Sokram gave up thinking about it. He could find those answers later.

  For now, he needed to rest and recover.

  He sat cross-legged and meditated until he was in good condition to return. He stopped only to eat, struggling to resist the temptation to inspect the treasure he had just acquired.

  Once he felt he was strong enough for the journey back home, he stepped forward, giving one last look back, and disappeared and reappeared at the entrance of the tunnel.

  Then he teleported to the peak of the waterfall.

  His escape plan worked without a hitch, teleporting back to the entrance cave while also picking up the needles he had left along the way.

  But once he was halfway there, he stopped to locate the source and glued himself onto the wall using Force.

  On his descent, Sokram noticed that the source of the mana that enriched the water was in the middle of the sequence of waterfalls.

  Reaching the closest point to it, he stopped, having a few guesses about what it could be.

  But when he found it, his jaw dropped.

  It was the one possibility he hadn't considered.

  He didn’t find it underwater, nor was it a beast or a plant.

  The source wasn’t an object at all.

  It was the mountain itself.

  The cavern walls didn't just glimmer with moisture.

  They shone with the unmistakable, silvery sheen of raw mithril.

  Veins in the rock pulsed with a faint, rhythmic blue light, like a Mana-Heart, pumping Magi, enriching the environment's mana.

  The mithril, for an unknown reason, had become naturally mana-tainted.

  Mithril is a metal that not only perfectly conducts mana, but also naturally absorbs mana from the environment.

  Thus, if something forged out of mithril is enchanted, this quality of the mithril is what makes the enchantment last for millennia, even if said weapon or artifact wasn't a masterpiece.

  However, that scale was beyond what should be possible in his small world, unless the mithril was there even before the planet was terraformed.

  “Rich… I’m so fucking rich! There’s at least a ton of mithril in here.” Sokram celebrated, nearly losing control of his Elemental Manipulation and falling back into the river.

  His heart skipped a beat at the thought of facing the cold fall's cold water again.

  Sokram looked back at the mithril veins, and instead of retrieving his needle, he made sure it was firmly stuck into the wall, not just that one, but every other he passed through until reaching the exit.

  Although Sokram hadn’t completely lost his sense of time, he was still surprised to see it was night, which meant he had stayed inside the mountain for a whole day and a half.

  He had made an enormous profit, and this was just the first of the many adventures he would go on by himself.

  But right now, he knew his family would be worried sick, so it was time to go back home.

  He only wished he had the materials to form a teleportation array. But the needles he left behind would have to do for now.

  Just as he was about to jump down and start gliding, he remembered the griffons’ nest and the remaining needles he had left behind.

  Sokram headed back up to the griffons’ nest. But this time, he was careful not to attract more griffons. He also left a couple of needles behind just in case he needed a quick escape.

  When he teleported back to the nest’s location, it was gone, and his needle wasn’t in the same place either.

  Instead, his jump through spacetime left him a few steps from death.

  A Great Griffon loomed over him, its golden eyes locking onto his with terrifying intelligence.

  Strangely, there was no killing intent in its eyes.

  Sokram could see that the Great Griffon's eyes didn't just look at him; it studied him analytically.

  The pupils constricted and dilated, weighing his threat level, his magic, and fear. Its wings remained half open, ready to attack if necessary.

  “Hold your blade, child of the great scaled ones. I mean you no harm, for now at least. Can we speak?”

  The voice didn't match the beak.

  It was soft and layered, echoing as if two voices were speaking in unison. One human, one avian. Vibrating the air around them.

  Hearing the griffon speaking so fluently stunned Sokram.

  It meant that the great griffon had reached its Awakening, had fully undergone Reformation, and was now at least a Flawless Existence.

  “Yes, elder, we can talk,” Sokram nodded calmly. “What do you wish to speak about?”

  “Where did you come from? When I came back from my hunt, I saw you falling like a leaf circling the mountain and fighting the young’uns, but I scouted the whole mountain before leaving. And you weren’t here,” the griffon inquired, and by its tone, it wasn’t going to accept a shallow answer.

  Besides, some Evolved Species sometimes had gifts like the Crow King, so it was never wise to lie to them.

  Sokram slumped, gazing at the griffon. The adrenaline finally faded away, leaving his legs feeling shaky and heavy.

