Chapter 578 True Human. New Titles.
Compared to the first day, this time the monsters around seemed restless. Their breathing was heavier, their claws dug grooves into the soil, and their eyes flickered with a light that was far from calm.
Prince and Gale were restless too, though for an entirely different
reason.
For the beasts, it was hunger for the "fruit" before them. They could feel that the treasure they waited for was about to bloom, and if they could seize even a fraction of it, their paths would advance by leaps and bounds. That was enough to drive them half-mad with anticipation.
For Prince and Gale, it was dread.
Though they had laws more profound than their peers, and though their strength eclipsed what their levels suggested, the truth was simple: they were still only two. Facing close to five dozen Rank 3 monsters was suicide.
Just like Michael had once suspected, his undead were beginning to change. The more intelligent they became, the longer they spent in places outside the Netherworld or his storage space, where time either stopped or trickled too slowly, the more individuality they began to emit.
It was like now.
Before, Prince and Gale would have simply stood still like silent guardians, willing to die before their master without hesitation or thought. But now, they were different. Their instincts remained the same, but their minds... their minds stirred.
It wasn't that they wouldn't die for their Master. They would do so without hesitation, but now it wasn't like before when they died and that was it. They wanted to make sure that even if they died, their Master would still be safe.
This was the cost of intelligence. Even without full emotions, it was mimicked by intelligence, and as intelligent beings they became more complex.
This had its good and bad points, but it would be up to Michael to decide which parts were good and which were bad.
Like that, the third day pressed on, with fifty predators and two guardians circling one silent man whose body glowed like dawn.
Prince could stop the light but not the radiance.
Though it had only been barely three days, the situation around Michael had already brought gains that were nothing short of extraordinary.
Prince and Gale weren't even fully cultivating. They stood as guardians, suppressing the commotion and holding the dome in place, yet the benefits they reaped were undeniable.
Three days, and each of them had leveled three times. Even the monsters lingering outside, waiting for Michael to "bloom," had received their own benefits to varying degrees. And this was only the surface reward from the initial overflow. If they took time later to digest it properly, they knew the results would be even greater, even if slightly reduced compared to this torrent.
But the point was clear.
If these gains were merely scraps, leftovers leaking from Michael's transformation, then how unfathomably profitable would the source
itself be?
The realization made Prince tense Gale tense. They understood, as did the fifty monsters crowding the forest edge, that the "man/fruit" glowing inside the dome was a treasure.
And treasures, once they bloomed, were always fought over.
For "treasures" like this, even if blood had to be shed, it will.
Night fell, and the change was impossible to hide any longer.
The light streaming from Michael's body pierced even Prince's layered dome. Threads of brilliance bled outward until the barrier itself began to shine, fractured seams glowing like molten cracks.
Then the sky shifted.
The once-muted heavens suddenly bloomed with stars, brighter and sharper than before, as if pulled into resonance with the man below. Strands of starlight broke free, falling gently from above until they draped the dome in a celestial veil.
Every monster watching froze.
Their breaths grew shallow. Claws dug deeper into the soil. Not one dared to move, because they all understood what it meant.
The moment the light stopped, the "fruit" would have bloomed.
Anticipation tightened the ring around the dome.
What none of the monsters knew was that, deep within the starry void, the cause of this phenomenon had already stirred.
In the land of origin, Michael's eyes flickered open.
For a moment, he didn't know where he was. The last thing he remembered was that strange starry space-the cauldron, the light, the warmth that had dragged him into slumber.
How long had he been out?
Michael couldn't tell. His mind said hours, maybe a day, but the
heaviness in his soul whispered longer. His body felt different, heavier and lighter at once, as though time itself had pressed against him.
Startled, Michael realized he wasn't standing. He wasn't even lying down. His body floated midair, suspended as if caught in invisible
threads.
Panic sparked, but it died quickly when he tried to move and found he couldn't. His limbs were unresponsive, his body paralyzed. Yet his consciousness was clear.
Only his eyes obeyed him. Slowly, he turned them upward.
There above him-a strange light spilled down. It was not harsh or
burning. It was warm. Comforting. Familiar. The sight calmed him even as confusion deepened.
And then, without warning, blue panels started to appear before him.
[Michael Norman has evolved and advanced into a True Human.]
[You have grown significantly stronger.]
[Your affinity with the world has increased significantly.]
[Your Strength has been significantly enhanced.]
[Your Agility has been significantly enhanced.]
[Your Constitution has been significantly enhanced.] [Your Intelligence has been significantly enhanced.]
It didn't stop.
More came.
The panels shifted again.
[You have received a new Title: True Person.]
Summary: You have been acknowledged by the universe as a True
Person, one who has stepped beyond illusion and touched the essence of reality. A True Person is a being one step closer to unity with the universe.
Effect: Your perception of laws has deepened. Insight into universal principles is enhanced, reducing the barrier to understanding laws by
20%. [You have received a new Title: Mortal God.]
Summary: Against the natural order, a mortal body not yet divine has
taken the shape and resilience of a god's vessel. This title recognizes your defiance of limits.