Last day of the year, y’all! I’m so happy we made it here together. Starting tomorrow, I’ll be releasing three chapters daily and four chapters on weekends. For every 50 Golden Tickets (GT), I’ll drop an extra chapter, and for every 100 Power Stones (PS), you’ll get another bonus chapter.
Happy New Year in advance, everyone! Stay blessed, and I hope you enjoy today’s chapter.
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In the end, the only thing Michael had been able to take from the ruin was the remains of the gargoyles he had killed.
While it wasn’t a small amount, compared to the materials he had seen before the appearance of that thing, it felt painfully inadequate.
Michael knew the materials in his possession were likely worth a fortune—possibly rivaling his highest earnings yet—but the more, the merrier, right?
Despite the missed opportunities, he was just grateful to be alive.
Part of the reason he had managed to react under the creature’s mental influence was his vigilance.
If he had let greed cloud his judgment, he might have died before Lucky and Prince could even respond.
The system messages had been clear—staying under the creature’s influence would have killed him. The tentacle was only a topping.
“I can only hope that thing doesn’t leave its location,” Michael muttered, a gnawing sense of guilt creeping into his thoughts.
It felt as though he had unleashed some kind of abomination that could soon bring destruction.
The very idea weighed heavily on his conscience.
“The ruin’s situation can’t be left unchecked for too long,” he reasoned.
“That monster shouldn’t be rank 3—otherwise, I’d have died instantly. It’s probably still rank 2, which aligns perfectly with my current goals.”
The thought gave Michael a new sense of urgency.
He needed to grow stronger—and fast.
That resolve, however, wasn’t entirely selfless.
Michael still had his eyes on the tower itself and its content.
Now that his panic had subsided, the treasures within the tower had once again captured his imagination.
After wandering through the forest for some time, Michael came across a secluded area with a cave that appeared untouched for years.
Deciding it was a good spot for a temporary base, he settled there for the time being.
Feeling uneasy about leaving Lucky and Prince in the Netherworld given their injuries—and perhaps succumbing to paranoia—Michael decided to keep them with his body.
Lucky, too large to rest inside the cave, stayed outside with the other undead that couldn’t enter the Netherworld.
As for whether he’d need them in the real world, Michael decided to take a calculated risk.
In any case, he was about to receive another 20 evolution points, which, combined with his current 15, would be more than enough to create another level 18 undead at three-star rare rank.
Leaving behind the corpses he had originally planned to sell for Lucky and Prince to consume, Michael returned his consciousness to his original body.
A moment later, Michael opened his eyes to the slightly familiar ceiling of his hotel room.
He didn’t get up immediately and instead continued lying on the bed.
“I should visit home soon. I miss Aunt Mia,” he muttered.
“Lily too.”
The words slipped out before he even realized it.
On the surface, he seemed fine, but his mind was still shaken by his near-death experience.
In that moment of fear, the faces of the two people closest to him had surfaced in his thoughts.
Much of his current composure, which allowed him to stay put instead of rushing to be with them, was because most of those feelings stemmed from the original owner of this body rather than the transmigrator, Michael.
Though the two were now one entity, their integration was more of a harmonized balance than perfect unity.
Slowly but surely, however, Michael was becoming whole.
After a while, he finally sat up on the bed.
As he moved, he noticed the sheets beneath him were damp with dried sweat, leaving behind a mess that hinted at just how much he had perspired.
The room was cold, which made it clear that even in this controlled environment, his body had reacted to the experience in the Land of Origin.
“A dimension away, and yet my body here felt it too… the feeling of death,” he murmured, a wary smile tugging at his lips.
He stood still for a moment, collecting himself, before walking over to the table to grab his phone.
“12:23 PM.”
Due to advancing to Rank 1, this recent visit was the longest he had ever spent in the Land of Origin.
And with civilization now within reach there, Michael realized his time in the real world might soon begin to dwindle.
Of course, if the Land of Origin couldn’t provide the experience points he needed, he would have to shift his focus back to the real world, no matter how much the other dimension tempted him.
At the very least, if he gained stable access to dimensional cracks, he might still make it in time for the academy exams.
He recalled reading on the forums that Awakener academies typically held their entrance exams around the same time as cultivation academies, though the venues were different.
