Goblins were truly ugly, and even if they were part of Michael’s undead army, that didn’t mean he would deny it out of camaraderie.
It wasn’t to the extent that one would vomit at first sight, but they pretty much fit the image of the monsters told in stories to scare children into behaving.
However, the Hobgoblin was a little… different.
It was taller, for one, resembling an early human teenager.
Its previously long arms now looked proportional, and its legs, which had been abnormally short, appeared normal. At first glance, it could almost pass as a lanky teenage human of its height.
But these were just minor changes. Yes, minor changes.
What truly took Michael aback was its face.
It was still ugly, but compared to before, it seemed almost… handsome?
Michael squinted his eyes, observing the undead more closely.
It was indeed a little handsome, but it seemed shrouded in a faint layer of ugliness. Its face now bore a closer resemblance to a human’s compared to its twisted goblin form.
It felt like each evolution was steadily refining the goblin’s appearance. Michael couldn’t shake the suspicion that he’d be in for a major surprise if he evolved one more time.
“Well, I’ll find out after my daily points refresh,” Michael thought.
Experience new stories on empire
Since this goblin had already evolved once, he only needed five more points to evolve it again. Even if he didn’t take more source liquids today, his regular daily evolution points should suffice.
Michael named the Hobgoblin Beginning due to it being the first of its kind under him to be evolved.
Since he still had three evolution points left, Michael used them on his other summons.
He evolved the third undead wolf he had to three-star Common rank undead and evolved two more goblins into Hobgoblins.
Seeing how they started to look slightly more attractive after evolving, Michael couldn’t help but anticipate what future evolutions would bring.
This curiosity was especially strong because he had deliberately evolved a female goblin to see if there would be any differences.
To his surprise, the female goblin’s appearance shifted even further toward a human-like form.
She still looked ugly, but there was a strange illusion that another evolution might result in something unimaginable. Right now, she resembled a human preteen.
After thinking about it for a moment, Michael decided to name her Lily.
Why Lily? It was his younger cousin’s name, and he thought it was a funny joke—one that, unfortunately, only he could appreciate.
“It would be nice to have some humanoid undead around me. It would be even better if they could talk too. Don’t look at me like that, Lucky—you know I love you.”
It was still quite early, and Michael found himself wondering what to do.
If not for the fact that cracks had restrictions, he would have entered one the moment he woke up.
Unfortunately, he’d have to wait until 11 a.m. in the real world to join a team and enter a crack, which was still about two hours away.
Feeling restless and uncomfortable doing nothing, Michael considered whether he should give cultivation another try and see if there had been any changes when this thought reminded him of the skill he had awakened earlier.
[{Spearmanship} (Basic Mastery) Proficiency: 2.0%]
A fundamental skill for wielders of the spear, Spearmanship improves the user’s control, balance, and precision with this versatile weapon. It focuses on the physical mechanics and practical understanding of spear handling, making it easier to execute basic techniques.
At its current mastery level, the skill grants:
Increased Handling: The spear feels lighter and more balanced in the user’s grip, reducing fatigue during prolonged use.
Steady Strikes: Thrusting and sweeping motions are smoother, with a slight boost to accuracy and follow-through.
Beginner’s Insight: Basic flaws in stance or grip are easier to recognize and correct, improving overall combat readiness.
This was the first weapon-focused skill Michael had awakened since becoming an Awakener, even though it had only been barely three days.
Though he had no intention of abandoning the path of a mage to become a close-combat fighter, he still wanted to take this skill seriously.
In the future, if he ever faced a mage in a situation where neither party could use their magical abilities, it would be their close-combat skills that would set them apart.
The space around him was wide and visible, making it a suitable place to practice.
Michael dismissed all his undead aside from Lucky and Prince, then retrieved his spear from his storage space.
Since {Spearmanship} seemed to be a passive skill that didn’t require conscious activation, Michael immediately got to work practicing.
Following the basic moves outlined in the PDF of [The Spearman’s Handbook: Volume 1 – Fundamentals] he had read earlier, Michael carefully practiced each movement while adhering to the instructions in the manual.
As he continued, he began to feel his handling of the spear improving. He knew this was the skill’s effect kicking in.
Just like with his other skills, there was an almost innate awareness guiding him—letting him know what he should be doing as he moved the spear.
His prior knowledge from reading [The Spearman’s Handbook: Volume 1 – Fundamentals] also seemed to accelerate his progress.
{Spearmanship} proved to be also highly adaptable, guiding him in the right direction while staying consistent with the movements described in the manual.
After moving and practicing for around 20 minutes, Michael called out his skill panel to check his progress.
[{Spearmanship} (Basic Mastery) Proficiency: 3.0%]
‘A one percent increase?’
It wasn’t that the amount was small—it was actually higher than he had expected.
Seeing his progress in real-time sparked something within Michael.
Some people didn’t fear hardship; they feared hardship without progress. But if those same people had a clear indicator of their success, like Michael was currently experiencing, they would only work harder.
Michael was no exception.
Fueled by this newfound determination, Michael gripped his spear with renewed focus and started practicing again with burning resolve.
Compared to waiting around and doing nothing, this was the best way to spend his time.