Michael hadn’t expected to learn so many new things about mankind’s managing system, and special tricks that allowed a more efficient means of transportation.
By using the Origin Expanse and the outside world, it was quite easy to transport goods from one planet to another within minutes. Unfortunately, this means of transportation was restricted to objects. The living couldn’t move back and forth that easily.
Michael’s interest was piqued, but he chose to satiate his curiosity later. He entered the shop affiliated with the Bartholomew Corporation and showed them his Golden Membership Card.
And the moment he did that, the attitude of the staff changed at once. They became overly polite and treated him like a little king.
Michael retrieved the rare blueprints he bought in Xiltra before returning a faint smile in their direction.
“Please offer me a good price.”
The staff member standing behind the counter stared at the blueprints in awe. He had seen numerous blueprints by now, but the moment he realized what types of blueprints they were he knew that this transaction was not something he could validate.
“I am sorry for the inconvenience but I have to notify the manager. The transaction you want to conduct exceeds my authority,” The staff member said apologetically while calling the shop manager.
A sigh of relief escaped the staff member’s lips when the manager picked up the call a few seconds later and was informed about their customer.
Not even ten minutes later, a middle-aged woman with thick glasses appeared. She saw the blueprints and immediately knew what she had to do.
“I will appraise the blueprints and give you a satisfactory pri–….” The shop manager had begun her usual sales pitch before her eyes fell on the Golden Bartholow Membership card in Michael’s hand.
She swallowed her words and glared at her subordinate before she straightened her back and began to work fast and thoroughly.
“Are you looking for something special, Sir? Maybe, I can help you out while the manager appraises your goods!” One of the female staff members offered.
Michael thought about it for a moment and nodded.
“I’m looking for Named Summoning Scrolls. Warrior, Spearman, or Archer Summoning Scrolls.”
Even with the Golden Bartholow Membership, Michael would have to pay roughly 100,000$ for a Warrior Summoning Scroll. They were pretty expensive, but Michael knew that he had to use his entire fortune and the money he would earn from the blueprints to purchase as many Combat related Summoning Scrolls.
He now required mentally stable, physically fit Warriors to protect his territory. Summoning Warriors, Spearman, and Archers using Summoning Scrolls was the easiest way to achieve that.
They wouldn’t be strong just after being summoned, but their combat prowess and numerical advantage would be more than enough to deal with the Monsters of the Untamed Jungle’s outer area.
However, there was another problem Michael had yet to solve- How to accelerate his subjects’ growth?
He knew that his subjects were growing stronger at a fast pace already. Unfortunately, they were too slow, nonetheless.
A single Tier-2 Monster with a Unique Racial Ability had been strong enough to kill dozens of people, and injure the rest of his Military might – whether it was a mental or physical injury.
What was he supposed to do when a group of Tier-2 Adventurers decided to attack his territory?
Michael wasn’t willing to watch his territory getting bulldozed, and his subjects massacred mercilessly. He didn’t want to see that. Thus, he had to help them out. After all, he was their Lord. They relied on him and trusted him with their whole heart.
“Furthermore, I can spend 2.6 million dollars on a neutral energy absorption technique that can be used efficiently by anyone. It shouldn’t require the practitioner to have a high comprehension ability. Even subjects without talent should be able to use the technique,” Michael added carefully.
He only had 2.6 million left in his bank account, but it was fine to use up all of it.
After he watched his subjects use the Sun Soldier’s Breathing technique, Michael realized that the technique was too complex and time-consuming. It was a great technique once the second stage was completed, but most Summons didn’t have the time, let alone talent to reach the second stage.
That was why a second energy absorption technique was required. The term ‘neutral’ meant that it could be practiced anywhere and that it was not necessary to meet any conditions to practice the technique.
It was not even impossible to continue working while practicing a neutral energy absorption technique. Of course, the efficiency with which one absorbed energy would decrease drastically if one didn’t pay full attention to it. But that was the thing. Not paying full attention to the technique wouldn’t cause a backlash. It would merely slow down the rate at which energy was absorbed into the body!
“If there is still some spare money left, I would like to buy a neutral body refinement technique as well.”
Michael’s train of thought was pretty simple. If he could provide good techniques, better meals with great medicinal effect, and high energy value, it shouldn’t be impossible to nurture strong combatants in a short period.
That was something they had learned in school as well. Unfortunately, Michael never had enough funds to invest that much in the things that accelerated the growth of his military’s prowess. It hadn’t been his highest priority until now. However, now that two incidents happened in a short time span, Michael changed his list of priorities in accordance.
“A budget of 2.6 million for a neutral energy absorption technique, and a neutral body refinement technique. That’s pretty difficult, if you want something of quality,” The young lady mumbled to herself. She opened the item catalog and moved next to Michael to show him a few techniques that might intrigue him.
‘None of those techniques are exceptional,’ Michael thought, ‘But what did I expect? Neutral techniques are rare, and their efficiency is exceptional. Everyone wants them, and only Lesser techniques are sold in most shops. The bigshots keep their techniques for themselves and their families.’
At this point, Michael wondered if Frederik, Jacqueline, Kaleb, and everyone else had been given a neutral energy absorption technique to use.
‘That should explain why Frederik and Jacqueline’s Soultraits grow stronger even though they don’t enter the Origin Expanse that often.’
After they searched through the item catalog for nearly 20 minutes, they had yet to find the perfect techniques.
The manager finished appraising the blueprints at last. The corner of her lip twitched and a droplet of sweat trickled to the ground.
She stared at Michael for a while and flicked her attention back to the blueprints.
“What I’m going to ask you might sound insulting, but can you tell me where you spawned after you entered the Origin Expanse for the first time?” The manager asked, breaking the silence around her.
She moved the rim of her glasses up her nose bridge and stared intently at Michael.
“I spawned in an area that has an abundance of densely grown flora and fauna. The region doesn’t lack any of that,” Michael answered without hesitation, pointing at the blueprints in front of him.
He thought about it for a moment and added, “However, they’re not cheap either. These blueprints drop rarely from Tier-2 Monsters, and are more likely to be found in the drops of Tier-3 Monsters.”
“I understand…so you purchased them in the hopes of earning a small fortune. That’s pretty smart. It works, after all.” The manager murmured quietly like she wasn’t speaking to Michael.
The blueprints were not the ordinary blueprints Michael could procure by killing a few Low Tier-1 Monsters. They weren’t worth a few thousand per piece. No, their value was on a whole different level.
No, these rare blueprints dropped only from Tier-2, or Tier-3 Monsters. They might be considered cheap in Xiltra, and rather useless because the lands were fertile, but they were still worth quite a lot.
However, for mankind, these blueprints were exceptional. Each of them was related to the agricultural industry, something mankind needed. After all, one of the regions mankind spawned in was a barren land spanning tens of thousands of kilometers.
Both Michael and the shop manager understood mankind’s predicament. It was hard to turn the barren lands into a verdant grass field, forget about large fields of wheat, vegetables, and so on. Farming was hard, and the price for energy-rich ingredients was high.
“Can you procure more?” The manager asked, a glint in her eyes shining brightly.
However, Michael had already figured out what she wanted to do.
“Why are you asking?” He responded lightheartedly,
“Are you trying to propose a deal?”