Demon Wolf

Jakob smiled, displaying confidence he did not feel. The sword in his hand trembled, and his heart pounded faster and faster until it reached a full gallop. His newfound determination faced the reality in which a pack of monsters charged towards him.

While he wavered, they came. With squeals and snorts, a pack of ox-sized wild boars trampled the bushes, charging straight towards them.

What do I do?

Jakob’s illusory courage vanished. Dark bristles covered the dozen enraged beasts, their life-reaping, saber-like tusks stealing Jakob’s attention. While he stood paralyzed, Wolf shot forth. With a rusty sword in hand, the half-elf met the savage tide.

At first, it seemed he would clash with them head-on. However, when he was a step away from the pack leader, Wolf sidestepped. He spun, twisting his body with mesmerizing grace. Then, his unsightly sword pierced the giant boar’s neck at an odd angle, digging itself into the monster’s brain, and killing it on the spot.

Carried by inertia, the corpse continued its careen, unsheathing Wolf’s blade for him.

Jakob watched the dance, transfixed. Wolf never stopped moving. As he freed his sword, he boldly tread onto the next Monster Beast’s snout. The forceful step rammed the savage head into the ground with shocking dominance.

Then, the squeals and grunts dragged Jakob back to reality. A boar flanking the pack leader from the other side rumbled straight at him, ignoring his alpha’s slayer.

Jakob tried to imitate Wolf.

He shouted and dashed towards the monstrous pig. His heart raced and adrenaline surged into his brain so quickly his head spun.

What the hells am I doing? Three steps away from his enemy, Jakob realized he could not mimic Wolf’s grace. He could not spin with a millimeter of spare space and stab the sprinting beast, seeking the convenient fold of its hide where the bark-like leather rubbed itself soft.

Instead of twirling gracefully, Jakob jumped for his life.

The pierce missed his liver by a palm’s width. Still, the spear-like tusk smacked Jakob’s side with all the tenderness of a rampaging bull.

The boy groaned, but kept his head. He sent a surge of Qi into his sword and hacked off his attacker’s leg at the knee.

Blood splashed his face, filling his nose with a disgusting scent and his half-open mouth with a metallic taste.

Jakob crashed into the ground shoulder-first, his ears ringing from the ungodly screech. He looked up, spitting with disgust. Then he saw it.

Death’s head was lowered, its bloodshot eyes locked on him. Points of two lances, aimed at his eyes, protruded from his doom’s frothing maw.

I’m dead. Jakob clenched his ass, afraid his final earthly sensation before reincarnation would be him shitting himself.

With a boom and a crack, the boar toppled over to the side and slid half a meter beside Jakob.

“Get up. Fight,” Wolf said, and Jakob watched him lower his leg back into place before running towards another monster.

They are pigs. Jakob realized. To him, they are just pigs.

He stood up, sensing a slight tightness from his right where the Razortusk struck him with the flat of its tuck.

The rest of the battle became a blur. Jakob disabled three boars. He killed one, but maiming them and putting them out of commission was good enough. Even Wolf thought so.

“You did well.” The words of encouragement entered Jakob’s ear as he panted above his only kill, the Razortusk he stabbed half a dozen times as the world quieted down.

“It’s dead. You can stop stabbing,” Wolf added, seeing Jakob plunge his sword into the boar’s side yet again.

“Right,” Jakob said with a vacant gaze, and stored his sword.

“It’s best to clean your weapon after the fight. Blood’s a pain to get rid of once it dries. Also, since you have a normal sword, you should sharpen it when we take a break. Piercing tough hides dulls it even if you coat it in Qi.”

Jakob nodded. He took his sword back out and cleaned it with his shirt. Then he realized he was just smearing blood. It took him a moment to realize his once yellow top was now crimson.

He stared at his hands, then at his pants and shoes. I look like someone dunked me in a barrel of red paint.

Finally, he turned around, seeking Wolf. He doesn’t have a drop of blood on him?

Jakob could not believe his eyes. Wolf looked like nothing had happened.

“Kid, you need a bath,” the mature man said, and Jakob dumbly nodded once again.

