A.N: Super sorry for the delayed updates. I've been stuck figuring out how the story progresses in the advanced chapters.
I also wanted to touch on a piece of reader feedback I got recently. They mentioned that the story "narrates the exposition of the absolute mundanity of the world around the main character," that the pacing feels rough, and that there's too much exposition with not enough actually happening.
Honestly, they're right, especially in the early chapters.
Looking back, I got too caught up in the worldbuilding and cool ideas I wanted to share, which ended up bloating the Agroville arc. To make things worse, I wrote the "cool sex scenes" first and then shaped the story around them, which threw off the pacing and hurt character development. Sharron, for example, was meant to be a recurring and emotionally important character, but she didn't get the early focus she needed.
I've been working on improving that. Cutting back on exposition and only delivering it when it fits naturally into the story flow, while also curbing the urge to drop in random sex scenes. I think the Crafts Wood arc and later chapters handle this better, so I hope those read more smoothly.
One important thing I want to clarify: the first volume was always meant to be a coming-of-age story. That means a slower pace, more slice-of-life moments, focus on relationships, and a lot of introspection. The MC starts off immature, with strong opinions on power, morality, and society, and a big part of the story is watching him grow, evolve, and question those beliefs. There's smut, there's fantasy and political intrigue, but the heart of the story is character development.
I get that this kind of structure can feel off-putting if you're expecting a fast-paced, nonstop action progression fantasy. And that's totally fair. But if you're into slower, character-driven stories that build over time, I hope you'll stick around and see where things go!
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Right then, I sensed a movement from one of the dark corridors.
There was a faint rustling from one of the dark corridors.
Maybe something was there, watching.
I didn't even waste time questioning it and gave into years of instincts forged from hunting in the wild.
I drifted backward, my form gliding weightlessly just as something lunged at me.
A blur of translucent silver streaked through the air, barely missing me.
Shit. That was too close.
Steadying myself, I snapped my gaze toward my attacker.
It stood there, low to the ground, shoulders tensed in a hunter's crouch.
A ghostly wolf, its form flickering like rippling water. It wasn't fully solid, but neither was it completely incorporeal. A faint shimmer outlined its muscular frame, the mist-like edges of its body shifting with an unnatural fluidity.
Its eyes, like two red orbs, locked onto me with an eerie, unblinking aggressiveness.
From its faint form, lacking defining details, I knew this wasn't a strong spirit creature. But unfortunately, neither was I.
I clenched my grip around the Dao Ore, my mind racing.
Taking down a beast like this wasn't an option.
I had just learned to hover around in this form minutes ago, so I can't even pull up any moves, much less do a smooth exit. If we fought, this would be just a one-sided beating for me.
The wolf growled, slightly exposing its razor-sharp teeth. Seeing the thing crouching low and tightening its muscles, I knew it was preparing to pounce on me again.
Fine. If I couldn't fight, I had to outmaneuver it.
I let out a loud, aggressive bark and surged toward it.
The creature flinched, but only for a split second.
Then it lunged forward.
I barely sidestepped its attack, my form twisting mid-air as I shot toward the corridor I came from.
The ghostly beast didn't even pause after the failed attack and followed right behind me in relentless pursuit.
Its paws never touched the ground, but I could hear the whispers of movement with each bound it took.
I could feel it closing in.
In a desperate move, I turned and hurled the Dao Ore straight at its face.
It wasn't much of a weapon, but I was hoping for the beast to be distracted.
The shard collided with its snout, and the beast let out a startled snarl just enough hesitation for me to glide into the long corridor.
I didn't look back and just kept moving.
Feeling the growing distance behind us, I thought I was safe, but it was right then.
A bone-chilling howl shattered the air.
The sound rattled through my very being, sinking into my mind like claws raking across the stone.
I staggered, my wispy form flickering.
Damn it!
The delay was all it needed.
By the time I recovered, the beast almost closed the distance I just earned.
I immediately grabbed the sharpest shard of a broken vase from the ground and turned to face the damn thing. The only option left was to let this thing know I wasn't an easy catch and leave me alone.
The wolf didn't hesitate seeing me in a fighting stance.
It ran straight at me like a battle ram, its fangs bared.
