After he spent a while lying in the middle of the training ground, Michael got up and went back to his room. He washed up and fell asleep on his bed – or he tried to. Too many thoughts flashed through his mind, disrupting him whenever he was about to fall asleep.
Michael had five days left in the Origin Expanse before the spaceship would leave the Saphirelake Military Academy to bring the participants of the Battle Exchange to the meeting place. That meant Michael had at least three more days before he would have to start challenging the freshman ranking.
At first, he didn’t think that this would be enough time to recuperate from his weakened state, but now that he tested the efficiency of the Body Strengthening Pill and the Energy Nourishing Pill his opinion changed. Right now, Michael was certain that he had more than enough time to recuperate with some additional free-time which he could use to focus on his territory’s development.
Michael fell asleep at some point. He woke up with the first rays of sunlight shining through the canopy of the gigantic jungle trees, and got up, feeling greatly motivated.
He consumed a Body Strengthening Pill and an Energy Nourishing Pill and began practicing Sacred Rectification. His workout lasted no more than two hours, but the results were astounding. Michael was lying on the ground in a small puddle of his sweat, taking in the ambient origin energy in the surroundings.
He rested for a few minutes before he got up once again.
‘After lunch, I should be fit enough for a second session. In the evening I’ll have a third session, and six more sessions tomorrow and the day after. That is definitely more than enough to fix my physique,’ Michael concluded with a simple nod.
He was so lost in thoughts that he noticed too late that his stomach was protesting. He was starving and in dire need of more nutrition. But he was drenched in sweat and his clothes were soiled.
Thus he forced himself to move, ignoring the discomfort that spread through his entire sore body, and went to the bathroom. Once he was done washing up he left the wooden manor and went to the open mess that had been built near the training ground.
The Untamed Jungle’s middle area didn’t have many spots with little to no plants. There was no clearing as it had been in the outer ring. That was a little unfortunate, but it was not a big problem. Michael and his subordinates had long since cleared most bushes and other obstacles before building structures around the humongous tree trunks.
To be precise, Michael and the others made use of the tree trunks to fortify most constructions. That way, the tree trunks were not considered annoying obstacles but part of the buildings that could be seen everywhere.
Michael knew that he had a lot of work to do by removing the trees that obstructed others from growing, but it was also quite obvious that Michael’s Extraction worked wonders on the inner area of his territory. Michael’s Extraction had removed everything that was not supposed to be inside his territory a long time ago, ensuring that the jungle trees they used were healthy and the most durable.
‘Since we’re going to expand the territory, I should focus on removing more of these obstructing trees adjacent to the outermost treehouses. The more combatants receive space to move freely, the better the hunting results. That means more Summoning Scrolls and more Summons.’
Michael noted another task in his mental to-do list as he sat down on a wooden table balancing several plates in his hands. Once he started devouring the delicious food in front of him, Michael’s mind began to rattle once again. He began to think about what he wanted to do once he returned from the Lord Rift and thought of a way to sort them based on priority. Unfortunately, the situation had been unfavorable after he returned from the Lord Rift. That means Michael had a lot of unfinished work.
‘Good thing that the trip to the meeting point of the Battle Exchange will take a few days. That gives me enough time to make up for the tasks I’ve missed in the last few weeks.’
Once he was done with the first serving, Michael returned to the cooks thrice to refill his plates. Even Michael was a little bit surprised about how hungry he was, but he also noticed that the nutrition entering his stomach was quickly used up to nourish his starving cells.
Practicing Sacred Rectification twice while using the Body Strengthening Pill and the Energy Nourishing Pill as stimulants and means to accelerate his practice left his body craving for more food and nutrition, no matter how much he ate.
Michael listened to his body and filled his stomach to the brim. After that, he took a stroll around the territory to take in the changes that had occurred to his territory.
The daily reports he received were nice and brief, but they didn’t give him a clear picture of his territory. There was still a big difference between staring at a document and observing everything on his own.
The outlines of his territory were pretty simple, following the structure of a giant cobweb. The center was a bustling place where the Wooden Manor, the Summoning Gate, and the main warehouse were located. Other than that, most of the space was used to create meeting places for the citizens. There was a huge pub, a playground, and several other structures leading to the canopy bridges that connected the center with every part of the territory.
The canopy bridges could be compared to the silky threads of a cobweb. The main canopy bridges were constructed in straight lines spanning a distance of several kilometers. The center was connected to a total of 16 main canopy bridges that had been distributed equally in all directions. The main canopy bridges were connected through side-alley canopy bridges, creating a circular pattern that resembled a giant, functioning cobweb.
