Chapter 598: Society's Ranking

As an Awakened your standing was high throughout all societies, however, that didn't mean every Awakened was the same. There was a special hierarchy among all Awakened. The High Society acknowledges this hierarchy and holds great importance to it.

The hierarchy was split into three major groups. The group with the highest standing in the High Society was the Lords. Lord gained the most glory and honor everywhere they went.

Lords were known for generating resources en masse. They created a safe place for the other Awakened and expanded their range throughout the Origin Expanse and generated more opportunities for new Awakened to enter and spread in the magical lands of the Origin Expanse.

Mankind's technological advancement and rapidly improving living standards were a result of the Lords' achievements, sacrifices, and efforts.

Lords were strong enough to protect their territory from the surrounding threats. That was something only the minority of Awakened managed to do. It was a sign of strength, great leadership, and a wide variety of other traits.

Lords were stronger than other Awakened. They amassed Soul Power and their access to more resources allowed them to progress faster as well. They were the Overlords and Rulers of the human race.

Of course, not all Lords were the same. Rookie Lords didn't hold as much prestige as Senior Lords with a barony.

Rogues, also known as Adventurers, had the second-highest standing in society. They might have lost their territories, but most Rogues were capable of surviving in the Origin Expanse on their own. Their survivability was essential, and they were strong enough to collect resources to grow stronger without a Lord's help and protection.

Some well-known Rogues managed to claim a new territory, regaining their standing as Lords. Their tales were known throughout the entire Tritan Alliance.

The last group with the lowest standing among all Awakened was 'Subordinates'. As the name suggested the Awakened group with the lowest standing were Awakened who submitted to other forces. They became subordinates of other Lords and acknowledged them as their Master.

Subordinates were known as being the weakest among all Awakened. Their Soultraits weren't any good, they lost their territory, and they couldn't even survive in the Origin Expanse without someone's protection. That was the case for most of them, at least.

Despite being considered as the group with the lowest standing in High Society, they were still Awakened.

It was also a fact that not all subordinates were weak. Nonetheless, being a Subordinate was like a mark...a sign that one wasn't capable enough to survive in the Origin Expanse without someone else's support.

Ordinary citizens didn't know about this, but some Supreme Families and High Nobles would never consider becoming someone else's subordinate. The younger generation had been taught that becoming someone's subordinate was comparable to willingly entering enslavement!

Of course, not everyone thought like that, otherwise, Rebecca Zauber and others wouldn't have joined Michael's territory under any circumstances.

Frederik was certain that the Orlando Family would think badly of him. They would ridicule him.

But did that matter?

For how long would they be able to make fun of him? A year? Two?

Frederik realized how much stronger Michael had grown within a few months from the short bout his friend had with Hiraku. Michael's physique changed drastically just like his eye color, but the biggest impact had been that Michael managed to fight head-on against Hiraku.

Michael didn't even rely on the Soultraits he was known for. He blocked Hiraku solely by relying on his physical strength!

Michael was already at the 3rd Tier, which was ridiculously fast given that Michael was a self-made Lord who'd barely turned 19 years old, but he was only at the Lowest Rank. Hiraku, on the other hand, was a Peak Tier-3 Awakened with a Soultrait that allowed his physical strength to transcend the limits of Lesser Lifeforms.

Hiraku's last attack should have been strong enough to knock out Tier-4 Lord at the Lowest rank, yet Michael managed to withstand it.

Frederik could also tell that Michael didn't go all out yet. He had yet to unleash his strongest powers.

Becoming the subordinate of a powerhouse like Michael wouldn't be frowned upon for a long time. It was not the best idea to ridicule anyone willing to become Michael's subordinate right now, either. After all, it was well known that Michael could procure Soultrait Symbols and upgrade them.

Even if Frederik was part of the Subordinate group, would the Orlando family be willing to go up against Michael, or laugh at Michael's subordinates for initiating a Link of Loyalty with him? Was the Orland family truly willing to offend Michael like that?

Frederik could only imagine other families making fun of the Orlando family for digging their graves if they dared to say something against anyone who'd been willing to become Michael's subordinate.

Michael had more influence than various families, including the Orlando family. His connections spread across the entire Tritan Alliance. Hardly anyone would be foolish enough to go up against Michael, or those important to him.

The Orlando family might eventually try coaxing Frederik, but neither Michael nor Frederik desired to give them a pleasant time, let alone benefits. Frederik desired to attain enough strength to force the Orlando family to acknowledge him and his strength. Not because of Michael's backing, but because of his talent and prowess.

