Starting with the ssss r.., p.1
Starting With The SSSS-Rank Talent: Infinite Evolution Through Corpses(2), page 1
Chapter 44: Substantial Gains!
The headless snake body still twisted and writhed forward from momentum， but it quickly lost all strength， slumping to the ground. It twitched twice before falling completely still.
The thick scent of blood instantly overpowered the miasma's strange odor.
From the giant python's appearance to its decapitation by a single sword strike， the entire process took no more than two seconds.
Wang Ayi was still frozen in his forward step， poised and ready to strike， while Litke's eyes widened in lingering shock， his mouth agape. Both stood rigid， staring dumbfounded at the scene ahead.
Cole had already sheathed his sword. The faint “click“ as the blade slid home echoed unusually clear in the suddenly silent forest.
He hadn't even disrupted his breathing， as if he'd just casually swatted a mosquito. Starshadow's sharpness far exceeded his expectations; the telekinetic force and blood vitality infused into it created a strange resonance. When slicing through the snake's body， the resistance felt negligible， like a hot knife through butter.
“So strong!“
Litke shouted in shock， suddenly feeling like he'd struck gold this time.
This Miss Amelia's strength was even greater than the rumors suggested!
[Successfully absorbed the mist python's corpse energy...]
[Obtained evolution energy: 450 years.]
450 years of energy， acquired!
Currently， Cole's Telekinetic Control was still at the advanced level. If he could evolve it to perfect， combined with a Thousandfold Forged weapon， its power would undergo a qualitative change!
Just now， using advanced Telekinetic Control with this Thousandfold Forged blade， he'd effortlessly slain the giant snake.
If he evolved it to perfect level， how much stronger would his combat power become?
However， telekinesis as a high-tier ability required far more evolution energy than ordinary combat techniques. The previous upgrade from intermediate to advanced had already consumed 410 years， and the perfect level would likely demand even more.
Whether these 450 years would suffice， Cole wasn't entirely confident.
Moreover， the gains from killing this giant snake went beyond that!
After the snake's death， a snake den appeared behind it， and inside the cave was a black crystal.
Within this crystal， wisps of miasma seemed to flow， giving off a deeply unpleasant feeling.
[Miasma Crystal， a foul substance condensed from peculiar miasma， with certain medicinal value. Rough estimate: worth 200，000 dollars.]
Litke's wrist device emitted a prompt tone.
Previously， Amelia's wrist device could detect materials and ores， and Litke's was the same.
Cole's wrist device， however， was completely ornamental.
Apparently， these higher-end wrist devices were worth three or four hundred thousand dollars.
Cole felt it was about time he bought one; it would be very useful.
And now， this miasma crystal was worth 200，000 dollars—a huge haul!
Awesome!
“Miss Amelia， your strength is astonishing. Looks like we'll be relying on you entirely for this instance!“
Wang Ayi's attitude toward Cole underwent a complete 180-degree turnaround.
From his earlier slight reluctance， it shifted to thorough admiration.
As for that young master Litke， from then on， he followed Cole's every word without question.
That was much better.
The only thing that made Cole feel a bit awkward was that his current identity was Amelia， and being constantly addressed as the esteemed miss felt a little off.
With the team's atmosphere improved， things became simpler.
The exploration continued in silent and efficient fashion.
“Left side， underground—two monsters incoming!“
Cole suddenly spoke. As soon as the words left his mouth， the mud to their left exploded， and a giant centipede burst out.
Its body was pitch black， with sharp， sickle-like legs， and its mouthparts opened and closed， even spewing a paralyzing poisonous mist.
...
A few minutes later，
“Ssh! Ssh!“
Faint sounds of penetration rang out as the sickle centipede convulsed violently before slumping limp， its legs scraping weakly against the ground.
[Successfully absorbed the sickle centipede's corpse energy...]
[Obtained evolution energy: 100 years.]
“Their sickle-like forelimbs are excellent materials for poisoning weapons， worth about 50，000 dollars!“
The group pressed on， the fog growing thicker and the light increasingly dim. As they crossed a rocky area covered in slippery moss， Cole's vast mental power swept ahead，
Suddenly， his heart leaped with joy. He stepped forward a few paces and carefully parted the hanging vines and damp fungi. Under the flashlight's beam， several peculiar plants came into view.
They were about half a foot tall， with dark purple stems covered in silver vein-like patterns， topped with three small white flowers. At the heart of each flower was a faint， ghostly blue glow.
Mist Phantom Orchid!
A rare herb that grows in misty environments.
It's one of the materials for making advanced healing potions.
