Fars pulled out a bottle of red wine from the ring and was pleasantly surprised to find a few glass cups among the miscellaneous items. He poured himself a glass.
Taking a gentle sip, Fars, having indulged in fine wines before, quickly realized this one was far from top-shelf. Mages could be quite frugal with their personal indulgences; they might spend lavishly on materials and experiments, but in their daily lives, they often practiced restraint, perhaps fearing that such luxuries would hinder their path to legend. Typically, only those mages who felt hopeless about advancing or those who simply loved to indulge would truly enjoy life.
This bottle of wine was worth only a few gold coins, but for the common folk, it could cover a month's expenses. After becoming a mid-level mage, Fars received a monthly stipend of just three hundred gold coins. But that didn't matter now; he felt quite content, enjoying the moment, especially in the solitude of the wilderness, sipping wine in such a carefree manner.
With the wine glass in hand, he stepped outside, pausing to savor the tranquility. The sunset outside blazed with fiery hues, the clouds in the distance glowing like molten lava, while the remaining light in the corridor illuminated the wine in his glass, making it appear even more blood-red. Fars gazed at the setting sun, patiently waiting for the day to fade. As the moon began to rise, he tilted his head back and drained the glass. The darkness and the alcohol quickened his blood flow, filling him with a sense of liberation.
Fars had not forgotten his intention to bury his companions. After stepping outside, he conjured a dark flame fireball to create a large pit in the ground, then returned to the treasure room to retrieve the two bodies. This physical labor posed no challenge for Fars's current physique, especially since the corpses had decayed into mere bones, significantly lighter. After checking for any scattered items, he quickly tossed the two bodies into the pit. Although the mage who had caused his death had left Fars with plenty of loot, it did nothing to lessen Fars's hatred for him, so he took out his anger on the corpse first.
Outside the treasure room lay four more bodies, making a total of seven people, confirming that they had arrived with eight. One had gone missing. The ruins were not large, and the task of moving the bodies was completed swiftly. After burying them himself, the moon had climbed high in the sky. The world was bathed in its silvery glow, casting a solitary shadow of Fars. As he chose the path of adventure, he couldn't help but reflect on the sorrow of lost lives; perhaps in a few decades, no one would remember them. Those who knew Fars likely thought he was dead as well. After his family fell into ruin, his relatives scattered, leaving only an old steward and a coachman to accompany him. His parents, unwilling to leave the land they had lived on for decades, chose to die on their estate. With the main figures remaining, the new regime wouldn't pursue them relentlessly, as there was little point in hunting down a group of fallen nobles who would be unwelcome anywhere.
Fars had fled to the Duchy of Yade, neighboring his homeland, the Osi Empire. For a political exile like him, there was no special treatment here. If Fars lived quietly under the guise of a mage, he would be welcomed and could likely settle down in peace. He knew that among his relatives who had also escaped, his sister had fled far away to the Roland Empire, where she had a relative who could help her get by. Fars had exchanged a few letters with her during his lifetime. As for the others, he had no idea where they had ended up. Now, he found himself nostalgic for those family members; his brother had died at the onset of the coup, and he hadn't had the courage to stay and face the impending tragedy with his parents. Who would remember him now? He hoped that not too much time had passed, and that he could visit his sister someday.
But he shook off such thoughts; he was no longer the Fars of old. Now, he was a vampire, and everything under the sun was merely a memory. What he needed to focus on was how to grow stronger and survive better.
There was still much for him to do. He had only just begun to grasp the Shadow Wings he had comprehended yesterday; he could manage to glide, but true flight was still far out of reach.
His stomach wasn't too hungry yet, so he decided to practice for a while. This time, Fars planned to find a higher vantage point to test his skills. Once he mastered gliding, he was confident he wouldn't suffer serious injury from a fall. Fortunately, the spoils in the ring included a map from the captain, and after studying it for a while, Fars chose a small cliff about thirty miles away to try out. The cliff was steep, roughly over a hundred meters high. In the past, he would never have considered jumping off a cliff, but now, with no rush, Fars eagerly made his way there.
After a day of rest, Fars felt he had improved his control over his body, likely due to the enhancement of his mental power.
Thirty miles at Fars's full speed took him just half an hour. If he had walked at his previous pace, it would have taken one or two hours. Now, he completed the thirty miles without even breaking a sweat; his physical condition had truly improved dramatically.
Standing at a height, one often feels a surge of ambition to look down upon the world. With the moon hanging overhead, Fars unfurled his wings without hesitation and leaped off. He tried to use his mental power to manipulate the surrounding elements to lift himself, easing the burden on his wings. The effect was promising; his body didn't immediately plummet but instead glided forward. Fars flapped his wings vigorously, but due to his inexperience with the rhythm, he eventually descended after a few minutes in the air. Fortunately, there were no predatory birds in the area, or he would have been in serious trouble.
Climbing back up the small cliff, Fars repeated the process of jumping down and climbing back up. By the time the moon reached its zenith, he had finally grasped some basic flying techniques, allowing him to stay airborne longer. Whenever he felt himself beginning to fall, he would flap his wings quickly to gain altitude. This time, he didn't fall because he couldn't fly; rather, it was due to exhaustion.
Having only consumed the blood of a small fox the previous night, Fars realized that the energy contained in the blood was minimal due to the fox's low level. Now, he felt a bit hungry and decided it was time to hunt something slightly stronger. For Fars, who had significantly increased in strength, this posed little difficulty. Even if he encountered a pack of magical beasts, he had enough skills to ensure his survival, avoiding a tragic end.
