Begitu Michael merasakan gelombang energi pekat yang membanjiri tubuhnya, dia tidak bisa tidak merasa bersyukur karena telah menyiapkan tempat yang aman untuk tubuh aslinya sebelum melakukan advancement.
Ingatan tentang advancement-nya yang terdahulu—saat dia hampir membahayakan keluarganya—masih menghantuinya. Jika Guru Brian tidak berada di dekat sana untuk turun tangan, segalanya mungkin akan berakhir dengan bencana.
Seiring dengan melonjaknya kekuatan Michael, pengaruhnya terhadap lingkungan sekitar pun ikut meningkat.
Pada Rank Satu, perubahannya sangat minim. Pada Rank Dua, peningkatan kekuatannya seharusnya jauh lebih mencolok—tetapi bahkan saat itu, skalanya seharusnya tidak mencapai tingkat yang sedang ia rasakan sekarang.
Kenyataannya sederhana: Michael tidak normal.
Sebagian besar Awakener tidak mampu menandingi Rank Dua sejati saat mereka masih berada di rank satu.
Lagipula, kau istimewa dan aku juga istimewa, apa yang bisa menghentikannya untuk memiliki kekuatan yang lebih besar?
Bukan hal yang langka menemukan Awakener yang sangat kuat dan mampu bertarung satu rank di atas mereka, tetapi jumlahnya sangat sedikit karena semua Awakener memiliki keuntungan yang sama, sehingga mempertahankan posisi teratas terbukti sulit.
Sebagian besar Awakener Rank Satu tidak bisa mengalahkan Rank Dua.
Tetapi, Michael? Dia bahkan sudah melampaui tolok ukur itu sebelum mencapai tahap ini.
Dia adalah pengecualian sejati.
Dan saat gelombang kekuatan yang begitu besar mencapai puncaknya, kesadaran Michael mulai memudar—sama persis seperti saat advancement rank pertamanya.
Namun kali ini, bahkan saat kesadarannya memudar, proses itu tidak berhenti.
Tubuhnya terus mengalami transformasi.
Kubah tanaman merambat itu bergetar.
Saat kesadaran Michael melayang pergi, udara di dalam kubah itu langsung menjadi pekat—terisi oleh mana yang begitu padat hingga berkilau samar bagaikan kabut. Gelombang energi mentah dan purba berdenyut keluar dari tubuhnya, membuat tanah bergetar dan tanaman merambat di atasnya merenggang kencang seolah alam sendiri sedang bereaksi terhadap fenomena tersebut.
Mana mekar bagaikan api liar.
Itu bukan sekadar lonjakan. Itu adalah sebuah letusan.
Rumput di bawah Michael menghitam dalam bentuk lingkaran sempurna. Seandainya Michael menjalani advancement ini di tempat lain, kehancurannya akan terjadi seketika.
Namun, dia tidak sendirian.
Seratus satu undead berdiri di sekelilingnya—hening, tak bergerak, dan sangat setia. Semuanya Rank Dua. Semuanya memancarkan kekuatan mereka sendiri.
Oleh karena itu, badai mana tersebut tidak menghancurkan kubah itu.
Para undead yang telah berevolusi itu menghadapi terjangan tersebut dengan mudah, tubuh mereka menyerap tekanan di sekitar seolah-olah itu hanyalah angin sepoi-sepoi.
Mereka tidak perlu diberi tahu apa yang harus dilakukan.
Ini adalah tujuan mereka.
Untuk melindunginya.
Untuk menunggu.
Dan itulah yang mereka lakukan.
Dalam formasi lingkaran yang sempurna, mereka membentuk garis pertahanan, dinding yang dipenuhi kesunyian dan kematian. Jika ada makhluk apa pun—bahkan sesosok monster king—yang tanpa sengaja memasuki ruang ini sekarang, mereka tidak akan mampu bertahan selama sedetik pun.
Karena sesuatu sedang berubah di pusat sana.
