I finally made use of one of my skills, the Spirit Pouch. Although it's not much of an achievement, having it dormant was not better anyway.
As I turned to join Muna, I summoned the Spirit Pouch, which appeared visible in the form of a side bag, hidden in plain sight behind the silver jacket cloak I wore over my blue robe.
Then, immediately, the demon core in my hand advanced close enough to touch its skin, and it disappeared.
And that was it.
That was how to use the spirit Pouch before it became invisible again.
...
"When?" Muna asked, her gaze focused on the snarling wolves in the distance. "When did you learn such a powerful healing power?"
I pretended not to have heard her question and turned my gaze to her echoes.
Except for the lion echo, the wolves had become larger than they were initially, and their rank seems to have increased.
Among the three wolves, there was the 2-star wolf, which had evolved to 3-star, and the remaining, which had evolved to 4-star wolves. Their demeanors were astoundingly presentable, where strength was mentioned.
Awakening echoes, however, not without cost. One needed enough Mana to raise a demon, or even a physical being, into becoming its servant.
The more Mana such a power user has, the stronger their echoes would be.
'And I witnessed Muna cough blood a while ago due to a reduction of mana.'
'Oh, she must have consumed the demon cores.'
And that also explains why she mostly reserved her Mana during battle and made use of swordsmanship skills. She was good at it as well, I thought, remembering her attack against Sandra in the grave hall.
"Your echoes are..." I suddenly lacked words. "...ready, I guess."
Muna glared at her companions and nodded satisfactorily before focusing once again on the forward-marching wolves, sword stance diagonally at her side.
"Is that your way of ignoring the question I asked?" Muna was too attentive to let go of her question. "When?"
Seeing that I couldn't avoid this particular question before the wolves would come closer, I decided to give her an answer.
"If you wanted one, you can try to face the fate I had endured," I stated, summoning my sword to appear in my hands. "Maybe, try to defy a certain cosmic law of nature, and you will gain something that powerful."
Understanding what I meant, she looked at me and a shocking smile tugged at the side of her lips.
"Let the fight begin. Outrightly!" she exclaimed sheepishly, and with her sword behind her side and her companions, she lunged forward.
"She surely is a lioness," I couldn't help but murmur.
The wolves were unlike the first troupe we had attacked. The increment of their size, which seemed to be a basic difference, bred a huge potential accomplishment of attacks.
At that moment, my identifier skill roared to life.
«↓ 4-Star Wolves ↑»
'4-star? This many?'
Although they were within my attack ability, there were too many for someone with a low Mana like me.
Talking of low Mana points, I might have some reserved harem sharing points waiting for this moment.
'System, show me my stats.'
« VIT: 51/100 »
« STA: 60/100 »
« Mana: 9/100 »
« STR: 59/100 »
« AGI: 65/100 »
« INT: 86/100 »
« WIL: 43/100 »
« ... »
« ... »
«↓ H.S.P: 357 ↑»
«↓ T.S.P: 210 ↑»
My stats had reduced, probably a consequence of the fight earlier. Except for my Mana and willpower, all other stat points were still above average.
I think I can keep up with them, or was there any need to increase them?
"Mobix!" Muna shouted my name, sliding beside a wolf and slashing downward to paralyze it. Then, her 4-star wolf pounced on it. "Don't just stand there and betray our efforts."
She was indeed a battle maniac.
Although she was single-handedly only able to kill two wolves, being able to survive amidst their pack was commendable.
And, she had three companions left.
With the resolve to make sure my sister was safe, I lunged forward.
'Allocate 91 points to my Mana, 47 to willpower, 49 to vitality, 40 to stamina, 41 to strength and 25 to agility.'
«↓ Successfully distributed ↑»
« VIT: 100/100 »
« STA: 100/100 »
« Mana: 100/100 »
« STR: 100/100 »
« AGI: 90/100 »
« INT: 86/100 »
« WIL: 90/100 »
«↓ H.S.P: 63 ↑»
«↓ T.S.P: 503 | 397 required for level up ↑»
Feeling renewed and having approached the nearest pack of three wolves before me, I leapt and skidded to a halt behind them.
Without intent, precision and calculation, a lowly swordsman like me would barely survive against wolf attacks. They were intelligent, and although their attacks might seem unguided, were an afterthought.
A careless but strong fighter won't be victorious over them. If time is not on their side, a skillful fighter is weakened by their attacks.
Now that my Mana is refilled, I shall not fear.
I shall play with their instincts and cuddle their blood.
The plan was simple — make the wolves turn against each other.
That was the secret of having the power of Water Echo, which Muna has yet to find out. Most Mages, even of Seafrost, are unaware of this fact. Because it was contained in an ancient book of spells compiled by my mother.
This book of spells had been discarded by my father the moment Muna awakened her powers, after many years of terming Water Echo a dormant power of Seafrost.
It was a good thing my vastness in reading helped me to learn the spell.
But first, allow me the honor of singlehandedly taking care of these three wolves.
Turning around to face me, the thirst for blood in their eyes turned lethal, their ears stood straight, and their claws dug deeper into the tavern floor.
"Come on."
I held my sword upright in both hands, its blade humming lowly, as the faint mist of sea essence gleamed and swirled along its edge.
One of the wolves dashed out, followed by the second, then the third, as if they planned to march in a diagonal line.
As the first wolf came at me, I was quick enough to sidestep to my left. In the instant, claws from the second wolf swiped, narrowly missing my neck, but gave me a scratch on the face.
But that was an opportunity. The wolf's side was bare.
I ducked low, twisting my wrist to point the blade of my sword at my side, towards the second wolf and dashed forward.
The blade of my sword met fur and flesh as I skidded to a halt, and I wanted to wait and see the effect of the attack, but the first wolf was faster than the last and lunged at me again.
"Sorry, the first can be the last."
Muttering those words, I took to my heels, towards the third wolf, which reciprocated my approach.
If I were to be handling a bear or a boar, killing them would have been easier since their chests would most likely be bare with each of their attacks.
But wolves were different.
Good thing I had increased my stats to their peak; my movements were fluid and working as planned.
I was able to keep up with the super speed of the first wolf as I almost collided with the third wolf, but leapt at the last minute onto its back.
The two wolves clashed against each other, slashing themselves — an attack meant for me.
But I still didn't relent.
I shifted to the side, with all my strength, increased my speed as I lunged forward, placing my sword in a linear horizontal as it tore through their fur and flesh.
Coming to a halt, I clamped my sword in both hands and drove it into the floor, then with my eyes shut, muttered calmly..
"Let warmth die, and frost shall reign — Chains of Ice."
The sword, stuck to the ground, vibrated.
The faint mist of sea essence that gleamed from my sword was my Temperature Manipulation power.
I had cast it on the blade so that once it connects with any wolf, it will slow its movement, and it did.
Opening my eyes, I slowly raised them and imagined what could be going on inside the demons, across their blood vessels.
The moment they stiffened mid-snarl, I imagined a pale frost race through their veins, turning their hot blood into glinting shards.
They writhed haphazardly, staggering to their side, until their bodies went utterly still as the cold overtook them.
Then— *Tchrrk! Kra-shhk!*
A brittle crack echoed, and they shattered into twelve fragments of thin demon cores.
"Chippy chirpy way to kill," I said, and slid playfully to the cores, collecting them into my Spirit Pouch.
I almost forgot I was in the middle of a fierce battle until I heard the scream for my help.
[P.S: Now that we have gotten the book contracted, please support me with your Golden Tickets and your Powerstones🙏]