Evalynn Fang was nowhere to be found.
Since that was the case, Michael decided to focus on his territory. He had a lot to take care of even after he distributed the treasures he bought for his subjects.
One of the most interesting objects in his possession was a Basic Summoning Core. 251 Basic Summoning Cores, to be precise.
The Basic Summoning Cores were all Neutral Cores Michael obtained in the Regional War against the council of 106 Lords. Michael got hold of them since the Lords didn't need their Summoning Cores anymore. He used a Soul Tear on the Extraction Soultrait and removed as many impurities from each core as possible.
Purifying the Summoning Cores didn't take too long. Michael was already familiar with the process. However, he wasn't familiar with combining Summoning Cores.
His first attempt at combining Basic Summoning Cores using Insert didn't end that well. Michael didn't know that it was possible to break a Summoning Core this easily, but he made it happen. The first Summoning Core he wanted to transform into an Intermediate Summoning Core cracked and shattered.
After failing once, Michael cursed himself. He got his act together and proceeded with the experiment. Michael was a little bit more careful now. He vigilantly combined the Basic Summoning Cores using Insert. It wasn't easy and required several hours of utmost focus, but it worked.
Michael didn't even realize that he worked through several nights before he produced the first Intermediate Summoning Core via Inset. 20 Basic Summoning Cores transformed into one Intermediate Summoning Core. For most people, that would be a loss. Every Basic Summoning Core was worth a fortune. Sacrificing 20 Basic Summoning Cores to create an Intermediate Summoning Core didn't seem worth it.
But Michael didn't lack money. He missed an Intermediate Summoning Core before, but not anymore. Michael was more familiar with the process after his first experiment succeeded. He spent another week combining the remaining Basic Summoning Cores.
Once he was done, Michael had 12 Intermediate Summoning Cores and 10 Basic Summoning Cores left to use. 19 Summoning Cores were still installed in the Summoning Gate, but he missed the Summoning Essence to upgrade the Basic Summoning Gate to the Intermediate Rank. Otherwise, he would install the Summoning Cores right away.
"It shouldn't be too difficult for Kraft Viton to procure the Essence," Michael stared at the head-sized Intermediate Summoning Cores with a faint smile.
Once the Soultrait Auction was over, Michael could upgrade the Summoning Gate to the Intermediate Rank with 12 Intermediate Summoning Cores and 29 Basic Summoning Cores. From that day onward, both the quality and quantity of his daily summons would increase drastically. Michael looked forward to it.
He slept almost a full day after staying awake for more than ten days and woke up reinvigorated. Michael was ready to get back to work right away. He had countless experiments to initiate and various doubts to be answered.
Therefore, Michael began combining Scroll Fragments to create new Named Scrolls. He desperately needed various specific Named Scrolls to distribute his Summons equally in Arx and Brynud. Organizing everything and ensuring that all processes were optimized was far from easy. Fortunately, Michael had Rebecca Zauber and many highly intelligent subordinates, who helped him plan everything to expand his territory efficiently. They made a list of Named Scrolls he would need for a highly efficient expansion, leaving Michael only with the task of creating the Named Scrolls.
He combined various Ordinary Scrolls to create 1-Star and 2-Star Named Scrolls before experimenting with inserting Mythic Scrolls. First, Michael inserted Mythic Scrolls into Named Scrolls before he combined Mythic Scrolls with other Mythic Scrolls. He created 3-Star Named Scrolls and was lucky enough to initiate a mutation to create one 4-Star Named Mythics Scroll.
Michael's experiments didn't stop with Summoning Scrolls. He combined Artifacts again, this time with ordinary weapons to find out what would happen to them. He added Extraction into the fray to extract components of Artifacts and insert them into ordinary weapons. Michael's plan was to find out whether he could artificially create Spirit Armor that way, or if inserting components of Artifacts would create another Artifact—just a weaker version of the complete Artifact.
The result was interesting but disappointing as well. Some components of an Artifact could create a different type of Artifact once inserted into another weapon. Other weapons broke apart. They weren't resilient enough to endure the pressure and energies that entered the weapon's essence through Insert.
Most experiments with the Artifacts failed, but Michael learned a lot. He comprehended that Spirit Armaments and Artifacts were very similar, and the biggest difference was that Spirit Armaments didn't put any pressure on the wielder. Their effects were weaker due to their lack of potency, which was why Summons could use them.
Summons lost something that all Awakened possessed: their War Runes and Soultraits. A War Rune and a Soultrait could act as mediators between Artifacts and the Awakened, decreasing the pressure an Artifact put on the Awakened's soul.
With that in mind, Michael considered the creation of a mediator that Summons could use. It was a new invention, but if he'd managed to create a properly functioning Mediator, he would be able to change….everything. His Summons would be stronger than the enemy soldiers at the same rank and Tier. Michael's Untamed Army would be able to overwhelm everyone.
That was something worth looking forward to, and Michael considered it valuable enough to invest in researching it!
The mediator would probably aid his experiments with Artifacts and monsters as well. Michael's strategy to form an army of monsters equipped with mighty Artifacts was worth investigating, but it was more of a foolish dream than realistic. The Untamed Jungle was overflowing with monsters. Michael liked fighting alongside the Untamed Jungle against the Zentika Empire's forces. The monsters of the Untamed Jungle were powerful, and they granted him a great advantage against the Heart of the Blazing Lion army.
No matter how Michael looked at it, he was drawn to the Untamed Jungle and its inhabitants. He had stopped hunting them mindlessly. His entire focus was on regulating the population in his vicinity and that everyone benefited from each other's existence. Michael was unsure when it started, but a symbiotic relationship had formed between his territory and the Untamed Jungle. He didn't want to give that up either. If anything, Michael wanted to deepen his relationship with the Untamed Jungle. He was certain that it would be worth it.
The symbiotic relationship with the Untamed Jungle also aided Michael's attempts to create new plants and explore mutations of various plants more intently.
The Farmers, Botanica Magician, and others helped him examine the depth of the Untamed Jungle's flora and use Insert on multiple plants to insert the elemental energy within elemental crystals into them.
Michael created multiple new plants for the Farmers and Botanica Magician, creating joy and excitement. Everyone was curious if the new creations would survive or break and succumb.
Michael had a good feeling. He was certain that the Untamed Jungle would protect its newest creations.
It was weird.
Michael felt like he was part of the Untamed Jungle. It was almost like he had always been supposed to be there.
He couldn't imagine how his life would have been if his region hadn't been in the Untamed Jungle.
It was hard to imagine.
Michael didn't want to imagine it. He was happy in the Untamed Jungle.
[Weirdo!]
"Shut up, Danny!"
