Boundless Evolution: The Summoning Beast

Ash didn't remember drifting off. One drip became two, then three, then silence, and when sound returned it carried a different shape—two fast, one slow. He stirred, ear canted toward the cadence, tongue flat against the urge to cough.

'I didn't realise I fell asleep.'

Ache flared through his right shoulder and along his ribs; pads felt bruised from stone, and his haunch pulled tight where the fall had twisted him.

'Ugh... That hurts...' he thought as the pain helped him slowly expel the drowsiness in his body.

He then felt a weight on his ribs and slowly began to open his eyes while lifting his head slowly to see what was there.

It was Veyra—recognizable even in the lichen gloom: dark hair braided back with a thin copper ring; a small bone charm at her throat on a leather cord; charcoal smudges that never quite left her forefinger and thumb from mapping; a travel cloak hemmed in simple cross‑hatch; and the faint resin‑and‑herb scent that always clung to her.

Seeing her, all the memories immediately hit; the rune‑web sang, the ground broke, stone carried them down. Her hand in the rubble. His breath counts. Levered rock, careful drag. The beetle's legs that drummed once, then went still. The fear of death in her eyes.

He looked at her. Color had crept back into her face—less chalk, more skin. Her lips weren't as pale, and the breath under his forepaw when he laid it to her wrist moved longer, smoother. Warmth touched her skin where the draft left it alone.

'Still with me,' he breathed in relief, 'It's a relief. You're looking better than before.'

He scanned the alcove and corridor—draft steady, no new dust, no fresh tracks. Having his mind steadied, he turned his attention now to something he forgot to check before he passed out.

He blinked the system to life. The cave's glow thinned around the brackets as the UI settled into place in his vision.

[Congratulations! Objective 1 Rewards obtained!]

[Levelled up! Congratulations, you are now Level 12. Gained 5 stat points.]

["Trial of the Murkfen Kin", Mission (Updated):

Info: Defeat the Beetle Nest

Objective:

Defeat the Grunt Beetles (50/50)

Defeat the Keeper Beetles (0/20)

Locked (Complete the first two objectives to unlock)

Locked (Complete the first three objectives to unlock)

Locked (Complete the first four objectives to unlock)

Reward:

Objective 1: 30,000 EXP, 1000 AP, 50 Stat Points (Obtained)

Objective 2: 50,000 EXP, 1500 AP, 75 Stat Points

Objective 3: Locked

Objective 4: Locked

Objective 5: Locked]

A small, quiet huff escaped him—Level 12. He let the lines burn into memory, then exhaled through his nose and turned the panel. "Status."

[Name: Ash

Species: Shadow Hyena

Level: 12

Experience: 24,070/25,000

Rank: E- Class

Aether: 5000/5000

Base Stats:

- Strength: 81

- Agility: 78

- Endurance: 85

- Intelligence: 77

Unused Points: 55

Traits:

S#$%&*!@$^ (?)[Locked]

Aetheric Sensitivity (D)

Shadow Affinity (B)

Pack Instinct (D)

Telepathy (D)

House Valen's Bond (Unranked)

Skills:

Shadow Sprint(C): Short burst of speed for evasion or closing distance, leaving a brief afterimage. Range- 15m. (80AP) (53%)

Eclipsing Fang(C): A strong melee attack infused with shadow energy. (100AP) (42%)

Umbral Bind (C): Channels shadow energy into the ground, causing black tendrils to erupt around him in a small radius, ensnaring enemies. Range- 8m radius. (20AP/s) (29%)

Signature Skills:

Shadows of the Pack (C): Summons 3 shadow clones to confuse enemies for two minutes. Clones are now able to use skills (300AP) (35%)

Realm Passage (Unranked): Freely traverse between Aegaryn and Terranis at will and arrive at placed arrival points (1/1). (1000AP) (Casting time: 30 seconds)

Evolution Path Progression (Draconic):

- Current Form: Shadow Hyena

- Next Evolution: Choices available after Mission Completion

Defeat five creatures of equal or higher rank that wields shadow affinity (Not Completed)

Defeat one creature that contains the bloodline of a dragon (Not Completed)

Increase Strength to at least 50, Agility to at least 45, Endurance to at least 50, Intelligence to at least 35 (Completed)

Accumulate 5,000 experience through battle and survival (5,000/5,000)]

He watched the numbers like he was reading a scar.

'Level 12. And already close to the next mark too,' he thought to himself, 'You see this Riven?'

'Stronger in all the ways that matter.' Riven's voice sounded from inside his head.

He let the quiet wince turn into a thin smile; he'd take it. He hovered on the question of unused points. 'Riven—spend now or bank?'

'Bank them,' Riven's voice came, level, 'Look around you.'

'It's unfamiliar ground. The Nest stacks threats—scent, sound, numbers. It's almost never one enemy alone. Hold until we know exactly what we need.'

Ash breathed once with the drip, finding Riven's analysis in line with what he was thinking, 'Saved, then. We spend when it matters most.'

He flicked back to the mission pane: only the first objective done and it had already pushed him this far.

'Objective two… fifty thousand EXP, fifteen hundred AP, seventy‑five points,' he told the quiet, 'It almost brought me right to Level 13.'

