Chapter 1326 Master I Want To Go Out And Explore

However, no matter how excited Michael was, he knew that things weren't quite so simple.

At present, Beginning was the only undead he could afford to evolve without significantly compromising his combat strength. Judging from Lily's evolution, if Michael decided to evolve Beginning now, he could expect to see the results in approximately ten days, provided nothing unexpected happened.

Ten days wasn't particularly long. At least, not compared to the amount of time his other undead might require.

For those three-star Epic Grade undead, the next step, unless they managed to ascend naturally, was to evolve into Legendary Grade. Among his undead, Lucky was currently the only one undergoing such an evolution. Yet nearly half a month had passed since the process began, and the evolution still hadn't finished.

Unlike Beginning, Michael had no reliable way of determining when an Epic Grade undead would complete its evolution into Legendary Grade.

It could take several weeks. Perhaps even longer. And during that entire period, the undead undergoing evolution would be unavailable for combat.

This was something Michael couldn't afford to ignore.

"Haah…"

Michael let out a helpless sigh, his excitement gradually subsiding.

Just as he was about to refocus his attention on Lily, who had begun stabilizing her newly advanced realm, a voice suddenly reached his ears.

"Master!"

"Hm?"

Michael paused. The voice sounded extremely distant, yet strangely close, as though someone had shouted directly into his ear from far away.

A thoughtful expression appeared on Michael's face. He turned toward Lily.

The enormous giant had already stopped moving. Her eyes were closed, and the terrifying aura surrounding her was gradually becoming more stable.

Michael watched her for a few moments before nodding. There was no need for him to remain here. Besides, this was his world. If something went wrong, he would know.

With that thought, Michael gave Lily one last look before disappearing from his position.

The next moment, he appeared on a cliff overlooking an enormous stretch of land. Standing near the edge was a young man who bore a striking resemblance to Michael himself.

It was Jester.

"Master!"

Jester immediately turned around upon sensing Michael's arrival.

Michael looked at him.

"What do you want?"

His tone was casual.

Although the Mausoleum of Endless Dominion was a world under Michael's control, that didn't mean he constantly monitored everything happening within it. The place was simply too large, and keeping track of every activity twenty-four hours a day would be unnecessarily troublesome.

Most of the time, Michael allowed the world to operate on its own. His undead could move around, cultivate, train, or do whatever they needed without him constantly observing them.

Nevertheless, as the master of the Mausoleum, Michael could still sense unusual disturbances occurring within the world.

And Jester's shout was a perfect example.

The Mausoleum was generally a quiet place, especially in regions where his undead weren't fighting or training. For someone to suddenly shout for him at the top of their lungs was enough to attract his attention.

"So, Master, how did Lily's advancement go?" Jester asked with a smile.

Seeing the smile on his face, Michael couldn't help smiling as well.

It was strange.

When Jester had first begun displaying emotions, Michael had always felt that something was slightly off. Jester's expressions had been convincing enough that most people probably wouldn't have noticed anything unusual.

However, Michael had always been able to sense a certain unnaturalness in those expressions. Perhaps it was because of their connection as master and undead, or simply because he had spent so much time observing Jester.

It was as though Jester understood what emotions were supposed to look like without necessarily experiencing them himself.

But things were different now.

His smile seemed natural. Even the curiosity in his voice sounded genuine. Michael couldn't help wondering whether Jester had finally developed actual emotions.

He wasn't entirely certain. After all, Jester possessed extraordinary intelligence, so learning to imitate human emotions perfectly shouldn't be impossible for him.

There was also the matter of the body he had fused with. Perhaps its unique anatomy had allowed him to truly understand emotions. Or perhaps everything Michael was seeing was merely an increasingly sophisticated imitation.

Who knew?

In any case, Michael didn't particularly care anymore.

If this had happened when he had first obtained Jester, his reaction would have been completely different. Back then, Michael had been suspicious of practically everything concerning him. Jester was simply too unusual, and even with their connection, Michael had initially maintained a certain degree of vigilance toward him.

However, the current Jester had already earned his trust.

To Michael, Jester was no longer merely an undead subordinate. He was someone who had accompanied him through numerous experiences.

Although Michael rarely thought about it in such terms, a part of him had already begun to regard Jester as family.

After all, his undead legion wasn't simply a collection of weapons he summoned whenever he needed to fight. Many of them had accompanied him for a considerable amount of time. They had their own peculiarities, habits, and personalities.

And Jester was no exception.

Michael shook his head with a smile.

"With those eyes of yours, shouldn't you already know the answer?"

Jester chuckled.

"Of course, Master."

He looked at Michael with an amused expression.

"In fact, you could have known the outcome several days ago, but you refused."

Hearing this, Michael waved the matter off with a hand.

"You know how troublesome your Law is. Peeking at Heaven's secrets comes with a cost, and revealing those secrets comes with a cost too. Besides, as tempting as it might be, sometimes ignorance isn't such a bad thing."

Michael had never believed that knowing everything was necessarily a good thing, especially when dealing with something as troublesome as fate.

Knowing what would happen in the future might allow someone to prepare in advance, but it could also influence their decisions in ways they wouldn't have considered otherwise. And if changing that future came with a price, then what was the point of knowing it in the first place?

Still, Michael wasn't foolish enough to reject useful information simply because it concerned the future. If his life depended on it, he would gladly take advantage of Jester's Law.

Lily's advancement was different, though. He had already made all the preparations he could. Knowing the outcome several days earlier wouldn't have changed much.

Besides, he wanted to experience the moment himself.

Now that Lily had successfully advanced, Michael felt that his decision had been worthwhile.

Michael also understood Jester's temperament. If Jester had foreseen something going wrong, he would have warned Michael beforehand.

"Hehe."

Jester chuckled but didn't argue.

Michael studied him for a moment before speaking.

"Anyway, enough about that. You still haven't answered my question. What did you call me here for?"

Jester's smile remained, but his expression became slightly more serious.

"Actually, Master, there's something I've been wanting to ask you for a while now."

"Oh?"

Michael raised an eyebrow.

"What is it?"

Jester glanced toward the vast landscape stretching beyond the cliff before turning back to Michael.

"Master, I want to go out and explore."

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