So far, Michael was enjoying his time in the Lord Rift. Fighting Superior Existences at the 2nd Tier, and collecting rare herbs and plants was just the beginning.
He harvested several Death-trap Plants, known for their exceptional rarity and great difficulties in nurturing them, and collected thousands of Emerald Crystalline Leaves, Aurora Flowers, Blackwater Resin, Plumos Roots, and Ruby Logs of the core of Rubyrien trees.
The ingredients he harvested were hard to procure in mankind's market, and some were unknown to them in the first place.
'Good thing I made enough preparations. Researching all types of ores and plants was certainly worth it.'
Michael was satisfied with the preparations he did over the course of the last few weeks. Despite that he was aware of only a handful of the ingredients from the lessons he'd received from the Forest Elves Bionarium – the book of nature –, and the Master Alchemist of his territory.
As such, one day passed in the blink of an eye.
The sun had set a while ago, forcing Tiara and Masked Saber to use the luminous creme on their eyelids to see a little bit in the dark. Michael's Eagle Eyes had gotten accustomed to see in the dark by now. The range of his vision wasn't huge but it allowed him to see things farther than he would be able to see with the luminous creme.
After advancing to the 2nd Tier, the body didn't need as much sleep as before. Circulating origin energy through the body to keep the body and mind fresh.
It was enough to sleep once every few days to fully replenish the lost energy.
Nonetheless, Michael and the others decided to rest a little. Some Monsters and other Lords might be able to see much better in the dark than them. Hence, it would be a disaster if they were discovered and attacked.
Michael was the first to take over the nightguard duty. He observed the surroundings with great vigilance while the others rested for a few hours. Once his shift was over, Tiara replaced him. Michael then went to sleep.
The first rays of sunlight shining on his bald head woke Michael gently. He stretched his body and opened his eyes while stifling a yawn.
He looked at the War Rune on the back of his right hand and smiled faintly. The energy influxes of the monsters he'd killed the day before had been fully digested, refining his War Rune by a small margin.
The War Rune was much larger than before. When his War Rune manifested the first time it was tiny and hard to be discover for others. They would have to focus on the back of his right hand to find it. But now the War Rune covered the majority of the back of the hand. It was vibrant and easily visible to everyone.
It was still early in the morning when Michael and his team began walking through the vast forest. They slowly made their way toward the mountain range where Michael would harvest as many rare ores as possible.
Time passed quickly, and they only took a break when it was time for lunch. After nearly ten fights with small monster groups, they deserved a great meal.
They started a small fire and cooked the tender meat of the Diamond Deers.
Since everyone was hungry, they ate a lot. Michael devoured several kilograms of meat, slowly filling his stomach to the brim. He knew that he could eat even more, but his stomach had to digest everything, and Michael knew that he had to be ready to fight at any moment. It would be a little bit disadvantageous if he ended up reacting to slowly just because he felt drowsy after eating too much.
The Diamond Deer's meat was delicious. It filled Michael with nutrition and energy. He was ready to rumble.
However, before he and the others could get up and leave, they heard the rustling of leaves from the side.
Tiara and Masked Saber jumped up simultaneously, their hands on their weapons. Meanwhile, Michael used Eagle Eyes, which he enhanced a few times.
Michael's eyes narrowed as the foliage to their right continued to rustle. Suddenly, the scenery around them changed. The extinguished campfire was set ablaze once again due to the strong gusts of wind that swirled around Michael and his people.
The blazing campfire shot in the air, where it formed the head of a dragon. The dragon head stared down at Michael, just to keep changing form as the gusts of wind swirled around it.
The dragon head expanded in size and shot down toward Michael with its maw wide open. Michael lifted an eyebrow while staring at the fiery dragon head. The next moment, he used Extraction to drain his vicinity of oxygen. The oxygen within the blazing dragon head was extracted by Michael, causing the flames to die down before they could reach him.
The Dragon head dispersed in all directions, and the sparks died down after being unable to devour or deter Michael.
Michael's attention moved back to the rustling leaves to their right. A faint smile blossomed on his lips, and he manifested Zark in his hands.
He then used Enhancement to strengthen Zark, conjured an energy arrow on the bowstring and pulled it back.
The next moment he spun his body around 180 degrees, aimed for a second and released the arrow.
'You think you can fool me just because you have a wind and fire affinity? You cannot hide your movements and noises completely even if you distract me with rustling leaves!'
Given his already high perception and Eagle Eye's focus on enhancing his eyesight, Michael saw the perpetrators from the corner of his eyes as he took care of the blazing dragon head.
The energy arrow cut through the air, just to be blocked by an earthen wall shooting out of the ground.
"An earth affinity as well?" Michael asked, slightly surprised when he noticed that the ground beneath them started to get muddy.
"All basic elemental affinities?" Michael cursed, using Extraction to extract the hydrogen in the ground beneath him, Tiara, and Masked Saber, preventing the condensation of water in the first place
He stored the hydrogen in his War Rune's space to ensure that the unknown enemy couldn't make use of it.
However, that was not necessary because small pole-sized earthen pillars shot out of the ground around Michael and the others.
The pillars were not thick but they momentarily restricted their movements. The unknown enemy received enough time to conjure several fireballs and throw them at his imprisoned enemies – or so the enemy thought.
Michael used Extraction to break down a few thin pillars, allowing him, Tiara and Masked Saber to escape easily.
Afterward, they entered a combat stance, and prepared to fight a big battle.
"You've got an interesting Soultrait right here. Were you able to awaken a Unique Racial trait related to your Soultrait, or are you the descendant of a human race powerhouse?" A calm and composed voice resounded in the vast forest.
Michael's danger senses began tingling due to the voice, despite its pleasant and welcoming sound.
"Does the human race even have powerhouses to begin with? I doubt you have real Divine Existences given that I learned about the human race only a few days ago," The voice asked mockingly.
A scoff reached his ears, causing Michael to lift an eyebrow.
"Who are you?" Michael asked before using Enhancement on his body twice.
The human race wasn't well-known in the Origin Expanse. They were a rather young race that shouldn't be known by many in the Zentika Empire, or in the Lord Rift.
Despite that, the unknown enemy knew exactly what race Michael belonged to.
"Who am I? Well…I might be your friend…or your enemy."
The voice spoke mysteriously, drawing every word out deliberately.
"How about we find out?"
The last words of their enemy rang through the forest just before a barrage of fireballs, wind blades, and earthen spikes shot through the air.
[A/N: Share your opinion about the new arc. Not many chapters have been released yet, but we're in the Lord Rift fighting an unknown enemy. What do you think will happen in the future? Will the Lord Rift have any major changes on Michael's territory development or his character? Where do you think the story is going?
I'm curious about your opinion ;D]
