The dorms were an interesting place.
Everyone had their own decent-sized room that was not spacious, but more than enough to feel comfortable. At least, Michael felt comfortable with a big bed, a small table and a chair to study on, and a big empty space that was slightly larger than the bed.
Of course, the rooms could be upgraded, but Michael was satisfied for the time being.
After he reached the dorm, he opened Starnet messengers and clicked on his chat with Alice Zenovia.
[Michael: Good afternoon, Professor Zenovia. I cannot access my brother's Lord ID and want to make a request about it. Can the supercomputer on Elyra, or the government forward the status of Daniel Fang's Lord ID now, and whenever a change occurs to me? If the latter is not possible, or not allowed, I can manually request an update on Danny's Lord ID every week or two. That's not a problem.]
Michael's message was nothing special. However, he was more formal than usual with Alice Zenovia.
Until now, she never paid too much attention to his behavior, but Michael felt the need to be more formal with his request after learning that she was his teacher.
'Just tell me that Danny is fine, and everything will be perfect,' Michael told himself before he opened the Runic Gate to the Origin Expanse.
He entered the Origin Expanse just to crash down on the bed and sleep soundly. Sleeping in the Origin Expanse saved lots of time.
It even gave him enough time to start a light workout after he woke up. The light workout was a test to see how well he could replicate Annabelle's training course.
After they'd exchanged contact details, Annabelle sent him a few video files. Some of the workouts she did were explained in great detail, and Michael imprinted them into his mind.
He did Annabelle's workout and figured that it was pretty nice to combine them with his body refinement workout. It loosened the tension in his muscles and allowed him to build a greatly balanced physique.
After a light workout, Michael read through the daily report, extracted monster carcasses, and summoned new subjects.
Once that was done, he gave a few orders to initiate the start of the high-scale mining project.
Everyone went to work, except Masked Saber, who stayed by Michael's side.
In just one day, Masked Saber reached the Mid refinement stage of Tier-0. Since he had been summoned, Masked Saber spent most of his time researching the Untamed Jungle's topography, and learning more about the territory's military might and development progress before he went out to hunt on his own.
Masked Saber was a Lone Wolf, who hunted more than 30 Low Tier-1 Monsters in a day – all by himself.
That was a terrific achievement, and it showed that Masked Saber was far from an ordinary summon.
Michael got to know that Masked Saber had the ability to shroud his weapon in silver energy, enhancing his damage output drastically. A single attack, precisely aimed at a vital point, was enough to finish off a Low Tier-1 Monster.
"Great potential, powerful ability, and terrifying combat prowess…Did he die too young to attain a higher star rating?" Michael murmured quietly as Masked Saber approached him.
If Masked Saber had never attained any special achievements, his star rating might have been suppressed to 4-Stars. At least, that was the way Michael looked at it. Masked Saber seemed too unique for an ordinary 4-Star Summon!
But that was also why Michael was so intrigued in Masked Saber. The Summon was simply too unique. He deserved Michael's attention.
Growing increasingly interested in Masked Saber's combat prowess, Michael challenged his Summon to a spar.
"Let's spar, Masked Saber!"
Masked Saber nodded his head, unsheathed his saber, and changed into his combat stance.
He pulled the saber back and moved his empty hand forward while bending his knees to lower his body ever so slightly.
Michael smiled at Masked Saber's fast response. He manifested Seron Voulge and got into position as well.
The next moment, Michael looked into the black eyes hidden behind Masked Saber's crimson mask.
Both parties reacted simultaneously. They kicked their feet off the ground to burst forward and swung their weapons the next second as they reached close enough to attack.
Michael swung Seron Voulge diagonally to cover as much space in front of him as possible. However, Masked Saber reacted in time. He forcefully halted his approach, twisted his blade, and struck down the silver glowing saber as Seron Voulge's blade passed by.
Seron Voulge was pushed down, taking Michael by surprise. He didn't expect Masked Saber to evade and counter-attack so easily.
What was interesting to note was that Michael's physical strength was two or three times higher than Masked Saber's. He had several Tier-1 Artifacts, completed the first stage of the Berserker Physique, and was at Tier-1.
Each of those reasons was enough to tell that he should be faster and stronger than Masked Saber, yet the 4-Star Summon easily predicted his attack, evaded it, and counterattacked by utilizing the tremendous force Michael had put into his slash.
