“I can evolve them! I can evolve them again!”
It felt like suddenly receiving double happiness, which made Michael grin a lot.
Michael had always wondered about the evolution patterns of his undead.
Evolving Lucky from a two-star forest wolf to a three-star common-rank forest wolf had consumed one evolution point. Then, evolving Lucky to a rare-rank undead had consumed five evolution points. Beyond that, Michael had no clue how many evolution points would be required for higher levels.
When his evolution points accumulated to 10, there was no sign of being able to evolve Lucky or Prince. Even when it reached 15 at the Association, there was still no indication that his two rare-rank undead could evolve further.
Though Michael didn’t dwell on it too much, it still weighed heavily on his mind. Evolving his undead was the fastest way for him to gain power, and since his undead were an extension of his strength, this also meant it was the quickest way for him to grow stronger.
If his supposed shortcut to quick power turned out to be a long and arduous process, Michael couldn’t help but feel a twinge of despair. However, the sight before him now reassured him a little.
At least it didn’t seem like evolving his rare-rank undead again would require an absurd 100 evolution points.
The question now was, how many evolution points did it require?
Unfortunately, Michael hadn’t been keeping track of his accumulated evolution points. If he had, he might have noticed the exact amount required when Lucky and Prince could evolve again.
But since he hadn’t done that, the quickest way to get his answer was simple—he had to evolve one of his undead again!
“Lucky!” Michael called out excitedly.
Calling out his undead’s name wasn’t necessary to summon them from the Netherworld, but Michael was too thrilled to care.
A greenish-black magic circle appeared in front of Michael, and his current favorite undead emerged from it. Unlike the last time, when it had immediately gone into a combat-ready state due to sensing its master’s anxiety, Lucky seemed much more relaxed this time.
It began to inspect its surroundings and quickly recognized the familiar place—the one with moss growing on the walls.
With slightly bouncy steps, Lucky made its way to a section of the wall covered in moss and tore off a piece to chew on.
A second later, it spat the moss out in confusion.
Through the connection Michael shared with Lucky, he could vaguely understand its current thoughts:
Why moss look tasty, but moss no have taste?
Michael’s mouth twitched as he watched.
“Lucky, come and stand in front of me,” Michael said aloud.
In fact, based on his previous experiments, Michael already knew it wasn’t strictly necessary for his undead to be physically in front of him in order to evolve them. Though he hadn’t figured out the exact range limit yet, he had a feeling that if his talent allowed it, he might be able to evolve any of his undead from a distance.
Still, for now, he preferred to have them close by. This way he could observe their changes up close.
[Undead Verdant Wolf Lv. 11]
[Rank: Rare★]
[Evolve to Rare★★★ for 25 Evolution points?]
25 evolution points?! Michael nearly screamed. He had expected the next evolution requirement to be at least 20, but the additional 5 points felt… manageable, yet daunting.
Reflecting on the previous evolution patterns, Michael noticed something.
The first evolution required one point, and the next required five times that amount. Now, the same pattern seemed to hold true—25 evolution points were five times the previous requirement. This realization made Michael’s forehead break out in a sweat.
“It can’t be…” Though he knew it was likely the case, Michael couldn’t help but groan.
If each subsequent evolution required five times the previous amount, then evolving Lucky again would demand at least—no, exactly—125 evolution points.
“Ugh!” Michael groaned in frustration.
Even if he managed to fill all his contract slots by reaching level 10, giving him 20 undead and generating 21 evolution points per day, it would still take him six days to accumulate the required 125 points.
While six days wasn’t an unbearably long time, especially if he wasn’t in a rush, Michael couldn’t help but feel greedy for faster progress.
At least he had uncovered a pattern. The next step was clear.
“Evolution points! Show me your limit!”
“Evolve!”
Once again, a bright light emitted from Lucky’s body, assaulting Michael’s eyes. However, just like before, he made sure to observe the changes occurring to his undead.
Lucky let out a howl of pain, and Michael felt a pang of guilt, his chest tightening slightly.
“Lucky, you must know I’m doing this for your good!” he reassured, as much for himself as for his companion.