Watching it charging at me as if to body slam me to the ground, I sidestepped just in time and stabbed the sharp edge of the broken vase right into its neck. The attack didn't pierce as much as I wanted, but I yanked back instinctively, expecting it to bite in retaliation.
However, surprisingly, it didn't.
The beast didn't even acknowledge the wound or stop its charge.
Rather than be flabbergasted for its eccentric behavior, I took the opportunity and stabbed again, driving the shard into its rear torso.
This time it pierced deep, sinking the broken shard into its ghostly form.
Yet, the wolf ignored me again.
Instead, it rushed past me, moving as if I didn't even exist.
Confusion struck me.
When I figured out what had just happened, the wolf paused a few steps ahead.
Then, slowly it turned its head.
A smirk.
A mocking, eerie, human-like expression carved into its spectral features.
My heart sank.
Fuck. I've been had.
I stood motionless in the long narrow corridor, gazing at the predator in the flickering light of the torches mounted on the wall. It just stayed there, smirking at me as it blocked my only escape route. Even worse, I was now unarmed.
Before I could think of what to do next, another ear-splitting howl rang out. My form flickered, the sound tearing through my concentration like a blade. I barely regained balance when I saw a shadow looming over me.
A wispy paw flew straight toward my chest.
I couldn't even dodge and took the full brunt of the attack.
I staggered back and stared back at the beast.
Surprisingly, I didn't even feel a single ounce of pain, but to my horror, something far worse happened.
A chunk of my purple energy left from my body.
Worse, I couldn't even hit back because the hateful thing pulled back immediately from me.
It seemed just as surprised at my nonchalance to the attack. I hoped the thing would take its attack, not working as a bad sign, and stop itself.
Unfortunately, no such good thing happened. The hateful thing rather seemed intrigued by the outcome.
It howled again, and I froze from the painful sound. The creature efficiently closed the distance again before attacking and retreating again.
Rinse and repeat.
I tried everything dodging, lunging forward, feinting movements. But every time I tried to pass, it attacked more fiercely or stepped back into the corridor just enough to block my escape.
To my utter dismay, nothing seemed to work, and when I felt the half of purple mana leave my spirit, I snapped.
I threw caution to the wind and charged straight at the beast.
We clashed, exchanging desperate blows up close.
It latched onto my left arm, sinking its teeth deep.
I jabbed my fingers into its eyes, while the darn beast tried to press me to the ground, using its weight. I kicked its underbelly and even went as far as to bite into its ear.
All my aggressive actions were intense since I felt no pain from the creature's attacks. But that good fortune didn't last long. The moment the last of the purple mana left my spirit, everything changed.
Pain.
Searing, mind-numbing pain shot through my body.
The strong sting from its razor-sharp teeth plunging into my arm, the curved claws scraping onto my body, and the shot of pain whenever it intentionally twisted its jaw while biting into my arm, everything that had been numb before now hit me in full force.
Yet all of those were just one side of the torment I was being subjected to.
When the corrupted spirit mana left me, my perception of the world around me drastically changed. There was a new baleful nature in the entire place that hit me like a battle ram. I was not unused to gore, yet the stench of blood clogging my nose almost made me gag. The negative energy around me was so intense and oppressive that I doubted whether I had been teleported to a different place.
As much as I wanted to keep fighting, the double torture was too much, and soon my meager struggles started to lose their energy. The beast sensing me losing ground pressed harder, pinning me down completely.
My vision blurred.
My limbs felt like lead.
Right when I was wondering whether life would flash before a spirit, a powerful force suddenly yanked me deeper into the corridor. To my utter misfortune, the stupid beast refused to let me leave from right under its nose. It bit down harder as I was ripped away.
I felt the full force of pulling from both sides.
It seemed the spirit beast was no match for the force pulling me because soon it yanked us both through the air.
That's how I traveled back across the long corridor, a powerful force pulling me with no regard while my travel partner, the gentle spirit beast I just met, was biting down hard on my left arm.
When we reached the bedroom I awoke in, the spirit beast got stuck outside the wide open door as if it hit an invisible barrier. The last scene I remembered while being sucked into the black mirror was watching the dumb beast clawing at the invisible door furiously.
Then everything went dark.
A sharp, grating buzz shattered the silence.
