“Haha, alright, big sis. Now, before activating the rune, memorize this…” Sokram drew two symbols on separate sheets of paper, labeling each one.

“This one is the rune you should draw over your heart, the Manager’s Mark. And this is for you to draw on Amber, the Receiver’s Mark. Take Amber to your tent and draw them over your chests. After that, I’ll teach you how to draw mana from me.”

Sokram smiled calmly, but Savannah was blushing slightly, and Amber, who was nearby, also turned red.

Even though they were both girls, they weren’t accustomed to undressing in front of each other.

Sensing their discomfort, Sokram added teasingly, “I can draw it instead if you prefer. All you’d have to do is infuse your mana.”

That snapped both of them back to reality.

Savannah frowned and stood up abruptly, calling Amber to follow her into her tent.

A few minutes later, they returned. Sokram looked at them inquisitively. “So?”

“Oh, you want to see it?” Savannah threatened to pull the neckline of her robes down teasingly, only to stick her tongue out at Sokram right after. “Dream on!”

Sokram chuckled and shook his head, then patted the ground in front of him.

“Come sit, both of you. This part might be a little uncomfortable, but it’s nothing dangerous.”

Savannah sat to his left, and Amber to his right.

Sokram extended both hands, one to each of them. “Hold her hand, too, and let’s align our breathing while circulating our mana. This will synchronize our mana flow.”

After a while, once their mana had achieved good synergy, Sokram began guiding Savannah.

“Now, focus your mana into the marking on your chest. You’ll feel two pulls, one toward me and another toward Amber, much like the first tug your wolf gives when the ride starts, softer but insistent. Reach for my mana, draw it into yourself until your pool is brimming, and then guide it gently toward her.”

Savannah followed his instructions, but when she reached for his mana, she was amazed.

If her mana flow was like a small stream, his was like a vast, turbulent river.

And there was no comparison when it came to purity.

When his mana entered her, it didn’t take long for her mana pool to fill completely.

But she quickly snapped out of her daze and guided the mana toward Amber.

When Amber felt the mana filling her pool, she gasped loudly. “This is so unfair! How…”

Amber’s eyes widened, words catching in her throat as realization struck. She clamped her mouth shut, heart pounding, knowing she shouldn’t expose his secrets.

Sokram’s calm voice reached their ears. “Don’t worry. After we start practicing together, I’ll help you improve your cultivation technique too. Maybe even give you a better one.”

“Now, for the last part,” Sokram turned to Savannah and pointed at the runestones still on the ground. “Inject your mana into the runic key on your left hand. You’ll feel a similar pull, but all you have to do is keep the mana flowing toward them.”

Savannah did as he instructed, and the barrier activated again. Sokram stood up, extending his hand to the two of them, and guided them away from the barrier.

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No matter how far they went, the barrier never deactivated.

“See? This is part of your class predisposition, but also your natural talent. I believe that even if we were a couple of kilometers away, the barrier wouldn’t lose its connection to you,” Sokram explained to Savannah.

“Wow,” the two girls murmured in awe.

Savannah was the first to ask, “Are you sure it’s fine for you to share this much knowledge with us?”

Sokram nodded and met her eyes with a humble smile. “Don’t worry. As your future team captain, this much is nothing. There will be much more to share with you all in the near future.”

Lucy, who had approached quietly while observing the raised barrier, didn’t miss the opportunity to tease him. “Hoh, such a great dragon is this future captain of ours. No wonder my boyfriend is feeling so insecure seeing the reach of your mighty wings.”

Amber, still amazed by the flow of mana into her pool, joined in the fun. “Yes, my new master here is an amazing dragon. I wouldn’t doubt it if he told me he has all the gifts of his draconic bloodline awakened.”

Sokram was caught off guard by Amber’s comment, and for a moment, his expression turned complicated.

