Chapter 1052: Three Months Later, Changes [4] |
Unfortunately for Michael, even after controlling the empire there was no progress on his rank advancement quest. He had expected this, but it did not stop him from feeling disappointed.
However, since it had only been three months since his quest started, though anxious, Michael could only keep his calm.
At least compared to his other ongoing tasks, his goal of having thousands of Rank 4 undead was drawing closer.
The Eternal Crown Empire was not Michael's only source of growth during those three months. The one hundred and five dimensional cracks in Aurora had also begun producing results.
When Michael first received access to them, he had performed several rough calculations. The final number had honestly shocked even him.
If he completely sacrificed every monster killed across all one hundred and five dimensional cracks and converted every corpse into Evolution Points, the amount he could obtain each month would easily exceed ten million Evolution Points.
Just thinking about it felt absurd. Only a few months ago, fifty million Evolution Points had been one of Michael's greatest concerns. Now he could earn that amount in less than five months.
Unfortunately, reality was not quite that simple. Michael quickly realized there was a problem.
Attention.
A few thousand corpses? Normal. A few tens of thousands? Still understandable. Hundreds of thousands? Questions would begin appearing. Millions? People would inevitably start investigating.
Michael reached that conclusion shortly after his meeting with Director Lin three months ago. The issue was not merely the corpses themselves. It was the scale. At some point, the number became abnormal even for a Necromancer.
More importantly, pursuing his original plan also carried another risk of exposing the Mausoleum of Endless Dominion.
The more dimensional cracks he personally managed, the more frequently he would need to move resources across continents, and the greater the chance of revealing abilities he had no intention of exposing.
After careful consideration, Michael altered his plans. He did not abandon the dimensional cracks. Instead, he changed his priorities.
Rather than pursuing one hundred percent Evolution Point profit, he shifted toward a seventy-thirty split. Seventy percent wealth. Thirty percent Evolution Points.
Even with this adjustment, the results remained incredible. He was still capable of generating over one million Evolution Points every month.
Out of the one hundred and five dimensional cracks, Michael only retained direct control over roughly twenty-five. The remaining eighty were returned to their original organizations. Of course, not for free.
Instead, Michael negotiated profit-sharing agreements. The academies and various organizations regained operational control while Michael retained a percentage of the benefits generated from those dimensional cracks.
The arrangement worked perfectly for both sides. The organizations recovered valuable resources. Michael avoided attracting excessive attention. And everyone made money.
In fact, several powers seemed almost relieved when Michael proposed the arrangement.
They had already suspected he would not personally manage all one hundred and five dimensional cracks forever. The logistical burden alone would have been ridiculous.
As a result, negotiations proceeded far more smoothly than expected. Using the academy as an intermediary, Michael spent weeks meeting representatives from various organizations. The final agreements were surprisingly generous.
By the time everything concluded, Michael had secured a massive advance payment covering the next three years of projected profits. The amount was enough to leave even him speechless.
Twenty billion dollars. Raw liquid assets. Not resources. Not land. Not investments. Actual money.
Of course, this was after a thirty percent tax, something that still made his teeth ache every other night.
In any case, not only had Michael become wealthy in the Land of Origin. Now he was just as wealthy in Aurora.
Of course, wealth itself was not what interested him most. What truly mattered was what that wealth could become. Everything ultimately led back to strength.
Using the massive amount of Evolution Points he had accumulated over those few months, Michael finally accomplished part of the all-strong undead goal he had set for himself.
Right now, Michael had a thousand Rank 4 undead.
As for the rest of his legion, none remained below Rank 3. Every single contracted undead under Michael's command had reached at least Rank 3.
The resources consumed during the process were enough to make him feel genuine pain. Yet Michael never regretted it.
After all, every advancement generated feedback, and a thousand Rank 4 undead produced an amount of feedback that could only be described as monstrous.
Of course, the more undead that advanced, the less significant the individual gains became. That was simply how the system worked.
