Evolving My Undead Legion In A Game-Like World

Chapter 502: Low Number Of Awakeners

Michael offered her a polite nod. ”Thank you.”

The woman’s smile warmed just a fraction. ”Good luck in the next stage, Mr. Norman. I wish you success in your exam.”

”I appreciate it,” Michael replied.

With that, he rose from the chair and stepped out of the booth.

The hallway beyond was quieter than he expected, though the murmur of voices from other booths still reached his ears. His pace was unhurried, yet his mind was already sifting through what the woman had told him.

An international field. Public broadcast. A virtual space.

Now, there were two things Michael was wondering about.

For one—how the hell was the Federation going to host a joint exam for millions of participants?

Of course, the ”millions” applied to the cultivators. Awakeners were far rarer, but even then, the total number was still huge. In a given year, it was already considered fortunate if a school produced even one Awakener. Producing more than three was a rarity worth talking about.

His own school’s awakening this year—seven new Awakeners—was practically unheard of. That didn’t mean other schools enjoyed the same results. Far from it.

This was why the global number of Awakeners remained so low. In a city, it was a ”good” year if the total number of new Awakeners reached 50. For a state, a ”great” year might produce 1,000. And in an entire country? Michael figured 5,000 would be exceptional... though, in truth, that number was probably unrealistic. There were years when some schools produced none at all.

Even with all this, the number of Awakeners in the world shouldn’t have been that small. Which brought Michael back to an earlier question—one he’d first asked himself in the days right after his awakening.

Why was the current number of Awakeners in the Federation only around 100,000?

Yes, Awakeners were rare—but considering there were over two dozen countries under the Federation’s banner, and two centuries of development since the supernatural era began, wasn’t that number a bit too small?

Perhaps in Aurora’s early years, Awakeners really had been as rare as phoenix feathers, awakening only through natural chance. Back then, there had been no devices to increase the odds. But even now, with awakening devices improving success rates, the number was still inexplicably low.

Or was it something else entirely?

Something... killing Awakeners in large quantities?

The thought lingered like a shadow.

Michael leaned toward the latter.

Though he was still a newcomer in the world of supernaturals, he wasn’t a complete novice without any grasp of how things worked. There were things he knew for certain—things even high schoolers were aware of, despite the Federation’s deliberate suppression of supernatural knowledge.

For one, Aurora wasn’t the only world.

The demon incident that had forced him to leave Woodstone City still burned in his memory.

Who knew what was happening outside?

As for why he didn’t think most Awakeners were dying in the Land of Origin... his own experience with Jester during their first encounter had already taught him that Awakeners were far from immortal there. But that, he was certain, wasn’t the norm—at least, not for everyone. Not everyone should be unlucky enough to run into something like that.

Still... the possibility lingered.

What if—at some point—the no-death advantage of Awakeners simply stopped working? Who was to say that certain thresholds, certain levels of power, didn’t come with risks that even their so-called ”immortality” couldn’t protect against?

After all, he was still just a lowly Rank 2 Awakener.

If he couldn’t match a god, he had no business claiming he was sure of anything.

Though Michael’s thoughts had strayed, his original question still remained—

How the hell was the Federation going to handle millions of participants?

By his own estimate, the number shouldn’t exceed three million, since not every college exam participant was a cultivator. But still... millions was a lot.

There were twenty-one countries under the Federation’s banner, and each ran things differently.

Some used a president-and-governor system much like certain Earth nations in his past world.

Others were run by ministers, where power rested in councils and committees. A handful were monarchies, where a royal family directly ruled the nation. And then there were those with ”royalty” in the cultural sense—noble bloodlines that held status, wealth, and influence, with actual ruling power aside from the royal family.

Michael’s home country, Vessara, belonged to the first category. It was a republic in name, with elected presidents and regional governors...

Each system brought its own quirks, inefficiencies, and strengths to the Federation table. Which meant organizing an international joint exam wasn’t just a matter of logistics.

Still Michael could help but find himself expectant of this exam..

After all, if that lady wasn’t wrong, there was a chance he might meet the foreigners of this world for the first time.

It was an exciting thought—one he couldn’t help but entertain as he walked.

There might be new things to learn about.

Michael passed through the hallway until he spotted the distinctive blue jacket the woman had mentioned.

The staff member wearing it was a tall man with sharp features, his expression neutral but his stance relaxed.

Catching Michael’s approach, the man gave a small nod.

”Awakener or cultivator?”

”Awakener,” Michael confirmed.

”Good. Please, this way.” The man turned without further explanation, his long strides carrying him through a side corridor.

Michael followed, boots clicking faintly against the polished floor.

The path took them away from the booths and deeper into a section of the building clearly meant for examinees. The air was quieter here, the noise from the main hall fading until only the sound of their footsteps remained.

”You’ll be in Waiting Hall C,” the man said over his shoulder. ”From there, attendants will brief you on entering the virtual space. Your group will move together when the time comes.”

Michael inclined his head. ”How long until it starts?”

”That depends on how fast the other groups clear processing,” the man replied.