Demon Wolf

In the main hall, Wolf rejoined the group of newly accepted Earth Pavilion disciples. The moment he saw him, Jakob nodded, flashing a proud grin.

As Wolf approached the youth, he heard Stella’s footsteps. I don’t understand why she insisted I leave first.

“All of you have passed the trials.” Stella’s steady voice revealed no hint of the weakness and strain Wolf witnessed moments ago. “You must complete one more formality before joining the Earth Pavilion as my junior sisters and brothers. This is not a test; there’s no passing nor failing, so please, follow me.”

Stella led the way into a smaller subterranean hall constructed to house a hundred-odd people. It was dome-shaped, its walls and floor adorned with decorative patterns, in which Wolf spotted concealed pieces of a large Spell Formation.

A compulsion of some sorts? Glancing at the discrete runes, Wolf gained a vague idea on Spell Formation’s workings.

After motioning everyone to the center of the hall, Stella climbed an elevated platform and cleared her throat. “Repeat after me; I swear not to divulge Earth Pavilion’s secrets to outsiders.”

The crowd parroted her words, but several people cried out.

“You must speak clearly and mean what you say, otherwise you are inviting a powerful curse.” Stella said, and those who yelped repeated their oath with greater zeal.

Conning children, Wolf rolled his eyes. He honestly swore the oath; he had no intention of divulging his experiences in the Demon World. Even without the Spell Formation, as soon as he made a promise, he was bound to follow through.

“I swear to follow Earth Pavilion’s rules as long as I am an Earth Pavilion’s disciple.” Stella made another demand.

Hearing this one, Wolf frowned. He did not know the Earth Pavilion’s rules. I’m not agreeing to that.

“I swear to follow Earth Pavilion’s rules as long as I am an Erf Pavirion’s disciple.” As soon as Wolf intentionally misspoke, the Spell Formation drilled at his soul.

Using a Truthspeaker’s trick to utter falsehoods, Wolf kept his face straight. He ignored the tingling sensation as he resisted the compulsion, grinding it into nothingness.

Damn. That wasted a week’s worth of Anima.

Wolf was not the only one who wished to avoid the constrictive oath. Two dozen others yelped under the Spell Formation’s prodding. Then they surrendered, signing the blank contract’s binding.

Standing on the platform, exempt from the oaths she demanded, Stella watched them in silence.

I wonder whether she sees her past self selling herself into slavery? Wolf mused on the dejection dwelling within Stella’s gaze. He quickly deduced numerous loopholes and abuse potential in such a unilateral vow.

“Collect your calling jades on the way out. One of Earth Pavilion’s many rules is that of secrecy regarding the admittance trial. You may not divulge what happened during your test, nor speak of the test’s essence. If you consider doing it, the—” A girl’s scream interrupted Stella.

“Every single group,” she muttered, as Wolf watched a petite brunette clutch her head.

“If you even consider revealing Earth Pavilion’s secrets, your vow will trigger, inflicting pain. If you persist, you will suffer damage and perish in agony. Don’t joke with your life.” The disjointedness of those heavy words and that bored expression amused Wolf, reminding him of the kooky old loon back home.

The group followed Stella out. Senior disciples returned their callingjades labeled by name and admittance number, before the group headed back to the plateau, merging with the waiting crowd.

“Follow me.” Stella climbed up the stairs. “Earth Pavilion has three kinds of disciples. Outer, inner, and core. The next test will separate outer disciples. The difference between outer and inner disciples is great, both in what the pavilion expects of you and in what the pavilion gives in return.”

Wolf again kept towards the group’s rear, noticing once more that the vast majority of trial takers had passed the tests and joined the Earth Pavilion.

“Everything you need will cost contribution points. Cultivation resources, library access, equipment, medicine, even better housing; everything has a price. You must choose what you want and pay for it through your effort. Outer disciples earn one contribution point per month. Inner disciples earn ten, core disciples earn a hundred. However, this is not without reason.”

Stella paused, leaving those words hanging. Most disciples believed she was pointing out the benefits of being a core disciple over an outer one, but Wolf guessed there was more to it.