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  He rubbed his face, his hand rough against his skin, and let out a breath that carried the weight of the last two days.

  “Well, you might not believe me, but it’s quite the tale. So let me take a seat, this will be long.”

  Sokram didn’t move until he got the griffon’s approval.

  He really didn’t want to fight it, because his instincts were telling him that if that beak struck him, he was dead.

  As soon as the griffon nodded, he plumped his backside down and relaxed, “So this is what happened…”

  Sokram told the tale of meeting Mentyr and being teleported to the peak of the mountain, staying there for a while before gliding down.

  Then he faced the griffons and the spiders and went inside the cave to explore and hunt a few trolls.

  He, of course, omitted the part of the inheritance, “…Then when I came out of the cave, I remembered this nest and came back here for my needle.”

  “You truly met the Dark Lady, the one who knows a lot? Amazing… Why did you come back here? Was it truly just for the needle?” The griffon stared at Sokram intently, and his instincts screamed at him not to lie.

  “No, I came here to capture a few grifflings, or eggs, and tame them to raise them as mounts or hunting companions,” Sokram confessed with little to no hesitation, studying the griffon warily and ready to teleport away.

  “I see, so it wasn’t to eat them…” The griffon looked at Sokram with confusion in its eyes.

  “You’re all strange. After I evolved and received the gift of wisdom from the Records, I began watching you… humanoids… from afar.”

  The griffon cocked her head to the side with a bird-like jerk, blinking one eye then the other.

  Her feathers ruffled along her neck, a glint of curiosity passing through her big golden eyes.

  “And you do things I don’t understand. You eat our meat but purge the Chaos from it. And now you weren’t even aiming to eat those chicklings, you wanted to raise them?”

  “Yes, I assume you only received basic knowledge about what you should seek in the Path of Evolution, right?” Sokram already knew the answer, though.

  “I think so.” The griffon nodded, “The records only told me to keep growing strong, but that was the same thing my mother told me.”

  The griffon explained leisurely, and Sokram realized that he had made a mistake calling it an elder, because the Great Griffon in front of him must have awakened not long ago.

  “What you went through that made you capable of withstanding that hunger for killing everything that wasn’t your kin is called Awakening…” Sokram went on explaining to the griffon all it needed to know about the Path of Evolution.

  They talked for a few hours, and the sky was still dark when Sokram ended his lecture.

  “Wow… You know a lot of things, hm?” Mused the griffon, whom Sokram came to find out was called Willow.

  “Yes, but you’re quite sharp as well. Especially for someone who awakened just three years ago.” Sokram praised.

  “Heh, well, Mother used to say the same thing,” as Willow answered, Sokram saw a gleam of nostalgia in her eyes.

  “You said she named you like that, right? Did she tell you why?” The reason Sokram asked was to understand Willow's emotional depth.

  “Yes…" Her voice softened, losing its regal edge. "My mother told me she met a humanoid with the same name before I was born."

  Her gaze drifted past Sokram, fixing faraway as if she could see a memory painted on the horizon.

  "But the reason she named me like this is that the name reminded her of the sound of the wind, which is something she loves.” Willow's answer showed Sokram that she truly missed her mother.

  “Do you want to come with me?” Sokram asked her, sincerely wanting to aid her in her growth.

  Willow shook her head, “I can’t. Mother, before she left after my Awakening, said that I could only leave the mountain once another one like me was born and awakened.”

  Willow’s frustration was evident, “She said I would know just like she knew when I was born.”

  “I see…” Sokram thought about it for a while, then he summoned two objects from his gloves and placed them in front of Willow, one looked like a medallion, and the other was a crystal.

  “This medallion is a token of my family. The city southwest of here is where I live. If you ever decide to leave this mountain, I’ll give you a place to sleep. But don’t approach the city without the token because many are still prejudiced against beings like you who evolved from the beasts in the wild.”

  Sokram, then, pointed at the communication crystal, “And this crystal is for you to use if you ever need my help, just inject your mana into it and speak what you want, and your message will reach me, and I’ll come as fast as I can.”

  “Why are people prejudiced against those like me?” Willow frowned.

  “For the same reason you’re prejudiced against us, fear of the unknown,” Sokram stood up, looking at Willow with a side glance.