He desired strength to be with those he loved, protect them, and take care of them. That included Jacqueline, his father, and now also Michael.

Meanwhile, Michael felt like beating the shit out of the Orlando family's Elders. However, he was patient enough to allow Frederik to go wild first. That was also one of the reasons he decided to support Frederik like this.

But the most important reason for him to hand Frederik two 3-Star Soultraits and offer to upgrade Aeroan to 5-Star was that he didn't want Frederik to die on the battlefield.

That was the crucial point why Michael decided to retrieve more SoulStar Fragments to upgrade Aeroan to 5-Star. It was expensive at a price of nearly 3,000 SoulStar Fragments, but Michael was certain that it was worth it.

Frederik's combat prowess would skyrocket, and it was only a matter of time before the investment would be returned to him with interest. Michael was not worried about that.

If anything, Michael was worried that he didn't invest enough into Frederik and the others. He was a little bit anxious and hoped to upgrade the Forest Elves and Tiara's Soultraits soon. Whether they had enough Jungle Points or not didn't matter.

The Untamed Awakened were not that close to him, but Thaor, Mekhaz, Lokai, the Forest Elven Adventurers, and Tiara were. They should be given some benefits...even if it was because of Michael's selfishness rather than goodwill.

He...didn't want to see the people he held dear die.

Frederik was shocked when Michael used Insert to insert 3,000 SoulStar Fragments straight into Aeroan, upgrading it straight to 5-Star. He was unsure what else to say.

Their Link of Loyalty had already been established and the Soul Pact had been signed. Michael didn't think that it was necessary to say anything else.

Hiraku tapped Frederik a bit brutally. He stared at Frederik and frowned as the youth didn't say anything even after Hiraku gestured to Michael.

"You don't want to thank him?"

Michael nearly burst into laughter but his poker face sustained. Hiraku seemed cold and distant but he had good manners. That was for sure.

Michael smiled as Frederik turned to him.

"Thank you...I mean it!"

Michael patted Frederik's back with a smile. He was glad that he managed to help Frederik.

Now that his friend regained his spirit, it was only a matter of time before Frederik grew stronger. He would turn into one of the powerful assets in the Untamed Jungle in the next few weeks and help Michael defeat the invading forces.

Rebecca hadn't messaged Michael yet, so he was not in a rush to leave with Frederik. Nonetheless, it was not necessary to stay in the training hall any longer. He handed Frederik a Silver Teleportation Token and was about to manifest the Runic Gate when Frederik approached Hiraku.

"Do you want to join the battle? It will be interesting?" Frederik smiled at the muscular Awakened, who stared down at him in return.

Michael revealed enough about the troubles of his territory to tell everyone that the next few weeks were going to be filled with blood, sweat, and tears.

Frederik understood that it was going to be dangerous, but he also knew that Hiraku Teranos was bored to death. Hiraku Teranos surrendered his territory the day after the grace period ended. A High Beast obliterated his wooden manor and nearly killed Hiraku, who had been a Tier-1 Lord at that time.

A few years passed since then, yet Hiraku never managed to reclaim the territory. The High Beast turned the area near his Runic Gate's anchor into its nest, making it visibly impossible for him to repay to the Origin Expanse.

Despite that, Hiraku escaped the High Beast's nest and established a new anchor nearby, only to realize that his former territory was surrounded by an ocean. His territory had been on a small island.

He had a hard time surviving in the Origin Expanse, and the lack of resources was not exactly helpful either.

Thus, Hiraku stayed outside the Origin Expanse most of the time.

"How about you join Michael's war? In exchange for your help in the battles, Michael can create a temporary Link of Loyalty with you. That way, you can set a new anchor far away from your island and move to a different region," Frederik offered, not even asking Michael whether that was fine or not, "You can fight powerful enemies!"

Hirakue seemed cold and all but the fact that he didn't beat Frederik to death a long time ago was enough for Michael to reward the muscular Awakened with some brownie points.

"I don't mind additional help. However, you would have to indication an additional non-disclosure agreement if you want to help out. That, or I will make sure you'll forget everything you learned about me, my people, and my territory once you leave."

Frederik's eyes lit up at Michael's approval. He stared at Hiraku with puppy eyes.

"Go for it!"

Hiraku raises one eyebrow, but a glimmer in his eyes told Michael that he was interested.

"I'm itching for a battle." He said calmly.