Seron Voulge shot into the ground, and Masked Saber pushed forward. His left-hand grasped Seron Voulge's pole, while the silver glowing saber lunged forward like a python.
Michael wanted to pull Seron Voulge out of the ground and block Masked Saber's attack, but Masked Saber's flat hand pushed the pole down, preventing Michael from launching a counterattack and deflecting the saber strike.
Michael grit his teeth, retrieved Seron Voulge in his War Rune, and dived to the side.
He rolled on the ground and jumped up smoothly. Afterward, Seron Voulge manifested in his hand once again.
Michael took a deep breath while looking at Masked Saber, whose saber rested calmly in his hand. Masked Saber turned slowly in his direction, the silver glow around his saber intensifying.
'Looks like I cannot win without my Soultraits…what a shame,' Michael murmured in his mind.
He felt confused. On one hand, it was exceptional to have Masked Saber as his summon. Their first exchange showed clearly that Masked Saber was much stronger than his rank suggested. At the same time, Michael felt a little bit weird.
Masked Saber was adept at picking up his opponent's flaws and using them, but that was not all. Masked Saber had high mastery of energy utility, and he used his opponents' superior strength against them.
Somehow, Michael felt like he was watching a powerhouse like Fenrir.
It was a little weird.
Despite the weird feeling in his heart, Michael could tell that he could use his spars against Masked Saber to fix his flaws and get rid of his bad habits during combat.
The good thing was that Michael could trust Masked Saber. His Link of Loyalty reached perfection, a state that could only be topped by a True Link of Loyalty. However, for that, they had to share countless life-and-death situations and save each other from death multiple times.
A True Link of Loyalty allowed telepathic communication, sharing of pain, and much more. It was a great feature, but also something that only few could establish. Even his brother wasn't able to establish more than three True Links of Loyalty with the Summons he fought side-by-side for years.
All in all, he felt really great about having found a great summon and decided to focus on eliminating his flaws with Masked Saber's help. Michael took a deep breath while calming his nerves. He didn't manifest the Onyx Dragon Armor Set yet, but he began to utilize his Soultraits now. It was something Michael didn't want to do before because he thought that he would win too easily against Masked Saber if he was to rely on his Soultraits.
However, their first exchange showed quite clearly that he had been too arrogant – too full of himself. If Masked Saber had been an enemy who was after his life, Michael would be dead by now.
Taking this into consideration, Michael exhaled deeply before utilizing Lesser Enhancement on Seron Voulge and his eyes. Simultaneously, he exerted Eagle Eyes, further amplifying his eyesight.
Seron Voulge was shrouded in a white hue while his eyes shimmered white and golden.
Masked Saber sensed a change in his Lord's presence, and he readied himself for the second clash. A second silver light manifested in the air around the silver-glowing saber, but it dispersed soon after. Masked Saber didn't have enough energy to unleash his abilities in the way he did before he died.
But that was something Masked Saber could acknowledge easily. He lowered his body further and waited patiently for Michael to attack.
Michael shot forward the next second. He thrust Seron Voulge forward, while vigilantly eying Masked Saber's response. Masked Saber moved to the side, ready to counterattack, when he realized that Seron Voulge's trajectory changed all of a sudden.
The long blade inched closer to Masked Saber's head. Masked Saber, who already had a hard time evading the first attack, struggled to lift his saber to block Seron Voulge.
However, just as the blades were about to collide, Masked Saber's mind trembled. His sight blurred and his entire body felt eerily heavy all of a sudden.
Michael whipped Masked Saber with a Spirit Whip a quarter of a second before their weapons collided. Using his superior strength and speed, Michael's Seron Voulge impacted hard upon his opponent.
Masked Saber's grip around the saber loosened and he let go of the saber.
Yet, just as Michael sensed victory, his expression turned ugly. Masked Saber shot forward, and a small dagger appeared in his empty left hand.
Seron Voulge shot past the Desert combat clothes of Masked Saber, not even grazing them, forget about cutting inside his body.
Meanwhile, a cold blade soon found its way toward Michael's neck.
"I…lost?" Michael blurted in confusion.
At first, he was disappointed and scolded himself that he could have fought much better. However, after a second or two, his expression lit up.
He realized that he had a lot to improve and that he could become much stronger.
"I want a rematch!"
