Lockeroom's Pandemonium

Chapter Eleven: The Call of the Orbs

With the look of the cluster of almost a hundred pair of eyes, Alina and Silver quickly move in the best way they could hide—for if not, there is death.

What they were equipping is just their own comfortable weapons, the bow and the whip.

It was just that moment that they realized they need more items to be equipped in their body.

By the look of the hundred-paired eye of the beasts, a simple weapon that they have might help them nothing. They realized that the longer their stay here in the game, the more dangerous beasts are going to attack them.

Alina muttered incomprehensible curses as she hid herself at the corner of the nest-like branch of the tree. She was furiously scanning the hologram emitted by the screen on her wrist.

“What weapon?” she asked herself. She felt the nervousness rapidly creeping in her body, eating the calmness of her muscle and disturbing the ease of her heart.

She was trying to find suited weapons that might give her advantageous skills, direly needed before the beasts who were looking at them would decide to attack.

The Sabertooth's wisdom was helping her to scan all of the items. However, even with its help, she finds it impossible to find another weapon who had higher caliber than the Airbow she's been using.

“Am I just going to use this weapon, and ask for divine protection so that I wouldn't be dead by the end of those beast’s attack?”

She sighed, the sign of being disturbed is obvious. It seems that with all the loots that they've gathered so hard, coming from the snake and the nighthounds, it all turned out to be useless and incompetent items.

At the far end of the corner of the nest, he saw Silver equipping new set of items in his body.

He had been using the tiger's cloak for awhile. But since its skill needs to be replenished, he had equipped a newer item.

With the use of her Sabertooth's wisdom, she quickly scanned the new vest that Silver is wearing.

***

Vest of Shadow Step

+ 15% resistance to dark item attacks

+ 10% strength

+ 4% agility

Skill: Shadowstep

Skill: Shadow Mimicry

****

What a hero, thought Alina. She wished she have that kind of item too that Silver acquired.

Aside from the promising vest, he also wore a glove. As Alina scanned it, she found out that the Hammering Glove will add strength and brute force if melee weapons are used by the player. It was indeed perfect for him, for he will be using his whip, which can be considered as a melee weapon.

He also wore a pair of scaly shoes. It has no buff or plus percentage to any of his physical ability, however, it showed one skill that she found useful—Spring Jump.

It will allow Silver to jump incredibly high with no difficulty. By means of landing after jumping in high places, he would be unaffected as well. It is a perfect boots for someone as springy as him.

Then Alina suddenly hit a thought.

“What am I doing?” she whispered to herself.

She realized that with her condition, having no possibility to find new and stronger weapon, she just had to upgrade herself.

She needs items that will give her extra advantages so she can utilize the effectivity of her skills and her weapon too, just like Silver.

She immediately scanned her arsenal of weapons and items. From the section of potions and vials, she saw a bottle gleaming in green color. It was a bottle that is of different color compared to other bottles and potion in her inventory.

She then gathered its information.

***

Vial of the Night

Skill: Nocturnal Sensory (120 mins.)

***

With a skimming eye, she read the description of the skill.

She was amazed when she found out that the skill is about increasing the player's senses in an unimaginable extent.

What made her really excited about this, is that it could increase the capacity of her sense of sight. By this, she knew she could bring the Airbow's power in a newer optimal level.

She immediately drank it. Then, in a no second, her stomach started to burn. It gave her a boiling sensation, as if her inside was frothing. Then it writhe her muscle in an unexplainable sensation.

She then bit her lip as the burning sensation started to spread in her body. From the stomach, down to her feet, to her hands, up to her neck, to her eyes, until to the top of her head.

She was astounded when she felt the effect of the potion.

Her world is burning in heat. But she was too awake, too alert of everything. She can smell the stink of the beasts lurking at the trees, surrounding them. She can feel even the slightest coarseness of the trees’ barks. She can hear the guttural voice released by the hidden beast. And her sight; it was too bright, too clear.

She then grabbed the Robe of the Scale King. It has twenty five percent resistance to physical damages, giving the capacity to reduce the feeling of being hurt by the beasts’ attacks.

She was satisfied with her items.

Given the fact that she will be fighting in range, and Silver will be the one to be the fight’s front liner, she knew she could protect and support him with her new skills and items.

But then she saw the orb of lights she used earlier to restrain the nighthounds.

***

Orb of Lights

● Light buff (Socket item; 60 mins.)

● Socket item skill: Call of the Angel's Purgatory

● Plus Skill: Dark, Shadow, and Night restraint

***

She managed to use it, for one of its skills is to restrain the movement of the dark and night creatures, and even classified items within the nature of dark, night, or shadow.

However, she had not used its socket item: the light buff or the socket item skill. It was with the reason that she had no idea of its usage or its advantages.

Then, she decided to take the risk of quickly looking to its capability.

She directed the Sabertooth's wisdom to find information about the socket item and the socket item skill.

