Character Information - Who is who?

Because I have created quite a variety of characters, I will now create little cheat sheets before a chapter for the characters who will appear in the chapter, but not for those who haven't. Please open the spoiler if you need some reminders. (Be careful, it can be a spoiler for the chapter!)

Alexander K. Leonandra (Wolf-kin)

* Transmigrated from the Earth and the MC

* The fourth child of the current Leonandra household

* Golden eyes

* Snow-white fur and hair color

Narsiz K. Leonandra (Wolf-kin)

* The second child of the current Leonandra household

* Specialized in administration, economy, etc. (bureaucracy)

* Brother of the MC

* Golden eyes

* Golden-blonde fur and hair color

Marisia S. Leonandra (Wolf-kin)

* Lady of the Leonandra household

* A user of the wild-demon energy

* Mother of the MC

* Golden eyes

* Crimson red fur and hair color

...

Later in the bathhouse

Two wolf-kin sat in a small but luxurious bathhouse. They both sat on fine stone stools, which were engraved with vines. Behind them was a relatively small pool, but big enough for multiple people to fit in.

Multiple chandeliers on the ceiling shone a soothing greenish light from mana artifacts. The pool was already heated by mana artifacts and steamed slightly.

The bathhouse was part of the mansion where Alexander and his retainers lived. Usually, only someone at age ten would have his own living place, but this little puppy was different, so it was decided to make it more comfortable for him and his people.

In the same mansion also lived Narsiz, who had his housing close to Alexander's wing. Thus, after he visited him without saying much and only wanted closeness, Narsiz decided to bathe together, especially after he smelled his little brother.

Narsiz sat behind Alexander, who leaned slightly against him while his hair was shampooed with some plant extract and oil mixture.

While Narsiz massaged Alexander's hair, he asked, "So, will you tell me why you pulled me out of my bed?"

"I..." Alexander could not answer it, or rather didn't want to.

"Nightmare?"

"No..." he shivered slightly after remembering everything he went through, "...worse."

"Hm."

Alexander was silent for five minutes while Narsiz murmured a song while shampooing his hair, "Tail."

Alexander moved his tail to him, and he started to shampoo it too. This felt like balsam for the soul.

Narsiz tried to change the topic, "So, do you really wear your bracelets the whole day?"

Alexander nodded.

It was silent again for a minute.

"How heavy do they make you?"

Alexander tried to move his tail instinctively, but Narsiz held it softly but firmly, "Sorry... it triples my weight."

"Hm."

Minutes later.

"Back?"

Alexander nodded, "Please."

Narsiz stood up, got a washcloth, and returned, sitting behind him. He started rubbing slowly and softly.

"Does it help against the mana disbalance?"

Alexander nodded, "Yeah, I felt some disbalance but thought it was only that I was tired or because of my growth, but it went away after a week as I started to train with the bracelets."

"Hm."

A minute later.

"Is it the lowest increase?"

Alexander shook his head, "No. The lowest was around double, but I needed to increase it after I started to train for the play I made for Janina."

"Hm."

Little time later.

"Do you like it?"

"Very much."

"You sat beside Lori and Sarah, right?"

"Hm."

"Do they like it?"

"Very much so. After the human imitated Nina's voice, Sarah fell down from the chair, laughing."

"I am happy that everyone liked it."

"Hm."

Minutes later.

"Do you want to rinse down the soap and go to the bath?"

"..."

"Alex?"

Alexander bent forward, and Narsiz could hear him crying.

He turned Alexander around and took him in his arms, hugging him firmly while patting his head. Alexander couldn't hold it anymore and cried loudly, weeping and pressing his head into his brother's chest.

Minutes later, Alexander slowly pushed himself from his chest, looking a little ashamed, "Thanks..."

Narsiz tilted his head slightly, "Why?"

"I mean... never mind."

The wolf-kin teen chuckled, "Hehe, why? Because you cried? Do you know how much Sarah was of a crybaby? Even Lori was not much better."

Alexander looked in disbelief with his teary eyes at his brother, "No way? Wasn't there a story where she even beat down a guard at some noble ball?"

"Oh, this? I was there too, and she cried and yelled while rearranging the guard's face with his shield..." Narsiz laughed out loud, "Hahaha! You needed to be there."

