World Evolution: Starting With The Wind Monarch

Evan woke up feeling refreshed the next morning. After finishing his morning routine, he left his room to have breakfast with his grandparents.

”Good morning, Grandma,” Evan greeted Venisa, who was preparing breakfast in the kitchen.

”Good morning,” Venisa greeted him back with a smile. ”Breakfast will be ready in five minutes. Did you pack everything you will need for your training?”

”Yes,” Evan replied as he looked around the room for his grandfather but couldn’t find him anywhere.

Seeing Evan searching for Alfred, Venisa smiled and said, ”He is in the storeroom looking for something. He will be back soon.”

Hearing Venisa, Evan didn’t think much of it and simply waited for breakfast.

A few minutes later, Alfred returned from the storeroom. Curious, Evan asked what he had been searching for, but Alfred merely smiled and replied.

”You will find out soon.”

”You weren’t looking for some roadside thugs to beat me up, were you?” Evan asked with a cautious look. ”Look, old man, I know I peed on your face when I was one year old, but I was just a toddler at the time. There’s no need to recreate the scene from that century-old movie and beat your grandson over such a small matter.”

Alfred still kept the smile on his face, but after being reminded of that dark stain on his villainous career, he couldn’t help but clench his fist.

’If only I had another grandson and wouldn’t have to worry about my bloodline being cut off...’ He gave Evan a long, meaningful look.

Evan suddenly felt a chill run through his lower body, as if an evil bastard was planning to destroy his most precious possession and he immediately backed away from Alfred, keeping his distance.

A few minutes later, Venisa served breakfast.

Evan and his grandparents quietly ate together, and none of them brought up Evan’s training during the meal.

After breakfast, Evan helped Venisa clear the plates. Once everything had been cleaned up, Alfred asked him to come to the lawn.

When Evan arrived, he saw him standing in the middle of the lawn with a simple wooden box in his hands. The box was around one hundred and twenty centimeters long and made of dark brown wood.

As Evan stopped before him, Alfred looked at him and said.

”You have been practicing swordsmanship since you were six years old. While I wouldn’t call you a genius with the sword, you are skilled enough to protect yourself from ordinary magical beasts. So, I am giving you this. Use it well during your training.”

Alfred gently pushed the wooden box toward Evan and quietly waited for him to open it.

When Evan lifted the lid, he found a pitch-black sword resting inside.

The sword was around one hundred centimeters long, including both the blade and the hilt. Its dark blade looked incredibly sharp and carried a chilling aura.

Evan carefully picked up the sword and gave it a few practice swings. As he swung it, the blade sliced through the surrounding air with remarkable ease.

Using this sword, Evan didn’t know why, but he felt a strange connection with it. It was as though it wasn’t merely a weapon, but an extension of his own body.

He couldn’t explain the feeling, but it almost seemed as if this sword had been forged specifically for him.

After testing it for a while, Evan looked at his grandfather and smiled.

”This sword is perfect.” He lowered his gaze to the black blade before continuing, ”I don’t know where this sword came from, but... I feel like this isn’t the first time I have used it. It feels like a part of my own body whenever I swing it.”

Because Evan was focused on the sword while speaking, he failed to notice the faint smile that appeared on Alfred’s face after hearing those words.

”It’s good that you like the sword,” Alfred replied with a satisfied smile. ”Take good care of it.”

”I will,” Evan answered while continuing to admire the weapon.

”Why don’t you give it a name?” Venisa suddenly suggested. ”I don’t think calling it ’Black Sword’ all the time sounds very good.”

Hearing his grandmother’s suggestion, Evan fell into thought for a few moments. He stared at the pitch-black sword that resembled a night sky without a single star, and a faint smile appeared on his face.

”Let’s call it Black Star.”

The moment Evan announced the name, both of his grandparents silently looked at him without saying a word.

Looking at their expressions, it was impossible to tell what they were thinking.

When they remained silent, Evan became slightly embarrassed and couldn’t help but think.

’Is Black Star not a good name?’

