Michael didn't expect the first profits to come in so early. But now that he thought about it, Michael felt that it made sense.
It had been a while since he started to sell the Agriculture-type Blueprints to the Bartholomew Corporation. And even before he started doing that, they'd already started with the Agriculture Project. They progressed faster now that Michael provided enough blueprints, but it made sense that the first Human Lords in the Barren Lands started to develop and cultivate their land, building farms and all necessary devices to turn the barren lands into flourishing green plains with highly nutritious soil to grow special wheat and other plants.
Months passed by in the Origin Expanse since Michael first sold his blueprints. Therefore, the first harvest must have been completed, generating a lot more wealth than Michael could have fathomed.
If his first profit was already worth more than his purchase of 1.9ish billion dollars, how much would he earn once the entire barren lands had been conquered by the Bartholomew Corporation? Michael couldn't fathom the wealth he would earn in the next few months, and he realized for the first time that he lucked out with his contract.
But as realization struck Michael, confusion followed alongside his excitement.
'Why was the executive director willing to give me 18% of the profits? Wasn't she well aware that they were going to make so much money? Or were they scared that I would leave them? Maybe she thought that I would switch to the Olympus and that the Olympus would be able to develop much faster than them with my help? They were scared to lose the monopoly of the Barren Lands. In fact, they must still be uncertain if they can maintain their monopoly!'
[Michael Fang: Let's meet up somewhere. I have a large stash of blueprints to sell as well. There should be enough rare Agriculture-type blueprints to keep the Directors calm and happy for a while, if that's necessary, in the first place.]
Michael was bad at politics and the stuff related to it. However, he knew that humans were innately greedy beings. The best example would be himself. Michael was extremely greedy. He tried to suppress his greed most of the time, but he noticed often enough that his greed was growing. It began to grow since he became a Lord…since he tasted the addiction of power, the necessity of wealth, and the importance of influence. Everything combined together stimulated his greed even more. It would consume him if not for the people around him. Having Tiara, Lilica, Mika, and the other Forest Elves, Kaleb, Lincoln, and even Zeke around him calmed him a little bit.
Having them around him was enough to see that not everyone was greedy and that he shouldn't act like a selfish brat. He had important people around him, people he wanted to protect. Last but not least, Michael didn't want to make his brother sad. Danny always told him that being greedy is not abnormal, but that being excessively greedy would bring unhappiness and dissatisfaction to him. On the other hand, showing generosity and kindness would bring happiness. Making other people happy and being the cause of their satisfaction and joy was true happiness. Michael slowly realized that this was the truth. Watching his subordinates being happy was nice. Freeing the Bilrox Queen and her herd had made him feel nice as they flapped their small wings and strolled around, chirping excitedly.
Therefore, Michael swore to himself that he should never become too greedy. It was nice to grow strong by fusing more Soultraits to his War Rune and by using SoulStar Fragments on himself. However, he also knew that he would never be able to protect his territory on his own. He couldn't be everywhere, after all. As long as his territory expanded, Michael would need more trustworthy, and powerful people by his side. Therefore, Michael wanted to use the Soultrait Symbols and SoulStar Fragments in his possession to make that happen.
It would be expensive, and Michael was certain that he would hesitate often to invest large portions of his wealth into others, but if the results of his investment created wealth and happiness, what kind of monster would he be if he didn't invest in his people's dreams and hard work?
[Kraft Viton: I am currently in the library. We can meet there if you want. If you want to exchange the Summoning Scrolls directly, I will have to return to the Origin Expanse for a while to collect the Summoning Scrolls. We could meet in your room – if you don't want anyone to find out about your mass purchase, which is what I think you would agree with. I will transfer the remaining 634,456,540$ to the bank account linked to your Diamond membership card if you have nothing else to purchase.]
Michael was stunned once again. He realized that he never even asked how much profit the Agriculture Project made. Michael found out just now. For a moment, the young Lord felt a little bit stupid – though not for the first time in his life. It was definitely not the last time either.
'2.5 billion dollars…damn…and I have yet to sell the remaining blueprints in my possession. That is crazy.'
He spent a minute or two staring blankly at his chat with Kraft Viton before he began to write a message again.
[Michael Fang: I will return to the Origin Expanse to retrieve the designs as well. Let's meet in my room. As for the money…just add it to my bank account for the time being. I have many things to purchase. The remaining revenue in addition to the money made from selling the Agriculture-type Blueprints won't be enough to cover everything, so I have to scroll through the shopping catalog for a while before I can start my shopping spree.]
