That wasn't a particularly difficult fight. Epsilon had trained to shape his dormant ability into a weapon before, so even if he had no memories, he would be fine for a small period of time.
Since Epsilon was only a dormant rank, his dormant ability when turned into a weapon was only as capable as a dormant memory too, although it was exceptional among them. The Chimera Scout he just killed didn't look to be very durable, and it was called a scout, so it wasn't even a fighter in the first place. No wonder he was able to pierce it without difficulty.
But it looks like he just earned his first memory! Hopefully it was an armour, walking around naked would become a problem if he found another human.
Epsilon summoned its runes.
Memory: [Maddened Frenzy]
Memory Rank: Awakened
Memory Type: Weapon
Memory Description: [To ease their suffering, madness was their only hope.]
'Damnit.'
He sighed in disappointment. It was a weapon, looks like he would be naked a little while longer. Epsilon summoned it, but he only grew more frustrated.
In his hands appeared, two sticks that were made out of a vibrant red wood, that were connected by a singular white string at the top of each of them. They were nunchucks, a weapon that he had no clue how to use.
'...'
He had only spent his time learning how to use bladed weapons, so something like this was completely alien to him.
When something like this happens, Epsilon usually didn't show his anger too much, or even act out on it. But something was different this time, just looking at it made Epsilon feel a strange vexation. He needed to vent it out on something, just this once.
Looking around, he spotted a thin tree that looked like the perfect test dummy.
He approached it calmy, before swinging the nunchucks at it with all his strength, leaving a small dent on it.
'...'
His anger didn't cease. Although it felt a little bit better, he still felt a strange urge to keep hitting something.
Swinging the nunchucks again, but with even more force, a loud thud echoed as the dent on the tree grew. But it still wasn't enough.
Epsilon hit it again, and again, and again, with each hit growing more ferocious and filled with vexation, but still, Epsilon was not satisfied.
Sweat began to trickle from his forehead, and his eyes blazed with fury. He clenched his teeth, and with rapid sharp breathes, he lashed out at the tree mercilessly. The sound of wood scrapping against wood repeatedly boomed as he released an onslaught of blows.
He was trapped in a vicious cycle of crisis, release, and build up. Until his stamina finally got the best of him.
Collapsing to the ground, Epsilon breathed heavily with exhaustion, and still his anger was not quelled.
He was not satisfied.
He needed to hit it more.
He needed to hit it even harder.
And then he got a bright idea. Activating his dormant ability, Epsilon summoned an orb of white light before absorbing it into his body. His strength doubled, and so he could hit things with twice the power too.
'Perfect..'
Getting up once more, he prepared to hit the tree with even more force. He didn't just want to vent anymore, he wanted to completely destroy it. Even if it broke in half, he wanted to annihilate it, leaving nothing behind, not even its seeds and roots.
But that wasn't all... he wanted to flatten this forest, crush every single creature in this place. Heck, maybe even the humans too if he found them.
He would take his anger out on the whole world, until he was satisfied or there was nothing left to destroy, except himself.
[Wrath]
With a wild battle cry at the peak of his fury, he spun on his heel and unleashed a might strike against the tree. The Nunchucks sliced through air, before impacting on the trunk for the very last time.
The previous hits had worn the tree down, so this one amped by Epsilons doubled strength was the last blow it could take.
The tree split in two with a thunderous snap, with the top half crashing to the forest floor like a felled titan.
Even though he had won, Epsilons rage was still unsatisfied. Now it was onto the next tree, and the next, and the next.
But his victory was short lived.
In a cruel twist of physics and fate, the momentum of the nunchucks carried one end in a graceful arc.. making it bounce back as it flowed... right into Epsilons face.
He stumbled back, dropping his weapon while falling to the ground.
Quickly he grabbed the injured part of his face, feeling blood pour out from his nose.
His anger should've increased, but instead, it burnt out like a flickering light. Quickly, Epsilon realized that those Nunchucks were the cause of this.
'Just my luck...'
Memories could be imbued with a special ability called an enchantment, however the Nightmare spell never specified what those were, unless your Aspect allowed it. To learn them, one would take it to someone whose Aspect could identify it, or you could figure it out yourself through trial and error.
Since the chimera scout was a beast, it was safe to assume that the memory it dropped had at least one enchantment.
'An enchantment that compels me to hit things with unexplainable rage... so my first memory isn't the type I hoped for, but its completely useless too...'
He shivered. It reminded him a lot of a certain battle maniac.
'They are both mad I guess.'
But then he thought,
'Why didn't [Judgment] warn me?'
**
Epsilon did not forget to harvest the Soul Shard from the Nightmare creatures body. Using his dormant ability transformed weapon, he gutted the creature and peeled all its skin, before hanging it out to dry along with its stripped flesh. Now he had secured food, and some clothing for later. He wouldn't be completely naked now.
Smashing the Soul Shard in his hand, Epsilon felt his strength grow.
[Soul Fragments: 19/1000]
'hmmm..'
Even though he put away the Maddened Frenzy, his frustration slowly crawled back. The amount of soul fragments he had compared to Nero was...
He didn't even want to think about it. He was very, very far behind.
He needed to be the strongest to achieve his dream, but that looked to be very far away.
In the week he spent on the survival course, he learnt that managing resources was important. Although he now had food, it would only last him around 5 days if he was careful.
At least he had all this water though.
Feeling a slight thirst scratch his throat, he approached the lake. He had already gotten a mouthful of it before, so it wasn't poisonous or anything.
However, it did look different. It seemed much farther compared to when he first got here, and the pillars of water had stopped flowing.
'Is it.. receding?'
Where was the water going?
Investigating it a little, Epsilon noticed something floating in the water. He thought it was driftwood maybe, but after squinting his eyes, he noticed that it was strangely pale.
He brushed it off, but then as the wind blew the driftwood turned a little, and then did Epsilon realize...
It was a body. A human body.
Without thinking any longer, he dived in. The cold water bit at his skin, but he kept swimming, his heart pounding as he pushed forwards.
Once he got closer, it was even clearer that it was a person. They were face down, and all Epsilon could see was their back hunched above the waves, and some of their blondish hair. Their skin was covered in bruises, even worse than Epsilons own, and there was blood that slightly dyed the water around them.
Pushing them over, his heart froze.
It was Feliz.