I Level Up Dragons with My Evolution System-Chapter 28: Danger hides strength

Edward trembled as he read those messages; the hairs on his body stood on end as he felt that gaze full of madness, hatred toward the living, but at the same time, indifference.

’I have to run away.’ That’s what he thought, and he immediately moved to do so.

He had to run without looking back. Without worrying about whatever was happening behind him. If he looked back, he would surely die.

But when he turned around, his gaze froze.

A huge army of hundreds of undead was walking toward him. Despite the trees, he could see them clearly.

There were too many of them!

In every direction, the undead could be counted in the hundreds, making their exact number impossible to calculate.

[The Death Knight: Guardian of the Desolate Temple has summoned his legions here.]

[Defeat him to avoid being engulfed by his Legion of Death.]

"Defeat him?" He looked at the death knight behind him. He hadn’t gotten up yet, sitting there looking indifferent.

He knew his rival had no escape today; he would have to fight him... or all his legions.

But...

’I have to defeat him? Are you crazy? He’s way above me! Level 20, my Caterpillar is barely Level 5!’ He protested against his system for the madness it had just uttered, but it was obviously a silly protest.

His system wouldn’t give him a second chance because it didn’t have the ability to do so. It was only there to inform him of the mess he had gotten himself into.

On the other hand, fighting a legion of undead was almost as bad as fighting this Death Knight, only there it wouldn’t depend on his strength, but on his endurance. And he doesn’t have high endurance.

He could run for a long time, but when it came to fighting large numbers of monsters, he didn’t even have the experience to do so.

It was certain death.

He was doomed.

As he protested in his mind against such ridiculous possibilities, his eyes saw those strange blood-red pupils floating. Something caught his attention in them.

[Vestige of Power.]

[Vestige of Power.]

That name was repeated in each of them, but there was something else.

[Absorb them before the Power of the Death Knight acts on them and restores their life.]

[Absorbing them will give your Caterpillars Experience Points.]

Edward frowned.

’Experience Points...’ He thought, taking a moment to process what this meant. And when he finally understood, not only did his eyes shine brightly, but his gaze quickly moved to his system, summoning that window he had wanted to see.

[Statistics Window]

| Strength: 10 > 18.

| Constitution: 9.

| Intelligence: 7 > 11.

| Dexterity: 11.

| Agility: 9.

| Elemental Resistance: 4 > 8.

[]

[Breakdown of Acquisition per Level for each Caterpillar]

| Fire Caterpillar: Grants +2 Strength, +1 Intelligence, and +1 Elemental Resistance per level.

| Wind Caterpillar: Grants +1 Strength, +1 Agility, +1 Dexterity, and +1 Elemental Resistance per level.

| Water Caterpillar: Grants +2 Constitution, +1 Intelligence, and +1 Elemental Resistance for each level.

| Earth Caterpillar: Grants +3 Constitution and +1 Elemental Resistance for each level.

[Each Caterpillar grants Affinity to its Magic Element, whose rank will increase as it evolves.]

| Example: Fire Caterpillar grants Affinity to Rank E Fire Magic in the first 20 Levels.

At Level 21, you acquire Affinity for Fire Magic of Rank D.

[]

Excitement filled him from head to toe; even every hair on his body felt excited. This time, he looked at those floating pupils as if they were the most delicious food he had ever seen. Something similar was happening in the eyes of his Fire Caterpillar.

Although this situation seemed like a curse, it was a blessing in disguise with dangerous undertones.

All right... the danger is latent, and even if he manages to level up his Caterpillars, it’s not certain that he can defeat this powerful Death Knight. But run away?

He smiled coldly and threw himself into the breach.

"If you insist on fighting me, I will have to kill you, even if it costs me several limbs to do so." He gripped his sword tightly and soon fell upon a pile of dry bones.

As soon as he did, the Death Knight’s eyes glowed brightly... almost as brightly as the small eyes of his Fire Caterpillar, which pounced on such delicious food...

Soon, system announcements began to arrive, indicating that his Fire Caterpillar was gaining massive experience.

"Don’t enjoy it all by yourself, little one," Edward said with a smile. "Share it with your friends."

Suddenly, the fire caterpillar had company; four caterpillars began to devour the food. Some were slow, still frightened by the scorching heat nearby. The other enjoyed itself with everything it had.

[Wind Caterpillar has leveled up.]

[You have received +1 Strength. +1 Agility. +1 Dexterity. +1 Elemental Resistance.]

Feeling his strength grow, he took a step toward the Death Knight, who was walking toward him with a sword in hand.

It wasn’t a sword like the ones he had seen before; it was quite long and wide. A heavy sword, peculiarly constructed with hooks shaped like protrusions on the blade, blood red in color, made especially for torture.

The Death Knight leaped toward him. His speed was ridiculous; he could practically cover the distance between them, tens of meters, in a matter of two seconds, barely giving Edward time to react and defend himself.

Despite his perfect defense, Edward rolled across the ground, leaving gashes more than 15 meters long.

"Hey, hey... what kind of strength is this, for god’s sake?" Edward looked at his numb arms, completely in shock. "You’re not a Growing Beast, you’re a Formed Beast, you bastard."

He couldn’t know exactly how strong it was because he had nothing to compare it to. But he was sure that his current strength, at least, had surpassed that of a 1-Star Student, as he had been able to defeat that Wight in a head-on battle.

And that Wight was a beast in the early stages of the "Growing Beast" state, the main enemy of 1-Star Students.

That meant his current raw strength was around that of a 2-Star Student, something that genuinely surprised him, but gave him a good idea of what his strength would be like later on, which boosted his confidence even though he hadn’t been able to learn Magic yet.

Therefore, if he were a 2-Star Student, he should at least have strength similar to that of an almost fully formed Growing Beast, as this guy should have...

But no.

His strength was vastly inferior to this guy’s; just one exchange was enough to know that.

[Water Caterpillar has leveled up...]

[You have received...]

[Fire Caterpillar has leveled up.]

[You have received...]

The messages he received restored his confidence.

"Though it won’t be for long." He smiled before leaping towards the Death Knight to confront it.