Chapter 33: The Echo

Chapter 33: The Echo

Brother, brother! Linner shouted loud enough for half the village to hear. Look what I got!

The child never seemed to get tired, making Dallion wonder whether he was the only awakened in the family. If stamina was any indication, his younger brother definitely had him beat.

Look! Linner rushed up to him, holding a small scaly fish. Isnt it great?!

Wow, thats a winner. Dallion smiled.

If he were to be honest, the fish wasnt anything special. It was barely large enough to fit in his hand. His brother, however, looked at it as if hed caught the greatest treasure there ever was. That was the thing about childrenthey didnt only enjoy the simple things in life, they enjoyed virtually anything.

I know, right?! Dad helped me catch it!

Translated that probably means that his father had actually caught it, but let Linner hold the fish after hed taken it out of the net. Come to think of it, Dallion didnt have any memories of fishing either in this world, or Earth.

Mom promised shed let me help her cook it! Want to watch?!

Oh, yeah. Dallion said with an indecisive smile. You go. I need to do something, I'll be right there.

Promise? The child gave Dallion a serious look.

Absolutely. Do you doubt me? Internally he sighed. There was no escape nowhe had condemned himself to a few hours sitting in the kitchen, observing the cooking. Then again, maybe it wasnt all bad. He could use a break.

Okay. Dont take long! The child rushed away.

The joys of youth, Dallion smiled. A moment later, he entered his awakening room.

YOU ARE LEVEL 3

The blue rectangle greeted him.

This is getting old, you know. He tapped it as he passed by.Reêad latest novels at novelhall.com

It felt as if the room was snickering at him, constantly reminding him that he had failed to increase his level despite all attempts. Well, today Dallion was going to take a different approach. His grandfather had told him that hed remain defeated until he got rid of the village chiefs echo. If so, this was a perfect time to get rid of it.

Dallion walked into the library. The scribe was there, rearranging the books in the library.

Health has decreased by 5%

Seriously?! Dallion rolled to the side. Less than a few seconds had passed and already hed lost a fifth of his health, not to mention that he remained constantly on the defensive. The scribe had barely moved from his original position, observing the whole thing with mild sadistic amusement. There was no white rectangle above his head, suggesting that the echo would likely die in one hit. However, neither Dallion, nor his skills saw any way of reaching the blond menace. Not a single red marker had appeared, and charging head on was likely going to transform the boy into a porcupine.

QUILL WOUND!

Health has decreased by 5%

QUILL WOUND!

Health has decreased by 5%

More quills poured down from above. At this point, there was only one thing left for Dallion to do.

Im leaving! he shouted, jump rolling towards the door. Im leaving!

A few quills followed, scoring another few hits, but the brunt of the attack had stopped. The next thing Dallion knew, he was back in his house, looking at his brother running towards the kitchen.

As most people whod gone through such an ordeal, Dallions first reaction was to check his body for wounds. The good news was that there were none. The bad newsit didnt look like hed defeat the echo anytime soon. If nothing else, hed have more luck with the sand dragon.

Stupid ranged attacks, the boy grumbled to himself. Theyre way overpowered! Its practically cheating.

Dallion, his mother called out. The tone of her voice sounded urgent.

Ill be there in a moment. Might as well watch them cook. Not like Ill achieve anything else today.

The boy did one final check of his legs and backs, then finding no sign of blood went to the kitchen. When he got there, he found both his mother and brother standing near the window, still as statues, looking at something outside.

Is dad back? Dallion asked casually. Did he bring more fish?

Its not your father his mother said, her voice barely a whisper.

Outside, at the edge of the village a small group of people were approaching. They were nothing like the local villagers. All of them were dressed green and yellow medieval tabards with chain armor visible underneath. The leader of the procession was a tall muscular woman riding a brown horse. From what Dallion remembered of his DnD sessions, she probably was a noble of some sort, complete with helmet, shield, and a suit of half armor. As she approached closer Dallion was able to see the crest on her shield: seven different colored spheres on a black background.

The order of the Seven Moons, Dallion whispered.