The severed me Winged Serpent hadn’t yet expended all of its life force. After falling to the ground, it convulsed as if in spasms, its tailshing out and leaving whip-like marks on the earth. The snake’s fist-sized head gazed up at Tark’s towering figure, which blocked out the sunlight. In the shadow of his form, a trace of venomous hatred flickered in the serpent’s eyes as it mustered thest of its energy to spit out a few small sparks.


    “Hmph!” Tark sneered. With a sweep of his shield, he shattered the embers into fragments. Taking a couple of steps forward, he stomped down on the snake’s head.


    <em>St!</em>


    Like squeezing a lemon, the snake’s head was crushed. Tark then stomped on its body, embedding the front half into the ground, finally putting an end to its movements.


    <em>p, p, p.</em>


    Rhett pped his hands. “That was a spectacr battle!” he praised as he strolled over, admiration gleaming in his eyes. “Tark, in the final moments of the fight, did you use the second level of Phantom Rewind?”


    Tark, while using a small knife to remove the poisonous fangs from the now-soft serpent''s head, replied, “Yes, Father. Just as I mentioned before, the second level of the technique is no longer limited to marking with my legs along my path. The second level allows for a moreplex and advanced energy route, letting me ce energy markers anywhere using my hands.”


    “That sounds impressive. It looked that way too,” Ryley said as he approached, his gaze on the decapitated serpent. “But surely, there’s a limitation?”


    “There is,” Tark confirmed. “The second-level energy marker is much less stablepared to the first. While the effects might seem simr, the method of condensation ispletely different. The marksts only two or three seconds, much shorter than the several minutes the first level can sustain. Additionally, the range is limited—I can only ce it about four meters away, far less than the first level’s range. Although with practice, the duration and distance will improve, it will stillg behind the first level.”Rhett nodded thoughtfully. “Even so, it doesn’t diminish its brilliance. It’s definitely on par with an advancedbat technique.”


    “Indeed,” Ryley agreed. “At least mid-level movement techniques can’t achieve that. It’s almost unbelievable.”


    Tark bent down to pry out the serpent’s fangs, then sheathed his knife and moved to its body, preparing to skin it. A few momentster, his excitement grew. “Father, the snake’s skin is of excellent quality, and it exudes a gentle warmth. If made into gloves, they’d be incredibly warm. Winter is approaching—I’ll make a pair as a gift for you!”


    Rhett gently squeezed and tugged at the snake’s skin, noting its sticity andfort. “The snake skin is indeed superb, but I appreciate the thought more than the gift itself. Gloves are optional for me. Whether I wear them or not, I won’t feel the cold. In fact, if I ever do feel cold, those gloves wouldn’t help.”


    Tark scratched his head and murmured, “Then who should I give them to? Vanessa already has several pairs of gloves and doesn’t need another. Ryley is a mage and doesn’t need them. Dick is still too young…”


    “Hmmm… Since everyone is family, if you’re overwhelmed by choices, maybe you should give them to the person who needs them most,” Rhett suggested gently.


    Thales took a bold step forward, his eyes darting nervously as he said, “Ahem, winter ising, and everyone knows that ordinary people are the ones who feel the cold, so…”


    Thales hesitated to ask directly, drawing out his words while keeping his eyes glued to the snake skin.


    Tark nced at Thales and then back at the skin. After a moment, realization dawned on him, and he pped his thigh. “Oh, I get it!”


    A smile spread across Thales’ face—his brother had finally caught on!


    “Vanessa’s sister, Ellie, is an ordinary person. She has to train in winter and help with chores. The cold will surely make her hands red and sore! So, giving these snake-skin gloves to Ellie would be perfect!” Tark’s eyes gleamed as he happily stuffed the freshly skinned hide into a bup sack.


    <em>Pfft!</em>


    Ryley couldn’t help but burst intoughter. He struggled to suppress his amusement, ncing between Tark and Thales with an expression of pure enjoyment.


    “No!” Thales pouted, dissatisfied. “Tark, have you forgotten that you have a weak little brother who also needs gloves to survive the winter?”


    Tark scoffed. “Don’t think I don’t know—you’ve already taken a bloodline potion. Once you be an apprentice mage, these gloves won’t do you any good this winter.”


    Thales blushed and stammered, “I… I’m still far from bing an apprentice mage!”


    “Really?” Tark teased, feigning contemtion. “Didn’t you say on the way here that you were about to break through?”


    Caught in his lie, Thales’ expression changed instantly, and he was taken aback by Tark’s newfound cleverness.


    Even Ryley gave Tark a curious look, wondering how his usually slow-witted brother had suddenly be so sharp.


    “Hmph!” Thales turned to Ryley. “Ryley, did you give Tark this idea? Otherwise, how would he have suddenly gotten so smart today?”


    Ryley quickly waved his hands. “No, no, it has nothing to do with me. I’m not a prophet—how could I have predicted today’s events?”


    “That’s true…” Thales muttered, though he still eyed Tark with suspicion.


    “Thales, who are you calling pig-headed?” Tark grumbled.


    Thales rolled his eyes. “Not worth arguing with you.”


    “Suit yourself!” Tark shrugged it off, wiping the blood from his forehead with a cloth.


    Thales pouted and mumbled, “Forget the snake skin. But the magical beast cub? That’s mine!”


