The machinery around the egg sprang to life. Ker sitting in the center piece was satisfied that this worked. Otherwise, he would have been in a fix.

  This way, everything worked fine. At least he hoped it dearly.

  As the egg closed, he realized he didn't feel all that safe and good in this situation.

  Too late.

  The sides closed completely, all light was shut out. The egg filled with a strange fluid again. Then Ker remembered that there were more steps to the process. More unpleasant steps. He braced himself for what was to come.

  As Ker sat there like a chicken in an egg, he noted that the process seemed to have changed. There were no needles pricking him, no involuntary blood donation and nothing forcefully attached to him yet.

  He really hoped he didn't just jinx his luck.

  The egg chamber became warmer, up to his own body temperature. It was not only warm, it was outright cozy. That wasn't alright. He should stay awake and not trust this hell-machinery. But he felt comfortable, slightly dizzy and was a short time later overcome by sleep.

  ?──?─?─?──??

  While the inner parts of the machine worked tirelessly to complete the first human evolution, the outside parts worked too. Different rings rotated around the evolution chamber. Different arms with magical devices scanned the being inside. Deep in the complex mechanical arms sorted through data and essential parts of specimen. Their foundation stored for later use.

  A black portal broke violent into reality. A figure stepped through as elegant as dangerous. She looked pleased at the chamber: "What a beautiful find." Her voice sounding like snakes twisting over each other while she touched the chamber with her hand.

  "This one will be a nice addition to my - children. Let's start this little experiment, shall we."

  After a part of her spinal marrow was extracted, she left through the same portal.

  One final time, she twisted like a wave back to the chamber: "I fulfilled my promise, now fulfill yours."

  She stepped into the portal. Said portal closed its eternal black entrance to the abyss.

  Ker was deep asleep. Inside that personal space, he had always felt naturally safe. Just this once, he felt a foreboding presence. It was a brief, uncomfortable visit.

  Deep in his sleep again, he felt something deeply unsettling, pervading him. It settled in him and spread. It was like a hostile takeover, just directed by himself.

  Then, a pain jolt through his back. His body seemed to accept the foreign parts as its own.

  There was something else surfacing from deep within him. Slowly but certainly wind its way out.

  Rage

  Hatred

  And also a strange serenity in it.

  ?──?─?─?──??

  Far away in Wellsheid, inside the mage tower of magus Bellefold. The magus furrowed his eyebrows. Somebody tried to suck mana directly from his tower.

  How dastartly rude.

  Then he noticed how raw the method was. Even the barbarians in the north wouldn't fall back to such an approach.

  With that, Bellefold meaned the warriors of the clans and not the druids they were in constant exchange with.

  He tried to locate the source only to discover that far more than his tower was targeted. He had to find out how large the affected area was. The magus did send his pigeon constructs out to report back to him.

  He was well aware that those constructs might soon dissolve in the current effect. He deployed countermeasures with a mere gesture. His tower protected and his spies underway, he decided to return to his project.

  ?──?─?─?──??

  A butler hurried through the palace.

  "Earl, earl Mellechiev, urgent news, someone is targeting this palace, it's a mana attack."

  Earl Mellechiev scowled: "This is an affront. I want this nuisance dealt with. Make haste."

  The butler stood unsure, fidgeting with his hands. Mellechiev, in his night robes, demanded: "What is it? Tell me why you are not taking care of this business."

  The butler answered meekly: "We currently don't know where the attack comes from. It is disturbing our defenses and the high people visiting. We don't know what to do or where to start."

  Mellechiev: "You have until tomorrow to take care of it. In any case of further disturbance or failure, the consequences will be decimation."

  The butler wanted to reply that this is a military disciplinary method just to realize how foolish that would have been.

  The butler hurried away, while Mellechiev groaned at the annoyances in the late evening.

  ?──?─?─?──??

  A surge of mana built up to pave the way into evolution via force.

  A stream of extremely concentrated and coherent mana was forced right through the evolution chamber. That saturated Ker's body instantly. His body had no choice but to adapt - this his first evolution was jump-started.

  ?──?─?─?──??

  As Ker opened his eyes, he stood in his old childhood room. But he wasn't small, he was gigantic in comparison to his bed, his wooden toys and the chair. He felt this was still his room, his sanctum. He would always be safe here.

  Something stirred him to walk to the door and open it. Behind the door was a forest. The trees were lighter in the beginning but grown darker with every step he took.

  Until he reached a lake in the dark wood. Ker moved to and saw his own reflection distorted in the calm water. It promised change. So he stepped into the lake, the water slowly immersed him.

  Ker was floating in the waters shaped by the reflection of his potential.

  Different versions of an outer layer came to his mind.

  He was most intrigued by the stone skin. He didn't know what to do with mana skin. He had never used mana before. The plant skin looked flexible, probably very useful to absorb damage. The plates reminded him of plate armor, which was very useful to wear, but Ker liked the option to not wear plate armor full time. The Chameleon effect was a simple no. No green Ker with brownish grey patches.

