Chapter 542: Surprise

It was not a surprise that everyone who purchased a Soultrait Symbol wanted to have it upgraded as much as possible. Michael accepted their wishes, but he decided to send Kraft Viton to negotiate the contract terms instead of doing so by himself. Michael did that because he wanted to show everyone that he trusted the Bartholomew Corporation and used Kraft Viton as his manager. At least, that was Michael's intention since he was pretty sure that Kraft Viton was a much better negotiator.

"You want the remaining items in section three and four from your item list in addition to their Inheritance Techniques, and Legacy Arts... The last two points will be far more problematic than the first two, but I doubt that you're going to use their Inheritance Techniques, in the first place," Kraft Viton mumbled, "Are you going to use their Inheritance Techniques to create your own? If that's the case, I will add a clause to promise them that we won't share our knowledge about their Inheritance Techniques' secrets with anyone."

Michael didn't have to think a second before he answered, "That's totally fine. It's like you said. I want to use their techniques to create my own in the near future."

"That should be fine then," Kraft Viton replied, taking a few notes before he continued, "I will also tell the bidders that the Bartholomew Corporation will have more treasures to sell in the near future if that's okay with you."

"That should be fine then," Kraft Viton replied, taking a few notes before he continued, "I will also tell the bidders that the Bartholomew Corporation will have more treasures to sell in the near future if that's okay with you."

The treasures Kraft Viton mentioned weren't Soultrait Symbols or SoulStar Fragments, but Soul Energy Fusion techniques, and Neutral Soul Techniques. 'Now that I think about it. I have yet to create my own Soul Technique. Even Soul Glacicle Bullet is merely an altered technique.' Michael realized. He didn't count Heavenly Realm as his Soul Technique because it was created for Maria and Archangel's Grace. Michael was only in possession of a small shard of Archangel's Grace, and couldn't unleash its true potential. He might be able to use the technique but Heavenly Realm was certainly not created for him.

"It's a good idea that you offered to upgrade the first batch of Soultraits to 4-Star, but you shouldn't overdo it. More people will want to use your service and if you don't create a tangible service, you will end up suffering," Kraft Viton advised, "Of course, I don't know how difficult it is for you to upgrade a Soultrait, but from what you told me...it's not worth offering your service to everyone. It should be special."

22:52

"I know," Michael sighed, "Either way...did you finish the Mythic Scroll Trading Post?"

Kraft Viton smiled seeing Michael change the topic so quickly, but he nodded.

"I did. The web designers created a whole featured website for your Mythic Scrolls. Currently, we offer one Mythic Scroll for 20,000 Ordinary Summoning Scrolls. The Bartholomew Corporation will charge 10% as the transaction fee since we're doing most of the work, either way, but you know that we could take much more than that if we wanted to. You were given special treatment once again."

Kraft Viton teased Michael a little bit, but it was quite obvious that a trace of truth lingered in his words. Michael was given special treatment, and it was not exactly difficult to tell. "Thank you for your help. And please give my kind regards and my thanks to the president as well. I'm glad to be a partner of the Bartholomew Corporation!" "No problem. We're happy that you chose to stay with us." Michael and Kraft Viton had barely completed their discussion when a flood of notifications flooded Kraft Viton. He received several calls from the bigshots who'd successfully bid for the Soultrait Symbols.

"I will get you a good deal. See ya," He stated to Michael, who waved him goodbye.

After Kraft left, Michael finally had some time for himself. He returned to his room and entered the Origin Expanse to take a short break and let his thoughts roam freely.

'18,000 Ordinary Summoning Scrolls for a single Mythic Scroll is a great deal. By extracting an average of 1.5 Summoning Scroll Fragments from old scrolls, I can easily construct 2 Mythic Scrolls for every Scroll I trade. I'll have enough excess to stock up and create a Legendary Summoning Scroll later. All I need is to be patient.' As long as his plan worked out, Michael would never have an issue with a lack of Summons again. He would possess enough Ordinary, Mythic, and Legendary Scrolls to expand the population in his territory at any point. It would take some time before he achieved that feat, but it was possible. And that made it even more exciting.

The only issue - if one could call it such, in the first place - about today's Soultrait Symbol Auction was that Michael had to use his SoulStar Fragments to upgrade the six 1-Star Soultraits to 4-Star. Since the Soultraits were not fused into his body, Michael had to use more SoulStar Fragments to weave them into the fragment of the Soultrait Symbols as well. Therefore, upgrading one 1-Star Soultrait Symbol required 400 SoulStar Fragments.

He spent a total of 2,400 SoulStar Fragments to upgrade all six Soultrait Symbols. To make up for the cost, Michael would have to kill a few Peak Tier-3 Awakened. But that was fine. Michael gained more than enough from auctioning the six Soultrait Symbols. He was a wealthy man, at last. Though Michael doubted that the wealth would stay with him for a long time as he already had more than enough things to utilize his funds for. But that was the good thing about wealth. It existed to be used, not to collect dust in his War Rune, or in his bank account.

