Michael could hardly believe his eyes. He had hoped for something to happen, but now that it had, he found himself frozen, unable to react immediately.
Noticing Michael's odd behavior, Brian spoke up.
"Is something the matter?" he asked.
Michael shook his head. "No, it's nothing," he replied, brushing off the question. Without wasting another moment, he grabbed another bottle of the better-quality source liquid and drank it.
Brian's gaze lingered, suspicion deepening, but Michael couldn't care less. He needed to confirm it—whether or not he had truly gained an evolution point. He knew he had; the notification panel confirming an additional evolution point had flashed before his eyes. But seeing it once wasn't enough. He needed reassurance, a second confirmation.
Without hesitation, Michael unscrewed the cap of the source liquid bottle and downed its contents. It tasted bitter, but the thought that this could be another source of evolution points made it feel… almost sweet.
'It works!' Michael felt like jumping up in excitement, but he managed to control himself in the end.
However, the panel that had just appeared puzzled him. Why had he gained two evolution points this time, while the previous bottle had only given him one?
A little confused, Michael turned his gaze to the spirit source liquids below three stars. Of course, he completely ignored the one-star bottles.
As he studied the source liquids and reflected on the inconsistency in evolution points from the two he had just consumed, a suspicion formed in his mind. But to confirm it, he needed to test his theory.
Although Michael had plenty of money, spending it on experiments was far from economical. Yet, this situation was different—it was directly tied to his talent. If spending more money could help him gain evolution points or uncover a pattern, then it was worth every coin.
To Michael, nothing money could buy compared to the effect of his talent. He was starting to view money as a mundane tool, a resource to fuel his growth.
This was currently its only use and the reason it was still important to have.
With this mindset, Michael selected three two-star common-rank source liquids and began consuming them one by one.
'Am I wrong?' Michael wondered, doubting his suspicion for a moment. But it was only the first try—too early to draw conclusions.
Setting the empty bottle aside, Michael reached for the second source liquid.
This time, a notification flashed before his eyes. Another evolution point! Excitement surged within him.
Unfortunately, the third bottle yielded nothing, leaving Michael with mixed emotions.
However his current experience made him believe his suspicion a little.
'Even within the same star rating, there are differences,' Michael thought, and it made sense.
For the two-star source liquids, the ones that gave him nothing were likely inferior, barely meeting the two-star threshold. Meanwhile, the one that granted him an evolution point was probably near the three-star level, making it excellent.
This also explained the variance in the three-star source liquids he had consumed earlier. One had been inferior, while the other was either standard or excellent.
Still, it was clear that three-star source liquids were a better investment overall. At least, they seemed to guarantee a single evolution point most of the time.
"Are you okay, boy? Isn't taking too many of these going to harm you?" Brian's voice broke through Michael's thoughts, pulling him back to the present.
"No, nothing like that, Teacher Brian. The source liquids don't affect me," Michael said casually, brushing the concern aside without offering further explanation. Then, he added, "Also, could you bring out more of your stock for me to pick from?"
Brian paused and said nothing for a while. "Alright, but you do realize it's quite a hassle to move all this around, don't you? I'm only doing this because you're an Awakener, and because I don't feel like making a fuss right now."
"Thank you, Teacher Brian." Michael quickly expressed his gratitude. He understood the man's frustration.
To Michael, even the thought of someone asking him to bring multiple cups of milk just to pick a few and return the rest was annoying. Having to do it himself would have been better. Unfortunately, he couldn't be the one to grab the source liquids himself. Fortunately, Brian didn't seem to mind—at least, not yet.
As Brian went to retrieve more spirit source liquids from a corner, Michael turned his focus inward, calling up his status screen.
[Name: Michael Norman]
[Class: Necromancer Apprentice]
[Strength: 7.3(1.2^)]
[Agility: 13.1(2.0^)]
[Constitution: 8.9(1.2^)]
[Intelligence: 34.3(4.0^)]
[Attribute Points: 24]
[Skills: Undead Summoning, Undead Revival, Detect, Basic Shot, Share Senses]
[Talent: Infinite Evolution]
[Class Skill: Contract Slot{10/18}]
[Gift: Mark Of Origin]
He quickly navigated to the talent section, eager to confirm his progress.
[Talent: Infinite Evolution]
Lucky - Undead Verdant Wolf Lv. 11 (Insufficient evolution points, Can't be evolved)
Prince - Undead Verdant Wolf Lv. 11 (Insufficient evolution points, Can't be evolved)
Undead Forest Wolf Lv. 5 (Sufficient evolution points, Can be evolved)
Undead Goblin Lv. 5 (Sufficient evolution points, Can be evolved)
Since leaving the crack, Michael had gained another 4 Evolution Points. It might not seem like much, but it was significant—just one more point would allow him to evolve a three-star common-rank undead into a rare rank, and two more points could elevate a one-star common-rank creature to rare rank.
Four Evolution Points were a big deal!
Michael was filled with happiness, yet it was tinged with frustration. The issue wasn't that he was reluctant to spend money now—it was that he didn't have enough!
"I still need to hunt more!" Michael clenched his fists in determination, a glint of murderous intent flashing in his eyes.
Anyway, Michael had already decided to apply for more crack entries after this.
He couldn't help but sigh as his list of tasks continued to grow.
Boosting their strength—and his own—to finally explore the Land of Origin.
Entering dimensional cracks to earn money, which was now essential for acquiring Evolution Points to further enhance his power.
It all felt overwhelming, but Michael knew he had to tackle every single task.
"Ahh, Lucky. Oh, Lucky. You guys better work harder so your dad can buy more drugs!"