Re: Evolution Online-Novel



Liam clicked his tongue as he surveyed the horde of undead creatures in front of him. 

With all the nether swirling around him, it was an utter waste to let these undead creatures roam around in this haphazard manner without any aim in life.

They were good experience points for newbies but they could be more, especially when he needed manpower to comb through the entirety of the world for the world seed fragments and possibly other treasures and these so-called guardians.

Also… Liam decided that it was time he explored everything he could do. 

He had always been wanting to dabble in the other parts of his Soulmancer class or rather the Necromancer class which relied heavily on nether and nether affinity. 

Since there was nether all around him right now and countless undeads at his disposal, this was as good a time as any to start doing so.

To stand against the enemies in front of him, he needed to sharpen every single weapon in his possession. Otherwise, he would only be underestimating his opponents and that was a very foolish thing to do.

Liam quickly tried to remember what he knew about the necromancer class. The most important part of the class was the basic skill 'Awaken'.

This allowed the caster to reanimate the dead and bring them back alive. Liam had even personally used this skill a few times but he hadn't exactly gained any particular insight into it.

Also, since he did not have an understanding, he currently was unable to use this skill.

"Hmmm… Should I just go ahead and buy the skill book." Liam pondered. After all, he currently had a lot of mana cores in his possession, thanks to the near infinite isons.

However, after a couple of seconds, he realized that he had something far better in his possession, a slave who already possessed the knowledge that he was seeking.

Liam chuckled and summoned the poor soul whom he had enslaved for all eternity, after having stolen everything from him and having utterly decimated him. 

Liam watched the soul materialize into the familiar Japanese guy. The man who was a glorious battle general in one life was now reduced to his mere servant.

"Kouske…"

Huh? The soul minion dazedly blinked, trying to come out of its stupor. However, it couldn't. It was as if something was preventing it from gaining full control of its body.

In the end, it could only give up and lifted its head to look up at something or rather someone to whom it was drawn.

Liam silently stood as the soul minion stared at him blankly.

It took a moment but soon, there was a difference. Something stirred deep within the hollow non-existent eyes of the minion.

"Liam!" The minion muttered as a wave of shock swept past its soul being. It looked like finally Kouske had regained consciousness.

His eyes flashed in anger and hatred before falling into confusion and then finally utter desperation. 

The soul minion stood frozen on the spot as he processed the fact that he had not only lost to his sworn rival but also that he was no longer alive.

He was completely and utterly defeated in every which way and now stood as a slave bound to the victor. How could he possibly stand something like this? 

Especially considering the way Liam had humiliated him and thrashed him around even at the last dying second, bitterness filled him to the brim.

For a moment it looked as if his entire soul was burning with hatred, but the next second…

"Master, you summoned me?" Unexpected words came out of the minion's mouth.

Liam narrowed his eyes and glanced at the new guy, remaining silent for a moment. He then chuckled and nodded.

It looked like Kouske had an impressive, more than average consciousness after becoming a soul minion.

Not only was that guy hiding all of his emotions but he was also acting eager and obedient. Liam naturally knew the reason why he was doing all of this.

The guy was waiting to backstab him the first chance he got. He was also plotting to get stronger by using Liam. 

Kouske's reaction was something Liam had already predicted. What Kouske did not know was that Liam was already privy to each and every single one of his thoughts.

However, Liam was not inclined to reprimand his little minion. Rather, he was curious to see just how far this small revenge plot was going to go. This was a good motivation for his minion to become stronger.

"Tell me about your necromancy skills?" Liam pointed to the numerous undeads hanging out in front of them and asked the guy.

Immediately, Kouske looked overjoyed. "Yes, Master. It would be my honor."

The minion jutted out his chest and quickly stepped forward, waving his hand around. His acting was a bit over the line but the effect was on point.

The next instant swirls of nether started condensing around the soul minion.

"It's good that your skills are still there," Liam observed. "How many of these undead can you command?"

Hearing the praise the guy became even more overjoyed and prepared to demonstrate. "I can command everything here, Master!"

Kouske then dispersed the nether under his command and small clouds of nether formed around many of the undeads.

Visibly around a couple dozen of the creatures were affected and stood in place.

"I see." Liam nodded. He also did not just rely on Kouske's demonstration or explanation. He went through the memories of the guy to get a deeper understanding of the skill.

From what he could tell, the dead needed to be immersed in nether after all of their life force got drained but before all of their soul strength evaporated. It was a very small time window.

And based on how perfectly the skill was executed, the strength of the resulting undead would vary. 

The nether used to bind them was also a permanent addition to their current being. Instead of life force, these creatures were now running on nether.

Up to a certain point, they could act on their own but practically they need a constant infusion of nether to keep going. This seemed to be the basis of undead manipulation.

Liam contemplated the other insights Kouske had gained while the latter in his current soul form was doing some hand motions to weave the nether in the air to control the undead in front of him.

The draconian princess walked over to the spot watching this scene. However, there was a visible smirk on her face.

Liam noticed this and frowned. What was this woman up to now?