Demon Wolf

After hours of relaxed jogging and sloppy butchery, Wolf reached his destination. The ever-growing, fifty-meter-wide highway he trod opened up, revealing a sea-sized lake. Tame, almost shy, waves splashed against the earthworks bank, creating a susurrous backdrop to the manling drone.

Several thousand manlings gathered in groups of varying sizes. Towards the fringes of the primarily female crowd, two clusters of young men stood, outnumbered by girls at least ten to one.

Everyone was busy, either erecting tents or chatting with their peers.

The gathering was mostly human, but elves comprised one large company, while furry dwarves made up their own small band.

This was Wolf’s first encounter with the short, hairy manlings outside textbook illustrations. As expected, he found the fuzzballs utterly unimpressive. He even failed to distinguish males and females.

I wonder if they can tell each other’s gender, or are they a species full of accidental same-sex relationships? Smirking at his passing thought, Wolf gazed at the elves.

Just like home, they were graceful creatures; overly thin, their skin so white it seemed translucent. Differentiating effeminate men from flat-chested women was difficult, but unlike the dwarves, they at least dressed differently, and Wolf could guess their gender based on their garbs, if nothing else.

Human women failed to catch his attention, but his gaze lingered on the timid gatherings of men. Why are you so nervous? You’re no weaker than women! Grow some balls and don’t bleat like frightened sheep… Wait. Could it be because of this country’s mentality?

Looking about, Wolf took in the tied Sprinting Peacocks and fancy tents, deciding not to erect his own. He had dozens of teepees, but they belonged to the deceased Bear Tribe warriors, revealing them would flag him a barbarian outsider.

Finally, Wolf turned towards the large sign-board with tomorrow’s date, under which a woman sat cross-legged, facing the crowd. She was in her late twenties, slim, and she stuck out like a sore thumb. She kept her eyes shut, her back supernaturally straight, and she wore a humble, deep-brown robe. The uniform fit her tightly, covering her modest curves and shifting the viewer’s focus to her plain, yet flawless, face.

Wolf took more time to examine her than the rest of the scene combined. When he noticed seven blood-red lines woven into the chest of her garb, Wolf scrutinized her with even greater care. Suddenly, the meditating woman snapped her eyes open, training her gaze on him.

Hers was the glare of a perturbed predator, but after two seconds of intense stare-down, she settled down, shut her eyes, and resumed her breathing exercise.

She is dangerous; more dangerous than Hare Tribe’s matriarch. Wolf scratched his cheek, then inwardly cursed the silly habit he had developed. The sensation was nowhere nearly as satisfying without a stubble grating against his nails and fingertips.

He averted his gaze from the predator, once more scanning the cattle crowd, when a realization dawned on him. I’m the oldest applicant. All of them are young teens, probably none older than fifteen. Well, except the dwarves. I can’t tell how old they are.

Wolf almost laughed aloud. I started too old? Me? Gods, the irony…

However, he had little time for self-ridicule. Edged by her group, a girl approached him.

“Hello, my name is Atlanta Franklin, of the Westrich’s Franklins.” Atlanta held her nose high, her lips drawn in a smug grin as she introduced herself. “My elder sister is an Inner Disciple in the Earth Pavilion, and I can help you pass the exam.”

Wolf took in the complacent young woman, her pudgy arms and bulldog-like cheeks. She exerted not a whit of pressure, and her confidence obviously stemmed from her background, rather than her own ability.

Wolf was about to blow her off when he had an idea.

“Wow! Really? You’re from the Westrich’s Franklins? I never expected I would see one of them here!” A diminutive pang of guilt pricked Wolf for conning a child. But considering she came from the group of Sprinting Peacock riders, other considerations trampled his discomfort.

The ass-kissing did the trick, and Atlanta’s grin widened. She held her nose so high it threatened to tear the heavens.

Wolf shifted his gaze left and right in a ridiculously obvious display before leaning over and whispering conspiratorially. “Do you have inside information?”

Atlanta blushed and rapidly nodded.

