A total of ten Ordinary Summoning Scrolls, two Aero Crossbowman Summoning Scrolls and one Mythic Summoning Scroll had been extracted.
That was great!
He knew that using extraction on more than 200 Gogis would have yielded a much better result, but Michael also knew that he shouldn't complain when he was given something.
He could only shudder at the thought of what must have happened to him if he had returned to the Gogi Lord's territory after handing over the Gogi Lord's corpse.
Extracting the Summoning Scrolls and Summoning Scroll Fragments on more than 200 bodies would have required way too much time. He would have been even more exhausted than he was yesterday, and it was likely that he would have collapsed due to internal and external factors.
It had been way too dangerous, and not worth the loot of 200+ Gogi corpses.
Michael was in danger even now. He had spent several hours outside his territory, all by himself, while being just a Tierless Lord. If that was not dangerous in a region such as the Untamed Jungle, few things could be considered dangerous, in the first place.
However, he was brimming with vigor now, and not restrained by the foreign memories occupying his mind, and untamed energy raging through his body.
'The Summoning Core!' Michael exclaimed inwardly.
His eyes glowed as he looked at the fist-sized orb. It was white but also had numerous black spots.
That was the Summoning Core. It didn't look special but the Summoning Core's presence was mystical. His fingertips began to tingle upon touching the Summoning Core and his face lit up.
Every Summoning Gate had to have a Summoning Core, otherwise, they couldn't use the Gate to summon subjects. Nonetheless, Michael felt weird while holding a Summoning Core in his hands.
He had been certain that the Mythic Summoning Scroll which he had extracted from the Summoning Gate had been the most precious gain today. However, upon looking at the Summoning Core, he changed his opinion immediately.
The Summoning Core was more valuable than the Mythic Summoning Scroll, even if a Mythic Summoning Scroll guaranteed a 2-Star Summon.
The thought of enhancing the Summoning Gate in his territory was already worth more than a 2-Star Summon. After all, it would bring him more long-term benefits!
Michael had read a lot about Summoning Gates and the conditions that had to be met to upgrade it, but it was the first time that he was holding a Summoning Core.
Fortunately, he had seen a few pictures of a Summoning Core before, otherwise, he would have had a tough time recognizing the Summoning Core. But there was something that confused him a little.
'Isn't the Summoning Core way too dark? In the pictures, they have fewer black dots…'
Michael was not sure what the black dots were, but he used Extraction on it to figure it out. If other Summoning Cores had fewer black dots, it shouldn't be a problem to extract one or two.
The golden streams engulfed his hands before they entered the Summoning Core. His energy was rapidly drained while grain-sized black masses formed on the surface of the Summoning Core.
Immediately, a reeking stench spread through the surroundings, making him double up.
Michael wanted to vomit the moment the stench infiltrated his nostrils. He stored the grain-sized mass of dirt inside his War Rune's storage before he retrieved it once again. This time, he held his breath and looked at the black mass he had just extracted from the Summoning Core.
'Isn't this what everyone calls 'Impurities'? It smells bad, is black, and looks like mud. Yes, that should be impurities,' Michael guessed with the knowledge he recalled from high school.
Students at Elite High Schools learned quite a lot about Impurities. In fact, everyone had impurities in their body. There was nothing like inherent purity.
But even if there was nothing like inherent purity, it was important to learn more about it.
Impurities could be considered as deviations from an ideal essence. They signify the presence of substances that disrupt or corrupt the harmony, or perfection of a particular existence, or system. The human body was a good example of such an ecosystem.
The human body amassed impurities from pollution, certain food, and other means from a young age.
Lords and Adventurers underwent a natural cleansing whenever their Tier advanced. The removal of impurities improved the circulation of blood and energy, and it allowed the body to accumulate more energy inside the body. That was one of the many reasons why a Peak Tier-0 Lord was said to be several times weaker than a Lowest Tier-1 Lord- because the Tier-1 Lord had already undergone his first natural cleansing.
That is also why mankind desired to cleanse their body and remove the impurities within their body; to grow stronger and evolve.
The pursuit of purity was inevitably associated with the yearning for transcendence or the attainment of a higher state of being. This desire was also something Michael felt sometimes.
He was still young and had a lot to learn, but he often found himself listening more intently in class and paying attention when the lesson was related to impurities.
It was often said that the degree of purity of an existence could give a rough estimation of its potential and power. Michael understood this concept to a certain extent, but he had never received the opportunity to prove it.
Fortunately, that changed now that he was in possession of a wonderful Soultrait and a Summoning Core filled with impurities.
Driven by desire, Michael continued to extract the impurities within the Summoning Core.
He spent half an hour extracting as many impurities as possible. His 3-Star Soultrait's limit was to remove roundabout 10% of the Summoning Core's impurities. That was a lot more than Michael expected, considering that his Soultrait had yet to be strengthened. He was a Tierless Lord with less than 100 subjects, after all.
Michael was very satisfied, but he had yet to find out if this particular Summoning Core was better than the Summoning Core in his territory.
Unfortunately, he couldn't rush home just yet.
A huge Summoning Gate was still waiting for him to be extracted!
