Ultimate Evolution I Became the Master of the World

Upon seeing the handwriting pop up, he froze for a hot minute. In the end, Michael didn't ditch the creepy brown human skin. The reason was simple: he didn't wanna end up like Nikolai.

Sure, the parchment gave off some serious bad vibes, but to Michael, it was like a mystery box. Maybe it had some crucial info, or even a peek into the future.

'I know keeping this thing ain't gonna be a walk in the park, but I got no other options. Worst case? I die,' Michael thought, eyes flickering. 'But if I play it smart and stay on my toes, maybe it won't be so bad.' He rolled up the human skin and shoved it into his pocket.

Right then, David's phone buzzed again, flashing Henrik's name.

Michael snapped back to reality, eyes narrowing at Henrik's name.

He almost forgot Henrik was still lurking around.

After a quick think, he decided to pick up.

"Michael, I've given it to you. Don't ghost me now. How do I get outta here? Hurry up," Henrik's voice was shaky, clearly freaked out.

He was all alone, no classmates in sight.

Even though he dodged the footsteps behind him, he was still stuck in the Ghost Realm. As long as he didn't bail, safety was just a mirage. Michael's brain was in overdrive. He decided to use Henrik as a guinea pig.

Quickly, he said, "Henrik, I ain't coming to get you, but I'll teach you a trick. It's how I made it out."

"What trick? Spill it," Henrik pressed.

Michael asked, "Can your phone still get online? I'll send you a link. Open a forum and find a post by a user named 'King of Thunder.""

He shot over the link to the horror story forum he used before.

Henrik got the message and said, "I found the post by 'King of Thunder.' It's trending."

"Open it, block other users, and scroll to the bottom," Michael directed.

With sweaty fingers, Henrik tapped his phone, opened the post, and scrolled down.

As soon as he did, he shivered.

It was a pic of an old man covered in corpse spots, standing outside a glass window, like he was just passing by.

It was the same old man who knocked on the classroom door earlier.

"See the pic? Save it," Michael said.

"Okay," Henrik gulped, saving the pic with trembling hands.

After that, Michael scanned his surroundings, staying alert.

One minute, two minutes, three minutes passed, and the old man didn't show. He seemed to have bailed, but Michael knew the Ghost Realm was still there, and the old man hadn't left. He was just out of sight. The school was big, so it wasn't shocking not to see him.

"Michael, you there? I did what you said, but nothing's happening," Henrik's voice came through the phone.

'Was I wrong? The old man didn't show up outside the classroom because I saw his pic?' Michael frowned.

He had three theories.

The post by 'King of Thunder' was made in a hospital in another city.

The distance was at least a few hundred miles.

What were the odds of running into the same ghost from another hospital at the school?

Michael thought it was pretty slim.

Unless something drew him here.

A signal, a condition, or maybe even a person.

So, his first hunch was about Nikolai.

The old man was probably hunting for Nikolai since he was a Ghost Handler and had definitely tangled with ghosts before.

But with Nikolai dead and this being Michael's first run-in with the old man, that theory was out the window.

The second guess was Henrik.

But the old man had shown up, and Henrik was still kicking, so scratch that too.

The third guess? The old man was drawn to Michael himself.

If that was the case, the only link between Michael and the old man was the forum story, the photo, and the knocking sound recorded by 'King of Thunder.'

'If it ain't the photo, then it's gotta be the knocking sound.' Thinking this, Michael said, "Henrik, see the audio file below? Play it. This might be your ticket out." "Alright," Henrik played the audio file. The dull, heart-thumping knocking sound echoed in the dark.

Henrik used his phone to light up the area and said, "Michael, nothing's happening."

But on the other end, Michael's face went pale.

The old man, covered in corpse spots, had appeared on the school path, walking stiffly and slowly towards Henrik. Sure enough, he showed up.

And his appearance made no sense, like he had always been there.

'Damn it, I was right. The old man's here for me 'cause I heard the knocking once, Michael felt a chill run down his spine.

"Michael, hey, Michael, say something." Henrik, clueless about the old man creeping up on him, kept asking.

Michael slowly backed away, avoiding the old man's sight and carefully slipped away, "Keep listening to the audio file, don't stop."

"Is this really gonna work?" Henrik kept playing the audio file.

The eerie knocking sound kept playing on his phone.

Though it seemed useless, Henrik noticed there were no more footsteps around. It seemed pointless, but it wasn't totally ineffective.

'Michael's method should work,' Henrik thought, feeling a bit relieved.

But he had no clue that behind him, the old man covered in corpse spots was closing in.NôvelDrama.Org owns this text.

At this moment, Michael quickly left the small woods, putting distance between himself and the old man, and headed back to the playground.

He could no longer see Henrik or the small woods.

"Henrik, you still alive?" Michael suddenly asked.

"Craps, of course, I'm alive," Henrik replied.

Michael said, "I'm sorry, man. I lied to you."

"About what?" Henrik was confused.

"The old man who knocked on the classroom door was drawn by me. He was looking for me," Michael said. "I didn't know before, but now I do. And the thing that drew the old man, I think, is the audio file, the knocking sound you just heard." "What?" Henrik's heart skipped a beat, and fear washed over his face.

The knocking sound could draw the old man, and he had played it so many times.

Panic surged through him, and he instinctively took a few steps back.

His body bumped into something cold and stiff.

Henrik turned around and saw the old man covered in corpse spots staring at him.

Henrik's body froze.

A cold, withered hand slowly rose and gradually covered Henrik's face with great force, crushing the bones in his face.

"Michael," Henrik's terrified and resentful scream came from the phone.

Michael said into the phone, "You taught me that one shouldn't be too naive."

With that, he hung up the phone.