It was said that, a week after the awakening ceremony, Awakeners and third-year students would be summoned and informed about the supernatural academies.
It was Sunday now, which meant Michael should expect the summon from his school soon.
Subconsciously, he realized four days had already passed since his awakening.
Dropping his phone, Michael moved to get dressed for the day.
Aside from checking the value of the materials he had brought back from the ruins, he also needed to buy clothes for his humanoid undead to cover their nakedness.
However, his first priority was the Supers Association.
It didn’t take Michael long to get ready.
Much to his satisfaction, he hadn’t destroyed anything in the hotel, a clear sign that his control over his body was back.
However, he couldn’t ignore the subtle behavior of the people around him—they seemed reluctant to stand close to him for long.
At first, he dismissed it as coincidence, but the pattern became more apparent as he made his way through the city.
When he checked himself in the hotel bathroom mirror earlier, he hadn’t noticed anything unusual, aside from his physique looking slightly more muscular and defined.
It wasn’t until he arrived at the Supers Association and stood in front of Grace, his usual receptionist, that he finally understood what was going on.
“I need to suppress my aura?” Michael repeated the words Grace had said the moment she saw him.
Though confused, he could roughly understand what she meant by aura—it was probably his power leaking out unconsciously.
But the real question was how.
How was he supposed to suppress something he couldn’t even see?
“It seems you’ve just advanced,” Grace began, her voice calm yet carrying a subtle undertone of curiosity. “Your mana is quite… impressive,” she added.
What Grace didn’t mention, however, was just how impressive. Michael’s mana was strong enough that she, a mid-stage Rank 3 cultivator, had to take him a extremely seriously. The mana she could sense radiating from Michael was just that impressive.
While she had encountered newly advanced Rank 1 Awakeners with immense mana levels before, Michael’s rapid progression was notable.
Reaching Rank 1 just four days after awakening was rare, even for the most gifted.
“My mana?” Michael muttered, confused. “Is it my mana I have to suppress?”
“Yes,” Grace confirmed before elaborating.
“Your mana seems to have increased by a very significant amount. Though you think you have it under control, to supernaturals like us, it’s almost like you’re announcing your presence.
Your control is still impressive, though. Ordinary people mostly feel uncomfortable around you rather than outright fainting.”
Michael nodded, slowly piecing things together.
He remembered reading that at a certain point, mana could start influencing the surroundings even without any intentional effort from the caster.
Of course, he wasn’t anywhere near that level yet.
Right now, his mana was simply leaking slightly, enough to make ordinary humans uncomfortable due to their lack of exposure to such a high concentration.
Knowing the root of the problem made things a bit clearer for Michael, but as a novice in magic, actually fixing the issue was easier said than done.
Still, it was a relief to know his condition wasn’t considered a major issue within the Supers Association.
He could take his time to work on it.
Soon, Michael shifted focus to the reason for his visit.
“Were you able to secure any entries into cracks for me, Miss Grace?” he asked.
*******
[Name: Michael Norman]
[Class: Adept Necromancer]
[Level: 15]
[EXP: 1094/17,718]
[Strength: 30.4]
[Agility: 41.1]
Continue your adventure at empire
[Constitution: 31.7]
[Intelligence: 110.1]
[Attribute Points: 30]
[Skills: Undead Summoning, Undead Revival, Detect, Basic Shot, Share Senses, Spearmanship, Acid Shot, Bone Spear, Slow Curse, Bone Armour, Corpse Explosion]
[Talent: Infinite Evolution]
[Class Skill: Contract Slot {20/40}]
[Gift: Mark of Origin]
****
[Venomthorn Ravager Lv. 25 (MAX)]
[Name: Lucky.]
[EXP: 805,990 / 1,021,752]
[Rank: Extraordinary★]
[Skills: Bite, Plant Control (Advanced Mastery), Poison (Advanced Mastery), Viral Growth (Basic Mastery), Toxic Resurgence (Basic Mastery)]
[Master: Michael Norman]
[Undead Redthorn Lv. 25 (MAX)]
***
[Name: Prince.]
[EXP: 238,677 / 1,021,752]
[Rank: Rare★★★]
[Skills: Bite, Plant Control (Intermediate Mastery), Poison (Basic Mastery)]
[Master: Michael Norman]