Riven was already familiar with the feeling.
After absorbing two gemstones, his body had grown accustomed to the sensation—soothing, gentle, like something warm slipping into him without resistance. No force. No struggle. Almost comforting.
So he expected the same thing this time.
The system prompts appeared as usual.
⸻
[System: User has gained a 2% Trait]
[User +40 Toxin Resistance]
⸻
That was it.
Riven blinked.
"…That's all?"
He was shocked—but not angry. Luck couldn't favor him every time. At some point, basic gains were inevitable. Still, the gemstone granted the same experience as the last one.
⸻
[+1500 EXP]
⸻
The numbers shifted.
⸻
[System Status]
Name: Riven Harlow
Level: 10
XP: 164 / 1400
Race: Human (Ready to Evolve)
Awakening: One
Strength: 14
Speed: 16
Durability: 23
Energy: 23 / 23
Health: 24 / 24
Unassigned Stat Points: 2
⸻
Riven assigned the points without hesitation—one into Strength, one into Speed. Both had been lagging behind his durability.
The moment he confirmed, something changed.
All his stats ticked upward slightly.
And next to his race…
READY TO EVOLVE
A sharp ding echoed inside his skull.
⸻
[System: User has met the requirements to evolve into the next stage.]
[Would you like to evolve? YES / NO]
⸻
Riven froze.
His finger hovered over YES.
This was it.
The system never explicitly said it—but he knew. Evolution wasn't something you could undo. No resets. No rollback. Once he crossed this line, there was no going back.
He swallowed hard.
Then he looked at Jordan.
His brother didn't hesitate. He nodded—firm, unwavering. The look in his eyes said everything.
No matter what happens.
No matter how you change.
I'm not leaving you.
That was enough.
Riven pressed YES.
⸻
[System: Initiating evolution process.]
[Please prepare.]
[And for the record—I hope you're not a screamer.]
⸻
"I'm not a—"
The pain hit before he could finish.
Riven screamed.
His body arched violently as something snapped deep inside him.
Crunch.
It felt like his bones were being crushed, then rebuilt—forced into new shapes while he was still inside them. His spine burned as if someone were pulling it apart vertebra by vertebra, grinding them together before snapping them back into place.
His muscles seized, locking tight as invisible hands twisted and stretched them beyond their limits.
Inside him—everything was moving.
Organs shifted. Rearranged.
It felt wrong.
Like his insides were being taken apart and reassembled without instructions.
His chest convulsed as his lungs struggled to draw air. Every breath scraped like broken glass. His heartbeat thundered so loudly he thought it might burst out of his ribs.
Jordan was at his side instantly.
"Riven! Hey—hey, look at me!"
He grabbed his brother's shoulders, but the moment he touched him, Riven screamed louder. His skin was burning—hot, feverish, like it couldn't contain what was happening inside.
Jordan pulled his hands back, panicked.
"System! Do something!" he shouted into the empty room. "Help him! Tell me how to stop this!"
No response.
The system remained silent.
Jordan looked toward the door.
I need help. I need to get someone—Joey , Harkel, anyone—
But the moment he took a step away, Riven let out a broken, strangled sound—half scream, half gasp.
Jordan stopped.
His hands clenched into fists.
He couldn't leave.
He couldn't help.
All he could do was stay.
Riven's vision blurred as waves of agony crashed through him. His bones cracked again—louder this time. His body convulsed as something deep within him locked into place.
Then—
Darkness swallowed him whole.
When Jordan heard Riven stop screaming and thrashing, he let out a shaky sigh of relief. He knelt beside the bed, pressing two fingers against his brother's neck.
A steady heartbeat.
He carefully lifted Riven and placed him properly on the bed.
"He seems stable now… I should probably go tell the others," Jordan muttered to himself. "Hopefully their classes aren't too busy."
As he reached the door, he paused.
Jordan glanced back at his brother one last time. Riven's face was calm now—peaceful, like nothing had happened at all.
"Hopefully this evolution was worth it," he whispered before quietly leaving the room.
⸻
Riven's eyes snapped open.
His breath came fast as he instinctively checked himself, patting his arms, chest, and legs. Everything felt intact, but his body screamed otherwise—like his bones had been shattered and reassembled, his insides shifted and forced into new places.
He looked around.
"…Goddamnit," Riven groaned.
He wasn't in his room anymore.
Once again, he stood in that endless dark terrain—an empty void stretching in every direction.
Getting to his feet, Riven scanned the darkness, half-expecting another version of himself to step forward immediately. Instead, something else caught his attention.
An outline.
Faint, glowing lines formed the shape of a bridge suspended in the void.
"What…?" Riven whispered.
Something inside him pulled at his chest, urging him forward. It wasn't fear. It wasn't curiosity.
It felt like instinct.
Like he was calling himself.
He stepped onto the outlined bridge.
The moment his foot touched it, vibrations pulsed beneath him. The bridge wasn't solid stone—it felt alive, humming faintly, like a heartbeat beneath his feet.
As he walked, the air shifted.
Something was approaching.
Riven looked up—and froze.
A green-blue orb of pure energy began forming in midair, swirling as if drawn together by an unseen force. It glowed softly, lighting the void around it.
Riven already knew what this meant.
From his past experience—and from what others had told him—this place always reflected the self.
But this time… it was different.
The energy wasn't pure green like before.
There was blue mixed in now.
The orb descended and solidified, taking shape until a figure identical to Riven stood before him, landing lightly on the bridge with a gentle smile.