"They bullied her, right?"

"Yeah, her and our family, basically. She cried, and then they bullied her more, and something snapped in her. She suddenly started ripping into other children while crying, haha!"

Alexander went suddenly very quiet, shivering slightly. Narsiz noticed it and tried to comfort him, "I won't force you to tell me what is going on, but if you want to tell me, I promise not to tell anyone else."

"..."

Narsiz took a bucket full of water and slowly washed the soap from Alexander away. He overturned another bucket over himself, cleaning all the soap out in an instant.

He stood up and took Alexander's hand, "Come."

Alexander nodded, and they went to the small pool of hot water.

Minutes later.

Narsiz sat cross-legged while Alexander sat ajar to him, while Narsiz petted him.

"I killed someone."

This catched Narsiz off guard, "In your dream?"

Alexander shook his head, "Skill test."

"Hm."

Minutes later.

Alexander shook slightly, "I... it wasn't the only problem."

There were stories from soldiers after they killed someone and were ok, but some could not deal with it and were given other positions. They started drinking heavily and became wrecks, but hearing that his little brother killed someone in a skill test, and that wasn't the only problem, was surprising for him. He raised an eyebrow in disbelief and was lucky his little brother didn't see this. Even imagining killing someone would make Narsiz shiver.

"What was the problem then?"

Alexander shivered again while leaning closer to Narsiz as the skin contact made him more relaxed, "It was a level 50 skill test on [Mana Manipulation] and..." he started retelling everything except the very modern parts like the whiteboard, "...so then he stabbed me."

Narsiz thought he listened to a seasoned mercenary, like one of his father's stories. Instead of going through the test how he should, Alexander just set the whole building ablaze, shooting those who fled with his contraptions, and then while fighting, he got heavily wounded and burned his wound deliberately to stop the bleeding.

He always knew that Alexander was exceptional. In some ways, he was very child-like: curious, naive, asking everything new to him, and direct, but in other ways, he was very adult-like, like in his ideas and philosophy.

On the other hand, this made him look like a seasoned veteran knight, and he believed him fully. His mystic skill [Smell of Deceit] worked passively, and every time someone lied, a terrible smell invaded his nose. He didn't smell anything when his brother told his story.

Alexander interrupted his thoughts as he wasn't done, "Then..."

What Narsiz heard made him think of Alexander as some madman, like in the stories he read as a puppy. Someone taking every ounce of his life just to take someone down.

Setting his own fangs and teeth on fire, burning his own tongue and innards of the mouth was an insane notion, and he didn't know what to think about it, but this changed quickly after Alexander explained what made him such a wreck.

Alexander had a teary voice and shivered more and more strongly, "It was something inside of me... a massive amount of blood lust invaded me as he stabbed me. It was taking over me, and then... everything else was like I acted without reason... I had no control of myself..."

Narsiz wrapped his arms around him, and Alexander grabbed them while he continued, "I... didn't want to kill but did it and excused this as a necessity and that it was only a skill test, but this... I wanted it to rip him apart... I enjoyed it. When I bit into his neck, and as the smell of burning flesh invaded my nostrils..."

He shook more strongly, and his tears started to run again, "I... Narsi... I don't want to lose myself again and hurt everyone around me... I..."

Narsiz hushed him, "It's fine. We will later talk with Mother. She should have a solution... is it fine with you?"

Alexander nodded and cried in his arms for the rest of the bath time.

...

Later in front of Alexander's room

"He is asleep?"

Narsiz nodded, "Yes, he cried the whole time and was heavily distressed."

Marisia frowned and clenched her hands so firmly that they turned white. Narsiz told her everything that Alexander went through in the skill test.

It wasn't unusual that there were such tests; they always built after the taker's personality and made the test more applicable. Killing others in a test said much more about a person than one thought.

"Is this father's bloodline?"

His mother nodded, "Yes, and sadly, he inherited it much stronger than I thought."

Narsiz tilted his head in confusion, "Stronger?"

Marisia nodded, "Yes. While your father went out of control sometimes in his rather... let's say, wilder times, he never enjoyed it as much as how Alexander described it."

