'Seriously, how did Danny get his hands on Tigerfang?!' Michael mused after Alice explained the true value of the Tierless Epic Artifact.
He thought about it for a while and gave it a shrug.
"Danny told me that he found Tigerfang on his way back home. That could mean he either found it on his way back from the Origin Expanse or when he was out shopping. I don't really know."
When he spoke about the Origin Expanse, Michael recalled that Danny was currently exploring the Primedival Pyramid. That made him think that Danny might have procured Tigerfang on his first expedition in the Primedival Pyramid's outer perimeters.
He had never asked Danny much about it since he did not know the true value of Tigerfang. However, that was just a guess. He could only tell Alice what he thought, which was nothing certain.
She understood that and nodded faintly.
"Do you want an Epic Artifact of the same value as Tigerfang, money, or resources?" Alice asked before she gave him a well-meant advice, "You cannot buy something like a Tierless Epic Artifact of the Weapon Type like Tigerfang with money usually. If I was in your position, I would either ask for rare resources of an Epic Artifact."
The fierce beauty glared coldly at Kaleb for being stupid enough to make a bet against Lords while being unawakened, but that was not Michael's fault.
The contract Michael had drafted wasn't anything special, but it was neat and did not leave any loophole for Kaleb to wriggle out of the contract without paying what Michael demanded. If Kaleb had spent a minute or two reading it, he could have avoided creating such unnecessary problems.
Kaleb couldn't look into his sister's eyes. He lowered his head subconsciously, and so did the other participants of the archery competition.
Thankfully, they had not bet much money, but they felt as if Kaleb's sister had slapped and lectured them to along with her brother for daring to offer such a ridiculous amount of money while Michael bet Tigerfang without hesitation. The participants imagined the fierce beauty staring at them with disgust in her eyes while slapping their faces.
Most felt humiliated, while only a few looked at the fierce beauty with a trace of anticipation in their eyes.
Michael could tell that these few didn't have good intentions, but he ignored them. He cleared his throat and smiled lightly.
"The others are going to pay me with money, so I wouldn't have asked you for money, either way. I'm actually reconsidering selling Tigerfang after my War Rune breaks through the 1st Tier. If you can help me out a little with that, we might be able to create a win-win situation," Michael offered after giving it some thought.
Alice had been very helpful over the past few days, and he didn't want to make things too difficult for her and strain their relationship because of Kaleb. However, that was not everything he had in mind.
Tigerfang's value was the highest for Rookie Lords. That meant, Michael could sell Tigerfang once he reached the 1st Tier in order to buy a Tier-1 Weapon Artifact with a similarly strong enhancement effect while the remaining money would be put to good use.
Alice noticed what he meant. She took a step closer to him and grasped his wrist.
"Let's talk somewhere else!" She said before walking off with Michael.
When Alice grasped his wrist, Michael felt tremendous power surging through her delicate fingers. It was the first time he noticed that Alice Zenovia was not only beautiful and fierce looking, but that she was also extremely powerful.
He couldn't do anything against her tremendous strength, and merely turned his head to shout at the others, "You guys have my contact details. I've already forwarded my bank account details in the group chat. Pay up quickly, or get sued, idi–...thanks!"
Since he didn't really care about his former classmates or anyone else from high school, Michael could act however he pleased and not be formal or polite anymore.
In fact, the only important connection he had made in high school was at the final exam; Alice Zenovia. She might be a bit fierce and annoying at times, but her connections and pieces of advice were very helpful.
'Even without Kaleb's bet, I should have made roughly…10 million from all bets…Nice!!'
Michael was a bit excited. He had never expected these privileged kids to walk right into his trap. Of course, the entire situation could have gone south, but that didn't happen. He had more than enough reason to believe that he could win, either way.
He knew what Niklas' Soultrait was, and the others were only Low Tier-0 Lords. They did not stand a chance against him, not after he obtained Eagle Eyes, Fenrir's memories, and the Hardwood Bow.
Meanwhile, on the other side of the auditorium, Alice stopped in her tracks. She let go of Michael's wrist and turned to him. In the next few seconds, she observed him from head to toe.
"Betting your Epic Artifact was either extremely smart or utterly foolish. Do you even know how exceptional my brother's archery skills are?" She scolded Michael, but he could only give it a shrug.
Alice's words seemed more like a compliment to him. If her brother was so talented, why didn't he win the archery competition in the first place?
Well, the answer was nothing spectacular because it was mostly owed to the advantages at Michael's disposal, but he didn't really care.
