Since he wasn't allowed to enter the library and most of the other facilities, Michael chose to stroll through Piloq for a while.
He wasn't bored or anything like that, but he wanted to talk a little bit with Kraft Viton.
Michael asked Kraft Viton a few questions using his low mastery of Whispering Energy to ensure that the conversation between them remained a secret.
"You volunteered to accompany me to analyze the Zeus family's interactions in the Tritan Alliance, or am I wrong?" Michael asked straightforwardly, slowing down to make sure that he and Kraft Viton walked next to each other.
It didn't take a genius to understand that Kraft Viton was not Helen Ascaln's subordinate. If anything, Helen Ascaln was Kraft Viton's subordinate. However, Michael never understood why a high-ranked member of the Bartholomew Corporation would accompany him to the Battle Exchange. It didn't really make any sense –especially if it was just to protect him.
"The Zeus family is quite annoying, but watching their interactions with the Berserkers and Warlock Centaurs is only one of the reasons why I decided to accompany you," Kraft Viton acknowledged without hesitation.
He further added, "I finalized my choice to take a trip to Meku when I heard that you, one of our Investors, were told to participate in the Interdimensional Flag War. I've heard about the ridiculous 'punishment', and decided to use the opportunity to get a better understanding of our investor while taking care of a few more tasks. "
Michael had already figured that much. The attention of too many powerhouses had been pulled toward him when he, a normal youth, overwhelmed a teacher at the 3rd Tier using a wide variety of Soultraits. That was also why his 'punishment' turned out to be an opportunity to grow stronger and make more connections rather than a laborious task.
"There is something I've always wondered," Michael said to Kraft, whose head turned to him.
"Why did Helen Ascaln accept my ridiculous demand for 18% of the Agriculture Project's profit share?"
Even though Michael couldn't purchase anything in the shops all over Piloq with his status as a Fletchling, he was certain that enough human Lords working for the Bartholomew Corporation could settle in Piloq and work their way up the social ladder. It might be a little bit problematic at first, but once they became Warriors, or even Champions, the Awakened would have an easy time purchasing Agriculture-type Blueprints, without the need to give up close to one-fifth of their profit.
The old man didn't say anything at first. However, Michael imagined that he saw the corners of the old man's lip curl up ever so slightly.
"I think you underestimate the opportunity you and the other participants of the Battle Exchange have been granted. When the Tritan Alliance formed, the first humans were allowed inside Meku's cities. Everything worked well for a few years, our economy grew rapidly, and our combat prowess increased considerably. Unfortunately, some Lords grew greedy. They wanted to move back to the human territory, but they didn't want to give up their connection to the goods of the Berserkers and Warlock Centaurs. Thus, these idiots decided to kidnap a few Berserker Champions," Kraft Viton sighed heavily after the last sentence. He shook his head for a second and continued,
"Of course, the Berserkers and Warlock Centaurs didn't like that. They considered dissolving the alliance, and waging war with the entire human race. Some higher ups in the government caught the perpetrators, freed the Berserker Champions and brought them back. They handed the perpetrators over as well and asked for forgiveness. However, once you break someone's trust, it becomes increasingly difficult to get it back. It was only fortunate that the Berserkers and Warlock Centaurs had enough problems with the Tekur, otherwise, we would be waging war with them instead."
Kraft took a deep breath, allowing Michael to digest the new pieces of information.
"The Berserkers and Warlock Centaurs decided to forgive mankind for the time being. They executed the Lords, who'd kidnapped their Berserker Champions, and threw all humans out of their cities and settlements. All humans lost their status, and were given a purchase limit all over the shops and markets affiliated with the Berserkers and Warlock Centaurs. Only the youngest prodigies of the human race – the participants of the Battle Exchange and the Interdimensional Flag War – were given the exception to upgrade their status."
