Evolving My Undead Legion In A Game-Like World

Chapter 1204: More Evolution [1]

The dome was enormous. From a distance, it resembled some monstrous plant that had suddenly taken root in the middle of the Mausoleum.

Hundreds of greyish-green vines had woven themselves together so tightly that there was almost no space between them. Some were thicker than ancient trees, while others were considerably thinner and filled the remaining gaps, wrapping around the larger vines in layer after layer.

Within seconds, Lucky had completely disappeared from sight.

The vines didn't stop growing after the dome closed. They continued crawling across one another, tightening and reinforcing the structure until the outer surface became difficult to distinguish as individual plants. Smaller roots sprouted from the vines and dug into neighbouring ones, binding everything together into what almost resembled a single living shell.

Their colour was wrong as well, making it look like there was very little vitality to it. Despite being plants, the vines weren't the vibrant green one would normally associate with life. Their surfaces were greyish-green and dry, with sections appearing withered enough that one would think of them as dead. Yet the amount of vitality contained within them was terrifying.

Michael hovered several hundred metres away and watched as a faint light appeared. The entire interior of the dome seemed to illuminate.

Thin lines of light appeared between the overlapping vines, spreading across the structure like cracks.

For several seconds, it looked as though something inside was about to erupt.

The surrounding space trembled. Several beams nearly forced their way through the gaps. Yet before any of them could escape, the vines reacted and tightened. More vines emerged from the ground and wrapped around the dome. The tiny openings disappeared one after another as another layer formed over the first.

Soon, the light vanished. A few seconds later, it returned brighter, and the vines tightened again to reinforce the dome.

This repeated several times as the mana in the surrounding region continued to drastically reduce.

At first, the change was subtle. Mana naturally existed everywhere inside the Mausoleum, especially within this region. Michael had specifically chosen areas like this for his more powerful undead because of their naturally superior environments.

But now every trace of mana in the surroundings was being dragged toward the dome. The speed increased rapidly. Within several hundred metres, the mana concentration visibly decreased.

Then the affected area expanded.

One kilometre.

Two.

Five.

Michael's expression gradually became serious.

The dome had transformed into an enormous bottomless pit. Mana rushed toward it from every direction. Elemental particles that normally drifted naturally throughout the environment were pulled toward Lucky and disappeared the moment they touched the vines.

The plants themselves seemed desperately hungry. Their roots spread farther underground, penetrating deep into the earth as they searched for more energy. Some reached nearby mana veins and immediately began draining them.

A while later, Michael extended his perception and was surprised by what he discovered.

There was almost nothing.

The area immediately surrounding the dome had practically become a mana-dead zone. Mana entering the region couldn't remain for more than a few moments before being seized and dragged toward Lucky.

Even Michael felt a faint pulling sensation against the mana inside his body. It wasn't enough to threaten him but the fact that Lucky's evolution could affect him at all from this distance was impressive.

Michael moved farther away, but didn't try to stop the process. Instead, he redirected several nearby streams of mana toward this region.

Michael continued watching when his expression suddenly changed as his perception sharpened. Thoughts that had previously required conscious effort became easier to follow, while concepts that had remained vague seemed to lose some of their obscurity.

Michael immediately recognized the sensation.

Comprehension enhancement.

It was a normal phenomenon that accompanied the evolution of his undead, with the degree of effect based on what grade the evolution was. Until today, the most effective ones belonged to when his undead were evolving to One-Star Epic grade.

Michael still didn't completely understand why it happened. Perhaps it was a consequence of a lifeform undergoing such a fundamental transformation. Perhaps the process itself caused certain principles normally hidden within the world to become temporarily clearer.

Whatever the reason, Michael had experienced it enough times to recognize it immediately and had benefited from it several times already.

But this…

Michael slowly took a deep breath.

This was on another level entirely. The difference was so enormous that for a moment he wondered whether his already abnormal comprehension had somehow undergone another permanent transformation.

Of course, it hadn't. The effect was external.

Michael's eyes brightened.

Lucky's evolution this time might take at least a week to a few weeks. Perhaps even longer. If this comprehension phenomenon remained active throughout the entire process, he wouldn't need to feel bad about having other important matters to attend to right now.

Michael took one final look at the enormous dome. The greyish-green vines continued tightening around one another while mana poured toward them from every direction. Occasional flashes of light still escaped through tiny gaps before being smothered by newly grown layers.

Lucky's evolution had only just begun. There was nothing more Michael needed to do here.

His figure disappeared.

When Michael reappeared, the environment around him had completely changed. He now stood on an enormous island elsewhere within the Mausoleum.

The island stretched for hundreds of kilometres, surrounded on every side by dark blue water. Mountains occupied its northern region, dense forests covered much of the east, while enormous plains and rocky valleys divided the remaining landscape.

Michael had specifically chosen somewhere this large because of what he was about to do.

For several seconds, nothing happened.

Then the tattoos previously hidden on different parts of his body began to appear. One after another, they glowed, and soon ash poured from Michael's skin, spreading several metres away from him to form humanoid shapes.

After their appearance was fully revealed, Michael turned to observe the seven standing in front of him.

Prince, Fade, Ghost, Lily, Spartan, Purple, and Blue.

Compared to the others, who looked to be somewhere within their early to late twenties, the latter two appeared to be somewhere in their late teens.

Seven figures stood around Michael.

"Master."

Their greetings overlapped.

Michael nodded. He didn't waste much time before getting to work.

Yes, Michael planned to evolve all seven. He would have done more, but he needed undead like Beginning to stay as they were in case of emergencies, and others needed to remain unevolved to maintain a certain level of strength, thanks to the passive states they granted him.

The island was large enough that each evolution could occur far away from the others.

Prince was sent toward the northern mountain range. Lily received a location within the western plains where there was little nearby terrain she could accidentally destroy after waking up.

Spartan was placed within an enormous rocky valley. Fade received a forested region toward the south. Purple and Blue were separated as well, despite the two normally remaining close to one another. Ghost was placed the farthest away.

It took some time to position everyone.

Once Michael finished, he rose high above the island. From here, the seven locations might be impossible to see directly with ordinary eyesight, but that didn't matter. The entire Mausoleum was his. Michael could perceive every one of them clearly.

Evolution panels appeared before him one after another.

This was something he had already decided to do after confirming Lucky's condition. Before today, Michael had still been somewhat cautious about pushing too many of his strongest undead farther along their evolutionary paths. Rank Five remained the greatest concern.

Lucky had changed that.

Three-Star Epic. Lucky had reached that level and still remained Rank Four. This made Michael even more aware of the gap between Rank Four and Rank Five. Simply piling evolutionary potential onto an undead wasn't necessarily enough to force it across.

For Michael, that was excellent news. He had been restraining himself partly because he didn't want to suddenly find himself surrounded by undead he could no longer properly control. Now that concern had weakened considerably. If even Lucky required Legendary grade to break through, Michael could afford to be considerably more aggressive with everyone else.

Michael began confirming the evolutions.

Evolution Points disappeared rapidly.

The effect across the island was immediate.

The northern mountains lit up as a pillar of energy erupted from Prince's location. Several seconds later, another glow appeared far across the western plains.

Then another.

And another.

From Michael's position high above the island, the scene became increasingly spectacular. Seven distant regions began shining. Different energies spread outward from each location as the evolutions began simultaneously.

Michael hovered above everything and watched.