Judging by the quality and age... each stalk is probably worth no less than 30，000 dollars! And there are three here!
90，000 dollars!
Acquired!
...
[Successfully absorbed the ghost-faced owl's corpse energy...]
[Obtained evolution energy: total 150 years.]
...
Harvested a patch of stone milk moss， worth 150，000 dollars.
...
In this way， about a full day passed， and Cole's group advanced the mist exploration progress to around 60%!
And the gains from this day were quite astonishing—scattered together， they amounted to a full 800，000 dollars!
And the obtained evolution energy reached 800 years!
“Now the situation is clear—our ultimate objective should be that mist volcano to the west， where several massive dinosaur-like creatures dwell!“
During this time， through exploring the area， they had roughly sketched out the map of this place.
To the west of this misty area stood a strange mist volcano， from which the fog enveloping the entire forest originated.
And at the base of the volcano lived some carnivorous dinosaurs over ten meters in size!
Of course， these weren't ordinary dinosaurs but mutated variants， each with combat power approaching peak Tier-2.
Considering they lived in packs， the danger level would need to be raised even further.
Even the current Cole didn't dare claim he could defeat them without any injuries.
So he needed to grow stronger!
“Tonight， we'll set up camp here and rest. Wang Ayi， you're on watch.“
It was time to use the cover of night to further advance his Telekinetic Control skill!
With a thought， the semi-transparent system panel silently appeared.
[Current evolvable skills/techniques]:
1. Insight (Basic)
2. Telekinetic Control (Advanced)
3. Advanced Military Fist Technique (Perfect)
4. Basic Footwork (Perfect)
5. Warrior Vitality Control Art (Perfect)
[Available evolution energy: 800 years]
His gaze locked on the second line.
“Evolve [Telekinetic Control (Advanced)]!“
Cole focused his will and issued the command.
[Command confirmed. Beginning evolution of Telekinetic Control (Advanced)...]
[Consuming evolution energy: 800 years.]
[Remaining available evolution energy: 0 years.]
Chapter 45: Intruders?!
[Year 1: You want to enhance your telekinesis， but you discover that the mental core seems already extremely refined， with no clear way to proceed or evolve it. You feel deeply confused.]
[Year 10: You try many methods， but still achieve nothing.]
[Year 50: Over these many years， you experiment with over a hundred approaches and finally summarize the one and only method to elevate mental power: mental compression.]
[Year 100: After countless failures and efforts， in the very center of the mental core， a pinhead-sized area sheds its semi-transparent illusory quality， taking on a solidified， crystal-like texture. Though minuscule， this is a fundamental change. You name it crystallization.]
[Year 300: The crystallized area painstakingly expands from pinhead size to the size of a grain of rice. You roughly estimate that for every 10% progress in crystallization， your overall telekinetic strength increases by about 30%!]
[Year 500: Crystallization progress reaches 30%. At this point， nearly one-third of the mental core has transformed into solid crystal， while the rest remains semi-transparent. Your telekinetic strength has already surged by 90%! You realize that when the entire grape-sized mental core fully crystallizes into a mental crystal， that will mark Telekinetic Control reaching the perfect level.]
[Year 800: Evolution energy depleted after 800 years! Crystallization progress at 50%.]
The insights from 800 years of time flowed away like receding tides.
Cole's eyes snapped open!
He looked toward his mental core. The grape-sized core was now half brilliant solid crystal and half semi-transparent illusory energy， giving it a strikingly unique appearance.
With a mere thought—
Buzz...
He tested manipulating his telekinesis.
Immediately，
Boom!
Vast telekinetic force surged out like a tidal wave!
“My detection range has nearly doubled， and the precision has improved dramatically!“
Previously， his detection range was about a 50-meter radius; now it had substantially increased to around 300 meters!
The power amplification was nearly 150%!
“With this boost， my strength has become even more terrifying!“
Now， he could casually slay early Level 3 warriors or monsters!
Casually slay them!
Keep in mind， his Telekinetic Control skill hadn't even reached perfect level yet.
If， once the mental core fully crystallized， who knew how much greater the elevation would be?
However， the energy consumption for this skill was indeed enormous.
800 years of energy， and it still hadn't reached perfect level.
“Tomorrow morning， we'll go hunt the final boss of this place!“
Yet， in the middle of the night， Cole suddenly felt the ground shaking violently.
He jolted awake immediately， and Litke and Wang Ayi on their side woke up as well.
The three gathered together， looking around in bewilderment.
The entire earth was trembling fiercely， with the rustling of falling leaves echoing through the fog. Countless birds， startled by the massive commotion， took flight in flocks.
