Lord Evolution: Starting With SS-rank Skills

[Your Soldier (Winston)'s Skill Has Evolved]

[Sword Master (F) → Sword Master (E)]

A notification appeared in front of Rowan as he observed Winston.

It was a big shock—it was the first time any of his soldiers had been able to personally evolve their skill.

This could only mean that Winston had improved his mastery of the skill by slaying more monsters in a shorter span, thus triggering an upgrade.

The effect of the upgrade was immediate.

Rowan watched Winston, impressed by how perfect his sword movements had become.

He became a monster in the midst of real monsters.

He was so ferocious that the actual monsters grew genuinely afraid of him, striving to avoid getting closer.

The other men fought with all their might, but their attacks were several times weaker and slower than Winston's.

In just a few moves, he slew more monsters than the others would in ten more.

Notifications of the monsters he slayed kept pouring in one after another, and his evolution points soared, bringing him closer to evolving.

With Winston's speed combined with the efforts of the others, the first horde was vanquished.

"Winston, how did you become so strong and fast?"

"It was as though a new person suddenly took over the battlefield just now."

The other soldiers flocked around Winston and asked numerous questions.

Winston did not bother to speak and just moved away.

The soldiers felt sad, understanding what had transpired, but they were also somewhat annoyed that he didn't speak to them despite the time they had spent together.

"Harvest the monster cores," Rowan barked at them.

They harvested the monster cores and brought them to Rowan, who then stored them.

Without wasting a second, they proceeded to the day's second hunt mission.

The second mission went really well, even though the monsters in this spot were more furious and bloodthirsty.

If it had been the same soldiers a week ago, they might have lost to these monsters.

Thankfully, their characters had undergone a few developments, as had their skills.

After about an hour and a half, they finished dealing with the second horde. They did the usual and harvested the cores before proceeding.

They continued in this manner for the next six hours until evening finally arrived.

The soldiers had just completed their fourth hunting adventure.

They were really exhausted from the fourth mission, which was much more tedious than the others.

They even complained to Rowan that they were really hungry.

Rowan had no choice but to distribute food supplies to them.

He finished sharing with the others and stood in front of Winston, who sat on the ground with his head bowed and resting on his raised knee.

[Status: Crying]

Rowan took a sneak peek at his character's status and was surprised by his current emotional state.

"He has been shielding his true emotions ever since by acting cold in order not to appear weak in front of others," Rowan shook his head.

"He failed to realize that true strong men are those who are not afraid to show their feelings." He sighed.

Rowan knew Winston would not want the others to see him crying, so he found a spot and sat beside him.

Winston noticed the person sitting beside him.

Without raising his head, he quickly used his clothes to wipe the tears from his eyes.

"You should cry as much as you want. Sorrow is not an emotion you can hold back for long. The more you try to do so, the worse it becomes. It's better to cry it out now," Rowan whispered, noticing his fidgeting hands.

His words and voice caused Winston's body to freeze for a second as the words sank deeply into him.

At that moment, the face of his late little brother resurfaced in his mind once again, bringing memories of their time together—when his brother was born, when he played with him, when they ate together while listening to moonlight tales.

The memories kept resurfacing one after another until a particular moment stood out.

In this memory, Winston was taking his eight-year-old brother on a stroll around the village. The boy jumped merrily and conversed with his big brother.

He asked about Winston's experience serving under Rowan, to which Winston replied happily, even making up exciting stories to elaborate on Rowan's strength and might, and to let his brother know how it felt to serve under such a leader.

He even shared his goal of becoming one of Rowan's strongest and most useful soldiers in the future and how he would use his new title and the privileges that come with it to take care of his brother.

As these memories resurfaced, tears began dripping from his eyes once again.

"I promised to protect him, Lord Rowan," Winston shared.

"I promised to never let any evil come near him while I am still alive. He was the only one I wanted to live for after losing my parents... sniff sniff."
Continue your journey with empire

Winston continued crying while sharing his stories with Rowan.

Rowan listened attentively before speaking.

"It was not your fault, Winston. Even if you were there with him, you would not have been able to protect him from the bastard that killed him."

Rowan kept speaking to him, telling him words that would calm his sorrowful heart, but not the rages built up inside.

Rowan did this because he needed that rage to make Winston a better soldier.

His words were focused on making the dark creature more evil and hateful in Winston's mind.

He added more rage and hatred to the one already present.

After a few minutes, his words settled into Winston.

He wiped his tears once again, this time raising his head to look at Rowan.

His eyes were red with revenge.

"Teach me how to become stronger, Lord Rowan. I want to assist you in taking care of the bastard that killed my little brother," he said.

'Yes, this is it!' Rowan cheered inwardly.

"Are you sure?" Rowan asked with a smile.

"Yes, Lord Rowan, I would do whatever it takes, even if it means undertaking extra hunts to slay more monsters. In fact, I can try awakening as a mage if needed. I don't mind enduring so much pain, as long as I gain enough power to assist you in fighting against them."

Winston sounded truly determined as he spoke.

The determination could be seen in his eyes.

Rowan loved his determination.

It was as though he had found the perfect candidate to train as one of his dark knights, as he had always intended.

"We would go on extra hunts at night while the others are asleep. Are you sure you can do that?"

"Yes, Lord Rowan."

"Then it is settled. We will start tonight. I can see that your fighting prowess has already improved so much in the past two days. I also want to ask, did you feel anything during the first mission?" Rowan asked.

It was as though his words suddenly triggered a piece of memory in Winston.

"Actually, yes. It was as though numerous new techniques were being downloaded into my brain. My speed and strength with the sword also increased. I didn't even know how to explain it to the others when they asked; it was just too incredible. Do you know anything about that?"

Winston shared everything with Rowan, sounding particularly curious in the last part of his statement.

Rowan nodded his head.

"Your mastery of the first sword skill I taught you has improved. Hence, the newfound strength and speed you've gained show that you are progressing rapidly. Who knows, during our night hunts, you might even have the chance to improve another skill."

Rowan shared many things with Winston that motivated him for the night hunts.

Winston was more than ready to experience what it feels like to be as strong as Rowan.

He was ready to take revenge.

He even began mentally preparing for their first hunt while Rowan was still seated beside him.

Rowan could see it in his eyes.

Rowan smiled and left.

"We still have one more horde to defeat before resting for the day. But prepare yourselves; I am sure all of you are aware that monsters are more ferocious and somewhat stronger at night," Rowan announced.

"Lord Rowan, is it really safe to go at night?"

"We can start again tomorrow, please. I am scared."

The soldiers complained almost immediately, and their complaints were understandable.

"None of us can predict what time the monsters of doom would attack the village. What if they attack at night? Would you run and leave your homes for the monsters to tear them down? Would you throw away your honor in order to prevent yourself from facing your fears?"

Rowan voice echoed across the field, causing his soldiers to fall into deep thoughts.

They considered his words.

"Brace yourself for the hardest battle so far!"