Sensing where he would land even before he jumped through space and being able to see the energies through objects with Spirit Eyes was a great combination. But then again, Michael didn't have to use Spirit Eyes for Cosmic Stride to work perfectly fine. It was just that Spirit Eyes gave him another edge when combined with Cosmic Stride.
Michael spread his senses and traveled through the Untamed Jungle quickly. He used Cosmic Stride to jump several hundred meters ahead, to change his trajectory without losing any momentum, and to change his positioning ever so slightly.
Cosmic Stride was several times stronger than Quinn Karta's Blink. Even after Quinn combined Blink with his other Soultrait, Mark of the Dragon, Cosmic Stride would be more efficient. It consumed only little energy for short-distance jumps through space and even the long-distance jumps through space were rather energy-efficient.
Interestingly enough, Michael's jumps through space released little to no spatial fluctuations. As long as he learned how to control Cosmic Stride, Michael was certain that he could cover his traces near-perfectly.
However, one of the most important aspects of Cosmic Stride was a function called 'Return to the Origin'. Michael could set an anchor that allowed him to return to his territory with Cosmic Stride wherever he was, and at all times.
Of course, it wouldn't work if the space around him was locked or if he didn't have any access to his energy storage, but Michael could return to his territory in an instant using the Return of the Origin function.
That was extremely helpful as it allowed Michael to change his tactics and move more openly against his enemies. There was no need to worry about someone attacking his territory during his absence. He could trash his enemies far away from the Untamed Jungle and return at once if needed.
'I can go to the Savannah Region!' Michael clenched his fists tightly, a devilish smile blossoming on his face.
He could fight the Council of Xylon like crazy without having to worry about his territory. A simple use of Cosmic Stride and he would be back in his territory, ready to defeat whatever opponent was daring enough to attack his lovely little settlement.
'It seems like I can bring other people with me using Cosmic Stride, but the energy consumption increases tremendously. The heavier the targets the higher the energy consumption.'
Michael sensed that it was possible to bring two or three dozen people with him using Cosmic Stride. In the worst case, Michael would have to ask Zeroa to help a little bit. Stinger was also present to stretch out its helpful stinger. Bringing people onto the battlefield with him wouldn't be a big issue.
He set up an anchor using Cosmic Stride with that in mind. There was no need to hesitate any longer. Setting up the anchor took up a few hours, but it worked perfectly fine once he was done.
Once he was done, Michael encountered Lilica and the others. Most of their debts in the Jungle Shop had been paid off. Michael considered that as he approached them.
"I'm planning to initiate a counteroffensive against the Council of Xylon soon. If you want to jo–..." Michael was unable to say anything else as the Forest Elven Adventurers spun in his direction. They stared intently at him and exclaimed near-simultaneously.
"I'm ready!" Lilica declared.
"Let's go kill them all!" Mika joined.
Even Opars didn't hold back at this moment, "I'm lusting for blood."
Opars surprised him the most, and Michael required a few seconds to get back to his senses.
"I was going to ask if you guys want me to upgrade your Soultraits since you guys are not yet at the 3rd Tier. But...I guess you want to fight like this..." Michael forced a smile on his lips as he stared at the ambitious Forest Elven Adventurers.
"We don't have anymore Jungle Points and cannot afford the more expensive upgrades anytime soon. There is no way –..."
This time it was Michael who was interested in the Forest Elf.
"I didn't plan to ask you for Jungle Points. I'm just making sure that everyone will be well-armed for the fight against the Council of Xylon."
Michael was not too worried about the Forest Elves' combat prowess. However, he learned that even Awakened with three well-suited 4-Star Soultraits were not invincible. Despite spending a small fortune to strengthen the Untamed Awakened, ten of them died against the Heart of the Blazing Lion army.
The Council of Xylon was weaker overall, but their numbers made up for the lack of great powerhouses.
Michael did not want to take any risks. He was hoping to strengthen the Awakened working for him, and most importantly, his friends. It might be important to have some rules in his territory, but Michael would rather invest his fortune freely to strengthen those important to him than see them die just because they 'couldn't afford it'.
Michael couldn't afford to see more dear people die. Thus, he decided to invest the remaining 14,945 SoulStar Fragments in his possession to strengthen Lilica, Opars, Mika, Thaor, Lokai, Tiara, and Frederik.
It would be great to throw a few Soultraits at Hiraku as well, but Michael figured that Hiraku had a very careful personality. Hiraku would doubt Michael's actions if he treated him too well.
