Just as Michael had expected, the store offered plenty of alternatives for source liquids if he needed one.
However, this was only on the surface.
Michael couldn’t find any that shared the same unique properties as the source liquid, particularly its incorporation of spirit crystal components.
Without this crucial material, he couldn’t be certain the alternatives would actually boost his Evolution Points.
There might have been items containing spirit crystal powder, similar to the source liquid, but since such details weren’t listed in their descriptions—probably deemed unnecessary by the publishers—Michael could only overlook them.
This was yet another reason why buying in person was better, though even that had its own drawbacks.
“Whatever,” Michael muttered. “I’ll just rely on my daily Evolution Points and save money. Right now, I’m strong—not strong enough, but at least strong enough not to be desperate for Evolution Points. What I need is experience points. Hopefully, the Land of Origin will finally live up to its reputation.”
Several thoughts and plans flashed through Michael’s mind.
If luck was on his side, he started to believe that reaching rank 2 might not be as difficult as he’d initially thought.
Of course, that was a big if.
“We’re here,” a voice echoed in front of Michael, pulling him out of his thoughts.
It was the cab driver.
“Thanks for the ride,” Michael said as he stepped out of the car.
“You’re welcome.”
Michael had already paid en route, so there was no further business with the driver.
He also noticed that the cab driver didn’t seem particularly uncomfortable around him, which meant he’d successfully controlled his aura—at least to a degree.
Before Michael’s feet even hit the ground, the lively clamor of the city market reached his ears.
Bayon Market.
It wasn’t the largest in Woodstone City, but it was well-known, often referred to as a “city market” by those from outside the area.
The market offered a little of everything, from household AI assistants to fresh groceries.
Michael wasn’t unfamiliar with Bayon Market—he’d visited a few times with Aunt Mia—so he knew his way around.
With a clear goal in mind and plans to pursue afterward, Michael didn’t waste time wandering.
He went straight for his objective: acquiring ordinary creatures to turn into undead and test his talent on.
In Aurora, animals hadn’t changed much since the initial calamity.
While it was true that some animals had once mutated into monsters, that era had passed.
Now, in the living territories, animals appeared much the same as they had two centuries ago.
Michael spent little time in the market.
He avoided unnecessary complications and headed straight to the first stall he saw that sold insects as pets.
Without a specific target in mind, he simply purchased what was available: a jar of ghost ants, another containing praying mantises, and jars of crickets, blue morpho butterflies, and caterpillars.
These choices weren’t deliberate—just what the stall owner had on hand.
For now, anything would do; Michael only wanted to test how his talent affected ordinary creatures and whether it could expand beyond the typical range undead Necromancers relied on.
“It’d be great if I could get my hands on the corpse of a lion or something,” Michael muttered to himself.
Wishful thinking, of course.
It was getting darker, close to 4 PM in the real world.
In just a few hours, Michael aimed to fill his contract slots and return to the Association to sell the ones he couldn’t use.
His storage space was limited, and even if he could keep the corpses, they became worthless to him if {Undead Revival} failed.
There was no point in holding onto something that had no further use.
Even after the increase in storage space from his Advancement, it still wasn’t large enough to accommodate excess corpses.
His original plan was to hunt creatures himself to fill future slots, but current circumstances didn’t allow for that.
At least not until noon the next day, and by then, he wouldn’t even be able to fill more than 20 open slots before his daily points refreshed.
Michael also wasn’t rushing because of the state of the monsters if they stayed out of the freezer too long.
Instead, he was determined not to let them become the obstacle that prevented him from entering civilization in the Land of Origin when it was now so close to him.
Before leaving Bayon Market and heading back to his hotel, Michael made sure to buy plenty of clothes for himself and his humanoid undead.
He chose outfits that leaned toward a medieval style—leathers, coats, and the like—based on the impression he’d gotten from the people he saw passing through the gates in the Land of Origin.
Though he worried that, despite his efforts, their appearance would still stand out, there wasn’t much else he could do.
Since he planned to move at night, he hoped the darkness would provide some cover.
After buying clothes—and ignoring the suspicious looks he received while purchasing a suspicious number of women’s undergarments—Michael returned to his hotel.
