Are you drunk ?

When he awoke, Vikram did so with a heart rending scream. Before he could reminisce and adjust his mindset appropriately, his father rushed into the room. After all, this is midnight, and no one wakes up at this time like Vikram did.

"Vikram! Vikram! " his father ran to him as soon as he could.

The worry on his father's face melted away as he noticed there's nothing around him at all, not even a single wound.

"You idiot! Did you drink too much?" his father scolded him.

"You are alive!" Vikram whispered in shock, as he breathed in the scent of his father.

"Why? Thinking your old father has lived too long? Is that why you are creating this kind of ruckus besides a heart patient?" his father scolded him.

Vikram looked around.

This is his uncle's place.

They were staying here for two days, before returning to the city.

His father and his uncles were finalizing the last property. However, his uncle wanted more, and his uncle-in-law supported him.

Only, what they were asking for is a property bought with blood and tears of his father's hard work, without minutest support from their grandparents.

Yet, their grandparents wanted his father to sell the property to his brother at half the market price.

Sometimes, he wondered if his father had been an adopted child or something, with the way his grandparents supported his uncle and their aunt.

However, now, he felt different. It's better to finish this fast, and leave for the city.

[ status ]

Vikram thought with his mind.

[ Evolution specimen H-2234 ] [ Sparrow dungeon ] [ Evolution gene fragments : 0]

[ 72:59:01]

As he watched, the timer changed again.

[ 72:58:59 ]

He hadn't the minutest affection to the world he has left. Let that world go to hell. He didn't live there anyway.

He has infinite opportunities for himself in this world. He must move fast and grab them all.

First and foremost !

The gates of evolution are wide open. The winners could have it all, while the losers could only die in a ditch.

It's kill or be killed.

Evolve or die.

Even if he were to die some day, he would fight for every second of life with all of his breath.

A person could enter the portal at the risk to their own self at this point of time. Very few who entered made it out alive. Whether they enter the gate or not, when three days are past, the portal's gate dissolves, spewing all the monsters it's holding out.

The countdown of three days began at midnight.

As of tomorrow, the country is going to recognize and cordon off most of the portal entrances in the cities. However, the ones in the countryside should remain accessible for three more days.

He must go immediately.

"I am fine, dad. Sleep. Sleep..!" Vikram appeased his father, got out of the room on the premise of bringing water for his father.

His father slept fine after making sure nothing was amiss in the house.

▬ ● ◘ ◘ ● ▬

He stole two knives from the kitchen, and the longest ladle and spatula he could find, as well as the wooden pestle.

He wrapped all of them up in a towel, put them in a backpack he wore on his back.

He did the same to the two knives.

Then, he wore all the excess clothes he had, both pants, socks, and shoes, left without making noise from his uncle's house.

Thankfully, he had more than one full shirt.

He used his phone to light his way, walked all the way over to the portal that appeared in their hometown.

This must be the least powerful evolution dungeon in the country, for the town barely crossed the population limit needed for a portal to open.

Usually, one portal opens per hundred thousand people.

The lower the population density, the weaker the animals, including the boss. At least that is what Talin said.

Here lies the clue for relic gene fragments. Relics usually exist in places where the generic dungeon animals are weak, but the dungeon boss was exponentially strong, just like the sparrow dungeon here.

The relic level fragment itself did not drop from the dungeon boss.

It usually has something to do with the history of the area itself. Searching for relic level gene fragments is tedious work of going through history, legends and local lore.

There will always be a common point. After finding that common point, trial and error work must be done, to figure out the method to get relic gene fragments appear.

What works for one set of relics would not work for another.

Talin worked with local legends of god of life, who pointed out the earth god temple built in their hometown, after hearing about the sparrow boss's kill count.

The black mountain range is shaped like a three pointed star, spawning half the country. There are many local legends associated with this mountain range.

Their hometown is nestled at the bottom of this mountain range, at the center point of the star, towards the south west side. In times old, the entire area was a dense jungle where man could not enter easily.

