Back in his room, Max lay on his bed and thought, Assign orbs.
Once again, a unique sensation washed over him, and he allowed it to guide him, pulling him under until he came to standing in the cavernous, infinite hall that was the Inner Sanctum.
An immediate excitement coursed through him as a result of being back in the ethereal location. It had already granted him abilities others in this world had no access to, and the ever-stretching empty space all around almost hummed with endless possibilities and progress.
Max checked his available orbs:
Battle Orbs: 12
Beast Orbs: 13
Crafting Orbs: 1
Alchemy Orbs: 0
Exploration Orbs: 3
He had gained 12 battle orbs and 12 beast orbs for defeating the grassgrots, and had left the Inner Sanctum last time with 1 beast orb left over, giving him a new total of 13 beast orbs.
He had also gained 1 exploration orb for discovering the Western Grasslands, so combined with the 2 left over from last time, he now had 3, which was enough to activate one of the available abilities in that category if he wanted to do so.
Since he would only be able to activate 1 exploration ability, he decided to take a look at those first.
Assign exploration orbs, he thought, and the familiar green spheres formed in the space in front of him, exactly as he had left them.
He took a look at the spheres that were currently available once again:
Treasure Hunter
Creates an awareness when valuable items are nearby
Cost: 3 Exploration Orbs
Night Vision
Increases vision in the dark by 5%
Cost: 3 Exploration Orbs
Adventurer’s Map 2
Adds a full town map for any discovered town. Does not take up any inventory space
Cost: 4 Exploration Orbs
Scavenger’s Satchel
Increases inventory slots by 5
Cost: 4 Exploration Orbs
Max was very tempted to spend his 3 exploration orbs on one of the Treasure Hunter or Night Vision abilities, but exploration orbs seemed to be the most difficult to come by, since discovering somewhere new only seemed to award him with 1 orb each time, and discovering new places would most likely be few and far between in comparison to defeating beasts or brewing potions.
He resisted the temptation to spend the orbs. He really wanted the Scavenger’s Satchel, which would increase his inventory slots by 5, and if he saved his orbs now, he would only need to discover 1 more new location before he could activate it.
Assign battle orbs, he thought, looking forward to returning to the exploration orbs soon.
The green spheres were replaced by red ones, and Max examined them, reminding himself of what was on offer.
Iron Hide
Reduces damage taken from physical attacks by 5
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Cost: 3 Battle Orbs
Life Growth 2
Increases maximum HP by 20
Cost: 4 Battle Orbs
Life’s Reward
Landing a critical hit restores 5 HP
Cost: 4 Battle Orbs
Predator’s Power 2
Increases the damage of any equipped weapon by 10
Cost: 4 Battle Orbs
Predator’s Luck
Creates a 2% chance a regular strike will become a critical strike
Cost: 3 Battle Orbs
He dismissed the Predator’s Luck ability straight away; a 2% chance of a regular strike becoming a critical strike was too measly to justify spending 3 of his battle orbs on it.
The Life Growth 2 and Predator’s Power 2 abilities were, however, much more appealing.
He placed his hand to the Life Growth 2 sphere. Upping his total HP by an additional 20 points was a no-brainer.
Life Growth 2 Activated!
As the sphere glowed white, Max expected two wispy lines to grow out of it, but this time only one did, creating a sphere that read:
Life Growth 3
Increases maximum HP by 30
Cost: 6 Battle Orbs
It seemed the spheres didn’t necessarily spawn two new ones every time one was activated.
He looked up and smiled at his new total HP:
Max Knightly
80/80 HP
He returned to the Predator’s Power 2 sphere and placed his hand on that.
Predator’s Power 2 Activated!
This also spawned just one faint line and one new sphere:
Predator’s Power 3
Increases the damage of any equipped weapon by 20
Cost: 6 Battle Orbs
He had 4 battle orbs left, so the Life Growth 3 and Predator’s Power 3 abilities were out of the question for now, as attractive as they were.
He returned to his original selection and pondered over the Iron Hide and Life’s Reward Abilities. Iron Hide would reduce physical attack damage against him by 5, and Life’s Reward would replenish 5 HP every time he landed a critical hit.
They were similar in some ways, yet Iron Hide cost 1 less battle orb, so he decided to go for that.
Iron Hide Activated!
This time, the glowing sphere did spawn two lines that grew outwards, creating two new spheres.
Iron Hide 2
Reduces damage taken from physical attacks by 10
Cost: 5 Battle Orbs
Mana Barrier
Reduces damage taken from magical attacks by 5
Cost: 4 Battle Orbs
The Mana Barrier was interesting. He hadn’t been subject to any magical attacks yet, though he knew magic existed in this world, given that Ereni had used a spell to heal his chest wound after his battle with the bandits. He wondered if certain beasts might also be able to cast spells. The thought was as equally fascinating as it was unnerving.
Regardless, Max only had 1 available battle orb remaining, so it was time to move on.
Assign beast orbs.
The red spheres were swapped out for the network of orange ones, just as he had left them the last time.
Max reminded himself what was on offer:
Hunter’s Instinct
Creates a sense of awareness when there are hostile beasts in close range
Cost: 3 Beast Orbs
Hunter’s Cloak
Reduces hostile beasts’ ability to detect scent by 5%
Cost: 2 Beast Orbs
Hunter’s Mark
A marker can be placed above the head of a single beast
Cost: 3 Beast Orbs
Hunter’s Hyperosmia
Increases the pungency of beasts’ scents by 5%
Cost: 3 Beast Orbs
Max dismissed the Hunter’s Cloak and Hunter’s Hyperosmia options, as the former focused on evasion, which he wasn’t interested in right now, and the latter seemed very similar to Hunter’s Instinct, except it included heightening what he predicted would already be some pretty foul smells.
With this reasoning, Max chose to place his hand on the Hunter’s Instinct sphere.
Hunter’s Instinct Activated!
It spawned two new spheres:
Hunter’s Instinct 2
Creates an icon in the HUD when hostile beasts are close by
Cost: 4 Beast Orbs
Beast Whisperer
Can use mental force to calm a hostile beast’s aggression by 5%
Cost: 5 Beast Orbs
Max felt a little swindled that Hunter’s Instinct 2 would basically render its first iteration defunct, but then again he wouldn’t have gained access to it had he not activated the first one.
The Beast Whisperer ability looked pretty cool. 5% wasn’t a huge amount, but he imagined activating it would unlock versions with higher percentages, which could come in very handy against certain foes. He wondered if iterations of the ability would go all the way up to 100%, rendering an angry beast effectively pacified.
With this curiosity in his mind, Max decided to go for the Beast Whisperer ability.
Beast Whisperer Activated!
This only spawned one new sphere:
Beast Whisperer 2
Can use mental force to calm a hostile beast’s aggression by 10%
Cost: 7 Beast Orbs
It was expensive, but it was the upgrade Max had been hoping to see. He only had 5 remaining beast orbs to spend at present, but it was nice to know he could come back at a later date and increase the strength of the ability.
He returned to the previous spheres and pondered between Hunter’s Mark and Hunter’s Instinct 2, but as he was mulling the decision over, a sound sent icy chills down his spine.
“Max…”
What the fuck?
Someone had spoken his name.
Max did a few turns on the spot, trying to locate anyone in the endless hall, but there was nobody around, at least not that he could see.
Then the voice came again, deep and reverberating.
“Max… wake up.”
He had to leave this place at once.
Leave the Inner Sanctum, he thought, and the strange, sleepy sensation consumed him, pulling back through what seemed like space and time until his eyes burst open.