In no second, the result was displayed in her front. She quickly read it.

As few seconds pass by, she immediately looked at her Airbow. She then activated again the Sabertooth’s wisdom to look at the statistics of her weapon.

And there, she found, at the last bulleted form of all the things included in her weapon, is a phrase she once disregarded and completely forgot about.

● Socket available (2)

With a surprise, she immediately grabbed two light orb from the inventory on her screen.

“Now how shall I use this?”

Her heart is pounding in nervousness, and in the excitement of discovering what the orb of light will do to her Airbow.

She then activated again her Sabertooth's wisdom, asking instruction as to how would she be able to utilize the orb of light in the advantage of her own weapon.

She smiled when she got the answer. She was glad she had the Sabertooth's wisdom. It was a big advantage for her and her fight for this game. This hairclip whose light forming frame of glasses, made her easy to track the instructions and the hidden secrets of this game. For her, it made the game's difficulty into fifty percent easier.

“Fill socket,” she said. She then placed the light orb beside the Airbow.

As soon as she finished the command that the Sabertooth’s wisdom suggested, the light orb slowly dissolve into powdery texture, then, being absorbed by the totality of the Airbow, evenly distributing the light orb towards the whole body of her weapon.

Her screen beeped. She looked at it.

There, on the screen, is a text written in a game-like font.

● Airbow new skill: Call of the Angel's Purgatory (60 mins.)

What she expected, is that the skill would last for one hundred twenty minutes, or two hours, since she placed two light orbs. However, it seems that the socket feature in the weapon would activate only if both socket were filled with light orb.

She crawled towards Silver. He was silently sitting on the corner, careful not to make any sound or commotion, eyes are alert, survival instinct are on.

Silver looked at her.

“What is it?” asked Silver.

“Let me see your Muse of Vine's Whip,” she suggested.

Silver showed it to her. Then, she immediately scanned it.

● Socket Available: 4

“Woah, why do it needs more orb than mine?” she whispered.

“Why? What's the matter? It's no time to feel excited, Alina. There are monsters waiting to attack us.”

She looked at Silver. The distance in their face was only an inches away.

“Do you have any light orb in your inventory?” she asked, smiling.

He scratched his head, turned his reddened face, then moved a little bit farther away from her.

“I-I don't have any light orb. But fire orb, I have,” Silver answered.

“Go get four of it.” Alina displayed an excited smile.

“Why?”

“Just get it, Silver!” She excitedly whispered.

Silver followed what Alina excitingly told.

He opened his own inventory, and then physicalized four fire orb in his hand.

“Good,” Alina said. She then scanned it.

***

Fire orb

● Fire Buff (Socket item; 60 mins.)

● Socket item skill: Call of the Fire God’s Ember

● Plus skill: Wild fire

***

“Command your vine to fill socket.” Alina then placed the orb beside the whip of Silver.

“Why?”

“Come on, Silver. You are having a lot of question. Just do it.”

“Alina, you're incredibly crushing me by being too authoritative.”

“Why, what's wrong? Is your ego crushed because I am telling you something you don't know?” she asked, starting to be annoyed as well.

Silver sighed. “I don't want to start a fight with you.”

“Neither do I, Silver. I just want to help you.”

Silver nodded. “Fine. Whatever this thing is, I command; fill socket.”

Then, just like what happened to the light orb of Alina, the fire orb of Silver were slowly being absorbed by his whip.

Sooner, as the vine fully absorbed the orb, the vines started to emit flame—brightly red in its color. It enveloped the whole lashing body of the whip, remaining the handle to stay as what it is.

When Silver held it, the fire immediately crawled towards his arm he had used to hold. At first, he panicked. But as he realized that the flame is forming something, he tried to calm down. There maybe fire licking his whole right arm, yet, it didn't burn him. It doesn't feel hot.

Sooner, the fire coating his arm solidified. It may be dancing with the air, but when Silver tried to hit it in the beside wood, a thump of hard object was heard.

It was not the arm of Silver who made the sound. It was the flame coating his whole arm.

“It was as if a flame armor,” Alina concluded.

“It was.” Silver looked at her, wanting to smile, to thank Alina for what she had done to his weapon.

However, instead of smiling, his face grew into horror. His eyes widened in shock and panic.

“Alina!” He then, even panicking, hugged Alina for a protection.

One strong circulation of wind made them flew, making their body crash into the opposite side of the nest-like branches.

Then a huge bird screeched.

Then the sky turned dark.

When Alina turned her glance to check what was the reason of the darkening of the sky, he saw no feather, no bird.

But yes, Alina saw hundreds of flapping wings, terrific beak, and sharp claws readying to grab and torn their meat.

It was no beautiful bird.

It was a cult of skeletal and scaly birds who looked like pterodactyl and other mythical birds who were used to spook children.

At Alina's sight (because of Sabertooth's wisdom), then, displayed letters in uppercase, colored in red, and can be read as:

WARNING: HARPY ATTACK!