Evolving My Undead Legion In A Game-Like World

Chapter 953: Evolving Lily [1]

For a moment, neither of them spoke.

Michael leaned back into the sofa, his gaze lingering on Jester, but his thoughts had already drifted elsewhere.

In the past year, there had only been one existence he had never been able to fully understand how he felt toward.

That was Jester.

Things had certainly improved after Jester became his undead, but Jester’s nature made it difficult not to find him unsettling at times.

Jester did not act against him. But it acted for him in ways that even Michael himself would hesitate to.

Michael knew for a fact that if he told Jester to protect someone other than his family without further instructions, and if the person could still live without their limbs, Jester would do exactly that for the sake of efficiency. As long as the task was completed, the method was secondary.

That could be seen as a good or bad thing depending on who was judging, and every time Michael found himself unable to lean firmly in either direction.

Like now. A fight with a creature close to the demigod stage, and yet when Michael thought about the outcome he could not bring himself to feel anger. At most he was somewhere in between.

"Fate is really a dangerous thing to control."

If someone like Jester, at his current level, could already do something like this, then what about those at higher levels?

Michael did not believe Jester was the only being with this kind of ability. The thought brought him a quiet, creeping unease.

Was it possible that at some point since he became an awakener, some of his actions had not truly been his own?

After all, if a level 96 monster could be nudged into fulfilling a certain fate, what could be done to someone like him who was considerably weaker?

Everything suddenly made a strange kind of sense.

Shojo was not stupid. So why had it continued fighting even after realizing he had four Legendary Stage undead? Even if it had been initially confident, the moment it fought the Drakeblood to a stalemate it could have disengaged, and Michael would not have been able to do much to stop it.

And putting the monster aside entirely, were his own thoughts truly his own?

Michael knew himself well enough. He was not opposed to risk, but he did not like taking excessive ones. Even knowing he could handle Legendary Stage creatures, he would not have chosen to target something at level 96. He would have gone for something weaker which would have given less experience over time.

In the end, Michael could not bring himself to be angry.

Jester had acted on his behalf, and the outcome had undeniably benefited him.

Still.

"Having good intentions doesn’t mean you can act like this freely," Michael said, his voice calm but carrying weight.

Jester straightened slightly.

"You went too far this time. I won’t stop you from using your law, but be careful with it. Especially when it involves me." His gaze sharpened faintly. "And next time, don’t use it on me without telling me if you can help it. Or at the very least, inform me if you notice something."

The reason Michael did not forbid Jester from using his ability entirely was because he recognized that depending on the situation, things could work in his favor again. There was no reason to destroy the road completely.

Jester lowered his head without hesitation.

"Yes, Master."

There was no resistance in his tone. Only acceptance.

Then, after a brief pause, Jester added, "If I continue to study my ability, I should be able to communicate with Master regardless of distance."

Michael’s eyes shifted slightly at that.

"Oh?"

"That level of connection should not be difficult to achieve," Jester continued. "The soul tie between us already exists. It is only a matter of refining my control over it."

A faint hint of satisfaction appeared on Michael’s face.

Jester truly was a treasure, even accounting for everything else.

"Good," Michael said simply.

But as that thought settled, another quickly followed.

"If someone else tries to act on my fate, can you stop it?"

"Yes. For beings within my current capacity, I can disrupt external influence on Master’s fate to a certain degree."

Michael felt a subtle sense of relief at that.

But Jester did not stop there.

"However, if the opposing entity is significantly stronger than me, there is little I can do."

The satisfaction from before faded slightly.

Unfortunately the only immediate way to boost Jester’s power was through another evolution, and Michael did not currently have enough evolution points to initiate one. At epic grade, the next evolution would require considerably more time and resources to arrange.

Michael set the matter aside and turned his attention back to Jester’s condition.

"You’ll recover, right?"

"Yes, Master. My original body will require time to recover the expended essence. However, this vessel possesses sufficient regenerative capabilities and will return to its optimal state within a few hours."

Michael nodded faintly.

"And your levels?"

Jester paused briefly before answering. "I may recover a portion of what was lost, but returning to my previous peak will not be possible through recovery alone. That will require fresh cultivation."

Michael paused for a moment.

"That’s fine. As long as you recover properly, that’s enough."