'A haul indeed,' Riven said, 'Imagine five.'

'I am,' Ash answered, 'But the line under it—Keeper Beetles (0/20).'

'Hard,' Riven agreed, 'Hard in here. Keepers don't come alone, and the Nest stacks odds. We don't chase—we make them come through grounds we choose.'

'You're right... But they will know this place better than I do. How do I create a ground that also takes my influence?' Ash flexed his pads against the stone, 'The cave gives me no easy fights.'

'Then take only fair ones,' Riven said. 'Chokes, short bursts, no noise. And when it swarms, we run.'

He went quiet, turning Riven's last word over: run. Run became escape; escape became getting away from the Nest.

'Do I even have a way?'

Suddenly, an idea struck him! He actually did have a way.

Realm Passage.

The thought came quiet and dangerous as a new path underfoot. He could push through and kill as he liked before retreating far enough to buy himself enough time to slip to Terranis. There he could gather breath where the cave couldn't hear him and then return and continue killing.

'It's a fool-proof plan,' he thought.

'Good plan,' Riven said. 'But—look right.'

Ash turned to his right.

Veyra was still asleep, her head resting against his midsection, breath warm through his fur.

'Oh...' The thought of leaving hit different now. The plan would leave her alone—hurt—in the Nest with only the echo of his departure to warn what might come. A great risk.

He paused, a thought cutting in, 'Could Realm Passage carry her as well?'

He pulled the pane closer and opened the details.

[Realm Passage (Unranked):

Freely traverse between Aegaryn and Terranis at will — user only — arriving at placed arrival points (1/1: Valen Estate).

Living passengers cannot be transported; non‑living items worn or carried travel with the caster.

Requires 30 seconds of uninterrupted casting while stationary and leaves a brief shadow echo at departure. (Uses 1000 AP)]

He let a slow breath leak between his teeth, ears tipping back. The truth sat heavy—user only, thirty counts of stillness, an echo like a bell over Veyra's sleep.

'Well that plan went out the window,' he told himself.

'Not exactly yet…' Riven chimed in. 'The plan just needs us to find Veyra a safe place for it to work.'

'Right,' Ash thought after a beat, 'I shoved it aside too quickly.'

He looked down at Veyra, then into the dark, 'We shelve it for now and think of other ideas.'

'Agreed,' Riven said, 'Table it until she can stand—or we can wall her behind more than a ledge.'

'Haha,' Ash laughed a little, finding the suggestion mildly amusing.

Riven spoke again, suggesting, 'When she wakes, ask how long her food and water will last. If we have margin, you make short, low-noise scouting loops within sight of the alcove—no farther than a few spans. Map drafts and exits, mark time, and come right back. If we don't, we hold and conserve until she can move.'

Ash nodded to the dark, 'Next action is waiting for her to wake. No Realm Passage. When she's awake, we talk supplies and only then explore.'

But just as he said that, he paused, then thought, 'Wait... Realm Passage carries non‑living things… I can jump to the Valen Estate and bring food back.'

'Good idea,' Riven said, 'Supplies without leaving her long. All that left is her waking up.'

And suddenly, as if on cue, movement rippled under his paw. Veyra's fingers tightened once, then tested the air.

Ash lifted his head from the UI and let it fade.

"Hey," he said, voice soft so it wouldn't carry, "How are you feeling?"

Her eyes found him, clearer than before.

"Still in pain," she said, voice rough with sleep, "but… I think I can move now."

Ash eased his forepaw back to her wrist so she could feel him there, "Good."

Veyra blinked, mouth dry, "Where… are we?"

"Side alcove off the choke," he said softly, "We fell—the ground broke and we fell multiple levels, I don't know where we are or how deep we've fallen. I dug you out, wrapped your ribs and ankle, carried you to this dry shelf. Killed a Worker that wandered close. No Keeper signs yet. Draft pulls to the right."

Her gaze went past him as memory found its places. She fumbled at her cloak with weak fingers and tugged out a small rune‑etched disc fixed to a leather belt.

"What's that?" Ash asked, keeping his voice low.

"Whisper Relay," Veyra breathed, "Tracker and messenger. It sends our path‑signature and a short status to the main relay."

She thumbed a notch on the disc. Hairline lines ignited under the surface like frost patterns racing across glass, then sank to a moth‑faint glow she hid beneath her palm. A cool pulse went into the stone and was gone.

"It'll send a signal to the main," she said, voice thin. "It will let them know that we are alive."

"The others—Tholn, Yvren, Kalrek—this reaches them?" Ash asked, eyeing the faint glow beneath her palm.

Veyra nodded once, "Yvren's carrying the main relay. The signal rides the stone from node to node until it finds him."

"And how long?"

"Depends how far they are," she said, "Near a node with Yvren, it could be moments. If they're deep or off‑route, minutes."

"What can you send?"

"Short and long pulses only—status and a path‑mark. Alive. Direction. Need."

"Tell them we're holding and quiet."

"I need to initiate contact first," She cupped the disc, "Now we wait."

They listened with the drip for minutes—the rhythm counting one, then two, then three, then more.

At last, under Veyra's palm, the disc gave a tiny answering twitch—short‑short, long, short‑short—their simple code. A return from the main. The message had been received.