This wasn’t the only source of Michael’s happiness.
“It’s just as I thought,” he muttered, a faint smile tugging at his lips.
“The first rank advancement mission sets the tone for the ones that follow.”
He clenched his fists in satisfaction.
“This couldn’t have gone any better for me.”
[You have reached the MAX level of rank 1. Rank up to accumulate experience points again and level up!]
[You have reached MAX level for Necromancer Apprentice. To rank up to Master Necromancer and continue leveling, complete your Rank Advancement Quest.]
[Generating Rank Advancement Quest…]
[Quest Generated.]
[Advancement Quest]
{Have 10 Rank 2 Undead: 2/10}Funnily enough, it reminded him of when he was still unranked.
Back then, only two of his undead had reached Rank 1—Lucky and Prince.
Now, it was Prince and Gale.
Still two.
But this time, things were slightly different.
“After reaching Rank 2, I can finally evolve Lucky,” Michael muttered with a grin. “I don’t know what level he’ll reach, but he’ll definitely become my strongest again.”
He glanced at his panel, where his accumulated evolution points had long surpassed one thousand.
That was a lot—and it could do a lot.
Unfortunately, the quiet hope he’d harbored—that storing enough evolution points might trigger a change in the red cauldron within his soul—hadn’t come true.
At least, not yet.
For now, all he could do was speculate.
Maybe he hadn’t reached the threshold.
Maybe there was no change to be triggered at all.
Or maybe… something else entirely was required.
Michael wasn’t crazy for thinking his talent could evolve.
The forums were filled with rare cases—stories of people who had managed to strengthen their innate talents under the right conditions.
The problem was, he still didn’t fully understand his own.
There was a lot he didn’t know.
But he was learning.
And soon, he’d start testing his theories.
Michael turned to look at his status again.
‘Status.’
*****
[ Name: Michael Norman ]
[ Class: Adept Necromancer ]
[ Level: 25{MAX} ]
[Strength: 41.75]
[Agility: 57.51]
[Constitution: 50.12]
[Intelligence: 190.32]
[ Attribute Points: 50]
[ Skills: Undead Summoning, Undead Revival, Detect, Basic Shot, Share Senses, Spearmanship, Acid Shot, Bone Spear, Slow Curse, Blind Curse, Bone Armour, Corpse Explosion, Acid Ball, Mana Arrow, Death Ray, Basic Martial Art……]
[ Talent: Infinite Evolution ]
[ Class Skill: Contract Slot {105/125} ]
[ Gift: Mark of Origin ]
*******
His stats were beginning to resemble what they looked like when he was still human.
Of course, this was only on the surface—Michael, as a High Human, was far stronger than any ordinary human could ever be.
A part of him felt that if his current stats were translated into how they would appear had he remained fully human, the results would be terrifying.
The fact that he was starting to feel overfilled with mana again was proof enough.
It wasn’t yet at the level he reached after consuming the Soul Magic Fruits, but the signs were there.
With his newly earned attribute points, Michael could easily improve his current condition.
But doing so would be somewhat wasteful. After this, he planned to focus on evolving his undead and advancing them to Rank 2.
The feedback he’d receive from their evolution would still boost his intelligence but it would also boost his other stats as well.
At that time, dedicating most of his attribute points to Constitution afterward didn’t seem like a bad idea.
His eyes drifted down to the contract slots on his panel.
Twenty extra slots.
That alone was enough to bring a smile to his face.
Still, there was a small sense of conflict.
More undead meant more evolution points—the very foundation of his strength.
But at the same time, it made his army feel… messy.
It wasn’t a bad thing, but Michael couldn’t deny it:
In some ways, it felt like he was rushing things.
He hadn’t found a solid solution to this yet.
But for now, more contract slots were always good news.
Michael dismissed his status panel and turned to scan the area.
Off in the distance, he spotted Lucky and Prince together—and it immediately caught his attention.
The two looked nearly identical, with one being a miniature version and the other a towering presence.
Right now, Lucky was tilting his head, confused, as he stared at Prince.
Through their bond, Michael could feel what Lucky was thinking.
“I recognize this brother… but why brother not brother-shaped?”
Michael’s lips twitched. He shook his head with a faint chuckle.
Looking around again, he saw his Goliaths.
It seemed like Lily and Beginning had started a strength-testing contest, while the third Goliath had taken up the role of cheerleader.
Up above, Gale soared calmly through the sky.
“It’s finally over,” Michael muttered, the words soft but full of meaning.
The corrupted monster had acted like a heart demon ever since that incident.
But now, not only had it been resolved—it had given him a massive boost in strength.
And that made the sense of relief washing over him all the more powerful.
Michael exhaled slowly, savoring the moment of peace as he raised his hand into the air. “Everyone, return.”
One by one, his undead turned their heads at his command.
Prince stopped flexing his claws.
Gale let out a soft screech from the sky, then began descending.
The Goliaths froze mid-wrestle, Lily still gripping Beginning’s wrist in a mock grapple.
Even Lucky stopped circling Prince and tilted his head again.
“Back to the Netherworld.”
Without resistance, each undead faded from reality, vanishing into the Netherworld in ordered succession.
Prince went last, giving Michael a brief nod before disappearing in a swirl of black mist.
Only Gale remained.
Michael moved with practiced ease, hopping onto Gale’s broad back. The griffin ruffled its feathers, gave a brief cry, then leapt into the air.
The force of the wind beneath its wings kicked up a cloud of dust as they took flight.
From this vantage point, Michael could see the forest stretch out endlessly below—scarred in places from the earlier battle, but quiet now. Too quiet. Still, he had no plans to linger.
He directed Gale toward the camp.
“I’ve got to regroup,” he muttered. “Check on the kingdom knights. And the others…”