The side-alley canopy bridges oftentimes moved upward and downward, connecting to other canopy bridges that led straight to the treehouse complexes, and high treehouses that could be found everywhere in Michael’s territory. The density of the high treehouses and treehouse complexes was a little higher near the center of the territory, but it decreased considerably as one moved farther from the center of the territory.
‘Slightly more than 2,000 High Treehouses and 6500ish treehouse complexes. To think that we’ve come that far.’ Michael mused to himself as he paced through his territory.
He looked up to see the base of many treehouses and found it hard to believe that they had built so many huge treehouses. Contrary to most territories, Michael focused on providing enough living space for his people. He tried to give them lots of space high up in the trees to ensure that his subjects wouldn’t be too far away from the center of the territory. After all, it would be quite problematic if his territory spanned tens of kilometers with less than 2000 members of the military protecting everything and everyone.
Thus the ground was used for farmlands, gardens, Enchanter’s lairs, alchemy houses, warehouses, schools, wells, libraries, training grounds, barracks, monster ranches, medical houses, and much more while everything above the ground belonged to the citizens; their homes to be precise.
Living high up in the air was something new for most humans, but they adjusted to the changes quite easily. There were more than enough ways to climb down, whether it was by using the canopy bridges to find their way to their destination, or by using the ladders that were included in the construction of every treehouse.
Michael didn’t really realize how huge his territory had grown. The written reports only gave him detailed numbers, but realization dawned upon him only now that he saw it himself. He could see some of his subjects wherever he went. Most had just woken up, but there were some Starless Summons who were training further away from the training grounds, using heavy wooden sticks as replacements for proper swords and spears.
His subjects greeted him overly politely whenever they took note of him. They were shocked to see their Lord taking a stroll so far away from the center of his territory. This gave Michael a lot to think about.
He chose to approach the Starless Summons, who were training so far from the training grounds, handed them dulled training weapons, and smiled lightly at them.
“You’re allowed to use the training ground to train. In fact, everyone is allowed to do so, even if you’re not an official Warrior. Your star rating doesn’t matter,” Michael said, looking gently at the young man in front of him as he added, “You can also inform your friends that everyone is allowed to use the training ground. In fact, I will ensure that the most hard-working people will obtain a chance of becoming Warriors.”
Michael hadn’t been sure how to tell his subjects about the Warrior Enlightenment Potion without causing a war between his subjects. But that changed upon seeing a bunch of Starless Summons training outside the training grounds. Not even the reports stated that so many Starless Summons were training in their free time – that too at the crack of dawn.
They would workout in the hope to attain enlightenment before leaving their home for work.𝓝𝒪𝗏𝖊𝗅𝐍𝐄xt.𝗇𝓔t
Thus, Michael chose to allow everyone to train at the training ground where the most promising and hard-working Starless Summons could be recorded.
‘If we create a file about the people who work the hardest we can reward them once they cross a certain threshold…for example, if the attendants noticed their hard work and effort to grow stronger several times – let’s say five or ten times – they’ll obtain a Warrior Enlightenment Potion.’
Michael felt that this was a good idea to ensure that his Starless Summons would work even harder. It was a clear indicator that showed Michael favored the hard-working, and that he wasn’t stingy in rewarding everyone who worked tirelessly to grow stronger – and be more useful to the territory and their Lord!
Satisfied with himself, Michael switched his attention to another problem; food and water supply.
The Water Elemental Mage had been quite useful in filling the water barrels and searching for sources of water underground, but it was quite obvious that this was not a long-term solution. The sources of underground water weren’t huge near their territory, and the population was expanding rapidly.
Close to 40,000 people had to receive enough water and food to not only survive but to live properly. If Michael wanted to ensure that their Links of Loyalty grew firmer and that his subjects lived a good life without any issues, he had to think of a better solution than the few wells they had dug out so far.
For now, the wells would be good enough especially with the Water Elemental Mage searching for more water sources, but that was not a permanent solution.
As for food, Michael knew that they had more than enough meat stored in their warehouses. Nonetheless, eating meat all day was not exactly a healthy diet either.
“Seems like I’ll have to turn a part of the territory into proper farmlands, rather than using every bit of ground to plant more ingredients for the potions, and pills,” Michael mumbled softly.
“It’s time to become a farmer, I guess!”
**
[A/N: The author is back in the game. I have an important question that has been bothering me for a few days now… What do you think my novel is currently missing? I know I asked this a few dozen of chapters ago but I’m curious if the answer changed. Don’t hesitate to criticize me. It will only help me to grow, and y’all will receive better content in return!]