Chapter 8: Guidance of Desire

It was nearly noon. Below the cliff, a ground furnace was dug out, and firewood was added. This furnace resembled the heated beds used by the people of Valken in the far north, with its most distinctive feature being the winding flue. However, its primary purpose was not to provide a warm surface for resting but to “digest” thick smoke. Building such furnaces was a skill that professional scouts must master, and even knights who had completed formal training could learn it in the elective “field skills” course. Most apprentice knights knew how to do it, as these hands-on skills were not only useful but also interesting.

Neo removed the firearm from the broken tree trunk. It had been tied to the trunk earlier, with a thin rope used to control its firing. This arrangement allowed Neo to emerge from behind the necromancer after shooting and kill him in one strike.

“There are still 11 shots left.” Neo carefully pulled out the mana cell, reinserted it, wiped it thoroughly, and ensured there were no issues with firing before storing it properly. There were 63 rounds of ammunition, along with another fully charged mana cell that could fire 30 times.

This tiny device, about the thickness of a thumb, appeared to consist of an intricately carved metal plug and a transparent glass tube filled with fluorescent liquid, created by mana engineers. A magician plus an alchemist made a mana engineer—a fact that ensured these mana cells were extremely expensive.

Although gunpowder firearms and even steam firearms had already been invented, mana firearms still had irreplaceable advantages. They were easy to use, safe, portable, and offered superior firing rates and power compared to the other two types. They had almost no limitations in terms of usage environment; they could even be fired underwater. They were undoubtedly the top choice for the wealthy as self-defense tools when traveling.

Like all cavalrymen who understood the value of their mounts, they took care of their comrades before feeding themselves. This task was usually done personally, not by others. The warhorses ate cooked beans and salted wheat bran cakes, while their water came from melted snow. The inner lining of their helmets served as containers.

The dire wolf clearly couldn’t be satisfied with just beans and wheat bran cakes. Neo brought half a bag of dried meat when he left, and after a simple stewing process, it became the wolf’s meal. Theoretically, wolves preferred fresh meat, but in harsh conditions, they would eat carrion to survive. Though dried meat, cured meat, and stewed meat weren’t as good as fresh meat, they were far better than carrion. This was said to be one of the reasons why dire wolves became versatile mounts. Delicious food represented a good life—just like humans, wolves also had tastes.

Compared to mounts, people in this era paid more attention to soups when traveling or marching. Dried vegetables and meat, mixed with seasonings and frozen, hard potato paste, formed a thick porridge-like dish that served as the main meal. The staple food was unleavened, semi-cooked flatbreads, which were easy to store. They were toasted on hot stones and eaten with the soup, making them quite delicious.

Theoretically, people should not cook food, as beasts can smell its scent from distances of over ten or even dozens of kilometers, and the Terrestrian hounds commonly used by the dark forces are definitely such beasts. So when Adrien gave the order to dig out pots and cook, Neo already knew that this knight would likely be limited to merely “conducting a brief investigation” in Tulip Town in the upcoming actions. Neo was also well aware that he had no right to demand anything in this matter, so when Adrien and the others were summarizing their plans while drinking hot water, Neo volunteered to take on the duty of keeping watch. While on duty, Neo made better use of his sense of smell and hearing rather than his vision, which was limited and obstructed by trees and other barriers. He could even carry out this task diligently in a light state of meditation. Through years of deliberate training, in such a state, he could emit sensing abilities like a mage, combined with the innate “beast intuition” of a werewolf, making his sensing range and sensitivity far superior to mere mental sensing. Of course, the reason Neo entered a light state of meditation this time was not solely to perform his duty better, but to observe the changes within his body. Not long ago, he had absorbed the life force of a necromancer. Having been prepared, he paid special attention to the sensations during absorption. The most intense feeling at the time was a stabbing pain in his head, as if hundreds of steel needles were piercing him, while the sense of power gained was not strong at all. Now, it made sense that a necromancer, due to practicing and using dark and deathly forces, had a weakened constitution and weak life force. So what did that intense stabbing pain signify? The answer came quickly—it indicated the growth of mental strength. Neo realized that the absorption of life force did not directly affect the body; the gain in mental strength wasn’t a simple accumulation but rather a powerful force that surged through and then dissipated. In other words, if Neo’s mental strength system were compared to a pipe, the absorbed mental strength wouldn’t make the pipe system larger or more complete, but rather widen and strengthen it—provided that he endured the intense pain during absorption and guided it properly to maximize its impact. As for this time, it was clearly somewhat wasted. But by summarizing and identifying the direction in time, he managed to make up for much of the loss. Another issue that Neo had paid attention to before and was puzzled about afterward was that the dark forces acting on his body did not cause withering or necrosis but instead activation, strengthening, and vitality. Of course, Neo wouldn’t arrogantly assume that the nature of the dark forces had changed. As elements constituting the world, the energies of the six elements only exhibit deviations under specific circumstances, such as lightning or ice, but they would never change to an opposing nature. If they did, they would no longer be what they originally were. Since it wasn’t a change in the nature of the forces, this effect could only mean that his body had changed and adapted. Just like the dark evil rays of a necromancer—when used on humans, they cause harm, but when used on demonized undead, they provide healing.