But what he didn’t notice was that the instant he named the sword, its blade trembled ever so slightly before becoming completely still once again.

After a few moments of awkward silence, Evan coughed lightly before asking.

”So... should I leave now, or should I wait a little longer?”

Hearing his voice, both Alfred and Venisa snapped out of their daze.

The two exchanged a glance before smiling at each other.

Venisa then walked over to Evan and handed him a scroll.

Evan accepted it and carefully examined it.

The moment he touched the scroll, an information window appeared before him.

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---) Advanced Level Appraisal (Passive Skill): Allows the user to appraise the level of any target whose level is not more than ten levels higher than the user’s.

===

Although it appeared to be a simple appraisal skill, Evan immediately realized how useful it would be.

Since his current level was only zero, this skill would allow him to identify powerful magical beasts in the forest and avoid fighting enemies he couldn’t defeat.

Without hesitation, Evan hugged his grandmother.

”Thank you, Grandma! You are the best and the most beautiful woman in the entire world.”

Hearing his words, Venisa rolled her eyes.

”Your tongue certainly became sweeter after turning fifteen, huh?”

Although she said it teasingly, the smile on her face made it obvious that she had enjoyed the compliment.

There were two types of skills in the world.

The first type was Passive Skills, while the second type was Active Skills.

Passive Skills required no mana to function. Instead, they became a natural part of the user’s body and activated automatically whenever necessary.

For example, when a person suffered an injury, their body instinctively worked to stop the bleeding and heal the wound without requiring any conscious effort.

Passive Skills functioned in much the same way.

Active Skills, on the other hand, required mana to activate.

Whether it was creating a fireball, forming ice bullets, or performing countless other supernatural techniques, mana was necessary to activate and maintain those skills.

Before becoming a Rank 2 Evolver, a person could learn a maximum of five Active Skills, while there was no limit on learning passive skills.

To become a Rank 2 Evolver, one had to reach Level 51.

Currently, Evan was still unranked, and his level was zero.

He first needed to reach Level 26 to become a Rank 1 Evolver and acquire his first Job Class.

Skill Scrolls could be obtained by killing powerful magical beasts or by clearing dungeons.

Normally, most skills came from dungeons.

However, if someone managed to defeat a magical beast that was significantly stronger than themselves, there was also a chance for that beast to drop a Skill Scroll even outside a dungeon.

In addition, after turning fifteen, every person would obtain their very first Active Skill after killing their first magical beast or any other living creature.

The skill obtained would naturally be one that suited the individual.

Of course, the stronger the enemy that was defeated, the better the skill that would be awarded.

That was why most people trained extensively in martial arts and weapon techniques before turning fifteen.

Their goal was to become strong enough to defeat a powerful magical beast immediately after turning fifteen, allowing them to obtain a superior first Active Skill.

As Evan imagined what kind of first skill he would receive after killing his first magical beast, Alfred suddenly said something completely unexpected.

”You will go to the Dark Forest tomorrow... or the day after tomorrow. I will personally train you today. If you pass my training, you can leave tomorrow. Otherwise, you will have to wait.”

Hearing those words, Evan looked toward his grandfather.

Seeing the serious expression on Alfred’s face, Evan immediately understood that he wasn’t joking.

”What do I need to do to pass your training?” Evan asked seriously.

He knew his grandparents were only doing this because they were worried about his safety.

”You already know that your Mana is more than nine times higher than that of an average person.”

Evan nodded at Alfred’s words.

He was well aware that his Mana was abnormally high, comparable to someone around Level 25 or a newly advanced Rank 1 Evolver.

Seeing Evan nod, Alfred continued.

”I am going to teach you how to use mana without relying on skills. With your affinity for mana, I don’t think it’ll be difficult for you to learn.” He paused for a second before continuing. ”Normally, a Level 0 Evolver can’t manipulate pure mana without the help of skills. However, your Mana reserve is extraordinarily large, so you should be able to use it. Although you won’t be able to sustain it for very long and your Mana will be depleted quickly, learning this technique could save your life if you ever find yourself in a desperate situation.”