Michael spent a long time organizing the storage space of his War Rune.
Since his War Rune's degree of refinement increased a lot compared to the last time he left the Origin Expanse, it was easy to fill it with more stuff. However, he had so much to sell that he had to use his professional Tetris skills to fit most items inside.
"I will be back before the protection barrier disperses," Michael promised his subjects sincerely as the Runic Gate manifested next to him.
It was his 9th day inside the Origin Expanse, and it was not long until the protection barrier would disperse. The protection barrier was up for 10 days, but it was usually not exactly for the entire duration of ten days. Sometimes, the protection barrier would disperse a few hours too early, sometimes it would last a full day longer.
However, there were still rough calculations one could take into consideration to guess how much longer the protection barrier would last.
Michael used this calculation to reassure himself and his subjects that they would be fine before he left.
He stepped through the Runic Gate and returned home.
When he emerged in his apartment the first rays of sunlight greeted Michael. It was dawn, the perfect time to start making money.
Michael first entered the bathroom to take a well-needed shower. Then he threw his clothes in the washing machine and switched it on. He changed into a separate set of clothes and looked at his crystal watch not long after.
On the crystal watch's messenger, Michael noticed messages from two chats. The most received messages were from Alice Zenovia, but Michael ignored them.
His brother had messaged him. That was much more important! With a smile on his face, he opened those messages.
[Danny(GluttonNr.1): It's good that you made it out alive. You have to tell me everything the next time you come back home. If you leave out anything, I will find you and…]
[Danny(GluttonNr.1): Either way, message me once you get out of the Origin Expanse. I want to give you some Artifacts and Summoning Scrolls. That way, you can show off to your friends when you meet them again!]
'Does he want me to really message him, or is he lowkey threatening me not to message him?' Michael wondered with an amused look when he saw the threats in his brother's messages.
However, he smiled, until he saw the last sentence Danny had sent to further poke him.
"You know that I have no friends, you stinky Glutton!!" He cursed and immediately moved his fingers to the button next to Danny's nametag.
He called his brother the next moment instead of wasting time chatting.
"If you fled to the Origin Expanse, you're a fa–..." Michael had begun just to shut his mouth when his brother's voice rang out through the crystal watch.
[Looks like my taunt worked. Haha!] Danny announced proudly.
Realizing that his brother had planned all of this, and he had walked right into the trap, Michael's eye began to twitch. It infuriated him even more.
"You really want a beating, don't you?!?" Michael asked, ready to fight it out. However, Danny just kept laughing.
[Don't bother, we know that I will win!]
Michael wanted to retort something, but he knew that Danny was stronger. His brother was on the verge of advancing to the 3rd Tier. Even the EmeraldLead Adventurer team were mere children when faced with an opponent like Danny.
[Where are you? Let's talk about your experiences in the Origin Expanse. I should be able to give you some pieces of advice, and bountiful resources to help you advance faster!]
"I don't need your resources, but we can meet up and talk. Treat me to a meal in the Central Trading Hall!"
[The Central Trading Hall? That's fine with me. Where do you want to eat?]
"The Pleonexia Buffet opened up, so let's go there. It's open all day," Michael proposed after he took a quick glance at the list of restaurants inside the Central Trading Hall.
[Sounds good. I heard the Pleonexia Buffet has high-quality meat and vegetables from Origin Expanse. Let's meet in half an hour!]
"I'll be there. Let's talk then, I have to research something now. See you," Michael said to tell his brother that he was now the busybody.
Danny laughed before he agreed.
[You must be busy now that your protection barrier is about to be removed. Make your research and meet up with me in the Pleonexia Buffet once you are done, Michael, who is now super busy!]
Danny ended the call after he finished taking a jibe at his little brother yet again. He had a lot more questions, but he clearly recalled the pressure he had to face in the first ten days inside the Origin Expanse.
He didn't have any time for Michael at that time. In fact, he was so busy that he could only return home once, and that was only for an hour to sell a few items and buy something before he rushed back to the Origin Expanse.
Compared to him, Michael seemed quite calm. Michael was even willing to spend some time with him and talk about his life in the Origin Expanse instead of madly rushing back. That gave Danny some hope and reassurance about Michael's slightly better situation inside the Origin Expanse. Maybe, territory was in an advantageous position without too many monsters and enemies surrounding him!
Michael hailed a shuttle and traveled to the Central Trading Hall's Plaza. He looked at the guide and made his way to the Pleonexia Buffet. From the moment he hailed the shuttle, Michael's focus had been on the member website of the House of Witchery.
He wanted to make the most use of the Golden Bartholomew Membership Card. Thus, he had to find out all the benefits and understand how to abuse them to the full extent.
Michael was certain that it would be quite difficult to exploit the system, but it was not that hard. There was not too much to abuse, in the first place.
'With the Golden Bartholomew Membership, I am given access to all Bartholomew facilities with VIP status. I can participate in the VIP auctions and inspect the online catalog of items that will be stocked the following week. I will receive the best price for selling items, and my purchases are discounted…all of that is amazing, considering that I didn't do much to receive such benefits…'
The benefits Michael mentioned were not everything. He was also given access to the hidden shop of the House of Witchery, and he could tap into Bartholomew's network system. His access rights had been adjusted with the golden membership card, which meant that he could research most of the things he wanted to know.
The Bartholomew network system was quite advanced. It had various types of information about the Origin Expanse, such as the regions of the Origin Expanse, human territories, details about other extraterrestrial races, and mankind's relationship with them, and even more information about the rarity and price range of certain resources.
Since he had yet to register his Lord ID, the network system was the best replacement to gather as much information as he could procure.
'Let's see…what should I start with? The Untamed Jungle, Xiltra, or the Zentika Empire?'