[You have been recognized by the Records as having potential for an ancient subclass:

  Magnus Thaumaturgist

  Requirement Met: Advanced Runic Mastery (Knowledge and feats), Advanced Geomancy (Knowledge), Advanced Arcane Alchemy (Knowledge and feats), Advanced Arcane Smith (Feat).

  Missing Requirements: Advanced Geomancy (Feats), Black and White Smithing (Mastery), Biomancy (Subclass).

  Time until offer expires: 50 years.]

  ‘More than enough time.’ Sokram thought as he closed the screen with a thought.

  Then, looking at Leona, he flashed her a grin, “Care to help test this katana to see if it’s worth the name I gave it?”

  “Sure, but only if you promise to give me one of those beauties too. Such a strong mana coming from it.” Leona grinned predatorily, her gaze hot with lust for Sokram’s new weapon.

  “Alright,” Sokram agreed promptly, “But if it’s weaker than your Dark Steel katana, I’ll give you something even better than this.”

  “Hey, what about this Nana here? You promised me some gifts too, remember?” Kasine, having snapped out of her astonishment at what Sokram did, began eyeing his katana.

  “Of course, Nana. If you want…” He was about to agree, but then he saw everyone looking at him, their gazes wide, expectant, and shimmering with poorly veiled hope.

  “Sigh…” He held up a hand. “Let me test the strength of this material first, and then I can work on giving you each a weapon.”

  “Yay!” Everyone cheered excitedly while Sokram prepared himself mentally for some Arcane Smithing work.

  But then something crossed his mind, ‘Blacksmithing, hm? I’ll have to meet the Millers ahead of schedule. Me, an Ancient Magnus Thaumaturgist? I wonder if the Records notified Nhiria too...’

  Sokram and Leona drew their weapons.

  The sound of metal cutting through the wind echoed as the two blades met in a single, lightning-fast exchange.

  "Shring!"

  Leona's Dark Steel blade parted with a clean, dull tink.

  She looked at her katana, cut near the blade’s collar, blinking in complete astonishment.

  Sokram was thankful it wasn’t her most treasured one.

  “You owe me a new katana, kiddo.” Leona grinned at him, but Sokram was too immersed in looking at his own weapon to pay attention to her teasing.

  ‘I barely even felt any resistance. Is it the sharpening? Or is the material truly that great?’ Sokram analyzed the blade of his weapon thoroughly, and even with his Dragon Sight, he couldn’t see even the smallest chipping after cutting through Dark Steel.

  “Well, who can go buy me some more Iron ingots, aluminum bars, sand, and water? But if you want any other material like gold and gems, feel free to bring them to me as well,” Sokram smiled at the others.

  With a sudden, unified cheer, they bolted to gather materials; only Kasine remained.

  “If it’s a gift, it can’t cost anything for the one you’re presenting it to,” Kasine shrugged shamelessly.

  Sokram only laughed, taking another two buckets of water, five sacks of sand, another two iron ingots, and a few more gold coins.

  This time, he also brought out a few gems. “Any preferences on the designs, Nana?”

  “White Wolves!” Kasine opened a huge smile seeing that Sokram was prepared.

  For the rest of that day, Sokram practiced his new spell, forging weapons for everyone.

  They were all amazed at the power boost his weapons gave them. Each swing sent a chill through their bodies. The surge of mana in the runic enchantments was far more potent than they had ever felt before.

  They all knew that weapons of that level, seemingly forged by a Legendary Master Arcane Smith, would cost fortunes and even be passed down as family inheritances.

  To Sokram, though, that was just another day of practice.

  The highlight among the weapons was the glaive, sword, and shield he created for Kiren and Kara.

  The glaive had a long blade designed to mimic the tail of a wolf; the tail design was made of gold, and the blade was pitch-black, made from Dark Magi Glass, with a steel pole.

  The pommel was the head of a wolf made of gold, enchanted to increase speed, accuracy, and strength.

  Kara’s shield was made from Dark Steel, which made it very heavy. But with Sokram's runic enchantments, the weight would return to normal when used along with the sword.

  On the face of the shield, Sokram added the Sigil of the Whitefur Clan per Kara’s request, made of silver and gold.

