Chapter 95: Chapter 95

Sokram sat cross-legged before the runestone circle, having arranged the stones into a perfect ring, ready to shield him from the snake’s Chaos Core if he needed.

Which he knew he wouldn’t, but to ease Hannah’s and the girls' hearts, this much was a must.

He placed one hand atop the other, palms up, the snake’s Chaos Core resting in his palm before closing his eyes.

He pretended to be trying to remember the feeling, the wisp of inspiration he mentioned before.

All was a deliberate show to the eyes he knew were watching him from afar.

He called the energy from the pulsating black spheres.

A barely perceptible tremor in his palm.

At first, it seeped into him, a burning, prickling sensation uncurling in his chest like molten lava into still water.

He felt its raw, untamed essence, a chaotic hum against his own pure and controlled one, and with a focused breath, he began to circulate it.

Each pulse was a subtle act of purification, stripping away the corrupted threads before absorbing the refined power into his own core.

Within ten minutes, a potent ripple of wind surged from Sokram, and a new circle of energy blossomed around him, causing Hannah's eyes to widen in disbelief.

Had it not been for the Chaos Core in his palm, she wouldn't even have felt the difference between the Chaos Energy and his mana.

Sensing his advancement, Hilda and the others came to take a look.

But Sokram, who wasn’t satisfied, increased the speed right at that moment.

“What is he doing?!” Hilda tried to approach, but Sayuri raised a hand, and a gush of wind pushed Hilda back a few steps.

Hannah looked at her with an icy glare and mouthed, “Don’t interrupt.”

Hilda, despite her worries, decided to trust Hannah’s judgment.

They all sat close by, and even Amber and Lucy stopped their studies to watch.

And five minutes later, Sokram reached a new advancement.

Hannah looked at the core in his palm and realized that the core had shrunk slightly.

Sokram opened his eyes, but he wasn’t smiling like always.

He glanced directly at Miralyn and asked her, “Do you have any artifact that can hide or mask someone’s tier?”

He knew the answer to that, and Miralyn could see why he was asking.

“I’ll give it to you if you promise to stop on Tier 9; the bracelet I have can only hide five tiers. You can justify advancing one Tier since you were close to advancing anyway, and it was easy to sense. But two in a day?” Hearing Miralyn’s words, Sokram knew she had a point; besides, it would do him no good to enter Reformation before becoming of age.

“I promise, Mom.” Sokram nodded, and from the same ring Meriande had given Miralyn to nurture Sokram, she took out a bracelet.

“Good, but first show us how far you can take that.” As Miralyn said that, Sokram closed his eyes, and Hilda stared at her.

But once their gaze met, Miralyn caressed Hilda’s face and kissed her cheek, “Better under our eyes than hidden inside a cave in the wild, don’t you agree?”

Hilda knew she was right, but still, she couldn’t fight her own anxiety.

Nor could the others, but Sokram couldn’t just wait for them to become comfortable with his discoveries.

He didn’t have the luxury of just pushing the boundaries of their comfort while compromising his own progress.

Instead, he was the pioneer, the trailblazer, forging the path they would all walk through after him.

But after Miralyn’s words, Sokram stopped holding back, and his Tier advanced from 5 to 9 in less than half an hour.

With no sign of the Marks of Chaos manifesting.

Sokram opened his eyes again and stretched his arms.

He looked back at his family, flashing his usual confident grin, he announced nonchalantly, as if it was just another step forward, “It worked.”

Hilda released a relieved sigh, but then asked him, trying to restrain her emotions, “Why are you in such a rush?” ᴛʜɪs ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀ ɪs ᴜᴘᴅᴀᴛᴇ ʙʏ NoveI-Fire.ɴet

Sokram could see through her façade, if it could even be called that, “Because the stronger I am, the less you worry, Mom.”

Hilda lowered her gaze, her shoulders slumping.

A heavy sigh escaped her lips, unheard.

She knew, rationally, that her overprotectiveness was a suffocating blanket. Yet the irrational, aching part of her still yearned for Sokram to be a normal kid from the north, untroubled by ancient powers and dangerous destinies, simply living a life free from the shadows that clung to him.

But the fact was, he wasn’t just a normal kid; he was the peak of Evolution, undefeated for countless eons.

Yet, he wasn’t bothered; he was enjoying their care and their presence.

Making this timeline differ from his past one completely brought him great joy.

Maybe it was his egoistic desire, but who could judge him when he had the knowledge, power, and ability to shape their future?

Besides, he was already holding back enough for their sake, for Nhiria’s sake, and for the sake of those who would still be born.

The silence stretched too long, heavy with unspoken questions.

Astrid cleared her throat, shifting her weight. “Can you teach me how to do that?”

She asked, her tone laced with caution.

But to their surprise, for the first time, Sokram shook his head no, “I don’t think so. We can try, but I think the only reason I can do it is because of my title, Pioneer of Chaos, and my bloodlines’ gifts.”

