Evolving Prince didn’t cause as much commotion as Lucky, but the increase in power was still significant.
“I was right,” Michael mused.
“Being stronger before evolution results in a stronger form afterward. However, it seems that’s all it is—a stronger self, not a more advanced evolution.”
Michael smiled as he examined the transformed Prince.
Gaining a deeper understanding of the rules surrounding his talents always brought him a sense of satisfaction.
[Undead Redthorn Lv. 25 (MAX)] Continue reading at empire
[Name: Prince.]
[EXP: 235,789 / 1,021,752]
[Rank: Rare★★★]
[Skills: Bite, Plant Control (Intermediate Mastery), Poison (Basic Mastery) {NEW!}]
[Master: Michael Norman]
Prince’s skill set was less impressive than Lucky’s, but it was only a matter of time before he caught up.
Of course, compared to Lucky’s rapid ascension, Prince’s progress would take longer since Michael planned to focus on his other undead as well.
As Michael glanced at the {Poison} skill on Prince’s panel, an odd expression flickered across his face.
It all began with this evolution.
During the first and second evolutions, Michael had assumed that the entire evolution route for forest wolves would revolve around nature.
And while it still did to some extent, it wasn’t in the way he had initially expected.
The once nature-bound forest wolves had now turned into poison sacs, and judging by the direction of their evolution, it was only going to become more extreme.
Though the irony was amusing, Michael didn’t mind having such undead in his arsenal.
The only real concern was ensuring he didn’t accidentally succumb to their poison himself.
Now that all the undead requiring evolution were taken care of, Michael took one last look at his talent before heading out.
It was finally time to see what the ruin and the Land of Origin had to offer.
[Talent: Infinite Evolution]
Evolution Points: 15
Michael tried not to feel disheartened as his evolution points dropped from three digits to two.
However, thinking about how much strength these points had brought him, he couldn’t help but feel that all his sacrifices so far were worth it.
In the end, he could always regain the points he spent. The real issue was his own impatience.
Michael retraced his steps to the exit of the abandoned building, where the gargoyle he had encountered a few days ago awaited.
Prince stood at the ready in front of him.
The sky was brightly lit now, making it the perfect time to battle a strong monster while keeping an eye on his unfamiliar surroundings.
For an inexperienced explorer like Michael, it was far better to venture out during the day than at night.
As for why he was already thinking about exploring when he hadn’t even dealt with the gargoyle yet—Michael considered his victory a given.
He didn’t believe Prince would struggle to handle the gargoyle in a one-on-one fight under normal circumstances.
Not only was there a four-level difference between them, but their ranks were also the same.
There was no scenario where the gargoyle could “punch above its level,” even if its species was high-ranked among three-star rare monsters.
The only real annoyance might be breaking through its stony body. It did look extremely sturdy.
After some time walking through the corridors, Michael finally came face-to-face with the monster that had hindered his progress in the Land of Origin for days.
Well, not exactly face-to-face—it had its back turned to him, standing eerily still like a statue.
If Michael didn’t have {Detect}, even he might have been deceived.
[Gargoyle Lv. 20]
[Rank: Rare★★★]
An old gargoyle, weakened after years of neglect.
‘Oh, it’s even dropped a level?’ Michael thought, surprised.
He recalled the words of a senior on the forum, who had mentioned that it took an incredibly long time for artificial creatures like gargoyles to degrade.
According to the post, such creatures wouldn’t even lose a level after 50 years.
Based on this and how Michael had described the abandoned dorm, the senior had estimated this ruin to be at least two hundred years old.
That was plenty of time for valuable things to be destroyed.
However, with his growing understanding of ruins from the forum, Michael knew one thing: the older the ruin, the more extraordinary any treasure within it would be if it was still intact and usable.
Of course, finding something was another matter entirely—but if he did, it would be an absolute treasure.The thought of exploration and treasure hunting filled Michael with anticipation.
He mentally commanded Prince to advance while stepping back and summoning his rank 1 undead, a verdant wolf, to guard him.
Once ready, Michael gave the command to attack.
Prince vanished in an instant.
Despite moving faster than he had in the Level 2 Dimension Crack at the Ape Region, there was no violent gust of wind accompanying his speed.
This oddity barely registered with Michael, as his attention was quickly diverted.
The moment Prince disappeared, a loud sound echoed—the clash of two heavy objects colliding—followed by another crash.
Something had slammed into the ground.
Michael quickly activated {Share Senses} on Prince to grasp what was happening.
He had no chance of keeping up with a battle fought at such terrifying speeds with his own eyes.
Luckily, Prince was within 100 meters, so the skill worked perfectly.
Michael’s vision shifted to the familiar black-and-white world of {Share Senses}.
He saw that Prince standing a few meters away from the gargoyle, which had been sent crashing into the ground and created a shallow pit.
Strangely, Prince didn’t approach the downed creature.
Michael didn’t need to ask why.
A short distance beyond the fallen gargoyle stood a tall, tower-like structure.
But what made Michael’s heart race wasn’t the tower itself—it was the two massive statues guarding the entrance.
Each statue stood about four meters tall and bore an uncanny resemblance to the gargoyle in the pit, with one glaring difference: they had wings.
And those wings were spreading.
#####
Season’s greetings from this author to all my readers. I’m truly grateful that we’re approaching the end of the year together, and I hope we continue this journey into the new year and beyond.
Thank you for reading, and thank you for being you.