Starting from Ainz Ooal Gown, simultaneously traveling through time

Before assigning Grote to this mission, Leylin had conducted a comprehensive "capability assessment" of him.

"What are you best at?" Leylin asked casually at the time.

Grote replied respectfully, "Master, my forte is naturally necromancy."

"Very good," Leylin nodded, "Compile everything you know and give it to me."

"Yes, Master."

Without the slightest hesitation, Grote immediately presented all the necromancy knowledge, incantations, and ritual details he possessed in the form of a soul imprint.

After obtaining this complete guide to necromancy, Leylin did not use it immediately. Instead, he immersed himself in it and began to make sweeping "modifications".

He combined his understanding of different world power systems, especially the principle of "blood sacrifice" shared with Rayleigh from Game of Thrones.

And limited knowledge of the legendary Grand Ritual Magic [Spiral of Death] from the original Overlord manga.

(It is only known that its general effect is to gather negative energy to promote the evolution of the undead.)

Then Leylin began his bold "reverse engineering" and "stitching creation".

After a process of disassembly, reassembly, experimentation, and deduction.

He eventually pieced together a "knock-off" product that had similar functions but whose specific principles and details might be completely different.

When Leylin returned this newly created "work" to Grote, he named it "The Spiral of Death (Pseudo)".

"Although it's a counterfeit."

Leylin once said to Grote (and perhaps to himself), "But a replica isn't necessarily worse than the original. Try it out; I need it to attract the attention of the Abyss."

Thus, Grote began his chanting and activation in the dead city.

..............................

As Grote finished casting his final activation spell.

Om-!

An invisible wave suddenly spread out from the magic circle beneath his feet.

Immediately following, negative energy, the aura of death, resentment, and the power of decay that had accumulated in the dead city and even the wider area for decades or even centuries—

As if summoned by an invisible force, they began to converge madly toward the center of the square, toward the location of Grote!

"This... such immense energy!" Grote's long-dormant undead heart (if it still had a heart at all) couldn't help but tremble.

Normally, when he casts necromancy, he draws upon his own stored or guided negative energy within a small area.

At this moment, thanks to this [Spiral of Death (Pseudo)] ritual, the energy that has gathered is like a hundred rivers flowing into the sea, vast and surging.

This immense negative energy even made the surrounding air viscous, cold, and dim, as if night had fallen prematurely.

These pure and massive negative energies did not merely circulate around, but began to actively pour into Grote's body.

His immortal body, sustained by necromancy, absorbed the water greedily, like a dried-up sponge encountering water.

"The power... is increasing!" Grote could feel it clearly.

The density of his cold, hard bones was increasing, the death magic flowing within his body was surging and growing stronger, and the fire of his soul was burning more vigorously and steadily.

He was enveloped by a long-lost sense of fullness, as if it were a sign of the "evolution" of life.

The core function of the original [Spiral of Death] is to gather extreme negative energy, prompting high-level undead to break through racial barriers and achieve a "sublimation" of their life form and a leap in their power level.

This knock-off, Leylin, seems to have perfectly replicated this function, at least in the stages of energy gathering and initial infusion enhancement.

"Master...you're amazing! The magic you casually modified has such miraculous effects!" Grote was filled with awe and joy.

He felt he was standing at a critical point.

Just one final push is needed to break free from the constraints of the current form and step into a higher realm of the undead—

For example, one can advance from the [Grand Mage of the Dead] to the legendary [Night Mage of the Dead].

However, at this crucial moment of "the final push"—

The speed of energy infusion suddenly slowed down, and the momentum that was propelling him to "sublimation" seemed to have hit an invisible wall and came to an abrupt stop.

"Well……?"

Grote felt that wonderful, ever-increasing pleasure vanish in an instant.

Although negative energy was still being drawn in by the ritual, the portion flowing into his body seemed to have reached saturation.

More energy simply flowed through his body, but could no longer be absorbed or transformed, let alone provide the crucial "evolutionary" impetus.

It's as if a container has been filled to the brim and can no longer be expanded.

"What... what's going on?!" A cold, almost "frustrated" feeling, extremely rare for an undead, spread through Grote's consciousness.

"So close! Just one more tiny bit more!!"

He was stuck on the edge of evolution, able to sense higher-level existences, but no matter what he did, he couldn't cross that threshold.

(If Leylin were present, given his personality, he might have teased, "It seems there's a problem with your foundation and compatibility with this magic. I gave you a chance, but you didn't do it.")

(At the same time, he probably also reflected in his heart: "After all, I am a living person, and there is still a gap between my understanding and transformation of the nature of the dead, especially when it comes to core mysteries such as racial evolution.")

("Moreover, many of the fundamental theories come from Grote himself, so it is indeed difficult to achieve a disruptive breakthrough on that basis.")

The reality is that the [Spiral of Death (Pseudo)] successfully gathered a massive amount of negative energy and greatly enhanced Grote's various basic attributes.

However, it failed to achieve the expected results in the most crucial aspect of "racial advancement".

Grote's strength has increased significantly, but he is still essentially the [Grand Mage of the Dead].

It did not transform into the [Night Death Mage].

"What a pity...what a pity!"

Grote was filled with remorse, but he would never blame Leylin, who had given him the magic.

He would only think that he had not accumulated enough knowledge or had not fully grasped the subtleties of his master's magic, which was why he was unable to seize this opportunity.

He quickly suppressed all his negative emotions.

"I must not be greedy. Such a great improvement is already a great blessing from my master. I must complete the task assigned by my master."

He quickly began cleaning up the site as planned.

Carefully erase all traces of the magic circle, and recycle or destroy the used spellcasting materials.

Make sure not to leave any trace that could reveal details of the ritual or clues about the owner's existence.

After doing all this, he quietly retreated to a relatively intact abandoned house on the edge of the square and concealed himself.

"Next, we just have to wait."

Grote thought, "With such a commotion, if the [Abyssal Body] really exists and is sensitive to high concentrations of negative energy, they should send someone to investigate."

"My mission is to 'wait and see' here. Once I spot a suspicious target, I'll be the first to make contact and probe..."

His plan was clear. However, capturing or subduing a potentially formidable enemy would require more than just him.

He subconsciously looked in awe in a certain direction—where there were only empty ruins and pervasive gray fog.

However, as if in response to his thoughts.

A pair of cold, indifferent, dark golden vertical pupils, exuding a faint sense of pressure, appeared out of nowhere for a moment in the focus of his gaze!

Grote was so frightened that even the flames of his soul flickered.

"...I'll leave the rest of the arrest operation to you, sir."

He quickly and respectfully conveyed his thoughts in the direction where the pupils disappeared: "Only your intervention can ensure absolute success."

The dark golden light flickered slightly in that void, as if in acknowledgment, before disappearing completely.

Grote steadied himself, completely concealing his aura, and entered a long state of lurking and waiting.

"Waiting for a rabbit to run into a tree stump..." He silently pondered the phrase his master had used.

"Waiting for a rabbit to run into a tree stump? Trees and rabbits... is there any necessary connection? The metaphors the master uses are always so profound..."

He decided to abandon thinking about this irrelevant question and focus all his attention on perceiving the movements of the outside world.

The dead city returned to silence, but a patient hunt targeting the [Abyssal Body] had already been quietly laid out.