《Witch's Journey》


 Transmigrator Encounters Reincarnator

    A classroom packed with students concentrated on the teacher''s words and looked at her drawing various monsters of different kinds on the blackboard. Her drawing skills had already reached a master''s level, showing her commitment to the job of teaching. After drawing the last monster and explaining its strengths and weaknesses, she stopped her lecture.


    ¡°Alright, students! With this, we conclude our lecture on local monsters and their lores. Remember to keep yourself equipped with a silver blade alongside vials of dead men blood and holy water. We have heard the reports about recent sightings of vampires near the town.¡±


    The old teacher adjusted her spectacles as she closed a thick book placed on the teacher''s desk.


    ¡°Hmm?¡±


    Suddenly, one of the students with conspicuous hair color- Silver, looked at another boy on the first seat of the middle column. A strange energy, only sensed by the silver-haired youth could be seen swirling around the black-haired boy.


    Every other student seemed to be oblivious of the strange situation. After the strange energy was lifted, the black-haired youth looked around in confusion as a realisation finally struck him. His eyes had an excited gleam as he started acting normally once again.


    ¡°Did that guy just reincarnate?¡± The silver-haired boy muttered under his breath as he looked at the various emotions displayed on the black-haired youth''s face. He was sitting at the leftmost seat and could easily see the other party''s expressions.


    To him, the concept of reincarnation wasn''t too surprising. After all, he just hopped over to this world just a week ago. Yes, the silver-haired youth was a transmigrator himself!


    ¡°Sigil, did something happen?¡± A beautiful girl beside him asked in confusion.


    ¡®Why would Sigil look at Ricardo in such a manner? Is he going to bully him again?¡¯


    Alicia, the beautiful girl, shook her head. Her expression was a little disappointed. After all, Sigil finally showed some changes during the past week. Is he finally turning back to his true self? Alicia could only sigh in disappointment.


    Yes! The original Sigil used to be a bully, before a soul from another world hopped a ride on his body. What happened to the original Sigil?


    His soul became a nutrient for the body snatcher.


    ¡°Nothing, Alicia. Let''s go! Master is waiting for us.¡±


    Sigil shook his head and got up from his seat. The last lecture was finally over and they could leave the school.


    This world was almost similar to Earth, except this planet did not only give the title of the strongest Predators to Human Beings.


    Vampires, Werewolf, Rakshasa, Hex Magic.


    You name it, this world has it.


    Meanwhile, the dark-haired Reincarnator¨C Ricardo was going through an emotional turmoil.


    ¡®Huh? I should have died at the hands of the Rakshasa Emperor. Where am I??¡¯ Ricardo couldn¡¯t understand his situation. Just a few moments ago, he surely felt Rakshasa Emperor¡¯s hand piercing through his heart.


    ¡®What?! Wait, that¡¯s Alicia! She is alive! But isn¡¯t that how she looked in early age? And, That! That¡¯s him, Sigil! What¡¯s happening here? I was reincarnated into my old self? Wait- where is Alicia''s locket?¡±


    Ricardo immediately panicked.


    If it wasn''t for Alicia''s keepsake, he would have died for good.


    When he saw Alicia leaving with Sigil, his eyes flashed ominously.


    ¡®Sigil, you will pay for everything you did to me in the past, wait- I meant the things you will do to me in the future.¡¯


    The three were in the advance placement of their schools and ready to enter the Witch College of their choice.


    A black Mercedes was waiting for Alicia and Sigil. A black-suited, kind looking butler waited outside the car.


    ¡°Young Master Sigil, Young Mistress Alicia. Please take your seat.¡±


    The butler bowed and opened the door of the car for Sigil and Alicia as they walked inside the car.


    ¡°So, we are finally going to be engaged.¡± Alicia hugged Sigil''s arm as she put her head on his shoulder.The author''s tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.


    ¡°Uh- yeah! Can''t wait to get married.¡± Sigil''s voice was a little strange.


    ¡°Don''t worry, it isn''t like you will be restricted with me. I am sure that the Elders will try to create more bonds with other families using you and marriage as a method.¡±


    Alicia smiled as she felt that she understood her fianc¨¦''s dilemma.


    Who would have thought that an average guy named Ruth from Earth will transport to this strange world?


    Ruth Ambik lived a normal life. Normal Job, no love interests, an orphan with no significant origins.


    Even his death seemed pretty normal.


    He wasn''t kissed goodnight by Truck Princess in the middle of the road neither did he receive a robber''s attack for some poor damsel in distress.


    A sudden Heart Attack visited him. A swift and numbing death.


    ¡°Um... Alicia, would you please keep a little distance between us... It''s just that I am not feeling well and don''t want to infect you in any manner.¡±


    Sigil squeezed out a smile.


    Alicia gave her a sweet smile as she hugged him tighter.


    ¡°You are so cute. Trying to be considerate even when you know we already have the brand of The Totem Blessing. Even if a Demon tried to possess my body, it won''t work.¡±


    ¡°Yeah!... Forgot about that.¡±


    Sigil gave up as he enjoyed the tight hug and the soft body of the school princess.


    ¡°How is your condition? Do you feel better?¡± Alicia loosened her hug as she asked him in concern.


    ¡°Ah? You mean the blackout? Yeah! I am getting better.¡±


    He spoke as he surveyed Alicia''s soul once more.


    He had this ability in control now. When he was transferred into this world, somehow, he obtained this ability.


    After all, it has already been a week since he arrived here.


    ¡°Say, isn''t that necklace too old? Why do you still wear it.¡±


    Even though he had all of Sigil''s memory, he still didn''t understand much about Alicia.


    The original Sigil was also an orphan, raised by the Master of Silver Fang Family alongside his only Daughter Alicia Grey.


    Even though they all had silver as their last name, they all had a unique characteristic of dark brown or black hair alongside a pair of silver pupils in the eyes.


    Meanwhile, Sigil had bright silver hair and a pair of icy blue pupils.


    Their physiques were on the upper scale of beauty.


    Alicia, the beautiful princess, is gifted with a beautiful face with soft features. Unlike others, her lips were soft pink in colour and the light natural blush on her healthy skin gave her a tantalising beauty. Her figure was well developed with soft skin and a boneless waist. She had already hit her age of puberty 5 years ago and her figure has become a fantasy in every male and some females mind.


    Meanwhile, Sigil looked the extreme opposite of the K-pop beauty of his original world.


    His jaws chiselled and his nose sharp with a pair of sword-like, silver eyebrows. His upper torso looked lean and carefully built while he was endowed with a slightly wider wrist, making him look like a Greek definition of a handsome man.


    The reason Sigil did not understand too much about Alicia even after growing with her is that he was stupid and¡­¡­.. clich¨¦d.


    This was the opinion the new Sigil had for everything except his Father and Alicia.


    Dumb Bully, check.


    Not having a shred of respect for his caretaker and one of the most beautiful girl just beside him, check.


    Lustful for other beauties, check.


    Arrogant and Stupid to the core, check.


    Not having the virtue of patience, check.


    See, all the characteristics of a young master that could die at any moment.


    Sigil even had an inkling that Ricardo, the poor target of Sigil, might just turn the table against him.


    ¡°Is it just me, or have you actually started to take interest towards your own Fianc¨¦?¡±


    Alicia smiled and squinted, feeling a little happy.


    ¡°What can I say? I think it''s high time that I correct my ways.¡± He smiled faintly.


    His words caused Alicia to feel refreshed. She wasn''t stunned since she knew that Sigil would have to face his wrongdoings one day. She was just worried that by the time he faced his sins, it might have been too late.


    ¡°Well, this locket was given to me by Dad. He said it was the last thing my mother gave it to him before she left.¡± Alicia smiled sadly.


    None of the Silver family knew about the status of The Mistress of the family since she left it for her own personal matters.


    ¡°Yeah! To be honest, even I would like to meet the mother of such a wonderful girl.¡± Sigil sighed as he slumped on the seat.


    ¡°Hehe.¡±


    Alicia smiled as she suddenly turned her body and sat on Sigil''s laps. Her lips sealed his¡¯ and Sigil could feel a hand slipping past his neck along with the touch of something cold.


    Sigil was stunned as he relished the sweet taste of Alicia''s mouth. He may have been a virgin, but the original owner wasn''t. The original owner had a thing for the local red light district and learned many exotic skills.


    But Sigil didn''t use any. It wasn''t that he was being a good boy, he didn''t have any chance since the kiss lasted for a very short moment.


    Alicia sat back as she looked at Sigil''s neck.


    ¡°Your locke-¡±


    ¡°It''s a deal, my future husband. Since you have started to repent, I am willing to give you a chance once again. Don''t let me down again, Sigil.¡±


    ¡®Man, what mess have I transferred to?¡¯


    Sigil smiled bitterly inside his mind as he smiled back at Alicia.


    The way she pulled her moves, it''s no wonder she isn''t a clich¨¦d princess.


    ¡°You bet.¡± Sigil grinned a bit as he touched the cold and comfortable locket around his neck.

 Grey Family

    The car stopped in front of a huge metal gate attached to fence walls made of bricks. The whole mansion was surrounded by the fence and every part of the fence had a strange pattern. A circular mark with three inverse stars was also inscribed on the metal gate.


    The butler walked outside the car and opened the door for Sigil and Alicia.


    No vehicles were allowed on the family property.


    Kwinnnnng


    The sound of the gate could make the listeners feel as if they had entered a medieval mansion.


    "I will be at your service whenever you require me." The butler bowed and left with the car.


    Alicia and Sigil calmly walked and entered the property.


    ''Wow!'' No matter how many times he sees it, Sigil still felt astonished.


    The whole property surpassed the area of 3 kilometres radius alongside many facilities and a mansion.


    Footpaths were constructed for leading the path towards the various facilities while walking on the nearby lawns was strictly forbidden.


    "So, our Rite of Witchcraft will be held in a month. Did you find yourself a 3 stars case or do you want to solve a 4 stars case together?"


    Alicia asked as she looked at the beautiful flowers at the banks of the footpaths.


    "Well, since we both haven''t broken through to the chakra stage, let''s solve a case together. There is not much of a difference between 3 stars and a 4 stars case and we can provide back up to each other."


    Sigil thought for a moment before he spoke.


    ''Are you kidding me? This body is so athletic that I haven''t been able to control all my movements. Going alone will be death.''


    Sigil snorted in his mind. He already had a large built compared to his peers. This alongside the act of opening the sixth gate already made him a superhuman in terms of his previous world.


    "Sure thing. I actually found a four stars case just 30 kilometres away."


    They both chatted as they reached near the old mansion.


    In front of the big manor was a statue of a wolf made of pure silver. Just a look at the statue clearly indicates the care and maintenance. The Silver Wolf seemed as shining magnificently. Even the sharp look in its eye indicates that this was no normal wolf.


    The wolf was sitting in an attention position while the onlookers could feel the wolf''s pride and noble aura. The statue was so incredibly detailed that even the fur of the wolf was carved out in a precise manner.


    A tablet with the word ''Grey'' was inscribed on the supporting base of the statue.Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.


    The statue was placed in a small, circular lawn with bushes of black roses surrounding it. The viewers could easily feel the image of a proud wolf rising through the darkness as he tore a path towards the light.


    ''Man, stuff like this remind me that we are not on my Earth anymore.''


    Sigil admired as a silent sigh escaped from his head.


    "Well, I will send you the details of our case through an email. You should go freshen up since Dad will be joining us at the dinner." The door of the manor was opened by one of the maids as they both entered.


    "Master will be joining us?"


    "You should call him Dad too. Either way, he wants to talk about our preparations and thoughts about the first familiar." She walked near him as she knocked on his head.


    Since her build was smaller than his, she had to stretch her toes a little.


    "Master is master. Besides, I will be calling him Father-in-law soon." he returned the gesture as they went to their own rooms.


    "Huff"


    Sigil immediately slumped on his bed after entering his bedroom.


    "I tell you! Transmigration ain''t a walk in the park."


    He spoke to himself as he closed his eyes to clear his thought process.


    "I have to get a good control over the body before going out for a hunt."


    He sighed as he stood up and entered the bathroom to take a shower and change his clothes.


    After changing into a black t-shirt and a pair of dark-blue denims, he sat on his desk and fired up his laptop to check local news and download the case file sent by Alicia.


    "Um... pretty standard stuff¡­.oh ok, bones crushed and internal organs turned into a mush... uh... a pattern of five years? That''s pretty long. Well, all the victims are blonde girls with a thing for stripping in a club."


    He started looking through the files and thought of various kinds of monstrous existence that could fit the description of the killer.


    *Knock Knock*


    "Young Master Sigil, it is time for dinner." A maid''s voice could be heard from outside the door, causing Sigil to shut down his laptop.


    The diner was constructed on the ground floor, right beside the living room.


    He walked quickly since he didn''t want the head of the family to wait for him. As he entered the diner, he was a long dining table with fifteen chairs on both the sides along with two chairs at the end of the table filled with only two people. The rest was empty.


    On the seat of the head was sitting a young man in his early twenties. His hair was dark brown with the characteristic silver eyes. His facial features belonged to the good-looking side and had an aura of a noble scholar.


    The moment Sigil saw him, he immediately kneeled on one leg.


    "Sigil greets Master."


    "Will you please stop this. Even I am embarrassed to see my son and now, son-in-law kneeling every time he sees me."


    This man was John Grey. The head of the Witch Family Grey. One of the leading witch expert and a monster hunter of the district.


    "Yes."


    Sigil stood up as he made his way toward the left side of John.


    "Sit here."


    Alicia hadn''t arrived yet and the right seat to John''s was empty. He quickly pointed Sigil towards the right side of his seat.


    The right seat to the head''s seat was an indirect method of presentation of trust.


    Sigil did not say anything and sat on the right chair, right next to John.


    "Do you know the reason I joined here today?" John asked as a maid served the dinner.


    "Since Alicia told me about Master coming here but not arriving here herself, I would think that you want to talk something about me."


    Sigil spoke as he waited for John to start eating first.


    "Sigh, to tell the truth, I have never been so proud of you since you played my song on that piano. No gambling, no red light district, no bullying, nothing. All I am here to say is that you did not let me down." John smiled at Sigil as he placed a bite in his mouth.


    Sigil flinched a little at his words.


    How could John not know about Sigil''s actions? Sigil was the only adopted child in the Grey Family with the treatment equal to the princess of the Grey Family- Alicia Grey.


    They both did not speak after that and ate their dinner quietly.


    After they both finished, John was the first one to get up.


    "From now on, you call me Father or Dad. Stop with your ''Master'' crap."


    John didn''t wait for any reply as he walked away.


    "Also, start your morning workout routine once again. You have just opened your sixth gate and need to stabilise your body with proper training."


    Even though John had disappeared, Sigil could still hear him easily.

 Moving Out

    Besides the mansion and other facilities, there were also many homes in the vicinity. The Grey Family was a big family with lots of branches and many people lived in the estate.


    In one of the smaller house, Ricardo was sitting on his couch while eating a slice of pizza. A local news channel could be seen from the television.


    "Sigh, I am still at the second gate. With the potential of my body, it will take 3 months to open the third gate. I can use other Techniques to increase my strength but it will bring more harm than benefits until I reach the Chakra Stage."


    Ricardo was deep in thoughts. His first objective was to find a 1 star or 2 stars case before the Right of Witchcraft or he would not be allowed to have a family''s familiar.


    "I also need to secure Alicia''s locket. That thing has a lot of secrets and it also has one of the blades of the ancients stored inside it." Ricardo''s mind was forming many plans.


    "I need to take Alicia and my familiar away before the disaster strikes the family."


    He stood up after eating his dinner and went to his room.


    A picture of a couple and a little kid was framed and placed on his study. The couple was his late parents. They died at the hands of a crazed Vampire that they were supposed to kill.


    "Huff¡­ All the Gates technique have the similar effect on my energy gates. I just need to find appropriate resources to quicken the rate of opening the gate. In my previous life, Alicia went to solve a four stars case alone and barely returned alive. It was found that there was an eye of a mutant specter strengthening the vengeful spirit. Maybe, I will make a trip together with Alicia."


    He sighed and continued his cultivation of opening the eight inner gates of the body.


    Meanwhile, Sigil had arrived at the training facility as usual. The training facility looked like a modern gym from regular Earth. The facility had all the types of equipment of practice and many weight lifting equipment.


    The moment he entered, he could see a group of 12-13 years old kids training with those pieces of equipment.


    The children of this world had different entertainment methods.


    After opening their first gate, they already had the strength to lift 30 kilogrammes.


    "Young Master Sigil, here for the regular course?"


    A brawny man walked towards Sigil.


    "Yeah! Just set me up a regular course."


    This man was the head of the facility. He had already opened all the gates inside his body but failed to enter the later stages of Chakra.


    This world is filled with mythical existence like Ghosts, Demons and other supernatural entities. To ensure the survival of humanity, some experts started to spread certain cultivation methods that could allow regular mortals to have great physical strength while talented humans could enter the realm of magic and witchcraft.


    The first realm of the Cultivation practice is to open the eight inner gates of the body.


    The eight inner gates of the body are Gate of Opening, Healing, Life, Pain, Limit, View, Wonder and Death.


    Unlike their names, the act of opening the gates only enhances the body as a whole. If you encounter this narrative on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.


    They both made way towards the open ground to train the basic movements of his body.


    Sigil started with simple exercise.


    200 push-ups, 200 squats, 200 sit-ups, 5 kilometres jogging and 2 hours of basic Martial Arts movement consisting of Three variations of punches and kicks alongside three variations of defence using hands.


    "I barely broke a sweat even after all this. My previous body would have already been admitted to the hospital if I performed such a hardcore training." He muttered to himself as he rotated his wrists.


    "I figured you will be here." A sweet voice startled him.


    "Well, I was missing my fianc¨¦ during the dinner." Sigil chuckled.


    "Oh! Already missing me, you really are going to be a sweet husband."


    Alicia smiled and sat near him.


    "Did you go through the file I sent you?"


    "Yeah! It looks like a work of a ghost, a psychotic serial killer or a mortal witch hexing some strippers out of spite."


    Unlike Sigil and Alicia, who were on the path of magic and ''good'' witchcraft, there were many mortals who failed to enter the Chakra stages and used hexing spells and other sacrifices to perform spells.


    Alicia looked at him for a long time without saying anything.


    "What happened? Did I become too handsome?"


    Sigil chuckled.


    ''Finally, I can pull this kind of joke.'' He felt pretty good after saying that.


    "What changed you? That day, you became unconscious right after touching my hand and had some troubles getting into physical contact with others. You even stopped your shenanigans and even stopped teasing other girls of the school. Moreover, you actually completed your school work and even perform basic training like this during the night."


    Alicia looked at him curiously.


    At first, she really felt something for Sigil since they have been raised together. They have seen each other naked for crying out loud. But slowly, Sigil turned into a wastrel of a young master with a famous reputation in wrong places. But now, he had completely changed. He became someone comfortable to talk to. He won''t try to take advantages of her and even treat maids and other mortals of lower status with consideration.


    Sigil fell silent after hearing Alicia''s question.


    What changed?


    What should he reply with? That his soul changed? That he went through a terrible heart attack and sees life differently?


    "How should I put it? I just came to see myself in the mirror. I realised the ugliness hidden inside my body and want to get rid of it."


    Sigil wore his jacket and replied calmly.


    Alicia''s eyes held a complicated expression when she heard Sigil''s words. She had wanted to cancel the marriage agreement but now, she had second thoughts. This also the reason that she had invited Sigil to hunt together.


    "We both have been granted a leave from the school until we complete the case. The school and the family will send officials to check our progress and make a complete report after the case has been solved. You should prepare all the necessary items, we will leave tomorrow morning."


    Alicia sighed and got up.


    Sigil didn''t move until she was out of sight.


    "What a complicated world. The previous Sigil really had it easy. Simple minded without the care of the world."


    He sighed and stood up.


    ***


    The next morning.


    Sigil got out of his room in casual clothes and a black jacket. He held a bag on his shoulders and walked outside the mansion, towards the exit of the estate. Inside his bags were various items like a bottle of holy water, a pistol, a rifle, loads of ammo, a bottle filled with salt and a lot of markers and cans of spray paint.


    He could already see Alicia with his enhanced vision. She was wearing a white crop top with a pair of light blue denims. A black jacket, similar to Sigil''s, was worn by her. Her long black hair was tied into a single braid.


    A bag could be seen near her feet, filled with various supplies to hunt down supernatural entities.


    "Here is your Family badge and this one is your Witch permit."


    A white sports car was parked near them.


    "I will drive." The car had an automatic roof and Alicia immediately hopped in the driving seat.


    "Fine."


    Sigil loaded the supplies in the car trunk and sat on the front seat.


    "You ready? Our first Hunt." Alicia had an excited smile on her face.


    "Yeah, sure!"


    Even Sigil held a little bit of anticipation towards the supernatural beings of this Earth.


    Vrrrrooommmmmm


    Alicia immediately geared the car and revved as if she was in a race battle.


    John looked at all of this from the top window of his mansion.


    "Best of luck, kiddos."


    ***


    "What? They both went to solve a case together?"


    Ricardo just heard the top news of the family. His heart felt a little uneasy since most of the things had already changed. Alicia was supposed to solve the case 8 days later while Sigil should have gone to solve a 3 stars case.


    "Let''s hope that all the changes still lead to the same outcome."


    He wasn''t strong enough to change anything and his only focus was to get stronger quickly.

 Investigation

    Even though this Earth is familiar to Sigil''s previous world in terms of use of various technologies, the geographic features of both the planets did not match at all.


    There were no different continents on this Earth. The planet was divided into a circular land covering 43% of the planet while the water bodies covered the rest.


    Humans named the continent ''Glory Continent''.


    The whole continent was divided into Six Countries that were further divided into states, cities and towns.


    The esteemed Grey Family''s base was situated in the town named Silver Fang City. The town itself was infamous for the werewolves terrorising the people of the town.


    It was the first ancestor of the family that brought his familiar- A Silver-Furred Wolf and eradicated all the werewolves by himself. Later, he used the town as the base for establishing his own Witch Family.


    Alicia and Sigil were on their way towards a city named Chestcovia. It was an hour''s drive from the family base and did not take much time in their sports car.


    "Alright, I will go check into the hotel and you should talk with the police. We will meet at that cafeteria in an hour."


    Alicia got out from the car as she handed out the key of the car to the Sigil. She did take both her''s and Sigil''s bag inside the hotel.


    Their meeting place was a caf¨¦ right in front of the hotel.


    "Fine by me."


    Sigil sat on the driver''s seat and drove to the Police Station of the city.


    ***


    "Yes! We checked for various paranormal signs and didn''t find anything ''Beastly''. All the citizens have been tested with holy water and silverware. Even the EMF readings were at their bare minimum." A middle-aged officer reported most of their findings to Sigil after he showed his Witch''s Permit.


    "Any local lores or legend?" Sigil pressed on. The murders couldn''t be accomplished by anything normal.


    "Look, kid! We have searched every corner of the crime scene and still haven''t found anything. Most of those strippers had already opened their second inner gate, two of them had even reached the threshold of opening the third."


    The officer handed him a file regarding the case.


    "Thanks. Uh..can you also give me all the reports on the missing civilians."


    Electromotive Force or EMF wasn''t a sure thing during the search of a ghost or their other kinds. Most of the people of the world have basic knowledge about the Voodoo stuff going around, but they cannot remain fearful for everything and not continue their lives.


    Many civilians are equipped with EMF reader to locate any nearby ghost and even have some minor achievements in the cultivation of opening of the eight inner gates.


    After stashing all the files, Sigil drove off to the crime scenes.This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it.


    He pulled up in front of a small house. The neighborhood was friendly, which was quite unexpected for a woman with such a bad reputation in her circles.


    *Knock* *Knock*


    Cluck


    "Yes? How may I help you?" An old woman opened the door. Her face was filled with wrinkles and it looked like she didn''t get any sleep for the past three days.


    "Miss Gringer, I am Sigil. I am with the group of Witches and would like to ask you some questions about the recent murder."


    Sigil flashed his Witch''s Permit.


    ***


    "I am sorry for your loss, Ma''am. I know that this is a hard time for you, but I still need to ask some questions."


    Sigil felt a little bad inside when he saw the old woman breaking down right after hearing her daughter''s name.


    "Yes, of course. My daughter¡­ Linda was unlike others. She took care of me even most kids her age just put their parents in a house. She even started to do some odd jobs, but she wasn''t well received because of her refusing to provide other services. I think th.... tha¡­ that, a drunkard did this to my daughter."


    The poor lady started to cry again.


    "Ma''am, please try to control your emotions. Here, take this." Sigil handed her a tissue paper.


    After some time, he was finally finished with his interrogation.


    "Looks like I am on time." He quickly drove off to their meeting point.


    ***


    Meanwhile, something was happening in a strange location. The room was dark and the walls had water streaks. A light grey shadow kept appearing and disappearing from the same location with a ''Bzzzt'' sound.


    "You¡­ have¡­ to¡­ keep¡­ going¡­"


    The shadow belonged to a pale white woman. Her features were unclear and she possessed dark hair. The only recognizable feature of her face was her right eye that glowed light blue.


    ***


    "Hmm? So no EMF, no nothing?" Alicia asked as she sipped on her coffee.


    It was already 10 in the morning.


    "Well, no Ghost signals in the first victim''s house at least." Sigil sighed as he ate a sandwich.


    "So, got any guesses?" Alicia looked at the file of the most recent victim.


    "Well, we cannot use tracking spells without going dark, so, I am going back to hotel room to do a little research, while you go and check on the other four victim''s family." Sigil spoke as he finished his sandwich.


    "Sure thing."


    Alicia handed him the key to the hotel room and drove off in her car.


    ***


    "Excuse me, Sir. Can I have a little chat with you."


    A kid, around the age of 13 stood in front of Sigil''s table while he was sipping on his coffee and looking through the police reports.


    "Hmm? Uh¡­.yeah! Sure, why not?"


    He looked at the strange kid chose not to ignore him.


    "So, what''s up, kid?"


    "You are from Witch''s Organisation, right?"


    The kid completely ignored Sigil, causing him to sigh.


    ''Is my body not intimidating enough?'' He was speechless.


    He flashed his Witch''s Permit, causing the kid''s eyes to shine.


    "Fine, I believe you! Three years ago, when I was 9, there was another case where many children went missing. We couldn''t find anything unusual and even the police had given up. The Witch sent for the case did manage to find a vengeful spirit, but he didn''t completely kill it."


    The kid spoke all the information in one breath.


    "Wait for a moment." Sigil frowned and searched the database from his smartphone.


    "Hmm? It says here that the case was taken up by a Chakra Stage Witch named Eugene. He not only completed the case, he even set a barrier to protect the civilians from some of the paranormal existences. Kid, are you lying to me?"


    Sigil narrowed his eyes.


    The young boy immediately shook his head.


    "No, the witch couldn''t kill the spirit because he couldn''t find the object that the spirit was attached to. I was there that night. The witch used a strange spell and the spirit was slowly burnt away, leaving a spherical object. After that, the witch master dropped me off at my home and went away."


    Usually, to kill a vengeful spirit, a person can cremate the body of the spirit or burn the object that the spirit is attached to. Higher level Experts can also kill the spirits by using certain spells and magic.


    Sigil felt a little suspicious.


    "Do you remember the place where the witch used his spell?"


    The kid immediately nodded.


    "Alright, take me there."


    He immediately packed up his files and put in his bag. He then called for a cab and went towards the outskirts of the city.


    Meanwhile, Alicia also concluded most of her interrogation.


    "Hmm? A text from Sigil?"


    Alicia read the text as her expression became a little weird.


    "Eugene, huh."

 Investigation 2

    "So, what''s your name kid?" Sigil asked as they rode the cab.


    "Joseph"


    "Joseph? That''s a nice name. So tell me, Joseph. What were you doing near a witch and a vengeful spirit?"


    Sigil started his interrogation.


    The whole situation felt a little off to Sigil. Why would a Chakra Level Witch lie in his report? What was the spherical object? And why would this Eugene leave a protection spell on this town?


    No witch is good enough to exhaust their magic to protect the humans from supernatural contingencies.


    "I¡­-that night, I was captured by the spirit. It was Mr Daniel''s ghost. My mother once told me that Mr Daniel died because of a child''s prank. This was the reason his spirit targeted kids like me. After the bodies of three victims were discovered, the police asked for a witch''s help."


    Sigil nodded as he understood most of the situation.


    "So, the corpse of this Daniel guy was cremated according to the standards, right?"


    Sigil asked for the sake of confirmation.


    "Yes! Every person of this town gets their bodies cremated after their death."


    Joseph nodded his head.


    "Kiddo, we reached your destination." The cab driver spoke out.


    "Thanks. Keep the change."


    Sigil paid the driver and got off together with Joseph.


    They were standing in front of a Graveyard.


    Even though the bodies of the dead get cremated, the family of the said person usually place a tombstone for the person.


    Joseph led Sigil towards the tombstone of Daniel. Since it was daytime, the graveyard barely looked sinister. Instead, the place looked extremely lively.


    "Here." Joseph pointed at an old tombstone with fungus attached to it. The condition of the tombstone was extremely bad. Evidently, no one visited or cleaned this guy''s resting place.


    "Hmm? Let''s see." Sigil took out a handkerchief and wiped the front of the tombstone.


    "Here lies Daniel McGee, may his soul rest in peace."


    Sigil read aloud.


    Beneath the writings was a circle with a pentagon etched inside it. A small dot had been carved at the centre of the strange circle.


    "A sealing spell."


    Sigil''s mind flashed countless thoughts as he felt even weirder.


    "Thank you, Joseph. You should go back." Sigil handed some money to the kid since it would take him some time.


    After booking a cab for the kid, Sigil immediately returned to the tombstone.


    "That''s strange, this isn''t just a sealing spell." Sigil clicked the image of the spell and sent it to someone. He then dialed a number on his mobile phone.


    "Hey, Beth. It''s me. Yeah! Listen, I have sent you an image of a spell. Can you check the library and find a match? Yeah! thanks."


    Bethany Grey, one of the young geniuses of the Grey Family with four gates unlocked in such a young age. She was also a spell master. Alicia and Bethany are the only girls from the younger generation of the family treated with respect belonging to a Chakra Stage Witch.


    "Hey, Alicia. I''m at the city graveyard. Pick me up after you check on every victim''s family. Yeah! Alright, bye."


    He contacted Alicia after that and walked towards the nearest security building of the graveyard to get some tools.


    ***


    Meanwhile, Alicia also interrogated the family of the victims and some witnesses.


    "So you mean that Miss Aria was strictly professional and did not perform any other entertainment activities outside her payroll, yes?" Alicia asked the husband of the last victim.


    "Yes! Even though she used to work in a strip club, I supported her unconditionally and our marriage was really healthy. She did not hide anything from me and I knew her routine." The victim''s husband''s condition was really terrible.This book is hosted on another platform. Read the official version and support the author''s work.


    "So, did you notice anything strange in her behaviour or any unusual feeling the day of the accident?"


    Alicia narrowed her eyes.


    "No, not that I can think of. One thing though, she wanted to leave the club after what happened to Sophie." The man spoke out.


    "What do you mean?"


    She immediately picked up the conversation and asked her question.


    "Well, there just before all the deaths took place, an employee going by the name of Trisha had disappeared strangely. No feetbody has been found yet."


    Alicia raised her eyebrow at the information.


    "Thank you for your time."


    Alicia stood up and went away.


    Before she drove away, she dialed a number on her mobile phone.


    "Hey, Sigil! Still at the graveyard? Yeah! Checked on all the victim''s family. Coming to pick you up."


    ***


    "Thanks!"


    Sigil hung up as he continued digging the empty grave of Daniel.


    Thuk


    The shovel suddenly hit a solid plate, causing Sigil to smile lightly.


    "Mr Chang, can you pass me that mattock?" Sigil shouted at the security guard on duty.


    "Sure thing, kid!" The kind looking Asian American passed him the pitch black mattock.


    "Honestly, I have opened five of my inner gates and I still don''t get why you witches are so much into digging graves."


    Mr Chang chuckled a little as he bent and watched Sigil using the mattock to break open the stone platform.


    "You don''t know the half of it."


    Sigil also chuckled.


    Bang


    Bang


    He kept using the mattock to beat at the stoney platform.


    "Hmm? Kid, want me to give a hand?"


    Sigil had already dug seven feet deep and six feet wide. Mr Chang could easily fit in the hole and give him a hand.


    If it was the original Sigil, he would have already mocked Mr Chang for being one stage lower than him.


    "Sure, why not? I could use some help."


    Sigil smiled as he struck the stoney platform once again.


    Soon, Mr Chang appeared with another mattock and joined Sigil.


    Bang


    Bang


    Bang


    "Damn, this isn''t a normal platform. What the hell is this, boy?" The old security guard couldn''t help but feel astonished.


    He could be considered one of the strongest, including some police officers. After all, opening the fifth gate is an impressive achievement for someone without any background.


    "Of course, it isn''t a normal platform. Don''t you see that the mark on the tomb isn''t just a sealing spell, it''s also a nurturing spell?" A sweet voice answered the old man''s doubt.


    Sigil looked up and found Alicia looking back at him with a strange expression saying- ''You should read more.''


    Technically, it wasn''t Sigil''s fault. He just arrived at this world a week ago.


    "You know about that spell?"


    "Yeah! I once saw this on Dad''s desk. He wanted to nurture a specter to breakthrough from the fifth point of Throat Chakra to the sixth point of Third Eye Chakra. Well, the treasure to be nurtured depends on the quality of the specter itself but he still hasn''t found any specter near the family town."


    Alicia spoke out as she remained in deep thoughts.


    "Oh¡­ this makes sense." Sigil immediately understood the reason for the durability of the platform.


    Nurturing spell required high-quality materials. The spell doesn''t just nurture a treasure or an object with the surrounding magical energy, it also creates a barrier to defend the treasure getting nurtured. If the spell is combined with a sealing spell, the durability of the defence increases even more and even high-level Chakra Experts wouldn''t be able to break the defence if they don''t know how to reverse the spell.


    Sigil sighed and got out of the hole alongside Mr Chang. With his body''s condition, he could easily jump at least 12 feets high.


    After returning the tools, he and Alicia went back to the hotel. They did not fill the hole as they wanted to return later.


    "So, do you know how to reverse the spell?" Sigil asked Alicia as she drove the car.


    "We can''t reverse it until we know the materials used to set up the spell." Alicia replied nonchalantly.


    Vrrr


    Suddenly, Sigil''s mobile phone rang.


    "Hmm? Beth?"


    Sigil picked up and greeted Bethany back.


    Meanwhile, a blue-haired girl with beauty comparable to Alicia had a pale face. She was sitting in the Grey Family''s library with a thick book opened in front of her.


    The same nurturing mark could be seen on one of the pages that Sigil encountered.


    "Sigil, you have to get out of the city with Alicia. It isn''t a four stars case anymore. I am sending you the details of the spell."


    Bethany''s mind was in a chaos right now. She immediately sent the relevant information to Sigil''s mail and immediately moved towards the main estate where John Grey, the family head of the Grey Family lived.


    Unknown to her, a shadow was following her. It was Ricardo.


    "Should I help those two? Most of the circumstances have already changed. Sigil has already stopped bullying me and many other situations have changed too." Ricardo''s thoughts were in a turmoil.


    After reincarnating to his past self, he didn''t go through the same unfortunate incidents.


    "Well, it''s just this one time." He immediately wrote down a few ingredients on his mobile phone and sent to another mail.


    The user ID of the mail read as SigilGrey41.


    Alongside ingredients, there was another line written.


    ''Leave in two days.''


    Ricardo personally knew the future Necromancer Eugene and his works. Even though he felt conflicted in helping Sigil, he couldn''t let a family member die.


    ***


    Sigil immediately received two emails. One from a user id named Beth789 and one anonymous mail.


    He skimmed through Bethany''s information as his face grew dark. If the information was correct, then that means the family head of the Grey family did not use the spell because of his own choice rather than the inability of finding the treasure to be nurtured.


    He then proceeded to read the mail from someone named ''ghridbcnn234''.


    It was a list of ingredients alongside a warning note of leaving in two days.


    "Alicia, we got some work to do."


    He immediately gave her the information from Beth''s id but remained quiet about the anonymous id.


    They both immediately returned to the hotel to study the files and find some clues regarding the next attack.


    ***


    Yester Pub, 23:30.


    A blonde woman walked out of the backdoor of the strip club. Her face looked tired as the job of being a stripper wasn''t easy. Not only you have to physically tire your body with such acrobatic moves, but you also get mentally tired by guarding off against some perverts trying to touch your body.


    But right now, despite her tiredness, she still walked quickly out of the dark alley.


    After reading about all the strange deaths happening in the city, she couldn''t feel safe anymore.


    Trsh


    She suddenly heard a noise as she suddenly stood stiff, too scared to look backwards.


    "Haaaa."


    Her breath suddenly felt cold and her body shuddered involuntarily. She slowly looked back and her eyes widened. Her light green pupils dilated to the extremes.


    "AAAAAAAGHHHHHHHHHHHH"


    Chgh.


    Only the sound of blood splashing remained.

 Solving the Case; Calculative Bet

    "This way."


    A police officer guided Alicia and Sigil towards the crime scene. The whole alley was sealed away by the police. A white cloth had been placed above a certain mound and many officers were questioning the other employees of the pub.


    "The death rate has increased very quickly." Sigil whispered to Alicia.


    There were a total of seven deaths within one month. All the victims had their body crushed into meat patties.


    Sigil walked towards the mound covered with the white cloth and peaked under the cover.


    "Sigh."


    Sigil could only sigh. The body was barely recognisable. Only a few strands of golden hair could be identified.


    Alicia walked near the corpse and took out her EMF reader. The piece of equipment looked like a Walkie talkie, except the front was a digital screen with six red bars positioned like a network signal of mobile phones.


    The reader produced strange noise as the six of the red bars produced lights.


    Alicia tapped Sigil''s shoulder and pointed at the reader.


    "Definitely a spirit."


    They both came to a similar conclusion.


    "Let''s go and interrogate the owner." Sigil stood up and walked towards the bald owner.


    Seeing the witches approaching, the police officer interrogating the owner nodded towards them and let both of them handle the owner.


    "Hey! How long have you run this pub?" Sigil flashed a smile as he asked the owner.


    "For almost 23 years." The owner replied nonchalantly as he looked at Alicia.


    ''Witches from strong families really have a mine filled with beauties.''


    It was an instinctual move from the owner. He didn''t mean to offend any woman when he checked them out. It was more like a talent scouting.


    "23 years, huh? Can you tell about Sarah?" He ignored the owner''s disinterest and asked with a smile.


    "Hmm? Sarah was a hardworking employee. Barely took any leaves and had a good reputation. She also had a healthy relationship with her co-workers and customers, except some people." The bald owner finally took his eyes off Alicia.


    "Of course, she had a good relationship with most people except those who wanted a ''private show'', correct?"


    Alicia asked the owner this time.


    Her question made the owner flinch a little.


    He nodded after a moment.


    "In a business like this, some conflict is inevitable. Besides, Sarah wasn''t forced to do anything unethical. She did feel mentally pressured because of the fact that some of her co-workers performed privately. This not only caused her customers to decline but also boosted the advances made by certain customers for some extra entertainment services." The owner came out clean.


    His meaning was simple. Sarah did not want to change her career from a stripper to a prostitute and hence, felt a lot of pressure from those who really wanted certain services from her.


    "Thank you for your time." Sigil let the owner go as they both walked away from the crime scene.


    "So, all the victims have similarities. All the victims are blondes that refused to become hookers." Sigil spoke out bluntly.


    Alicia nodded as they soon reached their hotel.


    "You check all the deaths in the past year while I find a way to reverse the spell." Sigil had already sent Alicia the ingredients by another anonymous id.


    The moment they reached their rooms, they divided their tasks.


    ***


    Knock


    Knock


    After three hours, Sigil knocked on Alicia''s door.


    Cluck


    "Hmm? Did you find anything?" The door opened, revealing Alicia.


    "Yup. A possible suspect." Sigil nodded as he entered the room with his laptop.


    "Check this out. Grachen Collin, a stripper that died during one of her personal performance. Reason of death- the ceiling of the room fell on Grachen as well as her customer, turning both of them into meat patties."


    Sigil passed the laptop to Alicia.


    "Why would her spirit haunt blonde strippers then?"


    Alicia read the whole article and asked with a confused expression.


    "Quite simple. She wasn''t supposed to be the one performing in the first place. It was the first victim that was asked to prostitute but she refused, causing Grachen to take her place."


    "Hoo."


    The whole image became clear to Alicia.


    Since Grachen died during the activity she wasn''t supposed to perform in the first place. Her spirit put all her anger on other blond strippers that refused to work overtime.


    "Well, her body was cremated and she doesn''t have any relative in the city. If my guess is correct, we can find her spirit at Daniel''s resting place."


    Sigil spoke out.


    "Any methods to reverse the spell?" He asked Alicia, causing her to sigh.


    "All the materials are quite high-end. Eye of the kraken, a nail of a werewolf, a heart of a vampire, these kind of materials aren''t available in the market and have to be hunted on commission. I can''t ask for Family''s support since it is our trail of becoming a full-fledged witch."This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.


    She slumped on her couch.


    "Well, I just thought of a way. We don''t need to enter the sealed area. According to Beth, the spell allows the spirit to move out of the sealing area and hunt around. This hunting satiates the anger of the spirit and allows most of the negative emotions held by the spirit to pass on at the treasure that is being nurtured. So, I was thinking that instead of opening the seal, why don''t we lure the spirit out."


    Sigil smiled as he looked at Alicia strangely. He got this idea when he saw the Bald boss checking Alicia out.


    "Wait, if we put an end to the spirit and fail to control the treasure, the whole city might be in danger." Alicia frowned.


    "Why should we control the treasure if we can destroy it alongside the spirit?" Sigil grinned.


    This kind of treasure was extremely evil and would be a little use to Witches like Grey Family.


    Alicia''s eyes shined as she heard Sigil''s proposal.


    "We do know the recipe of the spell. Instead of reversing it, we can use the opposite of the ingredients to implode the treasure." Alicia also felt that the plan was viable.


    "Alright, I will get a blonde wig while you gather the materials."


    Sigil walked out of the room without waiting for Alicia''s reply. Only after a short time did Alicia understand the reason for procuring a blonde wig.


    She was going to be the bait for the spirit.


    ***


    Alicia and Sigil returned to the graveyard. They both were in their casual clothes except the brunette Alicia was converted into a blonde Alicia. Her grey eyes looked at Sigil fiercely, who remained unflinching and shameless.


    "You don''t have to look so angry. Brunette or Blonde, you look beautiful in both versions." Sigil teased his so-called fianc¨¦.


    "Shut it." Alicia rolled her eyes as she opened the trunk of the car and took out some materials.


    "Alright, I will start creating the spell. Back me up till then." Alicia spoke to Sigil.


    It was already night, the sweet time when the Spirit reveals itself to create more meat patties.


    Sigil nodded as he took out a can of spray paint and immediately drew a magic pattern on the cemented pathway. Alicia then proceeded to stand on the pattern as she started mixing some materials in a bowl.


    Zzpt


    Sigil and Alicia both heard a strange noise and immediately looked towards Daniel''s tombstone.


    A faceless woman could be seen. Her body was translucent, phasing between the material and spiritual plane with a ''zzpt'' noise.


    "Concentrate on the spell. I got this!" Sigil armed the pistol in his hand and grabbed an iron pipe that was soaked in salt water.


    Salt and pure iron are one of the major weaknesses of the ghost kind.


    "Hey, Grachen! You don''t have to do this." Sigil also noticed the distinctive eye on the ghost''s face.


    "Hel¡­p¡­-"


    "So¡­ much¡­ to¡­ do."


    Just as a woman''s voice could be heard, a masculine whisper cut off female''s voice.


    Meanwhile, Alicia kept on crushing various materials and kept on mixing them.


    Sigil and Alicia still remained in the magical circle. It was one of the spells that could ward off the spirits haunting the material world.


    "Maybe, I can separate the spirit from the treasure." Sigil suddenly spoke out.


    "What? Don''t screw around right now. Stay put inside the circle." Alicia could barely pay attention to Sigil and immediately berated him.


    Sigil''s eyes flashed with various thoughts.


    "How long till you complete the spell?" He asked Alicia, his thoughts unreadable.


    "A minute."


    She replied as her forehead was already covered in sweat.


    Completing a spell demanded high mental concentration. It wasn''t just the process of combination of ingredients. The process also included the expenditure of mental energy.


    After hearing her reply, Sigil looked at the unfortunate spirit and shot towards her. His speed easily surpassed the fastest champions of Earth and covered the distance between him and the ghost within a mere moment.


    Aaaaaaaaaaa


    A miserable shriek emerged from ghost''s face that did not have any features.


    ''What better ways to test my abilities than now?''


    Sigil decided to take a calculated risk.


    Even if he failed, he could still stall time for Alicia to complete the spell.


    "This may feel like a pinch." Sigil''s hand flashed a light-blue colour and surprisingly, he could touch the spirit.


    Whoosh


    A sound of wind could be heard as the time seemed to be stopped.


    The featureless face of Grachen''s spirit started forming her face as she looked at the surroundings in confusion.


    Sigil and Grachen weren''t in graveyard anymore.


    They were in a strange room¡­ a bedroom.


    The whole place was neat even if the place didn''t look so luxurious.


    "My¡­ room?"


    Grachen could finally speak.


    She looked at Sigil warily and slowly stepped backwards. Her gaze focused at the gun in Sigil''s grip.


    "Woah! I am not going to hurt you. Try and remember what happened to you."


    Sigil immediately noticed the direction of her gaze and disarmed the gun. Even though all of this was not real, he still needed to make Grachen trust him, or at least not be wary of him.


    "I¡­ I shouldn''t be here. That voice said that I had to keep going." Grachen''s expression was full of confusion.


    "Alright, this may sound crazy but you died. You were doing your job and met with an accident. I am here to free you from the strange voice."


    There were many spells to put an end on a vengeful spirit. The most ''mortal'' way could be cremation of the spirit''s body and also burning any other object that the spirit could be attached to.


    Other methods included the use of spells to cut off the spirit''s connection to the material plane, allowing the spirit to move on.


    And there is an anomaly like Sigil, who could read the soul of a person.


    After this little experiment, he understood that his ability isn''t just limited to reading the souls of a living being, but also communicating with a vengeful spirit and affecting them.


    "What do you mean?" Grachen slowly walked backwards.


    ''Huh? The spirits aren''t in their vengeful mode in this space.''


    Sigil slowly understood his ability even more.


    "Sweetheart, I don''t have the luxury to prepare you for what''s next. I wish you luck." Sigil immediately caught Grachen''s wrist.


    "I hope you live a happy afterlife." Sigil smiled sincerely as a light emerged from Sigil''s palm. The expression on Grachen''s face changed from confusion to clarity and she nodded towards Sigil with a smile.


    Her body started to disperse into small globes of light.


    "Thank¡­.. you."


    Grachen could barely make out these words before she disappeared.


    The whole scene changed once again and Sigil returned to the graveyard. Even though it looked like some time has passed, in reality, not even a second had passed.


    The faceless spirit disappeared as a floating eye could be seen in its place.


    "Alright, it''s just you and us. No innocent souls." Sigil grinned at the strange eye and immediately shot back in the magic circle.


    Haaaaaaaaahhhhh


    An image formed around the strange eye. A middle-aged man with long black hair.


    The spirit''s bloodshot eyes stared at Sigil hatefully.


    The spirit''s left eye shined malevolently.


    "You¡­ will¡­ pay¡­"


    The spirit waved its hand towards one of the tombstone.


    Crack


    A piece of the tombstone cracked apart and shot towards Alicia and Sigil.


    "Well, this is one way to deal with the warding spell." Sigil immediately swung the iron bar towards the cracked tombstone.


    Thud


    "Damn, how much longer?" Sigil could barely hold his own ground and it looked like the spirit still had lots of ghost juice left inside it.


    "Done!"


    Alicia used a knife to slice open a small wound and let her blood drop on the ingredients.


    "I have to get into the contact of that eye. Back me up!"


    Alicia bit her teeth as her face had already turned pale.


    Hiyaaaaaaaaaaaa


    The spirit shrieked again as three more tombstones flew towards them.


    ''Shit.''


    Sigil immediately started shooting towards the tombstone.


    "Not working!"


    He grabbed Alicia''s hand and barely evaded the attack.


    Bang


    Bang


    Bang


    Bang


    Sigil immediately started shooting at the flickering spirit.


    "What are you doing?" Alicia could only bid for time.


    "Stalling for time." Sigil replied.


    His heart was in a turmoil.


    Even though his mental age was greater than Alicia, even he had never participated in such an intense face-off. His heart felt panic, fear and a little bit of¡­.. excitement.


    Reading souls, communication with spirits and FIGHTING spirits was too imaginative to be true.


    If he did not see this for himself, he would have never believed it.


    "Follow my lead."


    He threw away the pistol after all the bullets were fired.


    His hands gripped on the iron rod tightly and walked towards the ghost slowly.


    Zzpt


    The spirit suddenly flickered away.


    "Behind!"


    Sigil immediately turned back and swung the iron bar fiercely at the spirit with its hand reaching towards Alicia.


    The moment the iron rod passed through the spirit, it became paralysed and failed to ''zap'' away.


    "DO IT!!!"


    "Et Excoquam Ad Dissiliunt!!!"


    Alicia immediately chanted the spell and threw the contents of the bowl at the stunned spirit''s face.


    Ssszzzz


    Hyaaaaaaaaa


    The whole spirit started to melt off alongside the strange eye. The spirit let out many shrieks, but could not stop its inevitable fate.


    Alicia and Sigil watched on as the spirit slowly ceased to exist.


    After a period of silence, Alicia finally asked Sigil.


    "How did you know that it would appear behind us?"


    She looked a little better now.


    "I did not know. I just played another calculated bet."


    Sigil replied.


    That was the truth.


    He did not know where the spirit was going to appear, but with its limited intelligence, the only place it should have appeared would be behind them.

 Return

    "Thank you, kids." The police officer sincerely thanked both of them after he received the news.


    Alicia and Sigil had already packed up and were ready to leave the city. Their hunt was over and they just had to wait for sometime before they could become full-fledged witches.


    "I will drive. You are still tired from the spell." Sigil took the keys from Alicia and jumped on the driver''s seat. Since it was already daytime, he had decided to retract the car roof.


    "Say, Sigil. We both were pretty good together back there. How about teaming up for next hunts too?"


    Alicia spoke as she leaned her head on the back of her seat, enjoying the wind and warmth of the sun on her face.


    "I don''t know, teaming up with my fianc¨¦ can be pretty awkward. Wouldn''t other witches think that you are keeping me on a short leash?"


    Sigil smiled a little as he drove. After everything he went through the previous night, he had to give himself a little ''me'' time. He finally understood the things he would be encountering in the future and to be honest, it was very hard to swallow all the information considering he was only a week old.


    "My, my, aren''t you all hopped up about us getting engaged." She squinted her eyes.


    Even she could use a relaxing conversation after going through such a dangerous mission.


    "Why wouldn''t I be? I consider myself lucky that I am going to be engaged to you."


    Alicia opened her eyes and looked at Sigil.


    "Why are you watching me weirdly again?"


    "If you weren''t driving, I would have gotten on top of you and kissed you." She leaned back once again.


    Sigil chuckled at her words.


    "You know, you can kiss me without getting on top of me." He smirked.


    She smiled lightly.


    "If I do it according to your suggestions, it wouldn''t be hot enough."


    "Touch¨¦." Sigil continued driving.


    "So we are a team now?" Sigil looked at Alicia.


    "Sure."


    Alicia still had many doubts in her mind regarding Sigil suddenly touching Grachen''s spirit and making it disappear and also how he got the information on the ingredients of the spell.


    Even then, she did not ask Sigil about all of this. She wasn''t being considerate or anything. Even Sigil knew that Alicia was quite blunt despite her noble looks. The only reason she let her questions slide is that she was mentally exhausted by the spell and couldn''t muster her energy to get in any kind of argument.


    ***


    Garachy City, Local Graveyard.


    Garachy City was known for its connection with the Witch''s Organisation. There is always a Chakra Stage Witch stationed in the city.


    A scrawny man with light-brown hair and a thin face could be seen sleeping near a tombstone.


    The tombstone looked relatively recent with a pun etched on its surface.


    '' Pardon me for not greeting.''


    Whoosh


    A grey owl suddenly landed near the sleeping man and lightly pecked on his palm.


    The owl wasn''t an ordinary owl since it still looked lively during the daytime and its size was twice the size of a regular owl.


    "Hmmm? Swingy? Weren''t you ordered to stay near the Specter''s eye?"


    The scrawny man yawned and rubbed his eyes.


    "Ohhh? The treasure has been destroyed? Oh well! I did not have much hope for that one either way. It would have taken 16 more years to complete the treasure and I don''t have time."


    Apparently, he could communicate with the owl without any difficulties.


    The scrawny man sat and leaned on a nearby tombstone.


    "Well, I still haven''t reached the stage of fifth chakra point. Heck! I haven''t even reached the fourth chakra point." The man muttered to himself.


    He took out a cellphone from the rag of a cloth he was wearing and dialed a number.


    "Yeah! This is Eugene. I would like the report of the recent cases dealt in Chestcovia City by the organisation. Oh? You are saying that the latest report hasn''t been submitted yet? Alright, send me a copy when it''s submitted."


    Eugene hung up and slowly stood up.


    The grey owl turned into a grey light and shot inside Eugene''s body.


    His gaze suddenly stiffened as he read the pun etched on the tombstone.


    A black light emerged from his fingers and shot towards the area beneath the words.


    Another line was etched on the tombstone saying- No pun intended.


    "Well, let''s go and meet other two familiars." He stretched a little before walking out of the graveyard.


    ***


    After half an hour, Sigil and Alicia returned to the Silver Fang City. The white sports car revved around the streets and finally stopped outside the gates of the Grey Family''s Estate.


    "Huff¡­ finally home."


    Sigil exhaled deeply.


