56. GoodBerry and Spring Fairy Court

Gavin left the clone to continue practicing and turned his attention back to himself. With so many tasks at hand, it was difficult to decide where to begin—should he comprehend the abilities of the Ice Scale Snake and the Snow Ape, practice druid spells, train in mage spells, or start developing a body-based cultivation method?

After a moment of thought, he chose to focus on druid spells first. Many of them were elemental-based, and the tribe is of no need ice spells from the two beasts' inheritances.

While mage spells relied heavily on pure energy manipulation, making them difficult for the tribe members to grasp, druid spells were more attuned to nature, making them a more viable option for now. The body cultivation path would take years before anyone reached bronze rank, so there was no immediate rush.

He decided to start with the Goodberry spell since it was the simplest and fastest to practice. However, there was an issue—druid spells required Natural Magic Energy, something he did not have. Unlike elemental magic energy, which he could transform from spiritual energy, natural magic energy was unique.

"Natural magic energy is also derived from spiritual energy... then let's try using spiritual energy instead."

With no other choice, he moved to a clearing at the valley's edge and began casting Goodberry. The process took far longer than expected—over a full minute to convert spiritual energy into natural magic energy and form a seed. The seed fell to the ground, quickly germinating into a berry-producing tree.

At that moment, a low buzz echoed from the broken altar in his spiritual world.

"The altar reacted... the connection must have been severed."

The altar, damaged but still functional, shielded him from potentially dangerous cause-and-effect connections. This meant that if there had been any hidden forces tied to the spell, they had been blocked.

"I need to speed up the conversion process."

He dedicated an entire day to refining his control, slowly reducing the time it took to convert spiritual energy into natural magic energy. By the end of the session, he had shortened the process to five minutes—still slow, but a significant improvement.

Just as he was about to continue, the familiar bond with his clone buzzed, signaling an event. The clone had gone to meet Elan at their hidden rendezvous point. The meeting lasted only ten seconds, as Elan couldn't risk staying outside the tribe's camp for long, especially at midnight.

The message was urgent—the William family would launch their attack on the Three-Horn Rhino Tribe tomorrow.

"Let the clone handle it."

The clone immediately understood its task. With that settled, Gavin refocused on his Goodberry spell training, pouring his full attention into mastering it. He became so engrossed in his practice that he didn't even notice when the tribe left before dawn or when they returned at sunset. 

By the time the first light appeared on the horizon, he had fully mastered the spell. 

Only then did he access the clone's memories, watching the battle against the William family at a fast speed. The clone had fought two sixth-rank knights, managing to seriously injure one while sustaining injuries himself and only slightly wounding the other. 

The tribe members did not engage the William family's army in direct combat. Although they outnumbered them, the William family warriors were of a higher realm. Instead, the shamans launched a relentless barrage of spells, while the hunters carved a path of escape for the Three-Horned Rhino Tribe. 

Once the hunters successfully gathered the tribe's members, they, along with the shamans, held back the William family army, preventing them from pursuing. In the end, they were able to rescue only 68 people from the Three-Horned Rhino Tribe. 

A few minutes later, the clone also withdrew, leaving behind the tribe's totem and those who failed to escape to their fate. 

Without hesitation, Gavin continued training, systematically practicing all first and second-rank druid spells until he had mastered them within a week. 

Next, he began practicing the third-rank Summon Fey spell. Mastering eight druid spells had already sharpened his control, but the Summon Fey spell was far more complex. It took five minutes for the spell to activate, and when it finally succeeded, a portal formed, revealing a fairy. 

She was petite, standing less than ten inches tall, with golden hair cascading like a waterfall, deep ocean-blue eyes, and a delicate green dress that shimmered in the light. Three pairs of transparent wings fluttered on her back, catching the air like dragonfly wings. Her energy level was comparable to that of a magic beast, radiating a gentle yet distinct aura. 

As the portal closed behind her, the fairy glanced around, her face quickly shifting into confusion. Then, as if suddenly realizing something terrifying, her small face scrunched up in fear. Tears welled in her large, shimmering eyes before she burst into sobs, wailing, "Do not eat me! Do not eat me!" over and over again. 