When Neo realized this, he felt somewhat panicked. He didn’t consider himself to have turned into some evil creature like those corrupted immortals, but he certainly wasn’t a normal being anymore. By looking inward at the increasing and more active “dark evil deposits” within his body, Neo’s first thought was that his life attributes might be permanently altered.

According to bloodline traditions, the most common life attribute among the Daknis clan should be wind. Neo knew his father was the Wind of the Mountains, and his mother was the Dew of the Moonlit Night; he himself was the Wind of the Moonlit Night. So what was he now? The Wind of Death? The Wind of Darkness? Or perhaps simply darkness, eternal darkness?

“It truly embodies the true meaning of ‘darkness’…”

Dark wolves originally referred to those living deep in the forests, but now, in terms of life attributes, Neo seemed even more akin to those notorious Ghost Wolves. This change in his bloodline lineage filled him with disappointment, as he had always been proud to consider himself a member of the dark wolves.

“Is this the result of that female demon’s magical attack? Perhaps the entire concept of this magic is: rising from death to become a loyal hound, gaining powerful combat abilities through evil, predatory ‘life absorption’ capabilities. As a result, I happened to be immune to the initial harm but enjoyed the subsequent benefits.”

Unaware of the secrets within his pineal gland, Neo could only blame the main cause of his unusual changes on the fate sorceress Dantestine.

If there was a primary factor, there must also be secondary factors. Neo believed the secondary factor was the Eirwen pendant around his neck. It was the pure moon energy stored in this pendant that allowed Neo to transform into a wolf once every 24 hours. The duration of the transformation depended on his mental and physical strength—in short, it made him stronger but also more exhausted.

As for why the Vidennis wolves could remain in wolf form around the clock while Neo could only do so for brief periods, it was said that aside from specialized training and external factors like magical techniques, the most important reason was the difference in bloodlines. As the smartest among wolves, the Daknis (of darkness) were essentially at one extreme, while the Vidennis were at the other. That’s why Vidennis wolves often mocked Daknis wolves as pitiful weaklings, while the Daknis retorted by calling them brute wolves or fools.

Anyway, Neo had to admit that the ability to “absorb life” was extremely significant to him. While being cautious about potential consequences such as a drastic change in personality, addiction to magic or power, he truly hoped this ability could become a chance for him to grow stronger quickly. Just as now—having absorbed life four times in total—it not only increased his strength but also greatly enhanced his endurance, filling him with energy. He could now use the power of his “wolf bloodline” more freely, without having to be so cautious as before. After all, since he had no tendency toward self-harm and could face new challenges in good health, why risk half-dead?

However, no one in this world ever gets anything without effort. What’s called luck is merely giving people an additional chance that would normally have a very low probability of occurring, or it’s about separating the proportional effort from the rewards, thus creating the illusion of gaining more with less effort. As for why some people still feel that effort and reward are unbalanced, one reason is the perspective from which they view things—for example, the death of a pet cat may be more heartbreaking to some than the death of their parents. Another example is that, in the eyes of some, moral conscience holds no value at all; if possible, they would be willing to sell all their moral conscience by the pound. Another factor is that things are constantly changing—10 yuan might have been a large sum when one was young, but it’s nothing much as an adult. Of course, there’s also a terrifying interest rate between cost and reward. Some people succeed well over time and can easily repay this high interest, just like borrowing and consuming in advance—whose outcome isn’t necessarily tragic. A rather ordinary and slightly sad lunch break slips away quietly. Some use it to review their achievements, assess gains and losses, and plan their next moves; others use it to make as many preparations as possible in secret, willing to open forbidden boxes and take on heavy, invisible debts for their pursuits. Wishes, choices—everyone walks their own chosen path. During this time, they temporarily travel together to create stories, leaving traces of life in this world and in each other’s hearts…