I groaned, barely awake, before sitting bolt upright with eyes wide open on the futon. My breath hitched as I instinctively checked my left arm.
It was perfectly intact. No wounds. No lingering pain.
Blinking my eyes, I confusedly scanned my surroundings.
The annoying buzz of the clock, the chill of the morning seeping through the window, and the familiar walls all helped me confirm that I was in the bedroom given to me.
I shuffled over to silence the clock with a tap, and I ran a hand down my face.
What the hell just happened?
The memories crashed down all at once.
Rafaella had come to my room after dinner, apologizing and requesting that I stay before tearfully leaving. I checked the satchel Granny had given me, and found an old black book she claimed was a family heirloom. When I activated it with my blood, it forcefully granted me an ability I had only read about in books.
Ghost Form.
I had explored my room in a ghostly state before heading outside, where I discovered Rafaella slept across from me, her room sealed with an intricate spell array. Then, the black book dragged me into the Spiritual Plane, where I found myself in a noble house.
I had stumbled upon a Spirit Dao Ore, proof that the place held untapped resources. But before I could celebrate, a wolf-like spirit creature attacked me, forcing me into a desperate fight in which I lost horribly.
And just when I thought I was going to die, the black book yanked me back.
I exhaled slowly, rubbing my temples.
What an insane dream.
Any one of those events would have been enough to keep me awake at night, but all of them at once? My brain was still struggling to process it. The last part was so intense that I might as well classify the whole thing as a nightmare.
I gave a dry chuckle.
Then it died in my throat.
There, right there, on the futon beside me, was the black book.
My stomach twisted, and I almost jumped off in fright.
Then, calming myself down, I slowly, hesitatingly, reached for it. Brushing my fingers against its surface, I confirmed there was a change to the old, worn-out book. Now it wasn't some dusty relic anymore because there was an additional subtle luster to it and the polished sphere in the center with a swirl of dark mist inside screamed to anyone that this wasn't an ordinary book.
Grasping it in my hand, I felt an intimate connection between us and realized that this gear was now blood-bound to me.
It has marked me as its owner.
I guess no more denying it now. That wasn't a dream. Everything that happened last night was real.
I gave a deep, tired sigh before examining the black book again.
Remembering how the pages had fluttered the night before, I tried to pry open it slowly, since that seemed impossible yesterday. Surprisingly, I could and what I saw on the first two pages made me astonished.
A detailed illustration covered the paper of a noble bedroom, eerily similar to the one I had woken up in back in the Spiritual Plane.
Like a realistic painting.
I frowned. No, that wasn't right. This wasn't just a painting.
I placed a hand on the image, injecting a sliver of mana.
The scene shifted.
A bird's-eye view of the entire bedroom unfolded in my consciousness as if I were soaring above it. I could move my perspective, directing my sight wherever I pleased.
The stupid beast was lying on the ground, past the threshold, yawning while occasionally glancing at the bedroom. I guess the damn thing was eagerly waiting for me to walk in for breakfast.
Ignoring the stupid mutt, my consciousness navigated through the corridor. The ruined portraits, shattered vases, and tattered banners were exactly as I had left them.
Before long, I reached the courtyard and started inspecting it. I could not go past the courtyard or figure out anything more about the barrier covering the place. After a few more minutes of examining, I concluded that everything I could see was something I had already explored on the spiritual plane.
I withdrew my consciousness and saw the picture in the book slowly reverting from the courtyard back to the view of the bedroom. I guess that will always be my starting point.
I flipped to the next page, curious to check if something was there.
On the left page was a spell form I couldn't recognize and to the right was a new illustration, a detailed sketch of the wolf-like spirit creature, unmistakably similar to the one I had fought.
Besides it was a description:
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Echo lupines
Physical Description:
Spirit creatures with an appearance resembling wolves. An infant Echo lupines will have a semi-transparent body that becomes more distinct as they mature. Their eyes are glowing orbs that shift color depending on their emotions or hunger. Their most important feature is their versatility. Even if limited, they still possess the ability to assimilate information from diverse paths and remain stable without fragmentation or outright collapse.
Innate abilities:
Spirit echos: The primary communication method among Echo Lupines. They share senses, and coordinate hunting between members, all using this ability. In battle, they can use echoes to disrupt the stability of other spirits. Regardless of the path chosen, this ability remains the same across this species.
