Evolution Online: My 10,000× Reward System Multiplies Everything

The beasts deep in the forest didn’t have Evolution Realms, and so Kaelen couldn’t tell their core strength, but he was certain the Tier 19 Commander and his team should be able to take care of beasts at Tier 25 and below.

Though it wouldn’t be easy, Kaelen wasn’t doing this to babysit them or get them all across safely. As long as the core members made it across the grand canyon, Kaelen was fine.

But soon enough, Kaelen realized he might’ve underestimated the dangers in the forest. The deeper his shadow summons went, the stronger the beasts they crossed paths with became.

They were also starting to lose the advantage in numbers as the beasts came in relentless hordes. It was almost like they were just hunting, driven by the primal instinct to tear down everything that didn’t belong in that forest.

Kaelen also noticed the lack of bones and animal carcasses that had fallen prey to the predators of the forest. It was almost like the life in the forest didn’t follow the laws of nature, and the beasts no longer needed to hunt to sustain themselves.

This made Kaelen increasingly suspicious, but he pushed it to the back of his mind and remained behind the army as he used his [Sharp Senses] to draw a crude map of the safest path they could take to the grand canyon, which was somewhat up ahead.

He wasn’t paying attention to the battle but was formulating a plan for the trip instead. After all, the supreme elder dragon was there.

What could possibly go wrong?

Awoo—!

Kaelen didn’t know why, but the moment he heard those howls, his muscles stiffened.

[Your Shadow Summon has been killed]

[Your Shadow Summon has been killed]

[Your Shadow Summon has been killed]

...

The death notifications immediately began stacking in his vision, and Kaelen frowned.

What kind of wolves could utterly dominate his shadow army?

"Switch."

Kaelen’s view immediately changed to that of the battlefield ahead, and he looked around to see a pack of white wolves easily twice his size tearing through the shadow army.

Though the shadow summons were battling the wolves relentlessly, the enemy was incredibly agile and had a destructive formation. It was almost like they were acting under the orders of an intelligent being because wolves didn’t possess such high intelligence themselves... or at least Kaelen had never come across any.

From the moment he stepped into the forest, he had only been met with one abnormality after another.

"SKD, what’s going on?" Kaelen immediately asked the supreme elder dragon, who was the only summon faring much better than the others.

"Milord, these aren’t normal beasts. They can use different types of skills and possess high intelligence. Unfortunately, we are in the forest, and the trees are too dense for us to transform and fight as dragons. The best we can do is retreat and regroup to make a battle plan," SKD said, just as he swung his long sword at a wolf’s nape.

But the skin immediately hardened into crystal, and the blade shattered on impact, making both Kaelen’s and SKD’s eyes widen in surprise.

Kaelen finally understood the magnitude of the situation and finally understood why the mercenary kept returning with fewer members each time.

It was a surprise they weren’t all wiped out, unless they had an incredibly skilled member amongst them.

Kaelen was certain it wasn’t the foolish commander.

He nodded once to SKD, and the supreme elder dragon immediately began falling back as he yelled to his comrades.

"Spread out in groups and retreat! We’ll regroup with our lord back where we started."

Almost immediately, the army broke into groups and bolted in various directions, making the wolves confused about whom to chase.

SKD’s retreat plan was solid.

Kaelen was about to switch back to his former position when something caught his eye, and he paused to turn.

Above a hill, a larger wolf suddenly appeared with several others behind it, marking it as the alpha of the pack. But the moment Kaelen saw it, he froze on the spot.

Its fur was snow white like the rest of the pack, which would make one think they were in the wrong habitat. But what caught Kaelen’s eye was the bluish runic symbol on its forehead.

Just one, but it was similar to those of Black Rose’s Avatar and the Akkadian women Kaelen came across in the wasteland. But most importantly, seeing the alpha wolf unlocked a fragmented memory of Kaelen’s past at that moment.

Another memory of him and his mother, except this one was more vague. But Kaelen could make out his nine-year-old self on his mother’s back as they sped across the wasteland at an incredible speed that made the passing scenery a blur.

Even then, when Kaelen looked behind them, hot on their tails was a pack of white wolves chasing after them, led by their alpha, who had the exact same runic symbol on its forehead.

Ahead of them was a grand canyon, but just before they could run into it, a wolf lunged forward at Kaelen’s exposed back. His mother seemed to notice the danger and spun around just in time to take the strike, sending them toppling forward and Kaelen rolling off his mother’s back just as the pack of wolves arrived before them.

The memory was abruptly cut off from there, and Kaelen snapped back to reality, breathing heavily like he’d just experienced it firsthand.

Awoo—!

The alpha wolf howled from atop the hill, and the wolf pack chasing after his shadow summons immediately stopped and began charging back to their alpha, ignoring Kaelen, who was just standing there as he stared at the alpha wolf.

Ten years apart, the same prey and predator... except they were both predators now. But when Kaelen tried to assess the strength of the alpha, he realized that, just like the young master from Stronghold 3, the alpha wolf was far stronger than he was.

At that moment, the alpha looked straight at him with not the eyes of a primal beast, but a gaze that held intelligence far surpassing what he’d seen in many humans.

It then ignored him and turned its back on him as it began charging away, with its pack following closely behind, leaving Kaelen standing there motionlessly.

The alpha had certainly recognized him from ten years ago. But most importantly... that path was the same path he and his mother took ten years ago, and the grand canyon was where his memory was cut off.

Hunter was right.

His mother had definitely headed towards the ruins of Akkad after somehow surviving the wolf pack.

As for the alpha wolf, the reason why Kaelen didn’t engage wasn’t because it was stronger than him.

That was understandable after surviving the brutality of the wasteland for over a decade.

The reason why Kaelen didn’t attack was because he understood something.

The wolves only appeared because Kaelen was trespassing, and as soon as he chose to retreat, the wolves left them.

But Kaelen was certain it wasn’t as simple as that.

For a wolf as intelligent as what he saw in the eyes of the alpha, there had to be something worth protecting more than territory where other beasts were allowed to roam.

Something that might have to do with the ruins of Akkad... something that might have to do with his mother.

"..."

"Milord, they’re getting away." SKD appeared behind Kaelen’s back. "The direction they’re taking is open ground, and we can intercept them from the sky if we pursue them now."

"No," Kaelen calmly replied. "What’s the purpose of chasing after them now... when we’ll be crossing paths again soon?"

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