In any case, if Jester needed more power all he needed was time. What mattered was that Jester itself had not suffered any irreversible damage.

"In any case, that’s not why I called you."

Jester lifted his head slightly, attentive.

Michael briefly stated his intentions of having Jester harvest the dead Legendary Stage monster’s memories for information that could prove beneficial.

Shortly after, Jester was placed inside the storage ring together with Shojo’s corpse.

Three days passed after that.

On the third day Jester finished devouring the deer’s memories, but that was not the most significant thing happening on this particular day.

Today Michael was finally going to evolve Lily.

"Is this world really inside that ring on your finger?"

Lily’s voice carried clear disbelief as she looked around, her eyes moving slowly across the vast purple expanse.

As the Federation had released more information about supernaturals, she had heard of storage rings. But was something so small truly capable of holding a world like this?

Michael, who stood beside her, let out a soft chuckle.

"Amazing, right?"

Lily did not respond immediately. Her gaze remained fixed on the surroundings.

The sky above was not truly a sky, yet it stretched endlessly, painted in shifting shades of violet and deep indigo. There was no sun, and yet there was light.

"This is ridiculous. I thought it was just for fashion," Lily muttered under her breath.

That made Michael laugh.

To Lily, the ring had always just been another accessory. After all, compared to everything else about him, a ring hardly stood out.

Just yesterday she had found out that this big brother of hers had tattoos on his body. Though she felt they looked beautiful and mysterious, feeling a little mischievous she had reported to her mother, only for both of them to return and find a spotless, clean-skinned Michael.

Lily did not know how he had done it, and after a good scolding from her mother she had begged him to share his method to which he refused. This guy loved keeping all the good things to himself.

Lily continued observing the surroundings with suppressed excitement.

Compared to the kind of environments she subconsciously associated with Michael’s abilities, this place was unexpectedly beautiful.

Michael walked ahead at an unhurried pace, a faint smile on his face. He found her reaction amusing.

In truth, this was not the first time Lily had been brought here, but it was the first time she was conscious enough to see it. The last time, she and Aunt Mia had been knocked out cold by Jester.

He could have taken her to the Damaged Coffin of the Forgotten instead, but that place was probably not suitable for ordinary people to stay in. In terms of environment, this was the better choice.

Over the past few days, Lily and Michael had gotten over their initial awkwardness and their conversations were no longer stiff.

After observing enough, Lily finally turned her attention back to Michael.

"You said you wanted to see me for something."

Michael nodded.

For a brief moment, he hesitated before speaking.

"Do you want power?"

Lily blinked in surprise. Then her lips curled slightly.

"What is that line?"

She looked at him with a half-amused expression.

"You sound like a low-budget villain."

Michael did not respond. He just looked at her.

Slowly, Lily’s smile faded when she saw there was no joke in his expression.

The air between them grew quieter.

After a few seconds, Lily exhaled softly, her gaze lowering slightly before lifting again.

"Yes."

This time, there was no humor in her voice.

"I do."

She did not rush her words.

"You and Jester are very strong."

There was no jealousy in her tone.

"It’s great, having people like you around."

Her fingers curled slightly at her side.

"But I don’t like it."

Michael did not interrupt.

"I don’t like feeling like I can only stand behind you," she said quietly. "Like no matter what happens, I’ll just rely on you to deal with it."

Her gaze met his again.

"I don’t want to always be the one being protected."

There was a brief silence.

Michael studied her for a moment, then a faint smile appeared on his face.

"It’s fine to rely on me."

His voice was calm.

"If not me, then who are you going to rely on?"

Lily did not respond immediately.

"But," Michael added, "wanting your own strength isn’t a bad thing either."

His smile did not fade.

"If anything, it’s better."

That seemed to ease something in her expression.

Then Michael tilted his head slightly.

"By the way."

Lily blinked.

"What?"

Michael’s smile turned just a bit more playful.

"Didn’t you always want to know the secret behind this?"

He gestured lightly toward himself.

Lily stared at him for a second. Then her eyes narrowed.

"Your face?"

Michael did not deny it.

"Wait."

Her expression shifted.

"You’re telling me—"

Michael just smiled and said nothing.

Lily was frustrated by his air of mystery.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

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A/N; Long Chapter! Another one coming right up! Vote to support!!