The bell above Hartwell's Beast Supply Shop chimed as another customer walked out, leaving Sylas alone with the lingering scent of beast feed and cleaning supplies. He glanced at the clock—still three hours until closing. Three more hours of pretending that stocking shelves and mixing nutrient supplements was somehow a dignified use of his education.
"Sylas! Clean up the mess in aisle four!" barked Mr. Hartwell from behind the counter. "Some idiot with a C-Rank Earth Bear knocked over half the premium feed display."
"Yes, sir," Sylas replied automatically, grabbing his mop and bucket.
As he walked toward the spilled feed, he caught a glimpse of himself in one of the shop's mirrors. Gone was the confident prodigy who had once stood before three thousand people. His silver hair was longer now, often tied back with whatever he could find. His academy uniform had been replaced by the simple brown apron of a shop worker. But the biggest change was in his eyes—the spark of ambition had dimmed to barely glowing embers.
Whiskers, perched on a nearby shelf where she spent most days, watched him with those golden eyes that seemed far too intelligent for an ordinary house cat. She had grown slightly in the past six months, but remained stubbornly, definitively F-Rank. No new abilities, no sudden growth spurts, no miraculous awakening of hidden power.
Just a cat.
"At least you're content," Sylas muttered as he began cleaning up the scattered feed pellets. "Ignorance is bliss, right?"
The shop's entrance chimed again, and Sylas looked up to see a familiar figure browsing the combat gear section. Marcus Brightflame, now wearing the distinctive blue vest of a Guild apprentice, was examining a set of flame-resistant armor with his Fire Wolf padding beside him.
Their eyes met across the shop.
"Sylas?" Marcus's voice carried that same false sympathy it had six months ago. "I didn't know you worked here."
*Of course you didn't,* Sylas thought. *People like me are invisible to people like you now.*
"Just temporarily," Sylas lied, continuing to clean. "Saving up money for... things."
"That's good, that's good." Marcus picked up a fire crystal, examining it with the casual confidence of someone who could actually use it. "You know, there's no shame in honest work. Not everyone can make it as a Beast Master."
"Right."
"My Fire Wolf's been advancing nicely. Just hit C-Rank last week." Marcus's wolf preened at the attention, flames flickering briefly around its muzzle. "Guild thinks I might make B-Rank by year's end. They're fast-tracking me for the Regional Championships."
Each word was a needle, perfectly placed. Sylas forced a smile. "Congratulations."
"Thanks. Hey, whatever happened to that cat of yours? Whiskers, wasn't it?"
As if summoned by her name, Whiskers leaped down from her shelf and padded over to Sylas, rubbing against his leg with a soft purr. Marcus's Fire Wolf immediately went on alert, a low growl rumbling in its throat.
"Easy, Blaze," Marcus said, though he looked confused. "It's just an F-Rank. Why are you..."
The Fire Wolf's growl intensified, and something strange happened—for just a moment, Whiskers' eyes seemed to flash with an otherworldly light. The bigger, stronger beast actually took a step back.
But the moment passed so quickly that Marcus seemed to convince himself he'd imagined it.
"Weird," he muttered. "Anyway, I should go. Training session with the Guild. See you around, Sylas."
After Marcus left, Sylas knelt down and scratched behind Whiskers' ears. "What was that about, girl? You almost made his C-Rank wolf nervous."
Whiskers just purred and bumped her head against his hand.
"Sylas!" Mr. Hartwell's voice cracked like a whip. "Stop playing with that cat and get back to work! Those Evolution Crystals won't organize themselves!"
The Evolution Crystals. Sylas had been dreading this task all week.
He made his way to the back storage room, where boxes of genuine Evolution Crystals sat waiting to be catalogued and priced. These weren't the cheap imitations sold to desperate F and E-Rank contractors—these were real crystals, each one worth more than Sylas made in three months, each one capable of pushing a beast to the next rank.
Each one a reminder of everything he couldn't afford and would never need.
As he began sorting them by grade and purity, his mind wandered to the theoretical classes he used to excel in. Evolution Theory had been his favorite subject. He could still recite the fundamental principles: "Evolution Crystals resonate with a beast's inherent potential, catalyzing growth along predetermined pathways. Higher grade crystals can unlock dormant bloodlines, while perfect resonance crystals can even—"
His hand slipped, and a small, oddly-shaped crystal fell from its box, rolling across the floor and coming to rest behind a stack of old inventory crates.
"Great," Sylas muttered, getting down on his hands and knees to retrieve it.
The crystal was unlike any he'd seen before—not the usual clear quartz structure of commercial Evolution Crystals, but something that seemed to shift and swirl with inner darkness, as if it contained a tiny galaxy. When his fingers closed around it, the crystal felt warm to the touch.