Since Fars had been circling the area for a while, most of the lower-level magical beasts had fled. Thus, he needed to find a new place to hunt. Still not quite proficient at flying, he opted to run instead. If he spread his wings to fly, the noise he would create at his novice level would likely scare off all the animals within several miles.
Fortune smiled upon Fars once more; during his run, he encountered a blue wolf, clearly much stronger than the small fox from the previous night. The wolf, upon spotting Fars, didn't flee but instead tensed its muscles, adopting a hunting stance. It was evident that it considered Fars as its next meal. Regardless of how pure his magical energy had become, Fars still exuded only mid-level strength. Although the dark aura surrounding him made the blue wolf uneasy, it was not about to let a potential meal slip away. Moreover, with the blue wolf's speed, it was hard to find a competitor in the outer regions of the Qihai Mountains, where it hunted alone. In the deeper parts of the forest, wolves typically hunted in packs, often working together to take down prey. A pack of hundreds of blue wolves, even if they were only mid-level magical beasts, could intimidate even high-level magical creatures.
Fars had no intention of fleeing. In his previous life, provoking such a fast beast with his mid-level mage strength would have been tantamount to seeking death. But now, the blue wolf was only slightly faster than him. Besides, he was a ranged attacker; as long as he could maintain the right distance, defeating the wolf wouldn't be too difficult. Furthermore, Fars's endurance in battle was significantly greater than that of his peers.
However, Fars remained cautious. He first leaped onto a large tree, finding a favorable position. Engaging the blue wolf on the ground would clearly be disadvantageous. The blue wolf was no pushover; upon seeing its prey climb a tree, it remained still, focusing intently on Fars, waiting for him to reveal a weakness for a decisive strike. While agile magical beasts are fast and possess explosive power, this comes at a cost to their bodies. If they persistently chase their prey at high speeds, the heat generated within could overwhelm their hearts, leading to collapse. Thus, the blue wolf merely adjusted its position, not launching an immediate attack. If Fars showed any signs of fear and attempted to flee, it would surely reveal a significant opening—an ideal moment for the wolf to strike.
Knowing the blue wolf wouldn't attack immediately, Fars began preparing his spells. He wasn't foolish; he understood the wolf was waiting for an opportunity, and aside from fleeing, the biggest opening would likely be during his casting. Fars needed to choose an appropriate spell to seize the initiative. Only then could he effectively deal damage and wear down the blue wolf.
Thus, Fars decided to start with a restrictive spell. A wise mage often avoids direct confrontation, holding back when engaging an enemy. Ensuring his own safety was paramount. Restricting the enemy was far better than trying to dodge their attacks. Considering the mid-level spells he knew, he had several options for restriction, but for now, he could only choose Shadow Touch.
As mysterious characters flowed from Fars's lips, the blue wolf began to grow uneasy, yet it still refrained from attacking. It sensed that Fars was targeting it with a spell (magical beasts possess high intelligence and often have their own innate spells). However, for such spellcasting prey (to less evolved magical beasts, humans and ordinary prey are not much different), the best time to strike was just as they were about to cast their spells.
Shadow Touch was not a complex spell, and Fars quickly prepared it, pointing his finger toward the area where the blue wolf stood. The wolf suddenly lunged at Fars. The tree wasn't very tall, and a few meters was an easy leap for the wolf. As the final syllable of the spell left Fars's mouth, several black tendrils shot up from the ground, wrapping around the wolf's hind legs and interrupting its forward motion. The restrained blue wolf temporarily abandoned its pursuit of Fars in favor of dealing with the annoying tendrils.
The blue wolf was a genuine magical beast; how could it not possess a few innate magical abilities? As a wind-type beast, it opened its mouth and unleashed a blade of wind, slicing through the tendril that bound it. Shadow Touch was a restrictive skill with little offensive power, and the tendril's defenses were weak, so it snapped easily. However, there were more tendrils, and the others lunged at the blue wolf. The wolf dodged left and right, managing to evade capture. Fars wasn't idle either; he quickly unleashed three Shadow Arrows at the blue wolf. Given the wolf's defenses, these wouldn't inflict serious damage; their primary purpose was to restrict the wolf and buy Fars time to prepare a more powerful attack.
Busy evading the tendrils on the ground, the blue wolf had no chance to dodge the incoming Shadow Arrows. It could only unleash another blade of wind to deflect one arrow, taking the remaining two hits directly.
The blue wolf howled in pain after being struck by two arrows, and a layer of shimmering light enveloped its body. Ignoring the tendrils, the wolf charged at Fars, and upon contact with the glowing aura, the tendrils began to smoke as if they were being burned, falling to the ground motionless. With the annoying tendrils out of the way, the blue wolf surged toward Fars.
In response, Fars conjured a large black fireball to greet the wolf. The wolf initially attempted to dodge, but Fars timed his spell perfectly, and the fireball struck it hard. The shimmering aura shattered, and the wolf was thrown to the ground. It was clear that this attack had inflicted some damage.
Realizing it could not handle this piece of meat, the blue wolf began to retreat, seeking an escape route. But Fars wouldn't let his meal slip away. He continued to harass the wolf with Shadow Arrows and Bone Prison, obstructing its escape while pursuing it.
Under the night sky, a wolf and a vampire engaged in a battle of endurance.