Five of the direwolves had breached the upper mining fork.
Snow, the pale boy Theo had met earlier, tripped backward over a pile of loose gravel.
A Direwolf the size of a draft horse lunged, its maw opening wide to snap the boy’s neck.
Theo didn’t bother manifesting his bat wings... there wasn’t enough space. Instead, he raised his left hand.
Thwip! A line of Steel Thread shot from his fingers, wrapping around a stalactite above the wolf.
Theo yanked himself forward, closing the distance.
With a thought, the Novice Soul-Reaping Scythe materialized in his grip. He twisted in mid-air, using the momentum of his swing to bring the curved blade down.
The scythe cleaved through the Direwolf’s thick neck with zero resistance.
Blood sprayed across the cavern wall, and the beast collapsed before its jaws could close around Snow.
[Non-human entity defeated. ’Parasite’ class triggered.]
[Absorbing essence...]
[Congratulations! Host has acquired: ’Feral Strength’.]
Theo didn’t stop to admire the notification. His Heat Source Detection painted the pitch-black cavern in vivid hues of orange and red.
The remaining four Direwolves turned their glowing eyes toward him, abandoning the fleeing slaves to focus on the immediate threat.
They charged in unison, a coordinated pack tactic meant to overwhelm.
"Great Sage," Theo muttered, dropping into a low stance.
He inhaled, feeling the strange energy pool in his lungs, and blew a dense cloud of Paralyzing Breath straight into the narrow tunnel ahead.
The leading two wolves ran right into the invisible vapor. Their legs instantly locked up, sending them tumbling end-over-end across the jagged rocks.
Theo darted forward. He swung the long polearm in a horizontal arc, decapitating both paralyzed beasts in one motion.
The final two wolves tried to flank him, leaping off the cavern walls. Theo spun, launching two quick bursts of Steel Thread that pinned one wolf’s hind leg to the floor.
As the other descended upon him, Theo stepped into the guard, trusting his enhanced physique, and drove the blunt heel of his scythe straight through the monster’s skull.
He finished the pinned one a second later with a clean slash...
[Non-human entities defeated. ’Parasite’ class triggered.]
[Absorbing essence...]
[Host has acquired: ’Pack Mentality’, ’Shadow Stride’, and ’Night Vision’.]
Before Theo could even process the list, the scholarly voice of the Great Sage echoed in his mind.
[Notice. Duplicate and complementary skills detected. Initiating synthesis...]
[Merging ’Night Vision’ and ’Heat Source Detection’ into ’Predator’s Eye’.]
[Merging ’Feral Strength’ and ’Shadow Stride’ into ’Phantom Force’.]
A rush of heat surged through Theo’s muscles, compressing them, making him feel lighter yet infinitely denser. When he blinked, the overlay of his vision merged with natural sight, allowing him to see the dark cavern as clearly as if the three suns were shining directly overhead.
He dismissed the scythe back into his system space and turned to the slaves.
Snow was staring at him, mouth agape, eyes wide. "You... you’re a cultivator..."
"..." Theo sighed. "I suggest you stop staring and start loading those carts. The wolves dug up a fresh vein of high-grade spirit crystals when they breached the wall. Grab the purple ones."
The slaves didn’t ask questions. Driven by a mix of fear and awe, they scrambled to fill the carts.
Two hours later, the gates at the cave entrance groaned open. Varis, the guard, peered into the darkness with a lantern, expecting to find mangled corpses.
Instead, he found Theo and the others covered in dirt, standing beside three carts overflowing with premium, glowing purple spirit crystals.
"The wolves got trapped in a sinkhole,"
"We spent the time mining. Sir."
Varis practically shoved Theo aside to inspect the crystals, calculating his supervision bonus. "Right... right! Good work, rats. Get back to the barracks!"
The slave quarters were quiet when Theo finally returned.
Theo ignored his aching muscles and opened his System Shop interface. He had exactly 5,000 credits from feeding Liana earlier.
He scrolled straight to the recipe section.
[Mortal Vein-Repairing Liquid Recipe - 4,800 Credits.]
"Buy it." Theo mentally commanded.
[Purchase successful. Deducting 4,800 Credits. Remaining balance: 200 Credits.]
Instead of a scroll, the system deposited a small, heavy jade vial directly into his hand. It seemed the first purchase of a recipe came with a complimentary batch.
He walked past the rows of snoring slaves until he reached the very back. Liana was sitting where he had left her, her back against the wall.
Even in the gloom, her posture was straight, defying the chains binding her ankles.
Theo grabbed a basin from the washing corner, filled it with a skin of clean water he had swiped from the mess hall, and carried it over to her.
Liana’s eyes opened.
Without a word, Theo pulled the stopper off the jade vial and poured a single drop of the glowing golden liquid into the water. Instantly, the basin hissed. The water turned a luminous gold, radiating a gentle, soothing heat.
Liana’s breath hitched. Her eyes widened as she stared at the glowing basin.
"That is a marrow-cleansing agent," she whispered, her voice tight. "A high-tier one. The spiritual density... it’s enough to reconstruct shattered meridians." She looked up at him. "Where did a bronze-collared slave get something that even sect elders would kill for?"
"I have my ways," Theo said, pushing the basin closer to her chained hands. "Soak your wrists in it. It’ll absorb through the skin. It won’t fix everything overnight, but it will start repairing your spiritual roots."
Liana stared at the basin, then up at him, searching his face for the trick, the hidden cost.
"Why?"
It was the first time she had asked a question without wrapping it in haughty imperial venom.
"Force didn’t work to keep you alive, and just giving you food isn’t going to fix those chains," Theo grinned, leaning back against the beam. "Consider it an investment."
"An investment?" Liana frowned. "You are wasting priceless medicine on a cripple. What could you possibly hope to gain?"
"Oh, I expect a massive return," Theo waved a hand, his tone confident. "When you’re back on top of the world, ruling whatever empire you plan to conquer next, just remember who gave you the stepping stone. A few drops of medicine now for a favor from an Empress later? Sounds like a steal to me."
Liana stared at the boy. In her past life, she had been betrayed by her closest generals, men who had bowed deeply while plotting her demise. Everyone wanted something from her.
Yet here was a slave, possessing miraculous medicine, betting everything on a broken, crippled girl who had nothing left but her pride.
Where did his blind, insane certainty come from?
A long-buried memory flashed in her mind — herself, centuries ago, standing before an army of millions, pointing a bloody sword at the heavens and declaring she would conquer the nine domains.
Back then, she had possessed that exact same, unreasonable confidence.
"This favor..." Liana’s voice was barely a whisper. She slowly dipped her bruised, chained hands into the golden water. "...I will remember it."
The moment the words left her lips, Theo’s vision exploded with golden text.
[Investment successful. Investment: Mortal Vein-Repairing Liquid.]
[Investment successful. Your words have fundamentally altered the target’s state of mind, reigniting the Empress’s ambition.]
[This investment has successfully changed the trajectory of the target’s life. Feedback reward will be critically enhanced!]
[Congratulations, Host. You have triggered a Special Feedback Reward!]
Theo blinked against the blinding golden light of the interface, a grin spreading across his face.
Changed her state of mind? He hadn’t even given a grand speech!
But then again, she was a Reborn Empress; all she needed was a single spark to light the fire.
"Want me to pour the rest over your ankles?" Theo asked, acting completely oblivious to the cosmic jackpot he had just hit. "It’s really good for the skin."