Evolving My Undead Legion In A Game-Like World

Chapter 1266: Difference Between Natural and Artificial Awakening [2]

The trial world seemed to function somewhat like an extremely vivid dream after someone returned.

This was another detail Michael had learned from Arianne. For one, a participant did not necessarily enter the trial using their actual body.

Arianne had possessed another identity inside. While inside, everything had been completely real to Arianne.

Every experience had carried the same weight as reality. But after returning, according to Arianne, those five years now felt closer to an extraordinarily vivid dream.

She remembered them clearly. She could recall what she learned and the experiences she had gone through.

Yet they no longer overwhelmed her sense of self. Michael could roughly understand why.

The Awakening Temple was supposed to create Awakeners, not people who returned with mental issues. If someone spent decades inside a sufficiently difficult trial, came back after only a few external hours, and still emotionally processed both lives equally, the consequences could be disastrous.

They might feel disconnected from their real identity. Their personality could completely shift. Some might even reject their original identity.

Making the trial experience settle into something resembling an intensely realistic dream probably prevented that. The experiences remained. But the participant’s original sense of identity stayed dominant.

Knowing this had removed most of Michael’s earlier awkwardness. The Arianne holding him now had lived through five years of experiences. But she was still Arianne.

With this knowledge, Michael felt he could be a bit more at ease with letting Aunt Mia use the Awakening Temple, if she was interested in becoming an Awakener. At first, knowing that there was still a possibility of death, he had dismissed the idea and settled with buying a class scroll instead.

Though it was expensive, Michael had a lot of treasures he could exchange for it. This was also the advantage of having a territory as big as the empire behind him.

Still, if there was no need to endure such a cost, there was no need to force it. Since the trial likely did not carry the kind of risk that could leave Aunt Mia a stranger to herself, he would consider using it if he had to.

Michael’s thoughts settled before turning his attention fully back to Arianne.

”How do you feel?”

Arianne remained pressed against him for a moment before lifting her head slightly.

”Great. The experience was painful, though.”

Unlike Michael or his undead, who bore the experience of their evolution alone, Arianne had to integrate with her spirit beings and guide their evolution. Of course, this guiding wasn’t some omnipotent ability. The current Arianne was still far from that. It was more like a way to deepen the connection between spirit and tamer.

The mechanics were a bit complex for Michael to grasp, but he understood the gist of it.

Arianne’s expression quickly brightened. She began praising Michael right away, especially when she thought about what he had done to her spirits.

From her perspective, she had already returned with a powerful class and an exceptional foundation. Now Michael had taken the three spirits she depended on and evolved all of them to Epic Grade ★★★ while they were still only Level 10.

The power ceiling in the spirit world was weaker than the main world, but they followed a similar structure. Perhaps it was the trial’s way of deepening an Awakener’s understanding, but thanks to her experience there, Arianne had even more knowledge than Michael did when he first awakened.

Michael’s ability to bring her spirits to a level said to only exist in legends was so absurd that even Arianne, who had only spent a few years inside a world built around Spirit Tamers, understood how ridiculous it was.

Michael naturally felt good hearing her praise.

Still, he remembered to warn her.

”Don’t reveal what happened here to anyone. If possible, hide your spirit grades too.”

He was not especially worried about ordinary people. The problem was what would happen if someone knowledgeable discovered the uniform grade of Arianne’s spirits.

That kind of thing was far too abnormal. Even without knowing about Infinite Evolution, it could make Arianne a target for investigation.

Arianne nodded at once.

”Okay.”

Michael relaxed slightly after seeing her accept the warning.

Michael then smiled at her.

”What are you waiting for? I want to see them.”

Arianne’s eyes lit up at once. She had clearly been waiting for him to ask.

She sat up from the golden grass and closed her eyes for a moment. A faint spiritual fluctuation spread from her body and three figures slowly emerged.

The first two appeared together.

A boy and a girl.

Twins.

Both looked around seven or eight years old, with nearly identical facial structures that made their relationship obvious at a glance. Their faces were delicate and youthful, their features almost too refined for ordinary children.

The boy had short black hair that fell naturally over his forehead and striking silver eyes. His skin was pale, and he wore simple dark clothing that seemed to have formed naturally alongside his spiritual body.

Beside him stood his twin sister.

Unlike her brother, her hair was completely white.

It fell past her shoulders in soft strands, creating a sharp contrast against the boy’s black hair. Her eyes were the same silver as his, carrying a faint reflective quality. She looked slightly more expressive than her brother, her eyes moving curiously between Arianne and Michael.

At first glance, both children appeared completely real. Even their breathing and subtle movements were convincing enough that someone unfamiliar with spirits could easily mistake them for living children.

Only upon approaching closely would the differences become noticeable. Their bodies possessed an almost imperceptible translucence around the edges. The golden grass beneath their feet could faintly be seen through them whenever their spiritual forms fluctuated.

They looked alive. But it was clear they weren’t human.

The third spirit was completely different. A small red lion appeared beside them.

It was still clearly a cub, barely reaching Arianne’s knee, with soft crimson fur and a short mane beginning to grow around its neck. Its large golden-red eyes moved curiously between Michael and Arianne.

Compared to the twins, the little lion was far less restrained. The moment it fully manifested, its tail flicked excitedly, and it moved closer to Arianne right away.