Thus, it has become a den of mountain bandits. There was a local legend of a mountain bandit captain using sparrows to track movements of the army within the forest. Thus, always being able to evade them.

The other part of the legend said the robber captain never died because he rested within the cave earth god temple was built in, healing him to be brand new regardless of how seriously he was injured before.

So, a sparrow.. !

A sparrow dungeon is a cake's walk compared to that.

Vikram entered the dungeon, and was immediately attacked by a sparrow.

He slashed at it from sideways, aiming just a wee bit off from his nose.

Shuck …!

Tup..

Tup..

He opened his eyes.

A small light fragment was floating in front of him.

He touched it.

[ All nighter gene fragment ]

[ Integrate the gene fragment ? ] (yes) (no)

Vikram chose yes.

He maintained a schedule of wake with the sun, sleep with the sun, given he lied outdoors like a tree or stone.

No amount of rain or shine made any difference as forest grew around him.

He thought he would age like that forever frozen in pain, and become a treeman.

Thankfully, Talin came around.

His fatigue and sleepiness vanished away as he integrated the gene fragment.

Usually, most dungeons drop seven gene fragments, with four of them being specific gene fragments, and three of them unique gene fragments.

Unless there's a qualitative change all over the dungeon, these gene fragments will not change.

He killed the next bird.

[ enduring muscle 0.1]

Vikram swiped away the gene fragment, killing the next bird. If he is distracted even for a single moment, these birds will gouge out his eyes, and eat his intestines for lunch.

[ night vision 0.1]

Kill birds !

Sha! Sha sha sha! Sha ! Sha!

[ coral muscle 0.1 ]

Kill birds !

Sha! Sha sha sha! Sha ! Sha!

[ microvision 0.1 ]

Suddenly another message popped up in the corner of his vision.

[ Enduring muscles reached the necessary evolution threshold. Evolve? ] (yes) (no)

Enduring muscles represent the group of muscles one must use when they are doing hurdles kind of exercises, where they reverse all of their gravity every few seconds.

Now, Vikram could do a time above normal people when doing the hurdles.

Most birds dropped one or other kind of vision gene fragments. If they did not drop vision gene fragments, they dropped the hearing and smell gene fragments.

Most of the time it depended on how the animal hunted.

For example, chickens smell with tongue gene fragments, just like snakes.

They also dropped the explosive jump gene fragment.

All the same, Vikram happily picked the free falling gene fragments.

Soon, the all ten allnighter genegraments have fallen, and he saw one more message.

[ All nighter reached the necessary evolution threshold. Evolve? ] (yes) (no)

Once he integrated, at the first lull in the battle, he called up status to check his status.

Status:

[ Evolution specimen H-2234 ] [ Sparrow dungeon ] [ Evolution gene fragments : 0]

[ All nighter D ] [ Enduring muscles E ]

What? Where are the micro vision, coral muscles and the night vision ? he swung his hands through the words like he could expand them, but that is where the entire explanation stayed.

What the ?

He was in a dungeon, and he could not keep focusing on his status forever.

When the next batch of sparrows arrived, he started his whack the mole style killing once more, and this time, his body felt a lot lighter compared to before.

[ night vision 0.1 ]

[ coral muscle 0.1 ]

[ explosive muscle 0.1 ]

[ micro vision 0.1 ]

[ night vision 0.1 ]

The fragments kept falling. Vikram picked all of them up, no matter how small or big.

Once he was done with the wave, he checked his status once more. This time these gene fragments must be visible, right ?

Status:

[ Evolution specimen H-2234 ] [ Sparrow dungeon ] [ Evolution gene fragments : 0]

[ All nighter C ] [ Enduring muscles D ]

'Oh!' Vikram thought as he looked at the status. Seems these gene fragments are absorbed to improve the quality of a specific gene group. Though it says all nighter, it's a collection of eye genes, so night vision and micro vision both are accepted into the group, and the overall quality of the gene fragment increased.