  Next, he felt options for a stronger, changed body:

  In this case, he had a harder time deciding. All choices presented were good, valid options.

  More speed meant faster attacks, he could outmaneuver other beasts. And ge could run away faster. But Ker felt that was not his style of fighting.

  Strength foundation sounded pretty good, it definitely fit to him.

  More endurance would be good for long fights or exhausting tasks. That was not really in his interest.

  Again, something with mana, surely useful but he passed it up.

  Muscles out of stone sounded contradictory. Why would anyone let their muscles harden and freeze up. That would open any opportunity for an attack. He opted for a strong foundation since his methods aligned with that built.

  Visuals of his skeletal body appeared:

  This time, Ker chose instantly cross connected bones. It would be good against heavy attacks, falls and anything that will be thrown onto him. Especially the last option seemed suboptimal. He would grow until he didn't fit anymore in any house? That was definitely not his goal.

  Many different shapes formed in his mental imagery:

  All options displayed were at the very least interesting. Ker would have loved to choose all of them. Except for the demonic core, that was outright scary. Why was this option even given to him. There was no understanding given to him, just a really bad feeling.

  He rather anything else. After feeling what every organ could do for him, he decided that the powerheart was the best choice for him. He needed way more power. And until now, he could live from voles and beasts. He didn't want to stay in the wilds anyway. This was a means to an end. Better senses seemed good, but all the beasts announced themselves pretty open until now.

  Ker didn't know what a cns was, but he knew that quicker thinking in dangerous situations could prove vital. He hoped that better stats would solve that problem on its own.

  His vision blurred, his body reacted and adapted. Integrating the changes hurt like hell. Ker felt pain revolting through his entire body. He really wished for it to end.

  His skin tightened until he felt it short before tearing. Crystalline structures built in his skin, making it more robust.

  Muscles did grow stronger, building the foundation for his body.

  Bones broke and reconnected. Building internal bridges to cross stabilizing his structure.

  His heart quickened, punching in his chest. It felt like his sparring sessions, just this time his trainer would punch from the inside out. The heart slowed until it clenched. As his heart calmed down, he could feel the enormous power provided by it. He also knew that it was more durable in general.

  After the unpleasant experience of evolving parts of his body, he became aware of different routes.

  Those were the choices given. Ker was interested in all if them but limited to one. He knew it would define his life from this point forward. Homo lupus fit, since he hunted animals and beast alike. But he didn't like the connotation of hunting humans. He wanted to be more human and not more like a wolf.

  Homo mutatio sounded interesting and repulsive at the same time. How would he look like with one claw and one wing. Where were the limits and would he still be welcome.

  Homo exploratio sounded overall usefull, just he didn't saw himself as an Explorer. Adventurer yes, but not someone venturing to other shores to discover new lands.

  Homo aspiratio was the most nebulous choice. What did it mean, why aspiratio, presumably because he aspired to become more.

  Homo fames was a bit blunt for him. Sure, he had a massive hunger sometimes, but ever hungry was something he gladly passed.

  He chose Homo aspiratio with the reasoning that he needed a strong spirit for his journey. Also, how dangerous could those dormant stages be.

  This time he felt no pain. He actually passed out. In his unconscious state, he felt the evolution take place. His body, mind and spirit reached a new evolutionary stage.

  ?──?─?─?──??

  Ker opened his eyes. In his hazy state, he barely noticed his surroundings. The chamber was open, light filled sparse the room. He moved his limbs to discover that he needed some time to adjust. His muscles felt strong and flabby at the same time. His bones felt numb in a way he could not describe. But he had boundless energy in him. Most likely because of his heart.

  After he loosened his body, he walked towards one of the more intact glass walls. The glass was more see-through than reflective, he still could see his basic features. He did change in subtle ways. His face was harder with sharper lines. His muscles were clearly more defined. He also felt larger, but that could be just wishful thinking. Sadly, he couldn't see any color in the glass. He really wanted to see his new skin. His hair seemed also changed somehow.

  He accepted that he would have to find some water in a pond to get the full picture.

  Ker made his way out of the facility. Still on wobbly legs, he took in the midday sun. It was relatively warm for march. But he knew he wanted to be back home before it became really cold. And he just wanted to be home, with his parents, feeling the warms of being welcome.

  And for that, he had to fight hid way back. This time, no squirrel, wolf or other beast will stop him.

  First he walked to a little pond nearby. Just to see, it was full of mud.

  Oh great, of course it is full of muddy water.

  Ker took his spear and walked into the wood. This time, it was to do more than barely survive. This time, he would dictate the pace.

  His stomach grumbled. Obviously, evolving one's body costs a lot of resources. His next target was the damned squirrels. He needed food and wanted to test his newfound strength.

  He could find his way bach to the squirrel den without problems. Now, the question was if he should just pick a squirrel for a fight or employ his trap strategy.

  This choice was interrupted by a high-pitched squeak. A squirrel had found him first. Ker was actually not really hiding, so this was to be expected.

  On then.