    "Yeah, yeah, don''t become relaxed too quickly. We have to report to Dad, remember?"


    Alicia stretched her hands as she got out of the car.


    "You should do this more often."


    Sigil would be damned if he did not check her out while passing out a comment. Her whole body was displayed to him and his eyes captured every single inch of her. The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.


    "Well, it doesn''t matter if you check me out. It was the bald owner that I wanted to smack when he checked me out."


    She replied nonchalantly as she walked past Sigil.


    "It wouldn''t kill you to act a little shy." He sighed and followed the little missy.


    ***


    "You mean that someone planted that treasure and did not report it to the organisation?"


    John leaned on his desk, his thoughts unknown.


    "How did you know about the original recipe?" John asked and looked outside the window.


    "Anonymous message." Sigil decided to come out clean. It would be stupid to try to keep this a secret and if he took a step back, he did not even need to keep this a secret.


    "Ohh?"


    John looked at Sigil, prompting him to show the email he received a day before.


    John frowned after reading the message.


    "What did the sender mean by warning about leaving the city in two days?"


    "I don''t know, Mast- ¡­. Dad."


    Sigil replied.


    "Alright, don''t mention anything about the treasure in your report. By the looks of it, this treasure was still in its infancy. If your suspicion is correct, then that Eugene already knows about you two and it would be better for you two to keep a low profile."


    Even though the Grey Family is counted as one of the best Witch Families out there, it still doesn''t hurt to be cautious.


    Alicia and Sigil nodded.


    "To sum it up, because of the sudden treasure, this case would have been officially turned into a five stars case. Since the existence of the treasure wouldn''t be made official in the report, you two will only get the original rewards."


    John smiled at both of them.


    He took out two pouches and tossed it towards both of them.


    "But you still completed a five stars case as your first mission. For that, I will be adding a personal reward."


    He took out a small box from his pocket and placed it on the desk.


    John''s palm touched the box as a green light flashed by.


    Click


    The box opened and he took out two keys from the box.


    "This is the key to the personal library of the estate. Unlike the Elders, you two will only have the access to the chambers for two weeks before the keys disintegrate."


    He passed on the keys and let them take their leave.


    "Well, I can easily open the seventh energy gate with this reward. What about you?" Sigil played with the pouch as he made his way towards his bedroom.


    "Same here. Let''s hang out later, I am really tired. I will bring Beth with me before dinner." Alicia went towards her room while yawning.


    The condition of opening the inner gates wasn''t too harsh. If one had appropriate materials, he or she could easily open the gates without any hidden consequences.


    After he entered his room, he immediately slumped on his bed. A habit of his past life.


    Vrrrr


    His cell phone suddenly vibrated.


    "Hmm? Who''s calling me now?"


    He saw the name on the screen of his mobile and had an urge to put his fist through his cell and punch the caller.


    He sighed before answering the phone.


    "Yeah? What do you want?


    His tone neither considerate nor cold.


    The person on the other line was sitting in one of the bars of the town.


    The caller was wearing a formal black suit. A glass full of scotch in his hand and a polite smile on his face. His black hair was trimmed from the side while the rest was combed neatly and slicked backwards.


    A tattoo of a rose could be seen on his neck, half covered by the collar of his shirt.


    If Sigil saw him, he would immediately describe him as a 90''s gangster.


    "Sigil! My man, good to hear you too! I am back in town for a little business. How about we hang out?"


    He was Ivan Redhawk of the Hawk family.


    "Is your brother here?" Sigil maintained his tone.


    "*Chuckles* I told you that I will take care of him, didn''t I? He is in the family dungeon. If he does something like that again, I will kill him myself."


    Ivan chuckled as he sipped on his scotch.


    "If you don''t then I will. Anyway, I just returned from a case for my Rite of Witchcraft."


    "Hooh, our little boy Sigil has grown up, huh? So, when do we meet?" Ivan smiled at the cute bartender as he talked with Sigil. He had the kind of a charm that could work on any female including the girls with daddy issues, mature and single women and distressed housewives.


    He was a womaniser.


    "I ain''t meeting you man. You already know me. Even if we screwed around, we never forced anyone. If we didn''t catch your little pig in time, even I would have been severely punished."


    "Come on man, for old time''s sake. I really have some stuff to talk about."


    Sigil thought for a moment before agreeing.


    "Alright, tomorrow morning, the usual place." He hung up after setting the time.


    Ivan smiled as he put his cellphone in his pocket.


    "So, love. How can I entertain you!" Ivan smiled as he leaned on the counter, making the hot bartender feel a little fuzzy.


    "Now that I think about it, I should check on Aria." He stood up and walked out of the estate. He still had loads of time before meeting with Alicia and catching up with Beth.


    He entered a Caf¨¦ named ''The Silver Waffle''.


    There weren''t many customers at this time of the hour. The whole caf¨¦ was neat and well maintained. The moment he entered, a silver shadow immediately shot towards Sigil, crashing into him.


    It was a fox.


    This fox was almost a size of a puppy and started licking Sigil''s face like an actual puppy.


    "Yeah, yeah, good to see you too, Foxy."


    He stood up and hugged the fox in his arms.


    This wasn''t any ordinary fox but an offspring of the Silver Fang Wolf of the grey Family and a Three-Tailed Spirit Fox.


    This was also the familiar of the owner of this Caf¨¦.


    "Ah! Mom! White Bro is here." A cute teen shouted as she immediately stopped waiting on a table, leaving the customers disgruntled and a little humorous.


    "Yo, Aria! You have been a good kid, right?" He smiled and placed the silver fox on the girl''s head.


    Her name was Aria Grey. She was one of the talented kids of the family with a bright future ahead of her. Her small, black hair was tied up into a ponytail while she wore a light-blue skirt and a grey apron. She was only fourteen years old and had already opened her second gate.


    "Hehe, of course, I am a good girl. Ah! I almost forgot! Please sit here and I will bring you your regular meal." She immediately ran inside the kitchen and left Sigil to his own.


    "Aren''t you well received? She is never this excited when she sees me." A melodious voice entered his ears as a mature woman with Black hair sat in front of Sigil. She was wearing the chef''s outfit and her hair was tied into a bun. Her light-grey eyes staring at Sigil and her petal-like red lips held a smile.


    "So? What brings the most talented young master of the Grey family to this small caf¨¦?"


    The chef mocked him.


    "That depends! Are you done mocking me?" He smiled at the new arrival.


    "Yeah, yeah! Congratulations on the successful completion of your case."


    "You already knew?"


    "It''s a small town and news travel fast."


    "I suppose." Sigil leaned back.


    "So? Did you have a little ''fun'' during your trip with Alicia?"


    Her eyes turned crafty and her expression longing for some gossip.


    "Stop it already Elder Linda!" He shook his head.


    "What Elder? I am only 21 this year."


    "Family rules! Any member who has achieved the Chakra Stage is the Elder of the Family."


    "Like you ever cared for such rules."


    Sigil shrugged.


    The woman in front of him was Linda Grey, the youngest Elder of the Grey Family since the family''s establishment.


    "You are right. I should have started by complimenting on your figure and how this chef''s outfit does you injustice. If I haven''t personally seen you in your training outfit, I would have thought that you don''t have much to show off."


    He chuckled.


    "There you go!" Linda smiled.


    "How''s Aria holding up?"


    Sigil suddenly asked Linda.


    "Well, you know the kid. She bounces up no matter what."


    Linda smiled.


    Sigil sighed and couldn''t help but shake his head. If he was in Aria''s shoes, he would have already stopped any contact with strangers and his smile would have already gone for a long time.


    "Don''t feel bad for her. If even you take pity on her, then she would truly feel sad."


    "Yeah! Anyway, I need your help too."


    He passed his cellphone to Linda and told her about the anonymous sender.


    "Can you track the sender?"


    "I can try." She forwarded the email to her cellphone and returned his phone.


    "So? How you holding up? I know all about your case this time. Such unexpectedness is really rare on your first case."


    "It''s not much. We completed the mission and that''s what matters."


    "Here!"


    Aria arrived cheerfully with a plate of a sandwich and a cup of coffee.


    "Thank you! Aria."


    Sigil thanked her, causing her to blush.


    ''No, no, no.''


    Sigil immediately shook his head to restrain his urge to tease the cute kid.


    "Aria, the other customers are also waiting." Linda smiled at Aria, causing her to scamper away.


    "Oh yeah! I also wanted to know about the familiars we would be allowed to choose from."


    "Sure, I will send you the information about them. But I can''t send the confidential info."


    "Thanks."


    Linda stared at him as he ate.


    ''Really, all the girls of this world really like to stare creepily?''


    He couldn''t eat his meal in peace.


    "What?"


    "One of the RedHawks is in town." Her eyes observing his expression intently.


    Sigil nodded.


    "I know. It''s Ivan."


    "Why is he here?"


    "I don''t know. He contacted me and I am meeting him tomorrow to know that very reason."


    Linda narrowed her eyes.


    "Even after what his brother was about to do to Aria?"


    "Well, I did cut that Pig''s willy off. And Ivan says that his brother was sentenced to their family''s dungeon."


    Only after hearing this did Linda''s mood get better.


    "Alright! But don''t hang around with him for too long. They may never lie but they are well-known schemers."


    Linda stood up and made her way towards the kitchen.

 Brewing Spell

    ''Crush the nails of the vampire.''


    Sigil had already returned to his room. Right now, he was sitting on his study, in front of a small bowl.


    The pouch that he and Alicia obtained in the form of a reward for completing a mission was already untied and some materials could be seen.


    Sigil already had a pair of surgical gloves on as he slowly crushed a black nail using a small metal bar.


    Some of the materials, if handled inappropriately, may cause the witch to suffer from consequences.


    For example, the vampire''s nail. It was well known that the vampire converts a human into their kind using the venom secreted from their canines. But their nails were a completely different matter. Their nails, if used correctly, may cure a disease or cause a terrible one if infected.


    Sigil slowly crushed the nail on a piece of paper. After completing the process, he carefully slid the contents on the paper into the bowl.


    ''Next, battering the Raksha Eye.''


    He controlled his nervousness as he took out a small eye from the pouch. The whole eye was black with a light green pupil.


    Curse, Nurture and Self!


    These were the three characteristics of the witch nature.


    The curse was a part of the study where a witch gains the knowledge about various spells that can be used to heal, kill and exorcise.


    Nurture was a part of Witchcraft related to nurturing of familiars gained in the higher levels.


    Self was a part of the study where a witch meditates to connect with nature and attain the wisdom of a higher realm.


    The three parts of the Witchcraft are interrelated and codependent to each other.


    Each study contains broad diversification and endless knowledge. Every single witch has his own thoughts, leading him to have his own comprehension and his own path. The collection of millions of witches created the foundation of witchcraft and a path for future Witches.


    The spell that Sigil was working on was a one-time Cultivation spell of the Curse Study.


    A curse isn''t always a bad thing. It can be used to nurture a body or destroy a body.


    Even though Sigil had experience of the previous body, he still felt a little repulsed when a sensation of ''squishiness'' was transferred to his brain from his fingers holding the black eye.


    He took a deep breath to calm his thoughts.


    He was a genius!


    In the profession of Witchcraft, a genius isn''t someone with extraordinary potential hidden inside the physical body, it is the potential of a witch''s mind and his comprehension ability.


    No matter how much of a silk pants Sigil became after associating with Redhawk''s youngest scion, he was still a genius with more than seventy percent success rate in the completion of entry-level spells.


    He put the black eye in the middle of the bowl, on the powdered nail.


    He picked up a small spoon and slowly squeezed the eye with the backside of the spoon.


    When he saw all kinds of liquid spurting out, he almost vomited. He controlled his urges and did not delay the process by squishing the eye slowly. He flattened the eye as dark green liquid filled the bottom of the bowl, covering the powdered nail.


    He repeatedly battered the mixture and then cleaned the spoon with a tissue before tossing, both the tissue paper and the spoon into the dustbin beside the study table.


    Now, the whole mixture looked dark-green and smooth, except some floating threads that were originally a part of the eye.


    ''Wings of the eight-legged ant.''


    He took out a thin pair of finger-sized wings and placed it inside the mixture. He did not mix it and let it remain floating.


    ''Now, the main part.''


    He picked a small silver knife and made a cut on his palm, letting his blood fall on the dark-green liquid.


    Some spells required a witch''s blood as a medium to execute the spell.


    "Self-type curse and nurturing spells mostly require the blood of the witch. It not only allows the spell to be compatible with the witch because if the exposure to the blood, but it also connects the soul of the witch to the spell."


    Sigil recalled the most basic lecture on the spell as he himself felt a surge of energy connecting his being to the liquid in front of him.


    Without wasting any more time, he immediately started reciting the spell.


    ''The spell belongs to the modern era and is relatively easy to execute. I have the foundations of the previous owner and just need to be careful.''


    "Hdery Glomin Dityse be Grameek Kloman¡­"Unauthorized usage: this narrative is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings.


    As Sigil started reciting the spell, he felt a part of his being getting exhausted. It wasn''t physical exhaustion but mental. His soul was used as the fuel to conduct the spell with his blood as the medium.


    The dark-green liquid started to converge on the pair of thin wings, dying the transparent wings into a light-green color.


    "Sigh, success."


    He leaned back on his chair and let out an exhausted sigh.


    The next step was to let the wing soak in the liquid for 8 hours.


    He got up and went to his bathroom.


    "Uoooo Ghouuu."


    Sounds of vomiting rang inside the empty room.


    After emptying his stomach, he cleaned up his study and covered the bowl with a silver cover.


    He wrapped up all the wasted equipment in a plastic bag and handed over the bag to the maid placed outside his room.


    Huff


    He slumped on his bed and set an alarm before sleeping to rest his tired mind and soul.


    ***


    Beep Beep Beep


    It was five in the evening as Sigil''s smartphone started vibrating with a sound of ''beep beep'' coming off it.


    It was the alarm!


    The door of his room clicked open as his maid walked inside his room. She was wearing a traditional maid costume of black and white. Her snow white hair, similar to Sigil were combed neatly remained open, flowing down her back. A black coloured headband kept her hair from falling on her beautiful face. She had healthy skin with a pair of pitch-black pupils.


    Her face had soft and beautiful features.


    She was Sigil''s personal maid and the previous owner''s ''first time''!


    "Master! You always set the alarm but never wake up!"


    She softly pulled his blanket and started shaking Sigil''s shoulder, causing him to finally wake up from his sleep.


    "Hmm? Martha?"


    He yawned and rubbed his eyes.


    He felt a little awkward around her at first, but now, he had become casual around her antics.


    "Say, Master? You always look painful when you wake up." She sat on the edge of Sigil''s bed as her hands trailed up his legs, towards a bulging tent.


    "Don''t worry! It''s just puberty."


    He smiled and got up. Even though he was casual, that didn''t mean that he would let anyone touch him whenever someone wanted to. It should be the other way around.


    Martha also got up after her failed attempt of teasing. The bulge remained in his pants, though.


    ''It was better when I grew older. I could at least hide it. And what''s with this size?''


    Sigil felt both lucky and unlucky to be stuck in this body.


    Lucky because he was talented with a good foundation, good physique and a manly face. Unlucky because he had to clean up the past mess left by the original owner.


    "Martha, what gate have you reached?"


    He checked her out as he spoke. Before he arrived, the original Sigil made Martha wear a knee-length skirt with a tight maid blouse, so that he could check out her curvaceous body thick thighs whenever he wanted. Sigil understood his past counterpart''s urges because Martha was a ''disaster'' to any man. More dangerous than Alicia, Linda and Beth combined.


    "Reporting to master, I have already opened the Eighth Gate of Death. I am currently trying to breakthrough the Chakra Stage and make a contract with my familiar."


    Sigil nodded and spoke out.


    "You already know that the top five from the rite will be allowed to bring another person to the ancestral pool. Be prepared when the time comes."


    "Yes, Master."


    Martha did not have a joyous expression since she could reach the chakra stage anytime. She only had the expression of expectation and a grateful feeling in her heart.


    "I will be eating dinner in my room. The usual, alright?"


    "Yes, Master."


    She stood up and walked towards the exit.


    She walked slowly and her loose robes still couldn''t contain her sexy back. Sigil''s gaze also walked her out.


    Before she walked out, her hand suddenly slapped her own butt.


    Pah


    The sound startled awake Sigil as he looked at the smiling Martha winking at him.


    He could only shake his head as she walked out of the room with a cheerful smile on her face.


    Martha Love, nineteen years old, the genius of the family. The only reason she was unrecognised is that it wasn''t any Elders that brought her in the family. It was Sigil himself.


    Until he becomes an Elder, her status will remain that to a maid.


    This was also why she wasn''t allowed to have the familiars from the family and couldn''t enter the ancestral pool during her own Rite of Witchcraft.


    As he started dressing, he heard a knock on his door followed by Alicia''s voice.


    "We are coming in!"


    Truly shameless!


    Sigil hurriedly pulled up his pants before any misunderstanding could be caused.


    The door clicked open, revealing Alicia and the blue-haired Bethany Grey. Unlike the usual Grey, she was a blue-haired woman because of her mother''s curse.


    Her mother was afflicted with a curse from an enemy witch. To remove the curse, her body needed to be altered. Bethany''s father, the supreme elder of the family and John Grey performed the surgery themselves.


    Alicia''s mother was pregnant at that time and some of the changes also affected Bethany, causing her to be a little different than the regular Grey offsprings.


    "You ready?"


    Alicia sat on the edge of his bed as Sigil combed his hair.


    He wasn''t in any strange world where spiky and otherworldly hair looked cool. Sigil preferred neat and well maintained hair.


    Bethany, on the other hand, opened the silver lid of the bowl and showed a surprised expression.


    "Sigil, you already completed the spell?" Bethany already knew about the reward for Alicia.


    Even Alicia felt a little surprised at her words.


    "Well, I did not have anything else on my hands. Beth, didn''t you already choose a case?"


    He smoothly diverted the conversation topic as he finally got ready.


    "Yeah! It''s a three-star case. Hopefully, it won''t steer off like your first case."


    She sighed. She chose a creature hunt rather than a ghost hunt.


    Presumably, she would be hunting a vampire.


    "You taking any backup?"


    Alicia asked in concern.


    Bethany nodded and gave them the details of the case.


    "Ricardo? He is just a second gate expert."


    Alicia frowned as she heard her beastie''s idea.


    "Even I thought the same way. But his battle experience is very high. I tested him in a sparring match and if it wasn''t for me having a stronger body, I would have lost to him easily."


    Bethany was a genius spell master with four of her energy gates unlocked. If she was praising Ricardo so much then he is definitely something.


    "What did you mean by battle experience?" Sigil asked in confusion.


    Bethany took a moment before replying.


    "Just like Alicia practice Martial Arts, you practice Boxing and I practice Swordplay, we all have a method and a pattern of fighting. But Ricardo¡­ he-... he is like a beast in a fight. Pure instinct, no pattern."


    Hearing her words, they both felt shocked, especially Sigil.


    He remembered the strange occurrence in the classroom and his belief of Ricardo being a reincarnator or a transmigrator like him became even stronger.


    If Bethany''s words were true, then it meant that Ricardo was already a master level close combat practitioner.


    "That won''t do! I will hire a professional for you as a backup."


    Alicia immediately denied.


    Bethany and Alicia immediately entered into a heated argument.


    "How about this? You take Mest as your backup. I think that he still hasn''t chosen any case and he would be more than happy to collaborate with you."


    Sigil spoke out, causing both of them to go silent.


    As if sensing something weird, he asked both of them.


    "What happened?"


    "You know that Mest is a well know pervert, right?"


    ''Of course, this body only knows the well-known pervert.''


    After a lot of fighting, Bethany finally conceded to Alicia and accepted the idea of hire hunting.


    Meanwhile, Ricardo did not even know that his another plan had failed even after he tried helping the two persons who became the reason of this failure.


    After the three of them had their fun, they returned back to their respective rooms, preparing for their case or cultivation.


    After eating his food brought in by Martha, he finally waited for another three hours as he did some basic exercise to get even more familiar with his body, he walked up to his study and opened the silver lid.

 Seventh Gate

    A pair of crystal-like wings was placed inside the bowl. Around the beautiful pair of wings, the whole bowl had a dark-green residue-like substance stuck on its inner surface.


    "The Wings of the Fallen Fairy Ant."


    Sigil sighed as he looked at the successful spell. This spell was a method to create a pair of wings of fairy creatures of legends.


    Since this spell belonged to Cultivation category of the Curse knowledge of the Witchcraft, Sigil was only required to utilise these beautiful wings in an appropriate manner and increase his Cultivation by unlocking the Seventh Energy Gate of Wonder.


    Usually, these spells are not available readymade because of the compatibility issues and even if there was any Spell related to Cultivation completed and made available in a readymade fashion, its price would be astronomical.


    He picked up the pair of crystal wings after putting on his gloves.


    The Wings were pure in nature, it was the residue that was corrosive to human skin.


    After placing the pair of wings on the silver lid, he threw the bowl in his trashcan and quickly covered it in a plastic bag.


    After completing all the necessary safety measures, he picked up the silver lid and sat on his bed cross-legged.


    His eyes were closed as he started meditating.


    Meditating belonged to the ''Self'' part of the Witchcraft.


    Even if a witch can increase his power using various materials, it will be limited to the Eight Gates Stage. To truly step into the Chakra stage, one needed to be in sync with his mind and body.


    As he controlled his breathing, various thoughts in his mind seemed to be disappearing. Of course, it was just a feeling. A person''s thoughts cannot disappear completely until he dies. This feeling of lightness was to be credited to the years of hard work and meditation performed by the original Sigil.


    In the darkness, Sigil could finally see six glowing globes of light, connected by a bright light. Akin to stars in the night sky, the glowing globes of light seemed to be forming a strange constellation.


    Sigil had a feeling that this constellation was incomplete and his mind moved towards a vague globe of light covered by darkness. He could see the bright light that connected the six star-like gates flowing towards the vague ball of light.


    Sigil''s hand touched the pair of crystal wings and held them in his right palm.


    He slowly brought the pair of wings in front of his face and broke the pair of wings in half using both of his hand.


    "Sssssssss!"


    Even though Sigil''s eyes were closed, he still took a deep breath the moment the crystal wings broke in half.


    A small puff of green smoke, around the size of a pea, emerged from the broken wings. The smoke was inhaled the moment Sigil set it free.


    In Sigil''s subconscious world, he could detect a huge creature in green.


    The creature looked like a three-storied tall Ant with eight legs and a pair of gigantic crystal wings.


    ''Pixie Dust!''


    Yes! This was the legendary pixie dust of the mythical Fairy species.


    Witchcraft is a mystical profession with a foundation of more than a thousand years. Many great heroes emerged during these times and many new innovations also appeared in the three Fields of Witchcraft- Curse, Nurture, Self.


    This spell was an ingenious method to imitate a real Fairy''s wings and create a small amount of pixie dust. Pixie Dust is considered to be one of the most valuable Cultivation resources and only a small amount of it was enough for Sigil to reach the Seventh Energy Gate of Wonder without damaging his foundations.If you encounter this tale on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.


    The Giant Ant inside his subconscious was a projection of the Pixie Dust created using the wings of Eight-Legged Ant.


    Sigil could also fell a connection with the giant ant as he could control the huge mass of energy using his own will.


    This was because of the blood from his palms. Since his own blood was imbued with the spell, he certainly had full control over this energy. If he wanted to, he can snap his fingers and the whole cloud of energy would dissipate.


    Sigil cleared his head from stray thoughts and willed the Giant Ant to move towards the ball of light covered in black.


    As the energy went past the original six gates, they were being constantly nourished by the Fairy Energy, strengthening Sigil''s bodily foundation.


    "Chi"


    An ear piercing sound rang out as the Giant Ant collided with the darkness.


    This darkness was the Seventh Gate of Wonder and the ball of light that he could vaguely feel was the energy that would be unleashed after the opening of the gate.


    ***


    Ricardo was meditating cross-legged on his bed. His face looked gloomy as he was given the news that Bethany wouldn''t be taking him to her case.


    Now, the top three geniuses of the family had already selected their cases and two of them had already completed it. If he couldn''t get a good record, he wouldn''t be allowed to enter the Ancestral pool. There was another method of entering the Ancestral pool, though. He could enter the pool using the invitation from one of the top five candidates of the Rite of this year.


    He shook his head at this thought.


    ''Why would someone invite me?''


    He sighed as he cleared his head.


    He took a deep breath as he started recalling his experience.


    He was reincarnated into his past self after dying from the overpowering might of the Rakshasa Emperor.


    He had seen many spells and methods that would only appear in the future and yet he still tried to be level headed.


    After all, even with all the advantages, he still died in the end.


    A bright light shined in the middle of his forehead as his expression became peaceful and relaxed.


    Curse, Nurture and Self.


    Ricardo could be considered a master in all the three parts of the Witchcraft.


    His knowledge about the curses of various kinds was incomparably deep. His methods of nurturing the familiars were outstanding and his experience allowed him to have high attainments in the realm of Self.


    If any of the Elder of the Family saw Ricardo in this condition, they would be shocked.


    The Realm of Soul Searching.


    This was a high attainment of Meditation where a Witch not only sync his mind and body, but also his soul.


    Ricardo opened his eyes and sighed.


    His soul had become too peculiar!


    All his past experiences were actually imprinted on his soul like an inheritance. And the strange part was that these experiences were locked.


    In other words, he still had all the knowledge and high meditation attainment, but all of his practical experience was locked and he had no idea about the key to this lock.


    He even had to practice his fighting style for four hours a day before he was familiar with his past body.


    He shook his head and went to his sleep. He had already decided to complete a simple One Star Case and would apply for the same the very next morning.


    ***


    Chi


    Chi


    Chi


    The green coloured, phantom ant let out silent roars as it struck against the gate of wonder.


    The pitch black darkness that covered the seventh energy point now had many cracks as if it was a solid surface. A soft and warm glow of light emerged from these cracks on the gate.


    Sigil looked at the Pixie Dust in the form of the eight-legged Ant.


    The giant ant had already shrunk to three metres tall and its body looked exhausted.


    ''One last strike!''


    The Ant shot towards the veil like gate and its wings let out a brilliant glow.


    Crack


    Seventh Energy Gate of Wonder achieved!


    The veil-like darkness disappeared as most of his subconscious space was lit up. Seven globes of light connected by a straight line of light now reversed its direction.


    The seventh gate of wonder was located right below navel while the Eighth Gate of Death was located in the middle of a person''s heart.


    Sigil let out a turbid breath and opened his eyes. His whole body felt light and his eyes sparkled even at night.


    "Huff! Time to sleep."


    ***


    The next day, Bethany had already left the estate to complete her case alongside a hired manpower appointed by her father- The Supreme Elder of the Family.


    Meanwhile, Ricardo had also gotten up early to find a one-star case nearby the town and continue his daily practice.


    Even Sigil woke up with Martha''s help. He had specifically told her to wake him up early in the morning.


    He brushed his teeth and combed his hair before leaving the room in his yesterday''s clothes.


    He slowly trailed the training ground of the Estate and finally found his target.


    Sigil was a salesman in his previous life. He was very good at his job and even helped the Marketing Department of their company to formulate decent policies and plans that allowed the profits of the company to rise by a decent amount.


    Through his years of practice, he knew one thing- Never leave a single Variable out.


    Even though this world was different, the concept of life was similar and so was his theory about the variable.


    In front of him stood a thin youth with black hair and grey eyes. He looked quite pitiful when compared to Sigil''s physique.


    "Ricardo, I want to talk to you."

 Ivan; Unlucky City

    The start of every relationship or partnership should be established by cleaning the slate and making a fresh foundation.


    There was already a lot of bad blood between Ricardo and Sigil.


    Now, the first step for Sigil to make use of this variable is to make himself look a little favourable in front of Ricardo''s eyes. If his guess was correct and Ricardo was truly someone like him that had experienced a different life or returned from future then he needed to understand more about the true personality that he developed over the course of his alternative life.


    Ricardo''s face held a strange expression as his mind flashed countless thoughts. But in the next moment, his expression froze.


    Sigil bowed in front of all the younger generation practicing in training ground.


    "I am here to apologize for my past behaviour."


    Sigil''s calm voice echoed in the silent training ground as all the people looked towards the young man with a shocked expression.


    Was this really Sigil?!


    Everyone felt strange and some of Sigil''s victims even felt a strange sense of unease in their hearts.


    Meanwhile, Sigil''s eyes were shining as he was waiting for Ricardo''s response.


    This was one of the most crucial moments in determining the true nature of this enigma.


    Ricardo narrowed his eyes as he felt the sincerity in Sigil''s voice.


    "You think it is this easy? You made my life a living hell. Go away!!" Ricardo spoke out without a change in his expression.


    His words stunned the whole training ground.


    What is courage?


    This is!


    Who has the strongest strap on?


    Ricardo does!


    These thoughts flashed by all the young ones in training ground, male and female alike.


    Sigil, instead, smiled secretly.


    ''Determined, Honest and¡­.. Righteous.''


    This is Ricardo''s first impression on Sigil. Of course, he would not dare to play his cards according to the first impression only. What if he was acting? What if he was planning against Sigil himself?


    Sigil''s gaze revealed a thoughtful expression as he saw Ricardo going away.


    His back straightened once more as he walked away to meet up with Ivan. His goal in meeting Ricardo had been accomplished.


    Even though he couldn''t clean the slate, he inferred one thing from Ricardo''s sentence.


    The bad blood can be dissolved, but it wouldn''t be easy!


    He took a deep breath as he made his way towards the exit of the estate. Meanwhile, the news of the most arrogant young master of the family apologising to a small time member immediately became the top news.


    ***


    "No physical confrontation took place, right?"


    "Yes, Lord."


    "No signs of spell either?"


    "No, Lord."


    John''s gaze shined as he felt a weight from his shoulders being lifted up¡­. no¡­. the weight on his shoulders had been flung away.


    Sigil is finally getting on the right track!


    He looked at his subordinate and thought for a little while.Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.


    "Follow him, just in case. We still don''t know the reason for such sudden changes. He is the inheritor selected by totem itself. No kind of harm and manipulation should touch the Kid."


    John spoke out after contemplating for a little while. This world is filled with strange spells and a little caution doesn''t harm anyone.


    The subordinate nodded and left through the door of the office.


    ***


    It was early in the morning and besides the occasional school buses, Sigil did not even find any store in business during these hours. He was jogging towards his destination.


    He had just broken through and opened the seventh gate of wonder. His body needed a little time to adjust once more. This is the reason he decided to travel by foot instead of riding a bike.


    After 15 minutes of jogging, he finally reached his destination.


    It was a gym named Eagle Pump.


    While a retail store wouldn''t be in business during these hours, it was a rush hour for many gyms in the area. Eagle Pump wasn''t an exception as many vehicles could be seen outside the gym.


    He took a deep breath and entered the gym.


    The interior of the gym was standard. Large space for pieces of equipment, various plates of weight, a square ring for combat practice. The whole place reeked of sweat.


    ''What else should I expect?'' Sigil became speechless from his own thoughts.


    Why would he complain about the smell of sweat in a gym?


    He shook his head to get rid of his thoughts as he saw a 90''s gangster haircut.


    It was Ivan!


    He was currently hitting on a hot member of the gym. She was wearing a sports bra with dark yoga pants. Her flat stomach was on a full display, attracting the attention it deserved.


    Meanwhile, Ivan looked cool and composed. Evidently, he did not work out at all or the work out of the gym was ineffective. His smile still infectious, charming the lovely lady.


    "Yo! You wanted to meet me, darling!" Sigil smiled as he patted Ivan''s butt, causing the lovely lady to feel surprised. Her expression turned into one of an understanding as she bid her farewell to Ivan.


    "Hey! That was a cheap shot."


    He really had a chance with the gorgeous lady.


    "Well, I take them whenever I can."


    Sigil smiled in response.


    He wouldn''t let any RedHawk to turn on their womaniser charm in front of him. Even if they did, they still fell a little short to Sigil''s wolfish charm.


    They both walked towards the door of the personal office of the owner and entered it.


    "So? What happened?"


    Sigil asked after sitting on his chair.


    Meanwhile, Ivan took out an already smoked cigar and took a deep puff before sighing.


    "Well, I couldn''t tell this on the phone, but¡­ sigh, I am outsourcing a service."


    "For?"


    Sigil''s eyes narrowed.


    "My brother."


    Ivan replied. His expression immediately turned into a disappointed one after thinking about his brother.


    ''Where did we go wrong in raising him?''


    Ivan thought silently.


    "Look, I know that he did wrong, but he has already paid for his wrongdoings. Why get him killed?"


    Sigil understood the meaning of ''outsourcing a service'' all too well.


    "You don''t understand. We can go to brothels and pick up any girls from bars or other places as long as they are willing. Not only he tried to force himself on that Aria girl, but he also managed to force himself on a girl in our own town."


    Ivan felt helpless.


    "Wait, didn''t I slash his dick off? Did you guys transplant a new one for him?"


    "No, we didn''t. He destroyed the girl by using metal rods. When we found the girl, she had already died due to blood loss. Sigil, her intestines were pierced!"


    Ivan had a disgusted look. He wasn''t disgusted by the girl''s condition, instead, he was disgusted by his brother''s twisted desires.


    Even Sigil''s mood turned grim when he listened to Ivan.


    "The girl''s background?"


    "Orphan."


    Ivan replied.


    "Why are you telling me all this?"


    Sigil came to the main issue.


    "Dad wants to find an external professional for the task while I want to end my twisted brother personally. I am here to bid you farewell!"


    "No!"


    Sigil immediately stood up.


    Killing one''s own brethren meant that you are going rogue and you will be hunted by the family for the rest of your life. A luxurious bounty will also be placed on the rogue, causing many other witches to hunt rogue down.


    Even though they did not speak much, they were already best friends. To previous Sigil, Ivan was also a brotherly figure.


    "Calm down, I am not rushing to my death. I have contacted the Black Spiders and they have already prepared a familiar for me. Even though I will miss having a RedHawk of the family, I don''t want a single familiar to be the reason that my brother can die an easy death."


    "So¡­. you decided to go to a dark guild?"


    Sigil slumped on his seat. He was speechless!


    Black Spider was a terrorist organisation and every member of the organisation have large bounties on their heads.


    "You know, I can just catch you and hand you over to your family."


    Sigil continued with a chuckle.


    Ivan smiled as he stood up.


    "Thank you for being my friend. The next time we meet, don''t try to be overly familiar or it will cause you trouble."


    Sigil already understood that Ivan was going to kill his brother and go rogue. He just wished him luck and departed from the gym.


    "Ah, I hope you would forgive my brother for his bad sense of humour. So? Where were we?" Ivan immediately walked towards the lovely lady with a charming grin.


    ***


    Chestcovia City


    The city was a small place and news travelled fast. The end of the serial killer ghost had already reached many pairs of ears and every citizen of the city felt joyful.


    It has already been two days since the job had been taken care of.


    In one of the morning bars of the city, an old man suddenly dropped his jug of beer and fell off his chair, falling on the broken jug.


    As if the old man started the domino effect, all the customers of the bar started to die. The customers were followed by the bartender, the beggars and whores outside the bar and then the whole city.


    In mere moments, the whole lively city became the land of the dead.


    On the seat where the old man fell off from, a silver plated book emerged mysteriously. Its cover shining in a silver light and a strange rune etched on its surface.

 Grimoire World 1

    10:00 AM


    Knock Knock


    Click


    The door clicked open as the caring Martha entered the room while pushing a small trolley.


    "Master! I brought breakfast."


    Martha called out for Sigil, who was currently taking a shower.


    After his meeting with Ivan, Sigil decided to train in basic exercises. He had only entered the bathroom for a couple of minutes before Martha barged in.


    ''How rude!''


    Sigil sighed.


    Sigil loved to have a good bath. He wasn''t particular about staying neat and clean, but it was more about the water pressure. He shook his head as he wrapped himself in his towel and got out of the bathroom, encountering a cheerful Martha looking towards him while eating the breakfast with shining eyes.


    Even though Martha had a status of a maid, nobody actually really treated her like a maid. It was Martha herself who liked to act around Sigil.


    The breakfast trolley was stationed near the bed while Martha was sitting on the edges of the bed with a plate on her laps.


    "You know, it wouldn''t hurt you to give me some privacy."


    Sigil''s bedroom only had two partitions. One for the bed and the wardrobe, while the other was for the bathroom.


    "Oh come on, Master! We both have already seen each other naked. What''s the point of getting shy now?"


    She spoke as she took another bite of the breakfast.


    "Do whatever you want."


    Sigil refused to take the towel off as he took his clothes inside the bathroom and then exited after getting fully dressed.


    He brought his chair near the trolley and immediately started eating the breakfast alongside Martha.


    "Master, would you like to accompany me in the familiar farm of the family?"


    Familiars are an extremely important part of a witch''s life. In the three main studies of the Witchcraft, the familiars are the main reason for the study of ''Nurture''.


    The study of Nurture not only strengthens the familiar, but it also provides certain benefits to the master of the familiar.


    "Do you even need to ask?" He commented lightly as he ate with gusto.


    Martha wasn''t a true blood of the family and neither was she brought in by an Elder of the family, making her status extremely low.


    Unlike Martha, Sigil was brought up by the family head himself! Not only was he treated as a young master, but he was also treated as a true grey!


    He could choose a familiar from the family''s elite group of familiars.


    Seeing that her invitation was accepted easily, Martha smiled.


    "So, Master. When do you plan to bed young mistress Alicia." She asked and acted in a subservient manner.


    Looking at her acting, Sigil could only roll his eyes.


    "Stop with your act. How about I bed you?"


    Even though he said this, his actions were completely opposite. He did not stop eating at all!


    The trolley had two compartments filled with food. Why would he stop eating?


    "Well, you know that I won''t say no to my dear master."


    "Yeah, yeah. Just eat."


    He responded in a dispirited expression.


    He really felt tired talking with Martha.


    Even though their relationship was a little complicated, they always manage to bypass their awkwardness by making silly jokes and mature humour on their previous act.


    Well, at least, the new Sigil did this. The previous owner acted like a horny rabbit, ready to hump in a moment''s notice.


    Sigil shook his head and switched on the television.


    "Hey! You are ignoring me again?"


    "If you won''t shut up, then yes!"


    Sigil replied honestly and watched the television as he ate his breakfast in peace, or at least, he tried to eat in peace.The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.


    A polite knock could be heard followed by a voice.


    "Young Master Sigil, Family Head has asked for every single Elder of the family to attend an emergency meeting. He also asked for your presence."


    Sigil sighed and stood up.


    "Well, this family doesn''t let anyone eat peacefully." Martha snorted.


    "You are the one to talk."


    Sigil rolled his eyes and stood up.


    ***


    Ricardo, on the other hand, had already arrived in the town of the one-star case. He was asking some questions regarding the victims when he looked at his watch.


    "It seems about right. The opening of Grimoire World."


    Ricardo muttered.


    Only he knew how much he wanted to join this trip to Grimoire world. He shook his head and cleared his thoughts.


    Even with his knowledge about the future, he was still moved by the opportunities in this Grimoire world.


    His gaze flashed as he remembered the scene of Sigil bowing in front of him.


    His gaze looked a little conflicted, but soon he sighed and carried on with his own task of solving the case. If he wasn''t wrong, there was a newborn familiar in the area, causing all the suffering.


    ***


    In the meeting room of the Grey Family.


    "We just received the news of the sightings of a Grimoire World!"


    John announced, his tone grim.


    Beside him stood a bulky middle-aged man with a crew cut and trimmed Beard.


    His name was Bert Grey. The Supreme Elder of the Grey Family, second only to John and a loving father to Bethany Grey.


    In front of him sat other elders of the family. At the end were two young kids¡ª Alicia and Sigil.


    "Why were we called?"


    Alicia whispered to Sigil.


    He looked at Alicia strangely.


    "If you don''t know, how the hell am I supposed to know?"


    Alicia''s expression froze and soon turned into a wry smile. He was correct!


    "We were able to block the news from going out, but the neighbouring families have already caught wind of the news. Including us, there are a total of four families. Our technicians are blocking all the news regarding the matter but we are still on a clock."


    As John spoke, the facial expressions of all the elders turned into an excited one. Even Linda felt her face heating due to the excitement.


    Energy Gates, Chakra Points and Grimoire Master.


    These were the three stages of Witchcraft.


    Even the Grey Family had never produced a single Grimoire Master. After all, they were the elite of elites.


    "Uhm"


    Bert coughed lightly.


    Such a light cough proved to be effective as all the Elders were startled awake from their excitement.


    John looked at them and nodded.


    "The exploration will be led by Bert while I and other three family heads will stand guard outside the Grimoire world. No matter what lucky gains you get, you are entitled to keep it. But the exploration team of all the three families have a time limit of two days. After that, we, the family heads will explore the Grimoire world. There is no objection, right?"


    Such a condition was extremely lucrative and nobody had any objections. Unlike other families where the Elders were supposed to give a cut of their gains to the family, John Grey gave them all the benefits.


    Meanwhile, Sigil''s eyes shined.


    He suddenly remembered that John was also a professional scholar.


    Such a method was extremely effective to boost the morale of the Elders to get as much benefit as they can. This will increase their own family''s foundation while the resources left for other families will be extremely low.


    "Gather all the juniors who have not left for their missions and prepare to move out. You have 20 minutes. Sigil and Alicia will stay here, others may leave."


    John spoke out as all the Elders including Bert bowed towards John and left the meeting room.


    "Do you guys know where the Grimoire world emerged from?"


    John asked both of them.


    Sigil and Alicia shook their heads.


    "Chestcovia City."


    "What?"


    Alicia and Sigil felt a chill in their hearts.


    Every time a Grimoire world emerges, the surroundings will face some kind of disastrous calamity.


    The stronger the Grimoire World, the greater the area of impact.


    "Yeah, the whole city has become a land of the dead. If you both hadn''t left yesterday, you guys would have died as well. That is to say, the anonymous sender also warned you. From now on, if the sender contacts either of you, tell me immediately."


    John spoke out gravely.


    A Grimoire world is left behind a Grimoire Master as an inheritance. The Grimoire world will contain the spells, nurturing methods of certain familiars and other resources.


    The fact to know about the Grimoire World is that no one could deduce the location of an unerupted Grimoire World.


    The fact that the Anonymous sender deduced the location meant that there may be certain Techniques and spells to deduce the coordinates of the Grimoire World, which could bring great profits to the family.


    "Understood."


    They both replied.


    ***


    "Elder Linda, did you find anything about the sender?"


    After separating with Alicia, Sigil immediately found Linda. He wanted to know about the progress in finding the anonymous sender. Besides Alicia and John, only he knew the true worth of such an informant.


    Linda was preparing for the expedition. Various tools were being packed alongside some exotic materials. Her familiar- The Three-tailed Spirit Fox was nowhere to be seen.


    "We still haven''t found the sender. Obviously, the sender knew what he was doing. Not even a single trace was left behind."


    Linda spoke out. Even she was astonished when she couldn''t track the sender.


    "What about the list of familiars?"


    "I will send that to you after the expedition."


    "Mom! Where are my silver knives?"


    A cute voice shouted as she entered the room.


    It was Aria.


    Aria''s real parents died an unfortunate death in a case. They had just reached the title of an elder, but they ended up dying. At that point in time, Aria was only 4 years old. It was Linda who adopted Aria after the accident and they both have been living a good life since then.


    "Ah! Big Brother Sigil! What are you doing here?"


    She immediately hugged Sigil as she asked cutely.


    Sigil chuckled and rubbed her small head.


    "Just here to ask something."


    Evidently, even Aria had to go to this expedition.


    Linda and Aria were in their combat clothes. Unlike the fantasies of young blood, the combat clothes of Witches were extremely efficient, instead of showy.


    Linda was wearing a Black T-Shirt with some markings on it. Her pants were a little baggy, her boots were solid yet flexible. On her belt were placed two pistols while a broad knife was strapped on to her thigh.


    Meanwhile, Aria also had the same outfit.


    The baggy pants were stretch and tear resistant, making them extremely effective in real life combat.


    "Well, during the expedition, you will stick around with Sigil, alright?"


    Linda said to Aria.


    During the expedition, the Elders will explore the inner regions while the young generation will explore the outer region of the Grimoire world.


    Sigil nodded at both of them and left for his own room to prepare for the expedition.


    After getting into his combat clothes and preparing all the materials and weapons, he walked out of the room with a bag on his shoulders.


    "Master, are you ready?"


    Sigil controlled the blood in his nose, trying to prevent them from tearing his blood vessels and erupting like a volcano.


    Martha had shown her worth as a Femme fatale.


    Even the baggy combat pants looked a little tight on her legs!


    "Even you are joining?"


    "Of course."


    This was a Grimoire World. Martha wouldn''t want to be left out from such a lucky opportunity. She may very well enter the realm of Chakra Points in this expedition.


    Sigil nodded and walked towards the garage of the Estate. This time, he wanted to take out his own car for a spin.

 Grimoire World 2

    A pitch black Equus Bass 770 in a matte finish revved out of the Estate. The sounds of the engine clearly established the black beauty as a muscle car.


    ¡°I missed you, Baby!¡±


    Sigil muttered under his breath.


    He wasn''t wealthy in his previous life and had to travel through public transport. But who would have thought that the original Sigil had good taste in cars?


    ¡°My car is better. This one just drinks oil.¡± Alicia snorted as she slumped on back seat alongside Martha.


    Neither of them was allowed to sit in the front seat. Why?


    Because Aria called the shotgun.


    ¡°Tell me, why should such a young girl accompany Master in the front seat?¡±


    Even Martha felt a little disgruntled.


    ¡°Because I cared enough to call shotgun.¡±


    Aria smiled happily as she hummed a tune.


    Linda was accompanying Bert and other Elders, so Aria came along Sigil and others.


    ¡°Oh come on, you guys! It''s just a front seat. No need to fight about it.¡±


    Sigil smiled cheerfully when he saw their sullen expression.


    Ding!


    His phone let out a sound but he ignored it. One should pay close attention to the road when driving. It is even more important in this world where any kind of demonic crap can pop up in the middle of the road.


    The travel was uneventful¡­. well, besides the fact that Sigil could gloat on Alicia''s and Martha''s expressions.


    When they reached near the City, they could see a lot of parked vehicles of the family.


    Sigil parked his car near the area and got out from the car. The city was off limits and a big tent could be seen near the parking area.


    Since it was almost an hour''s ride, nobody brought their own tent as almost all of the Family will participate in the expedition.


    When the four of them entered the area, they could see John and Bert discussing something in the distance while Linda and other Elders were preparing for the trip.


    The four of them walked towards the area filled with the younger generation.


    The term younger generation was a little different in the world of the witches. It was not related to age but a person''s Cultivation.


    For instance, Linda. She was only 21 years old and still attending college while she worked as a Chef in her own Caf¨¦. Due to her talent, she had already risen to the ranks of an Elder by breaking through the Chakra Points in her first try. Meanwhile, there were still many people of the same age stuck in the realm of eight gates, making them a part of the younger generation.


    Alicia was already popular and had a lot of good friends, so she was already surrounded in a moment''s notice. Meanwhile, Martha and Aria stayed with Sigil.


    They simply sat on the ground. They had nothing else to do.


    Aria started playing a game on her smartphone while Martha took out her silver knife and started sharpening it. Her pretty silver hair was tied into a tight bun, which was covered with cloth to prevent them from falling during the exploration.


    Sigil took out his phone to check the message he received.


    As he read the contents, his eyes turned serious. He immediately concealed the look and acted normal, as if he was chatting with a friend.


    He had received a message from an anonymous sender with the email id: Qertty234.


    The message was actually filled with some information about the Grimoire world and the location of a small number of uncommon materials.


    At the end of the message, it read: Do you want to cooperate?


    Evidently, the sender had even more precious information.


    Sigil closed the tab and started thinking about various consequences.


    What if he cooperates and gets schemed against himself?


    What if he was to be found out by the family head?


    Such scenarios would have very troubling consequences. Sigil sighed as he also felt moved. The resources that were mentioned in the message were already very rich. But of course, if the other party asked for a corporation then that would mean that the sender itself cannot take a tour inside the Grimoire World.Stolen story; please report.


    But on a different note, a cooperation also means equal benefits. After all, he wasn''t the one asking for a cooperation and he wasn''t an employee of the sender. If they were to cooperate then that would mean they were partners!


    Sigil sighed in his heart as he remembered the words of his old friend, the one from the marketing team of the company.


    ¡°If you don''t even have the heart of taking risks, how will you ever earn any profits?¡±


    Sigil smiled and replied to the anonymous sender. Before any partnership, he had to ensure that the news was reliable.


    After chatting for a while, Sigil and the anonymous sender reached an agreement.


    On the other side of the chat, Ricardo sighed deeply and felt a little exhausted. Even though he had decades worth of experience, he wasn''t good in scheming too much. On the other hand, he felt a little surprised that Sigil had so many suspicions.


    Suspicion about information?


    He had lived through this time and had seen the official report of the family and the Witch''s Organisation regarding this Grimoire World. Even though he did not remember all the locations of the important resources, he still remembered the location of the most important inheritance.


    Ricardo rubbed his eyes and went towards the nearby forest. Since the assaulter was a newborn familiar, he could easily catch it and maybe make a good contribution to the family, increasing his status by a small amount.


    Personally, he did not care about the status in the Family. He had already experienced a world greater than the nearby regions. But he really needed to enter the Ancestral Pool.


    Meanwhile, Sigil put away his phone. The agreement was already set and he needed to enter the Grimoire World to confirm the details.


    After 1 hour, all the members of the family had arrived.


    John once again stated the rules of the expedition.


    1) The time limit is of two days.


    2) Standard witch¡¯s battle in case of conflict of interest with members of other families.


    3) The younger generation was prohibited to enter the inner and core regions of the Grimoire World.


    The third rule was for their own safety. They weren''t strong enough to experience the hardships of those regions.


    All of them were given a talisman. This was a tool to identify the wavelengths of the different dimension of the Grimoire World and enter it.


    Soon, all the present family members, except the family head, moved out.


    Instead of transportation facilities, the team was walking towards the border of the city while the group was divided into three teams. Each team comprised of almost 20 Elders and almost 80 members of the younger generation.


    The team wasn''t strictly organised and Linda, Martha, Alicia, Aria and Sigil managed to enter into the same team, much to Sigil''s dismay.


    He wanted to explore the Grimoire World according to the path discussed. But now, he had to make some changes. He had an instinctual feeling that besides Aria, the other three were going to be a headache for him if kept close.


    They were placed in team three with the strongest expert being an Elder that had opened his Fourth Point of Chakra.


    They reached the border of the city as Bert made a stopping motion by his hand.


    If they stepped inside the city, they will be affected by the radiation of the Grimoire World and will most certainly die.


    The Grimoire World was a different dimension that was connected to this world through a medium named¡ª The Book of Grimoire.


    The nearby families still did not know whose Grimoire World had emerged, but Sigil was informed by the mysterious person.


    Even though he did not blindly believe the information, he still used it as a good reference.


    ¡°Take out your Talismans and follow my lead.¡±


    Bert took out his Talisman and chanted a few words before it shined a green glow.


    ¡°Now!¡±


    He commanded as everyone started chanting and a green glow emerged from their Talismans. After the green glow shined for a few minutes, small dots of light emerged in the sky and shined on every single member of the family. It was like a tractor beam.


    The members of the Grey Family felt their surroundings change as they found themselves transported near a foot of a mountain.


    Bert''s eyes shined as he looked around. Even he as a strong expert of six chakra points opened felt incomparably excited about the riches that could be found in this Grimoire World.


    Meanwhile, John took out his car for a spin and met up with three individuals.


    They were the Family Heads of RedHawk, BlackBee and Yellow Spider Family.


    ¡°How is the blockade on the news?¡±


    A middle-aged man with a neat haircut and a tattoo of a skull on his neck asked.


    He was Roman RedHawk, the Family head of the RedHawk family.


    ¡°Well, it is assured that it will take four days before the organisation can find out about this Grimoire World.¡±


    A mature woman replied.


    Her raven-black hair fell down her shoulders. Unlike others, she did not wear traditional combat clothes. She was wearing an extremely hugging black-suit, like a spy''s. She was Alia Spider, the family head of the Yellow Spider Family.


    ¡°Ah! Look who it is! John Grey.¡±


    A fat man smiled towards John.


    He was Brian BlackBee, the Family Head of BlackBee Family.


    ¡°I apologize to keep all of you waiting.¡± John smiled.


    ¡°So, did you guys already checked for rogue Witches and Dark Guild?¡±


    John asked as sat on the ground, just like everyone else. All four of them had already gone through a lot and did not care much about appearances when they chatted amongst themselves. After all, they have been cooperating with each other since they were young teens.


    ¡°Dark Guilds won''t be a problem for the time being. It would be best if they and the organisation arrive at the same time.¡±


    Alia replied.


    John nodded and laid down. He stretched himself as if he was with his best friends.


    ¡°So, how are you, Alia? Still sucking the life out of young kids?¡±


    Roman asked Alia. It was no secret that the Yellow Spider Family was a Matriarchal Family. Alia even used the essence of young kids to retain her youth and cultivate.


    ¡°Yup. To be honest, if I was a mortal myself, I would have signed up for a task where a Witch can suck out my essence if they provided the same benefits as I do.¡±


    The Yellow Spider Family use various spell to suck away the life essence of young teens, mainly young males. Most importantly, the youths also volunteered for the task.


    After all, the Family provided a condo, fully paid health insurance, monthly pensions and a vehicle as a payment.


    To a Witch family, money was not much of a use. Every single Witch Family, even the smallest family, had at least a couple of billions of dollars in their vault. And they could earn more!


    The other three family heads nodded in understanding.


    ¡°Sigh, So? How are the new generations in your family? Someone promising?¡±


    John closed his eyes peacefully as he asked the other three.


    ¡°Yup!¡±


    ¡°Yeah!¡±


    ¡°Of course!¡±


    The answer was to be expected.


    They kept on chatting peacefully while the exploration inside the Grimoire World had already begun.

 Exploration

    ¡°Sigh, the time flow is the same in this Grimoire World.¡±


    Bert sighed as he announced to the group. A Grimoire World may have a different time flow from their world. If the time flowed quicker in this dimension, then they would''ve been able to explore for a longer time and gain more resources.


