTION PATH HEAVILY SKEWED BY CONSUMED CORE! Insufficient stabilizing essences detected!]
[SYSTEM ALERT: CATASTROPHIC MUTATION IMMINENT! ENERGY MATRIX COLLAPSING! REQUIRES IMMEDIATE INFUSION OF ADDITIONAL E-RANK CORE ENERGY TO STABILIZE!]
Pain. Raw, tearing, disintegrating pain. It wasn't just his bones liquefying; it felt like his soul was fraying. The Formian energy was too much, too alien. It was ripping his goblin form apart, trying to force it into an ant-shape he instinctively rejected. His vision greyed out. Warning klaxons screamed in his mind. STABILIZE! CONSUME! OR DIE!
His hand, moving on pure, desperate instinct fueled by his screaming System, flew to his pouch. He ignored the Volcanic Core'sown danger. Deathnow or deathlater.
He ripped the [Volcanic Gastropod Core (Unstable)] free. It pulsed hot yellow, crackling with barely contained thermal fury.
He didn'tbite. He slammed it against the pulsating, newly-formingspacein his chest where his Monster Orb was trying to coalesce.
[ADDITIONAL E-RANK CORE DETECTED! [Volcanic Gastropod Core (Unstable)]!]
[WARNING: CORE IS HIGHLY VOLATILE! ABSORPTION RISK: 70% CATASTROPHIC DETONATION!]
[FORCED ABSORPTION INITIATED TO PREVENT MUTAGENIC COLLAPSE!]
WHUMP.
The sound was internal, a muffled explosion deep within his chest. Heat. Blinding, searing, SUN-CORE heat flooded him, colliding with the cold, blue-blackFormian energy.
It wasn'tstabilizing. It was war.
His body became the battleground. The cold logic of the Hive warred with the mindless, burning hunger of the Gastropod. Acid fought Fire. Chitin fought Slime.
He screamed, a sound that cracked stone, a sound that shattered the remaining morale of both goblins and Formians nearby. He convulsed on the ground, his body flickering, shifting, tearing itself apart and rebuildinginstant by instant.
His fused armor didn't just integrate; it melted, flowed like liquid metal, fusingdeeper, reshaping itself over his expanding, warping frame. Jagged obsidian-like plates erupted, not smooth like Formian chitin, but sharp, volcanic, goblinoid in their brutal asymmetry. Veins of pulsating blue-black energy crisscrossed the obsidian, pulsing in time with his hammering heart. Molten-yellow light leaked from the seams.
His skin, where visible, wasn't pink anymore. It was a dark, charcoal-grey, tough as stone, radiating heat. His goblinoidfeatures remained – the pointed ears, the flat nose, the sharp teeth – but they were harsher, morepredatory. The nascent antennaewithered and burned away, replaced by two, short, forward-swepthorns of jagged, obsidian-likebone just above his temples, glowing faintly with internal heat. His mandibles remained vestigial, but sharper.
He grew again, four-and-a-half feet tall now, broad-shouldered, dense.
And in his chest... it formed.
Not an orb. A core. A jagged, unstable, furiousMonster Core.
It glowed a deep, obsidian-green (his goblin base), shot through with flickering veins of amethyst (Roach Queen/Acid), crackling with blue-black sparks (Legionnaire/Psionic/Command), and radiating an intense, barely-containedyellow-orange heat (Gastropod/Volcanic). It thrummed with raw, chaotic power.
[SYSTEM STABILIZING... EVOLUTIONARY MATRIX RECALIBRATED...]
[MULTIPLE CORE ABSORPTION SUCCESSFUL (MARGINALLY)!]
[NEW EVOLUTION PATH FORGED: [Obsidian Goblin (Volcanic Heart)]!]
[EVOLUTION COMPLETE!]
[Host [Klik] (Lvl 20, 1st Evo) -> [Klik the Obsidian King] (Lvl 1, 2nd Evolution)!]
[Rank: F-Rank (Peak) -> E-Rank (Lower)!]
[All Base-Stats Doubled! New Level-Cap: 50!]
[Calculating New Stats (Post-Core Chaos)...]
Base STR: (21 * 2) = 42
Base AGI: (23 * 2) = 46
Base STA: (23 * 2) = 46 (+5 Bonus from Volcanic Core's resilience?) = 51
Base INT: (42 * 2) = 84
Base PER: (38 * 2) = 76
Base MANA: (19 * 2) = 38 (+10 Bonus from Volcanic Core's energy?) = 48
[Applying Class Level-Up Bonuses (+4 INT, +4 PER)...]
[New Base Stats: STR 42, AGI 46, STA 51, INT 92, PER 84, MANA 48]
[Recalculating Debuff [Fused E-Rank Armor]... Armor fully integrated and strengthened by new Exoskeleton!]
