Chapter 185
Michael had already been feeling uneasy the moment Mage Lian spoke.
However, when he heard the name of the treasure, his worry was quickly replaced by intrigue.
Great Knights? Great Mages?
He had no idea what level of power these titles represented in this world. Even now, he still didn’t have a clear understanding of what the soul was, but he did have something closely related to it—his talent.
To be fair, it would be incorrect to say his talent was directly reliant on his soul, since he had never felt himself interacting with this supernatural existence. But as someone still ignorant about the deeper workings of the supernatural world, he wasn’t about to draw his own conclusions.
However, there was one thing an increase in his soul could definitely help with—
More contract slots.
More contract slots meant more undead.
More undead meant more evolution points.
More evolution points meant more powerful and diverse undead.
It was an endlessly beneficial cycle.
Gaining two contract slots per level wasn’t bad. There were times Michael had questioned what kind of crippled class this was, especially when he struggled with the frustration of lacking evolution points. But once he calmed down, he always realized that wasn’t the case.
Just because Necromancers were Necromancers didn’t mean they couldn’t act like mages.
In essence, it functioned like any other mage class, except with an additional ability that allowed it to sustain itself.
The inability to control infinite undead didn’t make the class weaker either.
If Necromancers could command an infinite number of undead, the class wouldn’t be classified as a rare one—it would be unique.
Anyone with foresight could see the terrifying potential of this class.
So what if you were limited to a few contract slots?
If you could fill them with undead just as powerful as yourself, would you even need more?
Of course, as one grew stronger, such powerful undead would become increasingly difficult to find and kill. But who was to say that high-level Necromancers hadn’t fully manifested the potential of their class after centuries of existence?
One could only imagine the level of power such individuals would possess.
It certainly wouldn’t be easy, but if achieved, even if it didn’t make one the absolute strongest, it would be hard to say if anyone of the same rank could defeat them.
And the current Michael was the perfect example of that potential.
“It can enhance the soul?” he finally asked.
“I believe so,” Mage Lian replied. “This is a treasure I read about in the kingdom’s library years ago. I just didn’t think I’d actually encounter it on my recent adventure.”
Michael narrowed his eyes slightly.
“Why aren’t you keeping it for yourself?”
That was the real question, wasn’t it?
Why would someone willingly share such an amazing treasure?
At least, he wouldn’t. Why would he?
It was obvious Mage Lian hadn’t told him everything yet.
And Michael was right.
“It’s protected by two powerful monsters,” Mage Lian admitted. “I asked my fellow Grand Mage and three other Grand Knights to assist me, but they either had their own priorities or didn’t want to take the risk.”
“How strong are these monsters?” Michael asked.
Mage Lian’s answer was simple and without hesitation.
“Stronger than me.”
Michael had a peculiar expression on his face.
What kind of monsters could be stronger than Mage Lian?
They would have to be at least level 30—but even then, that shouldn’t be enough to stop someone of Mage Lian’s caliber. These monsters had to be significantly stronger.
Maybe even ten levels higher.
That was a power level far beyond what Michael could handle.
He could finally see why Mage Lian was willing to share this treasure.
He wasn’t strong enough to claim it on his own.
But Michael still had his doubts.
“Why not ask these ‘great’ mages and knights?” he asked.
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Michael wasn’t sure how strong these individuals were, but based on the way Mage Lian had spoken about them—his choice of words and the fact that their power had a ranked classification—it was clear they were formidable.
What he wasn’t sure of was just how formidable.
Were Great Mages still rank 2 supernaturals, just in the later stages? Or were they something else entirely?
“Yes… they could help, but… em… let’s just say I might end up working as a treasure finder instead,” Mage Lian said awkwardly, his expression turning odd. “I was planning to meet them before I met you, though.”
His words immediately made everything click for Michael.
I see. This isn’t the Federation.
It’s probably the law of the jungle here—or at the very least, the strongest are respected and treated as lords. Even someone as strong as Mage Lian has to follow this rule… to a certain extent.
If the Soul Magic Fruit was a treasure that could benefit those powerful figures, it was questionable whether Mage Lian would even get a share.
Rather than risk that, it was probably a safer bet to collaborate with Michael, who—at least on the surface—didn’t seem to have a massive power difference from him.
Though Mage Lian suspected Michael might have more than one undead, he didn’t think it was possible for him to have more than one of that powerful wolf he had seen.
At most, two—and even that was pushing it.
He didn’t know much about summoning, but he did know that nothing came easy in this world.
And he was right—except he was wrong about Michael.
Michael didn’t just have one monster capable of fighting rank 2 monsters.
He didn’t even have two.
He had three.
Michael thought for a moment, just about to reply to Mage Lian, when he suddenly froze.
Mage Lian noticed the shift immediately.
“What happened?” he asked.
Before Michael could answer, something else happened—something that made Mage Lian and the other knights on the deck stiffen in alarm.
A sharp expletive slipped from Michael’s lips.
“Fuck.”
There was a very good reason for his sudden change in reaction.
[Your Undead has killed a ———]
[You’ve gained ———]
Yes.
Michael was receiving notifications.
His undead were killing something.
But that wasn’t the problem.
The problem was—
Even though he hadn’t given them names, it was easy for him to recognize which undead were doing the killing.
And it wasn’t the ones in the real world.
Michael’s expression darkened.
He had somehow forgotten to recall his undead from the Land of Origin.