Narsiz thought for a moment before he got an idea for a solution, "What about doing the same training as Lorient?"

Marisia shook her head, "This will not work. The demon energy is something external which invades the mind, but what Alexander and Kairoso have is much more ingrained into them..." She bit into her fingernail on her thumb, "...this is a problem."

This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

"Aren't there more cases? There surely must be a solution to this?"

Marisia thought for a moment and then shook her head again, "No, the solution was natural as most of them... died, and the bloodline became rarer and rarer with time. Nobody can survive for long if they go berserk, not caring for their own life. Some became even addicted to this feeling since they enjoyed it more than anything else."

Silence invaded the space before Alexander's room as both thought about what to do. It was a massive problem having a wild beast with the talent of an archmage going mad and killing mindlessly. Marisia would, without question, defend her son even if he destroyed whole cities, but she wanted to avoid it for obvious reasons.

She had an idea but was unsure about it, "I think I have an idea on how to solve it, but I need to prepare it and talk with Alexander beforehand."

Narsiz looked at her solemnly, raising an eyebrow, "What to do till then?"

She shook her head, "It will not take long, so he should relax and calm down till then."

Norsiz nodded solemnly and planned forward, "Should I go to Ms. Anastasia, Lorient, and Sarah to cancel his lessons for today?"

"Yes, he should relax for today and tell this also please to his disciple also..." She looked at him with a soft smile in a more motherly way, "... thank you for being such a great brother."

Narsiz's face suddenly flushed, but before he could say anything, his mother continued, "Please stay with him when he wakes up. I will join you later in the evening."

He nodded.

...

Later in the evening

Alexander was in his bed, laughing and talking with Narsiz, who was petting him and entertaining him already for an hour.

The door opened, and their mother came in with wide steps. Alexander was the first to comment, "Mom! What about privacy, hehe."

She frowned but was happy that Alexander was fine and that her sons bonded. She closed the door, came in, sat on a chair, and crossed her legs. All the motions she made were somewhat oppressive and signaled something alarming.

Both looked at her and understood what she was there for. Alexander became silent, and Narsiz frowned as he worked hard to cheer his little brother up.

Marisia sounded strict from the get-go, which was her usual, "I heard what happened, and I will be honest and don't beat around the bush. This is a problem, and luckily, there is a solution."

She didn't know if what she had in mind would work but lied nonetheless. Alexander's current problem could be something that could ruin his future in many different ways. From personal to his magic, everything was on the line.

Marisia needed to take extreme action because the problem was that severe. There was no other way; rather, she didn't want to sit idle and hope for the best. She would never forgive herself if this problem wasn't controlled and ruined her son's life while she did nothing.

Narsiz sniffed as he could smell a stink and only slightly warped his face in disgust as his mystic skill activated. He ignored it for now, hoping his mother had a good reason for this.

Alexander became more elated and asked, "What is the solution?"

She sighed, "Well, there is a straightforward way which is also very dangerous. Usually, only children from the seven guards in Moorgrel do it at around nine years of age."

Narsiz raised an eyebrow, "You mean the demonic baptism? Didn't you abolish this practice, Mother?"

Alexander's ears perked up, "What is that? I didn't read anything about it."

His brother explained it to him, "A very barbaric tradition which kills puppies..."

Marisia interrupted her son, "Stop it..." She then looked at Alexander and sighed, "He is right, though, that it is barbaric and dangerous as to why I stopped the tradition."

Alexander shrugged, "So? If it works, it works, but what must I do? Get some lambs and sacrifice them to call the devil?"

Narsiz frowned as he was worried for Alexander and didn't find it funny, "First, this is a rumor to blemish high demons in a bad light that they sacrificed lamb-kin, don't repeat such nonsense, and second, it cracks your mental state like a walnut."

Alexander made a mental note about the lamb-kin thing and concentrated on the problem at hand, "Pardon?"

Marisia now looked sternly at Narsiz. She knew he liked his little brother very much but didn't show it too openly since he was so reserved. Thus he was worried that something like a demonic baptism would in some way injure him heavily, but depending on the severity of her youngest son's mental state, it needed to be done.