"How are we going to deal with your brother's debt? I am in need of Mythic Summoning Scrolls, so you can pay me with a bunch of them if you want," Michael said in a half-joking, half-serious tone.
He had spent a lot of time coming up with strategies for the development path of his territory in the past few days. Michael realized that Extraction could be utilized best on monster corpses. He made the most gains whenever he dissected their body near perfectly.
That was also why he felt that it would be great if he could summon a few Summons with a high star rating. If one or two summons like the 3-Star Water Elemental Mage appeared in his territory, the hunting prowess of his combat unit would increase exponentially!
Of course, it was not that easy to summon subjects like Kelia Tan. Michael was fully aware of that. However, it was one of the fastest ways to increase his strength.
The more monsters his combat units could hunt every day, the more Summoning Scrolls and Summoning Scroll Fragments he could extract daily.
That way, he could increase the number of his subjects rapidly. Most subjects would be Starless Summons but they could be trained with the right techniques and enough time as well.
Unfortunately, Alice Zenovia stared at him as if he was an idiot.
"You know how rare Mythic Summoning Scrolls are, right? They're several times more expensive than Named Summoning Scrolls…and those cost already 50 times more than Ordinary Summoning Scrolls on average," She explained, but Michael was already aware of the market value of Mythic Summoning Scrolls.
A single Mythic Summoning Scroll was usually auctioned in the millions. That was how much a Summon with, at least, 2-Star was worth, no matter what their occupation was.
On the contrary, the market value of Ordinary Summoning Scrolls was somewhere between 2,000 to 5,000$ when the supply was high. The demand for them was always extremely high, but that was only given.
After all, more subjects in his territory would mean that Michael's War Rune would have more Links of Loyalty, which would reinforce his Soultraits' power output.
If that was not enough, more subjects also meant a higher workforce.
Alice frowned the moment she heard him mention Mythic Summoning Scrolls, but she secretly agreed that Tigerfang was valuable enough to be bet against Mythic Summoning Scrolls.
The issue was just that it was not easy to procure that many Mythic Summoning Scrolls.
Alice Zenovia sighed deeply.
"Just tell me what you want, and I will see what I can do for you. Zenovias never forget their debts, even if it's the debt of an idiotic child!"
It was not difficult to tell that the fierce beauty wanted to twist Kaleb's neck and was still upset with him. Michael just smiled at that.
"In that case, can you prepare a few Tier-1 Artifacts for me until the 20th?" He asked.
Alice's ears perked up when she heard him say '20th'. A faint smile blossomed on her face and her interest was piqued.
"Procuring your Artifacts for the aptitude assessment will help you a bit, but it won't help you with all assessment criteria," Alice mumbled and then she began to ponder, "...but it might be for the best, actually…"
Considering Alice's words, Michael thought about something.
'I can settle Kaleb's debt with the Zenovia family by making them buy me a whole set of 3-Star Tier-1 Artifacts, but what did she mean with 'all' assessment criteria? How many criteria are there, in the first place?'
He reconsidered a few things and concluded.
"It would be great if you could provide me with books, so I can study for the aptitude assessment. I guess that there will be a quiz about military stuff and about extra-terrestrial space," Michael requested.
Alice furrowed her brows upon hearing the request. She bit her lower lip in hesitation but agreed with a nod.
"I won't tell you what will be important in the assessment or provide you with any detailed information. The descendants of other families with the same authority as the Zenovia family can procure the information that I will send over to you as well. However, I have a condition!" She said sternly.
Michael looked up at her at the mention of a condition.
"You have to sell Tigerfang to the Zenovia family. Otherwise, I will only give you the full set of Tier-1 Artifacts to settle Kaleb's debt, and no Mythic Summoning Scrolls nor the materials to study for weeks without a break."
Michael didn't think long about it and agreed readily. He stretched his hand out, which Alice took with a subtle smile on her face.
"Of course, you'll have to send me the study material immediately, in paper format to make sure that I can carry it with me to the Origin Expanse," Michael added suddenly, "And I will only sell Tigerfang after the aptitude assessment."
"Other than that, you'll have to give me the Tier-1 Artifact Set before the aptitude assessment!"
Michael smiled brightly at Alice, whose expression contorted.
She had never seen someone being so shameless and shrewd in front of her!
For the first time in a while, she wanted to hit someone other than her brother so badly.
She couldn't do that. There were too many witnesses…unfortunately…
"You…!!"
