Chapter 23: Short of Money

The Human Super Evolution Project, a groundbreaking endeavor, originated from mankind's ancient longing and has its roots in humanity’s innate desire for power since the dawn of its existence.

Back then, humans were relentlessly hunted by countless terrifying monsters, and some were even kept like livestock by these formidable beasts, barely managing to cling to life. To break free, wise forebears forged a new path, devising the Totem System—a means by which humanity harnessed the power of totems to rise and claim the vast majority of the world’s lands.

Those once-mighty monsters were either exterminated by humankind or driven into primeval forests, barren deserts, and even the frozen extremes of the north and south. Time and again, attempts were made to evolve the human body itself rather than pursuing martial skills with clear limits—yet, no matter how gifted the individual, every attempt ended in failure.

It was not until Elvis’s journal submission that the life-masters of Morente discovered this dream could, in fact, become reality. This epoch-making achievement sent shockwaves through the world. The entire Atlantean City-State Alliance rallied, focusing its efforts on the City of Academies, Morente, and spared no expense in the pursuit of this vision.

Atlantean factories soon produced countless powerful humans, dubbed Evolution Warriors, who possessed strength far surpassing that of ordinary martial artists and wrought terror on the battlefield. In the later stages of the war, Evolution Warriors even reached the third level, rivaling ultimate-form totems. Unchecked, it was feared they might one day rival even the divine beasts.

The life-masters of Morente focused their research on fusing human bloodlines with those of totems, granting humans the powers of totems and allowing them to grow stronger by continually merging with more potent bloodlines.

Charles had never expected that a minor character, destined to die at the very beginning of the story, would become involved with human super evolution so early and begin horrific human experimentation. This meant Bruce sought to use these experiments to gather detailed data, hoping to evolve and grow stronger himself.

“Alas, without the protagonist’s aura, your fate is doomed to serve as a stepping stone for others,” Charles remarked with a touch of regret as he rose to leave.

The sheer size of the archive meant he could not take it all with him, nor could he bring it openly to the manor—if discovered, it would spell trouble. He wrapped the journal, several compendiums on life-mastery, and foundational biological research on beasts, birds, and insects in a piece of black cloth and took them all.

“Mew!”

The little white fox, who had been on the verge of sleep, instantly perked up and leaped lightly onto his shoulder, accompanying him as he left.

Through his recent studies, Charles realized how critical the core totem was for life-masters. Normally, these were hidden away in some unknown space, only summoned when needed through special life-arts. However, Firefly was forcibly transformed into a totem using Morente’s technology, centered on flesh and blood—a far from complete totem, and much weaker for it.

He planned, once he acquired a rune factory, to reconstruct Firefly and make it a true core totem.

Yet, the core totem was the very foundation of a life-master. Using another’s rune factory was akin to relying on someone else’s machinery—one that came with full surveillance, exposing all your secrets and vital techniques to them. Thus, no life-master wished to use another’s rune factory, except when first beginning, when using a teacher’s was unavoidable.

...

In the days that followed, Charles plunged into a frenzy of study. Apart from tending to his basic needs and occasional outings, he spent all his time buried in the study, accompanied only by the young maid, Eve.

Baron Buyanno, pleased yet concerned for his health, ordered Niu Kelian to prepare expensive medicinal dishes to fortify him.

Charles poured over entomology and zoology texts with greater diligence than he had ever shown during the university entrance exams. Unfortunately, no matter how hard he studied, the system’s panel never displayed a skill icon, dashing his hopes in this area.

Thankfully, the fusion of two souls had multiplied his memory several times over, making learning much easier; a single reading or two was enough to commit a book to memory. After more than ten days of intense research, he was physically and mentally exhausted, yet he had laid a solid foundation for future growth, amassing a wealth of basic knowledge.

His greatest gain was Bruce’s experimental notes, which greatly advanced his understanding of biological experimentation. He even crept into the laboratory to conduct simple dissections, testing what he had learned.

Now, his biggest problem remained: he still lacked his own rune factory. Without this essential tool, he was forced to rely on others, exposing every bit of his research to their scrutiny.

Yet, even the cheapest rune factory cost hundreds of thousands of gold coins—more than a family’s income over a decade. Even Niu Kelian, a third-level life-master, would have to bleed himself dry to afford one.

Beyond this, the daily research of a life-master required various gemstones and, most vitally, source crystals. Even squandering the family fortune would not provide enough to build a comprehensive life-mastery knowledge system. The family's small gold mine yielded very few source crystals; even with increased rewards, miners struggled to find uncut stones.

Lacking source crystals was like a car without fuel; his studies and experiments were severely hampered.

Charles realized that staying here would yield little further progress; he was prepared to set out.

One afternoon, Charles, Niu Kelian, and Rice Cake came to a remote forest for a practical training session. His opponent was, naturally, the young girl—also a first-level practitioner—who wore a light blue skirt and whose innocent, youthful face was now set in seriousness.

She waved her hands, threads of grayish-white silk weaving through the air, forming intricate runes. Before her, a pale blue light appeared. The glow faded quickly, and a strange creature stepped out.

This being was entirely blue-green, with a large, round head marked by a few stripes, making it look rather like an onion. Atop its head grew two oval-shaped leaves, resembling ears, and beneath, a cluster of root-like tendrils served as legs. Two more, positioned just below its head, acted as arms.

Its round, brown eyes spun intently as it gazed at him.

“This is my totem—a rare plant type, the Blue Ball Grass. I call her Little Blue,” the girl introduced with pride, her voice full of boastful satisfaction.

“It truly is adorable, and plant-type totems are so rare. I wonder where you managed to find such a treasure,” Charles praised, further fueling her pride.

He spoke the truth; for a plant to become a totem, it must first possess some degree of mobility—like bloodthirsty vines, man-eating flowers, or Venus flytraps. The one before him was clearly even rarer.

Niu Kelian, standing by as referee, interrupted, “Enough talk—let’s begin.”