Rebirth Of The Bastard Spirit Summoner

Stark woke up on a certain morning and yawned while rubbing the grogginess out of his eyes.

After their last expedition to the mountain, they had gone two more times, but they had not yet encountered the beast they were after.

It was not that the beast was impossible to find. Kael already had more than enough information to locate it.

It was just that Kael was being extremely sluggish. He would spend hours observing whatever clue they found, drawing and taking down notes in his little book.

Because of how rare these mimics were, he wanted to ensure he could easily find one again in the future.

Stark rose to his feet to make his bed, but first, he picked up Chubby, who for whatever reason preferred to sleep in the real world, and placed him on the table.

Today was the day he made good on his bet—his agreement to fight the old sage.

Although his chances were slim, Stark believed it was possible. All he had to do was touch the guy, how hard could it be?

He walked over to his window and pushed it open, then his jaw dropped.

Boom!

Lightning streaked through the dark skies above, the rain pelting the ground with a ferocious intensity.

The trees were being blown with so much force that it was as though they would be pulled out of the ground.

Every single shop was closed, the windows sealed tight. Even the grumpy man who was usually open as early as 5 a.m. had closed his shop.

In the few seconds he had opened his window, the wind carried a wave of water and dumped it on his face, causing him to shiver from the cold.

Snap!

Stark shut the window and cursed.

"You know you still have to go, right?" came a mirthful voice from beside him.

Stark glanced at his bed where Jade had appeared, his blanket wrapped tightly around her head.

"You can't really expect me to go underneath that cursed rain?"

Jade shrugged. "You formed a contract with the old man, didn't you? The contract will not take any excuses. If you fail, the punishment will be just the same."

At her words, he looked back to the window, his frown deepening. Breaking a contract with a spirit was something seriously looked down upon.

No one knew what would happen since it was random, only that it would be terrible…

With a heavy sigh, Stark walked into his bathroom, dragging his feet as he got in.

He took a hot shower, a very hot one especially considering how much he was to suffer today.

When he was done, he stepped out of the bathroom, a towel hanging over his neck while the rest of his torso was exposed.

His workouts so far had been yielding results. It was not that he was weak at the start, but now the difference was very much clear.

His chest was rich with muscle, his abs were properly defined, popping out without any effort, and his back muscles were like a sculpted art piece.

As he observed his build, steam still drifting from his skin, Jade gave him a long look, then smiled devilishly.

"It's not going to help you weather the storm, you know? Both storms, in fact. Stop showing off and put on a shirt," she said and turned to the other side of the bed.

Stark glared at her and quickly put on his clothes, after which he strapped his sword on his back and dagger on his waist.

"Chubby, let's go."

Boom!

As the little guy was about to open his eyes, lightning flashed. The light managed to stream through the cracks of the window, followed by a resounding bang.

The little guy jolted and flew underneath the bed, clearly not interested in coming.

As for Jade, she happily hopped out of bed and walked up to him.

"What are you waiting for? Let's go," she said, far too eager to see him drenched.

With an annoyed grunt, Stark left the room and descended down the stairs.

The halls of the inn were empty, most people probably hugging their blankets tight and their partners tighter…

Only a madman would step out into a storm like this after all.

Thankfully, because of this, there was an umbrella resting by the side of the door.

Whoever owned it must have left it out to dry and forgotten to take it back upstairs.

Making sure that there was no one to spot him, Stark grabbed it and quickly exited the inn.

____________________________________

Watching the storm from the safety of his bedroom window was one thing, but standing in it was another matter entirely…

It was terrifying.

With rain falling so hard that it hurt his skin and floods of water that were washing past him so large that it was as though he was swimming, Stark was having the worst possible day.

He couldn't even use the umbrella because it would simply snap under the onslaught.

Jade, who was walking by his side, had made her body intangible. She rarely did it during battles since mana attacks would only damage her even more in that state, but in the rain? It was perfect.

As the rain drifted past her skin, Stark pushed through the storm, a task so hard that it could be considered another workout on its own.

With rain clouding his eyes and ears, Stark continued onward until he finally arrived at their meeting spot.

There, sitting in the rain, legs crossed and eyes closed, was none other than the sage.

The river was raging violently underneath the bridge, rising higher by the second, yet he was not concerned.

He smiled when Stark approached, and then ran his hand through his beard. "You know, I briefly considered, then thought, that you would not arrive as agreed upon, but here you are."

He opened his eyes, both of them having a faint glow that slowly began to settle.

"I'm impressed. Discipline is one of the most important qualities of a student…"

"And who said I will be your student?" Stark shot back, unsheathing his blade.

"Ho?" The sage laughed and rose to his feet. "Very well, shall we begin?"

Jade waved her hands at the side of the road, and a large shelter made out of crystal materialized.

She walked underneath it and took a seat, staring at the two fighters from the safety of her creation.

"Young one," the sage said, glancing at Jade. "You will be the judge of this fight."

Jade smiled. "Well, what are you waiting for? Begin."