  Kara’s sword was made of Dark Magi Glass and adorned like Sokram’s katana. The only differences were the design and the runic words on the fuller of the blade, which was enchanted to increase strength, balance, and speed.

  Hilda and Astrid gained a bladed staff each, enchanted to enhance mental focus, speed, mana conductivity, and to use ambient Magi to increase their spells’ power.

  Leona’s katana followed the same style as Sokram’s, but with the name Killing Blade Leona written in ancient draconic. And Lymus’s, too, but had the name Blackfur written in the common tongue.

  The author's tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

  Kasine and Kamus’s katanas had an extra layer of adornment, as Sokram also added a few precious gems, like Amethysts, Rubies, and Sapphires, to adorn the sheaths, guards, and handles.

  Karini wanted something similar to Kara’s. And Lycius asked for something similar to Kiren but bigger and heavier.

  Miralyn didn’t ask for anything, saying she would give him the designs of what she wanted later.

  Sokram understood she wanted something with the Empire’s Imperial Family Sigil in it.

  As for his girls, Savannah gained a Dark Staff with a support for monster core as its head Orb.

  Lucy received a bow that would increase the potency of her magic arrows and a pair of Shadow Blades, which were two Ninjat?, and Sokram promised to teach her how to use them soon.

  Amber didn’t use a weapon in her fighting style, but Sokram promised to create a pair of reinforced gloves for her once he had the right materials for them.

  When Sokram was finally done forging weapons, his mind was so exhausted that as soon as his head sank into the silk-clad pillow, the world went black, only waking up the next day a couple of hours before midday.

  For the rest of that day, all the way until evening, Sokram spent preparing the gifts he promised to Kasine.

  During the night, they threw a farewell party for Kamus, Kasine, and Lymus.

  But also for the twins, who would be leaving for the Royal Academy.

  When Sokram handed Kasine the ring, in a sudden jerk, she snatched it from his palm.

  A greedy, bright grin graced her features as both Kamus and Sokram chuckled.

  Yet, her bright smile of immediate delight faltered only slightly as she accessed the contents, her lips pulling into a familiar, half-annoyed pout.

  Knowing Sokram, she should have expected it.

  Most of the gifts were what he would have asked for himself: knowledge.

  He had handwritten many guiding books for when they teach the rest of their clan how to cultivate one of the three fused energies, how to convert the cores of those who had already started cultivating two energies, and many other things.

  As well as many Spirit Magic spells that were used with the sword.

  But just as Kasine was thinking this was all, she also found a recipe book with countless pill recipes for her and her clan to use, a few enchanted artifacts for her personal use while concocting pills, and a mobile pool with the formation for growing White Frozen Lotuses.

  “You didn’t forget,” Kasine gazed at him with teary eyes.

  Sokram knew that, despite her greedy nature, the thing she loved the most was when people remembered the small details about her and her work as well.

  “Thank you, Sokram. Truly. For everything.”

  “Don’t worry about it, the biggest reward is seeing you happy, Nana.”

  Sokram looked between Kamus and Kasine, and nodded, “You two have sacrificed a lot for this city, for this country, and have been carrying the weight of the friends you lost for a very long time, protecting their families and their children. So you deserve to be spoiled by the younger generations. And believe me, there will be many more joys to come.”

  Kamus and Kasine tried but failed to swallow back the tears that unavoidably escaped.

  That bit of validation for their efforts meant more than they realized.

  Seeing that their effort had borne fruit, especially when the heir to their School was the one doing so, overwhelmed them with emotion.

  They hugged Sokram for a moment, relishing in that feeling for a while, and then sent him away so they could recompose themselves.

  The rest of that night was marked with laughter.

  The air carried the aroma of roasted meat and honeyed mead.

  And the halls of the City Lord Palace were filled with the sound of their voices, reminiscing about stories while they partied.

  They knew that despite the brief farewell, their paths would bring them to rejoin each other once again when the time came.

  Sokram spent most of the party with the twins, as they were unwilling to let go of him, following him everywhere.

  By the time the guests left the palace and their families returned to their rooms, Sokram and the two sisters were still engaged in conversation.

  Sokram indulged their need for teenage romance, the sneaky kisses and whispered promises hanging sweetly in the cool, night air.

