Evolving My Undead Legion In A Game-Like World

Chapter 1279: Implications

The knight straightened at once.

Michael continued.

"Inform every kingdom under the empire. The local forces stationed with them are to assist."

His voice remained calm.

"Every case similar to this one is to be identified and brought to the capital in the shortest possible time."

The Silver Guard saluted without hesitation.

"Yes, Your Majesty."

He turned at once and left the office at a hurried pace.

The door closed behind him.

Only Michael and Bok remained, along with the unconscious body lying between them.

Michael ignored Bok for the moment and continued looking out of the window.

At this point, if he still could not understand what had happened, then he would truly be a failed Awakener.

Bok had awakened a Class.

It was a natural Class Awakening without the use of an awakening orb, a loot item new Awakeners in a newly initiated realm could only obtain at a rare chance within a year of the realm’s awakening.

This kind of awakening still existed in the universe, but it was very rare.

The places where they appeared in noticeable numbers were usually newly integrated realms that had only recently come into contact with the Origin system.

That was exactly what made this situation so strange.

The Land of Origin was anything but new.

Michael did not know exactly how long it had existed, but he knew it was older than any civilization in the universe.

And as far as Michael knew, there had never been a case of a native here awakening.

The Land of Origin had always been a place that Awakeners entered.

Its natives were simply that.

Natives.

That had apparently just changed.

For the first time, people born here were awakening too.

Michael’s expression slowly hardened.

The real question was why.

Why now? Why several people across different kingdoms at almost the same time?

Michael did not know the exact answer yet.

But he had a very strong suspicion.

Bok’s story had started four days ago, around the same time Michael had received his second Universal Announcement.

That timing was far too convenient to ignore.

His gaze remained fixed on the capital outside.

The Universal Cornerstone. The announcement. The changes spreading through his territory. And now natural awakenings among the natives of the Land of Origin.

Michael’s eyes narrowed slightly.

There was certainly a connection.

However, there was no time to dwell on the source of the change.

The implications were far more important.

Michael did not believe these awakenings were limited to his territory.

If people throughout the kingdoms subordinate to the Eternal Crown were suddenly awakening, then the neighboring nations were almost certainly experiencing the same phenomenon.

Michael had always expected the existence of the Universal Cornerstones to gradually weaken the separation between the Land of Origin and the greater universe.

The moment he established the first connection, some degree of change had already become inevitable.

He simply never expected it to happen this quickly.

Only a few days had passed. Yet natives were already awakening Classes.

If this continued, then it was only a matter of time before the entire Land of Origin was turned upside down.

For countless years, Awakeners had operated here while remaining something fundamentally separate from its natives.

That separation could not survive this.

Once enough ordinary people awakened, the truth would become impossible to hide.

The existence of Awakeners would eventually be exposed.

However, this was not why he had ordered every newly awakened native to be brought to the capital.

Political consequences could be handled later.

What concerned Michael far more was something immediate.

People were going to die.

He wanted to tell himself this didn’t concern him, that even though it was connected to him, it wasn’t intentional. But knowing he was involved, and that innocent people, many around his cousin’s age, might die because of his actions, even indirectly, made him want to do something.

Michael finally turned away from the window and looked at Bok.

"Do you know about the Origin Battlefield?"

Shock flashed across Bok’s face, followed almost instantly by fear.

For a moment, he simply stared at Michael.

How does the Emperor know about that place?

He had only discovered it yesterday. Or more accurately, he had finally worked up the courage to try out the new function he hadn’t dared touch until then.

When he did, he found himself standing in a completely unfamiliar place.

Even now, he could still remember the atmosphere.

It was cold, heavy, and felt very dangerous.

It felt nothing like the forest near his village.

Bok had barely taken a few steps before every instinct in his body screamed at him to leave.

So he did.

Michael watched his expression quietly.

"You didn’t mention it earlier."

Bok stiffened. He did not dare lie, and quickly explained that he had only discovered the place yesterday and had entered for a short moment.

Michael’s expression softened slightly.

The Origin Battlefield was not some harmless training ground.

Even the Zeroth Layer contained dangers that could easily kill a clueless new Awakener.

The fact that Bok had retreated right away instead of allowing curiosity to drag him deeper was something Michael could genuinely appreciate.

This was exactly why he had ordered all newly awakened natives to be brought to the capital.

Not everyone would react like Bok.

Some would.

Many might not.

There would always be people too curious for their own good.

Some of those people might already be dead.

A grim weight settled over Michael.

He did not know what punishment the Origin Will would impose if someone failed to meet their monthly Battlefield requirement.

Perhaps it would merely restrict them. Perhaps there would be some attribute penalty. Perhaps something worse.

Until he knew for certain, he felt it was not worth it to gamble.

However, this also meant these new Awakeners could not simply be told to avoid the Origin Battlefield forever.

Sooner or later, they would have to enter.

*

A/N: Sorry if the past few Chapters haven’t been the most enjoyable. I figured it was better to show how awakening works in the Land of Origin. Many readers suggested I compress Chapters, and I’ll take that suggestion to heart, but since that means longer Chapters and more editing on my part, it’ll be hard to keep up the four-Chapters-a-day quota. The author will try his best to give quality content after a good seclusion (planning)!