Chapter 84: Chapter 84

After Lucy and Savannah left to deal with their dramas, the cold air of the city settled around them as Sokram led Amber toward his estate, their footsteps echoing softly on the cobblestones.

Their conversation flowed easily.

Sokram patted her head, his grin wide with pride. "I’m very proud of your progress so far, Amber."

“It’s all thanks to your guidance!” Her eyes brightened, “You make things so easy to grasp with the way you teach, always shedding light, clarifying the most complex subjects in ways that I would never be able to figure out alone."

Amber beamed, blushing slightly at the feel of him patting her head, and her tone was full of gratitude.

“Like when you taught me about elemental energy conversion, it was such an alien subject that I would never think its application to Magi would one day feel so simple. Or fast casting by formula memorization, who would have thought that by memorizing a simple formula I would be able to instant casting…”

Once she started, her enthusiasm for Magi knew no bounds, as someone starved for deep discussions about it, as if she had always yearned for a kindred spirit to delve into its depths.

And Sokram didn’t mind indulging her, while also planting seeds for her future growth.

Sokram was sure she had the potential to become one of the most promising mages in the galaxy; all he needed was to nurture her.

With few people outside as it was colder than the norm, even for the northerners' standard, their conversation filled the silence between buildings in the quiet morning, punctuated by Amber's excited gestures as she animatedly discussed.

He indulged her in these discussions for the rest of the day.

Even after arriving home and washing away the grime of the journey, they seamlessly returned to their shared fascination.

Sokram lay his head on her lap, ignoring her flushed cheeks.

His voice, a low murmur of ideas, filled the room as he sketched diagrams in the air, outlining complex theories and sharing his ambitious plans for future research.

It was only by late afternoon, as the slanting golden light of dusk began to filter through the windows, that Lucy and Savannah finally appeared at the door.

Their soft step drew their attention, and their enthusiastic discussion came to an end.

Sokram released a somewhat disappointed sigh, as he could talk about Magi for hours without end, and couldn’t help remembering one of his wives, knowing she would love Amber as well.

Noticing the girls’ emotional state, he pushed these hopes for later.

Savannah’s eyes were raw and swollen, her lashes clumped with half-dried tears.

The faint salt-tang of misery clung to her skin, while Lucy wore a deep frown, annoyance written on her face, but all Sokram asked was, “Is it done? Do you want to talk about it?”

They nodded, confirming it was over, but refused to talk about it.

Sokram, knowing how dramatic and complicated young people’s relationships could be, gave them space.

Even though he knew he had manipulated the situation to get to that exact point, exploring every gap left by Kazzah, he still found that breaking Savannah and Kazzah’s relationship was too easy.

Perhaps there were no real feelings between them.

But such trivialities would lose much of their meaning once someone lived for longer than a millennium.

What remained wasn’t passion and infatuation, though it returned from time to time; what remained was purpose, loyalty, and love.

But not the frugal feeling of infatuation that many believed to be love. Real love was a choice repeated at every moment, at every interaction, at every exchange.

And that was something he would make all of them understand before ascending.

After the girls were calmer, they sat around the coffee table in the living room, and the scent of honeyed leaves permeated the air as the steam rose from their teacups.

They started revising the recordings of this hunt.

Lucy almost spilled the sweet and sour tea from her mouth when Savannah and her caught on to Kazzah and Timothy’s behavior.

Savannah clenched her fists, her brows arched in disbelief, and her breath quickened as anger burned in her chest.

A mutter barely above a whisper escaped like a gasp, “They were leaving tracks…”

Lucy stood up abruptly, once again very close to spilling her tea, barely containing her killing intent as she gritted her teeth, “That fucking imbecile, why would he do something…”

But then she looked at Sokram, who didn’t seem surprised at all.

“You noticed this from the start, right?” Lucy’s eyes widened as she looked at his calm expression and ever-present confident grin, and she sat back down.

“You know about my squabble with the Steelhearts a few weeks ago, right?”

Seeing them nodding, Sokram continued, “Kazzah and Timothy were seen that same day, hours after that incident, entering the Steelhearts' estate, only leaving hours later.”

Savannah clenched her fist even tighter, her knuckles whitening even more than her pale skin, her nail digging into her palm and gritting her teeth, she couldn’t hold back.

A sharp crack echoed through the room as her palm slammed down, rattling the teacups.

A hot flush burned her cheeks, matching the bloodshot fury in her eyes. “Fucking traitors! To aid outsiders against our own…”

“They want me dead, and they aren’t strong enough to do it themselves.” Sokram shrugged, with a hint of a smile on his lips, “It was expected from Kazzah, especially seeing that the Silverfangs are no longer backing him.”