"That means the Bartholomew Corporation has no chance of procuring a massive number of Agriculture-type Blueprints from the Berserkers and Warlock Centaurs. After all, the Bartholomew Corporation wasn't found by several Supreme Families, or High Nobles. We don't have that many prodigious Lords working for us, even less if you include the Lords with enough strength to participate in the Battle Exchange," Kraft Viton revealed in all honesty, before he lightly added,
"We nearly gave up on the Agriculture Project, in the beginning. It was our dream to change the Barren Lands, so we funded the project. But it was a lot more expensive than we thought, and the results were…not so nice. The project might have been shelved if not for your sudden and unexpected arrival out of nowhere."
As the old man spoke about the dream to turn the Barren Lands into a flourishing land full of ripe crops, Michael felt a little odd. It was easy to tell that the old man revealed his sincere desire to change the Barren Lands into a land of flourishing nature. That was admirable, and it explained why the Bartholomew Corporation was willing to invest so much into him.
They almost gave up their dreams because it was not feasible at this point in time. If not for his timely arrival, they might have already terminated their project. It was a win win situation – for both Michael and the Bartholomew Corporation.
Intrigued by the progress of the Agriculture Project and the other projects of the Bartholomew Corporation, Michael decided to chat a little bit more with the old man.
He had yet to figure out who exactly Kraft Viton was, but that could wait. It was not as if the old man would run from him anytime soon.
A full hour passed in the blink of an eye until they finally arrived at their destination; the arena.
Since being a Fletchling was useless, Michael decided to upgrade his status to a Warrior as quickly as possible. It would be even better if he could become a Champion anytime soon, but he was certain that it wouldn't be that easy.
Being able to enter the Library's ground floor as a Warrior should be more than enough for the time being. Whatever happened after the Battle Exchange started was something Michael could pay more attention to later on. For now, he picked the easiest way to get recognized as a Warrior. He was ready to fight a few Berserkers and Warlock Centaurs!
Michael stepped into the large modern arena with a tinge of excitement. Talking to Kraft might be nice and entertaining, but fighting powerful opponents gave him the much needed boost and motivation to keep going on.
The arena looked like a modern version of the Colosseum from the inside. There were more than ten combat rings in the center, surrounded by a forcefield and rows of seats for visitors and other Warriors to spectate the fights.
"Where is everyone?" Michael wondered as he looked for other students.
By now, the other students should have noticed that they couldn't do much with their Fletchling status, but nobody was at the arena to fight.
There might be multiple arenas spanned across Piloq, but this was one of four arenas that were close to their hotel. Michael expected to see a handful of students, if not dozens of them.
"Most of them should be busy planning their next steps with their family. They're probably in a deep discussion with their parents and well-wishers to upgrade their status and the changes in Piloq. Other than that, many students will probably spend the rest of the week inside the Origin Expanse to make the most out of their time. Spending one week in Piloq with the Fletchling status seems like a loss compared to two weeks in the Origin Expanse, after all," Kraft explained.
He could name a few more reasons, but the point he wanted to get across was that Michael acted out of the ordinary. Michael didn't even enter his room in the hotel before he left everyone behind. He merely registered his arrival at the hotel reception, and received the code for his room, just to disappear and rush over to the library.
"I will also enter the Origin Expanse every now and then…but isn't it a waste of precious time to keep the Fletchling Status? Even without the status issue, wouldn't it be a good idea to spar with other Berserkers and Warlock Centaurs before the Battle Exchange starts?" Michael asked rhetorically.
He knew that the other students would work hard to grow stronger using the time difference between the Origin Expanse and outside to their advantage, but it was not as if they couldn't spend some of their time to socialize.
'Well, whatever.' Michael told himself.
He initially came to the Saphirelake Military Academy to get closer to the Berserkers and Warlock Centaurs. He hoped to collect more knowledge about the origin tongue in the library, and he still wished to do so. However, given the knowledge he obtained in the Laxarta Library, Michael wasn't too sure how much the library of the Berserkers and Warlock Centaurs could provide him with.
But even then, Michael always desired to get to know foreign races outside the Origin Expanse. Finally he achieved his goal.
Now it was about time to find out how powerful Berserkers and Warlock Centaurs actually were!
