With great difficulty, Jion pushed against the door, trying to pry it open. Heavy snowfall from the previous night had blocked it shut.
The snowstorm had raged all day yesterday, finally ceasing in the evening. But as expected, cold winds swept through the night, causing more snow to pile up, either from fresh snowfall or from the roof sliding down onto his entrance.
Most tribe members had stayed indoors, preferring the warmth of their residences over venturing out into the freezing night.
Food had already been stocked inside their homes for emergencies like this, so there was no need to leave—except for quick bathroom breaks.
Jion had already cleared the snow in front of his door yesterday evening, yet here he was, trapped again.
Carefully, he forced a small gap open, taking care not to use too much strength, afraid of damaging the door.
Through the gap, he channeled his magic energy, using it to disperse the remaining snow. Once the blockage was cleared, he fully opened the door and stepped outside.
From behind him, a massive owl—now standing four feet tall—followed, its powerful talons crunching against the snow.
Jion turned to close the door, and at that moment, the owl spread its wings.
With a single powerful flap, it lifted into the air, and within moments, it vanished beyond the horizon.
Ever since advancing to the Magic Beast realm, most of the weaknesses of a common owl had disappeared.
Jion watched its fading silhouette, knowing that this evolution marked the true beginning of its power.
Shaking off his thoughts, he glanced toward the main kitchen—but no smoke rose from its chimney.
That meant no one had started cooking yet.
Deciding to wash up at the lake, he made his way toward the tribe's back gate.
As he stepped outside, his eyes fell on Via.
She stood near the Blood Tree, her hand pressed against its bark, deep in concentration.
She had chosen this tree as the focus of her totem practice, fully dedicating herself to the rituals passed down by the totem spirit.
At first, Jion had been skeptical about the method—but it had proven to be a success.
Activating his Spirit Vision, he saw something incredible.
The tree was slowly producing magic energy on its own—it was only a step away from evolving into a truly magical tree.
This meant that Via had found her path forward.
Once she advanced to Great Shaman, she could use this practice method to further increase her strength. If she succeeded, she might even break through to the Bronze-rank Shaman realm.
Jion, however, felt lost.
He had also advanced to Great Shaman, yet he had no idea how to increase his strength.
His primary spell, the one he had used to advance, was a Sleep Spell—a powerful yet non-offensive ability.
But now, he didn't even know how to properly master it.
In contrast, Kais had gotten lucky.
Six days ago, while out hunting, he had encountered a Spirit-attribute Fox.
Its innate ability was Spirit Screech—a direct offensive spell.
With that ability, Kais had gained a powerful attack spell, meaning that once he advanced to Great Shaman, his combat strength would immediately surpass Jion's.
Jion clenched his fists.
If Kais had been an original member of the Statue Tribe, Jion would have already lost his position as Elder once Kais advanced to the Great Shaman realm.
Not that the title itself mattered to him.
His issue was with Kais himself.
Just two weeks ago, Kais had been a member of the Snake Tribe—the very tribe that had been their sworn enemy for half a century.
Jion had become the Elder of the Statue Tribe forty years ago.
At the same time, Kais had taken the same role in the Snake Tribe.
For thirty years, Jion had watched his hunters and shamans die during hunts, while the Snake Tribe's strength continued to grow.
Now, among the seven shamans in the tribe, four were from the Snake Tribe.
Among them, both Kais and Kale were on the verge of advancing to the Great Shaman realm.
The situation was even worse among the hunters.
Out of the five Spirit Blood Hunters, three were from the Snake Tribe.
Only Ajis was an original member of the tribe, while Seamus came from the destroyed Spring Fairy Tribe.
The only small relief was that the Spring Fairy Tribe had been destroyed by the Snake Tribe—meaning Seamus at least had no loyalty to his former enemies.
Now, the Statue Tribe was a mix of survivors from four tribes—
The Spring Fairy Tribe,
The Wild Cat Tribe,
The Snake Tribe,
And, of course, their own.
The Spring Fairy and Wild Cat Tribes had been wiped out by the Snake Tribe.
Then, in turn, We destroyed the Snake Tribe.
For now, this fragile balance kept the former Snake Tribe members in check—as long as the other two groups remained equal in strength, no one could claim dominance.
Still, conflicts flared.
The old hatred between the Statue Tribe and the Snake Tribe had not faded.
It had only been two weeks since they were forced to join the tribe.
With time, things would change.
As they lived together, the dividing lines between the tribes would eventually fade.
The new members would begin to see themselves as part of the Statue Tribe, their former allegiances forgotten.
Jion did not believe the tensions would escalate into violence—they would remain verbal conflicts at most.
After all, the totem spirit had already accepted the Snake Tribe members as part of the Statue Tribe.
And no tribe member would dare go against the will of the totem spirit.
His thoughts were interrupted by Via's voice.
"Elder, why are you just standing there?"
Jion snapped out of his daze and turned toward her.
"Nothing—just thinking about some useless stuff," he replied casually.
He didn't want Via to worry about the matter.
Right now, her only focus should be to advance to the Great Shaman realm as quickly as possible.
Via nodded but didn't look convinced, her eyes lingering on him.
Jion, hoping to shift the conversation, asked, "How is your practice going?"
