Chapter 33: Temptation and Crisis

Humans die for wealth, birds perish for food—the sudden sight of such a miraculous little tree would unsettle even the calmest heart. Shar watched coldly, his eyes detached as the giant wolf rose slowly, opening its eyes to fix upon the audacious human.

Totem beasts far surpassed ordinary wild animals in intelligence and could follow commands of moderate complexity; such a simple task as keeping watch was effortless for them. They were even clever enough to discern friend from foe and to decide whether to launch a deadly assault.

Today, that human clearly fit the definition of an enemy, so the beast attacked without hesitation.

Shar watched as a faint gray hue shimmered across the wolf’s body. Silently, it stepped into the shadows, seeming to meld with them, slipping from one tree’s shade to the next, circling behind its target.

Even as it prepared to strike, the totem beast remained utterly soundless—its cunning obvious.

Whoosh!

When it was less than ten meters away, it sprang high from the ground, aiming straight for the man’s unprotected nape.

At the last moment, the man finally reacted, rolling aside to evade the sudden assault.

His own totem beast appeared at last—a slender gray snake, no thicker than a chopstick, slithered from his collar and shot forward in a straight line, diving into the giant wolf’s nostril.

A terrified howl erupted as the wolf leapt in panic, crashing into a nearby tree trunk in a desperate attempt to shake out the snake. But the serpent burrowed in deeper, wreaking havoc from within, leaving the mighty evolved totem utterly helpless.

Shar watched, stunned, unprepared for such a dramatic turn, his mind racing.

It seemed the books were right—without ultimate evolution, these creatures were still little more than ordinary beasts. Only with ultimate evolution could a being undergo the final, supreme transformation, shedding its mundane nature to become something mythic.

Driven mad by the bizarre attack, the giant wolf rampaged, tearing through the woods with wild abandon. The scar-faced man, desperate but afraid to approach, could only watch as his totem beast was led away.

The death of his main totem would inflict grave harm, but with his meager strength, approaching would only result in being torn apart by the furious wolf.

“Damn intruder!”

The commotion roused the guardians in the stone house. Two figures in green robes emerged, one roaring in anger.

Another giant wolf was summoned, lunging at the hapless, scar-faced man, who fled in terror, vanishing into the forest with the wolf close behind.

The wolf with the snake still lodged in its nostril, crazed with pain, also bolted into the woods, ignoring its summoner’s commands, who chased after in desperation.

Left alone, the green-robed man summoned a gray bear totem to guard the area, cursing as he too plunged into the trees in pursuit of the intruder.

“Damn it, where did this rabble find the entrance? Has the location been exposed?”

Shar lay in silence on the ground, waiting until five minutes had passed before emerging from the underbrush, crushing a few bugs that had been crawling over him.

The insects here were terrifying—ants the size of fingertips, and strange worms as thick as his arm, all crawling over his body. Anyone else would have jumped up in horror.

Luckily, a layer of protective spirit-light shielded him, so the insects could not touch his skin, though their presence was still repulsive.

“Meeyuu!”

The little white fox cried out as it leapt from a branch onto his shoulder, quietly joining him as he crept toward the miraculous little tree.

Shar suppressed his excitement, scanning the surroundings with vigilance. Firefly perked up her ears, standing watch.

The little tree was a sapling of the Tree of Life, one of the network nodes that spanned the globe. Its fruit served as terminals to connect to the network.

Put simply, the tree was a mobile signal tower, and its fruit the equivalent of a cellphone.

Whoever claimed the “cellphone” could access the “network” freely—with infinite data and no fees.

Most crucially, the seed possessed a host of magical abilities, enough to make any spirit-tamer covetous.

“Heh, I didn’t expect another little bug here.”

Suddenly, a voice sounded behind him. The green-robed man had reappeared without warning, grinning wickedly from behind a nearby tree.

Shar’s hair stood on end as he instinctively shouted, “Firefly, attack!”

The little fox’s eyes gleamed with light as its psychic power surged, while Shar lunged forward, snatching the vibrant fruit from the treetop and fleeing without pause.

But it was futile. The spirit-tamer was immune to the fox’s psychic assault, his hands weaving complex signs as, in the span of a second, he summoned three totem beasts—a black crow, a burly gray rodent resembling a marmot, and an even more formidable black bear, rising upright to a height of over three meters.

Caw!

The crow shrieked and, like a bolt of black lightning, dove at Shar’s head, its talons as sharp as steel reaching for his throat.

If it struck, his head would surely be split open. Not even his protective spirit-light could withstand such ferocity.

In that perilous moment, Firefly threw herself at the crow, her small body striking it off-course. But she was battered to the ground by a wing strike, struggling to rise.

“Firefly!” Shar cried, scooping her up as he resumed his desperate flight.

Yet a black giant wolf appeared ahead, dashing his hopes of escape.

Clutching the little fox tightly, Shar realized the depth of his recklessness. The enemy had clearly spotted him and deliberately lured him out to be caught in one sweep.

And he had foolishly leapt into the trap, hoping to seize the grandest prize.

The fruit was like a fabled golden apple, its allure irresistible, drawing him into danger.

Still, he did not despair, for a familiar figure appeared ahead—a burly youth who shouted, “Little Black, smash it for me!”

A monstrous beast, over a meter long, charged like a maddened bull, colliding with the black giant wolf and nearly knocking it to the ground.

“What are you standing there for? Run!” Rody bellowed.

Shar immediately dashed forward, but both the black wolf and the mighty bear were upon them. With his speed, escape was impossible.

A glance at the waiting youth sparked a brief inner struggle, but he quickly resolved—he might not outrun the beasts, but if he could outrun the other man, he had a chance.

Yet before he could reach out, the youth grabbed him and pulled him behind, gripping his longsword in both hands and adopting a battle stance, leaving Shar utterly astonished.