When they returned from the ridge late at night, the villa was mostly quiet, but the warmth of family remained. Kaito's grandmother, ever perceptive, had sensed something unusual and had a light meal prepared again—something to welcome them back without asking questions. Aika pouted curiously as she saw her brother and the elders return together.
"Where did you all disappear to in the middle of the night?" she asked, eyes narrowing.
No one answered directly. Kaito simply chuckled, reaching over to ruffle her hair. "Just a little midnight sightseeing."
Aika groaned, clearly unconvinced, but her questions stopped there.
The family sat down for a late dinner. The servants watched from the sides, some whispering about the strange timing, but no one dared voice their curiosity openly. Everyone who had returned from the expedition said little, offering vague smiles or silent nods. The meal passed with light chatter—no one mentioning the ruin, not even in jest.
Later that night, Kaito returned to his room. The exhaustion from the day's events weighed heavily on his shoulders. For once, he allowed himself the comfort of sleep—deep, uninterrupted, and earned.
Morning came with the scent of fresh bread and steaming broth drifting through the villa's halls. At breakfast, the family gathered as usual. Laughter bounced between cousins, and cheerful conversations filled the space. Yet, beneath the surface, an unspoken pact lingered between the five who knew the truth.
After the meal, Kaito leaned toward his grandfather. "I have a few things to sort out. Could you all begin organizing the materials we excavated?"
His grandfather nodded. "Go handle what you need. We'll start the classification."
With that, Kaito's grandfather, father, second uncle, and third uncle headed down to the secure chambers beneath the villa where the crates were stored.
Kaito, meanwhile, returned to his room. He opened the hidden drawer near his bedside and retrieved two items he had hidden away the previous night—the dusty tome labelled Origin Records, and the silver-black cube: the dormant AI module.
He placed the cube on his desk and connected it to a discreet energy socket—one designed to recharge mobile artifacts. As the module pulsed faintly with new energy, a holographic interface shimmered into existence. It flickered momentarily before stabilizing, a soft mechanical voice breaking the silence.
"Core systems online. Identity not recognized. Temporary authority granted to first initiator."
Kaito allowed himself a faint smile.
This was one of the most advanced AI modules to exist in the future, used by powerful forces for military, research, and administration. Right now, its full capabilities were sealed due to insufficient spiritual interfacing—but even at basic levels, it was decades beyond what the world currently had.
He typed swiftly, overriding its protocols to maintain complete anonymity.
"Create a masked trading account. Reroute access through six global nodes. Hide all backtracks."
"Confirmed. Secure trading identity generated."
Kaito didn't waste a second.
He opened his villa-linked bank account and found the transfer message from his second uncle.
"Full allocation processed: 10.8 million credits. Ten percent has been reserved for household upkeep. Use the rest as needed."
Kaito's gaze sharpened. With the AI's speed, this would be over before the market even stabilized.
Kaito allocated his funds strategically. Five million credits went to Sol-Tek, buying 6,250 shares. Another 3.5 million secured 2,916 shares of LumeCore. The last 2.3 million grabbed 5,348 shares of Cryonix Constructs.Kaito exhaled.
He sat back as the AI confirmed the trades.
This was his edge. Tomorrow, when the Federation announced gear classifications—helmets from D to A and cabins from Bronze to Platinum—investors would pounce. The real explosion would come five days later, when the Glory servers opened and billions logged in. The Companies would try to buy back their own shares tonight at low prices, but Kaito had moved before they could act
By then, it would be too late for everyone else.
He shut the system down, encrypted all logs, and stored the AI cube back into its case. Then, straightening his collar, he stepped out of the room and made his way back to the underground library where the others were working.
When he arrived in the Underground family archive, the air buzzed with subtle energy. Rows of preserving crates were open, manuals placed in neat stacks, herbs sealed into nutrient pods, and spiritual weapons tagged for further study. Kaito spotted his grandfather sorting through a row of manuals.
"Back already?" Grandfather said with a raised brow.
Kaito nodded. "Had to settle something."
His father motioned him over. "Come. Take a look at these."
Kaito walked to the central table where several glowing tomes were laid out. His grandfather tapped one.
"This is Ninefold Vein Shatter Manual. Very high-tier. A Rank 9 path at minimum."
"Astral Godbody Incantation," his third uncle muttered, lifting another. "This one might exceed Rank 9. And it's complete."
They had organized the cultivation manuals by tier—Peak-tier, High-tier, Mid-tier. Even the lowest among them could rival the best techniques currently sold on the black market.
Nearby, Kaito saw his second uncle and Third Uncle directing a group of warriors as they categorized the rest of the materials.
"Be sure not to break the spiritual locks," Second Uncle warned. "We don't activate any item unless we intend to use it."
"Yes, sir!" the men echoed.
A few crates were opened—containing neatly sealed herbs glowing with vitality. Others held forged materials and weapons, the latter still wrapped in spiritual seals.
A short distance away, a low whistle sounded.
Third Uncle twirled a blade from one of the racks and danced lightly across the floor with it, the sword responding like a living creature.
"I like this one," he said playfully, glancing toward Grandfather with a grin.
"You're like a child begging for a new toy," Grandfather snorted. "Fine, keep it. But never show it to anyone outside the family."
Kaito chuckled. "That includes bragging to your old friends."
"I wasn't planning to... much," Third Uncle replied with a grin.
Meanwhile, Kaito approached a special circular disk taken from the ruin—a spiritual array controller.
He placed the spirit stones they had recovered into it one by one.
Just as Kaito placed the final set of spirit stones into the deep grooves of the ancient preservation array, a soft hum rippled through the air. The formation lit up with a gentle silver glow, stabilizing into a dome-like barrier that shimmered faintly — a signal that the containment of spiritual essence was successful.
Attracted by the activation, the rest of the family members trickled into the room. His grandfather paused in surprise, eyes narrowing with interest. "This array... it's still usable?"
Second Uncle stepped closer, examining the runes etched into the plate. "Remarkable. It's almost perfectly intact."
"This is a self-repairing preservation array," Kaito explained calmly, his voice composed but clear. "Its purpose is to isolate and stabilize large volumes of spiritual energy. Once triggered, it creates a fixed space within which the stored materials won't degrade over time." He turned slightly, scanning the expressions of those gathered. "This... is something we can continue using in our own family operations."
His father nodded thoughtfully, already thinking ahead. "We can preserve rare herbs, pills, even cultivation manuals that might lose their aura if exposed too long."
"But the key to the array," his third uncle said, "won't it be dangerous if someone else figures out how to use it?"
Kaito shook his head. "That's why I've adjusted the control node. From now on, only those bound by a spiritual seal linked to our direct family bloodline will be able to activate it. The main key will stay with the head of the family."
As the family members murmured in agreement, admiration flickered in their gazes. Even Second Uncle, who often maintained a reserved demeanor, gave Kaito a rare smile of approval.
Kaito stepped back from the array, watching the light ripple gently across the dome. Inwardly, he felt a quiet satisfaction settle in his chest. He hadn't just recovered rare spirit stones today — he'd handed his family a permanent advantage. One that, in the coming chaos, might just become their strongest defense.