And that wasn’t a complete lie on Sokram’s part.

Unless they share his bloodline and gifts, they wouldn’t be able to grasp it.

Sokram stood up and handed Astrid the core, “Do you feel anything holding it? A pull, a call, anything?”

Astrid shook her head, disappointed, but Sokram continued, “See? It would be like trying to teach a deaf person how to hear.”

But seeing their shocked expressions at his blunt words, he explained, “I’m not saying you lack talent, but without these bloodline gifts, you’d be like someone born without ears or eyes. You can’t reach something you don’t know where it is.”

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After that, Astrid nodded, still disappointed.

She was the elder sister, and now Sokram was five tiers above her.

But then, trying to motivate her, he teased, flashing her a grin, “Sis, once I reach Tier 10, I won’t be able to advance until I come of age. So try to focus more on your cultivation, because after that, you might end up becoming the baby of the family in terms of strength.”

Astrid furrowed her brows, staring at him, but all she got back was him poking his tongue at her.

But instead of arguing, she went to the corner of the backyard and started gathering energy.

Seeing that, some of them laughed, but then Sokram told them, “Heh, laugh all you can, but I’ll be surpassing you all very soon as well.”

Their laughter died down instantly, not because he offended them, but because they realized that it was true, with him being able to absorb Chaos Energy straight from Chaos Creatures' cores, who wouldn’t he surpass?

Even Miralyn thought that soon her mother wouldn’t be the strongest powerhouse of their family.

A realization that also made her want to apologize to the Sacred Tree.

With that, Sokram turned back to Sayuri, smiling sweetly at her, which made Sayuri’s heart skip a beat. “It seems my cultivation session turned out short this time. Shall we go back to yours?”

Sayuri nodded enthusiastically, “Yes, please.”

That night, Sokram stayed with Sayuri; her hunger for Evolution was truly admirable, which made Sokram want to give his all to help her achieve her objectives as well.

The next day, before his team arrived, Sokram went back to the South Gate Stables, bringing Savannah with him to set up a few runic energy-gathering formations to speed up the hatching of the eggs.

For the next week, until the day of the big sale, Sokram no longer focused on his cultivation; instead, he focused on Sayuri’s, helping her reach 85% completion of her core conversion.

Other than that, he also read as much as he could from the expanded library inside his Void Glove, which was considerably larger now after so many gains, and so was his Soul Realm.

His growing knowledge gave him a solid foundation. But it still didn't give him a new excuse to suddenly discover new methods for empowering his family.

Savannah finally managed to reach Tier 4 with her Aura Core in her heart, and ten hours of hard work later, Sokram guided her into converting her cores into a Chaotic Heart Core.

Though Savannah held a composure that Amber and Lucy often lacked, Sokram watched as unbridled joy ignited in her eyes.

Then, a tremor shook her, and tears welled, blurring the fierce delight.

A choked gasp escaped her as she felt the raw Chaos Energy surge, hot and electric, through every vein, transforming her very essence.

Without a word, she launched herself into his arms, burying her face against his chest, her body trembling with the enormity of it all.

The tears streaming down her cheeks were not of sadness or pain, but of pure, profound awe at the immense power now thrumming, a vibrant song, within her very core.

Sokram had just given her one of the keys to Ascension, a dream for all of those who threaded the Path of Evolution.

Looking deeply into her eyes, Sokram whispered to her, “Stick with me, big sis. The sky I’m fated to reach, you will be there to see it too.”

Savannah nodded, blushing, but made no effort to break the hug she imposed on him.

Not that Sokram would mind having such a beauty in his arms for a moment longer.

Lucy and Amber also advanced to Tier 4, and Sokram’s three girls finally stood on equal ground with each other.

Sokram also managed to help Kan, Lara, and Nora with their cultivations, as they also had to form Vital Cores to convert Aura and Vitha into Titan Force, which Sokram realized would take them at least a month to achieve, but he wasn’t in a rush.

But Kiana was the one who surprised him the most.

He even started to believe she might have some fox blood in her veins because her speed when cultivating Magi could rival Lucy, Amber, or even Savannah.

She had successfully reached a Tier 1 Mana Heart.

Sensing the thin layer of mana over her heart brought the young wolf-kin to tears, finally finding some personal success after a series of misfortunes.

Sokram also continued to train the men from the Androny family.

But he also started training the hunting teams and mages hired under the Dracnakrid.

He wouldn’t be teaching them to cultivate Chaos Energy.

Still, his family wasn’t against him teaching them the other three fused energies.

When the day of the big sale finally arrived, Sokram was expecting at least a hundred people to show up.

To his surprise, the Pavilion came through for him once more, drawing nearly five hundred possible buyers.

But Sayuri, while leaning over his chest in the backyard after another cultivation session, informed him, “Although we tried to suppress it, the Steelhearts still managed to spread some rumors that the sale was a scam. So be prepared for skepticism on the merchant and nobles' part.”

