Evolving My Undead Legion In A Game-Like World

Chapter 547: Strange Set of Words

"So I still have to take part in the last round of the college exams?"

Michael had initially assumed that receiving a direct entry offer meant he could skip the third round entirely. But it seemed he was mistaken.

Direct entry didn’t exempt him from the final round—it only guaranteed that even if he failed to meet the standard cutoff, the academy would still accept him. In other words, he wouldn’t be rejected outright.

Still, Michael had managed to pick up a few new details along the way.

Unlike him, who had already received a direct offer, most applicants had to select up to four academies. If their first choice rejected them, their scores would automatically be sent to their second, third, and fourth choices, depending on how each academy graded applicants.

And if an Awakener candidate was unlucky and got rejected by all four Awakener academies, they’d have no choice but to apply to a cultivation academy—where entry was far more lenient and almost guaranteed.

So in hindsight, Michael’s decision to accept the offer of the top-ranked Awakener academy, hadn’t been such a bad one after all.

He didn’t believe he’d perform that poorly—especially now that he could use his true strength—but a smart decision was still a smart decision.

That said, one thing still puzzled him.

Why had a first rank Awakener Academy selected him for direct entry?

He didn’t think his performance in the virtual trials was all that spectacular. But maybe it was.

Maybe being in the top 50 out of thousands of candidates from Aurora was more impressive than he gave himself credit for.

Michael rubbed his chin.

"Now that I think about it... that’s quite impressive."

Michael’s eyes skimmed over the rest of the email.

"The final round of the Unified College Examination will take place within the academy-allocated territory in the Land of Origin. Access will be granted via the Key at the end of this mail."

His brows furrowed.

Territory.

That word made Michael pause.

He already had a territory in the Land of Origin but this was different.

This wasn’t his territory.

This was an academy territory. A territory for Awakeners.

It didn’t sound like much at first glance, but the implications were massive.

Michael leaned back in his chair, fingers tapping against the armrest.

The Land of Origin was vast—absurdly so. In his three months there, he hadn’t encountered a single other Awakener.

Not once.

He’d long suspected that most Awakeners were either scattered far from his location or deliberately hiding their identities to avoid attracting attention.

This made it hard to have encounters with one another.

An academy territory meant a centralized place where Awakeners could gather freely.

This was an incredible revelation—and Michael couldn’t help but wonder how it had been achieved.

With a touch of impatience, he scrolled to the bottom of the email.

But what he saw there made him pause.

"This... is the key?"

He had always wondered what this so-called key actually was—especially why it was tied to an email.

Until now, he had assumed it would be some sort of physical item he’d have to collect

But the key wasn’t a thing.

It was a phrase.

A strange set of words.

Before the strange set of words, there was a note attached.

It stated that the words must be spoken within the Land of Origin, and that—to avoid delays—the user should do so shortly after receiving the email.

Michael still found it strange. A key that wasn’t a physical object, but a sentence?

Even so, he memorized the words carefully. Then, without hesitation, he shifted most of his focus back to his body in the Land of Origin.

Back in the space within the Damaged Coffin of the Forgotten, Michael watched as the Epic Grade item slowly healed itself from the harm caused by his and his undead’s actions.

With a new purpose in mind, Michael no longer wished to linger in the coffin’s void.

This time, however, he chose not to summon Lucky and the other four back to the Netherworld, allowing them to remain within the space instead.

Staying in the Netherworld had always seemed to stunt their growing intelligence, and Michael had a quiet sense that the five themselves would not wish to remain there.

And now, there was no need. With his Epic Grade item space, Michael could carry them with him wherever he went.

Before leaving, he considered whether he should release more of his undead. The coffin’s inner world stretched nearly two kilometres which he figured was enough to accommodate them.

With a thought, Michael released all his undead.

As for that they’d do without supervision, Michael assumed they would remain still and perhaps just stare at the void in silence.

Back in his study, Michael picked the coffin from the floor and placed it carefully into his soul space. He did not sit down immediately. Instead, he closed his eyes and recalled the words he had memorized.

After a moment of hesitation, he spoke aloud in a voice that echoed with ceremony.

"Divine Lady Gagye, Emperor of the Still Waters... this humble one petitions entry into Your noble domain."

Michael’s vision shifted at once.

The familiar walls of his study dissolved, replaced by a strange and boundless scene. Beneath his feet stretched an endless sea of black water, its surface unnervingly still, as if time itself refused to ripple across it.

Above him hung enormous spheres of darkness, suspended in the sky like titanic black suns.

His breath hitched.

Then, from behind him, a voice echoed—calm, cold, and absolute.

"Approved."

Michael’s body stiffened, and he spun around sharply. There, standing as though she had always been present, was a woman.

For reasons he could not explain, her name surfaced instantly in his mind.

Gagye.

The very same name he had just invoked.

Michael opened his mouth, words forming on his lips, but before he could speak, the vision fractured like glass.

The black waters, the colossal orbs, the woman herself—all vanished.