  “Me? Afraid of your kind?” Willow shot a daring look at Sokram.

  Sokram chuckled and shook his head, “It’s true you’re strong, but what I meant is not fear as the prey feels against the predator. It is another type of fear. For example, you can use your humanoid form, but you choose to present yourself in your true form. Why?”

  “Because I feel uncomfortable in such a small body and I don’t want you to think I'm weak!” Willow replied sharply, still trying to show she wasn’t afraid.

  “See, there it is. You wear your true form like armor. Your need to show you're stronger proves that you're afraid of being seen as weak, afraid the world will see you as prey." Sokram paused, meeting her gaze and letting his words sink in.

  "That’s the same with most of us, sapient beings. This fear is one of the reasons we can survive in this harsh world. So it’s nothing to be ashamed of, I’m afraid too.” Sokram smiled at her to show he wasn’t belittling her nor trying to offend her.

  “Of course you’re afraid, I could eat you in one bite, kahaha. But… Yes, I understand what you mean…” Willow averted her gaze from Sokram briefly, then nodded, “Alright, but don’t laugh, if you do, I’ll eat you.”

  Suddenly, her bones shifted and cracked. Her feathers dissolved into light. Her massive form collapsed inward, reshaping with fluid grace until a woman stood where the beast had been.

  In her humanoid form, she appeared to be in her early twenties, with brown hair on top and ashen-white on the sides of her long, wavy hair.

  She had three long feathers protruding from her hair on each side of her head.

  Her eyes were the same shade of mixed light brown and gold, and her light olive skin had the flawless sheen of eggshell.

  She was stunning, but wild.

  Her movements were too fluid, too sharp. As a predator standing proud in the wild.

  And her body was a vision so alluring and voluptuous that Sokram had trouble averting his gaze.

  “Why are you looking away? Am I that ugly?” Willow spat, somewhat offended.

  “No, it’s because you’re beautiful that I’m not looking. If I look at you for too long, something weird might happen.” Sokram replied honestly.

  “Oh, you would want to mate with me? I’m fine with that, but..." She leaned in, inhaling deeply near his neck, "...you don’t smell mature enough, so maybe it’s better to wait until then.”

  Sensing Sokram’s embarrassment at her teasing, Willow let out a giggle with childish enthusiasm.

  “Yes, I’m not ready yet, so…” Sokram summoned a robe he had bought for Amber and offered her. “Please wear this when you are in that form, especially if you decide to show yourself to people.”

  “Alright, thank you.” Willow’s tone sounded chirpy for some reason, but Sokram ignored it for now.

  After Willow got dressed, they went back to talking, and their conversation lasted until the sun began to rise on the horizon, tinting the sky in a mix of pink and orange.

  The first rays of dawn lightened the peaks, painting the snow gold beneath the rising sun’s crimson glow.

  When the light reached them, its warmth softly touched their skin, pushing back the night’s chilling air.

  Frost along the stone began to melt as long shadows stretched into the cave, slowly driving away the dark gray gloom of the early hours.

  It was then that Sokram stood up, looking toward Eversnow’s general direction, “It seems it’s time for me to go.”

  “Why? Can’t you stay? You could live here with me. I’ll bring you good food and…” But before Willow could continue, Sokram stopped her.

  “I can’t. I have a family that needs me. They must be worried sick since I disappeared.” Sokram’s tone was kind but resolute, leaving no room for argument.

  “Ah… But will you come back if I call you, right?” Willow glanced at him, not hiding the sadness in her gaze.

  Her shoulders slumped, the proud posture of the Great Griffon vanishing. Her grip tightened around the medallion he gave her as if it were a precious treasure.

  Seeing her like that, Sokram felt a pang of sadness in his heart.

  He knelt to meet her gaze and spoke in a soft tone, “Yes, Willow. We’re friends now, so you don’t have to worry. Even if you don’t call me, I’ll come to see you from time to time. I just can’t come every day because I have a lot of things I must do.”

  Remembering how close to the border this mountain was, Sokram warned her, “Take care of yourself, even more so if other humanoids come to the mountain. Not everyone will be as friendly as I am. You can always rebuild a nest, but don’t risk your life pointlessly. I hate losing my friends.”