Virus King [Translation]

(Please add it to your Library! Please send Power Stones! Thank you!)

'Demon Hunter.'

This was Novak's chance to rise in his previous life.

Demons were formidable entities residing in the dungeons of the secret realms. Even a low-bloodline demon, when fully grown, could easily overpower an ordinary evolutionary of the same level. And 'Demon Hunter' was a profession designed to hunt such creatures.

When Novak first obtained the Demon Hunter skill transfer scroll, he hadn't realized just how special the location for the job change was. It wasn't until later, when the Dark Mother Goddess informed him, that he understood its significance.

The place he had ventured to was one feared by even the gods themselves. So powerful was this realm that even the Cosmic Will couldn't penetrate its deepest corners.

It was a place of horror, where even the mere incarnations of lesser gods dared not tread. A place of frenzy, rage, violence, and blood. Any word associated with taboo was embedded there.

That place was known as the 'Abyss.'

In the Abyss lay a profession so rare and powerful that just hearing whispers about it had once sent a thrill down Novak's spine. But in his previous life, he simply hadn't been strong enough to even approach that forbidden profession.

Now, given a second chance, Novak was determined to try again. But he was painfully aware of his current limitations. He knew that, with his present strength, he was nowhere near capable of meeting the requirements for that elusive job transfer—requirements that had seemed almost divine in his past life.

His thoughts shifted, and he turned to Daphne.

"How's the virus progress at the hospital?" he asked.

For Novak, Daphne and the vast assets of the Song Group were key to his ambitions. Strengthening his base was critical, but so was increasing his own power.

Extracting the virus source from the hospital was no small task. The nurse had to take incredible risks, sneaking around and avoiding detection. But with Daphne, things were much simpler.

Among her numerous enterprises were hospitals and biotechnology research labs. These labs housed highly concentrated pathogens, far more potent than mere blood samples drawn for testing. Over the last few days, Novak had asked Daphne to gather some of these dangerous pathogens.

However, Novak soon encountered an unexpected problem.

He had assumed that by absorbing the evolutionary energy from these pathogens, he would easily reach two evolution points, pushing his Blacklight Virus to the 1% awakening threshold. But reality turned out to be more challenging than anticipated.

His expectations had been too optimistic.

The Virus King's talent was impressive, but one crucial factor had been overlooked.

After reaching 0.9%, advancing to a full 1% was far more difficult than Novak had imagined. Hitting the 1% mark would mean the complete awakening of the Blacklight Virus, which would likely unlock unique abilities along with a significant boost in his attributes.

But getting there required far more evolutionary points than it had taken to advance from 0.1% to 0.9%. This time, it wasn't just a small step—it was a monumental leap, and he would need an integer value of 10 evolutionary points.

Over the last few days, Novak had focused all his energy on gathering evolution points from viruses, while also laying the groundwork for the future construction of his city base. Even with Daphne's influence, obtaining high-grade pathogens from various institutions only brought him up to 8 evolution points.

He had hit a frustrating wall.

The problem was clear: unless he found a virus similar to the zombie virus—one that could evolve independently, gain abilities, and be considered a true evolutionary organism by the Cosmic Will—the pathogens he absorbed would quickly diminish in value. Even if they underwent slight mutations, their usefulness in providing evolutionary points would plummet, sometimes tenfold.

The first absorption would give him a significant boost, but any subsequent ones were negligible—barely enough to scratch the surface.

At times, Novak considered abandoning the idea altogether.

He even contemplated whether to shift his focus toward infectious disease evolution, but ultimately, he resisted the temptation. 

The Blacklight Virus was no ordinary pathogen. It was a high-level evolutionary virus, vastly superior to the typical viruses that merely infected and spread disease. The gap between the two was undeniable.

And Novak wasn't about to let that go.

But after two days, it remained stuck at eight, still just two points short. Novak's impatience was growing by the hour.

Daphne shook her head in response to his unspoken frustration. "All the pathogens have been collected, but there are no new variants or any rare treasure pathogens."

Novak nodded, sighing helplessly. It seemed that the final two evolution points would have to wait until the apocalypse officially began, when special types of evolved zombies emerged. Only then could he complete his transformation.

Thinking of this made him feel a pang of regret. With a wave of his hand, he retreated to his room, taking some time to sort through his thoughts.

Once he had gathered his focus, he opened the No. 001 chat group. Compared to a few days ago, the chat was far more active. The impending end of the world had led many gifted evolutionists to awaken further, reducing their outings in favor of spending more time online. This shift allowed several pioneers to discover the group's special post.

Amid the influx of unfamiliar names, Novak finally saw a new familiar name besides the previous life 'Suicune'.

[Overlord: Brothers, help me take a look! How's my performance? Is there any room for improvement? /smug emoticon/]

[Overlord: [Video.mp4]]

[Your King—Bart: Damn! Brother Overlord is amazing!]

[Willow Pagoda Tree: So cool!]

[Vince: This kind of real man's battle has nothing to do with me and Ian!]

[Ruby: Truly impressive! Besides that Lord White Emperor, Brother Overlord must be the strongest, right?]

[Roder: I express my envy!]

[...]

Alongside Ian, Vince, and Lotte—who was suspected to be the Wood Ghost Mother—three new members had joined the chat. Among them were 'Overlord' and 'Ruby', both renowned figures from his past life.

The Overlord had earned his nickname after achieving emperor-level status in his previous life, but Novak couldn't recall his real name, only that his surname was Don. The video shared by him piqued Novak's interest; the Overlord's fighting style seemed to mirror his own.

Just as Novak was about to click on the video to take a closer look, a sudden knock at the door interrupted him. 

Daphne rushed in, her face pale with fear. "Something's gone wrong!"

Novak quickly shifted his attention from the chat group to Daphne, noting the alarm in her expression. "What's happened?"

"A mutant appeared in De M-anila! A wealthy individual was experimenting on zombies, and during the process, one of the zombies mutated and devoured the others!" 

Daphne's voice trembled as she continued, "It evolved into a special giant zombie. Ordinary bullets were completely ineffective against it. It killed everyone—the researchers, bodyguards, and workers!"

Panic surged through Daphne as she recounted the horrors, but Novak's pupils dilated in shock. An overwhelming wave of ecstasy washed over him, igniting a fire in his eyes. 

This was the opportunity he had been waiting for!