  Until they fell asleep lying under the northern stars in the palace's garden.

  Sokram carried them to their room.

  Once he left their room after tucking them in, Lymus was waiting in the corridor, standing in silence like a shadow guard.

  Sokram tensed slightly as Lymus stepped forward to deliver his message:

  “I’m not blind, you know? I see you and my second mother plotting, and my father sees it too. He seems fine with the end of their marriage. But I promise you this: if you hurt them, be it my mothers or my sisters, I’ll kill you.”

  Sokram only nodded, his gaze never leaving Lymus’s, as no word would be enough.

  Sokram knew he could only prove himself through his actions.

  Still, not to lose the opportunity to pull the wolf’s leg, Sokram joked as Lymus walked away, “Have you decided?”

  “Decided what?” Lymus turned around, confused.

  “Will you be calling me daddy or big brother?” Sokram grinned mischievously.

  Lymus just shook his head as he walked away, but if Sokram could see the hint of a grin fighting to take shape on Lymus’s face, Sokram would know that he already had the wolf’s respect.

  The next day, Sokram woke up around midday, with Hilda calling him so they could accompany Kamus, Kasine, Lymus, and the twins to the city gates.

  He quickly got ready and joined the others.

  The farewell was heavy with emotion. Karini and Cecille held Leona tightly, their eyes bright with unshed tears as they said goodbye to both their parents and their daughters.

  The twins left first in a luxurious carriage.

  Despite having no guards, Leona and Karini weren’t worried about their safety as Lycius, too, had advanced in power, and now was an Exalted Existence like them.

  But once Kasine and Kamus were about to leave, Hannah’s voice came from above the walls.

  “Wait!” she demanded, her voice cracking like thunder.

  Hannah materialized in a flash a few meters away, looking straight at Kasine, “How dare you leave without waiting for me?”

  Kasine gulped down at the pressure coming from the now, Perfect Existence Hannah.

  “Well, that’s for you to handle.” Kamus gave her a quick kiss and walked away at a slow pace, already making his way back home.

  Hannah approached Kasine and, looking seriously at her, she spoke softly, “I don’t have many friends. For me, making friends is very rare. Difficult even. But you and that Fox managed to gain this much consideration from me. So, don’t disregard it.”

  “So you’re saying we’re friends? I have a Grand Duchess as a friend, and one who is older than I am. Hah, I have a big sister now!” Kasine joked, but her excitement was legit.

  She held Hannah’s hands and looked at her deeply, “I’m sorry, big sister, but I won’t join your harem. I have a husband. But I promise you I’ll come visit you so we can drink some good tea again.”

  Kasine hugged Hannah tightly and walked away.

  Hannah wore a bright smile as she looked at Kasine’s departing back, “You’re a silly wolf, Kasine. But I like that about you, so you'd better prepare some good tea, my palate is quite picky.”

  “I’ll make sure to bring you something good, Big sis.”

  Kasine reached Kamus, and Lymus gave Sokram one last nod before following them.

  And just like they came, they went…

  The three killing blades disappeared in the wind.

  After they left, the others returned to the palace.

  Sokram finally managed to get a good look at Hannah.

  Hannah's age regression wasn’t very noticeable.

  Now she looked as if she were in her early twenties, contrasting with the mid-twenties from before she reached the Perfect Level.

  Still, her overall beauty and attributes were raised a notch.

  Her dark golden-brown skin was more radiant, her ashen-white hair more lustrous, and the vitality in her eyes and movements felt renewed.

  She was already stunning, but now Sokram found his gaze ensnared, unable to look away from the blinding magnitude of her beauty.

  “You're going to make this old lady blush like a pure maiden if you keep staring like this, darling. Not that I mind, though.” Hannah teased, linking her arm with his.

  Sokram scratched the back of his head, a little embarrassed, “Sorry, you just look too good. Couldn’t look away, haha.”

  Hannah felt her heart flutter at his comment, a reaction that was a notch stronger than usual.

  She realized that now that she was a Perfect Existence, she could sense the Call of his blood and the influence it had over her bodily reactions even clearly.

  That made her sure his age of maturity was nearing, and fast.