“What Grandmaster Kamus said was true. I saw through everything from the start, but in my defense, it was quite obvious…”
Sokram went on to explain how easy to figure out everything had been to him.
“To , it was always clear that you wouldn’t ask the impossible of . So if you gave a task, there is a correct way to do it. Seeing how patient the Grandmaster and my Master were with my pace, it reminded of the first lesson I learned from Master Leona.”
Sokram looked at her as two sets of mories of the sa lesson flashed in his mind while he explained, “She told to hold her sword and walk carrying it, then right after she shouted: No! Stop! You’re walking wrong! That’s when I first learned Right, Left, Breathe.”
“That was the first day of the training. It was obvious you would bring back to the fundantal teachings of the Killing Blade Art during this training. All I had to do was figure out what worked, when it worked, and why you were training that way. After that, everything got much simpler.”
Leona pressed her lips into a thin line, repeating Kamus’s question, “And you couldn’t indulge us a little?”
Her gaze felt heavy, daring him to answer incorrectly.
“No, I couldn’t,” Sokram answered bluntly. A sudden, icy prickling raced down his spine, a cold premonition of what was to co.
Kamus scoffed, “So, you think we are easy to ss with, hm? But you seem to be forgetting sothing, Sokram. You’re still a disciple.”
When these words ca out of Kamus’s mouth, Sokram’s hand stopped mid-motion, the chill crawling up his spine freezing every thought.
And what Kamus said next caused his heart to drop. “Triple Training!”
Kamus’s tone was casual, yet the wicked curve of his grin betrayed his intent.
Kasine and Leona nodded, agreeing, wearing the sa grin.
“Since that’s the case, give him another three days of rest to ntally prepare.”
Sokram glanced at Kasine, his vision blurring for a mont. He swallowed hard, the unexpected reprieve lodging in his throat as a lump of overwhelming gratitude.
“ntally prepare?” Leona squinted her eyes and then rembered, “You want him to finish whatever he is doing in that lab, hm? It must be sothing great.”
Leona’s tone was almost jealous.
“It’s so ga-changing and pocket-filling level of a great thing, dear.” Kasine grinned at Leona, who nodded.
Kamus then declared in a solemn tone, “Since my lovely wife rarely gets this excited about sothing, you go finish that first, but as soon as you’re done…” he didn't need to finish it; his grin turned evil again.
Kasine shot her husband a flirty smile, winking as she said, “Thank you, my love.”
Then she turned to Sokram and ordered, “Go back to the lab, I’ll go fetch Hannah.”
Kasine vanished from where she had stood a heartbeat before.
One Step - One Stride.
Her image blurred as the air cracked, rippling before the echo of her footstep faded.
Sokram removed the rings and shot Leona a pleading look as he handed them back.
But Leona only matched Kamus’s wolfish grin.
Shooting him a look that promised pain.
“See you in a week then,” Sokram shouted back to them as he bolted out of there.
But Leona shouted, “You can try to run, but where would you hide that I wouldn’t find you, kiddo?”
“The Tower!” Sokram shouted back.
“Don’t you dare! Do you think my wife will stop if I decide to barge in there?”
Yet, her question t only silence as a response, but she knew he wouldn’t run.
Just then, Lymus arrived at a way better pace than he was using before. But seeing Sokram leaving, he frowned.
“Is the training over?” Lymus asked, worried he had failed.
“No, Sokram will be receiving punishnt, tripled training, but Kasine asked to give him ti to finish whatever he is doing in the lab. This way, he can train uninterrupted.” Kamus answered as he looked at Lymus’s state, covered in sweat but still breathing regularly.
Sokram’s words echoed in his mind: ‘The genius of your training thod lies in how fast it brings results.’
“You’ve found a good one, Leona,” Kamus muttered to himself, because Sokram’s act didn’t fool him.
Sokram dashed out of the woods with a satisfied smile on his face when he saw Kasine waiting for him.
“Nana Kasine?” Sokram stopped in his tracks, but her expression was rely one of curiosity.
