Evolving My Undead Legion In A Game-Like World Chapter 787 Realisation

There were many things Michael could be ignorant about.

That did not an he was naïve.

As Arianna left, only then did he begin to think.

At first, he considered the simplest explanation. Concern. Worry. The kind that ca naturally when soone who was sowhat of a friend to you fell into trouble without warning. That much was reasonable.

But the longer he sat with it, the more another conclusion ford.

It was not only concern.

Arianna was reacting to his growth.

In the awakener system, she was not even Rank Two yet, only just below it. That was not an insult. At her age and background, her progress was already considered impressive. In any other

circumstance, the difference between them would have been negligible.

It would have been fine if Michael himself were an ordinary Rank Two. But he was not.

Even before stepping into Rank Three, he had already been dealing with matters that belonged to that stage. And now, with a law seed awakened, entering that realm was no longer a distant possibility. It was a matter of ti.

With his foundation, even if Arianna advanced to Rank Two, the gap between them would not close. If anything, it would widen, especially when he ascended to Rank Three. And Rank Three was already considered the peak of power within her kingdom.

What would happen when he stood there fully?

Michael understood then.

It was not jealousy.

It was not resentnt.

It was distance.

Michael leaned back in his chair, eyes unfocused as his thoughts drifted further.

The comparison ca to him naturally.

It felt like school.

Not the early years, when everyone was still figuring things out, when grades rose and fell unpredictably and the future felt distant enough to ignore.

It was like the final year of high school, that strange period when so people were still worrying about exams while others had already received admission letters, or in college, job offers, or clear paths forward.

Arianna was still there.

Still preparing. Still building. Rank Two was her next step, just like graduation was the next step for most students. Important. Significant. A milestone worth celebrating.

Michael, on the other hand, felt like soone who had already left. campus.

Not officially, perhaps. His na might still be on the roster. But his mind was already elsewhere, dealing with problems that no longer fit within the syllabus. While others worried about passing exams, he was thinking about rent, survival, responsibility, and consequences that could not be solved by studying harder.

That was the difference.

From the outside, both were still equal in class and status. But anyone paying attention could tell they were no longer walking the sa road. Conversations had changed. Priorities had shifted. Ti itself felt different.

You could not bla soone for feeling left behind when the person beside them suddenly started moving faster.

Michael realized that was what Arianna was facing.

She was not weak. She was not slow. She was simply progressing at the speed the world and her talent had set for her.

anwhile, though Michael was no different in that he was also

moving at a certain pace, it was undeniably faster.

One must not forget that Michael had reached his current state in six months.

Even for so awakeners, this could take years.

When two people start at the sa place, they can walk together for a long ti.

But once one of them crosses a line the other has not even reached yet, walking side by side becos impossible. At best, they walk parallel paths. At worst, one can only watch the other disappear into the distance.

That distance was what Arianna had felt.

Michael exhaled quietly.

There was a cruelty to growth that no one talked about. People praised strength, praised advancent, praised rising higher and faster than others. But they rarely ntioned what was left behind in the process. The conversations that no longer fit. The silences that grew heavier. The relationships that changed without anyone ever aning for them to.

He looked down at the tea again.

Michael did not regret it.

He could not.

Distance did not require ill intent to exist.

Sotis, it was simply the result of one person stepping into a

future the other was not ready to face yet.

Michael lifted the cup and took another sip, the warmth grounding

him.

Whatever this change ant, he would face it when the ti ca.

The thought did not end there.

As Michael sat in the quiet tea room, that sense of distance tugged at sothing deeper, sothing far older than his connection to

Arianna.

Aurora.

His aunt's small kitchen in Woodstone City ca to him first. The

cramped space, always faintly slling of spices and cleaning soap. His cousin sprawled on the couch, half listening to whatever nonsense was playing on the screen while pretending to study.

Ordinary scenes. Mundane. Safe.

And yet, when he thought about them now, there was distance there

too.

It was the sa kind of gap.

Michael had been moving forward at a pace none of them could see. Even when he was with them, even when he smiled and spoke normally, part of him was already elsewhere. Thinking about threats they could not perceive. Preparing for futures they would never have imagined. Carrying burdens he could not explain without sounding

insane.

Lily was still in school.

Aunt Mia was still worrying about bills, schedules, small argunts, plans that stretched only a few years ahead.

anwhile, Michael was already thinking in decades. In lifespans.

That realization tightened sothing in his chest.

He had told himself, more than once, that this was necessary. That

this was simply how things had to be. That he could not stop or slow down just to remain familiar.

But that did not an he was willing to leave them behind. Michael straightened slowly, his earlier lethargy fading as sothing

firr took its place.

Resolve.

He had power now. Power that would only continue to grow. And

with it ca responsibility, not just to himself, but to the people he cared about.