The Rift evaluation was brutal.
The professors stood at the front of Classroom 5 with arms crossed and eyes filled with disappointment. One had a clipboard, another a tablet, and a third had no patience at all.
"That was an F+ Rift," Professor Darc snapped, voice like steel wire. "And more than half of you were crawling before the second minute."
Some students flinched. Some looked down. Some just stared at the wall like they weren't mentally present anymore.
"Most of you didn't even activate your parasite traits properly," another professor chimed in. "Your coordination was nonexistent, your use of terrain was childish, and your energy consumption was laughable. You all think this is a playground?"
Nobody answered.
Except for one person.
The first-ranked sat at the far corner of the room with headphones on, casually tapping on his holo-brace and yawning like he was about to sleep.
His desk screen was pulled up to some rhythm game interface with flashing neon lights.
Not a single professor said anything to him.
They all knew better.
He didn't even pretend to pay attention. He just slouched back, pressed the next song, and tapped on.
Kai sat stiff in his seat. He wasn't even listening anymore—not really. His body was here, but his brain was racing miles ahead.
That fight had changed everything.
He could still see it—the way the crystal feathers moved, the way that guy didn't even try. He beat the beetle like it was an automated script.
And Kai...
He still had a fight tonight.
Against someone two classrooms above him. Someone ranked third in Class 3. Someone who could crush him like a bug if he showed even a second of hesitation.
So he stood up quietly during the lesson, told the professor he had a stomachache, and walked out without waiting for a response.
He headed straight for the bathroom, locked the stall, opened his wristband, and called up his personal stat window.
▸ CORE STATS
Host Name: Ottokai Von Seraphis
Host Level: 8 [+3]
Parasite Level: 8 [+3]
Gene Count: 23
Available Level Points: 8
Compatibility Check: [Available]
Rift Clearance: F– Rift [2/??? Completed]
Host Tier: Instinct Layer - Tier I
He tapped the compatibility scan.
The system ran for a second, then beeped.
[Compatibility Match] → Estimated Battle Output: F Rank GeneDevourer
Max Clearance: F+ Creatures / F+ GeneDevourers
"Still weak…" he muttered under his breath.
He stared at the screen for a long second, knuckles clenched. He wanted to punch something, but he knew better. That wouldn't help him win.
So he asked.
"How can I become stronger?"
Sekh's voice answered in his head with that calm, mechanical rumble.
"Spend level points, integrate normalized gene fragments, advance the evolution path, and expand compatibility."
Kai blinked. Of course.
He still hadn't used his level points.
He had 8 points just sitting there, rotting while he kept waiting for the perfect moment. But if there was ever a time to use them, it was now. No one else could help him tonight.
"Alright," Kai whispered. "I will."
He slid the screen aside and tapped the Evolution Path tab.
No hesitation now.
Not with someone like that upperclassman waiting to take Seren away just because he could.
Kai stood in the corridor, half-lit by the pale strip lights humming above, eyes locked onto the projection from his wristband. The screen flickered slightly as the system opened his evolution panel.
Parasite Evolution Tree: Sekh
Available Evolution Points: 8
Four major branches blinked into view.
Branch I: Neurospike Core
Specializes in breaching neural networks to implant override commands in low-intelligence riftborn. Enables short-term domination of single targets.
Direct control...That's not what I need.
Branch II: Swarm-Kernel Bloom (Swarm Branch)
Implants a biological node in the host that spawns controllable micro-parasites. These units act as scouts, saboteurs, or living munitions in coordinated strikes.
Scouts and bombs… exactly what I need if I'm gonna fight someone above my level. I can't go toe-to-toe. But I can wear him down.
Branch III: Echo-Brood Field (Swarm Branch)
Creates a passive psychic network that links allied swarm parasites within range. Enhances swarm coordination, response time, and tactical adaptation.
I don't have enough swarm units to make this worth it.
Branch IV: Mirage Cortex
Manipulates bio-psi fields to generate phantom swarms or illusory doubles, overwhelming enemy perception and disrupting formations.
This one's useful for creating time...
He tapped the Swarm-Kernel Bloom first.
[Confirm Selection? → Cost: 3 Level Points]
"Confirm."
Then he tapped the Mirage Cortex.
