Lord Evolution: Starting With SS-rank Skills

Rowan's eyes fluttered open in a concealed crimson room, only as big as a bathroom.

"Hmm." A frown quickly appeared on his face. His last memory was of him eating pizza and relaxing with his two comrades. How had he suddenly found himself here?

As his mind wrestled with these conflicting thoughts, he lifted himself from the ground and observed the concealed space.

There was nothing to be seen except the crimson walls. Due to its tiny size, the walls were very close, and the air within was limited.

"Where the fuck am I?" Rowan asked, the question troubling his mind.

"Where are D'andre and Colt?" He wondered aloud.

If he had been captured by some demons within the demon lair while they were relaxing, at least his comrades should be with him.

As his thoughts began to spiral, something strange happened. The room began to expand.

First, it reached the size of a standard bedroom, then the size of a living room, and continued stretching in all directions until it became as big as a football stadium.

Nonetheless, it was still a sealed space, it was as though he had been tossed into a one-room prison with no sign of an exit.

There was no window, none door, even the roof was concealed. Everything crimson, exactly like the color of the interior of the demon lair.

As he began to try to figure out his situation, something else happened.

Just a few meters ahead of him, a figure began to emerge from the air at an alarming speed.

In two seconds, the figure had formed completely—a man of the same height, same hair color, same body aesthetics, and same clothes, a carbon copy of Rowan.

But he possessed a deeper, darker vibe.

A devilish grin was plastered across his face as he stared down at Rowan coldly, with disdain and an unmissable hint of a superiority complex.

Rowan felt the space grow chilly the moment his dark mirror appeared. It was as though a demon had descended and a dangerous aura had spread.

His hair stood on end and he became vigilant.

He tried to open his inventory to summon his weapon and slay his dark mirror before it acted, but he discovered he could not access his inventory.

His eyes widened in shock and helplessness. He quickly called for his system, first with his thoughts and then with his voice, but there was no response, as though it had never been there. There was no familiar connection with it.

As he began to panic, the devilish grin on his dark mirror grew wider and deeper, and then it spoke.

"Are you trying to access this?"

As it spoke, a rectangular holographic window appeared in front of him, featuring what should have been Rowan's inventory.

All his items, including the Soul Harvester, were there.

Rowan's eyes remained agape, fixed on his dark mirror as he reached for the inventory and equipped the Soul Harvester.

The dark mirror then closed the inventory and turned to look at Rowan after equipping the sword, grinning. He tilted his head to the side slowly, and his eyes shone with malice and power.

Rowan felt utterly powerless at this moment. His system, his weapons, his body, his face... everything had been stolen by the dark mirror in front of him.

"How does it feel to be powerless and useless?" The voice mocked.

Rowan simply stared with helplessness.

"Without this system, what are you?"

"Without these weapons, especially this soul harvester you so cherish, what are you?"

Silence prevailed for a few seconds. None of the two Rowans spoke.

"You can't answer? Let me answer for you..."

"Useless... weak... impotent... disgusting. That is what you should feel."

Rowan still could not respond, the unfamiliar feeling of helplessness washed over his body, forcing him to keep quiet.

At the moment, he did not stop attempting to summon his system and inventory through his mind. He even attempted to contact Blaze and Black Drifter, but there was no connection. He was alone and powerless... Against his own self!

"Without all that, can you defeat me?" The dark mirror asked once more.

He took a step closer to Rowan, completely shifting the atmosphere in the concealed space.

"No, you can't! I'm your dark side, your powerful side. All your luck and might belong to me, and you... you are just a weakened vessel without your cheats."

He took another step forward.

Accompanying a terrifying temperature shift, Rowan felt the gravity around him increase, and his expression became pained.

The dark mirror twisted the Soul Harvester playfully and took another step closer. The gravity change became worse.

Rowan could not stand on his feet anymore and fell to his knees, gritting his teeth in a fruitless attempt to resist.

His eyes did not leave the body of his dark mirror. Rowan felt like if he did, he would die, and if he kept looking, he would at least be lucky enough to witness his own death at the hands of himself... or rather, his dark mirror.

Right now, the dark mirror was only three steps away from reaching him.

As he took the first step closer, the gravity intensified, and Rowan fell flat, struggling to even lift his head to face his approaching darkness.

Another step was taken, and Rowan's face was planted in the ground. All attempts to lift his head were fruitless.

Fear like never before erupted within him. The greatest fear he had ever felt in his life wasn't half as tough as what he felt right now. All his senses were gone.

His vision was black, his nose struggled to breathe, his mouth kissed the ground, and only his ears struggled to hear.

And he heard the sound of the last footstep closing on him.

His mind blanked.

His body shivered.

He awaited the worst—a stab to his heart from the weapon he cherished the most.

He shut his eyes even though his vision was already gone.

His heartbeat intensified.

He waited.

But after sometime, nothing changed.

And then he attempted to open his eyes.

They opened.

He found himself in a new place.

A familiar place.

A place he never expected he'd be able to see again in his life.