At the reception desk, he also booked a week-long reservation after some consideration.
Though he missed home, Michael found himself enjoying the freedom to go wherever he wanted, whenever he wanted, without needing to explain or worry his family.
He’d return home eventually, but for now, he had goals to achieve.
Back in his room, Michael took a quick bath.
When he was done he didn’t forget to send a reassuring voice note to Aunt Mia via one of their shared social apps while promising to send money soon.
He followed through immediately, transferring $50,000 after sending the voice note.
Michael knew how she’d react upon seeing that amount and hoped she’d remember to breathe before calling him.
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Just as he was about to set his phone aside, two notifications popped up.
One from his email app and the other a message from a familiar contact.
“I should probably reply now, right?”
[Mira: Hi, it’s Mira. I’m sending this message… again.]
Michael thought for a moment, deciding it would be rude to leave her hanging for so now.
[Michael: Hi.]
“That’s fine, right?” he muttered.
He thought about it for a few seconds.
“Yeah, it’s fine.”
Michael then turned his attention to the email, already guessing its contents.
When he opened it, his suspicion was confirmed.
[Congratulations on your advancement, Awakener Michael Norman. As a genius and a favored individual of the Federation, we wish to show our support in any way we can. We wish you success on your journey, and as always, may the will of Aurora endure for a million years.]
Beneath this message was a series of details, but the one that caught Michael’s attention most was the increase in his monthly benefits.
“It went up by this much?”
[…$100,000]
It was a pleasant surprise.
For the next eleven months, he’d receive this amount each month—essentially a million dollars in total.
Not bad at all when he thought of it that way.”If it’s this much, I wonder how much it would be when I advance to Rank 2.”
Michael didn’t doubt his eventual advancement to Rank 2.
What he wasn’t sure of was when.
It could happen tomorrow if luck was on his side, or it might take a hundred times longer—but he was certain it would happen eventually.
The monthly benefit increase felt satisfying, and before Michael could even put his phone aside, he received an alert.
$100,000 had just been deposited into his account.
Apparently, it didn’t matter when he advanced.
Even if he collected his $15,000 monthly benefit as an Unranked Awakener today and registered as Rank 1 tomorrow, he’d still receive the full benefits for both stages without any reductions.
As expected, the Federation had money to spare.
Michael had already decided how he’d use his increased benefits once he advanced again.
But everything hinged on that advancement.
If he didn’t reach Rank 2 within a year, he could forget about receiving anything further.
Finally done with his phone, Michael connected it to a charger and set it aside.
He then grabbed the sack containing the jars of insects.
The sack wasn’t large, as he’d only bought one jar of each type.
Soon, Michael carefully placed the jars on the desk in his room.
Now he faced a dilemma.
“How do I take them into the Land of Origin?”
Living creatures couldn’t enter his storage space, even if placed in a jar. They had to be dead.
Given how tiny and delicate the insects were, crushing them could easily ruin their bodies, even if he tried to be careful. He was just that storage for such a delicate task.
Michael pondered this for a moment, wondering if he should’ve bought insecticide or something similar.
Then, an idea struck him—his mana.
Though Michael still wasn’t well-versed in magic, he wasn’t a complete novice anymore.
As one’s mana capacity increased, so did its applications beyond just casting spells.
For example, it could be used for intimidation—something Michael had subconsciously done before Grace called him out—or, in its extreme form, to kill with mana alone.
Michael stared at the jars with a contemplative expression.
A few moments later, he gathered the jars together and placed his hand above them.
Slowly, a greenish-dark aura of mana began to seep from his outstretched hand, the energy growing denser as it enveloped the jars.
Inside, the insects started to panic, their movements becoming erratic.
But Michael’s expression remained cold, as if what he was doing was of no consequence.
He continued increasing the mana output, focusing on the image of “pressure” in his mind.
Only when the glass jars began to tremble did he slightly reduce the intensity, fine-tuning his control.
A few seconds later…
[You killed a Common★ LV 1 Ghost Ant]
[You killed a Common★ LV 1 Ghost Ant]
[You killed a Common★ LV 1 Cricket]
[You killed a Common★ LV 1 Praying Mantis]