Tubuh Michael melayang sedikit dari tanah, terangkat oleh arus mana tak kasat mata yang berputar dari dalam dirinya. Pembuluh darahnya berpendar samar dengan garis-garis cahaya biru dan violet.
Transformasi telah dimulai.
Tulang-tulang di dalam tubuhnya berderak seiring bertambah kuatnya struktur mereka. Jalur mana mengembang, lalu mengembang lagi.
Pesan sistem berkedip-kedip di udara kosong—tidak terlihat oleh siapapun.
Di luar kubah, hutan menjadi sunyi mencekam. Burung-burung terbang lebih tinggi. Bahkan serangga kaya mana—yang biasanya tertarik pada energi yang melonjak—lenyap begitu saja.
Dan di pusat dari semuanya... Michael melayang. Masih tidak sadarkan diri. Masih terus berubah.
Waktu kehilangan artinya.
Bisa jadi itu hanya beberapa menit. Bisa jadi sudah berjam-jam.
Namun pada detik matanya akhirnya terbuka lebar, berpendar samar bagaikan api dingin di balik awan badai, kekuatan baru telah tertanam kuat di dalam dirinya.
Michael mengembuskan napas perlahan dan bangkit duduk dari tanah.
Michael mengembuskan napas perlahan dan bangkit duduk dari tanah.
Dunia terasa berbeda.
Lebih tajam. Lebih tenang. Lebih bising. Semuanya terjadi dalam satu waktu.
Segala hal menjadi jauh lebih peka.
Dia meregangkan jemarinya perlahan, mengepalnya menjadi sebuah kepalan tangan.
Kekuatan di dalam tubuhnya sangat luar biasa—hampir membuat kewalahan. Dia bisa merasakannya bergejolak di bawah kulitnya bagaikan badai yang nyaris tak tertahankan. Itu bukan sekadar kekuatan fisik belaka.
Michael mengeluarkan tawa tanpa suara, meskipun itu lebih terdengar seperti dengusan tidak percaya.
The moment Michael felt the intense surge of energy flooding his body, he couldn’t help but feel grateful he’d prepared a secure space for his real body before advancing.
The memory of his previous advancement—when he’d nearly endangered his family—still haunted him. If not for Teacher Brian being nearby to intervene, things might have ended in disaster.
As his power surged, so too did his influence on the surrounding environment.
At Rank 1, the change had been minimal. At Rank 2, the increase in strength should be more pronounced—but even then, it shouldn’t have reached the scale he was now experiencing.
The truth was simple: Michael was not normal.
Most Awakened couldn’t match a true Rank 2 while still being in rank 1.
Because after all, you’re special and I’m also special, what’s stopping me from having more power?
It wasn’t rare to have extremely powerful awakeners that could fight a rank above them but the numbers were few as all awakeners shared the same advantage so standing could prove difficult.
Most rank 1s couldn’t beat a rank 2.
But Michael? He had already surpassed that benchmark before even reaching this stage.
He was a true outlier.
And as the overwhelming tide of power reached its peak, Michael’s consciousness began to slip—just like it had during his first rank advancement.
But this time, even as his awareness faded, the process didn’t stop.
His body continued its transformation.
The vine dome trembled.
As Michael’s consciousness slipped away, the very air within the dome thickened—saturated with mana so dense it shimmered faintly like mist. A wave of raw, primal energy pulsed outward from his body, causing the ground to vibrate and the vines overhead to stretch taut as if nature itself was reacting to the phenomenon.
Mana bloomed like wildfire.
It wasn’t just a surge. It was an eruption.
The grass beneath Michael blackened in a perfect circle. If Michael had undergone this advancement anywhere else, the destruction would have been immediate.
But he wasn’t alone.
One hundred and one undead stood around him—silent, motionless, and utterly devoted. All Rank 2. All radiating power of their own.
And so, the mana storm did not consume the dome.
The evolved undead weathered the surge with ease, their bodies absorbing the ambient pressure as if it were little more than a breeze.
