Evolution Online: My 10,000× Reward System Multiplies Everything

Chapter 96: Is that my shirt?! (Bonus Chapter)

Stronghold 1.

The entire street of the stronghold was packed with people, with live bands playing like it was a festive period, as everyone carried a smile on their faces.

Meanwhile, a dark hooded figure moved through the dark alleys of the stronghold to make a stop at different locations to pick up what looked like foodstuff items, before they disappeared once more, staying away from the crowd marching on the street whose bright attire was a contrast to theirs and made them stick out like a sore thumb.

The hooded figure kept business brief across stops and was fast on their heels, when a broadcast on one of the many blank screens caught their attention.

”...A lot has changed in the past few months, that it’s almost hard to believe. Here are a few significant changes that happened, with Black Rose making most of the headlines.

• Spatial gates have become a natural occurrence across the seven Strongholds.

• Black Rose has publicly resigned from her position as the guild leader of the White Vanguard Guild In-game, to establish Hunter’s Association in real-life that has become the top-grossing organization across strongholds.

• Evolution Online has lost 30% of its players across the nine Strongholds to the Hunter’s Association, after the discovery was made that evolution points could be earned from clearing out spatial gates, or, like we call it now, instance dungeons.

Even though it’s a risky profession compared to playing games from the comfort of your home, the Hunter Association has publicly revealed that the rewards for killing these monsters invading our world are much higher compared to what the game provides.

• After the death of Governor Grey, his first son who made a miracle recovery has become the new Governor of Stronghold 3. And after the disappearance of the Emperor, now presumed dead, Black Rose has been nominated as the next ’Emperor’ of the seven Strongholds, and we celebrate today for her coronation ceremony.

Now, for the last but not the least, and the hottest headlines over the past few months.

• It’s been three months since the world heard anything about Kaelen Cross after the stronghold crisis that left netizens asking time and time without number: ”Where is Kaelen Cross?”

That is all for today, and we’ll now be displaying the coronation ceremony of the new Empress.”

The new caster concluded, and the scene on the screen changed to the coronation festival ongoing, with several famous officials and stronghold lords present, and a beautiful woman dressed in golden dragon embroideries and a cap that made the sharp features of her face more profound.

The cameras zoomed in on her face, and so did the eyes of the hooded figure, to pick up a pattern most people didn’t notice with the Empress.

Her eyes seemed to be moving across the crowds, like she was watching the live bands and role-play drama based on the battle between the former Emperor and the infamous Kaelen Cross. But if one were keen enough, they’d notice her eye movements weren’t just watching the crowd that had gathered to celebrate her coronation.

Those eyes were actively searching for someone.

The hooded figure didn’t seem to be the only one to notice, and the Governor of Stronghold 3 seemed to have come to that realization much earlier.

Someone suddenly bumped into the hooded figure, making them stumble forward and their hood almost fall off, but their hands immediately shot up to grab onto their hood, but that made their sleeves slip to reveal a reflection of light across the soft scales lined up at the back of their hand.

”I’m so sorry.” The young man who’d bumped into them quickly apologized before he ran off as his friends chased after him.

The hooded figure took this as a cue to leave immediately, and quickly slipped into a dark alley, moving in between buildings like they’d done this more times than they could count, before they arrived at a dead end.

Their steps faltered and they slowed to a stop.

Not because they’d arrived at their location. They had, but there were several unaccounted-for men blocking their path.

On seeing the hooded figure, one of the men laughed delightfully.

”I told you, Greg. She always comes here every few days and vanishes right at this spot,” he said and snorted amidst laughter.

”You said you’d never seen their face, so how do you know it’s a woman?” The one called Greg, who stood like the ringleader, asked.

The first man licked his lips. ”She moves so elegantly. I know a woman when I see one. I can recognize those hips swaying from even a mile away—”

”What if it’s a femboy?”

”Shut up, Drew!”

”Are you here to have your way with me?” An alluring voice suddenly escaped the lips of the hooded figure.

”I told you it was a woman—wait, what?” The man snapped his head back towards the hooded figure. ”Hell no. We don’t do that here. Transfer all your evolution points to me right now and we won’t have a problem.”

”Oh? I don’t have any evolution points, though. I pickpocket for a living. You can try that too.” The hooded figure said in clear amusement.

”What? Do you think we’re here for jokes—” The man suddenly trailed off when a deadly aura suddenly came from behind them.

The four men slowly looked behind them, and upon seeing a shadowy figure several metres tall standing behind them like a war god, their pupils constricted and they shivered uncontrollably.

The shadowy figure didn’t acknowledge them at all as he moved his gaze to the hooded figure.

”Let’s go.”

”C’mon, SKD. Someone fun was finally about to happen in so long. You’re such a joy killer—”

”Master is back.”

As soon as those words left the shadowy figure’s lips, the hooded figure visibly stiffened, and without a word, she quickly strode forward, grabbed onto the shadowy figure, and they both disappeared from the spot, leaving the four men lying in their own piss.

As soon as they appeared in the castle, Kenora sped downstairs to hide the foodstuffs she’d bought and her hood, before she came back up to the Treasury, where the entire shadow summons had already gathered. They peeked through a gap in the door.

Kenora immediately pushed them aside as she moved to the front and peeked through the hole in the door, to see cracks spreading across a stone statue with bright lights spilling out of the cracks.

As more cracks spread, the castle began shaking in a slight tremor which got worse as the cracks grew denser, till it felt like the entire castle was about to capsize, when the statue exploded in debris and a condensed energy swept across the entire castle and realm, making a chill run down Kenora’s spine as she shielded her eyes.

By the time she recovered enough to peek again, an extremely handsome man sat in a lotus position with his hair as smooth as silk, fluttering in the air, as his eyelids fluttered open. His gray eyes looked sharp and profound.

The handsome man turned to look at SKD, who was the only one allowed inside the room, before he shifted his gaze towards the door and the crack in the door that hadn’t been closed well, and the man’s expression immediately changed as he raised his hand and pointed a finger at the door with an intense gaze that made Kenora swallow hard.

But before she could react, the man spoke first, his voice carrying itself through the castle.

”Is that my shirt?!”