Evolving My Undead Legion In A Game-Like World

Michael had barely finished speaking when another notification appeared. His attention immediately shifted back to the floating panels.

[Battlefield Arena Closing]

[The ranking arena will remain active for 02 Hours 59 Minutes 41 Seconds] [Participants may continue exploring the battlefield until the countdown reaches zero] [When the timer expires, all remaining participants will be returned to their previous location within the Origin Battlefield] Michael blinked in surprise.

"…Returned?"

After a match ended, the arena didn't immediately collapse.

"So that's another function…"

It seemed the Origin Battlefield was revealing its rules little by little instead of explaining everything at once. Michael then patiently waited for another panel to appear, but after a full minute, nothing happened.

"…"

The silence became almost awkward.

Finally, Michael's face darkened.

"…That's it?"

He looked around the empty battlefield as though expecting another panel to suddenly appear, but was still met with nothing.

Michael's eyebrow twitched.

"So someone lower-ranked can challenge me whenever they want, and after I beat the person who came looking for trouble I get nothing?"

Silence answered him.

Michael looked toward the gray sky.

"Origin Battlefield, you're unbelievably stingy."

His lips twitched. The only reward he had obtained was maintaining the rank he already possessed. Not even moving up. Just not moving down.

Michael clicked his tongue.

"So I waste my mana, spend my time, reveal part of my abilities, and all I get is keeping what I already had."

He suddenly understood why the challenge system allowed participants to refuse three times every month.

"If this is the reward for successfully defending, then anyone with a brain would refuse challenges unless they were forced to accept.

The challenger risks little. The defender risks everything. If the challenger wins, they steal your ranking. If they lose, they lose almost nothing if they play smart."

"…What kind of unfair system is this?"

Michael folded his arms. Of course, he knew there had to be a reason. Otherwise, no one would willingly defend their position.

Perhaps the true value lay entirely in the monthly ranking rewards. If those rewards were extraordinary enough, then protecting one's position would naturally become worthwhile.

Even so, he still couldn't help muttering,

"…You could've at least given me a participation reward."

The empty battlefield remained as silent as ever, completely ignoring his complaint.

Michael waited another few seconds before finally giving up.

"…Fine."

If there were no rewards, then there were no rewards. His gaze naturally shifted toward the two undead floating quietly nearby. A smile slowly spread across his face.

"…At least you two were worth the effort."

With a wave of his hand, both undead drifted toward him obediently. Michael activated Detect.

[Bone Dragon]

Level: 100

Grade: Extraordinary ★★★

[Bone Wyvern]

Level: 100

Grade: Extraordinary ★★★

Michael nodded in satisfaction.

"Peak Rank Four…"

Though he possessed thousands of Rank Four undead, the vast majority were ordinary Rank Fours. Only a single one of his undead had truly reached the peak of Rank Four before today. Even those close to that level were extremely few.

Yet now, thanks to one extraordinarily generous person, he suddenly possessed two more.

His smile widened.

"And they're both from the Bone series."

That pleased him even more. Before today, despite commanding thousands of undead, he hadn't owned a single high-grade bone-type undead.

His legion consisted mostly of corpses that had retained flesh, or bodies capable of taking a human shape after advancing to Rank Three.

Michael slowly walked around the enormous Bone Dragon, inspecting every section of its body. Its bones possessed a metallic sheen.

Every joint was engraved with naturally formed runes that continuously gathered Death Energy from the surroundings. Its soul fire burned steadily without the slightest sign of instability.

The wyvern wasn't much worse. Although smaller than the dragon, its wings were exceptionally broad and its bones considerably lighter.

"…Not bad."

Michael became increasingly satisfied the more he looked. These weren't ordinary summons. They had obviously been cultivated carefully over many years.

Varek had likely invested an enormous amount of resources into raising them to this level.

Even their foundation was stronger than his undead High Drake's base stats, though that couldn't be helped given the difference in accumulated time.

In any case, these two now belonged to him.

Michael chuckled.

"I suppose I should thank him."

If Varek hadn't been so unwilling to accept someone ranked above him, these two powerful undead would never have fallen into his hands.

Thinking about the expression Varek would probably have after returning to the Origin Battlefield made Michael's smile grow even brighter.

"I wonder if he'll challenge me again."

After a brief pause, he shook his head.

"…Hopefully."

After all, there might still be several more valuable undead waiting inside that generous necromancer's collection.

Michael's eyes lingered on the Bone Dragon and Bone Wyvern for another moment before a thought suddenly crossed his mind.

"…I still have almost three hours."

He slowly looked around the endless Deathfrost Rainlands. The battlefield was enormous. More importantly, it was filled with death.

A slow smile spread across his face.

"…This really is a wonderful place."

Such an opportunity wasn't something he intended to waste. Especially now that he had obtained two new peak Rank Four undead.

Michael immediately thought of one of the core abilities granted by his Death Heir class.

Engraving.

Unlike ordinary summoning skills, Engraving wasn't merely a method of storing undead. It absorbed the very essence of a dead creature, preserving its existence within Michael himself.

As long as an engraved undead remained intact, Michael could call it forth whenever he wished.

Even if its temporary body was destroyed, its engraved essence would remain unharmed. It was, without question, one of the greatest methods for keeping the best of his legion and giving them terrifying survivability.

At Rank Three, Michael possessed only twenty engraving slots. And every single one of them was currently occupied.

Naturally, none of those twenty were weak. Even so, that didn't mean some couldn't be replaced. If something stronger appeared, then weaker engraved undead would simply have to make room.

Visit and read more novel to help us update chapter quickly. Thank you so much!