Chapter 94: Chapter 94

After storing one of the snake’s heads, Sokram walked toward the other and declared nonchalantly, “To tame and raise them, if the taming bond is done before they leave the eggs, the crows will recognize whoever holds the contracts as their parents.”

“So you wanted to enslave them?” The Crow King’s tone was unusually calm for such a statement.

“Not exactly. It’s more like a mutual aid contract; the contract’s holders, by the laws of Norwinter, can’t mistreat the tamed creature. And they are obligated to feed, shelter, and care for the hatchlings.”

Sokram’s calm was surprising to Sayuri and his two grandmothers.

Miralyn, who had dealt with Evolved Species before, was also very calm.

“Norwinter is the name of this land, right? And what if the person goes beyond this land?”

Though his voice remained calm, a sharp curiosity laced the Crow King’s tone as his gaze meticulously tracked Sokram's every motion, even as the dragon gathered the snake's remains.

“The contract is formed here, with terms according to our laws. So even if the person leaves Norwinter, the contract would still be the same. A contract formed with blood-ink on paper never fades unless the contract is broken. But if someone breaks the contract, the hatchling, if small, would have to be returned to me; if big enough to survive on its own, it would be set free.”

Not sensing any lie in Sokram’s words, and no ill intent, the Crow King nodded as if he had come to terms with something, “How many eggs have you found?”

“Only seven nests, I was about to go look for the last one when… Well, this happened.” Sokram gestured to the scene they were in as he stored the last part of the snake’s body in his Void Glove.

The Crow King’s dark eyes flicked to his wives.

A silent exchange passed between them, a tilt of heads, a rustle of wings, before the eldest of his wives, the one Sokram had just saved, gave a sharp nod.

“Good, then since you’re a friend now, we’ll entrust these eggs to you. Since you didn’t lie, I know you will take care of them.”

Reluctant trust roughened the Crow King's voice, yet a genuine, relieved smile broke through. “Besides, we only stayed behind to make sure those hatchlings were strong enough to take care of themselves. This way, you help us twice, young dragon.”

Without waiting for Sokram’s words, the King and another four of his wives took off, flying in the direction of the last nest.

They returned shortly after, bringing another astonishing surprise.

While their forms remained humanoid, their feet had shifted back to crows' talons.

This partial transformation hinted at an even more profound, more complete mastery over their shapeshifting form.

Seeing the wives returning while carrying eggs twice the size of watermelons, Sokram was elated.

But when he saw the Crow King carrying three rings in his palm, he was even happier.

“This should be compensation for the trouble of taking care of the hatchlings. I don’t know why you humanoids fret so much about these things, but it’s yours.”

The Crow King handed the three rings to Sokram, who immediately checked their contents.

“Elder, I can’t accept this much.” The Crow King, sensing the intent of Sokram’s words, spoke with a commanding and firm tone, “But I want to pay you this much; if you don’t accept, I’ll feel insulted! Besides, at the place we’re going, those trinkets are useless. We, children of Natura, don’t care for such stones. They are beautiful to look at, shiny and all, but other than that, they are useless for us.”

“Then elder, if you ever need anything, be it more Serum, or medicine, and even someone who can heal wounds, don’t hesitate to call me.” Sokram looked at Miralyn, who understood his meaning and handed him a communication crystal.

“What is that?” The Crow looked curiously at the crystal.

"If you inject your mana into it and speak, your words will reach me as long as you are here in the Northern Continent,” Sokram spoke while injecting mana into the crystal.

A second crystal appeared in Miralyn’s hands, and when she activated it, the words he had spoken were replayed by the other crystal.

“Useful shiny rock,” the Crow King nodded approvingly, “Would my voice reach you if I were in Dragonnia’s Valley?”

Sokram's eyes shone with greed when he heard that, and he nodded eagerly.

But the Crow King seemed to become slightly embarrassed for some reason, “Pity, the ones I gave are all useless.”

“For me, they are all very valuable, elder.” Sokram smiled sincerely.

“You’re now my friend, Sokram. Call me Crow from now on! I’ll introduce my wives to you if we ever meet again.” Saying his parting words, the Crow King turned back to his wives and was about to take off, but Sokram stopped him.

“Wait, since we’re friends…” Sokram summoned a scroll and handed it to him, “With the Records' guidance, you should be able to understand this, right?”

The Crow King opened the scroll, read it a bit, and nodded with a smile, “Haha, if I ever find more of those shiny stones, I’ll have them set apart for you, my friend!”

The Crow King was amazed because the Records showed him that the scroll Sokram handed him was a stronger cultivation technique than the one he learned from the Records.

