Ren woke up groggily, his head throbbing like someone had just taken a sledgehammer to it.
With a tired groan, he rubbed his aching forehead, trying to piece together his thoughts.
"Why does everyone in this world think knocking me out is the only way to move me around?!'
Seriously, was there a shortage of blindfolds? A good old-fashioned sack over the head would do the job just fine!
But no, apparently, the most efficient way to transport him was to just blast him unconscious and drag him around like a sack of potatoes.
He was starting to feel like a kidnapping victim at this point!
Ren exhaled, pushing his irritation aside. It was only then that a thought hit him like a lightning bolt.
He was really in a world where magic existed.
For a second, all of his complaints disappeared. The realization crashed into him with full force, and a grin slowly stretched across his face.
This wasn't some dream or hallucination, it was real. Magic was real!
Of all the things he had obsessed over in his past life, three things stood at the top of the list.
First was research, because that had been his entire existence.
The second was magic, because even though it defied scientific logic, the very idea of it had always thrilled him.
And third… well, he wasn't going to say it out loud, but let's just say that the idea of beautiful, powerful women had always been a major interest of his too.
Especially the idea of having sex with them...
And now? He was living in a world that combined all of those things together!
Best. Reincarnation. Ever!
His excitement only grew as he recalled his evaluation. They had said he had some kind of "divine attunement" to something called Weaving.
That had to be a big deal, right? The way those powerful figures had fought over him, it was obvious that whatever Weaving was, he was insanely talented at it.
Then, suddenly, Ren froze. He had phased out again.
Shaking his head, he snapped back to reality and finally took in his surroundings. And the moment he did, his eyes widened.
The room he was in was nothing like what he had expected.
It was strange.
It wasn't a dungeon. It wasn't a medieval castle chamber. It wasn't even a traditional fantasy-style room.
Instead, it was modern.
The walls, floor, and ceiling were all pure white, so immaculately clean that they almost seemed to glow under the dim, artificial lighting.
There was an almost sterile feeling in the air, like he had woken up inside some kind of ultra-futuristic laboratory.
There wasn't much in terms of furniture, but the minimalist aesthetic was striking.
A fluffy, pure white bed sat neatly in the center of the room, perfectly made, as if it had never been slept in.
To the side, there was a matching couch and chair, simple but clearly high-quality.
A sleek, white desk was positioned against the far wall, and on it, there was a pen and a paper holder containing a neatly stacked pile of empty sheets.
But what caught Ren's attention the most was what was placed on top of the desk.
A coffee machine, a set of cups and a smartwatch.
For a moment, Ren just stared.
Wait. What? A smartwatch?
His mind immediately began rapidly analyzing everything he had seen so far. He had thought this world was medieval.
The robes, the grand temple, the ancient-looking elders—everything had screamed "traditional fantasy setting." But this room? This sterile, futuristic chamber?
This was modern. The implications hit him like a truck.
Had he been wrong about this world's level of advancement? Was it a place where magic and technology coexisted?
Did different regions have vastly different levels of development? Or was this place separate from the rest of the world?
His excitement only grew.
If this world had technology, then that meant he could do research!
He had been worried that he would be stuck in some medieval setting where he'd have to reinvent modern science from scratch.
But this? This meant he could actually conduct experiments, gather data, and explore magic through a scientific lens.
'This is even better than I thought!'
Fueled by curiosity, Ren stood up from the floor and began exploring.
His bare feet made no sound against the pristine white floor as he approached the two identical white doors on opposite ends of the room.
He placed his hand on the first one and pushed.
Nothing. No handle. No keyhole. No visible mechanism.
He turned to the second door.
Same thing.
His brow furrowed. Locked in? Or was there some kind of activation mechanism?
With no obvious way to open the doors for now, Ren turned his attention back to the desk. Specifically, to the smartwatch.
He picked it up, turning it over in his hand. The design was sleek; a white band with a futuristic, almost holographic screen.
There were no buttons, no obvious power switch. It looked brand new.
And more importantly, it was left here for him. There was no way this was a coincidence.
Shrugging, he strapped it onto his wrist. The moment the clasp clicked into place, the entire room came alive.
A pulse of soft white light swept through the walls, illuminating every inch of the space.
The once-dim lighting flared to life, shifting into a gentle, ambient glow. The air hummed with an almost imperceptible energy, as if something had just been activated.
Ren froze.
Then, slowly, a grin spread across his face.
"Oh, this is going to be fun."
His eyes narrowed as he took a slow, deliberate step back, his mind whirling with calculations.
The room had reacted to the watch. That much was obvious.
The moment he had strapped it on, the entire space had shifted, the sterile white surroundings suddenly buzzing with an invisible energy that hadn't been there before.
That meant this place wasn't just some random, locked-up chamber—no, it was connected to this watch.
Wearing it must have triggered a function, unlocking some kind of hidden mechanism.
Which begged the biggest question; what exactly was this place?
His analytical instincts kicked in, immediately narrowing down the possibilities.
It wasn't a medical room, because there was no equipment for treating injuries.
