"Whyare you bald? Are you trying to be a trendsetter, or what?"

Alice's surprised voice echoed through the private dining room. She was utterly dumbfounded as she stared at Michael, who didn't have a single strand of hair on his head.

Even his eyebrows were missing.

What the hell was Michael trying to do?

They were supposed to meet up for dinner a few hours ago to make sure that Michael had enough time to bind the new Artifacts to his War Rune and adapt to the external enhancements he would receive from the Artifacts. However, Michael didn't show up.

He messaged her well after midnight and told her that he was on his way. Alice had been about to workout and finish the last preparations for the aptitude assessment when she received his message.

It was already way too late, and she was angry because she had been waiting for Michael for two whole hours.

Nobody was daring or stupid enough to let her wait for half an hour, forget about two whole hours, yet Michael acted nonchalantly.

Alice didn't want to meet up with him anymore, but she had to repay her brother's debt, and she wanted to thrash him a little bit because he made her wait for two hours.

But when she saw Michael, her anger dissipated. Her anger was replaced by confusion and numerous doubts.

Michael tilted his head upon hearing Alice's question.

'Bald? Who? I am?'

Confused, he ran a hand over his head only to find out that there was nothing. He... was bald!

His eyes widened in surprise, and he summoned Tigerfang to use the blade's reflection to take a look at himself.

"Oh fuckeven my eyebrows burned" Michael cursed quietly as he kept staring at his reflection.

He could also see patches of his charred skin, but that didn't really bother him. These shallow burns didn't have any impact on him. However, his hair was a whole different matter.

It would take months until his hair would have grown enough for him to look the same as before. Maybe it would take even longer!

Seeing how Michael acted after realizing that all of his hair was burned, Alice was even more confused.

Only now did she pay attention to the burns all over his arms, neck, and head. Her curiosity was drawn to his Tier-1 War Rune and the pressure Michael radiated without realizing.

Compared to the last time they met only three weeks had passedinside the Origin Expanse. Spending three weeks in the Origin Expanse was enough for Michael to reach the Late stage of Tier-0, advance to Peak Tier-0, and break the barrier separating him from Tier-1. This kind of speed was not something one could attain easily.

It either meant, Michael spent three weeks hunting powerful monsters, or that he had dozens of powerful subjects that were as strong as Michael. However, the latter was not something that should be possible as a new Lord.

But that was exactly what confused Alice. Michael's presence as a Lord was overbearing. It was not something an ordinary Tier-1 Lord could attain easily. It meant that Michael was either in possession of thousands of subjects or that he had a few hundred subjects with an extraordinary firm Link of Loyalty.

But that didn't make any sense either. Michael was a new Lord. Did he purchase thousands of Ordinary Summoning Scrolls to increase the number of his subjects quickly? Alice could not figure out how Michael had achieved so much in such a short span.

Meanwhile, Michael was still shocked about the loss of his hair, but he had to get back to his senses to finish business first. It was already well past midnight, and the aptitude assessment would start early in the morning on the next day.

He had only a few hours left to bind the new Artifacts and adapt to the enhancements they would provide.

"You don't have to worry about me. I was just swimming in a sea of flames for a while," Michael explained nonchalantly.

He didn't want to go further into detail, but it was quite obvious that Alice didn't believe his words completely. Of course, that didn't really matter to Michael. She could believe whatever she wanted to.

"..."

"Okay" Alice just said.

She could tell from Michael's eyes that he was not lying, but it was also quite obvious that he wouldn't tell her more. Thus, to bury her curiosity, Alice went straight to business.

She retrieved a bunch of Tier-1 Artifacts from her War Rune and spread them out on the dining table.

At the sight of the artifacts, Michael's eyes began to glimmer brightly.

"I couldn't find a suitable Spear or a Longsword Artifact, but I found something better. At least, I'd like to say that it's better than the Weapon Artifact you asked for. Unfortunately, your demands were quite hard to fulfill since you wanted 3-Star Artifacts of the best quality which makes sense, of course," Alice informed.

She didn't explain the difficulties she had to face in procuring the most suitable set of Tier-1 Artifacts, especially with the requirements of external enhancements and enchantments Michael requested beforehand.