“Why not just ask for more training if that’s what you want?” Kasine raised a brow, truly curious.
“Lymus. If I ask for more training, wouldn’t he feel… inferior? But if it’s just a punishnt, then…” Sokram didn’t finish as Kasine's smile showed she got his point.
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Kasine nodded, “I figured it would be sothing like that, but are you sure you can handle it?”
“I’ll do my best, Nana.” A genuine warmth spread through Sokram's chest as he smiled at her.
“Well, alright. I’ll ask Hannah to adjust the enchantnt on the rings. Half the weight doesn’t seem enough, maybe triple the weight too, what do you think?” Kasine joked.
“Nana Kasine, please don’t be an!” A cold sweat trickled down Sokram's back.
Kasine’s teasing tone carried far too much conviction. Her smirk curved dangerously, the sa smile she wore whenever teasing beca a threat.
With Kasine teasing him and joking like that, the two of them went straight back to the lab.
The empty entrance struck him as strange, yet the subtle glances and firm nods from the few passersby from the slums spoke of deep respect and admiration.
That day, after Sokram, Hannah, and Kasine concocted all twenty-seven pill variations, they managed to kill ten goblins while testing the pills; the goblins didn’t explode like the rats, but it was still quite gory.
And all ten tis, Shidreth would often pass out after cursing Sokram with his heart full of hatred and killing intent because of the effect of the slave-master bond.
Sokram even worried he might die at so point. Another thing that bothered him, however, was that their bond seed to get stronger with ti.
Sokram could even feel his emotions, and there was a lot of sadness every ti Shidreth saw another goblin dying.
“That little guy is truly fascinating for a goblin,” Sokram mused as they left the lab.
“Stop worrying about your new pet, we still have seventeen samples to test and only another two days,” Kasine barked, but she was clearly teasing him. “Hannah, can I trust you with that new set of arms and ankle rings?”
“Of course, Kasine,” Hannah shot Sokram a teasing look and added, “Anything for my grandson.”
“Even you, Nana?” Sokram showed an exaggerated betrayed expression, with a hand over his heart as if it had been pierced.
“Alright, good rest, you two.” Kasine waved them bye and left using a movent technique.
The next day, Sokram and Hannah went to the lab right after breakfast and continued with the tests.
Sokram purposefully placed the pill with the working formula as the last one to create a more dramatic victory mont.
Thus, all Sokram did that day was kill so more goblins and study Shidreth's behavior.
But on the following day, it finally happened.
As Sokram picked the last pill sample. Hannah and Kasine stood by his side with their hands on his shoulders as he ordered the goblin to swallow the pill.
As soon as the pill entered the goblin’s stomach, Sokram started aiding the goblin to digest it and guiding its cultivation.
Soon they started noticing differences from the other twenty-six variations, and in under ten minutes of guided cultivation, the goblin who still hadn’t core in his heart, ford one.
“Ten minutes for primary core formation…” Kasine whispered in disbelief.
“Amazing,” Hannah whispered absent-mindedly.
Sokram's breath ca asured, his focus razor-sharp despite his heart rate purposefully increasing to the point his pulse hamred in his ears.
Still, he was really excited about it.
Because with this pill, his family, friends, and their forces would beco the true powerhouse of Norwinter and the Northern Continent.
As for soone entering Ascension before him, he wasn’t worried.
He now held the key to that, and the door was in a place only he knew, except for a certain fox locked in there. He planned to go for it as soon as the war began.
Sokram continued guiding the goblin for another hour, and finally, it entered the Tier 1 Common level.
And as if on cue, two screens pop up in front of his eyes and the entire galaxy’s eyes, but the first wasn’t about him:
[I, Nhiria, First of the Gray Dragons, Guardian of this galaxy, congratulate you, ____________ of the planet Nastroc, in the quadrant 55 of the Awakened Zone.
For being the First of your world to reach Ascension and open the path toward the Ascendant Zone of our galaxy.
Your trials are only beginning in the Path of Evolution.
But to aid you, I offer you the Title of Pioneer of Nastroc.
