For classes like Beast Tamers and Necromancers, the advantage wasn't just the contract slots allowing them to command minions as part of their strength.
Another noticeable benefit of these classes was the feedback they received as their minions grew stronger.
For Beast Tamers, although they had fewer contract slots than Necromancers—gaining only additional slots every five levels—their main advantage lay in the feedback.
As their tamed beasts grew stronger, the tamers themselves received boosts, not just from rank advancements but also from level-ups.
Necromancers, on the other hand, didn't receive feedback for each level-up of their undead but only from rank advancements.
However, they compensated with a significantly larger number of contract slots.
This meant that, while the feedback per level up didn't exist, the overall feedback from numerous rank advancements often surpassed that of Beast Tamers.
Of course, there was a balance.
The stronger the tamer or Necromancer, the weaker the feedback they received from their minions.
Conversely, weaker tamers or Necromancers gained more noticeable feedback from their growing minions.
Though Michael had learned this through various forum posts—which, in all honesty, were completely random—he was still stunned by the surge of power he felt from evolving his undead.
No, what shocked him even more was that evolving his undead also caused it to rank up.
He knew it was rare to find Rare-rank monsters below Rank 1, as adult forms were typically Rank 2 and far stronger than Rank 1 creatures.
Yet, the fact that this applied to his undead took him completely by surprise.
After all, his talent was anything but conventional.
"The race has changed too."
Michael observed.
After some consideration, he didn't find this surprising.
Rank and stars weren't just about determining the limit of a creature.
They were, in a sense, tied to its very identity.
Most Forest Wolves could only ever reach Level 7 at best, with a rare few surpassing that and stepping into Rank 1.
Even this was considered the extreme limit of their race.
Anything beyond that would already exceed the natural capacity of their species.
'Perhaps this is the true meaning of evolution—to break free from the limits imposed on the self.'
Michael mused, reflecting on his talent.
From what he'd seen so far, his talent wasn't merely about raising the level cap of his undead.
It seemed far more profound than that.
Michael briefly entertained the possibility that his talent could affect more than just his undead.
But with his limited knowledge, this thought remained just that—a fleeting idea Michael couldn't fully explore yet.
The next major change Michael noticed was in his own body.
Feeling the newfound strength coursing through him, his eyes lit up with pure delight.
'Status!'
---
[Name: Michael Norman]
[Class: Necromancer Apprentice]
[Level: 5]
[EXP: 114/800]
[Strength: 4.5]
[Agility: 9.4]
[Constitution: 6.3]
[Intelligence: 10.5]
[Attribute Points: 18]
[Skills: Undead Summoning, Undead Revival, Detect, Basic Shot]
[Talent: Infinite Evolution]
[Class Skill: Contract Slot{1/10}]
[Gift: Mark Of Origin]
All his stats, aside from agility, increased by two points, while agility increased by three!
A total gain of nine stat points!
This incredible boost was entirely due to the feedback from his undead's rank advancement.
Still.
"Isn't this increase a bit too much?"
Michael reasoned that his weakness likely amplified the feedback, but the effect being comparable to a level-up felt excessive.
"Is it because it's a rare-rank species?"
Michael suspected this was the primary cause.
Rare-rank creatures were known to rival Awakeners in strength, even with attribute points accounted for.
In contrast, common-rank monsters couldn't measure up, so it made sense that a stronger creature would naturally yield a stronger feedback.
Also, perhaps due to the wolf's nature, agility received the highest boost.
Once again, Agility was catching up to Michael's Intelligence stat for the top spot
As for the newly gained skill, Plant Control, it seemed less shocking compared to the race change and rank advancement, making it easier for Michael to process.
[Verdant Wolf Lv. 11]
[Name: None.]
[EXP: 0/2500]
[Rank: Rare★]
[Skills: Bite, Plant Control {NEW!}]
[Master: Michael Norman]
This was the information panel of his undead, something Michael, as its master, normally had access to.
Though the newly gained skill didn't shock him as much as the other surprises, Michael's curiosity was piqued.
[{Plant Control} (Basic Mastery) Proficiency: 0.2%]
A racial ability of the Verdant Wolf species, Plant Control allows them to manipulate plants within their surroundings and use mana to influence growth or movement.
At its current mastery, the skill had a range of ten meters.
"A racial skill," Michael muttered.
This wasn't something he had anticipated.
Initially, he thought the skill was a result of evolution, but realizing it was tied to the species itself opened new possibilities.
"If I evolve the other two forest wolf corpses in my storage, they'll likely gain the same skill."
But before creating more undead, Michael had a pressing question.
"Can the Verdant Wolf still be evolved?"
Without hesitation, he focused on his talent panel to find out.
[Talent: Infinite Evolution]
Evolution Points: 1
Evolvable:
Undead Verdant Wolf Lv. 11 (Insufficient evolution points, Can't be evolved)
"It can still be evolved?!"
Another surge of excitement rushed through Michael.
However, a moment later, his mood soured slightly.
"My evolution points are still too few."
At the moment, Michael only knew of two ways to gain Evolution points.
Daily refresh and by absorbing spirit crystals.
The latter was far too expensive, while the former was too slow.
Unranked spirit crystals also seemed to offer very little in terms of Evolution points.
As Michael dwelled on his lack of points, his gaze subconsciously shifted to his panel, and he was immediately taken aback by a change he hadn't noticed before.
Somehow, at some point, his talent that was supposed to grant only 1 Evolution point per day had changed to 2.
"What happened?" Michael frowned.
Had this been before he discovered his talent's ability, he might not have thought much of it, but things were different now.
His talent was likely going to become the cornerstone of his strength in both the Land of Origin and Aurora, so anything related to it had to be taken seriously.
After thinking for a moment, a suspicion he couldn't shake came to mind.
"Is it because of my undead?"