Once the bowls filled again, I picked them up and drank the sap one by one, waiting for the system to respond, and this time it worked again, giving me another +2 to both strength and endurance. I stayed there and waited for them to fill once more, then drank again, but this time there was no notification and no change in my body.
I waited a bit longer, let one bowl fill again, and drank it as well, just to be sure, but nothing happened. It seemed like I had reached the limit of what this sap could give me for now.
That settled it.
I set the bowl back down and stepped away from the tree, my decision already made as I adjusted my grip on the axe and began moving forward again, leaving the clearing behind as the forest closed in around me once more.
As I walked, my thoughts shifted inward, not toward the next fight but toward something I had been ignoring so far, something that had started to matter now that the scale of this territory was becoming clearer.
"Hey system," I said quietly as I moved, my gaze still scanning the terrain ahead, "do you have a map or something for this territory?"
The response came instantly.
[Check your shop if you are not too busy]
I paused for half a second, then let out a faint breath.
"Ohh..." I thought, realizing I hadn’t explored most of the shop beyond the basic sections I had needed so far.
I opened the panel immediately.
Shop: Recovery || Enhancement || Weapons || Skills || Utility || Influence
My eyes moved across the categories, lingering for a moment as I considered what I had missed.
"Now what should I check first..." I thought, then shifted my focus and selected Utility.
The utility panel opened in front of me, replacing the usual categories with a structured list, each item clearly defined along with its cost and a short description. My eyes moved over the options slowly this time, taking in everything.
The first one that caught my attention was simple.
[Map – 200 CP]
[Description: Basic map that reveals explored areas and provides visibility within a 200-meter radius. Marks nearby entities, including opposing faction members.]
"Should’ve checked this earlier," I muttered under my breath, already understanding how much easier this would make things, especially in a territory like this where everything was spread out and random.
I didn’t purchase it immediately.
Instead, I kept looking.
Below it was
[Storage – 500 CP]
[Description: Provides a limited-capacity storage space for carrying items.]
Useful, but not urgent.
Next was,
[Appraisal Lens – 400 CP]
[Description: Reveals basic information about targets.]
That one made me pause a little longer, considering how I had been figuring things out manually so far, but I moved on for now.
Then....
[Resource Scanner – 1000 CP]
[Description: Detects valuable resources within a 500-meter radius.]
My eyes lingered there briefly, thinking of the sap tree I had just found, but the cost was steep for now.
And then...
[System Communication – 1000 CP]
That one stood out immediately.
I focused on it, and the description expanded.
[Description: Enables communication through the system medium. No range limitation. Communication possible across the entirety of Orien.]
I stilled for a second. No range limit.
Which meant—
"Knight... Lyrate..." I murmured quietly, the thought forming almost instantly.
If I had this, I could reach them no matter where they were. For the first time since arriving here, something shifted slightly in my expression, the idea of not being completely isolated settling in.
But the cost was too high for now.
I let the panel sit there for a moment longer before exhaling softly and shifting my focus back to the basics.
Map.
That was what I needed first.
Without wasting more time, I selected it.
[200 CP deducted]
The change was immediate.
A faint overlay formed in my vision, spreading outward like a transparent layer over the world in front of me. The terrain around me began to take shape, outlining the trees, the stream I had passed earlier, and the path I had taken so far.
Beyond that, new areas appeared only as faint outlines, limited to a radius around me, just as the description had said.
And then markers.
Small indicators appeared at the edge of my perception, shifting slightly as I moved, representing movement beyond my direct line of sight.
Enemies.
I let out a quiet breath.
"Now that’s better."
Adjusting my grip on the axe, I lifted my gaze from the overlay and looked ahead, the forest no longer feeling as uncertain as before.
I shifted my direction slightly as I followed the marker, adjusting my path instead of moving aimlessly through the forest, and this time I didn’t slow down to observe every step. I picked up speed, letting the map guide me while keeping my focus ahead, and within a few minutes the trees began to open just enough to reveal another clearing.
At the center stood a tree similar to the last one, twisted and leaking pale sap, but the moment I focused on it, the system prompt that followed carried a different effect.
Instead of Strength and Endurance it was Dexterity and Intelligence which was impacted. My grip on the axe tightened slightly as I scanned the area.
Three apes.
All level 15.
Positioned the same way as before. This time I didn’t bother with patience.
I moved in directly.
The first clash was rough, one of them managing to land a solid hit across my side as I stepped in too aggressively, but after that initial mistake, the flow settled quickly. Their movements felt slower now, easier to read, their attacks heavier but predictable, and once I adjusted to their rhythm, the fight turned completely one-sided.
I cut through the first, shifted into the second before it could recover, and finished the third without giving them space to regroup.
A notification followed.
[Level Up]
[Level 14 → 15]
[Combat Points +30]
[Influence Points +0]
By the time I was done with ritual of drinking the sap three times I had–
[Dexterity +4]
[Intelligence +4]
"Thats a good shortcut," I muttered, setting the bowls back down.
With that in mind, I moved again, following the markers instead of wandering, cutting through the forest with a clear path now.
Along the way, I came across more apes scattered across the area, five in total before the next tree, none of them above level 15, and this time the fights didn’t slow me down at all. Each one fell quickly, their coordination weaker outside the guarded zones, and by the time I cleared them, I had gained another level without much effort.
The third tree came into view soon after.
The structure was the same, the sap dripping slowly into wooden bowls, but the effect shifted again when I focused on it.
Vitality and Strength.
I stepped in, cleared what remained around it, and drank without hesitation.
[Vitality +4]
[Strength +1]
The difference in gain didn’t bother me. My body felt sturdier immediately, the increase in vitality reinforcing everything else, and even the smaller strength gain added to what I already had.
Satisfied, I didn’t linger.
There was only one marker left. The final tree.
I moved straight toward it, the forest thinning slightly in that direction, the presence in the air growing heavier the closer I got. When I finally reached it, the structure matched the others, but the effect changed again.
Intelligence and Endurance.
After dealing with the apes, I stepped forward, picked up the bowls, and drank.
[Intelligence +1]
[Endurance +1]
It was lower than before.
A clear drop compared to the earlier trees. I set the bowl down slowly, my gaze lingering on the tree for a moment before I simply shrugged and decided to move ahead.