[Confirm Selection? → Cost: 3 Level Points]
"Confirm."
[Level Points Remaining: 2]
[Processing Evolution...]
A pulse ran up his arm. His spine twitched. Something inside him shifted.
He could feel Sekh reacting. The parasite writhed under his ribcage like it was awakening new limbs.
One for control and one for war. That's the plan.
Kai took a breath and closed the window.
Then he turned and headed back for the classroom.
He didn't need luck tonight.
He had swarm mines and neural override.
Let the bastard come.
He flushed the toilet out of habit, washed his face once, and stepped back into the hallway.
Then he headed for the classroom again, his fingers already navigating the stat menus.
Tonight wasn't going to be a fair fight.
But he didn't need fair.
He needed advantage.
---
Kai wiped the sweat off his face with a towel that smelled like bleach and rusted metal. The new dorm room was smaller, more cramped than his old apartment, but it had reinforced walls and a reinforced floor—good enough for training. He'd been here for three hours now, going through his routines, pushing himself harder every set.
Manny was curled up on his keyboard, tiny body rising and falling with each shallow breath.
The little guy had been working all day helping him tune his parasite loadout. Now he looked like a bug-shaped paperweight.
Then the door creaked open. Seren stepped in, arms crossed, eyes a little unsure but mouth set.
"Are you sure? You should've just ignored that guy…"
Kai glanced at her, then dropped to the floor again.
"One...two…"
"I'm not backing out."
"...eighteen, nineteen…"
"I'll win."
"Twenty."
He stood and rolled his shoulders.
If I don't fight, someone like him just comes again and again. They don't stop unless you make them.
He changed his shirt, dried his hair with the towel, and grabbed his coat. His heartbeat was calm.
It's just one guy.
Night fell fast, the wind colder now that he was walking outside the campus dorms. The lamps along the path flickered as he passed, but he kept his pace steady.
The academy gates were still open. Past them was the Duel Ring, one of the many arenas meant for sanctioned combat. But this wasn't going to be sanctioned. It was just a challenge made in front of a crowd. It didn't need approval.
He walked across the stone floor, footsteps echoing under the blue lights of the arena perimeter.
The stands weren't full, but word had spread—there were students, instructors, upperclassmen, and even bored researchers from the GeneTech labs.
Kai stepped onto the platform.
Alright. No turning back. If I lose, I lose everything. If I win…
He clenched his fists. Sekh was ready. "Kai, I'm ready!"
…if I win, I make them all remember my name.
The guy stepped onto the platform like he owned it, like the stone beneath his boots was just part of his estate. He was huge—broad chest, thick arms, neck like a tree trunk. He rolled his shoulders and cracked his knuckles as if this was just another warm-up set.
"I'm Alric Alrone. If I win, I'm taking her."
Kai didn't flinch.
"Alright. I know."
He thinks I'm just prey. Let him think that. Let him underestimate me. That's how it starts.
Seren stood near the edge, arms tight against her chest, eyes glued to Kai. Her mouth was pressed into a worried line, but she didn't call out.
Then a synthetic voice echoed across the arena, projected from the monitoring system overhead.
"Are you ready? The fight will begin in…"
"Three."
Alric grinned, wide and confident, and lowered into a stance that made the platform creak.
"Two."
Kai dropped his weight and locked his breathing.
Come on, come on, show me how you move…
"One."
The silence hit harder than the countdown.
"Fight!"
The sound was air exploding—Alric disappeared in a blur, speed far too fast for his size. The audience gasped. Kai's eyes darted, pupils twitching.
Right side—low angle—he's coming in with a smash!
Bones cracked as Kai's right arm warped into a thickened skeletal shield. "Alright, George Brothers!"
The bone-arm locked into place just as the impact hit. A hammer-like punch slammed into him, and the shockwave sent dust flying.
Alric skidded back, surprised but smiling.
"Oh? You've got some strength after all."
Kai shook off the sting in his arm. His feet had dug small trenches into the platform from the force, but he was still standing.
That punch would've shattered ribs if I didn't transform in time. He's faster than expected. But that means he relies on brute force.
Kai slid his right foot back, bones still coiled around his arm like armor.
"I'm not the same guy you saw earlier."
Alric cracked his neck.
"Then don't disappoint me, last rank."