And it wasn't a normal bedroom either, because what kind of bedroom had doors without handles?
No, this was something different. Something beyond normal logic.
Ren took a deep breath, pushing aside the temptation to overanalyze. The best way to figure things out was to test them himself.
He lifted his wrist and tapped the watch's sleek, black screen.
A notification instantly flashed into existence.
[WELCOME TO THE EVOLUTION FORGE!]
Ren's fingers hovered over the screen as he reread the message. The Evolution Forge?
That name alone sent a flurry of ideas racing through his head. What did it mean? What was its function? Was this a relic, an artifact, or some advanced technology disguised as magic?
But instead of getting ahead of himself, Ren chose to observe first. He tapped the "Next" button on the watch, watching as a second message appeared.
[THE EVOLUTION FORGE—THE GREATEST INVENTION IN THE UNIVERSE.]
[ITS ONLY PURPOSE IS TO ENSURE THE EVOLUTION OF REALITY.]
[WITHIN THE EVOLUTION FORGE, ANYTHING CAN BE EVOLVED—FROM TREASURES AND ITEMS… TO EVEN THOUGHTS.]
Ren froze. For a solid five seconds, his entire brain just shut down.
Then, like an engine suddenly roaring to life, his mind exploded into action.
Evolution!
The evolution of reality itself.
His hands started trembling. Not with fear, but with exhilaration.
He had spent his entire past life as a scientist, painstakingly studying the principles of growth, adaptation, mutation, and transformation.
Evolution was one of the most complex, yet fundamental forces in existence. And yet…
This watch. This forge. It claimed to have mastered evolution?
Ren's heart pounded as he immediately grasped the insane implications of such a system.
If this thing could evolve anything—not just living beings, but objects, concepts, even thoughts—then the applications were limitless.
Weapons could become stronger. Materials could be refined beyond their natural limits. Skills could be perfected. Ideas could be pushed to their absolute peak.
If this place truly functioned the way it claimed, then this wasn't just a cheat, this was an entirely new way of thinking!
The screen on the watch flickered again.
[WOULD YOU LIKE TO MOVE ON TO TUTORIAL MODE?]
Ren didn't even hesitate. He tapped "Yes" so fast the screen nearly glitched.
Another notification popped up.
[PLEASE PROCEED TO THE DOOR TAGGED 'EVOLUTION.']
Ren immediately turned, scanning the two identical white doors on either side of the room.
And sure enough, one of them now had a single word glowing on its surface.
EVOLUTION.
His legs carried him forward on instinct. With a deep breath, he reached for the door and, this time, it opened smoothly, as if welcoming him in.
What awaited him inside was a simple, almost empty chamber.
The walls were still the same pure white, glowing faintly under the soft ambient lighting. But unlike the previous room, this one contained only a single, minimalist white shelf.
And on that shelf…
There were ten transparent crystal balls and one red crystal ball.
Ren stepped closer, inspecting them carefully. They were perfectly smooth, flawless, and seemed to be filled with a faint, swirling mist.
The watch beeped again.
[THESE ARE EVOLUTION CRYSTALS.
EACH ONE CONTAINS AN EVOLUTION CHAMBER—A SPACE WHERE TIME FLOWS DIFFERENTLY AND THE LAWS OF EVOLUTION ARE MAGNIFIED, ALLOWING ANYTHING PLACED INSIDE TO UNDERGO EVOLUTION.]
Ren exhaled slowly.
So, these obviously weren't just decorations; they were actual tools for evolving things. A controlled environment where evolution was accelerated.
With careful fingers, he reached out and picked up one of the transparent crystals. The moment his skin made contact, new text appeared on the watch.
[STANDARD EVOLUTION CRYSTAL:
- Contains an evolution chamber.
- Time flows 10 times faster within this chamber compared to the real world.
- Evolution follows a natural process but can not be influenced by external factors.]
Ren's mind immediately started racing with tests he could conduct.
If the chamber inside this crystal sped up time, then that meant he could force evolution at an accelerated pace. But how effective was it? How adaptable were the changes?
His curiosity flared as he set the transparent crystal down and picked up the red one.
The watch immediately displayed a new message.
[RED EVOLUTION CRYSTAL:
- Contains an evolution chamber.
- Time flows 100 times faster within this chamber compared to the real world.
- Evolution follows a natural process but can be influenced through the offering of a sacrifice.]
Ren stared at the message, his brain short-circuiting.
One hundred times faster.
If something took a year to evolve in reality, it would take only three and a half days inside this crystal.
If something took a century, it would be done in a single year!
And this wasn't just about plants growing faster or materials refining quicker. No, this was about ideas evolving.
This was about power evolving.
Ren's breath hitched as he slowly lowered the crystal back onto the shelf. Then, suddenly, a realization slammed into him like a freight train.
This… this was his cheat.
This was his ability. His advantage. His golden finger in this new world!
His Evolution Forge!
Ren couldn't help himself, he laughed.
_____
Power stone Goal!
20 PS - 1 Bonus chapter
50 PS - 2 Bonus chapter
100 PS (Quite an achievement as of now) - 3 Bonus chapters.