Chapter 32: Chapter 32 - Into the Core
The Core swallowed me whole.
It’s all-encompassing canopy knitted together above, branches weaving a near-absolute ceiling that filtered the sun into those eerie streaks of grey light. The air way heavy, damp, cloying.
And the silence...every footfall sank into the ground like a firecracker at a temple.
It was unnerving. And to add to the weight of that silence, a stubborn translucent system prompt hung in the corner of my vision, refusing to let me forget.
[Penalty Active: Attribute Seal (-15%)]
A subtle drag tugged down at each step. It was different to just being weaker, or slower. The seal felt more like chains bolting me to a wall---constantly reminding me of my imprisonment, and not allowing me to move beyond a certain limit. It was exactly that, but instead of being prevented from moving beyond a certain distance, I was being prevented from using my full strength, speed, mana, and stamina.
They were all still there, but...inaccessible.
It was frustrating, but these were the consequences of failure. And if I failed again, the seal would double.
-30%.
I would not allow that weight.
I walked for a while before I was finally able to push the pointless frustrations aside, opting instead to check out the new System Functions.
I pulled up the descriptions for each of them, one by one.
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[Inventory]
Grants the user a personal spatial storage, accessible at no cost.
Volume: 1 cubic meter
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Useful.
One cubic meter wasn’t much---I couldn’t lug around a Beast Corpse inside it, for example---but it was plenty for personal belongings and essentials. My pack, extra weapons, armor, clothes, Beast Cores, they could all be stored inside without an issue.
I’d save a lot of stamina if I didn’t have to carry around my pack all the time. I removed it off my back, then holding it between both hands, I willed it to go into the Inventory, and in an instant, it was gone. Not a sound. Not a flash of light. Nothing. One moment it was there, the next, it wasn’t.
Even better. Such indicators would be inconvenient.
I moved to the next function.
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[Appraisal]
Allows the user to view basic information about the target, including Name, Race, Rank, and Level.
Range: 30 meters
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A faint white glow lit my palm as it activated.
Arthur’s skill.
The same one that allowed him to measure beasts before planning their engagements. With this, I could know danger levels before I jumped in. An invaluable addition.
Next, Analyze.
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[Analyze]
Allows the user to Analyze and Store Data within the System’s memory to be used as needed.
Range: 5 meters
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This was what the System had used to process and store everything Gerard’s Axemanship manual had to offer, and it had already shown its worth. I could think of several instances where I could use it to significantly increase my knowledge-base and possible paths for training. For example, going to a library meant it could expand at a rapid rate for no cost whatsoever, and that was only considering a library had normal books...
What about Stores with Manuals? Arthur had mentioned there were manuals to give you initial understanding of the Magical Laws...would I be able to Analyze those too? There was much that could be debated, but I saved it for later. I would find no manuals lying around in the thickets of the Core.
The final skill, was Map.
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[Map]
A simple 2D virtual map that continually updates as the user travels. Starts out blank.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
A fairly large System Panel opened up to my side, grey covering its entirety, like a sea of fog. But there, cutting straight through it, was a narrow line of varied color: my path from the cave to here. Every step had been recorded.
So it was working even before I unlocked it...Convenient.
I played around with it a little, rotating, panning, zooming in and out, it was fairly intuitive to operate. I also noted that by double tapping a point on the map, I could place named markers for places. Without delay, I double tapped the point on the cave, and named it "Cave - Half a day from Theverie"
It would be useful for judging distance and approximating travel times just based off the positions on the map.
I continued walking, keeping my senses as sharp as possible. Roots as wide as men buckled the path into uneven rises, patches of dull, grey grass poking through the mulch. A dreary environment, but on closer inspection, I noted...indents...in the mud.
Then scrapes on the trees, bark scraped raw.
Signs of movement. And signs of beasts.
My pace slowed alongside my breathing, scanning the trees for any lurking predators, but there was only darkness, and the occasional column of grey light.
I looked above, giving consideration to the idea of climbing into the tree-tops and traversing the biome as Arthur did, but it wouldn’t suit my battle style. A Greataxe was too cumbersome to wield in a place that required light footing, balance and agility.
So I resigned myself to caution, adjusting my grip on the axe, knuckles tightening against the haft as I pushed deeper.
The first sound came faint, carried between trees. At first, I wasn’t sure if it was merely the wind, or my feet sinking into the mud...but then it returned.
A stuttering laugh. Uneven, broken, echoing until it crawled beneath skin.
It grew louder. Then another joined it. Then another. And another.
My head swiveled in alarm as I squared up into the Guard Stance on instinct, ready to swing at a moment’s notice.
Low forms stalked into view.
Four shapes, moving with shoulders rolling, jaws gaping, saliva dripping. Their hides were mottled grey, manes ragged like torn cloth. Their eyes glowed a jaundiced yellow, and their unnerving cackles revealed serrated teeth, each one a saw’s edge meant for tearing rather than piercing.
I used Appraisal immediately.
[Razorfang Hyena (Squall)(Lv.3)]
[Razorfang Hyena (Squall)(Lv.6)]
[Razorfang Hyena (Squall)(Lv.2)]
[Razorfang Hyena (Squall)(Lv.7)]
They cackled in eerie synchrony as they revealed themselves, but from behind them...
From behind them came weight. Heavy thuds rumbled with each step, branches cracking as a larger frame pushed through the brush, plated in bone ridges and spikes that jutted from its head like horns, and from its shoulders like spiked pauldrons. Its jaws were heavier, a deep growl resonating from within.
I felt it before the System Prompt ever appeared...
[Razor-boned Hyena (Tremor)(Lv.8)]
...Tremor Class.