"Your brother is right, even if he likes to exaggerate things. You will be attacked mentally with demonic energy, which needs to bring you over the metaphorical line of insanity while you need to hold onto your sanity with all you have."

Alexander raised an eyebrow, "Ok? Sounds about like psychological torture, and why was this a thing?"

"Because of a stupid skill."

"Skills."

Narsiz and Marisia stared at each other till Narsiz sighed and explained, "I didn't go through it, but I know what skill you can get. [Mental Control], a skill that works extremely well against the corrosive energy of the demonic energy on the mind."

Marisia continued, "It helps to control one's emotions to an absurd degree, which should also help with your problem, Alexander."

Alexander looked at both and shrugged, "Ok? But I have a lot of mental skills already, though. Couldn't I train them instead?"

Marisia looked at Alexander and asked something she would never do, but the situation demanded it, "What mental skills do you have? Only show them if you rea..."

Alexander cut her off as he really didn't care. He came from a world where everyone knew basically everyone's underwear size, so privacy wasn't a big deal to him, "[Determanation] at 14, [Noble's Pride] 7, [Mental Resistance] with 17, [Meditation] at 39 and [Focusing] with 18 but I also have [Pain Resistance] with 10, though I don't know if it is a mental fortitude skill."

Marisia sighed at the recklessness of her son but nonetheless thought about it for a minute before giving a suggestion, "That explained a lot."

Both boys tilted their heads in the same direction in confusion. As Marisia saw this cute scene, she smiled slightly and explained, "I will be blunt. Alexander, you have a strong ancient bloodline which is also very detrimental, so it was weird after listening to what Narsiz told me that it didn't happen much earlier. However, your relatively high skills explain why it happened only shortly before your... death."

She didn't tell him that the reason that he was that young was also a reason. As he got older, the problem would also grow and become worse. She hoped that he wouldn't also inherit the demon energy. Otherwise, it would be disastrous.

Alexander felt much more lively as this was the light he hoped existed in a very dark tunnel and that he didn't need to go through the demonic baptism, "This means I only need to level up those skills?"

Marisia shook her head, "No, your skills are more like a dam that holds the water back, which is your ancient bloodline. [Mental Control], on the other hand, will redirect the water away..."

She leaned forward and looked Alexander more intensely into his eyes, "I really don't want to force you, but if what you told me and your brother was what happened, you will need to go through the baptism to control this kind of bloodlust you have."

Alexander nodded, "I get it... when will it start?"

He wasn't against it and was instead a doer than someone who sat on his hands and hoped for the best. Worst case, he died, which almost made him laugh hysterically, 'This shit isn't funny, but if I don't do anything, I will live in fear of losing control... this isn't something I want to go through my entire life.'

Narsiz looked at his mother sternly, "Mother, are you sure? Is there no other way?"

Marisia shook her head, "Yes and no. We can wait and see if the skills really can hold back his bloodline and if Alexander was overreactive..."

Alexander chimed in, "I was not."

Marisia nodded to her youngest son and looked back at Narsiz, "What I want to say is, we can wait and see, but later on, the baptism will become practically impossible."

Narsiz frowned, "Right... there was this."

Alexander became confused, "What now?"

His mother explained, "The demonic baptism is by purpose torturing someone and trying to break through with the corrosive demonic energy to the limit of one's psyche, only short of madness, but what if your skills limit it? More power over a prolonged time is needed, and then if, for example, I broke through your skills, the sudden shock could be so extreme that you will actually become..." she clenched her hands into fists, "...mentally ill."

Narsiz became more serious, "Mother is right. After the legacy, it will become tough, and with you, it will probably be mostly impossible."

Alexander frowned but, after a moment, nodded, "I will do it!"

No need to wait for him. He leveled skills too fast, but there were always moments in life where they could fail, and if such a moment occurred, he would never forgive himself when he hurt a loved one because he didn't want to take this baptism out of fear.

Marisia looked at her son and sighed, 'At least I can stop it if something goes wrong.'

She had confidence in going through the demonic baptism without any problems since she had great control over her energy, but the problem was that Alexander was so young. His mental state could be very fragile, even though he showed confidence.

This was why they needed to find the perfect time to do it, which was usually around nine years of age, a year before their legacy. Too early, and there was maybe not enough willpower. Too late, and the shock created would be too big after going through all defenses.