With that being said, Michael manifested the Runic Gate in the middle of the Colosseum. He disappeared and emerged in the Origin Expanse where he rushed to the warehouses to collect all blueprint duplicates, he didn't need anymore. It didn't matter whether they were Agriculture-type designs or blueprints of other things. Michael didn't need any of them anymore. They were all duplicates, either way. Selling them was their only use for him.
After his War Rune's storage was filled with blueprints, Michael reappeared in the Colosseum once again. He was eyed weirdly from the sides, but Michael ignored them. He walked out of the Colosseum, barely nodding toward Maria Seraph, who glanced in the direction of his Runic Gate as well.
A small crowd of annoying pests surrounded her once again.
"That must be tiring," Michael mumbled quietly enough for nobody to hear.
However, Maria had seen his lips move ever so slightly. "That must be…tiring." 'Is that what he said? What a weirdo.'
Michael ignored her after his nod and left the Colosseum in a rush, a bright smile plastered on his face.
"Does he think he is on a vacation? I researched this idiot a little bit, and it looks like he never challenged anyone. All he did was participate in the group battles. He teamed up with Kaleb Zenovia, two Berserkers, and a Warlock Centaur, and they entered the top 100. Other than Michael Fang, everyone from the group was able to become a Token Holder. The Berserkers are quite annoying because they keep challenging other Token Holders every day. But Michael Fang just disappeared. Now that he is back he seems to focus on fooling around and watching official matches of Token Holders like a child watches his favorite TV show," One of the Descendants uttered with a fair amount of disgust. He hated lazy people who didn't understand the importance of special events such as the Battle Exchange.
Were they fine being useless and lowly peasants? Did they not have any grand dreams? Was it fine to accept their fate and to allow others to trample upon them just because they were born into a better family and with better Soultraits?
The Descendant shook his head. He was also lucky to be born in a good family and with great Soultraits, but he respected those who were willing to give their utmost to fight against fate and carve new paths for themselves. Unfortunately, Michael Fang didn't seem to be someone like that. At least it didn't look like he was willing to fight his fate.
Maria Seraph didn't know about the Descendant to judge him. Nonetheless, she listened carefully.
'Michael Fang… is that his name? Something about him feels off. Is he really lazy?'
While the Descendant continued to rant about him, Michael Fang was oblivious to it and had already returned to his room. It didn't take long before Kraft Viton knocked on the door. Michael let him inside before removing more than 20,000 designs from his War Rune's storage space.
"Not all of them are Agriculture-type Blueprints, but half or more of them are. As I mentioned before, it should be enough to make the Directors not regret giving me such a big share of the Agriculture Project's profit," Michael half-joked as he saw Kraft Viton's expression.
"The Directors will definitely think twice before they complain to Helen Ascaln. Looks like she struck a great deal by giving you such a large profit share. Losing you to the Mount Olympus or some other big family would have been a great loss for the Bartholomew Corporation," Kraft Viton revealed in all honesty.
"At the end of the day, it's all a give-and-take relationship. It's not like I'm not hoping to get anything from the exchange," Michael responded with a shrug. He knew that Kraft Viton praised him but he was not sure what to do with it. All he needed was money, and the Bartholomew Firm and the Agriculture Project had been a golden opportunity served on a silver platter.
Another great point for Michael was the influence and connections he obtained from the Bartholomew Corporation. Helen Ascaln and Kraft Viton were both very helpful connections. Kraft Viton was especially resourceful and ready to procure everything he needed at the drop of a hat.
Michael knew that Kraft Viton must have someone with higher authority than the head executive Helen Ascaln, but he never found out who exactly Kraft Viton was. Alice Zenovia never told him about Kraft Viton either – even though she definitely knew who he was.
That was as interesting as it was annoying.
"Sometimes I really wonder who you are. That might sound rude, but it doesn't feel like you belong to a small family without a major background. There have only been few cases of people like you appearing out of nowhere, and most of them either got married into big families at the end of the day, or they…well they disappeared or died."
Michael felt something sting him when he heard the last sentence. He recalled something and tilted his head.
"Since we're already talking about this topic. Can you give me access to the files of the War Empress?
"The War Empress? Why would you ne–...Hesta Fang…Fang…Michael Fang…Is she your sister?!"
The first time since Michael got to know him, Kraft Viton was speechless. He stared blankly at Michael, unsure what to say.
"I guess she is" – 'or was'
