"I cannot give you Tigerfang just yet," Michael said as he cut his connection to the remains of the Boots of Taran, the Hardwood Bow, and the Return Arrow.
Several streams of energy shot out of the War Rune. They coiled around the Onyx Dragon Armor Set and the Siltang Bow, binding it.
Meanwhile, Seron Voulge was stored in the storage space of his War Rune. He had never wielded such a weapon before, and he wouldn't use it for the aptitude assessment either way. It was too risky to fool around with a new weapon at such an important event.
He still had Tigerfang, so he didn't bind Seron Voulge to his War Rune just yet.
"That makes sense. I will leave then. There is still some work left to do," Alice said.
Her hands were itching to grab Tigerfang but she decided to wait. It was not as if she pressed on time, and she knew that Michael wouldn't be foolish enough to use a new weapon for the aptitude assessment. He was the most familiar with Tigerfang and would change his weapon only after the aptitude assessment was over.
With nothing left to do in the dining room, Alice didn't want to linger around needlessly. Michael had a lot to do in the next few hours now that he obtained new Artifacts, and her work was not done either.
"My brother's debt will be considered settled with the Artifacts I procured. I think you understand how valuable these Artifacts are," Alice said sternly before a faint smile formed on her lips. She pointed at the dining table, "It's my treat. Eat your fill."
Saying so, she left without another backward glance. The sliding door closed behind her, leaving Michael and the food alone.
Michael stared at the sliding door for a second or two. He smiled lightly and turned his head back to the Onyx Dragon Armor and the Siltang Bow. Next, he slowly bound the Artifacts to his War Rune.
It took just enough time to focus on the dining table and the delicacies they'd served.
There were already more than five dishes, but their portions were small and wouldn't fill him. Thus, being the glutton he was, Michael ordered more dishes while savoring the food that had already been served.
He ate to his heart's content without care and finished binding the new Artifacts to his War Rune. Once he was done eating, his skin glowed brightly, and a vibrant smile appeared on his face.
Michael had completely forgotten about the loss of his hair.
"Alice…you're much nicer than I thought. You look fierce on the outside but you're beautiful on the inside!" Michael murmured to himself, thanking Alice Zenovia for treating him with a sumptuous late-night dinner.
Everyone who treated him to a meal had to be a nice and sincere person. That was something Michael was certain about.
"Now…what am I going to do with you guys?" He mumbled, staring at the Hardwood Bow and the Return Arrow.
The Boots of Taran were completely destroyed. Nobody would want to buy them given their battered condition. Unfortunately, even the Hardwood Bow was cracked, and the Return Arrow had also seen better days.
"I have no use for them anymore. I should just sell them," Michael concluded.
Tiara would just break the Bow and Return Arrow, but if he sold them, a high-ranked artisan could repair these damaged goods. That way, the two Artifacts wouldn't be discarded for good.
Since he was already in the Central Trading Hall, Michael turned to the House of Witchery. He had lots of goods to sell, including the Hardwood Bow and the Return Arrow.
On his way to the House of Witchery, Michael tried to sense the changes inside his body. The Onyx Dragon Armor Set and the Siltang Bow had been bound to his War Rune, and their enhancement was slowly spreading through his body.
The overall increase provided by his new Artifacts was more than 30%. Meanwhile, His Agility was enhanced by more than 60%, similar to his Perception which strengthened his senses considerably.
Since the Onyx Dragon Armor Set consisted of three 3-Star Tier-1 Artifacts, Michael expected his strength to increase considerably. However, the external enhancement he received surpassed his expectations by large. He was grateful that he hadn't been greedy enough to request more Tier-1 Artifacts from Alice because his body wouldn't be able to handle more.
He was already at his limit as the Lowest-grade Tier-1 Lord!
When he entered the House of Witchery, Michael was greeted like a normal guest. Nobody paid him much attention at first. Only two female staff members looked at him before they started gossiping.
Michael ignored their gossip and approached the Witchery Bazaar.
"I'm sorry, but the Witchery Bazaar is not open at night," The staff member filling the empty shelves near the Witchery Bazaar said in a neutral tone.
Michael smiled in response and retrieved the Golden Bartholomew Membership Card.
"I thought you could use the Witchery Bazaar all day with the Golden Bartholomew Membership Card," Michael replied in a voice loud enough for the young man to hear.
He turned around just to see the golden card in Michael's hand.
The young man then looked at Michael and frowned.
"Mr. Michael Feng?!" He exclaimed, and his eyes shot wide open.
The shock in the young man's eyes was not something that could be faked easily. However, Michael could only nod his head.
'I was just as shocked as you were when I realized that all my hair was burned.'
"That's my name, yes. So, can I use the Witchery Bazaar right now, or is it not allowed?" Michael inquired again, to which the young man responded by aggressively nodding his head.
"Of course Of course. Let's go to the appraisal room immediately!" He said, putting his work aside to take care of Michael's needs.
Half an hour later, Michael's business was completed. They returned from the appraisal room and signed the form to validate the deal and the transaction.
Michael earned a total of 35,887,000$ by selling 43 Tier-1 Lionheart corpses, 31 Tier-1 Artifacts, and other goods which he had extracted from the Lionhearts' War Runes, the Hardwood Bow, and the Return Arrow.
The Tier-1 Artifacts were sold for an average of one million dollars. Their contribution in today's earnings was the highest, but that was expected. The Tier-1 Artifacts might not have been exceptional but most of them had been Weapon Artifacts with decent enhancements and enchantments. They were still valuable.
After he earned a fortune, Michael wanted to spend an hour or two to purchase more goods, but he noticed that his body took more time adapting to the enhancements of his newly bound Artifacts than he thought.
In fact, his mind had yet to fully process and come to terms with the fact that he had successfully advanced to Tier-1. He had yet to adapt to his advancement but had still gone ahead to bind several 3-Star Tier-1 Artifacts to his War Rune. Of course, his body couldn't adjust to the changes that quickly.
It hadn't even been a full day since he advanced to Tier-1, after all!
Thus, Michael postponed his shopping spree. Instead of shopping, Michael walked over to the Central Training Hall's Training Centre.
He bought a ticket to use the Training Centre once and started to train like a maniac in order to accelerate the adjustment process of his newly acquired strength and the enhancements of his new Artifacts.
A few hours later, the morning sun rose above the horizon.
Michael was sweating buckets and he was a little tired, but a bright smile covered his face.
He was ready for the aptitude assessment!
