“Hey, no need to make a show out of it, alright? I’m not a Seeker under your Lady. I’m sworn only to Nhiria. The details of the deal I made with your Lady are between her and me.” Sokram winked at Cecille, and Sahvus and Sienna nodded in agreement.

  Sokram turned to Amira and added, “And you… You don’t have to worry. I feel nothing but gratitude toward you. So read the contract and give me your answer later.”

  Sokram bade farewell to Sahvus, Sienna, and Cecille and moved to rejoin his mother and grandmothers.

  But seeing how they were staring at Amira, he turned back to her and said, “And don’t mind them, they are just overly protective of me. See you soon!”

  As Sokram left, Amira asked Cecille, “What do you think, Auntie?”

  “I think you should be thankful your recklessness didn’t start a war between our two families. Now they are stronger than all of us. Hilda is a long-time friend, and she didn’t even greet me, which shows how pissed they are about all that happened.” Cecille's tone was sharp and reproving.

  Sahvus nodded. “Sokram truly defied any of my expectations. He is the Pioneer of Chaos, but now, he is also the Lord Seeker of Chaos, which explains a great deal about him. But this also makes it our family’s ultimate goal to protect and serve him.”

  And Sienna added, “And if he is a Seeker important enough that our Lady would entertain his bargaining, then we should do what we can to stay close to him.”

  Sienna turned to Amira with a greedy smile and finished, “I’ll go through that contract with you later.”

  “Yes, Grandma.” Amira nodded, but although her face didn’t show, she was happy she could continue staying close to Sokram.

  As Sokram was nearing their house, Brunhild failed to contain herself.

  “You were too soft on that girl. I get she’s beautiful, but…” Brunhild huffed, crossing her arms so tightly that the ruffle of her robes seemed to creak as if it were her favored scaled armor.

  Seeing Sokram raising an eyebrow, she stopped herself, “I mean, you are already in puberty and… Sigh, I can’t understand you sometimes, truly can’t.”

  “Nana, if I were that weak-willed, I would have tried to pounce at one of you already,” Sokram chuckled.

  And a distinct shade of pink rose on Hilda’s cheeks, mirroring the flush that spread across Brunhild’s neck. Even Margiory cleared her throat and looked away, suddenly finding the floor pattern fascinating.

  “But no,” Sokram continued, “The reason I did that was that it’s obvious to me that Mentyr planned to give me that inheritance. Though I believe she wanted me to submit to her will, I doubt the outcome is outside of her predictions either.”

  Hilda frowned, hearing that, “Why would Mentyr, the Princess of the Nether, want you to find that inheritance?”

  “Don’t you see how fanatic her followers are for her? That obsession is a consequence of sharing her will, it’s written in the book of the Lords of the Nether,” Sokram explained as if that bit of information alone was meant to clarify everything, but clearly it did not.

  “If her servants are obsessed with her, wouldn’t she also be obsessed with whom she serves? Because each Nether Lord carries one obsession.” He stopped at the entryway and faced them, finishing his explanation.

  “But Mentyr and Azulla have two, Azulla is obsessed with War, Mentyr is obsessed with Knowledge and Secrets. Yet they are both obsessed with Nhiria.” Sokram's explanation finally made sense to them.

  “So Nhiria… You think she is supporting you?” Brunhild asked with a thoughtful frown, considering the implications of such claims.

  Sokram merely nodded, “It wouldn’t be strange. You know how much she interferes when she takes a liking to someone. The Paragons are proof of it.”

  “Didn’t she also gift Harten and Belladona each an Allseer’s Codex and an Oghmah so they could improve their Magi-tech and Biomancy?” As he passed through the front doors, waving his right hand, he dispersed the Isolation barrier he had raised around them.

  “Didn’t she lead the Huntress to the Valley of the Golden Rose to find the seed of the Sacred Tree in the original world? Didn’t she also show the path back to the light to Azulla after she became the Queen of the Nether?” Sokram's explanation began making more sense the more he revisited the tales of past eras.

  “So, you think she is trying to make a Paragon out of you?” Hilda asked, a concerned expression on her face.

  “No, she is not, don’t worry.” Sokram's answer carried that same confidence that made them sure there was more to it.

