A month passed, and through his spirit field, Gavin could sense the ice-elemental energy beginning to fade. Spring would arrive in a week.
During this time, he had devoted himself entirely to modifying spells, stripping both druidic and mage spells of their creator marks, ensuring they could be freely practiced. Although none of the spells had creator marks, to begin with, he still transformed them all, refining their structure.
Now, his tribe's shamans could learn and wield these spells without needing to become druids or mages. But before teaching them, he needed to assess the tribe's progress.
For the past month, his focus had been solely on mastering and transforming spells, leaving little time to observe the tribe's development. Now, as he took a closer look, he realized just how much had changed.
In the entire region, most tribes had been wiped out, either by his people or by the William family. His tribe had absorbed survivors and conquered enemies, causing its population to swell past 1,500.
Among them, over 100 individuals had reached the third realm of the Gathering Energy Realm, though all remained in the initial stage. More than 20 Great Shamans had emerged, but like the others, they too had yet to advance beyond the initial stage. Even Via, despite her exceptional talent and tireless efforts, remained in the initial Great Shaman realm.
She had spent two weeks evolving the Iron Vines into a magic plant. "Let's see what she's working on now," Gavin thought.
Turning his spiritual sight toward her, he found her kneeling before a white rose, gently feeding it spiritual energy. The rose had already formed magic energy within its body, and the next step in its transformation was becoming a true magic plant.
The magic energy inside the white rose was an unusual blend of wood, blood, and metal elements. Gavin observed her closely. "Her control over elemental energy is still lacking," he noted. She struggled to separate the elemental energies she had infused. But that was expected—she was still new to this. Given time and experience, she would eventually master the ability to refine and balance elemental energy.
A smirk crossed Gavin's lips as he mused, "I wonder what kind of ability the White Rose will gain once it fully transforms into a magic plant... or will it even remain white?"
He examined Via's energy level, carefully sensing whether she had successfully transformed the white rose into a magic plant. "At this rate, she'll advance the White Rose to the Magic Plant Realm within a month," he concluded. The feedback from the rose's evolution would provide the final push she needed to break through to the intermediate Great Shaman Realm.
His gaze then swept across the tribe, searching for the rest of the members. "Where is half the tribe?" A quick scan revealed that Hunters and his clone were missing.
In just a single month, the tribe's population had surged by over 1,000, significantly increasing the number of hunters. However, in this extraordinary world, sheer numbers meant little when it came to survival. "If they were ordinary beasts, the tribe would need at least 200 per day to sustain itself," Gavin thought. While such a hunt might be manageable for a short time, the surrounding wildlife would eventually flee, making continued hunting unsustainable.
To secure a stable food supply, the tribe would need to hunt magic beasts, whose meat could serve as a cultivation resource for both the Gathering Realm members and the Shamans. "The mountains are the best option," he reasoned.
Despite the sudden influx of new tribe members, food hadn't been an issue—thanks to the corpses of the Snow Apes that had attacked them a month ago. The three Bronze-rank magic apes alone had provided enough meat to sustain the tribe for two weeks.
It was clear now—his clone had taken the hunters to the mountains to hunt.
But this couldn't continue indefinitely. The tribe needed a sustainable food source. "I'll have to tell the Wright family to bring staple food seeds," Gavin decided. "After the clone returns from hunting, I'll send it to meet Elan."
His focus shifted back to the clone. Over the past month, it had successfully separated twenty spiritual thoughts, and in another month, all twenty-seven large energy nodes would be sealed. "Next month will be crucial," he mused. "The practice method I developed for the clone will finally be tested to see if it can truly help, and Via will advance to the intermediate Great Shaman Realm."
A thought nagged at him, a lingering sense that he had forgotten something—someone. Then it struck him. Ajis. The last time he checked, Ajis had been on the verge of breaking through to the intermediate stage of the third realm in the Gathering Energy Realm. "What happened to him?"
Connecting with the clone, he saw the current situation through its eyes. The clone stood at a distance, watching the tribe hunters battle a herd of around a hundred Snow Oxen—all of them fierce beasts. The strongest among them had reached the peak of the Fierce Beast Realm, forcing twenty hunters, alongside Jion and Kais, to work together to take it down.
