Lord Evolution: Starting With SS-rank Skills

Cult of Ember Justice Hideout

It was morning, and the sun had already climbed into the sky, casting its radiant light over the dark forest.

Deep within the forest, in a clearing hidden by towering ancient trees, a group of five men in black robes strolled together, engaged in conversation.

Among them was Alister, who wore his usual cold expression.

"Master Alister, how is your mission going?" one of them asked.

"Good," Alister answered casually.

The men weren't fazed by his curt reply; they were already accustomed to his demeanor.

"We heard the bigger mission would resume soon. Is that true?" they pressed.

"Xandros is undercover, preparing for it. In a month or two, it will begin," Alister replied.

He recalled his arrangement with Xandros before the mission began. If everything went perfectly as they had planned—not only would they secure a few new candidates for the dark seed ritual, but they would also reap other benefits that would interest the higher-ups of the cult.

Alister had only one concern about the success of his plan: Xandros's hot temperament. Thankfully, before sending Xandros away on his undercover mission, he had taken precautions by casting a spell that calmed negative emotions and reactions, instilling only positive ones. With this in place, the chance of Xandros ruining the plan was slim to none.

The men kept trying to converse with Alister as they made their way—most of their discussion revolved around Xandros, his whereabouts, and the dark seed ritual. Though they knew he was on a secret mission, they couldn't help but wonder what it entailed and where it would take place.

Aside from Xandros and the dark seed ritual, they also tried to inquire about the weapons Alister was going to give them for their mission.

"Can't you all keep silent and just walk?" Alister asked with a frown as their questions became annoying.

His reprimand was enough to keep the men quiet until they arrived at their destination—a cave.

Alister muttered in a foreign language, and a small portal appeared at the entrance of the cave. He stepped in with the others.

Passing through the portal, they found themselves in a vast storage room filled with spell scrolls, dried-up body parts of monsters and humans, magical artifacts, weapons, and other mystical items.

"Wow!"

"This is fantastic! Are we going to get our weapons from here? I've already found one I love," the men exclaimed with pure admiration.

But Alister ignored them. The items were meticulously arranged on shelves, with ample space in the middle for easy movement.

Alister strolled down the pathway and arrived at its end, where a small door was located.

The others gulped nervously as they anticipated entering the room.

"I can't believe I get to enter the secret chamber in the storeroom after so many years in the cult. I can't wait to see what's behind this legendary door," they all thought at that moment.

Alister, on the other hand, maintained a calm expression as he opened the door using a magic phrase.

The door creaked open.

A strong metallic stench of blood drifted out of the room, making the men wrinkle their noses.

Then, thick smoke began to pour from the doorway, filling the entrance with a gray haze. The smoke curled around their feet, making it hard to see clearly.

Alister took a step forward, the smoke parting before him as if pushed by an unseen force. The others followed hesitantly, their footsteps echoing softly in the smoky air.

Inside, the chamber was dimly lit by glowing crystals embedded in the walls. The illumination from the crystals soon revealed the shocking scene within the room.

The initial smoke had cleared, and with the help of the glowing crystals, everything in the chamber was unveiled. It was a vast chamber.

Inside, there were numerous wide tables; on these tables lay dissected corpses of monsters and humans, as well as large and small bottles of concoctions.

At the far back of the chamber, seven large glass cylinders filled with glowing green liquid stood ominously. The men could make out shadowy humanoid figures within these cylinders.

They needed no further explanation to understand they were in a lab—not just any laboratory, but Alister's own.

"It was rumored among the older cult members that Alister ran some truly dark experiments. I never knew they were true.

The last time I heard, he was trying to create the perfect loyal dark battle mages to assist the cult in completing missions and settling scores. Has he succeeded?

I've been a member of the cult for ages, and I've never felt this unsettled. Alister is next-level evil!" the men thought as they stared around the room, absorbing the abominable scene.

Alister observed their expressions for a few seconds before speaking.

"We didn't come here for sightseeing, did we?" he asked with a frown.

"No, sir."

The men returned their attention to him immediately.

Alister scoffed.

"Your mission is invading Cufflor Dukedown and abducting the duke's wife and first daughter. I am sure the mission board ordered you to only invade and abduct, but I want something more," he began.

The men gulped—what did Alister want? they wondered.

"I need to test the soldiers I've created. Cufflor Dukedown is a perfect field for that. They have a strong army of battle mages and knights. I want you to take my soldiers with you and challenge their army. While the battle is ongoing, you can complete your missions."

The men looked at each other with confused expressions.

Invading Cufflor Dukedown and capturing the duke's wife and daughter was already a difficult mission. With the addition of kick-starting a war, the difficulty increased even more.

"But sir..."

They tried to make excuses, but Alister didn't spare them a listening ear.

"Do not worry. I am aware you guys are daft and wouldn't be able to kick-start a battle without getting caught and killed. That's why I prepared this..." Alister made a sheet of paper appear and passed it to them.

"Contained in it are every layer of action you should take."

The men read his plan and sighed. With his plan, the difficulty of their mission reduced beyond their expectations. They were prepared for the mission.

"Where are the soldiers?" they asked.

Alister did not reply verbally; he simply pointed behind them.

The men gulped and slowly turned back.

Behold, before them were dark grey-skinned humans with huge builds, lifeless and bloodthirsty red eyes that seemed to pierce into the soul. Their bodies radiated a powerful dark aura that made the men cower backward, some even toppling over.

The dark soldiers barely moved; they simply stood there, staring at empty air with bloodthirsty eyes.

The men became scared beyond comprehension. They turned to look at Alister with eyes that appeared to be pleading for help.

On the other hand, Alister had a smirk as he stared at his creation. In his mind, he imagined several dark, abominable scenes of himself dominating the magic world with his dark soldiers.

He admired the dark soldiers for a few seconds before handing the men rings that help store them. He briefed them about the mission once again before dismissing them.

After they left, Alister brought out a magic item resembling a mirror. After muttering a few magic phrases, a scene appeared on the screen.

It was Yellow River City. The scene seemed to be focused on a certain figure going about his day—a figure that Rowan and the people of Winterseed would easily recognize.

"You're doing a good job, Xandros," Alister smiled before deactivating the magic item.