The moment his skin made contact, the world exploded into light and sound.
[SYSTEM ACTIVATION DETECTED]
*L[SCANNING HOST...]
[SCANNING COMPLETE]
[WELCOME TO THE INFINITE EVOLUTION SYSTEM]
Sylas stumbled backward, the crystal clattering to the floor as translucent panels appeared in his vision, visible only to him. His heart hammered against his ribs as text scrolled past his eyes faster than he could read.
[HOST ANALYSIS COMPLETE]
[NAME: SYLAS ASHFORD]
[CURRENT RANK: F-RANK BEAST MASTER]
[CONTRACTED BEASTS: 1]
[INFINITE POTENTIAL: CONFIRMED]
[ANALYZING PRIMARY CONTRACT...]
A new panel appeared, focused entirely on Whiskers, who had somehow appeared in the storage room and was now sitting perfectly still, staring at Sylas with those golden eyes that suddenly seemed far less ordinary.
[ANALYSIS COMPLETE]
[CONTRACTED BEAST: "WHISKERS"]
[CURRENT CLASSIFICATION: F-RANK HOUSE CAT]
[HIDDEN BLOODLINE DETECTED...]
[TRACING LINEAGE...]
[LINEAGE TRACE COMPLETE]
[WARNING: DIVINE-CLASS BLOODLINE IDENTIFIED]
[ANCESTRAL ORIGIN: VOID STALKER EMPRESS]
[BLOODLINE PURITY: 0.001%]
[EVOLUTION POTENTIAL: INFINITE]
Sylas stared at the floating text, his mind reeling. Divine-Class bloodline? Void Stalker Empress? This had to be some kind of hallucination brought on by stress and malnutrition.
But then the main system interface materialized:
```
╔══════════════════════════════════════╗
║ INFINITE EVOLUTION SYSTEM ║
╠══════════════════════════════════════╣
║ Host: Sylas Ashford ║
║ Beast Master Rank: F-Rank → ∞ ║
║ Title: [Trash Summoner] ║
╚══════════════════════════════════════╝
[PRIMARY CONTRACT]
► Whiskers (F-Rank House Cat)
├─ Current Stage: F-Rank (Stage 0/∞)
├─ Next Evolution: E-Rank Shadowstep Cat
├─ Requirements: 100 Evolution Points
├─ Hidden Potential: [DIVINE BLOODLINE: 0.001%]
└─ Ultimate Destiny: [VOID STALKER EMPRESS]
[EVOLUTION PATHWAYS - INFINITE BRANCHES]
Shadow Path: House Cat → Shadowstep Cat → Phantom Feline → Shadow Lynx → Void Stalker → ??? → ∞
[Additional Paths: LOCKED - Unlock through evolution]
[SYSTEM FEATURES]
◈ Evolution Points: 0/∞
◈ Beast Contracts: 1/∞
◈ Evolution Materials: 1 (Unknown Crystal)
◈ Bloodline Purity: 0.001%
[DAILY MISSIONS - ENDLESS GROWTH]
□ Battle Training (0/5) → +50 Evolution Points
□ Bond Strengthening (0/1 hour) → +25 Evolution Points
□ Defeat Higher Rank Beast (0/1) → +500 Evolution Points
□ Perfect Synchronization (0/1) → +??? Reward
[FIRST TIME BONUS AVAILABLE!]
Complete your first evolution to unlock:
- System Shop Access
- Advanced Evolution Paths
- Bloodline Enhancement Features
- ??? Mysterious Reward
```
"This... this can't be real," Sylas whispered.
**[REALITY CONFIRMED. SYSTEM IS OPERATIONAL.]**
**[WOULD YOU LIKE TO BEGIN YOUR FIRST EVOLUTION?]**
[WARNING: EVOLUTION PROCESS WILL BE VISIBLE TO OTHERS. RECOMMEND FINDING PRIVATE LOCATION.]
Before Sylas could respond, Mr. Hartwell's voice boomed from the front of the shop: "SYLAS! WHERE ARE THOSE CRYSTALS? I'VE GOT CUSTOMERS WAITING!"
The system panels flickered and faded, though Sylas could still sense them at the edge of his perception, waiting to be called back.
He looked down at Whiskers, who was now sitting perfectly upright, her golden eyes fixed on his face with an intensity that seemed almost... knowing.
"A Void Stalker Empress," he breathed. "Is that really what you are?"
Whiskers tilted her head and mewed once, softly.
For the first time in six months, Sylas smiled—really smiled.
"Then let's show them what infinite evolution really means."