《Incompetent Second Son》


 Chapter 1 - Fate??

    ¡°I¡¯m tired¡­¡±


    I dropped the sword I¡¯ve been swinging for who knows how many times now. I¡¯m tired and lazy.


    ¡°Why am I doing this?¡± I asked myself. ¡°Why am I working so hard? No matter what I do, you won¡¯t recognize my efforts anyway.¡± I laughed at myself. I laughed because I¡¯ve been deceiving myself.


    I want to make them happy. I want them to smile at me as they did to brother. I want them to feel proud of me. I want to feel loved and be recognized.


    I thought that if I worked hard enough and if I pressured myself enough, my mother will recognize me. I believed sheer effort can make anything possible. I¡¯ve been deceived.


    I¡¯m just a backup, I¡¯m just a pawn. To make my family¡¯s bloodline proud. To hell with that! That day, I dropped my sword as well as my last hope.


    I abandoned my responsibility. It was suffocating. I stopped making my parents proud. I stopped forcing myself to be like my brother. It doesn¡¯t matter anymore. I don¡¯t care anymore. Either way, it¡¯s not like they will notice. It¡¯s not like they care about me.


    ***


    ¡°Master¡­¡± I feel tired.


    ¡°Master¡­ Please wake up.¡± I heard a familiar voice. It was gentle and warm.


    I opened my eyes and saw my personal maid, Bel. ¡°Master, lunch is about to end and classes are going to start soon.¡±


    I¡¯m tired and too lazy to go to class. The wind and temperature in the school rooftop are perfect for an afternoon nap. Unfortunately, I can¡¯t stay and enjoy an afternoon nap. If I skip school, my brother will nag me endlessly and force upon me morals about being upright and all. Weighing the consequences, it¡¯s better to just sleep on my desk at class.


    ¡°Hmm.¡±I rubbed my eyes to wear the drowsiness upon me.


    ¡°Master here¡¯s coffee to wake you up.¡± Bel handed me a cup of coffee.


    Bel¡¯s movements are graceful and swift. You won¡¯t notice that she is the same age as me. Her movements are honed to a professional level that even the older maids at our household weren¡¯t even worthy of comparison.


    ¡°Thank you.¡± I accepted the cup of coffee. The temperature is right and there are no signs of the coffee being bitter.


    Bel had already mastered the art of making coffee. No other coffee can potentially satisfy my sensitive tongue.


    ¡°Your coffee tastes as good as ever.¡± I lightly complemented her as an exchange for waking me up and making me coffee. It¡¯s slightly regrettable that she cannot serve full time at school.


    I ordered her not to let anyone know that she is one of our family maids and only serve me secretly. Otherwise, act like a normal high school girl. If other people found out that we are in a Master-Servant relationship, things may get complicated.


    Even with the unreasonable request, she carried out her orders perfectly. In class, anybody won¡¯t notice that we are related to each other. I ordered her to do that because my family is unique and doing things that way will make more troubles.


    ¡°Go to class first, I will follow up later. Make sure no one will notice.¡± I sent her to the classroom ahead of time.


    ¡°Understood.¡± She bowed and left.


    ¡°Now then.¡± I stand up and did some light stretching.


    I was about to go down from the rooftop as well but I noticed someone. She¡¯s standing on the rooftop of the adjacent building of the one I¡¯m currently standing on. She was wearing a different uniform from ours clearly stating that she isn¡¯t from this school.


    Maybe because she noticed my gaze, she, in turn, looked back at me. I saw two fierce looking eyes glaring at me like some kind of wild animal.


    I thought poking my nose in unnecessary things will bring great troubles. I¡¯m too lazy to deal with that, so I averted my gaze and headed downstairs.


    I walked towards my class before the bell rings. I sat on my usual spot and immediately tried to sleep in. Maybe it¡¯s because of the coffee, I¡¯m feeling warmer than usual and the desk is hard and very uncomfortable to sleep on. I slightly shifted my head to see what¡¯s going on the classroom. If you find this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the infringement.


    I saw Bel having conversations with her girlfriends. They are talking about fashion and other things girls like to talk about. Bel blended in naturally and her aura of professionalism cannot be seen. She looks like a normal high school girl, good job Bel!


    In the back, there are some boys playing multiplayer PsX games on their phone. They seem to be having a good time. There is also a group of popular students having a conversation on the front of the room. I couldn¡¯t care less about what they are talking about.


    The teacher came in and the class immediately came in order.


    ¡°Class, there is a transfer student coming to our class. Come here and introduce yourself.¡± A girl with black hair came in. The class immediately became noisy.


    ¡°Oh, she looks like a foreigner!¡±


    ¡°She¡¯s so beautiful!¡±


    ¡°Is she a noble? Her aura is different among us common folks!¡±


    Different reactions came from different people, but everyone is staring at her with awe. Like she is some goddess or something. The way she carries herself, the air around her, and that imposing aura she gives off, everything about her is perfect.


    ¡°My name is Lean. I moved here because of my grandmother¡¯s work. It¡¯s a pleasure working with you from now on.¡± She introduced herself with grace and poise.


    She¡¯s the same girl I saw at the rooftop. I wonder if she remembers me. No, she definitely remembered me to the point of glaring at me. I just hoped that she didn¡¯t see me and Bel together before that. As long as she didn¡¯t see that scene and exposing my little secret with Bel, I couldn¡¯t care less about her.


    ¡°Then you can have the empty seat at the back, the one beside Kane.¡± The teacher instructed and the boys gave off some side comments.


    ¡°Kane¡¯s so lucky!¡±


    ¡°Damn, if I¡¯m her seatmate, I¡¯ll be the happiest man in the world!¡±


    ¡°As if she will talk to lowlifes such as you!¡±


    There are some that sneered and glared at me but I ignored them. Bel also gave me a short worried glance. She seemed to notice something as well.


    Lean passed by my side and sat at the desk beside me. I glanced at her and noticed that she is glaring at me once again. Did I make her angry or anything?


    On a side note, that glare of hers, now that I saw it this close, I¡¯m finally sure. She is one of us. Eyes of a natural born hunter, both prideful and fierce.


    I wonder if she is glaring at me because she noticed? That shouldn¡¯t be possible as I concealed my aura for unforeseeable events such as this. Then why is she glaring at me? Probably because her keen senses are sharp. Or maybe it¡¯s a gut feeling? Our kind always has a strong gut sense. She probably noticed but isn¡¯t too sure about it.


    I secretly strengthen my aura concealing technique to make sure she doesn¡¯t notice.


    ***


    Afternoon classes ended quick. I tried to get out of the classroom as quickly as possible to avoid unnecessary conversation with her. Unfortunately for me, things don¡¯t work that way. I wonder if there is some kind of fate between us. I certainly hope that is not the case.


    Lean is standing in front of me, preventing me from leaving. I stared at her, waiting for what she has to say. She glares back at me. I really wonder if she has a bone to pick at me.


    ¡°Come with me, I need to talk to you about something.¡± One word appears in my mind, ¡®trouble¡¯. I feel like associating myself with her would bring troublesome things. My brain worked at high speed. What can I do to escape in this situation?


    ¡°I can¡¯t because I¡¯m busy.¡± I need to cut any potential ties that may cause troublesome things in the future. Let¡¯s go with a flat out rejection. I thought that is the best course of action given her attitude. With that, I quickly left her and head straight out.


    ¡°Wait.¡± She stopped me from exiting the classroom.


    ¡®Damn, this girl is persistent.¡¯ I thought.


    I turned around and faced her. I¡¯m getting annoyed by this girl already. What does she want? This is turning out to be a scene as more and more students are looking at our way.


    ¡°Hey, look at that, Kane and the transfer student is arguing!¡±


    ¡°What are they talking about?¡±


    ¡°That gloomy guy? I adore him for being able to speak at Lean in such manner!¡±


    I quickly got irritated by their actions. One of the things I hate the most is unwanted attention. Those guys love to gossip and I¡¯m sure that sometime later, a rumor will spread and create more trouble for both me and her.


    Lean seems to notice it as well and glares at the students looking at us. They immediately averted their eyes, they don¡¯t want to anger a character like her alright.


    While she isn¡¯t looking, I turned around once more and left. I don¡¯t want anything to do with her anymore. Every second I spent with her, more and more trouble keep piling up with one another.


    I quickly made my exit and started to walk towards home. While walking, I felt a chill on the back of my spine.


    ¡°Haaaah¡­¡± I sighed and turned around.


    There I saw her secretly hiding behind a lamp post. She¡¯s following me.


    I scratch the back of my neck and annoying said.


    ¡°If you want anything, make it quick! This is getting more and more annoying.¡± I shouted.


    She stepped out and glares at me. Sigh, let¡¯s just get this thing over with.

 Chapter 2 - Rejection

    Lean Coleman, the only heiress of the famous Coleman family. An elite family that manages hundreds of business corporations over the country. There are a lot of things that are under their management such as real estates, malls and various corporations that are in partnership with them.


    Needless to say, they are the number one business company all over the world. It¡¯s scary to think how much their total assets are. No matter what the price, they can buy anything that catches their eye. One word and various underlings will move and carry out their orders.


    As the only heiress, she is destined to inherit all of these and continue their noble bloodline. At a tender age of 6, she is trained to be the best in everything, in preparation for the future. From simple skills like financial management, accounting, leadership and planning to other much more complicated skills such as manipulating people, blackmailing and other useful skills that will benefit their bloodline in any way possible.


    Lean Coleman transferred here at City C because her grandmother, the current owner of the business, wanted to test her skills. They bought a small piece of land and she was supposed to make it to a business worthy of their brand. That explains how a noble bloodline like her, moved to a remote area such as City C.


    I don¡¯t even doubt that this rural area will be one of the most prosperous city in our country after she is done managing it.


    Now then, why am I forced to hear all of these? I sighed. She started explaining all of this on her own accord, leaving me no choice but to listen to her lecture.


    Of course, I heard the family Coleman and their achievements, I mean, who doesn¡¯t? Even in our kind, they are very well known. We need to watch out for potential threats and dangers that will make our kind go extinct.


    What catches my attention is, she is one of our kind. That explains how her bloodline is powerful and rich. I just thought it was strange because I thought we already know all corporations that are managed by our kind. Little do we know that the most famous one is also managed by one of us.


    They also, kept it for a very long time, to the point that our intelligence network did not notice. It is also noteworthy that my family is one of the most infamous families out there. In the underworld that is. In the surface, we keep a clean record of being a normal family. I doubt normal people will take notice.


    Unfortunately for us, she isn¡¯t normal. Her instincts are probably honed to perfection ever since she was a kid. Knowing our kind, that is a definite thing to do. That is why she probably noticed me. I¡¯ve been careless.


    Her explanation ended and she stares at me intently. I stared back, unexpectedly, she averted her gaze and fidgets around. She looks like she wanted to say something. Sigh, this is getting annoying. I want to go back and sleep in my comfortable bed.


    ¡°What is it that you want to say?¡± I urged her. I want to end this quick but I also have a bad premonition that what comes out her mouth next, is something that will bring trouble for sure.


    ¡°Are you free on Saturday? Come to my house. I want to discuss something.¡± There it is. I knew that was trouble. She seems embarrassed about it, but I get this feeling that it was fake and somehow a trap to lure me in.


    A noble girl that you just met wants to invite you to her home on a weekend? Fat chance, if you ever think of going, you probably want to write your will before going. You¡¯ll 100% die or at least get into some kind of life-changing trouble. At least that¡¯s how I recall it based on experience.


    Now then, like earlier, I think a flat out rejection is best in this matter. I don¡¯t want to associate myself to her as I think I know what she wants by now. She isn¡¯t sure about me being one of her kind so she probably wants to test the waters first by inviting me on her home. As for me, I¡¯m already sure that she is one of us, I¡¯m relatively good at this, you know.


    That small gap in our information gave me the upper hand and figure out her plans. If my parents found out about this, they will probably jump out to the first opportunity they get. This is tiring so I might as well keep it a secret.Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author.


    ¡°No, I don¡¯t want to.¡± I rejected her offer and I immediately turned around to leave once more.


    ¡°Please wait, what is so unsatisfactory about me? I have everything, looks, money, and prestige! What is it that you dislike about me?¡± She seems to be on the verge of crying. Damn, if that is fake, I¡¯ll have to commend her because she¡¯s so good at acting that even I thought it was real. Unfortunately for her, I have a good gut feeling, just like her.


    ¡°No, it isn¡¯t about you. I just find it troublesome, so don¡¯t talk to me anymore.¡±


    Being a part of a noble family, she is used to people flocking over her. They want to get over her good side as much as possible, for their own benefits, that is.


    She isn¡¯t used to getting rejected like this. I also stare at her like she is some kind of annoyance. She felt defeated. At least that what I think she is feeling like now. A business minded person never knows when to give up. They will do anything to get what they want. That mindset is drilled to her head ever since she was a child, she probably won¡¯t give up anytime soon.


    With that in mind, I fled the scene as quickly as possible. Good thing there are no people around because if they saw that scene, I¡¯m the one that looks like the villain, making a girl cry.


    I headed home while constantly being alert whether she is following me or not. I sharpened my senses, good thing she gave up for now. I thought she will follow me on the way home. That very thought scared me, to be honest.


    ***


    My mood changes as I entered the house. Ever since that day when I was a kid, whenever I¡¯m at home, everything I see is dyed gray. It¡¯s dull and boring. My breathing also changed. I feel like I¡¯m going to be asphyxiated anytime soon. It was suffocating.


    I walked inside and immediately walked towards my room. Bel isn¡¯t around, strange. She usually goes home before me. As if answering my question, Secas, the head butler is standing in front of my room.


    ¡°Young master, welcome home.¡± He greeted and he immediately bowed.


    ¡°Where¡¯s Bel? She usually goes home before me.¡±


    ¡°Ms. Bel was summoned a while ago. Before she comes back, I will serve your needs in the meantime.¡±


    Bel was summoned? That was strange. Unless there are some secret orders, she isn¡¯t really summoned without notice. My parents are planning something. I can already feel it. I¡¯m not really on the mood to deduce everything, I just wish everything is fine.


    ¡°Do you know why she is summoned?¡± I asked.


    ¡°This¡­ I also do not know, young master. Forgive me but I only know that it is urgent and thus Ms. Bel was summoned as soon as she came here.¡±


    Orders that even the head butler didn¡¯t know? This confirmed my hypothesis. I¡¯ll just ask Bel once she came back later. I hope that it isn¡¯t too troublesome.


    ¡°I¡¯m fine for now, you can go. I¡¯ll sleep in the meantime. Once Bel arrives, send her to my room to wake me up.¡± I ordered him to not pester me anymore.


    I went to my room and locked the door. I¡¯ll pretend to sleep so they won¡¯t bother me. I picked up a book from the shelf and read it while waiting for Bel to come back. I immediately got lost in thought while reading the book. It was interesting and I gained a couple of new information in it.


    A couple of hours passed by and Bel isn¡¯t back yet. Just as I was wondering if she¡¯s back yet. I heard a knock on the door. I thought it was Bel, but instead heard the voice of Secas.


    ¡°Young master, are you awake? It¡¯s almost time for dinner.¡± After that, he knocked a few more times to confirm if I¡¯m awake or not.


    I opened the door and asked him. ¡°Bel isn¡¯t back yet?¡±


    He replied, ¡°Unfortunately she hasn¡¯t come back yet. On the other hand, your dinner is ready young master.¡±


    If she isn¡¯t back yet, there¡¯s a high chance that she is summoned to the main house and receive orders directly from my mother. Maybe this was more complicated than I thought it would be.


    ¡°Bring my dinner here in my room, I¡¯ll eat it here.¡± I sent Secas away afterward.Dinner here in my room and dinner at the dining table is essentially the same. They¡¯re both empty. Since I¡¯m going to eat alone anyway, I won¡¯t go the trouble of going downstairs.


    ¡°Understood.¡± He turned around and headed towards the kitchen.


    I closed the door and checked my smartphone. Bel apparently messaged me earlier. I just didn¡¯t check it because there is no reason to. I don¡¯t have friends to message me anyway.


    ¡®Master, I was summoned to the main house and cannot go back until tomorrow morning. Secas will take care of your needs in the meantime, I¡¯ll try to go back as soon as possible.¡¯


    That confirms everything. I don¡¯t want to play a guessing game to find out what my mother wants this time. I¡¯ll just directly ask Bel tomorrow.


    Secas brought me my dinner and I quietly ate alone in my room. I headed towards my bed soon after. I hope nothing troublesome happens tomorrow.


    Or so I thought.

 Chapter 3 - Mission

    ¡°Master¡­¡± I once again woke up to a warm and gentle voice.


    I guess Bel is back. I opened my eyes and saw Bel in her usual maid uniform. Her expression is soft and gentle as she smiled warmly at me.


    ¡°Good Morning master, breakfast is ready and it¡¯s almost time to go to school now.¡± Bel greeted me is a pleasant manner. I¡¯m really thankful to Bel for being a good maid. If the morning went by like this, I don¡¯t have anything more to complain.


    Alas, fate really is something these days. Bel said something as I was eating breakfast.


    ¡°Master, the Missus told me to support you in this month¡¯s mission.¡±


    I dropped the spoon I¡¯m using and the soup scattered all over the table. Bel immediately went to work and wiped some stains on my shirt. She also wiped the mess on the table. I sighed. I¡¯ve totally forgotten about that.


    Even if I¡¯m not the successor of the family, my parents still give me some duties to fulfill. A usual family member has to go to a mission once a week. Even Bel is no exception. She had to leave over the weekends to complete mission from the higher-ups. I usually sleep the whole day during weekends and Bel does her mission so quick that she is back before I even notice.


    Bel¡¯s family, the Mejia Family is a branch of my Elliot Family. They are generations of maids and butlers that solely served our family with loyalty and care. Ever since Bel was born, her future path was determined. She underwent harsh training and lectures solely to be of use to me.


    That said, I treat Bel with care not because she is my personal maid, but she is one of the servants here that understand my slothful personality. She doesn¡¯t nag at me when I don¡¯t do my morning practice and she let me sleep all I want. She is the perfect maid, for me at least.


    Going back to the mission, regular members have to do a mission per week. Higher ups like the future head of the house, my brother, as well as my grandparents and parents, have the duty to arrange these missions for lower ranking members. Higher difficulty missions are usually lead by them and a couple of high ranking generals as well.


    With that said, I protested to my parents that I don¡¯t want to do these missions anymore, as I see no benefits from it. They went on with their nagging that it is one of the duties of the family and all that dumb stuff.


    Jokes on them because my sloth is stronger than anything! After I ravaged a couple of missions as a rebellion, they agreed that they will only give me simple missions every month. Oh, I forgot to mention that if I keep messing up any more of these missions, they will solitary confine me for about a month or so. Now that I¡¯ve given it a thought, solitary confinement doesn¡¯t seem so bad. I¡¯ll just hibernate for a month and it¡¯ll be done before I know it.


    As a member of the main family, a lot of people look down upon me because of this particular issue. The main family is supposed to be strong and harder duties fell upon their shoulders. I don¡¯t care about what people think about me as long as I don¡¯t get tired. To hell with their judgemental minds. It¡¯s not like multiple achievements will make my mother notice me and make her proud of me.


    My parents had given me this excuse that I still need to do these missions in order to make my body and senses still in shape. I think it is dumb as we rarely have to do anything these days. It¡¯s not like as it was generations before where we have to fight for food. Survival of the fittest per se. Currently, technology has taken over the world and our existence is becoming more and more unknown to people.


    The family tradition of making the bloodline pure made our numbers reduce drastically. Finding marriage partners is a chore these days and they want to prioritize the head of the family most of all. I¡¯m pretty much sure that I will be single for the rest of my life, not that I care.


    ¡°The mission this time is transporting food supplies and other necessities.¡± I listened as Bel explained this month¡¯s mission.


    ¡°If that¡¯s all, why didn¡¯t they just deliver it via courier, a lot of corporations deliver kinds of stuff for a small price.¡± I countered. Technology has been advanced these days, I can just order some service online that will deliver these things.


    If it is that simple, but I guess my mother ordered Bel to assist me this time, I doubt it will be anything but simply delivering some stuff.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry Master but we are supposed to deliver it at our relatives at City T. They are secluded deep in the mountains and communications from outside the mountain forest is impossible.¡±. Bel answered. ¡°Also, the Missus noted that there are miners currently dwelling inside the forest making it hard for our relatives to hunt for food. The mission includes helping our relatives on this particular issue.¡±Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.


    This mission was a simple one but it will be tricky for a single person to do it. Bel will be assisting me in this matter so if I leave everything to her, the mission will be over before I knew it. It¡¯s a great opportunity to spend a few days away from the house as well. I thank my mother once for this relatively easy mission.


    ¡°When are we going to start?¡± I asked so I can free up my schedule for this vacation. Not that I have any plans in the first place.