  “Besides, even if she were, I would refuse.” His words shocked them, but before they could say anything, he added, “I want to reach the Star Palace by my own effort instead of being made to sit on a throne that I didn’t conquer.”

  Sokram’s words would be considered blasphemy by many if they heard them.

  Still, he didn’t stop, “But I also don’t think she can have more Paragons. Haven’t you noticed that she only expanded her pantheon after her territory within the galaxy expanded after each era? I believe twenty is the limit. And I doubt she would kick out one of the Paragons or Nether Lords to merely give me a seat.”

  “You speak as if they are all so within reach.” Hilda let out a chuckle but swallowed it back, seeing Sokram’s serious expression.

  “One day, the four of us, along with all our family, will pass through the doors of the Star Palace, and then you will see how easy it is to reach it.” Sokram’s words had so much certainty in them that even the Paragons, Nether Lords, and Nhiria, who were watching from afar, believed him.

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  “I will be waiting for you, my Champion.” Sokram heard Nhiria’s unmistakable voice whisper.

  The voice didn't vibrate through the air; it bloomed directly inside his heart, soft and warm as he could never forget.

  “Now, if you excuse me, I have a lot of things to go through,” Sokram nodded briefly at them and headed to his triplex.

  The first thing Sokram did there was gather his girls and delegate a few things for them.

  Amber and Savannah would remain responsible for working with Oliver to tame the beasts to be sold in the South Perch Landing Zone.

  And if Amira decided to sign a contract with him, she would be working directly under them.

  Lucy and Astrid would be responsible for managing the Hunting teams.

  He gave them full authority to coordinate the hunting teams as they saw fit, just making sure to remind them to coordinate with Figos and Riella on the demand for each butchery.

  Or with Oliver if he needed any hunting teams as support to raid any nest.

  But he also made it clear to them to stay away from Willow’s mountain, as he didn’t want to create animosity with someone he decided to take under his wing.

  When they asked him what he was going to focus on now, Sokram’s only answer was, “I’m going to hit the books and finish my mandatory service.”

  As a member of the Extermination Hall, where he still had to present himself for service, he needed to take at least two monthly missions.

  Those commissions were to exterminate monster nests causing chaos in people's daily lives, or to seek and destroy bandits' hideouts and strongholds.

  After delegating the work to the girls, Sokram went straight to his room. After a much-needed meal, he started separating the spatial devices by content.

  The sheer scale of the inheritance was staggering. Before Sokram lay 425 spatial rings and 57 spatial bracelets big enough to fit the City Lord’s Palace.

  Plus 47 spatial bags, which, although smaller, were gigantic compared to the spatial bags found nowadays.

  In 7 of the 57 bracelets, Sokram found what, for him, was the least valuable treasure: Golden coins.

  The next 20 were filled with metals and minerals: Adamantium, Ebanium, Mithril, Dark Steel, Orichalcum, Moonstone, Gold, and Silver ingots.

  But also precious stones like black, blue, pink diamonds, as well as various other precious gems. Out of the twenty bracelets, five were filled to the brim with those.

  The remaining 30 bracelets were filled with rare materials for enchantments, such as gallons of blood of high-level beasts, diamond dust, dusted mithril, and all kinds of dusted gems.

  But also Blood-ink, which was more potent than the one he could currently produce.

  In the 47 spatial bags, Sokram found an infinitude of alchemical ingredients of all kinds. And many seeds of rare plants, and instructions on how to grow them.

  He realized that most legends about Drokmin's wealth must have been true, but the true riches were revealed as he skimmed through the rings.

  50 of those rings, which had subspaces as big as the bracelets, were filled with cores and dismantled carcasses of monsters that Sokram couldn’t even imagine facing at his current level.

  He also found skeletons of dragons. All chromatic like Drokmin’s. But different from him, those seemed to have died in their dragon forms.

  The bones were colossal, metalized by time and mana. Even in death, the skulls radiated a lingering predatory aura, their empty eye sockets seeming to judge the living.

  It seemed that Drokmin didn’t have qualms about using his own kind as crafting materials, which Sokram didn’t either.

