Evolving My Undead Legion In A Game-Like World

Chapter 1212: Task [1]

Day and night might be hard to distinguish in the Mausoleum, but in the house Michael kept his family in, it was bright whenever they wanted it to be.

Currently, Aunt Mia was in the kitchen making bread while Lily was meditating on the sofa when Michael and Jester appeared in the parlour.

Lily's eyes opened almost immediately. Her meditation stopped the moment she sensed the two in the parlour.

She turned to look at them with an unmistakable look of envy appearing in her eyes.

Teleportation. It remained one of the abilities she wanted most. Unfortunately, every time she had asked about learning something similar, the answer had been disappointing. According to both Michael and Jester, spatial abilities were not something she could reasonably expect to possess anytime soon.

Lily didn't doubt them. That didn't make watching Michael casually appear inside the house any less annoying.

"Welcome back, Cousin."

Michael nodded.

"Thanks."

Lily glanced toward the kitchen.

"Mom's in the kitchen."

"I know. I'll greet her now."

Lily was already shifting her legs as though preparing to stand when Michael added,

"Stay there. We need to talk."

Lily's expression changed slightly, seeing the serious look on Michael's face. She slowly settled back into her previous position.

"Okay."

On the other hand, Jester gave Lily his usual polite greeting. Lily returned it without much thought. After greeting her, Jester quietly went his own way.

Michael headed toward the kitchen. His greeting with Aunt Mia didn't take particularly long. As usual, her reaction to seeing him carried an almost perfectly balanced mixture of happiness and worry.

Michael reassured her as much as he reasonably could without explaining much. Some things were simply better left unsaid. Especially while she was making bread.

After spending a short while with her, Michael returned to the parlour.

Lily was still where he had left her.

Michael walked over and dropped onto the sofa beside her. His back sank into the cushions as his head tilted backward. For several seconds, Michael simply remained there.

Lily turned toward him and studied his face.

"You look tired."

"I am."

Michael rubbed his face with both hands before leaning forward.

"The Origin Battlefield is opening again, but before that, there are a few things I need to discuss with you."

Lily didn't look surprised. After all, Lily was an Awakener too. Just like Michael, she had been informed the moment the Origin Battlefield announced its reopening. She simply hadn't considered it important enough to immediately stop what she was doing.

Michael wasn't particularly surprised by that reaction either. Lily's attitude toward the Origin Battlefield, from what he could tell from her return, was somewhat different from what he expected.

Perhaps it was because she had been exposed to someone like him for too long. Or perhaps it was because Michael had personally raised her foundation to the point where she was considerably stronger than most Awakeners around her level.

Either way, Lily didn't seem to possess much fear toward the Origin Battlefield.

Michael knew that. And if he was being truthful, it worried him slightly.

Confidence was good. Lack of fear could also be good. But the Origin Battlefield was not a place where someone could afford to become careless, especially once others realized that killing fellow Awakeners could provide experience points with little consequence, since who would ever know or be able to find them in such an inaccessible realm?

Still, Michael didn't want to destroy Lily's confidence by constantly filling her head with frightening possibilities. He had already given her power, and Jester had trained her extensively using methods Michael knew were anything but gentle, or moral, to a degree. Lily had enough combat power to protect herself, so he decided to trust her. That was the reason he hadn't spoken much after she recounted her last experience.

Michael straightened slightly on the sofa.

"As usual, be careful once you enter."

Lily nodded immediately.

"I will."

"I mean it."

Michael's expression remained serious.

"The Origin Battlefield isn't somewhere you should start treating casually just because the last time went well."

Lily's expression became slightly more attentive.

Michael continued.

"You'll probably need to spend most of your time there if you want to complete your required duration."

Lily nodded again. That much she already understood. The Origin Battlefield needed active participation, and remaining outside for too long would only make fulfilling the required time unnecessarily difficult.

Michael leaned back slightly.

"But needing to stay there for long doesn't mean you need to sleep there. When you need proper rest, come back to the Original World. Sleep here. Recover here. Eat properly if you need to. Then return."

Lily nodded obediently.

"Okay."

Michael watched her for a moment. At least she wasn't stubborn about things like this.

Lily could be innocent. And if Michael was being less generous with the wording, somewhat naive. But she wasn't stupid. More importantly, she wasn't proud enough to believe being stronger than most people around her level made her invincible.

The previous Origin Battlefield opening had simply gone unusually well for her. A large part of that had been because of Timi. Lily had met him shortly after entering, and the two had become friends relatively quickly. Timi wasn't much weaker than Lily herself, which meant Lily had spent a considerable portion of the previous opening travelling with someone strong enough that neither of them had to constantly protect the other.

Their journey had therefore been relatively safe. Michael knew she understood that.

The problem was that there was no guarantee things would happen the same way again. The Battlefield had already announced changes. They didn't know what those changes were.

Lily might not appear near Timi this time. They could be separated by enormous distances. The dangers could be greater. The environment could change. The rules themselves might be different.

Michael had no idea.

Lily seemed to notice what he was thinking.

"I know, Cousin."

Michael looked at her.

"I got lucky last time."