Clone Ascension

The scenery blurred past as Evan and FangBro dove deeper and deeper underground.

The temperature rose sharply, the pressure increased, and FangBro’s stamina drained rapidly.

At last—

more than three thousand meters below the surface—

they found a cavern carved out by some unknown beast and stopped to rest.

The black soil of the Thousand‑Hero Mound didn’t extend this far.

It had stopped around seven to eight hundred meters deep.

FangBro collapsed onto the ground, panting heavily as he swallowed evolution medicine to recover.

Traveling horizontally underground was easy—

but diving straight down into the depths consumed far more energy.

“Boss… where do we even start looking for the Gravity Demon?” FangBro asked between breaths.

Evan thought for a moment.

The confidential EvolutionTech data Shawn Miller had given him only stated that EvolutionTech hunting teams had twice captured Gravity Demons beneath the Thousand‑Hero Mound—

but never specified the exact depth.

However, Evan had discussed this species with Professor Wendy Lewis before and understood its habits.

The Gravity Demon evolved from the Demon Worm—

a microscopic half‑millimeter creature that, even before the Evolution Era, was known as the deepest‑dwelling animal ever discovered by humans.

Once evolved, Demon Worms grew thousands of times larger

and loved devouring underground minerals.

“Let’s look for mineral veins.

Gravity Demons tend to nest near them.”

Once FangBro recovered, they set off again—

using Earth‑Dive to search the surrounding area.

It didn’t take long.

They found a massive mineral vein.

Directly beneath the Thousand‑Hero Mound,

over three thousand meters deep,

lay a mountain‑sized mass of white, jade‑like ore.

“What kind of mineral is this?” Evan muttered.

FangBro recognized it instantly.

“This is Attraction Stone Ore.”

“Attraction Stone? The stuff used to make extractors?” Evan asked.

Exactly.

Attraction Stone appeared only after the Evolution Rain

and was abundant across Blue Star.

It was the core material used in extraction machines

because it naturally attracted evolution energy and evolution matter.

It wasn’t rare—

every hunter carried a portable extractor made from it.

But this underground vein was enormous.

Evan and FangBro circled it and couldn’t find the end.

If the entire ore vein was a mountain,

they were currently halfway up the slope.

Tunnels of various sizes—

some narrow like dog holes,

others wide enough for two people to walk side by side—

showed signs of beasts gnawing through the ore.

A thought struck Evan.

“Since Attraction Stone draws evolution matter…

do you think the black soil of the Thousand‑Hero Mound is being pulled downward by this ore vein?”

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FangBro blinked, then nodded.

“That… actually makes sense.”

The black soil was saturated with chaotic evolution energy.

Drawn by the Attraction Stone,

it seeped downward over centuries—

and the highest‑quality evolution matter

would be pulled the strongest,

accumulating at the very bottom.

Which explained why the deeper the mound extended,

the harder the soil became—

harder than metal.

Evan said:

“If that’s true, then any treasure buried in the Thousand‑Hero Mound

is most likely at the very bottom—

where the highest‑quality evolution matter gathers.

“Once we finish hunting the Gravity Demon,

we can check it out on the way back.”

FangBro’s eyes lit up.

He loved treasure hunting more than anything.

If not for helping Evan,

he would’ve started exploring the moment they arrived.

Evan activated Silent Step and walked deeper into the ore vein.

“We’ll follow the tunnels carved by beasts.

If Demon Worms live here,

the Gravity Demon can’t be far.”

FangBro moved ahead to scout.

After ten minutes of navigating the massive ore vein,

they encountered their first beast.

A worm the size of a human arm—

skin wrinkled, eyeless, with only a gaping mouth—

was chewing on Attraction Stone.

When it sensed them,

it shrieked and launched itself at FangBro.

Evan stepped forward and punched—

the worm exploded into pulp.

A Tier‑1 Abyss Worm.

The Gravity Demon they sought

was a Tier‑3 evolution of the same species.

Finding Abyss Worms meant they were close.

They continued forward,

killing several more Abyss Worms along the way.

Eventually, they found a dried, rotting corpse—

a Gravity Demon.

“There are battle marks everywhere.

The valuable parts were cut off.

This must be where EvolutionTech hunted one before,” Evan said.

EvolutionTech’s hunting squad had likely found this place,

killed the Gravity Demon,

extracted its materials,

and left the corpse behind.

Evan and FangBro pressed deeper toward the bottom of the ore vein.

Where there were many Demon Worms,

there was a high chance of finding another Gravity Demon.

“Boss! A tunnel!” FangBro called out.

A massive tunnel—

clearly carved by a huge creature—

led straight downward.

The bite marks matched those of a Gravity Demon.

Evan’s eyes brightened.

He and FangBro both had flight skills.

They immediately descended.

FangBro, being faster, scouted ahead

and returned moments later.

“There’s one!”

Evan grinned.

“Good. Let’s take it down.”

Finding the Gravity Demon was half the battle.

If they couldn’t defeat it,

they could always call Director Warren Pierce—

though that would cost favors and money.

Better to try themselves first.

They landed at the bottom of the tunnel.

There it was—

a massive worm curled on the cavern floor.

Evan was used to calling everything “one head”—

one head of mosquito,

one head of rat,

one head of maggot—

so one head of worm didn’t faze him.

The legendary Gravity Demon

looked like a grotesquely enlarged Abyss Worm—

its body thicker than a giant python,

as long as an elephant stretched out.

Dark‑red, bark‑like skin,

layered with ring‑shaped folds.

Sparse needle‑thin hairs covered its hide.

Its head had no eyes or nose—

only a huge maw lined with backward‑curving teeth.

The moment Evan and FangBro landed,

the Gravity Demon stirred.

Golden dust drifted around it like shimmering rain.

The dust gathered—

forming an invisible chain.

The Gravity Chain.

The golden specks clinging to it

made the chain faintly visible.

Without a sound,

the chain shot toward Evan—

faster than lightning.

FangBro flashed in front of him.

Their roles were clear:

Evan attacked,

FangBro protected.

The Gravity Chain had no offensive power—

it simply pulled its target.

FangBro felt a massive force yank him forward.

He flew uncontrollably toward the Gravity Demon’s open jaws.

He instantly formed a golden cocoon around himself—

wedging it in the creature’s mouth.

The Gravity Demon paused for a second,

then crushed the cocoon.

At that moment,

FangBro burst out and escaped.

Evan had already closed in.

He unleashed a flurry of Ant‑Force and Needle Strike,

piercing several holes in the Gravity Demon’s body.

Thick brown fluid sprayed out.

Evan pulled out a vial of yellow powder

and dumped it into the wounds.

He and FangBro had come prepared.

After killing the Mutated Giant Crocodile with poison,

they wouldn’t forget to bring toxins again.

This was Tier‑3 poison—

not enough to kill a Tier‑3 S‑grade beast,

but enough to weaken it.

The Gravity Demon roared in pain.

Suddenly, Evan noticed golden dust spreading beneath his feet.

His body grew heavy—

he collapsed to one knee.

Gravity manipulation.

FangBro was also slowed,

but still sprinted toward Evan.

The Gravity Demon raised its head

and sprayed a stream of corrosive liquid at Evan.

Evan, weighed down by gravity,

couldn’t dodge.

The attack was unavoidable.