[Author Note: Thank you @Denis_Veremiy for gifting a Magic Castle. I am so excited! Thank you so much!!! A bonus chapter will be released Monday! Stay tuned everyone!]
An eventful day passed with Michael collapsing on the bed, feeling dead-tired.
After he arrived in his territory, Michael began to work tirelessly. He didn’t want to think about the events in Piloq, the Mark of Fate, or anything else. All he wanted was peace of mind. Michael went on and beyond in the training session that followed his return to the territory. The Immortal Knight could tell that something happened to Michael but he didn’t inquire about anything. Instead, he gave Michael what he desired; a hellish training plan that forced the young Lord to focus solely on training.
Michael learned several new movement sequences to stretch his body and a few training courses that trained muscle groups he rarely used. His training lasted half a day until late into the night, but Michael was satisfied with himself. He broke through his limit and didn’t collapse until the Immortal Knight’s training course had been completed.
The result was a deep sleep devoid of any thoughts about the events of the day before. His body felt sore when he woke up the next morning. Michael got up slowly and felt the soreness spread through his entire body. It made him recall that he was still alive and that he was human and not a robot. Because that was how he felt sometimes – like a robot. The attack on Piloq was the best example.
As the Perses Missiles impacted, Michael had been worried about his well-being and the condition of his friends. He was concerned about them. However, he didn’t really care about the others. Michael tried to save everyone and make sure that everyone would survive, but he didn’t grieve for the dead. In fact, he didn’t even have the time to pay attention to the dead because he was struggling to keep the living alive.
He was happy to have saved so many people with Maria, but Michael realized that he didn’t think about the dead until the others mentioned them. In the past, Michael would have been sad for the dead, maybe even concerned about the families of the deceased and their reactions. But ever since he witnessed so many people die – since he caused so many deaths – Michael was not the same anymore. He was not the same innocent youth as before. His hands were drenched in blood, and so was his mind.
Were those changes caused by the Origin Expanse, or by society? Michael felt that it was related to both. Society accepted the rule ‘might makes right’ to a degree that allowed Supreme Families and the truly powerful to do as they pleased. However, the origin of everything was probably the Origin Expanse.
The Origin Expanse taught the Awakened that they had to be strong to survive. It was either kill or get killed. That was the most basic rule in the Origin Expanse. If one was not strong enough to kill their enemy, at least you had to be strong enough to protect yourself as you retreat.
This was something Michael witnessed often enough since he manifested his War Rune. From day one he had been taught to slaughter his enemies if he wanted a chance of survival. He even killed his ancestor, Cleave Fenrir, before he could practice the Wicked Spear Arts to a high level. If he hadn’t killed Cleave Fenrir, Michael would have ended up being the one dying in a puddle of his own blood.
Too many instances in the Origin Expanse taught Micheal that only the strong could survive. That was also why he and the Elemental Empress were the only ones who survived the incident in the Elementals Cave, and the reason the Kitsun Lord was defeated. Michael had grown stronger, more resilient, and crazier with time.
“What a mess!” He mumbled as he left his room.
“What is a mess, master?” Tiara asked, her head peeking out from her room. She smiled gently at him, causing Michael to scoff.
“Other than your hair, you mean?”
It was obvious that Tiara had just gotten up given that her hair looked like a flock of birds had created their nests inside it. Tiara blushed and disappeared into her room upon hearing him. Not even a minute later she returned to the door where she found Michael waiting for her – the mess of hair brushed and combed to a smooth bun.
“S-so…W-what is a mess? You didn’t answer, master,” Tiara stuttered, trying to suppress her blush.
“I don’t know either. It’s either my mind or the rest of the universe,” Michael responded, sounding somewhat uncertain.
lightsnοvεl.cοm “When was the universe ever in order? Is that even possible, master?”
Michael slowed down in his tracks and looked at Tiara. Her bright silver eyes were locked onto her master and a bright smile blossomed on her face upon receiving more attention from Michael.
“It’s always a mess, huh? Just like the Origin Expanse, I guess…”
“Yup, yup. The Origin Expanse is just as messy. Maybe not as much…actually, I am not too sure about that. Sometimes I feel like the Origin Expanse is a nice place, whereas I feel like my life had been less tense outside the Origin Expanse…until…well, you know what happened…”
“In the Origin Expanse, you know that your neighbors are either enemies or friends. That is a great advantage, even though it is a little bit annoying that most neighbors will be your enemies, creating loads of trouble. But with trouble come rewards, so that is still nice most of the time. As for the rest, they’re only your allies as long as you guys benefit from each other. Or as long as they don’t consider you as too dangerous. That is common knowledge. You could consider that as ‘orderly’ in that regard. The strong will devour the weak to grow even stronger and encounter stronger enemies and continue growing in power and strength.”