[Debuff REMOVED! Replaced by Trait!]
[FINAL STATS (Lvl 1, 2nd Evo):]
STR: 42
AGI: 46
STA: 51
INT: 92
PER: 84
MANA: 48
[New Racial Traits Acquired!]
[Obsidian Carapace (E-Rank)]:Your body is protected by naturally formed, regenerating plates of volcanic-goblinoid chitin fused with E-Rank plating. Provides high defense, moderate heat resistance. (+120 DEF, +25 Heat Resist, +15 Acid Resist)
[Volcanic Heart (E-Rank)]:Your Monster Core contains immense, unstable thermal energy. Grants passive heat generation, enhances fire/heat based abilities, moderate resistance to heat.
[Lesser Pheromone Sense (Passive)]: (Retained from Legionnaire Core)
[Sharpened Mandibles (Passive)]: (Upgraded vestigial trait) Grants a moderate [Bite] attack, can shear soft materials.
[Psionic Static (Passive)]:Residual energy from resisting the Hive-Mind grants minor resistance to mental influence.
[Skills Updated!]
[Caustic Spit (E-Rank)] -> [Magma Spit (E-Rank)]!(Damage significantly increased, applies [Burning] status, range increased).
[Evolution Path Log Updated!]
Progress to 3rd Evolution: 0% / 100%
Profile:[Insectoid (Hive-Warrior): 45%], [Volcanic/Hydrocarbon: 30%], [Goblinoid (Obsidian): 10%], [Canine-Carrion: 5%], [Reptilian: 5%], [Fungal: 5%] (Chaotic but more balanced).
[EXP CONVERSION DEACTIVATED! You can now gain Monster EXP normally towards Lvl 50 Cap!]
[SYSTEM NOTE: [Class Evolution Evaluation Quest] mechanic is now active for reaching 100% progress towards 3rd Evolution.]
The worldsnapped back.
The pain was gone. The itch was gone.
He felt... hot. A deep, internal heat radiated from his core. His body felt unbreakable, dense as stone, humming with power. His armorwas his skin. His skinwas his armor. He wasobsidian, veined with lightning and magma.
He stood. Taller. Stronger (42 STR). Faster (46 AGI).
His mind... his 92 INT and 84 PER... the world was achingly clear. He saw the psionic static from the Synapse as flickering interference. He smelled the fear-pheromones of the Formians. He felt the thrum of the Praetorians'lances.
The Mind-Fogwasn'tweak. It wasn'tthere. His [Psionic Static]nullified it.
He looked at the battlefield.
Timehadn'tslowed. It hadpassed. Perhaps thirty seconds of pure, agonizingtransformation.
The Praetorian that hadbeencharginghimwasnowcarvingthrough his tribe, its heat-lancevaporizingLvl 12goblinswithcontemptuousease. (Casualties: 5/5 LIMIT REACHED!)
The other twoPraetoriansweredouble-teamingSnarl. She wasE-Rank, she wasfast (52 AGI), but she wasLvl 10. They wereLvl 35. She wasbleeding, hernew armorscored and smoking.
Brukwasdown, unconsciousunder a pile of Hoplites.
Grikwasfightinglike a corneredrat, his spearablur, but beingdrivenback.
The Synapsepulsedangrily, its shieldregenerating.
The battlewaslost.
Klik looked at the Praetorianbutchering his tribe.
He felt the [Volcanic Heart]thrum in his chest.
He opened his mouth.
He activated[Magma Spit].
His Mana (48) ignited.
It wasn'ta stream. It wasn'ta glob.
It was a cannonball. A fist-sized, glowing-orange, viscousball of semi-moltenrock and acid.
It left his mouthwith a FWOOM.
It crossed the thirty feetinstantly.
It hit the Praetoriansquarein the back.
SPLAT-KRA-BOOOOM!
The impactshatteredE-Rank (High)armor. The magmasplashed, clung, BURNED.
The Praetorianshrieked, a soundfar worse than the acid-burns. It dropped its lance, clawing at its own back, trying to scrapeoff the moltendeath.
It staggered. It fell to its knees, convulsing.
[Target [Formian Praetorian] suffers CRITICAL [Heat (E-Rank)] + [Burning (E-Rank)] Damage!]
One shot.
Klik turned his glowing-redeyes (a side effect of the Volcanic Core) towards the other twoPraetorians.
He raised his [Chitin-Infused Mace].
He opened his mandibles.
And he ROARED, a sound of Obsidian, Volcanoes, and pure, E-RankFURY.
"NOW..." his voicecrackled with heat and power. "...IT IS MY TURN."
The tidehadn'tjustturned.
It wasabout to become a tsunami.