The ghost floated closer. Michael's muscles tightened slightly as he stopped himself from making a move. If it weren't for the sliver of danger he couldn't sense from her, he would have run away long ago.
She stopped directly before him and stared into his eyes.
"You aren't the strongest I've seen."
Michael wasn't offended. That was obvious. She herself was stronger than him. And if she had existed long enough to encounter numerous outsiders, she had probably seen things far beyond his understanding.
"But…"
Her silver eyes narrowed.
"Why do you feel close?"
Michael froze.
The ghost leaned nearer.
"Very close."
Her face approached his again. Michael resisted the instinct to move backward as her cheek brushed against his.
"…"
Michael remained pletely still.
The ghost finally pulled away. Her expression became confused.
"But we aren't the same."
She looked down at herself. Then at him.
One spiritual being. One living human. They were pletely different existences.
The confusion in her will was genuine.
Michael didn't respond. It wasn't because he lacked an answer. He was afraid that if he opened his mouth, he wouldn't be able to contain his joy and would start laughing out loud.
His heart started racing again. But this time, not from fear, but from excitement. His eyes gradually brightened.
It's the class!
Death's Heir. There was almost no other explanation.
When Michael had first transitioned into the class, the description had stated that he possessed near absolute dominance over undead creatures. At the time, Michael had understood how absurd those words were. But only theoretically.
Since then, he had repeatedly witnessed pieces of what they actually meant. Weak undead were the simplest examples. Even Rank Four creatures. The moment they entered his influence, resistance practically ceased to exist. They obeyed him naturally. Some even worshipped him.
The effect remained incredibly strong even against Epic-grade undead. The Bone Hounds had proven that. Even when a creature possessed a higher Rank than Michael, it had still been unable to truly resist his authority.
There were differences in attitude, differences in how much individuality remained, but obedience itself remained.
Until Rank Five.
That was the only point where Michael had ever felt the absolute nature of Death's Heir begin to loosen. He remembered clearly what happened when his undead were temporarily boosted into that realm. They still obeyed him and still recognized him. They would never attack him, and their instinct to protect him had remained. But something changed.
The unquestioning obedience became slack. If Michael gave an instruction, they might interpret it, choosing how far they wanted to obey it and deciding the method themselves. Their thoughts became far more independent.
The mand still mattered. Michael still mattered. But they were no longer loyal subjects moving exactly according to his wishes. And that had happened with undead already contracted to him. Creatures whose souls were directly connected to his own.
Michael had never encountered a wild Rank Five undead before. Until now.
His gaze locked onto the ghost. This was his first opportunity to experience Death's Heir's authority against a naturally existing undead at the Demigod level.
And the result was fascinating.
She wasn't kneeling. She wasn't obeying him. She wasn't even treating him as someone above her.
Yet she felt something. Closeness. An inexplicable familiarity strong enough that she felt no different from family.
Michael's thoughts accelerated. Perhaps at this level, Death's Heir couldn't impose direct dominance on a wild undead. But the authority wasn't gone. It was still influencing something fundamental.
Is it her instincts, or her perception of me? Maybe both.
Perhaps when I advanced it would be different.
The ghost floated around him once more.
"I don't understand."
Michael finally spoke through his will.
"Neither do I."
That wasn't entirely true. He understood more than she did.
Her silver eyes fixed on him.
"You're lying."
Michael's expression stiffened before he offered a strained smile. At this point he was sure this ghost had some extremely strong senses.
Michael's smile remained for a moment before he decided not to push the subject. The ghost didn't seem particularly bothered by the lie either. She simply floated around him again, silver eyes studying him with that same intense curiosity.
Michael, meanwhile, had bee much more confident. Not careless, though. The creature in front of him was still a genuine Demigod. If his interpretation of Death's Heir was wrong, or if something suddenly changed, she could probably reduce him to nothing before he had time to regret it.
But the strange familiarity she felt toward him was real. More importantly, he still couldn't sense hostility from her.
Michael glanced toward the Nether Soul Tree. He hesitated briefly.
"Is that tree your treasure?"
The ghost followed his gaze.
"The tree?"
"Yes."
She stared at it for several seconds. Then shook her head.
"No."
Michael's eyes brightened.
What he didn't know was that the ghost hadn't interpreted the question in the way he intended. She understood what a treasure was. She had seen treasures before. Objects filled with power. Things fought over.
But this tree? She had simply found it growing here long ago. Sometimes she stayed near it. Sometimes she left for years before returning. It produced pleasant energy, and she liked resting beside it. Calling it a treasure had never crossed her mind. To her, it was like her home.
So naturally, she answered no.
Michael, unaware of the reasoning behind her response, became cautiously optimistic.
"If it isn't your treasure…"
He pointed toward the tree.
"Can I take it?"
Suddenly, an enormous pressure descended upon the ravine.
BOOM!
Michael's pupils contracted. The ground beneath him cracked. Isabella collapsed to one knee with a violent clatter of bones.
Michael's Wisdom State surged to its absolute limit as his mana instinctively erupted around his body. His heart slammed against his chest. For the briefest instant, it felt as though the entire world had bee heavy.
Shit!
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