Michael stood still for a moment, blood still crusted along his jawline, his gaze lingering on Beginningâs form as his injuries slowly faded.
A small, lopsided smile crept across his face.
Rank 3... really was a dividing line.
Everything about it seemed wrapped in mystery.
Even the system panel itself had changed.
Michael turned inward, pulling up the panels for his five undead. It didnât take long to notice the most obvious difference.
Where once it had shown
> Level ** [EXP: 23102 / 37000]
It now looked like:
> Level ** [ 1% ]
A level on one side... and a percentage bar on the other.
Michaelâs eyes narrowed slightly.
It wasnât something that worried him. Heâd already confirmed that killing enemies still allowed them to level up. That much remained.
But still... the change weighed a bit on him.
He had browsed the forums back in Aurora after the mess with the fiveâs evolution. He had stumbled upon a few fragmented answers.
The idea he gathered was that killing alone wasnât the only path forward again. There were... other ways.
But none of those methods were clearly listed.
And honestly? Michael hadnât paid them much attention.
Heâd been too busy then.
As long as his creatures could still level up through combat, that was all that mattered to him.
However, that was a thought for another time.
Michael remained focused on understanding what his undead were capable of.
Although the space within the coffin seemed capable of withstanding tremendous force, he didnât want to take unnecessary risksânot when he still lacked a full grasp of their current abilities.
As a result, he kept his testing moderate for now.
Michael, now fully healed, took a few steps back and gave a simple command.
"Gale. Attack him."
Galeâs eyes flicked toward Beginning without hesitation. The griffin flapped his wings once, sharp currents forming at their edge.
It wasnât cruelty that prompted this order.
Beginningâs law was the more wounds he had, the stronger he became. In theory, that meant a near-death Beginning was exponentially stronger than a healthy one. But theory meant nothing without testing.
As for injuring Beginning, Michael didnât plan to go too farâjust enough to avoid reaching the point where Beginningâs energy wouldnât be able to heal him.
Michael narrowed his eyes as Gale moved.
Gale moved like a blur.
The air folded inward around his wings as his body vanished and reappeared above Beginning.
But Beginning didnât budge.
Michaelâs pupils contracted.
That wind...
He remembered the pain that tore through him just moments ago. It was the exact same intensityâone that had bloodied his skin.
And yet...
Beginning remained standing.
The burst of air exploded against his body, but not a single wound appeared. No blood, no torn flesh. His thick muscles absorbed it like a mountain meeting the breeze.
His clothes did vanish though.
Michaelâs brows drew together.
"Is his defense... just that high?" he murmured.
Orâ
Was it something else?
Could it be immunity?
A wild thought flickered across his mind.
At Rank 3... were creatures immune to the laws of their peers?
No. Maybe a certain level of resistance since they themselves held laws?.
"Amd wait," Michael muttered aloud. "That wasnât a real law attack, was it?"
He glanced at Gale, who remained in midair.
Gale had merely infused his wind with the signature of his law.
He was not wielding it.
That explained the result. Even though the winds were devastating to Michael, they left Beginning untouchedâsave for the shredded clothes now falling in slow tatters to the ground.
"Again," he said. "Use it properly this time. Just keep it contained."
Gale responded with a slow nod. His wings stretched fully, and the air shiftedâsharpening, coiling, vibrating with unseen tension.
This was the real thing.
And thenâ
It hit.
The wind lashed out like a thousand invisible blades.
This time, Beginning staggered.
Fine lines appeared across his torso and shouldersâdozens of them. Black blood welled up, bubbling from the cuts like oil.
Michaelâs eyes flicked.
It worked.
But Beginning just stood still and silent.
The wounds continued to accumulate.
Gale didnât hold back much.
Strike after strike, wave after wave of wind laced with his law tore across Beginningâs form. Black blood poured freely nowâslick, dark, and thick like ink. It pooled at his feet, forming a spreading ring of beneath him.
Still... Beginning didnât move.
Michaelâs eyes narrowed.
Nothing? Still?
But thenâit changed.
Like a dam cracking under pressure, the shift began deep within Beginningâs body.
And thenâ
Something erupted.
A massive pulse of energy exploded outward.
The aura that poured from Beginning came with a presence so dense it pressed into the dimension like the fist of a god.
Michaelâs body stiffened.
His eyes twitched. Mouth parted slightly.
"...This aura..."
It was stronger. Stronger than Luckyâs.
Luckyâuntil nowâhad always carried the most dominant presence of the five. His aura was wild and primal, a fusion of apex predator and draconic ferocity.
But Beginning...
Michaelâs breath came shallow.
Then, almost instinctively, a thought flashed through his mind.
Check his panel.
With a flicker of will, he opened Beginningâs status window.
And froze.
Beginningâs level after evolving and advancing to rank 3 was level 55. The same as lucky but now it was different.
Level 60.
A five level increase.
That was beginningâs current level.
"What the...?!"
[Law of Brutal Rebirth (Seed)]
Born from agony and forged in survival, this law transforms pain into power. Severe wounds trigger powerful regenerative burstsâthe closer to death, the stronger the rebirth.
Connected to the Law of Life
Was this what the law did?
However...
For some reason, Michael felt this still wasnât Beginningâs limit.
With heightened focus, he had Gale increase the intensity of his attacks and kept his gaze locked on Beginningâs condition.
Gale obeyed.
Another gustâdenser, sharperâsliced through the air, directed entirely at Beginningâs still form. Each wave of severing wind carried more intent.
Black blood splattered again.
Dozens more wounds opened up. Some shallow. Some deeper. And all of them bled.