Arthur fled through the forest in sheer terror, like a raging storm, destroying everything in his path—trees, rocks, and even weak monsters that failed to escape in time were reduced to piles of mangled flesh.

  Yet his body didn’t suffer so much as a scratch, thanks to the mana armor surrounding him, which trembled violently and emitted a strange buzzing sound.

  Despite all that, the mana inside him didn’t decrease in the slightest. Instead, it kept increasing with every passing minute.

  Eventually, his body swelled grotesquely, becoming like a balloon of flesh and skin. His facial features distorted, and his veins and organs throbbed as if they were a bomb’s countdown timer.

  “I won’t die like this.”

  Crack!

  Pop!

  Suddenly, more fissures appeared in his Primal Core, while his veins and mana pathways began bursting one after another.

  His expression froze, his steps faltered, and he coughed up a mouthful of blood. His body tried to regenerate the internal injuries, but it was useless—every time a vein or pathway healed, three or more exploded in its place.

  He clenched his teeth and forced himself to calm his chaotic thoughts. Arthur knew he was no longer capable of thinking clearly under these conditions, so the first thing he did was issue a command to the system.

  “Distribute all my remaining Evolution Points to Vitality and Endur—”

  Before he could finish, an unexpected thought flashed through his mind. He immediately changed his order.

  “No, distribute all points to Mana Control.”

  [Distributing…]

  Contrary to what usually happened, he didn’t feel that pleasant warmth that accompanied the enhancement of his attributes. Instead, something far stranger occurred.

  A sharp pain suddenly stabbed into his head, and he completely lost the ability to think. A dumb expression spread across his face as blood mixed with a black substance seeped from his ears and nose.

  [Distribution Complete]

  That unsettling sensation lasted for about a minute. When it finally ended and a glimmer of rationality partially returned to his eyes, a chill ran through his entire body. Confused, he asked—momentarily forgetting his main problem:

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  “What just happened? Why does it feel like someone was messing with my brain?”

  It took another thirty seconds for his head to fully calm down. Only then did he remember.

  ‘Damn it, I forgot, I’m about to explode. This isn’t the time to think about this nonsense. I need to get rid of this cursed mana.’

  He quickly closed his eyes and directed all his focus toward his mind, which had become the center of change this time.

  That was when he noticed it—he was now connected to more mana pathways, and a subtle yet powerful link had formed between him and his Primal Core.

  ‘Did my idea work? Does this mean I can control the mana?’

  He couldn’t hide his shock. That thin thread was the only hope he could possibly cling to.

  Without wasting a single second, he focused all his mental strength on a single goal, forcing the mana outward.

  As a result, he completely lost awareness of his physical body and external senses. Even so, his legs continued running forward blindly.

  ‘Focus. Focus. I mustn’t panic. This is similar to what I’ve read in novels. The mana inside me is a part of me—it’s just another extension that follows my will. Slowly. There’s no need to control it all at once.’

  Little by little, and with extreme slowness, he managed to take control of a tiny amount of mana. That alone boosted his confidence.

  ‘It worked?! This is a good start.’

  He didn’t allow joy to sweep him away. He kept his thoughts clear and steady—he had reached his limit, and any mistake at this critical moment would ruin everything. He had at most two minutes before turning into fireworks.

  Using that small amount of mana as a foundation, he extended his control further. In a short time, the majority of the mana within his core and secondary pathways fell under his command, obedient to his will. Carefully, he guided it outward—or at least, that was what he was trying to do.

  All of his main mana pathways and pores were violently forcing mana inward toward his core, like a river experiencing an unprecedented flood.

  When the two opposing currents collided, many of his mana pathways ruptured, and he coughed up a large amount of blood.

  ‘No, this won’t work. I can’t force it out. I need another method. Another path that doesn’t lead to my death.’

  He didn’t give up. He examined his entire body with meticulous focus. That was when he realized, not all of his mana pathways were saturated to that extreme level. Some still maintained their stability.

  What delighted him most was that a large portion of those stable pathways were connected to his throat.

  That realization sparked an idea.

  ‘This is extremely risky… but I don’t have any other choice.’

  He didn’t hesitate—nor did he think twice. He seized control of as much mana as possible and, using sheer brute force, forced it through his already-saturated pathways, driving it straight toward his throat.

  Crack!

  His neck bulged even further as a series of explosive sounds rang out from it and the area around his chest.

  Multiple wounds tore open in the same region, while blood gushed from his ears and nose like a waterfall. Even his eyes welled up with blood-tinged tears.

  Enduring the pain, he finally stopped running. He opened his eyes, then slowly opened his mouth—strange smoke rising from within—as a faint glow appeared deep in his blood-soaked throat.

  The glow grew brighter and brighter, and then, without any warning, he released all the accumulated mana at once.

  A beam of translucent, sky-blue light burst from his mouth, surging forward like a scorching dragon’s breath, annihilating and incinerating everything in its path for hundreds of meters.

  Even Arthur himself did not escape the beam’s destructive might. It burned his mouth and throat, blasting him violently backward before he crashed onto the ground, barely conscious, blood seeping from every part of his body.

  But his gamble paid off.

  His body returned to its normal size, and although mana continued to surge within him, it was several times calmer than before.

  The traits of the Zombie Wolf manifested, and his wounds and burns began to heal at a rapid pace, while the cracks in his core gradually sealed shut.

  He opened his exhausted eyes and let out a long sigh of relief. A small smile appeared on his face, followed by a low chuckle, not because he had gone mad or anything of the sort, but because the system screens appearing before him filled him with joy.

  [Congratulations]

  [You have created a new skill (Incomplete): Please name the skill]

  [ One of Primal Predator's Effects has Evolved into a New Subskill: Devourer (S) ]

  — — — — — — — — — —

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