    ¡°By the end of the month, it will take a little bit of time for the supplies to be ready.¡±


    ¡°Perfect. Prepare a lodging when we get there, I was thinking of going on a vacation after the mission, a few days is fine.¡± I might as well spent a few days sightseeing and spending some time with our relatives there, as I remember Aysha is at City T. I don¡¯t know if she is secluded in the mountains like the others or not but I remember her as a noisy friend back then who often bothers me when I was still in the mountains.


    ¡°Understood, Master.¡±. Bel responded and I continued my meal and hastily made preparations for school.


    ***


    Bel and I went to school separately. I sat on my usual spot and spent the rest of the time waiting for the teacher to arrive.


    While waiting, I sensed someone staring at me. I shifted my head to the right and saw her. She¡¯s glaring at me intently again.


    I was on the verge of asking her what the heck is her problem but I stopped myself. I won¡¯t let curiosity get the better of me. I promised myself to cut ties with her as soon as possible, that includes potential opportunities she may use in the future.


    I averted my gaze and quietly waited for the teacher to arrive. I noticed in my peripheral vision that Bel is staring at me worriedly. Maybe that stare is far too long, one of her friends apparently noticed.


    ¡°You''re looking at Kane again, Bel.¡± Her friend gave her a shy laugh, seemingly incorporating something.


    ¡°What? No. I¡¯m not staring at him.¡± Bel returned to her natural expression as if nothing happened.


    ¡°You can¡¯t deceive me, ever since that Lean transferred yesterday and was placed next to Kane, you seem awfully glancing at him more often.¡± Her friend retorted.


    This time, Bel was flustered, she didn¡¯t expect that her friends were watching her that closely. ¡°I¡¯m not staring that much. Something just caught my interest.¡± Bel tried to play it cool.


    ¡°If you don¡¯t make your move, someone¡¯s going to steal him from you.¡± Her friend teased her more.


    She and her friends argued a little bit longer with Bel getting more and more flustered and her friends teasing her more. I guess she is kind of cute when she is flustered, different from her usual calm and gentle face.


    The teacher arrived and the class once again came in order. Bel gave me one last worried look. I smiled at her to ensure that nothing is wrong and averted my gaze. Her friends saw the scene apparently mistook something and was whispering to one another. Maybe we should clear this misunderstanding later on.


    The class went by and it¡¯s time for lunch. I went to the cafeteria to ordered my usual food. I sat alone on my usual spot and started eating alone. At school or at home, I eat alone, this is nothing new to me anyways.


    I noticed that Bel and her friends apparently sat two tables next to mine. They are whispering something and I noticed that Bel is more flustered than earlier. Somethings up. I should solve this misunderstanding before it becomes troublesome.


    I was about to went over there to talk to Bel but something sat at the opposite side of my table. Seemingly innocent about the ways of the world, she was smiling while putting down her food on the table.


    ¡°May I sit here?¡± Lean, the girl I¡¯m avoiding, wants to have lunch with me. Also, you''re supposed to ask permission before you sit. I quietly retorted at the back of my mind. Bel¡¯s friend also noticed and was in a mess. I wonder what they are after.


    ¡°Uhh, no?¡± I want to escape as soon as possible but Bel¡¯s friends did something strange that even I didn¡¯t expect.


    Bel¡¯s friend pushed Bel towards the other seat of my table. They also moved her lunch on my table. What the heck is happening right now?


    ¡°Do you mind if our friend eats lunch with you? We need to do something and leaving Bel alone seems wrong. So please keep her accompanied just this lunch.¡± Before I can even answer, they fled off seemingly proud of themselves as they thought they did something amazing for their friend.


    I glanced at Bel looking for a possible explanation but I just saw her being flustered and fidgeting around. I glanced back at Lean but I saw her happily eating as if nothing is going on around her. This is hopeless.


    Some students that saw the scene was actually surprised. Bel may not be as popular as the noble, Lean, but I guess some people find her attractive, she has our blood after all. Me eating with two beauties attracted the attention of all the men in the cafeteria.


    ¡°Look, look! The gloomy guy Kane is eating with the transfer student and Bel at the same time!¡±


    ¡°What? Since when did they get so close?¡±


    These gossiping people. I got irritated and glared at them, hard. They shut their mouths and averted their gaze. Even so, I expect that some topics will circulate around the school after this.


    I sighed and started eating my meal faster. I want to get out of here as fast as possible!

 Chapter 4 - Lunch

    I¡¯m currently on a predicament right now. There are two girls sitting on both of my sides while we eat lunch. I sighed, how did this happen? I¡¯m perfectly content on how I eat alone at a table on the corner of the cafeteria. Though I often get targeted by pitying gazes and gossiping, I don¡¯t really care about them as long as they won¡¯t create trouble for me.


    Since when did I become so popular? I laughed inside, who am I joking? Jokes aside, this predicament is undoubtedly making me gather unwanted attention, and I doubt it will stop anytime soon.


    Lean just transferred yesterday and is still a hot topic among the student body. A noble like presence always attracted the attention of common folks that is practically everyone here. Plus, it¡¯s always a factor that she is the only heiress of the biggest business corporation all over the country.


    What qualification did I have to talk to her? What did I do to make her approach me? Didn¡¯t she and I just argue yesterday? Their eyes were telling it all, they want answers, they¡¯re just too afraid to ask since Lean is still here. Speaking of the one that caused this problem, Lean was gracefully eating her lunch, completely oblivious to what is happening around her.


    To be honest, I didn¡¯t think that she will eat at the school cafeteria. I thought she has a private chef alongside with her and she will eat lunch on a separate fancy room. Who knew that she will order commoner food and eat alongside with commoners.


    ¡°I never knew that this kind of cheap foods in the cafeteria tasted good. I guess it¡¯s passable compared to the cookings of our chefs back at home.¡± Lean finally talked after she wiped her mouth with a napkin, finishing her meal at last.


    Let me remind you that what she called ¡®cheap foods¡¯ was the most expensive lunch set in the cafeteria. From the looks of it, some extra orders like extra chicken, a salad side dish and a parfait dessert were added, so it¡¯s probably much more expensive than the usual price.


    I looked at her with a look mixed with annoyance and disbelief. What¡¯s her purpose of coming here? Considering the case yesterday, I thought of several reasons, it¡¯s just that I never expected that she will act this way. At an obvious manner as well, I thought that she will keep approaching me in a discreet manner, as she has her reputation to keep up as well.


    ¡°What are you looking at?¡± She was a little bit embarrassed. I don¡¯t know why, but it was probably because it was her first time eating what she called ¡®commoner food¡¯. I didn¡¯t reply as I thought it will branch into something that will cause great trouble.


    I turned my head towards Bel, which just finished her meal. I¡¯ve been trying to ask for some explanations through eye contact for some time now, but every time our eyes met, she will in turn, quickly avert it, looking flustered and all. I raised an eyebrow, I¡¯m confused right now. What the heck is going on?


    Just as I was wondering what to do next, Lean broke the silence once again.


    ¡°Can I ask a question? Are you two dating? You always look at each other during classes and there is also yesterday, at the rooftop.¡± I immediately froze. So she did saw. Things can get pretty nasty if someone else heard that. Fortunately, we are sitting in an isolated corner of the cafeteria and she was speaking in a soft manner. I glared at her to send her a message that she touched upon a sensitive topic and shouldn¡¯t ask further.


    Receiving my gaze, she went silent. She furrowed her brows and she seemed to ponder about something. I don¡¯t have time for her right now. I shifted my head towards Bel, our cover has been blown, well at least half of it. It isn¡¯t impossible for them to link this information to something else. We have to do something about this.


    Bel is acting strange though. Her face was red and was flustered all over. She was awfully silent. I wonder what is wrong? I have a feeling that she was embarrassed because she messed up my order to her. I don''t mind though, it''s just that it gets troublesome if people knew. Right now, we need to focus on what¡¯s in front of us. If she didn¡¯t wake up and explain this situation, things will get messy. I immediately nudged her foot under the table and that apparently woke her up for whatever is making her flustered.


    ¡°Ms. Coleman, I¡¯m sorry but Mr. Elliot and I aren¡¯t in a relationship like you thought, we are just acquaintances.¡± Bel tried to explain. Too weak though, that isn¡¯t enough for an explanation, I need to support her excuse somehow. I have a feeling she will bring that up.If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.


    ¡°Is that so? I never heard of acquaintances having lunch together on the rooftop, alone, and acting overly familiar with each other as well.¡± She strongly emphasized some words in what she just told. She had to bring that up, of course, it''s the strongest proof she has on the moment. As for why she was overly eager to expose us? I don''t know as well. She probably has something in mind for that.


    ¡°You have been mistaken, Ms. Coleman. I invited Ms. Mejia yesterday for lunch and she accepted. We ate at the rooftop yesterday and casually talked to each other. I didn''t realize that simply getting to know each other better can be interpreted as ¡®being overly familiar with each other¡¯. Also, Ms. Mejia is correct, we''re just acquaintances, I suppose we aren''t close enough to be called friends yet.¡± I copied her and strongly emphasized on some words in what I just told. To make it much more believable, I added a little bit of emotion at the end.


    As the saying goes, ¡®a bluff has power because it''s a pinch of a lie mixed with the truth¡¯. A half-assed lie would be exposed immediately, especially in the eyes of an expert.


    She stared intently at us, she seemingly doesn''t want to finally let it go, but I deceived her enough that she stopped questioning further. I sighed in relief. I glanced back at Bel to check how she''s doing but apparently, she went back to her spaced out self. She was looking at me and was thinking of something. I thought that my acting skills were so great that I even deceive her, but I immediately scraped the thought as it sounds illogical. I need to, however, end this quick before it turns out into a greater mess.


    Just as I was thinking of an excuse so I can escape away from here, Lean once again said something. This time, it felt like she''s looking for trouble.


    ¡°Yes you''re right, I think it''s impossible for someone to like this gloomy and bad mouthed person. I tried to approach him yesterday because I want to ask something and he just brushed me off like some arrogant brat. Also, I''ve been hearing rumors that he''s a loner and he has a bad attitude. I guess you should have thought twice before you had accepted his request. I suggest you stay away from him from now on as nothing will come out good when he¡¯s involved.¡± She started slandering me without reason. She said that nonstop and with a straight face too.


    How can you bad mouth a person with a straight face? Moreover, the person you are talking about is right beside you! How impolite this girl is, I thought. Well, it''s not like she''s the first one to do that. You don¡¯t know how some maids and butlers cannot control their tongues and just have to say it out loud. It happens on a daily basis so I¡¯m kind of immune to it. I don''t want to dig my grave deeper than it is now. I just thought it was strange however, there must be a reason for her to do that.


    I shrugged off my shoulders, brushing it off. I''m not going to fall for such an obvious trap. I was going to stand and leave when I saw Bel. Her warm and gentle feeling is gone and the way she stares at Lean, it was dark and fierce. How scary! Note to self: never make Bel angry.


    As I was making heads of the situation, Bel retorted. ¡°Excuse me? On what basis did you assume that Mas-, I mean, Mr. Elliot is a bad person? I never thought Ms. Coleman is a type of person that judges a person based on appearance and a couple of encounters. Let me tell you that Mr. Elliot was very kind to me yesterday and did not seem like a bad person to me.¡± As every word that Bel said, her voice gets higher and higher. She even stood up from her seat.


    I tried to calm her down as her little outrage silenced the whole cafeteria. Everyone is looking at us, dumbfounded. We''re now the center of attention. I hate this. People started whispering to each other. They didn''t bother to keep it low as I can hear it clear as day.


    ¡°Hey isn''t that Bel and the transfer student from Class 1?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, they seemed to be arguing over something.¡±


    ¡°I somehow heard their argument, it seemed that Ms. Coleman said some bad things about Kane and Ms. Mejia got worked up! It seems Kane and Bel are close.¡±


    ¡°They''re fighting over that gloomy guy? What''s in him that they see anyway?¡±


    Those gossipers. I''m getting irritated by this. I''ll have a talk with Bel once we get back home.


    ¡°It seems that you care dearly for your, acquaintance.¡± Crap, so she was just testing us. I let my guard down thinking it was over. This girl is tricky. Fortunately this time, Bel was quick to recover and realized the mistake she has done. She calmed down and returned to her seat.


    ¡°I''m sorry for raising my voice. I was just annoyed by the fact that you''ve slandered him clearly knowing that he''s right beside you and can hear you clear as day. I also cannot forgive the fact that you''ve judged him based on his appearance and baseless rumors. I deeply apologize for everything.¡± Bel apologized both at Lean and me and bowed at us afterward. She quickly left afterward, it''s a good thing though, as I thought things will get worse if she stayed.


    Now that I thought about it, Bel was always at my side. Of course, she also hears some of the servant''s snide comments about me. I also heard that she always talk to the ones giving off the side comments. Maybe her professionalism as a maid slipped out when she heard Lean slandering me. With that in thought, I decided to let her go. She''s doing it for me anyways and I appreciated that.


    I stared at Lean wondering what she will do next. Surprisingly, she didn''t do anything and quickly left, pondering over something. Well, if they just did that in the first place, this will not happen! I decided to go to the nurse office to play the ¡®my stomach hurts¡¯ card as an excuse to skip class. No way I''m dealing with the aftermath of this situation! Better let it die on its own.

 Chapter 5 - Dreams

    I spent the rest of the day at the clinic, pretending to be sick. The nurse didn¡¯t seem to notice that I¡¯m just pretending and let me sleep on one of the beds. The bed was soft and wide. The ambiance was quiet and peaceful. This is the life I¡¯m yearning for. Please, let me keep my comfortable life even if it¡¯s just for a few hours, I said as I began to lose consciousness.


    The comfortable feeling only went on for a few minutes as I saw another dream. Maybe I shouldn¡¯t sleep at school anymore as I always experience some kind of nightmare. The idea that I could sleep at school is good but if I will keep dreaming every nap, then I¡¯ll just sleep at home.


    This time though, I didn¡¯t see myself or any of my younger selves. Instead, I saw Bel. Like my last dream, the Bel I saw was a younger version. She was working hard on a training regime prepared for her. Being honed to be my future personal maid, her training regime was harsher than the usual because even if I''m a black sheep among the rest, I''m still a part of the main family. My parents keep on nagging about keeping up appearances to others. Such, my personal maid needed to be competent and proper.


    As I observe Bel, I held a feeling of admiration for her, she was working and practicing hard even despite the obvious gap in age and strength. Though I wondered why am I seeing this dream as I clearly didn¡¯t see this scene before.


    Bel was practicing preparing coffee. Her movements were crude and unorganized. Different from her usual performance. It seemed like she put a lot of effort into honing her skills as a maid. Her mentor, Bel¡¯s very own mother, was strictly instructing her on making her movements faster but at the same time, refined and elegant.


    ¡°Mom, master likes his coffee sweeter right? Should I add more sugar?¡± She said as she opened the sugar container.


    Her mother sighed and shook his head. ¡°No Bel, you should practice the standard coffee first. After you mastered making quality coffee, you can move on to variations such as Master Kane¡¯s preference or the Headmaster¡¯s preference. You should greatly improve your basics before moving on much more complicated procedures. It¡¯s a must for everything, not just coffee making.¡±


    She nodded and continued practicing her movements. She seemed excited and full of enthusiasm. I wonder what motivates her to be a maid. Looking at her expressions and passion when serving me, she doesn¡¯t seem to be forced on to it. The pressure of being born in the Mejia Family and being a maid upon birth, cannot be seen or felt. Seeing her do her best, I remembered my past self. The days when I worked hard and improved myself. The days where I was hoping for my efforts to bear fruit. I laughed a little, at least her efforts aren''t for naught.


    I reminded myself that I needed to thank Bel afterward, at least I need to make her feel that her efforts are worth it. It''s the least I can do to thank her for being so nice at me.


    Speaking of which, how did Bel know my coffee preference? She was clearly a child in this dream, or I say vision. And as far as I remember, my interactions with her were limited because on-training maids usually weren''t allowed to be on duty before they complete their training. I only saw her when I was passing through the corridors and happen to stumble upon one of their lessons. Such, for her to know my coffee preferences before she served as my personal maid, struck me as unusual.


    As if answering my very thoughts, the scene shifted. The world promptly shook and Bel and her mother blurred out.


    When it returned to normal, I saw Bel practicing table manners at a spare table just at the corner of the house''s garden. Her mother is nowhere to be seen. She''s setting the table up on her own, arranging various tablewares such as spoons, forks, plates, and knives. After she arranged the tableware, she began preparing coffee and other dishes. Her movements are still crude, possibly worse than the previous vision. She then stood quietly at one side of the table. It''s possible that she''s waiting for her mother to come back or maybe it''s kind of a practice when one is waiting for her master to arrive.


    Due to fatigue, young Bel¡¯s posture quickly deteriorated as time went on. Her shoulders dropped and her back slightly bent forwards. Her mother is surely taking her time before coming back.


    A sound was heard over the distance, the door of the mansion opened. Bel quickly glanced to look if her mother finally came back, fixing her posture at the process of doing so. I turned my gaze over the door as well but Bel''s mother didn''t come back, instead, I saw my younger version of my brother walking with my mother. They seem to be happily talking about something. Love this novel? Read it on Royal Road to ensure the author gets credit.


    My eyebrows twitched. I saw my mother''s smile. One that she only wore in front of my brother and my father. It gave me mixed feelings. I hate that smile but at the same time, I yearn for it.


    Bel quickly bowed down to show respect. Her movements may be sloppy, but she did it properly, maybe because of the result of her training.


    Then I heard some of the leaves rustlings. I turned my head and saw my younger self. I was meticulously swinging my sword like there''s no tomorrow. My eyebrows are furrowed, seemingly frustrated about what just occurred. That''s where it all happened. My younger self stopped practicing and headed towards where Bel was located. He sat at one of the seats and ordered Bel.


    ¡°You''re a maid right? Serve me some coffee, make it sweeter than usual.¡± He said as he started eating the sweets served on the table.


    My younger self actions caused Bel to panic. She clearly didn''t know what to do as her actions were a mess. Seemingly noticing this, my younger self stopped her.


    ¡°Stop. Are you still in training? Your movements are a mess. I''ll just do it myself.¡± Irritated by the Bel, my younger self made his own coffee. The materials are on the table anyway, so he just has to prepare it.


    Bel looked at him dumbfounded, not knowing what to do. She just quietly stood at the side waiting for my younger self to finish eating and go away.


    Just as my younger self was in the middle of eating, a stomach growl was heard. It was Bel''s. Standing for how many hours caused Bel to be hungry and tired. She got embarrassed and quickly apologized while holding her stomach, making it stop growling.


    ¡°Tsk.¡± My younger self clicked his tongue.


    ¡°If you''re hungry, sit. I''ll give you some.¡± My younger self prepared another cup of coffee and separated some snacks on another plate. Bel just stood there, dumbstruck once more.


    ¡°What? You don''t want it?¡±


    ¡°No¡­ It''s not that¡­ It''s just¡­¡± Bel staggered a few times.


    ¡°Then sit down and eat.¡± My younger self resumed his meal.


    ¡°...¡± Bel didn''t know what to do. She just followed her stomach and sat down at the opposite of my younger self. She drank a mouthful of coffee. She looked at my younger self, finding out what my reaction was, but my younger self didn''t care and kept eating. In the end, Bel faintly smiled and started to eat the snacks. An afternoon was spent just like that.


    Bel''s mother came back afterward and saw the scene. She apologized to me for Bel''s rude behavior. I brushed it off and went away. The dream thus ended.


    ***


    As the dream ended, I felt a warm sensation on my hand. It was a very nice feeling but I get the feeling that it¡¯s not from the dream instead it¡¯s something that my real body is feeling at the moment. How should I say this, the warmness and softness, it feels so real that it¡¯s impossible to be a dream. It feels nice and soothing.


    I opened my eyes to see what¡¯s happening. There, I saw the face I always saw when I wake up. Bel was sitting at a stool beside my bed. She was smiling while holding my hand. As for why she¡¯s holding my hand? I have no idea either. The feeling is nice so I won¡¯t say anything about it.


    ¡°I¡¯m still in school right? What are you doing here Bel?¡± I initiated the conversation.


    ¡°I became worried when you didn¡¯t come to your afternoon classes, I came to check what your status is, Master.¡±. Bel answered. So she¡¯s worried. I should¡¯ve mailed Bel that I¡¯m just here to skip classes.


    ¡°What about your friends? Won¡¯t they think something¡¯s up?¡±


    ¡°You don¡¯t have to worry about that Master, I made sure that they went home before going here.¡±


    So I slept for so long that classes ended already. I gently stretched my body as I got up of bed. Oh, that¡¯s right, I was still holding Bel¡¯s hand. I raised my hand, not letting go of her hand, and looked at her, asking what¡¯s the deal with that.


    Bel also didn¡¯t notice that she was still holding my hand and quickly let go. She got a little flustered and began explaining.