Alexander became curious as to why they stopped it, even though it was, according to Narsiz, barbaric. It gave a great skill, "So, why exactly did we stop this tradition?"

Marisia explained, "This was how we trained for generations our children before they got their legacy. With this method, we believe the chance to get the demonic energy was higher..."

Narsiz interrupted her, "Which was never proofed."

Marisia continued after nodding toward her son, "But we also did it for the [Mental Control] skill since it helped the ones who received the legacy greatly, and even if not, the skill is great in general."

Narsiz brought up an example, "While I hate this practice, it was efficient. Lorient is under house arrest and training her mental fortitude skills because her legacy corroded her emotions and mind."

Alexander turned his head weirdly to look at his brother, "Is there a reason why you hate it so much? I get that it is barbaric. It's not that Sarah beating me up daily is less barbaric."

Narsiz grinned at his little brother, "Maybe Mother can tell you how many family members we have who didn't survive or became mentally broken after this baptism."

Alexander looked at his mother, who frowned at Narsiz, "Too many, which is why I stopped it. Other guard households keep using this method, but we will make an exception this time."

Narsiz didn't like it at all. Even though he had, before today, a relatively shallow kind of brotherly relationship with his little brother, he never doubted his love toward him, just like Alexander never doubted his. For him, his family and especially his siblings were most important, so the notion that his little brother went through something like this made him sick.

But he understood that if what Alexander said was the truth without any exaggeration, he would need every skill he could get his hands on, so he only criticized this terrible custom but understood that right now, even though it was dangerous, his little brother needed to get through this, 'Hope mother will stop if things get too dangerous.'

The atmosphere was only momentarily dreaded until the puppy said, "Hey! It could be worse, right? Now we have two healers in-house, Green and that bat-kin. What was his name again?"

Narsiz corrected him, "Three healers. We got another one, and his name was Peter."

Marisia corrected them, "Pierre, and yes, with Green and Lisa, another one, we can make it much safer than what I went through."

Alexander asked, "You went through it? How was it?"

She waved her hand in dismissal, "Nothing to note off. It would be incredibly dangerous and harmful if a little mistake happened. When your aunt visits us, you will see what can happen, but this is why I will do the baptism. I wouldn't trust anyone to do it right, but I will also hold at least two healers on hold, just in case."

Now Narsiz was piqued, "Why so lax with Alexander? I thought you would be much more on edge?"

She smirked slightly, "Alexander already had a breakdown with Kairoso, and his dreaded mana fear skill, so I think he is much more ready than someone from our family would ever be."

Alexander puffed his chest up, "Heh, it was a cakewalk."

Both in the room looked at him, and Marisia wanted to smack this arrogant and prideful puppy, but Narsiz was the first to respond, "I remember that your mental state and senses were crippled for at least a year."

Alexander ignored this. In his opinion, breaking some eggs to make an omelet was acceptable, "By the way, wouldn't that be a good solution if they went through something like I did? As something like a preparation?"

Marisia nodded, "Yes and no. We tried to find ways to make it safer, but we couldn't. There were cases where some families tortured their children extensively over long periods as preparation, resulting in worse overall results as their mental state deteriorated. Also, let's not talk about how they changed into psychopaths if they went through both successfully. You are an obvious exception."

Narsiz asked, "So this didn't work, but what were the exact problems?"

She sighed, "First and foremost, it needs to be quick. Otherwise, other skills, which are much less effective, will be gained over time. The one who does it needs exceptional control over the demonic energy like I do."

She leaned back in the chair and looked to the ceiling, "Someone with rough control can easily overshoot, which would be enough to scar someone mentally, and... well, let's say that this person becomes unsuitable for an average life."

Both boys now understood what happened with their aunt and why she lived in a small village far away from any significant population.

Narsiz suddenly understood something, "Is this why we learn energy control to a high degree?"

Marisia nodded, "Yes, I changed our priorities after taking over, and your father supported me... even though he is rather rough with his energy."

Alexander was confused, "I don't get it? What has control of energy to do with the mental state?"

Marisia looked at Narsiz to explain it, and he happily tried to do so, "The finer and more precise your control is, the better you can control the corrosive effect..." He looked at his mother for confirmation, "...right mother?"

