主妇丈夫倡导的户外生活

Harker had learned to acquiesce with the presence of the wolf by his side.

It was never an easy thing to do, trying to get along with someone you don't really like. But he had actually been long used to it. When he was a child, when he grew older, and even after he became a demon lord. Pretending to be nice had been a normal part of his life, and perhaps to everyone's lives.

It's a mode of survival, acquiescence. You cannot survive with everyone despising you. You'd need allies, even when you distrust those allies and wouldn't sleep next to them without a knife.

At night, Harker would sleep closer to Blank and keep Ahanu and Joan as far away as possible. When asked why, he would make the excuse that he had the curse of the wendigo now and had to be looked after.

When really, it's him looking after the unpredictable suicidal man.

Blank had already attempted to wreak havoc by almost making his own little brother drink cursed wendigo blood. He had also asked if Harker would kill him if he was no longer human, so who knows if he would go as far as try to acquire the curse himself. In the mind of someone as twisted and desperate, everything was possible.

But Harker couldn't kill him either, because he was their guide up north. Ahanu very much loves his older brother despite being more or less aware of his tendencies, and Joan was completely in the dark about this whole affair. And….

It was true that Blank does play a part in protecting everyone from him too.

The hunger never dissipated, and Harker's mind was still overridden with thoughts that latched onto his brain like thorny vines.

Harker tried not to sleep, but it was inevitable for him to slip every now and then from the fatigue. And once he gives in to exhaustion, the beast will come out. He had learned to chew on mint leaves and even put them in his eyes, but that never really gave him the energy to fight off sleep, only pain to keep him up.

So instead, he resolved to talk and mutter about random things.

While everyone was at rest, he would speak to Yan in hushed tones, who could reply telepathically and without materializing.

"Show me the Wendigo ability now." He said softly.

Yan showed the holographic screen in his mind's eye.

[Wendigo's Ability

Raw Power: R

Endurance: C

Range: B

Speed: R

Precision: B

Potential: C ]

"As expected, it has high physical strength and speed. Low potential due to being an already strong ability." He said. "But I've been wondering about the Shape shifting Ability. How do I improve those stats?"

"Oh. You are actually about to experience an Ability Ascension, Master." The eyeball said in his head.

Harker scrunched up his eyebrows. "What the heck is that? You never told me about that."

But then again, this useless system assistant never really told him much unless he straight up asked it. He should have expected it still hides a lot of facts and functions that his ability has.

Harker does feel like an idiot about this, but then again, there were just so many things happening all at once that you can't blame him for several things escaping his memory at times. He felt even more forgetful than an old man with Alzheimer's.

"Ability Ascension is when you have absorbed so much that all your stats would be upgraded based on your feats. For example, you pushed through the limitations of your Absorption Space by forcing yourself to eat a lot of wolves, owls, and deers, right?"

"Yes. What about it?"

"After Ability Ascension, there's a likely chance that your Absorption Limit stat would rise up by a tier. Everything of course would gain more stat points, but since we use a tier system, the changes are only visible every time you rise up by a tier. Or would you like me to show you the numbers—"

"No need for numbers. The changes are only noticeable when you change a tier anyway."

"Alright then. Anyway, besides Absorption Limit, it's hard to tell what other stats would be rising up a tier after your Ability Ascension."

Harker rubbed his chin. "So it's like leveling up in those video games Roland and Kian are playing?"

"Exactly." Yan said ever so cheerfully. "Do you have any more questions, Master?"

"Can you... tell me more about your memories with….. I mean, before Xi Hua became your Master? Why were you locked for a very long time?"

The eyeball was hesitant to talk about this Quan Zhi guy and mentioning him might make him fold like a mimosa again. So Harker tried to ask indirectly instead, just to gain more insight on him. When he thinks about it, Yan was no different from Blank.

He was someone that he knew a few major pieces of information about, but not the complete picture. He had learned to acquiesce with him, but still won't trust him no matter how 'necessary' he was to his goals.

"O-Oh…. I was locked because there had been a war, and I was so scared that I had to hide there. But I accidentally locked myself up permanently and can't escape."

"What war?" Harker asked.

"The war. It's a big one."

Harker could tell the eyeball won't budge any further from this. He then decides to ask something else.

"Since you transcend time and space, can't you just tell me the location of the Shards right now?"

"You mean like a hit list? Who keeps them and where?" The eyeball asked, as if a kid confirming the orders from him.

"Yes." Harker said.

Yan then replied with a simple 'okay', and then...

A bunch of different words swarmed Harker's mind like bees. He couldn't capture a single one of them, and they just moved endlessly out of reach.

"What the fuck is this!? I told you to make a list."

"This is the list, Master. You said you wanted to know who they were and where, but never gave instructions whether on which order, or what information about the holders I should include, or whether I place coordinates or address, or—"

"I get it already! The 'willing, not asking' thing! Just get them all out of my head, I'm already getting a headache from the curse as it is!"

And as he said that, the swarm of random information finally went away.

pαпdα`noνɐ1`сoМ Harker breathed deeply. Seriously, he should really learn how to do that 'willing' thing. Maybe then he can get the truth he wanted from this eyeball, from his past all the way to those Shards.

It turned out that being a Master was also a skill. A good master needs to know how to instruct properly on what to ask a servant, especially something as childlike as Yan.

But since he was running in 0 sleep, there's no way he'd have the right mental capacity to think straight, let alone do this 'willing the servant' thing.

Yan sounded embarrassed, as if he didn't expect that he would be so alarmed by doing what he was asked to. "I'm sorry, Master."

Harker waved his hand. "It's fine. One way or another, I'll get those Shards anyway."

He massaged his temples but was too much in pain and exhaustion to do a good job at it. Suddenly, he felt two hands pressed over his own as well.

"Who are you talking to, friend? Are you losing your mind from not taking a wink of sleep?"

Harker gritted his teeth as one of the sources of his headaches appeared.

"Ain't your business if I'm gone cuckoo and muttering to myself." He said. "That's as far as it would get, I won't lose a grip over my wits and go as insane as you."

"Oh?" Blank smiled. "You do know there's an easy solution for you to sleep, right?"

"And what's that?"

Blank showed a bunch of ropes with that large grin.

"We sleep tied up to each other."