Void Evolution System

Boom!

An earth dragon slammed into the ground, his consciousness completely gone from the real world.

'Done.'

August let go of his tail and took a breath. He stayed wary of his surroundings while taking a short break for himself.

It was hard to fight someone who had unveiled their true form while still in one's human form. After all, dragons were best when they were in the forms they were meant for.

August was definitely stronger than Jason. It was a strong difference that couldn't be overcome just because of a transformation.

Still, Jason was able to hold August up for over five minutes. August attacked and attacked, but earth dragons were known for their sturdiness.

His water was particularly bad at piercing. He could do something about it against dragons in their human forms, but he couldn't pierce scales with the power and techniques he had now.

August had to resort to physical force. After enough blunt force trauma to the head and spine, Jason was done.

It was barbaric, but since it worked, it was enough.

Nobody interrupted their battle while it happened. It seemed that many were wary of Jason's dragon form. More so, the boy who was fighting it with his fists alone.

Everyone was busy fighting, anyway. They dropped faster than anyone expected. These geniuses were putting everything they had into the battle, and that meant that despite individual battles taking a decent amount of time to end, people still got eliminated every five minutes.

There were already less than a hundred people left with only ten minutes passing. And that number…

Boom!

August finally got the chance to examine his surroundings properly.

That was when he noticed how wildly the battlefield had changed.

In one corner, there were heaps of burnt geniuses rolling around on the ground. In another, many who were frozen into ice cubes.

There was a third area where trees had appeared across the battlefield and suffocated loads of geniuses with their roots and branches, leaving not many areas free of total destruction.

'Wow…I must be lucky.'

Somehow, August didn't run into whoever was causing a scene like that.

Luckily, right…?

Wrong.

Those three geniuses had already split up. The two that had been seen earlier, the young dragons who used fire and ice, had moved in directions away from August.

However, the last was approaching fast. It was quite obvious from the line of trees that inched closer and closer every second.

'This is a big one.'

August's eyes narrowed.

He had only fought one person before now, yet he was being thrown into a situation like this.

The others wouldn't attack him anymore. They probably wouldn't even come near this area.

Everyone with a brain had already started running, but August already knew it was too late for that.

'We're already in the attack range.'

Boom!

It was as if the genius in question wanted to prove August correct.

The trees instantly started attacking, flinging tens and hundreds of roots into the air to chase after the geniuses who ran.

The dense forest they created hid the person who summoned them from the eyes of others, yet the impact they had made it impossible to ignore them.

August hesitated.

The forest was moving towards him. If he didn't make his decision now, then it would be made for him.

'Either I run and keep fighting people like that earth dragon…'

August's eyes sharpened.

'...or I charge into that forest.'

The safer option was the former. It might guarantee his survival and it would definitely give him a performance beyond what he could achieve in the forest.

On the other hand, the latter option was more dangerous and created the possibility of him getting eliminated in this round.

'But, that's the one that will help me grow.'

He could sense it somehow. He didn't know if it was fate or the strange aura calling him into the forest, but he truly believed that he would benefit most in the long term if he followed a more risky path.

'Hmm…'

It wasn't like he had time to ruminate over it.

His instincts had to make the choice, and for a dragon, one raised by a man who became a legend by following his instincts, August's decision was obvious.

'Well, there's nothing I can do about that.'

His feet were already moving.

As everyone else fled as far away from the growing forest as possible, August shot into its depths, disappearing from the eyes of the onlookers.

Many who saw it happen gasped. They were suddenly intrigued about the identity of that bold genius.

Their curiosity would have to wait, though. August had completely vanished, and only a single person in the audience could still see him.

'Oh…?'

Damien's brow raised with interest.

'I didn't expect something like this. Did he want to surprise me?'

August's performance wasn't the best thus far, but that was only because he was holding himself back. For the sake of hiding his identity, he couldn't use too much of his power as an Azure Dragon.

In that place…

'Not many people can see him.'

Only the important ones would be able to, but they were precisely the ones he needed to evade.

'Hmm…I guess I should help a little.'

Damien understood what was happening more than August did, and for the sake of that, he used his power a bit.

A barrier appeared around the forest, completely imperceptible to all outside observers regardless of power or status.

The only thing it did was hide August's aura so he could fight properly, but Damien was confident that it was all his son needed.

'Now…'

He smiled as August approached the opponent waiting for him in that place.

'...let's see how he does when he's taking things seriously.'

August rushed through the forest, unaware of what his father was up to.

He was confused as to why he was able to do so.

'Nothing is attacking me.'

The trees all focused on those outside. The rest of the forest didn't seem to care about him at all.

'Am I being provoked?'

Either that, or this was an invitation

Whatever the case, the lack of interference from the environment allowed August to reach the center of the forest within two minutes.

When he reached, he was met with a strange sight.

A girl sat there in a chair made of twisting vines. Her posture was relaxed as she leaned back and snacked on an apple, reading a book as if she wasn't consciously controlling the roots that wreaked havoc outside the forest.

She sat in a clearing that received an odd amount of sunlight, which hit her at the perfect angle. When August stepped into that clearing, she immediately raised her eyes to look at him.

"Oh…? Are you the one…?"

She asked as if she'd been waiting for someone.

"The Azure Dragon child, I mean."

BANG!

A geyser exploded out of the ground and flooded the clearing. It burst from directly under the girl's chair. The scalding water coming from it was obviously meant to harm her.

But, she was already on a nearby branch, completely unharmed.

The curiosity in her eyes had only grown.

Because the boy who stood before her was not the one who arrived here a second ago.

No, his eyes had changed completely, as had his stance.

That icy gaze, that hostility…

The moment she decided to say something like that, everything went sideways.

August was no longer just participating in a competition.

Right now, in this moment, secluded from the rest of the arena…

…August was looking to kill.

He had to be the only one who walked out of this forest when the elimination round ended.