The next time they met a few days later, Alice finished Michael's training course. It was very detailed and entailed various study sessions.
Michael was already in possession of tons of study materials from other courses, yet Alice easily topped that amount by a few times.
In addition to the huge mountain of study material, Michael was given a technique that enabled the refinement of his mind.
"Since you don't have an Ice-related Soultrait with a high star rating, I cannot give you the Zenovia family's inheritance technique. Even if I hand it over to you, you won't be able to use it," Alice said nonchalantly, "The Caesurium Menta mind refinement technique is the best technique I could procure in the last few days."
Michael's eyes gleamed brightly while staring at the Mind refinement technique. Compared to a body refinement technique, Caesurium Menta was tens of times harder to procure. With his authority, Michael would have to wait several months before a low-ranked Mind refining technique was up for sale, but Alice procured a Mid-ranked technique quite easily.
That was how influential Alice Zenovia was!
"You shouldn't be too happy yet. Most High Nobles, Supreme Families, and Big Clans have much better techniques. Their Inheritance techniques refine their body, mind, and soul simultaneously to create perfect synergy. They create a perfect vessel for specific Soultraits to strengthen them and unravel the hidden potential of their Soultraits by modifying their body, mind, and soul accordingly," Alice explained seriously.
"Meanwhile, your techniques don't have an advantageous effect on your Soultraits!"
Michael's good mood was deflated like a pin-pricked balloon by Alice's heavy words.
"I get it. Most Inheritance techniques have been customized for certain types of Soultraits since children often manifest Soultraits, which are similar to their parents. But how can the High Nobles and other families ensure that their children won't awaken another type of Soultrait? It should be quite difficult to–...." Michael said, realizing too late who he was speaking to. He shut his mouth abruptly.
He didn't want to say anything rude to Alice, but Michael could tell that she was having a hard time keeping a poker face. Michael didn't need to be smart to understand that he said something wrong.
He broke into a sweat and began to make wild gestures in an attempt to figure out what to say now. But Alice just smiled.
"It's only obvious to be curious about that since you're new to all of this," Alice said, much calmer than Michael could have hoped for.
"Actually, it's pretty simple. I have an Ice Soultrait simply because my entire family has Soultraits related to ice. That includes my parents and grandparents. Kaleb is highly likely to awaken an Ice-type Soultrait as well."
'Everyone has an Ice-type Soultrait? Isn't that a little bit too much of a coincidence?' Michael wondered.
"You might think that it is an odd coincidence," Alice said exactly what was on Michael's mind, and his eyes widened in surprise.
His gaze was fixed on Alice, whose expression turned emotionless as the next words tumbled out of her mouth, "Unfortunately, it's not an eerie coincidence. My grandmother married my grandfather only because of his Ice-type Soultrait, and the patriarch of the Zenovia family is the same. He married my mother only because she had a powerful Ice-type Soultrait."
Alice made it sound like she was stating the obvious facts, but Michael was fixed on her as she spoke. He noticed the pain that was sealed deep inside her eyes, where nobody ought to see it.
'Huh?' Michael nearly blurted aloud, glad that he could control his body enough to keep his mouth shut.
"By bearing children with a partner, whose Soultrait is similar and compatible with yours, you can ensure that the child will awaken a Soultrait of the same type. That is enough to ensure that the Inheritance technique won't have to be altered after the new generation awakens. The entire focus can stay on the improvement of the Inheritance technique, which will ensure that the big families stay at the top and that they continue to grow stronger."
Alice's voice grew colder as she shared her knowledge and wisdom with Michael. Her eyes turned blank as if there was no willpower inside them, and it looked like she was about to turn into an emotionless robot.
Michael had never seen Alice like this. Her body exuded a frigid aura, and her presence turned freezing cold. It was near impossible to even think about approaching her. And for the first time since Michael got to know her, Alice turned into the cold and distant person everyone talked about when they mentioned the Frozen Duchess, Alice Zenovia.
'Is that why most big families have arranged marriages? To ensure the purity of their Soultraits…for real?!?'
Living with a partner, sharing good and bad times equally…Loving each other, and living happily until death parted them… If there was no love between two partners, what was the point of marriage?
