Demon Wolf

“You bastard,” Wolf growled. “You used my daughter? I’ll k—”

He stopped himself from making a vow. A Truthspeaker cannot lie. He would either have to kill the Spell Formation’s Scribe or suffer the recoil. Given the state of his soul, rebound meant death.

Wolf snorted, and the illusion shattered.

He was back on the Earth Pavilion’s island, but the fury still smoldered within his heart. He glanced to the side and saw Jakob grinning like an idiot. Wolf yearned to punch him, but after drawing two deep breaths, he settled a bit and sat down.

It’s not his fault. Yet Wolf grit his teeth and focused on his breathing. It’s just a part of the trial. They are targeting people’s innermost desires. The one who summoned Sky was me, not the Scribe.

After a minute, Wolf vanquished his irrational anger. Someone dangling his daughter in front of him like a carrot hurt for several different reasons, mostly because blackmailing him with his loved ones was probably the only way to force him into obedience.

That illusion sure was stronger than the last. He looked at Jakob, who was blushing and sweating. Gods know what his brain is feeding him.

Wolf then turned around from the aroused teen and examined their immediate surroundings. Should I search for Spell Formation’s runes?

He shook his head at the thought. They are probably projecting a field from one centralized seal. There’s no way they set up such a huge Spell Formation.

While casually thinking, Wolf summoned his heatingstone and necessities to prepare the long awaited grilled chicken. While the flavorful lard melted and spread its aroma, Wolf cut the slab of Sprinting Peacock breast into two dozen filets half-a-finger thick.

With a sizzle, he placed one on the pan, and checked Jakob, who still stared ahead vacantly, but his grin had changed from stupid to smug and his morale had visibly risen.

I guess he’s enjoying himself. If he’s not done by the time I prepare five steaks, I’ll wake him up, and we can continue on our way.

Wolf salted the meat he did not plan to use and stored it into the cooler. Then, while frying, he repeated the process with two more slabs of poultry.

As he placed the fourth filet into the lard, he heard a rustle. Jakob made a step.

“Good morning, sleeping beauty,” he jabbed. “Did you enjoy your little nap? Was it the same dream?”

Jakob swallowed and wiped his sweaty brow.

“Yeah.” He nodded.

“I became the principal husband…” Jakob’s voice trailed off into a mumble, obviously unwilling to share the minutiae.

“That’s fine. You’re doing good.” Wolf was not interested in fine details. “I would’ve woken you in ten minutes. Sit down, have something to eat and drink before we continue.”

“But we can go without food for days?” Jakob protested, yet sat down and produced a modest water canteen.

“Suit yourself.” Wolf shrugged. He did not want to cook for Jakob. Preparing a meal was too familiar, and later the youth was bound to pester him and beg for delicacies.

Meanwhile, Jakob had different thoughts. He is bedeviled. He must have either overexerted himself while cultivating, or he had an innate tendency for gluttony. Mother warned me not to push myself too hard, fearing bedevilment.

Still, other than overly enjoying food, Wolf appeared sane enough. More importantly, Jakob had witnessed his competence, and believed Wolf’s was a very mild form of bedevilment. I hope it’s harmless.

After another quarter hour passed, Wolf wrapped up his cooking, then he and Jakob pressed deeper into the jungle.

After twenty minutes of trek, Wolf raised his hand, blocking Jakob. Before them, the woodland turned much darker, the canopy above grew thrice as dense as before, swallowing the morning sun. Wolf looked back at the bright forest, then at the awaiting gloom.

“Give your eyes time to adjust to the change in lighting. Areas like this are the most suitable for ambush,” Wolf explained, peering through the dusky jungle ahead. “I’ll protect you from frontal confrontations with Monster Beasts, but you should remain vigilant. Poisonous fauna can kill you just as dead as Monster Beasts, or something might creep past me to ambush you. If you mess around, this place may become your grave.”

Jakob bobbed his head, his face grave. “Thank you for reminding me. I’ll do my best to sneak past and not to be a burden.”

He’s so much like Anna. Wolf held back a reminiscent smile. “Let’s go. Any Monster Beasts beneath the seventh o— stage of Qi Gathering will be yours to handle.”