Alice didn't even have that much time to search for the Artifacts Michael requested. She had been busy preparing the aptitude assessment, tending to family businesses, and both lecturing and training her brother. Finally, there was also Kaleb's soon-to-be wife.

Alice really didn't understand what her parents saw in the Blade family, or what her younger brother could see in Jasmine Blade, but they loved them. It was something she really couldn't understand.

Shaking her head, she pointed at the first set of Artifacts.

"This set of leather armor includes the chestplate, leg guards, and boots. It's called Onyx Dragon Armor and is a 3-Star Tier-1 Artifact Set with protection enchantment. The combined efforts of a Master Enchanter and a Grandmaster Tailor were required to create it.

They worked hard to create an Artifact Set which has stronger effects if used together. The protection enchantments' full power can protect you from most physical attacks!"

The black leather armor set looked great and indomitable. It was not created from the hide of an Onyx Dragon but looked quite similar.

"It's made of an Onyx Serpentine's scales, which is said to be the pre-evolution of an Onyx Flood Dragon. Of course, this hasn't been confirmed, so it's just a legend. Either way, the Armor Set provides an overall enhancement with great focus on Agility," Alice said before Michael could ask about the name.

Afterward, she diverted her focus to the other Artifacts. She pointed at the weapon that looked quite similar to a spear.

"The Seron Voulge is a Natural 3-Star Tier-1 Weapon Artifact. It has a very high destructive force, which is why I chose this weapon for you instead of the other spears and longswords I found. You might not have asked for this, but I can promise you that the Seron Voulge is stronger than 99% of Natural 3-Star Tier-1 Weapon Artifacts you can find. It enhances your Agility and Perception drastically, while also providing a decent enhancement in Strength," Alice shared some key insights about the artifact.

She knew that Michael didn't ask for a Voulge but she felt that it would suit Michael quite well, "If you don't like it, that's fine as well. I can bring you another Weapon later."

Michael looked at the Seron Voulge with squinted eyes. The Seron Voulge consisted of a long staff with a slightly curved blade attached to the upper end. The blade was wide and resembled a short saber with its curve and single cutting edge.

The Voulge's blade was 70 centimeters long and was made of sturdy, black metal. It was obviously a weapon designed for powerful strikes, capable of inflicting significant damage to medium to large-sized opponents.

Overall, it was a formidable weapon, combining the features of a blade and a staff. Its wide, curved design enhanced its cutting ability, turning it into an effective tool for close-quarters and mid-range combat.

"Another reason why I picked the Seron Voulge for you is because of the Bow I chose. I wasn't able to find a 3-Star Tier-1 Return Arrow that suits your taste. The bunch I found wouldn't satisfy you. But don't frown just yet. I found a rare 3-Star Tier-1 Siltang Bow. It has two enchantments and a high natural pulling force!" Alice introduced the last Artifact she brought.

"The two enchantments render the Return Arrows useless, so don't worry. The first enchantment is called [Energy Storage]. You can store your energy in the frame of the Siltang Bow. This makes it sturdier, but that's not the main point. The point of the first enchantment is that it allows you to use the second enchantment much easier called [Arrow Creation]. You can condense arrows out of origin energy that way. The more energy you use the stronger the arrow will be!"

Michael nodded his head. The Siltang Bow looked quite exquisite. It was made out of twisted silver sparkling wood. Its appearance was already enough to make it clear that it was expensive.

Alice noticed his expression and smiled. She added a few words to show clearly how valuable the Siltang Bow truly was.

"The Siltang Bow was created by a Grandmaster who knows his work like the back of his hand. It is more expensive than the price of an ordinary 3-Star Tier-1 Bow and a 3-Star Tier-1 Return arrow combined!"

"Wow." Michael exclaimed quietly.

He looked at the batch of the Artifact Set, the Seron Voulge, and the Siltang Bow with gleaming eyes.

Michael was certain that Alice had worked hard enough to repay her brother's debt. The Artifacts were not something he could have found easily.

Alice had done a great job helping him!

"Thank you!"