Without another word, the Crow King and his wives took off heading north-west.

After they left, Sokram’s family, who had been watching from afar, joined him and the others.

Sokram quickly gathered the other eggs and placed them into a sack before joining them.

But just then he saw the girls’ expressions and thought, ‘Right… They must have seen me rushing at the snake, stupid move.’

Hilda’s gaze, a storm cloud of disapproval, fixed on him as she strode forward.

Her lips, usually soft, were pressed into a thin, unyielding line.

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Before she could even draw a breath to begin the onslaught, Sokram blurted, “I’m sorry! I don’t know what came over me. I heard that crow speaking and…”

He felt the firm pressure of her hand on his shoulder, a silent promise of the lecture to come, as she interrupted, “A noble heart can be a blessing and a curse. Pick your battles more wisely from now on. Promise me?”

Sokram met her gaze apologetically and nodded, “I promise you, Mom.”

Hilda flashed him a smile, but then her smile turned evil as she pulled his ear, twisting it a little bit, “You better! Because if you even do something stupid like that again, having me clip your wings will be the last of your concerns! Do you hear me?! And…”

For the next twenty minutes, Sokram stood transfixed, a human-shaped target for Hilda’s relentless verbal barrage.

Each word landed like a lightning bolt, sharp and precise, twisting the knot of shame in his gut.

He could feel the eyes of his family, amused or sympathetic, burning into his back.

Yet, he didn’t dare to move, only giving a few eventual nods.

He hated making her worry.

His mother's disappointment was always a heavy weight on his conscience.

Once Hilda was calmer, she released his ear and walked away, avoiding everyone else’s gaze.

But Miralyn, who had witnessed everything up close, asked him full of curiosity, “What was in the rings?”

Still smarting from Hilda’s scolding, Sokram tossed her the rings. “Just a few gold bars, emeralds, rubies, a few jewelry pieces, and at least a hundred diamonds. Well, enough capital to pay the teams for a few years, I guess.”

While Miralyn checked it, she exclaimed in shock, “A few years? You mean a few hundred years, right?”

“But there are even some books here…” Miralyn teased, and she got just the reaction she was hoping for.

Sokram instantly perked up; he had just checked one of them and was taken aback.

Oliver looked at Sokram, happier to get some books than he was for the treasure, with a baffled expression.

But then he heard Astrid joking, “Maybe you should just sell these eggs for books instead, haha.”

Sokram looked at her with a raised eyebrow, “That’s not a bad idea.”

Oliver almost had a stroke, but then Sokram’s gaze met his, and he burst out laughing, “Don’t worry, old man, I’m still a dragon and a very greedy one at that.”

“Good, good,” was all Oliver mustered while stabilizing his breath and wiping the sweat from his brows.

“By the way, you should come train with me. I’ll give a good cultivation technique. We can‘t have you dying of old age while you’re only sixty.” Sokram teased, flashing him a grin.

All the women around agreed and pushed the old man to accept, even Brunhild, whom Oliver held in the highest regard.

Under such peer pressure, he didn’t have the guts to refuse, and even though he hated cultivating, Oliver accepted.

After gathering all the seventy eggs, Sokram went to check for the bodies of the other snakes.

He was pleased to find them intact, just as the Crows had left them. Remembering their disdain for treasure, he scavenged the caves for more. There, he found a few other humanoid skeletons carrying several more spatial rings.

The spatial rings carried books, gold, crafting materials, metals, and various alchemical ingredients.

But Sokram decided to go through it once they got home.

A while later, Margiory sighed in relief as Hannah’s wings cut smoothly through the calm dawn, a welcome contrast to the first flight's chaotic ride.

They even managed to watch the sunrise, the beautiful contrast of pink-gold light spilled over Hannah’s obsidian scales, each one catching the sunrise like molten glass as she soared through a sky painted in fire and frost, the wind carrying the scent of pine and dew.

Below, the world yawned awake, shadows retreating from the sun’s first touch.

A sight they would never forget, not only for its beauty but also because this was their first family adventure of its kind.

When they arrived in Eversnow, Hannah’s gigantic Dragon Form startled many of the farmers who were already working. The source of this content ɪs noⅴelfire.net

Some of the guards even threatened to ring the alarms, only to be scolded by their superiors, who were informed about the Duchess leaving the city in dragon form with her family on her back.

After leaving Sokram and their family near the South Gates, she went away to turn back and get dressed.

Sokram and Oliver stopped by the stables to formulate their plans for selling the eggs.

