Evolving My Undead Legion In A Game-Like World

Chapter 967: It’s you?

Aunt Mia had not been unattractive before the evolution. Objectively she had been a reasonably attractive woman who had simply been worn down by circumstances.

However with her current look Michael found himself involuntarily imagining the volume of attention that was going to find its way in her direction.

The hungry uncles alone would be a considerable problem.

Michael exhaled slowly through his nose.

At least she had the physical strength now to handle any ordinary man who overstepped. That was something.

Michael set the thought aside before it developed further.

Regardless of what evolution brought to their lives, what mattered most was that they could live longer now. Before reaching Rank 3 he could power feed them enough to extend their lifespans by centuries.

If either of them ever wanted more power by then, he would simply feed it to them further.

But that would mean using his taming skill again.

After using the skill he could apply his talent to them, but Michael cut the thought off there.

The main reason was that he did not particularly like the idea of keeping family members as pets. The other reason was Lily specifically. It would be one thing if she lacked any opportunity to awaken, but being bound as a pet would ensure she never could. What concern did a pet have with awakening?

Though the taming skill would allow him to bring family members to the Land of Origin since they would have an identity attached through the skill’s effect, Michael saw no particular appeal.

Soon Michael set his spoon down and pushed back slightly from the table.

"I’ll be heading off now," he said to his aunt.

Aunt Mia looked up from her bowl. The unfocused quality of a moment ago cleared immediately.

"Will you come back soon?"

Michael held her gaze for a moment before answering honestly. "I’m not sure. With everything that’s happened recently, the academy will probably be busy for a while." He paused. "But I’ll try my best to come back and spend time with you both when I can."

Aunt Mia looked at him for a long moment, then nodded once.

"Then go," she said. "Don’t let your teachers punish you for being late."

Michael’s expression went slightly odd.

By teachers she meant the academy instructors, right?

After his last incident that had destroyed the manor and revealed his power, would they actually try to punish him? Then again, why was he assuming the punishment would have to be physical.

In the end Michael nodded anyway.

He sent a mental message to Jester as he stood.

’Protect them. And when you have time, go to the Supers Association branch and ask them where my money is. They have been dragging their feet for days now. Make it clear that my patience has limits.’

Jester’s acknowledgment came back immediately.

’Don’t attack anyone.’

’Yes, master.’

’Or kill anyone.’

"..."

As for the Supers Association, if they dared to withhold what was owed he would go find Rynne and cry loudly in her direction. If that managed to bring the vice dean into the conversation, he would like to see how the Federation would not cough blood over the result.

After a few months in the academy Michael had begun to understand some things.

Michael looked at the table one last time.

With a final nod he disappeared.

With his Wisdom state active, the journey did not take long.

Michael arrived above the city where the academy’s secret realm was situated and slowed his approach to take in the state of things from above.

"I expected worse, to be honest. This is much better than I thought."

The city was damaged. That much was undeniable. There were sections where the destruction was clearly visible, and the traces of monster activity from the dimensional crack expansion were readable in the landscape if one knew what to look for.

But it was standing. The city’s fundamental infrastructure had not collapsed. The scale of destruction was only marginally worse than what Brightgate had sustained at its worst periods.

"As expected of the academy," Michael muttered with genuine respect.

Even facing an expansion event that had pushed stronger monsters into the surrounding area, the institution had held its ground and kept the damage within manageable parameters. That spoke to the quality of the forces it could deploy.

Minimal destruction did not mean no destruction. The reconstruction timeline, if Michael had to estimate it, would take at least two years before the city recovered anything close to its previous appearance. Probably longer if the more severely affected districts required foundation work rather than surface rebuilding alone.

Michael gave the city one final look before descending toward the academy’s secret realm entrance.

Moments later he was back on academy grounds.

The contrast with the city above was immediate. The academy grounds looked largely as he had left them.

What was different was the population.

There were considerably more students moving through the grounds than there had been before his departure.

"Seems like the academy announcement worked."

Michael watched the increased activity for a moment before moving in the direction of Director Arven’s office.

After all, he had another purpose for coming to the academy beyond simply reporting in and attending to school business.

He had only walked a certain distance across the grounds when a strange pulling sensation reached him from somewhere ahead. What made it stranger was that he could simultaneously sense something being drawn toward him from the same direction. Two separate tugs meeting in the middle.

Michael stopped walking.

He was curious but also alarmed

In the end he decided to investigate. This was the academy. Whatever this was, a direct threat within these grounds was unlikely.

Michael steeled himself and walked in the direction the pull indicated.

It led him to Director Lin’s office.

He stood outside for a moment and took a slow breath. Then he knocked.

"Enter."

Director Lin’s voice.

Since using his senses to check what was inside would be rude, Michael had no idea what to expect as he pushed the door open and stepped through.

Across the room, beside Director Lin’s desk, stood a figure he recognized immediately.

"Teacher Brian?!"