[Advancement Quest: Have 50 Rank 2 Undead ā Progress: 51/50]
[Special circumstances have been observed regarding your Rank Advancement Quest.]
[You have exceeded the limit.]
[Creating a one-time Limit Break quest based on the conditions met.]
[<Quest Generated>]
[Advancement Quest: Have more than 50 Rank 2 Undead ā Progress: 90/100{MAX}]
Time Limit: One Week
Reward: Extra levels and other rewards depending on the overall situation surrounding the advanced undead.
[Do you wish to advance to
Master Necromancer
now?]
[Y/N]
Michael stared at the series of cascading notifications, eyes wide with disbelief. Panel after panel flickered before him like a slot machine gone madāquests and system alerts faster than he could register.
A strange silence filled the vine dome, the echo of undead evolution fading. But within Michaelās chest, his heart pounded like a war drum.
"...Did I just break the system?"
The thought came unbidden, and yet he couldnāt dismiss it.
It was almost comicalāhe hadnāt even advanced to Master Necromancer yet, and the system was already throwing everything it had at him like it was panicking, scrambling to respond to a situation it hadnāt been designed to handle.
The last time he triggered a one-time Limit Break quest, it was for exceeding a normal advancement requirement. Just one special quest.
And the reward?
Three random skills.
A few attribute points in all stats.
Five bonus levelsābecause heād hit a perfect rating.
But this... this was different.
This wasnāt one Limit Break quest.
This was four.
Noāfive.
Each one stacking on top of the other like a tower built far beyond its foundation.
Michael exhaled slowly, his breath fogging slightly in the domeās still air.
"...Surely," he muttered, voice low, "even if thereās no rating above Perfect, this has to be something far beyond what most people have done before."
He wasnāt boasting.
He wasnāt even trying to convince himself.
It was just logic.
The quests didnāt even overlapāeach one was based on a new bracket heād shattered. 10 Rank 2 undead. Then 20. Then 30. Then 50. And now... more than 50.
It was absurd.
Michael chuckled, the sound dry and faintly disbelieving.
He could only imagine the backend of the world itself glitching like a machine pushed past its design specs.
Still... a slow grin tugged at the corner of his lips.
He felt a chillānot of fear, but anticipation.
And now, staring at the twin prompts blinking at himā
[Do you wish to advance to Master Necromancer now?]
[Y/N]
He felt something else.
Excitement.
Like a spark had caught dry tinder in his chest.
Michaelās fingers twitched at his side.
With five special quests lined up, each with increasing difficulty and compressed time limits, the rewards would only scale accordingly. They
had
to.
But first...
He looked around at the evolved undead, many of whom were still adapting to their new formsāsome with elongated limbs, armored hides, and so on.
Each one stronger.
And all of them his.
His army was evolving.
And so was he.
Michael stared at the blinking prompt.
But he didnāt press it just yet.
Not now.
Not while five Limit Break quests were active.
Not when completing them would make his rise even more explosive.
He lowered his hand and took a breath.
"...Not yet."
A short laugh escaped him.
"Iām going to break you even more first," he told the system softly, almost affectionately.
Then he turned his eyes toward the forest beyond the dome.
So many monsters.
And only seven days for the final Limit Break.
His grin widened.
Michael turned his attention back to the quest panel.
[Advancement Quest: Have more than 50 Rank 2 Undead ā Progress: 90/100 {MAX}]
Time Limit: One Week
He exhaled through his nose.
"Ninety out of a hundred..."
The number loomed in his mind.
So close.
Just ten more undead to push the limit one final time. Maybe then the system would finally stop throwing quests at him like a panicked gambler doubling down.
Michael rubbed his temples.
Still, there was one small relief.
Having ten more undead to complete the quest wasnāt going to be an issue.
His expression relaxed slightly.
Then again, what would happen if he
exceeded
the "maximum"? Would the system finally collapse under its own logic? Would another secret quest appear?
Michael didnāt know.
But it excited him.
His lips curved into a thoughtful grin as he closed the panel.
Michael reached into his storage space and pulled out something he often forgot was even thereāa sealed jar filled with dead insects.
It was the same set heād originally used to create Fade and Ghost.
Before all the recent chaosābefore his advancement quests spiraled into something far greaterāMichael had once believed he wouldnāt need that many undead to meet his requirements. Now, looking back, he realized how naive that assumption had been.
He glanced at the jar, then sighed.
Why was he reviving more undead here instead of simply returning to Aurora and evolving the ones stationed there?
The answer was simple.