“However, everything is a little bit more complicated, a mess even, outside the Origin Expanse. Politics play a much more vital role, your public image is also crucial, and your responsibilities are even bigger outside the Origin Expanse. After all, your actions outside the Origin Expanse create an impact that affects your entire race and not only your territory once you reach a certain threshold of strength. The difference in technological advancement inside and outside the Origin Expanse changes the dynamic of power drastically as well. After all, Higher Lifeforms can still be blasted into smithereens by laser beams. That won’t happen in the Origin Expanse. Well…it shouldn’t happen.”
Michael listened to Tiara intently. Her race lost their lands outside the Origin Expanse. They’d been betrayed and exiled, forced to find refuge in the Origin Expanse. Tiara knew much better than most, how different the Origin Expanse and the realms outside the Origin Expanse were.
“But no matter how different the Origin Expanse and the world outside are, one thing is always the same,” Tiara said as her voice grew more serious, “You either adapt to the environment surrounding you, or you will always remain weak, fragile and dependent on others. You will get buried and trampled upon if you cannot adapt..”
‘Adapt to the environment surrounding you…Consumed if you cannot adapt..’ Michael thought, his eyes widening ever so slightly as he realized something.
It was not that Michael became an entirely new person. It was just that the environment around him changed drastically. The Origin Expanse was a place where he had to fight to survive. He reaped first gore in the Origin Expanse and took the lives of tens of thousands of enemies that came after. He adapted to the environment of the Untamed Jungle and continued molding himself to adjust even further when he was thrown into the same pit with the Descendants and heirs of wealthy families.
Michael adapted and fought for himself to become who he was right now; a young Lord with the potential to make it big.
“In that case, I only have to adapt to the Mark of Fate, and the changes it will bring. Is that it?” Michael mumbled to himself before he turned to Tiara with a bright smile.
“W-what is it, master?” She asked, surprised about Michael’s sudden alter of behavior.
“Thanks a lot. You are the best!” He said, his bright smile growing wider. It felt as if a heavy stone which had been weighing on his heart, had been finally removed.
Michael rushed outside to train a little bit longer, leaving Tiara flabbergasted in the hallway. She stared at the retreating figure of Michael, whose moody presence had been replaced with a sense of fulfillment and determination.
His body was sore, but the energy surging through his body invigorated him. There was no time to complain about feeling sore, or tired. He had to prepare himself mentally and physically to face the challenges of the new environments he was bound to reach soon enough. There was no need to avoid the new environments because change was the only constant in life and growth was its successor if one managed to improve and adapt.
Therefore, rather than avoiding them, Michael would have to embrace the changes warmly, and make use of them!
“The Interdimensional Flag War will start whether the Tritan Alliance is in shambles or not. That means the Flag War Token in my possession is still very valuable. The Battle Exchange should have ended now that Piloq was attacked. I should get my resources and be considered an official member of the cohort joining the Interdimensional Flag War. All I have to do is to become powerful enough to kill a single Tekur – at the bare minimum. They have strong Soultraits, so if I want to extract a bunch of them I should thrive even stronger. That way, more Soultraits of the Tekur, and their SoulStar Fragments will end up in my possession.”
The Flag War was a great opportunity for Michael. He joined it a little bit early because he was merely a Tier-2 Awakened, but the first tendrils of the High Society’s binding ropes had already coiled around his neck, forcing him to participate in the Flag War.
Michael realized too late that he had already become a pawn of the High Society’s scheming. Some High Nobles and Supreme Families had already taken note of him. Therefore, becoming Maria’s Primal Amplifier might be easier than expected. Nonetheless, Michael decided that it was better to remain vigilant. He had to thrive stronger as rapidly as possible, otherwise, the powerful would end up consuming him.
‘I need to move up a gear. I’m way too slow!!’ Michael told himself on his way to greet his new Summons. Almost three weeks passed in the Origin Expanse since he paid attention to his daily Summons. That had to change.
After all, he was in possession of 11 purified Basic Summoning Cores, each giving him the possibility to summon a 2-Star Summon every single day!