Evolving My Undead Legion In A Game-Like World

Chapter 897: Death’s Heir

A new panel appeared instantly.

[Class Transition]: Death’s Heir

[Warning]: This action is irreversible. Once the transition is confirmed, your current class will be permanently altered.

Do you wish to proceed?

[Yes] / [No]

Michael looked at the warning for a moment. Then he selected Yes without hesitation.

The panel changed.

[Class Transition]: In Progress

[Condition]: To fully transition into Death’s Heir, engrave a Rank 3 undead.

[Progress]: 0/1

[Note]: Engraving is the act of imprinting the essence of the dead directly onto oneself. Channel the death energy of a Rank 3 undead under your command and imprint it into your existence.

Michael stared at the condition for a moment.

So it wasn’t immediate. The ticket had started the process but the class would not fully take hold until he completed the requirement himself. It made a certain kind of sense.

Soon knowledge of how to perform what was called engraving entered Michael’s mind. However it was only knowledge of how to do it, not of the effects or what came after.

Michael exhaled slowly, his gaze shifting toward the Damaged Coffin of the Forgotten where his undead waited.

He already knew who he was going to use.

A moment later, standing before Michael was a young man in his early twenties. He looked almost nothing like Michael, yet as they stood in the same space something similar seemed to pass between them. He had long hair like Michael, pale fair skin, and green, beautiful eyes that seemed to glow faintly in the darkness.

It was Lucky. Michael’s first undead.

Lately in terms of power Lucky had been falling behind some of the others, but Michael wasn’t worried. All the wolf needed was a little upgrade and he would be back at the very top.

Regardless of where the others stood, Lucky still held a special place.

Since this was his transition to a new class, just as his understanding of his talent had begun with Lucky, Michael wanted the same here. He had also only chosen Lucky because the knowledge he had just received gave no indication that the engraved undead would be negatively affected.

Michael raised both hands slowly and began.

The first circle appeared between them, a single rotating ring of dark energy about the width of his shoulders. He kept the output deliberately low, conscious at every moment of the strength sitting beneath his skin like water pressing against a dam.

A second ring formed inside the first, rotating in the opposite direction. Then a third. Each new layer added density to the structure, and the space between the rings began filling with connecting lines that curved and branched according to patterns the knowledge in his mind supplied automatically. It was not like drawing. It was closer to remembering something he had always known, guiding each element into place with careful deliberate intention.

The formation grew more complex as it built outward. By the fourth layer the structure had developed an inner geometry that made it difficult to look at directly, angles and curves intersecting in ways that didn’t quite resolve into anything familiar. By the sixth it was humming.

Lucky watched the whole process without moving. He stood a short distance away with his head tilted slightly, those green eyes tracking each new layer as it appeared with quiet attentive curiosity.

The seventh and final layer locked into place.

Michael exhaled slowly and steadied himself. The full formation rotated in multiple directions simultaneously.

He pressed inward.

The formation shrank. All seven layers compressed toward a single point in one smooth controlled motion, the hum rising briefly as the structure collapsed, and then the whole thing folded against Lucky’s chest and disappeared into him.

Lucky blinked.

Then his outline softened.

It started at the edges. The clean definition of his silhouette blurred slightly, his pale skin darkening inward as the solidity of him began to give way, his form breaking apart in fine particles of black ash. His long hair dissolved strand by strand. His hands, his shoulders, the careful stillness of his expression, all of it gave way gradually to the same dark drift until nothing of his physical form remained.

In the space where Lucky had stood, a small green flame burned, and around it the ash that had been his body condensed in a slow rotating circle.

The green flame was Lucky in his truest undead form.

His soul fire.

Now it was time for the next part.

After thinking for a moment Michael chose his back as the location.

The green flame drifted toward him slowly, drawn by the pull of his intent. Michael sat still and let it come. He shifted his position on the bed carefully, sitting forward slightly to give the process room, and directed his intent toward the space between his shoulder blades.

”...Go ahead.”

He wasn’t sure if Lucky could understand him in this form. But the flame drifted closer anyway.

The moment it made contact with his skin Michael’s breath caught.

It wasn’t unbearable. He had experienced worse, considerably worse, and the memory of lightning tearing through him nine consecutive times made this feel almost manageable by comparison. But it was not nothing either. The sensation was a deep sustained burn that sat just below the threshold of real pain.

Michael kept his jaw set and said nothing.

The process moved slowly across his upper back, tracing a path he couldn’t see but could feel in precise and deliberate increments.

This wasn’t all but Michael could swear he felt like he was getting heavy.

Several minutes passed.

When the sensation finally faded Michael sat still for a moment longer, just breathing, before he reached back carefully and let his fingers brush the skin between his shoulder blades.

A panel appeared.

[Class]: Death’s Heir

[Engraving Slots]: 1/20

[Engraving Registry]

[Source]: Lucky

[Location]: Back

[Stat Bonus to Host]:

Strength: +55

Agility: +75

Constitution: +65

Intelligence: +82

[Passive Granted]:

Poison Resistance (Rank 3): 80% immunity

Poison Resistance (Below Rank 3): 100% immunity

Intimidating Aura to Rank 3 and below creatures

[Active Granted]:

Transformation.

[Condition]: Bonuses and resistances are only active while the engraved creature remains passive . All effects are lost upon summoning.

Excitement surged through him as the full weight of what had just landed in his hands began to settle.

His gaze dropped back to the panel, locking onto a single word.

Transformation.

Michael’s curiosity pulled at it immediately. He wondered what the ability actually did, turning the word over in his mind, and didn’t realise until it was already happening that his intent had pressed against it. His curiosity had been strong enough to count as a command.

”...Wait.”

But it was already too late.

A surge of energy exploded from his back. Michael’s body tensed violently as something tore outward from within. His spine arched, muscles tightening as power flooded every part of him in an instant.

The bed beneath him shattered.

The walls cracked.

Then the entire structure gave way.

The building exploded outward as something massive forced itself free. Debris scattered in every direction. Dust rose into the air.

And where Michael had once been, something else stood in the middle of the collapsed manor.

Fifteen metres tall. A massive wolf with deep green fur, its body radiating a dense oppressive aura that pressed against the surroundings like a physical force. From its back, dragon-like wings stretched outward, tearing through the settling dust with a low heavy beat. Its eyes burned with a familiar green light.

Michael’s thoughts froze for half a second.

Then recognition followed.

”...Lucky.”

This form was not unfamiliar. It was Lucky’s true form. Only now, he was the one standing within it.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​