Wyatt pulled up his Debuffer skill to check the name of the new Permutation he’d just discovered.

Debuffer

Rarity: 1⁄5

Quality: D-Grade

Scion Capacity: 0⁄2

Permutations:

• |Disgorge|

• |Torpor|

• |Devitalize|

Devitalize? So it drains life? That seems more like an attack than a debuff. And it killed the mummy with only a single stack, and almost right away. That’s far more effective than Disgorge. Unless mummies are weaker than cipactlis for their level.

As he was considering this, he spotted something red and blue in the pile of dust and rope and wrappings that were all that remained of the mummy, and his stomach rumbled.

🞠

That’s not what I was expecting.

⦗Reformation Orb, Level 1⦘

The other one had been called an Augment Orb.

So there are different kinds of orbs.

I wonder what this one does?

His stomach growled again, and he ate the orb, a wave of pleasure washing through him.

Though instead of feeling it in his spine like the Augment Orb, this one gave him a new message to interact with.

Reformation Orb

Level: 1

• Prototype: ?

• Formulas: ?

• Blueprints: None

• Empty

Genesis seeds: 5

Use genesis seed?

Well that’s interesting. I wonder how prototype, blueprints, and formulas are different. On the surface they seem like they’d be similar. It looks like it has a prototype and formulas, but I can’t see what they are, but no blueprints. And an empty slot, whatever that’s for. Can I add some other kind of ability to it? And what’s a genesis seed do?

No matter what he tried, he couldn’t get more information on any of it.

The only way to do that was to experiment.

Which is what he did.

He gave his mental assent to use a genesis seed, and a new message replaced the old one.

This story has been unlawfully obtained without the author's consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.

Genesis seed primed

Choose item to reform

So it’s some kind of item-upgrade orb?

From his boxers, he pulled out the old orb he’d vomited up that had originally come from the ahuitzotl as an Augment Orb but was now empty.

He focused on it, and a new message appeared.

• ⦗Empty Orb (Bonded)⦘ ⇉ ⦗Capture Orb (Bonded)⦘

• ⦗Empty Orb (Bonded)⦘ → ⦗Binding Orb⦘

• ⦗Empty Orb (Bonded)⦘ ? Unavailable

Different arrows. Capture has two but the other only has one. Does that mean it’s a bigger upgrade? Or that it produces two instead of one?

And why is one unavailable? Does that mean I need to do something to unlock it? Level it up? Or maybe that’s the blueprints or empty slot. I might need those to get all of the options.

No descriptions for the upgraded items, not even their level, so I only have the name to go by. Things have been simple enough so far, which probably means one of the orbs would let me capture… something, and the other would bind… also something.

How is that different?

He realized something he hadn’t thought of before.

I was thinking something went inside the Empty Orb, like an inventory, after that message about having no inventory items, but was that just trying to store the orb in the inventory?

He focused, trying to get an inventory to appear.

Nothing he tried bore fruit.

He next tried to get the message to reappear.

He finally managed it by thinking about putting the orb in his, non-existent, pockets.

No inventory items

Weird. It’s like it read my intention before I consciously had it.

So there is an inventory, I just don’t have the right item for it?

Which means the orb isn’t an inventory item.

If it’s not storage for items, what is it? Capture makes it sound like it works by, well, capturing things. And it keeps the bonded bit, whereas the binding one loses it.

He squinted suspiciously at the orb. “Are you a pokéball?”

I guess I could try it on the next monster I come across if I do that upgrade. Having a pet wouldn’t be so bad, and if it captures it instead that would be okay as well. I could use it as a diversion or a distraction against other monsters.

Or people.

So which upgrade do I want to go with?

Do I even want to upgrade it? Maybe I should save it. And can I upgrade things multiple times? Is the orb single-use? Five genesis seeds, and it seems like it uses only one to upgrade something, so probably at least five uses.

I should use it on a weapon or armor.

He looked down at his shirt and focused on it.

• ⦗Shirt⦘ ⇶ ⦗Skin of the Titan⦘

• ⦗Shirt⦘ ? Unavailable

• Missing Formula

Missing? Does that mean I need to get another formula? How do I add more?

Is three upgrades the max?

Are the formulas it has generic? Maybe there’s none that fit? The Empty Orb had two options, but that could be because it has more formulas for orbs, since it’s an orb itself.

I wonder how missing and unavailable are different. Missing formula seems obvious, but if Unavailable is different, what makes it unavailable? My stats? My level? Or does it have to do with blueprints? It seems like unavailable is something the orb is capable of, but not currently, since it has a question mark instead of arrows, whereas missing doesn’t have that at all.

And there’s three arrows this time, so probably not how many it will create. Which means it probably represents the size of the upgrade. That makes sense. It’s taking it from just a normal cotton t-shirt and turning it into something that at least sounds impressive.

Should I do it?

Skin of the Titan sounded very promising.

He considered. He’d gotten the Reformation Orb from a level one, so it shouldn’t be hard to get more.

Then again, he didn’t know how rare this type of orb was.

He wondered how many types of orbs there were.

He studied the Empty Orb in his hand. When it had been an Augment Orb, had it looked different from the Reformation Orb?

He recalled the image in his mind.

He wasn’t sure. Maybe the reformation one had more red, but the light was also much dimmer in here.

Am I going to throw up this one too?

If so, will it give me a different kind of empty orb?

He tested the Reformation Orb out on his boxers, but there were no available upgrades for those.

He looked around the area for anything else he could try it on. The only thing nearby was the cloth and ropes that had draped the mummy.

Shrugging, he tried it out.

• ⦗Decayed Cerements⦘ ⇉ ⦗Mantle of the Hierophant⦘

• ⦗Decayed Cerements⦘ ? Unavailable

• Missing Formula

Less of an upgrade than my shirt, going by the number of arrows. But maybe that’s because the wraps are starting from a higher level?

He examined the cerements without using the orb.

⦗Decayed Cerements, Level 1⦘

Then he tried his shirt.

⦗Shirt, Level 0⦘

A one-level difference. Does that mean I’ll get a level-3 item either way? Is that what the arrows mean?

He considered the type of item each changed into.

It seems like it will upgrade it, but keeps the item’s basic type. The cerements are a bit different, turning into a mantle, but still something worn that aren't clothes.

Coming to a decision, he used the orb.