***

“Greetings, Pavilion Master. We found someone decent in this trial,” Eleanor said, entering a small, unassuming office to deliver her report. “He’s somewhat too old and suffers mild bedevilment, but his talent is extraordinary. Tina said her kraken was afraid of him, even though they met underwater. His movements are precise, bordering supernatural. He should have abundant combat experience, more so than most of our late Blood Saturating realm disciples.”

The middle-aged woman looked up from her stack of papers. Her body was in peak condition, but the dark rings under her eyes and her murky gaze revealed fatigue which no amount of rest could alleviate.

“How old is he?” she asked after several moments of silence.

“Around twenty. Along the way, he decapitated Sprinting Peacocks and gutted them for meat and nubs. He’s chewing something around the clock, but showed no other strange outbursts. Despite the mild bedevilment, his mind is stalwart. He shook off the illusions momentarily. Elders in charge of monitoring students also reported they were certain he gazed straight at them multiple times.”

Eleanor, Earth Pavilion’s highest elder, stood straight, looking at her exhausted pavilion master. The woman’s vacant eyes froze as she struggled to process the report. Finally, she nodded.

“He could have waited to join us with the group that will have access to the premiere Qi Gathering secluded domain. There are plenty of ambitious talents who delayed their breakthrough to exploit the centennial opportunity and ride the tide of secluded domains.” The pavilion master stopped talking, her gaze once more losing focus.

The elder waited. Anyone whose longevity neared its end suffered the same symptoms. Even someone as intelligent as her pavilion master experienced sluggish thinking.

“Monitor him.” Finally, the old woman decided on a course of action. “Record all his exploits and throw more challenging beasts his way. Make sure it’s not too lethal, but it should showcase his strong points and—”

The pavilion master lost herself again. She was a step away from suffering from narcoleptic episodes. Eleanor waited patiently, watching what future held in store for her, if her luck served and she neared the death of old age.

Maybe it’s better to die in battle? Furthering the glory of my clan seems preferable to this dilapidation.

“… push him to the limit. The greater talent he reveals the better it is for us. Is he traveling alone, or does he have company?”

“He travels with a boy. A talkative fellow surnamed Silentear. Never heard of the family.” Eleanor replied dutifully. She had already compiled a relevant report. The pavilion master had been grooming her as her successor for two decades, and she knew the ins and outs of the job.

The pavilion master nodded. She had already prepared answers for both eventualities.

“Have the observer transcribe their conversations, or at least memorize what they were talking about. Once you’re done, bring it over to me to review and censure before we send it to others. I’m assuming he’s talented enough to pass the core disciple trial, since you came to see me.”

Eleanor nodded, even though the pavilion master asked no questions.

“Go. You know what you need to do,” the pavilion master said, her lips stretching into a faint, hopeful smile. “Since that’s the case, I don’t need to write any more instructions. I’ll sleep, to stretch my time as much as possible. Wake me once the trials finish.”

“Yes, Pavilion Master,” Eleanor half-bowed before turning around to leave. When she reached the door, she observed the decrepit one-hundred-and-seventy-year-old seat herself comfortably on a prayer mat and fall asleep.

She closed the door and shuddered. Death of old age terrified her. It really is better to fall in a battle against Monster Beasts or a territorial dispute between sects.

***

“Attention all hopeful disciples.” Eleanor’s voice spread two hundred kilometers throughout the Earth Pavilion’s domain and trial ground. “The first group of three has reached the destination. There are now ninety-seven openings. Good luck to you all.”

Wolf snapped his head towards his objective. Jakob was in the middle of scrubbing off blood inside Wolf’s ink-stained barrel, and he froze mid-brush.

“Huh?” Jakob said, staring blankly in the same direction as Wolf. “Someone already reached the goal?”

Wolf nodded. “Wrap up your bath. You’re clean enough. I guess we’ll have to pick up the pace if we want to make it in time.”

He paused for a moment, calculating. How could they cross two hundred kilometers in such a short amount of time? Did they cheat? Did they ride a mount? I’m certain everyone abandoned their Sprinting Peacocks before disembarking.

“Jakob,” Wolf said, his face stern. “I’m sorry. We won’t have any more time for your training. I’ll be killing the Monster Beasts from now on.”