Watching his teammates gradually disperse, Kain Clinton couldn't help feeling a flicker of sentiment. Who knew when they would all gather again?
"Don't stare like that. It's not as if you'll never see them again."
The voice belonged to Jayce—young, confident, and as striking as Kain even when standing side by side. Among the team, Kain had always been closest to him. Well… except for the girls, of course.
Kain shot him a surprised glance. "Weren't you yelling every day about wanting to go home to see your sister? Now that we're back, why aren't you rushing?"
"What's the rush? She's not going anywhere."
Jayce slung an arm over Kain's shoulder, grinning. "My sister is soft, cute, and absolutely adorable—you'll be stunned when you meet her. So? Want to go take a look?"
"Soft and cute?"
Kain rolled his eyes. How did the calm, mature, and composed Jenna from the original story end up with such a goofy older brother?
"How many times have you bragged about your sister now? And why are you so eager to ship her off?"
He grumbled, not that he wasn't curious about this so-called "cute little fox," but now wasn't the right moment.
"I trust your character, that's all."
Jayce laughed awkwardly. He did have ulterior motives. With Kain's talent and background, his future was practically limitless. In their generation, almost no one could surpass him. And Kain was his good brother—why let such high-quality potential slip away to outsiders?
"I'll see your sister eventually, but not right now. She's not even an adult yet. If I go now, wouldn't I just look like some creepy uncle?"
Kain sighed. He was twenty—turning twenty-one in five months. Based on the four-year cycle of the tournament, Jenna should be around sixteen or seventeen. He had no intention of kidnapping underaged girls.
"Fair enough. Then let's talk Spirits."
The moment Spirits were mentioned, Jayce's eyes lit up—truly a Spirit fanatic. His three magical elements—Psychic, Water, and Earth—were ideal for subjugating the Leaf Spirit.
Unfortunately, during their recent expedition to Fiji with the National Team, the local pavilion wasn't in Melbourne, meaning Kain never got the chance to acquire the Wooden Fish Spirit. If the opportunity arose later, he wouldn't hesitate to take Jayce along—but that was a matter for the future.
"I do know where the Azure Falcon is, but there are several Mythic-level mages guarding it. They're not friendly to outsiders. We'd be carried out on stretchers."
Kain rubbed his temples. Besides the Azure Falcon, the island also held the Earth Holy Spring—a treasure that had helped the Onyx Phoenix, Farache, rise to peak Mythic.
Unfortunately, breaking into Forbidden Curse—or Ascendant—levels still required solid foundations.
"That dangerous? Then never mind," Jayce murmured, jaw slack. A single Mythic-level mage was enough to crush him.
"I'm going to rest for a bit. You sort through your information."
"In the future, the two of us should form a duo—call ourselves the Spirit Twin Heroes!"
"I'll kill you if you use that name."
One week later
"KAIN, YOU BASTARD!"
Jayce stormed up to him, grabbing him by the collar. "How many days has it been?! What exactly are you doing?!"
At first, he assumed Kain was preparing for their Spirit expedition. But day after day passed, without the slightest sign of progress.
"You idiot. I have tons of resources right now—of course I need time to digest them."
Kain shot him a look. As the team captain who had led them to victory in the World Academy Tournament, he had earned enough resources to safely push toward Mythic. The rarest among them was a high-quality Starsea Heavenly Vein. Yet Kain was still far from breaking through to Mythic-level. A Heavenly Vein could only be absorbed once in a lifetime, and even then, success was not guaranteed.
"You advanced again?" Jayce gaped. No matter how many resources one had, advancing this fast was impossible.
"Yeah, my Light Element reached its second tier. And stop chanting 'Spirit Spirit' every day. With your current strength, no Spirit would even look your way."
Kain looked at him with pure disdain. The man had become obsessed—Spirits weren't going anywhere. Strengthening oneself came first.
"Monster… why is it so easy for you?! Advancing is like drinking water for you!"
Jayce wanted to cry. After reaching high-tier, every advancement required time, accumulation, and effort. But for Kain, such limitations seemed nonexistent.
Kain ignored him, sitting on the sofa and downing a cup of tea. His rapid cultivation was thanks to his innate ability—the Undead Domain. He could summon ancient soldiers and even generals as guardian spirits, their strength and numbers depending on his Necromancy level.
At Warlock – High Stage, the guardian spirits he summoned were just below Monarch-level. Their power increased with the essences they consumed—the more they devoured, the stronger they became. And their improvement fed back into Kain, boosting his own growth. That was his true advantage.
At present, he could summon three guardian spirits: Gareth Stormspear, Barrett Ironhide, and Marcus Silverlance. All were above Commander-level, with Gareth even surpassing Great Commander standards.
Unlike Egyptian undead, Kain's summons were disciplined warriors—radiating not decay, but a chilling battlefield aura.
Seeing Kain ignore him, Jayce huffed. "Fine! If you won't go, I'll go by myself!"
"Please. With your strength, you're just monster chow."
Kain rolled his eyes. Jayce was too rash; he badly needed more experience.
"With all this shouting, you might as well spend your time cultivating. Or go home and see your sister."
"You—!"
Jayce choked, unable to argue, but the frustration simmered visibly. Seeing him turn red like a boiled shrimp, Kain finally relented. "Alright, enough. We'll leave in a few days."
"Really?!"
"Of course. How's the intel coming along?"
"Based on the most reliable lead, I think there's a Spirit clue near Fishmen Village, close to Melbourne."
"You're a talent, I'll give you that. In just a few days you dug this up? What about the types of monsters nearby? Their numbers?"
Kain was genuinely impressed. Without him, Jayce would have likely died ten times over already.
"Huh? We need that too?"
Clearly, Jayce had zero experience as a hunter.
Kain chuckled. Where did this guy get the courage to chase Spirits?
Ding. System initializing.
A heavenly voice echoed in his mind. After twenty years of waiting, Kain Clinton's system had finally arrived!
"Initialization complete. New user guide activated."
"Newbie Mission: Rookie Mage.
Travel to Alice Springs and eliminate the Black Covenant member Blake.
Reward: Summoning Element Stardust!
Deadline: One month!"
"Rookie mage?"
Kain's eyes twitched. He wasn't afraid even of Mythic-level mages—how did that make him a rookie?