After half an hour, the soldier escorting Sokram finally stopped at a door and handed him an identity token.

"Here you go. This is your team’s meeting room. Your team should be here soon. Looks like you’ve got a mission today. I hope you’re ready for a hunt. If not, grab supplies before they show up."

He paused, then added with a smirk, "Oh, and the name’s Private Damis. One last tip: your captain’s a bratty asshole, but you didn’t hear that from me, alright?"

“All right, thanks for the heads-up. But I came prepared.” Sokram stepped into the room, sat on one of the wooden benches, and waited.

He didn’t take the soldier’s warning to heart; he preferred forming his own judgments about people.

However, he soon regretted that decision.

After a few minutes, someone finally arrived. Sokram’s expression darkened as soon as he saw who it was.

‘Why did it have to be this bastard?’ He thought bitterly.

The man wore the band of a team captain on his right arm.

But he was also someone Sokram knew all too well: Kazzah Silverfang, a wolf-kin with a heavily muscular build, around 1.8 meters tall, pale skin, and short black hair.

Clad in dark steel medium armor and a greatsword on his back, along with his white-furred wolf ears and tail, and yellowish eyes.

In his previous timeline, Kazzah had been Sokram’s first team captain, a competent warrior but an atrocious leader whose recklessness had led to the deaths of many teammates.

He’d avoided punishment solely thanks to being the grandson and successor of the Silverfang’s Alpha Wolf, or in other terms, the Silverfang family’s Patriarch.

"So, you’re the young genius joining my team, huh?" Kazzah sized Sokram up, his yellowish eyes narrowing. "Well, you don’t look all that impressive."

Sighing inwardly, Sokram stood up to greet him, “Greetings, Team Captain. I’m Sokram, a Tier 1 Battle Mage. I can fight at close, mid, and long range. I’m proficient in healing and elemental magic, but also capable of using Aura. Let’s work well together.”

Sokram spoke calmly, his voice polite as he extended his hand for a handshake.

Yet a chilling light flickered in his eyes, a detail that didn’t escape Kazzah’s sharp senses.

Kazzah shook Sokram’s hand cautiously, meeting the boy’s gaze with equal intensity.

But then he smirked and said mockingly, “Well, the dragonling has some balls. Haha!”

"Heh, it seems arrogance is a common weakness among white-furred wolves," Sokram replied, keeping his tone light but his words biting. “Lady Karini learned her lesson, but it seems I’ll have to kick your ass, too.”

“Y-you!” Kazzah yanked his hand away, reaching for his sword.

But before he could draw it, the door swung open, and a beautiful snow-elf girl stepped into the room.

Kazzah froze as their eyes met.

“Kazzah,” she said, her melodic voice tinged with irritation. “Are you bullying another new recruit, especially when we’re so short on personnel?”

Sokram recognized her instantly: Savannah vid Chrystalia. In his past timeline, she had matured into a breathtaking beauty, rivaled only by Moira.

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Even now, her hourglass figure and elegance, dressed in white and grey robes that only accentuated her curves, turned heads. Though she hadn’t yet reached the Reformed Existence level, which would elevate her allure to its peak.

“S-Savannah, I-I… I wasn’t bullying him! It’s just...” Kazzah stammered, but Savannah cut him off.

“Spare me your excuses. I only agreed to stay on your team because you promised to stop acting like an idiot. But the first thing I see when I walk in is you picking a fight. Explain that.”

"K-Kid, tell her!" Kazzah turned to Sokram, practically begging. "Tell her I wasn’t bullying you!"

Sokram, watching the interaction with a puzzled expression, in his previous timeline, Savannah had despised Kazzah, though the reason was unclear.

Yet, now, they looked like a quarreling couple.

Noticing the band on Savannah’s arm indicating her rank.

He smirked and replied, “Vice-Captain, there’s no way a good little pup like our captain here could ever bully a dragon like me.”

"A puppy?! You called me a puppy?!" Kazzah barked, nearly forgetting Savannah’s presence.

