After Michael read through the documents several times, he signed them with a satisfied smile on his face.
A few clauses had been rather confusing at first, but they made sense after a while.
'So I have a minimum quota to fulfill for the next two years to maintain a profit share of 18%. Well, that's fine with me. The quota is not that high, either way.'
Michael didn't have any issues with the contract. Providing 24,000 Agriculture-type blueprint within the next two years was not too high. Michael was certain that he would spend less than a year to fulfill the quota.
He accessed the storage space of his War Rune and retrieved five crates. Each of the crates stored roughly 500 Agriculture-type blueprints.
"There are 2500 blueprints in the crates. Feel free to use them!" Michael said lightly while watching Kilian Whira open the crates one by one.
Kilian's expression changed with every crate he opened, and he ended up staring blankly at Michael once all crates had been opened.
"I…will transfer the base fee immediately… Feel free to cross-check the transaction," Kilian said, a little stupefied.
The base fee alone was already enough to turn Michael into a filthy rich business tycoon. It was more than enough money to make big purchase orders. Adding the discount and priority clause of the Diamond Bartholomew Membership, Michael began to source the shopping catalog with great interest.
'Since I extracted big masses of impurities during the second natural cleansing, I should be able to bind five Tier-2 Artifacts. My refinement degree is also pretty high, so the toll exerted on my body won't be too much…right?' Michael wondered, trying to gauge how many Artifacts he could bind.
'In that case, shouldn't I focus on extracting the impurities within Tiara when she advances to Tier-2?'
Michael had already attempted to use Extraction on his Summons after they advanced to Tier-1. Unfortunately, the extraction of impurities within Summons was rather difficult. It was quite painful for the Summons, and the amount of impurities he could extract didn't improve the Summons' combat prowess significantly.
This kind of problem didn't exist when extracting impurities from Awakened. By accessing their War Runes with Extraction, Michael could extract more impurities, and ensure that the Awakened wouldn't feel much pain.
Michael was deep in thought as he researched the online catalog of the Bartholomew Shop. Given his diamond-level access, Michael was able to see the Artifacts that would have been hidden with the gold-level membership he had until a while ago.
"How about we do this?" Michael mumbled as he began to add one Artifact to the shopping cart after another. His fingers moved rapidly, adding dozens of Artifacts in the cart.
An hour later, Michael had more than 200 Artifacts and other goods in the shopping cart.
"Now, let's start comparing, and removing."
It was only an hour later that less than a dozen Artifacts were left in the shopping cart, creating two sets that were perfect for Michael and Tiara to use.
Michael found another bow designed by the same creators who had manufactured the Siltang Bow. The bow was called Zark, and it had the same functions as the Siltang Bow. However, since Zark was a Tier-2 Artifact it could store much more energy and create a bigger variety of energy-condensed arrows.
The creators worked together multiple times to create a series of Artifacts ranging from Tier-1 to Tier-3. The Siltang Bow and the Zark were both part of the set, and Michael was more than willing to reach deep into his pockets to buy Zark.
Other than Zark, Michael got hold of a natural 3-Star Tier-2 Artifact called Wyverntooth Spear. According to the weapon's description, the Wyverntooth Spear had dropped after defeating a Wyvern, and it increased the strength and agility of its user.
The wyvern tooth at the top of the spear was blackish in color and had been ground to look similar to Seron Voulge's lengthy, razor-sharp blade.
Since Michael was usually fully occupied with the utility of multiple Soultraits, he didn't want to own too many complicated Artifacts. Thus, he replaced the Onyx Dragon Armor Set with the 3-Star Tier-2 Typhern Leather Armor Set. It was an armor set consisting of a chestplate, leg guards, and gloves. Just like the Onyx Dragon Armor Set, the Typhern Leather Armor Set had been engraved with protection enchantments.
All in all, Michael didn't change much about his equipment. He merely replaced his outdated Tier-1 equipment with similar 3-Star Tier-2 Artifacts.