    ¡®Well, at least this is confirmed.¡¯


    Sigil thought in his mind. This was one of the information in the message. This was also an important fact for the continuation of their partnership.


    Now, he only had to separate himself from the group without compromising the security of the people he cared about.


    Unlike the previous Sigil, who had intimate relations with many women, the current Sigil only cared for Aria. After all, it was unreasonable for him to have the same sentiments for Alicia, Martha and Linda held by the previous owner if this body.


    Yes, he did flirt with these three and yes, he had some intimate moments with Alicia. But what else should he do? A beautiful woman wants to kiss him and he should reject the offer? He wasn''t out of his mind.


    Right now, he could only come up with two plans.


    The first is to immediately separate from the group without giving any explanations.


    But this method had a downside.


    He wanted to separate from the group to enter the true inheritance ground of the Grimoire World. He would not be able to explain himself once he gets such an outstanding opportunity.


    The second plan is to create an incident or leave the group in a chaotic situation.


    But this method might compromise Aria¡¯s security.


    Since the first plan wasn''t viable, he chose to wait.


    ¡°Alright, the Elders may accompany me or explore on their own. Other than Elders, no one will enter the inner regions of the Grimoire World, understood?¡± Bert commanded sternly.


    The younger generation of the family nodded while various Elders started grouping. Linda chose to enter the group of the Supreme Elder. She also lectured Aria to ensure her safety before anything else and entrusted her to Sigil.


    They could leave the Grimoire World using the same chants and talisman.


    Meanwhile, Sigil felt a little troubled.


    Not only Alicia, Martha and Aria teamed up with him, but also many more people requested to enter their team. After all, the three of them are recognised experts.


    His gaze suddenly shone as he finally found an idea.


    Without any hesitation, he started to accept every single person requesting to join their team. Alicia and Martha looked towards each other in a strange manner.


    The Sigil they knew would never let any outsider enter the team if he could spend some alone time with both of them.


    Meanwhile, Sigil had a single thought. More people always lead to chaos!


    They all were transported to the outer regions of the Grimoire world since they entered this dimension through the border of the affected region. The foot of the tall mountain was just a start.


    The group of Elders decided to climb the mountain while Sigil''s group decided to walk around it.


    Their group soon entered the nearby forest as they started making their way towards the left side of the mountain. Every member had already taken out their silver knives while Sigil also placed his hand over his gun.


    Benefits are only obtained by taking appropriate risks!


    The whole Grimoire World was an untapped land of resources and also an unexplored land filled with dangers!


    ¡°Ah! That''s a Serpent Bark!¡± A  youth, around the age of 23 spoke aloud in surprise.


    He pointed towards the strange looking bark that had an extremely smooth surface. It was a Serpent Bark. A poisonous material that could be used in creating Poisonous Curses and exotic Talismans.


    Soon, the youth cut apart the bark as he quickly slashed apart the outer surface and collected it in an empty bag while others waited for him.


    A Serpent Bark wasn''t lucrative enough for everyone to fight over it. After all, they originated from the same family.


    The group continued forward as they kept on finding some herbs or other materials. The group had a simple rule, the finder is the keeper.


    Meanwhile, Sigil only took some resources beneficial for little Aria. Other resources weren''t good enough for him and hence, he did not bat an eye when others took the resources for themselves.


    Rustle


    A rustling sound caused all the members of the group to pause in their tracks.


    ¡°Grrrrr¡±


    A humanoid figure slowly emerged from the nearby bushes. It was a man with a pair of white eyes and no pupils. His canines were elongated and his nails looked extremely sharp, glimmering coldly.


    Seeing this new arrival, most of the weak people took a  step backwards.


    It was an Incomplete Werewolf!


    ¡®Who rear werewolves in his Grimoire World?¡¯ Even Sigil felt speechless.


    Incomplete, Complete and True.


    These were the three Evolutionary stages of most of the humanoid monsters including Vampires, Shapeshifters and other monsters.


    The three levels correspond to the three stages of Cultivation of a Witch.


    Gwaaaagh


    The werewolf roared as he sensed the shift in the surroundings.


    Bang


    Before it could attack, a loud bang was heard as a silver bullet pierced the heart of the Werewolf.


    He died an uneventful death!


    ¡°Don''t you guys have guns? Why did you freeze in front of him.¡±


    Sigil kept his gun as he frowned at the group.


    What a bunch of wastes!Find this and other great novels on the author''s preferred platform. Support original creators!


    They just knew how to loot resources. In actual combat, they even forgot that they had guns that could easily trump weak monsters.


    Sigil looked at them and continued his journey. He still needed the group as a distraction in due time.


    The group continued their journey. After reaching the left side of the mountain, the group encountered a patch of Ruby Petals near the nest of Werewolves. At this moment, Sigil''s eyes shone with brilliance. He finally found a landmark!


    Now, he can officially start his plan.


    ¡°Everyone, prepare your guns.¡±


    Alicia took the lead this time.


    Ruby Petals were valuable Cultivation resource and she also wanted to contribute to the battle to earn a part in the loot. Even little Aria took out her gun as they all prepared for open fire.


    Bang


    Bang


    Bang


    Bang


    The ambush proved to be successful and the nest of incomplete Werewolves couldn''t stand the barrage of the silver bullets.


    In this world filled with monsters, every single abomination had some sort of weakness except for Humans.


    Even though humans were born weak, they did not have a weakness towards different types of metals or elements.


    Meanwhile, most of the monsters had some sort of weakness. Werewolves were weak towards Silver, Vampires could be killed by mortals if a wooden stake is pierced in their hearts.


    ¡°Collect their canines. They are good materials for spells.¡±


    The group started to loot the area. After eradicating the whole nest, they dropped their guard.


    It was the outer regions and encountering a monster comparable to a Chakra Stage Expert was unlikely, or so the group thought.


    Aooooooooooooo


    Except for Sigil, everyone felt a slight chill in their heart when they heard the howl. The howl was filled with sadness and rage. Before anyone could react, a grey shadow flashed and the head of the teammate, that had gone towards the opposite end, fell off.


    Everyone could finally see the assaulter.


    It was a man with his arms covered in grey fur. His canines were longer than the incomplete Werewolves and his feet had a slight protrusion, as if he was growing another toe from the back of his feet.


    A Complete Werewolf.


    Most of the members of the group had shallow foundations and very low experience. This also included Aria, Alicia, Martha and Sigil. If it wasn''t necessary, Sigil would never risk his life to encounter such a being.


    ¡°Don''t worry. It''s just a Rank 1 Werewolf. Even though he has a stronger defence, it can still be killed using the silver bullets.¡±


    Bang


    The moment he finished speaking, one of the members pressed the trigger, firing at the werewolf.


    The sound agitated the near-insane werewolf.


    The difference between an Incomplete Werewolf and a complete Werewolf was astronomical. It was like comparing a rock to a mountain.


    The physical ability of a complete monster is enhanced exponentially. This could be understood by the fact that the Werewolf had dodged the silver bullet and moved towards the attacker at a great speed.


    ¡°Attack!¡±


    Sigil immediately commanded. Even though the werewolf was strong, it could not keep dodging the silver bullets. It had to either retreat or keep on attacking with his life on the line.


    Of course, the werewolf had chosen to retreat if his entire nest would not have been slaughtered and then ravaged.


    Bang


    Bang


    Bang


    Bang


    The battle lasted for a couple of minutes as the sorrowful Werewolf lay on the ground. His whole body filled with numerous bullet wounds, including the head region. This only proved to showcase the strong regenerative Abilities of complete monsters.


    But right now, the werewolf couldn''t heal his wounds. After all, his heart was punctured by a lot of silver bullets.


    ¡°Huff, this was dangerous! Right, Master?¡±


    Martha asked casually as she looked towards Sigil''s location.


    ¡°... Master?¡±


    He wasn''t there!


    ***


    Crack


    Sigil stopped in his tracks as he accidentally stepped on a twig. The forest in the Grimoire World was a dangerous place and such accidental sounds may also garner unwanted attention.


    He stood in his place and calmed his breathing while he tried to sense his surroundings.


    Adventuring alone isn''t exciting, but Dangerous!


    To gain good loot, Sigil took a huge risk of exploring the Grimoire World on his own. He had to take care of everything since he was alone on this adventure.


    After confirming that there was nothing strange around him, he continued his journey.


    From the foot of the mountain, he started moving towards the north direction.


    Outer Area, Inner Area and Core Area.


    The Grimoire World is divided into three areas and each area have a different environment suited for the growth of different species. The ecosystem of the core area is of the highest quality followed by the ecosystem of the Inner Area and the Outer Regions.


    But Sigil''s aim was neither of them.


    He kept on moving carefully. A bag hung on his shoulders while his left hand held a Silver Machete and his right hand held a torchlight.


    His body was fully clothed and he also sprayed an insect repellent on himself. He needed to be safe from all directions and even the insects of the Grimoire World shouldn''t be underestimated.


    Thud


    Sigil''s body froze as he suddenly heard a slight ''thud¡¯. He tightened his grip on the machete and quickly ducked down.


    Whoosh


    A black shadow swiped past Sigil and immediately hid in the shadows of the tall tree.


    Sigil did not waste any time and immediately pointed the torchlight towards the attacker to discover its species.


    It was a panther!


    A pitch-black panther with green eyes. Its fur shone in luster, as if untainted by the filth present in the forest.


    It was a familiar!


    In this world infested with monsters and legendary beasts, humans have found a footing for themselves by cooperating with familiars.


    Werewolves, Vampires, Scyllas, Gorgons, Minotaurs, Chimera, etc are all the monsters that cannot be tamed by a human practitioner of a chakra stage. Meanwhile, all the other animals that can communicate with certain elements and show any elemental affinity are categorised as familiars.


    The green-eyed Panther in front of Sigil was actually a Familiar with an unknown elemental affinity.


    Sigil smiled bitterly as he saw his opponent.


    ¡°I was scared for nothing. You are just an infant, aren''t you?¡±


    He smiled towards the panther.


    Infant, Adolescent, Adult.


    These are the three stages of growth of a familiar. Each familiar has different characteristics of their growth cycle while each of the growth cycles presents them with enhanced powers. The three stages are corresponding to the three power stages of humans and three forms of monsters.


    Grrrr


    The panther growled threateningly as it saw the strange human smiling towards it.


    ¡°Hmm? Let''s check your tier. Even though you are an infant, it won''t be long before you enter the Adolescent Stage. Do you know what this means?¡±


    His smile grew wider as he looked at the majestic beauty in front of him. This familiar was a bonus.


    Even though he couldn''t make a contract with it, he could definitely tame it.


    ¡°This means you are mine.¡±


    He shot towards the Panther without delaying any more.


    Shockingly, his speed was almost equal to the speed shown by the panther during the ambush.


    This was to be expected, if Sigil was slower than the Black Panther, he would have already succumbed to his fate in the sneak attack.


    His eyes shined in brilliance when he saw that the Black Panther chose to attack him instead of retreating to a safe distance. Sigil tilted his machete and met the claw with the blunt side of the blade. He may be eager to kill monsters, but he wouldn''t harm any familiar without any specific reason. After all, every familiar has a chance to increase the combat ability of a witch.


    Grwaaoh


    The Black Panther cried out as it jumped on Sigil once again.


    Sigil dodged to the right and struck the blunt side of the machete on the Panthers back.


    ¡°Hoo, so you are from the Jaguar Family.¡±


    In reality, there is no different species for a Black Panther, it is a simple misunderstanding.


    The black fur is the variation pigmentation in the Jaguar and Leopard family. While Leopards have a light build and could be scared off easily, Jaguars, on the other hand, are more of a courageous kind.


    Sigil took a deep breath and sheathed his machete. This action caused a strange sense of wariness in the Panther¡¯s eyes and it slowly crawled in a circular path.


    Meanwhile, Sigil took out some canned food from his bag. He swiftly opened the can and placed its contents on the ground, in front of the Panther.


    He had already caused the Panther to feel cautious of him. That was the show of his strength. Even though he knew that Panther had a lot of fight left, he did not want to waste his time and energy in battling it.


    Trying to befriend a familiar after showing appropriate strength is always a good method of taming a future familiar.


    Sigil even had a sure-fire trump card, but for that, he had to get in contact with the panther in a calm and orderly manner.

 Exploration 2

    Sigil was currently crouching near a red-coloured plant. The stem of the plant was only a size of an index finger while it had two dark-red leaves with black-coloured marks on its surface


    He took out a pair of latex gloves from the outer compartment of his bag and took out a small knife to cut off the leaves of the plant without damaging the stalk attached to the leaf.


    He needed the full plant except for the two leaves. This was the only method known to humanity to harvest the Crimson Desire, an extremely rare herb.


    Sigil did not throw the leaves of the plant and shoved them inside a small test-tube. Within a few seconds, the black spots on the leaves started secreting a black liquid as the leaves started to melt, filling the glass test-tube. It was venom!


    Sigil then proceeded to keep the stalk of the remaining plant in his pouch and continued his journey. Before he left, he made sure that he opened another can of food and placed it near the vicinity.


    Rustle


    After a few minutes of Sigil walking away, a green-eyed black panther with a luscious coat of black fur emerged and sniffed the area before making its way towards the canned food.


    ***


    ¡°It''s like that person had already been here.¡± Sigil''s thoughts were unknown as he gazed at a large black fruit hanging from a tree branch. The whole tree looked abnormally sturdy with small spikes on its surface.


    The spikes were laced with a bluish liquid that Sigil definitely wanted to avoid. He put on his pair of trusty latex gloves and started the process of harvesting the fruit.


    The tennis ball sized fruit was another rare medicine named Berry of Truth. If this berry is consumed, it will work as a drug that dulls your mind and sends the user into a hypnosis-like state where one would not be able to lie even if they wanted to.


    The process was relatively simple. His shoes were military graded and the spikes on the trees could not pierce his shoes. He simply jumped on the branch and plucked away the fruit.


    He once again left the area after placing another can of food.


    3 hours had already passed since Sigil separated from the group. On his journey, he did clash with some animals, but they were not familiars. The beasts did not possess intelligence and did not have any outstanding features compared to the Black Panther following Sigil.


    He simply beheaded the annoying ones while avoided the relatively cowardly beasts. He wouldn''t get any benefits from killing them. Their body did not have any rare material, so why should he waste his efforts?


    Out of the allotted time of 48 hours, he still had 43 hours left. After that, the talisman on his body will activate automatically and transport him back.


    After walking for 8 more minutes, he finally found the last herb he was looking for.


    It was a couple of light blue leaves stick to the ground. He smiled lightly and scouted for surroundings before making his way over.


    He didn''t even wear his trusty gloves and immediately grabbed the leaves and pulled hard. In his hand was an underground mushroom with blue leaves attached.


    His eyes widened as he barely tilted his head on time. A blue blur passed by Sigil''s face, scratching his cheek.


    Sigil immediately stored the Devil Mushroom inside his pouch and took out a butterfly knife as he rolled away.


    It was a Crab!


    An extremely small one at that, with a pair of wings.


    The abomination in front of Sigil wasn''t a familiar, but a monster from the Rakshasa Lineage.


    Blue Winged Snapper.


    The crab¡¯s body was blue and small spots of red could be seen on the hard exterior body. It kept on weaving horizontally as it snapped the two claws viciously.


    Sigil''s gaze narrowed as he wiped off the blood streaming from the wound on his face. His healing factor was greater than regular humans and such scratches would heal up in no time.


    Even though he almost died, Sigil felt thankful. This sneak attack was a warning for him that an enemy can hit you from any angle.


    He took a deep breath and started flicking his butterfly knife. The sounds of the knife attracted the crab''s attention.


    Bang


    A silver bullet landed precisely on the exterior body of the crab, piercing it.


    ¡°Just a stage 1 Rakshasa.¡±


    Sigil commented lightly. He left the area without placing another canned food as he already left an extremely nutritious meal for his Feline stalker.


    After collecting the three rare herbs, he made his way near a waterfall. The place was a few minutes away. The waterfall wasn''t large, almost 5 metres tall but the water wasn''t the regular drinking water. It was light green in colour and exuded a pungent smell, repelling most of the animals and monsters.


    Sigil covered his nose with one hand and took out his cell phone from other. Usually, wireless connection to the outside world would not be possible due to two reasons.


    The first being the difference in time flow and the second being the dimensional barrier of the Grimoire World.


    But right now, Sigil had already bypassed both of the conditions. He was standing at the spot with the weakest point of the dimensional barrier and the time flow was equal to the world outside.


    Step


    Step


    Sigil suddenly heard the sounds of steps and frowned. He looked around before placing his bag near a dark shade and covering it with the nearby leaves and mud. If he was lucky, then this would be enough. He then gritted his teeth and jumped inside the pool of pungent water.


    He didn''t jump and made his way inside extremely slowly, making the least possible noise. This only made the whole process for Sigil even harder.


    He took a deep breath before he heard the steps getting closer. As he felt the new party getting near slowly, he made up his mind and dived inside the water.


    Rustle


    ¡°Damn, fatty! Did you fart again?!¡±


    A female''s voice sounded. Her voice was full of aggression.


    ¡°No, I did not. And I didn''t fart back then too. I know it was you, but you put the blame on me because Ivan was with us.¡±


    A gruff voice retorted.


    ¡°Shut up!!¡±


    The previous voice sounded again, but it was shriller compared to before.


    ¡°Don''t shout at me! If you don''t want to fart accidentally, keep low on soda and fries!¡±


    The man did not back down.


    ¡°Enough, we should be searching for materials. We also have to find enough so that the 30 percent cut for the family doesn''t affect our Cultivation.¡±


    A helpless voice sounded.


    ¡°You! Stay out of it.¡±


    Both of them shouted at their third partner.


    ¡°By the way, none of you farted. It is the water.¡± The third voice sounded again.


    This caused the bickering of the two to stop.


    ¡°Is that?¡±


    ¡°Yup, it''s Devil¡¯s Piss. A good refinement material. Alright, I will take a bottle for myself.¡±


    The three of them quickly filled a bottle for their own use and went away.


    ¡°It''s a real disappointment, though. Ivan would have gotten a good loot here.¡±


    The three chatted away.


    Sigil couldn''t see them but he could hear them. They were from RedHawk family.


    Before he started to move, his attention was caught by a strange situation. He tried to focus and felt speechless.


    The author''s narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.


    He did not see wrong.


    There was a statue of a muscular man, buck naked, holding his ¡®erect sword¡¯ with a look of pride. The strange thing was that the ¡®erect sword¡¯ was actually a sword!


    The sword had a grey handle and an extremely sharp edge.


    ''What the hell!¡¯


    First, he had to take a dip in a refinement material named Devil''s Piss and now a statue of a perverted man holding an actual sword instead of his penis.


    What happened to this world?!


    But Sigil still made his way deeper into the pool, until he reached near the sword.


    He was curious as well as repulsed.


    ¡®Calm down, there is nobody here.¡¯


    (Except Author and readers, but he doesn''t know this.)


    With a nervous expression, he touched the edge of the blade and¡­¡­. Bam


    The sword suddenly fell.


    As if he had activated a trap, the whole base of the pool started to shake and the statue fell towards its front. In the place where the statue stood was a line of words written on a metallic patch placed on the base.


    ¡°If you want to inherit me, let go of all shame. The next clue is hidden where the thing after the first thing comes out.¡±


    It was a clue! As if he was in a university cultural festival!


    He wasn''t an idiot!


    This was an inheritance ground!


    He actually stumbled upon the most prized possession of the Grimoire World by following the directions of the anonymous sender.


    But this wasn''t all, he was also shameless. Extremely so!


    He did not need the clue''s advice to let go of his shame.


    He immediately understood the meaning of the clue. It wasn''t a brainer at all!


    It might have been a tough question during the previous era, but now?


    After learning the value of this place, he let go of all the morals and stuck his finger inside the extremely vivid back hole with his middle finger. It wasn''t long as a button was placed inside the backdoor of the man.


    Click.


    Even though Sigil couldn''t hear the click underwater, he could surely feel his fingers pressing a button.


    This sensation made him feel even more speechless. He didn''t know who the Grimoire Master of this World was, but he knew one thing¡ª an ordinary mind cannot comprehend the ''brilliance¡¯ of this master.


    After the clicking sensation, he suddenly felt his vision changing once again.


    He wasn''t in the pool anymore!


    He was standing in an old bedroom with almost no furnishing. The walls were decorated with handmade paintings instead.


    There were all kinds of painting, but they had one similarity- They were all men.


    Seeing the naked ones made Sigil feel extremely uneasy. He wasn''t the kind of person to judge someone else based on their sexual preference, but this was too much for him.


    ¡°So, this is the inheritance ground?¡±


    A Grimoire World is divided into three main areas- Outer, Inner, Core. But there is one place that is the most prized possession of every Grimoire Master and could be placed anywhere¨C the Inheritance Ground.


    ¡°Well, if it was someone else, they wouldn''t have dared to put a finger in male statue¡¯s asshole, except some creeps¡­.wait¡­.. does that make me a creep?¡±


    Sigil muttered to himself.


    ***


    Ricardo was staying in a cheap motel. He did not have funds to book a room in a nice hotel.


    Right now, he was sitting peacefully with a brown rat caged in a box.


    This was the familiar causing havoc amongst the citizens. He had already sent the confirmation of completion of the mission and was now waiting for the witch''s organisation to send a worker to pick up the familiar.


    Every familiar is worth its price and shouldn''t be killed if not necessary.


    Ricardo understood this point deeply.


    Right now, he was waiting for Sigil''s call. He could have entered the Grimoire world himself, but it would have been of no use. According to his memories, the inheritance ground required a certain talent to gain the Grimoire World.


    He understood that his body did not have the requisite talent. He only hoped that Sigil would. If everything went according to the plan, he would be able to get that mystical familiar and also establish Sigil as his front for many tasks like this one.


    All Sigil had to do is collect the required materials, call him and chant the spell of the oath that he would give him. This way, a partnership could be established.


    ¡°In my previous life, nobody would have thought that the Grimoire World belonged to Grimoire Master Inverse Witch. Only after a freaky girl pushed that button did everyone understood the true value of the Grimoire World.¡±


    Ricardo waited patiently.


    Meanwhile, Sigil had already started searching for clues in the room.


    Except for a futon, a couple of pillows and some used clothes, he did not find anything.


    ¡°Maybe it''s the paintings.¡±


    He frowned and thought of his previous experience.


    The Devil''s Piss, The Erect Sword Holding Muscle Man, Pushing of the Devil Button.


    It had to be the paintings!


    Sigil was on a clock here and he could not get out of this trapped room. After all, there were no windows or doors.


    He started trailing the numerous paintings drawn on the wall. As he observed the paintings, he looked towards the odd one out.


    ¡°Really now? This is too easy. How can someone so stupid be a Grimoire Master.¡±


    Sigil looked towards the painting that looked the most feminine. Even though it had some manly features, it was still fully clothed amongst the paintings of perverted muscle men.


    He shook his head and touched the feminine painting. The moment he touched the painting, he felt his vision change once again.


    ***


    ¡°The Grimoire Master Inverse Witch was a genius amongst genius and created spells to target a witch''s most feared imagination. After the statue was found in the Grimoire World, it showed different things to different people. Some claimed that they saw their old mothers in skimpy clothes while some spoke that they saw their loved ones in horrific positions. The common thing was that all the images were sexually suggestive.¡±


    Ricardo recalled the past memories, his gaze incomparably deep. In his previous life, the inheritance ground was found 7 years later after the Grimoire emerged and infected the surrounding place and the strangest thing was, nobody knew the true appearance of the statue besides the new inheritor of the Grimoire World.


    ¡°The second trial is almost the same. But this time, they show you paintings of your most feared imagination and only one painting of the imagination that could trump your fear. Normally, such a trap would lead to nowhere, but Inverse Master was a genius Space Element and Illusion Type Spellcaster. Such a combination made him one of the strongest out there.¡±


    ¡°These both tests are nothing for me. After all, Inverse''s most famous quote was to let go of your shame and embrace every part of your imagination. It is the last test that is the most difficult. The test of talent and potential. After all, who would want to give away their lifetime worth¡¯s hard work to someone talentless and with no future.¡±


    Ricardo sighed as he slumped on his chair. He was still restricted by his body''s talents. Even though he knew that he could achieve everything with a steady flow of resources, he still felt regret that he couldn''t attain that familiar himself.

 Inheritance

    Sigil was standing near a lake. The water was still and clear while the surroundings were quiet and peaceful. A raised platform could be seen in the lake. Above the platform, a blue-colored egg was placed in the centre.


    Sigil frowned and looked around.


    ¡°Looking for something boy?¡±


    A flirtatious voice entered Sigil''s ears as he looked towards the source. It was a youthful figure with short hairs, a nice jawline, foxy eyes and a tall figure, almost as tall as Sigil.


    The mounds on her front and the lack of penis suggested her gender.


    But why naked?


    ¡°Let go of your shame and embrace every inch of your imagination.¡±


    As if sensing Sigil''s doubts, the figure spoke out.


    Sigil, who was almost enamored by the peerless beauty, was startled awake by her voice.


    ¡°I greet the respectful Master.¡±


    Strength deserved respect. Even if the figure in front of him was naked and looked harmless, he wouldn''t dare underestimate her.


    ¡°Let''s forget the pleasantries.¡±


    She smiled lightly and her palms glowed blue. She immediately vanished and appeared in front of Sigil.


    Sigil wanted to move his body, but a strange force restricted his movements.


    In the meantime, the beautiful lady touched every single part of his body as with the glowing palm. After she was done examining Sigil''s body, she stepped away and the strange force restricting Sigil was also lifted.


    ¡°Hoho, decent talent, Unique mindset. Last question, young man. What do you think of all the tests? Were they complicated or simple.¡±


    Sigil was surprised by the question, but he ended up answering in a moment''s time.


    ¡°Simple.¡±


    ***


    ¡°But even after all these years, I still don''t understand Eugene''s statement about the Grimoire World.¡±


    Ricardo thought in a puzzled manner.


    In his previous life, when the Grimoire World surfaced, it was Eugene who inherited the Grimoire World. Back then, he hadn''t gone rogue yet. During the banquet on his success, he simply summarised his experience in a single statement.


    ¡°To inherit the Grimoire World, I simply let go of my complexities.¡±


    After saying the statement, Eugene set-up a dark spell and slaughtered every single witch who attended the banquet, making his reputation known far and wide.


    ¡°Let go of complexities, huh?¡±


    Ricardo felt that he was nearing the truth about something important but it was covered by layers of cloud.


    ***


    ¡°Why simple?¡±


    The lady continued her questions.


    Sigil looked at the lady for a few minutes without replying. Seeing this, the lovely lady frowned.


    ¡°Why don''t you answer?¡±


    ¡°It''s a trap.¡±


    Sigil''s face had a neutral expression. His answer caused the lady to smile cheerfully.


    ¡°Congratulations, Master. You have passed the tests of my original body, the Inverse Witch.¡±


    The image of the lovely lady blurred a little before she appeared once again, wearing a witch''s robe. Her bountiful harvest covered in wide neck robe made her look even more alluring.


    ¡°I am sorry, what?¡±


    Sigil was still a little dazed. That''s it? He was going to go through complicated steps by cooperating with the strange man for this?


    Looking at his incredulous expression, the lady finally introduced herself.


    ¡°Let me introduce myself, Master. I am the inheritance will left behind my original body, the Inverse Witch.¡±


    ¡°Did the original owner really keep such loose requirements for his inheritor?¡±


    ¡°You have misunderstood, Master. The original body only understood one concept- To let go of your complexities.¡±


    Inverse Witch replied.


    ¡°Let go of your complexities?¡±


    Sigil mulled over her words as his eyes brightened. He understood this as he took part in all the strange tests.


    ¡°Then what was with that glowing palm?¡±


    ¡°That was to check the talent of Master. Even if master has a unique mindset compatible with the original body, master still needs to have required talent.¡±


    Inverse Witch commented lightly.


    ¡°So, that means, I control the whole Grimoire World?¡±


    ¡°Yes, Master.¡±


    She replied respectfully.


    Sigil looked towards the egg and revealed a thoughtful expression.


    ¡°Transport me near the banks of Devil''s Piss.¡±


    ¡°Yes, Master.¡±


    ***


    Near the green-coloured waterfall, a blue light shined revealing Sigil and Inverse Witch.


    ¡°You keep an eye on all the areas and don''t let anyone take any of the prized herbs. But don''t conceal too much. I don''t want others to get suspicious just yet.¡±


    ¡°Yes, Master.¡±


    Inverse Witch bowed respectfully before teleporting away.


    Sigil sat down cross-legged near his baggage as he started to remember everything he knew on Grimoire World.


    ¡°But before that¡­¡±


    Sigil took out his cellphone from his bag and crushed it.


    Thak


    He then threw the cellphone back inside his bag.


    The author''s content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.


    ¡°Alright, A Grimoire Will cannot affect the Grimoire World until it has been inherited. Hmm¡­. that is to say that I can command Inverse Witch to do anything with the Grimoire World. There are still those four heads left and the incoming witch¡¯s organisation.¡±


    Sigil''s thoughts were deep as he started to form the most viable plan.


    He decided to crush his cellphone and then later ¡®announce¡¯ it by blaming an accident.


    He figured that his mysterious stalker will definitely find this information and not form any weird thoughts about Sigil not contacting him.


    The Grimoire World is movable since he became the new owner of this world. But if he moved it now, he along with others who are starting to explore this place will become the possible suspects. He wanted to widen the range of suspects as large as he could.


    On the other hand, he also wanted to preserve as many materials as he could. After all, he wouldn''t want to lose his own benefits.


    Sigil was just like this. He cared for his family and stuff, but he would never lose benefits to others unless he truly feels special about the person competing with him for the benefits.


    And right now, he had no such feeling for anyone except the affectionate little girl.


    After packing away his belongings, he didn''t call Inverse Witch, instead, he started to move around the place. This world was filled with strange things and otherworldly investigative methods. He wouldn''t want to be found out as one of the suspects if someone tracked this area.


    He started to circle out of the area in an orderly manner.


    It was at this moment, he suddenly sensed something. A viper, disguised as a vine, lunged towards Sigil. Before he could counterattack, a black shadow swiped the viper away.


    It was the green-eyed black panther.


    Grawooh


    It growled towards Sigil before jumping away, hiding inside the dark forest.


    At first, he felt a little troubled about not being able to tame it because of the lack of time, but now, he smiled lightly and let the dazzling beauty chill in the dark forest.


    He still had more than 30 hours left and he had already achieved the objective.


    ¡°Maybe, I should find Aria and others.¡±


    He thought before shaking his head.


    After covering his tracks, he jumped on a trunk and called for Inverse Witch before teleporting to the inheritance ground.


    ¡°What is that egg?¡±


    He finally asked the question as he relaxed on a beach chair placed near the lake.


    ¡°It''s the egg of the original body''s main familiar¨C Mirror Panda.¡±


    Sigil looked towards the egg with dazed eyes. Such a mythical creature!


    He sighed as he looked towards the still lake.


    ¡°Show me all the rare herbs in each region and describe their use.¡±


    After almost 2 hours, Sigil got a detail of all the rare herbs left and made the Grimoire Spirit bring the most valuable herbs out of the group. He did not take away all the herbs as it wouldn''t be worth it.


    If he alerted others by taking away all the precious herbs, he might lose the Grimoire World itself. These plants could be planted again since they weren''t extinct. The loot he took away were carefully planted in the inheritance ground. Even though the plants weren''t placed in a compatible habitat, they could live for a few days.


    Sigil wasn''t even worried about the rare minerals present underground. After all, everyone had a time limit.


    After doing all this, he had himself teleported 1 kilometre behind the group he abandoned to continue his adventure.


    ***


    ¡°Master, where were you?¡±


    Martha and others were surprised when they saw Sigil coming from the back.


    ¡°I am sorry, I was ambushed by a familiar. It''s all taken care of.¡± He smiled as he sat with the group.


    The whole group was sitting around a campfire.


    The whole group rested for almost 6 hours before finally moving. Now, they had almost a day''s time to explore the whole place.


    Sigil took the lead as he started trailing his old path towards the region of Devil''s Piss. He just circled around the area as they kept on exploring. The Green-eyed black panther did not appear this time, obviously intimidated by the large group.


    Sigil''s group had a total of 37 members including himself. When Sigil was apart, the group made a lot of gains. Ingredients from the nest of Werewolves, some precious rocks and various plants and animals. All of their pouches were almost filled with materials while Martha had already started to stuff the materials in her equipment bags.


    ¡°Hey, look! We''ve got company.¡± A loud call attracted the group''s attention as they looked towards another approaching group. They also wore a combat uniform.


    The uniform of the group included a brown t-shirt with a picture small beetle on their t-shirt.


    They were the members of BlackBee Family.


    Both the groups stopped and looked towards each other.


    Sigil''s group was going to harvest the Green Jack Pines, a fruit with an instant drowsiness effect. It could be sold for other important herbs to complete various spells.


    The body of a witch is enhanced by various spells over the course of his life and various drugs slowly become ineffective on the enhanced body. Sleeping Drug is one of them. The witches need good sleep to feel mentally refreshed and experiment with spells. This fruit allows the Witch to sleep like a baby since sleeping drugs are no longer effective on the experts with more than four energy gates opened. This effect made the fruit extremely popular and high demand alongside high price.


    The Members of BlackBee also noticed the Green Jack Pines and then looked towards Sigil''s group. This time, they had a hostile expression in their eyes.


    ¡°According to exploration rules, a witch''s battle will take place if there is a conflict of interests.¡±


    A youth, around the age of 20 years, walked out. His body was bulky and his light brown hair was pointed towards the heavens.


    ¡°Why should we talk to these dogs? Just start the battle and defeat them, as we did with the previous group.¡±


    Another member of the BlackBee Family sneered. Evidently, this was not their first encounter with the Grey Family.


    This comment angered the members of the Grey family. Even Aria was trying to control her anger.


    But some people obviously did not have the same quality of upbringing that Aria experienced and started retorting.


    ¡°Who the hell are you calling dogs? You want a fight? I will give you a fight.¡±


    One of Sigil''s teammate stepped forward, his eyes blazing and his face fierce.

 Conspiracy

    Sigil tried to control his expression as he almost rolled his eyes in front of everyone.


    The opponent just said dogs and you were offended?


    Are you so easy to offend?


    Don''t you have any standards?


    Sigil sighed as he shook his head. He couldn''t let this brainless fool fight for the whole group. After all, Sigil instinctively knew that his own teammate would lose the battle.


    ¡°If you hadn''t stuffed your brain with steroids and spent your free time in humping your boyfriend''s anus, you would understand that you aren''t the ambassador of your group.¡±


    Sigil smiled lightly. He patted Ronald''s shoulder and made him step backwards.


    ¡°And you, since when do you have the balls to speak for our team?¡±


    His cold eyes gazed in Ronald''s nervous eyes.


    ¡°I- I''m ¡­ sorry!"


    Ronald looked a little embarrassed and stammered. Sigil simply waved his hands and let him retreat.


    Meanwhile, the bulky man had a red face as he looked extremely angry.


    When was the last time someone spoke to him like that?


    Never!


    Just before he could think of a comeback, Sigil''s vicious words struck his self-esteem once again.


    ¡°And what''s with your hair? How could you fuck up something so simple? Take a comb and groom them properly.¡±


    Martha and Alicia immediately recalled the times when Sigil took a long time as he carefully combed his hair.


    ¡°You¡­  yo¨C¡± The guy from the BlackBee looked extremely embarrassed as he wanted to speak, but alas, Sigil had graduated from the course named ''pushing the right buttons¡¯ in his previous life and didn''t let him finish his sentence.


    ¡°What ''you¡¯? Do you think you are so special if you have a boyfriend that can take up your entire arm in his own anus? Let me tell you, if he took your large stuff, this means that your boyfriend took someone else''s large stuff for practice.¡±


    Sigil made the action of putting his hand inside an imaginary hole and pointed towards the bulky guy''s large hands.


    ¡°Aaahhh, I will kill y¨C¡±


    ¡°ENOUGH!¡±


    It seems like the muscular guy did not have any luck to finish his sentences.


    Another youth emerged out of the crowd, his aura intimidating, his hair well groomed. He was lean and looked healthy.


    ¡°I am Brad BlackBee, son of the family''s Supreme Elder. It''s an honour to meet the genius Sigil of the Grey Family.¡±


    The youth introduced himself.


    If it is an honour, then where were you till now?


    Sigil thought speechlessly. If you want to look elegant, then at least choose the right words. He looked towards the smug Brad and smiled arrogantly.


    ¡°What the hell are you acting elegant for? I know that you are the one that takes that dude¡¯s steroid-driven penis in the night.¡±


    Puchi


    ¡°Hahahahahaha!¡±


    ¡°Fierce¡­. too fierce!¡±


    ¡°Damn¡­ hahahahaha!¡±


    Sigil''s words caused every single member of the Grey Family to laugh without control. Even Martha and Alicia laughed hard as Aria looked around clueless.


    Brad couldn''t maintain his demeanor and looked extremely embarrassed. He gnashed his teeth in anger.


    ¡°Don''t be too arrogant! You haven''t even opened your Seventh Gate of Wonder!¡±


    He shouted.


    Arrogant?


    Sigil shook his head secretly. He wasn''t being arrogant. He was just fulfilling his role of the young master of the family.


    After he arrived at this world, he showed an immediate change in behaviour. He stopped going to brothels, the number of girls and maids visiting his rooms turned to zero and he also stopped bullying people.


    Instead, he became a kind, affectionate man that every father wants as a son and every girl dreams as a husband.


    But Sigil felt bad. He made a mistake!


    He changed too quickly!


    It would''ve been alright if he slowly transitioned to such a kind soul, but now, he could only salvage the situation by fulfilling his role of an arrogant young master.


    Sigil''s cold eyes looked towards the member of the BlackBee Family.


    ¡°Enough chit chat! Which type of battle would you fight in? Spell battle or a combat battle?¡±


    What chit chat?


    Isn''t it only you insulting us?


    The members of BlackBee Family felt suffocated.


    ¡°A combat battle. The one who surrenders loses.¡±


    Brad gritted his teeth.


    If he didn''t beat him with his own hands, he will have nightmares about this encounter.


    On the other hand, Sigil felt a little disappointed. He truly wanted to take part in a spell battle. Even though it wouldn''t be as efficient and smooth as the spell battle Chakra Stage Witches, the spell battle is still more competitive because of more variations.


    ¡°I will be the one participating from our side. What about you guys?¡±


    ¡°I will battle you.¡±


    Sigil''s proud voice rang as he immediately shot towards an unprepared Brad.


    ¡°Hmph!¡±


    Even though Brad saw Sigil playing dirty, he simply snorted. After all, he was an expert with all eight of his energy gates opened.


    Even though Brad did not know about Sigil''s recent breakthrough, he was still confident in beating the opponent.


    The distance between both of them quickly closed in as Brad took his stance to prepare for the battle.


    Two fists flew out at the same time, but only one landed.


    It was Brad''s!


    After all, he was stronger and faster than Sigil. When both of them threw their punch, Brad''s punch reached Sigil''s face and he had to defend his face with the remaining hand.


    Thud


    A dull thud rang out and Sigil was forced backwards. His left hand protected his facial region and became a little numb from the impact.


    Huff


    ''Strong!¡¯


    Sigil assessed his opponent once again. This simple exchange was enough for him to gain some insights into the opponent.


    First, Brad did not continue his attack. This meant that he was confident in beating Sigil.Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.


    Second, Brad never let down his guard even, making him prepared for Sigil''s every move.


    Even though Brad was bad with words, he wasn''t stupid.


    ''Man, fighting that bulky douchebag would''ve been easier.¡¯


    Sigil took his combat stance. This body was proficient in boxing Techniques. Even Sigil took a whole week to make himself familiar with these Techniques.


    Meanwhile, Sigil''s teammate themselves felt that their leader was being too arrogant.


    It had to be known that there were many fighters in their group that had already opened all the eight gates. Even Martha felt that Sigil still had a long way to go, after all, he simply decided to fight a stronger opponent without any thoughts.


    Out of the group, only Aria felt a little worried for Sigil, while his Fianc¨¦e¨C Alicia also looked a little neutral. Even though she knew that he was trying to change himself, he still needed some more time. She felt that this defeat will be a true wake up call for Sigil and he will truly turn over to a new leaf.


    On the other hand, the members of BlackBee Family were feeling happy. Their members were insulted viciously by Sigil and they felt a little comfortable when Sigil was pushed back with a numb hand.


    Meanwhile, Sigil adjusted his posture. His left hand needed some time before it could be used. So Sigil immediately changed his posture with his right fist in the attacking position and his left hand maintained the balance of the body.


    He ran towards Brad once again and punched towards the lower left of his abdomen, which was once again blocked by Brad. The defence was followed by a vicious counterattack, hitting Sigil''s chest.


    Thud


    Puu


    Sigil''s whole body felt a tingling sensation followed by a lot of pain. The upper-right part of his ribs was almost cracked in the previous attack.


    A stream of blood flowed from the side of his mouth and he breathed heavily.


    ¡°Seeing that you are the adopted kid of the Grey Family''s Head, I will leave you some face and let you surrender without breaking any of your bones.¡±


    Brad chuckled and cracked his knuckles viciously.


    Sigil, on the other hand, did not pay any attention to Brad. He finally found a weakness of his opponent.


    His combat foundations were weak. His attacks and defence were simple, without any tricks.


    Before any attack, there is a reaction in eyes and the lower body of the opponent.


    Sigil recalled his Combat Master''s words.


    Before someone attacks, he aims towards the target and prepares his body to launch the strike.


    Sigil wiped the blood off his mouth and stood straight. He lowered his defenses and started running towards Brad. Meanwhile, his eyes were scanning the opponent''s eyes and lower body in shifts.


    Brad smirked at the incoming enemy.


    ''Now!¡¯


    When there was only an arm''s length apart, Sigil saw slight movements in Brad''s legs and immediately shifted his body to the right and punched straight.


    Whoosh


    Thud


    His punch landed in Brad''s right arm, without waiting for his opponent, Sigil relied on the experience of his past life and took Brad''s hand and threw him on the ground.


    The spectators were stunned!


    Brad was stunned!


    Before anyone could form different thoughts, Sigil''s voice rang out.


    ¡°You lose.¡±


    A barrage of punches followed his voice, striking the fallen opponent on the face.


    One...


    Two¡­


    Three¡­


    Sigil kept on punching as Brad''s nose broke and blood flowed like a river. His eyes were swollen and his cheeks were red. His mouth was filled with blood and broken teeth.


    Meanwhile, Sigil''s condition was also bad. His left arm had already turned blue, his chest was in pain and his right fist had become bloodied.


    Sigil stopped after punching for a minute, leaving an unconscious Brad on the cold hard ground.


    ¡°What the hell was that?¡±


    ¡°Vicious!¡±


    ¡°Too fierce!¡±


    ¡°Save young master Brad!¡±


    ¡°Quickly bring out the medications!¡±


    The two groups had different reactions.


    Sigil''s teammates also brought some medications and started to treat his injuries.


    ¡°I did not think that you could defeat him. Good work.¡± Alicia spoke truthfully and also praised Sigil. After all, he beat a stronger opponent. Even though it wasn''t a straightforward method, it still counted.


    ¡°Hehehe, thanks!¡±


    Sigil grinned and inwardly raised his points for Alicia. Not many girls were straightforward like Alicia. Meanwhile, Martha simply shook her head.


    What else could she say other than the words of congratulations?


    ¡°Awesome work, Master.¡±


    She said as she wrapped Sigil''s fist with bandages.


    ¡°Ho? You didn''t think that I will lose?¡±


    Sigil smirked. Even though he felt uncomfortable by the gentle side of Martha, he did not show it on his face. After all, he wasn''t used to such affectionate acts.


    ¡°No, no. I thought you would lose and terribly at that.¡±


    Her voice was still soft, but her words caused Sigil to chuckle.


    Would it kill anyone to just lie and make him feel better?


    First Alicia and now Martha.


    After all of his wounds were taken care of, he stood up alongside Martha. Aria had already calmed down and was collecting the Green Jack Pines alongside Alicia and others.


    Brad was still unconscious and all of the BlackBee Family remained on the sidelines. They had lost the battle and couldn''t continue to press forward. If they did violate the rules set by their Family Head, they will be punished severely.


    After collecting the loot, the group comprising of Grey Family''s younger generation walked away to explore other regions.


    ¡°Hey, what do you think about the inner regions?¡±


    One of the members asked his partner.


    ¡°Well, the outer regions is filled with forest and mountainous terrain. I think that the inner regions will be filled with swamps and rainforest.¡± His partner guessed.


    Even though they were prohibited from entering the inner regions, they still guessed the ecosystem held in the inner area. After all, the resources found inside the inner regions will surely be more rare and precious.


    Aria also heard the conversation as she asked Sigil.


    ¡°Big brother Sigil, what do you think about the inner area?¡±


    ¡°Hmm?¡±


    Sigil was lost in his thoughts and was surprised by the sudden question.


    ¡°Well¡­ hmm¡­ I think that the inner region is a Desert.¡±


    Of course, he knew the correct answer.


    ¡°Ohh, then should we enter the inner regions?¡±


    ¡°Nope, Elder Linda will kill me.¡±


    Sigil smiled and shook his head.


    ¡°Besides, finding the entrance of the inner region is already hard. Without appropriate Familiars, it will take us days before we actually find a valuable clue.¡±


    Sigil explained to Aria.


    His condition was getting a little better. His healing factor alongside precious medicine quickened the healing process of his body.


    ¡°Shh!¡±


    Alicia suddenly put a finger on her lips and motioned everyone to quieten down. Her actions were quickly complied and the group could finally hear some noise.


    It was the sound of leaves rustling.


    The sound kept on getting closer as someone finally noticed a movement in the nearby grassy area.


    ¡°Vines!¡±


    The person shouted and immediately slice towards the vine with his machete. His voice alerted everyone and they took out their blades too.


    ¡°Prepare for fire spell and also a water spell.¡±


    Sigil''s words were quickly heeded and two members of the team- Blake and Martha prepared the materials for a fire spell and water spell.


    Meanwhile, Sigil gripped his Machete with his left hand and sliced towards the incoming vines.


    Strangely, they were slowly getting surrounded by the vines.


    ¡°Hmm? They don''t look natural.¡±


    Sigil noticed something strange after cutting the vine. There was no liquid coming out of the sliced region. It actually looked like a plastic vine.


    His expression turned dark and his thoughts unreadable. It was a Spell Ambush!


    He didn¡¯t alert his group and let them prepare for the spell. Meanwhile, he started thinking of the possible solutions.


    If he had to guess, then he would suspect the previous group of BlackBee Family. But he still felt that something was missing.


    Since this was a trap, he thought of something. He immediately shot towards Aria.


    ¡°Aria, give me your phone. My mobile phone was destroyed.¡±


    She complied to the request and took out her phone.


    Sigil opened the video recorder of the mobile and screamed at the top of his lungs.


    ¡°We are from Grey Family. You are breaking the rule by the ambush. If anyone of us gets hurt, you will pay a harsh price.¡±


    His scream stunned everyone. The quick-witted members suddenly understood the scenario and their expressions turned gloomy too.


    After his scream, the vines started to move even more quickly and viciously.


    Seeing this, Sigil smiled secretly. This meant that the opponent could hear his voice, which implied that the enemies are nearby.


    ¡°Don''t lose focus and defend the spellcasters. I will return in a few minutes.¡±


    He handed the mobile to Aria and asked her to stay near the spellcasters and record the whole thing. Meanwhile, he let out a loud whistle and ran inside the deeper regions of the forest.


    He did not know the location of the enemy and he couldn''t risk calling out for Inverse Witch. He kept on whistling until a dark shadow pounced on him.


    ''Found you!¡¯


    Sigil stopped and retreated as the Green-eyed black panther growled at Sigil.


    He could only make use of this reluctant familiar.


    He took out a patch of a vine from his pocket and threw it towards the panther.


    Grawooh


    The panther rolled its eyes.


    I am a panther, not a dog!


    Sigil frowned at this.


    ¡°Look, you understand what I am trying to say, right? If you do, then growl once and I will give you your treat!¡±


    Sigil spoke with uncertainty. He still did not know about the intellectual level of the familiar in front of him.


    Grawooh


    Unexpectedly, the Panther growled once again and looked towards Sigil with expectations in its eyes.


    ¡°Ok, help me find another group of people near this place.¡±


    The panther looked a little hesitant before jumping on a branch and running towards the western region.


    Sigil followed the panther and paid close attention to the surroundings. He still needed to be careful of the monsters in the forest.


    After two minutes, the panther stopped before an open patch of land. The panther had already melded with the shadow of the trees and Sigil took a sneak peek.


    On the open patch of land, he could see a group of girls in yellow tights huddling together. The sound of muffled chantings kept on coming out from the group and he could see almost twenty members guarding the girls that were chanting the spell. In the centre laid a pitch black seed and countless vines kept on emerging from the big seed and crawled towards the direction of Sigil''s group.


    Since Sigil was on a branch, he easily escaped the Vine''s attacks.


    Yellow Spider Family!


    The Yellow Spider Family was a Matriarchal Family. This could be seen by the treatment of the male members of the family that could only stand as a guardian. Their conditions also looked a little worse. Their eyes were sunken and their faces were pale.


    Sigil took out a canned food from his small pouch and opened it for panther before throwing it far away.


    The Panther silently chased his food¡­. like a dog.


    With all the distractions taken care of, Sigil prepared his gun.


    He will only get one shot!


    After that one shot, he had to run away. Since the family dared to strike with fatal mean, this meant that they didn''t want any survivors.


    Before Sigil attacked, he noticed another thing. There was a diversion of vines as a part of these vines were going towards the other direction.


    Seeing this, Sigil felt a little heavy. Since the Yellow Spider Family had the confidence to move against two groups, this meant that they were given such instructions by their family head. At least, this was the only conclusion he could arrive after considering the clues in front of him.


    It was a conspiracy!


    Sigil was almost sure that all the members of Yellow Spider Family were attacking other families, if not their family.


    He aimed his gun at the girl that was in the centre-most position and fired.


    Bam


    He did not wait to see the result and shot towards his group. As he neared his group, he saw the surroundings covered in fire and Martha reciting the Water spell, to placate the fire.


    In her hands was a hex bag as she kept chanting the spell.


    Fwoosh


    The small hex bag opened and a huge amount of water emerged from the bag like a waterfall. It only flowed towards one direction, creating an escape path for their group.

 Emergence

    Sigil quickly recounted everything to others as they made their escape. The expression of every team member turned grim upon hearing Sigil''s story. Some of the older members started to deduce the plans of the Yellow Spider Family while others simply hoped that the attack from the Yellow Spider Family wouldn''t lead to anything too chaotic.


    ***


    Ricardo had already delivered his mission and he was feeling extremely restless.


    He still hadn''t received Sigil''s call.


    ¡°Did something happen?¡± He felt extremely passive right now.


    He quickly wrapped up his stuff and drove his car towards the Chestcovia city. From his destination, it would take him almost 3 hours to reach the city.


    As he drove, he started to recall all the experience he had been through after his reincarnation. He didn''t gain Alicia''s locket as it was given to Sigil. He couldn''t accompany Alicia or Bethany to their Cases and achieve a good record.


    It felt like everything has been going wrong since his reincarnation. This is also the reason that he wanted to drive to Chestcovia City. He had an extremely uneasy feeling.


    After two and a half hours, he was suddenly stopped by traffic police. This stunned him.


    He had his seatbelt on, he was driving within the speed limit even when he was in such an emergency. He stopped his car as he waited for the police officer to come near his car.


    Knock Knock


    The police officer knocked on Ricardo''s car''s window and motioned his hand to roll down the window.


    ¡°Yes, Officer?¡±


    Ricardo frowned as he looked at the officer. He looked familiar!


    ¡°You can''t move forward. It is the government''s orders.¡±


    The moment Ricardo heard the man''s voice, his heart jumped in his chest. His expression remained the same, though.


    ¡°I am a witch and a valued member of the organisation. I am sure the Government would understand.¡±


    The Officer''s eyes looked a little strange and he shook his head.


    ¡°I am sorry, Sir. But this decision has to be cooperated by the members of the organisation, too.¡±


    ¡°I understand. Thank you for your hard work.¡±


    Ricardo nodded in understanding and quietly turned around his car.


    ¡°Why did you let him go?¡±


    Another police officer looked at the person.


    ¡°Boss¡¯ order. We shouldn''t let anyone know about our arrival until we ransack the whole Grimoire World.¡±


    Meanwhile, Ricardo felt a little uncomfortable. He recalled the police officer. He was a member of the Dark Guild named Black Spiders.


    His mind quickly formed various plans as he immediately opened his smartphone and started to spread the news regarding the sightseeing of the Grimoire World.


    Meanwhile, he felt little uneasy. Such an event did not take place in his previous life. Did his reincarnation already affect the flow of events?


    He could only silently think.


    ***


    In a dark dungeon, barely lit by a fiery torch, a young man could be seen walking with a dark expression.


    He placed the torch on the handle and opened the metal gate. The dungeon had been built for many years and metal gate let out a scratchy noise as it opened slowly.


    Inside the room, one could see another young man.


    His whole body held bruises and the young man was naked. The most horrible injury was the ''third leg¡¯ of the man.


    His penis had been cut off! There was only a slightly raised stub and nothing more. When the young man looked at the arrival, his eyes flared with vicious hate and he immediately barked.


    ¡°Ivan! You son of a bitch! Once I get out, I will kill you and Sigil. I will kill that Bastard with my own hands and destroy that little girl as I did to that orphan.¡±


    The person in front of him was Ivan.


    Ivan¡¯s gaze was a little emotional. He walked near his pig of a brother and slowly patted his head gently.


    ¡°Till now, I never once called you by your name. I am sorry, Charles.¡±


    Charles was stunned as he never saw his elder brother acting so gently.


    Before he could comprehend anything, he suddenly felt a numbing sensation from his chest which was followed by nerve-wracking pain. Before he could scream, a hand blocked his mouth and Charles was forced to look into Ivan''s gentle eyes.