Michael felt bad for Alice, and Kaleb at this moment. He realized that if they followed their family's orders, they would never get to marry the person they truly loved. They would have to bear children with strangers, whom they didn't love. Maybe, they wouldn't even like each other, in the first place.
Michael couldn't even begin to imagine how that must feel. He didn't want to imagine it. It sounded too heartbreaking.
It made sense to improve the Inheritance techniques to ensure that their family could grow stronger to compete against other big families and to gain enough strength to fight older races in the extraterrestrial. Nonetheless, it was also quite sad to think that the descendants of High Nobles, Supreme Families, and Great Clans wouldn't be able to choose a partner they truly loved and wanted.
That was the sacrifice the strongest people of the human race made to make sure that they would stay near the top.
'Are Minor Nobles also like that? They shouldn't care too much about the purity of their Soultraits…right?'
Michael knew that Frederik and Jacqueline were engaged from a young age, but they loved each other. At least, that was what Michael was certain about when he saw them together.
Furthermore, their Soultraits were not of the same type, or compatible either.
'But then again…aren't they engaged because their parents have been working together for years? Even if love is involved, isn't their engagement a means to ensure that no party can even consider betraying each other?'
Michael was at a loss. Even if Minor Nobles and influential families weren't interested in keeping their Soultraits pure, it was not unlikely that they would use their children as assets with great political value.
"It's better if you don't think too much about it. Just know that the investments of our families come with a heavy price. They're never free," Alice explained coldly.
Seeing Michael's expression, Alice could only sigh heavily. Sometimes, she envied ordinary people. But then again, she wouldn't be who she was without the Zenovia family and their tireless efforts to nurture them.
"If you say so…" Michael murmured, not really feeling happy about what he heard.
"Just know that nothing is free in this world. Unconditional love is nothing more than a dream," Alice said while some color slowly returned to her face.
"Let's just get started. Read through Caesurium Menta's first stage and we can start!"
Michael could tell that Alice didn't want to continue talking about this topic, so Michael complied. He was a little bit uncomfortable as well.
Michael opened the mind refining technique and started to read.
However, Michael found himself getting absorbed in the pages quite easily.
The mind refining technique was much more interesting than he initially thought, and he found himself spending the rest of the day reading.
He hadn't forgotten how sad Alice looked, and what she'd said. Nonetheless, his focus stayed on the study of the Caesurium Menta's first stage.
The technique ought to enhance his comprehension ability, memorization, and every other factor revolving around the brain. This included the control and precision of Soultraits. After all, the Soultraits were activated and controlled with the mind.
The next few weeks were rather ordinary. While he focused on refining his mind, his comprehension of the Memory Lane technique improved rapidly.
The improvement of Memory Lane made studying much easier, especially since he reached the technique's second stage.
Nonetheless, all of that was not fast enough for Michael. He wanted to study faster and become stronger as quickly as possible.
'I wish I had a Memorization Soultrait or something along those lines …' Michael thought at one point.
He had so much to learn, while simultaneously attending all courses that he felt overwhelmed every now and then.
Nonetheless, he still managed to spend most of the time in the Origin Expanse.
The time ratio advantage had to be abused as much as possible. Thus, Michael spent most of his time in the Origin Expanse. But even there, Michael was mostly focused on the expansion of his territory, including his sources of income and the betterment of his subjects.
Weeks passed and he didn't even realize how time flies away.
Kaleb meanwhile awakened his War rune.
It was nothing surprising that Kaleb manifested his War Rune. However, it was an extraordinary event.
Michael witnessed the manifestation of Kaleb's War Rune, and it was something he would never forget.
Michael had never seen Kaleb that happy. The moment his War Rune manifested, Kaleb's expression changed significantly.
He was overjoyed.
The excitement was far more intense than the excitement he felt when he awakened.
Michael hoped that Kaleb would awaken a powerful Soultrait, and that his friend was fortunate during his summoning of the Fortune Summoning Scroll.
He wanted an overpowered rival who was strong enough to force him to his limit and beyond.
That way, he could grow the fastest.