Kazzah’s face turned red with anger, but Sokram ignored him.

He’d always disliked how Kazzah, pampered and entitled, couldn’t tolerate any jokes at his expense.

Even if they were harmless jokes.

Unlike most wolves, who were raised to be tough-skinned, drawing strength from mocking the weak to push them to become stronger, Kazzah had been pampered all his life. And many considered him too soft to be a wolf of the north.

Savannah, however, seemed more amused than anything.

Sokram stepped toward her, still ignoring Kazzah's death stare, and extended a hand to Savannah. "I’m Sokram. You wouldn’t happen to be from the Chrystalia family, would you? You look a lot like my Aunt Moira."

Savannah’s expression softened as she shook his hand. "Yes, I’m Savannah. Moira is actually my mother’s cousin. She talks about you all the time."

Pretending to be embarrassed, Sokram laughed. "I hope she didn’t say anything bad."

"On the contrary," Savannah replied. "She speaks so highly of you that most of our younger relatives are jealous."

"Haha, well, no need to be jealous anymore. Now you know me too," Sokram teased with a grin.

But all he got back was a scoff and a frown.

Still, he chose to push it further, if only to irk Kazzah a little more.

"I’m not joking," Sokram said confidently. "By the end of this mission, you’ll be as much of a fan as she is." Sokram finished with a very flirty tone.

Savannah blinked, caught off guard by his boldness.

Most boys backed down when she got serious, but Sokram doubled down instead.

Kazzah almost spat blood out of anger, but before he could explode again, a sultry voice interrupted them.

“Hoh? Interesting. Someone with actual guts has joined our little team.” The newcomer was a stunning fox-kin woman with bronze skin, blonde hair cascading down her back, and mesmerizing ruby feral eyes.

She wore a yukata-like robe layered with light leather armor, and her voluptuous figure was accentuated by her deep cleavage.

Her fox-like ears and pair of tails swayed behind her, their fur reddish-brown with white tips, adding to her charm.

Behind her stood a pale, skinny boy with chestnut hair and amber eyes.

His heavy armor looked comically oversized, and a mace at his waist and a tower shield strapped to his back marked his role as a vanguard.

"Lucy, Timothy! Come meet Sokram, our new teammate," Savannah said with a warm smile.

Sokram didn’t recognize them from his past timeline, and the affectionate look Savannah gave Lucy made him suspect that the reason for her disdain toward Kazzah in his previous timeline might be related to them.

Savannah clearly regarded Lucy as family.

"Nice to meet you," Sokram said, shaking Timothy’s hand first.

Then, when he extended his hand to Lucy, she hesitated briefly before shaking it.

“He’s still thirteen, Lucy,” Savannah said with a knowing smile. “No need to worry about the curse yet.”

"Right, sorry!" Lucy laughed nervously before adding with a wink, "But you’re quite handsome. Maybe this big sister wouldn’t mind if the curse affected me."

Timothy frowned upon hearing that; the jealousy in his eyes was evident.

But for a brief moment, Sokram felt a strange impulse to hug her. Recognizing what it was, he quickly circulated his energy, suppressing it entirely.

Looking at her seriously, he reprimanded, “It’s not a good first impression to try charming a dragon just because he’s young.”

Lucy’s crimson eyes widened in surprise. “Wow...”

Then her crimson eyes narrowed playfully. “You suppressed it that fast? The dragon who trained you must be something else. But don’t take it personally, it was just a test. A fox can’t be too careful around a dragon, you know.”

Sokram sighed inwardly, but he could understand her caution.

Before his regression, no fox could endure his presence without succumbing to the Curse of Lust.

Sokram looked at Lucy, comprehension clear on his face, “Fair enough. Just don’t do it again. You might not know this, but one of the few things that can force the Call of the Blood on a dragon, even one not of age, is being charmed by a fox. We wouldn’t want any accidents, would we?”

Lucy blinked, caught off guard by his bluntness, but then laughed, a hint of respect glinting in her eyes.