    ¡°Uhm¡­ My mom used to do that whenever I get bedridden, she holds my hand and sings me my favorite song until I get better. When I heard that Master had a stomach ache, I thought of that and did it to Master as well, since it seemed to work on me, I was hoping for it to work on Master as well.¡±


    ¡°Is that so, well I thought it worked fine so thank you, Bel.¡± I appreciated her simple efforts of making me better but I felt a little guilty since I didn¡¯t really have a stomach ache. I¡¯ll make it up to her once we got home.


    ¡°Master, I¡¯m terribly sorry for what happened earlier.¡± She bowed in the process of saying so.


    ¡°You know, you don¡¯t have to worry about it. If they found out, then it¡¯s fine. I knew that this day will come sooner or later anyway. We can only keep a secret for how long. Plus, it¡¯s not so bad if you serve me here at school as well.¡± I smiled at her reassuring her that everything is fine. I held her hand once more for an added bonus.


    Surprised by my actions. She went silent for a while, and then looked at me. She smiled warmly and gently, just like her usual appearance. I¡¯m glad if all things went back to normal. Well, her smile is enough for me at the moment.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go home shall we?¡± I guess I¡¯ll solve tomorrow¡¯s problem tomorrow. I wonder what will happen.

 Chapter 6 - Chaos

    I wonder what¡¯s with that Lean. Ever since she arrived, my life¡¯s becoming more chaotic. I need to deal with her sooner or later. If telling and revealing to her what she wants will solve all this, I¡¯m more than happy to do so. It¡¯s just that I get this feeling that it won¡¯t be as simple as it sounds. There¡¯s more to this than it looks.


    As I opened the door to the classroom. I¡¯m immediately bombarded with questions about yesterday¡¯s occurrence. People I didn¡¯t even know that existed suddenly jumped towards my face, asking for some kind of explanation. There is even someone from the other class!


    I take that back, I absolutely won¡¯t reveal anything. I learned my lesson. Revealing anything won¡¯t solve anything. It makes stuff more complicated. These people, they¡¯re so nosy! They¡¯re thirsty for some new gossip that will sate their curious minds!


    I¡¯m astonished that the state of affairs had become this huge. I sighed. I want to escape this madness. From the looks of it, either Lean and Bel haven¡¯t arrived yet, so all these people bombarded me with questions, not taking ¡®No¡¯ or ¡®I don¡¯t know¡¯ for an answer.


    ¡°What¡¯s your relationship with Ms. Mejia?¡±


    ¡°Is it true that you shared lunch with the legendary Ms. Coleman?¡±


    ¡°Why are you so lucky? Dammit!¡±


    They spoke altogether and in a ridiculous harmony as well. I tried to hold my fort and was thinking of making some excuses but I realized that in this situation, it won¡¯t matter. They will question you about all kinds of stuff but wouldn¡¯t believe you either way! How annoying! I guess that they¡¯re testing the waters on me since both Bel and Lean aren¡¯t here yet.


    After 5 questions, I found out that this won¡¯t get me anywhere. I finally got irritated so I glared at them and put up some threatening aura around me.


    ¡°SHUT UP! I SAID I DON¡¯T KNOW ANYTHING!¡± I yelled in a scary manner. I¡¯m totally annoyed this time around, and having them query over every single detail, is like fanning my flames of rage. Alas, my patience reached its limit and they¡¯ve suffered the consequences.


    The classroom immediately became silent. Obviously shocked about what just happened. Little did they know that the silent and gloomy boy at the corner of the classroom only has a little speck of patience with him. They¡¯ve obviously picked the wrong target this time.


    I walked towards my seat, which I haven¡¯t got the chance to sit on because they¡¯re blocked my path of escape from the beginning. I walked in a straight line while keeping my imposing manner, and the dense crowd immediately diffused to make a way for me. While this scene is commonly seen at home, where maids usually line up beside the corridor to make way and greet you, this is the first time I actually enjoyed the experience. I never really liked the way it was at home, but this is an entirely new feeling to me. And I like it.


    I sat down my chair and rested my head at my left hand, spacing out while looking at the window. I couldn¡¯t care less about what they think about me this time, they got what they deserve.


    Noticing the deadly and awkward atmosphere, the ones that aren¡¯t currently in our class went out to their respective classes. The ones that in my class, went to their seat and waited for the teacher to arrive. It¡¯s still pretty early, so I thought that the awkward atmosphere will continue for some time still.


    Few dozens of minutes later, Bel arrived with her friends. I thought that she will be bombarded with questions like earlier as well, but I¡¯ve been proven wrong. Her friends, surrounded Bel, protecting her. They created their own world and won¡¯t allow any outsiders to trespass inside. They¡¯re cheerfully laughing and talking about some girl stuffs, not noticing the dire situation around the room.


    Bel¡¯s safe for now, I¡¯m glad. Even if I¡¯m the villain here, I don¡¯t really mind as long as the peace I love returns. With that said, I lowered my head, trying to get some sleep. I haven¡¯t got a good sleep last night because I¡¯m wondering about what will happen today.


    The teacher arrived but Lean is nowhere to be seen. The teacher said that she will take a day off because she¡¯s sick. That¡¯s probably an excuse, she¡¯s out there doing something. I just hope she¡¯s doing her original motive, the family¡¯s business, instead of doing something else.


    Everything should be back to normal if not for the awkward atmosphere around here. I don¡¯t really care though, as long as they don¡¯t bother both me and Bel, awkward as it may be, I can be totally oblivious about the surroundings.


    ***


    Lunchtime. I say, this kind of mood, I don¡¯t dislike it. Nobody comes and approach me about yesterday¡¯s scene and people around me either go to a different spot or awfully quiet. I smirked. Peace, the peace I wanted! To celebrate what a nice day this is, I ordered the most expensive meal around, the same as Lean ordered yesterday. I didn¡¯t order extra stuff as that would be a slight overkill.A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.


    I went to my destined corner at the cafeteria, I looked around, no signs of Bel and some of her friends. No Lean around either. What a nice day! Good food and a quiet atmosphere, it¡¯s perfect! I sat on my table and started to eat the food I ordered. I hope this continues for an eternity, I say.


    Needless to say, I¡¯ve been alert the whole time, ready to flee the scene if needed. It¡¯s been going good for a while. I¡¯ve been expecting something is happening behind the scenes. It¡¯s suspicious. I¡¯ll just enjoy every last second of this peace, then bail out if anything out of order happened.


    Time passed, one minute¡­ two minutes¡­ five minutes...


    It¡¯s been around thirty minutes now and nothing is happening. Lunch is almost over and if this goes on, nothing will disturb my peace for a good day! I cannot let my guard down though, at the last minute, someone might strike an ambush and could be fatal.


    Before lunchtime ended, I stood up my table and started to leave the area. I¡¯ll use the remaining time wandering around random places, some places that will make it for the preparator lose sight of me and ruin his plans!


    It was a good plan I say. Lunchtime ended without anything happening. This may be seen as me being a paranoid, but it¡¯s better safe than sorry! I don¡¯t want more stuff that would lead to trouble later on. Though I find yelling and intimidating them to solve the problem, it¡¯s not like I can do that every time, I need to keep it to a minimum as well.


    ***


    Classes resumed and nothing significant happened for the day. Lean is still nowhere to be found. It seems like she will skip the whole day. Not that I¡¯m saying it¡¯s good, she may really have sickness or whatever, but it¡¯s good for keeping peace and order around, for my sake that is.


    Seriously though, Bel needs to stop glancing every so often. She glances once per hour and I¡¯m bored enough to notice every single one. Unfortunately, I¡¯m not the only that is bored, her friends notice this simple glance every so often as well. Sometimes, they¡¯ll do nothing, but I noticed that they¡¯re speaking through their eyes, and that¡¯s something I cannot read. I figure that they¡¯re up to no good again since the last time they did that, was only yesterday actually, and it¡¯s the cafeteria scene. Maybe it¡¯s a maid¡¯s duty to look after her Master, even if her Master ordered her not to.


    That said, I have a feeling something will happen later on. I made a self note to go home as quickly as possible later.


    I soon found out that escaping isn¡¯t easier than I thought. Class ended and the teacher dismissed us. I immediately headed towards the door to make a run for it, however, Bel and her friends are placed relatively close towards the exit, which makes ambushing easier.


    ¡°Kane hold up!¡± A girl jumped in front of me while holding her hand forward. She looked like a police officer, to be honest. If she held a whistle in her other hand, that would make the scene perfect.


    I furrowed my brows, so these guys really were planning something! I somehow anticipated it but failed to escape at the critical time. Just to make sure, I actually didn¡¯t stop and tried avoiding her but she¡¯s one nimble girl and I don¡¯t want to bump her, so I finally stopped.


    I sighed. ¡°What do you want?¡±


    ¡°So, we¡¯re off to karaoke after this, we invited Bel but, she said she isn¡¯t available for today. We usually go with Bel halfway through her house but since we¡¯re going to the karaoke, we cannot go with her. We wanted you to go in our stead.¡± The girl at the side explained.


    I don¡¯t mind. Is what I want to say, but looking at the smug face of that girl, I held my tongue. She seems to be planning something and I don¡¯t like it.


    ¡°Let¡¯s not disturb Mr. Elliot anymore. I¡¯ll go home alone.¡± Bel protested. She seems against it, but her friends really are persistent.


    ¡°No Bel! Times right now are really dangerous, especially for a girl! Just last night, I heard on the news that there was a madman viciously attacking girls that wander alone. You need at least someone to guide you home!¡±


    Really? There was someone like that? Not that I care though. Even if Bel was attacked by an assailant, the man would probably be the one suffering rather than her. The maids of the Mejia Family are fully capable as far as I knew.


    I sighed. I¡¯ll just go along her plan. After all that she said, not going with Bel will make my image slightly uglier than it is now. I¡¯m a gentleman with great upbringing after all.


    ¡°It¡¯s fine. I¡¯ll go with you Bel. And she¡¯s right, it¡¯s getting dangerous these days. I¡¯ll play along with your silly gimmick just for today.¡± Better get this over with.


    ¡°You heard him, Bel! Get going then.¡± The girls giggled and some made the guts pose.


    I¡¯m getting tired with all of this. ¡°Let¡¯s go, Bel.¡± I urge her to hurry up.


    ¡°Have a safe trip, Bel. And you, Kane, keep her safe alright?¡± If they¡¯re seriously worried then, why they keep Bel on my hands then? Do they trust me that much? Probably not. Since we¡¯re going on the same place anyways, it¡¯s not much trouble to accompany Bel home sometimes.


    ¡°I¡¯m really sorry about that Master.¡± As we walk, Bel apologized about the trouble she is causing.


    ¡°It¡¯s not much trouble, we are going on the same house anyway.¡±. I replied to reassure her that she isn¡¯t much trouble.


    ¡°Yes. Recently my friends are¡­ well¡­ pushy, I say. They¡¯ve been planning some stuff behind my back for a while now. I wonder if I just stopped going with them.¡± Bel said. I see. It probably started when Lean transferred. I wonder what¡¯s their reasoning behind their actions.


    ¡°No, it¡¯s fine, really. You treasure them as your friends right?¡± Bel nodded.


    ¡°Then that¡¯s all that matters!¡±


    We arrived at the mansion. And I immediately went to my room to sleep. It has been a good day, with the slight disturbance of Bel¡¯s friends, it¡¯s been tolerable. If things just go back to normal. I turned around and immediately fell asleep.

 Chapter 7 - Full Moon

    Once every month, there will come a time that the power of our kind will vastly increase. Full Moon. During this night, our kind, or should I say, wolves, receive a great power spike from the gods above. It became a monthly habit to receive newly found strength during this time, thus, we consider this as gifts from the gods. Our kind has been blessed ever since ancient times. The wolves dominate the forest in the night, especially during an event such as the full moon.


    The power we receive equals to our current realm, such, in such situation, the battle prowess of our kind will double. Unfortunately, receiving such power spike will make it hard to control. Many of our kind lose their minds during the full moon. If an incident such as like that happened, the head of the house, or the alpha, will take control of the situation to suppress the wild wolf.


    Alphas are the strongest in the pack and they usually take the responsibility of the whole family. As the strongest, it¡¯s their duty to make decisions and protect the weaker ones under their belt.


    The alpha is strong, but that doesn¡¯t make them invulnerable. During the full moon, they are the ones that receive the greatest power among all. Such, they receive the greatest suffering of all while trying to suppress and absorb as much power as possible, without losing their sanity. To do that, and still protect and guide the pack simultaneously is the proof that the alpha is indeed the strongest among all.


    During the Full Moon, it is advised that we avoid contact from the outside during this time, even with our own friends and family, as losing one¡¯s mind will consider anyone neither friends or foe. Our pack usually goes back to the mountains, once a month to isolate ourselves and not harm anyone, just in case something happens.


    In the mountains, we run wild and let out instincts and desires to take over us. There are three reasons for doing this. The first reason is for the safety of the people around us, especially normal people that didn''t know our existence. At the mountains, we can do anything we want, isolated from all eyes that may bother us. It also keeps them safe when one of us loses their sanity and rampaged on the streets. Such, every family member is required to go back to the mountains whenever a full moon occurs.


    The second reason is family bonding. It¡¯s like a monthly family reunion for us. During these days, we rarely stay together as a pack, especially today¡¯s era is getting more and more inclined to technology. We also have to adapt to our surroundings. We cannot just go out and hunt for food and fend off only for ourselves. We need to start changing and adapting to society today. We started building our civilization closely related to humans as well. This gives us advantages to increase our powers as well. Such, once a month, during a full moon, we stay together and harmoniously howl at the moon.


    The third reason is to reduce stress. During a full moon, both our minds and body are filled with energy that increases our strength but greatly applies burden equal to the strength gained. Running wildly in the mountains till your limbs hurt, seeing family members, and just letting your instincts take over for the night. Doing wolf kinds of stuff makes us happy. It''s hard to pretend to be a human all the time. Suppressing one''s instinct requires great discipline and mental control. It is an agenda if you want to go out of the mountains and live a modern life. Unfortunately, keeping it up every day will build up stress upon you and a stressed mind will make the chances of losing sanity higher.


    After the full moon, wolves spend their time meditating or practicing their newly found strength. You need to integrate it into your body well enough that you can use it efficiently. Not doing so may result in harm of your body and mind.


    With all that said, I faced Bel, while she rummages through my drawers getting a few clothes and packing them neatly on my travel bag. We are currently preparing for the full moon, which is tomorrow night. Fortunately, this month''s full moon is set on a weekend, Bel and I won¡¯t have to skip a day at school.


    ¡°Master, will these clothes suffice for tomorrow''s event?¡± Bel asked. She was careful not to say Full Moon in front of me, as I¡¯m very sensitive to the word, or in the event itself. It¡¯s not that it¡¯s a terrible experience for me, but the fact that I have to go to the main house and meet with my family for the night doesn¡¯t make it better. I have to meet my mother again, in which I¡¯m not very close to. There are also other relatives that just can¡¯t keep their mouth shut.


    I said that but the very reason I don¡¯t want to go is that not even once, I received power from the gods. Every wolf I knew, every one of them, every full moon, the gods give them power, no matter how small or big it is. In my case, not even a minuscule amount is given for the past 16 years of my life. Why is that? I don¡¯t know myself. The gods seem to be playing with me for the past years. For that, I¡¯ve been called the unblessed one in the family. If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.


    Of course, in the early years, I try to overcome the demerit with hard work and persistence. I tried to catch up to them even knowing the absolute fault. I tried. And I failed. I knew that there¡¯s no meaning in doing so anymore. That¡¯s why I hated it. I hated the fact that we need to go to a mandatory family reunion for the night. I don¡¯t want to see my family.


    It¡¯s not hidden that I¡¯m clearly the weakest among all of the wolves in the pack. If not for the fact that I¡¯m a member of the main family, they would¡¯ve abandoned me long ago. To be honest, if they left me, I¡¯ll probably find some inner peace within me rather than suffering in point blank discrimination. The way they looked at me, then sigh. The way they¡¯re talking behind my backs as if I couldn¡¯t hear them. I hate it all. I¡¯m perfectly content being a normal person, hiding in the middle of society. I sometimes question why am I born in this kind of family.


    Unfortunately, we still needed to go. It¡¯s a rule, and breaking the rules will result in sanctions. It¡¯s scary how sanctions work on this family, it¡¯s so scary that a lazy bum like me will have to comply, even if I don¡¯t receive any kind blessing from the heavens.


    To keep me from getting bored, I help Bel to reduce her stress. I watch over her and make sure that she stays sane. Not that I can help that much, but I stay by her side and observe her movements or alert the higher-ups to help her if things get ugly. It¡¯s the least I can do to help those who are kind to me.


    Going back, I instructed Bel on getting some plain clothes, one that will not attract any attention from the family. Though I attract attention anyway for being a failure, I still try to hide my presence as much as possible.


    ¡°Understood.¡± Bel finished up the packing and I went on to get some of my stuff, such as books and other stuff to keep me company for the night. We will start traveling at dawn to reduce the casualty of being seen, so we have a couple of hours left before we depart towards the main house.


    Speaking of which, the Coleman Family are a family of wolves as well right? I wonder how they do stuff during full moons. I mean they¡¯re overwhelmingly rich so they probably have an island reserved for only them. It¡¯s not like my business to care about these things anyway.


    ¡°Bel, wake me up when we¡¯re about to depart, I feel a little sleepy so I¡¯ll take a nap.¡± That said, I should get some sleep while I can, a full moon is a night event, it¡¯s impossible to get some sleep tomorrow night. Though wolves are nocturnal animals, my body clock shifted closely to humans. In addition, I¡¯ll get bored easily since I have nothing to do.


    ¡°Understood.¡± Bel went out of my room and I lay on my bed, hoping that when I woke up, the full moon is already over.


    ***


    As my consciousness shifted over, I saw another dream. What¡¯s up with these dreams lately? I¡¯m starting to think that I¡¯m an oracle or something. That said, this dream in a little bit weird.


    This time, there was only darkness in the scene. There¡¯s nothing around, but I get the feeling that there is something is in front of me, I just cannot see it. And it¡¯s something powerful as well, it made me nervous and afraid for some reason.


    After a good while, I heard a voice, it was husky and deep. It echoed throughout the whole area. It¡¯s powerful enough to make the hairs at the back of my neck stand up. I¡¯m frozen on the spot, I cannot move a single muscle. Sleep paralysis?


    ¡°What is it that you desire?¡± The voice said.


    ¡°I want to sleep peacefully.¡±. I replied after finding out that I can talk back.


    ¡°Then wake up.¡± The voice replied.


    Huh? I want to sleep and it¡¯s telling me to wake up? What¡¯s wrong with this guy? Is this some kind of prank? Some dream this is. Lightly mocking him inside my head, I replied.


    ¡°That¡¯s kind of ironic, isn¡¯t it? But my answer is no, I¡¯m tired.¡±


    ¡°Wake up.¡± The voice echoed again.


    ¡°Wake up.¡±


    ¡°Wake up.¡±


    ¡°Wake up.¡±


    It repeated the same words over and over again. Why is this guy so persistent on waking me up? When I truly wake up, I¡¯ll try to search for some preventive measures against dreams.


    ¡°What do you mean by wake up?¡± I asked after it stopped repeating the same words.


    ¡°Wake up and open your eyes.¡± It replied after a minute of silence.


    Seems easy enough then. I tried waking myself up by pinching my elbow but it didn¡¯t work. I¡¯m pretty much sure that what I¡¯m seeing are visions, not dreams anymore since I can¡¯t seem to wake up and I awfully remember all the details that occurred.


    ¡°I can¡¯t.¡± I gave up trying and asked the voice. What do you want me to do now? Close my eyes and sleep? I thought of that and I really did went to sleep. I felt my eyes getting heavier and heavier. Before I fell asleep while being asleep, I saw the one speaking, he revealed himself. It was a jet black wolf.


    ¡°Oh it seems you resisted the spell quite a bit, now go and wake up, it¡¯s your time now.¡± As he said that, I truly opened my eyes this time.


    I can finally wake up.

 Chapter 8 - Shadow Travel

    After the weird vision I saw, Bel came afterward to wake me up. She was surprised to see me awake earlier than expected. She was also surprised that I¡¯m covered in sweat and my breathing is a bit fast than normal. A worried look can be seen through her face.


    ¡°Are you alright, Master? Did something happen?¡± Bel immediately prepared a towel for me to wipe my sweat. She also handed over some water to calm me down.


    ¡°It was nothing, just had a bad dream, that¡¯s all.¡± I wiped the sweat over my forehead and drank the water. Bel¡¯s presence helped me to calm down a bit.


    ¡°Thank you. Are the preparations ready?¡± I shifted the topic, I¡¯m too uncomfortable right now to think about the dream. I need to distract my mind for now.


    ¡°Yes, we can depart any moment now. Do you need some time to get ready?¡± Bel is still obviously concerned. I appreciate the thought but it¡¯s better to do something else right now.


    ¡°No, I¡¯ll just change clothes and we can depart, this won¡¯t take too long.¡±. I ordered Bel to get me some clean clothes. Her face shows that she¡¯s still worried about what¡¯s bothering me but she decided not to ask about it. Maybe it¡¯s a protocol for maids or she just can read the mood well, it doesn''t matter. I don¡¯t know if these dreams are something I can talk to other people at the moment. I need to organize my thoughts first and I don¡¯t want to talk about it either.