But, then again, Michael's reasoning was simple. Investing more in his dear people increased their survivability and strengthened them. They would survive head-on fights against powerful enemies and have a higher chance of defeating them. Their kills would strengthen Michael due to the influx of their energy shares and he would get to loot the corpses of stronger enemies.
There were no downsides to his intention to strengthen his friends if one excluded the jealousy of other Untamed Awakened and the low possibility of his friends taking Michael's Soultraits and Soultrait Upgrades for granted. The latter was not something he was worried about. Instead, Michael worried that his friends would grow too confident in their powers, therefore, attacking enemies that were too much to handle.
But that potential issue was something Michael could restrain. All he had to do was beat up his friends and crush their arrogance repeatedly until they stayed humble.
'How am I going to ensure that nobody is going to be jealous? Is that even possible, in the first place?
Was jealousy something that could be prevented? Not really. In life, everyone has a different starting point. Some were born into a wealthy family with a great background, whereas others were not as fortunate. They were poor and had to give up their dreams to start earning money early on just to survive.
Michael had been very jealous in the past as well. Whenever he saw happy families roaming through the markets and shopping centers, Michael had been jealous of their lives. He had Danny, but even his brother was a busy man. Daniel Fang had always given his best to take care of Michael's health, and well-being. He even neglected his studies to ensure that Michael could enter a promising school in the Golden Sun Province.
Michael knew that he owed Danny a lot. He often felt guilty in the past, knowing that his brother sacrificed a lot to ensure that Michael would grow up with the best teaching and training. That wouldn't have been necessary if his family never abandoned them, and Michael found himself hating his family for that…but also envying everyone else for having a family to rely on.
Michael had his brother…but who could Danny rely on?
Thinking about his brother and his youthful jealousy, Michael could only sigh in regret. There were many things he regretted about his childhood, but one of the things was that he never made it easy for his brother.
'I will get you back. It's my turn to accept care of you now!' He caressed the Miniature Coffin Keychain gently and pressed his lips together.
Michael understood that he couldn't prevent jealousy. The only good thing was that Berserkers and Warlock Centaurs were open and straightforward.
'How about I add some competition? The winner obtains a Soultrait Upgrade?'
It was worth considering competitions and tournaments. He would strengthen his friends for now and allow everyone else to compete in competitions later. The competitions would force everyone to strive for more strength. They would train more and use their competitive spirit to grow stronger to obtain more Soultrait Symbols and Soultrait Upgrades.
Their jealousy would be consumed by their battle spirit.
'Good thing I don't have many Human Awakened working for me yet.' Michael joked lightly.
Humans were far more complex than the Berserkers and Warlock Centaurs. They were harder to handle, a lot greedier, and they were more likely to accept someone else's kindness and generosity for granted much faster than the Berserkers and Warlock Centaurs.
'Humans are annoying now that I think about it.' Michael thought like he was not a human himself. He chuckled lightly and diverted his focus back to his friends.
Lilica, Mika, Opars, Tiara, Thaor, Lokai, and Frederik gathered in the office after he ordered a gathering.
"I can upgrade six Soultraits to 5-Star right now. I'm intending to attack the Council of Xylon soon and I want to strengthen you guys as much as possible. Everyone present is very important to me, and I want to ensure that all of you survive. But I can only strengthen six Soultraits to 5-Star right now. That means one of you guys will possess to take a step back until–..."
Michael was not even done speaking when Frederik raised his hand.
"You've helped me a lot already. I possess yet to pay you back. There is no way, I can accept another Soultrait Upgrade from you right now." he said.
Michael was about to nod, only to see that the others had also taken a step back.
"I yield," Thaor uttered briskly.
"I don't deserve another Soultrait Upgrade right now." Lokai shook her head.
"I haven't paid you back for everything you've given me…" Tiara mumbled quieter than the rest.
"Our Elders wouldn't want us to accept advantage of you." Lilica pointed out, and both Mika and Opars nodded.
"I was told to stop taking advantage of your generosity. I would love to get dozens of Soultraits and possess all of them upgraded to 10-Star right away, but I was told to hold back and focus on my current Soultraits." Mika looked ashamed to the ground.
"Mika and Lilica are right. We gained a lot already, and we possess yet to comprehend more about our new powers." Opars explained.
Michael frowned at his friends and rubbed his temples in frustration.
'What the hell is wrong with them?!?'