Michael purchased a similar Armor Set for Tiara, in addition to a 3-Star Tier-2 Shield Artifact. If Tiara was able to bind some more Artifacts, Michael would return to the shop and get her some more. On the other hand, Masked Saber was given a wide variety of high-quality ores to choose from to make sure that the Weaponsmith had the means to create a perfect weapon for Masked Saber
He also purchased a bunch of high-quality potions since he couldn't brew them in his territory just yet. They had been strengthened with some Soultraits, amplifying their effects drastically.
Michael found an upgraded version of the Orb of Hostility as well. It had a range of 30 kilometers, which was perfect for his territory. The energy consumption was quite high but Michael made sure to purchase enough monster cores to match the energy consumption rather easily.
A wide variety of lethal traps entered his shopping cart as well. Michael and his people would install traps near the border to the Zentika Empire's plains. That was one of his means to make sure that his people won't have to fear attacks from the Zentika Empire while he was away.
Other than that, Michael made sure that his blacksmiths, alchemists, and enchanters provided his army with everything they needed – ranging from weapons, and armor, to potions and low-level enchantments on some armaments.
Providing the best equipment for his army wasn't easy. It required a considerable amount of funds and time.
As such, three days passed by before Michael was finally done preparing everything to depart. He helped Tiara extract as many impurities as possible after she advanced to Tier-2. Afterward, he gave her the Artifacts as promised earlier.
She bound them to her War Rune and grew stronger. The external enhancement provided by the Artifacts increased her physical strength, agility, and perception by more than 30%.
Michael was no different. His Artifacts increased his strength drastically.
"Can you exchange your Desert Combat Suit with other armaments such as leather armor or light metal armor?" Michael asked Masked Saber at one point.
He was not sure why but Masked Saber never revealed his face. His mask seemed to be attached to his face. It was quite weird.
"The Will doesn't allow me to reveal myself to others. This includes my face and even my skin. The Will of the Origin Expanse will eliminate me if I reveal my face or skin to anyone," Masked Saber revealed for the first time.
He remained calm and added, "But I can change my clothes as long as my entire body remains shrouded."
'The Will of the Origin Expanse put restriction on his existence as a Summon? Is that why he is only considered a 4-Star Summon?'
The Will of the Origin Expanse had always been quite weird. It was nothing new.
However, it was quite interesting to find out that Masked Saber had such a unique condition put on his existence. He had to be a really powerful existence to have such an annoying condition put on him!
Michael forwarded the details of Masked Saber's new armor to the Weaponsmith and the other Blacksmiths. He also went to the tailors to make sure that they would create full-body clothing using special sturdy threads and leather as core components.
Using the best materials to ensure that nobody could destroy Masked Saber's clothes was the easiest way to protect him. After all, it would be the worst to see Masked Saber die if his clothes were to rip mid-battle and weapons cut through him.
At last, Michael prepared to leave his territory once again. It felt like an eternity since he had gone out hunting, but he finally did it again with Masked Saber and Tiara.
They began to train and hunt together to improve their teamwork even further. Other than that, they almost did every other activity together to attain a better understanding of the other parties, ensuring that they would know their personality traits and everything else that could influence the course of the battle.
This played out pretty well. Michael, Tiara, and Masked Saber were already very compatible with each other. Their spatial awareness, perception, and combat experience were strong enough to observe the battlefield with great detail.
Owing to their great teamwork, the group of three soon encountered a hideout of Silvermoon Panthers. Silvermoon Panthers were agile enough to outrun Low Tier-2 Monsters and in possession of razor-sharp claws that cut deep into the flesh of Lowest Tier-2 Monsters with highly endurable hide.
Their group was quite big, consisting of eight members at Tier-2, and a dozen Peak Tier-1 Silvermoon Panthers.
The Silvermoon Panthers surrounded Masked Saber and Tiara the moment they found them. They were certain of their victory as they moved around the two beings who had invaded their territory.
