Chapter 239: Evolutionary Trail, Talent Fragments, Hidden Difficulty
"You have completed all the Class Advancement Quests? That’s good work, Isaac."
She smiled.
"As for the evolutionary trial, the contents are always random."
Isaac frowned. "So there’s no information about what I’ll face?"
"There is none," she said, placing her cup down gently. "However, I do know about the rewards you can gain."
The professor set aside her cutlery, folding her hands on the table.
Her tone shifted into something more serious, as if she were delivering a lecture.
"The evolutionary trial is not a single test. It has numerous levels of difficulty within it. Completing one allows you to increase the rank of your species. The harder the trial difficulty you choose, the higher your species rank can jump.
"There are even stories passed down that say the highest level of trial can let a low-rank species advance all the way to Apex rank. The difficult of such level is astronomical high, needless to say."
Isaac leaned back in his chair, letting her words sink in.
Apex rank.
It was too far from his low rank human species.
The thought that a single trial might bridge that gap was almost too good to believe.
"I see," he said quietly.
His fingers drummed against the wooden table as his thoughts swirled.
For him, this was good news.
He had a chance to upgrade his human bloodline in one go.
"That’s not all," Professor Catherine continued, her voice cutting into his thoughts. "Depending on your performance, you can even obtain Talent Fragments."
"Talent Fragments?" Isaac asked aloud, though inside he stiffened in surprise.
He knew exactly what they were.
He hadn’t expected them to be given in the trial.
"Yes," Professor Catherine said, nodding. "You can use Talent Fragments to increase your own talent’s rank, or raise the rank of your Subject’s Talent. They’re rare, valuable, and worth more than most treasures people chase after."
Alice, who had been quietly eating beside him, looked up with interest. "So the trial isn’t just about species rank?"
"That’s correct," Professor Catherine said. "It tests more than strength. It measures how you adapt, how you endure, and how you choose. Each choice changes what rewards you can claim."
She tapped the table lightly with her finger for emphasis.
"You can attempt any difficulty of trial, and you can choose all of them one by one. But you cannot reattempt a difficulty level. If you fail or choose poorly, that’s it. So only pick a difficulty if you’re confident you can clear it in one go."
Isaac nodded. "Understood."
He fell into thought again.
The risk was clear, but so was the opportunity.
After a pause, he raised another question that had been gnawing at him since morning.
"Professor, do you know how to create a physique?"
Professor Catherine, who had just lifted her spoon again, stopped midway.
She set it down slowly and turned to look at him.
For a moment, her expression was unreadable, as if she was trying to determine whether he had asked seriously or by mistake.
Then her lips curved into a knowing smile.
"You went through body evolution? That would explain why your physique is forming."
Alice glanced sideways at Isaac.
He stayed silent, realizing the professor had seen through it instantly.
Professor Catherine’s gaze shifted between the two of them, and though she didn’t say it out loud, the coincidence of their timing hadn’t gone unnoticed.
"There are three known ways to gain a physique," she began, raising three fingers. "The first is to be born as a high-rank or above species. Those bodies can naturally form a physique from birth. Though they need to awaken it.
"The second way is through a high-rank warrior-type class. However, for that method, you usually need to reach Champion rank before you obtain a class that grants a physique.
"And lastly, the third way is going through body evolution."
She let her hand fall to the table.
"Normally, body evolution is far too difficult for most people. It takes immense resources, rare materials, and even then, survival is not guaranteed.
"People have died attempting it. But if the World System forces you through body evolution, then it’s perfectly safe," she explained.
Isaac let out a slow breath he hadn’t realized he was holding.
For a brief moment, he had worried that he and Alice had brushed against death without knowing it.
Her explanation eased that weight.
"Now, since you’re on the third path, you’ll have to go through one or two more body evolutions before your physique is complete.
"The better your body’s foundation is, the less amount of Body Evolution you need to form a physique.
"Still, you would need to go through a total of two body evolution at the minimum.
"Waiting for the System to grant you those body evolutions will take time and effort. However, you’re in luck.
"You have already gone through one body evolution.
"So, there should be a hidden difficulty level in your evolutionary trial that offers body evolution as a reward."
Her eyes narrowed slightly.
"Of course, the difficulty will shoot through the roof as well."
Isaac absorbed her words, his brows furrowed. "Is there any need for that? If I can become a high-rank species, I’d get a physique that way anyway."
"If you can do both, then your physique will be better. It will be stronger, and more refined. A physique formed from multiple methods becomes something unique."
Isaac fell silent, turning her words over carefully.
That one explanation was enough for him to decide what he needed to do in the evolutionary trial.
He would aim for both.
Species advancement and body evolution.
The difficulty would be nightmarish.
However, success meant his foundation would surpass what even most geniuses could dream of.
The conversation eased after that, but the air felt heavier with the weight of what had been discussed.
Alice went back to eating slowly, though her expression showed she was thinking deeply.
Isaac picked up his fork again, but most of his attention was inward, already running through possibilities, risks, and what preparations he could make before the trial began.
Professor Catherine eventually picked up her spoon and resumed her meal as if nothing unusual had been said.
Yet there was a glint in her eyes that suggested she was measuring them both, perhaps wondering how far they could go if they took every chance the World System put before them.
Isaac caught that look, and for a brief moment, he realized something.
Professor Catherine had not only been informing them.
She had been testing them, watching how they reacted to each piece of knowledge. Whether they asked cautious questions or reckless ones. And whether they understood the risks or only the rewards.
After that, Isaac and Professor Catherine moved into more casual talk.
They talked about the books he had been reading.
She told them old stories about university life, and the differences between Tier 1 and Tier 2 Fortified Cities.
Celia joined in from time to time, mostly when the topic turned to gossip about professors or students she recognized.
It was the kind of ordinary back-and-forth that smoothed over the heavier topics, at least for a while.
Alice, however, didn’t miss the undercurrent.
She watched the way Isaac leaned forward when Professor Catherine spoke, the way Celia carefully chose her words, and how Professor Catherine’s gaze occasionally sharpened mid-conversation.
After a long pause, she decided to speak up about the one subject hanging over them.
"What are our plans with the Governor?" Alice asked.