The Glorious Evolution

Gamemaster Biscuits felt shivers of excitement course through her, realizing that her exposure was about to go viral.

For Gamemasters... exposure and reputation were the main sources of their promotions to higher Omnipotence Level and Death Games.

"Ladies and gentlemen… if my eyes aren't deceiving me, The Celestial's identity has just gotten more mysterious!" Gamemaster Biscuits commented passionately, "A Real Half-Blood Radian blessing us with his presence!"

The crowd was split in half this time, not everyone cheering wildly... Radians enjoyed a higher status than many races across the Nine Greatroot Realms.

However, they were hated just as much... especially by nightcrawlers and races with a similar weakness to their Sunflames.

Unconcerned about the mess he created in the skies, Levi continued speeding through the spread-out pack... each Rifter at least tens of meters away from each other.

A comfortable pace was finally created with everyone seemingly somewhat satisfied with their current placement.

They knew that the race was long, spanning two hundred kilometers... They would have plenty of chances to catch up to the frontrunners.

Currently, the frontrunners consist of Shadebite, Red Gale, Sandwitch, Glassfang, and a couple of Rifters slightly behind them.

All of them were close enough to listen to what happened in the back, leaving them to gaze behind them with solemn expressions mixed in with a slight hint of bafflement.

'Half-Radian... what is he doing in my game? Isn't their weakest at least a Count Noble in the platform?' Sandwitch's slitted pupils gleamed, 'Am I really that fortunate?'

Just like her previous games, Sandwitch took part in this for the sake of harvesting souls primarily... She already had a plan to help her achieve it.

But now... her focus couldn't help but switch to Levi's.

'Half-Radian... I don't know if his strength is weakened or his Radian blood is too thin to give him similar prowess to those monsters... But, his soul... its quality must be higher than everyone's souls combined here.'

Sandwitch's tongue came out in delight... long and thin, resembling a snake.

No hesitation, Sandwitch started slowing down her pace under the confused looks of other frontrunners. Once she was in the mid-pack, she kept her distance from everyone, traveling at a similar pace to the rest.

Though a mere three hundred meters separated her from Levi.

Then, she waited...

Meanwhile, after the Rifters heard about Levi's Half-Radian bloodline, most of them kept their distance, not daring to antagonize him.

They were grilling him earlier about whether he belonged in their rank or not... Now, they had gotten their answer and treated Levi with the respect he deserved.

Because of this, Levi had smooth sailing, cruising through the pack, his echolocation fully activated to show all the Rifters... from the ones behind him to the ones at the far front.

'The second half is about to start...'

Levi murmured inwardly, gazing at Shadebite, who was a mere hundred meters away from kicking off the second half.

'Are you still planning on going forward with that plan?' Ash'Kral asked.

'Most definitely... I didn't spend three days on research and technique creation just to bitch out.' Levi replied.

'Heh... That's what I like to hear...' Ash'Kral smirked, 'Trust me, that's also what the Void seed would like to see.'

'It better be...' Levi's brow knitted, 'I am betting my life on it.'

Vooooooorrrnnn!

Abruptly, a long, mournful horn note rolled over the dunes, low enough to shake everyone's cores.

Everyone's breath hitched... They knew... Sandscale Leviathan was awakened.

"The second stage has begun!" Gamemaster Biscuits announced excitedly, "Beware... The marking will begin in five, four, three, two... one!"

Levi and the Rifters waited in silent anticipation for the unlucky bastard who would be picked off them.

Then, a message resounded in everyone's minds... besides one.

-You have not been marked.-

Levi sighed in relief, having no interest in dealing with the Sandscale Leviathan this early in the game.

Unfortunately... it didn't seem like he had any choice.

-You have been marked... Your time starts now.-

Sandwitch's mouth widened into a sinister smile... a reaction abnormal for someone who was picked as prey.

While everyone kept checking each other with their guards raised to the limit, they were surprised to see Sandwitch's Glider sliding into a full stop on the peak of a dune.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!...

The Rifters flew past her; none of them had a thought of antagonizing a Soul Harvester during the hunting phase.

Sandwitch also paid them no heed... standing with her arms crossed, and a gaze fixed on no one but the incoming Levi.

