The Origin Expanse was mysterious and unique. Nobody really knew where it came from, and the reason it existed, in the first place.
Too many aspects of the Origin Expanse felt like a game of conquest, which included the unique loot one could obtain from killing monsters.
Everyone entering the Origin Expanse received a territory with unique buildings, a maid, and a few more items to reassure that everyone had a similar starting point. Why? What was the intention of the Origin Expanse’s Will and its Creator with a game-like realm such as the Origin Expanse?
Many theories existed, but only a few were popular. The most popular was that the Creator of the Origin Expanse was an omnipotent being that had grown bored and tired of the Universe.
In this theory, the Origin Expanse had been built for his amusement as he watched all races of the Universe fight each other in a struggle to acquire more power, expand their territories, and claim resources for themselves to grow.
Considering the Origin Expanse as a starting point, even life across the entire Universe grew more interesting. After all, more races easily acquired technology that would have otherwise taken them thousands of years of research to come up with. This didn’t even include the power countless races acquired by absorbing the dormant energy of the Origin Expanse.
Of course, there were many other theories revolving around the mystery of the Origin Expanse’ creation, but nobody could tell right from wrong. That was why they were only theories and not facts.
But even if the Creator of the Origin Expanse had an evil plan in mind…did it really matter?
The Origin Expanse was plundered every single day. Everyone tried to enhance their War Rune’s Tier whether it was to expand their lifespan, or to be able to fight against others outside the Origin Expanse, whether it was for protection or conquest.
The resources, technology, and Artifacts procured in the Origin Expanse were extremely valuable, speeding up a race’s progress by millennia in a fraction of that time. And then there were also Soultraits every being could awaken only in the Origin Expanse. It was of immense value, which nobody would want to miss.
Michael was no different. He had also entered the Origin Expanse to become stronger and claim his own fortune. Of course, he had other goals as well, but Michael wished to repay his brother for everything he had done for him and to make sure that entitled brats such as his former classmates wouldn’t be able to look down on him anymore.
Acquiring the status of a Lord was the basic requirement to change his life. However, only by becoming a powerful Lord was it possible to make sure that nobody would bother him in a society that was led on with the thought that the strong reigned supreme.
But for now, Michael had to suck it up.
After using his Soultrait for two minutes straight, he was exhausted. His shirt clung to his body as cold sweat trickled down his temples.
‘I am really weak…’ Michael grumbled to himself, but he was not completely dissatisfied with himself. A faint smile formed on his lips as he wiped the sweat off his forehead. He felt quite pleased with himself upon seeing the neatly extracted, intact body parts of the Gem Jaguar spread out in front of him.
Michael was not yet done with the extraction, however, one or two more uses of his Soultrait were enough to finish up.
By then, his proficiency in using Extraction would improve, speeding up the entire extraction process a little.
‘When I get back home, I should look out for an Energy Circulation technique,’ Michael made a mental note of an important task. Now that he knew what the Origin Expanse’s energy felt like, he had to reconsider using a technique to improve his proficiency while wielding it. This would improve the refinement process of his War Rune as well!
“If you have more energy left, can you hunt a few more monsters? If possible, a few more Gem Jaguars. I want to check something,” Michael asked Fenrir, who had been silently watching him use Extraction.
Fenrir gave him a slight nod and turned around to go hunt once his curiosity was satiated.
“Are all Heroic Summons that rude, Master?” Tiara asked, frowning deeply, while squatting down next to him. As she looked at the extracted tendons, clean and intact bones along with the meat Michael had extracted from the Gem Jaguar, her hands began to itch to also do something for her master and prove her worth.
However, she had yet to receive an order from her master.
“I don’t know. Maybe?” Michael responded, not really minding Fenrir’s attitude. He understood that Fenrir would need some time to accept him as his lord and master.
He pointed at the Gem Jaguar’s tendons and leather, “I will continue to extract organs and whatever else I can from the corpse. How about you make some leather flasks in the meantime?”
Gem Jaguars didn’t have a coat of fur, but their body was covered in thick, leather-like skin. This was also why Gem Jaguars were sometimes labeled as tenacious hunters that were hard to kill.
