"Who the fuck are you even? Why do you interfere in my battle with the Lord of the Untamed Jungle?!?" Jason growled fiercely.
Michael raised an eyebrow in amusement while Hiraku frowned deeply.
"I was just about to confirm whether your Lord is worthy of my loyalty or if I will leave this place once my duty has been completed."
Hiraku and Michael looked at each other, a light smile blossoming on their faces.
"Am I right to assume you think I'm the Lord of the Untamed Jungle?" Hiraku asked to confirm his suspicion. It had been a little bit iffy before, but now it was crystal clear that Jason Kleora had misunderstood the situation.
Jason squinted his eyes as if to say Duh, obviously?!?
However, Hiraku glanced at Michael. He didn't pay much attention to Jason. Jason noticed that and stared at Michael as well, his eyes filled with doubts.
"How about we fight a bit?" Michael asked lightly.
He couldn't hide that he was pissed at Jason. Michael never asked the Forest Elves to send Jason to his territory. They said that Jason was interested in the Untamed Jungle and that he would give his utmost to support him in every possible way.
They praised Jason Kleora to the moon and beyond, only for him to be a douchebag. Michael didn't need people like Jason if they behaved like this.
He was the last person to care about his background, the Soultrait he manifested, or how much the Forest Elves valued him. Michael could create his own Blessed Children with enough time. In fact, he didn't even need time. As long as he set his mind on it, Michael could turn Opars, Lilica, and Mika into Blessed Children in less than 24 hours.
"You can use your Legendary Artifacts as well. You will need them!" Michael snorted.
Jason glared at Michael. What the hell was this lowly 3rd Tier's problem?!
"What do you think a Lesser Lifeform do against me?! Even if you manage to surprise me, you wouldn't be a–..." Jason couldn't even finish his sentence when Michael appeared before him.
He teleported right before Jason using Cosmic Stride and stared coldly at Jason.
"I can tell," He ridiculed the young Forest Elf while utilizing his Soultraits.
Qi swords with several Enhancement layers, fireballs, ice shards, and countless other elemental projectiles manifested around Jason Kleora. The swords pressed against Jason's neck, cutting into his skin and drawing blood.
Jason got goosebumps. He responded way too late. His eyes widened in shock as Michael's presence erupted. A flood of energy surged out of him, revealing the massive amount of energy he could control.
"H-How?!"
How could a Lesser Lifeform possess so much energy? What kind of fiendish creature was he to attain such a terrifyingly high energy control?
Jason didn't have less energy than Michael, but his energy control was insignificant compared to Michael's. He was not even aware that it was possible to conceal one's energy level from someone stronger like that!
Michael didn't respond. He used Cosmic Stride to appear at the opposite end of the arena. A simple gesture to Hiraku was enough for the High Awakened to return to his original appearance and leave the arena.
Michael manifested the Legendary Ring Artifact alongside Aethyr. His Aethyr transformed into a simple one-handed longsword, and he changed into an offensive stance.
"Are you done with your bullshit?" Michael asked while removing the projectiles surrounding Jason.
Jason swallowed hard. He was bewildered by the Lesser Lifeform's combat prowess and Michael's Soultrait. However, that didn't stop him from standing opposite Michael in the arena, his expression now serious. Jason got his act together. He had not come to the Untamed Jungle to get into trouble. His main mission had been to become an invaluable asset to Michael—an asset that couldn't be replaced.
To his misfortune, it looked like he'd messed up big time before the Lord of the Untamed Jungle had accepted him in the first place.
[What a funny guy. That one fits perfectly into your territory!] Danny laughed into Michael's mind.
Michael rolled his eyes and ignored his brother. However, Danny was not wrong. Jason's weirdness would fit seamlessly into the territory.
'At least he is not obnoxious,' Michael thought, seeing that Jason now took him seriously.
"Let's start right away," Michael declared with a light smile on his face.
He exerted Heavenly Beast Physique and charged to the side instantaneously. It was merely a quarter of a second later when massive roots shot out of the ground with terrifying velocity. They reached high into the air until they lunged down toward Michael.
Jason's body was coated in the same vine armor as before. He'd already activated the Hermes Boots' Artifact, increasing his agility by more than 100% for three seconds.
Michael's Spirit Eyes detected when Jason activated the Hermes Boots. He utilized Cosmic Stride immediately and vanished into thin air as Jason crossed the distance between them instantly. Jason slashed at Michael's position just a moment ago but cut air instead.
Jason uttered a quiet curse and spun around. He'd expected Michael to appear behind him. But instead of meeting Michael's Aethyr Blade, Jason was greeted by a series of azure fireballs and balls made from compressed darkness. Upon exploding, they released darkness into the surroundings, shrouding the perimeter in darkness instantaneously.
The azure fireballs exploded, tearing the roots around Jason into shreds while the darkness shrouded his sight. The attacks weren't powerful enough to harm him seriously, but he was restricted. It was not possible to see beyond the darkness.
Jason was forced to use Nature's Wrath to control more roots coated in an emerald sheen. The roots tore through the darkness, unveiling what was hidden behind. But Michael was nowhere to be seen.
Jason looked in all directions, his head flicking left and right hurriedly, yet he couldn't find Michael until he thought about looking overhead. And there he was. Michael levitated in the air above Jason, staring down at the Forest Elf with a nonchalant expression.
"You should learn what true power actually means."
Michael determined to go all out to teach Jason Kleora a lesson. He unleashed the Cursed Seals alongside the Serpent Seals. Right after True Extraction was unlocked, Michael used ten Enhancement Layers with the highest priority configured to amplify Extraction's primary function – to extract.
Michael felt like unleashing the True Extraction Domain, but he altered his decision in the last second. He focused True Extraction on Jason instead of spreading its devastating power in all directions. True Extraction's potency was not spread evenly. It focused on one point and was amplified many times.
The full potential of True Extraction impacted before Jason could react. It wasn't a heavy impact, though. Jason didn't even sense anything at first. All he could notify was that Michael was doing something crazy with the massive pressure that radiated from him. He couldn't notice that Michael had already utilized a Soul Tear on Insert to unleash Insert with Extraction.
Jason was unable to even think about blocking Extraction's tremendous power. It had already taken root within him and drained his power rapidly when he realized something was wrong.
Jason leaped into the air to catch Michael, but a wind barrier manifested before the Forest Elf. A house-sized rock emerged above the wind barrier and dispersed right after Jason's momentum slowed down to break the barrier or make a detour around it.
Jason Kleora cut the rock in half, only to realize that most of his power had already been drained. Only then did he sense that Michael had emerged behind him with Aethyr gauntlets. Michael smiled lightly, using the energy he'd drained from Jason to enhance his speed and power with focused Enhancement uses on his body.
Jason controlled the surrounding nature, or so he thought, until the roots in his Soultrait's range began to resist. Jason's eyes widened in shock. Something like that had never happened before. What was going on?
Michael smiled lightly, the True Extraction Domain gushing explosively out of his body.
Jason's skin began itching when the surroundings were coated in a golden blanket.
His body was being dissected, and Jason couldn't do anything against it as the strongest form of Spiritual Domination impacted heavily on his weakened mind.
Jason's legs buckled, and one of them caved in. He fell to the ground only for Michael to emerge before him.
"I expected a lot more from a Blessed Child. You are a disappointing sight."