When Levi noticed this, his heart skipped a beat.

'Don't tell me...'

Rumble...

Before Levi could finish his thought, he sensed an intense vibrational wave coming from behind him.

Not needing to turn around, a long golden spiritual aura invaded his world out of nowhere... a spiritual aura in the shape of a monstrous serpent, reaching up to one hundred meters in length.

It was slithering at an unfathomable speed in his direction... No, Levi's cold spiritual gaze landed on Sandwitch.

He knew immediately... Sandwitch was the marked Rifter, and she was planning to use the Sandscale Leviathan to eliminate him and harvest his soul!

'My Half-Radian bloodline sure has an innate taunting skill.' Levi smiled coldly as he headed in her direction, unfazed.

He understood that she had given up on the race and wanted him... alone.

If he still wanted to win the race, she had to go.

As Levi sped in her direction, he manifested his Starpiercer Rifle and aimed the muzzle at her head... his finger on the trigger.

Exhale.

Fire.

Five bright golden bullets were fired one after the other, piercing through the air...

Whoosh!

Sandwitch lifted two fingers up, and a hardened wall of sand rose up; the fierce marks landed on it.

Yet, the expected explosion was nowhere to be seen, leaving Sandwitch confused for a moment... she wasn't around when Levi killed the Razer.

Just as she was about to pull away from the wall, it exploded into a barrage of rubble!!

Sandwitch brought her arms together, causing two giant golden arms to arise and cover her... the rubble was devoured by the sandy arms, making her gaze at Levi with a faint, unbothered smile.

No words exchanged, but Levi could tell that she was calling his attempts foolish.

Levi's response? A single finger snap... Ignite.

Boom! Boom! Boom!...

The sandy arms got blown out from inside out, hurling Sandwitch down the steep dune!

'Huh? How... he didn't blow them before?'

Sandwitch was left confounded as she stabilized herself with newly risen sandy arms. She wasn't hurt due to the arms eating most of the explosion, but still... she didn't like getting blindsided like this.

The commentary came a second later.

"The Celestial's battle IQ is something else!" Gamemaster Biscuits showed the replay to everyone who missed it.

That's when everyone saw Levi fire a vibrational invisible bullet, exploding the wall instantaneously with a thundering echo!

This made Sandwitch believe Levi had already used up his marks, when in truth, they were still buried within the sandy arm!!

Fortunately for her, she wasn't a Nightcrawler... the Sunflame burnt bits of her clothes, but she swiftly turned it off.

Still... Clap! Clap! Clap!

The viewers applauded the play, knowing that if it were a Nightcrawler on the other side, they would have perished... but their excitement didn't last for long.

The Sandscale Leviathan was here!

Kreeee...

It went from underneath Levi, causing the ground below him to shake nonstop... Then, it burst from the other side of the giant dune, screeching with its mouth wide open!

Everyone already saw what it looked like before... but videos and pictures could never do it justice.

"Dear almighty... How is that thing fair?!" Red Gale exclaimed in dread, his reaction shared by most Rifters.

Although they were at least many kilometers away from it, they were still able to see its enormous size... its golden scales shimmered under the sunlight as it extended its body into the skies, matching some of the tallest skyscrapers on Earth!

Sand poured into the ground, akin to a waterfall, as the Sandscale Leviathan lowered its head slowly... its eyes were cloudy white, making everyone realize that it was as blind as a bat.

However, none relished this piece of information... for they knew the Sandscale Leviathan could detect both heat and vibrations through its scales.

In simpler terms, unless one was able to fly... it was extremely challenging to escape from its hunt!

The Sandscale Leviathan's tongue came out, looking sickly grey... yet, one lick of the atmosphere, and almost everyone's scents in the desert were stored in its memory for later use.

Only then did it lock on its prey... Sandwitch.

Yet, instead of attacking her right away, the Sandscale Leviathan lowered its head slowly, its tongue flickering nonstop... it seemed to have caught a special scent on her, but couldn't quite recognize it

"They stole you from our hometown and used you to run their games like a slave..." Sandwitch said, her voice as gentle as the breeze blowing the sand.