Sokram asked Sayuri to spread the news even to the neighboring towns, as he wanted to bind the contract before hatching the eggs; this way, taming the hatchlings would become unnecessary, as once they were bound inside the eggs, they would recognize the contract owner as their parents.

After fine-tuning the details, he and his family went home, but not before Margiory doubled the number of guards watching the stables.

Once they arrived, Sokram found his team waiting for him.

And he knew this was going to be another day without sleeping.

Once in his backyard, he showed them the recordings, leaving his team awestruck.

They all wanted to rush back to their families so they would be prepared for the big sale.

Sokram also told them he was planning to auction some of the eggs because all the hatchlings would be born as dual-element-attuned flying mounts.

“Aren’t you picking one for yourself?” Savannah glanced at him, full of curiosity, a curiosity his entire team shared.

But Sokram shook his head, “Nope, I won’t need a flying mount for long.”

They all thought it was because he was a dragon, but Sokram had other plans in line.

After chatting for a while, Sokram resumed their training.

After part of his team left, Savannah, Amber, and Lucy stayed to cultivate with him.

Lucy and Amber were still adapting to the accelerated pace of their cultivation now that they had formed their Chaos Cores.

But Savannah didn’t seem to be in a rush.

Sokram could see she was more immersed in studying Runecraft and only cultivated when he was near.

He was satisfied with it; it wasn’t like she was stalling or stagnating. It was more like she wanted to enjoy the scenery as she traveled to greater heights.

After giving the girls a few more tips, he gave them space to study and cultivate alone.

Sokram shifted his focus to helping Sayuri, who had just returned from the Pavilion.

Now that their bond was one of life and death, Sokram could guide her cultivation directly, which she hadn't let him do before.

She also realized that she was learning faster as if the connection between them was granting her a greater comprehension of his teachings.

But Sayuri was also losing herself in her feelings for him.

Before her Devotion triggered, she would only allow him to place his hands on her back, trying her best to keep their contact as minimal as possible.

Now, their cultivation session looked more like a couple acting cuddly, with Sayuri leaning back over Sokram’s widening chest while ignoring Hannah's furious glares.

After guiding her cultivation until midnight, his focus shifted once more, now to his own cultivation.

But Sokram finally decided to test his theory about being able to extract Chaos Energy straight from a beast’s core.

“Nana Hannah, Sayuri.” As soon as he called them, they appeared behind him: “I’ll test something, it might be dangerous…”

“Sokram…” Hannah’s tone was firm with a hint of scolding, even before he said anything.

But Sokram ignored her worries and continued, “You know what the Marks of Chaos are, right?”

“Sokram!” Hannah argued once more, her tone more serious this time.

Sokram didn’t ignore her this time, and glancing at her, he smiled, “Don’t worry, I just received some inspiration about something; this conversation is for precaution. Just so you don’t get all scared like the last few times.”

“Sigh…” Hannah knew there was no changing his mind and decided to listen to his plan.

“Well... Where was I? Right, Marks of Chaos, when someone becomes overwhelmed by the corruption of chaos, if they are humanoid, a set of dark markings will spread through their bodies, so if you see anything like a goblin tribal mark appear on my hands, smack the core away from me as fast as you can…”

He stood up and approached Savannah with a sheepish grin.

“Sorry to interrupt,” Sokram said, already pulling out a set of runestones from his Void Glove, “but I need your help.”

Savannah nodded, perhaps a touch too eagerly, the warmth blooming in her chest undeniable.

Hearing that he needed her made her heart race and her cheeks flush.

She sat beside him; her eyes locked on his every move.

Sokram didn’t miss it, but turned back to Hannah and Sayuri, “If you see the marks, smack the core between these runestones.”

Turning to Savannah, he told her, “If that happens, raise the barrier immediately, alright?”

Savannah nodded, holding his gaze a little too long.

But Hannah cut in, perhaps on purpose, perhaps not.

She looked at Sokram and asked him, “What core?”

Hannah's brows furrowed.

Her gaze flicked to Sayuri, who only shrugged, then back to Sokram. “You never mentioned anything about a Core before now.”

Sokram smiled wryly and summoned the body of a Reformed-Level Grey Scaled Anaconda.

The anaconda’s corpse hit the snowy grass of their backyard with a thud, its scales dull as ash.

Coating his hand in lightning, he plunged a hand into its chest, withdrawing a pulsing black sphere.

The core throbbed in his grip, pulsing crimson like a living heart. It hummed, not with sound, but with shifting pressure.

Like reality itself was bending in its presence, being forced to change around it, at every throb.

“Pure Chaos Energy condensed.” Sokram’s fingers tightened around the core, his grin widening greedily as his gaze fixated on the core in his hands.