    As I change my clothes, I noticed there was some kind of a mark on my chest area. It obviously wasn¡¯t there before as far as I remember and I don¡¯t remember getting some kind of tattoo recently. The shape of the mark is weird as well. It looks like a random mark. It¡¯s better to associate it as a burn mark instead of a shape.


    I touched it and I felt some kind of weird energy emitting inside it. The feeling was somehow fierce but gentle at the same time. I¡¯m having mixed feelings about this, and I feel like this is related to the dream I had. ¡®Wake up.¡¯ As the words repeated through my mind, Bel¡¯s voice filled the room.


    ¡°Master, are you done? We can leave anytime so you can take your time.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m almost done, wait for me outside, I¡¯ll be right there soon.¡±


    I wore the shirt Bel gave me and I hurried outside. This is no time to be thinking of some mysterious dream or some weird mark. It¡¯s just that I cannot take it off my mind for some reason. I feel like something will happen later, and it¡¯s connected to the dream I saw.


    ¡°I¡¯m here. Let¡¯s depart.¡± Immediately after going outside, I ordered the command to move out and the people around turned into some kind of a blur and disappeared. I started to move as well. I focused my mind on the shadows and it¡¯s dark energy. I felt the aura at the surroundings and tried to form a connection to it. When it finally connected it felt like my soul left my body and physical body turned into a blur and disappeared as well.


    This is a movement technique specialized for wolves. It¡¯s called shadow travel. It utilizes shadow as a medium of transportation. Wolves can travel at high speed using this movement technique. It uses a great amount of energy to use so it is only used for short distances or quick ambushes. However, the situation changes when the full moon occurs. The sun has yet to rise and the moon gives the surroundings abundant energy that we can use. During the full moon, wolves can travel great distances without running out of energy and stamina. It¡¯s one of the reasons why wolves are dangerous during the night the moon is full.


    My soul traveled from shadow to shadow in quick succession. Even the weakest among all the wolves can still use the energy from the surroundings. In just around ten breaths, we traveled half the distance we need to cover for the day. I stopped a bit to take a breather. Traveling great distances takes a huge toll on my body since my condition is a bit special.


    I looked around and I noticed we are on City L already. We passed nine cities in a short amount of time. Our target was City V, it was a very old town, far away from modern civilization. It¡¯s the main reason why we celebrate the full moon there every month. Fewer people are present and then it has one of the biggest mountains in the whole country. It can accommodate the whole pack there for a night. If you find this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the infringement.


    City L is an industrial area. Factories and other types of machinery can be observed throughout the area. It is relatively far away from the capital and other residential cities to reduce pollution related to sickness among the people. The good thing about CIty L though is that it handles pollution relatively well. Trees and plant forms are observed every street and I heard that they have some machines that filter out the air in the atmosphere. They are also uptight when it comes to waste management as well. When you arrive at City L expecting some kind smokey and futuristic environment, you will be greatly disappointed.


    With that said, I focused once more and shadowed traveled away. I made sure nobody is around before departing. Though the possibility of someone being there in the middle of the night is close to none. Still, it never hurts to be extra careful. After a few more breaths, we arrived at our destination.


    Bel and the others are already there. Bel was concerned and asked what took me so long. She was worried that I encountered some trouble somewhere along the way. I reassured her and said that I only stopped by a little bit at City L to sightsee. She¡¯s still worried about what happened earlier but decided to not say anything about it. I¡¯m sorry, Bel.


    Since we arrived early, we still have a lot of free time before the full moon occurs. I decided to sightsee around the area first. I originally was planning to check in at the local inn and sleep in the meantime but after what I saw earlier, I just can¡¯t bring myself to sleep once more. I need to keep my mind distracted as doing otherwise will bring me closer to insanity.


    ¡°Bel, I¡¯m going to do some sightseeing around the town before climbing up the mountain. I¡¯m bored and I don¡¯t have much to do, the others had yet to arrive anyways.¡± I asked Bel if she wants to come or if she wants to climb the mountain and meet her family. I felt a little happy when she said she wants to accompany me for the stroll around town.


    ¡°That¡¯s good, let¡¯s go then.¡± I already had in mind a few places I wanted to visit in the little town. There was this local candy store manage by an old couple, they sell some old brand of candies that you will not commonly see in the market anymore. Sweet foods are ever changing but sometimes, you want to go back to the classics to get that feeling of nostalgia. I liked sweet food so I was planning on visiting this place for some time now.


    Bel and I walked shoulder to shoulder around town. The houses around are old and broken. There are very few people in the area as well, most of them are elderlies together with some of their grandchildren. The environment is quiet and peaceful. The more I walked around, the more I get the urge to move and live here instead.


    We arrived at our destination, and I was happy to see that the store is still there. Even though the sun has yet to rise up, the store was open. I also observed earlier that even though it¡¯s still early in the morning, a lot of people are already up and doing some kinds of stuff around.


    I went inside and a burst of sweet aroma filled my nostrils. I felt nostalgic as most of the candies at the shelves are the one I used to eat as a kid. In my whole childhood life, sweets are probably the only happy thing that ever happened to me. That¡¯s why I have a deep fixation on sweet foods, even as an adult.


    I saw some of my favorite candies and was genuinely happy that they are still in stock here. I tried finding some brands on City C but failed. Seeing the packaging, the color of it, the childish design and the characters, it made me feel relaxed.


    I bought a whole box of the candy and continued browsing for more. Bel followed me from behind the whole time and kept quiet. So much for me escorting her the around the town.


    After the candy store, we went to the center of the city. It was the town square where some of the town¡¯s events occur or where they exchange materials every morning. It was still dark but the townspeople are already setting up their stalls and moving their materials around. It was a simple bartering mechanism where they traded materials instead of using money. The town square also serves as a park, there was a huge fountain on the center and some benches around. Bel and I sat on a nearby bench. Even though it¡¯s still early, I started eating the sweets I bought earlier. I offered some to Bel and we ate together while silently watching the townspeople working.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Bel. Being with me must be boring and tiring. We only went to a candy shop when I¡¯m supposed to escort you around the town.¡± I started the conversation.


    ¡°No worries, Master. Being with you and serving you brings me joy and happiness.¡±


    ¡°Still, you could¡¯ve spent the time with your parents or siblings, I don¡¯t think that being with me is all that fun.¡±


    ¡°Yes, but I will see them later anyway. Also, when I saw your smile back then at the candy shop, how your eyes brighten up when we arrived, and how happy you were when you were browsing through the shelves. Seeing all of that, I have no regrets.¡±. Bel smiled. It was the warmest smile I saw on Bel¡¯s face. I was taken aback. Bel is truly a nice person.


    ¡°Thanks.¡± I smiled back. This trip around the town made me forget all my worries at the moment. I have to thank Bel for it. The full moon this month may not be as bad after all.

 Chapter 9 - Preparations

    The little trip helped a lot on my mental stability. I feel a lot better now but I cannot just remove the thought from my mind. I placed my hand over my chest area. I still feel a little bit bothered by the fact that some weird mark appeared on my chest. There was also the jet black wolf, trying to wake me up. It¡¯s not something that you can forget that easily. Thanks to the walk, however, I feel a lot better than I was this morning.


    Since there is nothing else eye-catching to see in the town, Bel and I started walking towards the mountains. It was quiet and nice, a little too quiet I say but with all the commotion going around, I prefer this one over the other. Different wild lives can be seen such as small plants and animals. They¡¯re doing their own stuff and living quite nicely. I say that but life in the mountains is anything but nice. You can get killed as easily as you were born. Survival of the fittest. The strong dominate the weak as they say. It was a difficult back then since I¡¯m part of the weaker side of the food chain. I¡¯m fortunate enough that wolves hunt in packs.


    As we walk towards the mountains, we noticed some hunters, preparing to go inside the mountains as well. They are probably hunting for food for the day. It was a good thing that people don¡¯t usually hunt wolves for food, they prefer wild boars, deers, or on occasion, bears as well. People near the mountains usually hunt wolves in winter, since wolves¡¯ furs are a great material for coatings and other clothing that fight against the cold. That¡¯s a relief since you don¡¯t want your family members to constantly get hunted.


    It¡¯s also good to know that the ones that get hunted are those who stray away from the pack. Literally, no one wants to battle against a huge pack of wolves. So in some rare case that a wolf wander away from the pack, hunters usually take the chance to ambush and hunt it down. So, if you value the safety of your life, stay close from the pack, at least to the point that you¡¯re old enough to assume your human form.


    If a wolf¡¯s age reaches twelve, they can assume human form given enough time for practicing and meditating. It was also the day of adulthood for wolves. Going outside the mountains is not an easy feat, however. Assuming human form is only the first step for civilized life. You need to control your instincts and show that you can control it the point that you won''t transform into a wolf and lash out people across the streets. It requires maturity of the mind and is responsible for your actions.


    Usually, wolves move out the mountains at the age of fifteen but some can take longer depending on their state of mind. There are also some that are completely forbidden to go outside the mountain as they can be dangerous to mankind. They are treated as criminals in the family and are probably killed if they show no signs of changing.


    ¡°Bel, is your family here already? I kind of wanted to stay at your family¡¯s cave since my family won¡¯t come until later. They¡¯re always late.¡± Since I have nothing to do, I want to help Bel in the full moon later. We can prepare as early as now to avoid complications later on.


    There are a lot of things you can do in preparation for the full moon. There are some places that can relax and numb your body. A prime example of this is the mountain¡¯s peak. It will make you controlling your mind easier. The downside is that you will have a hard time integrating the power to your body later on. This is kind of place are for those who have a hard time maintaining their sanity. The younger generation of wolves uses this place since their mental capabilities are lower than of adults.


    Another thing is you can prepare some herbs that help you focus your mind. There are a variety of herbs that will help in this kind of event. Some have relaxing capabilities and other herbs are mixed with other herbs to strengthen its effectiveness.


    Other than using special places or special materials, preparing a set of training activities will help to absorb the moon¡¯s power easier and faster. Adult wolves that have strong mental fortitude usually have heavy and taxing training regimes that will increase the efficiency of absorbing the moon¡¯s power boost.


    It is also a must to find a quiet spot for meditation afterward. Disturbance in meditation will make one¡¯s inner peace be chaotic and some results in going berserk and rampaging around the forest. It is a must to meditate with someone you are on good terms with and someone you trust. Since I don¡¯t receive any kind of power, I usually help around the family by standing beside them and making sure that there won¡¯t be anyone disturbing them. Being prepared in any kind of situation lets you handle any types of disaster or errors you may encounter. It plays a vital role during a full moon.


    ¡°Yes, you are most welcomed, Master. My siblings should be there already but my parents should arrive at the same time as your parents. You can stay in the cave as long as you want, Master.¡±


    I¡¯ll help Bel with her preparations in the meantime while waiting for my other relatives to arrive. I¡¯m not particularly inclined on meeting my family except for my little sister, instead, I want to meet some of my friends back then who holds to discrimination towards me. They played a little factor in making my childhood a little bit better. Still, some of them can be a handful but they are good friends nonetheless.A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go then, how is Lette? It¡¯s been a while since I saw her.¡± Lette is Bel¡¯s little sister.


    ¡°She can assume her human form now so I guess you¡¯ll feel different when you saw her, Master.¡±


    Last time I visited Bel¡¯s family, Lette is only a small wolf. I played around with her on my last visit, I even thought her a few things like ¡®sit¡¯ or ¡®roll¡¯. It¡¯s cute how you play with wolves like dogs knowing that you are one yourself. It brings some kind of weird sensation but not too uncomfortable to bear.


    ¡°Oh, that¡¯s good then. I wonder if she still remembers me.¡± A long time has passed since I last visited, she may not remember those days since I only visited once.


    ¡°Ever since Lette can assume her human form, she constantly asks me when you will visit again. She still remembers you even though you only met once and I think she will be happy when you come and visit.¡± I asked about some stuff about her sister for a while and then we arrived at her cave. It was medium sized but it was fine knowing it was only a temporary shelter for the full moon.


    ¡°Please come in, Master.¡± Bel stood at the side and welcomed me. I told her that she didn¡¯t need to do that since I was the one visiting this time and she could act normally. Apparently, for her, this is the ¡®normal¡¯ so I can¡¯t do anything about it. It was like this last time I visit as far as I can remember.


    ¡°Lette, I¡¯m home. Master is here as well so behave yourself.¡± After Bel and I walked inside, Lette was there cooking something. It smelled nice and delicious.


    Before that, I¡¯ll have to say that the inside of the cave is¡­ nothing like a cave at all. The floors are covered with mats and there are various types of furniture such as tables and chairs. There are lightings as well. I wonder how they installed electricity here. Lette was cooking on an electric stove and there are even some gadgets such as toasters and microwaves.


    ¡°They recently found out a way to get electricity running inside the mountains, though it is only limited. They prioritized your the main family¡¯s rooms and the kitchen, to make cooking easier. Our family¡¯s cave was changed as well since my mother is the head maid. Other than that, the other¡¯s caves are normal ones.¡± Bel explained since she noticed the surprised expression in my face.


    ¡°The furniture here is temporary as well, they can be removed as easily as they are placed, which made it convenient to clean afterward.¡±


    I¡¯m shocked at how well our family integrated modern technology to our advantage. I can probably sleep on a comfortable bed if I found a chance to do so later on. This can change our lives inside the mountains if given the chance, but I doubt my parents would approve of that. They are upright about traditions and all that stuff about our ancestors. Given their mentality, I doubt they will change the tradition anytime soon.


    ¡°Hi, Lette. Do you still remember me?¡± Lette noticed us came in and immediately came to welcome us. She look like a little Bel, they have the same gray hair and eyes, but some features are clearly lacking, like in the¡­ chest area. Hey, what do you expect from a kid? Her face looks childish as well and lacks the gentleness and warmness Bel has. You can clearly tell them apart from the aura they are emitting.


    ¡°Of course, brother! How can I forget you?¡± Lette ran towards me and hugged me. Brother? That¡¯s news to me. Still, she kind of reminded me with my little sister when she was younger. Bel tried to stop to show some respect but I told her it was fine. It was rare for people to be this close to me, even my own family.


    Lette looked at Bel and stick her tongue out. Bel¡¯s brow twitched a little bit but she showed maturity by not ignoring her childish acts. I pretended I didn¡¯t see that and continued on with the conversation.


    ¡°How are you? It¡¯s been a while since I last visited. Oh, here¡¯s some candy.¡± I handed some of my candy to her. I have boxes full of candies anyway.


    ¡°I can assume human form now! I¡¯ve been wondering when brother Kane will visit next time so I can show it to you!¡± We talked about various things that happened lately. Apparently, she will be assigned to my little sister after she finished her training. Bel also served us coffee while we ate the candies I brought. I¡¯ve been eating candies ever since I came here, I hope my stomach doesn¡¯t hurt.


    ¡°Train really well and maybe next time, we can meet outside!¡± We continued to talk for a little while until I decided to leave. Some of my other relatives should be here already, I¡¯m planning on looking for them and spending a little time together.


    ¡°Eh? You¡¯re leaving already brother? Let¡¯s talk some more!¡± Lette doesn¡¯t seem to let go of me as she hugged and latched towards me, I don¡¯t think she will let go any time soon.


    ¡°Lette, let go of Master. He has other things to attend to.¡± Bel gave her a meaningful look. It¡¯s somehow scary and threatening as Lette immediately let go. I guess Bel still has the upper-hand in the family.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, Lette, I¡¯ll visit again sometime soon.¡± Lette¡¯s eyes immediately sparkled as she heard that. I wonder if she wants someone to play that badly, don¡¯t Bel play with her? At any case, it was good to relax from the worries inside me.


    As I bid farewell, I went outside the cave and was planning to wander alone in some areas in the mountain. It was then I saw, some kind of shadow in the distance. I immediately went towards it but it disappeared quickly.


    The bad feeling I¡¯m trying so hard to forget reappeared.

 Chapter 10 - Dominance

    I stood there wondering what just happened. It was sudden and my mind was in a mess. It¡¯s a given that wolves have sharp eyes. They have eyes that can see far and wide. Eyes of a natural born hunter. If anything ever happens, I highly trust my senses, mainly sight, smell, and hearing. That¡¯s why when I saw that black shadow, I was sure. Even if it disappears as quickly as it appeared, I saw it clear as day. A jet black wolf. It was exactly the same as I saw in the vision. What was it doing here? Is it here for me? What does it want?


    I found myself asking a lot of questions. Obviously, there is no one around that will answer them. Still, I stood there for a good time wondering about these ¡®What ifs¡±. It was silly since I fully knew that there will be no answers even if I ask a hundred questions but you cannot just dismiss what I just saw. It lingers in my mind and I cannot get it off no matter what.


    I touched the mark on my chest. It was hurting a little and I can feel the weird energy getting denser by the moment. I found myself getting worried about what will happen later. Is this all connected? All that¡¯s happened proves that this is not just some kind of dream or some coincidence. The sequence of events is too fast and my mind cannot keep up to what¡¯s happening around.


    I didn¡¯t know how long I stood there frozen but I went back to reality when I heard an overly familiar voice. A voice that stood above the rest, one that I will immediately recognize in the distance. It was a voice I knew too well.


    ¡°Oh? What do we have here?¡± I heard a mocking voice and some footsteps coming close to me. I got incredibly annoyed. It was Lance, my younger brother. He was the third child next to me.


    Ever since my parents found out that I¡¯m incredibly weak and I don¡¯t receive some kind of blessing from the gods during a full moon, Lance¡¯s attitude went a full rotation. Before he treats me like a normal elder brother, we may not be as close as it gets, at least the treatment he gives me isn¡¯t bad. Now, when I was branded as a failure among the family, his attitude underwent a huge change.


    He always picks on me, boasting that he is much more powerful than me. He also sticks around our eldest brother during that time, always making himself look good and powerful, even if it means stepping on others. And by others, I mean myself. He always boasts that he was the second strongest in the family, second only to brother.


    In a pack of wolves, strength is everything. It determines your social position among the hierarchy. If you are the strongest, you will lead everyone, other strong wolves have other responsibilities as well. The benefits of being a high-rank wolf are good as well. They have access to more training facilities, more herbal medicines, and stronger training regimes. It¡¯s always a plus that you can do practically anything with the people lower than you. So if you are stronger than everyone, the weak cannot disobey you.


    Lance¡¯s intention on staying close to the future headmaster is obvious to everyone. If we follow the norm since I was the second son, I should be the second most powerful in the family, but destiny differs. Such, Lance always look for a chance to trample my honor every second he finds to make my position lower and he can lift himself upwards. If he wants to be the second son that badly, I¡¯ll give it to him, free of charge, it¡¯s troublesome and I¡¯m too lazy to do some stuff anyway.


    ¡°What do you want Lance?¡± I¡¯m annoyed by his presence. He was up to no good again, he does something troublesome every month. He was also the reason why I moved out of the house. It was a good choice actually, I didn¡¯t think my parents would approve it that easily but I guess they were glad to relieve some dead weight.


    ¡°Do I need a reason now to see my beloved brother? I just want to talk, you know, catch up. Since you moved out of the house, I felt really lonely.¡± His tone was mocking and filled to brim with sarcasm. Lonely he says, bet he was just annoyed he lost his stepping stone. Just the way he talks, I¡¯m running out of patience here.


    ¡°Leave me alone. I have things to do.¡± I tried to escape. I have many things to worry about and I don¡¯t want another troublesome being pestering my life. I have my hands full of worrying about what will happen in the next few hours.


    ¡°Oh? Our failure of a brother has some things to do? I wonder what could it be? It¡¯s certainly not preparing for the full moon later, right? As we all know, our elder brother right here is¡­¡± Man, he sure can run his mouth. He blocked my way as well. Not this again. If was fine back then, I couldn¡¯t care less about him. I always ignore him and pass by. I thought being bothered by him was a waste of time and energy. If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.


    This time, however, I have things in my mind and he was distracting in more ways than one. I cannot lose my cool here, I knew very well that he''s just taunting me. I won''t fall for such an obvious trap. Things can get really ugly if I took the bait and I''m too lazy to deal with whatever comes next. I just wish I have some kind of method to shut him up and leave me alone. Oh. I almost forgot that I have that.


    I glared at him. A good old glare that I used to shut some small fries back at school. I multiplied my killing intent this time as I feel it will be much more effective that way. I just stood there, piercing holes in his body with my glare.


    He went silent after our eyes met. His expression turned pale and he was madly sweating. It was good to know that this method works fine here. I made a mental note to use this every time I faced this annoyance. In this exchange, I also learned that he''s not truly strong. The strong don''t have a weak resolve. The true resolve of the strong won''t falter with just a glare, especially from what he labeled as a weak person. He''s putting up a front to make his position higher in the family. I sighed. Power blinds people, especially greedy ones.