What they didn't expect was to hear a loud whistling sound cutting through the air. Several energy-condensed arrows whooshed through the air, slicing into the necks of the Peak Tier-1 Silvermoon Panthers.
The Tier-2 Silvermoon Panthers reacted fast enough, evading the arrows charging at them with high speed by a hair's breadth.
Michael discovered the group of Silvermoon Panthers long before they surrounded Masked Saber and Tiara. He warned them and climbed up a tree before retrieving Zark and the Typhern Leather Armor Set. It was the first time he used Zark, but he was already familiar with its enchantments given that the energy storage and energy arrow enchantments were the same as that of the Siltang Bow's.
Michael killed six Silvermoon Panthers in a few seconds. The Tier-2 Silvermoon Panthers had discovered his location, but Tiara and Masked Saber already jumped into action, restricting the movements of the Silvermoon Panthers.
Michael used Enhancement on the Spirit Whip Symbol before manifesting three Spirit Whips simultaneously. Controlling them at once, Michael lashed out at the closest Silvermoon Panthers. Taken by surprise, they suffered a heavy mental blow. One of the Silvermoon Panthers struck by the Spirit Whip was only at the Peak of Tier-1. It suffered too much damage from the mental attack, causing it to collapse on the spot.
The other two Silvermoon Panthers didn't collapse on the spot, but they suffered a heavy blow from Tiara's silver spear. It pierced one of the Panthers' necks while the other one was killed by Masked Saber's silver energy blade that cut through the air like a boomerang.
The silver energy exploded upon coming in contact with the target, turning a severe attack into a mortal blow that killed the Tier-2 Silvermoon Panther at once.
Michael continued to use Enhancement and Spirit Whip in combination, but he continued to use Zark to condense more arrows which he aimed precisely at the Panthers' vital spots.
After weeks of training with Annabelle, Michael's focus had improved, his aim was more precise, and he could fight more flexibly using his Soultraits and bow together. His progress with the mind-refining technique Caesurium Menta helped him a lot to multi-task as well.
That was also why he could strike the Silvermoon Panthers with enhanced Spirit Whips before unleashing a barrage of energy arrows onto them.
The damage he caused by combining his arrow barrage with two of his Soultraits was already enormous. He didn't even have to use Eagle Eye actively at this point. Eagle Eyes' passive enhancement was already strong enough to enhance his eyesight to an extreme degree.
While Michael fought at mid-range using enhanced Spirit Whips and his bow, Masked Saber passed through the rows of Panthers like a typhoon. His moves were swift and nimble, evading the panthers' razor-sharp claws before inflicting severe damage with his silver energy-covered blade.
A small cut was all he had to inflict to injure his opponents and release a burst of silver energy to increase the wound's severity.
Tiara's fighting style was similar, yet not. She was nimble and swift, but her attacks were fierce and lethal, changing her direction and movement at any given point without losing the slightest bit of momentum.
Michael had yet to find out more information about her Soultrait, but it felt like she could change the force inside her body at any given point. It was a unique Soultrait that was extremely difficult to control. Tiara's Soultrait required lots of effort and research to become as strong as it was right now.
Michael knew that he would never grow tired of watching her fight. It was simply too intriguing, especially since her fighting style seemed predictable, yet unpredictable at the same time.
It was awe-inspiring and motivated Michael to continue tweaking his fighting style as well. That way, nobody would be able to study his former battles and create a strategy to defeat him easily, after all.
Less than ten minutes after the battle began, Michael, Tiara, and Masked Saber emerged victorious.
They won without sustaining any injuries, yet none of them was satisfied with the result of the battle.
Their individual combat prowess was great, and the strategy they utilized was not bad either, however, the coordination of their team hadn't been as exceptional as they expected.
"I think we have a lot to fix," Michael mumbled silently to himself, replaying the battle in slow-motion in his mind, and both Tiara and Masked Saber agreed unanimously.
"I think so too."
