Evolving My Undead Legion In A Game-Like World

Chapter 1282: Benefits [3]

Michael did not know exactly how the herbs he harvested from the Origin Battlefield came to be. There was simply no way to tell, but they came in many varieties.

Some were only ten or twenty years old. Others had clearly existed for several centuries. A few had even surpassed a thousand years, with the oldest specimens Michael had personally found reaching more than two thousand years.

The age range alone was enough to show just how long many parts of the Origin Battlefield had remained undisturbed by outsiders.

At first glance, one might assume Awakeners, with their game-like abilities, would have little need for medicinal herbs and natural treasures. But that assumption would be completely wrong.

If anything, such resources were just as valuable to Awakeners as they were to ordinary supernaturals.

Michael himself was a perfect example.

Around a year ago, Mage Lian had introduced him to a soul-related fruit that, aside from increasing his intelligence, had also helped deepen his understanding of his talent.

Like the soul fruit, there were many treasures Awakeners could benefit from.

Just yesterday, when Michael had left his territory for one of his usual walks through the surrounding regions in search of treasures or an opportunity to witness another Heavenly Descent, though this particular trip had not rewarded him with a Heavenly Descent item, Michael discovered a Red Ginseng that had lived for approximately twelve hundred years.

Its effect was simple.

Upon successful refinement and consumption, it permanently increases Intelligence by 400 to 600 points. Its only requirement was that the Intelligence stat must be at least 1,000 and below 2,000.

Michael already knew resources like this existed.

The surprising part was not the existence of the Red Ginseng, but its abundance.

Since entering the Origin Battlefield, Michael had already collected at least ten different types of herbs and natural treasures with effects comparable to the Red Ginseng.

Some targeted Strength. Others Constitution. A few improved Agility or Intelligence.

There were even stranger ones that did not directly affect attributes but instead strengthened mana regeneration, soul resistance, elemental affinity, or bodily recovery.

And these were merely the things Michael had personally encountered within the roughly two weeks he had spent in the Origin Battlefield as a whole.

Many of those treasures were of little use to Michael personally.

The same was true for quite a number of other Rank Four Awakeners.

But that did not make the treasures worthless.

Far from it.

There were countless people below Rank Four who could benefit enormously from them.

Even ordinary supernaturals who had never awakened a Class could use many of these resources to strengthen themselves. Even awakeners with Michael strength would still benefit with a few hundred points. After all there was only benefits to having more.

It was because of realizations like this that Michael gradually became more interested in power that went beyond his personal strength.

At first, individual strength had always been what mattered most to him.

That logic had never been wrong. But the Origin Battlefield had brought civilizations from across the universe onto one stage.

It was no longer just about one person.

This was a stage large enough for entire civilizations.

In a place like this, individual power could only achieve so much.

Unless Michael intended to be completely selfish and care about no one beyond himself, then sooner or later he had to participate on that level as well.

That was where his empire became important.

Michael possessed thousands of undead.

In direct combat, many of them were stronger than the empire’s natives. But when it came to gathering resources for his talent to consume, they were far inferior in the long scheme of things.

In a place like the Origin Battlefield, where Michael had already seen more than one valuable mine, if he wanted to utilize his talent to the greatest extent, he needed to strengthen his empire and also bring its people to this grand stage.

It was why he had told Lily to do her best to claim a Universal Cornerstone of her own.

In his plan, he wanted to have Lily and him combine their resources to provide even more for both sides while making each of them stronger.

He simply had not expected Lily’s Cornerstone to turn out like this.

Michael looked down at the Universal Cornerstone Deployment Core again.

"What exactly should I do with this?"

For one, he could establish another Universal Cornerstone somewhere within his territory and attempt to claim it.

But after thinking about it for only a few seconds, Michael dismissed the idea.

It would be redundant. At least if he placed it anywhere near his current territory.

The Eternal Crown already possessed a Universal Cornerstone. Placing another one beside it might produce some additional benefit, but unless he knew exactly what that benefit was, using something this flexible merely to reinforce a location he already controlled felt wasteful.