May your journey to the Ascendant Zone be prosperous.
Godspeed!]
“It’s been a while since I’ve seen one of these. Another planet is joining the Ascendant Zone.” Hannah comnted.
Kasine nodded, adding, “Yes, the last one was right when we found Norwinter, around seven hundred years ago.”
But after closing the first screen, their eyes widened.
The room froze.
Hannah’s breath caught, Kasine’s hand tightened on Sokram’s shoulder as the second window unfolded.
Because the other ssage was for them:
[I, Nhiria, First of the Gray Dragons, Guardian of this galaxy, congratulate you, Pioneer of Chaos, and your two companions, for another epic discovery.
You’re not even of age yet, and already surpassed so of my Paragons.
This creation of yours will one day revolutionize the way people of our galaxy tread the Path of Evolution. For your efforts, I’ll grant you three rewards:
First, I’ll give you this advice: I know you’re seeking the Crystal Palace. You’re on the right track to find it.
Second, I grant you the privilege of picking three different subclasses, while still on a level below Exalted. This will aid you in the challenges to co.
The third and last reward is the one you will share with your companions, the Title: Arcane Alchemist of Chaos.
Keep working hard as you evolve, child. Godspeed.]
Sokram closed the window with a thought, trying his best not to lose focus on the goblin’s cultivation, but two others popped up.
[You have been awarded a new Galactic Title: Arcane Alchemist of Chaos.]
[You et the requirents for 27 different subclasses, please pick three…]
“Not yet,” Sokram whispered softly before stopping, guiding the goblin’s cultivation while willing it to continue.
The goblin tried the best it could, but it couldn’t keep up with the energy the pill was drawing in.
Sokram had no intention of letting it live anyway.
But before the goblin exploded, a ripple of despair brushed against Sokram’s mind.
Not his own, but Shidreth’s, bitter and raw.
Shidreth dropped to his knees, his forehead hitting the cold floor with a dull thud.
His voice broke into a frantic, desperate wail: “Please! Save wife! Please, don’t let wife die! Please! I serve Drak, call Drak master, please!”
Shidreth's plea struck him like lightning, stirring sothing traumatic and long-buried within Sokram's chest.
For the first ti in all his existence, both in this and his previous tiline, he felt truly moved by sothing he considered an inferior life form.
Not because soone crying at his feet could move him so easily, but because he knew the pain of begging soone to spare his loved ones.
“Sigh… Alright, but you better serve honestly.”
Sokram agreed with a frown, sitting behind the goblin, only now realizing it was the sa one Shidreth dragged to his cage the other night.
“This goblin is truly sothing else, to have even developed empathy despite the Corruption of Chaos, very interesting,” Hannah observed as Sokram continued to guide Shidreth's wife's cultivation.
Hours slipped by unnoticed, marked only by the dimming glow of the lab’s runes.
Hannah and Kasine even left him to deal with it.
Sokram managed to push the goblin to reach its first Level of Existence Advancent, pushing it all the way to the Uncommon Existence level, so as not to waste the effect of the pill.
When Sokram was done, he took another Runic Slavery Contract, making Shidreth’s wife sign it, before ripping the forr slave contract.
As soon as he did it, the goblin bolted to hide behind Shidreth without realizing she was now stronger than he was.
Sokram thought for a while and then asked, “Your wife has a na?”
Shidreth shook his head no.
Sokram stopped thoughtfully for an instant.
Then, breaking out of his daze, he declared, “Then from today on, her na is Haramin.”
“Another draconic na for another goblin, Sokram?” Hannah raised a brow, her voice coming from behind him.
He was surprised to see Kasine and Hannah there. “I thought I heard you leave.”
“It ans Heart’s Desire, Core’s will, Center Mind, which doesn’t sound that good,” Kasine added.
“Haramin is the will of Shidreth’s heart, for her life he promised to serve ,” Sokram explained.
“Haramin…” Shidreth muttered while looking at the goblin cowering behind him.
Still shivering behind him, Haramin nodded, showing she accepted the na.
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