The sixth rank. True mastery, unshackled and permanent.
Amelia's composure faltered briefly. Months ago in Vermillion Forest, this man had been a third-circle mage. Now, through jaw-dropping ascension, he stood among sixth-rank elites—a progression that defied reason. Others shared her disbelief, eyeing Kael with varying degrees of wariness and calculation. To them, his sudden rise reeked of uncanny fortune, but Amelia sensed darker undercurrents.
Sebastian and Yuri exchanged guarded glances. Their equal now stood before them—an unpredictable variable disrupting fragile power balances. Chloe's laughter rippled through the tension. "Marvelous," she purred, her gaze dissecting Kael like a specimen.
But the mage paid no heed, reveling in hard-won power thrumming through revitalized veins. Sixth rank meant more than strength—it was legitimacy among prodigies, a shield against predators in this ruthless world. The urge to roar triumphantly surged, yet discipline prevailed. His focus shifted to the dying lion king.
Crystalline blood pooled beneath the beast's ravaged form, its breaths shallow and irregular. With precise incantation, Kael summoned Wind Sever—blades of compressed air cleanly excised the golden horn before storing it in spatial storage. The horn mattered not for Radiant City's rewards; it was his trophy, a high-grade arcane reagent. Efficiency guided his movements as he retrieved the monster core next—swift, methodical, leaving no scrap of value.
Sebastian's jaw tightened while Yuri's fingers twitched near her sword hilt. The temptation to strike warred with pragmatism—sixth-rank adversaries weren't easily dispatched.
"Scrap your honor now, Yuri?" Daniel sneered, ever the provocateur.
A glacial pause followed before Yuri turned away, murderous intent banked but smoldering. "This isn't over," her lingering gaze promised Kael and Daniel alike.
Chloe's departure came with theatrical flair, giggles trailing behind her. Sebastian's mercenaries retreated next, boots crunching over scorched earth. Soon only the victor and his companion remained amidst battlefield detritus—the lion king's corpse cooling, its golden horn secured, and new dangers crystallizing on the horizon.
"So, Griffin," Daniel drawled, sauntering closer with exaggerated nonchalance. "Why linger when the rest have fled?" Behind his casual demeanor lurked sharp calculation—this was no fool who'd earned Yuri's wariness.
Kael matched his tone. "You remain as well. Why rush?" He kept his posture relaxed, probing for information. Chloe's earlier hints suggested deeper currents beneath the hunt for the lion king.
Daniel's eyes gleamed at Kael's composed reply. "We're all here for that thing, aren't we?"
"Naturally." Kael leaned into the bluff, recalling Chloe's cryptic reference.
"Ha! Great minds!" Daniel clapped his hands, mistaking Kael's feigned knowledge for complicity. "Why scramble like headless chickens? When the Frostspire awakens, the skies themselves will herald it. We'll have ample time to claim it then."
Millennial Frostspire.
The revelation struck Kael like lightning. This was their true quarry—not some beast, but a legendary spirit-ice forged over millennia. Even saint-mages coveted its marrow-cleansing properties, its power to purify flesh and amplify elemental affinity. No wonder seasoned hunters like Yuri conserved their strength; this prize dwarfed a lion king's horn.
Daniel, oblivious to Kael's internal storm, barreled on. "Once it ripens, every cultivator within five hundred leagues will come crawling. But we—" he jabbed a thumb at his chest, "—we'll be first."
Kael steadied his breathing, schooling his face into neutrality. The Frostspire's allure explained everything: Chloe's dismissiveness toward the lion, Yuri's restraint, Sebastian's abrupt exit. Its unconfirmed location kept them circling like vultures, preserving fragile truces.
"Patience has its merits," Kael conceded, careful to mirror Daniel's conspiratorial tone. Let the man believe they stood as allies—for now.
Daniel grinned, mistaking caution for cunning. "Exactly! Let the idiots wear themselves out scouting. We'll—"
A distant tremor cut him short. The ground hummed faintly, frost patterns spiderwebbing across nearby stones. Both men froze, gazes snapping toward the forest's heart.
Kael responded with a knowing smile, though his pulse raced. The hunt had just begun.
"Yuri's always been a snake, Sebastian's no saint either, and as for Chloe—" Daniel snorted, warming to his newfound confidant. "That thorned rose has left more corpses than suitors in her wake." His casual warnings sharpened Kael's wariness toward the departing factions.
"Watch your back, brother," Daniel concluded with a roguish grin. "They'll strike once the Frostspire manifests. Until then—" He dusted off his cloak theatrically. "—we play the waiting game. May the best thief win!" With a mock salute, he blurred into the treeline, leaving frost-crackled leaves swirling in his wake.
Amelia emerged from the shadows as the last footsteps faded. "A Millennial Frostspire… No wonder they tolerated each other's presence." Her voice carried rare astonishment.
"Few know the truth," Kael mused. "While they chase rumors of the lion king, we'll move unseen in the chaos."
A soft laugh escaped Amelia. "Clever, how you manipulated that chatterbox Daniel."
"Strategy, not trickery." Kael's expression sobered. "His warnings about Yuri? Mere attempts to isolate me as an ally. Their rivalry runs deeper than this hunt."
These were no ordinary adversaries—each a rising star in the Kingdom of Keyar's cutthroat hierarchy. Yet Kael felt no fear, only anticipation crackling like stormfront energy. The Holy Parliament's insignia weighed reassuringly against his chest, but true strength lay within. Sixth-rank power thrummed in his veins, hungry for worthy challenges.
Risk bred reward. A Frostspire's cleansing fire could forge him into something transcendent—a mage unbound by mortal limits. This world offered pinnacles to conquer, mysteries to unravel. To shrink from its dangers would betray the very reason he'd been reborn here.
Amelia studied his resolute profile. "Madness," she murmured, though her lips curved faintly.
"Necessity." Kael turned toward the forest's deepening shadows where elemental resonance prickled the air. Somewhere ahead, ancient ice stirred in its slumber. Let the others posture and scheme—when the Frostspire awoke, only prepared minds would seize its glory.
The dying lion king's territory lay forgotten behind them. Ahead stretched the true battlefield, where ambition and frost would collide.