    ¡°Wh-what are you going to do? Elder brother won''t let you get away with this!¡± He was panicking. Threatening me won''t do you good, I fully knew that the family doesn¡¯t have an ounce of care for me. You''re the second strongest right? Why would you even use the eldest brother''s name to protect yourself?


    ¡°Leave me alone.¡± I went and walked away, thinking that all of this is over. Unfortunately, this guy wants to cause trouble no matter what. Maybe I damaged his pride or anything, but he obviously wanted to get back at me.


    ¡°You..! Stop right there! I won''t let you get away with this!¡± He shouted while running to block my way once again. This time his face is full of anger and shame. He also assumed his battle stance, growling and snarling at me. This is getting out of hand. I don''t want anything to do with him anymore but here he was. Things may get a little dirty so I immediately went and thought of a way to escape this madman.


    ¡°Hey! Stop that!¡± Just as I was thinking of what to do next, I heard another familiar voice over the distance. The voice, however, doesn''t strike me as annoying or hostile. I turned my attention towards the source of the voice and I recognized the figure approaching us fast.


    ¡°Hey, you over there! You''re bullying Kane again! I won''t let you get away with this!¡± The girl jumped from her position to the gap between me and Lance. She held her own battle stance, ready to brawl anytime.


    The girl that came was Aysha. If I were to describe this girl¡­ even I will have a hard time. To put it in simple terms, she was a battle maniac. A good one at that. She isn''t a member of the main family, she was the eldest daughter of the Burnness Family, one of the branch family of the Elliot Family. We share the same age but¡­ she''s ridiculously strong. Even my brother acknowledges her strength. Every wolf in the pack approves that she is one of the strongest in my age. She also battles some of the older ones and can stand her ground. A battle maniac to boot. Unfortunately, that''s all she is. She isn''t particularly smart either. All brawn and no brains. It was one of the reasons why she isn''t allowed to leave the mountains as they fear that she will go on a battle spree once outside.


    ¡°If you''re that bored, I''ll be happy to entertain you in a battle!¡± She was full of spirit, itching for a fight it seems.


    ¡°Do-don''t interfere here! Or else¡­¡±


    ¡°Or else what?¡± Aysha stood her ground, she was brimming with energy and fighting spirit. Lance was back to his nervous self. Maybe a battle maniac was too much for him. So much for the number two strongest.


    ¡°You¡­ Stop hiding behind a girl! Do you call yourself a man?¡± Seeing that he can''t get through Aysha, he started targeting me instead. I won''t be falling for his trap though. I finally found a cover and I''m planning to use it through.


    ¡°Hey! I told you to stop pestering him! Pester me instead! I''ll be happy to amuse you in his stead.¡± Lance eventually gave up seeing he can''t get through Aysha. His expression was grim and angry as he walked away from us.


    ¡°I''ll remember this!¡± I sighed. Just leave me alone already.


    Aysha turned around and smiled at me. I smiled back, it was a long time since I visited Aysha. She was one of my good friends that do not discriminate me for being weak despite being strong herself. We are also close when we are kids as we play around a lot back then.


    When I thought that this scene will be a heartwarming reunion for both of us, I suddenly felt a pain in my right arm. I looked at Aysha and she apparently punched my arm! What happened? Did I make her angry?


    ¡°You said you will always visit me! I haven''t seen you in like, forever!¡± So she was mad about that, I feel a bit guilty as well but modern life is too comfortable once you have a taste.


    ¡°I''m sorry but I''ve been busy.¡± I apologized while rubbing my arm. This brute girl.


    Aysha and I went to her house to catch up. Apparently, her mother is cooking something special, so I came with her because I ate nothing but candy since earlier. It was then when the mark on my chest started burning. What''s happening now?

 Chapter 11 - Mark

    I tried to keep my calm. The burning sensation I¡¯m feeling right now isn¡¯t too bad but it isn¡¯t something I can ignore either. I touched my chest, I wonder what¡¯s happening to the mark right now, sadly, I cannot look as there is a risk that someone else might saw the mark. I don¡¯t want to draw attention to myself.


    Aysha noticed that I stopped walking and asked what¡¯s wrong. ¡°Hey? What are you doing? You look pale. Are you alright?¡± She touched my forehead, checking if I have a fever or some sort. Aysha was always the one to look after me before Bel was assigned as my personal maid. We played around as a kid and when we got a little bit older, we helped each other train as well. Even if she¡¯s noisy and lively most of the time, I appreciate her company especially since I was mentally unstable as a child.


    ¡°It¡¯s nothing, I just thought of something.¡± I tried to play it cool, I don¡¯t want to worry someone since I myself wasn¡¯t sure of what¡¯s happening to my body.


    ¡°Are you sure? Don¡¯t worry about that! If that jerk, Lance, come back again, I¡¯ll beat him down! You can rest easy when you¡¯re with me.¡± Aysha smiled at me reassuring my safety. It was nice that she was concerned but sadly, she cannot help on this one nor anyone. I can¡¯t let anyone know what¡¯s happening to my body until I fully know what¡¯s happening.


    ¡°Thanks.¡± I smiled back. Having Aysha at my side sure is good and all but it doesn¡¯t solve the original problem. At least at the meantime, my younger brother Lance won¡¯t be bothering me until I got separated with Aysha, that¡¯s one less problem to deal with, I told myself.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡± I grit my teeth, trying hard to ignore the burning sensation. I followed Aysha to her cave while trying my best to ignore the burning pain on my chest. Unfortunately, the pain was slowly increasing, making it harder and harder to tolerate. My breathing is slowly getting unsteady as well, this pain is affecting me in more ways than one. My vision is getting blurry. This mark seems to absorb my energy. I¡¯m losing control in my legs as I tumbled towards the ground. Aysha noticed my dire state and ran to help me up.


    ¡°Hey! What¡¯s wrong? Tsk.¡± She clicked her tongue seeing I¡¯m not responding. I¡¯m starting to lose consciousness and my vision in turning dark. I cannot hear her worried shouts as well. I¡¯m losing a lot of energy at the moment. The lasting I saw was Aysha lifting me up and running towards her cave, after that, I completely blacked out.


    ***


    As I spent my time in darkness, I thought that this vision is a little odd. There¡¯s nothing around, not even the feeling I felt last time I spent in this dark vision. There was only one voice that reverberated at the start of the vision.


    ¡°It¡¯s time.¡± It was the same voice I heard last time, assuming it belonged to the jet black wolf that I saw last time, I tried to find for some clues about its whereabouts. Unfortunately, nothing was around, just total pitch black darkness.


    After the voice disappeared, nothing came afterward. I just stood there, staring and waiting in the darkness. After a good time, I got bored and tried to do something to pass time. I closed my eyes and tried to check my body condition. Nothing seems to be out of order here. My energy is slowly recovering as well. I guess I collapsed due to energy depletion.


    I checked the mark on my chest as well. The burning sensation is gone but I¡¯m sure something happened to it that caused such reaction. When I found out that I¡¯m not paralyzed like last time and thus, can move, I removed my shirt to see the marking on my chest.


    I was shocked to see that the burn mark got bigger and scattered all the way to my left shoulder. The weird energy I felt inside was stronger than it was before. The energy I felt inside was a little bit similar to my own energy but the mark was slowly converting my energy to the weird energy I felt.


    My hypothesis was correct, the mark was slowly eating my energy. Maybe ever since the mark appeared, it began swallowing my energy a little at a time. And when my energy reserves got depleted, the mark started burning as if straining my body for more energy. Since I ran out of energy, I passed out. Seriously, since when did I get some troublesome mark? I¡¯m starting to think that this is some kind of curse. Why do weird things keep happening to me lately? Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.


    As I keep asking unanswered questions more and more, I felt a familiar warmness on my hand. I sighed. It was definitely Bel and her weird tradition of holding someone¡¯s hand whenever they are sick. It was effective though, weird enough. Even in a dream-like state in my current situation, I can feel the warmness of her hand.


    And that warmness is all I currently need. The darkness around me slowly collapsed and I consciousness slowly came back to reality. I still feel a little tired, but I¡¯m assuming that my energy is still in the process of recovering thus I feel a little weak at the moment. As I opened my eyes, I heard someone talking, their voices were low and soft, considering I¡¯m still resting at the room.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know what happened either, he just collapsed on the ground while we are on our way here. He already lost consciousness at that time so I cannot ask him what was wrong.¡± That voice, I recognized it as Aysha¡¯s. It was the first time I heard her speak in a low voice as I¡¯m used to her being loud and cheerful all the time.


    ¡°How about his condition, Miss Aysha?¡± That voice belonged to Bel this time. I¡¯m guessing that Aysha notified her when I collapsed.


    ¡°Just call me Aysha, I¡¯m not used to someone calling me Miss, also you¡¯re Kane¡¯s maid, right? So let¡¯s be friends! As for Kane, when my mother checked his condition, she said it was just energy depletion. Good thing we are here in the mountains, where energy is abundant. He will recover soon with a little rest and some herbs.¡±


    ¡°Thank you, Aysha.¡± Bel smiled at her as thanks, I presume. I tried to stand up since I cannot find a good time to speak, but I guess my body is still too weak as I feel sluggish all over. Noticing my movements, Aysha reprimanded me.


    ¡°You shouldn¡¯t be moving yet! Stay still and rest.¡± She sighed. ¡°What happened to you? Why did you just ran out of energy and collapsed?¡±


    ¡°Your punch hurts like hell, so I collapsed.¡± I teased her and laughed weakly.


    ¡°You jerk! I didn¡¯t even punch you that heavily!¡± Aysha stuck her tongue out and turned around. ¡°I¡¯m going to get mom and let her have a look at you once more.¡± After that, she stormed out of the room. Now that¡¯s the Aysha I knew, noisy and loud.


    Feeling a gaze at my side, I turned my head. Bel was looking at me with a worried look on her face. I guess she¡¯s been worried all this time. I smiled at her showing that I¡¯m fine and healthy.


    ¡°Thanks for this,¡± I lifted up my hand that was holding hers. ¡°It helped a lot.¡± Unlike last time, Bel didn¡¯t get fluttered and let go of my hand, instead, she kept holding it and her grip got a little bit stronger. I guess she¡¯s still worried about my condition.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯m good! I just exerted myself from shadow traveling. I¡¯ll recover in no time!¡± I made some excuses, I tried to make it as plausible as possible. This is the best I can make since it was somehow related to energy depletion.


    ¡°By the way, how many hours did I sleep?¡± The full moon may be on the next hour on something. I still need to help Bel later.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, Master, you only spent around four hours unconscious. Currently, it is time for lunch so there will be approximately six hours before the full moon occurs.¡± Bel answered, she was still obviously worried but I guess she let it slide for now.


    That aside, I spent four hours asleep. I felt that it was shorter though, considering the time I spent at the vision. It is a good thing however that the full moon is hours away. I can recover in the meantime and help Bel afterward.


    As we finished our conversation, Aysha¡¯s mother came inside the room, carrying a bowl of brewed herbs. She gave it to me while asking for some details on how I feel. I said my thanks for taking care of me and I told her that I¡¯m already fine. Aysha¡¯s mother was really gentle, I wonder how Aysha became really loud, unlike her mother.


    Aysha¡¯s mother left and the three of us chatted for a while before Aysha left. She was going to arrange some of her materials for the full moon later. I said thanks for bringing saving me and I promised her that we¡¯ll catch up later on.


    Bel and I chatted for a while before she left as well, she said that she needs to help her mother on something. I told her goodbye before turning around the bed to get some rest.


    As I felt that their presence is gone, and no one was near the vicinity, I slowly got up of the bed, my body still feels sluggish so I settled for sitting on the edge of the bed for now. I went and removed my shirt and just like the one I saw while in a dream-like state, the mark on my chest was undoubtedly larger than before. If it keeps swallowing more energy in my body, I¡¯m afraid that I cannot hide it under my shirt anymore.


    I sighed and went back to bed. I recovered my energy while thinking about what I could do the mark on my chest.

 Chapter 12 - Alpha

    Since my energy was depleted to every last drop, recovering took a little longer than what I expected. I got bored pretty easily since nobody was around to entertain me. Fortunately, when I checked my mobile phone, there¡¯s a signal here. I don¡¯t know how they managed to get some signal inside the mountains but I¡¯m thankful nonetheless.


    I fiddled around my phone for quite some time, good thing I have a couple of games installed to keep me company. I browsed a couple of sites on the internet and did some random stuff. Aysha¡¯s mother was kind enough to bring me some lunch. I ate lunch although it¡¯s kind of late for that.


    I rolled on the bed afterward, not knowing what to do. It was nice that I have some peace and quiet around but the vision, the expanding mark on my chest that is continuously depleting my energy, and wondering what will happen later, it was hard to relax at this point. I¡¯m also starting to develop some kind of phobia on sleeping, so it was hard to stay awake and not get bored at the same time.


    Thankfully, Aysha¡¯s mother was considerate enough to put some medicinal herbs on my lunch. The herbs were very effective and made my recovery faster. After a couple of hours, I finally made a full recovery. I went outside, thanked her once more for helping me, and set out to find Bel.


    ***


    Two hours before the full moon. I went around the mountains and saw some familiar faces around. Though, most of them are hostile towards me. Most of my relatives treat me this way. I don¡¯t really mind though, as time went by, I slowly learned to ignore this kind of remarks. It happens every time and I won¡¯t get anywhere when I got angry every time I hear some mockery or remark about me being a failure.


    I passed by the hostile ones and greeted some of the ones that acted normal towards me. The normal ones aren¡¯t really close to me but they don¡¯t discriminate me which is good. There are quite a few that acted normal towards me so I made sure that I greeted them once in a while as thanks.


    Now that I think about it, my parents should have arrived here already but I didn¡¯t notice them when I was going around. The only family member that I saw earlier was Lance. They are probably busy doing something else such as preparing their own stuff for the full moon. I have to greet them at least once later to let them know that I got here. Last time I went here but they didn¡¯t saw me, Lance made up some kind of excuse that I didn¡¯t come here and I was heavy reprimanded for it.


    What I hated the most is that they believed the lie that Lance made up on the spot instead of a couple of witnesses. Well, no one really wanted to stand up for me and made an enemy of Lance. I¡¯m pretty much sure that they will pick the self-proclaimed second strongest rather than the failure of the family. Bel was the only one that stood up for me. In the end, we didn¡¯t win and I took all the blame so that Bel won¡¯t have to be punished for standing up for me. I¡¯m going to make sure that it won¡¯t happen ever again.


    Since I couldn¡¯t find Bel anywhere, I decided to visit my family¡¯s cave. I¡¯ll visit them now so that after the full moon, I can go directly home. I¡¯m not too fond of staying with my family for a long period of time.


    I arrived at my family¡¯s cave¡­ or it¡¯s much more appropriate to call it a house. This is nothing like a cave. A bonafide, fully functioning house was erected near the peak of the mountain. I wondered what happened to the other cave that we reside during the last full moons. Anyway, in front of me was a two-story, wooden house. It looked like a wooden cabin mixed with a couple of modern technology. They really went all out to this month''s full moon. I bet it''ll be a hassle to remove this house after this day ends. They would probably cover this house with some kind of illusion as I see it as impossible to install and reinstall every month.


    As I went inside, I was surprised when I noticed that there were electricity and different types of furniture, basically everything that was inside Bel¡¯s cave, but obviously better. At the moment, my phone vibrated and when I looked at it, there was a notification that there¡¯s an open Wi-Fi available. What this? Since when did we get so advanced?


    A maid noticed my arrival and greeted me. ¡°Welcome home, young master Kane.¡± The other maids that are doing some household chores stopped what they are doing when they noticed me and bowed to greet me as well. With the exception of Bel, this scene always made me uncomfortable. For me, they look like robots that are programmed to do these kinds of stuff whenever a family member arrived. It lacked the warmness and sincerity that Bel emit whenever she greets me. This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version.


    ¡°Would you like me to lead you in your room, young master?¡± The maid offered. Though the house feels comfortable, I fully knew that staying inside would be the least comfortable experience for me. The main house was much more comfortable than this but I chose to leave that place because of my family. Thus, I cannot see a reason for me to stay at this place either.


    ¡°Where¡¯s a father? I need to see him.¡± Ignoring her question, I asked if my parents are currently inside the building. I¡¯ll just quickly show my face, talk for a little bit and leave afterward. Staying too long and bumping to Lance would trouble me greatly, especially since Aysha isn¡¯t with me at the moment. My parents couldn''t care less about me so I''m not too worried about them.


    ¡°The Headmaster and the Missus aren¡¯t in the vicinity at the moment. They told us that they were arranging something for outside matters that cannot be left undone. Master Julius, however, is in the headmaster¡¯s room, sorting something for the full moon later. He is also currently in charge of tonight¡¯s full moon.¡±


    The future alpha wolf, my eldest brother, Julius. He is everything an alpha wolf is. Strong, intelligent, prideful, and aggressive. The strongest wolf in the pack. Every trait that the alpha should possess, he had it. It¡¯s the reason why my parents are so proud of him. To them, Julius is their only son and probably looks at us, the younger siblings, like extra baggage.


    The only reason that he isn¡¯t the alpha wolf yet, is because my father is still alive. When my father dies, he will automatically become the next alpha that would lead the pack. Currently, my father is training him in terms of business, leadership and other stuff needed to adapt in modern society.


    When I imagine the work that he shoulders, I always thank the gods for making me the second son instead. I can¡¯t bear to have so many responsibilities and not to mention the paperwork alone, given my lazy personality. I used to be pretty stupid back then when I¡¯m thinking that I want to catch up to my brother. I idolized him, wanting to be like him. Thinking back, even if I managed to catch up to my brother, my parents would just use me for their own interest and that¡¯s not what I wanted. That¡¯s the kind of people they are.


    ¡°I¡¯ll meet with my brother, I¡¯m not staying here too long.¡± The maid leads the way towards the headmaster¡¯s room. Once we arrived at the door of the room, I told her to leave and not bother us for the time being. After she left, I knocked on the door a few times before hearing my brother''s voice.


    ¡°Come in, it''s open.¡± Julius¡¯ voice was loud and clear. Just from the way he talks, it shows power and competence. It''s the voice of a leader.


    ¡°Hey, elder brother.¡± I greeted him when I saw that he was busy with the paperwork. When he noticed that it was me, he lifted his head up and nodded a few times.


    Sitting behind the headmaster''s table, was a wolf who''s aura was so strong. It almost feels like I''m getting crushed by his aura alone. The way he moves, the way he looks at you and even his unconscious movements makes you feel like your life is constantly in danger.


    ¡°So, you came.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, it''s one of the rules. I have to go even if I don''t want to.¡± I tried to stand my ground despite the overwhelming pressure he emitted.


    ¡°I see. So, what did you come here for?¡± He asked. I can see that he was kind of irritated by me disrupting his work but I have to do this or else Lance might pull something again. I thought of something else to say other than the fact that I''m just here to avoid any other potential conflicts with my younger brother. That''s when I thought of something that might grab his attention.


    ¡°I¡¯m not sure if the others already reported this to you but I found another wolf at my school. I think she''s not in our family at least.¡± This is my trump card, Lean. I thought that by revealing Lean''s secret to him, he''ll deal with it himself. It will be killing two birds with one stone. I¡¯ll get Lean of my back, and I¡¯ll have a reason to come here.


    ¡°Oh? I haven''t heard of that. If that wolf managed to avoid our intelligence network, the wolf you''re talking about may bring potential danger.¡± Good, I managed to grab his attention at least. It was nice that others haven''t found out yet.


    ¡°She''s a Coleman, I''m sure you''ve heard of them already. I''m quite surprised myself. If she hasn''t sat next to me in class, I wouldn''t have noticed.¡± I told him some of the stuff I knew about her. He went silent and I saw him furrowed his eyebrows. Seemingly deep in thought, I waited for him to get out of this state before leaving. After a good while, he lifted his head and asked another question.


    ¡°Did she knew that you''re a wolf?¡±


    ¡°I''m sure she has her doubts since she kept pestering me for a while now. I made sure that she won''t confirm this doubt. I can''t say too much for the future. I''m sure she¡¯s investigating on her own right now.¡±


    ¡°I see. Keep hiding your identity, I''ll see what I can do on my side after this event is over.¡±


    I left afterward. As I left the room, the huge pressure weighing upon me suddenly disappeared like it hasn''t been there in the first place. I breathe a sigh of relief. Now that I confirm my presence here, I quickly left the house to avoid any further contact in my family. No one will doubt my elder brother''s words and he is a pretty honest person so far. I¡¯m sure he won''t trouble me for some petty reason. The only thing that is left is the full moon itself. I hope this ominous premonition I¡¯m feeling isn''t true.

 Chapter 13 - Mother?

    For the time being, I prioritized on finding Bel. The sky is starting to get darker and the full moon is about to start. Though I still have some worries inside of me, I prioritized helping Bel in the meantime. Half of the reason is to keep my mind of distracting things. I¡¯m not in the position to be distracted as anything might happen later. Though there¡¯s nothing that will happen towards me later, I still need to focus on helping someone.


