The final stretch toward Evolution 2 arrived quietly, without the dramatic tension or flashing warnings Max half expected. His progress bars simply continued creeping upward, fed by the rich Qi in the hollow he had chosen as his refuge. The warmth of the surrounding soil soothed him, and the airless stillness wrapped around him like a blanket. For the first time since waking as a rock, he felt… comfortable.
Not safe—never safe—but settled.
Idle Qi Absorption had grown so efficient that his internal reserves softened and refilled faster than he could deplete them through practice. Idle Tempering no longer strained to refine the Qi; it absorbed fire, wood, and ambient essence with surprising ease. Idle Insight, now sharp enough to differentiate the layers of earth beneath him, mapped out subtle shifts in the underground environment before he consciously noticed them.
Each skill had matured enough that Max sensed the edges of a threshold, the same way someone could feel a storm gathering in the atmosphere long before the clouds appeared.
He was close.
One more cycle passed. The forest quieted overhead, signaling the approach of dawn or dusk—he couldn't tell which. This particular lull stretched longer than usual, letting the ground rest without the usual parade of creatures rushing across it. In that stillness, the ambient Qi thickened, as if settling into the roots and soil.
Max soaked it in.
His bars nudged upward.
> Idle Qi Absorption: 97% → 98%
Idle Tempering: 94% → 95%
Idle Insight: 93% → 94%
He focused. Patient. Steady. Present.
Another hour—if hours still meant anything—slipped past.
A faint vibration tremored overhead as a small creature raced from one patch of earth to another, but its presence didn't disturb Max the way it once had. That spirit-beast had become such a familiar visitor that its touch no longer sparked fear. It tapped the soil near him before bounding away again, as if checking on a strange friend.
Max responded with a soft pulse of resonance, faint and controlled, careful not to attract anything larger.
His Insight bar ticked forward.
> Idle Insight: 99%
Then, in one smooth pulse—
> Idle Insight: 100%
Everything sharpened at once. The forest's heartbeat resonated clearly through the soil, the roots surrounding him glowed in his awareness with currents of Qi he had never sensed before, and the distant hum of the ancient underground structure intensified as if greeting him.
Max didn't have time to absorb the new clarity.
Because the system moved.
> Idle Qi Absorption: 100%
Idle Tempering: 100%
All three idle skills reached completion within moments of each other, as though they had been quietly waiting for the right moment to align.
The system's presence flooded his awareness, gentle but insistent.
> Evolution 2 – Ready
Begin Evolution?
Y / N
He accepted without hesitation.
Warmth expanded through him like liquid sunlight. Qi poured into his channels, swirling in dense currents that polished and reshaped his internal structure. The sensation wasn't painful, but it was intense—like being carved and reforged at the same time.
His body compressed slightly, becoming denser, smoother, more uniform. Tiny imperfections dissolved. He felt no smaller, but somehow heavier, as if his weight had concentrated into a more refined form.
Qi lightning—thin, threading arcs of energy—spun around his center as the evolution reached its peak.
Then everything settled with a soft, decisive click.
> Evolution 2 Complete
Form Updated:
Lesser Spirit Stone (D)
New Skills Unlocked:
Pulse Strike – Condense Qi into a focused kinetic burst for offensive use.
Root Sense – Detect life signatures and Qi movement within a short radius of soil or roots.
Idle System upgraded to v1.2.
Movement efficiency increased.
Qi refinement improved.
Max would have gasped if he had lungs.
Pulse Strike hummed with restrained power—a step beyond Vibration Pulse, tighter, sharper, built for more than startling a predator. It wasn't just a shockwave. It was a weapon, meant to be shaped and directed.
Root Sense unlocked a new layer of awareness. The earth around him lit up with subtle, winding threads—roots of trees, plants, moss, and vines, each carrying its own faint Qi signature. Life pulsed beneath the surface like veins beneath skin, flowing and branching in intricate patterns.
For the first time, Max felt something close to sight.
He could sense movement deeper in the earth, the slow glide of a burrowing reptilian beast, the faint flicker of a worm spirit sliding between soaked soil, the dull thud of distant hooves as something large grazed above him. Even the lingering heat of the Ember-Fanged Weasel's corpse glowed faintly, diffusing gradually into the soil as it decayed.
Everything was clear. More than clear—the world was vivid.
Max took a moment to absorb the magnitude of the transformation. He was still a rock, still hidden beneath the forest, but he was no longer a helpless piece of mineral. His core hummed with strength, enough that if he faced the Ember-Fanged Weasel again, he wouldn't need desperate timing or luck.
He would win.
Another ripple passed overhead. This one belonged to something new. A creature heavier than the spirit-beast but not as confident as the larger predators. Its movements were cautious, sniffing the ground, pausing repeatedly, as though startled by lingering scents.
Root Sense helped Max map its route clearly—even without eyes, he could trace its steps like lines drawn through the earth.
A low growl vibrated through the soil.
It had found the site of the previous fight.
Max understood its hesitation. Residual traces of beast Qi still clung to the ground, faint but detectable. The creature circled the spot twice, uncertain whether to investigate further.
This time, Max didn't panic.
He felt ready—cautious but ready. If the creature attacked, Pulse Strike gave him the power to fight back deliberately rather than reactively.
He watched its movements through the web of roots and soil. The creature sniffed once more, then turned away, uninterested.
Max let himself relax.
The Idle System continued its silent work, absorbing ambient Qi to replenish his reserves.
For the next hour, he simply rested, testing the new clarity of his awareness. He shifted his position with Micro-Shift, sliding into a smoother stretch of soil with surprising grace. The motion felt less like dragging himself through mud and more like gliding through water.
Evolution had changed something fundamental. His body—not a body in the human sense, but the core of who he was—responded more fluidly when he willed it to move. Micro-Shift required half the effort it once had, and even Pulse Strike felt ready, as though waiting for him to give it permission to act.
He didn't feel strong.
He felt capable.
Root Sense revealed something else too. A faint pattern of Qi movement reached him from the east side of his hollow. The signature wasn't a beast, nor a plant. It was sharp, refined, and steady.
A cultivator.
One moving alone.
Max stilled instantly.
The presence grew closer, steady and unhurried. This cultivator walked with the calm confidence of someone who didn't expect enemies. Their Qi radiated outward in soft pulses, brushing through the ground like fingertips feeling for tremors.
Max retreated deeper, lowering every Qi signature he could. He wrapped himself in stillness, forcing his channels into quiet circulation.
The cultivator paused ten feet above him.
"Hmm," their voice murmured, the sound barely a vibration but clear enough for Max to feel. "The earth is restless here…"
His awareness tightened further. It felt as though the soil itself held its breath.
"Strange. But harmless."
The cultivator stepped away, the Qi signature gradually fading until Max could no longer feel it.
Only then did he let his internal circulation resume.
His bars had already begun climbing again.
> Idle Qi Absorption (D): 12%
Idle Tempering (D): 8%
Idle Insight (D): 5%
Evolution had reset his skills, but the new ranks promised far faster progression.
And the cultivator's passing had made something else clear: Max's presence in the earth was no longer invisible in the same way it had been before. If he wanted to avoid detection until he was strong enough to defend himself—or negotiate or run—he needed to grow quickly.
With his first real offensive ability awakened and his awareness sharper than ever, Max settled himself into the soil's embrace again, letting the forest's restless pulse guide him.