Chapter 570: Techniques, Techniques & more Techniques
570 Techniques, Techniques & more Techniques
Escaping Kraft Viton's wrath was not as difficult as Michael expected. There was no reason for the old man to be angry, in the first place.
Michael might have destroyed the hard work of his old colleagues, but it was not an irreversible damage. Kraft Viton told Michael to write down everything again, or to copy his memories of the knowledge he'd acquired from digesting the Knowledge Wisps into Memory Crystals.
That was how Michael could keep the knowledge with himself and duplicate everything into Memory Crystals with ease as well.
It was a good thing that Kraft Viton was not angry. Michael wouldn't want to betray the old man's trust even before they started their training for real.
"I want to teach you a bit more, but I'm a little busy teaching the High Society a lesson. You must have heard about the Sacred Desert's Undead problem. I'm trying something, which will keep me busy for a while. I hope you don't mind," Kraft Viton cast a troubled look at Michael.
"That's perfectly fine. There is no need for you to break your back to train me. I can use my time differently as well," Michael reassured him that everything was fine, "But it's funny that we can never find a day and time to start the training for real. The books were insightful but I believe that your teachings will be even more helpful."
Michael thought about the Sacred Desert and looked troubled, "How bad is the situation in the Sacred Desert? If you need any help, I can give you a helping hand. I don't want mankind to lose control of the Sacred Desert. My brother was...killed in the Sacred Desert, and I have a bad feeling that the Undead forces were somehow related to his death...other than someone related to the Zan household scheming against my brother, of course."
It was the first time Michael told Kraft Viton about his brother's death and the few pieces of information he'd gathered until now. However, the old man didn't seem to be surprised.
"I will take that into consideration. But aren't you busy dealing with your territory? I doubt that you have enough time to wage war against the Undead."
The corners of Michael's lip curled upward, "Of course, I would be asking for something. I'm still lacking an Intermediate Summoning Core to upgrade my Summoning Gate to the Intermediate rank. It's a shame that nobody exchanged one of their Intermediate Summoning Cores in the Soultrait Symbol Auction."
Michael chuckled lightly, "Either way, I can give you a helping hand. In the worst case, I'll return to my territory with one of the Silver Tokens of Transportation. Lords can use it to return to their territory as well, after all."
Kraft Viton stared at Michael for a second or two, a glimmer of something flashing through his eyes, "Right. We can send Lords over there. A simple contract is all it takes to pay them generously to fight the Undead. They can return with a cheap Silver Token of Transportation."
"Like I said, I only need an Intermediate Summoning Core. And I wouldn't sign a contract that forces me to return to my territory once the Undead forces have been exterminated. I want to research the causes of my brother's death thoroughly."
Kraft Viton didn't pay any more attention to Michael, causing the youthful Lord to grin. Usually, he was the absentminded person in a discussion.
"I will return to the Origin Expanse. You can use the Superior Communication Charm to inform me when you need me. I'll leave the Origin Expanse and we can talk," Michael retrieved one of the few Superior Communication Charms he'd procured not too long ago.
They were rather simple. While it was not possible to communicate over a distance of millions of kilometers, it was possible to trigger the effect of the linked Communication Charms. All one had to do was channel a bit of energy into one of the Communication Charms to inform the person with the linked Communication Charm that someone wanted to talk to them.
It was unfortunate, but Michael hadn't managed to convince the Forest Elven Elders to sell him their Apex Communication Devices. They allowed the Forest Elven Elders to communicate easily no matter how vast the distance between the caller and the recipient. The only issue was the increasing power consumption. The farther the recipient, the more energy would be consumed per second.
"That's a good idea. Your insights are pretty good as well. Don't get hurt, and enjoy your life a little bit more. There is no point in stressing about things you cannot change," Kraft Viton advised Michael.
"Good luck with your lecture. Teach the High Society a good lesson. I want to see them suffer a bit," Michael joked, manifesting the Runic Gate once again to return to the Origin Expanse.
'Will he ask me for help? What if he does? Dealing with the Undead shouldn't be too hard with my strength, but will I be able to find out more about Danny's death?'