Savannah, noticing Sokram’s strange reaction, asked, “So, you do have more than just one bloodline gift awakened, huh? I know it’s taboo to inquire about other people’s bloodlines, but wouldn’t you tell your three big sisters?”

Savannah shot him a teasing grin that looked too forced to be taken seriously.

Sokram recovered and grinned as well. “Sure, but first, you’ll all have to sign a blood contract. Then I’ll tell you all my secrets.”

Lucy, ever the mischievous one, pushed further. “So, all we have to do is join your harem?”

Amber blushed slightly at the suggestion.

Everyone knew that, unlike other races, a draconic harem was without taboos.

Any woman in it would have to give herself to the dragon wholeheartedly.

Even the weakest dragon could entertain all his women without a break, and the most potent ones could enjoy their company for days.

Some harems even had more than twenty women.

Sokram chuckled. “Although marriage contracts are also blood contracts, that’s not what I meant. But…” He wouldn’t back down from Lucy’s teasing. To him, she was just a little girl playing with fire. “No, the contract would be just a secrecy agreement. But if you joined my harem, I’d make you the strongest and happiest fox in the Northern Continent, even stronger than those of the Oomuki Clan that rule the Southern Continent. Though I’d expect nothing less than your unwavering loyalty in return.”

Lucy’s eyes shone with a strange light, one even Savannah couldn’t decipher.

For a moment, her playful demeanor faltered, replaced by a flicker of something profound, hope, perhaps, or desperation. “Hoh, so could you, oh great dragon, be a genius capable of teaching this humble fox how to use spirit magic?”

She then adopted a submissive posture, sitting on her legs and bowing toward Sokram with her hands on the snowy ground. “If you have such knowledge, not just me but all the foxes in the Purple Pavilion would become yours, master.”

Sokram looked at her with an almost predatory grin. “I don’t know about the Purple Pavilion, but I hope you don’t go back on your word.”

Lucy sat back up, her eyes wide.

Not just her, but Savannah and Amber too, waited for him to say it was all a joke.

Instead, Nora’s voice called them to eat.

Savannah giggled, and Amber shook her head, sighing as they stood up to join the others.

Lucy looked down, shaking her head inwardly and laughing at her unrealistic expectations.

But Sokram surprised her once again.

The sound around them disappeared as the flow of air and sound was blocked. “Sound barrier?” Lucy muttered, looking at Sokram.

Sokram smiled at her, offering her a dagger. “Let me show you something, but first, swear an Oath of Secrecy.”

Lucy frowned but complied.

Their interaction hadn’t escaped the others, as their lips moved without a single sound reaching the team. “That’s an air isolation barrier. It completely blocks sound from escaping, but he can control what enters it,” Amber explained, having read about such barriers.

Lara looked at Savannah and Amber, her expression full of curiosity.

But as they knew how sensitive Sokram’s discussion with Lucy could be, they ignored Lara’s pleading looks completely.

When they saw Lucy reach for the dagger, her hand trembling slightly as she cut her palm and dripped blood over the snow, the air seemed to grow heavier as they realized she was making a blood oath.

“By my blood, heart, and power, I swear before you, Nhiria, and the Huntress, that I’ll keep this and every secret you reveal to me. May my life be swallowed by the void, and my flesh turn to dust, so even if the doors of rebirth are ever opened, I’ll never live again. But know this, dragon, if you betray my trust, the void will claim us both.”

Sokram was surprised by the gravity of her oath, but it also served as a warning to him.

She was clearly telling him not to joke about things that could affect the fate of the Pavilion.

Sokram nodded, then looked at his team, who were watching tentatively. He dispersed the barrier and addressed his team. “Excuse us for a while, guys. You can eat first; we’ll be right back.”

Without waiting for a response, Sokram pulled Lucy by the waist.

She gasped, her body tensing as a snake of dark lightning crackled around them, its energy prickling her skin.

When Lucy’s vision cleared, she found herself standing on an isolated peak, the camp far below.

“What?” she began, but Sokram’s grin silenced her.