Chapter 1026 Storytelling
Chapter 1026 Storytelling
Since the danger in the Untamed Jungle was constantly increasing – some mutations revealing new, highly aggressive traits – Michael was also forced to up his power level. He decided to bind two Soultrait Symbols to his Soul Sphere. One of the Soultraits was called [Herculean], a 7-Star Soultrait boosting every characteristic of his physical prowess, and another 7-Star Soultrait called Greater Psychokinesis. It allowed him to control objects in the surroundings. The heavier the objects and the farther away, the more energy Greater Psychokinesis drained.
Both Soultraits pushed his prowess to a new height, but that wasn't as important as Michael first presumed. His mind was still focused on growing stronger and doing his utmost to come out at the top of the game, but it wasn't even like his secondary body was in need of as much power as his main body.
He connected the primal root to the Energy Vortex, which is how Michael ended up progressing much faster than anyone else, even if it wasn't necessary. Still, Michael did not want his secondary body to be weak. If something was to happen, Michael wanted to be ready to jump in and help.
But power was not everything. Although it was an important aspect of his life, there were things much more important than power. Alice and his daughter were two prime examples of the people who were the most important to him. "Tell me a story!" Lucia demanded from Michael after feasting on her dinner. She emptied several plates, shocking Michael quite a bit. Lucia was still rather small – it almost looked like she didn't age in the time Michael spent in the Supreme Human Alliance's territory – but she could eat truckloads. Her food consumption was even worse than it had been in Michael's case in the past. She ate more than her little body weighed.
"What kind of story do you want to hear? I don't know many fairy tales," Michael responded while ruffling through his daughter's hair.
"I don't need fairy tales! I am not a little child anymore!" Lucia declared, but Michael chuckled lightly.
"Sure, whatever you say, my little princess! What stories do you want to hear then?"
"Tell me something about yourself. What did you do before I was there?" Michael raised an eyebrow and looked at Alice, who shrugged lightly.
"I would love to hear more about your life, too. And I think I'm fine hearing about our past – the past I have forgotten – as well."
That surprised Michael. Alice was against listening to anything revolving around the past she had forgotten. The Blood Incursion had been very hard on her. Michael was forced to remove all memories between the day before he and Alice met up to their years together. She had forgotten everything about Michael and their events together and had been afraid to face her forgotten past before.
But she wanted to hear about her past self all of a sudden. Where did that come from? Why now?
However, Michael didn't ask those questions. Instead, he blurted out, "Are you sure?" Alice looked a little uncertain in his eyes, but a moment later, a determination was born in her vibrant ocean-blue eyes. She nodded with newfound determination.
"I am sure."
Michael needed a few seconds to digest that. He had so many questions, but Lucia tugged impatiently on his shirt. He smiled at his lovely, hard piece of work and said.
"What story do you want to hear? I have many stories, including my first meeting with your mother, my encounter with the Barbaric Couple –what everyone called Uncle Frederik and his wife when they were young and arrogant –, or the day I met and defeated Uncle Kaleb. At that time, Kaleb was too full of himself and thought he could defeat an Awakened while he was still a Normie. Up until now, I don't know where his confidence stemmed from."
Michael stopped for a moment and tilted his head lightly.
"Well, that is not the entire truth. The Zenovia household, which your Mother is also part of, is known for their excellent training. Kaleb, however, underestimated my abilities, thinking I wasn't a threat. We battled in an Archery competition, which he lost. Kaleb and I – also some others, but they're not important – made a bet against each other. I won and earned my first fortune. The day I defeated Kaleb for the first time, I met your mother for the second time."
Michael hoped Lucia would pick some story, but she listened with a fully focused expression on her face. It was obvious Lucia wouldn't choose a story. She wanted to hear it all.
"I think I'll give you a summary of everything first, and we approach the details slowly once the summary is done. What do you think?" He asked, but Lucia merely nodded. Still, the foolish grin on her face was enough to tell how much Lucia liked the current situation.
"Alright then. After defeating Uncle Kaleb, it was about time to leave my home planet and travel through the wide-open space to my next destination. The Saphirelake Military Academy. Your mother told me about this academy the first time we met and told me to apply for it. I never considered going to a military academy far away from my brother because I never expected they would accept me, but they did. I don't know what your mother thought when she first invited me since I was still a Normie, but she must have sensed something."
He winked at Lucia, who squealed in excitement. She turned to her mother and giggled while Alice listened intently.
