?Daniel was filled with excitement when he stepped through the Runic Gate for the first time…again.
He kept his eyes closed, trying to slow down his wildly beating heart, and grasped his chest tightly. Even though he had been prepared for this moment to come since his brother found and nourished his Living Soul, it was different to be back for real. Daniel was no longer a mere Living Soul. He was alive and well.
Daniel Fang was back in the Origin Expanse.
He emerged on the other side of the Runic Gate and opened his eyes with a bright smile when he stepped out of the Intermediate Summoning Gate.
‘Fragrant, rich, and full of energy,’ Daniel thought, goosebumps covering his body when he felt what Michael had already gotten used to. The fragrant smell of the surrounding flora, the richness of smells, lives, and emotions, and the highly potent origin energy permeating everything around him.
The surrounding area was also rich in color. The massive trees towering around the settlement center were vibrant and filled with life. Daniel inspected everything with twinkling eyes. His attention moved to the canopy bridges and the dozens of people from varying races crossing them. More people walked past him, with only a few paying attention to his quiet exclamations and the excitement he exuded naturally.
Every aspect of the Untamed Jungle was overwhelming if one entered it for the first time, even if it wasn’t anything special for Michael.
Daniel looked around to see where he had to go but couldn’t get a grasp of the surroundings immediately. It had been a while since he walked around on his own. Walking around in his new body was simple. Still, doing so while thinking about other things and being distracted by the cacophony of noises, the complexity of fragrant scents hanging in the air, and the potent origin energy trying to enter his body through his pores was far from easy.
It was a lot more complicated than Daniel first imagined.
“Huh? I didn’t know someone new would be summoned today,” An unfamiliar yet oddly familiar voice rang through Danny’s ears. He turned around and found Mika, the young Forest Elf.
“Oh, hey–….” Daniel was about to greet Mika like someone he’d known for a while when he remembered that the young Forest Elf didn’t know him. They had never met. Danny remembered Mika because he had been in Michael’s mind when they talked. He also had memories of Michael and Mika talking before.
‘Now that I think about it… Why do I remember things Michael did long before I entered the Soul Grimoire? Did I copy some of his memories by accident?’ Danny wondered, shrugging inwardly.
He smiled at Mika apologetically, “Hello there. My arrival wasn’t planned. It’s a little…surprise, if you want to put it like that.”
Daniel was not sure how to explain the current situation to the young Forest Elf. It was a little bit complicated, and he had no idea how much Michael was willing to tell the Forest Elves. They might be his allies, but that didn’t mean Michael wanted to be an open book to the entire Forest Elven tribe.
“That’s weird,” Mika murmured, “I swear you look familiar, but I don’t think I’ve talked to you before. Still, the way you stand there is so familiar. Your face as well.”
The young Forest Elf studied Daniel, who smiled back.
“I’m Daniel Fang. Michael is my brother,” He said lightly, resulting in a nod from Mika.
However, it didn’t take long before Mika froze. His lips parted and shaped into an “O” before he stared blankly at Danny.
“Oh, damn! Michael managed to get you back! For real now?! That’s crazy!”
Daniel smiled and nodded, “It is crazy, yeah.”
Mika strode toward Daniel and embraced him tightly. He jumped up and down like an excited child and exclaimed, “I’m so happy for you and Michael. That’s great!”
“It is,” Daniel responded, unsure whether he should embrace Mika back as a response or if he should escape the Forest Elf’s embrace.
Fortunately, distant voices rescued him.
“Mika. Mika!! Where the hell are you? If you run away from your afternoon training again, I will skin you alive!” A somewhat familiar sonorous voice resounded through Arx’s center. It was Lilica, threatening Mika.
The young Forest Elf flinched and released Daniel. Despite the threat from Lilica Balrea, Mika smiled brightly. He studied Danny for a while, saluted him, and kicked the ground to flee from the Forest Elven Demon, aka Lilica Balrea.
“See ya,” He shouted while giggling, “Come to me when you need help. I’ll give my best to help you out~”
Danny glanced at the fleeing Forest Elf and didn’t know if he should smile or frown, “I doubt I’m going to need your help anytime soon…but yeah. I will remember this.”
He chuckled lightly and shook his head, turning around to inspect his younger brother’s territory in detail.
But before he could walk down from the Intermediate Summoning Gate’s foundation, Daniel noticed something. His eyes closed involuntarily as a wild – unfamiliar – pulse emerged inside him.
His mindspace unfolded before Daniel Fang, revealing a single Link of Loyalty. A vibrant golden Link of Loyalty had coiled around his Energy Pillar, supporting it in every possible way.
The golden Link of Loyalty pulsated vigorously, infusing some of its vigor in its surroundings. That included the Energy Pillar, which glowed faintly as more and more energy circulated through it.
“What is that?!” Daniel asked quietly, even though he knew what was going on.
The Link of Loyalty with his brother was different from regular Links of Loyalty. It was more. Better.
“Can you hear me?” Daniel asked into the Link of Loyalty, focusing on his brother.