“Is that why my mother did nothing after what happened with Luke?” Lucy frowned, her eyes lowering as the memory flashed in her mind. “She even forbade me from getting involved…”

“Yes, I wanted Timothy to act freely, giving him more rope to strangle himself. Besides…” Sokram took something out of his Void Glove; it was a recording crystal, but it wasn’t one of his. “…I got evidence of the Steelheart plotting to kill me thanks to it; two rats, one stone… or perhaps I should say four.”

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Sokram played the recording, and the recording crystal flickered to life, revealing a bluish holographic image of Kazzah and Timothy hunched in a shadowed booth with the Steelheart brothers. Tʜe sourcᴇ of thɪs content ɪs N0veI.Fiɾe.net

The thieves’ leader leaned across the table, his scarred knuckles gripping a tankard of cheap ale.

Their conversation made it irrefutable proof that they were plotting to take Sokram’s life and whoever stood with him.

Amber became excited and cheered, leaning over Sokram’s shoulder, exasperated, “With this evidence, you could go to the City Lord!!”

Seeing the girls so worked up for him made his confident grin grow close to becoming cocky, ‘Cute little things… I wonder if they’ve realized yet that what fuels their indignation… is me, haha.’

But pushing his draconic nature back, ‘It’s better if I calm them down, can’t have them ruining my plans, besides, we’re not alone anymore.’

“Yes, I could…” Sokram grinned, patting Amber’s head for her to calm down, “…and Kazzah and Timothy would get punished severely, while the Steelhearts…”

Sokram didn’t get to finish it because Sayuri appeared, materializing from the shadows in the corner of the living room, and finished the sentence for him.

“The Steelhearts would get a slap on their wrist and be sent to a prison in their territory. That is… if that could even be counted as a prison. It’s more like a palace fortress.”

She concealed her killing intent and hatred well, remembering how her eldest daughter died, a debt she had yet to repay.

Then Hannah also appeared, flashing beside Sokram.

Not concealing the concern in her gaze, “What are you planning?”

“I want to see if the spoiled brats will come out to play with this poor dragon outside the city walls.” Sokram grinned, but there was no playfulness in it, only killing intent, causing shivers to run down the other girls' spines.

“Be careful.” Hannah didn’t try to stop him, but she would keep a close eye on him.

“Don’t worry, I don’t intend on being reckless. I’ll double the focus on my cultivation and preparation in case it happens, as I’m expecting it to happen.”

Sokram grinned at her, stood up, and hugged Hannah before planting a kiss on her cheeks, “I’m home, Nana. Where are the others?”

“Welcome home, darling. They are out hunting for Figos,” Hannah leaned into his hug, wrapping her arms around him, “And Margiory should be arriving…”

As if on cue, the entrance door swung open and then closed, then came the clicking of high-heeled shoes on the wooden floor, becoming louder and louder, until she appeared, “Hi, baby. I heard you came back earlier today. Sorry for…”

Seeing Sokram hugging Hannah, Margiory’s brows twitched, and she pouted, “Don’t I get one too?”

“After I’m done hugging him, you can have your turn.” Hannah glared at Margiory in a mock-threatening way.

The interaction made the mood lighter again as the girls giggled.

A few minutes later, after the pair of grandmothers had tired of playing tug-of-war with Sokram, he went to the backyard with Sayuri to continue guiding her in converting her core until midnight.

Then he dedicated the rest of the night to his cultivation after Sayuri and the girls went back home.

But just as the sun had started to rise, they were back.

But Sokram just told Sayuri to wait, and the girls to continue to cultivate, as he was learning from Hannah.

Sokram had learned the basics and entered the intermediary level of Hannah’s Arcane Draconic Alchemy in less than a month of learning. Hannah wasn’t holding back on teaching him either, but his learning ability was something that amazed and scared her a bit.

What he had learned so fast had taken centuries of study and research for her to develop; not even Garuth had learned so fast, and he was the best student she’d ever had until Sokram.

Now she was preparing to enter the advanced levels of Arcane Alchemy, where there wasn’t much of the Alchemy theory and more of the arcane.

But just as Hannah finished explaining the formula of the spell for balancing alchemical agents in a pill.

Sokram read it once and executed it without greater difficulties.

Concocting a perfect Hyper Regeneration Potion, a potion that could force the reattachment of severed limbs.

Hannah’s hands trembled and her jaw clenched as she folded her arms, tapping her fingers against her sleeve, many contrasting feelings warring in her chest.

She turned away, unable to meet his eyes, trying to conceal her inner turmoil.

But the hint of a smile tugging on the corner of her lips revealed her pride for him as the winner among her battling emotions.

‘This is my life's work! Had it been anyone normal, it would have taken them at least two months to master a single spell on this level… You little monster!’

“Sigh… That’s all I prepared for today.” Hannah sighed in defeat, slumping back in the chair.

