Chapter 775: Food, Water & a Roof

Michael could have tested the other antique treasures as well, but they weren't that interesting. He had other means to achieve the same effect the antique treasures could generate. Therefore, the antique treasures would be sold to create enough funding for the High Nutrition Solutions.

However, Michael was still interested in the Awakening Stone. He was curious what would happen if he used the Awakening Stone now that he was already an Awakened with several Soultraits.

"Will Extraction upgrade naturally when I use the Awakening Stone, or will I be given another Soultrait Symbol?" Michael mumbled while pouring enough origin energy into the Awakening Stone to occupy every corner.

He circulated the origin energy through the Awakening Stone for a few minutes, only to accept reluctantly that he wasn't going to gain anything.

Nothing happened.

That was unexpected. Michael expected that something would happen since he had the Twin Fates, with one of them being new and untarnished. The untarnished fate granted him the rookie benefits, so why was he not given another Soultrait as well?

Michael tilted his head, uncertainty glimmering in his eyes. He thought about it for a few seconds and shrugged.

'I can always give Danny the Awakening Stone. It should be useful once Danny's vessel is done.'

Since Danny was Fateless, he wouldn't be given territory by the Will. It was highly likely that he would still manifest a War Rune because Michael would be by his brother's side, pouring origin energy into every corner of his brother's vessel, but that didn't mean Danny would receive an Awakening Stone from the Will.

Since he was not given a territory, there wouldn't be a butler or maid to provide him with a Fortune Summoning Scroll or an Awakening Stone. While that didn't matter much since Michael could give his brother a wide variety of Soultrait Symbols, it would be interesting to find out what the Awakening Stone would do to Danny once he slipped into the new vessel.

Michael pocketed the Awakening Stone without bothering to think about it more than necessary. The future would tell how useful the Awakening Stone was going to be.

Instead of thinking too deeply about the future, Michael decided to spend the next few days traveling through Paradise Valley. The Undead forces hadn't been interested in treasures, but that didn't mean there were none. Most territories had been bulldozed by the Undead forces, yet not everything had been destroyed. The warehouses were either undamaged, or parts of them remained.

Michael found the warehouses and secret vaults, which weren't that well hidden before his Spirit Eyes, and looted them. He procured a bunch of blueprints related to desert structures, Ordinary Summoning Scrolls, and more or less valuable Artifacts that had been collecting dust and sand for a while. Michael hardly ever lacked Summoning Scrolls, Artifacts, or blueprints, but some were new to him.

Since Michael wasn't in a rush to leave the Sacred Desert, he focused on digesting the Undead Pharaoh's energy influx. He didn't pay too much attention to it before but decided to use every bit of energy after he learned that his ascension would be more expensive than expected.

As he digested the energy influx, Michael tried scouting a somewhat secure path out of the Burning Sand Mountain Range.

He found a few paths, but they didn't suit his requirements well. The paths had to be wide open and secure enough to allow multiple soldiers to cross it while walking next to each other. Michael hoped to find a path secure enough to confuse invaders. They should wonder why nobody managed to cross the Burning Sand Mountain Range, only to try walking across it as well.

By the time they crossed a good portion of the open path, the invaders would encounter the Primal Phoenix, and be unable to escape its wrath.

Unfortunately, Michael couldn't find such a perfect path. If he was adamant about having the envisioned path, he would have to create one.

[Does it even matter? Paradise Valley is not that small, and you are the only Lord here. Occupying Paradise Valley in its entirety will take a while. There is no need to bother about the paths out of the Burning Sand Mountain Range just yet.]

"Do you think so? I'm sure Paradise Valley will be occupied in the next few months. The only major issues I'll encounter while expanding my territory in Paradise Valley will be to accommodate the Summons with a roof above their heads, plenty water to drown in, and decent meals. Food and water were never an issue in the Untamed Jungle, but using the Untamed Jungle to satiate the dehydration and starvation of millions of Summons in Paradise Valley won't be that simple."

[I don't think that you will have any significant issues with that. The Untamed Jungle is always overpopulated. Hunting plenty massive creatures to feed everyone in Paradise Valley won't be an issue. Well, it might be a bit of an issue, but you can expand your Ranches and focus a little more on your livestock. Massive Ranches will help you feed everyone.]

"That's true. As for the lack of water, I could use Sorcerers, or-...."

[There is no need for that. There is a massive underground cave that was flooded a long time ago. The underground cave covers most of Paradise Valley. The only thing you have to pay attention to while constructing wells is that each well has a high-grade purifier enchantment. It would be even better if you have a contamination enchantment and a toxin detection enchantment engraved on each well. That will greatly help if someone dares to poison the water in the underground cave.]

Michael raised an eyebrow but nodded slowly, "It looks like you had your fair share of problems in Paradise Valley as well."

Danny remained silent at that.

"But that solved our issue with the water shortage. Even if the cave were to dry up, I could always get down there and replenish it with my mages. It would take a bit to fill the cave, but refilling it should hardly be an issue."

Another issue was to create plenty accommodations for millions of Summons in Paradise Valley. That might be an issue for others, but Michael doubted it would be a problem for him. He had the means to procure more than enough assets in the Untamed Jungle.

In the first place, Michael neglected his forestry duties in the Untamed Jungle for a while now. It was about time that he removed a bunch of cumbersome towering trees, bushes, and other plant life in the Untamed Jungle. They restricted the natural growth of the surrounding plant life, which ended up killing each other due to the lack of sufficient nutrition and energy.

The Untamed Jungle was rich in both, but if multiple towering trees grew beside each other, their roots would intertwine and fight for the same space, first restraining each other before slowly killing themselves.

That was not something the Untamed Jungle or Michael wanted. Therefore, Michael would have to go back soon to fulfill his responsibility as the Lord of the Untamed Jungle, or the Untamed Jungle's Gardener - depending on who asked.