  Once someone died, especially an enemy, their body would become nothing but an empty vessel, thus a spoil of battle, especially when it came to dragons and titans.

  The next 40 were filled with components that Sokram had to pretend not to know about.

  But they were engines, magi-tech components, energy cells, and many other things that were too advanced for Sokram to show he knew them.

  Before even trying to mess with it, he would have to study a lot, because they were all components of a fallen Ark, which explained Drokmin's wealth.

  The next 20 rings held magical energy crystals and liquid energy sources, such as Virgin Soul-Crystals, Soul Gems, Mana Crystals, Aura Orbs, Vital Gems, and Gallons of Liquid Mana.

  Then, he found it.

  A black icosahedron crystal, pulsing with a malevolent crimson glow.

  “A Seed of Chaos…” He muttered.

  But Sokram didn’t even dare to bring it out, as the Chaos Energy in it couldn’t be contained. Any person touched by the Chaos energy within it would go mad instantly.

  For the sake of Margiory’s servants, who had yet to master Chaos Energy cultivation, it would be best to keep it stored.

  Besides, he would have another use for it in the future.

  15 rings contained schematics for armors, weapons, equipment, and formations.

  And artifacts so futuristic and advanced in terms of magitech that once Sokram released them, the world would erupt into uproar.

  In a single ring made of Ebanium, different from all others, Sokram found ten thousand golden fruits and a single golden seed.

  Those were fruits from a Sacred Tree, and one connected to Natura herself.

  The next 65 rings seemed filled with Draggionia’s Empire Armory.

  Most of the armory consisted of Semi-Perfect and Superior-level artifacts, weapons, and armor sets. Enough to equip twenty legions, and he would still have enough for his family to have many spare pieces.

  But then came the true treasure, the one Sokram coveted most. 225 rings containing the sum total of magical knowledge. Every school, every subject, preserved for eternity.

  Every known and a few unknown areas of magical sciences, biology, techno, geomancy, magi-tech, crafting, metallurgy, construction, and many other subjects.

  Countless research materials from all ages, recipes for pills, potions, elixirs, and medicines.

  And in one of those rings, Sokram found an entire lab worth of equipment for Biomancy studies.

  While inspecting those book-filled spatial rings, he came across three books.

  Two of them he already had, which were another Oghmah and Allseer’s Codex.

  ‘Well, why did she give me those if… Thinking again, I wouldn’t know the inheritance was there without the codex. Could I still pretend that I just found it, though? Would that be believable with how well-hidden it was?’

  Having more than one copy of the Oghmahs and Allseer’s Codices wasn’t, by any means, something bad.

  But had he known Drokmin had a copy too, he would have asked something else from Mentyr, which made him want to kick himself.

  Opportunities to bargain with the Princess of the Nether weren’t easy to come by.

  But the third book was something he wanted as much as all the knowledge of Biomancy.

  The book’s title was Black Lotus War Art.

  Sokram held the book in his hands. A storm of conflicting emotions surged through his heart as he dazedly gazed at the book’s leathery, black cover. He frowned in deep thought for a while.

  Now, along with the Killing Blade Art and the Shadow Walking Art, he could finally justify all his sword techniques. He didn’t need anything else in this regard.

  Sokram summoned Draggonia, and for the first time in this timeline, he unsheathed the blade.

  The blade was a void, darker than black, given shape, a sliver of midnight forged into an edge so sharp it seemed to cut the very air it passed through.

  Gazing at its obsidian-black metal blade in a daze, a hint of a smile formed as he thought:

  ‘Fate will hold the war for another two years. But I won’t need that much anymore. After I conquer Frostaxe and Whiteland under Norwinter’s banner, I'll unite this continent and birth the new seat of the Empire. Then, I can focus on Ascension.’

  As memories of the past filled his mind, Sokram's expression fell into a familiar, weary frown.

  ‘But this time I’ll play kingmaker instead of ruling. The burden of being Emperor was too troublesome, and the throne is a shackle I have no desire to wear again. I hope Lucien will pass my test; if not, I’ll choose someone else.’

  Remembering how tiring and bothersome ruling an empire was, Sokram reaffirmed his intent for this timeline.

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