Nine meters.
Ten meters.
Lily’s body expanded smoothly, her frame growing taller and broader.
Eleven meters.
At last, she stopped at around eleven and a half meters, towering gracefully above the normal Goliath like a queen among soldiers.
Despite her colossal size, there was a strange elegance to her.
Michael whistled low under his breath.
He quickly turned his gaze toward Beginning, excitement flickering in his chest.
“Alright, Beginning. Your turn.”
Beginning nodded and stepped forward at where he was.
His body bulged with muscle as he grew—ten meters, then eleven—bones creaking and reshaping.
Twelve meters.
Twelve and a half.
Finally, Beginning’s growth slowed at a staggering thirteen meters tall, nearly half again the height of the original Goliath.
Where Lily stood elegant and poised, Beginning was pure force made manifest.
Thick cords of muscle coiled under his skin, her massive arms and legs carrying a brutal weight with ease.
Michael clicked his tongue in awe, eyes flickering between the three.
The normal Goliath stood tall at around nine meters.
Lily easily eclipsed it at eleven and a half.
And Beginning towered above them both at thirteen.
The difference was no longer subtle.
It was obvious—a clear hierarchy written into their very existence.
“…This,” Michael murmured, “this is what mutated evolution can do.”
To be honest, Michael felt the reason Beginning was even this tall had something to do with its male attribute, coupled with its mutation.
If he had used the same amount of material and quality for Lily as he had for Beginning, she might have only matched the normal Goliath at most.
If the roles were reversed—and Beginning had been the one invested in more from the start—his body might have been even more monstrous than this.
Michael hands itched with the urge to test them again—to see how devastating their strikes would be now, at full size.
But he restrained himself.
Testing strength again at this scale would probably level half the forest.
Depending on what he did—including him.
“I’ll save it for the real fight,” Michael stated. “When I unleash you two…”
He chuckled low in his throat.
“…That monster won’t know what hit it.”
To be honest, thanks to Prince and Gale’s current strength, a part of Michael figured he could probably fight that monster in the Everlong Forest alone.
However, it didn’t take long for him to suppress the thought.
“Even though I’m stronger now, it doesn’t mean the other party is weaker,” he reminded himself.
“After all, only the heavens know how much strength it has recovered—and what its previous peak was. It’s still much safer to follow the kingdom’s plan.”
Michael recalled Mage Lian’s words: that a great being might also appear.
Someone Michael suspected to be at least Level 50, a Rank 3 Supernatural.
Perhaps he wouldn’t even have to lift a finger against the corrupted monster before it was dealt with.
As several thoughts flashed through his mind, Michael turned to look at the three Goliaths again.
Michael gazed up at the towering trio, the corners of his mouth lifting slightly.
“Alright,” he said at last, clapping his hands together. “Return to your normal size.”
At his command, the three Goliaths obeyed immediately.
Their enormous bodies began to shrink, muscles compacting, bones contracting with faint creaks.
In just moments, they returned to their previous massive but manageable sizes—four meters for the normal Goliath, five and a half meters for Lily, and six meters for Beginning.
Satisfied, Michael nodded and waved his hand in a fluid motion. “Return to the Netherworld for now.”
Dark mist rose around them like smoke.
Without resistance, the three Goliaths faded into the mist, their towering presences vanishing as they were dismissed.
The clearing suddenly felt much emptier—and quieter—without their overwhelming pressure.
Michael exhaled lightly.
Then, with another skill cast, he summoned another presence.
It was lucky.
Unlike before, where Prince had been the smaller one, the roles had now reversed—Lucky was the smallest.
Tempted to rub the side of the wolf but stopping at the last moment due to its poisonous-looking body, Michael addressed it.
“Soon. Soon you’ll have your time too, and it’s going to be big.”
Knowing that materials could influence the evolution of his undead—and even though Lucky wasn’t close to evolving yet—Michael was determined to make sure it would be worth it.
He was prepared to pour in the effort, even if it cost him a lot.
Michael had Lucky help him clean up the environment using his magic.
