In the second layer of the Void, filled with nothing but darkness, Michael placed the several monster corpses he had gathered from the chaos outside in positions based on the mory Jester had infused into his mind.
The na of the technique surfaced clearly in Michael's mind.
[Shroud of the Silent Dead]
It was a concealnt thod that used corpses as anchors to distort perception. It made the senses register anything the user of the technique desired as "dead" - like how inanimate objects had no life, or how the air itself was "empty." That was what the technique achieved.
It was also a gradeless technique, aning its effect depended entirely on the user's ans. For this operation Michael made sure the main anchors were all Rank 3 corpses.
Gathering them had not taken much effort, but to avoid detection he only took one from here and there. By the ti the supers association noticed, it would no longer be his concern.
Most likely they would suspect him if they crossed out the involvent of demonic supernaturals, since he was, after all, a necromancer and the only one who would want to use corpses for anything in the area. But Michael didn't particularly care. After all, he was the one who had killed them. Shouldn't he be able to do whatever he wanted with them.
He didn't like attention, but for things like this Michael didn't shy away from it.
Without wasting ti, Michael activated the technique once the preparations were complete. The mont he did, a dull grey fog began to spread outward, expanding steadily and swallowing the surroundings in silence.
From where Michael stood, all he could see was grey fog in front of him, but when he extended his senses outward there was nothing. It was as if the area the fog covered had been cut out of existence.
"...Impressive."
This wasn't sothing a normal technique could achieve. As expected of one of the tools a Rank 4 supernatural held.
Though given the old man's line of business, this technique had probably not been used for good things. In any case, Michael could already tell that after Jester evolved he would need to have him imprint more techniques like this.
Jester had done the sa during the case of Li Yang, and now that they were at a higher level of power, the knowledge of the old man had co at the right ti.
Of course, Michael could simply request the entire mory too, rather than just the techniques, but that ca with risks. Jester's thods were not exactly unique in the supernatural world.
It was just that anything capable of achieving a similar effect existed in the "grey area" at the very least, because it could cause harm not only to the target but to the user as well.
Foreign mories were not harmless. They could interfere with the user's own thoughts, blurring identity. At worst, they could overwrite parts of who soone was. Even if not completely, subtle changes could accumulate over ti.
This was why, even when dealing with the evil cultivator Li Yang's mories, Michael had avoided direct mory assimilation. What he took was filtered knowledge. Perhaps only sothing like Jester, a mind-based existence, would truly benefit from consuming such things whole.
Looking at the grey fog that gradually began to turn black, mixing with the darkness of the Void, Michael knew the effect of his new class, Death Heir, was already in play.
Perhaps it had been in play from the very beginning and the darkening colour was just an after-effect, since Michael's senses toward the grey fog didn't register anything particularly different with the colour change.
[Class Effect: Enhances all death and dark-related abilities by 50%]
Shroud of the Silent Dead happened to fit the bill for this class passive to take effect.
Michael no longer hesitated. With everything prepared, he stepped forward and entered the grey fog.
The mont he crossed into it, the world seed to dim even further. Even the flow of mana around him beca muted.
Without wasting ti, Michael released Jester.
The mont Jester left his hand, light erupted. A sharp, piercing glow burst out from the mass of flesh, expanding rapidly. At the sa ti, mana surged - from all directions the surrounding mana began to converge toward Jester in a frenzy, twisting and compressing as it ford a vortex centered on him.
Michael's eyes narrowed slightly. Sensing the intensity, he didn't stay close. He stepped back and exited the fog.
Outside, he paused to check the concealnt effect. Even from beyond it, he could still faintly see what was happening within, but it was subtle. Compared to what he had just witnessed inside, the outside reaction was almost negligible.
Michael couldn't help but feel a hint of surprise.
"...This technique..."
Even this level of disturbance had been suppressed to such an extent.
If soone wasn't specifically paying attention, they might not even
notice anything unusual.
After a brief observation, Michael stepped back into the fog.
Inside, everything was different. The light had intensified. Mana continued to spiral inward violently, forming layers upon layers of
condensed energy around Jester.
Michael extended his senses and tried to connect.
"Jester."
No response.
"...Jester."
Still nothing.
Michael wasn't surprised. When he had last evolved, he had been completely unconscious for more than two days. If Jester followed the sa pattern, this would take ti.
Michael didn't disturb him further and continued to observe.
Soon, sothing changed. Around Jester, runes began to appear. At
first there were only a few, then more followed.
One after another, glowing symbols manifested in the air, circling Jester slowly, and as more of them appeared Michael felt a subtle shift within himself.
His comprehension seed to have increased. He wasn't trying to understand anything yet, but concepts he had thought about before felt clearer. His thoughts moved faster as connections ford more easily.
It was as if just standing there was enough to benefit from the
process.
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