Accompanying this intense earthquake was a series of electronic alert tones.
[Warning! Warning! Warning! Dream Core entrants， your instance has encountered an invasion event. The entire instance will shift from exploration type to opposing type.]
[Warning! Warning! Warning! Dream Core entrants， your instance has encountered an invasion event. The entire instance will shift from exploration type to opposing type.]
...
Invasion event， opposing type instance!?
Litke's face instantly paled， and he looked toward Cole in panic.
Cole's expression remained calm， but his brows furrowed slightly.
Exploration-type instances could be seen as PvE in games， with the main opponents being the monsters within the instance.
Opposing-type instances， however， could roughly be considered PvP， with the primary opponents being other players who joined the instance!
This was life-or-death combat!
Generally， opposing-type instances came from special Dream Cores， where many participants knew in advance they were entering to battle other players.
But there was another scenario—the one they were facing now.
Namely， the so-called “invasion“!
In fact， many multiplayer games had similar mechanics， allowing players to invade others' worlds and hunt their hosts.
The same applied here.
Someone had forcibly invaded another person's Dream Core to hunt them down.
Moreover， such actions were rarely solo endeavors but organized efforts.
These organizations that enjoyed hunting others were collectively known as the Bloodthirsty Society by the warriors.
Beyond the official Warrior Alliance， there were countless other organizations among the warriors.
The Bloodthirsty Society was one of them.
And it was an evil cult strictly prohibited by the Warrior Alliance!
It seemed their luck was terrible—they'd been targeted by this cult!
“What do we do!?“
Litke was on the verge of tears.
He had long heard of the power of these cults.
Once targeted by these guys， in a lawless place like a Dream Core， who knew what cruel torments they'd inflict.
In fact， similar videos circulated on the dark web， often chilling viewers to the bone.
Cole even suspected this invasion event wasn't coincidental.
After all， young master Litke came from an extremely wealthy family—perhaps the Bloodthirsty Society was after the money.
“Don't panic first. You're a newbie， and this is just a Tier-2 A-rank instance， so the invaders' strength won't be overwhelming—probably around Level 3.“
Of course， it wasn't impossible for Level 4s to be involved.
Tier-2 Dream Cores allowed entry up to Level 4 warriors at maximum.
He only hoped their luck wouldn't be that bad.
If they truly encountered a Level 4 warrior， Cole could barely ensure his own survival， and he'd have to abandon Litke.
That would mean mission failure， and the subsequent five million dollars payout would be lost.
“Probably Level 3...“
Litke felt a sense of despair.
If it was just Level 3， that would be fine.
Cole's eyes narrowed. Level 3 opponents were indeed tricky for him， but only tricky—no more than that.
“Our advance plan will need changing.“
Originally， Cole's group had planned to immediately hunt the final boss here and end the instance as quickly as possible.
But with invaders present—and ones of considerable strength—the dinosaur boss area would surely be guarded by their people.
Heading there now would basically mean walking into their encirclement.
“First， continue exploring this area and hunt other monsters to boost our strength.“
Cole made his decision.
If he could fully crystallize his mental core， he'd have even greater power to face the dangers ahead.
Chapter 46: Who’s the Hunter, Who’s the P
Cole’s calm demeanor helped steady the panicked Litke and Wang Ayi a little.
Yeah， Miss Amelia’s strength was unfathomable—maybe she really had a way to handle this?
That was the only thought keeping them from total meltdown.
But the words“Level 3 warrior” still weighed on their hearts like a boulder.
“We leave now. These invaders usually have some kind of scouting gear or abilities.”
Cole immediately broke camp. Litke and Wang Ayi didn’t hesitate， hurrying after him， hearts pounding.
Less than ten minutes after they left， two figures appeared at the abandoned campsite like ghosts emerging from the mist.
Both men wore dark crimson combat suits emblazoned with a sinister pattern of dripping fangs—the infamous mark of the Bloodthirsty Society.
One was tall and gaunt， his face deathly pale. His eyes were mostly whites， with pinprick pupils that constantly darted， as if always searching.
He crouched， running his fingers through the still-warm ashes of the campfire， then pinched a blade of trampled grass and sniffed lightly.
“Hmph. They haven’t been gone long. Three little rats… scents are clear. One mid-Level 2， two peak Level 1 weaklings.”
This man’s code name was Bloodbat. He specialized in tracking and stealth， with extraordinarily sharp senses.
He was an early Level 3 warrior.
“Word is Litke’s bodyguard—this Miss Amelia—is pretty capable. That mid-Level 2 signature must be her.”
“Dealing with pests like these feels like a paid vacation.”