Michael was a little tired, but he got up from the ground, nonetheless. He walked over to a nearby tree and a golden light conjured in his palm.
A small splinter of wood formed in his palm, which he handed to Tiara. The splinter was extracted from the inner core of the rainforest tree’s wood, making it more durable than ordinary needles.
Tiara’s tail wagged from left to right upon seeing what her master was capable of and she nodded her head eagerly.
“Leave it to me. I can make hundreds of leather flasks!” She exclaimed while reaching out for the extracted tendons and the bits of leather Michael had extracted for now.
“…A few are enough…” Michael mumbled before he sat down to take a few deep breaths.
It was still early in the morning, but Michael was already dead tired. Using his Soultrait even before getting to know what Origin energy felt like was probably not the most intelligent act.
Unfortunately, it was not as if he had enough time to spare. There was no time to slack off!
After a short break, Michael returned to the Gem Jaguar’s corpse. He used Extraction two more times on it before he was finally done.
Thanks to his Soultrait, the entire process was neatly completed, and the result was near-perfect. Every part of the Gem Jaguar’s body had been extracted cleanly and was intact.
Thus, he could use certain body parts such as leather, and tendons without a need to worry about hygiene. The tendons were clean and so was the leather. Not a single speck of blood or flesh was left on them after Michael cleanly dissected the Gem Jaguar’s corpse using Extraction!
‘Once the flasks are created, I can extract and store monster blood much more easily. The Blood of Rare Tier-1 Monsters should be worth something,’ Michael thought, finding multiple ways to earn money using the Gem Jaguar’s remnants.
The leather flasks were also useful for filling water extracted from branches that retained moisture. The dried branches could then be used as firewood, which would solve the remaining problem- what to do with the high-quality meat of the Gem Jaguar.
Using his Soultrait extensively consumed way too much energy. Thus, consuming the meat of a Tier-1 monster should be more than enough to replenish his energy. As a Tierless Lord who had yet to refine his War Rune, Michael’s body was not able to store a high amount of energy. Thus, he would certainly be filled to the brim after consuming a small portion of the Gem Jaguar’s meat.
Whit that in mind, he got back to work. He left the clearing, picked up a few wooden branches and a handful of leaves before he returned. For starters, Michael used the Gem Jaguar’s bones to construct a ring to restrain the campfire he was about to start. He extracted the moisture within the leaves and wood with his Soultrait and began to set up the campfire.
Then, using a rather primitive method of fire making, Michael spent the next five minutes creating a fire. Making fire by rubbing sticks together was rather primitive and it required both practice and patience, but it worked perfectly fine.
Nobody who entered the Origin Expanse for the first time could bring a flintstone, or matches, so everyone in school had been taught how to make fire using dry wood. It was one of the things every student learned in the survival classes.
Now that the fire had been ignited, Michael wanted to cook the meat and grill it on a stick. However, before he could do anything the War Rune on the back of his right hand began to glow faintly. A surge of energy spread through Fenrir’s Link of Loyalty, filling his War Rune with energy.
The surge of energy was warm and soothing. It refined the War Rune naturally, enhancing his strength a little. But that was not what Michael paid attention to.
‘The storage space expanded!’
Michael could tell that the storage space of the War Rune had expanded. It was not big, by any means, but it was better than nothing.
He had heard that most Lords required several days until their War Rune absorbed enough energy to expand their storage space. However, those Lords hadn’t spawned amidst a rainforest full of Tier-1 Monsters. They wouldn’t even encounter a Tier-1 Monster in the first month, forget about being able to kill such a fierce monster.
Fortunately, Michael had someone capable of doing exactly that- killing a Tier-1 Monster.
Fenrir barged through the rainforest’s thicket and entered the clearing, pulling the second Low Tier-1 Gem Jaguar behind him.
The silver spear he carried in his left hand was covered in blood while the corpse in his right hand left a trail of blood behind him.
Michael’s eyes lit up and he jumped up from the ground upon hearing Fenrir’s voice.
‘Right…I have Fenrir…’ He recalled and his expression turned brighter upon glancing at the golden light that conjured in his palms.
‘Who the hell says that our family is unlucky? Those idiots have no idea! …How about I turn misfortune into an opportunity?’