Coherent Information was pieced together in Michael's mind, and he digested it quickly.
"An entrance ticket to enter the Lord Rift? How did I obtain that?" He wondered.
Michael recalled that he extracted the golden piece of paper from the deep pit where he killed the Paladins, but the Lord Rift Entrance Ticket didn't originate from the Paladins. Their bodies had been destroyed, leaving Michael no target to use Extraction on.
'Did I meet a certain condition to extract the entrance ticket?' Michael wondered, thinking that it was the most likely case.
He nodded subconsciously before focusing on the information that had entered his mind.
'By using the Lord Rift Entrance ticket, I don't even have to travel through the Zentika Empire to enter the Rift. Utilizing it will teleport me straight into the Lord Rift when it opens. That's pretty good.'
The Lord Rift would open in less than four weeks, providing Michael with enough time to reconsider whether he should enter the Lord Rift or not.
'I just relocated the Summoning Gate. Shouldn't I focus on my territory for the time being?' Michael thought at first, but the information related to the loot he could procure within the Lord Rift surfaced in his mind.
The treasures that can be harvested in the Lord Rift were exceptional. One of them was an Instant Upgrade for any kind of Soultrait. It would upgrade his 6-Star Extraction to a 7-Star Soultrait.
Other than that, Michael could get hold of Legendary Summoning Scrolls, Legendary Artifacts, unique blueprints, exotic recipes, and much more.
Each of those treasures was worth fighting for since they could change the development course of a territory in its entirety.
Michael was excited at the thought of obtaining a Legendary Summoning Scroll, or an exotic recipe with which he could concoct higher-ranked energy pills or other exotic pills. But what excited him most was the restriction put on the Lord Rift.
To enter the Lord Rift, one had to be a Tier-2 Lord. No one at the 3rd Tier or above could enter the Lord Rift, not even the old powerhouses of the Zentika Empire's Council.
'Only two members of the Lord's territory can enter the Lord Rift alongside their Lord, and only one of them is allowed to be an Awakened. What a weird restriction. But fine…the non-awakened would probably be Masked Saber. Other than that, I should pick an Awakened who is compatible with us…Tiara would be best in that case,' Michael thought, feeling that Masked Saber and Tiara were the most obvious choices.
The Links of Loyalty of Masked Saber and Tiara were the firmest. Their individual combat prowess was exceptional, and it was not difficult for Michael to work with them. Their teamwork was pretty good, to the extent that Michael felt a bit confused.
His heart beat rapidly, and he anticipated the next few weeks until the Lord rift would open.
'Why am I already this excited? I didn't even finalize my decision, yet I am thinking about a strategy to enter the Lord Rift and reap all benefits…ridiculous.'
Michael was amused at his own train of thought. He couldn't deny that he was very curious about the Lord Rift, but that was only obvious. The Lord Rift was extremely valuable for everyone, no matter how wealthy they were, or how lucky they had been in the past. It was definitely worth a try.
However, Michael was also a little bit worried.
'Wouldn't it be a slap in the Zentika Empire's face if I appear in their Lord Rift, and take everything? Every Lord from the Zentika Empire would have heard rumors about the happenings in the Untamed Jungle by the time the Lord Rift opened. Wouldn't they team up with each other to eliminate me?' Michael thought about the possibility, and he didn't like it.
Even in the worst-case scenario, some Lords would report his appearance in the Lord Rift to others. By then, the Zentika Empire's council would surely find out that he entered the Lord Rift.
They were bound to be enraged.
While that might sound bad, it was quite exciting.
Despite the possibility of facing the worst-case scenario in the future, Michael felt that it would be a worse decision to stay low-key.
Ignoring the opportunity that had unveiled itself in front of him in the form of a golden entrance ticket meant that Michael was willing to give up the chance to improve.
It was a sign of weakness; the fear of failure.
Just thinking about the Zentika Empire, and how helpless he had been against the Tier-3 Adventurers was enough to make the hair all over his body stand up on its end.
'If I don't take this opportunity to grow stronger, am I going to complain bitterly when the Zentika Empire decides to attack me again? Will I use suicidal tactics to desperately fight for my survival? Why am I even hesitating? By using the golden entrance ticket, I can enter and leave the Lord Rift safely without having to travel through the Zentika Empire! I shouldn't hesitate…am I that weak?!?'
No, Michael wasn't weak. He was in possession of a 6-Star Soultrait, a 5-Star Soultrait, three 4-Star Soultraits, and two 1-Star Soultraits. Nobody was as well equipped with Soultraits as Michael.