Once Michael had rested his mind long enough, he left the Origin Expanse once again. He met up with his new subordinates and gave each of them one Silver Token of Transportation. He made sure that the Silver Tokens of Transportation were linked to his Summoning Gate before he stored the remaining Tokens back into his War Rune.

Michael returned to the Origin Expanse where he waited for his subordinates to arrive. He informed the Forest Elven Adventurer team, Immortal Knight, Tiara, and a few others about the arrival of more subordinates, which they took with a grain of salt. They expected Michael to expand his arsenal of Awakened pretty soon, but they hadn't heard a lot from Michael in the last few days. Hence, it was a great surprise to hear that their Lord added a batch of 30 Awakened all of a sudden.

However, nobody was displeased. They trusted Michael, and hoped sincerely that their territory was going to prosper even more now that their military power expanded.

It was only a matter of minutes before the first Awakened emerged through the Summoning Gate. Rebecca Zauber and her friend were the first to arrive. The first thing the two human Descendants noticed was the overwhelming presence of nature all around them. Even though they'd known about the Untamed Jungle from Michael's explanation, they were shocked by the flourishing fauna and the strong scent of nature that was ever-present.

"So greatly energy..." Rebecca mumbled, shocked at the quality and quantity of the ambient origin energy. How was it possible for so greatly origin energy to permeate the air all around them, naturally, at that?

It was wonderful!

The Warlock Centaurs and Berserkers arrived shortly after Rebecca Zauber and her little friend stepped through the gate. They were just as surprised as Rebecca, but they could handle their emotions much better. They bowed to Michael to thank him once again for accepting them into his territory before they introduced themselves one by one to the citizens.

Michael didn't ask them to introduce themselves, but he figured that the Berserkers and Warlock Centaurs were noble and prideful beings. They were honest, friendly, and sociable races - though a little bit too violent at times.

"Since it's the first time for most of you to see a region such as the Untamed Jungle, I believe that it will be necessary to adapt to the environment and the lifestyle. Most of us live in treehouses, but I'm not sure if you would like to do the same. Please inform the Architects where you want to live, and they will come up with a proper design to adjust the buildings to your...sizes," Michael welcomed them with a smile.

He was not sure if his new subordinates wanted to stay and sleep in his territory since everything was still new for them, but he surely hoped that his subordinates would spend more time in the Origin Expanse - in his territory - once they got used to everything. The Untamed Jungle was a treasure trove when it came to finding means to grow stronger, after all.

"Settle down and get used to my territory in the next few days. After that, we will take care of the work distribution, your training schedule, and so on. There is no need to rush anything for now. We're not at war." Michael suggested, only for Mika to add quietly, "...just yet."

The Berserkers and Warlock Centaurs looked over to the young Forest Elf, who could only swallow hard as two dozen pairs of eyes landed on him. Their eyes were filled with excitement hearing about the possibility of war breaking out. However, all Mika could see was the towering giants staring intently at him.

Michael and the others chuckled quietly. Thanks to Mika's interference, the ice between the citizens and the new subordinates broke quickly.

The Berserkers, Warlock Centaurs, and the two Descendants spent the next two days with Michael and his subordinates. They grew closer and learned a lot from each other. The Awakened's Links of Loyalty with Michael grew stronger and the Soul Power accumulated inside his Soultraits increased. Michael was happy. "How about we come back now? The Chieftain wanted to talk to you before you depart for the Saphirelake Military Academy," Thaor asked, and everyone else agreed. They had some stuff to do and it was about time they returned.

However, Michael felt a little odd. Why did it feel like everyone was pushing him out of his own house? Was it really important to depart the Origin Expanse right now? Couldn't they do it later?

Unfortunately, the Berserkers and Warlock Centaurs left. Even the two Descendants didn't stay back. Michael frowned deeply, but he figured that he shouldn't let the Chieftain wait. He manifested the Runic Gate and left the Origin Expanse once again. Michael stretched his body after he returned to his room, only to freeze in his tracks when he noticed that he was not alone.

His body tensed up and he turned around, just to see two beauties sitting on his bed- Maria Seraph and Alice Zenovia.

"Finally you're back!" Alice and Maria exclaimed simultaneously, only to eye each other weirdly. Maria blushed hard, whereas Alice frowned deeply. "What are you guys doing in my room?" Michael asked, but he didn't receive an explanation. Alice and Maria reached for his arms and pulled him out of the room and across the hallway. They didn't say a word until they arrived in a dark room at the terminate of the hallway.

The two girls pushed him into the room and switched the light on, unraveling more than 30 people, including Kraft Viton, Kaleb, Lincoln, Zeke, and more.

The Chieftain and the War Priestess were present as well. 'What the hell is going on here?' Michael wondered, his eyes traveling across the room, only to find out that even Killian was there.

All of a sudden, a cacophony of voices reverberated through the room.

"Happy Birthday!!"

**