Sokram’s grin sharpened, a predatory glint entering his eyes as he scented their weakness.

They saw a lamb; he was a dragon.

“Fools,” he scoffed, “they’re only setting themselves up to lose their own credibility.”

He reserved ten eggs for his family, five for the Dracnakrids, and five for the Andronys, leaving forty up for auction.

That night, the South Gates Stable was packed, mostly merchants from the city and a few merchant groups from the neighboring cities.

Margiory’s guards also recognized servants from several noble families of Norwinter, and of course, Sokram was informed.

They were all people who needed excellent flying mounts to safely transport non-living merchandise across the country, especially with the war looming over them.

But more importantly, people who had enough money to spend.

In front of the Crowd, Sokram stood surrounded by the eggs he was planning to sell as he addressed the crowd, “Each egg will be sold for five hundred gold.”

A collective gasp, sharp and sudden, cut through the expectant murmur of the crowd. “Five hundred gold?!”

The stunned whispers rippled outwards, followed by the low, angry growl of a merchant from the back, his sneer audible even at the front: “Five hundred gold for unhatched scams? The Andronys must think us fools!”

A wave of resentful murmurs, like a restless tide, snaked through the packed stable.

But before Sokram explained, he made a show of taking an Oath of Honesty in front of all of them.

Seeing the young dragon that was Lady Androny’s chosen successor going as far as making a blood oath held the attention of those with money.

“All the hatchlings born will be already bound by contract, and once hatched, they will develop an empathic link with whoever buys them. But the sale must happen before hatching. This will not only allow the crows to understand your words without training, but also communicate with their owners through feelings and even telepathically in the future.”

Sokram’s words shocked the crowd because they would save them hundreds of gold coins down the road.

They wouldn’t need to bother with taming the beast and could only focus on combat and mounting training.

An emphatic link mirrors the profound bond a beast shares with its parents, granting the owner absolute authority over the bird.

“But more than that, they share their parents' potential to reach Awakening, especially since all the wives of the Crow King had also awakened and achieved humanoid form.”

Hearing all that, the buyers, although still skeptical, understood the price, but still, no sales happened, even with the weight of the Androny family name; they all seemed reluctant to buy.

Sokram, remembering Sayuri’s words, realized why.

The Steelhearts, although not as efficient as the Pavilion, also spread a few rumors of a scam, but Sokram wasn’t worried; he had an ace up his sleeve.

Sokram moved to another paddock, where lay a different runic formation used to project images recorded through Recording Crystals.

Once Sokram revealed the Crow King's recorded image, a collective breath of awe swept through the onlookers.

Gasps rippled like a wave.

Skepticism cracked under awe as the Crow King and his wives’ image loomed over them, majestic, mystical, impossible to ignore.

Those not captivated by the beauty of the female crows in humanoid form were impressed by the Crow King’s might.

He activated the imagery spell, showing a few selected parts of their conversation.

Sokram explained, “As you can hear from my conversation with the Crow King, he has the innate ability to sense intent, something their hatchlings could also gain upon awakening. As we all know, Evolved Species also have bloodline gifts.”

Sokram then moved the recording showing the crows’ ability to control the stages of their shapeshifting.

That, and the fact that they were dual-element-attuned beasts, made the crowd go crazy and stop holding back from buying.

The static tension in the stable began to crackle with excitement, overtaken by a greedy eagerness.

Soon, a frantic chorus of bids erupted, and egg after egg vanished from the display.

Merchants who had clutched their coin purses tight, convinced Sokram would be forced to lower his price because of the rumors spread by the Steelhearts, now tore through their gold, faces flushed with a desperate regret for their initial hesitation.

The first ten eggs were sold to an influential merchant group called the Blue Moon Caravan that belonged to the Greyfur clan.

The owner of the group was Koma, who was also one of Kanami’s little brothers.

Someone who had invested a lot in Eversnow’s defenses, even helping Licarus to repair and reinforce the walls of the city, so Sokram wasn’t afraid of publicly giving preference to them.

After that, Sokram sold another five eggs to the Goldenmane family and another five to the Armfrost family.

With only twenty eggs left, Sokram limited sales to one per individual, group, or noble family. This was presented as a way to give more people a fair chance to buy, though it was merely a pretense.

This caused an uproar; many merchants from the city tried to accuse Sokram of being partial toward the founding families.

But his answer was short and impactful.

“Yes, I benefited them because they benefited the city I love. So to me, they are friends. Before you question my morals for showing them favor, tell me, what have you done for this city that even compares?”

After his sharp answer, although very displeased, no one dared to complain aloud.

But Sokram could still hear some dissatisfied murmurs spreading around.

Some more greedy merchants even tried to offer double the price to buy the eggs from other buyers, but no one who was fortunate enough to buy one would part with it.