    The other half is because of Bel. For all the things that Bel had done for me, I sometimes feel this incredible guilt inside me. I felt like I¡¯m abusing her kindness for some reason. Such, on times like this, I want to repay her in some kind of way that I can do. Bel has been the family I never had. At least to me, my relationship with Bel isn¡¯t something as trivial as Master-Servant.


    I went around asking for Bel¡¯s whereabouts. Some of the maids in the house recognized her as the head maid¡¯s daughter, such, inquiring the servants that are in the vicinity was proven effective. I obtained information that Bel was currently in the kitchen and helping her mother cook some herbs to be used by some of the family members later.


    Bel¡¯s mother was the epitome of a perfect maid. Flawless service, top-notch skills, and the most notable characteristic, she is strong. As a wolf, she was one of the strongest in the pack. One of my family rules is family¡¯s servants should be capable as well. There¡¯s no servant in the house that is considered weak. They are trained to protect their masters in times of need and danger. Remember what I said back then when Bel¡¯s friends are talking about the probability of Bel getting assaulted by a maniac? The maniac will be the one suffering for his mistakes.


    In the past, I met Bel¡¯s mother a couple of times. She does her work seriously and trained Bel with all her own to become an outstanding maid. If there¡¯s anything that I consider a flaw, it¡¯s that she¡¯s too uptight. She doesn¡¯t accept anything that isn¡¯t perfect. While this is good because her service is the best among all the servants but for others, no matter what they do, Bel¡¯s mother considered it as imperfect. No one can match up to her standards, even Bel, her own daughter cannot escape this.


    After asking for the whereabouts of the kitchen, I went there immediately. To be honest, I¡¯m kind of uncomfortable meeting Bel¡¯s mother. This is because I¡¯m the failure of the family and seeing she¡¯s a perfectionist, I¡¯m kind of like an unremovable speck of dust in her eyes. She wanted to remove it to make the scene perfect, but she cannot because I¡¯m the son of her master. I have mixed feelings about her as well, if not for the fact that she¡¯s Bel¡¯s mother, I probably would¡¯ve avoided her at all cost.


    Well, it probably isn¡¯t that bad. Bel grew up to be the nicest and gentlest person I knew, her mother should have similar qualities as well. As the saying goes, ¡®the apple doesn¡¯t fall far from the tree¡¯ or ¡®like mother like daughter¡¯. From what I can see, Bel¡¯s mother cannot let go of her pride as a professional maid, such, some of the unnecessary traits are removed, only to be seen by people close to her or when she¡¯s not on duty.


    I arrived in the kitchen and saw the brilliant scene of servants that are hard at work. To a lazy bum like me, this scene is almost majestic. So this is the look of servants behind the scene whenever we held an event or whenever we have a party. They are all over the place, working hard for the masters they served under. As for what drives them to work this hard for someone, is something I wouldn¡¯t understand. They probably have their own reason for doing these kinds of stuff.


    I tried my best not to interfere with their work and went inside as without drawing as much attention as possible. Of course, that is deemed impossible as a young master walking inside a territory only for servants would sure attract anyone¡¯s attention. The servants that are busy running around stopped and greeted me. They all dropped whatever they are doing and bowed. So much for not drawing attention for myself.


    The nearest maid beside me asked me if I have some kind of business inside the kitchen.


    I coughed. ¡°Nothing is wrong here, continue with your work.¡± I felt uncomfortable when multiple eyes are on me. I dismissed them and asked the nearest maid for Bel. The other servants continued what they are doing earlier. Since the full moon is in a few hours, this is not the time to stand around and gossip. They quickly went on and continued their tasks.


    ¡°I asked around for the whereabouts of Bel, the other servants said she¡¯s at the kitchen. Can you call her out?¡± It¡¯s probably for the best for me to just call her outside and continue from them. I already received a strong reaction from the outside of the kitchen and I can imagine the other¡¯s reaction when I went inside so it¡¯s better to call Bel outside.


    ¡°Understood.¡±


    ¡°Thank you and sorry for disrupting your work.¡± Bel is probably busy for the preparation of the full moon. I don¡¯t want to disrupt her but if I don¡¯t find her now, it will be hard to find her later with all the commotion going around. It¡¯s best to meet her now and decide where to meet later on. I went and sat in an empty chair at the side and waited for Bel to arrive. I don¡¯t want to hinder the servants earnestly doing their work. Also, I don¡¯t want to gather needless attention to myself, though my presence here attracts attention like a magnet to passersby. Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.


    One maid was kind enough to serve me some tea while I¡¯m waiting. I¡¯m not too fond of teas but rejecting her or demanding for a coffee instead will make her uneasy and thus interrupt her work more. I drank the tea silently at the side. The tea the maid gave me was bitter and I didn¡¯t really like the taste. I sipped a couple of times before setting it aside never lifting it up to drink it again.


    Soon after, Bel arrived but someone came alongside with her. I didn¡¯t expect her to come to. They soon arrive on the front of me. Bel saw the cup of tea that was set aside on the table and her face became a little dark.


    ¡°Master, tell me the name of the maid that served you tea even though you hated it. I¡¯ll talk to her later.¡± So that¡¯s how it is. I don¡¯t really mind though and I don¡¯t want to interrupt the maid¡¯s work.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it, she probably doesn¡¯t know that I hated teas. She was kind enough to serve me anything while I was waiting, I don¡¯t mind.¡± I replied to calm her down. She probably inherited a little bit of her mother¡¯s perfectionist trait. Seeing another maid serving me tea maybe triggered the inner trait.


    Bel calmed down a bit after that. I want to get to the point but Bel¡¯s mother was staring right at me, seemingly burning holes in me with her gaze alone. We aren¡¯t really on peaceful terms but since Bel is here, I¡¯ll show a little bit of good will.


    ¡°Good afternoon, Mrs. Mejia.¡± I lightly nodded at her. I kind of knew the reason why she¡¯s here. She¡¯s always a strict person and I doubt she will let me go for disturbing Bel¡¯s work. I¡¯ll try explaining to her that I¡¯m here to help Bel for tonight¡¯s full moon. Maybe she¡¯ll soften up a little.


    ¡°Master, what did you call me here for? Have you recovered your injuries? I suggest getting more rest.¡±  Bel initiated the conversation after sensing the mood. She was worried about what happened earlier but since she saw me alive and better than earlier, she didn¡¯t probe too much about it. Though I¡¯m a bit hesitant to say anything while Bel¡¯s mother was killing me with her gaze, I guess I can¡¯t do anything about it.


    ¡°I¡¯m already fine, thank you. I¡¯m bored lying around in bed all day long so I came to find you since the full moon is about to start. With all the commotions going around, I¡¯ll have trouble finding you later so I asked around about your whereabouts. Have you finished your preparations?¡±


    ¡°Yes. My preparations are already prepared since earlier. I asked my mother here to help me prepare a healthy meal for your recovery. I was planning on visiting you after this.¡± So she asked her mother to help her prepare a meal for me.


    ¡°Thank you, Mrs. Mejia.¡± I thanked her mother. It was nice that she helped Bel on her request. My guess isn¡¯t really far off, she really has a nice side like Bel.


    ¡°Bel, prepare the meal, he can eat it here.¡± Bel¡¯s mother ordered Bel to get the meal. Bel nodded and left the vicinity. And here I thought that Bel¡¯s mother would leave with her as well but she surprisingly stayed around. She put away the cup of tea on the table and ordered a maid passing by to serve some coffee. She sat on the other seat and glared at me as she did earlier. Feeling uncomfortable, I sat on my original seat earlier. There was an awkward silence and I can¡¯t think of something to say.


    ¡°So, I heard that you¡¯ll help Bel on the full moon later?¡± Bel¡¯s mother broke the silence.


    ¡°Yes, since I don¡¯t have something to do later, I might as well watch over her while she¡¯s meditating.¡±


    ¡°I see. Are you fond of Bel?¡±


    The question caught me off guard. What kind of question is that? I like Bel, but I don¡¯t think honestly replying here is the right choice. I have to think more deeply on this question.


    ¡°What do you mean by that?¡± Unable to think of something, I asked her what is she implying on that question.


    ¡°Nothing, it¡¯s just Bel seems so happy around you. Not just Bel, even Lette always talks about you whenever I¡¯m at home. I¡¯m wondering what¡¯s up with you lately.¡± I¡¯m confused right now. Lette suddenly came up and I don¡¯t know how to continue this conversation.


    ¡°I¡¯m glad that Bel¡¯s happy when she¡¯s serving me but I don¡¯t know about Lette.¡±


    ¡°Is that really so?¡± She smiled mischievously. I suddenly felt a shudder down my spine. What that she mean by that? What about Bel and her little sister? I was saved by her crushing gaze when Bel arrived holding a tray with a pot.


    ¡°Well, it was nice talking to you, young master Kane. I¡¯ll leave my daughter to you.¡± She giggled and then left. Others might say that the giggle is cute and all, but the only thing I felt is it was scary.


    ¡°Mother!¡± Bel got flustered and chased her mother away. She served the soup mixed with various herbs. The aroma of the soup was nice, I can feel my energy recovering with this.


    ¡°This is my mother¡¯s specialty soup. It can greatly recover your energy and it can even increase it. I asked my mother about its recipe so I can let you eat it, Master.¡±


    ¡°Thanks.¡± In my mind, I hoped that her mother didn¡¯t mix some kind of poisonous herbs inside. Well, Bel was the one that cooked it so it¡¯s probably safe.


    ¡°Master, did my mother told you anything weird?¡± A little bit flustered, Bel asked while I was eating.


    ¡°Nothing much, she asked if I¡¯m fond of you.¡± Bel¡¯s face got red and she was flustered all over the face. She whispered something like ¡®What is mother doing?¡¯ or ¡®I wonder what Master said.¡¯


    ¡°I didn¡¯t really reply to the question as things were a little bit awkward.¡±


    ¡°Is that so¡­¡± Bel calmed down a little bit after hearing that.


    ¡°Well, I do like you.¡± That turned out a little bit wrong, but it¡¯s not a lie though. I like her as a maid and as my friend. I was planning on correcting myself but Bel was so shocked, she isn¡¯t replying to anything. I feel like I messed up here.


    After a while, Bel returned to her senses and I explained it to her. She was a little upset at that time but at least I cleared up the misunderstanding.

 Chapter 14 - Camp

    Bel¡¯s preparations are already finished, so we only have to wait until the full moon to arrive in a couple of hours. Even if the full moon is an hour from now, a lot of the wolves around started warming up their bodies or meditating to ensure that they are in their peak performance for tonight. With that said, Bel and I started to head towards the spot we prepared beforehand.


    The spot we prepared is pretty spacious so we can move around without any hindrances. The energy around the spot was pretty pure and dense. I found this spot while roaming earlier and I suggested that we camp here for tonight. The location of the spot was covered with trees making it hard to see. I was lucky this time to find a spot for Bel.


    We arrived at the location of the spot. There was no one around ensuring that no other relatives located the spot. Bel and I can safely go through the night here with no disturbances. After arriving, we began the preparations, setting up a campfire, the tent, and other things such as the herbs and medicines in case something happens.


    While Bel went and prepared other things, I went and prepared the area I¡¯m staying while watching over Bel. I brought the snacks and candies I bought earlier. I requested from a maid a big thermos earlier so I can have hot water available at any moment for coffee. There¡¯s also a couple of books I brought from home. As an added bonus, since the moon is out in its all mighty glory, I brought my personal telescope from home. I¡¯ll do a little bit of stargazing as well since the night scenery in the mountains is awe-inspiring.


    Bel was a little bit hesitant since our roles are reversed. I guess she feels a little bit uncomfortable since I¡¯m the one serving her tonight. I told her it¡¯s fine and I kind of wanted to learn a thing or two about serving other people since I might need it in the future. Bel argued that as long as she¡¯s alive, she¡¯d stay by my side and continue to serve me, never allowing that to happen. I laughed and thanked her.


    As we finished our preparations, I noticed a presence approaching our location. The other party didn¡¯t even bother being discreet about it and just barged right in our spot. Bel noticed as well and went towards my side. We got here first so we¡¯ll just talk to the other party and ask them to leave. If it comes to the worst possible outcome, I¡¯ll use my family¡¯s name though, I don¡¯t think it¡¯ll be effective since I¡¯m a failure of a son. As a backup, we still have Bel as the daughter of the head maid. I wished the other party would just leave when they saw others already occupying the area.


    The other party arrived and I furrowed my brows. It was Lance. He also has his butler with him. The butler with him is the son of Secas, the butler that once served me when Bel was called at the main house. Though his position was not as high as Bel¡¯s mother, he was fairly strong in other regards, thus, making him a popular servant among the relatives. His son will take over his position soon, meaning his strength should be near the old man already. Though Bel was capable of some combat, we are outnumbered and I¡¯ll be only dead weight in this situation.


    My plan to scare them with my family name was proven ineffective as well since the other party¡¯s social position cannot be considered as low. Knowing Lance, he¡¯ll try to drive us out here to make trouble for me again. The full moon will start in half an hour from now. With that given time, it¡¯s impossible to find another unoccupied spot. There was also the case of moving our stuff and setting it up. Moving now won¡¯t be a choice, it¡¯s either we share the spot or one of us moves out.


    To be honest, if the other party wasn¡¯t Lance, and I saw that they have nowhere to go, as long as they won¡¯t disturb and cause any trouble for us, I¡¯m willing to share the spot. The area was fairly spacious, enough to fit a family of six at most. Unfortunately, the one that located the spot was my ever so annoying younger brother.


    ¡°What are you doing here? We found this spot first.¡± After having a staring contest and an uncomfortable silence, I initiated the conversation first. We found the area first so moving out is out of the option.


    ¡°What? My servant found this place earlier. Why are you here?¡± Lance replied in an arrogant manner. It was unsure if his servant found it first or not, but it was his mistake to set up his camp late. He also didn¡¯t put any signs or mark that the area was claimed, so it was perfectly justifiable for us to claim this spot. I double checked that earlier so I was sure that this area was unclaimed when we got here earlier. Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.


    ¡°This is an unclaimed land when I found it earlier. We got here first, so this makes the area ours. Go away and find your own spot. Maybe you can train next to the eldest brother, after all, you are the second strongest, right?¡± I didn¡¯t pull any punches this time. I getting more and more annoyed by this guy by the minute. For some reason, my emotional tendencies are stronger when we got here.


    ¡°You¡­¡± He was obviously angry but he didn¡¯t charge at me as he did earlier. He was still skittish about what happened. He carefully observed the surrounding, looking if there are any signs of Aysha around. He was fearful of the person and would not make any careless moves when she¡¯s around. Unfortunately, Aysha¡¯s not around at the moment. Currently, Bel and I was the one present in the vicinity and as I said before, we are outnumbered here since I¡¯m dead weight.


    After noticing that Aysha¡¯s not around, Lance became more confident and arrogant. He demanded us to leave at once since the land was rightfully his. I sighed. This is the times when I wish I could borrow some of Aysha¡¯s strength to teach this guy a lesson.


    Knowing that the full moon is just around the corner, leaving the area isn¡¯t a choice anymore. The full moon will arrive before we even find another area, less to set everything up. We¡¯ll have to think of another way to drive him out of here. Sharing the area is possibly an option, but knowing Lance, he¡¯ll probably cause some kind of trouble.


    Even a casual prank can greatly harm a wolf during a full moon. Wolves aren¡¯t in their right state of mind after being boosted with loads of power. Taking care of a powered up wolf would be hard especially for me, the weakest in the pack. That¡¯s the reason why I want to be alone in the vicinity as possible.


    ¡°Look, there isn¡¯t any point in driving one out since there isn¡¯t any time left. The area is fairly spacious, let¡¯s divide it into two. The other party cannot trespass inside the other party¡¯s side. Does that work?¡± I tried to argue with him. I thought that maybe during a full moon, he¡¯ll come to some kind of sense.


    After hearing my words, he snorted, obviously dissatisfied. Unfortunately, what I said did make sense. I went and picked up a tree trunk on the side of the area. I placed it in the middle of the area. Even if I¡¯m the weakest among the family, I¡¯m still a wolf in the end. Picking something like boulders or trunks aren¡¯t a problem for me as long as they aren¡¯t too big.


    ¡°We can¡¯t go past this trunk. We also cannot disturb the other party. I assume you already know the punishment for deliberately causing trouble during a full moon?¡± Since a slight disturbance can cause a massive effect on one¡¯s health, disturbing someone during a full moon has serious consequences.


    I know that Lance is fully aware of this since he¡¯s currying favor for eldest brother but I¡¯m worried that he¡¯ll do some underhanded tricks and put the blame on me instead. Remembering the last time it happened, I got a bit nervous and started to question if this is the best choice or not.


    ¡°Relax, even a disturbance in one¡¯s training can even cause death in worst cases. I¡¯m not that heartless to kill a relative. I¡¯m fully aware of the consequences either. I trust you the same that you won¡¯t disturb us?¡±


    I nodded my head. Since he understands, I can trust that he won¡¯t do anything. However, I can¡¯t fully trust Lance, I prepared some countermeasures such as recording the scene with my phone in case something happens.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, Bel, I won¡¯t let him do anything for you. I¡¯ll guard his every movement so you can just free your mind and train, alright?¡± I faced Bel and assured her. I told her to start warming up leave the rest of the preparations to me.


    Lance and his servant started to set up their camp as well. There was an unspoken agreement that we¡¯ll not talk to one another with the exception that it¡¯s an emergency. The surroundings were filled with silence. We¡¯re both doing our own things while not bothering the other side. Even if we ignored each other, I don¡¯t mind it. I prefer peace and quiet after all.


    ¡°I¡¯m in the middle of a breakthrough in my strength right now.¡± After a while, Lance started to talk. ¡°I expect that the power I¡¯ll receive will be much higher for me to achieve this breakthrough. I don¡¯t know if I can control it and regain my sanity afterward. That¡¯s why I¡¯d prefer to do this in an isolated area. My butler here will prevent anything that would ever happen but if it gets out of hand, call the eldest brother immediately, I doubt you can do anything about this situation.¡±


    I got worried that something might happen later. I hope that his butler can handle it before it turns into something out of hand. Even if I called for help, reinforcements may take a while to arrive. If that happens, I doubt I can hold out a single second.


    ¡°I¡¯ll see what I can do,¡± I replied and continued working on the preparations. I need to prepare a couple more stuff in case something happens.

 Chapter 15 - Transformation

    ¡°Wa¡­. ke¡­.¡±


    Five minutes before the full moon starts.


    The sun is setting and the sky is getting darker and darker.


    ¡°Wake¡­ up¡­¡±


    Only a small fraction of the sun can be seen and the sky has this beautiful shade of orange and red. Some stars can be seen in the darker areas of the sky.


    High in the mountains, the scene can only be described as beautiful.


    ¡°Wake up¡­¡±


    As the full moon draws nearer and nearer, my head started to hurt. I feel as if a hammer is pounding my head over and over again. It isn¡¯t bad as it was earlier but as time goes by, the pain I¡¯m receiving is gradually getting stronger.


    ¡°Wake up¡­ Wake up¡­¡±


    ¡®Shut up.¡¯ I shouted inwardly.


    I started hearing these voices inside my head at the same time as my head started hurting. They are the same as the one I heard on the vision before. Telling me to wake up and repeating the exact same words over and over again like a broken record. Coupled with the fact that my head is hurting like hell, I kind of wanted to collapse on the spot.


    The only thing that¡¯s preventing me from doing that, however, is I¡¯m afraid that visions will start to appear again once I lost my consciousness. I tried to stay conscious and endured the pain inside my head. I also started to sweat madly and my face was pale as ash.


    Fortunately, Bel was focused on warming up and meditating that she didn¡¯t notice the weird complexion I¡¯m making on my face. If she saw this scene, she will obviously get worried and that may affect her mind on the full moon. I didn¡¯t want to bother Bel since this is a crucial point in time and one mishap can lead to various problems. I tried my best to suppress this feeling that I got.


    Since the pain I¡¯m feeling right now is less than before, I managed not collapsing as I did earlier. Relaxing my body and taking deep breaths somehow elevates the pain. Even with all of that, the problem is how I can last through the whole full moon. The pain is getting worse by the minute and I¡¯m afraid that this pain may not stop even if the full moon is over. If that happens, I can imagine having sleepless nights, enduring through the pain and hoping that it passes away.


    ¡°Wake up¡­ Wake up¡­ Wake up¡­ Wake up¡­¡±


    The full moon officially started. The sky was dark and the only thing that illuminates the surroundings is the moon and the stars above. Deep inside the forest, the surroundings are dark as tall trees are blocking out the only source of light. However, wolves have good eyesight, this also applies even if the surroundings are dark. Being nocturnal animals, this is only natural as they normally hunt and roam at night.


    I laid down the picnic blanket I prepared beforehand. I closed my eyes and tried to relax my mind. I squinted my eyes to peek on how Bel is doing. Fortunately, she started out nicely and there doesn¡¯t seem to be any problem that might occur in the meantime. I was also planning on checking how my younger brother was doing but my head is hurting like crazy so I couldn¡¯t care less about him at the moment. Also, he has his butler with him anyway.


