*ZZZZT! *
A blinding silver electric light suddenly lit up the passage. Violent plasma lightning—like raging electric snakes—erupted with a roar like a thousand birds chirping in unison.
Plasma Burst!
The rampant lightning was drawn into Jack's arms by an invisible force. His taut, corded forearm muscles were wrapped in flowing, interwoven, blazing currents—as if he were wearing a pair of Thunder God's Gauntlets.
Electrical Overload—activated!
With the added cool sound and light particle effects, the style points of his basic attack instantly maxed out. Given Jack's bottomless mana pool at this point? If he could look cool, there was no need to conserve his skills.
*WHOOSH—! *
The silver torrent flashed and disappeared. Jack coalesced from the blur of extreme speed. The modified Monster army behind him froze mid-lunge—fangs and claws bared.
Then—
*BOOM. BOOM. BOOM. BOOM. BOOM!! *
Countless cracks appeared on the Monsters' bodies as if they were cracking porcelain. Dazzling electric light burst through the fractures and instantly triggered chain reactions, detonating in sequence.
When the smoke and dust cleared? Over a hundred Tiger-level modified Monsters were utterly annihilated.
[Killed Tiger-level Monster × 127 | Gained Origin Points × 5,747!]
Instant kill.
Another instant kill.
In the control room, Dr. Genus and his many clones watched the surveillance screen with bloodshot eyes.
Who would have thought that sheer numbers would be utterly useless against that invading Monster?
"What should we do?! Most of our combatants are similar in strength to Mole Beast—they can't even delay the intruder!"
As he spoke—Mantis Man, Slug, Frog Man. All of the House of Evolution's Tiger-level combatants were like chickens and dogs before Jack, who was advancing rapidly. Utterly vulnerable.
The entire process took less than five minutes. The invader had already broken through to the lower levels of the base—heading straight for the control room on the bottom floor.
Cold sweat dripped down Dr. Genus's forehead. A strange sense of unease arose in his heart.
Though he didn't know the intruder's purpose, his intuition told him that while the opponent had advanced with overwhelming, unstoppable force—aside from the completely annihilated modified Monster units—the actual damage caused was quite limited.
It was like…
Fighting in one's own home but not wanting to break too many tables, chairs, and benches?
"That's right—that's it!"
A dazzling meteor seemed to flash across Dr. Genus's mind. He suddenly understood the key to the unease.
"Otherwise—with the opponent's destructive power level—he could have instantly destroyed the base's architectural structure and reached the bottom floor directly. But he didn't choose to do so!"
Under the bewildered gazes of several clones, he tremblingly pushed up his slightly slipping glasses.
If that's truly the case… perhaps there's still a glimmer of hope?
Inside the Underground Base
After eliminating five or six waves of attacking Monster units, Jack had already accumulated over 20,000 Origin Points.
The House of Evolution's top-tier combat strength was lacking. But the quality of its lower-tier units was unexpectedly high. Though the attacking half-finished modified Monsters weren't very intelligent, the weakest among them were at least Tiger-level—each contributing dozens of Origin Points.
Watching the kill notifications scroll across his vision like a screen refresh, Jack didn't feel bored at all. Instead, he fell into a pleasant rhythm of mowing down enemies—becoming even more engrossed.
He had to admit—ever since Psykos issued the ban, it had been a long time since he'd had such a satisfying grind.
"Here they come again."
Finding the stairs to the next level once more, a swirl of green aura exploded around Jack. His perception immediately followed the spreading airflow, reaching deep into the lower level.
As his strength continuously increased, Jack found that abilities solidified on his main body after maxing out were easier to combine and use—creating a 'Martial Soul Fusion Skill' effect where one plus one was greater than two. The SR-level Psychokinesis combined with the SSR Swift Wind not only activated faster but also doubled its coverage.
A tall figure exuding a matte metallic sheen—leading a group of agitated silverback Gorilla Monsters—had set up an array at the stairwell. Poised. Ready.
"It's this guy."
Sensing the heavy aura—significantly stronger than the Monsters that had appeared before—Jack understood.
As he descended the stairs, a tall, completely mechanized figure came into view.
Thick, solid black armor covered in sharp spikes. Through the gaps in the armor, abnormally strong muscle tissue and thick energy pipelines could be seen.
One of the top three high-level combatants in the House of Evolution—
Armored Gorilla.
Disaster Level—Demon.
"Beep, beep, beep…"
The Armored Gorilla—over three meters tall—emitted a monotone mechanical synthesized voice.
"Detecting high energy signature… intruder… threat level… extremely high…! Activating… purge mode…!"
*Thump, thump, thump… *
It slammed its thick arms against the ground. Accompanied by the tremor, it strode powerfully toward Jack.
"Oh, oh, oh, oh—!!"
"Ulu ulu ulu—!!"
"WRYYYYYY—!!"
Seemingly encouraged by their boss's aura, the modified Gorilla Monsters behind them excitedly beat their chests, letting out roars of unclear meaning—as if cheering.
"Too noisy."
Jack dug a finger in his ear. A faint blue glow appeared in his eyes.
An invisible force field swept past like a strong wind—smoothing the ground's vibrations and spreading rapidly. In an instant, it bypassed the Armored Gorilla and precisely landed on the modified Gorilla unit behind it.
The Armored Gorilla sensed something amiss. It paused, tilted its head slightly, and out of the corner of its eye noticed that many of its subordinates were struggling—enveloped in purple light, floating in mid-air like drowning beasts.
The next moment, a thunderous roar erupted in the underground base. Dense lightning bolts descended from the sky. Dozens of large, charred lumps instantly appeared on the ground. The air filled with a strange, burnt meaty aroma.
[Killed Tiger-level Monster × 64 | Gained Origin Points × 5,218!]
"Oh?"
Seeing the system prompt, Jack couldn't help but raise an eyebrow in satisfaction.
As expected of an elite unit led by a Demon-level combatant. These modified Gorillas are far stronger than the previous Monster units. Though their numbers aren't large, the Origin Points they contribute are comparable.
"…Gah?"
The Armored Gorilla turned its head somewhat stiffly. The handsome human had appeared in front of it at some unknown point. It shivered.
"Alright." Jack's voice was calm. "Now it's your turn."
Blinding electric light—difficult to look at—brightened on his fist. The electronic light in the Armored Gorilla's eyes sharply contracted.
Its Demon-level intuition told it: if this punch landed, it would be annihilated without a trace.
"Su-sumimasen!!"
"…Hm?"
The lightning-wrapped fist stopped mid-air.
The Armored Gorilla's alloy helmet opened and retracted—like Iron Man's—revealing a grinning Gorilla head.
*Click. *
The Gorilla's forehead opened again like a rice cooker lid. A small white flag popped out, fluttering in the wind.
The three-meter-tall Armored Gorilla obediently sat down in front of Jack—as well-behaved as a several-ton child.