Michael scratched the back of his head after he emerged on the other side of the Runic Gate. He reappeared in the wooden manor, and decided to do something useful, such as sorting out the techniques he'd obtained over the last few weeks.
It was about time that he upgraded his Breathing Technique, Body Refinement technique, Mind Refinement technique, and that he started practicing his first Soul Technique and Core technique to reinforce his Pillar of Light properly.
He already had a pretty good Mind Refinement technique, but Ceasurium Menta was not considered one of mankind's Apex-
rank techniques. In the first place, apex-rank techniques from the human race were equivalent to some of the better Common Class Techniques Michael had procured from traitorous Descendants and the Tekur.
That meant he had to study the Tekur's techniques to see if he could use them given the difference in their races' anatomies, and if the traitorous Descendants' techniques were dangerous.
Michael was not sure if the Supreme Human Alliance had manipulated the minds of the traitorous Descendants by altering the techniques they had gifted to the traitors for betraying their own kind. It wouldn't surprise Michael if some of the techniques had some nasty alterations that messed with the mind.
One way or another, Michael had various tomes and scrolls to extract. He could learn a lot from the techniques, including the creation method used to produce Legacy Arts and Inheritance Techniques.
He retrieved all techniques he'd accumulated over the last few months and extracted their Knowledge Wisps. The content written down in the books dispersed, forming the Knowledge Wisps that landed in Michael's palm.
He consumed the Knowledge Wisps one after another while applying several layers of Enhancement on his brain. Contrary to the theoretical knowledge he'd procured from the massive number of books Kraft Viton had given to him, Michael learned a lot more practical knowledge, advice, tips and tricks, and improved his comprehensive understanding from the techniques' Knowledge Wisps.
His understanding of each technique improved significantly. But that was not all. The memories of the techniques' former owners resurfaced in his mind. The experiences of the technique users merged with the comprehensive understanding of the techniques, further deepening his mastery.
He didn't steal all techniques from the Awakened he'd killed. Instead, most rare techniques entered his pockets, thanks to the Soultrait Symbol Auction. It had been very useful and an easy way to procure Superior ranked, and Apex ranked techniques from the elderly powerhouses of the Human, Berserker, and Warlock Centaur races.
Interestingly enough, the mind refinement techniques and the breathing techniques of the Warlock Centaurs were much better than the equivalent received from the old human powerhouses. Michael didn't expect it, but it was certainly a great gain.
"I should replace all my elderly techniques, but what perform I want to focus on?"
Each technique had specific characteristics they focused on. Combining techniques wildly without paying attention to their forte could lead to complications. Furthermore, Michael should have to alter some techniques to use them. The biggest issue was the body-refinement technique. He procured some useful techniques from the Tekur and Berserkers, but he was not certain which one to use.
The Berserkers' body refinement techniques were incredible. Their potency was on par with a peak-quality Common Class Body Refinement technique. However, their techniques were tailormade for a bulky body with high endurance and strength. Michael didn't like that. Until now, he had been more focused on power bursts and agility. His body's resilience was also not that bad thanks to Superior Constitution, but that didn't mean he had to focus on further strengthening his endurance.
Michael spent the next two days altering some techniques before testing them out. His initial tests failed miserably, forcing him to ask Rebecca to help him out with her Soultrait and Inheritance Technique. She pointed out the mistakes in the techniques, the domino effect caused by the changes he made, and potential risks.
Rebecca's help was incredible. Without her, Michael should have been injured hundreds of times and he would have been sitting in confusion for several weeks before finally coming to a conclusion.
He finally knew what techniques he wanted to practice, and he had already adjusted all of them to fit him. They were customized to suit him perfectly!
[Breathing Technique - Breath of the Underworld]
[Core Technique - Primordial Pillar]
[Soul Technique - Sanctum of Life]
[Body Refinement - Consirat of War]
[Mind Refinement - Wisdom Breaker]
[Energy Circulation - Leviathan Diffusion(Upgraded)]
[Energy Absorption - Pantheon's Dawn]