Michael felt a familiar surge of power course through his body as his stats increased once again.
However, the change felt a little less defined compared to the previous times with Lucky and Prince.
The newly evolved Verdant Wolf also radiated a strong presence, but to Michael, who was already accustomed to such auras, it felt more like a stormy breeze than an overwhelming force.
Curious, he turned to check his stats.
[Strength: 11.8(1.2^)]
[Agility: 16.9(1.3^)]
[Constitution: 11.2(1^)]
[Intelligence: 60.8(1.5^)]
[Attribute Points: 0]
Noticing how minimal the feedback from his undead advancing in rank was becoming, Michael realized that after one more advancement, his stat increases might start appearing in decimals.
However, even that was still progress.
Most Necromancers likely didn’t enjoy similar growth.
Not everyone was capable of having rare-rank undead below rank 1 at the unranked stage, let alone benefiting from them.
As Michael grew stronger, he became increasingly aware of the terrifying potential his talent held.
This realization only reinforced his decision to keep its specifics to himself.
The additional benefits of his talent ensured that, even as a Necromancer, Michael would continue to grow stronger physically—something that wasn’t common for his class.
It was a widely accepted fact that the stronger a Necromancer became, the weaker the feedback from their undead would be.
However, Michael’s case defied this norm.
His undead consistently stayed stronger than him, with high ranks, allowing him to remain a relatively low-level Necromancer while receiving immense feedback from high rank undead like extraordinary and even epic-rank undead.
And this wasn’t a one-time occurrence—it happened repeatedly.
Other Necromancers with similar-ranked undead likely acquired them much later, when they were already strong.
The most impressive part was that Michael could still allocate attribute points on top of his upgraded stats, further compounding his strength.
At the current pace, with more of his undead advancing to high ranks, Michael speculated that before he even reached rank 2, half of his undead might already be extraordinary-ranked creatures at rank 2.
By then, his physical stats might not be that far behind those of a physical-class Awakener.
If an undead became an extraordinary-rank creature and advanced to rank 2, granting him at least 4 stat points overall, Michael calculated that even if the increases diminished with more undead evolving, the tenth undead might still provide slightly over 1 stat point.
With ten extraordinary-rank, rank 2 undead, Michael could gain at least 20 stat points.
Adding that to his current stats that’ll increase after advancing in rank, it was difficult to determine if Michael would fall short compared to general-class physical-based classes.
While he might not measure up to rare-class physical classes yet, the future remained uncertain.
Michael didn’t think he was overestimating the potential stat feedback from extraordinary-rank creatures.
If a one-star rare rank could provide such gains, it stood to reason that a one-star extraordinary rank—a tier above—would yield even more.
After waiting a few seconds following his latest stat increase, Michael realized there was no notification about gaining a new skill.
Sighing in disappointment, he gave up the hope for now.
Having accumulated 20 intelligence stat points three times, yet only gaining one skill across those three instances, Michael wasn’t sure whether he was lucky or not.
—
[Advancement Quest: Have 10 Rank 1 Undead – Progress: 3/10]
—
A small smile crept onto Michael’s face as he glanced at the quest’s progress. He stretched lightly before turning his attention to his next target for evolution.
A Hobgoblin.
To be honest, Michael was quite expectant about this undead.
From the way they evolved and became more human-like, Michael had his suspicions—especially about Lily, his female Hobgoblin undead.
However, for now, she wasn’t first in line.
Since the newly evolved Verdant Wolf could be sent to the Netherworld, Michael dismissed it and summoned Beginning, the first goblin he had ever evolved.
Without wasting any time, Michael immediately chose to evolve it.
This time, he felt a surge of excitement and anticipation.
This was going to be his first goblin at rare rank.
[Undead Hobgoblin Lv. 6]
[Rank: Common★★★]
[Evolve to Rare★ for 5 Evolution points?]
‘Yes.’
The familiar blinding light began to radiate from Beginning’s body.
Through the glow, Michael could vaguely make out Beginning’s frame growing significantly larger, his silhouette expanding until he was taller than Michael and appeared far more muscular.
One had to remember that Michael stood at 5’9, so for Beginning to now be taller than him, he had to be at least 6 feet.
From the way he towered over Michael, his height was easily estimated at 6’5.
That was a giant now.
It was unimaginable to think he had once been a goblin.
A few seconds later, as Beginning’s screams subsided, his new form was revealed, accompanied by several notifications.
Beginning’s skin remained a greyish green, but his once grotesque face now looked slightly more presentable.
It was rough and menacing, giving him an intimidating appearance rather than being outright unsightly.
His body was massive, resembling that of a bodybuilder, with bulging muscles and an imposing frame.
It also had hair now! They were grey in colour.
“Its race has changed again,” Michael muttered, staring in awe at the hulking figure before him.
[Your Common★★★ Undead Hobgoblin has evolved to Rare★ Orc.]
[Your undead Orc has advanced to Rank 1, Level 1 (Level 11).]
[Your undead Orc has gained the skill {Berserk}.]
[You have received feedback from your undead Orc Rank Advancement.]
[Your Strength stat has increased significantly!]
[Your Agility stat has increased!]
[Your Constitution stat has increased significantly!]
[Your Intelligence stat has increased moderately!]
*****
[Strength: 12.3(1.5^)]
[Agility: 17.9(1.0^)]
empire
[Constitution: 13.2(2^)]
[Intelligence: 61.7(0.9^)]
[Attribute Points: 0]
From the way his stats had increased, Michael could easily deduce what his new undead—or rather, what orcs—specialized in.
For one, their strength was remarkable.
Even with how powerful he already was, his strength stat had still risen by a point and a half, a significant boost at his level.
Next was constitution.
The increase was even more astounding, a full two points.
This race was clearly built like cockroaches, tough and hard to kill.
Michael couldn’t help but be impressed.
He didn’t think orcs were better than Verdant Wolves, but it was clear that the wolves were more balanced overall, while orcs excelled in raw strength and durability.
However, there was something… wrong about this undead.
It had a reproductive organ.
The moment Michael noticed it, he dismissed the creature back to the Netherworld without hesitation.
That thing intimidated him far more than the undead’s initial appearance ever had.
“I thought creatures from the cracks didn’t have reproductive organs?”