Evolving My Undead Legion In A Game-Like World

Chapter 1135: Time Difference

Earth.

It was a very familiar term that was slowly becoming unfamiliar to Michael the longer he stayed in this world.

One might say it had only been a year, too soon for that to happen, but in actuality it extended closer to two years. Michael had lived two identities during that period. One in Aurora, and the other in the Land of Origin.

Because he had never had much of a life on Earth, his impression of it wasn't particularly warm. Not once had he ever thought of gaining power so he could return to his old world. He hadn't even been certain his old world and this one existed in the same universe.

Yet upon hearing of a realm named Earth, and one that was a new world at that, a suspicious thought couldn't help but take root in his mind.

Michael's reaction to the familiar term produced a visible change in his usually calm demeanor, making Lily curious.

"Do you know this realm, cousin?" she asked with clear expectation.

To Lily, though she didn't see her cousin as some omnipotent being, he was still the first supernatural she had ever been close to and by far the most powerful and unique person she knew.

Knowing of a new world called Earth might have seemed like a stretch to others, but to Lily it didn't feel impossible when she thought of her cousin.

However, just as Michael was about to respond and ask more questions, he paused. Both he and Lily turned toward the door at the same moment.

"Seems like they're back," Michael muttered. With their senses, the two had naturally detected Aunt Mia and Jester approaching outside.

"That's great! I was starting to think we'd need to visit her at the restaurant."

When the two had arrived back earlier and taken stock of their surroundings, the first thing each of them had done was spread their senses throughout the house.

Only after confirming it was empty had they begun talking amongst themselves. As for Aunt Mia's absence, it wasn't an immediate concern since Jester wasn't present either.

Lily stretched her arms above her head and looked around the room.

"I wonder how long we've been away," she murmured, her eyes trailing over the furniture. "The living room doesn't look much different than before."

"It's only been a day," Michael answered smoothly.

Lily blinked in complete shock.

"I was just joking with that question! What do you mean, one day?"

Michael didn't answer.

Unlike other awakeners who had already entered the Land of Origin and could access a second body unaffected by the Origin Battlefield, Lily had been unlucky.

Being summoned a mere day after her awakening had given her no time to prepare for anything. Michael and many other awakeners, through the use of their dual bodies, had long since discovered the time difference between the Origin Battlefield and the real world.

It was a ratio of three to one. Time within the Origin Battlefield flowed three times faster than in the material world.

That was why, even after spending three full days inside, they had returned to Aurora at noon, just twenty-four hours after their initial disappearance.

Thinking about it now, Michael couldn't help but feel that the Origin Battlefield truly was the greatest cultivation ground an awakener could ever ask for.

It was simply too bloody. Life and death accompanied nearly every opportunity. Yet perhaps that was precisely why it would produce true experts.

Those who survived would inevitably become stronger. No amount of ordinary training could compare to constantly risking one's life against powerful monsters and awakeners from countless worlds.

Then there was the difference in time flow. Taking advantage of that alone would already be an unimaginable opportunity. An awakener could spend three months training while only one month passed in the material world.

At lower ranks, that advantage was already terrifying.

Michael's thoughts then drifted toward the Universal Cornerstone and its functions. A terrifying thought slowly surfaced.

If every sufficiently powerful awakener eventually established a territory, and every territory continued growing, then perhaps the Origin Battlefield wasn't merely a battlefield.

It was laying the foundation for an entirely new civilization. Or perhaps a new era in the universe itself.

Michael unconsciously exhaled.

"…What exactly is the Origin Will trying to create?"

No answer came. Only more questions.

Click.

The sound of the front door unlocking interrupted his thoughts. The door slowly swung inward.

Two familiar figures entered.

Jester stepped inside first. Its face remained as expressionless as ever. There wasn't the slightest change in its demeanor. Clearly, it had already sensed Michael and Lily's return long before opening the door.

Although Jester was technically an undead creature, it was strangely easy to forget that fact. Its intelligence had reached such an astonishing level that interacting with it felt no different from interacting with an ordinary person.

Only its unnaturally calm expression and flawless obedience occasionally reminded Michael of its true nature.

Behind it, Aunt Mia stepped into the house carrying several shopping bags.

The moment she looked toward the living room, she froze. Her eyes widened. The bags in her hands nearly slipped to the floor.

"Michael?"

"Lily?"

She blinked repeatedly as though questioning whether she was hallucinating.

"Didn't you say you'd be gone for a long time?"

Michael smiled faintly.

"I did, but we managed to come back earlier than expected."

Aunt Mia hurried over without another word. Unlike Lily, whose appearance immediately suggested she had gone through something difficult, Michael looked only slightly tired.

To Aunt Mia, seeing Michael in such a state wasn't particularly surprising. Ever since he had awakened, she had unconsciously begun viewing him as someone almost invincible.

If anything, her confidence in him was even greater than Lily's. Though so too did her worries grow the more exceptional her nephew seemed to become.

Lily, on the other hand, was a different story. Aunt Mia's heart tightened the moment she saw the dirt covering her daughter's face and clothes.

The shopping bags were hastily placed on the floor.