Demon Wolf

Jakob approached Wolf with mixed feelings, his face awkward. On one hand, Wolf did nothing evil. He had just taken a bath. But acting so scandalously, undressing in front of a female gathering, denoted Wolf a prostitute, or a man of questionable morals.

Did I tangle myself with a harlot? Jakob wondered, trying to smile.

He mostly succeeded. Wolf chalked off the weird expression to the two bloody messes, whose deaths he had nearly caused.

“I’ve been waiting,” Wolf said, thinking how, unlike most, who either crashed or abandoned their boats, Jakob had retrieved his canoe before proceeding.

“Sorry,” the youth lowered his gaze in embarrassment. “I do things slow and steady.”

“Why tread the center path with me, then?” Wolf asked the obvious question. Plowing through the toughest part of the trial was neither slow nor safe.

“If I circle around, I might not make it in time. There aren’t enough spots.” Jakob pointed towards the distant silhouettes, who drew ever further. “They won’t detour all the way. Once they believe they can handle the lurking monsters, they will enter the jungle to reach the goal.”

Jakob smiled self-mockingly. “I have the brains, but I lack the brawn to pass the exam.”

That statement brought about an awkward silence.

“Don’t worry. You’ll pass easy.” Wolf gave Jakob a reassuring smile after several breaths of silence. He had many questions, the foremost of which was, ‘Why Earth Pavilion?’ But he guessed the answer was the same as his. Like other major forces, they had access to the best Qi Gathering rifts in the kingdom, and any sufficiently advanced disciples would get recommended for the pavilion’s principal Earth Monastery, increasing their future advancement opportunities.

Don’t assume anything. Ask. And mind his body language.

“Come. Let’s go.” He tilted his head, pointing towards the oppressive jungle looming before them before jogging into it.

“What brings you to Earth Pavilion?” Wolf asked with all the subtlety of a mace, but he believed the question was perfectly justifiable, given the circumstances.

Jakob did not reply immediately. For a second, he considered lying; but if he lied, he might lose the chance to cooperate with Wolf. I could just follow him to pass the trial? He’s old, and once I get into the Earth Pavilion I can find another backer? Someone less eccentric. No. You need power to act eccentric. Especially if you’re a male.

“My family is in trouble, and I need to forge meaningful alliances,” he admitted, more because he lacked alternatives than because he desired to be frank. 

Wolf glanced back at the embarrassed youth. From Jakob’s face, he read the boy’s struggle to keep his eyes straight and meet his gaze.

He seems legit. Or he beats Wayde’s acting. I’ll believe him for now, but I shouldn’t trust him.

“So, your plan to get admitted, then marry yourself off?” Wolf slowed his pace to match Jakob’s, rather than constantly turn around to observe his face, which showed even more hints of shame.

That twitch of his lips, the slight blushing, and the way his gaze drifted downward before he stopped himself from looking at the ground. It seems like a genuine attempt to hide his embarrassment.

“Not if I can help it.” Jakob’s voice quivered, and he failed to disguise it with rough breathing. “Getting married is bad if you wish to advance your cultivation. Not so much if your wife doesn’t cultivate, but I need a backer, not romance.”

Wolf almost stumbled at the fourteen-year-old’s mature words. He’s like Anna?

Jakob did not ask the next natural question, “What brings you here?” If he followed such a scripted conversation, soon enough Wolf would unearth more of his agenda, and that was something Jakob did not want.

“From the information we gathered, Monster Beasts randomly patrol the forest. Some participants of previous trials mentioned they passed the jungle without breaking a sweat, but they admitted it was likely due to luck.”

Jakob gave Wolf a subtle glance, confirming this topic interested him more than his private affairs. Holding back a relieved sigh, he continued, “The shorter the path to Earth Pavilion, the stronger the Monster Beasts, and the greater the odds of encountering multiple powerful opponents—”

“Why doesn’t everyone go through the middle together?” Wolf interrupted Jakob with the most logical question that has been bugging him from the start. The trial mentioned nothing about a party’s upper limit.