“Other than contribution points, Earth Pavilion awards its inner disciples one least Qi crystal per year, while core disciples get one every month. Contribution points work like crowns in Boreo. All transactions within Earth Pavilion must use either contribution points or barter, where you exchange goods and services. You are free to bet, buy and sell amongst yourselves, or trade with Earth Pavilion’s Treasure Hall.”

Stella paused. She wanted to continue sharing practical advice on surviving, but her mission demanded she share mandatory information before the next testing area.

“Outer disciples must complete at least one mission per year. They will only risk their lives if the Earth Pavilion is under direct attack. Their missions are safe. Like this one, they usually involve simple labor, which may require special skills. The higher the mission’s requirements, the longer its duration, the greater the reward upon completion.”

Listening to Stella’s introduction, Wolf popped a Sprinting Peacock meatball into his mouth and summoned another one.

“Inner disciples must complete at least one mission every three months. Every year at least two of those four must have a dangerous label. When picking safe missions, inner disciples have priority over outer disciples. That’s how I got this mission. You should choose missions based on their profitability and safety. Earth Pavilion may issue mandatory missions and mobilize all inner disciples in any conflict it is involved in. Being an inner disciple means you are risking your life.”

Wolf looked around. Surprisingly, everyone seemed fine with risking their lives for profit. Well, they already knew where they were going. I wonder if they’ve ever seen something similar to the Hare tribe’s beasttide?

“Core disciples…” Stella drew a deep breath, during which Wolf imagined hearing her gnash her teeth. “…don’t have to do anything. You can become a core disciple by passing a special trial or by becoming an inner elder’s sole personal disciple.”

As the next plateau appeared within view, Stella added one piece of advice. “Take the time to study the rules. Not just the ones for disciples of your status, but for everyone, elders included.”

She seems to mean good? Wolf observed the third square. Unlike the ones before, this one had two sets of stairs leading up the mountain, one to the left and one to the right.

The square ended in an ominous portal, sculpted like a beast’s gaping maw. Its blood-red door stood closed, their disturbing color adding to the unnerving air.

No creepy door should fill me with such unease. Wolf frowned while those around him paled or shuddered.

Prodded by curiosity, he awakened his senses.

Ah, so that’s it. He spotted subtle runes, red on red, carved into the door, as well as thin lines adorning the snarling jaw. Dread, blood, antipathy…

Multiple Spell Formations scribed to instill fear into the observer’s heart. While Wolf sent his senses dormant, he examined the tall, thin woman standing before the roaring mouth.

Her hair was blonde, her cheekbones sharp, her gaze sharper. Those icy blue eyes focused on him, and Wolf recognized mortal danger for the first time since entering Demon World.

Even if I disregard the consequences and fight with everything I have, I might not win. Even if I win, I certainly can’t kill her.

Thanks to Star Body, Wolf possessed herculean strength. However, until he completed the sixth stage of the art, fighting all out came with dire repercussions. Over the years, he enhanced his skin, bones, blood, and tendons. His blood nourished his muscles and organs to an extent, but they lagged in terms of power and durability.

He could use five times his normal strength without consequence. If he strained himself to use ten times his normal strength, the overloaded muscles would rip. Thirty times the load would cripple him, while his maximum of one hundred and twenty times would crush his internal organs in a single burst of ultimate power.

Everything that forces me to use more than tenfold my strength counts as my loss. Book can’t take that load either. I’m afraid it would shatter. Just the thought of ruining another sword made Wolf meeker. He did not care about random junk he picked up, but the foolish way he lost Razor still weighed on his conscience.

Focusing on the woman in her middle years, Wolf failed to notice Stella’s shock at this elder’s appearance.

“Greetings, my Earth Pavilion’s disciples.” Eleanor’s lips stretched into a warm smile, which never reached the permafrost of her eyes. “My name is Eleanor Dreadingham. I will preside over your next examination. Those who pass will become our inner disciples, those who fail and have self-awareness will become our outer disciples, those with poor self-awareness will face death.”