After considering all that, he managed to narrow it down to two.
The cyclops or the black griffin.
While both the dragon and the wolf would've been useful, he deemed the cyclops and griffin to be more so.
They were both roghly the same price - about 30 silvers. This would take up most of Akuma's wage, but he didn't mind - it would be worth it.
After a moment of contemplation, his curiosity got the best of him. He wanted to know what a black griffin was, so he had to buy it.
The moment he got hold of it, he couldn't wait, so he absorbed it.
As it sat in his hand, the energy began surging in. The feeling was strange, as though a large lump was forming in his arm, then flowing through his body.
It slowly crept up his arm before settling in his shoulder. His shoulder began to glow and a black lump was visible inside. It then flashed brightly before returning to normal.
The moment the core was absorbed, the memories started flooding in. Memories that clearly weren't his. Of being a chick, hatching from an egg. Of taking his first steps, and his first flight. Of his mother and father - both majestic griffins.
Instantly, he felt closer to this griffin than he had been to anyone in the world.
But, then came the bad memories.
The fear, the pain, the death.
He remembered peacefully flying over some woodland, as a beam of light shot through the canopy, scorching his wing.
He vividly remembered the pain of the heat and his burning feathers as he fell, crashing through the trees and into the ground.
Almost every bone in his body shattered.
But still, he lived.
It wasn't until the source of the light, the man who shot him, found him and finsihed him, ripping his core out while he was still alive.
He was such a young griffin.
He and Akuma had truly become one.
The next thing he checked were the skills. So many skills.
Most of their effects were obvious - Stealth cloak, flight, enhanced vision, sound manipulation, weather summoning, but the last one wasn't so obvious.
Beastmaster.
A skill with that name could either be the weakest or the strongest. He would be sure to test it sometime.
"Sir, are you satisfied with your purchase", the clerk asked.
He certainly was.
He suddenly doubted their evaluation of the core. Sure, it was underdeveloped and didn't contain too much energy, but those skills were surely from an S tier beast.
Akuma was lucky he managed to absorb it.
Before leaving, the captain came to the shop.
"Hey, kiddo, did you buy a core?"
"Yeah. A black griffin."
"Never heard of it."
"Nor had I. Hey, why are you here?", Akuma found himself being strangely pleasant to the captain, likely because of his good mood.
"Oh", the captain answered. "Since I still have some of my last pay cheque, I thought it was about time I got myself a core."