Kraft Viton raised an eyebrow.
“Do you have to leave immediately? Is your territory under attack?”
The worry in the old man’s voice warmed Michael’s heart.
“My territory hasn’t been attacked yet. However, a Native Empire deployed one of its armies after some… unforeseen events happened. They’re setting up a military camp at the border to my region,” Michael shrugged, “I had some issues with them in the past. The Native Empire is looking for me as well, so I might as well attack them with the High Beast Horde.”
Kraft Viton had a bunch of questions but he didn’t inquire more. He was sure that Michael would come to him and tell him about his problems when he was ready. Michael knew that he could always come to him and ask for help.
“But no. I don’t have to leave immediately. Rebecca will return from the Origin Expanse and call me if something happens.”
“That’s good then. My attendants will need two or three hours to collect everything on the list. That gives us a few hours to hold a short lesson. How about it?” Kraft Viton proposed with a thin smile. Michael responded with a nod.
Michael spent the next 15 minutes telling Kraft Viton about the creation of his techniques and his Soultraits’ powers. He didn’t reveal everything, but it was enough for Kraft Viton to put the pieces together and analyze his student’s combat prowess.
But why did Michael tell Kraft Viton about all of this? Wouldn’t it be better to keep his custom techniques and his Soultraits’ properties a secret?
While it was certainly risky to tell others about his Soultraits and custom techniques, Michael needed a wise, and experienced person to help him comprehend his weaknesses faster. Michael had to grow stronger as quickly as possible. Allowing someone to look at his powers and techniques from a different point of view would help.
Michael could fuse with more Soultraits, or keep upgrading his existing Soultraits as he did with Extraction, however, Kraft Viton might be able to think of some ways for him to use his Soultraits better. Michael’s view of his Soultraits was rather narrow because the influx of information from each Soultrait showed him the ‘most efficient’ ways to use his Soultraits, but Kraft Viton didn’t have any special knowledge about Michael’s Soultraits.
The old man was experienced and Michael trusted him. Kraft Viton was a trustworthy person and he signed a tight non-disclosure agreement, either way.
“Did you ever try using Insert outside the battlefield? Like inserting some plants into another plant, or inserting elemental energies into plants to see if the plants will mutate, or rot? Did you ever try to insert a Summoning Scroll into another? Or Artifacts? What happens when you insert an Artifact into a monster? Will the Artifact become a part of its body, or will the monster break apart? Will the Artifacts’ external amplification apply to the monster if it works out?”
Kraft Viton asked a wide variety of questions about Insert. He had a lot to say about Michael’s other Soultraits as well, but from Kraft Viton’s point of view, Insert seemed to be the most compatbile with Extraction.
“What about Soultrait Symbols? You are the only person who can procure Soultrait Symbols, but did you ever think about inserting one Soultrait Symbol into another? Will the Soultrait Symbols merge, or will one of them devour the other? Maybe, they end up shattering, but don’t you think it’s worth a try?”
Michael’s eyes widened. He actually thought of something similar before but he always forgot about his experiments with Insert or thought that it would be a waste to destroy his Soultrait Symbols. The latter was nothing to worry about at this point. Michael had 400+ Soultrait Symbols and he was bound to procure more in the next few days, or weeks.
“You never tried that? I expected that from you though…” Kraft Viton frowned at his student. Sometimes, Michael was not as smart as he looked and acted. However, that only showed that Michael was still a youth. He was only 19 years old. Kraft Viton forgot that sometimes.
Michael recalled a large batch of the Soultrait Symbols in his possession and wondered what would happen to them if he used Insert to combine them. Would they transform into higher-ranked Soultraits?
He swallowed hard, and the corner of his lip curled up.
“You also said that you want more Adventurers in your territory,” Kraft Viton interrupted Michael’s train of thought, “I recommend you not to take too many Adventurers into your territory. Too many Links of Loyalty with Adventurers will burden your Soul, especially if special contracts have been established.”