Something told him that the Link of Loyalty was not only unique in its appearance but also that it had special effects. Daniel wished that he could talk to his brother even though they weren’t together anymore. That would be…perfect.
The golden Link of Loyalty around his Energy Pillar reacted to Daniel’s words. They tightened and shifted ever so slightly.
Daniel knew instinctively that his words reached Michael. He could feel his brother at this moment. It was even more apparent than it had been when he was stuck in his brother’s Soul Grimoire.
Excitement filled Daniel’s heart. This was even better than expected.
“This is amazing! We can talk even though we’re not in the same dimension. Well, not really. The Nest is still somewhat connected to the Origin Expanse, but still. Your territory looks great as well. Everyone is so nice. They didn’t even know that I was coming, but they were welcoming me with open arms. You are a good Lord, brother!”
Michael didn’t respond to Daniel for quite a while, but he could sense his brother’s emotions through the Link of Loyalty. Under normal circumstances, that should have been possible the other way around. The Lord should be able to sense his subjects’ moods and mood swings. However, Daniel could do that right now. He could feel his brother’s thrill and that he intended to come to him into the Origin Expanse at any moment.
But something was odd after he sensed Michael’s desire to enter the Origin Expanse.
[I’m glad we can converse like this, but I will be busy for a moment. I don’t know what is happening, but Selena has something to tell me. She uttered it’s important. Let’s talk when I’m done here. We can go out and hunt. You have to make sure that you haven’t gone rusty~]
Michael didn’t sound overly excited. If anything, his expression was several levels below his brother’s. Daniel was a bit bummed about that, but it wasn’t like it changed anything. He continued grinning, curious about what other surprises were waiting for him.
After a while, his eyes fell upon the gemstone bracelet. It twinkled as the bits of sunray passing through the thick leafage reflected on the gemstones. The Artifact was certainly beautiful, and it was also very useful. fr𝐞𝐞𝚠e𝗻ovel.c𝐨m
“To consider that Michael prepared two Artifacts for me,” Daniel murmured, the corner of his lips tilted upward as much as physically possible, “Iraised him well.”
He closed his eyes briefly and focused on the energy around him. Faint whispers of air swirled around him. They caressed his cheeks and brushed through his hair. Daniel couldn’t help but imagine jingling laughter resounding through his ears. It was almost like the wind around him was playing with Daniel.
The air also brought origin energy along. But instead of faint threads of origin energy, Daniel sensed thick strands of energy splashing against him. His body reacted instinctively, drawing the surrounding energy into it. His pores opened naturally, drawing more energy into Daniel’s body.
The origin energy permeating the air entered his body nonstop, granting his War Rune a lot more energy than necessary to reach the War Rune’s top refinement speed. Of course, Daniel could actively accelerate the refinement speed of his War Rune, but he didn’t intend to spend the first hours of his journey by sitting down and refining origin energy. Even if it might be useful to increase his rank rapidly, Daniel couldn’t do it. He was too excited. He had to do something else.
Since his body was perfect, without any flaws and impurities, the origin energy entering his body was annexed instantaneously and used by the War Rune at once, either way. There was no need for Daniel to rush anything. His War Rune would be refined fast enough – much faster than in his last life.
Daniel Fang made some calculations in his head, though he didn’t consider it would be necessary. The result surprised him, though it shouldn’t have.
‘I should advance to Tier-1 in a few days like that…even if I do nothing to amplify the refinement rate.’
That was amazing and several times faster than it used to be. He didn’t need any resources to advance to Tier-1 in a few days. It wasn’t necessary to kill any monsters for their energy influx or absorb the energy within Energy Stones. His War Rune was already working incredibly fast.
“But then again, it’s not like I have a Soultrait. Reinforced Sword Qi slowed my process considerably. Since I have no Soultrait to slow me down, my War Rune refines everything rapidly,” Daniel reminded himself, his eyes pulling to the Awakening Stone lingering in his other hand.
The Sword Artifact – Zaer – and the gemstone bracelet were already linked to his Soul, the bracelet attached to his left wrist and Zaer stored away, but both Artifacts didn’t increase the required energy to refine his War Rune. The only factors expanding the energy needed to raise his ranks were his Physique, Mind, Soul, and Soultraits.
Some Awakened had unique circumstances, including Daniel Fang, in more ways than first presumed, but his War Rune didn’t require much energy to reach Tier-1. That was about to change.
Daniel crushed the Awakening Stone, releasing the energy stored within the stone.
‘To establish a stronger foundation, I need to acquire more – and stronger – Soultraits. Daniel reminded himself that the stronger the Soultrait, the greater my Foundation once I ascended to a Higher Lifeform. He thought back to his brother’s High Ascension and grit his teeth as the mythical forces of the Awakening Stone flushed through his body.
‘I don’t want to rely too much on Michael. He is already busy and stressed about too many things. Give me a good Soultrait to help him. Something like Reinforced Sword Qi would be good. Another Soultrait of the same star rating or higher would be great. Please!’
The Will listened to Daniel Fang’s plea. It granted the flawless young man exactly what he wanted.