"I invited you to the Saphirelake Military Academy on the day I went to your school to visit Kaleb's ex-fiance. Is that what happened?" Alice asked, tilting her head ever so slightly. Michael nodded, "That's what happened."
Alice looked like she had many questions but gestured to him to move on.
"Instead of leaving my home planet right away – my brother was still at home, and I was unsure if I could leave Danny just like that – I had a lengthy talk with him and revealed more information about my territory, powers, and the Ancient Ruin I've located. Danny told me to be careful about the Ancient Ruin and research it in the Lumina Stellar System, a different stellar system from my home planet where I encountered the first foreign races outside the Origin Expanse."
Michael considered talking more about the Origin Expanse and what was happening there, but he chose to focus on what had happened with Alice or near Alice.
"Traveling to the Saphirelake Military Academy took a while. It wasn't a short flight, and since I didn't have a powerful Spatial-type Soultrait, I couldn't jump through stellar systems and galaxies. I spend a full month in the spaceship, which wasn't that bad since I was busy in the Origin Expanse most of the time."
"Once I arrived at the Saphirelake Military Academy, I had a good time. At least for a while. My time at the Saphirelake Military Academy was rather simple, and I made some new friends. That includes Uncle Zeke, among others. Zeke and I weren't the greatest friends, but we respected each other. To be precise, Zeke was still a little bit dissatisfied with me, but that was something I had expected. He was raised in a very disciplined and somewhat stiff noble household and was supposed to become the household's next head. The pressure weighing on Zeke must have been enormous."
"I got to know new friends and started studying. Various topics in the Saphirelake Military Academy's curriculum interested me, but everything came crashing down when I entered the Lord Rift in the Origin Expanse. The Lord Rift is a small pocket dimension where only a few individuals meeting certain requirements can enter. I was hoping to find treasures in the Lord Rift, which I actually did, but I also discovered that my brother had died and that I had summoned him… I lost my brother the day the Lord Rift closed…"
Michael sighed deeply. If it hadn't been possible to retrieve his brother and grow his Living Soul a second body, he would feel bad right now. He didn't know if it would be possible for him to keep his emotions calm or if he would go crazy. "Fortunately, Danny is still with us. I will skip a few events because you must have noticed that Daniel is still with us. He is playing with you often and cannot be dead, right?" Michael smiled at his daughter, who nodded her head in confusion.
"Danny plays a lot with me. But if he died…how can he be here?"
Alice had heard about the story but she was also interested to hear it again.
"The Lord Rift rewarded me with a special item. A keychain looking like a Miniature Casket. At first, I didn't think of it as anything special. I was devastated about my brother's death and accidentally – it wasn't actually an accident – beat up some nobles and a teacher of the Saphirelake Military Academy, who had been plotting against me. I was punished by the academy and forced to participate in the Battle Exchange with the Berserkers and Warlock Centaurs. My 'punishment' was to succeed in the Battle Exchange and participate in the Interstellar Flag War against the Tekur, a race with a shockingly high population. The population and their shocking numbers are their strongest perk, too.
Either way, I participated in the Battle Exchange and passed, but not without Dark Heavens, a dark organizations of traitors, attacking the ancient city, killing numerous powerhouses," Michael glanced at Alice for a moment and decided not to mention what happened with Maria and the Mark of Fate. That was probably for the best.
"Many powerful allies died, which created problems for the Interstellar Flag War, especially since the Tekur were known to be stronger than most Descendants, Berserkers, and Warlock Centaurs. Still, we survived the Flag War, and I grew stronger than ever."
Michael was about to say more, but Lucia stepped in. n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om
"Tell me how you rescued Danny, please!!!"
Michael chuckled, "You want me to skip the good parts?"
Lucia shook her head but nodded at last.
"Everything sounds so good. I want to listen to everything in detail!" She grumbled in defiance.
This time, it was Alice ruffling through their daughter's hair.
"I think your father has more than enough time to tell you about everything. After all, he won't disappear." She smiled at Michael, who nodded.
"If you want to hear about Danny first, we can go down that route. As for everything else, I can tell you in detail later."
"Yes!!!"
Michael didn't know that his storytelling sessions with Lucia would last for days. However, he didn't regret anything. Revisiting his past through the tales he told was interesting, and Michael learned a lot, not only about his persona and how much he had changed, but also about the things he had already achieved.
That didn't feel too bad.