As long as he upgraded his equipment by procuring Tier-2 Artifacts, and trained himself to utilize the combination of multiple Soultraits thoroughly, it should be a walk in the park to obtain some invaluable treasures inside the Lord Rift. After all, his opponents would only be Tier-2 Lords. They wouldn't be as strong as the 13 Tier-3 Paladins!
There was no need to hesitate. The Lord Rift ought to be his treasure trove, the sacred land he was supposed to plunder!
'Tiara will break through and advance to the 2nd Tier in a few days, and Masked Saber reached the Peak of Tier-1 as well. If I nourish him a little bit more he'll advance to Tier-2 before the Lord Rift opens as well. All I need are proper Tier-2 Artifacts for myself and Tiara.'
Purchasing Tier-2 Artifacts was not a problem. Michael had been setting aside enough savings from the money he earned by selling Agriculture-type blueprints, and the other loot he harvested in the last four weeks.
The only issue was to find Artifacts with great quality.
Until now, Tiara continued using Fenrir's silver spear. The silver spear was even better than Michael's Seron Voulge, and it was unlikely that they would find a better weapon anytime soon. Fortunately, that was not a big problem. Michael could focus on purchasing an Armor Set Artifact, a Shield Artifact, and Protective Accessory Artifacts for Tiara.
On the other hand, Masked Saber's equipment was much easier to procure. In fact, the Weaponsmith of the territory could forge a perfectly balanced saber for Masked Saber as long as he was given the right raw materials.
The thought of upgrading his people's equipment was quite exciting, and it was no different from the excitement he felt at the thought of purchasing Tier-2 Artifacts for himself.
Thus, Michael left the Origin Expanse, ready to rush to the Artifact shops for a shopping spree.
But before Michael could step out of his territory, he found himself bombarded with dozens of messages.
'How can someone be that annoying?! Is it Frederik, or Jacqueline?!' Michael cursed inwardly while opening starnet messengers.
Yet, what he saw confused him quite a bit.
[Kilian Whira(Shop Manager): Good Morning, Sir Fang. I hope I'm not bothering you, sir, but I noticed that you sold fewer Agriculture-type blueprints than before to our esteemed shop in the last few months. Could it be that you're dissatisfied with our service?]
[Kilian Whira(Shop Manager): Good Evening, Sir Fang. I am terribly sorry for messaging you again, but could it be that something is wrong? If you encountered some trouble in the Origin Expanse, feel free to message me. I will try my utmost to help you out. After all, we're close business partners!]
[Kilian Whira(Shop Manager): Sir Fang, would you be willing to meet up with me in the near future? The Bartholomew Shop has a promotional event with great discounts. There are many items you'll probably be interesting in.]
…
..
More than a dozen messages with similar content swamped his chat sent by the owner of the shop affiliated with the Bartholomew Corporation.
Michael had been doing business with them for quite a while now, but over the last few months, he stopped sending more Agriculture-type blueprints than he had to. He fulfilled the monthly quota to earn a small fortune before putting aside the remaining Agriculture-type blueprints for later use.
There was no reason for Michael to spend more time and money selling the Agriculture-type blueprints when he was already wealthy enough. He only did the bare minimum to reach the monthly quota, fulfilling the conditions of his contract with the Bartholomew Corporation. Why should he sell them more when it was not necessary?
'You guys shouldn't have given me such a weird exclusive contract. I was in need of hard cash at that time and didn't focus on the small details. Why should I allow you to exploit me?' Michael asked in his mind.
He didn't think about offending the Bartholomew Corporation, but he was not willing to let them trample all over him.
His exclusive contract with the Bartholomew Corporation had a duration of 12 months, and he was doing his part diligently.
But since he was not in need of hard cash anymore, he decided to store as many agriculture-type blueprints as possible to sell them later – for a better price than suggested in the exclusive contract.
Thus, Michael prepared a lovely message to send to Kilian Whira.
[Michael Fang: Hello Mr. Whira. I have been a little bit busy these days and couldn't access starnet messenger. Please don't worry, everything is perfectly fine. My territory is still standing. There won't be a problem with the agriculture-type blueprints either. I will fulfill the monthly quota by handing over exactly 100 blueprints until the month of the contract's duration. I can ensure that there won't be an issue until then.
Greetings, Michael Fang]
Michael read through the message a few times. He edited a few words, adding hidden meanings to certain phrases to ensure that Kilian Whira understood what he was trying to convey. Then he sent a message.
Afterward, Michael walked through the gate. He left the building, only to receive a call less than a minute after he sent out the message.
"You fell straight into my trap. It's always fun to deal with impatient people," Michael mused, clearing his throat before he picked up the incoming call.
"Hello? Michael Fang speaking. How may I help you, Mr. Whira?"