Chapter 776: Portal

The Portal Attachments were completed in the third week after the Undead Pharaoh's death.

Michael spent some time interrogating the Starheaven Pharaoh, but the results were average at best. Sparring with the Starheaven Pharaoh was much more interesting than asking him various questions, which he could barely answer without crying out loud or complaining about how stupid he had been when he was still alive.

At the end of the day, the Starheaven Pharaoh managed to ask Michael more questions than vice versa. The Starheaven Pharaoh emerged more knowledgeable than Michael during the interrogation. That was certainly not what Michael had expected, but it was fine. He learned a lot about moving across the unsteady sand from the 8-Star Summon.

His footwork improved drastically as he waited for the Portal Attachments to arrive.

At last, the Summoning Gate hummed loudly, and a familiar frame appeared in the energy pool.

Tiara emerged from the Basic Summoning Gate, a bright smile blossoming on her face upon seeing Michael. She rushed up to him and gave him a tight hug. It felt like eons had passed since they had last seen each other.

"You're stronger," Michael praised Tiara when she released him from the tight embrace. She continued smiling and nodded slowly, all while her tail swished left and right erratically.

"Everyone worked hard while you were away. We're not planning to give you enough time and opportunities to leave us behind."

Michael's lips parted to say something, but Tiara was not yet done.

"We know that you would never leave us behind, but we're not planning to stay weak. We don't want to drag you down!"

Michael smiled wryly and nodded. Even if he wanted to say something, Michael doubted that Tiara would give him any leeway. She and the others would never stop to grow stronger as long as Michael continued sweeping through the ranks like he was doing since the last few months.

They wanted to keep up with him. That required painstaking efforts and a tremendous amount of resources.

"Either way, it's great to hear that everyone has been working hard," Michaels grinned, "What about the Portal Attachment? Did you rush over without it, or did you bring the Portal Attachment?"

He could imagine Tiara rushing through the Intermediate Summoning Gate the moment Rebecca installed the Portal Attachment. The Silverfang Tigerfolk Princess was far from stupid, but she was not the most patient. Tiara liked to act according to her feelings as well. She followed her instincts and rushed into deadly battles - or into a portal, not knowing if it worked or if it would tear her apart.

Fortunately, the Portal Attachment worked. Michael didn't even want to imagine losing Tiara to an error in the Portal Attachment. In fact, he didn't want to imagine losing her at all. It was the same with the Forest Elven Adventurers and the others. Michael shuddered at the thought of losing more people. He didn't want that to happen again.

'Why the hell am I thinking about death and destruction again?' Michael cursed himself inwardly.

He noticed tears welling up in his eyes and frowned even deeper than before.

'The Spear Arts!' Michael roared in his mind.

It was hard to believe that the Wicked Spear Arts had this much control over his emotions even after the Wolf Curse devoured a portion of his emotions. He would be a living wreck if the Wolf Curse didn't do anything.

Michael swallowed hard and thanked the Wolf Curse for helping him. He didn't lose his sanity, thanks to the Wolf Curse.

Tiara noticed that something about Michael differed from before, but she refrained from asking him anything. He could come to her to talk if something bothered him.

Instead, of asking anything, Tiara retrieved a small coin-sized metal disk. It didn't look like anything special, but it was the result of two weeks of hard, tireless work. The disk was the Portal Attachment. Tiara installed it in the Summoning Gate's foundation. She required Michael's help to open the hatch in the foundation and got to work right away. Her hands moved swiftly and with precise movements. It looked like Tiara had done this dozens, if not hundreds of times.

She installed the Portal Attachment next to the Summoning Cores, connected all important parts, and ensured that the metal disk was tightly secured. Thereafter, she poured a trace of energy into the Portal Attachment before retrieving a small box that looked like a miniature engine.

"You might know what that is, but Rebecca told me to explain to you its function nonetheless," Tiara said, pointing at the box. Michael was dragged out of the turmoil of emotions and thoughts ravaging his mind. He looked at her and listened intently.

"This has a complex name that I didn't bother to remember. It's very long and cumbersome to remember," Tiara said lightly, without feeling a trace of shame, "To put it simply, this is an energy battery. It can store a tremendous amount of energy, probably equivalent to hundreds of Superior Energy Stones, at once. It converts the energy and channels it through the Summoning Gate to activate the Portal Attachment."

"Under normal circumstances, you can use your energy to activate the Portal Attachment, but since large-distance teleportations drain more energy, you will have issues infusing enough energy into the Portal Attachment to teleport from the Untamed Jungle to the Sacred Desert. In fact, Rebecca said that we will have to upgrade the energy battery soon because the energy required to jump from the Untamed Jungle to the Sacred Desert is much higher than expected. It won't be easy to teleport back and forth over and over again."

Michael frowned deeply. He'd anticipated teleporting to be expensive, but it would be cumbersome if he couldn't casually use the Portal Attachment. It would make everything a lot more difficult, especially if he wanted his Summons to move back and forth.

"Is it more expensive to activate the Portal, maintain it, or the teleportation?" Michael asked, scratching his chin in thought.

Tiara's lips parted, but she shut her mouth before saying anything. A few seconds passed before the little Princess uttered anything.

"Rebecca was worried about the expenses when she activated the Portal Attachment. I don't know how expensive the teleportation is, but I think Rebecca was the most worried about the activation."

'That means keeping the Portal active at all times could be cheaper. But only if the energy required for teleporting and maintaining the portal is a fraction.'

Michael was deep in thought, but he had to find out how much power every step required prior to he could come up with the most efficient solution to the given 'problem', if one could call it that, in the first place.

He was about to tell Tiara to install the battery and activate the Portal Attachment when he saw that the Tigerfolk Princess studied the vast ocean of sand around them.

"So that is our second base? It is pretty hot here," Tiara mumbled, sweat trickling down her temples.

"It's very hot here, yeah. The environment might not be suitable for the Silverfang Tigerfolk. The Untamed Jungle seems better for your kin and the Forest Elves," Michael nodded.

"But I think that Zeroa would love it here. This place should be perfect for the Elementals and the Berserkers. I'm not sure about the Warlock Centaurs, but I can figure that out later."

Tiara appeared at him, the corner of her lips curling upward.

"You already have a plan for Paradise Valley? I should have expected that."

Michael broke into a bright grin, but to Tiara, it appeared a bit devious...too devious.

She was not sure if she would similar to what was about to happen. It sounded like lots of work...even prior to Michael uttered a word.