    ¡°Little Brother, I hope that you get raised well in your next life.¡±


    Ivan took out his knife and pierced Charles chest once again. Ending his life.


    Ivan''s eyes were already red by this time as the images of Charles in his younger eyes flashed in his mind. He closed Charles eyes with shivering hands and slowly walked away.


    After getting out of the dungeon, he dialled a number.


    ¡°Yes, you can pick me up. Hmm? Fine, I am coming there.¡±


    Meanwhile, on the other side of the phone, Alia smiled as she hung up.


    ¡°Hmm? Did something happened, Alia?¡±


    Roman, the family head of RedHawk family asked in confusion.


    Alia did not speak and silently smiled. A black blaze covered her body as the aura of Seven Chakras emerged from her body, stunning Roman, Brian and John.


    ¡°I am sorry, but my little sister isn''t here.¡± A magnetic voice emerged from the black blaze as a mature man emerged from the black flames.


    He wore a pair of spectacles and his smile looked warm and bright. But seeing this man, the faces of three Family Head''s immediately paled.


    ¡°Alan!¡±


    Brian could only call out one word.If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.


    ¡°Why so anxious. We all are old friends. Let''s have a nice chat.¡±


    Alan, the Master of the Dark Guild- Black Spiders smiled lightly and sat on the ground while motioning towards the three others.


    ***


    ¡°INCOMING!¡±


    Alicia shouted as the group stopped and prepared for battle. It was another group from the Yellow Spider Family.


    Before waiting for the Spiders to prepare for an ambush, Sigil''s group already took out their guns and pointed towards the incoming enemy.


    The enemy group stopped before turning away immediately.


    Their leader, a young girl, looked confused. Did they already find out about the plan set by the Family Head?


    But since their ambush wouldn''t work, she didn''t want to destroy her forces to eradicate the enemy.


    Sigil and the group started discussing if they should leave right now. All the fortunes wouldn''t be worth their lives. Sigil sighed as he felt that things weren''t simple.


    It was at this time, the group from Yellow Spider that ambushed them previously, caught up to them.


    Such situations kept on taking place in many areas. The fight between the elders was even fierce.


    ***


    ¡°Where is Alia?¡±


    Roman asked cautiously.


    ¡°I need to punish her for all the ill-treatment in our childhood. After I am done with her, I will use her body as a material for a spell.¡±


    Alan smiled and replied kindly. He was talking as if the Alia wasn''t his own blood sister.


    ¡°Let''s forget her. I removed my disguise a little early to inform you of some things beforehand. I am only doing this because of our past friendship.¡±


    In truth, the three of the family heads did not really care for Alia. They immediately turned serious when they heard Alan''s words.


    ¡°The three directors are interested in this Grimoire World and will arrive soon. You can either wait for them and lose your lives or take your family away.


    Even though Alan had opened all seven of his chakras, he would still need to spend a lot of effort to defeat three six chakra points experts. He instead told them the arrival of the three Grimoire Masters to prevent them from doing such pointless actions.


    ¡°The organisation will definitely act.¡± John spoke slowly.


    ¡°By the time they reach, we will be done with this Grimoire World.¡±


    Alan spoke calmly.


    ¡°Alright.¡±


    The three of them were leaders of strong families. They could reach this place because of their resolution. They immediately made their decision and started to chant a strange spell.


    John took out a big talisman and a blue light emerged from it, disappearing into the distance.


    The other two did the same thing and waited silently.


    ***


    Sigil''s group was fighting when their talismans suddenly shined and they started disappearing one after another. The group from the Yellow Spider Family was stunned.


    The members of the Grey family also did not understand this strange occurrence.


    As a light shined on Sigil, he muttered something before disappearing from the Grimoire World himself.


    Such a thing happened in many places. Except for the Yellow Spider Family, the members of the other three families were forcibly withdrawn and brought back to the real world.


    ***


    ¡°Sir, there is a rumour about the emergence of a Grimoire World near the southern regions.


    A bespectacled man reported to an old man.


    ¡°No worries. The upper body already knows about the situation.¡±


    The old man waved at his employee and let him do his work. They were the core members if the witch''s organisation. How could they not know about the emergence of a Grimoire World? They had ignored the information out of their own discretion.


    Meanwhile, the border of the Chestcovia City was filled with lights as one person appeared after another. The whole place was in chaos and it took a very long time before the situation turned normal.


    After the family head explained the situation to the elders, they felt a little terrified and immediately started to move the whole family back to their base.


    ¡°Quickly move. Bring your vehicles and drive in order.¡±


    The elders kept on commanding.


    But before anyone could leave, a green light emerged from the ground, creating a hemisphere, covering every person.


    John and others, who were near Alan immediately looked ashen.


    ¡°You cheated us!¡± Brian pointed and shouted.


    ¡°Relax! The three leaders merely want to have a little chat with your younger generation.¡±


    Alan smiled slyly. He was true to his word. If they retreated from the Grimoire World, they would leave with their life.


    John and others frowned as they made way towards their families and tried to calm them.


    Meanwhile, Sigil was looking around in a dull manner.


    Man plans and Heaven mocks!


    Even though he had prepared the preventive measures before leaving the Grimoire world, the situation changed too quickly.


    The emergence of Dark guild, the betrayal of Yellow Spider Family, everything was sudden.


    He still felt a little relieved that nobody saw him with the Grimoire Will of the Inverse Witch.


    ¡°Uhm, Hello! I am one of the Directors of the Dark Guild¡ª Black Spider. May I have your attention.¡±


    A mature voice erupted in the area. Even if the figure did not ask for attention, she would still gain a lot of stares. After all, she was floating in the air whilst standing on a dark-red broomstick.


    When Sigil heard the name of the Dark Guild, he immediately recalled Ivan''s situation. He finally felt that Ivan''s situation was connected to their predicament.


    ¡°As you all know, we Dark Guilds are hunted by the Witch''s Organisation and other Witch families with a lot of strengths. We understand that this is because of our free-spirited manner of handling some tasks.¡±


    The figure was a buxom beauty and her ruby red hair fell on her shoulders, making her look extremely enchanting. It was even more so, since their view was straight at her bottom.


    Most of the people were speechless when they heard the criminal acts being mentioned as free-spirited methods.


    ¡°It brings me great joy to announce that the three Dark Guilds¨C Black Spider, Fiery Lion and Grand Sparrow will unite together to form a super Dark Guild. With such a power, we will not be hunted anymore, we can finally live freely.¡±


    The beauty spoke out in excitement.


    ¡°You are too excited, Ruby.¡±


    A hoarse voice interrupted the clamouring of people after hearing the announcement.


    Another figure teleported inside the hemisphere.


    ¡°I am the director of Grand Sparrow Guild. Those who wish to join our organisation will gain precious resources. One more thing, all the elders below the age of 23 and all the direct heirs of the elders and the family heads will stay behind.¡±


    The old man smiled viciously.


    As soon as his voice rang out, the whole group below turned silent before erupting.


    They were taking Hostages!


    The faces of the family heads turned ugly. The director of the Grand Sparrow was directly asking for their blood children as a hostage.


    It was at this time another ball of light entered the hemisphere and turned into a brutish looking male. He was wearing a dark grey flak jacket and his bulging arms were on display for everybody.


    Seeing the new arrival, some members from Sigil''s previous team looked towards him, to check if this young master was arrogant enough to trash talk this new arrival.


    Sensing the strange gazes, Sigil almost cursed.


    Why are you looking at me?


    ¡°Witch''s Organisation does not have control over the southern regions of the country, this means that you all will be our subordinates. The heirs of the three families will be given rich resources and will also be given a chance to enter a super-sized Ancestral Pool. You join and earn riches, you refuse and you die a graveless death. Your soul will be tortured to turn into a demon and you will be our personal pets.¡±


    His cold and ruthless voice silenced the whole field once again.


    ¡°By the way, I am the director of the Dark Guild- Fiery Lion.¡±


    His proposal forced the family heads to finally think about the situation clearly. If they did not have the support of the witch''s organisation, then they needed to cozy up to this new power to survive.


    And this new organisation was clearly providing them with an opportunity too.


    ¡°Before that, we would like to introduce one of the newest members of our organisation. I hope you can learn from him and become more carefree.¡±


    The buxom beauty smiled and snapped her fingers. From the outside of Hemisphere, a good looking youth with a rose tattoo on his neck walked inside the area.


    It was Ivan!


    Seeing him, Sigil felt speechless while Ivan''s father, Roman RedHawk, felt a little agitated.


    ¡°He killed his degenerated younger brother with his own hand. He is one of the most righteous members of the guild and we should all learn from him.¡±


    Ruby''s voice shocked everyone, except Sigil.


    ¡°YOU THANKLESS BASTARD!!!!!¡±


    A heartbreaking shout erupted as flaming figure shot towards Ivan.


    He was Roman himself.


    On his back were wings made of flame and his hands had turned into a hawk''s talons.


    Snap


    A heavy aura erupted from Ruby and completely suppressed Roman.


    One Grimoire Master could defeat countless Chakra Masters without breaking a sweat.This was completely demonstrated by Buxom Ruby.


    Even though Roman''s face was buried into the ground, his voice still reached others.


    ¡°Why? WHY? He was your brother. You grew up together for fuck''s sake!!¡±


    Roman had tears in his eyes that were mixing with the soil on the ground. His entire demeanor looked extremely embarrassed.


    ¡°I don''t look forgiveness from you, father. I only wanted forgiveness from that little girl, but she isn''t here anymore.¡±


    Ivan spoke sadly.


    He looked towards Sigil and nodded at him. This caused the Buxom Ruby to look at him too.


    ''Don''t look at me, you rowdy fool! Look away! Look away!¡¯


    He cursed internally and didn''t dare to return the nod.


    ¡°Have you all thought of your answers?¡±


    The muscular master spoke out.


    John and Brian looked at each other. Their eyes had the same look.


    ***


    June 13, 2023.


    On this day, a super faction appeared in the annals of Glory Continent.


    This faction was an alliance of every single dark guild there is. The faction called themselves the Carefree Alliance and this faction had forces in every country and states.


    The Witch''s Organisation appeared in public to welcome the alliance and agreed to a treaty of nonviolence against each other.

 Pained Decision

    Sigil sighed continuously and walked out of the school gates. It is true when they say¨C Disaster strikes continuously.


    First was the emergence of the Carefree Alliance and now school.


    ¡°What are you thinking of?¡±


    Alicia appeared behind him and tapped on his shoulders. On the back of her wrist, Sigil could see a strange mark. It was like a character of an ancient language. He then proceeded to look at the back of his own wrist. He had the strange mark too.


    ¡°I am just thinking about how so many changes can occur in one day.¡±


    ¡°Relax, it was only yesterday that we were ambushed. They didn''t hurt us, though. We even have the right to enter the Grimoire world three times a week, unlike others.¡±


    ¡°Well, I didn''t want such an honour.¡±


    Sigil sulked.


    The luxurious opportunities such as the right to enter the Grimoire World three times a week was only given to direct heirs.


    It was the fault of that stupid gangster that he had to take an Ancient Oath and become one of the core members of the younger generation of the Branch of the Carefree Alliance in this area.


    Pfft


    Alicia laughed at his situation. It was true that he was quite unlucky.


    Behind them was Bethany and others of the Grey Family. Even behind the group was Ricardo.


    He could understand if things changed slightly after his rebirth. But now? A super faction emerged that didn''t even exist in his time.


    ¡°You guys planned anything for today?¡±


    Bethany followed and asked.


    ¡°Well, I wanted to go to the Elder''s Library. But now, I have access to an even better information source.¡± Sigil showed his mobile phone.


    He was talking about the application launched by the Alliance.


    ¡°Well, I still have to complete the spell of Eight-winged ant. So I will be busy today.¡± Alicia spoke out.


    ¡°Um, can I join you?¡±


    It was Ricardo.


    After Sigil apologised to Ricardo, this was the first time they stood face-to-face.


    ¡°Sure.¡±


    Sigil smiled towards Ricardo. Sigil wanted to befriend this variable and this looked like an appropriate time.


    ¡°I was thinking that we should explore the Grimoire World.¡± Ricardo spoke out naturally. His casual attitude surprised Alicia while Sigil and Bethany seemed fine.


    Bethany''s eyes shined.


    ¡°Are you sure? Even though we can enter three times a week, you can only enter once every two weeks.¡± Bethany spoke out.


    Ricardo nodded.


    Sigil looked a little thoughtful before accepting the proposal.


    ¡°We will leave after one hour.¡±


    ¡°Great.¡±


    ***


    ¡°Master! I want to come with you too.¡±


    Martha acted like a puppy in front of Sigil. He seriously looked at the half-bent Martha and silently compared her to the Buxom beauty of the previous night.


    He finally found a perfect competition for Martha!


    ¡°Believe me, I am not going for fun. And besides, I won''t stop you. So, why are you acting like this?¡±


    His words stunned Martha as pink colour crept up her cheeks.


    Sigil smirked as he held her chin and whispered into her ears.


    ¡°Is it because you want me to punish you?¡±


    His hot breath caused a tingling sensation in Martha''s body as the straightforward beauty blushed furiously.


    ¡°You are a bully!¡±


    She ran away.


    On a serious note, it was only Sigil, Ricardo and Bethany going for an exploration trip. After all, they just escaped with their lives the previous night. Who would want to go back this quickly?


    Meanwhile, Sigil felt a little troubled. How will he take away the Grimoire of Inverse Witch? The whole place was probably stuffed with witches.


    No matter how much he thought, he wouldn''t be able to take away the already established Grimoire World for his own use. He could take away the core inheritances, but this thought made him feel extremely uncomfortable.


    He sighed and shook his head. These are tough times and he needed to be more resolute.


    After all, he hadn''t even opened all of his energy gates. How can he dream of competing with the old Grimoire Masters?


    He started packing his stuff for the trip.


    After one hour, Sigil and Ricardo met at the predetermined location. Bethany still hadn''t shown up.


    Sigil sighed and called Bethany.


    ¡°Yeah, Beth. Are you coming? Hmm¡­. yeah, no worries. We will take care of ourselves.¡± He sighed and hung up.


    ¡°Supreme Elder Bert forbade Bethany to explore the Grimoire World.¡±


    Sigil sat inside the car and informed Ricardo. They had decided to take Sigil''s personal car to the Grimoire World.


    ¡°So¡­ this is nice.¡±


    Ricardo and Sigil were sitting in the car. Due to their past differences, there was still a little tension between them.


    ¡°You don''t have to talk. It will just make it more awkward.¡±The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.


    Sigil sighed at Ricardo''s desperate attempt to lift the awkwardness.


    ¡°Do you have a plan?¡±


    Sigil asked Ricardo.


    ¡°Excuse me?¡±


    ¡°I meant that you have only opened your second gate yet. What''s your angle?¡±


    Sigil asked once again. Since they were exploring together, he wanted to understand more about the purpose of his visit.


    ¡°Oh, I just want to look around and experience the wilderness for myself.¡±


    Ricardo explained.


    ¡°Oh.¡±


    Sigil nodded.


    ''Not even little girls will for that excuse.¡¯ Sigil shook his head and continued to drive. The rest of the journey took place in awkward silence between the two.


    They couldn''t reach for the radio station as it would mean that they were admitting that things were awkward.


    This caused the whole situation to be even stranger.


    After some time, they finally reached the edges of Chestcovia City that was covered by a hemisphere of light.


    ¡®A protection spell.¡¯


    Ricardo hadn''t seen the site yet. When he saw the light hemisphere, his eyes shined with a reminiscent expression.


    Outside the hemisphere were a couple of Witches stationed by the Southern Branch of Carefree Alliance.


    ¡°Stop! Identify yourself.¡±


    ¡°Stop screwing with me, Ivan.¡±


    Sigil looked at Ivan angrily.


    ¡°Whoa, Sigil. Calm down, why so anxious?¡±


    When Sigil heard Ivan''s question, his anger flared once again.


    ¡°This! It''s because of you.¡±


    When Ivan and his partners saw the Ancient Oath''s mark, they simply chuckled and shook their heads.


    ¡°Yeah! Sorry about that. Alright, you have a time limit of one day. After that, the talisman will expire. Your friend here has to pay for the talismans, though.¡±


    Ivan took out two talismans and passed them to Sigil.


    ¡°Nope, you caused me some emotional damages. You will pay for the talisman.¡± Sigil immediately shook his head and passed one of the talismans to Ricardo, bringing him in.


    Ivan only let out a hollow laugh and allowed them to pass through.


    ¡°Be careful! The rules of non-killing are no more inside the Grimoire world.¡±


    Sigil simply waved at Ivan''s warning and entered the hemisphere. He then chanted the spell alongside Ricardo.


    ¡°Omnira Gretre Hirner Valisry Ciaruss!¡±


    A blue light fell on both of them and the next thing, Sigil was transported to the Grimoire world. But there was one thing strange, Ricardo wasn''t with him.


    ¡°Wow! He should write a book on ¡®Acting normal amongst friends¡¯.¡±


    Sigil was speechless. Did Ricardo act without even giving a single thought? How was he going to explain his mysterious disappearance to Sigil?


    ¡°Well, it''s certainly easier for me. Inverse Witch, teleport me to inheritance ground.¡±


    His view shifted once again and he was in front of Inverse Witch, who was bowing in front of him.


    ¡°Welcome, Master!¡±


    She greeted cheerfully.


    ¡°Did you do it?¡±


    ¡°Yes! As per Master''s request, I planted 30% of rare herbs from each of the areas here.¡±


    She pointed towards the numerous medicinal plants near the bank of the lake.


    ¡°Give me the report on all the living species left. Exclude the normal animals.¡±


    ¡°Yes! Currently, there are 1348 incomplete monsters, 189 complete monsters while we have 918 infant familiars, 37 Adolescent familiars and only 1 adult familiar.¡±


    Hearing her words, Sigil felt shocked. One had to know that complete monsters and Adolescent Familiars had a battle power of a Chakra Stage Expert while the Adult familiar had the battle power of a Grimoire Master.


    This was the true foundation that can create strong witch''s family. But since he had already decided on something, he won''t take a step back.


    ¡°Alright, give me the details on all the familiars. Also, list out the core inheritances left behind by the Inverse Witch.¡±


    Since it was already decided, he started acting on his plan.


    ***


    Meanwhile, Ricardo was moving extremely quickly. Even though his speed was way lower than Sigil, he was using some mysterious movement Technique to increase his speed.


    His destination?


    The waterfall of Devil''s Piss.


    Right now, Ricardo''s light grey eyes were red in colour. His vision was filled with various colours.


    ¡°The energy from the two gates won''t last long.¡±


    In his countless years of experience and travel to other continents, Ricardo already knew a lot of mystical methods that could be used by a human in the realm of the gate opening. Even though he had only opened his second gate, he can still compete with stronger opponents.


    As he kept his speed, he suddenly heard a rustling sound in the surroundings and immediately punched towards his left. Unlike Sigil, Ricardo''s punch was tricky and quick. He did not waste any movements and could release an explosive power even when he wasn''t in the posture of attack.


    Ggrrrr?


    A surprised growl was heard as a shadow dodged the punch by a hair''s breadth.


    ''An Emerald-Eyed Shadow Familiar.¡¯


    Ricardo looked calm as he saw the true appearance of his opponent. Unlike Sigil, Ricardo knew the name of the familiar and it''s true use.


    ¡°Other people may fall for your tricks. But I know that you have the power of enhanced vision only. Your fur is a rare material for spells and pieces of disguising equipment. But you aren''t truly valuable until you reach the Adolescent stage of the highest tier.¡±


    Ricardo smirked and immediately left the Black Panther and ran straight for the Devil''s Piss.


    Before the Panther could catch up to him and attack him, Ricardo jumped and took a dive inside the pool of green-coloured liquid.


    ¡°Master, someone just entered the first ground of inheritance.¡±


    Inverse Witch spoke out as she saw Sigil studying the information on all the familiars present inside the Grimoire World.


    ¡°Hmm? Show me the image.¡±


    Sigil commanded and the image of Ricardo looking around the pool in confusion could be see seen from the surface of the lake.


    Sigil''s pupils contracted and he immediately felt that he had seen past the layers of cloud that were blocking his vision. Seeing Ricardo there, Sigil immediately connected most of the dots.


    Ricardo was feeling confused because he couldn''t find the strange statue at all. Even the metal tablet with the clue on it wasn''t placed on the deepest part of the pool.


    It was Sigil! Before getting transported away, he commanded the Inverse Witch to remove the various tests for the inheritance ground. After all, it wasn''t needed and if someone found it, they would know that the inheritance ground had already been inherited.


    ¡°Let him swim around as much he likes.¡±


    Sigil stopped paying attention to Ricardo.


    Instead, he started to look into the core inheritances of the Inverse Witch.


    It was the Inverse Grimoire, the egg of Mirror Panda, Various research on the three main studies of the Witchcraft, An adult Familiar and an unknown mysterious egg.


    The mysterious egg would surely be a precious treasure since even the Inverse Witch couldn''t see through it. Before she could hatch the egg, she met her unfortunate end.


    ¡°How much space can the Grimoire store?¡±


    Sigil asked, his gaze emotionless.


    ¡°Previous Master had already stored her library inside the Grimoire. Meanwhile, Master can store at most 46 Familiars.¡±


    ¡°Damnit!¡±


    He gritted his teeth. If it wasn''t for the new establishment of the Carefree Alliance, he could have taken the whole Grimoire world for himself and it could be used as a foundation to increase his own strength.


    He took a deep breath and looked towards Inverse Witch.


    ¡°Take this list. Transport everything on the list inside Grimoire. Also, transfer all the core inheritances inside the Grimoire.¡±


    Inverse witch accomplished the task within moments and looked a little hesitant.


    ¡°Master, if you break off the connection between the Grimoire World and The Grimoire, then this world wouldn''t hold up for long.¡±


    Of course, she wouldn''t want that. After all, her real body committed so many frauds to creates such a Precious Grimoire World. She couldn''t just cut it off.


    ¡°That is the only way.¡±


    Even Sigil was reluctant. But this was the only way.


    He waved his hands towards Inverse Witch as she nodded reluctantly. Her body let out a brilliant light and every part of the inheritance ground started to disintegrate. Sigil closed his eyes and when he opened them, he was standing in his previous location.


    On his hand was a thick silver book with silver plates on its surface. The book had a brilliant metallic lustre.


    It was a Grimoire!


    Since Sigil inherited the whole Grimoire World, he also inherited the Grimoire of Inverse Witch. A Grimoire is a book filled with magical spells. The Grimoire in Sigil''s hand had many illusion and space type spells.


    He willed with his mind and the Grimoire immediately shrunk. It kept on shrinking until it became palm-sized and Sigil put it in his bag.


    He looked at this Grimoire World and sighed. Once the connection between the Grimoire and the Grimoire World was destroyed, the Grimoire World would slowly collapse.


    The collapse would start from the outer area and end in core regions.


    Now, he set towards the location of Devil''s piss to meet up with his strange friend.


    It looks like he is more valuable than imagined.


    Sigil mused silently.


    On his way, he did not encounter his feline stalker as it had already been stored inside the Grimoire.


    With Sigil''s speed, it didn''t take long before he reached near the Devil''s Piss. The moment he reached the periphery of the region, he could see Ricardo coming out of the water with a confused look.


    ¡°Hey! Where were you? I was looking for you for such a long time.¡±


    Sigil shouted and walked near the waterfall. He placed a handkerchief on his nose since the smell was really terrible.


    ¡°Oh¡­ uhhh¡­ I don''t know but I was transported here.  When I arrived, I was ambushed by a familiar. Since I am not strong enough, I had to jump inside the pool.¡±


    Ricardo explained after thinking of something.


    ''What a liar!¡¯


    ¡°Oh¡­ sorry about all that. I hope you are not hurt.¡±


    Even though Sigil felt a little speechless, he didn''t show it on the surface and successfully feigned concern for Ricardo.

 Accepting a New Mission

    Grey Estate.


    Sigil was sitting in front of his computer and read a confidential article about Inverse Witch. Even though he had access to the information of higher quality, he still couldn''t see all the information about Inverse Witch. One had to know that he had Elder level access on the database of the Carefree Alliance.


    Apparently, the Inverse Witch was one of the Genius Grimoire Masters of the Witch''s Organisation who created her own Grimoire at the young age of 96. She also had high accomplishments in Space paths, one of the rarer path of Witchcraft.


    After reading the unlocked information about Inverse Witch, Sigil felt speechless. He finally figured out how such a young Grimoire Master attained such a huge amount of wealth and how she died so mysteriously.


    She scammed various Grimoire Masters of Dark Guilds across the country. This act of her''s made her a target for almost all of the Grimoire Masters.


    Even though the information about her death was kept as a secret, Sigil was highly confident that she died at the hands of an indignant Grimoire Master of one of the dark guilds she scammed.


    ¡°Your food is here, Master.¡±


    Martha entered the room.


    She pushed the food cart and sat near Sigil she immediately uncovered the dishes and started eating food with Sigil.


    ¡°Martha, I have talked with Father. Since I will be entering the Ancestral pool of the branch of the Carefree Alliance, you and Ricardo will take my place during the Rite of Witchcraft.¡±


    Sigil spoke as he ate happily.


    ¡°Ricardo?¡±


    Martha was slightly surprised at his decision. Didn''t he use to bully Ricardo all the time?


    Seeing her expression, Sigil chose to explain.


    ¡°We really hit it off at yesterday''s exploration. So, I thought that maybe I should give him my spot to make up for all the suffering I caused him.¡±


    ¡°Since when did you become so good?¡±


    ¡°I thought you liked this version of me better.¡±


    Sigil replied and ate more. He had already opened his seventh gate and he was sure that he could open his eighth gate in the Rite of Witchcraft. Even if he couldn''t open his Chakra point, he could still complete the missions of the carefree alliance to gain some resources and breakthrough a Chakra Point.


    Sigil switched on his television.


    On the news channel, there was a reporter comparing the statistics of reduced deaths of ordinary citizens after the Carefree Alliance started to send their own witches on missions.


    The alliance of dark guilds was actually helping mortals!


    Sigil understood the motive of the carefree alliance.


    They were a new organisation and having the support of the public wasn''t a bad thing. Besides the various witch''s family, many ordinary citizens have talented offsprings. With such a rise of popularity, many talented youths will like to enter the Carefree Alliance.


    Sigil thought for a little while before opening the alliance website. Martha was still near him, eating the lunch.


    It was at this time, another figure barged into the room.


    It was Alicia.


    ¡°Are you busy?¡±


    ¡°What is with you guys? You at least knocked before.¡±


    Sigil did not reply and spoke in a depressed manner. Even then, he kept on checking out the website of the alliance.


    ¡°What are you doing?¡±


    Alicia took a chair and sat near Sigil. She also took a plate for herself and started eating alongside Martha.


    ¡°I am looking for cases. I figured that we could complete a case and earn rewards instead of waiting around for the Rite of Witchcraft.¡±


    Sigil opened the Missions tab and selected the Eight Gates Category.


    The missions of the witches in the realm of Eight Gates was categorised in five categories¡ª From one star to five stars, one star being the easiest and five stars being the hardest.


    ¡°What about this one?¡± Martha pointed at the screen.


    ¡°A small nest of vampires? Let''s look around for a little while. The site of this mission is very far from us.¡±


    Sigil shook his head and browsed a little more. Martha kept on pointing out some missions while Sigil declined them with logical reasoning. Alicia looked at this scenario as her eyes turned dazed and her thoughts unknown.


    ¡°Alicia, What about this one?¡± Sigil pointed at the screen.


    It was a mission to take down a group of recently emerged Familiars. If the Familiars were brought back to the Alliance, they will earn an extra reward. The appointed members to the mission shouldn''t exceed four, though.


    ¡°Huh?.... uh¡­. yeah, sounds good.¡±


    Alicia replied thoughtlessly.


    Sigil looked at her strange condition and inquired once again.


    ¡°Are you feeling a little weird because of your breakthrough?¡±


    His words surprised both the girls. Martha assessed Alicia and indeed, she had opened her seventh gate.


    Meanwhile, Alicia looked a little surprise for a different reason.


    ''He noticed!¡¯


    After she finally accepted her engagement with Sigil, she felt a little happy as she looked at her kind and handsome Fianc¨¦. He had truly proved himself as he stopped gambling, bullying and hiring prostitutes. He changed for the better.


    But then, her time with her fianc¨¦ was being shared with Martha, Bethany and Linda.


    No matter how straightforward she was, in the end, she was a girl. She had her dreams and fairytales about that perfect guy, who would swoop her away.


    Today, when she saw Martha and Sigil chatting so casually in front of her, she felt a little left out and empty. But when her breakthrough was noticed by Sigil without her telling him, she felt all her frustration washed away.


    On a different note, if Sigil knew her thoughts, he would be shocked speechless.


    If you feel left out, the chat with us! Why think in such a complicated manner?


    ¡°Yeah, I just achieved the Seventh Gate and feel a little dizzy.¡±


    She replied lightly.


    ¡°Anyway, congratulations.¡± Martha nodded and smiled at her.


    ¡°Thank you.¡± She smiled back and looked towards Sigil.


    Sigil looked towards Alicia.


    ¡­


    ¡°What?¡± Sigil felt a little confused. Why was she staring at me?


    He only mused silently.


    ¡°Congratulate her, Master.¡±


    Martha whispered lightly.


    You still want me to congratulate? I friggin¡¯ noticed your breakthrough in the first place.


    Sigil felt a little strange but still congratulated her with a smile.


    ''Anyway, where were my congratulations when I opened my seventh gate?¡¯ He suddenly remembered.


    After accepting the mission, Sigil called Bethany to ask her if she would like to accompany them on the mission. After her refusal (because of her dad), Sigil contacted Ricardo and set a date.


    He could have contacted Ivan, but he denied the idea in his mind. His identity was still a little sensitive even after the emergence of Carefree Alliance. After all, Ivan was a local and had relations with the younger generation of all the four Families.


    Since it was afternoon, Sigil decided to enter the family''s library. Even though he had a trove of information and spells in the alliance, it wouldn''t hurt to broaden his horizons.


    Alicia also went off to train and adapt to her enhanced bodily performance while Martha decided to start searching for information about the sightings of strange Familiars.


    Even though she had planned a trip to Familiar Farm of the Grey family, it wasn''t open for family members yet. So she wanted to gather information about potential Familiars with good Abilities.


    After all, it doesn''t hurt to have a backup.


    The Family Library was constructed near the main villa of the family alongside the Elders Compound and the swimming pool.


    As he passed the swimming pool, he decided to assess some talents before making his way towards the library. The library was a gloomy building. Other than the ground floor, the building held three floors and a hidden basement.


    He made his way inside and was greeted by an Elder stationed as a receptionist. He was Elder Garthe.


    ¡°Hello, Elder Garthe.¡±


    ¡°Ah, Sigil. You ready to claim your reward?¡±Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there.


    Apparently, Elder Garthe was already informed about the Sigil and Alicia having special access to Elder''s Library.


    ¡°Yeah, please guide me to the entrance.¡±


    Elder Garthe nodded and motioned Sigil to follow him. The ground floor was filled with shelves of books and parchments. These were simple historical records about various prominent witches and their legends.


    Sigil looked around the library as he followed Garthe. This was his first time inside the library. As they made their way towards the backside of the library, Sigil read the titles of some interesting books.


    The Secret Therapy of Acupuncture Pleasure.


    The Refreshing Set of Male and Female.


    Immoral Witch''s records of Furry Heaven.


    See? Interesting!


    Sigil made a note in his mind to pick these books before leaving the library.


    Elder Garthe stopped in front of an old wooden door. The surface of the door was filled with various markings. Sigil knew about these patterns.


    They were the inscriptions to ward against the devilkin stated in the ancient codex of Roka.


    Sigil nodded towards Garthe gratefully and took out the key to the door. Since this opportunity had a time limit of two weeks, Sigil planned to take the maximum benefits from this trip. After all, some of the days were wasted because of recent events and he was not likely to make any future trips here.


    As he entered the brightly lit stairway to the basement, he kept on seeing various kinds of devil wardings on the wall.


    ¡°Wait¡­. what is this? A beast warding?¡±


    Sigil stopped in front of an inscription and touched its surface. The whole pattern was made with a pitch black substance. It looked like a Japanese character that looked like a tree, but the ancient language of spells suggested that it wasn''t quite Japanese.


    Seeing this pattern, Sigil''s curiosity was ignited as the previous Sigil knew nothing about the pattern himself.


    He took out his mobile and took an image of the pattern before continuing his path towards the confidential library of the family. It was a small basement with barely two whole shelves filled. The parchments were thin and looked extremely old.


    These bookshelves were filled with various research on spells, nurturing methods and written notes about the various experiences in meditation. Sigil looked extremely intrigued and immediately took everything off the bookshelves.


    He whipped out his new smartphone and started to take pictures of every single parchment and written materials. Exotic Spell, Various Inscription Marks, Meditation notes and information about the past Familiars produced in the family and their uses. Sigil even took images of some extremely disturbing spells that used a living human as a refinement material.


    The most confusing thing within these notes was the description of various paths that a Witch could follow. A witch can use elemental spells, use the strength enhancing spells and there was a record of extremely strange path named Death Witch.


    The various information was written in the encryption language of the eras they were recorded in. Even if Sigil could understand some of the parchments, he still did not know the meaning of most of the notes.


    The reason he took the image of all the information is that he wanted to slowly decrypt the information and gain the knowledge of the family.


    This was free information and he didn''t want to let this benefit slip out of his hand. After all, who knows which knowledge comes into play. As he took the image of all the notes, he suddenly had a thought.


    ¡°Am I the only one who took images of the notes or is there someone else that had the same idea too?¡±


    Sigil cleared out his thoughts as he finished taking all the image after an hour and placed the parchments back in the bookshelves in the same order. He then took out the notes of one of the enhancement spells related to the memories of the witch and started decrypting it.


    Most of the knowledge inside this library is already outdated and the elders who visited the library only used it as a medium of inspiration. After all, Witchcraft is all about innovation.


    Innovative of spell, curses, nurturing methods, meditative methods. Heck, witch''s organisation was even researching the methods to produce genetically engineered Familiars.


    This was the era of technology and invention, this also applied to the world of witches.


    Sigil understood that the Memory Enhancement Spell he would derive on the basis of this ancient spell will be completely different from someone who has already created a similar memory enhancement spell.


    The difference may be in the effectiveness of the spells, materials required for the spell and the requirements of the user as well.


    Sigil immediately forgot his surroundings and concentrated on the spell in front of him. Trying to figure out the process of constructing this spell.


    ***


    ¡°How is the plan of invading the Alliance going on?¡±


    In a dark conference room filled with 13 people, a red-haired man spoke out.


    ¡°Their security is quite poor and they seemed to have formed the alliance in a hurry.¡±


    Another man spoke out.


    If a well-informed witch came to this place and saw the leaders in the meeting, he or she would scream in fright.


    The Thirteen Founders of the Witch''s Organisation!


    These thirteen people were extremely old with the minimum age of 300 years. They were also the thirteen strongest Grimoire Master in the Witch''s Organisation with their names spread throughout the Glory Continent.


    ¡°Even though the alliance has been performing missions and amassing resources in ridiculous speed, it still looks like they formed the alliance without any motive.¡±


    A female master spoke out.


    ¡°The strangest thing is that we still don''t know what gave these dark guilds the courage to even think of going against us.¡±


    She continued with a frown.


    Normally, the Dark Guilds operated in shadows of the colossal that is the Witch''s Organisation. After all, they won''t be benefited by attacking the strongest organisation of the continent. This world is operated by resources and benefits. If the dark guilds actually took the risk and attacked the Witch''s Organisation, they wouldn''t receive much benefits and will get their groups eradicated.


    ¡°Did they follow someone incredibly strong and forge the alliance on the basis of the arrival of a mysterious party?¡±


    A gruff voice sounded, silencing everyone else.


    They were all old monsters and they did think of such a possibility themselves. But this was the outcome they feared the most.


    ¡°Old Lu will use his Foreseeing Mantis to gain clues and insights on regular intervals until he finds something important. This matter ends here. Miller, tell us about the Devil''s Battlefield.¡±


    The person sitting on the leader''s position spoke lightly.


    ¡°Yes. The battlefield is still in a stalemate. Even after allying with the Carefree Alliance, the situation doesn''t seem so promising.¡±


    ¡°What do you need.¡±


    The leader easily interpreted Miller''s meaning and asked straightforwardly.


    ¡°I would like to have more soldiers in the chakra and Gates stages. I would also like to request another Grimoire Master to increase our forces compared to the Carefree Alliance and take a better part of the loot.¡±


    ¡°Impossible.¡±


    ¡°No way!¡±


    Before the leader could reply, two voices immediately shouted in rejection. Placing soldiers was an easy matter. After all, the kids in Eight Gates and Chakra Points were similar to mortals for them. The leaders wouldn''t bat an eyelid and place almost a million of such soldiers. But a Grimoire Master''s worth is way more than million of soldiers.


    Only the best of all the elites enter the stage of Grimoire Master and even the talented monsters among these geniuses have a hard time increasing their Cultivation after becoming a Grimoire Master.


    The leader thought for some time before rejecting Miller''s proposal.


    ¡°You can assign as many soldiers as you want. But you won''t be given a Grimoire Master. Make use of the existing ones in your team.¡±


    Miller could only grit his teeth and sit quietly.


    ¡°How is your search on the necromancer mosquito?¡± The leader looked towards a bulky man.


    The bulky man gritted his teeth and shook his head.


    ¡°Sigh, that Inverse Gal was really a something. She could actually hide from our investigative techniques and hide her Grimoire. No worries, even though The Necromancer Mosquito is an important Familiar for our growth, stop your research for the moment and take over the invasion plan of the Carefree Alliance.¡±


    The Leader spoke flatly and adjourned the meeting after dealing with the matters of other members.


    ***


    ¡°Hmm? Are you sure you want me to issue these three books?¡±


    Garthe looked at Sigil. His gaze projected weirdness and a slight amount of reluctance.


    ¡°Yes, these three are good reading materials during a short trip.¡±


    Sigil nodded and passed on the books to Elder Garthe. Garthe shook his head in defeat and issued the three books related to carnal desires of a human written by one of their own ancestors.


    The Secret Therapy of Acupuncture Pleasure.


    The Refreshing Set of Male and Female.


    Immoral Witch''s records of Furry Heaven.


    These three books were truly popular within the circle of young teenagers and some of the old Elders still liked to give it a read to pass their time. One of the elders was Elder Garthe.


    After getting the book issued in his own name, Sigil left the library with a satisfied smile. He had all the data in his smartphone and he also successfully interpreted a spell related to the enhancement of the memory function of a Witch''s Brain. All he had to do now was to compare such spells in Carefree Alliance''s database and adjust the formula for his own use.


    After all, memory enhancement was a brilliant effect that will help a witch in the long run.


    Sigil soon returned to his room before getting his summons for another family dinner. Since they were going to leave for the mission tomorrow, Sigil decided to pack the three books inside his bag and made his way towards the dining hall of the villa.


    Other than, Alicia, John and Sigil, the villa was a house to many personal maids including Martha. There were no extra chefs in the mansion because the food was personally cooked by a group of personal maids with sufficient expertise in the area before getting it tested (tasted) by Martha.


    As the maids arranged plates and food on the table, Sigil sat down and waited for some time before Alicia arrived too.


    Surprisingly, John Grey hadn''t reached the diner yet. Usually, it was the master of the family that waited for the kids before starting the dinner.


    ¡°Ah, sorry, kids. I got a little busy.¡±


    John arrived in hurried steps and apologized as he sat on the chair of the head of the Family while Sigil and Alicia sat opposite to each other.


    ¡°First of all, I want to congratulate Alicia for opening her seventh gate.¡±


    John smiled and rubbed her little girl''s head.


    ¡°Dad! Don''t ruin my hair!¡± Alicia pouted cutely and moved her head backwards.


    John shook his head and motioned with his hand to start the dinner. As they ate in silence, John finally started the main topic of today''s meeting.


    ¡°I want to talk to both of you about the recent emergence of the alliance and ¡­. Ivan RedHawk.¡±


    As he spoke the last part, he looked towards Sigil and continued.


    ¡°The Family Heads of the surrounding area received a mail from the Alliance that described their hierarchy and their influence. So, what I mean is that this Alliance is official and so is your membership.¡± He pointed at their wrists.


    Alicia''s and Sigil''s mood dampened immediately. Even John felt helpless. He continued.


    ¡°I will send you some documents, go through with it and also one more thing, you have to stay cautious of RedHawk family.¡± John looked at Sigil.


    ¡°What do you mean, father?¡± Sigil frowned slightly. What trouble did he get himself into now?


    ¡°My personnel reported that you met Ivan before he decided to kill his own kin. If I can find out about this, so can Roman RedHawk. He just lost his youngest and eldest son. If it were me, I would want to vent my hate and anger on one common point between the two, that is you.¡±


    After all, Charles and Sigil were buddies and also hanged around Ivan. Sigil sighed and nodded at John.


    ¡°One more thing, even though you took the images of the parchments in the library, if they happen to leak out, you will be dealt with Family rules.¡±


    John passed the comment casually and Sigil nodded in understanding. He never thought that John wouldn''t know about his idea. He still chose to take the images because he truly wouldn''t have the time to return back to the library.


    After the dinner, Sigil returned to his room and opened the folder placed on his bed. This was the recent information about the inner circle of the Alliance. This information was recently released by the alliance for its members to provide them with a clear picture of the inner working of the alliance.


    ¡°Hmm? ¡®We like to present you the new future of the Witchcraft¨C The Carefree Alliance, where mortals and witches are treated alike. Where we have only one common enemy¨C The Devilkin and Otherworldly Monsters¡¯¡­.. quite a formal presentation for an alliance of dark Guilds.¡±


    Sigil read the introduction and felt speechless. It was public knowledge that Mortals were often exploited by strong witches, but this new alliance claimed the opposite.


    Such a formal and orderly introduction piqued his interest as he finally started reading the whole document. The document included the name of every Dark Guild inside the Alliance and various witch families that became the member of the alliance. According to their word¨C There are no subordinates, but simply the members of a different hierarchy.


    The document also showed the map of the whole continent where their influence was the strongest, this also included the area where the Grey family was situated. Another map was drafted on the next page showing the Dark Guilds running the branches of the Carefree Alliance in different parts of the continent.


    Glory Continent was divided into 6 countries. Out of the five countries, 67 percent was shaded darker than the other regions. That was the area controlled by the Carefree Alliance and this also showed their might. This map served as a proof that a united organisation of Dark Guilds could compete with the former Strongest Organisation without losing their foundations.


    The next part of the document included the details on the various families pledging their loyalty to different Dark Guilds.


    Sigil''s family was also mentioned. Their family was now a part of the Dark Guild¨C Black Spiders. As Sigil read the alliance of various families, he finally understood the purpose of the Black Spiders and other guilds forcing their family into subordination¡­¡­ no, making them the members of a lower hierarchy.


    Their purpose was to have a good standing within the Carefree Alliance. Right now, Black Spiders had a position in top 100 for bringing in two witches families during the establishment of the Carefree Alliance.


    They were the Grey Family and the Yellow Spider Family.


    The thing to note about the Yellow Spider Family was that their leader had changed and it was a man named Alan. Even though the Yellow Spider was a Matriarchal Family, nobody questioned Alan''s leadership because he was the blood brother of the previous Leader and he was stronger than her.


    After finishing the document, Sigil took the document and handed it to one of the maids before sleeping.

 Harrisonburg City

    A dark grey Nissan could be seen on the road. Within the ordinary looking car, Sigil and Alicia were bickering like kids.


    Smack


    Since Sigil was sitting in front seat, his head was smacked by Alicia and he couldn''t defend himself.


    ¡°Ow, you are resorting to physical attacks if I am gaining upper hand in an argument?¡±Sigil grumbled and his head was smacked again.


    ¡°Like I said, we should have just used my car. The engine of your car has such a loud noise.¡± Alicia spoke with a wise face.


    ¡°You don''t understand, that is the beauty of muscle cars.¡± Sigil replied complacently.


    Martha sat beside Alicia quietly as she did not have interest in cars.


    Meanwhile, Ricardo, who was driving the car, was in his own thoughts.


    ¡®Did I even reincarnate into my own world?¡¯


    He couldn''t be faulted for having such doubts. After all, too much has changed. The emergence of alliance and changes in his supposed enemy- Sigil. He wasn''t arrogant, snobbish¡­.. or a man whore. Instead, he was quite casual with everyone and that included the mortals.


    They were currently going to their mission site in Ricardo''s car. His car could be considered ordinary among all the cars in the range of a mortal middle-class family.


    ¡°Whatever, I am too tired to argue.¡±


    Sigil shook his head and took out a book from his bag¡¯s outer compartment. It was a thin book with a light-grey cover.


    ¡°What is that?¡± Martha''s interest was finally piqued.


    ¡°Oh, I brought some books from the library to pass time in the car.¡± Sigil spoke and took out the other two book placed in his bag.


    ¡°What is that? Furry Heaven?¡±


    Martha and Alicia took a book each. Sigil had the book on Acupuncture, Martha had the book of Furry Heaven and Alicia had the book of refreshing exercising sets between male and female.


    The books were filled with interesting content that could bait a youth''s mind and Alicia and Martha were not different. Within a few minutes, they were engrossed in the book. Even Sigil read the book on Acupuncture Pleasure with great concentration.


    These three books had different ideas that sounded viable and interesting, but they were extremely expensive and impractical. According to the book, to achieve maximum pleasure, a witch should create some exotic acupunctures with a spell. Of course, nobody ever accomplished such a feat in the witch¡¯s world.


    Their destination was a city towards the west named Harrisonburg City. It was a city filled with carpenters and other craftsmen. This city was also regarded as one of the more developed areas of the region. The city was almost 3 hours away and Sigil and the group had a long time of journey left.


    ***


    ¡°Wow! This book had some strange ideas!¡± Martha sighed as she closed the book.


    According to the self-proclaimed Immoral Witch, the author of the book¨C Furry Heaven, reproduction between Familiars and monsters were possible. Even though there is no evidence or any progress in the research, there had been some rumours about strong Familiars that were produced by cross-breeding.


    ¡°Tell me about it. This exercise is simply impossible.¡± Alicia sighed and closed her book too.


    What Refreshing Exercise? The author was a pervert and a possible paedophile.


    She returned the book to Sigil and closed her eyes. Even though there were some innovative and unusual ideas, the results were impossible to produce, at least, nobody had succeeded in the strange exercise.


    Now they knew why these three books were popular with the Elders of the family. They were simply fun to read.


    As they kept on chatting amongst themselves, a strange occurrence was


    Taking place near Chestcovia City.


    ***


    Inside the Grimoire World.


    A small patch of forest started to lose their lustre and kept on growing dull. The process was taking place at a phenomenal speed and slowly, the patch of forest turned into dust alongside the ground and some of the minerals hidden within the ground. A pitch black hole took place instead of the forest as it slowly started sucking away the ground.


    ***


    ¡°Four rooms please.¡± Sigil tapped on the reception and spoke flatly. Since the group packed light, they decided to carry their stuff to the booked room themselves.


    ¡°Wow! This is nice.¡± Sigil threw his bag on the bed and admired the interior of the room. No wonder this city was famous for their artistic taste.


    The room was painted in cream colour and the curtain had a light brown colour with an intricate design in golden colour. The bed was springy and not too soft, making it perfect for tired backs. Sigil refreshed himself before climbing up to the bed and rest with a satisfied smile.


    The past couple of days has been tiring for him. The most exhausting day was when he cut the connection of Grimoire World with the Grimoire. Even though he took away most of the important resources, one had to understand that a Grimoire World is a land that can continue creating important treasures as long as it remains in existence.


    But Sigil did not regret his decision¡­. no, in Sigil''s mind, there was no such thing as regret. For Sigil, it was simple. He made a decision and he had to live with its consequences. If he could do it over again, he would do the same thing, After all, he wasn''t strong enough to protect the Grimoire World and he couldn''t simply take it away, therefore, he made a decision of taking away the most precious treasures and Familiar for the cost of destruction of the Grimoire World.Stolen story; please report.


    Knock Knock


    ¡°Ugh, can''t even lay down quietly.¡±


    Sigil groaned.


    He got up and opened the door. It was Alicia, Martha and Ricardo. His lips twitched in annoyance as he smiled.


    ¡°Yes?¡±


    ¡°We are going to the alliance''s office in the city to take the look at the case file and find some clues. Do you want to join us?¡±


    Ricardo spoke.


    ¡°Do I get a choice?¡± Sigil asked flatly.


    ¡°No.¡± Alicia and Martha spoke in unison.


    He sighed and closed the room before taking his leave with them. They asked for the directions to the local office of the alliance from the receptionist before taking their leave from the hotel.


    The Alliance had only been established for three days, yet it was too popular among mortals. After all, on the first day of establishment, the Alliance solved more than a hundred thousand cases. This earned them a lot of goodwill among the mortals and many people applied for the mundane jobs in the alliance, like technical support and other accounting services.


    It had to be understood that previously, the Witch''s Organisation did not admit the regular mortals into their organisation for even the most mundane task. With the employment from the Alliance, many people now found a stable source of income. Even though it hadn''t been long, it was just a matter of time before the economic state of the whole continent could be raised together.


    The regional office of the alliance was established near the police station of the city. The building was leased by some landlord and the outside of the building was decorated with a big board in the name of the alliance.


    The four of them quickly entered and stood in front of the reception counter.


    ¡°Please check the mission number 1455678. We want all the relevant information about the case.¡± Martha tapped on the counter and spoke flatly.


    Since the other party was a mortal, she did not feel the need to be polite with her. This was the pride of a witch filled within her bones.


    Ricardo and Alicia had impassive expressions while Sigil had no comments. The receptionist quickly typed in the relevant information and asked for their identity numbers politely. After verifying their identity through the biometrics scanning, the information about the case was transferred to them.


    Usually, there are two types of cases. One, where the mission is reported to the organisation or the alliance and they will post a relevant reward for its completion.


    Second, these are the type of cases that the Witch finds himself. Like Alicia''s and Sigil''s first case. They found the case from a newspaper and solved it successfully. In return, they were rewarded by their family. Usually, lone witches that do not have any backing, usually apply for missions from the organisation.


    The group left and went to a snacks point for some refreshments.


    ¡°I will have a plate of fries.¡±


    ¡°Burger for me.¡±


    ¡°Chicken Wings.¡±


    ¡°A plate of pasta with a glass of Ice Tea.¡±


    After placing their orders, they dived into their discussions. The information collection team of the alliance proved their worth by such a comprehensive data. There were six victims till now and all had the same attacking pattern. A small bite on the neck and a deep wound on the back of the head. The backside of the skull was crushed by the attack and still, the assaulting familiar took a nip on the Victim''s neck.


    To humanity of this era, they were only attacked by three parties¡ª Ghosts, Monsters and untamed Familiars.


    The area was already free of EMF, so the possibility of Ghost was close to nil. The area also had no other clue except the dark footprint of a bunny near the victim. It was as if the feet of the bunny let out some inky substance right before attacking the victim.


    Of course, the possibility of a monster appearing could not be ignored and this was their risk of the mission. The rewards for fighting and defeating the monsters were higher than solving the case filled with Familiars. But, if the Familiars could be captured, they could fetch a high price.


    Another thing to note was that the footprints were of the different size near different victims.


    ¡°So? What are we looking at? A Familiar Nest?¡± Sigil spoke as he received his plate of pasta.


    ¡°If they are Familiars, we have to identify them and also find out their abilities and weaknesses.¡± Alicia frowned.


    Familiars were one of the core parts of a Witch''s battle power, this was because of their myriad Abilities and different usage that made their use very efficient and profitable. But if they were untamed or not contracted, they could also be the reason for the death of a witch.


    ¡°We should also try to find a pattern between the victims.¡± Martha commented.


    ¡°What about a rogue witch?¡± Ricardo''s words quietened the trio.


    Even though there were many rogue witches in the dark guilds, they did not tally for all the lone witches that experiment on mortals and kill them for the benefit for their own witchcraft.


    ¡°That could be troublesome.¡±


    ¡°How about this? Martha and I will talk with the victim''s¡¯ families and you guys check the crime scene.¡± Alicia spoke out as he started eating her plate of French fries.


    After deciding their plan, they left for their own task after eating their fill.


    ***


    ¡°Well, this is the latest attack. His name was George. He was a good kid.¡±


    The police officer near the crime scene guided Ricardo and Sigil around. The body was taken away, but there were still many clues left. Out of the six crime scenes, only this was left that could provide some insights.


    The place of George''s murder was at the back alley near a drug store. His whole body was smashed to the trash can with the back of his head caved in. Sigil walked near the pair of footprints near the trashcan and touched the inky substance.


    ¡°Can you bring us all the possessions of the victim during his murder.¡± Ricardo spoke naturally. After all, he was a Grimoire Master in his previous life and his experience greatly surpassed Sigil''s. After some time, the police officer brought both of them to the police station to allow them to see all of the victim''s belongings.


    For the purpose of the investigation, the possessions of all the victims during their murder was placed inside the police station.


    Sigil, meanwhile, paid close attention to Ricardo''s movements. He knew Ricardo''s secret. He was a Reincarnator!


    To Sigil, Ricardo was a big variable that had insider''s information about various future events and this also made him an untapped treasure trove. The benefits one could receive because of the future knowledge are astronomical.


    But, how should he excavate the treasure? He couldn''t simply make Ricardo spill the secrets. All he could do was to slowly build a strong friendship and gain his trust.


    After checking all the items, Ricardo frowned. He couldn''t find a pattern through the victim''s possession. This meant that the attacks were indiscriminate or the necessary clue wasn''t in the possession of the victim.


    ¡°Please send us all the data of the victims.¡±


    Sigil still asked for their data and left with Ricardo.


    ¡°Where should we go next?¡± Ricardo asked Sigil. Ricardo still felt a need to ask Sigil since he wanted to establish Sigil as the leader of their group. There was no particular reason for such action. Ricardo simply thought that him being in the limelight can cause some suspicion and trouble.


