Ash stepped into the clearing and froze.
The forest was too still—no birdsong, no leaf rustle. Just his own ragged breathing and the faint hum pressing at the edge of his mind, like something ancient stirring.
[ALERT: Echo Signature Detected – Unsettled Zone]
Recommended: Evacuate or Prepare for Combat.
He swallowed hard. At Level 2, with no class and only a crude wooden spear, he couldn't fight—and he couldn't run far. Hunger had driven him here, chasing small game to fill his belly.
Now the forest itself felt hungry.
Ash wiped sweat from his brow and braced against a moss-coated tree. His HUD flickered faintly.
Status: Ash | Lv. 2
Class: None
• Power 5
• Speed 7
• Focus 4.
• Grit 6
• Fortune 3
• Spin Tokens: 0
Talents: None
Skills: None
A low, wet crunch shattered the silence.
Ash crouched, spear raised. Between two ancient oaks, it emerged—massive and lumbering, foam bubbling at its cracked tusks.
BEAST DETECTED: Bloodsnout BoarFeral – D-Rank
Lv. 6 Affinity: Echo (Low) | Status: Wounded
Its hide bristled with coarse, blood-matted hair. Bone-like plates jutted from its shoulders—unnatural, Echo-infused armor. One eye was missing, the socket ragged.
Someone had fought this thing before. And failed.
The boar's remaining eye locked onto Ash. It snorted once—steam curling from its nostrils—then charged.
Ash dove aside. A tusk grazed his shoulder, tearing through flesh like cloth.
[HP: 100 → 74]
[Status: Light Bleeding]
[Stamina Regen: Halted]
He gritted his teeth, steadying the spear. The beast wheeled around, hooves gouging soil. Its second charge came faster.
Ash didn't wait.
He lunged forward, sliding beneath the beast's bulk. With all his strength, he rammed the spear into the gaping wound along its flank.
The boar shrieked, flailing violently. Ash was flung back—his body slammed against a tree trunk with bone-rattling force.
[HP: 74 → 48]
His vision blurred. Pain throbbed through every limb. He forced himself upright.
Survive. That was all that mattered.
Then it happened.
From nowhere, a glowing wheel bloomed before his eyes—visible only to him. Six outer sigils and three inner runes hovered in a slow, radiant orbit. There was no sound. Just presence.
A voice not his own whispered:
Do you wish to Spin?
Ash blinked. No one in the Freeholds had ever mentioned this. Not even the oldest scavenger tales.
And yet, some part of him knew—this was his. A gift. Or a curse.
He focused his will.
The Wheel responded.
Primordian Wheel
Spin Tokens: 0 / 1Cooldown: —Slots: Outer ×6 | Inner ×3
One inner slot shimmered, then clicked open.
Inner Slot #1 → Time Warp Effect: +20% Speed for 60 seconds
A surge of clarity hit him like lightning. His limbs moved before thought. The pain didn't vanish, but it blurred into the background.
[Buff: Time Warp – Speed +20% • Duration: 60s]
The boar charged again.
But this time, Ash was ready.
He sidestepped with unnatural speed, his body precise and light. The spear slashed across the beast's wounded side.
[CRITICAL STRIKE – Weak Point Exploited]
[+6 Echo XP]
The boar staggered. Ash pressed his advantage, striking again and again—methodical, relentless.
Time Warp's glow dimmed. The Wheel shimmered, fading. But the final blow was his.
With a choking grunt, the Bloodsnout Boar collapsed in a pool of blackened blood.
BLOODSNOUT BOAR — SLAIN+50 Echo Fragments+2 Talent XP
Loot: Rawhide, Boar Tusk ×2, Echo-Touched Gland
Stats Gained: +1 Grit, +1 Reflex
Ash dropped to his knees. His chest heaved. The clearing fell silent again, the tension in the air finally breaking.
One soft leaf fluttered down from the trees above, landing at his feet.
He stared at the Echo-Touched Gland pulsing faintly in his palm—alive with energy. He didn't know how or why the Wheel had appeared, but it had chosen him.
[You have entered the Beast Path.]
[Evolution Trigger: Defeat 3 Echo Beasts within 24 hrs]
He stood slowly, the spear now slick with blood and resolve.
Pain clawed through his limbs, but his eyes were sharp, clear.
The wheel was dormant once more, but not gone.
The forest was still watching. But now, so was he.
Ash squared his shoulders.
The Wheel had turned.
The Echo had answered.
And his true trial had only just begun.
End of Chapter 1