“Newly ascended Higher Lifeforms are usually unable to have more than 1,000 Links of Loyalty with Adventurers because that’s the most their Souls can tolerate. You seem to have a strong Soul, but you have never refined your Soul yet. So…don’t go over the top, please. If you feel like you can handle 250 Awakened Links of Loyalty, that’s fine, but don’t go above 500 before you’re a Higher Lifeform.”
Kraft Viton was visibly worried about Michael’s well-being. He gave him a few more pieces of advice as an old Lord, hoping that Michael would listen.
“I have to find this many Adventurers, who’re willing to become my subordinates and accept my conditions, first.”
Michael didn’t mention anything about the Silverfang TIgerfolk yet, but he wondered what would happen to Tiara.
‘I don’t feel the toll of the Silverfang Tigerfolks Links of Loyalty, but Tiara…will she be fine if I summon more of her kin? Can her Soul handle the burden?’
“You think that you’ll have issues finding suitable Adventurers…
really?” Kraft Viton mocked his student a little, “Just release an online thread in the Awakened Forum of the Tritan Alliance and you’re done. You’ll get flooded with thousands of applications in no time.”
The old man laughed.
“You don’t even have to pay attention to their Soultraits, or their background. After all, you can create Soul Techniques, your own Refinement Techniques, you have the Bartholomew Corporation helping you out with resources and connections, AND you can remove and add Soultraits as you please.”
“You should really start taking advantage of your powers and link to pick the most suitable Awakened. Adventurers with the best personalities and the right mindsets are what suit you best. That way, you will obtain subordinates who’ll grow attached to you. They’ll be loyal until their death, subordinates who’re willing to jump into the fiery pits of hell at your command, powerhouses, who can trample armies with ease!”
The light in Kraft Viton’s eyes was vibrant. The old man was full of vigor and excitement.
Michael had to suppress a chuckle. It was quite difficult to stay serious.
‘But it makes sense. It shouldn’t be that difficult for me to find suitable candidates all over the Tritan Alliance. Many with unsuitable Soultraits but the desire to grow stronger and become someone nobody dares to look down upon will apply to become my subordinates. I might not be able to extract their Soultraits, but I can always give them more, better, Soultrait Symbols to fuse.’
Kraft Viton’s words made sense.
“That’s a good idea. I can use Mind Reader to find out the applicants’ true intentions and sign a Soul Pact to ensure that they cannot backstab me as well.” Michael’s mind drifted further away. It might not be possible to get hold of a large number of Adventurers in the next few days, but it was possible to send out a thread on the Tritan Alliance’s Awakened forum.
“The Bartholomew Corporation can handle the applications and the forum thread if you want. You should be busy with your warfare,” Kraft Viton pointed out.
Michael stared at the old man for a few seconds before he nodded slowly.
“That sounds good as well.”
Michael could tell that the Bartholomew Corporation wanted to have their branches everywhere he went. They wanted to be associated with him, therefore, increasing their value as more members of High Society would be curious concerning the Bartholomew Corporation.
Everyone would think that they had to go through the Bartholomew Corporation to reach Michael. It was almost such as the Bartholomew Corporation was an Agency and Michael was their most popular signed celebrity.
That might restrict Michael a little when it came to spreading out his wings and building connections with High Society, but it was not like Michael desired to get closer to High Society, either way.
Michael wasn’t their fan. If anything, he disliked most Supreme Families and High Nobles. .
He met some reasonable people, but most encounters demonstrated the superiority complex of High Society. They thought they were better than everyone else, even their allies.
However, what Michael hated the most was how High Society treated those weaker than them. That was not the case for every Supreme Family and High Nobility, but many considered those weaker than them as mere pawns. They weren’t even considered humans.
Thinking about the Zan Twins, and how even the patriarch fo the Zan household had been used as a pan to provoke him shortly after Danny’s death, Michael felt even less inclined to get closer to High Society.
If the Bartholomew Corporation offered their aid to manage his stuff, Michael might too approve their help. They treated him nicely long before they learned concerning Extraction and his powers.
Furthermore, Michael had too many things to do. He couldn’t split his body and pay attention to everything inside and outside the Origin Expanse.
He was not some sort of God, after all!
Updated from 𝑖𝘳.𝒸ℴ𝑚