    Sigil blinked at his question before speaking out his thoughts.


    ¡°Let''s visit the last pub our little friend George visited.¡± Ricardo nodded in appreciation and followed Sigil. Since they were walking, they received many stares from the opposite gender ¡­¡­ and some males as well.


    It was mostly Sigil''s handsome figure drawing unwanted attention. Yes, it wasn''t required to move with one girl in each arm.


    Ricardo was speechless at Sigil. Two girls, who apparently were friends, decided to tag along with Sigil when he invited them. Sigil was picking up girls in broad daylight. His hand was placed on their hips as he felt their bouncy figure.


    Meanwhile, Ricardo thought of Alicia''s and Martha''s impassive expression and felt a little sorry for Sigil. For all the past grievances with Sigil, Ricardo had decided to throw Sigil under the bus and tell the two gals about his current escapade.


    After a few minutes of walking, they reached the Pub named Wood Snake and entered it.

 Power Foot Hare

    ¡°A bottle of beer for me and for the ladies?¡± Sigil entered the bar as his nose was assaulted with the smell of alcohol, cigar and ¡­. ammonia. Well, this is the only thing to accept from a bar. Even though it was daytime, it did not keep the customer''s with issues to get hammered. Sigil tapped the counter as he looked towards the ladies with a smile.


    ¡°Glass of scotch for me!¡± Amanda, the pretty blonde spoke out.


    ¡°I will have a beer too!¡± Kayla, the big-breasted brunette laughed cheerfully. Meanwhile, Ricardo stood a little away from them and ordered a bottle of beer for himself.


    ¡°Here you go, a bottle of beer and a glass of scotch.¡± The bartender was clothed in cut sleeves t-shirt and his bulging arms were decorated with the tattoos of monster girls. As Sigil saw that he and Ricardo weren''t given their drinks, he put up a haughty expression.


    ¡°Hey! What''s the big idea? Where''s me and my friend''s drink?¡± His tone was loud enough to draw the attention of some of the sober customers.


    ¡°Go home kid. Only your parents are allowed to drink.¡± The bartender had already seen many teenagers trying to drink underage. His expression was calm as he had the appropriate strength in his arms to knock out the young man if he caused some troubles, or so he thought.


    ¡°What are you? Some cop?¡± Sigil chuckled and placed some more cash on the counter. Before the Bartender spoke, he heard the sound of a solid material hitting the counter alongside the sound of cash. As he looked at the table, his expression changed and he immediately quietened down.


    The ladies accompanying him were enjoying their drinks as Sigil pocketed his Witch''s Permit. If they knew about his identity, they would be simply scared off. He couldn''t have that now, could he?


    After taking a sip out of his served beer, he looked at the laughing ladies.


    ¡°You girls sure are nasty. Getting drunk during the daytime.¡± He leaned on the counter and chuckled.


    ¡°Hoo, we can get even more nasty, handsome!¡±


    ¡°Kayla, don''t be so naughty! It''s only reserved for the other side of the room.¡± Both the girls laughed as they flirted with Sigil. Their body language and their sultry eyes pointed out their intentions.


    Sigil''s eyes shined as he looked visibly excited.


    ¡°Oh? Then you guys really need to get hammered. Keep bringing them drinks.¡± He ordered as the strange scenario began.


    Sigil and the girls kept on flirting, leaving Ricardo on sidelines. The daytime quickly turned into evening as the customers started to increase. Meanwhile, the two girls were truly drunk by this time while Sigil barely finished his first bottle of beer.


    Seeing the almost passed out girls, Sigil chuckled and walked over to Ricardo.


    ¡°Hey! Do you want to quicken the investigation?¡± He smiled mysteriously and put his hand around Ricardo''s shoulder. Ricardo was surprised by the question before he nodded.


    Of course, he wanted to finish the case quickly. Why else did they arrive here?


    ¡°Alright, who do you favour? The brunette or the blonde?¡± Sigil pointed at the two girls.


    Ricardo looked at the two girls seriously. One was blonde with a nice upper body and especially plump bottom while the brunette was generous on the upper side of the body.


    This was a tough question!


    After a moment, Ricardo evaluated his years of experience with a number of women and finally settled for the busty Brunette.


    Sigil nodded and pulled him together as they walked to the girls.


    ¡°Let''s go, girls! We need to take this party somewhere else.¡± Sigil came over naturally and put his hand on Amanda''s slender waist and lowered his hand to cop a feel. Amanda giggled as she leaned on Sigil.


    Meanwhile, Ricardo had troubles with his one.


    ¡°Uh, Who are you?¡± Kayla made a face as she tried pushing Ricardo away, but her strength was close to nil.


    ¡°Oh, don''t worry darling. He is my cousin. Don''t look at his face, he has an enormous gift hidden for you.¡±


    The girl was completely drunk! She would have even believed that Ricardo had an elephant inside his pants.


    ¡°Ooohhh, I like surprises.¡± Kayla leaned on Ricardo as her breasts pressed on Ricardo''s chest. Her face was almost touching Ricardo''s, making him feel her hot breaths on his face. He looked towards Sigil in a completely different light.


    Even though he was a silk pants young master, he had enough mastery to get any girl on his bed. This also required extreme training!


    Both of them eventually left the bar and walked towards a back alley. Since it was already evening, the alley was already quite dark. He quickly whispered Ricardo to go towards the other alley and remain cautious.


    Ricardo felt a little weird after listening to this request, but he wouldn''t mind a little privacy at this moment. Sigil also took Amanda inside the dark alley and quickly pushed her towards the wall, his hands roaming and exploring her upper body.


    Amanda was wearing a simple black top and a pair of light blue denim shorts. One of Sigil''s hands massaged her left breast while his other arm caressed her thigh. Their tongues interlocked as they exchanged their saliva.


    ¡°Hmm, take me right now!¡± Amanda moaned as Sigil lifted her legs and their sweet parts started grinding against each other.


    It was at this time, Sigil heard a moment and he immediately took the girl and rolled her by the wall. Since he had already lifted her body up, this motion only Sigil against the wall and Amanda sucking his mouth with her back towards the dark alley. You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.


    Unknown to Amanda, Sigil had already freed one of his arms as her legs locked around her body and supported her without difficulty. They were still making out intensely, but Sigil''s left arm shot towards the back of Amanda''s head and immediately made a grabbing motion.


    The moment, he made the grabbing motion, he felt something soft and cotton-like getting caught in his hand and without waiting for anything, Sigil smashed the fluffy stuff on the wall.


    squee


    A painful, yet light squeal could be heard and Sigil smashed the thing on the wall again, before dropping it. He then rolled her over again and pulled her black top up. As he removed her top, a pair of lively breasts held by a yellow brassiere appeared in front of Sigil.


    Tuc


    Sigil immediately pulled down her bra and started sucking on her erect beans while pleasured moans escaped from her mouth.


    After he sucked on them for a bit, he stopped and sighed.


    ¡°Work first.¡± He immediately let her down and controlled his breathing. He looked at the almost passed out girl and felt a little troubled. According, to his plan, he only intended to kiss her, but he lost his control and got a little carried away. Amanda was having trouble standing straight as she slumped on the ground, her beautiful breasts exposed to the dark alley.


    ¡°Sigh.¡±


    Sigil sighed as he dressed her quickly and looked for the broken fur ball of menace.


    It was a Rabbit Familiar!


    The Rabbit had black furs over its body as its hind legs looked extremely bulging at the moment. A black-coloured substance kept on leaking from its feet.


    Sigil picked the unconscious rabbit and placed it inside a polythene bag and picked Amanda in princess carry.


    ¡°Hehe, such a gentleman!¡± Her neck stretched as she joined their lips together again.


    ¡°Don''t worry, sweetheart. Let''s get you to the hotel.¡± He chuckled and walked lightly. As he passed the alleyway with Ricardo and Kayla, he still heard the light moans of pleasure.


    ¡°Oi, Ricardo. Get out from there. I got ourselves a specimen.¡±


    His shout caused the alley to turn silent, followed by the sound of clothes rustling. Evidently, Ricardo got a bit carried away himself.


    Soon, Ricardo emerged with a girl in his arms as they both walked towards the hotel. As the arrived at the hotel, Sigil decided to lay Amanda down with Kayla, on Ricardo''s bed and they both arrived at Sigil''s room, to study the newfound Familiar.


    ¡°Be sure to close the door properly.¡± Sigil reminded Ricardo as they closed Ricardo''s bedroom door properly. It won''t look good if Alicia and Martha saw both of them fooling around during the mission.


    Sigil took out his phone and called Alicia.


    ¡°Hey, hmm, yeah. Yeah, we found something. We got the Familiar. Yeah, we are waiting for you.¡±  Sigil pressed the end button and looked towards Ricardo.


    ¡°Alright, when they ask how we got this Familiar, just say that we both were scouting an alleyway and it ambushed us.¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡± Ricardo nodded and replied solemnly.


    ¡°Alright, now, let''s get started.¡±


    Ricardo and Sigil looked at the bloodied Rabbit. The stuff leaking from its feet had already dried out and the size of its hind legs had returned to normal.


    ''A Power Foot Hare!¡¯ Ricardo obviously knew the true identity of the Familiar. With his experience of 165 years of witchcraft, he had seen many kinds of Familiars and also used many of them. Right now, the poor rabbit was laying on the table, its body riddled with injuries, breathing weakly.


    ¡°Well, it doesn''t look poisonous despite its appearance. Why don''t we search the alliance''s database and look for information on the Familiar?¡± Ricardo said after pondering a bit. He was still hesitant to show his true combat power and knowledge to others.


    ¡°Yeah, I had the same thought.¡± The alliance was filled with information of common and rare Familiars. It was highly possible that the information about this particular Familiar could be found in the database.


    Sigil opened the alliance''s application on his smartphone and started typing the description before he found the information about the terrorising Familiar.


    ¡°Hmm? Found a match. It''s called a Power Foot Hare¡­. the pores of their feet secrete a drug-like substance that can increase the muscle density for some time and also increase the blood flow within their hind legs. Their back is extremely flexible, allowing them to move their body in midair. Too bad they have a weak defense and this one isn''t even near the Adolescent Stage. If I have to gauge its strength, then our little guy will be comparable to a witch with his third gate opened.¡±


    Sigil gave the details as he poked the injured rabbit.


    ¡°But why would it attack us?¡± Sigil pointed out the main problem. Even though they were tasked to capture or eradicate the whole nest of the Power Foot Hare, it wouldn''t hurt them to gain more knowledge about their behaviour.


    ¡°Do you think it attacked you because you were going to¡­.. you know.¡±


    Ricardo gave the universal ''dirty¡¯ look to Sigil and asked him. He obviously knew the reasons for Sigil getting attacked by the hare. All he wanted to do was to point out their behaviour by asking ''innocent¡¯ questions.


    ¡°Possible. That is the reason I brought along a company with me to test that possibility. But these are from the rabbit family. Heck, they are even referred in the phrase¨C Humping like rabbits. So, why would a rabbit want to stop some humping?¡± Sigil frowned.


    In the information given out by the alliance, it did not record their basic nature.


    ¡°First thing first.¡± Sigil called Alicia once again.


    ¡°Hey, how''s your work going?.... Hmm, yeah, listen, Alicia. We just found the crazy Familiar. When you come over, be sure to bring some of the Soul strips along, will you? Oh, thanks.¡± Sigil ended the call and brought out some bandages from his bag and started to treat the injured rabbit. There was still a chance that this Familiar was contracted to a witch, therefore, Sigil wasn''t intent on healing the rabbit completely.


    ¡°You might want to get those two girls out. If Martha and Alicia found out about Amanda and Kayla, we will be in big trouble.


    Ricardo frowned as he saw Sigil wrapping up the bunny.


    ¡°You meant that only you will get in trouble, right?¡±


    Sigil and Ricardo looked at each other briefly before Ricardo went to his room and called for room service. This hotel was one of the more prestigious ones and had a lot of unusual call for room service. Taking out a drunk chick wasn''t unusual to the staff of the hotel.


    After giving it some thought, Ricardo decided to write his contact number and put it in Kayla''s back pocket and wrote down Sigil''s contact info and placed it inside Amanda''s pocket.


    Satisfied with his work, Ricardo handed the two unconscious ladies to the room service and went back to Sigil''s room.


    After waiting for five minutes, Alicia and Martha finally returned. Seeing them return, Sigil furrowed his brows.


    ''Something doesn''t feel right.¡¯ He spoke silently as they inspected the Familiar and raised their heads, looking at Sigil with a little different attitude.


    ¡°Where did you find this?¡± Alicia narrowed her eyes. Her face passive, not letting out a single emotion.


    ¡°Oh, well, we thought of becoming the bait for this rabbit and decided to walk different alleys. Ricardo also had a company with him in the alley when they were attacked. I ran after them when I found nothing near me.¡± Sigil smiled after completing his statement. He had already noticed the different atmosphere around the girls. He immediately connected the dots with the girls forming the same conclusion about the familiar after interrogating the victims'' families.


    ¡°?!¡± Ricardo looked stunned. What did I do to you? Why throw me under the bus? Ricardo felt a little indignant. Meanwhile, the girls¡¯ expressions finally eased and they breathed out a slight sigh of relief.


    ''Being engaged is troublesome.¡¯ Sigil understood most of the stuff from their body language as he cursed the anomalies that these rabbits were. Why would you attack someone that was going to have a ''great¡¯ day? Did you guys think only you have the right to hump?


    ¡°Oh, good job, Ricardo.¡± Alicia nodded towards Ricardo.


    ¡°We found some leads about these Familiars too. The victims were all single and known for their promiscuity. Even their family had headaches over their daily ''escapades¡¯. It is even reported that the victims were going to engage in their fun activities before they were attacked to death.¡± Martha spoke out, confirming Sigil''s suspicion.


    Meanwhile, Ricardo bit the bitter pill and let this event go. He wouldn''t try to fight it out with Sigil about such a small thing. If anything else, he wanted to get closer to him to pick up some moves.


    Sigil also showed them his mobile phone, giving them the information about the Familiars they were dealing with.


    ¡°Alright, give me the soul strips.¡±


    Sigil spoke out as Alicia took out a packet of small stick-like products. The sticks were finger-long and painted in dark green colour. Their diameter was around half a centimeter. These were Soul Strips. If the blood of a contracted Familiar comes into contact with the strip, the colour of the strip will change from green to black, whereas, the blood of a non contracted beast will turn the colour of the strip from green to red.


    Sigil immediately opened the packet and took out a soul strip, placing it in the Power Foot Hare''s mouth. Slowly, under the eyes of everyone, the green-coloured strip turned into a black-coloured strip. Seeing this, Martha let out a slight sigh while the other three frowned.


    "Alright, this is definitely strange." Alicia spoke while narrowing her eyes. Her voice caused some confusion to Martha while Sigil and Ricardo nodded in agreement.


    "What''s going on?" Martha understood the strange atmosphere and she immediately felt a little weird.


    "According to data, these Familiars are gentle natured and even if they catch a whiff of intercourse, they just attack with their limbs. But this nest of rabbits also have a taste for human blood. This is definitely strange." Sigil also laid down his doubts.


    Martha finally understood the situation. When she thought of it, she also felt weird about the bite wounds on the neck of the victims. Why would a rabbit pierce human necks?


    "Alright, it is quite late. I will keep an eye on this Familiar while you guys rest. If anything happens, I will call for you guys." Since they were in Sigil''s room, he readily took the responsibility of keeping an eye on the Familiar.


    Ricardo thought for a while before nodding at the decisions and leaving the room. Only Sigil, Alicia and Martha remained in the room alongside the healing Familiar.


    "You really had nothing to do with any woman, right?" Alicia looked at him suspiciously. She had her priorities straightened. After discussing the mission, she immediately chose to interrogate her fianc¨¦.


    "No, no. You can believe me!" Sigil spoke with a straight face. His voice laced with gentleness and a little determination. Alicia narrowed her eyes and looked at Sigil for a while.


    "Hehe, come on, Alicia. You should try to trust him a little. After all, he already has his hands filled with enough girls." Martha chuckled and tapped Alicia''s shoulder. Even though she said that, Martha looked into Sigil''s eyes and winked while wearing a foxy smile.


    Alicia also knew Sigil''s relationship with some of the girls of the family, especially Martha. She wasn''t against it. In this world, the strong had the right to do anything. After all, her own father had married to different women. Even though Alicia was the only offspring of John Grey, this did not mean that he had a relationship with only a single woman.


    After hesitating a little, Alicia finally left alongside Martha. Seeing them leave, Sigil let out a sigh of relief. Right now, he hadn''t slept with either of them and he wanted to keep things the same way. After all, he wasn''t the previous Sigil that was fond of being a man whore.


    To Sigil, fooling around wasn''t a crime or a sin, it was only fun. If he had actually slept with someone, that would mean that he had to take the responsibility of supporting her, until the other party breaks off the relationship.


    At the moment, he couldn''t afford to be held back with emotions. This world was plenty dangerous and emotions only increase the difficulty. As the door of his room closed behind the girls, Sigil stood up from his bed and walked towards the rabbit Familiar. His gaze incredibly dark.

 Extreme Losses

    After locking the windows and door of his hotel room, Sigil walked towards the power foot hare. His mind was concentrating towards the feeling of the connection of the souls that he felt during his last encounter with the ghost in Chestcovia City. A gentle glow emerged from his left palm as he slowly put his left hand on the hare''s head.


    Voom


    A zooming sound was heard and Sigil found himself in a patch of forest. Sigil tried to feel his surroundings and discovered that an invisible barrier was blocking him from moving too far.


    After feeling the perimeter of the surrounding, Sigil started to search around the patch of forest. Since he had tried to connect with the soul of a bunny Familiar, he had to look for the nest of a hare or something related to their kind.


    Sigil started looking around one tree at a time. Even though his search was slow, he finally found his target. A weak looking power foot hare was laying near the foot of a tree, hidden by a patch of dirt and grass. The condition of the Familiar was very rough and it had ragged breathing.


    Even though Sigil did not the state of the soul of a familiar after entering into a contract with a witch, he still had a feeling that this hare was being controlled somehow. Sigil took a deep breath and slowly crept near the Familiar. In the real world, he had no need to be afraid of a simple Familiar that could not even defeat a witch with four gates opened, but here, he was just a manifestation of his soul. He had no knowledge about the conflict between two souls and wanted to be cautious.


    As he slowly touched the head of the bunny, a loud screech was heard from far away. The body of the injured bunny shook lightly and its condition worsened. Behind Sigil and the bunny, a new manifestation emerged. It was another power foot hare, but this one was almost twice in size and a white coloured pattern was imprinted on the head of this bunny.


    Sigil felt something behind him and immediately saw the scene of this bunny emerging in the soul space of the injured Familiar. Sigil immediately understood a part of the situation when he saw the emergence of this new bunny. From the size and vigor of the bunny, he could easily ascertain that this bunny was far more powerful than the Familiar laying near him. It may even be more powerful than Sigil himself.


    This was the case of bloodline control!


    Sigil immediately stood up and looked into the eyes of the big bunny.


    Squeel


    A sharp squeel emerged from its mouth as the Familiar shot towards Sigil with incredible speed. But alas, a strange situation occurred. The moment the bunny jumped towards Sigil, it realised that its speed wasn''t anything comparable to the real world.


    Even Sigil was surprised. To him, it looked like the bunny was dancing around. After all, it squeeled loudly and jumped, only to fall with a confused look on its face.


    "What the hell are you doing?" Sigil frowned and started walking towards the bunny. The bunny also sat up as it looked at the surroundings in a confused manner. Even though this bunny looked like the leader of the other Familiar due to its size and appearance, it was still clueless about this strange space. After all, in the soul space of the injured Familiar, the three of them were mere projections of their soul.


    Sigil immediately closed the distance between himself and the bunny before kicking it violently. Even though they could not use their magical energies, the kick still landed solidly on the body of Bunny Leader.


    Duph


    A blunt sound emerged as the bunny flew back and smashed against a tree. Strangely, neither the bunny seemed to be hurt nor the tree took any damage. Seeing this, Sigil''s interest in this space increased even more. This time, he took a different approach.


    He once again walked near the aggressive yet confused Bunny Leader with the intent of eradicating the soul projection. A violent glow started to emerge from his palms as he touched the head of this Familiar. The glow in his hand was a little different from before. Previously, the light from his palms gave out a refreshing and calm feeling. It felt like a warm Maiden willing to have a happy conversation, but now, the light from his palms looked like a war-goddess, destroying everything and anything.


    Pu


    With a popping sound, the projection of the rabbit leader was destroyed. The rabbit couldn''t even let out a sound before it was removed from the soul space of the injured familiar.


    Huff


    Sigil sighed and felt a little fatigued. Evidently, the strange move had expended some of his mental energy. He slightly shook his head to shake off the dizziness and walked towards the injured Familiar laying near the foot of the tree.


    As he looked towards the weak bunny Familiar, Sigil had a strange thought. How did its soul get so weak in the first place? This had been the greatest doubt in his mind. Sigil only inflicted physical injuries to the Familiar, his soul was clearly not targeted by Sigil''s attack.


    Thinking of this, Sigil couldn''t help but sigh. Another one of his mission was taking a strange turn. After deliberating for a while, Sigil decided to close off the connection and finally returned to his own world. The time flow of the soul space was extremely strange. Even though he had been there for almost 10 minutes, in reality, only a few seconds had passed away.This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.


    After taking a look at the bandaged beast one last time, Sigil decided to lay down on the bed while maintaining slight vigilance. There was no point in looking at a single bunny for the entire night. If Sigil had a choice, he would have chosen to look at a cosplayer in bunny''s outfit for the whole night... well, not just looking.


    ***


    Piu piu piu


    Te den te den


    Piu piu piu


    Te den te den


    "What the hell?" Sigil woke up in a gruff mood as he rubbed his eyes. As expected, he immediately slept after laying on the bed. As he looked towards the healing bunny, he sighed in relief. But what the hell is wrong with all those siren sounds? He looked at the clock placed near his bed and saw that it was only 4 in the morning.


    People are really hateful!


    "Sigil, it''s me. Open the door!" Almost immediately, Alicia''s voice sounded out from the other side of the door. He sighed an stood up to open the door. What else could he do? After all, he couldn''t continue his sleep anymore.


    ***


    Streets were being filled with strange black-furred bunnies. The number of bunnies was huge and the whole city was almost filled with the strange animal. The strange thing was that these bunnies did not hurt anyone and quickly left the whole city, fleeing towards the nearest forest for the living. Evidently, all these power foot hares were actually present inside the city from the start.


    From the window of the hotel, the four witches of the Grey Family looked at the chaotic situation with gloomy gazes. All these hares were Familiars worth a fortune! If they had collected these Familiars, their profits would have been very high the resources of the Cultivation of the energy gates would have flown into their pockets easily. Even the carefree Sigil felt rage bubbling up inside his body.


    "Contact the police station and ask for the satellite image of the place of the origin of all these Familiars." Sigil''s gaze was eerie as he looked at the strange scene from the window of his hotel room. He was not in any mood to decide about the position of the leader and simply stated out the task that needed to be accomplished. Who would complete it? Or how would it be completed wasn''t his problem.


    After sending the three of them away, Sigil looked at the injured Familiar, whose body was shaking with excitement and coldly harrumphed. He walked towards his bag and took out a pouch. The pouch was made of a black leathery substance with its end tied by a familiar''s tendon. Sigil opened the pouch and took out a small pinch of light green powder before sprinkling it over the excited, yet, injured Familiar.


    The moment the green powder came into the contact of the Familiar, it was immediately absorbed by the skin of the bunny involuntarily and the shaking of the Familiar finally came to a stop. The item used by Sigil was a sleeping agent made from the Green Jack Pines. The effect was immediate and the bunny took a deep and long sleep.


    After almost 30 minutes, Sigil''s door was knocked again. It was Martha.


    "Well, we found the area of the origin of the Familiar from the satellite but the owner of the property has some complexities." Martha walked slowly and sat on Sigil''s bed. She put down the file in her hands and placed it on the table, beside the sleeping bunny.


    Sigil picked up the file and read with furrowed brows. It wasn''t a work of a witch. The owner of the property was a simple carpenter of the city. His works had a decent reputation and he earned a stable income in the city. All the clues and investigation material pointed out that Ryan Belwind¨C The owner of the property, was an ordinary artisan.


    After thinking a bit, Sigil placed the file on the table and spoke to Martha lightly.


    "We leave in fifteen minutes. Be prepared for any kind of witchcraft."


    Martha''s eyes also sharpened and she nodded. She had to tell the other two about the situation too. She did not linger around and flirt like she usually did and immediately went away to make preparations. Every witch''s battle was a matter of life and death. She would not want her own unpreparedness to be the reason for her death.


    ***


    "This guy can be a witch or a regular mortal. But one thing is for sure, he definitely has a Familiar by his side." Sigil spoke calmly as they looked towards a brown painted house from their car. Ricardo was sitting on the driver''s seat while Martha and Alicia sat behind. They all were wearing their combat clothes and their bodies were equipped with deadly blades and pistols and revolvers.


    "We should probably use all of our sleeping drugs and try to infiltrate the house after creating a safer environment." Alicia''s idea gained the approving nods from the other three and they simultaneously took out their pouches filled with sleeping drug. Even though this kind of drug was expensive and had a high demand, it could be purchased from anywhere.


    "Alright, shall we complete the mission?" Martha smiled lightly and opened the door of her side. Sigil, Alicia and Ricardo followed Martha as she took the pouches out of their hands and walked near the house. Before the group entered the house, Sigil threw the sleeping bunny, that he brought along with him, over the fence of the house, making it land on the little garden of the house with a dull thud. This move was to check for potential witch traps. After confirming the integrity of the garden, the group jumped over the fence and walked towards the backdoor through the garden.


    The house had a standard build alongside a basement and the outside door of the basement, situated at the end of the garden was the main objective of the group. After all, according to the data, Ryan was an ordinary artisan and a sociable person. He wouldn''t be stupid enough to keep hordes of magical Familiar in the dining room of his house.


    Sigil took out his gun while Alicia and Ricardo took out a sword and a machete respectively. Meanwhile, Martha took out a small packet of blood from the pouch of her pants placed near her knees and slowly drew a magical pattern on the door of the basement with her fingers using the blood as the ink.


    "Your spells have gotten even better. If it were me, I wouldn''t be able to calm my mind with the blood of Holy Sparrow on my fingers." Sigil praised Martha. Her mastery at such a young age definitely deserved such praises. Her serious expression alongside her snow-white hair tied into a bun created a beautiful scenery for Sigil. He even had a light urge to tease and flirt with her, but he restrained himself. They were on a task and it would be stupid to ruin the efforts of everyone over a slight urge.


    Martha was using the blood of the most common monster of the Rakshasa species¨C The holy sparrow. The blood of the holy sparrow was a widely used spell ingredient of the curse study. Even though the curse study seemed simple, it was actually quite an elaborate concept.


    The curse study was further divided into many categories. There were Cultivation curses, attack curses, trap curses, death curses, investigation curses and many more. While Sigil was a genius in the area of Cultivation type curses, Martha was a renowned genius in the area of trap curses. It could be seen through her application of such a low levelled material to perform a relatively complicated spell.


    The blood of the holy sparrow also had a spirit-numbing effect on direct contact. Even then, Martha maintained her focus and this was also the reason that the other three did not disturb her during such a sensitive time. Ricardo was also full of praises towards Martha. Even though he could do the same in a very short time, he would be using his experience of a hundred years. Meanwhile, Martha was barely twenty years old.


    After completing the curse pattern from the holy sparrow''s blood, Martha took a deep breath and opened the four pouches filled with the sleeping drug. The beautiful, green-coloured powder quickly made a small mound on the blood pattern.


    "Radg Ver Grindl Bahj." Martha spoke in whispers as the powder placed above the blood pattern had some slight changes as the blood pattern started to disappear silently. After the blood pattern had fully vanished, the green powder seemed to have possessed a life of its own and started to enter the basement through the corners and the foot of the door.


    This was a trap curse named Floating Grains. A relatively harmless spell in its own, but if used correctly, the potential of the spell was really high. After sending the mound of sleeping powder inside the basement, Martha stood up and walked away from the door. She took out a small pill and placed it in her mouth as she started to feel refreshed once again.


    As they waited for some time, Martha had already recovered from the exhaustion of using the spell. Seeing that everyone was in an appropriate condition, Sigil motioned his hand silently as he pointed the gun towards the internal lock of the door.


    Chhg


    Thk


    His gun was equipped with a suppressor and the lock wasn''t strong enough to withstand the attack of a gun at a point blank range. After destroying the lock, Sigil used his leg to slowly push open the door as the rest remained to the side of the door. The members of Witch''s family had to go through basic military training and they were adept in many sign languages as well as various tactics during special circumstances. The tactic of using a single leg to push open the door while hiding the body was one of the well-known tactics during the infiltration of a base.


    After feeling no reaction from the other side, Sigil motioned the three of them from his hand and slowly passed through the door. He was followed alongside the three of them.

 Completed Mission

    The stairs were filled with sleeping bunnies. Some of the Familiars looked stronger than their captured friend while some of them were weaker than a witch that had only opened the first gate. The four of them walked slowly and avoided the bunnies. Since it was nearing the dawn, the whole staircase was still dark and they had to rely on their slightly improved eyes.


    When a witch opens his energy gates, his body will receive nourishment and get stronger. Even though the witches were a lot stronger than regular mortals, their physique fell short in front of monsters, devils and Familiars. The same is the case with their eyesight. If they had a tamed Familiar with enhanced eyes that had a power level equal to a seventh gate witch, that familiar''s eyesight would be better than the four of them.


    After slowly moving forward, they almost reached the end of the staircase. It was at this time that they heard a loud sound of metal clanking and a heavy door opening. They immediately stopped in their tracks and decided to watch it out. The metal door connecting the house and the basement opened as rough breaths of a man could be heard. With quick steps, the man reached the basement.


    "What?" A surprised shout sounded out as he saw all the bunny familiars sleeping on the floor. Even the Familiar lord, the power foot hare with white markings on its forehead could be seen sleeping on a desk.


    Seeing this, the expression of the man turned gloomy and he immediately ran towards his house. When they heard the sound of running, Sigil motioned the other three to stand guard and call the alliance.


    "Tell them that we would like to submit a Familiar lord alongside other Familiars." Sigil spoke as he positioned his gun and started to walk towards the escaping man, Ryan¨C the carpenter.


    Infancy, Adolescence and Mature. These were the three stages of a Familiar''s growth. The infant Familiars had no title to their names but Adolescent Familiars were also called Lord Tier Familiars and the Mature Familiars were called Emperor Tier Familiars.


    As Sigil moved forward, his gaze was attracted towards the largest Familiar sleeping on the table. It had a slightly better muscular build and white markings could be seen on its forehead. This was the Familiar that arrived in the soul space of the captured power foot hare.


    Even then, Sigil kept a steady speed and climbed up the stairs. He could not tame the lord tier beast, neither make a contract with it. This was the reason he decided to contact the alliance and also the reason that the other three did not raise any objections. His grip on his gun tightened as he used his other arm to push open the door.


    The metal door was connected to the backside of the house and Sigil entered with light steps. The house was dimly lit and he could hear the sound of things moving near him. The man must be panicked. After all, he was packing his things very quickly.


    Sigil immediately ran up the stairs that lead towards the bedroom of the house and the place where the sounds of quick packing emerged from. The door to the room was open and Sigil decided to sneak a glance inside the room.


    Inside, a middle-aged man with light brown hair packed some stuff inside his duffle bag. Aside from clothing, Sigil also saw Ryan storing some papers and weird things. Yes, weird!


    Aside from papers and clothes, Ryan picked a green incense and placed it inside the outer part of the bag and then proceeded to place the bones of a finger inside the other compartment of the bags. It wasn''t just the bones and the incense, there was much strange stuff like red grass, a black ball with a green shadow and also a red-covered booklet.


    After seeing that the man was almost harmless, Sigil aimed his gun from behind the panicked man and shot.


    Chhg


    Aaaaghhhhhhh


    A bullet pierced the left calf of Ryan as he screamed loudly. The attack came too quickly. He wasn''t able to support his body and fell on the floor. He was holding his legs as he kept on screaming in pain.


    Thud


    The sound of the door closing behind him could be heard as he looked towards a handsome youth with clean-cut silver hair and blue eyes looking towards him with a deadpan expression.


    Sigil looked towards the crying Ryan and pulled over a chair for himself. After sitting on it, he placed the gun on his thighs and leaned in front, his eyes gazing into the tear-filled eyes of Ryan.


    "You have two options. First, you tell me everything in detail. Second, I force it out of you." His voice was extremely cold. Until now, he had been trying to act according to the behaviour of the original Sigil. This was the reason that he acted out alone and followed Ryan upstairs.


    Right now, Ryan did not look like a decent middle-aged man. His disheveled hair, his teary eyes, snot-filled face made him look extremely disgusting. His teeth were chattering in fear as he remained still in front of gunpoint.


    ***


    "Hello, this is the Carefree Alliance. Press 1 to know the details for joining the alliance, press 2 to get information on the nearest alliance office. Press 3 to assign a mission. Press 4 to apply for a mission. Press 5 to talk to our customer advisory services."This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it.


    Alicia touched the number 5 on the dial pad of her smartphone. The other two were checking out the surroundings.


    "Thank you for calling the carefree Alliance. We will connect you shortly to our employee. Please wait.... du... du... du... Hello, my name is Gary, how may I assist you?"


    Alicia quickly gave her mission details and her id no.


    "Yes, Miss Alicia. You would like to apply for the pickup of Familiars for the extra reward for the group, correct?"


    "Yes."


    "Please hold the line, I am applying your request. The pickup employees will reach your destination in an hour. Thank you for calling the carefree Alliance. We hope you have a good day."


    The line disconnected as Alicia kept her smartphone in her pocket. She sighed and quickly joined Martha and Ricardo to check out for other fainted Familiars.


    Meanwhile, Sigil had an ugly expression as he looked at Ryan. He walked up and quickly took out the book from the outer compartment of the bag. From the feeling of the cover, it looked like it was made from the skin of an animal. Sigil did not waste time and quickly opened the strange book. As he read it, his expression kept on darkening. He shook his head and pocketed the book and looked towards Ryan. Originally, he was just an ordinary human, but now, he encountered something he shouldn''t have and even desired to use it.


    "Using the devil''s transcript is strictly forbidden. You not only used the transcript but also assaulted regular mortals with the strength of Familiars. Why?" Sigil''s cold voice became even more frigid.


    "You- you.... sigh... I only wanted to become stronger." Even though Ryan''s condition was very poor, he could only reply in whispers. His voice had already become hoarse from all the pained cries. Sigil looked at Ryan and immediately punched his face, knocking him out.


    After doing that, he opened the book once again and started taking pictures of all the information on the book. After that, he kept the book inside his bag and put his smartphone away. Even though it is forbidden to use Devil''s script, it wouldn''t hurt to know more about it, right?


    The alliance was efficient and a team of witches alongside a chakra stage witch quickly arrived at the destination. They were driving a large truck with reinforced defences, to protect the Familiars from any harm, but it would be mostly useless. After all, the Familiars had been enhanced by the methods of the devil''s script.


    "I would like a full report on the matter. Who is the leader of this group?" A brown-haired middle-aged man with light green spectacles and wearing an unceremonious night suit spoke in an annoyed tone. He was a chakra stage expert in the newly created alliance. He was like many other fortunate witches that were able to step into the realm of Chakra Sky without any help of a prominent family. The emergence of the alliance gave these lone witches a method to earn more resources to further their Cultivation without going against any orthodox power of the country.


    All of them were standing in the basement and Martha, Alicia and Ricardo immediately looked towards Sigil. Their eyes gave their decision about the long-awaited question of the leadership of the group. While Sigil was still a rash and arrogant youth in their eyes, they still saw this quality of his redeemable. Ricardo also wanted to keep observing Sigil. After all, he had contacted Sigil previously to take down the Grimoire World, but now, he couldn''t find the inheritance ground and the Grimoire World was being controlled by the Alliance. He could only stick around with Sigil before any other interesting event takes place.


    Braun, the Chakra Stage Witch, looked towards Sigil as well.


    "What happened here?" He plainly asked. He was in the midst of his sleep and had to be forcefully awakened to deliver these Familiars. It had to be known that many witches are burdened with a lot of stress and often enter the condition of insomnia. Braun was of a similar case. As he looked at all the sleeping Familiars, his annoyance only grew.


    "It''s like this, these Familiars have been altered by the methods of devil''s script. While the infant Familiars have mutated along the lines of blood beasts, the lord class Familiar has mutated towards the soul class, as it could control the actions of most of the Familiars....."


    Sigil slowly explained everything as he took out a small book from his pockets. Meanwhile, the expression of Braun turned darker. Even though the humans were widely segregated, they were still united against one common enemy- The Devils. There hasn''t been too much information about devils, but it has always been advised that one should at least reach the level of opening of chakra points before thinking of facing a devil face-to-face. Even though there are many spells that could eradicate a devil, the materials to execute the spells are very expensive.


    Braun immediately kept the book without even opening it and ordered his subordinates to fill the truck with the remaining Familiars. He also contacted his higher-ups and informed them of the situation. After all was done, he walked up towards the bandaged Ryan and coldly picked him up with one hand. Even though the bodies of witches isn''t comparable to that of monsters and familiars, they were still a lot stronger than mortals.


    "He will have his memory searched and be subjected to the punishment of the alliance. As a representative of humanity, I would like to applaud your efforts as this idiot could have caused even more damage. Your Rewards will be sent to your respective households and you should leave. Many witches are on their way to quickly kill all the infected familiars before they become contaminated enough to hose devils inside them." Braun spoke as he quickly backed up the truck. Even though the reinforcement would deal with other loose familiars, the alliance was quite interested in the Familiars themselves and ordered Braun to bring a batch of captured familiars to the headquarters.


    The whole affair only took an hour and the group had successfully completed their mission. They did not immediately leave Ryan''s household and started searching around. It would an absolute waste of their efforts if any trace of the devil was left due to their carelessness.


    ***


    "Huff, finally free!" Martha exhaled deeply and sat near Sigil. Her head was leaning on his left shoulder as she squinted her eyes in relaxation. They were all inside Sigil''s room. Well, not all, Ricardo was sleeping inside his own room.


    ''I want to sleep, too!'' Sigil sighed as he felt the two girls invading his personal space quite annoying and cute at the same time. Previously, he would have just been annoyed, but after so many interactions, he started feeling warm towards both of them.


    After all, Sigil was only a human. He wasn''t an old demon, neither was he an indifferent impotent. Martha and Alicia treated him warmly and were kind towards him. Martha even had a sexual escapade with the previous owner of the body, it was almost inevitable for the current Sigil to start feeling for Alicia and Martha.


    On the soft red bedsheet, the two silver-haired couple sat peacefully. One had her head over other''s shoulder. The whole scene spoke of beauty and elegance if not for an annoyed dark-haired Girl.


    "Are you going to ignore your own Fianc¨¦e?"


    Alicia''s melodious voice had an annoyed tone. This caused both of them to chuckle a little. Sigil shook his head and patted his legs.


    "Since you are my fianc¨¦e, I will always have a special place for you."


    Sigil openly invited her to use his laps as a pillow, but unexpectedly, Alicia removed her shoes and climbed up his body. She quickly made herself snug as she leaned her back on his chest and shook her hips a little to make herself more comfortable. Her entire being was laying on Sigil and they fit perfectly.


    Martha on the side and Alicia on the body. A wonderful sense of softness exploded and invaded his sense of touch. Alicia''s bouncy butt on his crotch and Martha''s soft breast on his biceps made his blood rush towards the southern direction.


    Meanwhile, Martha also smiled at Alicia''s antics and closed her eyes peacefully. Getting angry over sharing Sigil was stupid. Wouldn''t it be better to perform some acts together to increase pleasure?


    Even though the three of them knew of the raging spear, they remained still and did not move. Alicia felt a little funny on her butt, but she still closed her eyes and slept peacefully. The three of them were tired due to not having adequate sleep and quickly dozed off.


    ***


    "Two months.... in two months, the devils will strike. Previously, the alliance wasn''t created and the organisation did not invest too much in such simple missions. Who knew that the Devils wanted to invade the main continent through the use of mortals. But this raises even more questions. Why are there such changes? Will the devil race even emerge this time? After all, this is the high time for the humans of the main continent. Even though there are still some other continents in a different plane, it isn''t easy to cross the borders. And most of all, I need to determine if I am the cause of all these changes."


    Ricardo muttered as he remained in a meditative stance. Nothing was going according to his plans. At first, he doubted that Sigil had obtained the inheritance since he did not contact him, but after knowing that his smartphone was crushed during the exploration, he cleared that doubt. But that did not mean he wasn''t suspicious of Sigil, in fact, he was suspicious of everyone that went inside the Grimoire World.


    "Yawn, this body is still weak. I still need to have some rest before I can start thinking about some countermeasures." Ricardo shook his head and went to sleep. He knew that making plans with a refreshed mind is always better than a tired one.

 Rewards

    Sigil''s whole body felt sore, meanwhile, Martha and Alicia chatted happily as they sat on the back seat of the old Nissan. Sigil massaged the left side of his neck, that was hugged tightly by Martha during their sleep. Since their position was quite awkward, Sigil couldn''t move his body because of Alicia sleeping on him and using him as a couch while his neck was bent out of shape.


    As they crossed the border of the city, they had to pass through a barricade of Witches. Apparently, the appearance of infected Familiars triggered the alliance and the organisation, alike. The whole city and the surrounding forest was being thoroughly searched for different kinds of infected Familiars.


    Looking behind, Sigil felt comfortable when he saw the two beauties talking happily. He hadn''t felt this kind of feeling for a long time. Even in his previous life, he was only fortunate to feel such comfort for a little time. He sighed and closed his eyes, after all, he was still in a dire need of rest. His special skill took a lot of his mental health, this made him prone to irritation and tiredness.


    Even though he could keep control of his frustration, he still let a little lose against Ryan. Since they were going to have a long drive, Sigil had decided to take a nap to regain his mental capacity.


    ***


    "How much time?" Ruby asked flatly. Usually, she would be flirting around and making sensual poses to tease the opposite gender. But right now, she was not in the mood. She was standing outside the Grimoire World emerged from Chestcovia City. Her gaze looked ominous as she looked at the pitch black hole from the corner of the Border.


    "It isn''t a matter of time. Apparently, the Grimoire attached to this world is well-versed in Space path alongside some other elusive path, most likely Shadow path or Illusion path. It is almost impossible to track down the Grimoire. If we really need to find some clues, we would have to ask the help of the alliance."


    A gruff voice, belonging to a brute, replied. He was Sabar, the director of Fiery Lion. He also had an extremely ugly expression.


    "Originally, we wanted to present the Grimoire world to the alliance as a contribution. But now, it will be used as a tool to mock us. I suggest that we loot the remaining treasures left and clean this place up." A husky voice suggested.


    He was Old Sparrow, the director of the Grand Sparrow. He was the oldest out of the three directors of the dark guild and his words sounded logical, too. If they quickly loot the place and destroy the World, their reputation could still remain intact. If this matter was spread with malicious intent, their reputation would take damage and they may lose their title in the newly established alliance. The latter was something unacceptable to the three directors.


    After all, as lone witches, they were true prodigies to reach the stage of Grimoire Master without the support of strong background. But, it wasn''t only their genius that allowed them to reach their current capabilities.


    They schemed, killed and snatched for every single resource for their Cultivation. Making enemies everywhere. The emergence of Alliance was a ray of hope for many Grimoire Masters like them to finally break the shackles of Witch''s Organisation and live a life without any pursuers behind their ass.


    If the were to lose their value in the newly established alliance, it would not be different from taking away their last method of freedom. After all, they knew that they weren''t the strongest and needed a large thigh to grab onto.


    "I agree." Ruby nodded as he expression softened. She tugged her ruby red hair behind her ear and spoke softly. Her demeanor of a greek goddess returned as she stepped towards the Grimoire World and vanished.


    The old and the Brute looked towards each other and used their own methods to enter the Grimoire World. The surrounding Witches were also given a chance to enter the Grimoire World for free. This action was taken to quickly finish looting the Grimoire World.


    ***


    "-e up! Wake Up, Sigil." Alicia kept on shaking his shoulders and called out to Sigil. They had arrived at their destination¨C the Grey Estate.


    "Haaaaa.... mmmhhhh" Sigil took a deep yawn as he opened his eyes. He was feeling refreshed after such a good nap. All the accumulated stress was almost relieved.


    He looked around as he rubbed his eyes and got out off the car. Ricardo had already left the area as his car will be parked by one of the servants of the family, while, Martha and Alicia waited for Sigil to wake up.


    This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.


    It could be said that their relationship had taken a big leap after last night. Even though there was no funny business involved, their feelings towards each other took a qualitative change after sleeping in each other''s comfort. Even though Sigil wasn''t physically comfortable, he still felt warm in his heart.


    He wasn''t the kind of person to deny his feelings. He understood his own romantic feelings towards Alicia and Martha and he was fortunate enough to be transmigrated to a world where polygamy was practiced.


    Alicia and Martha were comfortable around each other, too. After all, the three had known each other from their childhood.


    "Hehe, I would have expected to be woken up by Martha. You alright, Alicia?" Sigil chuckled and asked with a smile. Until now, he had seen the calm and jealous side of Alicia. To further explore her, he had to play his cards right.


    "Hmm? Isn''t it obvious? After all, you are my fianc¨¦." Alicia smiled back, not flustered at all.


    ''Damn, I should have said something else.'' Smiling in defeat, Sigil picked up his bag and walked alongside the beauties.


    "Say, who are you going to give your second spot of the ancestral pool to?" Martha asked suddenly. Alicia and Sigil were guaranteed a spot for the super-sized Ancestral pool of the alliance branch. This meant that they could nominate two family members for the spot of Family''s ancestral pool.


    Since Sigil had already decided on Martha and Ricardo, Martha was really curious about Alicia''s choice. Alicia thought for a little while and answered.


    "How about Lisa and Minda?" Alicia spoke with uncertainty. Since Sigil was nominating someone from the weaker part of the younger generation, Alicia decided to do the same. Either way, she did not realise Sigil''s true reason.


    After some interactions with Ricardo and knowing that he was a treasure trove filled with knowledge about the future events, Sigil wanted to make use of him. He did not have any methods at the moment, but he was sure that he could put his strange ability to use one day. By nominating him for his place for the ancestral pool, he could build a good relationship with Ricardo and try to glean some more information.


    Martha nodded at Alicia''s recommendation and walked with a slight smile. She had been feeling happy since last night.


    Previously, Sigil only wanted her body, but recently, he was more caring. He wouldn''t touch her and would not let her touch him, too. This, alongside the flirting and harmless play, made her feel for Sigil. Even though she was passionate about the previous Sigil, she always had a sour spot in her heart, after all, who doesn''t want to be treated like a princess.


    Right now, Sigil''s action towards Martha and Alicia made both of them feel wanted and loved. Even though he did not do much besides joking around, they liked him even more because of this. After all, the previous Sigil was nothing but a pervert, who liked to take advantage of them.


    Unlike others, Sigil had a single rule to treat his girls¨C Respect. After all, if he took advantage of them in public, they wouldn''t have enough face to live with their head held high.


    After settling the matters regarding the ancestral pool of the family, they went off to their own rooms. They still wanted to get fresh and take a warm bath before doing anything else.


    ***


    "Young Master, a package had been delivered with your name as the recipient. The package has been checked for any harmful substance and is placed on your bed." His maid bowed and spoke lightly.


    Sigil nodded and walked past her, opened the door of his bedroom and laid on his bed with a ''thump''.


    This was the best feeling of returning home, to simply let go of any stress and slump on the bed. Ah, the comfort!


    After a while, he stood up and placed his bag on the floor before going off for a bath.


    ***


    "Hmm? Alliance sure is efficient." Sigil praised as he looked at the package delivered to him. It was a box divided into three compartments alongside a letter.


    The letter described Sigil''s righteous act of finding of the infiltration of Devil''s contamination and praised him endlessly. The letter also stated the ingredients rewarded to him. In total, Sigil had received three rewards. One for the completion of the mission, the second for the acquirement of the Familiars and lastly, for discovering the devil''s transcript.


    The same rewards were also given to Ricardo, Alicia and Martha.


    Sigil dried his hair as he rubbed his towel on his head and opened the box. As he opened the first lid of the box, his sight was welcomed by many squishy stuff. Most probably, they were some exotic refining material. Near the corner of the compartment was a small partition with a piece of paper attached to it. As he read the paper, he understood that it was the refining process and the description of the Cultivation spell.


    After holding his urge to throw up, he removed the first compartment from top of the second compartment. The box was designed like a tiffin box with three compartments to separate the dishes.


    After placing the first compartment on his study desk, he opened the lid of the second compartment.


    It was a piece of parchment. This was his reward for acquiring the Familiars. He removed the layer of translucent sheet stuck on the parchment and read the title of the content.


    Information on Chakra Paths.


    Reading the title written in an ancient language, Sigil sighed endlessly. He looked at the parchment once more and placed it aside. It was still too early to read that stuff.


    Opening the lid of the third compartment, Sigil''s body shivered in excitement. His eyes shined and he licked his lips. Inside the third compartment, one could see an accessory made out of light blue pearls.


    It was a meditation tool!


    Meditation was greatly related to the ''Self'' part of the Witchcraft. One also needed to have a certain attainment in the realm of meditation before breaking through the realm of chakra points. That was the main reason for some of the talented witches to never reach the chakra stage, whereas, some of the lone Witches easily enter the realm of chakra.


    Sigil immediately closed off the third lid and placed everything on his study table. The Rite of Witchcraft was going to be held four days later and they had to be prepared for their possible ascension.


    There had been many cases where a Witch with five of his energy gates unlocked could easily ascend to the realm of chakra, whereas, many talented Witches with all eight of their gates unlocked could never reach the chakra stage after experiencing the ancestral pool.


    It had only been a few days since Sigil''s previous breakthrough. Even though he wanted to, he couldn''t use the refinement materials to unlock another energy gate. Same was the case with Alicia. Out of the three of them, only Martha was the one with all of her gates unlocked and a stabilised foundation.


    After sorting out his rewards, Sigil went back to optimising the spell regarding the memory of the brain. Even though he had already cracked the spell, it wasn''t too efficient in his eyes and wanted to experiment for a better version of the spell.


    ***


    "Sigh, I really had hopes for that kid. After all, he was my spy, too." A skinny man stood near the border of Chestcovia City as he gazed at the black hole that kept on devouring the Grimoire World.


    An owl was silently perched on his shoulder as the man stood still for a minute.


    "What was that kid''s name anyway? Joseph? Jojo? Joker? Well, I need to find someone else to infiltrate the Warlock Association." Eugene gave a long sigh and finally walked away. A brown light shined from his body as another owl emerged from his body and fused into his back. A pair of brown wings emerged from his back as he flapped the wings to fly from the region.


    Since every Witch was already inside the Grimoire World, nobody took notice of the Witch''s arrival.

 Spiritual Beginning

    "Huu... huff... huu... huff" Sounds of deep breaths could be heard from Sigil''s bedroom. The lights of the room were dim as Sigil sat on his bed with a peaceful expression. A light blue bracelet, made of pearls could be seen on his wrist, could be seen giving out a gentle glow. The light from the pearl was bright enough to illuminate the Sigil''s surrounding as it gave an elegant contrast to his hair colour.


    Sigil was meditating.


    Curse, Nurture and Self. These three areas of studies regarding Witchcraft were immensely deep and profound. Not even the Grimoire Masters are confident enough to claim that they have unraveled the true nature of the study. Each study is divided into various situations, elements, familiars, monsters, methods, languages, totems, expressions and much more.


    Sigil was an outstanding member of the younger generation and could be considered as gaining the qualifications of entry level of the subject¨C Curse and Nurture.


    Entry Level, Student Level, Master Level, Grandmaster Level, Sage Level and Pinnacle Level.


    These were the categories in which the three areas of witchcraft is divided into. Reaching the Entry Level regarding the subject of Curse and Nurture was spectacular enough. One had to understand that these categories represented the foundation of a witch regarding the corresponding subject matter.


    Right now, Sigil was meditating with a calm and peaceful mind to enhance his foundation regarding the subject of ''Self''. Unlike Curse and Nurture, Self was related to the enlightenment of the living being. It was a source of gaining inspiration and attuning oneself to connect with Nature.  Whereas, Curse and Nurture were related to the knowledge of various subjects. If one had to compare, Self could be represented by the profession of Temple Priest while Curse and Nurture could be represented by the profession of Scholar.


    The pearl bracelet on Sigil''s hand was an exemplary embodiment of Curse methods of a Witch with Master level foundation. The bracelet was called Deep Moon, a material curse belonging to the category of Self Cultivation Curses.


    To prepare this bracelet, one had to raise the core material in a pool of glacial water from the mountains. Placing an ordinary pearl inside the pool with other refinement materials, the pearl will gain a spiritual attribute that is helpful for connecting with the soul. Even though the process and recipe to create this Material Curse were readily available to most of the witch''s family, only a few could produce it because of the rarity of the materials.


    Right now, Sigil was using Deep Moon to connect with his soul and trying to gain some inspiration from nature. His lips produced some unintelligible whispers as the deep moon shined even brighter.


    It was an activation spell. Even though the curse had been placed on the bracelet, it still needed to be activated. Sigil kept on whispering the Spell as he felt his mental energy getting drained away. Because of the consumption of his mental health, Sigil could only meditate for half an hour before he had to stop and take a rest.


    He exhaled sharply and opened his eyes. Even though he was severely limited by the drainage of his mental energy, his eyes were shining brightly and a small smile hung on his lips. Gradually, the glow emitting from the bracelet dimmed off and the room was illuminated by the dim lights of the bulbs.


    "Hehe.... hahahaha, this ability is amazing!"


    Sigil laughed happily as he looked up at the ceiling of his room. His gaze was still as bright as ever. It felt like the mental drain wasn''t affecting him at all.


    ***


    The black hole covering the whole city slowly vanished as three figures stood some distance away. They were the three directors of Black Spider, Fiery Lion and Grand Sparrow, that has become a part of the alliance.