She looked deep in thought as she stared at the wooden floor.

Seeing her like that, Sokram felt slightly guilty; he wasn’t learning quickly; he was a Master Arcane Alchemist, and his mastery dwarfed hers, on a level she couldn’t even dream of or he could demonstrate at their current level.

But he knew that without her teachings in his previous timeline, he would never have reached the heights he did back then.

Wanting to cheer her up, Sokram pulled her up enthusiastically, hugging her, “Nana, this is awesome! Sometimes the girls tell me it’s super easy to learn from me. But learning from you, I truly understand that feeling. You’re an amazing teacher, and this Arcane Art you created is such a powerful magical art! Thank you for teaching me.”

He was sincere when he spoke, as it had always been very easy to learn from Hannah, even in his past timeline.

Seeing her disheartened expression turn into one of pure joy and pride, as a big smile blossomed on her face, Sokram felt at ease.

Hannah dismissed him, promising the next day’s class would challenge him further, though they neared the end of what she had to teach him in that area.

“Then, after I master Alchemy, can you teach me your Arcane Enchantment Art?!” Sokram looked at her with childish enthusiasm, showing how much he loved spending time with her.

“You already know how to create Runic Enchantments, darling. Shouldn’t you deepen your research on that end?”

Hannah raised a brow, slightly confused as to why he wanted to learn something that could become obsolete to him in a few years.

“But learning it could also broaden my horizons when it comes to enchantments, like creating artifacts like a certain mask…” Sokram winked at her, and she chuckled, nodding.

“Alright, I see your point. If you have the will to learn, there is nothing I wouldn’t teach you, darling.” As Hannah said that, she saw a mischievous grin appear on his lips.

“Then I guess when I come of age, you can teach me about Luma’s Bed Arts too.”

He winked at her with a teasing grin, and even Margiory, who was sitting close by, looked at him wide-eyed.

While Hannah became flustered, but didn’t refuse it.

The two grandmothers exchanged a knowing look before she turned back to Sokram, “When the time comes, we will talk.”

Hannah shooed him toward the backyard, where the girls were cultivating in deep meditation.

“Thanks, Nana,” Sokram said, but his tone was very flirty and confident.

But just as he was about to go to the backyard, he heard the doorbell ring.

When Sokram opened the door, he was greeted by the sight of the twins.

Nora and Lara were in casual clothes carefully chosen to accentuate their curves; both girls wore tight black cotton pants and beige buttoned shirts, though Nora’s had loosened one extra button on hers.

Their clothes delineated their well-shaped bodies and almost took the air from Sokram’s lungs as he failed to contain a gasp from escaping.

Catching Sokram’s wandering gaze, their smirks deepened, playful, daring.

However, where Nora felt predatory, Lara was slightly shier as they greeted him in unison, “Good morning, Captain.”

Their greetings flew like a well-practiced melody.

The teasing tone in their voices snapped him from his daze, but embarrassment wasn’t in his nature; he met their gaze with a flirty grin.

“Good morning, beautiful kittens, to what do I owe the honor of being presented with such a sight?”

The twins’ smirks grew, even as a faint blush betrayed their calm.

Then Sokram heard someone clearing their throat.

Looking past the twins, his gaze landed on Kan, whose lips quirked into a knowing smile.

Beside him, Kiana's cheeks were flushed, a deep rose spreading across her face, her eyes darting away in a shy admission of their playful interruption.

“Oh, so it’s just a team meeting?” Sokram feigned disappointment, his voice dripping with mock dismay. “Come on in.”

As they walked into the estate’s entry hall, Kan teased, “Aren’t you happy to see me, too, little brother?” pouting with mock disappointment.

“Get out of here, you stinky wolf.”

But then he glanced at Kiana, dressed in a yellow sundress, and teased, “But Kiana looks very cute when she blushes like that. So because of her, I’ll have to welcome you too.”

“So much for trying to be a good big brother,” Kan pretended to be crying in an overly dramatic way.

Kiana’s cheeks became even more flushed after hearing his comment.

Sokram was about to lead them inside when Nora stopped him, “Wait, Sokram, we didn’t come just to hang out, there is something we came to ask. Can you listen to our request?"

Sokram studied them, his silvery eyes narrowing slightly in thought.

A breeze came from outside, rustling the curtains gently.

After a pause, he gave a slow nod. “Go ahead,”

Lara stepped forward together with her sister, and they bowed toward him, catching him by surprise.

“Please, hire us too!”

Kan and Kiana joined them, and Kan’s tone was firm as he asked, “We’ve seen the growth in Amber, Savannah, and Lucy’s power. We don’t want to stay behind.”

His fists clenched tightly. “Can you please teach us too? Even if we must become blood-bound to you, that’s a price we’ve all agreed is worth paying.”