The shockwave from the crocodile’s Raging Tides slammed into Evan and FangBro like a freight train. Their bodies went numb, organs twisting as if rearranged. Blood leaked from their noses and mouths.

  Evan felt both leg bones crack—

  But the Regenerator Core kicked in instantly, flooding his body with healing energy.

  The Vahn River crocodile’s signature move lived up to its reputation—

  A brutal mix of damage and crowd control.

  The beast lunged again, jaws wide.

  Neither Evan nor FangBro panicked.

  They both had trump cards.

  Evan reached for the Wailer’s Head—

  But FangBro suddenly punched upward toward the crocodile’s open mouth.

  It looked suicidal.

  A crunch echoed through the water.

  The crocodile bit off FangBro’s entire arm.

  Blood clouded the river.

  But FangBro didn’t flinch.

  He calmly stepped back with Evan.

  Evan blinked—

  FangBro’s arm was still attached.

  The crocodile was chewing on… something else.

  “What—?”

  FangBro grinned proudly.

  “Skill’s called Shed?and?Survive. Pretty neat, right?”

  Evan stared at him.

  “Yeah. You should open a beast?feeding farm.”

  FangBro froze, confused.

  Evan grabbed him and retreated—

  The crocodile was charging again.

  His Ant Strength had worn off.

  Needle Strike alone wouldn’t pierce a Tier?2 beast’s armor.

  He needed to stall.

  After using Ant Strength, his muscles secreted an acidic byproduct that caused intense soreness for about forty seconds.

  Until that faded, he couldn’t activate the skill again.

  He needed time.

  Evan analyzed his shortcomings.

  His burst combo—Ant Strength + Needle Strike—was powerful, but the hitbox was tiny.

  If he didn’t strike a weak point, the damage was negligible.

  Against thick?skinned beasts like this crocodile, poking holes wasn’t enough.

  He needed a wider?area attack skill.

  FangBro activated water?phase movement again, dodging another lunge and buying ten more seconds.

  Then—

  Evan froze.

  The soreness was fading… too fast.

  It had only been twenty?something seconds.

  Before, it took over forty.

  He focused inward.

  The Regenerator Core was releasing high?grade life energy, dissolving the acidic byproduct and soothing his muscles.

  The upgraded Regenerator skill treated the Ant Strength backlash as an “injury”—

  And healed it.

  Evan’s eyes lit up.

  This effectively cut his cooldown in half.

  For someone at his stage, that was huge.

  Ant Strength was the foundation of his burst damage.

  Shorter cooldown meant shorter downtime.

  “FangBro! Round two!”

  FangBro nodded and surged forward.

  Evan raised the Wailer’s Head.

  A psychic shockwave rippled out—

  The crocodile froze, dazed.

  “Go!”

  Water?phase movement activated—

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  They appeared above the crocodile’s skull.

  Evan unleashed Ant Strength again, followed by Needle Strike.

  His finger pierced the armored skull like a drill.

  A wet crack echoed—

  Like punching a hole in a watermelon.

  Blood and brain matter mixed into the water.

  The crocodile’s eyes dimmed.

  Its massive tail fell limp.

  “WE DID IT!”

  FangBro’s eyes sparkled.

  In thirty years, he had never hunted a beast before.

  He wasn’t the one who landed the killing blow, but his support had been crucial.

  His livestream exploded.

  “Thought I clicked the wrong stream!”

  “Is this really FangRunner’s channel?!”

  “FangBro, you’ve changed!”

  “FangBro’s the support—big bro does the damage!”

  “I swear I saw red evolution light on big bro just now!”

  “Big bro is insane—Chrysalis?tier killing a Tier?2 beast!”

  “Hey! Give FangBro some credit too!”

  “Who IS this big bro anyway?!”

  No one knew Evan’s identity.

  He never showed his face.

  With the beast dead, it was time to harvest the spoils.

  Neither of them had brought a portable extractor.

  FangBro never needed one, and Evan hadn’t bought one yet.

  They returned to the boat and borrowed an extractor from the crew.

  FangBro dove back down to harvest the extract and materials.

  Evan stayed on deck.

  He replayed the battle in his mind.

  He had killed a Tier?2 beast while still in Chrysalis tier—

  But only with FangBro’s help.

  Could he have done it alone?

  Yes.

  But it would’ve been dangerous.

  He might’ve pushed the Regenerator Core to its limits.

  If he had one or two more strong skills, he could’ve done it cleanly.

  The crocodile was only a Tier?2 C?rank beast—

  Not even among the strongest of its tier.

  Wendy Lewis had told him before:

  Humans are naturally superior to beasts and spirit plants.

  Human evolver skills are inherently one tier stronger than equivalent beast skills.

  Evan was Chrysalis tier—equivalent to Tier?1 beasts—

  But he wielded a Tier?2 skill: Regenerator.

  In theory, he should crush same?tier beasts.

  But in practice, human evolvers needed time to grow.

  Beasts had natural advantages—size, strength, durability.

  Most evolvers couldn’t overpower same?tier beasts until much later.

  Only geniuses could dominate their tier or fight above it.

  Evan wondered:

  When I finish absorbing all four extracts of Chrysalis tier…

  Can I fight a Tier?2 S?rank beast?

  This battle also proved something else:

  He and FangBro made a surprisingly good team.

  FangBro was the perfect support for any high?damage evolver.

  With him around, Evan didn’t need to worry about safety—

  He could focus entirely on offense.

  It didn’t take long before FangBro burst out of the water, grinning ear to ear, holding a Tier?2 extract and a pile of materials.