    The witches guarding the spot had been sent back and also severely punished. They were penalised heavily for the destruction of Grimoire World. Even when the three directors knew that it wasn''t the fault of these guard witches, they still had to fulfill the actions created by their authority.


    "I propose that we should start sending spies and infiltrate the nearby families to look for the culprit." Old Sparrow spoke with a pained voice.


    He watched the destruction of the Grimoire World as the previous Chestcovia City finally emerged back. Even though all of the residents of the city were dead, they could still have some use for this city.


    "It''s not a huge loss. We did gain a city for our own personal use, isn''t that right?" Sabar spoke as he did not reply to Sparrow''s statement.


    "Aside from the fact of spies, we still need a good place to install the totem. How about cleaning this city and use it as an ancestral pool?" Ruby spoke flatly. Even though she had many gains in the Grimoire World, she was disappointed by the fact that they won''t be able to properly exploit that mine.


    As she spoke of the upcoming Rite of Witchcraft, Sparrow finally regained his composure. After thinking for a bit, he spoke once again.If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.


    "I apologise for my outburst. How about selecting new seeds as the spies. Ruby already has that traitor from the RedHawks, we can scout for talents in the Ritual."


    His suggestion gained the nods from both of them.


    Rumble


    The sudden rumbling sound attracted their attention as they felt sour and indignant in their hearts.


    The black hole had finally devoured the Grimoire World and with it, took away all the exotic space path resources.


    Meanwhile, it looked as if a dark curtain had been uncovered and the whole city was finally visible to everyone.


    "I will install the Totem tomorrow. It''s your task to clean this city." Ruby regained her composure and left on her scarlet-ruby broomstick.


    ***


    Sigil was once again meditating, but he wasn''t in his own room... well, he was in his old room.


    The posters of animated girls on his wall were very familiar. The human-sized body pillow with the image of one of his favourite anime girl was placed beside him as he remained seated in a cross-legged position on the bedcover with the image of another anime girl.


    His study was filled with various games, these games also had many disturbing titles. Some related to the true culture of the universe¨C Hentai, while others were RPG and racing games.


    Above the study table was a three-storied shelf filled with figurines, nude and clothed. And at the corner of the room, one could see a large bookshelf filled with noble literature¨C Manga and H-Doujins.


    If an ordinary human saw this room, they would think a single word¨C Untidy. But, if a cultured human entered the room, they would think of only one word¨C Bliss.


    Even with all the heavenly items surrounding him, Sigil still kept his eyes closed and remained still. His expression calm and peaceful.


    If one saw carefully, he could see a gentle blue light appearing out of nowhere from the area around his right wrist and coiling around his body. This situation remained for another thirty minutes before Sigil disappeared from this room.


    "Huff" Sigil opened his eyes in excitement and exhaled sharply. This was his fifth meditation session in two days and he could be said to be progressing by leaps and bounds.


    Originally, he couldn''t locate his Soul Space, but with the help of Deep Moon, he was finally able to locate his Soul Space. Surprisingly, it was his old room¨C The piece of Heaven.


    The reason for his excitement wasn''t the fact that he could read all the Hentai Doujins once again, it was the fact that he was naturally connected to nature through the Soul Space. This discovery coupled with the Deep Moon Curse allowed him to progress at twice the speed with half the effort.


    He could already feel it, he just one step away from reaching the Entry level in the Realm of Self. At this moment, a knock was heard. Before he could answer it, the door was clicked open.


    "Master?! Lunch is ready." Martha smiled and spoke with a little hum. Evidently, she was feeling happy. After all, the Rite of Witchcraft was only two days later and she was confident that she could breakthrough the Chakra Realm. After all, it had been a whole year since she had opened her Eighth Gate and it has also been a while since she had reached the Entry level in the Realm of Self.


    All that was left to do was to enter the Ancestral Pool and receive the baptism of the totem. With the help of Ancestral Pool, she would have a high chance to become an Elder Level figure in the Witch''s Society.


    Seeing Martha''s pleasant behaviour, Sigil smiled as he felt optimistic himself. There were two days left and he had a high chance to barge in the Entry level of the realm of Self.


    ***


    "Soon.... I will get you this time...." Ricardo''s gaze was as eerie as possible. He was just informed that he could take part in the baptism of Ancestral Pool of the Family. Even though he had no chance to enter the chakra stage, he still felt a little relieved. After all, the baptism could reduce his problems by a lot.


    He even felt a sliver of excitement as he thought of one the Familiars in the family.


    He smiled slightly as he remained seated on his couch with a slice of pizza in his hand. Even though a show was being displayed on the television, his thoughts remained adrift.


    ***


    Midnight, 8 hours before the Rite of Witchcraft.


    The Material Curse, Deep Moon let out an eye piercing light as a wisp of translucent substance entered Sigil''s mouth, which kept reciting the Spell to utilise the bracelet.


    Shortly, the bracelet dimmed down completely and Sigil opened his eyes with a big smile on his face. His ice-blue eyes shined in darkness.... literally. It felt like Sigil had changed his species into a feline one, making his eyes stand out in darkness.


    The strange process took place for a few minutes before it stopped. Sigil''s entire demeanor finally spoke of some humanity.


    He let out a breath of turbid air and got up from his bed. His legs felt cramped as he had been sitting in the meditative position for a long time. After stretching a bit, he finally laid down.


    "Entry Level of the realm of Self¨C Spiritual Begining, achieved." He spoke to himself lightly.


    "It doesn''t feel much different, though. I wonder if my ability is affected by my realm of Self." He mused lightly. He looked at the time before setting the alarm and quickly snored away. He had to remain in his best state during the baptism.


    ***


    "Hehe, it''s like you are trying to invite me here every time." Martha smiled as she woke Sigil up. The alarm remained ineffective.


    Martha was different from other maids of the manor and had an almost exclusive right to enter Sigil''s room. Even though Sigil felt a little groggy, he decided to keep up his act. After all, he was in a phase where he was recovering from his life of debauchery.


    He smiled at Martha and pulled her in bed, making her yelp in surprise.


    "You are really going to do it in front of me?" A cold voice interrupted both of them, causing Sigil to smile secretly. He had finally started to like both of them, but to show his gradual progress, he needed to show a part of his debauched behaviour around someone.


    He looked at Alicia as Martha blushed. She was stronger than Sigil, yet, she allowed herself to get pulled by him. She even knew about Alicia, after all, they both had gotten really friendly even when they were romantically involved with the same guy.


    What''s more, Sigil''s morning wood was proudly displayed by the tent of his pyjamas, that poked at the right places, making Martha feel a little tingly.


    "Oh, Alicia? Yeah, sorry, I didn''t see you there. How ''bout it? Want to join?" He smiled and immediately put some distance between him and Martha and patted the unoccupied region.


    This action made Alicia growl a little, making her look extremely dangerous... and cute. Her grey eyes kept gazing at Sigil until he finally got up from the bed.


    "Fine, fine, geez, and here, I thought that Martha was into domination." Sigil''s light comment immediately cleared the tense air and made both of them blush.


    He smiled at his apparent success and immediately changed his clothes after entering the bathroom. He still didn''t want to strip in front of others for no logical reasoning.


    ***


    Assembly Ground, The Grey Estate.


    John Grey stood in front of every single eligible member of the younger generation. There were a total of 13 people standing in front of him, while the Supreme Elder Garthe stood behind John, his eyes staring at his daughter, filled with emotions.


    Since Sigil, Bethany and Alicia weren''t participating in the family''s baptism, their position wasn''t given to someone else as it would be detrimental to the reputation of the achieved position. Alicia and Bethany had also not assigned anyone else to their position, making only Martha, Ricardo and two other members the selected Witches to receive the baptism.


    Meanwhile, the other two witches also brought someone else with them.


    John looked at the six people taking part in the family''s baptism and looked towards seven others, who were going to take part in the Alliance''s baptism. He sighed a little as he looked at each other''s hand and saw the seal of the alliance.


    "I wish you all Good Luck. Supreme Elder Garthe will take you guys to the family''s Ancestral Pool. Out of you, only two members are eligible to choose from the elite Familiars raised inside the family. You all know the rules, the unchosen Familiars will be then presented to others. Those who did not take their pick will get a chance to enter the Familiar garden of the Family."


    He took a breather and walked towards the seven others. He patted Sigil''s shoulder and spoke to them.


    "The choosing of Familiars will start only after your return. I hope that you bring a good reputation to our family." John then nodded at Garthe as he took the Six witches away. Sigil smiled towards Martha and nodded at Ricardo before leaving with John towards the site set by Alliance.

 Ancestral Pool

    A 10-seater minivan drove away from the Grey Estate. Instead of looking like a big tempo vehicle, it looked like a luxurious limousine with a broad frame. The body of the minivan was painted metallic black and a symbol of a wolf howling could be seen on the hood of the car.


    The minivan was divided into two compartments connected by a movable black glass. Meanwhile, the seats of the van were placed on the left and right side, with the back facing the windows of the van. Each side capable of holding 4 people.


    John had decided to sit on the front seat, right next to the driver. Usually, he would never sit on this seat, but right now, he wanted to leave the kids alone and have them talk with each other. Even though they all were of the same family, many of them did not even know each other personally.


    "Master, I am deeply honoured that you have decided to give this old man some company." The driver/butler spoke out. His voice filled with emotion and respect.


    "......"


    John didn''t know how to reply.


    ***


    Sigil, Alicia, Bethany and Jacob were sitting on the left side of the van. Jacob was thinking that he might have a shot with Bethany since Alicia and Sigil were engaged unofficially, but who knew, he had to eat the bitter pill.


    Starting from the corner, Bethany took the first seat, Alicia took the second and Sigil took the third seat. This way, both the girls were covered by Sigil. Meanwhile, Jacob remained slumped on the seat next to Sigil.


    On the opposite side sat Oliver, George and Annie.


    The whole van was suffering from an awkward silence. In front, John chose to remain indifferent about all the chatter of the old butler, while the younger generation remained silent out of the sheer awkwardness and unfamiliarity with each other.


    After all, everyone will feel uncomfortable if they had been put into a box filled with unknown and strange people. But this feeling would intensify when those people are your distant acquaintance that you purposely avoided.


    The situation did not last long because of Alicia''s popularity.


    "So, how are your preparations? I am still feeling nervous even after all the preparations." Annie smiled as he started the conversation with Alicia.


    Annie was the daughter of an Elder of the Family that showed promising growth. Even though she wasn''t much of a genius compared to the two members that were selected for the Family''s baptism, it did not mean she was weak.


    She had already opened her fifth gate and she only needed to complete a few more missions to reach the pinnacle of mortality.


    "It''s the same for me. This is the one-time ancestral baptism we are talking about, how could I not feel nervous?" Alicia smiled politely and replied modestly. The skill of speaking and maintaining the facial expression during the conversation had been ingrained in the top members of the younger generation.


    Annie nodded in understanding. Since they both were seated on the opposite and face each other, they had to speak a little louder. Meanwhile, Bethany simple closed her eyes and decided to rest. According to the Family Head, the destination wasn''t far, so she decided to utilise this time to calm her mind.


    Oliver and George also started whispering to each other. Apparently, they also decided to enjoy each other''s company. It was only Jacob and Sigil that remained silent.... awkwardly.


    ''Fuck!'' Jacob cursed internally as he snuck glances at Sigil.


    Sigil was also portraying his character well. His face held a small, yet arrogant smile. His whole demeanor displayed confidence. Alicia didn''t mind it that much. After all, she understood that behavioural change is a gradual and slow process.


    ***


    Almost 40 minutes later, they reached the border of Chestcovia City. Unlike Harrisonburg City, it wasn''t surrounded by forest, the bordering area was simply an undeveloped region with lots of farmland.


    The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.


    Right now, they all could see the unfortunate City perfectly. But it was surrounded by a translucent, blue-coloured hemisphere that showed a regular wave-like pattern. The city did not have a lot of tall buildings and the group could see a tall pillar with many paintings and scribbles of spiders. In fact, a giant, 12-legged spider was carved on the top of the pillar, whereas, many ancient writings could be seen on the base of the pillar.


    The Grey Family wasn''t the only one that reached the city. The surrounding three families, the alliance and some talented lone Witches could also be seen.


    Seeing the specific area filled with Leader Level figures, John turned to the group and once again encouraged them.


    "I wish you all, best of luck. This is a wonderful opportunity for you all, after all, this is a super-sized Ancestral Pool that also affects the potential of the chakra points. I hope that you guys can make the highest use of this blessing." John spoke before he left to mingle with other leaders of families and organisation. He was already feeling a little empty from the inside as he listened the old butler chattering away. He really needed to talk to someone with Equal status.


    "Huff, it''s time. How about teaming up and cultivating together?" Jacob proposed hesitantly.


    Even though their task was simple, it was filled with hidden hurdles. In the ancestral pool, one needs to actively absorb the energy and strengthen themselves to create a better foundation and ascend to the realm of chakra mastery.


    But, this world is filled with competition and your success meant someone else''s loss. Many people will try to harm you and make it so that you wouldn''t be able to absorb the energy. Use of spells and other magical weapons was not allowed. They could only use mortal weapons.


    In the olden times, it would have been fine, but with the invention of gunpowder and advancement of technology in the area of firearms, even mortal weapons posed threats to their lives.


    Their group had weapons with themselves, too.


    As they slowly conversed with themselves, a conflict erupted.


    It was the RedHawks and Ivan. Even though the leader of the RedHawks stayed away, he was staring daggers at his only son¨C Ivan.


    "You bastard! How could you? Why would you?" A black haired man kept on hitting the other one with a rose tattoo on the side of his neck.


    Surprisingly, Ivan did not retaliate. He remained quiet and took the beating. Seeing this, Sigil sighed. He could not help him even if he wanted to. Personally, Sigil wanted to kill Charles himself, but he would never have gotten the opportunity to do so.


    "You betrayed us. YOU LEFT US!" Sigil actually knew the aggrieved party. His name was Peter, Ivan''s friend. Well..... his ex-friend.


    "I am sorry." Ivan smiled sadly. His eyes filled with emotions, alas, he had no right to speak about some matters. After all, he decided on an action and was facing the consequences.


    It was at this moment that an unusual presence was felt by everyone.


    Slowly, all of them looked up and saw an old man floating downwards. He was Old Sparrow, the director of the dark Guild¨C Grand Sparrow.


    "Kekeke, Welcome! I will be conducting this year''s Baptism." Old Sparrow cackled and his hoarse voice reached everyone.


    As everybody focused on Old Sparrow, he continued.


    "Fighting with opponents and crippling the competition is allowed, but if anybody kills their opponent, they will be executed on the spot. Any questions?" Even though his voice was hoarse, his words ignited the fighting spirit of every team.


    "Yes, I have one. What happened to the Grimoire World." Roman asked with a cold voice, making Old Sparrow flinch.


    Usually, if any chakra expert tried to get into a conflict with Old Sparrow, he would have immediately killed the opponent with a snap of his fingers, but now, he wasn''t a member of a dark guild. He had to play by rules, too.


    "We were fortunate enough to find the inheritance ground of the Grimoire World and passed all the tests." Even though he knew that his lie was filled with loopholes and the news of the Grimoire World getting destroyed will reach the Alliance headquarters, he still had to buy some time.


    He secretly cursed the directors of the other two guilds. They were quick enough to choose their task and left him with this burdensome task.


    His words caused a lot of murmuring among the crowd and Roman simply smirked. Since he couldn''t fight the directors physically, he chose to fight them a battle of wits. After all, they also had a part in the death of his youngest son.


    Meanwhile, Sigil smiled. Old Sparrow''s words couldn''t fool the wise ones. Firstly, he knew that he was the one to inherit the inverse Witch''s Grimoire, second, why would they destroy the Grimoire World after inheriting it.


    The Grimoire World could produce many rare space path and illusion path resources. It would have provided them with a huge amount of profits. After all, not everybody in this world was foolish and clich¨¦d.


    Similarly, Ricardo, John, Brian, Alan and Roman deduced the truth.


    Somebody had stolen the Grimoire!


    Even though this news came as a shock to them, they still kept quiet. Instigating the matter further would only cause them backlash from the three directors. Even though they couldn''t kill them, the directors could still pressure them in another manner.


    Roman understood this and kept control of his emotions. His smile made the Old Sparrow curse in rage, but the situation caused him to keep his emotions in check.


    Meanwhile, Sigil finally understood that sometimes, simple words could have hidden meaning. He finally understood that not all of them were as clich¨¦d as the previous owner of the body and not all of them could be fooled easily.


    Snorting coldly, Sparrow continued.


    "Alright, the baptism will be active for five days." He spoke simply and flew away. Almost at the same time, the hemisphere with a wave-like pattern changed it''s colour from blue to dark Grey as the totem in the middle of the city shined a pitch black light. The words on the foot of Totem shone a crimson light as the eyes of the ten-legged spider turned crimson, too.


    A small opening was formed on the surface of the Hemisphere and the selected members rushed inside the city. Many were running alone while others ran in groups.


    Sigil had decided to team up. After all, they could alert each other if they saw some long-ranged weapon or someone following them.


    The moment the group entered the city, they suddenly felt a rush of pure energy inside their body. But they only felt it and no changes occurred in their bodies. After all, one needed to meditate and consciously absorb the energy to stir their energy gates.


    Most of the competitors were of the same age and had only opened their energy gates up to the seventh energy gate¨C Gate of Wonder. Meanwhile, those who had opened their eighth energy gate could be counted in one hand.


    Even when Sigil was hailed as a genius, he had only opened his seventh gate. Even though it could be said that he did not have enough time, but the fact remained that he was still weak compared to some youths and this society only demanded results.


    Nobody would care about your hard work or your sacrifices if you don''t produce satisfying results. That is the reason that Sigil could live an unobstructed life of debauchery. He produced satisfying results in his Cultivation.


    The closer they were to the totem pillar, the purer the energy became. After entering the ancestral pool, every group dispersed and quickly hid away. After all, there was a chance that conflicts would arise and nobody wanted to waste their precious time on this petty competition.


    Sigil''s group chose a residential house with two floors built. They quickly settled inside the house. Two people from the group had to guard the house while the other five will be cultivating.


    ***


    Sigil made himself comfy on the bed belonging to the dead. Since it was a two-storied house, the five of them had enough room to practice alone.


    He simply closed his eyes and entered his meditative position to start cultivating.

 Eighth Gate

    A large, ten-legged spider roared silently. Its dark grey fur and crimson eyes made its looks ferocious. After letting out the roar, it started moving towards the clouds that were covering a bright star. Behind the spider, Sigil could see seven spots of bright light, forming a strange pattern.


    Thud


    The large, starry sky shook a little as the spider collided with an invisible wall. Its eyes shined brutally as it started thrashing on the invisible wall.


    In the real world, Sigil''s body kept on shuddering. After all, the rough treatment to the gates caused some damages to Sigil. But still, he silently endured it. His expression still like a lake and a  soft glow emerged from the region surrounding his heart.


    Sigil wasn''t impatient with his Cultivation, after all, he had full three hours, unlike others. He and Alicia were chosen for the last spot of scouting and thus, they both were given the advantage to absorb more energy than others.


    Time slowly passed as the surroundings remained silent. Evidently, many people decided to quietly absorb energy and increase their power instead of fighting it out this early. But Sigil still felt something wrong.


    According to the information, the closer one is the totem, the purer the energy absorbed, but this was a super-sized Ancestral Pool. If Sigil was even 100 metres away from the totem pillar, he could still peacefully advance to the Chakra Stage.


    Even though he understood the concept of crippling the competition, the people participating in the event weren''t fools and wouldn''t act if they did not obtain any profit. If he followed this conjecture, he had a feeling that there was something special near the totem that will induce a battle royale.


    ***


    Three hours later.


    Sigil and Alicia walked out as they nodded towards Bethany and Annie. After relieving the two girls from their duty, Sigil and Alicia stood together as they looked towards the totem pool.


    Unknown to Alicia, Sigil''s hand moved towards her very slowly.


    ''Since I am going to act like a young master, maybe I should get some benefits when no one is looking.''


    Yes, even when Sigil loved treating the two girls with respect and showered them with praise, taking slight advantage of them during their alone time is also a show of respect.


    The moment his hands neared enough, Sigil decided to distract her and strike.


    "You remember when you kissed me in the car?" His words startled Alicia as her mind flashed the image of her climbing on top of Sigil as she gave her a passionate kiss and passed on her mother''s heirloom.


    "Wha-"


    Her eyes widened as a slithering hand grabbed her perky butt and a hand grabbed on her neck and pulled her face upwards. Her mind started to ring warning bells as they were bypassed by something warm on her lips.


    Feeling the tender kiss and passionate grabbing, her mind finally calmed down and she closed her eyes. A slight blush emerged on her smooth cheeks and she could only squirm a little to fulfill her ego. After all, no girl wanted to show her man that she was easy to get.


    Alas, the na?ve maiden did not know that her fake struggle gave a sensual feeling to Sigil''s hand as he started to massage them unconsciously. He did not need to grab the other cheek since it would only make him more awkward. His grip on her neck tightened a little and his tender love turned fierce.


    If she wanted to struggle, he needed to show her that it was useless!


    After a full five minutes, Sigil decided to take a break. Even though he just wanted to have a little fun and tease her, Sigil felt a little terrified by the fact that her charm made him go for real. As he took deep breaths, he looked towards the panting Alicia.


    Her entire demeanor was a mess. Previously, she wanted to show off the fact that she had opened the eighth gate in a single cultivation session. This feat spoke volumes about the benefits of super-sized Ancestral Pool and her talents. But her plan was ruined by Sigil.Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.


    ....Not that she hated it.


    Alicia shook her head and tried to control her thoughts. She slowly calmed down, but her physical appearance was still in a mess. Her face had a tinge of pink and her lips looked more sensual and luscious.


    As Sigil saw the thought-provoking beauty, he grinned. From her reactions, he knew that he did good enough.


    "This is the payback." Sigil concluded calmly. But the lower tent betrayed his gentlemanly demeanor.


    "You- you.... What if someone caught us?" Alicia chided fiercely.


    "Caught us?" Sigil thought before his aura changed. A pressure belonging to the experts with all of their gates unlocked emerged from his body, this aura surprised Alicia.


    "We both are going to be engaged. So what if someone saw us? They can only envy the fact that you are mine and I am yours."


    Sigil words were spoken carefully and seriously. Hearing her, Alicia''s heartbeat quickened. An exciting, yet, unknown feeling welled up her heart and body. She couldn''t rebuke Sigil as he really did get her this time.


    She quickly averted her eyes and spoke in a whisper.


    "Whatever! Congratulations on your breakthrough."


    "The same goes for you."


    His words surprised her again.


    "How did you know?"


    "Oh... um... let''s just say that you can''t control yourself when you are aroused." He smiled and spoke bluntly.


    Alicia felt embarrassed, but kept quiet. Apparently, she wasn''t successful in diverting the topic and it led back to their make out.


    "Now that fun time is over, I want to discuss something." His voice turned serious. In such a tense environment, the previous situation helped both of their mentality as they could calm down a little and their frustration level was low.


    It had to be known that Old Sparrow had played quite a game with the youngsters. By informing them that they were allowed to cripple the competition, he planted a vicious seed inside the mind of every competitor. His words implied the impending battle royale and many would want to strike before others could get stronger.


    Even Sigil wasn''t aware of such a psychological impact. After all, he was still a little short in schemes when compared to a hundred years old monsters. But their make out relieved them of their psychological stress, making them feel a little refreshed.


    "What is it?" Alicia asked.


    "Why do you think that we will have to fight other eventually?" Sigil asked her. His question had profound meaning that pointed at various clues and doubts.


    Alicia thought for a little while as she muttered under her breath.


    "Humanity is a greedy species. The only thing capable of raising conflicts is profits. But this ancestral pool is already a huge profit. This means¨C"


    Her eyes twinkled as she tried to control her excitement.


    "There is something even better than the ancestral pool." Sigil nodded and completed her statement.


    "I think that many have already figured out the existence of the hidden treasure. Most likely, we will be finding it near the totem pole. Now, I wanted to discuss the methods of dealing with the situation."


    Sigil explained the methods he came up with.


    First was to form an alliance.


    Their team could ally with some of the exclusive members of the dark guild by using Ivan as the mediator.


    Second was the preemptive strike. They could move for the treasure immediately and contest to acquire it. Since it has only been a few hours, not many would have gained the true benefits of the Ancestral Pool.


    Alicia pondered on both of the situations as she pointed out the loopholes.


    "In the first method, we do not have a strong binding force. What if the value of the treasure exceed our imagination and they turn their back on the alliance. And the second method also has many risks. First of all, we are trapped here for five days. If we move out now and acquire the treasure, then it wouldn''t be a simple competition between the groups, but a hunt. All the teams will hunt our team." She sighed. Her will was resolute and she wanted to fight for the treasures. Sigil was similar to her.


    Arriving at this city brought back the sad memory of him abandoning the Grimoire World, gaining huge losses. Even though the core materials were stored inside the Grimoire, he still felt sad.


    This memory brought along a burning will to swallow up the entire competition and gain the maximum benefits.


    ***


    "Huff, just a little more." Ivan stood up and sighed. He had been trying to break his mortal shackles and open his chakra point. His team included the core members of the Black Spider. Even though he came from the newly established alliance, the presence of internal strife remained. It was natural, wherever humans existed, conflicts were bound to arise.


    Right now, there were three factions from the alliance, four Families and a group of lone Witches brought here with the intention of recruitment.


    Ivan slightly smiled as he looked towards the totem pillar. He was confident in Victory. After all, the Yellow Spider Family was the direct subordinate of the Black Spider Faction and he had them under his control. He just needed another faction as an alliance to draw in the lone witches and his task will be accomplished.


    He thought for a little while. He couldn''t cooperate with RedHawks, the BlackBee Family could be a worse decision as they belonged to another faction. This left him with the Grey Family. Even though they weren''t a direct subordinate, they still belonged to the faction of Black Spider and he also had a friend in that family. He was almost sure that he could easily gain their cooperation.


    While thinking all of this, he also remembered his senior''s words.


    "Remember, the director wants to know worthy members to place as spies. Watch out for potential."


    ***


    "It''s your turn." Jacob came out of his room. Since the team comprised of seven members, he was the only member who would be keeping an eye on the surroundings alone. This was only because of the fact that Annie was a girl and she was grouped with Bethany. Alicia and Sigil were a couple and therefore grouped together. Even George and Oliver befriended each other, leaving Jacob alone.


    He could only blame his luck as he saw both of them entering their rooms after giving him a nod.


    He looked around and thought of relieving his stress too, but the thought of failure stopped him. He was feeling uneasy, but he did not know the reason. This kind of situation increased his mental burden as he heaved a deep sigh.


    "Don''t worry, you chose to remain a bachelor. After all, who would want to hear a girl''s nagging every day? Yes, it isn''t because you couldn''t woo a girl, it''s because you chose this path."


    He kept on repeating his bachelor sutra and guarded the place with diligence.


    After one hour, Oliver and George replaced Jacob and the cycle continued for a whole day. Even when all of them were feeling hungry and thirsty, they kept continued their cultivation. The benefit of the Ancestral Pool started to emerge as the group''s cultivation increased by leaps and bounds. Bethany was on the verge of unlocking her Eighth Gate while George and Jacob had unlocked their seventh gate.


    Annie and Oliver still had to show some significant results. Even though they both were chosen to enter the ancestral pool because of their Background, they weren''t talented enough to exploit the opportunity for their maximum benefit.


    Due to such a situation, there was a change in the social position of the group. Bethany was already Sigil''s and Alicia''s friend and started hanging out with them. She had already lost her interest in Annie while Alicia and Sigil decided to keep watch for their location. After all, the quality of the energy wasn''t strong enough for another breakthrough.


    On the other hand, George and Jacob recognised each other and became friends. Only the talentless Annie and Oliver remained as they looked at their peers with envy.

 Highest Realm of Trust

    "Check your weapons, we will leave in five minutes."


    Two days have passed and the group had finally decided to move to another location, preferably, closer to the totem pillar.


    Sigil ordered the group calmly. These two days haven''t been a waste for the group. Even though it was hard for Sigil to cultivate with the current quality of energy, he meditated continuously, exploring his soul. His whole body projected a peaceful image.


    Even his teammates started to notice the change as the arrogant Sigil had transformed into a calm and mature human being. Even though the change wasn''t huge, nonetheless, it was noticeable. His relationship with Alicia took a turn for the better as she stood behind Sigil.


    Her face had a small smile as she looked at Sigil''s calm self that could give out orders and started possessing the features of a leader.


    After the group started packing and gearing up, Bethany walked over to Sigil and Alicia.


    "Ho ho, Sigil, what did Alicia do to you? I wouldn''t even dream of your current self." Bethany smiled in a teasing manner and sat near Alicia.


    "As long as you dream of me, it is fine." Sigil smiled smugly and his projected aura collapsed immediately. Such an immediate change caused Bethany to feel surprised and his words made Alicia groan in her heart.


    ''I am sitting right here!'' She could only feel slightly bitter without complaining. After all, these past two days, Sigil treated her with quite a strange manner. He would give bits of advice regarding meditation, he would even cook sometimes and he never forgot to take advantage of her when they were alone.


    Previously, she would have never thought that she could feel this excited by just feeling his breath in her ears and his warm and sturdy hands on his neck and chest region.


    "Hmm? What''s this?" Bethany was thinking of a comeback when she looked at a strange mark on Alicia''s neck. The side of her neck was being covered by her dark hair but the red mark was still noticeable on her milky white skin.


    She immediately reached near Alicia''s neck and brushed away her hair. Alicia''s eyes widened in surprise by the sudden movement and Bethany''s eyes widened because of the mark.


    "My, my, you have already marked your territory, huh. Sigil, I didn''t know that you had the guts to finally take on Alicia." Bethany smiled slyly. Her words caused a blush to creep up Alicia''s cheeks as she covered the hickey with her hair. She glared at Sigil with an indignant expression and got up.


    Sigil wasn''t affected by her expression. Alicia''s pout was one of her many charms that could boil a man''s blood.


    "You know, to outsiders, it would look like you also want one of my territorial marks on your neck." Sigil grinned and crept near Bethany.


    "Now that I think of it, your blue hair gives you a youthful feeling and your freckles look cute, too. How ''bout it? Want a nibble on your neck?" Sigil kept on getting closer.


    Before he could tease her more, Bethany stood up with a red face and quickly walked near Alicia. She couldn''t handle Sigil by herself.


    After five minutes, Sigil got up and clapped his hands.


    "Alright, we will move out according to the plan. Jacob will remain behind and keep a lookout and provide backup. I and Oliver will be the vanguard while the rest will provide support. Any questions?"


    The group shook their heads as his demeanor surprised Bethany once again.


    ''Maybe he really changed?'' Her eyes held an indescribable emotion and her expression remained neutral.


    The group moved out as they walked through the streets slowly. Jacob followed the group as he held a Wooden Class Rifle¨C Spark78. It could be noted that Jacob''s demeanor looked extremely similar to an assassin. Even Sigil had trouble sensing him and he was stronger than Jacob.


    They were almost 800 metres away from the Totem Pillar when they heard the sound of running and immediately stopped. Jacob also prepared himself as he immediately set his rifle. His aim was set towards the group''s direction and he saw a black figure jumping from a high location.


    Chhg


    A suppressed sound emerged as the bullet was fired towards the unknown assailant with utmost precision.


    Meanwhile, Sigil''s eyes widened as he saw the face of the unknown assailant. He wanted to shout and stop Jacob but the bullet was already moving towards the newcomer.


    Without any surprises, the bullet pierced the thigh of the man as he fell.


    "What the hell???" A Familiar voice erupted from the figure as he removed his hood. His face surprised everyone, except for Jacob. He was standing a little far from the group, and even if he could shoot a moving target, it was still hard to see the facial features of a man with his cultivation.


    He quickly reloaded the gun and aimed once again, only to see Sigil stopping him and motioning him to get near the group.


    ***


    "Wow, you really hate me don''t you?" Ivan spoke with a bitter expression. His face was contorted as he looked at his injury healing at a great speed. Sigil''s group looked at the strange scene with a shocked gaze.


    "Gates Constellation." Jacob immediately spoke in a surprised voice. He was sure in his abilities and seeing the wound from his gun healing so easily allowed him to deduce Ivan''s situation.


    "What are you guys looking so shocked for? This is a super-sized Ancestral Pool. If you did not even form a constellation in this place, you should just jump off a building." Ivan spoke as his words cut through the hearts of the group.Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original.


    Sigil and Alicia remained expressionless.


    "Either way, a constellation providing a healing ability is quite rare." Sigil shook his head and moved his hand towards Ivan. Ivan smiled and grabbed on his hand, getting pulled up immediately.


    "Let''s go. I want to have a word with you." With Sigil''s nod, Ivan led the whole group to his hideout, which was only 300 metres away from the totem pillar.


    It was an office building with more than eight floors.


    ***


    In a conference room, Ivan was introducing the two leaders of the group.


    "Sigil, she is Yasmine. She is leading the group from the Yellow Spider and she is also one of the apprentices under Alan, the Family Head of the family." Ivan spoke as he introduced the charming girl.


    "Yasmine, he is Sigil. John Grey''s adopted son as well as the leader of the group from the Grey Family. I hope you two get along well." Ivan spoke out as they both shook each other''s hand.


    The moment Sigil shook her hand, he felt a strange touch. It felt like Yasmin''s palm had very tiny spikes covering her palms.


    After nodding, they both sat down as well.


    "I am sure that both of you have concluded the existence of a treasure based on the instructions left by Lord Sparrow, right?"


    Ivan did not waste time and brought up the main topic. His eyes were observing both of their expressions. Sure enough, Yasmine and Sigil looked more solemn.


    Sigil''s mind flashed countless thoughts and factored every clue and possibility he could think of. After giving it some time, he could only come up with the only situation that was most likely.


    Sigil turned towards Ivan with a smile.


    "If you gathered us, you should have information about the treasure. What are the conditions of cooperation and how do you propose that we distribute the profits?"


    Yasmine also understood Ivan''s intention. She looked at the discussion with interest in her expression.


    "Right now, there are four groups from the families, three groups from the alliance and one group consisting of lone witches. If we group together, we would be able to achieve more profits and reduce the risks. As for the treasures, they are the eggs containing Adolescent Familiars."


    As Ivan''s voice fell, both of them widened their eyes. Familiar Egg!


    Sigil immediately composed his mind and recalled the information he was taught about the spell.


    Many familiars are very violent, vicious and dangerous the moment they are born. But contrary to their nature, these kinds of familiars also exhibited extraordinary battle power. These kinds of Familiars could be only tamed and contracted after gaining their trusts. And the only method to gain their trust is to become their parent, which is decided the moment these Familiars are birthed.


    To tackle this issue, many witches dedicated their entire lives. It was only during the Bloodline Revolution when a genius Witch named Walter Blackbone invented a spell that could create an egg-like structure around the body of the Familiar and slowly erase their memories, sending them to the condition when these Familiars were birthed.


    After sealing them in a spell egg, the user needed to wait for the incubation period to complete and then become the first existence that the familiar lay its eyes on. This way, the witch will be regarded as the parent and will be able to gain complete trust of the Familiars.


    "Which familiars?" Yasmine asked suddenly.


    "We are not provided with the information." Ivan shook his head.


    Sigil nodded and took a deep breath.


    "Then the issue of distribution?" He asked him in a serious expression.


    Ivan took some time before answering.


    "Yasmine''s group will gain 20 percent while we both will take 40 percent each."


    Even though the Yellow Spider was the direct subordinate of the guild, it did not mean that they completely owned them. He still needed to give them sufficient profits and remuneration for their assistance.


    Yasmine''s look turned slightly cold but she remained quiet. She understood her family''s position and could only bite the bullet.


    It was Sigil that shook his head in dissatisfaction.


    "Ivan, you are my friend and I will give you my last offer. 50 percent."


    "Are you crazy?" Yasmine shouted in rage and frustration. She wasn''t even given an equal treatment while this rascal was asking for more, how could she not rage?


    "Sigil, think of the bigger picture. If we gain more eggs, you will still profit. Don''t think of the profit on the basis of contribution, but by the quantity." Ivan spoke seriously.


    Sigil understood his meaning. If they were able to acquire a lot of eggs, their group may have some surplus that could be either sold or given to the highest contributor.


    "No, you misunderstood. I am giving the price based on the effort that me and my group will expend. You are hated by the RedHawks while your relationship with the BlackBees is neutral. Let''s not forget the competition between the three dark Guilds and the greed of lone witches. With just three groups, we won''t be able to defend the malicious attack of the RedHawks and the harassment of other groups."


    His statement caused both Ivan and Yasmine to close their mouths.


    Sigil smiled gently.


    "Sigil, you are my friend and I am concerned with your well being. I am also not shameless to ask a huge piece of 60 percent and settled for 50 percent. You should recognise my goodwill and not undermine my efforts."


    His next statement made both of them speechless. He was simply blackmailing Ivan by taking a cover named friendship.


    "Besides, my talents will certainly be more than enough." Sigil''s voice turned a little deep as his body started to shake a little.


    Slowly, his nails started to elongate while his canines grew sharper and their tips could be seen touching his outer lips. His exposed wrist was also getting covered by silver-grey fur, similar to the color of his hair.


    "A constellation with full body transformation!" Yasmine couldn''t help but exclaim as Ivan''s eyes shined brightly. Sure, he could heal his body in a short time, but many other witches could do the same with various materials and spells.


    It was a talent like Sigil''s transformation that many Witches desired in their early stage. Not only this grants them a great battle power, but Ivan also knew that their defense had been greatly increased, touching the realm of Chakra Stage, gaining safety from most of the mortal weapons.


    Sigil smiled as his expression looked especially vicious. He returned to his original self.


    "Alright. The resources will be divided into 50-40-10. Sigil will take 50 while Yasmine will gain 10."


    Yasmine''s face looked very ugly as he looked at both of the males with hatred. Ivan did not suffer any loss as he may gain even more with the help of Sigil''s Constellation. She immediately changed her expression and smiled at both of them.


    "Two masters, please give this girl a path to survive. I will lose my face greatly if I only gain 10 percent. Perhaps, I may be able to provide other services to appease the masters." Yasmine''s voice was extremely seductive and she slightly unzipped her suit. Her pure white skin providing a great sight for Sigil''s and Ivan''s eyes.


    Since the important stuff has been discussed, the mood had loosened as they both decided to play along Yasmine.


    "Say, Sigil. Do you know the highest form of trust in the real of friendship?" Ivan asked as his eyes stared at Yasmine teasing herself seductively. She did not perform anything explicit, but the way her hands touched her body as she stretched gave out many intentions.


    Sigil nodded at Ivan''s words.


    "Of course, it is the realm where two friends can be comfortable around each other even if they are naked."


    He was also staring at Yasmine slowly unzipping her suit till her deep cleavage could be seen.


    "Masters? Please! Stop teasing poor Yasmine." She was already moaning as her eyes looked at both of them passionately.


    "Alas, this trust is only a mythical legend as no two guys will be friends with each other if they actually sat around naked. Besides, I don''t want to be touchy with my friends, especially this old gangster." He smiled and got up reluctantly.


    Ivan also smiled as he got out of the room with Sigil, leaving poor Yasmine alone.


    "!?"

 Iron Hide Lycan

    Their group was three hundred metres away from the totem pillar. From Ivan, Sigil was informed that a protective bubble was formed around the totem pillar with a diameter of 50 metres. Till the upper level decided, the treasures wouldn''t be revealed.


    Currently, he was feeling strange inside his heart. He was feeling excited yet fearful. The extreme changes in his emotions made him feel extremely complicated and conflicted. In his previous life, he had only felt these feelings on very rare occasions.


    These were the feelings that made him realize that there was much more to the human mind then he thought.


    In his room, Sigil sat and concentrated on his Constellation. In his spiritual wolf, he could see eight bright stars connected with several small and dimly lit stars, forming a fierce wolf howling towards heaven.


    Every Constellation is unique to the witch and they provided certain talents and benefits. This wasn''t all, the formation of constellation proved that the witch had the potential to form his own Grimoire. But of course, it was just potential.


    With enough resources, even the most talentless witch could create a constellation and increase its potential and solidify the foundation of his abilities to have a bright future.


    But his source of excitement wasn''t the howling wolf, it was the fact that his body was currently absorbing a large amount of energy even after completing his eight gates formation. Mysteriously, all the energy was being sent towards the constellation, causing tremendous changes in its body.


    The original wolf''s body started to expand and its muscles grew bigger and stronger, in comparison, many small stars started to connect with his constellation to accompany the change. Along with the change in the body, the original furry hide of the wolf started to change as it turned dark and gave off a metallic sheen.


    When Sigil thought that the changes were complete, the Spiky Wolf let out a soundless howl and the speed of absorption of the energy increased.


    The moment this change took place, Sigil''s mind fell into a mess, but he still couldn''t hide his own smile.


    The body of the wolf started to elongate as it stood on its hind legs. Its upper body became muscular and its spiky hide turned sharper and more ferocious. Its upper limbs started to grow as its claws elongated and grew thicker.


    A Lycanthrope!


    Sigil looked at the ferocious Constellation with a mixture of awe and glee.


    "Iron Hide Lycan!" Sigil decided to name his constellation as he started to meditate and calm his self.


    ***


    The Grey Estate.


    Two days had already passed and the family''s ancestral pool was closed once again. But the events of this year''s event shocked the entire family.


    Ricardo, the trash of the family, unexpectedly ascended to the Chakra Realm within two days. He also managed to become the youngest family elder, taking away Linda''s honour as the youngest.


    This was truly the case of ascending the heavens with one step.


    Meanwhile, Martha had a sour expression. Her foundations were solid and she had already achieved the entry level of the realm of self, the spiritual beginning.


    Who knew that she would still remain stuck in the realm of eight gates. But even if she felt sour, she did not complain too much. She looked inside her spiritual world and observed her constellation.


    It was a beautiful humanoid figure with a bountiful figure. But the strange part was that the figure had red vines for her hair and her private parts were covered by elongated petals that extended from her back. Her constellation was currently curled up like a ball as she hugged herself within the black space.


    Martha still felt surreal. She only decided to form her constellation on the spur of moment, but she never imagined that there will be such a strange occurrence. Now, she started to doubt her origins, but she did not dare to tell the truth to anyone.


    Out of all the participants, it was Ricardo that truly wanted to cry.


    According to his estimation, he should be able to reach the stage where he could open his third chakra point, but who knew that he wasn''t able to absorb the required energy and could only open his first Chakra Point.


    ***


    "We only have one day, most of the groups have already started to patrol the nearby region and stationed their members to attack whenever the situation required. How long will Sigil take?" Yasmine growled as Ivan felt his head aching.


    They both were standing in front of Sigil''s door and face a beautiful, dark-haired girl. She was sitting cross-legged in front of the door and her eyes remained closed. Seeing Alicia blatantly ignoring her, Yasmine immediately kicked. Her attack was sudden and vicious.


    Even Ivan was startled, before he could intercept, Yasmin''s kick froze as a ripple emerged near Alicia''s face. Ivan''s and Yasmine''s eyes widened in surprise as she immediately stepped back.


    With the emergence of ripple, they both were able to see a small hemisphere covering Alicia and protecting the door from any harm.Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation.


    "A defensive Constellation." Ivan admired with appreciation in his voice.


    Alicia still kept her eyes closed. Evidently, she did not even put Yasmine''s attack in her eyes.


    Ivan shook his head and decided to wait. Even though he waited for Sigil, it did not mean that he didn''t organise his own forces.


    He had already planted his fighters and sent many people to patrol the area.


    ***


    Origin Country.


    Warlock Association, Blood Fall.


    A black castle belonging to the medieval era was situated atop a waterfall. The strange thing about the water was that it was red in colour and was extraordinarily viscose. These characteristics made people name the waterfall as Blood Fall.


    The castle was situated on a small island in the middle of the river while being surrounded by the blood-red water. Three round towers emerged from the castle as they were surrounded by bright red bats, giving the castle an evil feel.


    In the middle tower, only one silver-haired man could be seen sitting in a meditative position. Meanwhile, a dark-blue phantom surrounded his body, making the man''s features extremely unclear. In the darkness of the castle, his bright silver hair had an illuminative effect.


    Suddenly, he opened his eyes and looked towards the southern direction, his eyes were light-blue as his pupils were vertical in shape. His whole demeanor transformed into a Hunter''s, that was looking at its prey.


    "Kekeke, that bitch thought that she could keep my darlings away from me. Hmm? one... two... where''s the third one? That bitch is personally protecting direct bloodline? No matter, they can''t escape anymore."


    Even though his features remained unclear, his hoarse voice and vicious comments unraveled his true nature. The phantom behind him turned into a vicious blue wolf that had Lightning snakes roiling around its body.


    The blue wolf opened its mouth and let out an excited howl, shaking the whole castle.


    "You silver-haired mutt, have you gone senile?"


    "Wolf King, stop your totem immediately!"


    Two stern shouts emerged from the other two towers and the condition of the whole castle stabilised.


    ***


    Redwood Country, Eyesian City.


    "Haha, my son! You are my pride!" A middle-aged man laughed and kissed the forehead of a young man. His features were gentle as his silver hair and ice-blue eyes made him look extremely handsome.


    Besides him stood a pitch black wolf with red eyes. Unexpectedly, it kept on following the youth as its eyes showed faint emotions of excitement.


    Meanwhile, the youth clenched his fist in joy as he looked at his Pure White Werewolf Constellation. His expression remained happy and excited, making him look like a young hero.


    ***


    Redwood Country, Chestcovia City.


    Sigil remained inside his room as he counted the days. From his estimation, only one day is left before the emergence of the treasured familiar eggs.


    Right now, he was sitting in his soul space filled with various comics, action figures and other heavenly artifacts. But even in such a beautiful environment, Sigil''s eyes remained closed his brows furrowed.


    "According to my estimates, there is a sixty percent chance that I could open my chakra point, by I don''t have enough time." He mused as he tried to think various ways to get out of this predicament and ascend to the next level.


    His whole body exuded a warm glow as he kept on meditating and unraveled the realm of self. His soul was at the level where he could only feel the warm and gentle presence of his soul, giving it the name¨C Spiritual Begining. The more he meditate, the larger the area of soul he could unravel.


    Out of the three paths of witchcraft, the realm of self is the only path that is heavily based on accumulation. There are no shortcuts as a witch has to slowly feel his soul and connect with his self and nature to perform extraordinary tricks.


    "Huff, I don''t think I can stall anymore." Sigil sighed as his surroundings changed and he was back inside his room. He slowly opened his eyes and then got out of the room.


    ***


    "Alright, only one hour is left before the battle begins. Sigil and I will be the main attackers as Alicia will protect us. Yasmine will take care of crippling the defeated while you guys will use your weapons to take care of others that haven''t formed their own constellation. Got it?" Ivan spoke without any expression. Sigil, Yasmine and Alicia stood beside him as they were the only one out of the whole group that had formed their own constellation.


    In front of them was their group, whose hands were filled with weapons, both short range and long range. Most of them had decided to use their guns while some of them had decided to use daggers, machetes or swords. Evidently, they were good in short range combat and their foundations of fighting were better than others.


    Jacob remained expressionless as he gripped tightly on his rifle. Besides him, there was another girl from Ivan''s group that held a heavy sniper rifle in her hand.


    "Cathy and Jacob will take care of all the stationary enemies. We will be counting on both of you to clear the enemies." Ivan smiled at both of them.


    Everyone except Sigil had various expressions. Some felt excited while others felt nervous. Their alliance had a total of 20 members including Sigil, Ivan and Yasmine.


    There were seven members in Ivan''s and Sigil''s group while Yasmine''s group had six members.


    ''Previously, my howling wolf was already resistant to most of the guns, but now, with the help of Iron Hide Lycan, I should be able to steamroll the opponents. After all, my constellation evolved two times before stopping.'' Sigil thought seriously. If his conjecture was correct, he didn''t even need to participate in the alliance.


    He sighed and shook his head. If he knew this was going to happen, he would have decided to go Solo and take away all the familiar eggs.


    "Alright, let''s get going. We need to find a good stronghold to counter the opponents. Remember, no killing." Ivan reminded sternly and the group finally set off.


    ***


    The Totem Pillar was placed in the city park. It was situated above an altar as the park was surrounded by many people. Some wore black robes while others had their faces shown. There was one common thing between all of them, they remained seated with their eyes closed.


    They were the various vanguards of their groups and surrounded the pillar to take advantage of the moment the treasure was released.


    By now, most of them knew that the treasures were the familiar eggs of Adolescent level Familiars. This information could be credited to the other members of the dark Guilds as they tried to form the alliance with other families and lone Witches.


    "Hmm? Isn''t this the famous silk pants Sigil Grey?" One of the vanguards spoke as they looked towards the new arrival. One was a Silver-haired youth with handsome features while the other guys was a dark-haired youth with good looks that exuded a noble demeanor.


    They were Sigil and Ivan.


    One of the vanguards stopped himself from attacking Ivan on the spot.


    He was a member of the RedHawks. Even when the whole family hated this young master for betraying the family, he still had some logic left inside his mind. If he dared to attack Ivan, the whole place would descend into chaos as various groups will start to fight.


    But even if he did not want to start chaos, it didn''t mean that Ivan didn''t want to start chaos.


    Ivan looked towards all the vanguards and found his target.


    He smiled towards the member of the RedHawks and waved at him.


    "Yo, looking at you, I finally knew why my father hates me. After all, I am the strongest of the younger generation, without me, you guys will always get destroyed." His voice was loud and his words were heard by all the members of the RedHawks surrounding the pillar.

 Battle 1

    "Shut your mouth!" Gary shouted in rage. He was the member selected by the RedHawks to act as the main attacker.


    "Why should I? You are just a weakling, why should I be careful of my words around you?" Ivan smiled arrogantly.


    Meanwhile, Sigil looked at Ivan with a complicated expression. Ivan was kicked out of his family and a bounty was placed on his head by his own father. His sin was that he killed his own brother.


    But he did not regret his actions, Sigil could somehow feel Ivan''s motivation.


    Only selfishness can make you extraordinary.


    Ivan was selfish enough to kill his own brother for the sake of his morals. He was selfish enough to become a traitor and caused his father a great heartache just so he could join the dark guild and use their resources.


    From a different perspective, Sigil held admiration towards Ivan. After all, he was a powerful witch with a determined and powerful will. All of his actions were planned and he works his way to earn more benefit. Only this kind of person can actually survive in this hellish world for a long time.


    "Say, Ivan, why don''t we just cripple these good for nothings?" Sigil smiled viciously. They had already planned to cause chaos.


    Out of the eight groups, three were already in an alliance. But even when all these groups had come into contact with each other, they did not fight immediately, this meant that they were waiting for the treasures so that they could fish benefits in troubled waters.


    While some were thinking in this direction, some of the witches simply lay hidden and kept on cultivating. These were the witches that were on the verge of breaking through and advancing to the level of Chakra Opening.


    But the problem was that they were all Sigil''s and Ivan''s opponents. No matter if they were waiting or cultivating, their alliance had already decided to disrupt their plan.


    Without waiting for Gary to prepare, Sigil''s body was covered by black metallic sheen as his silver hair turned pitch black. His nails grew longer and thicker, while his body grew a little more muscular. Such a change even shocked Ivan.


    After all, this wasn''t the transformation Sigil showed previously.


    Whoosh


    Sigil''s cultivation combined with his constellation gave him a superhuman strength and speed. Before Gary could even take out his blade, a dark figure landed in front of him as a wide fist connected with his face.


    Bang


    Before Gary was thrown away by the punch, a bullet emerged from the rifle of an Asian kid.


    Tinc


    A metallic sound emerged as the bullet couldn''t even pierce Sigil''s skin.


    Bang


    Gary finally landed near the edge of the house with a bang. His eyes rolled up, as his mouth was covered with his facial liquid and blood.


    ...


    The members of vanguards, as well as various snipers and scouts, remained stunned in silence.


    Bang


    Gunfire was heard as the Asian kid who had attacked had his shoulders pierced by Jacob.


    The sound of the gunshot marked the awakening of all of the opponents as they looked at Sigil with fear.


    "A-A- A full body constellation?"


    "What the hell is with its defense?"


    "Attack, everyone, focus on the kid!"


    Various shouts could be heard as a flash of yellow emerged from the sidelines, zooming towards Sigil.


    "Damn, the upper level should have also banned the use of constellations." A red-haired youth smacked the table. His eyes were gazing at Sigil with unconcealed rage and hatred.


    "How long till he ascends?" The youth continued as he asked the bespectacled man.


    "Another fifteen minutes." The man replied.


    "Alright, you inform him to join the fight. I will keep the kid busy." Red-haired youth replied as his skin turned dark green, similar to a reptile. His eyes turned yellow and his pupils turned vertical.


    He immediately stood up and walked out of the building.


    Bang


    Bang


    Bang


    Meanwhile, many gunners shot towards Sigil as they kept getting eliminated by Jacob and Cathy.


    "IVAN!!"


    A raging howl could be heard as a dark-haired youth equipped with a dagger could be seen rushing towards Ivan. He was Peter.


    "Hmph, don''t get carried away. Last time I did not retaliate because I was feeling guilty, but now, don''t think I will go easy on you." Ivan took out his gun and immediately fired at Peter.


    Before the bullet even reached Peter, it was deflected.If you encounter this narrative on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.


    "Hmm?" Ivan furrowed and rushed towards Peter, starting a battle.


    "I''ll cover your back." Alicia appeared silently as an invisible dome protected Sigil from behind as he fought against a Yellow haired youth with small horns on his head.


    "Hah, a dog can''t be compared to a raging bull¨C"


    Before the yellow-haired kid could complete his sentence, a claw pierced his sides, followed by a punch and kick to his groin.


    "BACK OFF!!!" Sigil roared as his finishing punch connected and threw the kid away.


    Right now, his fists were covered in blood while his icy-blue eyes scanned the surrounding. His ferocious appearance scared most of them.


    Alicia took this chance to deactivate her constellation as it took a toll on her stamina and immediately started to shoot at the limbs of their opponents, crippling them.


