A lone man walked through the core halls of a dark castle, his footsteps echoing softly against the stone walls. He wore all black—shirt, pants, and a long flowing cape that trailed behind him like a shadow. His red, wavy hair fell down to his lower back, swaying with each step he took.
On both sides of the hall, figures clad in midnight armor bowed as he passed. Their silver helmets reflected faint light, hiding their faces, but not their awareness. They knew who he was.
Rohin.
Normally, they would greet him.
"My lord."
"It's good to see you in good health, Lord Rohin."
But today, not a word was spoken.
Even through their helmets, they could tell something was wrong. Their lord carried a look of concern, and if Rohin was troubled, it wasn't something they dared interrupt. So they stayed silent, letting him walk, letting him think.
Rohin himself didn't know where he was going.
He just needed to walk.
It helped him think.
"How could this have happened in the first place…" Rohin muttered under his breath. "My blood shouldn't have awakened after the ritual."
Confusion twisted into anger.
A faint heat began to rise from his body, the air around him distorting. His eyes glowed a deep crimson, and the guards immediately stepped back, armor shifting as they created distance. None of them wanted to be caught in that aura.
"After all that I sacrificed… is that part of my blood really that strong?" he continued, his voice tightening. "Strong enough to awaken in one of my descendants…"
He exhaled slowly, trying to steady himself.
"It's been sixteen years since I last felt this. It was small enough to ignore. I thought maybe after another generation or two, it would become a problem."
His eyes darkened.
"But it seems my calculations were wrong."
He paused briefly, his thoughts racing.
"No… even then, not even a trace of my blood should've awakened in the first place. So how…?"
Rohin's steps slowed slightly, his brows tightening.
"The ritual wasn't flawed… it couldn't have been."
His gaze darkened as the thought settled in.
"It was sealed with my own blood. No one else could undo it."
A brief silence followed.
"…Which means…"
The air around him grew heavier, the heat rising once more.
"The only way it could've been broken… is with my blood."
He stopped.
His expression hardened.
"…No."
"Forget the how."
His eyes sharpened with focus.
"What I need to worry about now is what to do."
A cold realization settled in.
"If the other leaders find out… if the king finds out…"
His hands clenched slightly.
"They'll try to have the child killed."
Silence followed.
"I will not let my daughter's descendant die because of my foolishness."
His voice was low, but absolute.
"Sixteen years… which means the child is around that age now. Not a baby anymore."
Rohin turned his head slightly.
"You."
A guard immediately broke formation and rushed toward him, kneeling deeply.
"Yes, my lord."
"Lift your head. I have an assignment for you."
The man obeyed, raising himself while keeping a respectful posture.
Rohin studied him for a moment as they began walking again.
Unlike the other leaders, he was still new when it came to running his own castle. When he first became a leader, the king made the others give up a portion of their people through potions and sent them to Rohin. Because of that, the people in his castle weren't originally his. They came from different leaders, which meant some of them could still be loyal to their original rulers. That was why he knew that for every thousand people, at least one was probably a spy. None of them shared his blood, and that was also why none of them had his red hair.
Which meant this needed to stay quiet.
"Tell me," Rohin said calmly, "would you like me to owe you a favor?"
The man froze slightly.
"My lord… no. I already owe you a great deal. You allowed me to stay in this castle. I couldn't ask for more."
Rohin gave a small nod.
"I suppose that's true."
He paused briefly.
"Then your family. Your wife… and your young daughter."
The man's expression immediately shifted.
"My lord… what about them?"
"I'll have them moved into the castle," Rohin said, his tone softening slightly. "Your daughter will have her own room. You and your wife as well."
The man's eyes widened.
"My lord, that is—"
"That will be enough," Rohin said with a faint smile. "I know it can be cramped down there."
The man quickly bowed his head.
"Yes, my lord… that is more than enough. But what would you need from me?"
Rohin's expression returned to calm.
"I'm sending you off. I want you to gather as much information as you can on the human world. Specifically, everything that has happened since we parted ways with them."
The man stiffened slightly.
"…Understood."
"You have three rules," Rohin continued. "First—do not get spotted, do not become suspicious, and do not draw attention to yourself."
"Yes, my lord."
"Second—this stays between us. If your family asks why they were moved, tell them it's because of a promotion."
"Understood."
"And third…" Rohin's eyes locked onto his. "Do not question why I asked this of you."
The man hesitated for only a second.
"…Yes, my lord."
"If you do this," Rohin added, "your family will never have to worry again."
The man bowed deeply.
"Then I will do it."
"Good," Rohin said. "Go tell your family the good news. They can move in at any time. Be ready to leave soon—it shouldn't take long to gather what I need."
The man turned, then paused.
"My lord… what if one of our spies is already there? They would be able to find me easily."
Rohin reached into his cloak and pulled out two rings, both faintly glowing.
"Then take these. They'll mask your scent."
The man accepted them carefully.
"…Two, my lord?"
Rohin's gaze drifted slightly.
"Yes. I'm hoping you run into who this is all about."