Yes, it was definitely for Lucky’s benefit—nothing else.
The light grew brighter, and Michael watched as his undead’s body expanded, becoming bulkier and larger until it reached an imposing height of three meters before finally stopping.
“Fortunately, I can dismiss you back to the netherworld,” Michael muttered with slight relief, “otherwise, it’d be a challenge to manage you at this size, big guy.”
He waited with growing anticipation for the light surrounding Lucky to fade. When it finally dimmed, Michael got a clear view of his undead’s new appearance.
Lucky now towered at three meters tall, stretched about four meters in length, and was roughly two meters wide. Its presence was both terrifying and awe-inspiring, exuding an intimidating yet strangely captivating aura of primal beauty.
Its skin retained its grayish-green hue but was now adorned with striking red spots scattered across its body. Around its neck, a mane of brown vine-like growths with crimson-tipped ends had sprouted, giving it an even more feral and majestic appearance.
Above all else, Lucky radiated a dangerous aura that sent chills down Michael’s spine, though it also filled him with pride and excitement.
This aura… Stay connected through empire
Even Michael couldn’t tell exactly how strong his undead had become. It was already powerful before, but now it felt overwhelmingly so.
Before he could pull up Lucky’s profile to check its updated stats, several panels of information materialized in front of him.
[Your Rare★ Undead Verdant Wolf has evolved to Rare★★★ Undead Redthorn Wolf.]
[Your undead Redthorn Wolf has gained the skill {Poison}.]
[Your undead Redthorn wolf {Plant Control} skill has advanced to {Intermediate Mastery}]
Michael saw the new rank of his undead, and the grin on his face widened further. Spending 25 Evolution Points had not only increased Lucky’s star rating but also elevated it to three stars.
Michael had always suspected that evolution didn’t simply increase a star rating but instead progressed the undead to the start of a new rank, reaching the upper limit of that rank before advancing further.
However, he couldn’t jump to conclusions just yet—not until he tested it by evolving one of the one-star common goblin undead he had.
What caught Michael off guard, though, was the new skill Lucky had gained.
Not only had Lucky changed race again, but it also gained another racial skill—a particularly vicious one at that. Michael glanced at his undead, who was now eyeing the moss on the wall in front of it, seemingly debating whether to eat it or not.
Michael decided not to call it back.
With such an innocent demeanor, there was no need to worry about Lucky suddenly poisoning him.
Aside from gaining a new skill, Lucky’s previous ability, {Plant Control}, had advanced in mastery, delivering yet another dose of joy to Michael.
But what made him the happiest was when he checked Lucky’s profile panel and saw its new level.
[Redthorn Wolf Lv. 18]
[Name: Lucky]
[EXP: 0/59,800]
[Rank: Rare★★★]
[Skills: Bite, Plant Control, Poison {NEW!}]
[Master: Michael Norman]
Evolving his undead truly made them stronger, but Michael hadn’t expected it to be this strong!
Level 18! A whole 7-level increase!
What made this even more impactful was the looming presence of the “bigger problem” outside this abandoned dorm.
The gargoyle—a Level 21 monster.
It was now only three levels above Lucky.
Michael couldn’t help but think.
Was there a chance—a good enough chance—that he could take the initiative to attack now?
*******
[{Plant Control} (Intermediate Mastery) Proficiency: 14.2%]
A racial ability of the Redthorn Wolf species, Plant Control allowed them to manipulate plants within their surroundings and use mana to influence growth or movement.
At its current mastery, the skill had a range of one hundred meters.
****
[{Poison} (Basic Mastery) Proficiency: 7.5%]
A racial ability of the Redthorn Wolf species, Poison enables the wolf to secrete a potent toxin through the thorned mane around its head. When the thorns make contact with a target, the poison spreads into their system, causing progressive weakening and damage over time.
At its current mastery, the poison has limited potency, causing minor damage and reducing the target’s mobility slightly. The toxin’s effect lasts for 10 seconds and can only be inflicted at close range, requiring direct contact with the thorned mane.