He did not wait for Jakob’s response and led the way into the shadows. Not twenty paces later, a Monster Beast jumped out of the dense undergrowth.

The doglike creature snapped at Wolf’s hand, but he jerked it away while jumping back. Wolf awakened his senses and examined the enemy whose hostile gaze he had long-since sensed.

A Dancing-flame Fox. That should be easy. Wolf recognized the scarlet-orange fur, and the Dancing-flame Fox’s unique feature, a pair of twin fluffy tails, which ended in yellow blotches. Despite its misleading name, the sixth order Monster Beast had no affinity towards fire. It was dog-sized, focused on speed, agility and precise attacks.

It shoots dart-like hair from its tail, its claws and teeth are hard, but prefers to bite, as swiping pulls it off balance. Wolf resisted the urge to shout these features, encouraging Jakob, “You can do it.”

The fourteen-year-old youth lacked Wolf’s confidence. This was his first time fighting a Monster Beast in the wilderness. But Wolf give him no choice. He withdrew quickly, leaving Jakob alone with the fox.

He’s got to be at least seventh stage Qi Gathering if he’s attempting the trial. Wolf decided not to intervene, unless Jakob came close to dying.

While Wolf observed the nervous youth, the Monster Beast’s tails danced behind it, drawing Jakob’s attention with their flame-like appearance. Suddenly, it barked, startling Jakob.

The fox charged, using the unexpected opening. Jakob fumbled. He summoned his sword and blocked the bite, but the tails’ sharp bristles slashed his forearm.

Jakob winced and clenched his hand tighter. He stepped back to open up distance, but the fox also retreated.

Well, at least he didn’t drop the sword.

Blood oozed down Jakob’s upper arm, dripping to the ground, but the youth maintained an awkward stance with his blade pointed towards the fox. The Monster Beast barked again, but this time, Jakob remained composed.

Seeing no openings, the fox moved left and right, while Jakob awkwardly pivoted, trying to keep up. Finally, the Dancing-flame lunged again. It missed its bite, but its tail slashed Jakob below the ribs.

Wolf watched the sad display, shaking his head. This kid’s got a long way to go. I mean, how hard is it? Wait for an attack, move to the side, then stab it into the eyes or that thinner patch of fur where the head meets the neck. Even without reading a bestiary entry, he should recognize such obvious weaknesses…

Jakob did not, and Wolf nearly started rooting for the fox. It was obvious Jakob lacked experience fighting Monster Beasts. Luckily, the Dancing-flame was not used to fighting manlings either. It conserved its tail spines, otherwise, it could have won the battle, despite being weaker than Jakob.

Bloodied in several places, Jakob swallowed a grape-sized pill and his wounds slowly healed. In hits, the fox beat him seven to two, while in wounds it was leading by seven against zero. Two clumsy strikes Jakob landed bounced off the tough fur because he had failed to invest them with Qi in time.

Finally, two pills later, Jakob landed a hit on the fox’s soft fur at the base of its head. The blade sunk in, and the Monster Beast whimpered. It withdrew and then turned to flee, but Wolf charged over and decapitated it in one smooth motion.

Sweaty and bloodied, Jakob beamed a proud grin.

Wolf watched that smug expression and sighed.

“You know, I feel sorry for the fox,” he said, his stern look freezing Jakob’s smile. “You missed a parry, accidentally striking its weak spot, but even that was too shallow and the beast would’ve suffered until it bled out.”

In an instant, Jakob looked like Wolf had poured a bucket of icy water onto his head, but the older man continued without sparing his feelings. “If there was any justice in this world, you would’ve been that fox’s dinner, and she’d be in her den now, napping after a tasty meal. You survived because you had healing pills. If that fox had a friendly alchemist living in this forest, she would’ve healed from your wound and eventually eaten you.”

Jakob looked down, his grin long gone. He expected praise for his heroic struggle against the Dancing-flame, but got chided. He had just slain his first Monster Beast in an epic battle, then got insulted for it.

“Do you have any tips?” he asked, shooting Wolf a bitter gaze.