Night grumbled for a few seconds before disappearing, leaving Andrew in the forest. As soon as he was gone, the people around Andrew turned to look at him weirdly for a second before resuming their activities.

[Sigh, you take me as your disciple and then you leave just like that. Is that what a good teacher would do?] Andrew shook his head.

[Anyway...system? Are you there?] he asked in his mind.

[Affirmative host.] the System quickly replied.

[Can you replay the messages I missed?]

[Affirmative.] A number of messages then flooded Andrew's mind.

[Congratulation host! You have reached the Refinement Warrior stage.]

[Awarded 5 attribute points.]

[Warning!]

[Unknown interference with host's mind! Analyzing...]

[Attempting to block.]

[Attempt 1 failed.]

[Attempting to block.]

[Attempt 2 failed.]

[Attempting to block.]

[Attempt 3 failed.]

[Analyzing host condition...]

[Unable to analyze. Upgrade system to increase computation power.]

[Host's condition found to be worsening. Host's soul is becoming unstable.]

[Warning! The pressure's on host's soul is increasing. Continuation of this state might lead to permanent damage.]

[Warning! The mana in host's body is becoming unstable! This condition might damage host's body.]

[Switching to autopilot.]

[Host's mana stabilized.]

[Attempting mana circulation to protect host's soul.]

[Attempt failed.]

[Host's soul is on the verge of corruption!]

[Backup mode activated to preserve host's memories.]

[Detected high-level energy intruding host's body. Automatically rejecting...]

[Attempt failed. The energy is too high-level. Please upgrade the system.]

[Energy found beneficial for host's condition. Coordinating...]

[Host's body is being nurtured by high-level energy.]

[Congratulation host! You have leveled up! Awarded 1 attribute points.]

[Congratulation host! You have leveled up! Awarded 1 attribute points.]

.....

[Congratulation host! You have leveled up! Awarded 1 attribute points.]

[Detected high-level healing energy covering host's soul. Coordinating...]

[Host's soul is becoming stable. Danger of corruption minimized.]

[Host's soul stable.]

[Switching off autopilot.]

[Wow, so many messages! Let's see...] Andrew starting sorting the messages in his mind.

[Ok so this is before my vision. Uh, that seemed dangerous. Soul corruption? Permanent damage?]

[Wait, excuse me? Level up?] Andrew was dumbfounded.

[Status!]

*

Host: Andrew (Create Family)

Species: Human

Level: 19 (Refinement Warrior)

Exp: 99999/100000

HP: 500/500

Mana: 9000/9000

Strength: 20

Constitution: 31

Stamina: 19

Vitality: 19

Agility: 22

Dexterity: 11

Intelligence: 20

Wisdom: 10

Available points: 14

Mana Root: Grade 6

Mana Control: Level 22

Elemental affinity: Time (Extraordinary+), Wind (Negligible), Water (Negligible), Holy (Negligible)

Skills:

{Inventory(Lv 2)}

Host owns a small independent space in which non-living things can be stored. (2 cubic metres)

{[Inspect(Lv 3)}

System is able to analyze things using the knowledge of the host and knowledge accessible to the system.

{Slow(Lv 8)}

Create pressure with the surrounding time elements reducing the speed of the target by 15%. Dependent on the strength of the host and target. The effect can be increased if host is the target.

{Accelerate(Lv 7)}

Attach the surrounding time elements to the body and accelerate them increasing the speed of host by 13%. Dependent on the strength of the host. The effect can be increased if host is the target.

{Time barrier(Lv 4)}

Freeze the time elements in a certain area to create the effect of a barrier. Durability is dependent on the strength of the host.

{Time Blink(Lv 4)}

Floods the body of the host with time elements and uses them to revert back to an earlier state. Current mana allows for a 0.6 seconds revert.

{Temporal Edge(Absolute Skill)}

Host conjures a temporal blade which is then thrown at the desired target. Once the blade comes in contact with the target, the flow of time will accelerate differently on the edges of the blade. Skill limited by Mana. Current mana allows for a difference of 0.2 seconds.

*

[Did I just sleep my way through the Refinement Realm?? I'm already at the peak! Night must have infused my body with so much energy that I automatically broke through!]

[My body has become way stronger! My constitution is so high now! And I still have 14 points to use as I want!]

[Is this alright? My level has almost caught up to my mana control. System?]

[As long as the level isn't higher than the mana control, no issues should arise, host.]

[That's good. Oh! My skills also leveled up, though it doesn't seem like there is a huge increase in their power.]

[Now, I guess I'll just dump all my points into intelligence or wisdom? System?]

