Hector watched his surroundings with boredom. Removing the harvester from his pocket, he took in another essence of an ice wolf. He barely remembered how many monsters he had killed that day.

It was more work to move to the monster than to kill it. Just the thought of doing this day after day, until the year was over…

He just wanted to find an ice aura strong enough so that he could cultivate fully.

The problem with an environment that is meant for training is that the tools given must be compatible with even the weakest of disciples.

Thus, the sacred treasures that made possible the existence of so many environments rich in different kinds of Qi were not meant for the ones closer to gold. Not yet. If Hector could guess, stronger monsters would be inserted into the surroundings gradually.

"Hopefully they won't take too long to release the new toys," he said into the void, trying to ward off the feeling of annoyance.

His cousin had told him how the test normally took place. First, a sort of introduction, then focus on hunting. The part that excited him the most, however, was the ending.

Closing his eyes, he brought his fingers to his forehead, massaging his eyelids. Maybe he wasn't so excited now.

He had full confidence that he would come out of that test unscathed. He would probably get the top one if he really wanted. But as for the others, there was no guarantee.

Rim and Sabrina were reasonably strong. But once they got into gold, evolution would be difficult without a strong sacred treasure.

The real problem was Dante. Despite the speed at which he was cultivating, the method was too dangerous. He had already seen the fate of many who had tried similar things.

But to be fair, Dante's Qi had something different. The solar combination was not impossible, but the aura emanating from the boy. Reminded him of his grandfather. And that scared him deeply.

If only he had brought his treasures with him. If he had had the opportunity to come as an official member of his clan, everything would be easier and more complicated at the same time.

He would have the resources he wanted, but unwanted attention as well. The cost was not worth it.

His feet sank into the thin layer of snow that hung on the ground. Heading in the direction of sounds that indicated life, it wasn't long before he found a new pack of wolves.

Taking a deep breath to regulate his body temperature, he prepared his Qi to end it all with one attack. Although he was no longer officially a member of the clan, he was well taught. There was no honor in not giving the enemy your all.

Before the beasts even knew the danger they were in, Hector exhaled and brought his hands to the ground. He felt Qi leaving his body and traveling underground, causing shockwaves.

By the time the monsters realized that something was wrong, it was too late. One ice thorn was enough to finish each of them off.

Picking up his harvester, he diligently collected all the monsters.

He couldn't lie, at least the extermination points interested him. It wouldn't be long before real treasures appeared in the store, and he would be ready.

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After all, his Oversoul would not be perfect alone. And he wouldn't admit to anything less than perfection.

The next few years would not be easy, not even for him. He couldn't get enough help.

Feeling a slight tremor in his pocket, he stepped towards Rim.

As he approached, he left the ice area and entered the dirt area. Rarer types of Qi, such as metal, were difficult to find in nature. Sacred treasures were even rarer than normal.

However, as a rule, all Qi had a percentage, however small, of the basic types.

So, Rim tried to milk stone by killing monsters in the region of the earth.

The trees that marked the marshy ground and green grass were destroyed. Hector knew the strength behind Rim's precise movement. Even he would have to be careful if he eventually needed to fight her.

Of course, he hoped this day would never come. When he thought of her, Hector had a similar feeling to when he remembered a relative of his. She might be annoying, but at that point she was already family. The fact that he had recently abandoned his family, of course, was beside the point. Rules were there to justify exceptions. And this exception was definitely justified.

"Looks like someone had a good time, huh," Hector said, as he located Rim.

Unsurprisingly, she was crouched down, studying one of her iron balls.

"I finally got to vent some of my anger. Sabrina didn't deserve what those bums did to her."

This Hector had to agree. Just remembering the girl's emotional state was enough to make his blood boil.

"We will stick to the plan and we will make them pay. I'll make sure of that. Don't worry."

He received a nod from Rim, the purest confidence stamped on her expression. If there was one thing Rim trusted, it was Hector's power.

Rim activated Sabrina and Dante's devices. If all was well, they would meet at the point and return safely to the quarters together.

As they walked, Rim couldn't get the doubt out of her head.

"Do you have any idea who might have chosen us to form a team?"

"Honestly, no," Hector replied. "I just know it must be someone very powerful. Even by my family's standards. What they did to Dante... I've never seen anything like it. And his Qi is strange. I sense a peculiar energy in it."

"Don't you think maybe they gave him a Class A, or even S soul?"

Just as his lips were about to form a laugh, Hector stopped, serious. The boy's energy did indeed resemble his father's.

"Now that you mention it, it is possible. But I hadn't even thought of that, because giving such a monster to a boy like that... I can think of better ways to spend money, for sure."

"You're probably right. It's just that I don't doubt anything else. Anyway, our hopes of going unnoticed have gone down the drain. Now let's focus on getting as strong as possible, I guess. I can't wait to give those sons of bitches to the gut of the dumbest animal I can find. May they have no peace, even in hell."

Although he didn't agree with the language used, Hector's intent was the same.

"Speaking of which, did you find out anything about Sabrina's demon?" asked Rim.

Hector shook his head, disappointed. "I couldn't. The way she controls her Qi is strange. I've looked in several old books, but I still haven't found it. We have plenty of time, though."

"Yeah. Sometimes it hardly seems like it's been so little time since we got here..."

The conversation, as well as the monsters that had the bad luck of crossing the path of the two, ceased to exist.

Crossing the environment with Qi of Earth and Ice, it took a while for them to reach the meeting point. The map of the region was made in such a way that, if you were willing to go deep enough, most of the regions would intersect at some point because of the curves. They really thought it all out.

"Hey, fuckers!" shouted Rim, when she saw Dante and Sabrina. Little did she know that she wasn't bugging anyone. Hector knew that the two of them were starting to get on her good side.

Quickly scanning Dante as usual, Hector was not surprised when he saw that his weird Qi had changed again. This time, however, he had not evolved.

It seems that his theory was right, and evolution really would take a little longer after the middle levels.

"Looks like it was a good day, eh?" Hector said as he approached.

"You wouldn't believe it," Dante said, smiling.

The way back was marked mostly by Dante's perfectly staged movements. Pride exuded from the boy, having mastered his new technique.

In fact, the boy reminded him of his grandfather. Not just his Qi, but the way in which he seemed to get what he wanted. No, not what he wanted. What was already his, and only the thing he didn't know.

He didn't know what fate they would have together, but he was sure of one thing. For better or worse, a monster, one of those who have no class, but a first and last name, was born that year.

Hector just hoped that he would not have to play slayer with this particular specimen.