Michael still had 12 days left before the Battle Exchange would end. Alice and Kaleb urged him to start challenging Token Holders before the easiest picks were taken by others, but Michael didn't even think about that, not even after Lincoln and Zeke met up with him to watch some official battles.
Both Lincoln and Zeke were surprised to see how far Michael's War Rune had been refined because their own War Rune was at the same rank. Lincoln wanted to challenge him to a fight to find out how much Michael progressed since their last battle, but Michael didn't take the bait. He didn't have to since he was not in possession of a Flag War Token. Zeke, on the other hand, eyed Michael with great curiosity.