To his surprise, Via's face fell.
Jion's expression grew concerned.
"What happened? Tell me—I might be able to help."
Via hesitated for a moment before answering.
"I don't know how to advance the Blood Tree into a Magic Tree. I've never seen any magic plant before."
Jion frowned.
He had seen magic plants before, but he had never studied their energy channels—he had no idea how to help her.
Still, Via was the future of the tribe.
He couldn't just leave her without guidance.
Thinking deeply, a realization struck him.
"Yes! Someone can help her!"
Jion turned to Via.
"Wait here—I will ask the totem spirit."
Before Via could object, Jion closed his eyes and focused.
Through the mark left by the totem in his sea of consciousness, he sent his request.
Within seconds, a response came.
The totem spirit instructed Via to head west of the valley—the wolf would take her somewhere.
But before Jion could open his eyes to relay the message, a second instruction arrived.
More tribe members, including Cass, should accompany Via.
Jion opened his eyes and repeated the messages to Via.
Together, they returned to the tribe to gather the others.
Meanwhile, Gavin was deep in meditation, comprehending the Snow Cat's abilities, when Jion's request reached him.
He already knew how to advance a plant into a magic plant—but instead of directly explaining, he decided that showing was better than telling.
Thus, he instructed his clone to take them to his newly acquired territory.
His second message was meant to serve another purpose—
Since they were already traveling to the new territory, they could gather some useful resources from the area.
Additionally, there was a salamander in the pond inside the territory, a perfect potential familiar for Cass.
Cass was a new member of the tribe, having recently reached the limit of the Shaman realm.
Her elemental affinity was water, but all the water-attributed creatures nearby were fish, which could not survive on land.
Thus, she had been reluctant to bind them as her familiar.
The salamander, however, is the ideal choice.
After some time, Jion, Via, Cass, Ajis, and several tribe hunters reached the western side of the valley, where they found the Wolf waiting atop one of the mountain slopes.
The Wolf's golden eyes locked onto them.
"Come up."
Ajis, the strongest climber among them, scaled the rocky incline with ease. However, for the rest, the ascent would be far more difficult.
Recognizing the struggle, Via reached out with her magic, causing the plants at the base of the mountain to stir.
With a wave of her hand, a thick vine sprouted, stretching from the foot of the mountain to where Ajis stood waiting.
Gripping one end, Ajis anchored the vine, allowing the others to climb up with its support.
Once everyone reached the top, the Wolf rose from where it had been lying in the snow.
"Follow me."
Jion took the lead while Ajis guarded the rear, ensuring no one fell behind as they trekked up the mountainside.
This was the first time any of them had ventured so high into the mountains.
Along the way, they saw foxes so white they disappeared into the snow, massive deer unlike those found in the valley—bulkier, stronger—and other unfamiliar beasts.
With his spiritual senses, Jion could feel the magic energy pulsing within many of these creatures.
Surprisingly, they were only about 10% up the mountain, yet already, the presence of magic-ranked beasts was clear.
At one point, he spotted a pair of snow leopards watching them from a distance.
Using his spirit sense, he confirmed they were both magic-rank beasts—but they made no move to attack.
Instead, they kept their cautious distance, their gazes flicking nervously to the Wolf, a higher-ranked predator.
However, the most dangerous moment came when they stumbled upon a female bear with blue fur, leading three cubs through the snow.
The moment their group and the bear locked eyes, tension thickened in the air.
Jion's instincts screamed danger.
The mother bear was a Bronze-rank beast—just like the Wolf.
However, through his spirit sense, Jion could tell her magic energy was even stronger than the Wolf's.
If a fight broke out, except the wolf they wouldn't survive.
Then, something unexpected happened.
The Wolf and the Bear began growling and roaring at each other, their tones shifting in a way that almost seemed like conversation.
After several tense moments, the Bear gave a final snort, then nodded at the Wolf, leading her cubs away.
Jion exhaled in relief.
They resumed their journey, watching as the Bear with her cubs headed toward a steaming hot spring.
As they climbed higher, they encountered no more Bronze-rank beasts, though they passed by countless magic beasts.
Finally, after several hours, they reached an altitude of about 1,000 feet, where the Wolf finally stopped.
Turning to face them, it spoke.
"This forest is my territory. Do not take anything without my permission. Only take what I allow."
The group nodded in understanding.
Without another word, they followed the Wolf into the forest.
After a short walk, they arrived at a pond—and at its center, a white lotus floated.
Its petals pulsed faintly with magic energy.
A magic-rank plant.
The Wolf's voice rumbled.
"Via, this lotus is for you. Comprehend its energy."
Via nodded and knelt beside the pond, closing her eyes to begin her study.
The Wolf then let out a low growl, directing its attention toward the pond.
From a hidden crevice beneath the water, a blue salamander slowly crawled out, its glistening scales reflecting the sunlight.
"Cass," the Wolf said, "this salamander is for you to bind as your familiar."
Cass's eyes widened with excitement.
She quickly began forming the binding formation, focusing her magic to establish the familiar bond.
The Wolf then turned back to the rest of the group.
"Follow me."
Leaving Via and Cass behind, they ventured deeper into the forest, eager to see what else awaited them.