Fusion Form: In extreme cases, a pack can merge into a singular, massive Echo Lupine, combining the features of all its members. However, prolonged fusion increases instability, making them more vulnerable to collapse. The Alpha serves as the nucleus of this form, dictating its behavior and abilities.
Behavior:
Echo lupines are pack creatures that live in tight-knit social groups. They hunt in highly coordinated groups, and it is rare to see them alone. If you encounter a solitary Echo Lupine, it is likely a scout. Do not take its nonthreatening interest as a good sign because it is likely marking you as prey while signaling its pack mates. An immediate, calculated retreat is advised. Even though they have shown expertise in ambush hunting, these creatures have consistently shown a preference for persistent hunting with the pack. So chances are high it will leave you alone if the pack is far away.
While most spirit creatures assimilate only a certain information set, Echo Lupines are uniquely adaptable and are capable of absorbing diverse information. This has led to bizarre mutations within their species, making it difficult to predict what abilities a pack might possess apart from the above two.
However, one consistent trait among them is the Alpha's influence. The Alpha guides their pack mates toward a specific path. For instance, if an Alpha ascends through Fire Path, it will encourage the rest of the pack to follow suit, enhancing their Fusion Form's destructive potential. So the best way to assess the abilities of an Echo Lupines pack is to look at its alpha, the defining member of the pack.
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I narrowed my eyes at the page.
The spirit creatures' ability to ascend a diverse path sounded a lot like an inferior version of the racial ability possessed by humans. But then again, it was a monster, so unlike humans, they likely had an upper limit to ascension.
The most concerning part was that the stupid mutt, apart from using the ability called 'spirit echo,' behaved nothing like the description given in the black book.
It didn't act like a scout. I never felt or saw it waiting for backup. We did fight for quite some time, yet none of its pack mates showed up.
Why?
Was it a stray? An old outcast from the pack.
No, from the looks of it, the beast didn't seem to fully mature yet.
It is most likely a dispersed member, possibly looking for a mate or a loner trying to form its own pack. But then why was it way too invested in taking me down?
I sighed, flipping to the next page.
Blank.
I tried another.
Blank.
Every page after was empty.
I frowned. The book had recorded the Echo Lupine and illustrated the layout, but only after I encountered it.
Did that mean I had to explore to unlock more information? The black book seems to document what I encountered and fought on the spiritual plane.
This could be invaluable.
And what is the deal with the spell form? The book did not explain what it did.
Something to figure out later.
I glanced at the clock.
The last thing I wanted was for Alvin to come up looking for me and see me holding gear that worked as a portal to an untouched hunting ground filled with Ascension resources. Things would get complicated if that happened.
Of course, neither he nor the Temple could forcibly take the black book from me. But they would pressure me into cooperating, forcing me to split my findings and report everything I uncovered. Or worse, they might suggest a joint expedition into the Spiritual Plane.
Hell no.
I tucked the black book back into the satchel, stuffing it deep into my bag before shoving it into the closet.
As I turned to fold the futon, I noticed another book.
The one Rafaella gave me.
I flipped through it, scanning her neatly written notes, which outlined detailed recipes, experimental trials, and her thoughts on how to advance these remedies to improve the patient's condition.
The cute doodles on the side, likely drawn when she was bored, made it clear this wasn't meant for me.
This was her notebook.
It seems she was convinced I was leaving and might have hastily decided to pass me her notebook.
The notebook, with all the silly thoughts, was a trigger that replayed the memory of her crying alone in bed.
I wasn't someone who went out of my way to help others, nor did I have any savior complex.
But Rafaella wasn't just anyone.
If memories of life on Earth hadn't made me so withdrawn, we would have stayed close.
So, leaving her alone, knowing I was partially responsible for her tears, left me distraught. Looking back, I was too harsh on her. Sigh, but what the hell am I supposed to do about it?
The sound of a bolt unlocking snapped me out of my thoughts.
It was from Rafaella's room.
I patiently waited for her to move past my door and descend the stairs. Only then did I leave my room, avoiding an awkward encounter.
After freshening up, I rushed to the clearing.
Alvin was waiting.
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