Gavin sighed, unwilling to watch her cry any longer. He sent a voice transmission directly to her mind: 

"I am not going to eat you." 

The fairy's eyes widened in shock. "Who is talking?" 

"The one who summoned you," Gavin replied. 

The fairy sniffled. "Really? You won't eat me?" 

Gavin raised an eyebrow. "Is there anyone who eats fairies to fill their stomachs?" 

He glanced at her tiny frame—even if someone did eat her, she wouldn't satisfy even one percent of their hunger. 

The fairy's wings trembled, and she whispered, "I read a book where a dragon said fairies are tasty." Then, she promptly burst into tears again. 

Annoyed, Gavin's tone darkened. "If you keep crying like this, I will eat you." 

The fairy immediately stopped crying, her tiny body freezing in place. 

Gavin exhaled. "What is your name? What can you do?" 

The fairy hesitated before responding, "I am Ystra of the Spring Court. I can use healing spells and help magic plants grow." 

Hearing this, Gavin quickly searched for Via, eventually finding her below the southern mountain, where Iron Vines hung down into the valley. She sat cross-legged, her hands gripping one of the vines. 

Turning back to Ystra, Gavin asked, "How long can you stay here?" 

Ystra's tiny hands fidgeted. "A summoning lasts for six hours." 

Without wasting time, Gavin transmitted a mental map of the area between them. "Go there and help the lady you find." 

Ystra hesitated. "Will she eat me?" 

Gavin, now sure she must have read recipe books featuring fairies, resisted the urge to rub his temples. "Tell her the Totem sent you." 

Ystra's eyes narrowed, her expression shifting to one of suspicion. "You are a Totem? But why do you smell like..." 

Suddenly, her tiny wings twitched, and fear crept back into her voice. "Blood Clan." 

Gavin stilled. "Are you certain?" 

Ystra nodded, her face pale, as if dreading her own words. "I can smell the aura of the Blood Clan, the Three-Eyed Race, and several magic beasts. But the strongest scent around you is..." She gulped. "A wolf." 

Gavin stared at her for a moment before simply saying, "You can go." 

With a nervous glance back at him, Ystra flapped her wings and quickly flew toward Via. 

Gavin remained where he was, his spirit vision tracking her departure. Inside his spiritual space, he let out a slow sigh. 

"It doesn't matter if I am a vampire bat or a Blood Clan member. My race is irrelevant. My only goal is to reach the highest realm in this world... and find a way back to take my revenge." 

Shaking off those thoughts, he turned his attention back to the druid spells. Since he couldn't summon another fey until Ystra's summoning was canceled, he decided to experiment with the spell itself. 

"Can I remove the Creator's Mark from this spell and cast it without natural magic energy?" 

With that thought, he closed his eyes and began unraveling the intricacies of the spell, determined to break its limitations. 

"How do I remove the Mark of the Creator?" he mused. "Let's test if the Goodberry spell can be performed using wood-elemental magic energy instead of natural magic energy." 

He focused his energy, attempting the spell repeatedly. Failure followed failure, but he persisted, refining his control over the wood element with each attempt. 

Finally, by noon, he succeeded. 

Before him stood a tree laden with berries, but instead of the usual rich red hue, these berries were green—a clear sign that they were not identical to those produced by the original spell. 

Since he couldn't eat them himself, he called his clone to test the effects. Within a minute, the golden-furred wolf arrived, its body marred with gashes, a testament to the recent battle. 

Without hesitation, the wolf devoured the green berries. Gavin, through their shared connection, felt their taste—mildly sweet and satisfying, enough to fill the clone's stomach but offering no healing effect. 

To compare, Gavin canceled the spell, watching as the tree withered and disappeared. Then, he cast the Goodberry spell again, this time using natural magic energy. 

A new tree sprouted, its branches heavy with vibrant red berries. The wolf took a bite, and Gavin immediately sensed the difference—these berries were as sweet as honey, and the energy within them seeped into the wolf's wounds, slowly healing them. 

Gavin nodded to himself. "The healing properties are still missing in the wood-element version. I need to refine it further." 

Determined, he resumed practicing the Goodberry spell using wood energy, adjusting and fine-tuning his control, striving to make its effects match the original.