Koda didn’t know how people normally checked out their echoes… perhaps it had something to do with the Soul Sea?
Since he didn’t currently have access to it, maybe that’s why he couldn’t fully check it out.
Nonetheless, he stared up at the Wolf, who was sitting like an obedient dog.
It had thick silver fur and bright blue eyes, unlike its real counterpart who had glowing yellow eyes.
Koda didn’t know why this was, but he reached out to stroke the soft fur.
The Wolf didn’t resist, letting the tanned hand gently stroke its messy silver fur.
However, the moment Koda’s hand came into contact with the Wolf… [Would you like to Devour your Echo: Unhinged Wolf?] The sound of the spell made Koda snap his hand back in surprise.
His eyebrow raised.
“Devour… my echo?” He muttered.
“What the hell does that mean?” He had never heard anything about devouring an echo or doing anything with an echo that didn’t involve combat or service.
“It can’t be my aspect ability, because I haven’t received that from the spell yet.
An innate ability?
Could I have an innate ability?” He asked himself, staring at his hand and then at the wolf.
Innate abilities were rare and even then, being placed into the body of someone with a natural innate ability rather than receiving one from the spell was a stupid idea.
So… what the hell did it mean to devour an echo?
Koda didn’t know what to do.
He could just say “yes” and see what happens, but he would then risk losing such a valuable asset.
But what if he received something far better in return?
What if it would completely heal him or even turn him straight into an awakened?
That was unlikely due to the fact this was a mere dormant beast but either way, he had no way of knowing what devouring it would even do.
Koda shook his head.
“I… I don’t think you’d be any help if Old Bram did manage to beat that creature and came after me.
I’m too wounded and if he could kill stronger creatures, he’d make quick work of you, buddy.” He said somberly, staring at his echo with sadness in his gaze.
The echo tilted its fluffy head and pushed its elongated snout into Koda’s hand, as if to tell him to go ahead.
But before Koda went ahead and did that, he wanted to at least see what his echo was capable of.
He didn’t know if it would be the same as a memory, but he summoned his runes once again.
*** Name : Koda True Name : — Rank : Aspirant.
Soul Core : Dormant Memories : Explosive Grasp Echoes : Unhinged Wolf Attributes : [Strong Gut] Aspect: [Starving Vessel] Aspect Description: [You are a very hungry little man.] *** He looked at everything with a hint of disdain until he found the line of runes describing his Echo.
*** Echo: [Unhinged Wolf].
Echo Type: Beast.
Echo Core: Dormant.
Echo Attributes: [Packmate], [Unhinged Maw].
Echo Description: [A lesser packmate of the Unhinged Direwolf].
*** Koda’s eyes narrowed.
“The Unhinged Direwolf?
Could that have been the thing that Old Bram is fighting?
That’d definitely make sense.
[Packmate] must’ve been why the pack of wolves seemed to move as one.
That also must’ve been why it moved to save me before I could command it to do so… because I’m a part of its pack?” He said, staring at the cute big guy with a bit of sadness.
As for [Unhinged Maw] Koda assumed that it had something to do with how the wolves could split open their mouths to consume larger prey?
That was a pretty cool attribute.
He sighed and gave the Wolf one last glance before he placed his hand back on its forehead and focused on “Devouring” it.
When he did, the wolf turned into hundreds of white sparks and flowed into his body.
He did feel bad, he didn’t want to go ahead and potentially kill his first and only echo after using it for one singular fight… but he couldn’t afford to think about it for long because his entire body began to convulse and an agonising pain ripped through his face.
The voice of the spell whispered into his ear.
[You have Devoured your Echo: Unhinged Wolf.] [You have received an Attribute: Unhinged Maw.] As the voice of the spell disappeared, a feeling of relief enveloped his body.
Koda dropped to his knees, breathing heavily from a mouth that felt far larger than what he was used to.
He couldn’t see himself right now, but he was certain that his mouth now stretched across his entire face, exactly like Old Bram’s aspect ability.
Koda shook his head.
“Of course.
It all leads back to that man.
He must’ve eaten some of these guys in order to replicate this trait.” He grit his teeth, feeling that they were leagues sharper and harder than before.
He knew he probably looked a mess right now, having his mouth split open like this probably made it look like he was smiling really creepily.
He sighed and continued checking out his body.
For the most part, a decent amount of his wounds were completely healed while his starvation had waned enough for him to have a clear mind.
But that was not all.
Koda looked down at his hands and bare feet, both had sharp claws, similar to that of what the Unhinged Wolves had.
Eyes widening, he quickly checked his lower back and sighed in relief.
“Okay… I don’t have a tail.” He stood up, feeling that he was a lot stronger than he was a few moments ago and took a deep breath.
“Poor guy.” He muttered, looking at the place where his Echo had been sitting just moments ago.
He tried to summon it again, but to no avail.
He didn’t know if he’d be able to see the cute fluffy guy again, but right now, he was nowhere to be seen.
Koda looked back at his hands and feet.
“So… this strange ability allows me to sacrifice an echo for a relatively complete recovery, some physical changes and one of their attributes.” He said, thinking out loud.
He had a few questions he had no way of answering.
“Is it random?
Or do I receive the attribute most suited to me and my aspect?
What happens to the Echo?
Pretty sure the spell was supposed to say that it was destroyed if it had been destroyed.” He muttered continuously.
But there was one big question.
“Why isn’t the Nightmare over?” This one he was able to answer.
Or well, he didn’t need to.
Because at that moment, a shockwave tore apart the boulder he was sitting behind.
Koda’s eyes widened.
“No fucking way…” he stammered in disbelief.
In the distance, a vaguely familiar large figure stood there breathing heavily.
Old Bram.
But he wasn’t alone.
Behind him was a trail of large corpses, each one a Nightmare Creature in a league beyond the Unhinged Wolves.
Koda’s eyes widened in horror.
The unhinged Direwolf wasn’t even recognisable, its corpse was hanging off a tree, its flesh shredded and the only reason Koda could recognise it was due to the many lifeless eyes.
On the floor were even more creatures ranging from a pack of wolves, a few large bears and even something that looked like a mixture of a rabbit and an extremely large spider.
But despite all of that, they didn’t look like monsters.
Right now, the only monster in this hellish world wasn’t even a Nightmare Creature.
It was a singular man.
And his name was Bram.