    Meanwhile, the other members of the group were already firing at each other.


    Sigil and Alicia immediately retreated as they left Ivan with his opponent. After all, they had achieved their purpose and the fight had started before the designated time.


    "Huff" Entering the building, Sigil immediately returned normal and slumped on the floor. Transformation of the constellation took a huge toll on stamina, it was even more evident as Sigil''s Constellation evolved twice.


    Right now, he could only use the constellation for seven minutes max and he had already used it for almost four minutes.


    Bang


    Bang


    Bang


    Sigil simply sat and rested as he heard the gunshots. The battle had begun and it would only get more chaotic.


    And as their group predicted, the battle turned worse when the team leader of the Fiery Lion stepped up. He had also formed his constellation as he started destroying the enemy.


    But the strange thing was that none of the shots was taken at the heads or the vital spots of the enemy. Since killing was against the rules, everyone kept their shots clean and crippled the opponent''s limbs.


    Sigil stood up as he heard the roar of the leader of Fiery Lion and looked at the battle. He could easily see that Ivan was just playing with his opponent. Since he could heal from the non-lethal shots, he kept fighting others as Peter had already retired from the fight while the bullets had little impact on the lizard-like skin of the leader.


    As he observed the battle, his eyes suddenly constricted as his expression turned disgusted.


    Right in front of him, Oliver was stabbed by Yasmine as she shot towards the other member from Ivan''s group.


    "Alicia, please support our group, you can leave the worthless trashes. Keep an eye on Jacob and Beth."


    Sigil spoke slowly and his skin turned once again.


    Without waiting for Alicia''s reply, he immediately shot towards Yasmine.


    ***


    "Wha-?" Oliver turned in shock as he saw a dagger stabbed in his stomach. He looked towards Yasmine and his eyes turned dazed when he looked into her red-hued eyes.


    Strangely, Oliver''s eyes gained a tinge of red as he laid on the ground wordlessly. Seeing this, Yasmine smiled in contempt.


    This was her constellation''s ability. She named it Illusionary Rose Thorns. After selecting her new target, she immediately shot towards him. She was an elite with eight energy gates opened and her constellation formed.


    She could be considered the cream of the crop among various Eight Gates Formation Witches.


    She smiled as he dagger shone a cold light.


    Meanwhile, Ivan was held back by the leader of the fiery Lion.


    "Mada, don''t push me!" Ivan roared as he immediately attacked the vital points of the lizard leader with his dagger.


    Even though the witch could die if they are shot on their vitals by guns, that didn''t mean they would die by a dagger''s stab. After all, after unlocking their energy gates, they have increased vitality. Even though they would need to rest for some days, they would certainly be out of any mortal harm.


    Suddenly, he saw Yasmine. He wanted to shout and get her assistance when his eyes widened. She actually stabbed a comrade!


    Because of this action, his whole mind fell into a slight daze, causing a heavy punch to land on his chest.


    Bang


    "Cough, cough, Belly, watch out!" He disregarded his injury and shouted towards his teammate, the one that was going to be stabbed by Yasmine.


    Whoosh


    It was at this time, a dark shadow appeared in front of Yasmine and grabbed her wrists before¨C


    Crack


    ¨C breaking them.


    Sigil didn''t even give her any time to compose herself as she could use her trump card. Without any regard for her beauty and gender, Sigil grabbed her hands once again and pushed them behind her back, dislocating her arms and elbows at the same time.


    "Aaaaaahhhhhhhhh!" A shrill scream emerged from her mouth that was even louder than the gunshots. Everybody looked towards the battle as they felt a shiver run down their spines.


    "I hate traitorous bitches!" Sigil''s eyes were abnormally cold as he immediately kicked at her knees with great ferocity, breaking it easily.


    Right now, Sigil could be considered the strongest. But with his cruel methods, he immediately ended the battle as everyone felt dispirited and fearful. After all, even if they could recover, they did not want to go through Yasmine''s treatment.


    Meanwhile, Yasmine kept on screaming and her face was filled with snot and tears.


    Sigil picked her up by her hair and threw her away like a ragdoll. His expression neutral.


    "You want to have a go?" He looked towards Mada and smiled sinisterly. His fangs alongside the blood on his hand and his pitch black hair scared the living shit out of Mada.


    He bit his lip and snorted before turning back.


    ***


    "Ahhh, damnit!" Sigil spoke softly as he lay limp on the floor of their building. He was totally exhausted and could on rest like this. His only consolation was that his head was placed on Alicia''s soft thighs and not on the cold hard floor.


    "Hmm" He smiled as he turned and nudged his head. He even tried to breathe heavily and get a rise out of Alicia. Alas, his prank earned him a slap.


    "Sigh, can''t you lay still. Just rest for now." Alicia sighed exasperatedly. Sigil smiled even more. He always liked to see different expressions on her face except for her cool and calm one.


    "Hoo, this means that he could do more to these thick and wonderful thighs later?" Bethany smiled as she sat near them. Her words caused black lines on Alicia''s face as she looked at Sigil''s perverted expression.


    Smack


    "Hey, I did not even say that!" Sigil complained. He gave Bethany a glare and closed his eyes.


    "It''s good that you guys have the energy to play around. I don''t even have any thic comfort." Ivan smiled bitterly as he laid beside Sigil.


    "I-I can give Leader a lap pillow." Behind them, Cathy stammered and spoke softly.


    Ivan''s eyes immediately shone and he spoke with a grin.


    "Sure, Cathy. Please help your team leader and give him your utmost support." With this, the position of Ivan''s head alleviated and he started being serious.


    "From the looks of it, Grand Sparrow made their move and got Yasmine. Good thing that she is broken right now." Ivan wasn''t soft with his words and spoke with a dark expression.


    "I never liked that woman." Alicia spoke coldly.


    "Hmm hmm" Bethany nodded.


    "Grand Sparrow, huh." Sigil silently mused. With the looks of it, Grand Sparrow was patient enough as they remained outside the battle. In the previous fight, only the witch families, fiery Lion and some lone Witches participated.


    "Whatever, we did deal a major blow to everyone except Grand Sparrow. Lost a traitorous group and only got two casualties in return. I think that we are not at a disadvantage." Ivan smiled brightly and he looked towards Sigil.


    "You will take Yasmine''s share as you did the major fighting." Ivan spoke sincerely.


    "Hmph, of course, I will take that. Did you think that you will get an equal reward? Don''t kid yourself." Sigil didn''t give his friend any face and shattered the illusion that Ivan was still the leader of this group.


    Ivan just shook his head.


    "Mmm."


    The moment he shook his head, a small moan emerged in the group as they looked towards the red-faced Cathy with different expressions.


    Alicia looked understanding while Beth and Sigil smiled slyly. Only Ivan felt a little complicated.


    ''Fuck, if I knew that shaking my head could arouse girls, why did I need to speak in a noble manner and entertain them?''


    Even when he thought that he still started shaking his head rapidly, gaining a slap from Alicia.


    Smack

 Traitor; A Challenge

    "Add Sigil, Buster, Gary and Mican to the list." A melodious voice emerged as three figures could be seen sitting in a dark room with a crystal ball placed on the middle of the table. The figure had ruby-red hair as her figure spoke of fullness and her healthy skin increased her charm.


    She was Ruby, the director of the Black Spider Faction belonging to the Carefree Alliance.


    "Aside from these high-profile kids, we should find some strange ones. Those could be the possible suspects behind the incident." Sabar spoke as his rough voice filled the secret room.


    "Can''t you speak lightly. Your voice booms back!" Ruby glared at the muscle head and continued looking at the crystal ball.


    "Some strange event has already occurred. There is a kid in the Grey Family and he has opened his Chakra Point." Old Sparrow spoke lightly.


    "What''s so strange with that?" Sabar frowned.


    "He had only opened his second gate before entering the ancestral pool."


    "That''s... definitely strange. I am adding the kid to the list. What''s his name?" Sabar asked.


    "Ricardo."


    "Let''s not forget about the kid in Eyesian City. He actually tamed a Mature Wolf-type Shadow Familiar. His whole family dominates the area as the influx of a mature beast has strengthened the Witch''s Organisation." Ruby spoke as her expression turned dark.


    "Eyesian City isn''t far and Shadow Path is one of the suspected paths of the Grimoire World. We should send some of the spies to that city." Old Sparrow nodded his head.


    "Sigh, all this work is affecting my skin." Ruby yawned and stretched seductively. She was wearing a cream coloured dress that had a deep neck and was hanging from her neck through a thread. With such a gesture, her beautiful and shapely breasts threatened to spill out.


    After completing her action, she looked at her peers with an exhausted expression.


    "Those days were better when you guys couldn''t control your feelings." She sighed sadly.


    "I still can''t control them. You have simply lost your charm. Why would I want to have a go with a 100 years old virgin?" Sabar spoke in a mocking tone.


    Without any words, Ruby''s hand extended as a Crimson-Red book appeared in front of her.


    "You are dead." She spoke coldly as both of them disappeared from the room.


    "Hmph, kids!" Old Sparrow snorted and focused on the crystal ball. Surprisingly, he could easily see the various scenes happening in the ancestral pool situated in Chestcovia City.


    ***


    Mist Divine Country.


    The headquarters of the Witch''s Organisation was situated in the capital state of the Mist Divine Country, Mist State.


    Mist Divine Country had two extremely powerful states that had become the supporting pillar of the country. The names of the States are Mist and Divine, getting the first and last name of the country because of their military prowess.


    Out of these two, Mist State was slightly powerful.


    The headquarters of the Witch''s Organisation was actually a skyscraper with more than 80 floors constructed. Right now, many commoners could see mystical beasts and various supernatural entities emerging near the front door of the building.


    Inside the reception hall of the HQ.


    "Haha, we would like to welcome our strongest Elder. Elder Eugene Oregon! Even though he is only a Witch with four chakra points open, he used his extraordinary methods to capture a Grimoire Master of the enemy country. He is the pride of the Organisation and we look forward to his future legends. Let''s welcome our Guest Eugene with a round of applause." The host was experienced as he directed the crowd of extremely powerful Witches to applaud for a witch weaker than them.


    Under the rounds of clapping, a brunette, thin man emerged from the backstage. He was dressed in a handsome black tuxedo and his eyes were extremely bright. A confident smile hung on his mouth as he walked near the microphone.


    "Thank you for your warm welcome." Eugene waited for the clamouring to stop before continuing.


    "I know that many Elders have always been curious towards my methods. On such a rare occasion, I would like to present my secret to you guys." Eugene smiled and his words attracted everyone''s attention.


    They were all elder level Witches with higher cultivation than Eugene. Yet, he was able to capture a Grimoire Master alive while they couldn''t even beat the opponent that was slightly stronger than them.Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.


    "The truth is, I am a spy. The Grimoire Master I captured was a slave from the Origin Country and I am the only son of the president of the Country." His mannerism was noble and graceful but his words caused the entire hall to be stunned with shock.


    Before anybody could speak, they suddenly felt that they were stuck in their position without being able to even move their mouth.


    "I know what you guys are thinking. Some are thinking that I am playing a prank. Some may ponder on my motive to come clean. The truth is, I just wanted to leave the country with a bang." The moment he said ''bang'', the heads of all the witches exploded into a bloody mist.


    "See, you guys will always remain a weakling. Too afraid of real power. In Olden Era, you witches exterminated the Scholarly Wizards, in the Bloody Era, you tried to end the lines of us Warlocks. Too bad, you guys aren''t capable of defeating the war maniac brothers of Wizards." He spoke lightly in the hall filled with bloody mist. It felt like he was venting off his frustration.


    Slowly, a mark of a black skull appeared on his forehead as various rotten hands emerged from the floor in a mysterious manner. Slowly, the rotten hands dragged the bodies into a black vortex and disappeared.


    "With so much nutrition, a breakthrough is imminent." He smiled happily as he walked away.


    Inside the empty hall, the chandelier kept on giving off strange radiation as one could see a crystal ball placed on the chandelier alongside a black Rubik''s cube.


    ***


    "It''s here." Ivan suddenly spoke as he looked towards the ten-legged spider on the top of the totem.


    Sigil walked forward and reached the window to observe a strange scene.


    The statue of the spider seemed to have gained life as its body shuddered and it started crawling towards the ground.


    Slowly, it started laying out different sized eggs. Some were dark in colour while others were light. Some were only the size of a palm while the others were as big as a human being.


    After laying 12 eggs of varied sizes and colors, the spider stopped in its tracks and cracks of various depths and sizes started forming on its body. Slowly, the body of the spider started to fall off and its body crumbled away.


    But nobody seemed affected by its disappearance. The moment it crumbled away, the magical energy coming from the totem stopped and they could feel their surroundings turning normal.


    "According to the information, we only have 8 minutes left before the barrier of the pool disappears. At that time, even the family leaders will fight for the egg since the rules clearly state that the ancestral pool had collapsed and our advantage will be gone. We need to get everyone in a single place." Ivan spoke with a hint of urgency.


    "Yeah, yeah, leave it to me." Sigil spoke lazily. He was fully recovered by now.


    He slowly opened the door oh their house and walked out with firm steps. Right now, he was the strongest fighting force in the ancestral pool. This wasn''t arrogance but extreme confidence in his abilities.


    If he had merely formed a simple howling Wolf constellation, he would be stronger than others because of the physical talent of the constellation, but now, his strength wasn''t something a regular Eight Gates Formation Witch could compare to.


    Because of his existence, all the competitors had some of their scouts keeping their eyes on the house they were staying at. The moment Sigil came out of his house, every team leader was notified.


    Sigil did not bother transforming yet. Not only did his transformation cost a huge amount of stamina, but he also needed to act according to their plane.


    "Do you think it will go well?" Bethany couldn''t help but ask while Alicia''s body remained tense.


    On the other hand, Ivan remained calm.


    "All long-range attackers, prepare your gun. Nobody will fire without my command. Alicia, you should be prepared to join the fray, I will be supporting you and Sigil in close combat."


    The group nodded as they waited.


    Meanwhile, the leader of various groups that were staying at various buildings frowned when they heard about Sigil''s movements.


    "Why the hell is he coming out?" A grey-haired youth rubbed his chin. His eyes were sunken and his triangular shaped face gave him an extraordinarily fierce image. His hair was uncombed and looked rough.


    Beside him, a beautiful figure¨C Yasmine shuddered unconsciously. She was still healing but her limbs were properly joined once again. An image of a Furious Demon emerged in her mind as her legs couldn''t help but tremble. She did not want to go through that unimaginable pain again!


    "Pathetic!" Nox, the leader of the Old Sparrow group spat coldly. A person''s heart and resolution define their self, but Sigil broke that very resolution. The lofty Yasmine, the genius of the Yellow Spider Family, one of the direct apprentices of Alan¨C the family head, had lost her will and confidence.


    Now, her only use may be her beautiful flesh that can attract weak-minded mortals.


    Nox thought for a little while and still couldn''t think of Sigil''s motive. Is it an ambush? Is it a call of truce to distribute the treasures peacefully?


    Before Nox or other leaders could think, a loud roar could be heard.


    "Hahahaha, did everybody piss themselves? You guys don''t even have the guts to face me, Sigil?" Sigil''s wild laughter could be heard in the surroundings. His voice hoarse, like a beast''s roar.


    The moment he said these words, expressions of every top-level witch couldn''t help but change.


    A challenge!?


    To all of them!?


    Is it a trap or utter confidence in one''s own abilities?


    Meanwhile, Sigil took a deep breath and returned to his human form. No matter how hard he shouts, it couldn''t achieve the impact of a Wolf''s howl.


    After achieving his aim, he could only wait. He had already planned with Ivan and now, everything will depend on the situation.


    Previously, Sigil had proposed that he should just steamroll the enemies and pick up the eggs by himself. After all, with his strength, he could achieve the goal without involving anyone else. This way, the members could live safely and earn profits.


    But the moment he proposed the idea, Ivan rejected it immediately. He gave two fatal weakness of this plan.


    First, what will happen if somebody shot at the eggs? The moment the Familiars woke up from their hibernation and looked towards the nearest human, they would belong to them. This increased the uncertainty of the plan as all the Familiars may end up choosing someone else and their own alliance will earn nothing.


    The second reason wasn''t a typical weakness, but the policy of their alliance. If Sigil ended up doing everything, how will Ivan and others earn their gains? They needed to contribute themselves to earn the appropriate profits.


    "Alright, you guys move out. The moment those guys appear, you will search their base and cripple their backup members." Ivan spoke to four members of his team.


    ''Come on!'' Ivan looked towards Sigil''s direction with a hint of anticipation.

 Wise Enemy; A Foolish Teammate

    Step


    Step


    Slowly, Sigil could hear the sound of varied footsteps. He smiled silently. Even if all of them did not arrive, he still succeeded in his provocation.


    The figures of his competitor finally emerged as Sigil could see Mada, the leader of the Fiery Lion and many other witches. His attention was attracted to one of the ordinary witches in a grey robe that exuded a suffocating pressure.


    Seeing him, Sigil''s expression turned stern, but slowly, it returned normal once again.


    Behind them, he could see their underlings. They all looked nervous while some of the exceptional ones showed excited expressions.


    Seeing them, Sigil finally stood up. His entire being exuded a sense of carelessness and laziness. Seeing his smug expression, Mada immediately raged.


    "Hmph! Sigil, you truly have the balls to challenge us all at the same time?" His voice was loud as he tried to gain some momentum for his group.


    Before waiting for Sigil''s reply, Nox also spoke in a cold tone.


    "Just a mortal witch and such arrogance? You really don''t understand the true strength!" The moment he spoke, a suffocating aura emerged from his body, pressuring everyone in the surroundings.


    A Chakra Level Witch!


    Behind Nox stood Yasmine and Brady, the leaders of the groups from Yellow Spider and BlackBee Family while Peter stood behind Mada.


    Aside from both of them, one of the unknown faces had also arrived that exuded the same pressure! Two Witches that had opened their chakra points.


    ''No.'' Sigil looked towards one of the witches that stood behind Peter and Mada. He was wearing a navy blue t-shirt and camel colored pant. He had a calm demeanor as he felt Sigil''s probing gaze.


    Under Sigil''s gaze, the unknown witch let out a wisp of energy that could counter Nox''s and the lone Witch''s aura. Another Chakra Stage Expert.


    Mada also smiled as he felt a little better in his heart.


    Before others could continue, Sigil waved his hand and spoke loudly.


    "We all want maximum benefits. In almost six minutes, the protection of the ancestral pool will be lifted and other family heads and leaders of the dark Guilds will also be able to enter the area. I am certain that they would want the eggs for themselves and give us some measly contribution points or other rewards."


    He spoke after a brief pause as he looked at the two lone Witch''s expression. Apparently, they weren''t informed and their expressions had already turned ugly.


    "Why don''t we decide the distribution right now?" Sigil wanted to curse at Yasmine for her betrayal, but they had a short timespan and they needed to do a lot of things.


    "How do we decide the distribution?" Nox asked as he frowned. He was feeling something amiss. His only assurance was a small part of their group acting as back up for them.


    "It''s simple. We have six minutes, enough for me to break all of you." Sigil spoke as his silver hair turned pitch black. His body expanded and his muscles ripped a part of his clothes. His nails grew longer and thicker while the tip of his fangs alongside his vertical blue pupils caused most of them to feel terrified.


    As if his transformation had achieved a domino effect, other constellation users tried to use their constellation while the expression of the three chakra Witches turned serious.


    "Too late!"


    His arrogant words entered their ears only after he appeared in front of Mada and slashed at his chest. Previously, he was only using his punches, even though his attacks hurt a lot, it wasn''t fatal. The only person that was almost killed was the beautiful traitor¨C Yasmine.


    Now, he did not want to pull back on his attacks.


    His tough claws dug on his chest, leaving a deep gash. Blood flowed nonstop from the four slash marks, but Sigil did not stop here. He appeared behind Mada, and punched at the end point of his spine.


    The whole scene ended in few moments as other attacking type constellation users transformed. By then, they had already lost one of the strongest player¨C Mada. His eyes had already rolled up from pain and he fell on the ground, unable to move.


    Aaahhhhhhh


    Yasmine immediately shrieked and stopped in her tracks. A terrifying figure had already appeared in front of her.


    "Yo!" A big hand pierced her chest and her eyes widened in fear and disbelief. Her whole body couldn''t help but shiver when she looked at the vicious grin that revealed four fangs instead of canines. A bloody hand emerged from her chest as she fell down, her eyes still filled with disbelief.


    "Damn Youuuu!" Peter shouted in rage, he immediately shot towards Sigil. Alas, another figure had already taken the time to emerge from the house during the chaos. It was Alicia. With a silver dagger in hand, she immediately parried Peter''s sword.The author''s tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.


    Unknown to Peter, Ivan had already snuck behind his back and planned to stab his old friend in his back.


    Ivan''s gaze flashed in sadness, but this hesitation was momentary and he immediately plunged his dagger, only to be stopped by a green vine as it started twirling around Ivan''s dagger.


    Decisively, Ivan threw the dagger and took out his sword. In front of him stood a black-haired youth with a lean figure. He was Brady, the leader of Blackbee''s group.


    "Hehe, Sigil may be too much, but I can deal with you!"


    Brady flashed a smile as Ivan snorted. The opponents had already been decided.


    Alicia battled with Peter as Ivan took care of Brady. Meanwhile, Cathy and others were occupied by the members of other groups.


    The battle raged on as Nox started to frown. According to his calculation, the enemy count wasn''t correct. He was an extraordinary schemer and he immediately understood Ivan''s and Sigil''s plan. But he simply snorted.


    To actually divide a part of the group to deal with their back up not only reduced their group''s battle power, but it also made sure that the enemy had more numbers, leading to a battle advantage.


    Nox, Mican and Buster stood 50 metres away from the Eggs as their path was blocked by Sigil. These three were the only witches that had ascended to chakra level, but they still felt their heart shiver slightly when they looked at Sigil.


    His short black hair along with icy-blue vertical pupils and a bloodied hand was still quite fierce for these three youths'' emotions.


    They still couldn''t understand Sigil''s extraordinary power as it was beyond their comprehension.


    "You guys going to stand there all day?" He didn''t wait for their response. It wasn''t that he was short in time, he just didn''t want to give them appropriate time to stabilise their minds.


    He targeted Nox. He was the only one that had an extraordinary mind between these three. Leaving him for the last may very well be fatal. After all, confidence in one''s own abilities did not mean that one should leave the enemy to think of strategies to defeat themselves.


    "Hmph! Arrogant!" Even though the usage of magical items and spells was banned. There is always a loophole. A grey mist emerged from Nox''s abdomen and quickly turned into a demonic being as its claws shot towards Sigil. The grey spirit was attached to Nox''s abdomen.


    Just like the formation of the constellation is one of the miracles of Energy Gates, Chakra Points also had some effects on the formed constellations.


    After every opening of a Chakra Point, the constellation would be strengthened and also gain another skill. Even though these skills only provide a minor boost, at their levels, it was still a major boost in their current battle power.


    The other two also summoned their constellation. Mican, the grey-robed guy stomped his feet as his limbs gave out a metallic sheen. A light glow could be seen emerging on Mican''s hand as he directly slashed at Sigil.


    Meanwhile, Buster, the witch that had cooperated with Mada let out a huge roar near Sigil''s face. His roar created visible shockwaves as this move not only affected the enemy, but also the allies.


    Bang


    Psst


    Sigil''s punch landed on Nox as the shadow pierced Sigil''s right shoulder. Mican''s hand also slashed at his left elbow joint, turning his left hand temporarily useless.


    Meanwhile, Buster''s roar affected the three of them equally.


    "You idiot!!!" Mican couldn''t help but roar as a line of blood could be seen seeping out of his ears. Nox wasn''t in any better condition. Sigil''s attack also increased his injuries.


    He simply bit his lips and resisted his urge to vomit. Out of the three of them, only Sigil had a strengthened body and could endure Buster''s attack.


    "Hehehe, wouldn''t it better if I take all of them?" Buster laughed sinisterly and opened his mouth once again.


    Graaawwwwgghhhhhhhhhh


    Another roar emerged from his mouth that caused both Mican and Nox to stagger back. Their bleeding had intensified as the whites of their eyes also showed some red lines.


    "Hahahaha, you all are just worthless trashes!" Buster laughed loudly. It was at this moment he felt something amiss.


    Thud


    His throat was suddenly punched, crushing his Adam''s apple and turning his throat into a mesh of blood and flesh in a single moment.


    Sigil had crouched down the moment Buster laughed aloud. The next moment, his fate was set in stone.


    "See, that''s the difference between you and me! You are arrogant and stupid." He spoke as he kicked his abdomen, sending him away.


    "Very well, we will retreat. This time, you have won." Nox''s eyes were dark and he spat coldly. He still couldn''t believe that he lost because of a dumb teammate. It was right when they said ''It''s better to engage a wise enemy instead of having a foolish teammate''.


    Mican chose to remain quiet, but his behaviour showed that he had accepted his defeat.


    "Hmm? No matter victory or defeat, I want all of you to be crippled for the time being." Sigil spoke lightly and shot towards Nox.


    ***


    Sigil''s whole battle lasted for three minutes. He looked at Nox, who had his limbs twisted in different directions and Mican who laid down on the ground unconscious. He then looked at his surroundings for a brief moment.


    Alicia and Ivan were still occupied with their opponent while many of the witches had retreated in fear when they heard the loud roars of Buster and Nox''s cries of pain.


    Right in front of him were the twelve eggs.


    Out of the twelve eggs, there were two huge ones, four medium-sized eggs and the remaining six were comparable to a palm in size.


    Sigil''s agreement was to give 40 percent of the treasure to Ivan. He quickly calculated and looked at the eggs. It was almost impossible to take away the giant eggs as they can be cracked open anytime.


    According to the deal, Ivan should be given 4.8 eggs which should be rounded off to five eggs. He quickly shot towards the huge egg and decided to break open one of them. After all, having huge Familiars didn''t mean that they would be equally strong.


    He chose to open the light grey egg and punched at the shell of the egg. The whole battlefield was raging and even when many saw Sigil''s movements, they couldn''t extract themselves from their battles. While the egg was cracking, Sigil decided to pocket the five small eggs and held one of the medium eggs in his hands.


    Since the eggs were made of a spell, the emerging Familiar did not have any urge to eat the eggshell. Before Sigil could actually see the creature, he decided to simply jump in front of its face and let out a long howl.


    Since he was still in his transformed state, the planned effects were achieved and the Familiar looked towards Sigil through the cracks of the eggs.


    Traaaannnnnnnnnnn


    Before Sigil could register what had happened, a car-sized, light grey elephant ran out of the crack and rushed towards Sigil.


    "..."


    The emergence of Elephant attracted everyone''s attention this time.


    "Go." Sigil immediately rushed out and shot towards Peter, his leg instantly reached the dazed Peter''s chest and threw him away.


    "I''ll cover for you. You only have a minute." Sigil''s voice was heard by Ivan as he kicked Brady in a similar fashion. He placed the medium-sized egg in Alicia''s hand and instructed her to get as far as possible. Meanwhile, the five small eggs remained inside the various pockets of his clothes.


    He could feel that the eggs had started to crack inside his clothes, but there was still some chance to distribute them as they haven''t fully emerged from the egg.


    Meanwhile, Ivan rushed towards the remaining Eggs.


    On the other hand, Sigil called for his team members.

 Undercurrents

    Thud


    Thud


    A dark shadow could be seen passing around different witches. The moment the dark shadow struck, the fate of the opponent would be sealed as they are destined to feel a lot of pain before passing out.


    Sigil''s expression was stern as the situation was turning dire. The eggs inside his pockets were almost cracked and the Familiars threatened to emerge out of the eggs.


    Thud


    Thud


    Meanwhile, a grey elephant kept on chasing Sigil as it let out loud trumpets. Because of the obvious difference in strength and level, the elephant was quicker than Sigil and had almost caught up to him.


    On the other hand, Ivan was shooting at the base of the huge egg to quicken the process and tame one of the Familiars. He had already pocketed the remaining small egg and protected the other three medium-sized egg with his life on the line.


    Animals die for food while Humans die for treasures!


    Right now, the true nature of humanity was shown as all of them let put their beastial self and threw themselves at Sigil to push this monster of a witch back.


    Slowly, Sigil was getting pushed back as his stamina was reaching the limit.


    Traaaammmmm


    With a huge thud, the Familiar Elephant reached out at Sigil and suddenly picked him up with its trunk, lifting Sigil up.


    ''Damn!''


    He didn''t care if the Elephant wanted to familiarise with him or wanted to show its care. The fact remained that he was trying to block the group and buy as much time as possible.


    As expected, the moment Sigil was lifted, the group immediately shot past him and left the Elephant alone. Right now, all of them had their eyes on unhatched Familiars. Of course, Ivan alone wasn''t enough to protect all of them.


    The Huge egg still had some time before it hatched. After thinking for a bit, he bit his lips and picked up two medium-sized eggs and made a run for it.


    The situation had turned out of control and Ivan''s decisiveness allowed him to retreat safely with some profits. If he chose to stay stubbornly, he may have been crippled without getting any benefits.


    "Jacob, take this, quick!" Sigil called out to the nearest teammate and passed him one of the small eggs.


    Jacob nodded and caught the egg as he ran past Sigil, who was still being stared by the Elephant while lifted up to midair.


    "Wait, where are the others?" Sigil frowned and looked around. He couldn''t find Oliver, George, Annie or Bethany. According to their plan, they should be nearby as they fought against the enemy group.


    "Put me down, NOW!" He didn''t have any other choice as he stared at the elephant with wide eyes.


    The poor Elephant seemed to have recognised the stare and put Sigil down meekly. It bowed its head and brought it near Sigil''s face, as if asking for a pat.


    Sigil sighed deeply. Even though they had planned, the situation still turned worse. This kind of uncomfortable feeling created a seed of anger inside Sigil as he ended up venting his frustration on the Elephant.


    This was normal human behaviour and Sigil adhered to this protocol since the situation is truly urgent. He recognised his mistake and started calming his breath.


    "The four of them should be here, but now, things seem a little fishy." He immediately shot towards Alicia''s location with the Elephant behind him.


    According to the previous agreement, he had to pursue the maximum benefits for their group, that meant that he had to fight the opposing group and protect the eggs. But looking at them attacking like rabid dogs, his motivation deflated and he chose to retreat as well. After all, his transformation wasn''t eternal.


    ***


    Near the Power Plant of the Chestcovia City, a blue-haired girl could be seen sitting near the base of an electrical tower. Beside her, a dark green crystal ball with various delicate dark-green inscriptions carved on the ball


    Around the blue-haired girl, many shadow-like creatures could be seen. They were feeding on flesh. Human Flesh! Many members of Ivan''s group, backup members left by Nox and others could be seen getting eaten. They were already dead and were feasted upon by the Shadowy Creatures.


    Soon, all of them were eaten as a large pile of flesh and blood littered the area.


    "Alright, you have eaten your fill, now turn quickly. The evasion spell wouldn''t last long." The girl spoke calmly. The shadows behind her started squirming and their shapes changed quickly.


    Slowly, a layer of flesh started to form around their body as various set of hair emerged on their heads.


    George, Annie, Cathy, Gary.... many familiar faces could be seen as the shadows transformed into a number of witches.


    Meanwhile, Bethany gazed at the strange situation. Her cute and appearance was replaced by a calm and cold demeanor. Her eyes were pure crimson and a black mist could be seen emerging from her palms. The black mist slowly entered the transformed Witches ears and drilled into their brain.Help support creative writers by finding and reading their stories on the original site.


    "This is my memory on their behaviours. You guys will act and change your nature accordingly. If you get caught, self destruct. You are only allowed to act after the plan has begun. Understood?" Her cold voice entered their ears.


    Cathy had already opened her eyes as she looked around like a curious cat.


    "Hmm? So wonderful. The upper continent is always fresh! Hooo? This body almost caught one of the important figures by her charms. Good!" Her cheerful voice sounded forced and strange. But slowly, her entire body language, expression and tone shifted and got closer to real Cathy''s behaviour.


    "Alright, move out. Remember, you guys should look tired enough." Bethany spoke as her eyes turned normal. She crushed the crystal ball and whispered lightly, causing a wisp of green smoke to latch onto them.


    Meanwhile, she opened her mouth and inhaled deeply, causing all the flesh and blood that littered the street to fly inside her mouth. Strangely, the size of the remains got smaller and were able to enter Bethany''s mouth without any problem.


    "Go!" She spoke before rushing out. Her words caused all of them to rush out as well.


    ***


    "Whatever, don''t reject them right now! I can''t find Bethany or others. You will take these two and these are for me." Sigil spoke as he passed on two small eggs to Alicia from outside the house.


    He would''ve entered the house, but the elephant kept on following him and only started to show some signs on intelligence.


    Alicia''s heart felt heavy as she accepted the eggs. The eggs were full of cracks, evidently, the Familiar inside the eggs were ready to burst out.


    "Did something happen to Bethany?" To Alicia, Bethany was different than others.


    They both have been friends for many years and had an outstanding relationship.


    "I can''t say much. If they were ambushed, all I can hope is that they are still alive." Sigil shook his head. He didn''t know how to comfort Alicia.


    He looked at her and spoke softly.


    "We have to do what we can perform right now. Go and tame these Familiars. It will be unfortunate if someone else disturbed you right now."


    He looked towards a red piglet behind her.


    "I understand." She nodded. She understood their dilemma. Even if she wanted to go look for Bethany, it would be a very foolish thing to do. There was only a minute left before the barrier is removed and she had to tame these Familiars before anybody else can.


    Sigil nodded and watched as she closed her door. After thinking for a moment, he decided to go near the cemetery. After all, it was near and he had already been in that place.


    With the following Elephant, he quickly ran towards the cemetery. Right now, his transformation had already been removed and his speed was reduced drastically.


    Before he could actually reach the cemetery, he could hear a crisp sound that caused him to look towards the sky.


    Crack


    The barrier had a crack and was going to break apart.


    His gaze flashed with helplessness and uncertainty. He took out one of the smaller eggs and crushed it in his hand.


    Thrsh


    Before the palm-sized Familiar could leave, it was caught by Sigil''s hand and he brought it near his face.


    It was a brown cub!


    As he presented his facial features for the cub to examine, a low shout appeared behind his back.


    "Look! There he is!" One of the witches pointed at Sigil, causing him to curse under his breath.


    Immediately, a group of witches started pursuing him with all their efforts.


    He quickly placed the cub inside his pocket and ran for his life. Right now, he was very weak. His entire stamina was drained and he could barely maintain his speed.


    The Elephant kept on trumpeting as if it was having fun running around.


    ''Damn!''


    He bit his lips and took out the last egg.


    Seeing the crack-filled egg in front of their eyes, the expression of all the witches turned crazy and they started shouting.


    "Stop! Give us the Egg you thief!!"


    "Sigil, don''t think that you can digest all of the rewards!"


    "Just cripple him!" A low shout was heard followed by the sound of a gunshot.


    Bang


    Sigil immediately fell down on his knees as a bullet was lodged in his calf. His face had turned pale from the pain and cold sweat started to see.


    Traaaaannnnnnnn


    This time, the Elephant finally turned crazy as it saw blood in his parent''s legs. Its big head turned towards the rushing group and it stomped on the ground loudly.


    Immediately, the road was filled with cracks as long and pointed earth spears emerged from the cracks, piercing towards the incoming group.


    The whole scene exploded in an instant as the witches started to shout in panic and fear.


    "You should have thought before shooting me, dumbass!" Sigil cursed and laid still. He immediately crushed the last egg and caught the familiar, placing it in front of his eyes.


    It was a palm-sized dragonfly.


    Bzzt


    In almost an instant, the dragonfly twisted its body and flew away from his hand, resting its body on Sigil''s head peacefully.


    Seeing this, Sigil finally let out a sigh of relief. He even forgot his pain and looked at the sky.


    Trsh


    Crack


    It didn''t take long before the barrier was removed.


    The Ancestral Pool was closed and the treasures have been distributed, their event was complete.


    Snort


    The elephant snorted gently and bent its legs to sit on the ground. Its whole body was placed in between Sigil and the Witches that were groaning in pain from all the earth spears stabbed in them.


    ***


    "Where were all if you?" Sigil asked calmly as he looked in front of him. Annie, Oliver, George and Bethany stood in front of him while Alicia and Jacob stood behind him.


    Near them, a grey elephant stood like a statue with a dragonfly on its head and a brown cub near its feet. A red piglet remained still in Alicia''s arm while a light green butterfly was perched on her head and a black rat moved near her feet.


    Near Jacob was a flying Sparrow that was dark brown in colour. It kept on flying around him and tweeted happily, completely unaware of the surroundings.


    Bethany and the others had haggard appearance and blood could be seen on various spots of their clothes.


    "We- we were ambushed." Annie replied weakly. Her whole body looked pitiful and if it wasn''t for the search team of the family, they wouldn''t be able to find these four easily.


    Sigil frowned as he looked at all of them. Annie, George and Oliver avoided his gaze and hung their heads low guiltily while Bethany simply smiled bitterly.


    "What do you mean by ambushed?"


    "The other party had predicted our moves and easily dealt with our scouts and moved out to trap us one by one and defeat us." Bethany replied.


    Sigil pondered a little and eventually sighed.


    "Huff, I am sorry that I couldn''t save the Familiars for you guys. The situation was chaotic and the eggs were already cracking." He could only apologise for their loss.


    Bethany shook her head and smiled weakly.


    "Don''t worry, we are fortunate that we did not suffer any permanent injury."


    Sigil nodded in agreement as the surroundings finally lost the tension. Alicia quickly made her way towards Bethany with the piglet in her arms as the black rat followed her pace.


    Jacob also decided to chat with his friend.


    Right now, they were still staying near the border of the city. The result is needed to be announced before this year''s rite could be officially concluded. They were staying in a big camp prepared by their family.


    "Young Master Sigil, Family head wants to speak with you." The old driver was acting as a temporary messenger and called for Sigil.


    Sigil looked at him and his eyes flashed with various thoughts.


    "Lead the way." He nodded and followed the driver, they were being followed by a big elephant with a small dragonfly perched on its wrinkly head while a small brown cub followed in short steps.


    It would sometimes fall on the ground as its body wasn''t mature. Every time it fell, the elephant would gently use its trunk to nudge the cub and support it, just like an elder brother.

 Connections

    The main camp of the Family was divided into smaller sections like the resting area, dining area, medical care and other stuff. Since this camp was erected for a total of eight people, regular employees had to drive back and forth.


    The driver led Sigil to the resting area of the camp. This part was also separated by thin walls made out of plywood. He was led to John''s room before the driver excused himself and left hastily.


    Knock


    The knocking sound came out a little weird as the door was really thin.


    "Come it."


    A deep and magnetic voice permitted Sigil to enter the room.


    "Father, you wanted to see me?"


    "Sit." John pointed at the chair and remained seated on his bed with his legs crossed. After Sigil waited for five minutes, John finally opened his eyes and smiled at Sigil. His eyes were full of appreciation and encouragement.


    "You have made your family proud this time. I would have heavily awarded you, but given your profits, material rewards aren''t appropriate anymore. Here, after reading and understanding all of this, you shall destroy it." John spoke lightly as he passed on a black flash drive to Sigil.


    Sigil accepted the rewards without any questions. After all, he would know the details of the content after he reads it.


    After handing out the flash drive, John looked at Sigil with mixed emotions in his eyes.


    "There is one more thing. Someone wants to see you."


    "Me?" Sigil pointed at himself and asked with a frown.


    John plainly nodded and waved his hand.


    A silver light flashed from his body as a small, Silver-Furred Wolf appeared in front of him. Its size was comparable to a cub, but in reality, its body was completely mature. It was a miniature wolf that looked like a stuffed animal bought from toy stores.


    But seeing the wolf, Sigil''s whole body shuddered.


    The Grey Family had a nickname. It was the Silver Fang Family. They were named like this due to their accomplishment of clearing out werewolves and also this particular Familiar.


    The Ancestor''s Familiar!


    Silver Fang Wolf.


    This particular Familiar had been passed on by the ancestors to their heirs. This Familiar was also one of the reasons for the family''s current power.


    After all, this wolf had completed its growth cycle and is comparable to a Grimoire Master in battle power.


    Sigil immediately stood up and bowed in front of the wolf.


    This was the respect that should be shown to the protector of the family.


    The warmth in John''s eyes grew brighter as he saw Sigil being so respectful.


    "I think that you already know that you were brought to the family by the Ancestor''s Familiar, right?"


    John asked.


    "I have heard some whispers in the family." Sigil did not deny. This was one of the reasons that the previous owner decided to go down the path of silk pants young master.


    "From the moment you were brought here, the Silver Fang Wolf had requested me to take good care of you, no matter what. He used to keep an eye on you. But after seeing the change in your behaviour, he stopped following you, but the request was still maintained."


    John smiled lightly as he scratched the wolf''s ear as he laid down on John''s lap, his eyes squinting and looking at Sigil.


    Sigil was still standing. His mind was processing all the information as he started to glean some clues about his true origin. The Evolving Constellation, the affection of an old Familiar, all of these pointed at a certain profession of this world.


    Sigil remained silent as he waited for John to continue.


    "But things changed two days ago. Silver wanted to personally meet you for some reason. He did not want to tell me his objective and I could only arrange a meeting between you two." John spoke as he smiled wryly.


    This was the first time that Silver had decided to keep something from him.


    Sigil nodded and finally sat as he sunk deep into his thoughts.


    Aaoo


    Silver howled lightly and jumped from John''s lap, landing near Sigil''s feet as it started to walk around Sigil in circles as if examining something. After a few minutes, the wolf nodded to himself and turned into a silver light as he entered John''s body.


    "Silver is saying that you should accumulate before cultivating any further." John spoke lightly and looked at Sigil with a smile.


    "Haha, I did not know that you will be able to gain Silver''s approval. With you around, I will be able to cultivate peacefully and let you handle all the family matters."


    The tension in the air finally decreased and John chuckled.


    "Yes, Father." Sigil only nodded.


    "Oh, one more thing. Did that anonymous sender contacted you again?" John asked suddenly.You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.


    Sigil shook his head as Ricardo''s face flashed past his eyes.


    "No, it seems like he is trying to keep a low profile. I contacted someone to try and trace the location, but it eventually failed." Sigil replied.


    "Hmm, alright. The results will be announced in one hour. Even though it''s only a formality, you should get dressed well. Also, because of your highest contribution, you will be given a chance to select the first Familiar in the family." John spoke


    Thud


    Thud


    It was at this time the whole camp started to shake¨C


    Traaaannnnnnnn


    It was followed by a loud trumpet.


    Sigil immediately stood up as he felt something wrong.


    Before he could open the door, the whole resting area was destroyed alongside the door. A long trunk emerged from the mess and lightly touched Sigil''s head before the shaking stopped.


    Sigil''s mouth twitched as he saw a brown feline cub rushed towards Sigil with its short legs and started rubbing its head on his legs.


    He almost blacked out as he saw a dragonfly rushing towards his face while a long trunk lashed out once again.


    "Enough!" He could only shout. His voice caused both the elephant and the dragonfly to stop in their tracks.


    He picked up the cub and walked out after bowing towards John, whose face was extremely wonderful at the moment.


    ''Who is going to repair all of the mess?''


    ***


    Sigil left the family''s camp with a car-sized Elephant, A buzzing dragonfly and a cute little cub.


    After distancing himself from others, he finally had the time to look and analyse his familiars.


    Since they were staying on the flat ground, he had enough space to start some light training to discipline them. After all, he had one hour. Previously, he needed to change his get up, but now, the camp was ruined alongside his clothes.


    "Stand still." He pointed at the Elephant.


    The moment he pointed at the elephant, the Familiars understood his actions. The cub jumped out of his arms and ran towards the elephant''s leg while the dragonfly perched itself on the elephant''s head.


    Sigil''s mouth twitched once again and he simply gave up for the time being.


    These were all Adolescent level Familiars with battle power comparable to a Chakra Stage Expert. Their ''wills'' were also outstanding and needed to be brainwashed before they could be tamed, this meant that their future prospects were amazing.


    Even though they did not fully comprehend his commands, Sigil knew that it was only a matter of a few days before they become reliable Familiars that could help him in future battles.


    ***


    Chestcovia City, City Park


    This was the place where the totem pillar was erected during the formation of Ancestral Pool.


    Right now, a stage was prepared alongside some light decorations by an ingenious use of translucent curtains.


    In front of the stage, many people could be seen walking around comfortably and chatting with each other. Most of them wore glazed tuxedos and other formal dresses, except for a certain group.


    They were still wearing their sports attire that had many holes and marks of blood. Their faces looked fresh, as if they had washed it before attending the party.


    Many tables were set up to serve delicious snacks to the participants of this gathering.


    "Your group was ambushed, too?" Ivan asked in surprise as he talked with Sigil. He was made aware of the enemy attack after the barrier was broken.


    Sigil nodded and looked at Ivan in dismay. He was well dressed as he wore a black shirt alongside a black blazer. He then looked at himself. His shoes filled with dirt and his pant in tatters. Meanwhile, he could feel the angry gazes of his teammates from behind him.


    All of them looked like they had just come out of a street fight. Even the graceful Alicia pinched Sigil''s waist a couple of time before she could tolerate Sigil''s goofy grin.


    As they chatted, Alicia was talking with Bethany, meanwhile, the members of their group seemed to have befriended each other. George, Annie, Oliver, Cathy and others chatted with each other happily.


    Jacob looked around him and cursed lightly. He was left alone. Again.


    "So, our lie would be caught very quickly when the reports of this battle are given to the superiors. We have three days max." Cathy smiled and laughed brightly.


    To others, it seemed that she had heard a humorous joke.


    "Don''t worry, with the team leader on our side, the city will be taken down in a day." Annie smile gracefully. Even though her getup was very dirty, she still managed to keep up her noble appearance.


    "Uhm, can I have your attention?" A gentle voice spoke through the microphone as a bespectacled man walked up the stage. He was wearing a light blue blazer alongside a dark-blue shirt and a matching pair of pants.


    His long, untied black hair fell on his shoulders and gave him a scholarly appearance.


    "I, Alan, feel extremely honoured to be announcing the names of the champions and heroes that emerged from this year''s battle of Ancestral Pool."


    As he saw everyone turning silent and listening to him, he continued.


    "I would like to announce that Nox of the Giant Sparrow Division of the Carefree Alliance, Buster from the Brewed City and Mican from Busan City were fortunate enough to take another step in their cultivation and ascended to the level of chakra points. They have become the pride of the younger generation and have earned their right to be taken seriously in the Witch''s World." Alan smiled widely as his announcement was followed by a round of applause.


    Meanwhile, the three mentioned ''heroes'' had an extremely ugly expression. They felt that these praises were a sharp knife that kept on slashing at their hearts and pride. Nox gave a venomous look to Sigil before calming his emotions.


    "Next, I would like to call Amanda on the stage. She was fortunate enough to tame a Wide Eye Crocodile. A water type Familiar that also boasts a good physical strength. I feel very happy to present the data about the Familiar to Amanda."


    A beautiful maiden walked out of the group of Yellow Spider Family. Yasmine gritted her teeth and looked at Amanda with unconcealed rage and jealousy.


    Ivan was the same. This crocodile was supposed to be his, but in the face of opposing witches, he had to abandon the huge egg containing the Crocodile and leave with two medium eggs.


    After honouring Amanda, Alan spoke another name.


    "Next is Jacob Grey of the Grey Family. He was fortunate enough to tame a Hurricane Sparrow. Please come up on the stage and collect the detailed information on your familiar."


    Alan''s voice was still gentle and polite. It looked like he wasn''t a family head, but a humble host.


    Jacob''s face flushed red as he hurried along in excitement. Sigil and others also applauded as hard as they could.


    "Next, I would like to announce that Gary RedHawk of the RedHawk family has tamed a Shadow Stick Snake..."


    Just like this, Alan kept on calling the participants who had tamed an Adolescent Level Familiar.


    Agatha of the BlackBee Family had tamed a Raging Boar, a strength path Familiar.


    Ivan had actually tamed two Familiars. They were Gliding Eagle of the wind path and Furious Deer of the illusion path.


    Alicia was also called us the name of her Familiars were announced. A poison path Swift Butterfly, a fire path Red Skinned Piglet and a shadow path Black Step Rat.


    "Lastly, I would like to announce the top performer of this year''s event, Sigil Grey. He has tamed an earth path Rocky Elephant, a Vision path Demon Eyed Dragonfly and lastly a Strength path Fiery Lion."


    The last Familiar caused a wave of discussion among the younger generation as Mada''s face turned green. After all, Fiery Lion was the strongest Familiar of their division.


    As Sigil walked up the stage under the heavy applause, Alan smiled and handed him the flash drive.


    Sigil quickly accepted it and finally got down.


    "Now, there is one thing that you all should know. The information regarding the habitat of Familiars and the ways to nurture them are extremely precious. In some cases, they are treasured more than some spells. But right now, the Carefree Alliance has decided to give this information because of the fact that a competition will be hosted."


    "This isn''t a regular competition like this one. It will be a life and death battle between the younger generation of carefree alliance and the younger generation of the Witch''s Organisation."


    "The date is still not decided, but it won''t take long. So please be prepared."


    "With this, we have concluded our event. Please feel free to enjoy the snacks and chat with your companions."


    Alan spoke and got down the stage, walking towards the area occupied by family heads.

 Deeply Hidden

    A black luxurious minivan was followed by a truck as it stopped in front of the gates of the Grey Estate. From the minivan, Sigil, Alicia, Bethany and others got out with a tired look on their faces.


    Behind them, the truck opened the shutter of its storage area as a number of animals walked out of it in a flurry.


    John also got out of the van and left the area without addressing anybody. He would have decided to have a chat with his daughter, but in front of so many kids, he decided to give them their space.


    "Huff, so tired." Sigil twisted his arms and shoulders as crackling noise could be heard from his joints. He even squatted and stretched his legs before doing anything else.


    He wasn''t alone, Jacob and other guys did the same. Although their stretching methods were different from Sigil, the motive was the same.


    Meanwhile, the big elephant and the other two Familiars also appeared behind Sigil and waited for his instructions. Apparently, his training for preliminary discipline could be considered beneficial.


    He looked at his Familiars and frowned a little. Their gazes were filled with love, respect and dependence. Even though their care for him was extremely moving, he knew that he shouldn''t get too attached to them just yet.


    He hadn''t opened his Chakra Point yet and he had not decided the element and pathways he wanted to cultivate in. If he started to feel for his familiars and then needed to discard them in future, it would become a hurdle in his path of cultivation.


    Alicia and others were the same. Even though they petted their Familiars, their feelings were indifferent.


    He sighed and moved his arm while his palm faced the Rocky Elephant. Immediately, the large elephant walked near Sigil and bowed his head, rubbing and nuzzling his forehead against his palms.


    ''Sigh, caring for Familiars without feeling for them is extremely complicated. Even I am feeling conflicted when I think about the future.''


    Sigil couldn''t help but shake his head. His heart was feeling extremely heavy, but he understood the concept of sacrifice and knew that the path to power isn''t filled with fluffs and candies, but filled with hurdles, thorns, pain and battles.


    "What are your plans for now?" Alicia walked near him with a piglet in her hands and asked softly.


    "I don''t know. We are still allowed to choose one more familiar from the family. Father said that it will be held tomorrow. I can only think of the future after collecting everything."


    He replied.


    Alicia nodded and left the area with her Familiars. Similarly, Sigil did not wait for others to leave and only nodded at Bethany before leaving.


    ***


    Outside the family''s mansion, a car-sized Elephant laid on the ground and gently closed his eyes before sleeping.


    Meanwhile, Sigil sat on his bed as he looked at the two palm-sized Familiars.


    He had acquired a male Rocky Elephant, a female Fiery Lion and a unisexual dragonfly. He was looking at his laptop while it was connected with the flash drive.


    This was the rewards received from the alliance. It contained the details of the Familiars he tamed and the methods to nurture it.


    "How pathetic. Fiery Lion is one of the dark Guilds with the backing of a Grimoire Master and yet they are afraid to give out a male Familiar." Sigil sneered inwardly.


    If the Fiery Lion Division had given out a male Fiery Lion, he would have been able to use that Familiar to reproduce under the environment of the family garden and get more Fiery Lions.


    After reading everything, he removed the flash drive and inserted another flash drive. It was the reward he received from John for his contribution during the event.


    "Hmm? Pathways and Elements?" Sigil started reading with interest. To a witch, the more knowledge one had about various elements and pathways, more options will be available to a witch during its ascension.


    After studying for a while, Sigil decided to take out a parchment from his night table and started going through with it. It was the comprehensive information about various pathways and elements given out by the Alliance as the reward for his previous mission.


    Lightning Path, Fire Path, Wood Path....


    Information about various paths and their methods of identification were written down and explained.


    After finishing with the information, Sigil looked up and found that the two Familiars were already asleep. It had already been hours!


    "Elemental paths are more popular because of the availability of resources in the country. According to the information, our family also produce many resources regarding the Ice Path and Strength Path. But it''s not as rich as Fiery Lion''s resources. There are also many popular non-elemental paths like Vision Path, Poison Path, Blood Path and Soul Path. But most of the witches cultivating in these paths are considered extremely dangerous. They are also hunted proactively by both the dark guilds and the organisation."


    Sigil was deep in his thoughts.


    "The Family also raises many Familiars that belong to different paths. There is Elder Garthe''s Thunder Owl and also Elder Bril''s Speed Path, Sharp Legged Hound."The author''s content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.


    Sigil rubbed his eyes and got up. He was in no mood to sleep just yet.


    "Then there is also the family head that is a rare genius. Being able to cultivate in two pathways, making him extremely strong compared to his peers."


    "The world is too big. Just in one state, I am able to see and experience so much. Familiar Eggs, different Elements and paths and also the strange situation of the constellation evolving."


    He walked to his study table and sat on his chair. His back leaning against the chair and his legs placed on top of the table.


    "Right now, I am in possession of many elementary spells belonging to cultivation curses, but none of them are any use to me anymore. There is also the memory spell from the library and the pictures in my smartphone. Too much to do."


