Evolving My Undead Legion In A Game-Like World

Chapter 905: Strange Atmosphere

He missed his family. That much was true. After being away for so long, the desire to see them was real. But that was exactly why he couldn’t return empty-handed.

At the very least, he had to bring gifts.

Michael took his time.

Aunt Mia was not a chef only because it paid the bills. She genuinely loved cooking. Michael still remembered the way her face would light up whenever she made a new dish, though at the learning stage most of them had ended up as something that could generously be described as inedible. This city happened to have entire sections of the market devoted to imported ingredients from other states and beyond. It was impossible not to think of her the moment he saw them.

For Lily he was less certain. He eventually settled on what he believed a sixteen-year-old girl might appreciate, with a reasonable degree of uncertainty. A few accessories. Some sweets that were slightly fancier than what was usually sold back home. A pair of soft wristbands that shifted color based on pulse rate. He was not fully convinced by the choice, but they looked harmless, and more importantly they looked like something a younger girl might actually enjoy.

Michael was about to leave when something caught his eye.

At first glance it looked ordinary enough, but this was not a normal pet shop. It sold mechanical pets.

"...Mechanical pets?"

There were generally two major types.

The second kind went beyond that. Those were not simply machines mixed with programs. They were machines mixed with magic. Their intelligence was not merely code but something closer to a bound soul structure, carefully written and refined until it behaved like a genuine creature while retaining capabilities beyond what ordinary animals could offer. Real in a meaningful sense, because they had something resembling a soul.

It was said that this path had first appeared among the Star Race, one of the most technologically advanced races in the known universe. Aurora had its own exclusive classes as well. One was the Gunner, branched from the Archer class.

In the end he went inside.

Michael looked at it for a brief moment. "...You’ll do."

Especially Lily.

His gaze lifted.

Michael narrowed his eyes slightly.

Voices spread through the crowd.

"Three days ago it was like this too."

"Wait, zoom in. Zoom in!"

Michael remained still, looking up.

A memory surfaced. Woodstone City. The same strange atmosphere. The same crowd reaction. People stopping, pointing, recording, not understanding what they were looking at. Not until it was too late.

This wasn’t Woodstone City. This was a core city. A place under direct academy oversight, filled with high-ranking supernaturals and layered defenses both visible and hidden. Demonic supernaturals would have to be insane to launch an attack here.

Right?

Around him the mood had not fully shifted yet. People were still recording. Still talking. Still treating it as something interesting.

Michael’s instincts stirred. His hand lowered slightly to his side, fingers twitching faintly.