Strengthening

"Hmm, which one should I get…?" Charles muttered to himself.

Henrietta, Dylan, and Nora took a look, curiosity clear in their expressions.

"I don't know much about Beast Tamer class weapons, but shouldn't you get something that's less dangerous to you yet pack the most power? Your partner there already did most of the heavy lifting, so I think you can afford to hang out in the sidelines. I'd go with the bow or the dagger," Dylan said.

Nora seemed to be deep in thought, reading the descriptions over and over in silence with a serious expression.

"I… don't know much, either, but… the charm looks stronger, though maybe it'll be bit more dangerous," Nora said, her voice carrying a trace of uncertainty.

"Let me see that," Henrietta poked Nora's shoulder, prompting her to stand aside.

She read the descriptions one by one, and grinned when she saw the charm's description.

"I agree with her, get the charm. The charm might be a bit more, hmm… exhausting to use, for lack of a better word, but it does help in a pinch."

"First things first, though, what does the charm do?" Charles asked.

"Take it, I haven't lied to you so far with the Dismantle skill, have I? You saw the charm's power from the description, didn't you? If what is written there is true, taking that one and buying the boosting skills would be the best option. You don't want to just stand there while the action is going on, do you?"

Though Henrietta asked in a joking manner followed with a sincere smile, her words felt like daggers spurring Charles to action. She was right in that he will never accomplish anything if he just stood there while he relied on others contributing to the thick of the battle, and should he kept focusing on his own survival while doing a support role, he would have gotten left in the dust the moment his own usefulness ceased.

He remembered the fear of death as he was falling back when the office he worked at was destroyed by the sudden apocalyptic disasters. From that day onwards, he had promised himself to not falter.

"Fine, the charm it is," Charles quickly responded and selected the option.

[Purchase Novice Beast Charm for 50 points?]

[Yes]

[Current points: 56]

When he finished the purchase, his hand started to glow, as chains formed on his right hand and wound upon it forming a crisscross pattern like a pair of snakes. At the end, a twelve sided dodecahedron-shaped charm could be seen. Most of its sides are blank, except for a small, eye-shaped symbol in the center.

"Now what?"

"Get the skills, you'll see later," Henrietta replied with a knowing smile, "It'll be easier to see it yourself than explaining, I promise."

He shrugged, deciding to see how it would go, and opened the [Skills and Stats] menu. He chose the three boosting skills and immediately purchased them.

[Low-Class Offense Boost]

[Low-Class Endurance Boost]

[Low-Class Agility Boost]

All the skills shared the same description, that is [Boost the selected stats by 10%]

[Current points: 26]

Right as he finished the purchases, Charles felt strength flowing into him, and with it, a new notification appeared.

[Your class has advanced to Novice Beast Tamer!]

[You have unlocked the Beast Energy system!]

[You have unlocked the ability to use the Boost skills!]

[You have unlocked the "Beast Integration" skill!]

[Beast Integration]

[Required Beast Energy: 100]

[Details: Beast Tamers are bound in a contract with their partner beasts, allowing the latter to lend their powers to the former. Beast Charms uses this bond to give a temporary increase onto the wielder's power.]

With 26 points remaining, Charles looked for more items, but he shortly closed the menu, as the other items were far too expensive for his current points. He opened the stats window back and looked at his current strength. He thought for a bit, and then closed the window without doing anything.

"This can wait, let's see what we got first and boost the stats afterwards," Charles said and took out the items he obtained.

[Jackalope Antler x60]

[Almiraj Antler x2]

[Manticore Wings x2]

"How were this supposed to be used, again?"

--

After figuring out how to obtain the boosts, their stats were finally boosted a bit.

[Nora Lister]

[Class: Apprentice Mage]

[Strength: 32 (D)]

[Endurance: 16 (D-)]

[Agility: 20 (D)]

[Dylan Sietras]

[Class: Basic Warrior]

[Strength: 31 (D)]

[Endurance: 19 (D-)]

[Agility: 34 (D)]

[Name: Charles Thiterith]

[Class: Novice Beast Tamer]

[Strength: 28 (D-)]

[Endurance: 23 (E)]

[Agility: 22 (D)]

Charles did a bit of trial and error, and figured out that most of the horns were worth 0.5 points of Agility, while the wings and the beast horn were worth 1 point each. He split the agility boost from the items almost evenly between him, Dylan, and Nora, while Henrietta only rejected under the reason she wouldn't feel the effects.

With their remaining points, Dylan bought a better weapon, while Nora got herself some protective gear. Dylan's weapon were still a greatsword, but this time, it was made of gleaming reddish metal with a black handle. He then put the remaining 6 points into his strength stat.

Meanwhile, a set of simple leather armor covered Nora's body. The armor was chosen as it was light enough not to hinder movement while providing some degree of protection. Afterwards, she put the 6 points onto her endurance, ensuring she could survive being in the thick of battle for a little while at least.

"With that out of the way, should we go to the castle?" Charles asked.

"Should we wait until we are stronger, at least?" Nora asked.

"This should be enough, we can't waste any time. Besides, the more we wait, the more your friends' lives will be in danger," Charles said and glanced at the tree-shaped sigil on his right hand.

[Remaining time: 12 days, 8 hours, and 10 minutes]

"Besides, we've gotten stronger. I think we should be fine," Dylan added.

"Alright, if you say so, Charles," Nora finally agreed.

The castle were at least a day's journey away, and thus, they decided to start as soon as possible, taking turns to rest and to keep watch while hunting nearby beasts for food.

As the remaining time ticked down to 11 days, they have arrived at their destination.

[Side Quest]

[The Kobold Lord's Castle]

[Before the time of humanity, kobolds roamed the land and conducted trade with humans. They even had their own government system and laws, at least, until one day they all disappeared for unknown reasons. Defeat the kobold lord and obtain extra points!]

Charles stared at the quest screen and sighed, "… Just who made this?"