MMORPG: Ascension of the Strongest Spirit Master
Chapter 53: Evolving (II)

Chapter 53: Evolving (II)

The mist danced low across the frozen lake, curling beneath Vlad’s boots as he moved swiftly across the ice, pursued by the silver wolf cloaked in an intense, luminous aura.

The Moon wolf only grew more ferocious after its second puppet fell, but the rising intensity of the battle only served to excite Vlad.

Because he could feel his mind slowly growing accustomed to this foreign experience.

The noise of the world had faded away. The howl of the wind, the distant murmur of watchers outside the mist, even the ice groaning underfoot, all of it was slowly fading away.

The mental clarity Vlad felt was familiar to him, in his past life this clear state was second nature but to the current him this was a new feeling, a new state his mind was adjusting to.

The Moon Wolf moved, its muscles tensing, and in that moment Vlad felt it, not as just instinct, but as a vision. A flicker, ghostly and raw came to his mind, showing him how the beast would leap, claws out, fangs aiming low.

The Silver wolf has not even moved yet, not fully, but Vlad saw it, less than a second into the future, the arc of motion, the weight shift, the foot placement, even the subtle tension along the jaw.

So Vlad reacted, not to the now, but to the future he saw, not caring that he was currently blind and what he saw was through his trait, and his vision could be wrong leading him to die a quick death.

The chain spun, the sickle reversed its angle and caught nothing but air or so everyone thought, only to see that a heartbeat later, the wolf appeared in that exact arc, its flank catching the blade mid-motion.

Sparks flared against illuminated hide, the beast’s body turning tense as the blade sunk in, only to get ripped out with a trail of blood and poison.

This was it, a nascent foresight, the evolution of the second aspect of his trait. It was far from perfect, giving him little over a second, but enough time to react.

Vlad moved in with the intent to kill because as much as he would love to stretch the battle long to grow his trait further, he knew at his current strength his mind wouldn’t be able to maintain this state of battle trance for long.

In his past life, the ability to predict the enemy’s moves and react in time had been second nature, honed through decades of bloodshed and tempered by countless life-or-death situations.

But this mind, this body, was new. It had no experience, no neural pathways trained by repetition, it only had memories, understanding, and knowledge.

In his past life, Vlad’s mind was also enhanced by genetic engineering and various augmentations, allowing him to process thoughts at a speed far beyond normal human limits.

The system that governed the game was built to simulate the real and unreal alike and it boosted cognitive function, reflexes, and even perception according to the increased stats.

But even though with his current stats, Vlad was three times as strong as an average adult, it was far from enough to maintain the taxing state of visualization for more than a few minutes.

The Moon Wolf moved again, this time faster, its body shimmering once again, phasing across the lake in a silver blur. Vlad saw it a flicker before it happened, a partial image of where the wolf would be in a moment.

Vlad spun avoiding the jaw of the wolf, and then delivered an upward diagonal cut. The blade dug into the wolf’s neck, and the beast reacted to the danger by pulling away, avoiding a crippling wound.

The Moon wolf turned and his jaws spanned open with a guttural growl, his throat swelling unnaturally and a second later a massive roar shook the world.

"RROOOAAARRRRRR"

A wave of silver gushed out from his open jaw like the breath of a dragon, powerful enough that it tore through the thick layer of ice-like paper, and even pushed the massive wolf a few steps back, his blade-like claws doing little to diminish the force.

Vlad who should have been at the receiving end of the mighty roar, was gone having used his sickle to slip away from the direct impact area.

However, the force unleashed by the Moon Wolf was more than just a direct attack, it was an area-of-effect skill powerful enough to alter the very battleground.

The frozen lake groaned beneath the pressure, then fractured with a deafening crack. Thin spiderweb fissures raced outward in every direction before erupting into jagged chasms.

A moment later, chunks of ice were hurled into the air before shattering into pieces that glint like shattered glass under the moonlight, while a surge of frigid water exploded from below, flooding the surface in a violent rush.

The air turned sharp and biting, each breath like inhaling shattered frost, and white mist rose from the lake, cloaking nearly fifty meters in a dense veil as the once serene lake was transformed into a chaotic storm of ice and cold.

The changed terrain was a perfect place for the Moon wolf, who could see through the mist, was immune to the cold, and could easily traverse the shattered floor.

Falling into the sub-zero waters of the lake was as good as sealing one’s fate, but to Vlad, the shift in terrain was little more than a minor inconvenience.

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"Elisha POV"

Elisha’s eyes hadn’t left the livestream since the moment it started. The fog that had blocked their vision in the real world was gone on her screen, replaced with a crystal-clear view of the frozen lake.

She watched every motion, every feint and slash, the way the chain curved through the air, sickles spinning like extensions of his will, green poison flashing across the screen like venomous lightning.

’So this is what elite players look like... no, Elite isn’t the right word. Not even close.’ She thought, shaking her head.

There were hundreds of elite players, some smart, some strong, some just lucky with their traits or sponsors. But this... V was different.

One of a kind.

’What do they call them again... Kings?’ She thought, before shaking her head again in denial, ’No, those players are something else entirely, they are monsters beyond monsters.’

The world had only ever seen a handful of players who earned the title of King, and each one stood on a level so far beyond the reach of even elite players that their power felt almost mythical.

’So... V should be at least a High Ranker. Not officially. Not yet. But he would be soon.’ She thought, only to shake her head once again.

What was she thinking?

V didn’t have a high-ranking trait, So what? Did that disqualify him from being a King? Who even decided that? Were the Kings elected? Crowned? Did they have a seat or a list of criteria? Who said a low-rank trait couldn’t become a king?

V didn’t possess a high-ranking trait, but still, he had achieved something no one else had. He was the only player in history to ever stop a world event, something not even the exalted Kings, with all the power and privilege both worlds could offer, had accomplished.

Her eyes flicked down to the livestream comments, which had thousands of viewers at the moment and more flooding in, and why wouldn’t they?

Elisha had changed the title to V vs the Hidden Boos of field type Dungeon.

For a moment Elisha wondered if others saw what she saw, and the answer was immediate.

Some were clueless haters. Others were only interested in the hidden Boss. But a few understood.

"LMAO what a fool, he hasn’t even used Spirit Convergence. Boss is entering the second phase, he is dead."

"Yeah bro, this guy thinks showing off will make people believe he stopped a world event without pure luck? Delusional."

"You idiots, have you seen him even bleed once since the fight started?"

"Yeah, He is toying with a hidden Heroic-ranked boss at 37 levels below. And you are calling him stupid? Then what are you"

"Let them cry, they are just miserable angry little rat-bloods."

Elisha blinked, the stream of text blurring as she shifted her eyes back to the now-changed terrain of the lake, too captivated by the ongoing clash to skip even a second more of it.

She watched as the Moon wolf, fur shimmered like the full moon, not blinding as it had been when its Gleamhide skill, but it was now more tamed, more beautiful, and flowing with great power.

The already towering wolf grew even taller, his frame turning leaner and more defined, muscles pulsing like coiled steel beneath his fur. His fangs shimmered, sharp and gleaming like polished blades.

Elisha wondered if now Vlad would be forced to use spirit convergence skill, or he would surprise them again, and personally she hoped it was the latter.

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