Otherwise Michael would have become invincible long ago. Even so, the accumulated benefits from a thousand Rank 4 undead were still enormous.
His physical strength increased. His vitality increased. His soul strengthened, granting him even a few more contract slots. His mana reserves expanded. His perception sharpened. Every aspect of him experienced meaningful growth.
The result left Michael with rather mixed feelings.
Objectively speaking, he was strong. Without using magic, he was now capable of suppressing Lily in direct combat. Unfortunately, though he was powerful, he was ultimately not a true Rank 4.
Rank 4 was the realm where one's understanding of existence began affecting reality itself. Every true Rank 4 possessed a Law Domain, which Michael lacked.
Without one, Michael often felt like a counterfeit. A fake Rank 4. A brute carrying enough power to challenge genuine Rank 4 existences while lacking the foundation that made them truly terrifying.
It was similar to a child carrying a legendary sword. The weapon was real. The power was real. But the person wielding it had not fully grown into it.
Of course, this was only Michael's own assessment. If a normal Rank 4 heard him describe himself that way, they would probably spit blood from anger.
After all, most Rank 4 existences spent decades accumulating power. Michael had accomplished what many of them could not in only a year.
These three months could be said to be the most progressive in Michael's career.
Aside from his gains, there were also a few changes in his interpersonal life.
For one, Arianne had woken up a month ago, but there was a problem.
A problem appearing was not something that surprised Michael. It was the kind of problem that appeared that caught him off guard.
Following her awakening was something Michael had not expected to see. A status panel.
Yes. Arianne somehow had a status panel, something that only awakeners or things directly related to them could possess.
Though taken aback, Michael immediately understood what had happened.
It was simple. It was because Arianne now resided in a body that had once been his clone.
In reality it was technically still his clone, and Arianne could be said to be an external consciousness of his.
Because of this complex yet intimate connection to his existence, she who was tagged as his clone now had a status panel.
Knock knock.
Michael, who was currently in one of the villas he owned in the royal capital that had belonged to the previous royal family, heard a knock on the office door.
With his senses he immediately knew who it was, making him draw a quiet breath.
"Come in."
A second later, the door opened with a soft click and a figure entered the room.
The person who stepped inside appeared to be a young woman in her late teens or perhaps early twenties. Seeing her, the first thing most people would notice was her hair.
Golden. Not merely blonde, but a rich golden color that seemed to shimmer beneath the light. Yet scattered throughout those golden strands were streaks of black.
The black was not overwhelming. It appeared only in certain places, weaving naturally through the golden hair and creating a strange beauty that made it difficult to look away.
The next thing that attracted attention were her eyes. Bright emerald-green eyes. They seemed almost luminous, as though faint light existed within them.
Combined with her pale skin and delicate features, the result was breathtaking.
She was also surprisingly tall. Not as tall as Michael, but taller than most women.
And unlike before, Michael's gaze unconsciously drifted downward for a brief moment. Then he immediately coughed.
"Ahem."
A faint trace of embarrassment appeared on his face. This was something the previous Arianne had lacked before he reconstructed her body.
Every single time he noticed it, Michael silently swore to himself that he was not some kind of pervert. Absolutely not. Unfortunately, his conscience seemed unconvinced.
The young woman stopped before his desk. Her glowing green eyes landed on him.
"…"
"…"
For several seconds neither spoke. Then Arianne's gaze slowly shifted downward. Toward the documents in front of him. Then toward the tea beside him. Then toward the half-finished reports stacked on another table.
Finally, she looked back at him.
"Busy?"
Michael immediately felt a slight headache.
Ever since waking up a month ago, Arianne had changed. Not dramatically. She was still Arianne. Yet there was something different about her now.
Perhaps it was because of her unusual circumstances. Perhaps it was because she had literally died once. Or perhaps it was because she now possessed a status panel.
Whatever the reason, she seemed...clingy.
It was only noon and this was the sixth time since daybreak that she had come to his office.
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