Michael was doing perfectly fine.
His biggest worry was to keep his subjects entertained, to refine his body, mind, and War Rune, and to study the techniques Immortal Knight was teaching his students. After ten days of hard work, 15 Starless Summons advanced to 1-Star Blessed Knights. They were promoted automatically, which accelerated their natural talent to absorb energy, their comprehension of the body refinement technique Siegfried taught them, and how to harness the Holy Power within their Holy Sea.
Michael learned a lot too. His biggest gain was that he finally learned a Standard Martial Arts technique. It was an Inferior version to the Sacred Sword style the Immortal Knight was teaching his students, but that was something Michael had expected. He didn’t have any Holy Power so he had to use an altered version of the Immortal Knight’s technique to substitute Holy Power with Origin Energy.
Practicing a proper combat technique was quite stimulating. Michael learned to move in ways he never expected to move. He was quite stiff at first, but his muscles obeyed his commands once he warmed up a little. Michael quickly learned that the practical knowledge he procured from Memory Orbs was getting in his way. The practical knowledge commanded him to move differently than suggested in the Inferior Sacred Sword style introduced by the Immortal Knight.
Michael told the Immortal Knight about his experience, but Siegfried didn’t have much to offer.
“To be honest, I never came across a case like you. Your memories are trying to teach you techniques you’ve never practiced before. That’s what it looks like according to your explanation. While that might be helpful in the future, it could harm you right now. I am currently teaching you some basic techniques that force you to use the majority of muscles in your body. You will quickly advance to the Novice Mastery with your high comprehension, but the Novice Mastery is where everything starts to get a little bit more complicated.
“Your mission is to practice the techniques I taught you to Perfect Mastery. Once you reach that point you will be extremely flexible. To be precise, not many Awakened at the 2nd Tier will be able to compare to you in terms of flexibility. By then you won’t have any issues differentiating the techniques from your practical experiences.
“However, if you practice the techniques from the Memory Orbs at a higher mastery than you’re accustomed to, you might suffer great harm. Your muscles might tear, and you might face bigger backlashes as well. Thus, using and tempering your muscles and every part of your body to use it in various ways will be your top priority. That way, I can ensure that nothing bad will happen once we move to the second stage of your training!”
The Immortal Knight explained everything in a calm and composed manner. Michael understood most and agreed with no hesitation. It felt like he had struck a jackpot to have summoned the Immortal Knight with the Legendary Summoning Scroll.
Maybe some other Combat Summons would have been great as well, but the Immortal Knight was an exceptional instructor. He could quickly assess his students’ strong points and their weaknesses. Once his assessment was completed, he came up with a customized training plan that forced his students to go beyond their limits. But the training plan was not over the top. It forced the students to go just beyond the limit; to exceed their limit by 0.5%, not drain them beyond measure. As long as the students followed the customized training plan, they would grow stronger naturally. Even if not all Starless Summons would become Blessed Squires, they would grow strong enough to become Warriors after consuming a single Warrior Enlightenment Potion.
But that was not all. The Immortal Knight provided his students with several paths to choose from. They could choose what type of Knight they wanted to become, and he would even aid his students if they didn’t wish to become Knights. He always gave his utmost to give a helping hand, no matter what they decided. After all, not everyone was made to become a Warrior, a Blessed Squire, let alone a Holy Knight. It required strong willpower, loyalty, dedication, strength, and a tinge of craziness to overcome all ordeals and rise to the level of a Holy Knight from a nameless Starless Summon.
Michael almost forgot about his other worries as he was busy with his subjects and the harsh training the Immortal Knight pushed onto him. Unfortunately, his subjects reminded him a little bit too often about the promises he made. He had yet to leave the Origin Expanse to sell some goods and purchase everything needed to construct more Beast Ranches, and to provide more resources for everyone else.
But Michael didn’t want to leave the Origin Expanse just yet. He was waiting for the EmeraldLead Adventurers. They had yet to return with the resources the construction workers required to construct the Basic Level of the Sacred Knight Temple. Once Lilica and the others returned with the promised goods, Michael would gladly leave to take care of his business outside the Origin Expanse.