    I tried to calm my nerves and focus my state of mind at the moment. I started to wonder if this is the effects of the full moon on me, finally starting to take effect after all these years. And the pain I¡¯m suffering right now is because of how I didn¡¯t properly prepare for the situation.


    Even if that is the case, I pushed it off my mind since I¡¯m confidently sure that what happening right now is related to the vision I started seeing this past few days. With the same voice, same words and the same sensation and pain I¡¯m feeling back then, I¡¯m pretty much sure that this is related to the vision. At the same time, I only feel myself getting weaker as the pain is getting harder to endure. If this is the effects of the full moon, I should be getting a boost in power.


    This couldn¡¯t be a mere coincidence. The course of events is too related to one another to dismiss the fact that this is an effect of the full moon. Then I remembered the mark on my chest. Maybe it¡¯s sucking my energy once again, making my head feel sluggish.


    As I stood up a bit to check, I noticed that my right arm is already covered with the dark mark earlier. ¡®It already spread through here?¡¯ I thought to myself as I checked other parts of my body. Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author.


    I did a full body search and found out that the mark already spread through my entire right arm, half of my abdomen, and on some of the lower parts of my neck. The situation is already this worse. And what¡¯s more, it is slowly getting bigger, spreading through the other parts of my body. What will happen when it completely covered my entire body? Will I get consumed?


    I quickly covered the dark parts of my body. Good thing I prepared a sweater and a scarf just in case the area gets cold. It covers up the dark area quite nicely. Bel hasn¡¯t noticed a thing, which is good. Unfortunately, I cannot do much since I¡¯m starting to lost strength in my body.


    I lay there helplessly as I tried to suppress the feeling. I¡¯m starting to lose consciousness right now. I cannot feel my limbs as well. Good thing I didn¡¯t disturb Bel. I hoped that she just sees this as me sleeping. I don¡¯t want to worry her.


    ¡°Wake up!!¡±


    Now that I¡¯m on the vision world once again, the voice that kept pestering me all this time got clearer and stronger. The speed that it was being repeated was getting faster and faster. Or maybe it was echoing throughout the area. Either way, this thing is getting more and more annoying. The pain in my head remained as well.


    After a good while of hearing the same words over and over again, an ample amount of time passed by. Since I was too distracted to keep my sanity, I lost count on how much time passed by. It was then that something changed inside the vision world.


    The black world changed, my vision blurred and the landscape gradually changed. The scene turned out to be the same location as the camp I found for Bel. Though some of the trees on the side looked younger and smaller, the small pond on the side of the area remains and some other noticeable landmarks didn¡¯t change. Thus, I concluded that the area was indeed the same.


    On the center of the area, there was a small jet black wolf. The size of the said wolf was smaller compared to the normals size of other wolves. It seemed to be weaker in other aspects as well. The black wolf was alone on the area, carelessly sleeping like he owns the place. Sometime later, the vision fast forwarded and the small wolf grew into an adult wolf, though he still remains in his wolf form.


    Just as I was wondering what I¡¯m seeing, a group of normal wolves arrived at the scene. The howled and gnarled at the black wolf on the area. They are intimidating the black wolf and the howl back then was to alert the others.


    I see. The jet black wolf was a lone wolf. He was probably cast away from the pack since he¡¯s different from everybody else. Since they found him, I reckon that the others were looking trouble for him or they want him dead. The probability of the latter being the case was higher since the wolves that found him howled for reinforcements.


    After calling for reinforcements, the group of wolves pounced at the black wolf simultaneously. The black wolf, however, dodged at a quick pace. Its little build was used to its advantage.


    After breaking through the attacks of the first group, it ran away deeper in the forest at an astonishing speed. However, the result was futile. Just as he was going to escape, another group of wolves intercepted his escape route.


    At the moment, he was surrounded at all sides. He cannot break out that easily and there was a chance more reinforcements were standing outside the encirclement. The wolves that encircled him was fierce but they didn¡¯t let their guard down. As the saying goes; ¡®the cornered rat will bite the cat¡¯.


    The black wolf desperately tried to escape from the encirclement. It was never successful though. The wolves encircling the black wolf isn¡¯t attacking him in the slightest, only defending the encirclement, not letting him escape. After a number of attempts, the black wolf conceded and stood at the center of the encirclement, not knowing what to do next.


    After a minute or so, one part of the encirclement was broken as the wolves make way for a larger wolf. This wolf is clearly the alpha of the pack. There are some noticeable characteristics such as larger build and the manner of how he carries himself. The other wolves retreated to make a larger space for the alpha wolf. A battle is sure to emerge, no, more like an execution since the black wolf clearly didn¡¯t stand a chance to the alpha.


    The two wolves held a staring contest for a while and after some time passed, the alpha wolf attacked. The black wolf tried to evade but the alpha still bit one of his fore thighs. The speed of the alpha was clearly faster than the black wolf. It was strong as well. Blood emerged out of the black wolf¡¯s thigh. He tried to run away, but his speed was affected because of his injured thigh. There was also the wolves encircling him as well.


    The next scenes were simply a one-sided battle. The alpha pounced on the black wolf ruthlessly. After the initial injury, the alpha wolf only used his paws to pounce on the black wolf. Though he is only using his paws, the power behind it was huge and every time the black wolf was hit, he will fly away from the sheer force exerted.


    At this moment, the black wolf was clearly beaten up. The wolves encircling the battle howled, the alpha wolf also howled with them, confident of their victory. The black wolf stared at the alpha wolf in disdain. There are no traces of weakness in his eyes, only pure black hatred. Though I didn¡¯t know the matter of the black wolf and the other party, that one look in his eyes told it all. This isn¡¯t as simple at it looked like. At least, there should be some kind of background to this. Unfortunately, I have no hopes of knowing.


    The alpha wolf saw this stare and it felt uncomfortable. It felt like it should end this wolf¡¯s life as soon as possible. It once again pounced towards the black wolf, seemingly finishing it off. Just as when the alpha¡¯s attack was about to connect, the black wolf disappeared out of sight. The alpha wolf was confused but he suddenly sensed an ominous feeling on his back, the alpha wolf turned around but it was too late, the black wolf reappeared on the alpha wolf¡¯s rear and quickly bitten its hind leg.


    Shadow Travel!


    The alpha wolf reacted quickly and retreated. It observed the situation and was shocked by what it saw. Actually, I¡¯m quite surprised myself.


    What I¡¯m seeing right now is the jet black wolf clad in dark energy.

 Chapter 16 - Black and White

    ¡®A cornered rat will bite the cat.¡¯


    The situation right now perfectly describe what am I seeing at the moment. The black wolf suddenly received a huge power boost and counterattacked. It was covered with mysterious dark energy and the wounds it received from the alpha are rapidly healing.


    The wolves in the encirclement cannot withstand the dark energy of the black wolf. They hastily retreated to a distance while maintaining the formation. Their movements are orderly and sharp. They clearly did this countless times before. The coordination of the whole pack is top-notch. With just this, I can tell that they¡¯re a strong pack even among another group of wolves.


    Even so, the sheer pressure emitting from the black wolf is great enough to cause shivers down their spines. The only one that didn''t retreat was the alpha wolf. Despite its injuries, its movements weren''t hindered and were only reduced by a small margin. The alpha wolf stood its ground and carefully walks closer to the black wolf, waiting for a chance to strike in.


    Despair and hatred, the black wolf¡¯s emotions are so strong that it began to materialize to dark energy. This dark energy is a double edge blade. The black wolf receives a huge boost in power. The power was almost equal to an alpha wolf, the strongest in the pack. It also received a strong regenerative power and higher stamina.


    The downside is that when the black wolf cannot control its emotions to a certain extent, it will go berserk and the dark energy that surrounds him will slowly devour him until the black wolf disappears. Of course, the stronger the black wolf¡¯s emotion, the higher the power boost it receives but making it easier to lose control of one¡¯s mind.


    In a situation such as this, it is easy to lose one¡¯s state of mind, thus, approaching the black wolf high dangerous. The alpha wolf is slowly gauging the situation out, ensuring that he can react in time in case something dangerous happens. The current black wolf is in a state that a slight movement may drive it crazy and attack recklessly. Though the alpha wolf is confident in winning, it cannot be said for his subordinates surrounding them. It is better not to receive unnecessary casualties.


    As the alpha wolf slowly crawls towards his direction, the black wolf immediately noticed despite the other party¡¯s slow and careful movements. Its sharpened senses made it impossible for an ambush to occur.


    Seeing that the alpha wolf was spotted, it has no choice but to retreat and observe for another opening, but the black wolf took this as a wrong message and its anger increases further. It swiftly attacked the alpha wolf with great speed and strength, completely opposite than it was before.


    The alpha wolf didn¡¯t dare to get careless, it was observing the black wolf¡¯s movement all the time. The alpha wolf dodges the black wolf¡¯s attack and counterattack with a pounce at the rear of the black wolf.


    The black wolf dodges the counterattack and continued pursuing the alpha wolf. They dodged every attack that they can dodge, they attacked every chance they see. Dark energy continued to emit in the black wolf¡¯s body and when the black wolf attacks the alpha wolf, it was powered by the dark energy making the attack fiercer and powerful.


    After a few breaths of fighting head-on, the alpha wolf was surprisingly at a disadvantage. This is mainly because of the dark energy emitting from the black wolf. Every time the alpha wolf comes in contact with the dark energy, its state of mind gets affected as well. Thus, while the alpha wolf gets more and more exposed to the dark energy, the worse its movements became, leaving more openings for the black wolf to attack.


    The black wolf isn¡¯t doing any better as well, the dark energy is rapidly devouring him as the battle progresses. The dark energy is fanning his flames of hatred making it stronger and harder for it to control. If this goes on, his mind will be fully corrupted and he will lose sanity permanently. It¡¯s the same as dying, basically.


    With the black wolf being on the verge of going berserk and the alpha wolf becoming weaker as the battle progress, it is unsure who will become the victor. I assume that the black wolf will win but the dark energy will devour him whole as a price for killing the alpha wolf.


    The black wolf was aware of this and using the last sanity left inside him, we fled the scene, slaughtering some wolves that tried to block its way. The alpha wolf tried to stop it but its injuries stopped him from doing so. In the end, they are forced to regroup and plan out what to do next after recovering their wounds.


    The black wolf, on the other hand, fled the scene trying to suppress its rampaging emotions. It didn¡¯t know his location anymore and was probably deeper inside the forest. It cannot make decisions and just ran further and further away. After a good while, the black wolf came to a halt as it saw another wolf. Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there.


    The wolf was pure white in color, the way it carried itself was with grace and elegance. Despite the black wolf¡¯s intimidating aura and dark energy surrounding it, the white wolf was isn¡¯t afraid. It even approached the black wolf.


    The black wolf took this as a threat and attacked the white wolf out of instinct. The white wolf, however, didn¡¯t move in the slightest and just stood there without any fear. The black wolf was surprised by this action and with its small consciousness left, it stopped the attack midway. The white wolf didn¡¯t blink in the slightest like it was expecting it to happen.


    The black wolf stumbled on the ground because of the sudden change in momentum. It lost its strength and was slowly getting devoured by the dark energy. It tried to keep his mind with the last strength it got but it was too late. The dark energy devoured almost its whole being at the moment.


    Just when the black wolf loses hope, the white wolf made its move. It emitted pure white energy from its body. The black wolf doesn¡¯t have energy left to evade was hit with the pure energy¡¯s full force. Despite having attacked, the black wolf didn¡¯t get harm and even more so, the pure energy started driving the dark energy out of the black wolf¡¯s body. The dark energy tried to resist but the pure energy emitted by the white wolf was stronger and denser thus, after a while, the dark energy was driven out of the black wolf¡¯s body.


    The black wolf, immediately lost its consciousness, ending the vision. The surroundings turned blurry once more and it returned to its original black appearance. What surprised me was the wolf in the vision was standing right before me. It was still covered with dark energy but the obvious difference was its eyes. Its eyes aren¡¯t clouded like before. It was clear and it¡¯s devoid of any hatred or despair.


    ¡°Wake up.¡± The black wolf opened its mouth and the voice that came out of it was the same as the one that kept repeating inside my head for quite some time now. So it was this wolf that kept bothering me over and over again. I wonder what it wanted.


    I tried to speak to ask the black wolf but I¡¯m unable to open my mouth in the slightest. It kept repeating the same words over and over again. Getting tired of hearing the same words over and over again, I tried to sleep. It worked last time but I¡¯m not sure if I will get out of the dream world after that. Also, there was the matter of my head being pounded like crazy. The pain didn¡¯t disappear in the slightest even when the vision started.


    The sleep didn¡¯t have the slightest effect as well and when I opened my eyes, the black wolf was staring at me. It manipulated the dark energy around it to slowly approach me. The dark energy flowed towards in my direction and since I cannot move an inch, the dark energy made its way towards my heart. In there, it violently pierced it way in. It was painful and I can feel that I¡¯m losing control over myself, just like the black wolf in the vision. While my vision darkens, the black wolf told me one last time.


    ¡°Wake up.¡±


    With the last word, I woke up. When I opened my eyes, I saw the stars and moon above. It was the same scenery as before, meaning I¡¯m finally back from the vision.


    However, I noticed various things that changed. My vision was darker than it was before. I was fairly confident in my eyesight so I knew that my vision was clearer than this. It was odd, the throbbing pain in my head was still there, so I can''t think straight. Then I heard a familiar voice.


    ¡°Master!¡± Bel ran towards me, abandoning her training. That fool, it will affect her mentality if she did that. I tried to stop her but I notice it when I raised my hand. What I saw completely frightened me. My whole arm was dark and there are slight traces of dark energy emitting from it. No wonder Bel got worried, I imagine that my whole body is emitting dark energy and that the mark on my chest already expanded to the point that I cannot cover it anymore.


    I¡¯m starting to lose strength. The hand I raised immediately fell. I don¡¯t have the strength to even lift a finger anymore. Bel rushed towards me and held my hand.


    ¡°Bel, release my hand or else, dark energy will go to your body, it will affect your state of mind.¡± I tried to stop her but she insisted, I cannot move anymore so I have no means of stopping her if she really wanted to.


    ¡°Master, what happened?¡± Bel was worried. There are traces of tears on the corner of her eyes and she tightened her grip on my hand.


    ¡°Dark energy invaded my body, I¡¯ve been suppressing it for a while but I failed. Release my hand at once and go farther away, I may go berserk.¡± I tried to send her away once more. I was worried about what I may do to Bel after I lose my sanity. I really don¡¯t want to hurt her.


    ¡°I won¡¯t leave your side master. I¡¯ll call my mother for help.¡± Without releasing my hand, she opened her phone and called her mother. Her voice is full of worry, I was really glad but I can¡¯t see her getting hurt because of me. With my last strength, I released my human magic and transformed back into a wolf.


    Bel was caught off-guard and while she was frozen, I planned to make a run for it. Away from the others. As I turned around, my peripheral vision caught something happening from the other side of the area.


    Lance lost his control over his body and went berserk. He cannot control the power spike of the energy and lost his consciousness. He unconsciously attacked anyone near him. After punching his butler to the side, he dashed towards in our direction, attacking Bel who was still frozen on the spot.


    Worried that Bel may get hurt. I turned around as swiftly as possible. I pushed Bel towards the side but unfortunately, it was too late for me to retreat. I got punched on the side and I got tossed over a few meters. It hurts. I¡¯m losing my consciousness.


    ¡°Master!¡± I heard Bel¡¯s voice. I cannot hear clearly but I knew she was worried. As my vision fades, I lost control over my body. I went berserk.

 Chapter 17 - Berserk

    ¡°Mother! Mother!¡±


    My head hurts. I can¡¯t think straight. Who am I?


    ¡°Why is it that you only look at him?¡±


    My body feels weak and sluggish. I lost control over it. Where am I?


    ¡°Mom look! I learned the same sword style as big brother!¡±


    What is this feeling? I hate it.


    ¡°Why is it that you only smile at him?¡±


    Dark energy keeps flowing through me. It¡¯s making me stronger.


    ¡°Mother! I...¡±


    I stabbed my mother. I smiled. I laughed. I felt relieved. The vision scatters.


    ¡°Haha¡­¡±


    Everything is over. It¡¯s over. The thing I¡¯ve been carrying all along. I feel great.


    ¡°Hahahahahahahahaha¡­¡±


    So this is how it feels. It feels great. Power. Strength. My whole body is overflowing with it. No one will stand in my way.


    ¡°HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!¡±


    In this world, power is everything. If you¡¯re weak, you won¡¯t last long. If you¡¯re weak, no one will love you. If you¡¯re weak¡­ you¡¯re nothing.


    ¡°If I kill all the strong, even though I¡¯m weak, I¡¯ll be the strongest.¡±


    Then I¡¯ll rebuild this world. With this power, I¡¯m going to make a world where everyone''s the same. Everything I hate will vanish. Everyone that looked down upon me, will die.


    ¡°I hate this world.¡±


    ***


    I transformed back into my human form. Dark energy kept oozing out of my body. Currently, the mark on my chest already covered almost my whole body. The only thing that isn¡¯t covered is the head. Though that is the case, the mark is slowly crawling upwards, devouring all in its way.


    I stood up, my side took some serious damage from Lance from the exchange earlier. Thanks to the dark energy, the wound is slowly recovering and the pain is easing up. I tried using the dark energy to make the pain in my head ease up as well but it doesn¡¯t work and it actually made it worse.


    With Lance in his berserk state, he completely lost his sanity. He was rampaging around the vicinity, attacking all that is in its way. With Bel pushed out of the way, she was laying on the ground at the side of the area. She was safe for now but with Lance rampaging around, sooner or later, she will get caught up with all the commotion going around.


    She seems to be in pain as well. I didn¡¯t really hold my strength back when I shoved her to the side because everything happened so fast. Since Bel received a full force of my tackle, she cannot get up and run away but I couldn¡¯t care less. Right now, there¡¯s only one thing I have in mind. And that is ¡®to kill¡¯. I want to kill the stronger ones, I want to know the limit of what I can achieve with this power.


    I smiled. I don¡¯t know what kind of smile is on my face right now. I figured it was an evil smile but I couldn¡¯t care less. I don¡¯t know why but I¡¯m feeling better when I¡¯m having these thoughts. The pain in my head recedes a bit as well. I wonder if it will be gone if I kill a couple of people here.


    I laughed. Power is truly marvelous!


    I shadowed travel towards Lance. In an instant, I traveled a couple of meters and arrived at the back of Lance. I immediately punched his sides and he got blown away. So much for being the second strongest in the pack. I immediately looked for another opponent. Unfortunately, there¡¯s no one worthy around. Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.


    Just as I was thinking of going to a different location, I sensed a slight movement towards my rear. I reacted to the small movement and dodged the attack. Lance shadowed travel as I did earlier. I guess his body is overflowing with energy especially in a full moon so I guess he won¡¯t be taken down easily. Good! Small fries won¡¯t give me the fun that I wanted.


    With Lance going on a full rampage, his attacks can be easily read. There are no techniques behind it, only brute strength.  He thought that he will win with strength alone but I¡¯m here to shatter his thoughts! After I sidestepped his attack, I countered with another punch, this time, I aimed it towards his jaw.


    Having received my attack, Lance once again flew away for a couple of meters. Even with the huge buff in power, if he cannot wield it properly, it will become useless. The Lance right now isn¡¯t in a condition where he can manage his newly found powers properly.


    Unfortunately, I cannot belittle the power received from the Gods above. Lance stood once again and all the wounds he received from my attacks earlier slowly healed. Though it¡¯s not as fast as the regenerative properties of the dark energy, it¡¯s still pretty decent.


    Thus, I needed to end this fight before it drags on. I shadowed travel to his location once again before he healed his wounds. I punched his sides once more and followed up with a kick towards his temple. The power exerted through this exchange is simply amazing! I laughed towards the punching bag I¡¯m facing right now.


    ¡°What¡¯s up, Lance? Aren¡¯t you the second strongest? What¡¯s wrong? Why can¡¯t you fight back?¡± The feeling I¡¯m having in my heart is awesome. Being toyed around for so long, I can finally vent my anger towards my younger brother that bullied me. I laughed and laughed while keeping my barrage of attacks.


    After a while, my body is covered with blood, though it¡¯s not mine but Lance¡¯s. He was laying in front of me, finally unconscious. With the moon¡¯s powers, Lance is still slowly regenerating but I concluded that once he regained his consciousness, his berserk state will be long gone, and the power boost will be disabled as well. Such, there is no more reason to stay here.


    I looked around and I saw Bel. She somehow recovered from the incident earlier and was now standing while supporting herself with a tree branch. She was staring at me, frightened. I smiled. She shivered. Yes, the Kane she knew is gone. I now have the power to change everything. I laughed and I continued to walk towards the deeper parts of the mountains, hoping to encounter more clansmen.


