Born in apocalypse

Within a realm devoid of life and illuminated solely by darkness, an atmosphere of death crept through every corner. Seated upon a bone-made throne was an undead skeleton, resembling an emperor ruling over the entirety of the realm. He opened the list of evolution options before him, contemplating the various paths he could embark upon.

[You have reached the maximum core limit of your species.

These are the available species you can evolve into:

- Adult undead (common)

- Undead guardian (Uncommon)

- Young lich (Uncommon)

- Dark Undead (Uncommon)

- Unholy Revenant (Special) ]

Azarex is somewhat disappointed with the options he gets during his evolution. Unlike his siblings, he didn’t receive any rare rank evolution options. But there is nothing he can do but wait and use the opportunity to get a better reward from the third evolution. He sighed and clicked on the description for the first evolution.

[Adault undead: You have now become an adult Undead, possessing a stronger grasp of death magic. This progression serves as the foundation for every normal route in the evolution of Undead beings.

The skills , and are given along with a bonus of 10 in magic power.]

Without hesitating even once more, he opens the description of the second evolution option.

[Undead Guardian: You are a guardian of a mortal despite being undead, quite a unique feat to accomplish. With this evolution, you can enhance the usefulness of being a Guardian. Your bone would change into steel for free if you chose this evolution.

The skills , and are given along with a bonus of 15 in Stamina.]

He pauses briefly to examine its description but decides against it. Alaric has already chosen a class specializing in defense, so it would be unwise for him to make the same choice as well. With a little hope, he opened the description of the third Option.

[Young lich: Through this evolution, you would transform into a young lich specializing in Death magic. Armed with extensive knowledge of death, you could command hundreds of undead simultaneously. As an added benefit, this evolution comes with an extra brain at no cost, enhancing your ability to control the undead even further.

The skills , , and are given along with a bonus of 15 in magic power.]

Azarex is taken aback by the fact that, despite being of only uncommon rank, this evolution offers such significant advantages. This seems like the ideal choice for him, as he also desires to strengthen his mastery over death magic and become a more proficient necromancer.

As his master had advised, he decides to explore all available options before making a final decision. Keeping this guidance in mind, he proceeds to open the description of the fourth option.

[Dark undead: Already treading the path of darkness, your desire to delve further into its secrets remains strong. Through this evolution, you would become a dark undead specializing in dark magic. With the knowledge of darkness in your hands, you could cover the whole world in darkness. There’s also a slight possibility of acquiring Void affinity during the evolution process.

The skills , and are given along with a bonus of 15 in magic power.]

Azarex reads the description once again to fully grasp its content and thinks to himself, "Why is this description so overly dramatic, especially when its rewards seem even inferior to the Young Lich’s evolution?"

[Unholy Revenant: Through this evolution, you would become an unholy creature. At this stage, you would gain heightened control over death energies, be able to manipulate life force, and summon the remnants of fallen souls to aid them in battle. Along with a high mastery over Death and darkness magic. The organ [Deathforge core] will be given away for free with this evolution.

The skills , , and are given along with a bonus of 20 in both Stamina and magic power.]

With a smiley face, he promptly opens the description for the fifth option.

[Deathforge core: Located within the chest, this organ enables the Unholy revenant to channel and amplify death magic, helping in commanding the undead creatures and draining vitality from living beings.]

"This could significantly enhance my efficiency in controlling the undead, allowing me to exert control over even more of them," Azarex thinks to himself, content with the potential benefits offered by this evolution.

With a smile on his lips, he clicks the "yes" button. As he does so, the energy within the realm begins to shift in his direction, gradually enveloping him. After a while, he finds himself encased in cocoon-like energy once again, and he succumbs to slumber.

As he drifted into sleep within the realm of death, his physical body in the real world underwent a weird transformation. It dissolved into a liquid state, and during this transformation, his monster core started emitting a sinister, dark light. After a period of glow, the core shattered into tiny particles before combining once again. However, this time, the reformed core emanated a more potent and unholy aura.

After an hour of existing in this liquid state, his body began to solidify again. With a powerful kick, he shattered the shell of the egg that had enveloped him, freeing himself and finding himself once more in the realm of death, only this one filled with goblins and spiders.

He gazes around, taken aback by the sight that greets him. Much to his surprise, or not, his lord and brothers were present, standing ready to welcome him as he emerged from the cocoon.

He quickly bows to the Lord, and then they begin talking about the content of his evolution. At first, he was nervous that his master would judge him, but to his surprise, there wasn’t a hint of disappointment in his Lord’s eyes.

Within those eyes, the only feeling he could feel was a profound sense of bonding between them. Once more, the skeleton expresses gratitude toward the individual who gave him his existence, allowing him to enjoy this realm alongside their beloved master.

’Even though our duties keep us occupied, I’ll make certain to ask our lord for the chance to travel this world of his to the fullest,’ Azarex thinks to himself with a contented smile. With this thought in mind, he heads toward the corpses, eager to put his upgraded abilities to the test by summoning a number of undead simultaneously. 𝙛𝓻𝒆𝒆𝒘𝙚𝓫𝙣𝙤𝒗𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢

And from the feeling he gets after the evolution, the number has surely crossed the twenty undead mark.