Evolving My Undead Legion In A Game-Like World

Chapter 1270: Four Pieces [1]

Truly, with the existence of the Origin Battlefield, the life of an Awakener, which Michael had never really felt was like a game even as he grew stronger, was starting to feel a bit more like one.

However, outside of this game-like immortality, which a certain part of him suspected arianne might not have due to being a native of the land of origin, Michael had not noticed any other major advantage natural Awakeners like him possessed over people like her.

Maybe there were more differences hidden deeper within the system, or there were restrictions Arianne would only discover after reaching higher Ranks. For now, there was no point guessing. Only the future could answer that.

What Michael needed to focus on was the present. As several thoughts passed through his mind, he looked toward Arianne.

"So, what now?"

Something flickered across Arianne’s face.

A few days ago, before Michael began evolving her spirits, the two of them had already discussed the Origin Battlefield.

The first thing Michael had done after confirming that Arianne could access it was give her a choice. She could enter right away and begin fulfilling her required monthly time.

Or she could wait for Michael to strengthen her spirits as much as possible, after which she would have to compress nearly all of her remaining required time into the rest of the month.

Arianne had chosen the second option.

Now that Cael, Miki, and Liora had all completed their evolutions, there was no longer any reason to delay.

A serious expression appeared on Arianne’s face.

"I’m ready."

Michael felt a faint worry rise inside him. If something happened to her in the Origin Battlefield, only death awaited.

Still, none of that appeared on Michael’s face. He remained calm.

In any case, he had already warned her about all this before she awakened.

"Stay safe. You don’t need to fight anyone. Just spend the required time there and come back."

Arianne nodded obediently without arguing.

"I’ll be careful."

Michael studied her for another second before finally relaxing.

"In that case, go take a bath first."

Michael’s lips curved slightly.

"You’ve been unconscious for more than half of the three days we spent here. Don’t tell me you’re planning to enter the Origin Battlefield looking like this."

Arianne looked down at herself at once. She saw several strands of golden grass caught in her clothes and hair.

Her eyes narrowed.

A moment later, a punch was already headed at Michael’s chest, which he easily blocked with a loud laugh.

A second later, a portal opened beneath them and they disappeared into it.

Over the next hour, Michael brought Arianne back to the Land of Origin and prepared everything he could for her.

He used several Evolution Essence Crystals to strengthen her attributes further. If not for the Rank limitation that only allowed him to use Common Grade Evolution Essence Crystals at Rank One, he would have pushed all her stats to two hundred points. Still, using eighty of her attribute points brought all of her attributes up to forty each, which was already very strong.

After strengthening Arianne’s foundation, Michael opened the imperial treasury.

Arianne was given several sets of armor suitable for her current Rank. Her Mark of Origin’s storage space was also filled with supplies: healing potions, mana-restoration potions, food, water, protective items, a few weapons, and various consumables Michael felt might become useful.

By the time everything was prepared, evening had arrived in the Land of Origin.

The two eventually appeared on one of the palace balconies.

Below them stretched the capital.

Golden evening light covered the enormous city, reflecting from rooftops, towers, statues, and distant walls. Streets were crowded with people returning home while carriages and mounted soldiers moved through the broader avenues.

The palace stood high enough that much of the capital could be seen from here.

Michael and Arianne stood beside each other near the balcony railing.

For a while, neither seemed particularly eager to move.

Eventually, Arianne looked toward him.

"I have to go."

Michael nodded.

"Be careful."

Arianne smiled faintly.

She leaned closer. Michael met her halfway, and their lips touched briefly before Arianne pulled back.

A moment later, light began surrounding her body. Her figure became increasingly transparent before breaking apart completely into countless motes. Within a second, she was gone.

Michael remained standing.

The evening wind passed across the balcony as he continued staring at the capital below him. Several thoughts moved through his mind.

After a while, he sighed.

"Maybe I shouldn’t let Aunt Mia become an Awakener."

Worry lined his face.

"Also, where the hell is Lily? That silly girl. Couldn’t she at least come out and greet me?"

Several days had already passed. Yet his cousin was still nowhere to be seen. If not for Jester, he would have thought the worst had happened.

Michael turned to look at the clear sky while sighing again.

"Is the Zeroth Layer really that good to her?"

Meanwhile, the Lily Michael was wondering about was standing over a white-skinned youth with bear-like characteristics spread across his body.

The young man was unconscious.

Around him, several more figures lay scattered across the ground. Some were groaning. Others were completely still.

A few had limbs bent at unnatural angles, obviously broken, while one figure had been thrown hard enough into a nearby stone ridge that cracks spread around the point of impact.

Lily stood in the middle of all of them, breathing a little heavily.

Only moments ago, she had finished killing an Epic Grade Level 10 creature guarding a strange stone pillar inside a Level Three region of the Zeroth Layer.

It had been the fourth such pillar she had found.

The first three had gone smoothly. This time, however, she had barely finished the battle when a group of people ambushed her.

At first, Lily had only wanted to drive them away.

She did not like killing people. Two days ago, she had no choice but to kill someone, and she didn’t like the feeling.

Even after spending so much time inside the Origin Battlefield, that part of her had not changed much.

But being kind did not mean being soft.