    ¡°Master, wait!¡± Seeing me leaving, Bel tried to call out to me. She was confused, she wanted an explanation to all of this. I turned around and stared at her. Since she has done a lot for me, I won¡¯t harm her but if she tried to stop me, I won¡¯t hesitate to retaliate.


    ¡°You¡¯re not Master Kane, what have you done to him?¡± Bel was crying, she cannot accept the fact that I¡¯m the master she cared for so much. Her master was now standing in front of him, covered with both blood and dark energy while having an evil look on his face. She cannot accept what she¡¯s seeing at the moment and I don¡¯t care.


    ¡°What do you mean? I¡¯m Kane. It¡¯s just that¡­ I¡¯ve finally awakened.¡± After I said that, I turned around going deeper in the forest. No matter what Bel shouted, I didn¡¯t turn back. I don¡¯t have time for this. I finally obtained the power I wanted. It¡¯s a waste not to use it.


    I sighed. ¡°What do you want?¡± I turned around once more and I saw Bel shadowed travel towards my rear. I didn¡¯t evade since I doubt she will do anything to me. After she materialized, she tackled me and hugged me.


    ¡°Master, wake up! Don¡¯t let the dark energy devour you!¡± She was crying while holding me tight. My head suddenly felt a sharp pain. After she touched me, something resonated inside of me, and it gave an unpleasant feeling. I don¡¯t like it.


    ¡°Let go of me!¡± I tried to shove her away once more but she firmly held onto me. My head is about to burst so I used more strength to push her away from me. Being weak because of the incident earlier, Bel finally let go after facing a huge amount of pressure coming from me.


    The pain in my head is gradually getting worse. I need to kill more. The stronger they are, the better. Or else, I¡¯m starting to get insane. My eyes got darker and when I was about to leave, I felt a strong presence arriving.


    At that moment, I knew that this is it. If I defeat this person, my head will be fine, everything will be fine. I can¡¯t stand back to this. This is what I¡¯ve been finding.


    I turned around and looked towards the direction of the approaching presence. It was slowly approaching the area and it was giving a huge amount of pressure to whoever faced it. I smiled. I knew who this person was.


    There was only one person that can give this kind of strong aura, my eldest brother. The alpha. If I defeat this person, then my mother¡­ NO! I¡¯m not the same Kane anymore. I don¡¯t care about my mother. I don¡¯t care about anyone.


    After suppressing the feeling inside me, I looked towards my prey. He slowly walked towards the vicinity. After a while, he scanned the area and saw Lance unconscious on the side. His brows slightly twitched and he turned his vision towards my position.


    ¡°Kane, did you do this?¡± Seemingly noticing the oozing dark energy revolving around my body, his face darkened further. I¡¯m sure that he received a call or something to suppress Lance since he went berserk, probably from the butler earlier since he was nowhere to be seen at the moment.


    ¡°Yeah, what about it?¡± I provoked him further. I wanted to get on a fight with him.


    ¡°I see. Then, I guess there are no rooms for words then?¡± His face was serious, I knew that when I fight him, the chances of me winning was close to none. However, that was when I was a weakling. Right now, I have this power that can change the world and I¡¯m going to start with him.


    I laughed. Then he disappeared. He¡¯s fast but I activated my own shadow travel as well and transported into a different location.


    The fight finally started.

 Chapter 18 - Strength

    What does it mean to be truly strong?


    A hero said it is to save the princess.


    A father said it is to protect his family.


    A young boy said it is to live up to the expectations.


    What does strength imply? What is its purpose?


    Different people may have a different view on strength. Even for myself.


    Strength is something I already abandoned long ago. I used to pursue strength and it was the only thing I have in mind back then. Ironically, when I abandoned it long ago, I felt that I was stronger than before. My idea of strength back then was dragging me down and was doing more harm than good.


    After I stopped pursuing strength, my mind and body suddenly felt light. I don¡¯t have to be chained in the never-ending cycle of pursuing strength. For just once, I felt that I really wanted to do something. That I don¡¯t have to be tied down to my family.


    However, reality betrayed my newly found life. In this world, strength is everything. The weak don¡¯t have the right to comply. They don¡¯t have the freedom to pursue what they want. Only the strong have the capabilities to hold their dreams. If you don¡¯t have the courage and strength to protect your dreams, reality will kick you down.


    In this world, the weak ones are gobbled up. They are used as a stepping stone for the stronger ones to be stronger. In the end, only the strong ones can stand firm and talk about his dreams. Reality is indeed cruel.


    ***


    Two shadows flew at a rapid pace. If one does not react fast enough, he may not see clearly what is going on at the moment. Even more so for normal humans, even if they walk across the land, they may not notice that something is happening right before their own eyes.


    I went and attack my eldest brother whenever I got the chance. However, things aren¡¯t exactly going my way. Every attack that I sent towards my brother either gets blocked or dodged. There are also some instances that he counterattacks. After a couple of exchanges, I¡¯m already at a complete disadvantage.


    Even with the huge power boost that I received from the dark energy forced on me by the black wolf, I still can¡¯t hold my own towards my eldest brother. He is on a whole new different level. The alpha, my eldest brother, is a genuine strong person. He isn¡¯t like Lance over there that has to rely on connections and schemes to get into where he is right now.


    He trains his body a lot, and unlike my parent¡¯s attitude, he isn¡¯t someone who is unjust towards his own family. The only thing I hate about him is that he is too strict and upright on his own virtues and morals.


    Compared to me, my eldest brother is worthy of obtaining the title and responsibility of the alpha wolf on the pack.


    Knowing that I still went and engage in a head-on fight with him. I want to test the limits of my new power. I can also escape if things get too tough for me to handle. My biggest question I have at the moment is where will I go? Well, things will handle themselves later. For now, I need to focus on this fight first.


    The alpha kept pressuring me more and more and I kept dodging. At first, I can still attack for a bit whenever there¡¯s a chance but at the moment, I cannot see an opening that will give me a chance to counterattack. His attacks are also getting more and more vicious as time goes on.


    So this is the alpha wolf. The vision I saw earlier suddenly flashed on my mind. The scene where the jet black wolf used its dark energy surrounding its body to harm the opponent and wear him out slowly.


    I utilized my dark energy to be denser around my body. I also focused on the area where my brother attacks so even though I do get hit, there will be drawbacks in doing so since there¡¯s a thick layer of dark energy surrounding my body.


    Seemingly noticing the subtle changes on my body, my eldest brother stopped attacking and pulled back a few meters away from me. He stopped moving and observed me for a while. I stopped moving as well to recover some stamina.


    His senses are sharp as always. He noticed almost immediately after I deployed the dark energy around my body. The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there.


    ¡°Relying on something as petty as dark magic. You¡¯ve changed Kane.¡± After a while, my eldest brother was the first one to speak.


    ¡°Petty?¡± I laughed after hearing those words. ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter if it¡¯s petty. After I destroy the whole world, nothing will question whether this power is petty or not. None of that matters to me anymore.¡±


    ¡°I see.¡± He further furrowed his brows, deep in thought. ¡°I thought that I could still save you but if the dark energy already infiltrated your body deep enough for you to have those thoughts, then I guess there¡¯s nothing I can do for you anymore other than to stop you with my own hands.¡±


    After speaking those words, a bright light suddenly covered his whole body. The light was so bright that it illuminated the whole area. I unconsciously stepped back a bit and averted my gaze since staring at him directly seems impossible.


    ¡°What¡¯s that?¡± I¡¯m not really sure if he will answer my question. Revealing my your trump card to others isn¡¯t exactly a bright idea.


    ¡°It¡¯s holy magic. It¡¯s specifically used to counter dark magic like yours.¡± I see. So he knew how to deal with this kind of situations. Is holy magic that common? Up until now, I haven¡¯t had the slightest idea that it exists. Maybe because he is the alpha wolf that he knows this kind of magic.


    Seeing that his holy magic is much stronger than my dark energy. I started having thoughts of escaping. However, escaping from my eldest brother, the alpha wolf, isn¡¯t something easy to do. It would be just as hard as defeating him in the battle itself. However, seeing that he has magic that can counter my own magic, winning against him is deemed impossible.


    There¡¯s a chance on escaping, however, but it will be hard. Things will not go the same as the vision since my eldest brother obviously isn¡¯t worn out unlike the opponent on the vision. Escaping an alpha wolf covered with anti-dark magic will be tough.


    Seeing hesitation in my actions, my eldest brother started to attack. I quickly dodge the attack knowing that even a scratch will be fatal especially if holy magic is involved. Taking advantage of the difference in the type of magic, my eldest brother attacked more fiercely and quicker giving me a huge pressure.


    I focused my whole attention to dodging the attacks and observing his movements, looking for an opening I can use to make a run for it. Unfortunately, this guy isn¡¯t the alpha wolf for nothing. He didn¡¯t leave me any openings that I can take advantage of. He also attacked quicker to build the pressure up making it harder for me to dodge. And he doesn¡¯t seem to be wearing out so I¡¯m guessing that he can keep this up for a good while.


    My stamina is starting to reach its limit. I also started to take hits from my eldest brother attacks. Each hit was hard and it also dissipates the dark energy around my body. As time went on, I¡¯m starting to have a hard time moving my body. Maybe being hit with holy energy can affect my body more than what I anticipated it to be.


    ¡°I should be ending this. I¡¯m sorry that I cannot save you anymore, little brother.¡± My eldest brother said that as he increases his speed of attacks. This time, I cannot dodge his attacks anymore. I can only defend, hoping that it will make his attacks less effective.


    Each attack was hard and it penetrates my defenses easily. I gritted my teeth and received the attacks one after another. I can taste the blood on my mouth right now. It was a painful experience. Still, I didn¡¯t give up, I keep pulling away from him even knowing that it¡¯s useless. There may come a time that he would put his guard down and that maybe my chance to escape.


    I collapsed on the ground. My whole body was in pain and I cannot move my body anymore. I refuse to accept that this is the end but my body isn¡¯t listening to me anymore.


    ¡°You are one tough creature. It took a while for the holy magic to take effect on you. The dark energy inside you was deeper than I thought. I guess it¡¯s not surprising seeing you in that state.¡± My eldest brother looked down on me on the ground. I glared back at him, refusing to accept that he defeated me already.


    Seeing my glare, my eldest brother snorted. ¡°Hmp, even if you stare at me like that, it won¡¯t change anything. This will be your last stop Kane, I cannot have you in the family seeing you corrupted with dark energy.¡±


    I forced my body to move but it betrayed my expectations. Maybe it¡¯s just as he said, holy energy is already restricting my movements from the inside. I don¡¯t want it to end like this. All the talk earlier, dying aside, my pride will be utterly shattered in pieces. While lamenting at my own weakness, I suddenly heard a voice from afar.


    ¡°Master!!¡± I managed to squeeze a little bit of strength to turn my head towards the source of the voice. It was Bel. She was slowly crawling towards me. She was obviously injured but she kept dragging her injured body towards me.


    ¡°The head maid¡¯s daughter, stay out of this since you are innocent, I don¡¯t want to harm you. You are better of staying at the sidelines, I¡¯ll finish this quickly.¡±


    ¡°NO!!¡± Bel screamed and crawled towards the side of my body. The throbbing pain on my head reappeared seeing Bel.


    ¡°Stay away from me!¡± I shunned her away. I feel like this girl is dangerous. She makes me feel something unknown. My head always hurt whenever she is near.


    ¡°Master, where is Master? What have you done to him?¡± I didn¡¯t reply since my head is madly throbbing and I cannot push her away since I cannot move my body anymore. She kept shaking me, begging me for answers while crying.


    Stop it. My head hurts. I cannot bear this anymore.


    ¡°I see. If you wish to die by his side then so be it.¡± Seeing him raised his arms to launch an attack towards both of us, I felt uneasy inside. My rage plummeted. Pride? I don¡¯t care about that anymore. Since when did I care about what they think?


    ¡®I don¡¯t want him to hurt Bel.¡¯ That was the voice inside of me said.


    And I answered that voice. I transformed back into my wolf form. This time, I was a jet black wolf.

 Chapter 19 - Subconscious

    Nothing. This world is nothing. I feel nothing.


    What¡¯s happening? Why is it so dark? Actually, I take that back, I quite like the darkness.


    I want to sleep. Just let me rest, please.


    A lot happened this past couple of days. Things are getting bothersome recently. I don¡¯t want to deal with it anymore. Thinking about it made my head hurt really badly. Leave me alone already.


    I guess it¡¯s all over now? Nothing seems to be out of place.


    Yes. Just like this. Sleeping in a dark room, no one is going to bother me anymore.


    I can sleep all day. No one will wake me up. No one will make me run those stupid missions anymore. There will be no classes, annoying classmates and teachers. There will be no bystanders trying to whisper some gossips around me. Some alone time with myself, just like how it used to be.


    ¡®Master, wait!¡¯


    Was that Bel? I see. Maybe it¡¯s time for me to have breakfast already. Wait for me Bel, I¡¯ll get up after a while, I¡¯m still a bit sleepy.


    ¡®You¡¯re not Master Kane, what have you done to him?¡¯


    What do you mean Bel? Who are you talking to? It¡¯s me. The usual lazy Kane, right? I¡¯m sleeping and laying around like usual. Nothing¡¯s new right? You probably saw me in this state countless times already.


    ¡®Master, wake up! Don¡¯t¡­ energy¡­ you!¡¯


    A sharp pain was suddenly transmitted to my whole body. The area around me also shooked a bit. What was that?


    I can¡¯t quite understand what you¡¯re talking about, Bel. If you want to say something to me, speak clearly! What was that about energy? Are you saying that I¡¯ve been sleeping for so long that I already have enough energy? I get it, I¡¯m gonna get up now. Where¡¯s my breakfast?


    I opened my eyes. I was in my room, laying in my bed. Huh? Why did it strike me as weird? Should I not be somewhere?


    I turn around and I saw Bel, standing in her usual spot, giving of her usual gentleness and warm smile towards me. Why does this make me feel like I¡¯m doing something wrong?


    What¡¯s wrong with me today? I¡¯m feeling something odd is happening. However, looking at the current situation, nothing seems out of place. Was my gut feeling wrong?


    ¡°Master, what¡¯s wrong?¡±


    Maybe she noticed something is wrong with my expressions, Bel voiced out her worries while looking at me with a worried face. My breakfast was neatly placed on the table at my room. She picked up the nearby kettle and poured some coffee to my cup, she then handed it to me. She did all this while keeping a worried look over her face and glancing towards my direction from time to time.


    I sighed. She really is a good person. Too good for me, to be honest. I lightly shook my head.


    ¡°Nothing, I¡¯m fine. Thank you for this as always.¡± I lightly smiled at her to show my appreciation. I then started eating the food on the table. As always, Bel¡¯s coffee and food are suited very well to my taste. I enjoyed everything served on the table while Bel stood quietly on the side.


    I sometimes feel kinda bad when Bel just stood there on the side watching me eat. I remember one time I asked her to eat with me and she rejected the idea as her mother taught her that a great maid shouldn¡¯t share a meal with her master on the same table.


    When I told her that I¡¯m worried that she may be hungry while watching me eat, she told me that all maids on the mansion eat at the same time at a separate room. So I shouldn¡¯t worry about her and focus on enjoying the meal. Really, aren¡¯t servants good-natured?


    Right after I finished my meal, Bel quickly went to work, cleaning the plates and cups on the table. She also handed a cup of water to me. I heavily rely on Bel. It¡¯s been on my mind whether that is good or bad. To be honest, with or without Bel, I think that my lifestyle will be the same as ever. However, having Bel around is handy as ever. She makes my life way easier. That is why I¡¯m deeply thankful for her.


    Huh? The feeling of uneasiness came back. I didn¡¯t notice while I am having a meal earlier. Actually, it went off my mind, I just noticed it by the time after the meal. What¡¯s this? Why is every single thing in this room makes me so uneasy?This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings.


    Something may be wrong here. I rely on my gut feeling most of the time. It was never wrong. However, this kind of feeling, I can¡¯t actually tell what it was. I don¡¯t know whether it is something good or bad. That is why I feel so uneasy.


    I decided to roam around the house, to see if there is something unusual going on. I can¡¯t sleep like this.


    ¡°Bel, I¡¯m going to go around the house for a while. You can do anything, for now, I¡¯ll call you back once I¡¯m back here at my room.¡± I ordered Bel to leave, for now, I can¡¯t put off this feeling that I¡¯m having. I¡¯ll go around observing anything suspicious on the pretext that I¡¯m going for a walk.


    As I stood up from my chair, Bel suddenly held the bottom sleeve of my shirt.


    ¡°Master. I believe I cannot let you pass this door.¡± She stood there, blocking the way out of my room. I grew suspicious. Is there a reason that Bel cannot let me outside?


    ¡°No, I¡¯m just going around for a walk.¡± I retorted.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Master. However, you absolutely must not go out this door. It is for your own safety.¡± I furrowed my brows. This is definitely suspicious.


    For my own safety? My gut feeling is right, something is happening outside. So that¡¯s the reason why the windows are all closed and the curtains are down. The weird thing is, I don¡¯t hear something happening outside. My keen senses should be able to pick even the slightest of the noise of vibrations on the air, even if it is something outside of this room.


    ¡°Was going for a walk consider dangerous nowadays?¡± I persisted on going outside. I want to see this myself. Also, Bel is acting kinda weird. She never opposed anything I did before. In actuality, she did anything I want. Whatever it is, she always stood by my side, supporting whatever I choose to do.


    Bel acting this way added to my suspicions. What is this place? I want to get out of here.


    When I was about to open my mouth to ask something to confirm my suspicions, a bright light suddenly burst out of the window. The window covers were shattered and the blinding light entered the room, illuminating the darkness around us.


    Bel, who was behind me, immediately vaporized as soon as the light entered the room. I was shocked, I didn¡¯t expect it to happen. My gut feeling is right, something is happening outside. However, what confused me the most is that Bel was the only one vaporized, how about me? Why didn¡¯t I experience something similar? Especially since Bel is stronger than me.


    I looked towards the window, the light was warm but it contains a dense amount of magic. It was absolute and tyrannical. Despite me not burning, I can now understand why Bel was burned earlier. Wait, is that even Bel? I don¡¯t know anymore, I can¡¯t understand what is happening anymore.


    The answer lies across this door. Since no one is blocking the door anymore, I¡¯m free to open it anytime. However, I hesitated. Bel tried so hard to keep me away from this door. It was my first time seeing her oppose me like that, I can¡¯t shake off the feeling that maybe there really is something life-threatening behind this door, and I shouldn''t open it. I trust Bel to that extent.


    After a good while of thinking, I decided that I will open the door. It wasn¡¯t confirmed that Bel really did evaporate earlier. There is also the possibility that she is a fake since Bel was acting weird anyway and there¡¯s also the odd feeling that I¡¯m having. With that said, I ignored the risks and turned the doorknob.


    Outside was¡­ nothing. The outside is pure black, nothing to see or observe. The sense of emptiness is so strong that I had this feeling that it will swallow me whole. The feeling of uneasiness from earlier is stronger here. As I stepped outside, I was surprised that I have something solid to step on, I had this feeling that I¡¯ll fall or float around.


    I kept walking towards the endless darkness ahead of me. I don¡¯t know where would this lead me but staying inside that room isn¡¯t something I wanted. Thus, this is relatively better for my current situation.


    ¡°Where am I?¡± This world is strangely similar to the vision world. Maybe it is somewhat related, I cannot confirm it, however. Even walking for quite a while, nothing seems to be changing around the place.


    I¡¯m not sure how many minutes had passed, but I started to feel something around me. It was a faint aura. One may not notice it at first but because I¡¯m at a place where darkness reigns around me, I heightened my senses which made me pick up the slightest change in the surroundings.


    I noticed the aura that is slowly building up on the surroundings. The aura was familiar. It was something I saw before, but I don¡¯t quite recognize it to that extent.


    The aura kept building up more and more. The aura was slowly transforming to a blinding light, similar to the one I saw at the room before. It was eating the darkness around the vicinity. It was oddly weird.


    The aura felt warm. When a stroke of the aura passed in front of me, I touched it out of curiosity. I was expecting to be attacked like the darkness around, but contrary to my expectations, it just flowed around my hand before moving on.


    When the darkness around was completely consumed, I felt a huge wave of exhaustion on my body. It was so sudden that I collapsed on the ground. I cannot move my limbs anymore.


    Then I heard voices.


    ¡®Master!!¡¯


    My head throbbed like crazy. I feel like my head is going to burst anytime soon. It was a hellish experience. I cannot endure the pain any longer.


    ¡®Master, where is Master? What have you done to him?¡¯


    Dark energy started oozing out of my body once more, the surrounding blinding light immediately went to action to suppress the dark energy from my body. At first, the blinding light was winning in terms of density and strength of the aura. However, after a couple of minutes, it was instantly overtaken by the dark aura, it cannot be stopped anymore.


    Darkness filled the vicinity once more. It was at this moment, the jet black wolf that haunted my dreams for a couple of nights, emerged out of my body.