His desire for assimilating the Orc tribes into his Nation grew stronger as Michael envisioned the possibilities this could entail.
If they became his citizens, he could awaken their talents and subsequently upgrade their skills and their affinity to mana.
Right now, their [Sugar Rush] skill only increased the strength of their Earth element spells, but if he were to get his hands on it, then Michael was sure that he could upgrade that into a greater version of it where it could boost all elements!
If he were to couple this with their resonance ritual, then the Orcs could turn out to become an incredibly reliable source of security.
"How did you like the chocolate?" Michael asked, though he didn't need to hear them say it to know their answer. Their delighted faces and longing for more chocolate were more than enough for Michael to know they were hooked.
As it turned out, the Orcs were quite sweet-toothed.
Chocolate was something that would have made them addicted, regardless if it was made out of their sacred Kakao beans or not. It was just a very fortunate coincidence that as it turned out, their favorite food could also activate the hidden strength within their bodies.
Every Orc hated eating raw Kakao beans, with some even forgoing consuming it entirely, choosing to not boost their strength even when they needed it.
But with this chocolate, the Orcs knew that their tribes would immediately consume all the chocolate they could see.
"You are truly the blessed son of the Earth Goddess!" the Orcanine Orc said to Michael, with his eyes glazing with amazement.
Michael was a little bit surprised with his sudden show of devotion. "What?"
"Our Chieftain said that the owner of Reborn is a blessed son of the Earth! Her disciple said so!"
The shadow underneath Michael's feet flinched upon hearing this.
Of course, Michael caught wind of this and immediately guessed that this was one of Fudge's shenanigans.
"Anyway, if you want to eat chocolate and play baseball, then I have just one favor to ask of you."
The Orcs looked at Michael and kneeled, showing their readiness to do whatever he asked of them.
"Can you help my Dragonborns?"
The two Orcs looked at each other, not knowing what Michael was talking about.
…
…
…
A couple of minutes later, everyone had gathered back into the designated open-field sparring gymnasium in Neo Orcus.
This was where Agnes trained the Dragonborns and the Rebornians about Physical Arts spells.
"Sir human…what would you like us to do?"
Michael then pointed at the Dragonborns, who had changed out of their baseball attire and into their fighting outfits. Opposite them were the Montgomery escorts, who had also changed into something a lot more appropriate.
"I want you to perform your resonance ritual for as long as they are practicing their skills," he said to them. "If you do that, then I will compensate you for your efforts with more chocolate and a free pass to any of Neo Orcus amenities available. That means you can play as much baseball as you want."
The Orcs looked at Michael, speechless.
"Will that be hard?" he asked them. Training sessions lasted for a few hours, so he didn't know if the Orcs had that much stamina to perform their rituals.
"No, no, sir human! The Earth Goddess created our bodies to have enough energy to give thanks to her for a full week nonstop! But… is it really this easy?"
They would have thought that precious chocolates would cost a little more effort from them.
"If it's easy for you, yeah. Oh, and you should wear these while you work," Michael said as he clipped a set of portable mics on their bodies.
This was directly connected to the speakers on the side.
"...um…"
"..UM!.." the speaker loudly copied the Orcanine's voice, which startled the both of them.
Michael told them that there was nothing to be afraid of and that these were just Mithril Artifact speakers meant to increase the effects of their resonance ritual.
Of course, the Orcs had no idea about any of this. But, they trusted Michael enough to go through with it.
Meanwhile, on the sparring field, Jaku faced Agnes once again. This time, they had been practicing every day so Jaku was no longer the novice he once was.
However, he still wasn't able to triumph against the famous Montgomery battle maid.
As the two clashed weapons, Michael signaled for the Orcs to start their rituals.
"BU! TO! TO!"
"RA! TA! TA!"
Their cries were a lot more intense as they took a bite out of the bar of chocolate. With their boosted bodies, their ritual performance became a lot louder and fiercer.
Not only that but their voices were transmitted into the Mithril speakers, increasing its effects multiple times!
As the resonance from their distinctly different booming slaps and chiming strums met in the air, everyone in the sparring field felt their blood boil in excitement.
The adrenaline in their bodies made them feel like they were in an actual war, with the stakes in the realm of life or death.
Even Agnes felt the hairs on the back of her head start to stand up, as if she was forced back to her childhood when she faced against hundreds of enemies.
She could only laugh at how absurd everything about the Reborn company was.
This kind of atmosphere was the perfect environment for a warrior to enhance their senses and gather experience.
Feeling their blood boil in both fear and excitement was a true fertilizer for increasing the strength of a Physical Arts user.
That was why a lot of soldiers and warriors broke through during times of war and stagnated during times of peace.
It was hard to stimulate a person's growth through practice because there was no real threat to force their bodies to evolve.
But now, Michael and his company found a way to produce the same effect without the inherent risk of war.
She felt the mana in her body start to churn as it began taking in the Earth mana from down below. Even though she didn't have an Earth mana core, the Earth mana took with it the Fire mana inherent in the environment and dragged it into her body.
As she looked forward, she saw a sense of relief in Jaku's eyes, with his body becoming a lot more relaxed.
He broke through. That easily.