Among the fighters, Gavin spotted Ajis. He was still stuck at the initial stage of the third realm, his energy fluctuating but unable to break through. "He's hit a bottleneck," Gavin realized.
With that, he withdrew his spirit from the clone, deep in thought.
"This is something he has to overcome on his own." Ajis's breakthrough would be his battle to fight. Gavin exhaled, centering himself. "From now on, I need to focus on my path."
But before that, there was one last gift he would give to the tribe. "After this, there will be no more gifts—only rewards when they prove themselves worthy."
In the western part of the valley, the ground trembled. The soil began to rise, shifting and twisting as it formed a massive circular tower—thirty meters tall and fifteen meters in diameter. As spiritual energy surged into the structure, the earth slowly solidified, transforming. An hour later, the crude soil construct had become something entirely new—a tower of gleaming white stone, its surface smooth and pristine, as if sculpted from a single colossal block.
At its peak, large open windows allowed both wind and light to stream inside. But the transformation was not yet complete. The white stone darkened, deepening into a lustrous black, and then hardened even further. The surface became polished, and reflective—like a mirror of obsidian, absorbing all light yet exuding a quiet, unfathomable depth.
Inside the tower, Gavin raised a pedestal, its form elegant and seamless. Atop it lay an open stone book, its pages carved from the same black material as the tower itself—a book that would never close, a book that would never be erased.
Then came the final step.
With precise movements, Gavin etched intricate runes into the tower's surface, inscribing them with purpose and mastery. This was his creation—his three-rank ritual magic, an innovation forged from his deep understanding of energy and spirit. It combined:
- Spiritual energy absorption,
- Transformation of spiritual energy into earth-element magic energy,
- Spirit activation,
- Spirit binding,
- Knowledge storage,
- And spirit energy absorption.
As the final rune was completed, the entire tower came alive. The golden light of the runes pulsed and flared, casting long, dancing shadows. The structure began to drink in the surrounding spiritual energy, its hunger boundless. Gavin guided the ritual further, helping it absorb psychic energy as well, feeding it until the ritual reached completion.
An hour passed, and at last, the golden light faded, leaving only the black, gleaming tower in its wake.
Then—he felt it.
A presence. Something was awakening.
A spirit reached out to him, seeking connection, and Gavin did not resist. He allowed it in.
A voice, deep yet soft, whispered in his mind:
"Master."
Gavin had created a tower spirit.
Gavin spoke with authority, his thoughts flowing into the tower spirit. "Accept these spells. From now on, any shaman who enters the tower will receive a first-rank spell for free. But after that, they must give a spell to receive a spell. A first-rank spell can be exchanged for another first-rank spell, a second-rank for a second-rank, and so on."
With that, he transferred all the spells he had mastered into the tower spirit. A vast repository of knowledge now existed within its depths, waiting for those worthy to claim it.
"Inform them of the rules," Gavin commanded.
The tribe members, who had gathered around the tower in awe, their eyes filled with wonder at the marvel created in a single day, heard the spirit's voice resonate through the air:
"Your wish is my command."
Satisfied, Gavin severed his connection with the tower spirit.
With that task completed, he shifted his focus. Illusion magic. It might seem like a sudden change in his training, but in truth, it was merely a continuation. The spells transformation had been completed within the first ten days. Then, he focused on mastering and advancing the illusion spell.
In just 20 days, he had pushed a mere first-rank illusion spell to the fourth rank, a feat that would have been unthinkable for most. His comprehension of the Spirit Rule had deepened, allowing him to climb to 57 feet on the 10,000 Steps Mountain within his spiritual domain.
Even more significantly—his realm had advanced.
Intermediate Bronze Rank.
With this breakthrough, he now had the power to destroy another golden rune—one of the nine seals restricting him. But he hesitated. "No. There is no need to rush."
"I will break all nine golden seals in one go." He had no intention of alerting the one who had placed them by breaking them one at a time. He would strike decisively when the moment came.
This world's Spirit Rule was not identical to the one he had comprehended in his previous life, but there were similarities. The experience and foundational knowledge remained, allowing him to advance far faster than if he had been learning from the beginning.
Within his spiritual space, he closed his eyes and sank into the mysteries of spiritual law, letting its vast knowledge flow through him.
With his clone handling the daily matters, there was no need for his constant attention. Now, he could fully immerse himself in his true pursuit—power.