Chapter 1239 Energy

The Legendary grade itself didn't surprise Michael much.

There were no stars attached to it, but this wasn't the first time he had encountered something like that. The Universal Cornerstone itself was also listed as Legendary without possessing any stars.

And if Michael had to judge purely from what it had already demonstrated, calling the cornerstone merely Legendary ★★★ would almost feel insulting. Its functions had probably already gone far beyond what he normally associated with treasures of that grade.

He might not have enough experience to say this, but he did have a Legendary treasure that contained a whole world, and he still didn't think it could be compared to the Universal Cornerstone.

Perhaps that was simply because it had not crossed whatever invisible threshold separated Legendary from Mythical. If so, then the system could only classify it as Legendary regardless of how absurdly close it stood to the next grade.

That explanation made enough sense to Michael, especially when he considered what the Universal Cornerstone could actually do.

Now this Subsidiary Territorial Anchor had inherited the same strange starless Legendary classification.

Putting aside the obviously ridiculous cornerstone for a moment, wasn't this thing essentially a teleportation port? A teleportation port capable of crossing worlds.

Michael reopened the Universal Cornerstone's status and focused on one section.

[Universal Cornerstone]

[Territory Level: 1]

[Available Subsidiary Territorial Anchors: 3]

Michael's eyes lingered on the number.

Three more.

So even at Level One, the cornerstone allowed him to establish four subsidiary territories in total. One had already been used here in the Land of Origin. That left three.

If each one functioned exactly like this, then Michael could establish three additional universal transit points in completely different worlds and connect all of them together through the same network.

Aurora was the obvious candidate for one. That alone would mean direct transportation between Aurora, the Land of Origin, and the Origin Battlefield without relying on Michael personally opening a path.

And he would still have two anchors remaining.

The possibilities immediately expanded.

Another allied realm. A strategically important world. A resource-rich location. Even some distant territory he hadn't discovered yet.

As long as a Subsidiary Territorial Anchor could be established there, all of those places could effectively become neighbors. Distance across the universe would stop mattering in the conventional sense.

The only real cost was energy, but according to the panel, it didn't even demand one specific type. As long as the anchor recognized it as usable energy, the formation could consume it to power transportation.

Michael looked down at the enormous magic circle again. He wanted to see with his own eyes exactly how the thing worked.

With that thought, Michael turned toward the Silver Guard soldiers waiting nearby. His gaze settled on the strongest among them.

The man immediately stepped forward. Michael gave a slight gesture, prompting him to introduce himself.

The commander straightened before speaking.

"Commander Aldric Thorne, Your Majesty. Acting head of the Third Silver Guard Training Post."

He then turned to Arianne and added, "Greetings to you, Highness," to which Arianne happily waved at him with a little anxiousness.

Being with Michael had exposed her to many things, but when it came to facing powerful people, she still preferred communicating with Michael's undead over real people.

This man should not be weaker than Princess Priscilla, who she looked up to. Seeing him greet her with respect made her nerves crack.

Michael nodded.

"Please head to the palace and ask the stewards to prepare ten crates of high-quality mana crystals and another ten crates of high-quality elemental crystals. Bring them here."

Aldric immediately bowed.

"At once, Your Majesty."

Space distorted around him. A second later, he disappeared.

Michael watched the place where the commander had been standing before returning his attention to the Subsidiary Territorial Anchor.

That was precisely why he had sent Aldric himself despite the man being the highest-ranking officer currently present.

The commander possessed spatial abilities as a Rank Three existence. For running an urgent errand between this location and the imperial capital, it made him far more useful than anyone else here.

There was little reason to send several soldiers riding or flying back when Aldric could simply cross the distance almost immediately.

The remaining Silver Guards stayed where they were.

Michael stepped closer to the enormous magic circle. The smooth stone beneath his feet looked almost mundane despite the absurd function hidden within it.

Arianne followed beside him.

Michael wanted to test several things before deciding exactly how important these anchors would become to him.

First was the actual energy consumption.

The panel had only described the transportation cost as variable. That could mean almost anything.

Transporting one ordinary person might require a handful of mana crystals.

Transporting Michael himself could require considerably more.

Rank, distance, quantity, mass, and even the difference between worlds could potentially influence the cost.

Then there was the question of elemental energy. The description specifically stated that any energy source could be used.

Michael intended to confirm how literal that was.

If ordinary mana crystals worked, that was already useful. If elemental crystals worked just as easily, then the empire wouldn't need to create some specialized fuel purely for the anchor. And if other forms of stored energy could be substituted later, the structure would become even easier to maintain.

At that point, what would matter most was cost effectiveness.

More importantly, Michael wanted to know what happened on the other side. Could the destination reject a transfer? Could someone use one anchor to reach another without Michael being present? Those questions mattered considerably more than simply proving that teleportation was possible.

It didn't take long for Commander Aldric to return.

Space rippled a short distance from the gathered soldiers before his figure stepped out, followed almost immediately by twenty large reinforced crates that appeared across the grass.

Ten contained mana crystals. The moment their lids were opened, dense light spilled out, red in some crystals and blue in others.

Each crystal was roughly the size of a thumb or larger, translucent and almost perfectly clear, with concentrated mana flowing through the interior like mist trapped inside glass.

Even from several metres away, the surrounding mana became noticeably denser.