Mutant awakening: My evolution knows no bounds

Silas emerged from the Grade 1 portal, feeling the sudden shift as his feet touched solid ground again. The moment he arrived in the storeroom, the portal behind him shimmered briefly before vanishing entirely, leaving only the rusty, ancient-looking portal device that had sent him there in the first place. The storeroom was dimly lit, its concrete walls and cluttered shelves casting long shadows, and the air carried a stale, metallic scent.

Silas took a slow, careful look around, eyes scanning every corner, half-expecting someone to be lurking in the shadows. But the room was exactly as he had left it—quiet, unchanged, and vacant. Still, the events in the realm had left him uneasy, and he couldn't shake the thought of who might have forced him through the portal in the first place.

"I wonder who shoved me inside that portal earlier," Silas muttered to himself, his voice barely more than a whisper in the silence. A slight scowl crossed his face. "Whoever it was, they'd better keep their face hidden." With a sigh, he turned and stepped out of the storeroom, his footsteps echoing softly as he moved down the empty hallway.

Just as he adjusted his coat, a notification alert chimed, followed by a holographic screen that materialized in front of him, casting a faint blue glow on his face.

[Host has some unread notifications]

Silas blinked, remembering the alerts he'd ignored earlier. Back in the collapsing realm, he hadn't had the luxury of checking his notifications—it had been a race against time to escape. Now that he was back, safe for the moment, curiosity got the better of him.

He tapped the screen, and a series of red notifications popped up, each one filling him with a mixture of surprise and intrigue. Explore stories at empire

[Host has gained an additional 5 attribute points for consuming the soul of a Grade 4 mutant ability user.]

[Host has created a new active skill during his fight with his opponent.]

[Skill Information: Soul Jab LVL 1 – When activated, this skill allows the Host to channel his soul points into his fist, delivering a punch powerful enough to kill a lower-grade opponent or reduce the health of a higher-grade by 50%.]

[Additional Information: Soul Jab may be ineffective against opponents significantly more powerful than the Host. This skill requires 30 soul points per use.]

As Silas read each notification, his eyebrows raised in surprise and then settled into a look of intense focus. He hadn't even realized he'd created a new skill during his frenzied assault on Sensei Josh back in the realm. It reminded him of how his Soul Slash ability had first manifested during another moment of intense emotion. But this new skill, Soul Jab, was something different altogether—raw, brutal, and unfiltered in its power.

"A single punch strong enough to kill a low-grade opponent… sounds insane," Silas murmured, unable to hide the mix of excitement and awe in his voice. He could almost feel the potential of the skill radiating off the screen. This could very well be the strongest ability he'd acquired so far.

However, his enthusiasm dimmed slightly as he read on, his gaze settling on the cost: *thirty* soul points per use.

"Thirty soul points for one punch?" Silas muttered, his brows knitting together. He weighed the skill's value against the cost, remembering that his most energy-draining abilities, like Super Fast Healing and Lightning Dash, only required ten points each. Most of his other skills either used just a single point or none at all.

But as he thought about it, the high cost made sense. Power of this magnitude would naturally come with a price. With one well-placed punch, he could bring down enemies that would otherwise take all his strength to defeat. The more he considered it, the more eager he became to try it out.

"I can't wait to test it," he whispered, a sly smile tugging at the corner of his lips. He dismissed the notification screen and glanced at his wristwatch, where messages from Vic blinked on the display. Vic had been texting him repeatedly, desperate to get in touch while Silas was fighting for his life in the realm.

As he skimmed the messages, Silas quickly pieced together the situation: someone had attacked David, and he was now lying injured in the clinic. Silas had a pretty good idea who was behind it, and instead of anger, he felt a cold satisfaction. He had already settled the score.

With the texts read, he turned on his heel and headed straight for the clinic.

Minutes later, Silas reached the clinic's entrance. He took a moment, steadying himself, and pushed the door open. Inside, the fluorescent lights cast a sterile glow over the white-tiled room, amplifying the quiet stillness. Silas scanned the rows of beds until he spotted David lying on one, pale and motionless, the bed's white sheet stark against his dark clothing. Vic sat beside him, his face lined with worry.

"Hey, guys," Silas called, his voice low as he approached. Both David and Vic looked up, relief flooding Vic's face.

"Where have you been, mate? I've been texting you all day. Thought the same guy who attacked David got you too," Vic said, his voice filled with a mixture of relief and frustration.

Silas shrugged, keeping his face impassive. "Does he know who did this to him?" His gaze fell on David, who lay expressionless, staring at the ceiling as if deep in thought.

Vic shook his head, his frown deepening. "How would I know? He hasn't said a single word since it happened. I keep asking, but he just clams up."

Silas nodded slightly, understanding David's silence. "The person who attacked him was Sensei Josh." Silas's tone was calm, almost detached, as he reached into his pocket and retrieved a small, battered wristwatch. He held it up for Vic to see.

"He took David's watch after attacking him. Then, he used it to lure me into the storeroom with a fake text," Silas explained, his voice quiet but laced with an undercurrent of anger.

Vic's eyes widened in shock. "What? Why would he do that?"

Silas cast a quick glance around the room, ensuring they were alone, then leaned closer to Vic and lowered his voice.

"He wanted revenge. I killed his son, so he wanted to kill me too."

Vic's jaw dropped, his eyes wide with disbelief. "You… you did what?!"

Silas sighed, his gaze distant for a moment. "It happened a few weeks ago. When I first got this power, it was… overwhelming. I couldn't control it, and it drove me to kill them. I don't regret it, though. Those guys tormented me for years just because I hadn't awakened my mutant ability."

He saw no reason to hide it from him now that they were close.

Vic looked at him, his expression a mix of horror and understanding. He knew enough of Silas's past to know the kind of cruelty he'd endured.

"But there's more," Silas continued, his tone grim. "Sensei Josh was the one who tampered with the portal device. He swapped the Grade 2 portal with a Grade 5, hoping I'd be killed in that realm. When I somehow survived, he decided to finish the job himself."

Vic's fists clenched at his sides, his face red with anger. "That man's a monster! We should report him to the higher-ups and make him pay for this!"

Silas shook his head, a glint of satisfaction in his eyes. "No need, Vic. He's dead. I killed him."

Vic stared at Silas, his face pale with shock, unable to process what he'd just heard.

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