Michael’s gaze shifted toward the distant horizon.

Aside from his immediate territory, he could always deploy it elsewhere in the Fourth Layer.

But a little thought into it made it feel unnecessary.

The Fourth Layer was not lacking Level Three regions.

Michael had already confirmed that Universal Cornerstones could appear naturally within them.

If he truly wanted another Cornerstone here, he could simply search for another Level Three region with the appropriate opportunity and claim one through the normal method.

"No."

Michael shook his head slightly.

"The Fourth Layer isn’t worth it."

His fingers slowly closed around the circular object.

That left the lower layers.

Each layer represented a different stage of development.

After thinking about it further, Michael’s mind returned to Lily.

If he wanted to develop in the lower layers, currently only Lily could help him. Perhaps Arianne could as well, but that remained to be seen.

However, Michael did not particularly value the Zeroth Layer itself.

He felt it was useful for new Awakeners like Lily. Though dangerous, it gave them a relatively safe environment to adapt, learn how the Battlefield worked, gain experience, and obtain resources suited to their level. But its long-term potential was naturally limited.

The creatures were weaker. The resources were lower grade.

Even if a Universal Cornerstone transformed a region there, Michael doubted the resulting territory would compare to what could be achieved in the higher layers.

Using the Deployment Core in the Zeroth Layer felt like another waste. It would be better to wait for Lily to eventually advance.

Once she entered the First Layer, the opportunities available to her should naturally improve.

Michael could have her deploy the Cornerstone there.

Michael looked down at the Deployment Core again.

The method for obtaining a Universal Cornerstone in the Zeroth Layer was clearly different from the Fourth.

Michael’s eyes narrowed.

If Lily could obtain one complete set, what prevented her from obtaining another? And another after that?

He did not know how rare the fragments were, but compared to the complete Universal Cornerstone he had claimed, they seemed more valuable thanks to their flexibility.

Michael continued staring at the Deployment Core for several seconds before muttering,

"If Lily can get more of these... then maybe putting one in the Zeroth Layer isn’t such a waste after all."

His change of mind had nothing to do with the resources there.

Compared to the higher layers, the Zeroth Layer was still inferior in almost every way that mattered to him.

The real reason was the newly awakened people appearing throughout his empire.

Before now, Michael had only come up with one practical solution for keeping them safe, which was to bring them to his territory.

The Origin Battlefield assigned Awakeners to different layers according to their Rank.

Unranked Awakeners entered the Zeroth Layer. Rank One Awakeners entered the First Layer. Rank Two entered the Second. Rank Three entered the Third. Rank Four entered the Fourth. And Rank Five entered the Fifth.

Each Rank also had its own required time quota.

The higher the Rank, the lower that quota became.

At first glance, it naturally looked like the quota belonged to the layer itself.

After all, almost everyone inside a particular layer possessed the corresponding Rank.

But Michael had already learned that this was not entirely true.

His own existence was proof of that.

He had entered the Fourth Layer while still Rank Three.

That abnormal situation had allowed him to notice some hidden rules.

For one, the monthly time requirement was tied to the Awakener’s Rank.

Not the layer they were standing in.

It only appeared to be a layer-based rule because, under normal circumstances, Awakeners were automatically placed in the layer corresponding to their Rank.

Michael was one of the exceptions.

Despite being in the Fourth Layer while Rank Three, he had not inherited the same time requirement as Rank Four Awakeners.

His quota still followed his own Rank.

With his situation as a reference, if the newly awakened natives of the Land of Origin entered his Fourth Layer territory, then they would not need to risk dying needlessly in the Zeroth Layer to satisfy their monthly requirement, at least not until they were ready.

However, Lily’s Cornerstone had brought him other possibilities.

Michael rubbed his thumb slowly across the edge of the Deployment Core.

"Even if it’s not really beneficial to me, it’s still a very good training ground... Hmmm. I should have a talk with Lily to see if it’s feasible."

As Michael in the Origin Battlefield discussed with Lily, back in the Land of Origin, Michael was still interacting with the first Land of Origin native Awakener.