    He closed his eyes for a while before switching on his smartphone and diving into the various spells and information regarding the chakra stage witches.


    ***


    In the living area of the Family, a dark figure could be seen walking towards the building filled with apartments. Most of the Watchmen were mortals with a few energy gates practitioner mixed within.


    Strangely, the shadow bypassed all of them without making a sound and made its way towards the top floor of the building through the stairs.


    As he moved, a strange undulation of energy leaked from his body whenever the shadow encountered any security cameras.


    Soon, the shadow reached its destination.


    The number plate on the door showed ''18'' as the shadow stood outside the door without making any noise.


    "Basgh hui harde." The shadow turned out to be a man dressed in a black robe. His face covered by a black hood.


    He pointed at the door and moved his fingers. As he recited the spell, his index finger let out a greenish glow and a strange mark was soon formed in midair.


    "Go!"


    He commanded and the mark stuck on the door.


    Woosh


    A light sound could be heard before everything turned silent.


    The man took a deep breath and entered the apartment.


    The moment he stepped inside the room, the silence was replaced by heart-wrenching screams. The voice was shrill and the man quickly shot towards one of the rooms and saw a horrifying sight.


    On the ground lay a blue-haired beauty that was screaming loudly. Her skin was corroding as a green smoke invaded her body. Slowly, her smooth flesh was removed as it turned into green ashes.


    The only thing that remained was a black smoke like substance that kept on roiling around.


    "You know, I offered her my service. That way I could save her and capture you at the same time. Sadly, she decided to take hired help with her. Looking at you, I presume that her support is already dead." The man shook his head and spoke lightly.


    The black smoke let out a hissing sound before the man snapped his fingers.


    Tsssss


    Immediately, a green light erupted from his body as the black smoke started to let out a corrosive sound until half of its body remained.


    "Kue... kue... Daklll?" The smoke let out some whispers. It started to calm down as quietly spread itself on the floor.


    "Your core is already sealed. I can exterminate your existence with a snap of my fingers."


    "Kukuku.... karnd.... basell!"


    "Devil King? Believe me, that''s the least of your worries. You can carry out your task as you see fit. You can even take up your previous disguise. But I need some of the exclusive Familiars of the lower continent and of course, some complimentary materials. I will give you three days. In three days, you will bring me all of these."


    The man threw a slip and started to walk away before stopping.


    "Oh, one more thing. You try to ask for help and you will be killed immediately. I thought that you should know the consequences of betrayal."


    The black-robed man spoke before walking away.


    After the man left, the black smoke started to squirm as a layer of milky white flesh covered its body.


    After forming the body once more, the blue-haired beauty¡ª Bethany glared at the direction coldly before sobering up.


    At this moment, she was completely naked. Her marvellous body displayed but no admirers in the vicinity. But she wasn''t in any mood to compliment the beauty of this body.


    She was almost killed!


    "Wait, how did he even know about my cover. He did not have any detection type tools nor did he use any spell to confirm my identity. He just struck without any confirmation. Did he already know about the plan? After all, he spoke about saving this body before capturing me."


    Her eyes were serious as she felt that their plan wouldn''t be able to advance as smoothly as she thought.


    She then took up the slip and her expression turned ugly. Too Expensive!


    She then thought of the strange spell attached to her core and bit her lips.


    "Damnit, It''s too frustrating." She scowled and pulled the drawer of her nightstand before taking out a plastic ''spear''.


    ***


    "Hmm? What the hell is this?" John''s eyes widened as he looked at all the information placed in front of him.


    "Eugene... Eugene... right! He was the one that had planned to create a treasured eye to advance his cultivation. So he was a warlock? And a warlock connected to the death element. Maybe, he belongs to the Reaper Faction."


    "This is still very disastrous. The whole organisation has started to clean up all the spies. They even found some Devils involved."


    Garthe''s expression was serious as he reported.


    "Devils... the lower continent will make a move again. Garthe, arrange a team of Elders and start patrolling the formation spell from tomorrow. I don''t want to take any chances."


    "Yes."


    "Oh, right! Be sure to take Ricardo with you. He is a good seedling that has just uncovered his potential. Be sure to train him properly."


    "Sure thing."


    After Garthe excused himself, John sighed and leaned back on his chair.


    "Sigh, the world is changing. It is always something big with the matters relating to those Devils. Hehe, what would happen if those higher continent bitches decided to join the fray." John couldn''t help but chuckle.


    "What do you think?" A silver light flashed and a small wolf was nuzzling on his laps.


    "What should I tell you? I have eaten so many Devil Kings that this amount of pitiful spies can''t even work up my appetite." A soft voice entered his mind.


    "Oh, right! We have to start the plan. How are the preparations?" John asked loudly.


    "The candidates have been already chosen. The materials are on their way. Once we have satisfied all the condition, we will be able to perform the mass spell."


    A melodious voice spoke from behind John.


    "Things are getting interesting. Keep a lookout for strange news. If you think that you can earn good profits, you are permitted to take a team for yourself and snatch it away."


    Josh smiled and closed his eyes.


    "Yes, master." The melodious voice agreed before the surroundings turned silent.


    "How many devils did you smell?" John scratched the wolf''s head.


    "Hmm? Our family has four of them. The guy Garthe''s daughter is one of them." A soft voice replied in his head once again.


    "Hmm."


    ''They think they are smart, huh. I think they forgot how our ancestors feasted on their raw flesh.''


    John couldn''t help but smirk.


    His eyes then fell on a framed image.


    It was the picture of a mature, dark-haired woman with soft features. She was wearing a pure white dress as she looked towards John.


    His gaze instantly turned gentle.


    "Darling, everything is fine here. Alicia has grown into a beautiful lady and our adopted son has returned to the correct path. All I am waiting is for you to return quickly."


    He spoke in soft whispers. He was confident that nobody could hear him talking to the framed image.


    Strangely, the image of the woman smiled and nodded her head gently before turning back into an image.

 Popularity

    "Huh? You were already awake? That''s quite uncommon." Martha asked in surprise. It was early morning and she had come out to jog and mover her body a little.


    "Oh... I am perfectly capable of waking up early." Sigil replied as he stretched his body. The three familiars tried to copy their master, but failed.


    The Rocky Elephant tried to lift up his leg and tried to twist around his body. Before he could register his surroundings, he had already fallen onto the ground while four of his legs turned sideways.


    The tiny fierce lion was doing considerably well. She was able to stand on her two legs as she tried to bend sideways. Her belly was covered by soft white fur.


    Meanwhile, the dragonfly kept on buzzing around without any aim or motivation. It could not stretch and it simply decided to fly around.


    "These are the Adolescent level Familiars?" Martha couldn''t help but giggle. Their cute antics were really mood lifting.


    "Hmm? You already got the news about the Ancestral Pool?" Sigil asked with a confused expression.


    "Yeah, I just heard. By the way, congratulations on such a huge gain." She smiled and joined Sigil in stretching her body.


    "Did you know about Ricardo?"


    "What?"


    "You really are strange. A weak Energy Gates Practitioner ascended to the chakra stage in one day and you still don''t know about it?"


    "Ricardo? Chakra Stage?"


    Sigil was astonished. He couldn''t help but think about the path that Ricardo chose. After all, he had already deduced that Ricardo knew about future events. This meant that he could have selected an entirely new path unknown to the continent.


    "It''s not that surprising actually. Many Elders discussed and formed a theory that Ricardo was able to uncover his potential only after entering the ancestral pool. He may have some kind of extraordinary constitution.


    Sigil simply nodded and didn''t want to break her illusions. He did not have any evidence that Ricardo was someone from the future. And throwing him under the bus would definitely strain their relationship and he might not be able to utilise him in the near future.


    "You guys are just going to do some stretching?" Alicia appeared behind them and tapped on their shoulders.


    Behind her, three small Familiars could be seen moving around.


    "Cute!" Martha shot towards the piglet in a moment''s notice.


    Alicia shook her head and looked at Sigil''s Familiars as a strange expression took its place.


    "What are they doing?" Alicia frowned.


    "Stretching." Sigil replied seriously as he looked at the fallen Elephant, a small cub standing on two limbs and dancing around and a dragonfly flying between the four limbs of the elephant as if it is an obstacle course.


    Alicia''s mouth twitched and stopped asking completely.


    "You know that their affection is contagious and will cause you to make incorrect decisions." This time, her expression was sharp and her words made Martha stop in her tracks.


    "I didn''t command them to do such silly actions. And they are attracted to me, not the other way around." Sigil spoke plainly.


    Alicia nodded before continuing with her workout.


    As he saw Martha and Alicia performing various poses to exercise, he lost his mood to train himself and sat near the elephant. He leaned his back on the Elephant''s body and put his hands behind his head, keeping his gaze on the two girls that gave him a good show.


    Slowly, the small cub jumped on his lap and a green dragonfly perched on his head. Meanwhile, a red piglet also sat near Sigil quietly as it looked at its master with a respectful gaze. A small butterfly kept on flying around Alicia and a black rat rushed around here and there.


    "What the hell are you staring at? If you wanna work out then join or else, go away." Alicia gritted her teeth as she lost her patience.


    Martha simply giggled. Even though they were wearing tight clothes and moved their body, nobody in the family dared to look at them. After all, one was the daughter of the family head while the other was the personal maid of the son of the Family Head.


    But the thing that deterred them the most was Sigil. His cruel display of power had already spread around the Family. Many girls even shivered when they heard about Yasmine''s fate.


    Sigil sighed and stood up. He was too tired. After all, he did not sleep at all.


    "Yeah, yeah, just like that. Keep on scaring your fianc¨¦ with that cute butt of yours." Sigil waved at them and did not wait for their reply.


    This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.***


    Besides the mansion, apartment buildings, training area and open ground, the estate had one specific area that was valued very much by the family.


    Behind all the constructed areas lay a wide spread of forest. The forest was surrounded by a dome made of mesh walls. The walls itself were made out of strong and precious metals and the gate of the dome was inscribed with a beautiful, red-coloured pattern.


    This was the family garden!


    Right now, many people could be seen outside the Family garden. Even the family head and the Supreme Elder were present.


    "Hmm? I don''t see Bethany?" Sigil wondered. This was an important event and she would definitely benefit.


    "Yeah, I tried calling her but she didn''t pick it up." Alicia spoke out.


    "Maybe, she got sick or something." Martha mused.


    "Well, I wonder what kind of disease she caught." Jacob besides them wondered.


    "Wow, you really think a lot of stupid things." Sigil commented lightly.


    Jacob stopped immediately.


    "Ahem! For those who are not present today, they will get another chance six months later. Now, Sigil, Alicia, Janice and Kael, come forward." John''s word echoed and the whispers of the other family members were stopped.


    Many people were present in the crowd. The Elders, members of the younger generation and even the normal humans in the family had gathered together.


    Right now, Garthe had a bitter face. After all, his daughter suddenly sent him a text out of nowhere and then disappeared.


    "A boyfriend?" Garthe thought as his face darkened.


    Four people, two girls and two boys stepped out. They were Alicia, Janice, Sigil and Kael respectively.


    "Alright, you four will have the chance to interact with the newborn Familiars that are specially chosen by the Ancestral Familiar. If you don''t want to tame any of them, you will be given a chance to step inside the garden with your designated partner and tame one for yourself. Remember, if you chose the second option, you will only be given a day''s time before the other members are allowed to explore the forest."


    John stated the rules. Most of the family members already knew about the rules but he recited them for formality''s sake.


    "Sigil Grey, you have contributed the highest to the family''s reputation and have achieved the best results among your peers. You have successfully completed your Rite of Witchcraft and received the baptism of a super-sized Ancestral Pool. You are permitted to get the first chance in choosing the desired pet from the selection."


    John''s voice had turned from kind to serious and deep. His expression was dignified as all the other members listened silently.


    "Enter the Familiar Garden and you will be guided."


    Sigil nodded and pushed open the gates of the garden before entering the dome.


    In the area occupied by Elder Level figures was a conspicuous young man. His dark hair combed neatly and his grey pupils showing a worried and anxious expression.


    "Ricardo, what happened? Did you find some troubles during cultivation." A middle-aged woman with a ripe body smiled and chatted with Ricardo.


    "Oh, its nothing. I was just thinking about the future and it got me slightly worried." He smiled politely.


    "Oh, you. You are still so young and your potential is very good. When we Elders are given our turn to select familiars, I will accompany you to guide you. How about that?"


    Ricardo''s breakthrough had caused a buzz within the group of Elders. Many single female Elders of the family had also started to chat with him and tried to rope him in. To these ''hungry'' man-eaters, Ricardo was a perfect candidate to settle with.


    The person interacting with Ricardo was Karla Grey, she was one of the Elders that approached him with some modesty. Unlike some Elders that tried to eat him the moment they met him.


    "Oh, my! Karla, you are old enough to be his mother. Don''t you feel ashamed? Leave this had Ricardo. How about I accompany you? I can show you a good time, too."


    A relatively younger woman walked as she swayed her buttocks. She had light makeup on her face and she looked way better than Karla. She was Mina Grey, one of the Elders that tried to eat him yesterday.


    Ricardo''s smile stiffened as he wanted to stay away from this woman.


    "Um... *gulp*... hehe, I think I will go with Miss Karla this time." Ricardo smiled awkwardly and nodded.


    Mina''s smile froze as she stomped her leg and went away with a disgruntled expression.


    On the other side of the area, the relatively younger Elders like Linda and others were conversing with themselves.


    "Hmm? Linda? You look distracted." A bespectacled man smirked.


    "Is it because of ~young master Sigil~" His voice turned weird as he said Sigil''s name.


    Linda looked at him and smiled gently. A silver light flashed from her body as a small Three-tailed Spirit Fox jumped at the man and bit on his chest ferociously.


    "Aaahhhhhh...."


    "You still haven''t tamed any Familiars while he is going to tame his fourth Familiar. So tell me, Mister Outer Elder, should I be thinking about you or him?" Linda spoke as she commanded the fox to return.


    The silver fox jumped and landed on Linda''s arm.


    "Damn, Linda! We have been friends for seven years and yet you treat me this way. You know that a lone Witch can''t do much in the taming department. You should be a little kind to me." The man teared and looked pitiful. The surrounding people also looked towards them with interest.


    Linda shook her head and walked near him, before kicking him harshly.


    "Get up! If you weren''t my friend, my fox would be aimed towards the southern part of your body."


    The man immediately shivered and got up with creating anymore commotion.


    "Let me get my familiar, then I will teach you a lesson."


    "You can only get an infant Familiar from the garden while my spirit fox has been nurtured till Adolescent level. Do you really want to compete?"


    "Sigh, we will battle after two years then."


    He spoke as he sighed in defeat.


    ***


    Sigil had already entered and the members had made different groups as they discussed and chatted around.


    Even John and Garthe had started to chat with the older Elders of the family.


    "During my previous life, Sigil did not select the Red Demon Wolf because of its weak appearance. According to the plan, I should have waited for the selection of the Familiars before actually ascending, but the emergence of the alliance changed the whole scenario and I had to force my breakthrough. The Devils have also made their moves. I bet she is already collecting materials for me. I also need to find appropriate Familiars resonating with my path."


    "Other than that, I have to start finding resources related to Sealing Path to cultivate in future. And then there is the problem of most of my experience locked away in my soul. Alicia''s locket is probably the key, but getting it from Sigil may be tough."


    "Sigh, too much to do and such a little time. Really, time waits for no one."


    Ricardo sighed as he started forming plans. He has already tried to bend according to the situation, but lately, nothing seems to have gone his way.


    "Previously, some of the sealing path resources could be gathered from the core region of the Grimoire World. Right now, I need to quickly open my second Chakra point and attune it to a popular path."


    But still, his expression remained worried. After all, he really needed that Familiar from the family and he had an uneasy feeling that he was going to be screwed again.


    He silently calmed his heart and chatted with Karla.

 Garden

    In essence, the family garden was a small patch of forest cultivated by the Grey Family to produce their own Familiars.


    Sigil entered the dome covered forest and his sense of smell was assaulted by the pungent aroma of wet grass and damp ground. He frowned and looked around.


    "Is this the seal of sense produced by the family? When I got closer to the gate, there was no smell and my eyes could see normally, but now, the natural scent of the forest and the dark surroundings are assaulting my two senses."


    He observed and found that the whole forest looked a shade darker.


    Crunch


    Sigil turned his head sideways and found a black deer looking at him. The body of the deer looked healthy and its luxurious fur created a unique charm in this dense forest.


    Black Wood Deer.


    It was one of John''s personal familiar.


    The black deer and a Silver-haired youth stared at each other for a few moments before the deer turned around expressionlessly. It snorted gently and looked back at Sigil before walking towards the deeper section of the forest.


    "It wants me to follow it?" Sigil looked at the black deer and thought internally.


    ''The information about the Family garden is reserved strictly and even the Elders are forbidden to pass on the information to their children. But the information about the various familiars can be provided in a vague manner.''


    Sigil thought in his heart as he followed the deer. His mind kept on raising doubts about the whole scenario.


    Why is the information about the family garden not circulated? After all, all the elders including the guest elders have entered this place at least once and most of the younger generations have also entered this place.


    "No, that''s not right. The information about the garden could still be gained from some of the clues left by family. It is the location of the elite Familiars that is the most mysterious out of all." Sigil''s gaze brightened.


    But suddenly, his eyes constricted and he looked around.


    "Where am I?"


    He wasn''t in a forest right now. In front of him was a beautiful garden surrounded by a wooden fence. The height of the fence wasn''t too big and it looked like an ordinary garden fence, painted in white.


    He also couldn''t find the black deer.


    "Now that I think of it. My mind was constantly filled with various thoughts and many doubts were raised involuntarily, making me unable to concentrate. Is it because of the family garden?" Sigil frowned and looked around his surroundings.


    He could only see a vast expanse of grassland and nothing more. In front of him was a beautiful garden filled with various unknown flowers and plants. There was a batch of pink-colored vines growing up on the fence. The vine itself had a large number of pores that kept on diffusing a pink mist that surrounded the periphery of the garden, giving it a hazy and dreamlike appearance.


    In the middle of the beautiful garden was a shed. The shed was constructed in the style of ordinary barns and it gave a feeling of plainness.


    "So this is the true family garden." Sigil muttered in amazement.


    From distorting his thoughts, changing his location and bringing him to this dreamlike garden made Sigil sigh in admiration.


    "There are too many spells in this world. The true power doesn''t lie in the Familiars but oneself. With various spells, familiars can be enhanced. But Familiars can''t enhance the mortal body."


    "Then there is the mystery of my transmigration. Ricardo''s rebirth and the methods of the devils. Is this all based on the spells? What about my constellation? Even if it isn''t based on the witch''s spell, it still complies to the mystery of this world."


    "Now that I think of it, my previous world had a lot of myths and legends about witches, their uprising, their downfall and some of the local folklores."


    "Did my previous world also inhabit the use of witchcraft. If yes, then why did this practice lead to the downfall of the witches?"


    "Does this mean that witches cultivation has an inherent risk? A default?"


    Countless thoughts flashed past his mind and he looked at the garden once again. His expression looked serious and he walked towards the gate and entered the garden.


    Throughout the process, he wasn''t hindered and he entered the garden smoothly.


    "Hmm? That is a Red Lore Lily?" Sigil knew the origin of only one plant in the garden. This situation made Sigil recognise the true depth of a witch family. After all, all of these plants are rare herbs and some of them are extinct in the mortal world. But here, there are many resources that can make a Witch''s eyes green with envy.Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions.


    Sigil squatted and lightly touched the soil of the garden. The ground was light yellow with a golden glow. As he picked up a fistful of soil, his hand also glowed a little. From the soil, he could feel dense energy and also a peculiar sensation.


    "It feels heavy. Even though it is just a fistful of soil, it gives a temperament of a sturdy rock. Is this the specialisation of law?" Sigil muttered and his eyes glowed brightly.


    After observing other components of the garden, he decided to enter the barn shed.


    Creak


    The wooden door made a creaking sound and the whole structure felt old and rotten. Sigil even had a feeling that he can punch a hole in the wall, but his instincts kept on screaming that the defence of this barn shed may be higher than the family mansion itself.


    His eyes looked around and his gaze fell on small Familiars playing inside the barn shed.


    The interior of the shed looked ordinary. Dry grass filled the bottom to provide a cushion for the Familiars while they played with each other. From their size and power, Sigil could easily tell that all of these Familiars were only in the infant stage.


    He couldn''t find their litter nor the bones of the animals used to feed them, giving him a clue that this place is well maintained on a daily basis.


    "So, these are the elite Familiars of the family, huh."


    Infant, Adolescent, Mature.


    These are the three stages of Familiars. But these stages do not represent their age, but actually, speak of their battle power.


    Infant stage could contend with Energy Gates Practitioner.


    Adolescent stage can compete with Chakra Points Practitioner.


    And Mature Stage can compete with Grimoire Masters.


    In this sense, many of the old Familiars may remain in the infancy stage while newborn Familiars may have a battle power of an Adolescent stage Familiar.


    Woof


    A brown dog immediately jumped from the raised wooden platform and shot towards a weak looking, red wolf. The wooden platform was high up the ceiling and Sigil couldn''t even understand how it could reach that high.


    Whoosh


    Before the puppy could reach the wolf cub, a blue Shadow caught the puppy and took it to the platform once again. It was a miniature eagle.


    The puppy barked in indignantly and snorted before laying low.


    Kakakaka


    From the dry grass, two figures emerged and turned out to be a golden and a silver monkey. Their size was small, too. Around 20 centimetres.


    Grrr


    At this time, a low growl could be heard and all the Familiars quietened down. They looked slightly anxious and looked towards Sigil.


    Sigil himself felt a slight danger and he slowly looked backward.


    ''Oh?''


    Behind him stood a small Silver-Furred Wolf that looked at other Familiars with gentle eyes. But behind the gentleness, the small Familiars could feel a sense of discipline and sternness that pressured their active minds and forced them into a calm state.


    The wolf finally looked at Sigil and nodded slightly.


    It was the Silver Fang Wolf.


    A Mature Stage Familiar capable of fighting with Grimoire Master without losing its own advantage.


    Sigil took a deep breath and looked back at the Familiars.


    He already has 3 Adolescent stage Familiars from Earth path, vision path and strength path. He has also accumulated enough knowledge to understand the importance of choosing a right path for himself. After all, it is hard to transform the selected path.


    Aoo


    The wolf lightly howled and a frosty air emerged from its small body. The frost divided into five tendrils and shot towards the five Familiars.


    Their eyes widened in surprise, but before they could dodge the frost tendrils, their lower body was already numb from the cold and finally, the frost entered their body, slowly turning them into ice blocks.


    Sigil frowned. He did not expect such a change.


    He looked back at the wolf and the wolf nodded at him before turning into a blue light and disappearing from the barn shed.


    "There really should be some kind of instruction manual. First, you distort my thoughts then, you turn these Familiars into ice blocks. What am I supposed to do? Put sprinkles on them and sell them to kids?" Sigil muttered as he walked towards the ice blocks.


    "Hmm? So this is it."


    After paying close attention, he saw light blue carvings on the ice that informed Sigil about their names and paths.


    According to the regulations, the information on the Familiars is extremely limited. But now, the elite members in the younger generation are given a chance to take away a Familiar with a good potential to reach the mature stage.


    "But the trick is that there is one more test. How to tame the chosen Familiars? Unlike Familiar Eggs, these Familiars have their own memories and personalities. They have been living here for some time and their cognition is developed to some extent. This is probably the last hurdle of the Rite of Witchcraft. Taming the Familiars."


    Sigil started from the frozen puppy. With Sigil''s physical capability, it was easy to reach the high platform in a single jump.


    "Metal Bone Hound, Bone Path."


    Sigil looked at the markings and his expression turned disappointed. Even though the bone path is researched extensively, the use of this path is still uncommon and the materials for the cultivation of Familiars usually involve a lot of killing.


    He then walked near the blue eagle and read its name.


    "Lake Eagle, Water Path. Hmm, Elemental path is quite popular and the resources can be acquired much easily."


    He then jumped down and looked at the Silver Monkey.


    "Ghost Chimp, Soul Path." Seeing this Familiar, Sigil fell into a silence.


    He already has a strange innate talent that can accommodate communication on a spiritual level. Developing in soul path might help him gain more clues about his ability and also the reason for his transmigration.


    The golden monkey beside the Silver monkey was named Golden Chimp of the metal path.


    Meanwhile, the red wolf cub was a Blood Fur Wolf of the blood path.


    "Out of these, the strongest offensive power belongs to the Metal Bone Hound. The highest talent belongs to the Lake Eagle and the most compatible choice is Ghost Chimp." To Sigil, the decision was obvious and he didn''t deliberate for too long.


    His hand touched the ice block as a light glow flashed from his palms.


    ***


    "Which one will Sigil chose?"


    "Its only been five minutes? How can he chose so easily?"


    "Heh, you don''t know this but the true family garden''s time is quicker than the outer world. Five minutes already means an hour."


    "Oh, this brother, I did not know this. How did you get such information?"


    "Hmm? I wonder if he will take away the best Familiar?"


    Many people were chatting. The Elders were laughing and discussing while there was a group of Familiars staying on the sidelines quietly.


    While Ricardo chatted happily, his heart was in turmoil.


    "Damn, I really hope that the blood wolf isn''t chosen. But if it''s really chosen..." Ricardo felt that he really needed to start pushing his plans proactively.


    Till now, none of the things have been going the way he wanted to.

 Arising Conflict

    "Look, here he comes."


    A voice suddenly spoke out.


    Immediately, everybody stopped talking and kept their gazes on the gate of the family garden. Even the family Elders and the family head looked forward to the choice of the top witches of the family.


    The choices depict the character of the witch. If you take the strongest Familiar without any thought of the future path and development, then this means that you aren''t worth cultivating. After all, sabotaging such a good chance for a short-term benefit shows the narrow mindedness of the witch.


    If someone chose the familiar with the most potential, these people are worth paying attention to.


    But still, there is a variable of future growth. Nobody knows the future and the developmental path taken by the young witches. This is also the reason, the top five Witches get all the support from the Family, allowing them to open their chakra point.


    Of course, anomalies like Ricardo still exist. To be able to ascend to the chakra level without any prior foundation stunned the whole family. Even the branch of the Carefree Alliance and other Witch families have been paying attention to Ricardo.


    As Sigil slowly stepped out, the attention of the whole group fell on the small Silver-Furred Chimp walking behind Sigil while its active eyes scanned the surroundings.


    "Hmm? This fluctuation.... Soul Familiar?" Garthe looked and frowned. His voice wasn''t loud, but his words were heard by almost every Elder and their expressions couldn''t help but change.


    Only John had a calm expression on his face.


    On the other hand, the reaction of the younger generation was even more exaggerated. They started to back away from Sigil and created a distance of five metres. Looking at this situation, Sigil couldn''t help but shale his head. Only Martha and Alicia decided to join Sigil, but he could feel that these two girls also had some awkwardness in their hearts.


    Nodding at the two beauties, Sigil made his way towards John and bowed slightly before speaking.


    "I express my gratitude to the Family Elder for giving me a chance to select a suitable Familiar. I will not disappoint the family''s trust in me."


    Hearing his words, Garthe''s expression changed slightly and John couldn''t help but smile internally. Meanwhile, Ricardo''s and some of the Elder''s expression also turned strange.


    Even though the younger generation couldn''t understand Sigil''s intent, the mature Elders did. They have years of political experience and they have already formed an instinct towards the methods of handling social situations.


    Through his words, Sigil conveyed two things, first, he announced his intention to cultivate in soul path. After all, he did say that he selected a ''suitable Familiar''. Secondly, he also attached the future cultivation of the family on himself.


    Soul path is frowned upon in the Witch''s World and even if he exhibited unnatural talent in soul path, he will face many hurdles in the family. By saying that he wouldn''t disappoint the family''s expectation, Sigil made clear that the family will have to cultivate him properly to realise the said ''expectation''.


    Of course, all of this is just a show of political eloquence. But this aspect also gained the attention of most of the Family Elders.


    Even though the individual power is the most impressive methods to handle the situations of life, sometimes, a person''s creative mind and flexible eloquence can achieve more benefits than simply using your power to bulldoze the hurdle.


    "Sigil... is he really the Sigil of my previous world?" Ricardo couldn''t help but fall into deep thoughts.


    "Good." John only said one word and Sigil went back.


    "Wait.... look at the Ghost Chimp. He already looks tamed!" An Elder couldn''t help but speak as he noticed the strange situation.


    According to common sense, taming is one of the harder aspects of cultivation. Every living being has its own thinking and personality.


    This is true even for plant lifeforms.


    But this personality does not refer to the personality of a human being like a stubborn or gentle personality.


    It is the personality of the soul of the living being.


    Some Familiars have stubborn quality in their souls, some are instilled with gentleness or craftiness. These personalities may appear from the time of birth or these may be gained through the experience of life.


    Till now, the world of witches could only speculate about such vague concepts.


    After all, external personality is already intangible, then the measures of personalities of the soul can already be a pipe dream.


    But now, in front of everybody, Sigil has shown yet another quality of himself. He has actually tamed a Familiar in such a short time!


    As the Elder''s voice fell, everybody''s expression changed sharply.


    Before the chatter about such a talent could begin, John coughed and started sending other witches to take their pick from the Elite Garden.


    ***


    "Alright, the four juniors have already selected their Familiars. Only one elite Familiar is left in the family garden. Other juniors and Elders will be given a chance to observe the Familiar and make the decision."If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.


    Without wasting, John waved his hand and a small red light erupted from the gates and shot towards John''s palm.


    When the figure of a red wolf cub became clear, John spoke lightly.


    "This is the blood path, Blood Fur Wolf."


    Seeing the figure of the wolf, the excitement of the family dissipated and all of them looked disappointed.


    Even though the Blood Path is related to body strengthening, its methods are heavily criticised and also discriminated against. Furthermore, this wolf itself does not have any outstanding quality and looks weak compared to the other four Familiars.


    Seeing such a reaction, John nodded internally. Even he did not know the reason behind the Silver Fang Wolf selecting this Familiar.


    "Maybe, they are both wolf type, is that why?" John spoke internally. He even tried asking the wolf, but the wolf itself gave a vague reply and said that it did not know the true potential behind the red wolf.


    "Well, even if it has a godly potential, what is the use if it cannot be identified?" John thought and waited for some time.


    "I would like to tame this wolf." A faint voice attracted everybody''s attention.


    It was Ricardo!


    Even Sigil''s eyes shone like a bulb and looked at Ricardo''s movements.


    Every single step taken by Ricardo is in consideration with the benefits retrieved in the future. After all, Sigil knew that he was a person who is reincarnated from the future.


    "This wolf has a special significance." Sigil immediately connected the dots.


    First, the blood path is heavily discriminated and no person will choose the Familiars of this path easily. Especially, in front of a crowd.


    Second, this wold doesn''t show any outstanding talent, but is still favoured by Ricardo.


    This aspect itself shows that this Familiar''s potential is recognised and understood by Ricardo.


    "Now, should I stop him from gaining an undue advantage because of his rebirth? Or should I simply ignore him and retreat from his path."


    "No, since he understands the potential of the Familiar and is even willing to take up this path in front of a crowd, this means that the benefit provided by this Familiar will easily cover the loss of his recently gained reputation."


    After making his mind Sigil''s eyes looked at Ricardo.


    Till now, their relationship has always remained subtle.


    Sigil used to bully him and then he took the initiative to apologise. Then, they also took a mission together. Till now, their relationship is mostly based on their previous lifestyle, the life before they both took over again.


    One transmigrated and turned over a new leaf, other reincarnated and started taking benefits of his knowledge about future events.


    "But still, I can only cultivate one path. Even if I am talented enough to gain Two Sky Chakra Points, do I need to change my future path to Blood and Soul path because of one single advantage?"


    Sigil suddenly hesitated.


    He was still new to this world and both the laths are frowned upon.


    He wasn''t like Ricardo that could easily change the situation because of his knowledge about future events.


    Meanwhile, Ricardo was still anxious.


    "Alright, the first step is taken and still need to wait for the Silver Fang Wolf to make an appearance."


    Ricardo thought for a bit and spoke once again.


    "Family head, I am willing to abandon my chance to explore the family garden to tame this Blood Fur Familiar."


    Ricardo''s words made many Elders speculate about the path taken by Ricardo. After all, he still hadn''t disclosed his chakra path.


    Now, actively asking for blood Familiar made most of the Elders come to the conclusion that Ricardo had taken up the Blood Path.


    Speechless!


    First, Sigil decided to take up the Soul path, and now, Ricardo took up the Blood Path.


    Before John could say anything, his body flashed silver and a small silver coloured wolf shot out of his body and picked up the red fur wolf from his palm.


    The situation changed too quickly.


    Aoooo


    The Ancestral Wolf of the Family walked towards Sigil elegantly and placed the Blood Fur Wolf in its mouth on the ground, as if presenting it to Sigil.


    ''Can you be anymore high profile?'' His mouth kept on twitching as the gazes of everybody present concentrated on Sigil.


    He looked towards John, his eyes begging for an animal translator.


    John looked around and he felt even more bitter. Why beg me? I am as shocked as you are!


    He slowly walked towards the Ancestor Wolf and picked it up.


    "Sigh, Silver Fang Wolf wants you to take the Blood Fur Wolf."


    John''s voice made everyone frown.


    According to the set regulations, this is not possible. After all, Sigil has already chosen a Familiar.


    If John actually allowed such a thing to happen, his influence among the family Elders will surely diminish, tarnishing his magnificent reputation.


    Even Sigil understood this point. But still, he looked at the Blood Fur Wolf intently.


    As if sensing the burning gaze, the wolf cub looked up and their eyes matched for the first time.


    Shiver!


    Previously, the wolf was sealed in an ice cube, so he couldn''t make out its gaze. But now, meeting the wolf cub''s gaze, Sigil felt a shiver run down his spine as the dormant wolf constellation suddenly let out a soundless roar, as if wanting to emerge from his body.


    Sigil gulped and looked around. Now, he was certain that this wolf is extremely special. After all, his wolf constellation has evolved twice and he still doesn''t know much about the situation. But this wolf could actually evoke a strong reaction in his constellation formed by his own energy gates!


    "I don''t think this is very appropriate. After all, the rules set by the family shouldn''t be changed easily."


    The family had dozens of family elders while tens of guest Elders. The one who spoke was one of the family Elders.


    "I think we should discuss such a situation before we decide anything." Another one spoke out.


    Slowly, many of the Elders started to present their opinions while some chose to remain silent. It was to be noted that the young and old family Elders chose to remain silent, while the Elders that grouped along with the Supreme Elder Garthe spoke their opinions with great gusto.


    "This decision should be based on the family Head and the Ancestor Familiar of the family. We have no right to present our opinions on this matter."


    This statement caused everyone to look at the speaker in shock. Even John''s face changed slightly.


    These words really put him in a difficult spot. Even though the statement sounded respectful, in reality, the statement implied that if the Family Head wants to break the rule, who can stop him. Even if these kinds of situation occur in the future, the Elders won''t have any right to intervene.


    John looked towards the speaker deeply. Surprisingly, these words weren''t spoken by the Supreme Elder Garthe, but the most recent Elder, Ricardo.


    Right now, his expression was serene and he looked extremely respectful towards John.


    Even Sigil was stunned by his words. But he wasn''t surprised because of the implied meaning. He was stunned due to the fact that Ricardo was willing to offend the Family head and risk his placement in the family for a weak Familiar.


    This changed the situation entirely.


    Previously Sigil thought that Ricardo wouldn''t mind giving up his reputation for the familiar. In reality, the cost of the reputation is almost nil and the profit he would gain in future may be great.


    But now, he was willing to offend the family head. This meant that his cultivation resources could be limited by John if he wanted to.


    This meant that the benefit gained by this wolf is definitely greater than the benefit provided to Chakra Points Practitioner for their Cultivation.


    This left only one answer.


    Grimoire Master!


    This wolf cub is the key to a treasure trove that can probably give out a Grimoire Master''s heritage. Just like the Inverse Witch''s Inheritance.

 Gaining a Familiar

    The value of the Grimoire World of a Grimoire Master is clear to Sigil.


    He knew that if he was given some time to utilise the inheritance of the Inverse Witch, then he would''ve been able to increase his cultivation at a breathtaking pace.


    But now, he was forced to abandon the whole Grimoire World, which caused its destruction.


    In the end, he only gained highly valuable monster familiars and top notch cultivation materials. But these things could not be used at the moment.


    Now, a blood wolf had brought him hope of acquiring another inheritance of a Grimoire Master.


    Even though he did not understand the true value of the Blood Fur Wolfcub, he knew that this could definitely be his leverage over Ricardo.


    Even if this familiar did not bring him a direct advantage, he could surely force out some benefits from Ricardo.


    He looked at the Silver Fang Wolf looking at him with expectant eyes and nodded smoothly without any change in his expression.


    "Lord Silver Fang is the ancestral familiar of the family. How can this junior disobey your advice? I will definitely tame this Blood Fur Wolf!"


    Sigil nodded and looked towards the Blood Fur Wolf cub with a smile.


    Understanding Sigil''s response, the Silver Fang Wolf looked at the small wolf cub and snorted gently before turning around and walking away with its head held high.


    Seeing such an outcome, John''s eyes twitched.


    "He just used your reputation and made you the sole bearer of the responsibility of breaking the old rule and you can still feel pride in your decisions?"


    John couldn''t help but think bitterly.


    Before any Elder could speak again, Sigil bowed in front of the whole crowd and spoke out loud.


    "I apologise for breaking the old rule of the family. But as the saying goes, Rules are dead and people are alive. The Elders of the Grey Family are bold and magnanimous. I hope that the Elders won''t hold it in their hearts."


    Previously, Ricardo''s statement put John in an extremely passive position, giving the opposing Elders a chance to suppress him.


    But now, Sigil''s reversal put the Elders in an extremely embarrassing position.


    If they continued to argue about old rules and tried to suppress John, then they won''t look ''bold and magnanimous'' in front of the younger generation.


    This outcome is pretty harmful to their reputation and their future development in the family.


    Think about it.


    If a youth with a passionate hearts know about this situation where a group of Elders tried to argue for a small Familiar belonging to the younger generation, he will think that this kind of Elders aren''t worth his loyalty and they will definitely move away from them.


    But, the situation didn''t seem too easy for them. Sigil''s words were thought carefully and the inner complications were extremely vicious.


    If they don''t let go, they look petty in front of the younger generation.Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator.


    But what if they let go and allow Sigil to keep the Blood Fur Wolf?


    They will look weak in front of their peers. In future, they will be mocked behind their backs and if they ever need to co-operate with each other, this group of Elders will receive a shorter end of the stick.


    Silence


    None of them spoke because they didn''t know the right thing to speak.


    If their response didn''t overcome their current predicament, the Elders felt that their value in the eyes of the Supreme Elder will fall to the bottom.


    After all, they all will be defeated by a kid in a battle of wits and politics.


    They immediately started to think of various solutions to counter this response in an effective manner.


    But before they could speak, a peal of melodious laughter emerged in the silent field.


    "Haha, Junior Sigil has spoken correctly. Rules are dead and people are alive. We, Elders, have always supported the decisions of our Ancestors. Even if we are asked to break a millennium old rule, so what?"


    It was Linda!


    The young brunette was wearing a black combat t-shirt alongside a pair of blue denims. Her hair was tied into a high ponytail and her beautiful face smiled at Sigil.


    These words left no alternative for the group of opposing Elders.


    "Oh? Linda is a talent, too. She easily implied that going against the words of the ancestral familiar is a sin in itself."


    Sigil''s gaze brightened as he nodded and smiled at Linda''s statement.


    Seeing that the tension in the surrounding was getting higher, John clapped and smiled.


    "Alright, Sigil is fortunate enough to gain the ancestral familiar''s favour. Anyway, we will be continuing the selection of Familiars. All the Elite Familiars have been chosen and we will start with the free selections."


    "All the juniors with all of their Eight Gates opened will search for an appropriate familiar for themselves alongside their partners."


    John''s words immediately changed the tides of conversation and all the youths were very excited and immediately forgot the previous aggression.


    Alicia and the other three elites of the younger generation had already selected their own Familiars and other Eight Gates Experts of the family felt their blood boiling at the prospect of selecting another familiar this year.


    The Grey family bred a large number of monster familiars every year. Of course, not all of the familiars have high potential and they become the main source of the income for the family.


    To motivate the younger generation for continuing their contribution to the family, they are given a chance to select a monster familiar for their own.


    Even though these monster Familiar''s potential cannot be used completely, these familiars can be sold separately and the younger generation can earn their own side profits to help with their cultivation.


    Anyway, the loss of dozens of Familiars doesn''t put a big dent in the Family''s pockets.


    Immediately, 19 youths stepped out as they brought their partners with them.


    "Will you be waiting here?"


    Sigil asked Alicia as he prepared to move out with Martha.


    "Hmm? No, I have to tame this little thing. I will meet you at dinner."


    Alicia spoke as she pointed at the Golden Monkey in attached to her thighs.


    Seeing this monkey, Sigil couldn''t help but sigh in bitterness.


    One look at the monkey grabbing Alicia''s ''oh so thick'' thighs and he understood that this fellow was an existence of culture.


    But even then, Sigil felt like hitting its face that kept on squinting in pleasure and rubbed its face on her upper legs.


    "You want me to help?" Sigil crackled his knuckles near the Monkey''s ears and flashed him an ugly smile.


    "Don''t be silly. It''s just a kid." Alicia tapped Sigil''s nose.


    "Yeah, yeah. I''ll meet you at dinner time."


    Alicia nodded and walked away with the Golden Monkey forcibly removed from her thighs.


    "Ready?" Sigil walked near Martha and whispered.


    "Yeah! I had to sell my previous Familiar. But now, I need to choose an appropriate one for the future cultivation." Martha nodded seriously.


    "Hoho, so serious. What happened to that lazy sloth named Martha?" Sigil chuckled and picked up the Blood Fur Wolf cub stuck near his legs.


    "Hmm? Her? She will emerge once I return to my room."


    Martha stretched her neck out with pride and replied. She then looked at the small wolf that looked more like a puppy and couldn''t help but rub its head.


    "But you really got it lucky! That Silver Monkey and now this cute guy."


    Martha pointed at the Silver Monkey hanging around Sigil''s neck and then looked at the Blood Fur Wolf.


    Thinking of the Ghost Chimp slinging on his neck, his face couldn''t help but show helplessness.


    Even though it was already tamed, the Ghost Chimp had an unruly and an adventurous personality. This couldn''t be changed by anyone.


    "Well, there are still five minutes before we enter the Garden. Let me just place these two fellows in my room real quick."


    With his physical capabilities, it wasn''t hard to reach his room in one or two minutes.


    Martha nodded and stood among other girls and started chatting with them for the time being.

 Martha

    After leaving all of his Familiars inside his room, except for the Rocky Elephant. He had to place the big guy outside the house as he swiftly returned to Martha''s side.


    All of the family members below the Elder Level were ready to take a piece of this year''s festival.


    Even Martha''s eyes were burning brightly. She had already taken part in the selling of Familiars gained from the garden to earn enough resources for her cultivation. The family did not restrict such actions, instead, they encouraged the sale of Familiars to outside sources as it will allow a good exposure of the economy on the minds of the young ones.


    "Are you ready?"


    Sigil tapped Martha''s shoulder as he couldn''t help but grin at her expression. She looked really cute when truly determined.


    Feeling his ridicule, she pouted slightly and shrugged her shoulders off his hand and snorted.


    "Hey, don''t be like that! Say, how about going out with me this weekend?" Sigil grinned and boldly placed his arms around her waist.


    Sigil and Martha''s relationship wasn''t a secret and even John was aware of them. Even though his mouth twitched slightly due to the affection in public, he could only sigh as his daughter also had affection for this kid.


    ''Maybe I will just send him to the border for training. Six months without any female contact will do the trick.''


    He thought darkly and made up his mind. Sigil was a talent that needed to be polished. He couldn''t keep him in the family only to flirt around. Even though the results he had produced are outstanding, it doesn''t change the fact that he still has time to waste.


    "Enough! Before you go in, remember! We all are a family and no vicious attacks will be tolerated!"


    John raised his voice once before finally opening the gate of the garden as the members rushed in with their partners.


    Meanwhile, Martha and Sigil were relatively calm, but their speed was still quick enough.


    "Hey, Martha. You never told me the elemental path you want to cultivate in?"


    As they entered the family garden, Sigil suddenly asked Martha.


    He gave her a look and couldn''t help but appreciate her beauty. Her snow-white hair fluttered behind her as they left a glowing trail while her whole body was already one with the wind.


    She was already in her battle suit as a black, form-fitting suit hugged her body. The whole material was heat resistant and Martha was able to showcase her full speed. Not only that, but the black suit also had paddings in the joint regions and these paddings were made with the material found from a water familiar.If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.


    Meanwhile, a dark black zip-line moved on her back from the base of her neck to the curves of her hips.


    ".... so that is why I want to chose this path."


    Martha spoke and she looked extremely serious, stunning the already stunned Sigil.


    "I''m sorry, what?"


    Sigil couldn''t help but sweat as he completely ignored Martha''s words and kept on gazed at her supple and round butt.


    "..."


    Martha looked at him with an indifferent expression and sped up.


    Sigil could only sigh at his blunder. Usually, she would be continuing with flirting if she caught him staring at her beautiful butt, but right now, she was truly focused on getting a good familiar for herself.


    "Hey! Wait up!"


    Sigil easily caught up and didn''t speak any bullshit. He was sensible enough to understand that it would only make her more furious.


    Even though it is said that the family garden was a relatively small forest, it was only slightly smaller than a top-notch forest with an established ecosystem.


    Martha and Sigil kept on leaving the clues wherever they felt necessary and moved on to a different region.


    They had already come across three Familiars.


    One was a dark brown toad with red marks on its back. It was a poison path familiar called Red Dot Spit. If the spit of this toad landed on any living being, a red dot mark will appear on the point of contact and the area will start to bleed continuously.


    Actually, this familiar species was extremely rare and not much was sold in the market. If it were before, Martha would surely capture this familiar and sell it off in the market. But this time, she was focused on only the Familiars of a specific path.


    As they moved forward, they saw another familiar of the light path.


    It was a Blessed Raven. It was quite common in wildlife and had extreme reproductive capabilities. The Blessed Raven found by the duo was actually safeguarding a nest filled with dozens of pitch black eggs.


    Those were the eggs of the Blessed Ravens. Unlike the sinister appearance of their eggs, the Blessed Ravens looked extremely graceful and sported feather with a colour combination of white and pure with their tail feathers completely purple in colour.


    The last familiar they encountered was a metal path Bronze Boar. As the name suggested, the bronze boar had a skin made of bronze. Actually, this Familiar had different rare variants like Iron Boar, Golden Boar and more.


    As they kept on moving forwards, Sigil couldn''t help himself as he sighed before asking Martha once again.


    "So, which path have you decided on?"


    He acted as if the previous blunder did not even occur.


    Martha looked at him for a while and then sighed in defeat as she looked at his face.


    "Tch! Don''t ignore me next time!"


    Before telling, she made sure to glare at him one more time before telling him her desired route of chakra path.


    "I want to become a wood elemental chakra witch!"


    She spoke lightly, causing Sigil to frown.


    "Wait a minute, didn''t you say that you wanted to become an Illusion Path Chakra Witch?"


    Sigil still remembered how Martha spoke with utmost confidence about choosing the Illusion Path. She had also used one year of her time to research on the illusion path and now, she is suddenly saying that she wants to select the wood path.


    Martha thought for a while before shaking her head.


    "I just changed my mind."


    She didn''t speak anymore and started to move.


    "Hey! Wait up!"


    Sigil immediately chased as he soon reached near her. His frown hadn''t eased up as he felt that she might have been affected by the results of Ancestral Pool of the family.

 Hidden Intentions; Determination

    After catching up to Martha, Sigil did not press for an answer and simply searched for a wood path familiar inside the forest. Since they were finding a familiar in a Forest Ecosystem, they were actually able to find some Wood Path Familiars, but they all had extremely weak potential and to get them to Adolescent Level or Mature Level is an extremely expensive project.


    They all had a day to search for the Familiar in the Family Garden and the duo decided to take a break after an hour of searching.


    Since Sigil was wearing some baggy clothes that were comfortable and yet combat ready, he was able to pack some essentials with himself. He took out a small bottle of water from the pocket near his knee and passed it on to Martha.


    "Here you go!"


    He took out another bottle of water from his other pocket and drank it whole in one go. He didn''t throw the bottle away as it could be refilled when they encounter a water source.


    "Hmm?"


    He looked at Martha, who was sitting on a rock with a slightly dazed expression. She hadn''t even drunk water yet. Seeing her like this, even Sigil felt somewhat strange.


    He walked near her and sat beside her and placed his palm on her shoulder.


    "You alright?"


    He shook her slightly.


    "Hmm? Oh, it''s nothing!"


    She shook her head and uncapped the bottle to drink the content.


    Hearing her nonchalant reply, Sigil only rolled his eyes.


    "Do you think I am a three-year-old kid?"


    He scoffed and didn''t ask her again. Since she wasn''t willing to disclose her problems, he couldn''t do anything about it and just giver her some space.


    Martha also sighed in a depressed manner. She didn''t like keeping things away from Sigil. But her physical condition may actually become a burden to her friends and she didn''t want that to happen.


    She looked at Sigil who had started to ignore her because of her own attitude and pondered for a moment.


    "Do you think it''s stupid that I want to change to Wood Path so suddenly?"


    Her soft voice moved over to Sigil, making him feel slightly surprised. He really didn''t think that she would speak up.


    He thought about her question and then shook his head.


    "I still remember your reason to walk through the Illusion Path."


    He stopped for a moment and then looked towards Martha, who had a slight blush on her face.


    "Hey! Don''t speak of that night again and again."


    She snorted.


    Seeing her usual response, Sigil smiled silently and continued.


    "You have researched on the path for a whole year and now you want to change it. There must be a reason behind all this... but you should always remember that I will fully support you."This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.


    He spoke solemnly.


    Martha was slightly stunned by his response and then only smiled sweetly.


    To Sigil, this response was more than enough.


    After they had rested for some time, Sigil stood up again.


    "Let''s go! We can''t rest our somebody else might take away the familiar belonging to you."


    Martha looked him in the eyes and smiled.


    "Yeah!~"


    They both continued their search.


    ***


    "Since most of them will only emerge tomorrow, we will hold another ceremony. The Elders of the family will be allowed to enter the garden tomorrow. You all are free to do whatever you want."


    Saying that, John retreated as the whole group started chatting before dispersing.


    Some of them were happy, for instance, other elite younger generation of the family, since they gained a top-notch familiar.


    While some people had sour expressions like Linda.


    ''Hah? I decided to help him and that idiot couldn''t even come and thank me? Whatever, I will punish him later!''


    She snorted in her mind and went on her own merry way.


    On the other hand, some people were downright murderous.


    Ricardo was moving towards his apartment with a dark gaze as bloodlust flickered in his eyes many times.


    ''I need to have that cub no matter what!''


    He then thought back at how Ricardo ''easily'' accepted the cub and frowned even more.


    "All of this is a ripple effect? Nothing has been going right since my rebirth. What if something wrong with Sigil himself?"


    He couldn''t help but speculate. When he went over his past experiences, he did find that everything turned awry after Sigil interjection.


    "Two days left before the invasion.... that won''t do. I need to get the blood cub no matter what!"


    He started making his plans. After all, he needed to have full preparations if he wanted to infiltrate the Family Head''s mansion.


    The family kept on functioning as usual and soon, darkness descended.


    Near the outer boundary of the City, a small grey portal could be seen forming on the surface of the ground.


    Around the portal laid a number of corpses as their blood entered the portal and powered it even further. The blood flowed in like a swirling typhoon and the size of the portal kept on getting bigger and bigger.


    Beside the portal stood a lovely lady in a black dress. Her blue hair fell on her shoulder and her eyes were red. Her smooth white skin created a graceful contrast with ger pitch black dress. Her beauty seemed to be even more enchanting when surrounded by numerous dead bodies as their necks kept on pouring crimson blood on the ground.


    She was Bethany! At least, her body was Bethany''s.


    She suddenly spoke an unintelligible syllable and the portal stopped growing and the whirlpool of blood finally turned into a pool of blood.


    From the other side of the portal, Bethany could hear some whispers as she frowned. She then replied in a similar fashion and a sliver of black smog emerged from her mouth and entered the portal.


    "You guys will protect me. If someone sees us, kill that human or animal."


    Bethany spoke coldly and sat back while numerous shadows emerged from inside her body.


    Since this was her private operation, she did not mobilise her team and used her own slaves as protective measures.


    The moment the shadows emerged, the surroundings turned even darker and whispers of women wailing could be heard near Bethany. Her pure white skin started to corrode and turned black while her blue hair turned purple.


    Her eyes were shut tight and she kept her focus on the portal.


    "Almost all the items are worthless while only some of them are precious. Did that person wanted to hide his true intentions and mixed in some useless items?"


    She thought internally as she started collecting the items stated by the person.


    Inside the mansion, John''s body glowed silver and a small silver-furred wolf emerged from his body.


    Wuuuu~


    "Hmm? A portal to devil realm?"


    John frowned at the sudden information.


    He thought for a while before his fingers glowed dark blue and he started to draw an inscription in the air.


    It looked like a big circle with an eye contained inside of it.


    John whispered some words and then the whole inscription incinerated.


    "You will follow the group. If they can''t defeat the enemy, you will save as many family members you can and retreat as quickly as possible. Remember, you have to save them irrespective of their attitude towards me and the family. We can''t be having internal conflicts at this moment."


    John spoke and a cold whisper responded to his words.


    "Understood... master."


    Whoosh!


    Sound of an object passing through the thin air could be heard and the figure left with a gust of wind.


    After the figure left, the Wolf looked at John and snorted softly.


    "Yeah, yeah. I am not that petty, you know. Either way, she will be returning soon. I have to keep this place safe until then."


    John''s eyes glowed slightly as he looked at the picture of a mature woman framed on his walls.


    As if the picture heard his words, the smile on the woman''s face turned even brighter.