It was getting dark. I had spent the whole day trying to set up a camp, although I wasn't really successful. I only managed to gather a pile of wood that happened to be scattered around—a sign that there had been trees here at some point—and made a campfire using magic to create the fire.
I found it really easy and convenient to use magic.
I also gathered some berries from the bushes nearby, and they were actually tasty. They were sweet, different from all the candies back home.
I only ate a few of them since fighting with a full stomach could be bad, or so I had heard from my grandpa.
As it got completely dark, I decided to stay awake and practice my magic, since I was pretty sure that whatever echo I was supposed to get would appear here.
I started using the spirit mana in different ways, like imbuing it into objects, which could change their durability, or simply creating random flames.
That was when I realized the difference between spirit and outer mana. Outer mana was an extension of spirit mana. With spirit mana, I could only create the four basic elements, but imbued with outer mana, I could go beyond that.
I was starting to feel tired, probably because I had used too much mana and hadn't trained enough to handle it. As soon as I laid down next to the campfire, I heard steps—loud steps, as if whoever was there wanted me to be aware of their presence. I jumped to my feet, scared. Why am I scared? Why?
Soon, I could see a figure approaching from the forest. As it got closer, I could distinguish it: a kind of wolf. A weird type of wolf, with a tail twice as big as a regular wolf's, and its body was very small compared to its tail.
It was approaching the fire. I could see it clearly. It had black fur, and the top of its tail was white. I was scared, but then I thought about Lili. I gulped and got ready for a fight.
The wolf stopped a few feet away from me. I reinforced my fist using earth-type mana, and in an instant, I dashed and punched the wolf with all my strength. The wolf let out a strange howl, and I could see a lot of blood on the side of its neck where I had punched it. 'That wasn't enough?!' I thought, surprised.
The wolf backed away from the fire, and to my horror, it simply regenerated. Just like that. Panic surged through me as the wolf came at me with insane speed. It swung its tail, but I managed to duck just in time.
This thing's range is huge! I thought, quickly glancing around. That one attack left a deep cut in several nearby trees. I immediately rushed to the closest tree. Before I knew it, I was already up in it.
I looked down. The wolf didn't hesitate and swung its tail once, twice, thrice... Even though the tree was very thick, I could feel it starting to lose balance. Shit, if it cuts this tree, I'm done for...
I took a deep breath and cleared my mind, as if it were a normal situation. I had no idea how I managed to pull that off. Suddenly, I got an idea. I took another deep breath and jumped from the tree.
I reinforced my fist again, and as I fell, I punched the wolf's back. It let out a louder howl and retreated. I watched it carefully. It stopped between a few trees, a little farther from the campfire, then turned back and started approaching me with the same ridiculous speed.
At that point, I barely had time to climb into the nearest tree again. I looked at the wolf. It was completely healed.
A spark lit in my heart. 'I might be wrong, but it's worth a shot. This guy attacks me regardless of where I am, but if I injure him, he retreats. What's strange is that he retreats exactly so he doesn't stand in the area of light the campfire creates.'
A small smile appeared on my face. I was so close to figuring it out. 'So his weakness must be fir...'I stopped. Something was off. Then it clicked.
'It's light! I haven't seen him at all during the day while I've been here, and it would perfectly make sense since he probably heals only when he isn't in the range of the light that comes from the fire.'
I felt confidence flowing through me, so I repeated the previous attack. I jumped from the tree, trying to punch him. The wolf moved aside just enough so I wouldn't reach him. 'How fast!'
I could see him preparing to attack with his tail. As I was falling, time seemed to slow down. In that moment, I wasn't thinking about anything. Nothing existed except me and that monster.
I unconsciously channeled a great amount of mana into my fist and turned it into fire. My hand felt like it was about to explode from mana overload, but I didn't care. I fell and punched the ground. In that moment, I released all of the fire in my fist.
I heard a loud Boom! like thunder striking right next to me. I couldn't see anything except fire around me—fire that, instead of being hot and burning me, felt warm and pleasant.
The next moment, a big waterfall fell from the sky and extinguished all the fire. I was suprised, however , I could see the wolf in front of me... but blue.
"It's his echo", I heard Master Xela say as he simply waved, and the waterfall disappeared. "It looks like a projection, but if you are licensed, you can pick it up and sell it for some nice money," he continued.
"Umm, hi," I said, pain starting to spread through me.
"You should really learn to control the output," Master Xela said seriously.