[The Intelligence stat will help host assimilate information faster and improve host's control over mana. The wisdom stat will help host's comprehension.] the System replied.

[Then should I increase my intelligence or wisdom?]

[I advice host to continue increasing the Intelligence stat. Wisdom will become more important when host advances to realms above Soul Seed.]

[Got you.] thought Andrew as he dumped all his points on Intelligence.

[Intelligence: 34]

[Mana control +1]

[Wow, my control increased again, just like that. And I can also feel the elements around me more clearly. Even my thinking speed seems to have increased. This is a cheat! Definitely a cheat!] Andrew was very pleased with the result.

[I should go now...] He rose and sped off towards his accommodation.

[Haha, this is amazing!] He was pleasantly surprised to find his speed greatly increased. He even had trouble adjusting to his current capabilities.

In a few minutes he reached Aisha's room. He tried to calm himself as he knocked and opened the door a moment later. Only Aisha was in the room sitting at one of the desks with a book in front of her. She jumped from her chair as she saw Andrew.

"Bro, finally! I was pretty worried. A few days ago this weird tall man came and.." she didn't finish what she was saying as Andrew reached out and hugged her tightly. A quiet sob could faintly be heard. Aisha was very surprised but she didn't say anything.

"We have to become strong, sis..." he said through sobs.

"There, there." she said as she patted Andrew on his back. "What do you mean? How come you are so emotional all of a sudden?"

"Nothing, it's just that we have to be strong in order to protect ourselves. This world...will not always be as welcoming to us as it has been so far." Andrew then let go of her as he tried to calm down.

As she left his embrace, she looked at his face, only to be startled by his bloodshot eyes. She then held his hands with an encouraging expression.

"Silly brother, what do you mean? We will become the strongest! Nobody will ever be able to cross us. We will not be at anyone's mercy. We will make our own fate, we'll decide if we welcome the world or not!" she paused for a moment before continuing.

"And maybe one day... I mean I don't remember much since I was very young but...I really remember...that warmth..." her expression turned to one of great sadness.

"Mom is gone Aisha...nothing can bring her back." Andrew slowly said. He knew how much his sister was longing for another moment with their mom.

"How do you know? There are so many things we don't know! Maybe! Maybe there is a chance!" she shouted at Andrew.

"I am sorry." she calmed down for a moment. "You might think I don't remember much given how young I was but...but..." she put her right hand on her chest. A powerful green radiance started shining from her chest. Then she looked directly at Andrew, her eyes teary.

"You know, I remember the cold. I remember every bit of that darkness. I get frightened even now when I hear rats scurrying around."

"I remember the fear...I remember my heart beating slower and slower, as if I would become one with the darkness around me. I was so helpless...Then I can remember..."

"A warm hand...full of compassion broke through the darkness that was surrounding me. She reached out and touched me, as if giving me life again. I remember the warmth I could feel from her chest...her beating heart..."

"I can really feel her. I don't know why but...my mana feels...just like her. It's the exact same warmth, bro. I can feel her embrace whenever I, I...." she almost choked on her words. Her teary eyes became a brilliant green as the light shinning on her chest became stronger. A powerful pressure started spreading out from her.

"Aisha..?" Andrew was looking at her surprised. As the pressure was becoming stronger, the green radiance emitted by her body became even more brilliant. Her body started floating as the radiance started concentrating on her chest.

Andrew could vaguely see a small seed being formed there. He stood there dumbfounded. She was breaking through! She was becoming a Core Formation Mage right at this moment.

As the last bits of radiance were absorbed into the small seed, she looked at Andrew with a serious expression.

"We might not be anything much at this moment, but one day, one day not so far from now, we'll stand above all. Even if mom wouldn't be there with us, she will be watching...she will be watching as we make this world our own. She will be watching us and she will be so proud of us!" her body descended and she put her hand on his shoulders.

"You are all I have in this world, brother. Nothing less, nothing more. I don't care about anything else. I can't have you so depressed and scared. I won't hear it. I won't stand it. We will get through everything together." she continued with a brilliant smile. Andrew stood there for a second as he didn't know how to respond.

"You have really grown...Ah! I am so ashamed now. Upsetting my little sister so much that she broke through out of anger. Yeah, Yeah, I won't stand it either. We will go through everything together, be it good or bad. Just like mom intended..."

"That's what I want to hear." she then hugged him tightly. A powerful light of determination shined in both their eyes.

.....

"What a powerful connection...how rare. They are not even related by blood." Night, who was witnessing everything from his underground dwelling, showed a look of great nostalgia while taking a puff from a golden smoke pipe.

"But then again, sometimes, you choose your real family." he said as he slowly exhaled the smoke.