"Hey, Riven," the other version said.
Riven sighed.
"…Hello, Riven," he replied flatly.
"You don't look too happy to see me," the other chuckled.
"No, no—I'm not," Riven shot back. "Next time, warn someone before doing that."
"Doing what?"
"Evolution," Riven snapped, gripping his side as a phantom ache lingered. "That shit hurt."
"Oh, you get used to it," the other Riven said casually. "Besides, this was only our first evolution."
"…First?" Riven repeated, his stomach dropping.
"Yes. First," the other confirmed. "I don't know what the others are called, but I know this was the beginning."
Riven swallowed hard.
Does this mean I have to go through that pain again…?
The thought made his hands tremble.
Then he clenched them.
"If that pain exists," Riven said slowly, "then there has to be a reward. Something must have changed back in the real world."
A grin spread across the other Riven's face.
"Now you're starting to get it."
He tilted his head, as if remembering something.
"Oh—right. One more thing," he added. "I'd advise you to get some black hair dye."
Riven blinked.
"…What?"
"You'll see," the other said mysteriously. "But more importantly—Riven, you're getting stronger. You're forming a group. And you're about to go on a trip, aren't you?"
Riven immediately understood.
Their first hunt.
Beast gemstones.
"Yeah," he answered. "We are."
"Good," the other Riven said, his smile fading. "Then listen carefully."
"This place?" he gestured around them. "This isn't a game. When you're out there, it's life or death."
His gaze sharpened.
"And I suggest you choose life."
Riven felt it then—the warning wasn't meant just for him.
It was meant for Joey.
Joey always held back. Always hesitated. Afraid of killing—afraid of crossing that line.
But beasts weren't human.
And hesitation would get them all killed.
"…Got it," Riven said quietly.
Still, one question lingered.
"What is this place?" he asked.
"I don't know," the other replied honestly.
Riven frowned and dropped to one knee, pressing his hand against the glowing bridge beneath them.
"No—not all of it," he said. "This. Right here. It feels different."
He closed his eyes.
"It's like… I can hear something. A heartbeat."
The other Riven knelt as well, placing his hand beside Riven's. After a moment, he shook his head.
"I don't have the answer yet," he admitted. "You'll have to find it first."
He stood.
"And next time you come here, I might know more."
Riven caught the implication.
"…If it's still you," he said.
The other smiled faintly.
"Exactly."
As the figure began to fade, Riven noticed it again—the difference.
Last time, the aura had been pure green.
Now… blue had been added.
Did I change something?
The thought lingered as the void swallowed the light once more.
When the boy awoke again, he found himself lying in his bed. As he lifted his body, multiple system notifications began popping up in front of his face.
[System: User has successfully evolved.]
[System: User is now a Feymir — a human-fairy hybrid.]
Riven was confused by this. He had already thought he was a human-fairy hybrid, and that this evolution would turn him into a full fairy.
I guess this means my human side must've been the more dominant one before evolving, Riven thought as he continued looking through the other system notifications.
[System: Connection has grown. User absorption speed has increased.]
[System: All stats have increased by 10 points.]
Riven was amazed. He knew the pain had to mean something, but he never thought it would result in this. As the realization sank in, he began to think that maybe the pain had been worth it after all.
[system:Name: Riven Harlow
Level: 10
XP: 164 / 1400
Race: feymir
Awakening: One
Strength: 25
Speed: 27
Durability: 33
Energy: 33 / 33
Health: 34 / 34
Unassigned Stat Points: 15]
Riven was shocked by the fact that he had 15 points to work with. His first thought was to save them, but he quickly shook his head. He needed to catch his strength and speed up to his durability—and now he finally could.
[Strength: 32]
[Speed: 33]
The boy could immediately feel the difference. As he threw quick jabs into the air, he felt it being pulled toward his fists. That was how powerful the punches had become.
[System: User's healing skill has increased to Level 4.]
"Hm." Riven thought as he looked at his hand. He wondered if he could pierce his skin to see how fast the healing truly was.
When he dragged his finger close enough across his hand, he cut himself, leaving an open gash.
"Damn." Riven closed his eyes, not expecting that much pain.
But when he opened them again, there was no wound.
He wanted to do it again, this time bracing himself for the pain. When he cut himself once more, he watched closely. The moment the wound opened, it closed right after.
"Woah." The boy was shocked.
This was healing that only high-level evolvers usually had—and even then, those healers specialized in healing alone. Riven, on the other hand, had multiple abilities.
[System: New exclusive quest unlocked. Reach Level 30 for your next evolution.]
"Sweet!" Riven said, jumping out of his bed. "So every time I level up, I'll get an evolution quest?" he questioned himself, though he already knew that wasn't true.
"No. Everything has a cap, including evolving. At some point, I'll stay at a certain evolution—but I can still grow stronger within it."
Riven walked toward the bathroom. He remembered the other version of himself telling him to look into the mirror. When he finally did, he immediately understood what he meant.
"What the hell?!" the boy yelled.
"Riven!" Jordan entered their dorm room, with the others right behind him.
"Where is he?" Luka asked, but one of the guys answered as Riven exited the bathroom.
"Oh, there he is—"
The boy was cut off when he really looked at Riven. Everyone else tried not to laugh.
"Shut up," Riven said angrily.
"Dude," Harkel began, "your hair looks terrible in that color. Did you dye it?"
"No, I didn't," Riven replied, sighing. "I'm guessing my evolution is the reason why my hair… is green."