He had yet to get hold of his own Flag War Token, and he missed the banter with Kaleb and Alice a little bit as well. Michael was also wondering what Lincoln, Zeke, and the Barbaric Couple were up to.
As for Thaor, and Lokai, they were probably fighting somewhere, thrashing each others’ heads. Mekhaz was the only level-headed Warlock Centaur. Michael was certain that Mekhaz would be fine – as long as the Berserker siblings didn’t drag him into trouble somehow.
Finally, on the 14th day after their departure, the EmeraldLeaf Adventurer team returned. Michael received a report, finished his training, and met up with the five Forest Elves.
The Forest Elves looked dead-tired almost like they never received a chance to sleep outside the Origin Expanse.
“Did you guys even sleep?” Michael asked lightly, only to receive heavy sighs from the Forest Elves.
“I had to explain to my mother and the Elders that I used one of my heirloom arrows. They…were not too pleased about that,” Mika said, scratching the back of his head, “But I don’t really care. I fell in love with the heirloom arrows and I don’t regret having used it. Though my mom said that I should become a Higher Lifeform to use its power to the fullest.”
“I told the Elders about our fight against the Kitsun Lord. They now know that you tamed the Elemental Empress and also that you obtained dozens of Soultraits, in addition to tens of thousands of SoulStar Fragments. Of course, I didn’t tell them anything I wasn’t supposed to say. Since you gave us permission to reveal everything I’ve mentioned just now it should be fine, right?” Liopham added, also sounding a little tired. Michael could only presume that Liopham had been asked to repeat the story of his conquest of the Kitsun Lord’s territory, the strategy they used, and the gains they made in excruciating detail.
The Elders and the Forest Elven Tribe were most likely trying to reassess Michael’s worth – including the value of his territory and the gains it would bring them.
“My parents forced me to train my Soultraits until I collapsed. They said that I was useless in the territory warfare against the Kitsun Lord so I had to train a lot…like a lot lot,” Pheli complained once before falling silent once again. She was as talkative as usual…so not that much…
Opars and Lilica had yet to say anything, however, it looked like Opars didn’t really want to say anything. All he did was retrieve a ring from his finger and hand it over to Michael.
“You might not know about that, but my family manages the Forest Elven Tribe’s fortune and goods. We decided to accept the trade you proposed before. The Artifacts you handed Lilica will be enough to pay for all the materials required to construct the Basic Level of the Sacred Knight Temple,” Opars said reluctantly. He then sighed heavily and added, “That is the official answer. Unofficially, the materials are much more expensive than we initially expected. Everything is a little pricey, but the massive amount required is what is truly painful. The Forest Elven Tribe only accepted your proposal because you gave everyone a 4-Star Soultrait as a present.”
“Of course, a single 4-Star Soultrait as useless as the ones you gave us is more valuable than the materials we’ve provided, but the Elders hope that you can give us a little discount. After all, they didn’t ask you to give us these 4-Star Soultraits. You gave them to the EmeraldLeaf Adventurer team because you wanted to…because you needed their strength. That is not what I think about the situation, but it’s the words of two Elders…Elders I don’t really like.”
Opars lowered his gaze and studied the ground. He was visibly ashamed that he had to relay the thoughts and opinions of the two Elders he disliked the most. However, Michael didn’t think too much about it.
“Well, they’re not that wrong. I never expected you to pay me for the five 4-Star Soultraits I gave you, either way. It was a sign of my trust and hope that we could strengthen our relationship in the future. That worked out pretty well, so I’m quite happy. As for the materials, please thank your parents and the Elders for providing everything we needed to construct the Basic Level of the Sacred Knight Temple,” Michael responded calmly, a big smile on his face.
He didn’t care about the Elders’ words. All he thought about was the Sacred Knight Temple. Therefore, he forwarded the spatial ring to one of his assistants whom Michael assigned the responsibility of starting and supervising the construction of the Sacred Knight Temple.
“But tell me about the last few days. How did it work out? Are you allowed to stay here and sign a Soul Pact, or are there some difficulties?” Michael asked, glancing over to Lilica who had yet to say anything.