Marisia nodded with a smile, "Absolutely right. It needs more time, but it is a work in progress. Lorient's control was excellent when she left to travel around. Still, it was not enough. So, it needs to be coupled with higher mental fortitude skills like [Meditation], which can be procured easily and safely, but now I would guess there needs to be another one..."

Alexander looked at her, elated, "Which one also?"

Marisia smirked, "[Lust control] which she will have after we imprison her at her first mating season, which should be in a month."

Narsiz frowned while Alexander found this interesting, "This skill can better solidify the mental state?"

"Partly. The corrosive energy multiplies the smallest emotions inside of you. The lightest anger can create a positive feedback loop and amplify it to the maximum..." Marisia smiled viciously, "...this is one of the reasons why others fear us. Without a strong mental fortitude, we can corrode others' mental states and make them into nothing more than wild beasts. Let's not talk about the physical corrosive effect, which is negated towards ourselves as it combines with our energy."

Alexander understood, "So this means that it should be another skill I can learn later to control my blood lust, right?"

"Absolutely. Though we need to have more..." She smirked, "...safety measures for you..." She looked at Narsiz, "...and for you too."

Narsiz became confused, "But I have barely any fighting capabilities?"

Marisia laughed aloud, "Haha, wolf-kin boys will become very aggressive during their first season, and you will be more dangerous than Lorient..." She grinned at him, "...much more dangerous."

"Why so?"

Marisia asked a pointed question, "Do you find girls attractive?"

Narsiz blushed a little but nodded.

She asked another question, "Do you also find boys attractive?"

Narsiz went entirely red but nodded.

Alexander now knew that his brother was bisexual, but he actually wanted to ask if homosexuality was seen as immoral in beast-kin society. He himself didn't care about it. On Earth, though, it was controversial, and this was only acceptable in progressive societies, while in others, it was a death sentence.

Narsiz saw the confusion in Alexander's eyes and tried to tell him, "You know about reproduction, right? I mean, you told me about the physical aspect when Mother was pregnant."

Alexander nodded, and Narsiz continued, "Some also like their own sex or both and..." Embarrassed, he scratched his head, "...I am like this."

Marisia continued for him and explained the societal views on this, "Depending on who you are and where you live, it is looked at very differently. Humans have the same view as we do, while dwarves put a death penalty on homosexuality and see this as something against nature, but..."

She tried to find the right words, "It is good that Narsiz likes both as even as beast-kins, we don't fully accept it ... well, only a certain group, though."

Alexander asked, "Which group?"

Narsiz answered rather sadly, "Nobles. Many expect their children to have more children, but what if they are not attracted to the opposite sex? There is no way for someone then to have children or only through forcing through and an... arranged marriage."

Marisia continued, "Commoners don't care, though, it is only seen in the higher classes as a problem, and many were ostracized because of this."

The silence held for a couple of seconds till Narsiz broke it.

"Nevermind. So, why is it a problem then?"

Marisia smirked at him, "Remember one of your [Mystic Skills]? What was it called again? [Charming Prince]? This is a fantastic skill to woo others to your side, but it becomes dangerous when you try to literally seduce everyone with a pair of legs."

Alexander laughed out loud, "Haha, you will be a whore?"

Narsiz frowned, "Language, and basically yes... so what to do?"

Marisia shrugged, "I will look after you alone. Not like I can send someone inside your room. Depending on your attributes and natural charm, everyone else would be just your toy for the day..."

She looked at him more directly, "Or you will just forgo the [Lust Control] skill and..."

Narsiz interrupted her, "No, I can do it."

Alexander tried to change the topic as it was weird for him to talk about it, "So, what now?"

Marisia nodded, "Right, we will do it tomorrow. Come before Lorient's training. I can have you mentally exhausted from Anastasia but not physically exhausted."

Alexander nodded and readied himself for tomorrow.

It was late, and he could see how his mother was exhausted.

With this, their mother left, but Narsiz stayed and slept together with Alexander as he was in a place where he needed someone around him. While he was mostly fine, the soothing effect of someone he could trust with his life and loved was what he needed after the terrible skill test.