Michael was very curious about new ways to use Insert and Extraction together to gain as many benefits as possible. It was very interesting and it taught him a lot about his Soultraits and the reason Extraction and Insert had such great synergy.
Michael continued integrating Summoning Scroll Fragments into the Great Warrior Scroll.
This time, he wasn't sure how many Scroll Fragments would be used up to upgrade the 2-Star Named Scroll to a 3-Star Named Scroll. He continued to integrate more Scroll Fragments while growing more impatient by the minute.
"Finally!" He murmured once the Named Scroll changed after 100,000 Scroll Fragments had been integrated.
The Great Warrior Scroll had been upgraded to the 3-Star Warlord Scroll!
"100,000 Fragments is equivalent to 10 Mythic Scrolls. The chance to summon a 3-Star Summon from a Mythic Scroll is close to 10% That means the probability would provide me with one 3-Star Summon out of 10 Mythic Scrolls," Michael mumbled, his eyes lingering on the 3-Star Warlord Scroll, "That leaves nine Mythic Scrolls with the potential to summon 2-Star, 3-Star, or even 4-Star Summons."
Upgrading the Great Warrior Scroll to the 3-Star Warlord Scroll wasn't really worth it if he cared only about the probability.
However, the advantage of spending Scroll Fragments to upgrade the Named Scrolls was that he could freely decide what Summons he was going to summon. If he needed high-ranked Architects, he could create a 1-Star Architect Scroll and upgrade it using Scroll Fragments instead of hoping to summon a high-ranked Architect with a stroke of luck.
Using Insert allowed him to take 'luck' out of the equation. That was going to be pretty useful if applied it properly.
"I still have close to two million Scroll Fragments and almost 15,000 SoulStar Fragments left. That's more than enough to experiment...like a lot!"
Michael's smile turned devilish. Many questions flashed through his mind, and he had too little knowledge to answer most of them.
'Can I insert SoulStar Fragments into people to awaken their latent potential? Or is it possible to use Summoning Scroll Fragments into Summons to upgrade their star rating even after they've been summoned?'
He tested out the latter with a nearby attendant. He tried to integrate a Summoning Scroll Fragment into the Summon, but it did not work out, unfortunately.
However, Michael wasn't too sad about that. Integrating a Summoning Scroll Fragment into the Summon might not have worked, but he clearly sensed that Insert might be capable of doing something similar in the future. It was merely too low-ranked for now.
That was good to know.
"I heard that you can give Awakened Soultraits. I...do know that it doesn't work with Summons, but I also heard that you have unique abilities...so I was wondering if we can grow stronger as well." That question was something Michael heard countless times until now. He lost count of how many times he had been asked by his subjects how they could grow stronger as fast as possible.
Many were not satisfied by being 'mere' Starless or 1-Star Summons, but they were simply not talented enough to become higher-ranked Summons. Others were just lazy, whereas a third group of Summons had yet to find what they were truly good at.
Usually, Michael said that he couldn't help Summons to grow stronger in the same way he could help Awakened to grow stronger. He couldn't implant Soultraits into Summons, after all.
But did that also mean that he couldn't insert SoulStar Fragments into Summons with stronger Souls? Michael found a few candidates with powerful Souls. They were a selected few who managed to start refining their Soul, which was a rare sight among Summons.
Michael wanted to test out whether he could insert a single SoulStar Fragment into them and how their Souls would react. Was it possible to integrate more SoulStar Fragments into them in the near future, or would their bodies reject the SoulStar Fragments? Would they regain the Soultraits from their past lives, or would they not awaken any power? If the latter was the case, why was it possible for the Masked Saber – Daniel Fang – to use the silver qi of his Reinforced Sword Qi Soultrait even after he died as an Awakened?
Was that really because he was a Cursed Child, or was the reason even simpler?
The Summons with stronger Souls than their peers had been willing to undergo certain human experiments. Michael didn't plan to kill them, but he inserted SoulStar Fragments into them. Each of them received exactly one SoulStar Fragment to ensure that the pressure wouldn't be too high right from the start.
Michael also summoned the Soul Grimoire and used Insert to apply Soul Tears to the Summons' souls. Furthermore, he added a few layers of Enhancement to make sure that his Summons wouldn't tear apart all of a sudden.
Michael was not sure what he expected from the Summons, but the results of the first human experiments were…not that great. Half of the Summons nearly died seconds after the SoulStar Fragments had been inserted. Their Energy Veins were blown apart and Michael had to remove the SoulStar Fragments right away to ensure that the Summons wouldn't die.
The bodies of the remaining Summons didn't repel the SoulStar Fragments as aggressively as their friends. One of the Summons didn't notice a alter in his body or soul. Unfortunately, the SoulStar Fragment didn't react with the Summon. It didn't integrate and fuse with the Summon.
Michael could extract the SoulStar Fragment once again without any problems.
The others, on the other hand, showed some reaction. Three Summons could sense something. They felt that something within them was changing. However, before the change commenced properly, their bodies showed signs of falling apart. Michael had to react swiftly to extract the SoulStar Fragments before they could cause further harm.
It was a good thing that Opars and some Priests were present to tend to the injured Summons. Michael joined them by using Archangel's Grace by inserting the light-attributed energy within the Elemental Spheres to empower and enhance Archangel's Grace.
'The three Summons with the greatest comprehension and progress of the Soul refinement techniques were about to comprehend something. Their bodies were about to change. Does that mean it will be possible to integrate SoulStar Fragments into them once they advanced their Tier and Soul Refinement Technique?'
Michael couldn't be certain about that, but he guessed that his brother's Soul was naturally extremely powerful and sturdy, which is why he managed to use his Soultrait's power even after he resurrected as the Masked Saber.
As a Cursed Child, his Mind, Body, and Soul had been tempered since birth. Even after death and his resurrection, Danny must have been able to retain tiny glimpses of his former prowess.
Thinking about that, Michael was impressed, but he also felt a little bit confused.
He touched the Miniature Coffin Keychain, closed his eyes, and tried to sense his brother's Living Soul inside the Miniature Coffin Keychain. Now that he had done this dozens of times, it was much easier for Michael to access the Miniature Coffin Keychain. He didn't have to use Extraction to access the inside of the keychain.
Sensing his brother's Living Soul warmed Michael's heart. Of course, Michael couldn't be certain what his brother would think if he were to tell him that he was going to resurrect him, but he hoped that his brother wouldn't hate him for that.
'He shouldn't hate me for trying to resurrect him…right? Why would he?' Michael asked himself in doubt, 'But what if he doesn't like that I go against fate? Maybe he's thinking that he was fated to die, so he accepted it… Danny was always weird when it came to destiny. He wants to go back, right?'
Michael couldn't say anything for sure, but he felt Danny's will to live in the Living Soul. The Soul clung onto the last remnants of life to prevent losing everything…to prevent being pushed into the cycle of reincarnation. That was what Michael felt when he sensed Danny's Living Soul.
He was also certain that his brother's will to live was also the reason why the Nest was so interested in Living Soul. It was probably also the reason the Hellbound Cataclysm was bound to happen as long as nothing changed.
"Once I removed his Living Soul from the keychain and put it safely into the Soul Grimoire I should be able to tell whether he wants to move onto the afterlife, or if he doesn't want to leave. Don't think too much, Michael!"
Michael cursed himself a little bit for overthinking. There was no need to think so much.
It was much better to keep his mind calm and to do a few more human experiments!