“The test’s the same every time. We must cross the lake, then find the sect’s headquarters on the Earth Pavilion’s island. It’s on that mountain over there.” She pointed towards a distant fog-obscured peak. “Anyone who owns a holdingring brought a rowboat to cross the lake, but Earth Pavilion prepares different obstacles each time…”

Atlanta lowered her voice and leaned over to Wolf. “The Earth Pavilion issued missions for Inner Disciples to gather Bonegnasher Piranhas a month ago…”

Atlanta shared her intel with the beautiful, mature man, offering him to share her tent and to ride her barge. Wolf politely refused, feeling somewhat embarrassed from conning her for information.

Shouldn’t I be more ashamed of abusing my looks to achieve my goals? Mandy said appearances are a weapon no less lethal than spells or blades. Did I already get used to it? Will I become a kept pretty boy here?

Wolf nearly shook his head, further aggravating the dissatisfied Atlanta. While she was unhappy, Wolf left her with a smidgeon of hope, and she did not wish to ruin her chance. He clearly read her thoughts and attitude from the way she bit her lower lip and regulated her breathing before stuttering a disappointed goodbye.

One day before the initiation trial starts. I wonder how many girls will hit on me?

The answer was a lot. Before twenty-seven hours passed, three dozen hopeful young women tried their luck. Luckily, the elves and dwarves remained disinterested. Despite Wolf believing his countenance was overly feminine, he was too rugged by elven standards of beauty. As for the dwarves, he attracted them as much as they attracted him.

Human women, however, stayed proactive. He heard pickup lines ranging from horrible to impressive, the latter he filed for future use when joking with Mandy or Anna. Quite a few of his suitors used food to break the ice because Wolf ate and drank around the clock.

Finally, twilight arrived, and the sitting woman stood up.

“Gather round,” she said, her voice reinforced by Qi. “My name is Leena, your Senior Apprentice Sister. I’ll explain the rules for Earth Pavilion’s triennial admittance trials. The first part is reaching the trial grounds. The course before you is full of danger. Your goal is to reach the Earth Pavilion entrance, which is two hundred kilometers west of here. We don’t care how you achieve this, but only the first fifty trial takers are eligible to take the aptitude tests.”

Leena spoke steadily, then retrieved a paper from which she read her speech. “Participants taking over fourteen days to reach the destination face disqualification. Please note, multiple Monster Beasts are scattered throughout the trial grounds. Their power ranges from the fourth stage of Qi Gathering realm to the fourth stage of Blood Saturating realm. All risk, injury, and fatalities incurred by third parties taking part in the Earth Pavilion trial rest solely upon the participants, with the Earth Pavilion absolved of any responsibility.”

Leena folded the paper and cleared her throat. “The shortest path towards the destination runs straight west, across the lake. However, I can guarantee at least one pair of fourth stage Blood Saturating realm Monster Beasts guards that path. The more you circle around, the safer you are. Please be aware that while the rules don’t forbid killing each other, Earth Pavilion is legally obliged to turn you over to the nearest court where you will stand trial according to local law.”

Leena took a deep breath, discomfort painting her face. “You have no obligation to save your rivals from Monster Beasts. It’s a decent thing to do, but it is not mandatory. Everyone’s fate is their own. If they overestimate themselves, that’s their problem. Their foolishness might endanger your life one day, if you save theirs today.”

Wolf examined her face with care and frowned lightly. She’s lying, but not quite. Either that, or has some unpleasant personal experience regarding overconfident companions.

“Give it your best and good luck,” Leena finished her speech.

There was no applause, words of thanks or anything of the like. The gathered crowd rushed towards the water and summoned their boats, hurrying to cross. The less wealthy candidates circled around the lake, heading for the bridge faintly visible in the distance, while some directly jumped into the waves and began swimming.

In just a few brief moments, Wolf found that other than him, only three others remained surrounded by the abandoned empty tents.

One was a chubby middle-aged woman, who appeared just before dusk, and with the speech finished, she started taking down the most expensive tents, storing them into her holdingring.

Wolf smirked, appreciating her industrious scavenging. As for the other two, one was a slim, short youth, while the other was a burly girl a head taller than Wolf.

“Could you please wait a moment, Mister?” the young man beckoned just as Wolf headed towards the water.