“The larger the group, the more Monster Beasts the Earth Pavilion deploys in their path. Most people aren’t familiar with each other, and they can’t function like a team. Meanwhile, pack Monster Beasts like pigs, dogs, rats, cats, and apes coordinate perfectly even in extreme numbers.”

Wolf nodded. As soon as Jakob mentioned pack Monster Beasts, he realized that Earth Pavilion did not have to use one powerful creature to block the path. Actually, coordinated packs often posed greater danger than solitary behemoths. High order monsters were there for intimidation and for the one-on-one challenge, not to harass groups.

If they have Beast Tamers, they can probably replace the powerful monsters with packs to intercept larger groups.

Jakob chattered random objective truths and trivial information he knew, all to steer the conversation away from his and his family’s troubles. Wolf took the hint, and he did not care too much either.

In fact, his life was simpler if he avoided getting involved with the youth, just like the whole Hare Tribe affair was a waste of time.

Well, that’s not entirely true. I was already stretching it with the useful books I could read in the House of Fairness. And I don’t mind helping someone who reminds me of Sky. Since I’m stuck here, I might as well see if I can help Jakob and have him do things for me like Frida, Rand, or Roger back home. Having people to run your errands is never a bad thing. Wolf considered that thought. As long as you don’t misplace your trust in them.

Considering whether to employ Jakob, Wolf sensed a faint ripple, as if he had walked through a giant, impossibly thin soap bubble’s membrane. Whatever it was, it burst upon contact, but Jakob’s fact-spamming died mid-word.

Wolf turned around and found the youth paralyzed. He had a vacant look and a stupid grin plastered on his face; it was so obnoxious, Wolf wanted to slap him.

He resisted the urge. Gods know what wild things run through a teen’s mind. I’ll slap him to wake up, not because he looks disgustingly annoying.

Wolf was about to strike, when Jakob shook his head and regained focus. His face turned pale and beads of sweat dripped down his brow.

“Are you all right? What did you see?” Wolf asked his shaken companion.

“Um.” Jakob looked down, touching his hand to his lips, unnerved enough to forget to conceal his gestures. “I appeared in a large reception chamber full of guests. Um, it was a wedding. The Earth Pavilion’s pavilion master took me for her seventeenth concubine. She said she would take care of all my needs…”

Jakob looked up at Wolf and gulped. “She was really good-looking.”

I wonder what that means around here? Did she look like she could tear apart an ox with her bare hands, or did she have gentle hands and soft skin? Wolf did not ask for a description. He held no interest in local women.

“She told me to strip—” the young man took Wolf’s silence as a sign that he should keep going, but Wolf finally interrupted him.

“All right, all right… I get the general idea. No wonder you didn’t fall for it for too long.” Illusion Spell Formations are easy to escape when they are detached from reality. The only way they can trap you for long is if you have a manic obsession, or if you stay willingly. I wonder what will happen if we run into any realistic illusions? Were they idle enough to make an illusion of the entire trial? What if there are befuddling Spell Formations, which make you go in circles?

“Do you know anything about Spell Formations used in the trial? Are there any others?” Wolf asked, but Jakob sadly shook his head.

“I’ve never heard of Earth Pavilion using Spell Formations in previous trials.”

“Don’t worry. I don’t hold it against you, nor do I expect you to know everything. I was just asking.” Wolf reassured the shaken youth. “Let’s go on, they probably didn’t set up just one.”

This one was likely a warning for anyone wise enough to notice it. Only idiots would get stuck in such obvious fantasies. Wolf mussed, unaware that in the trial he was taking, nearly nine hundred idiots would be stuck in their fantasies until the proctors came to save them.

He and Jakob continued forward, and, just as expected, ten kilometers later, Wolf sensed another wave wash over him. This time, he did not break the illusion, but allowed it to drag him in.

“Daddy!” A cute baby girl toddled towards him, grinning. Her eyes were big and azure, her black hair still short and wispy.