They didn’t need to be told what to do.
This was their purpose.
To protect him.
To wait.
And so they did.
In a circle of perfect formation, they formed a defensive perimeter, a wall of silence and death. Should any creature—even a monster king—stumble into this space now, they would not survive a second.
Because something was changing at the center.
Michael’s body hovered slightly off the ground, lifted by the unseen currents of mana spiraling from within him. His veins glowed faintly with threads of blue and violet light.
The transformation had begun.
Bones within his body creaked as they strengthened. Mana pathways expanded, then expanded again
System messages flickered across the empty air—seen by none.
Outside the dome, the forest grew eerily still. Birds flew higher. Even mana-rich insects—normally drawn to surging energy—vanished.
And at the center of it all... Michael floated. Still unconscious. Still changing.
Time lost meaning.
It could have been minutes. It could have been hours.
But the moment his eyes finally snapped open, glowing faintly like cold fire beneath storm clouds, a new power had taken root.
Michael exhaled slowly and sat up from the ground.
Michael exhaled slowly and sat up from the ground.
The world felt different.
Sharper. Quieter. Louder. All at once.
Everything was heightened.
He flexed his fingers slowly, curling them into fists.
The strength in his body was immense—almost overwhelming. He could feel it coiled beneath his skin like a barely restrained storm. It wasn’t just physical power, either.
Michael let out a breathless laugh, though it sounded more like a disbelieving scoff.
"...This is insane."
He’d felt strong before. When he evolved his undead and received stat feedback, the boost had been noticeable, even intoxicating. But this—this was on another level entirely.
Back then, he hadn’t even had time to properly adjust.
A part of him smiled warily.
"I need to be careful," he muttered under his breath.
He hadn’t even checked what his advancement had actually done yet.
Michael cracked his neck, releasing a low sigh of tension. He still needed to adjust, to refine the control over this newfound strength, but he couldn’t deny the pride stirring in his chest.
This was growth.
Real, undeniable, irreversible growth.
’Status.’
*****
[ Name: Michael Norman ]
[ Class: Master Necromancer ]
[ Level: 40 ]
[Strength: 313.25 {+177.5}]
[Agility: 331.41 {+184.}]
[Constitution: 369.32 {+178.2}]
[Intelligence: 443.22 {+215.9}]
[Attribute Points: 150 ]
[ Skills: Undead Summoning, Undead Revival, Detect, Basic Shot, Share Senses, Spearmanship, Acid Shot, Bone Spear, Slow Curse, Blind Curse, Bone Armour, Corpse Explosion, Acid Ball, Mana Arrow, Death Ray, Basic Martial Art.......]
[ Talent: Infinite Evolution ]
[ Class Skill: Contract Slot {115/250} ]
[ Gift: Mark of Origin ]
[ Title: First in history, Outliner ]
*******
The first thing Michael noticed after sitting up was his level and stats.
His level had jumped—fifteen levels, just like the reward from his advancement quest had promised.
"Level 40..." he muttered, blinking.
He doubted there were many of his peers even close to this. In sheer level alone, he might already be in the top one percent. But even that wasn’t what made his heart pound.
It was his stats.
They were monstrous.
These weren’t the stats of a fresh Rank 2 Awakened. Hell, they didn’t even feel like they belonged to someone at level 40. No—this was something else entirely.
Michael clenched his fist slowly, feeling the raw strength pulsing beneath his skin.
He gained stats in four ways:
One—natural class and race-based gains with each level up.
Two—attribute points rewarded levelling up.
Three—through steady cultivation over time.
And four—the most ridiculous of them all: feedback from his undead.
Thanks to his talent and sheer number of high-quality undead, the feedback loop from their evolution gave him stat gains most Awakened couldn’t even dream of. Every time one of his undead evolved, a portion of their power cycled back into him. And he had over a hundred Rank 2 undead.
That feedback alone made Michael’s stat growth absurd.
But that wasn’t even the biggest cheat.
His race—High Human.
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