Understanding flickered across the man's face.
"…I won't fail you."
He quickly left to inform his family.
Rohin continued walking, his pace slightly faster now.
"Hopefully he's able to infiltrate the government and find where the child is," he muttered. "The red hair should give it away."
Eventually, he stopped.
In front of him hung a portrait.
A woman with long, straight blonde hair looked back at him, her expression calm and gentle.
Rohin's gaze softened.
"…Please," he whispered quietly, "tell me your sacrifice wasn't in vain."
The hall fell silent once more.
Luka's eyes trembled open, his breath coming out ragged and uneven. He had just woken up—and the first thing he saw was a boy with black hair staring straight down at him.
It was Riven.
"Woah—back off!" Luka jolted, nearly jumping off the bed as his heart spiked.
Riven quickly raised his hands. "Oh—sorry. I was just… looking at something." A small smile formed on his face, relief clear in his eyes. He was genuinely happy to see Luka awake.
Luka blinked, still trying to process everything. "Where am I?"
His gaze shifted around the room. A steady beeping filled the air. A heart monitor sat beside him, wires attached to his chest. He looked down and noticed the hospital gown, then the tubes connected to his wrist.
"You're in the academy hospital," Riven explained. "After you passed out, some woman gave us a tour of the academy and the city. She even let us pick our dormmates. Max is six."
He leaned casually against the wall.
"So… me, Jordan, Joey, and you are together. And—uh—those two guys we met, Harkel and Leo… they wanted to join us too. Something about a game. They think we'll be useful."
Luka exhaled slowly. "Huh… that's cool, I guess…"
But then his eyes narrowed.
"…why do you keep looking at me like that?"
Riven froze for a split second. His gaze had been drifting—again and again—to Luka's hair.
"Well… while you were asleep," Riven started, scratching the back of his head, "did you feel anything weird? Like… anything changed?"
Luka gave him a suspicious look. "I mean… yeah. I feel… different. Warmer… but also colder at the same time. I don't really know how to explain it."
His eyes sharpened.
"…Did you do something?"
Riven hesitated, then nodded slightly. "Yes… and no."
"Here we go," Luka groaned, already annoyed. "I thought we agreed that thing in your head wasn't real."
"It's not in my head."
Riven grabbed a mirror nearby and held it up.
Luka looked.
And froze.
The crimson patch in his hair—the one that had always taken up about a tenth—had grown.
Now it covered nearly a fourth.
"…What the hell?" Luka shot upright, grabbing the mirror and inspecting himself from every angle. "Did you dye my hair?!"
Riven blinked at him, then deadpanned, "Oh yeah. Totally. I somehow bought hair dye with money I don't have, brought it into a hospital, dyed your hair perfectly with zero experience, cleaned everything up, took a shower so I wouldn't smell like chemicals, and came back like nothing happened."
Luka slowly lowered the mirror, giving him the most unimpressed look possible.
"…Okay. So who did it?"
Riven shrugged. "If I had to guess… I'd say you did."
That answer didn't help.
At all.
A flicker of irritation rose in Luka's chest, his eyes narrowing as he tried to figure out if Riven was joking or being serious.
"Remember what I said about that thing?" Riven continued. "The system?"
Luka didn't respond, but he didn't interrupt either.
"Well… after we fought that giant bird—yeah, the one Harkel weakened—I got something called an Awakening Berry as a reward."
Luka's expression shifted slightly.
"…Oh."
"Yeah," Riven nodded. "You ate it. Before I could even take a proper look at it."
Silence.
"…Okay," Luka said slowly. "So I ate the berry. What does that have to do with my hair?"
He pointed directly at the crimson strands.
Riven shrugged again. "Your hair was already kind of… unnatural. Ms. Lucia said when you first showed up, you already had that red patch. Maybe it's something you inherited."
Luka's expression darkened slightly.
"…Hopefully that's the only thing I got from them."
Riven went quiet.
He remembered.
Luka didn't like talking about his family. Neither did Jordan. Both of them felt abandoned.
Riven… was different.
He had always believed his parents didn't abandon him—that maybe they gave him a chance at something more. But he knew better than to say that out loud.
Instead, he changed the subject.
"I need your consent before I do this," Riven said.
A translucent screen appeared in front of him.
From escaping the forest, the system had only given him a small reward—100 EXP. But because of how he survived, it granted him something extra.
A Party Tab upgrade.
"I'll keep it simple," Riven said. "I can invite one person. That person gets their own version of the system—tailored to them. Our quests will probably overlap, and—"
"Just do it," Luka cut him off, rubbing his head. "I don't need a bigger headache."
Riven smiled. "Alright."
He tapped the screen.
From Luka's perspective, it looked like he just tapped the air.
"…Why am I even going along with this?" Luka muttered under his breath.
Then—
"Huh?"
He froze.
A blood-red screen suddenly appeared in front of him.
Riven's grin widened.
He wasn't crazy.
It was real.
⸻
[System: Welcome to the Evolution System.]