Those undead were all high humansāalready evolved once. And while none of them had yet reached Rank 2, the nature of "limitless" races meant that evolution granted
potential
, not immediate
power
. It didnāt add strength in the way evolving others did.
Which meant they werenāt enough.
Michael had no choice but to create more undead.
Thankfully, he had the means.
He didnāt waste time.
He popped the jar open and poured the contents onto the ground. Dozens of insect corpses scattered across the forest floor.
Michael picked them at random.
A spell was cast.
Dark mana surged from his fingertips, wrapping around the lifeless bodies. Compared to the other undead heād worked on recently, these creatures were simple. Weak. Reviving them was as effortless as breathing.
Moments later, eleven new undead crawled to lifeālegs clicking, wings twitching, mandibles scraping as they awaited command.
Without hesitation, Michael triggered their evolution.
Once.
Then again.
He felt his evolution points drop slightly, but not enough to concern him.
The process was quickāthese creatures were small, and their growth paths were straightforward. Their forms twisted, changed, grew stronger with each surge of light.
And then, as the last of them finished transforming, the panel appeared.
******
******
[Advancement Quest: Have more than 50 Rank 2 Undead ā Progress: 100/100{MAX}]
[Rank Advancement Quest has been completed.]
[Rating...]
And then it came.
[Rank Advancement Quest]
[Type: Special/Time Limited/Limit Break]
[Status: Completed]
[Rating: Transcendent]
Followed by another long familiar sight.
The summary.
---
[Summary]
{Average Rating Quest}
Objective
: Have more than 50 Rank 2 Undead in a week
Reward
: 10 Level Up, +10 Attribute Point to all stats, One skill mastery advance ticket
---
{Hidden: Excellent Rating Quest}
Objective:
Have more than 50 Rank 2 Undead in a week
Hidden Requirement
: Ten Two-Star Rare Rank, Rank 2 Undead
Reward
: 10 Level Up, +15 Attribute Point to all stats, Two skill mastery advance tickets
---
{Hidden: Exceptional Rating Quest}
Objective:
Have more than 50 Rank 2 Undead in a week
Hidden Requirement
: Thirty Three-Star Rare Rank, Rank 2 Undead, Seventy Rank 2 Undead
Reward
: 15 Level Up, +30 Attribute Point to all stats, Three skill mastery advance ticket
---
{Hidden: Perfect Rating Quest}
Objective:
Have more than 50 Rank 2 Undead in a week
Hidden Requirement
: Forty Three-Star Rare Rank, Rank 2 Undead, One One-Star Extraordinary Rank, Rank 2 Undead
Reward
: 15 Level Up, +30 Attribute Point to all stats, Three skill mastery advance ticket, One random rare grade treasure
ā
---
{Hidden: Transcendent Rating Quest}
Objective
: Have 100 Rank 2 Undead in a week
Hidden Requirement: Fifty Three-Star Rare Rank, Rank 2 Undead, Five One-Star Extraordinary Rank, Rank 2 Undead
Reward
: 15 Level Up, +50 Attribute Point to all stats, Five skill mastery advance ticket, One random Epic grade treasure, A Title
[Do you wish to advance now?]
Michael blinked.
Then blinked again.
"...Transcendent?"
He stared at the glowing panel, mouth slightly ajar. The word didnāt even register at first. Heād been expecting
Perfect
. After all, it was the highest rating he knew existed.
But this... this was new.
"...Youāre kidding me."
[Rating: Transcendent]
His heart thudded like a war drum.
The rewards werenāt just generous. They were
absurd
.
Ten levels. Noā
fifteen
.
Fifty attribute points across the board.
Five
skill mastery tickets.
And an
Epic-grade treasure
?
Michael ran a hand through his hair, still staring at the system as if it might suddenly take it all back.
"This isnāt just beyond perfect," he murmured. "Itās... legendary."
Noā
transcendent
.
The word echoed in his head.
His undead shuffled lightly behind him, the faint clicking and groaning sounds grounding him in reality. Dozens of creaturesāarmored, fanged, and silentāstood awaiting his next move. Creatures that
he
had raised. That
he
had evolved.
And the system had taken notice.
Michael swallowed hard.
The panel flickered once more.
[Do you wish to advance now?]
[Y/N]
Michael stared.
His hand hovered.
He wanted to press it. Gods, he
wanted
to press it.
And he did.
*
A/N: I had planned a mass release for today, but I noticed a glaring plot hole back in the third Chapter and had to scrap everything. Still, what do you guys think of this Chapter?