A while later, after finishing up, he dismissed Lucky and began his usual trials with Undead Summoning, experimenting on the unsummonable undead he had hidden nearby.
Once he was done, Michael returned to the capital with Gale.
With less than three days left until the confrontation with the monster, there were still a few things Michael could take care of.
One example was buying back the equipment he had sacrificed for Lily’s evolution.
Speaking of Lily, Michael had also taken the time to check out the new skills she had gained from evolving.
[New skills: {Flame Mantle}, {Ignite}, {Greater Strength}, {Fire Wall}, {Fire Spear}, {Size Alteration} {Mental spike}]
Aside from {Mental Spike}, which Michael had checked at the very beginning, together with {Greater Strength}, {Fire Spear}, and {Size Alteration}, which he already knew the description of, Michael reviewed the information on the other skills after his time with the Goliaths.
{Flame Mantle} (Basic Mastery):
Wreathe yourself in flames that moderately boost both offense and defense. Incoming physical attacks are weakened, while melee attackers suffer fire damage upon contact. Duration: 30 seconds. Cooldown: 3 minutes.
{Ignite} (Basic Mastery):
Target an enemy within 10 meters and set them ablaze after placing a mark. Cooldown: 2 minutes.
{Fire Wall} (Basic Mastery):
Summon a wall of flames up to 8 meters wide and 3 meters tall.
Before, all of Lily’s attacks had been made through her {Fire Control} skill.
None of them were actual spells, and to a certain extent, they weren’t even true attacks—they were unrefined bursts of brute force.
However, brute force was still very powerful.
Fortunately, thanks to her evolution this time, that was no longer an issue. Not only did she gain proper attack skills, but she also acquired even more than that.
Michael was especially fond of the new mental skill she obtained.
Lily’s evolution had truly exceeded his expectations.
All of this was thanks to the use of materials.
It made Michael once again wonder about the true limits of his talent—and how much power it could ultimately grant both him and his undead.
Could he also consume materials to enhance his own evolution?
If he had known about this method earlier, before evolving himself or any of his undead, how different would things be now?
Those were questions for the future.
For now, Michael was satisfied with his progress.
Including himself, Michael now had a total of six Rank 2-level powers in his group.
The other five were Lucky, Prince, Gale, Spartan, Lily, and Beginning.
Aside from Gale and Prince, who were genuine Rank 2 creatures and his current strongest, the others, at the peak of Rank 1, could compete with weaker Rank 2 creatures without issue.
In the next few days, aside from increasing the number of his summonable undead, Michael focused on enhancing his Rank 2-level prowess rather than accumulating more evolution points.
Perhaps he was making too much preparation for a battle he might not end up doing much in, but knowing this was the best opportunity to kill that monster, Michael would rather be over-prepared than under-prepared.
More power meant more security, and that was the most valuable thing to Michael.
With only a few days left to prepare, Michael made sure to make the most of his time.
—
It was a bright day in the capital.
On this day, Michael made his way to the core area of the capital, under the guidance of Master Yuan, the Grand Mage.
It didn’t take long before he saw Mage Lian again.
As soon as Michael arrived at the core area, Mage Lian immediately caught sight of him.
His gaze was fixed on Michael’s attire, a strange expression forming on his face.
“Hmm,” Mage Lian muttered, his thoughts clouded with curiosity.
He’d always been one to observe the smallest details, and this outfit clearly didn’t seem like something ordinary.
But as usual, Michael remained silent about his attire. His expression was neutral, giving nothing away.
Mage Lian could only wonder whether it was intentional or if Michael simply didn’t care to speak about it.
“Well, no matter,” Mage Lian eventually sighed, pushing his musings aside. “We have more pressing matters at hand.”
As the two conversed, Michael was once again led to a familiar place.
It was the port for the flying ships.
*******
A/N:
We’re almost at 300 chapters, guys! We’ve come such a long way. If there’s anything you feel about the novel, please comment. I’ve been doing my best to implement some of the things you’ve suggested, like adjusting the pacing, so I’d really love to hear your thoughts on how it’s been progressing.