    “Dream on!” Tark’s voice retorted.


    In the blink of an eye, nearly two weeks passed.


    On September 3rd, snow began to fall, nketing the forest in white. Beneath the tall silver pines, Rhett’s team had been hunting for nearly two weeks, gathering an abundance of resources. As always, they prepared to bury their spoils temporarily.


    Tark brushed away the thinyer of snow, and with Rhett’s mental maniption, the earth rose, forming a shallow two-meter pit. Tark ced three tightly sealed bup sacks at the bottom, then leaped out. Rhett filled the pit and marked several nearby trees.


    With that done, Rhett looked around at the swirling snowkes before turning to Ryley. “Can you sense Nina’s condition now?”


    Ryley, his expression full of anticipation, looked up at the sky and touched the snow-covered branches of a silver pine. Feeling the chill, he thought to himself, “Finally, the day hase!” He turned to his father and replied, “Father, I can sense that Nina is on the verge of awakening—she could wake up at any moment.”


    Rhett nodded. “In that case, you might as well enter a meditative state. Last time, when Nina bonded with you, you received a surge of mental energy. Perhaps it could happen again?”


    Ryley blinked, having considered that possibility himself but doubting the chances. Still, since his father suggested it, he saw no harm in trying. He sat down on the me Winged Serpent’s warm skin and began to meditate.


    The warmth from the serpent’s skin helped him resist the chill of the snow.


    The others stood quietly, curious to see what would happen if the snow sprite reappeared.


    After about ten minutes, Rhett, with his keen senses as a Tier 3 mage, noticed a subtle fluctuation in the elemental energy in the sky. It was simr to when Nina first appeared but much more concealed. The unique water-elemental energy flickered briefly before vanishing.


    Rhett’s expression grew puzzled as he observed the snowkes falling more densely, and a sudden gust of cold wind blew through. Tark had prepared for it, but Thales shivered uncontrobly.


    Tark frowned, his fire-elemental energy radiating faintly as he wrapped an arm around Thales. Thales resisted at first but eventually rxed into the warmth.


    Only Ryley remained unaffected. Suddenly, sensing his connection with Nina, he opened his eyes in delight and looked up.


    The others followed his gaze and saw a tiny, snow-white figure amid the swirling snowkes, descending like a winter messenger. It quicklynded in Ryley’s arms before bouncing to the ground.


    “Nina!” Ryley eximed excitedly, reaching out to touch the adorable creature. Was it just his imagination, or had Nina grownrger sincest year?


    Before he could get a closer look, a surge of powerful mental energy apanied Nina’s awakening, flooding his mind.


    Ryley’s expression changed. “I’m about to break through!” he announced before slipping into a meditative state.


    Thales, who had been cradling Nina, froze, his eyes shing with envy. He, too, longed to break through and be a mage so he could delve into alchemy. He loosened his grip on Nina, allowing the startled sprite to escape, bouncing away to perch on Rhett’s head.


    Though Nina recognized all three, she was most familiar with Rhett. Seeing the cool yet bouncy spritend on his head, Rhett chuckled and gently held her in his palm.


    Suddenly, Rhett’s expression turned curious as he examined Nina’s slightlyrger form. Stroking his chin, he mused, “Has Nina grown? She seems a bit bigger thanst year.”


    <em>Fwoosh!</em>


    Upon hearing that she had gained weight, Nina spat out a flurry of snowkes onto Rhett’s face before hopping back to Ryley’s side, waiting patiently.


    Wiping away the snow, Rhett didn’t hold it against Nina. He took another look at her and confirmed his suspicion. “She has definitely grownrger and seems a bit more lively thanst year.”@@novelbin@@


    This slight change sparked Rhett’s curiosity. “Could it be that sprites can grow too? Or is it only certain sprites?”


    After pondering these questions for a moment, Rhett tucked them away in his mind. Legends about sprites were shrouded in mystery. He had never heard of anyone or any ce with detailed descriptions or records of sprites.


    “Or perhaps each sprite grows differently?” Just as this thought crossed his mind, Ryley stirred.


    “Whew!” Ryley exhaled softly, opening his eyes. Feeling the changes in his mind, a smile tugged at his lips. “I’ve finally be a Tier 2 mage!”


    Ryley conjured a Water Arrow spell, sending it flying toward a silver pine twenty meters away. The arrow, now more concentrated and twice asrge as before, struck with force.


    <em>Boom!</em>


    The silver pine toppled over, two squirrels chattering angrily as they fled with a pine cone, leaping to another tree.


    The new sensation of being a Tier 2 mage was refreshing, but Ryley had more important matters on his mind. He needed to check on his dearpanion—Nina!


    Nina had perched herself on White Stripe’s head, and the tiger was curiously eyeing the strange creature. It lifted a paw, seemingly ready to swipe her off.


    “Stop, White Stripe!” Ryleymanded.


    The tiger blinked and froze, watching as Ryley gently picked up the odd little creature from its head. It circled around Ryley, still curious about Nina, looking like an overgrown kitten.


    “Grr?” White Stripe growled softly.


    Understanding its question, Ryley said, “Her identity? You can think of her as your sister. Neither of you is allowed to bully the other!”


    <em>Grr!</em> White Stripe growled again in agreement.


    Nina, with her gem-like eyes, looked at both White Stripe and Ryley before yfully releasing a puff of frost.