Choosing [Balanced Combatant] opened up an entire row of pictures representing new skills. Three from Attack, three from Defence, and one more that was the progression skill for the Balanced path.

That was the one that he checked first.

[10 Points] [Beast Space Upgrade] upgrades the mental spaces to match the needs of the beasts residing within.

Karl simply stared in annoyance at the description for a few long minutes. Was that why he got no guidance on how to advance his Beast Spaces? Because it was a skill that he could just learn?

No, there was no skill like that attached to the other two trees, they would still have to improve their own, but they would get many more beast skills in exchange. Quite a few more, as he quickly realized.

On the Defence side, he had the option for [Barrier] [Bestial Regeneration] and [Refresh]. All of those were skills to be used by the Beast Master on his team, and all of them were currently being provided, in some basic sense, by Thor's [Group Refreshing Lightning], so Karl turned to the offensive side.

2 Points [10 Points for Balance] [Haste] improves the speed of the target beast by 10 percent per Rank (30 percent at Ascended)

2 Points [10 Points for Balance] [Terrorize] improves the damage done by the target beast by 10 percent per Rank (30 percent for Ascended)

2 Points [10 Points for Balance] [Brutality] increases the size and strength of the target beast by 10 percent per Rank (30 percent for Ascended)

That points cost differential was completely, insanely unfair. The next rank also looked like it contained all sorts of actual attack abilities that he could grant his pets for a period of time, all of which could come in useful in the future, and Karl was tempted to pick [Terrorize] just to get to see the descriptions.

But the first that Karl wanted to spend some of his thirty remaining points on was [Beast Space Upgrade].

The three spaces quickly adjusted, changing the setting inside to be more elaborate and detailed than what Karl had created on his own, though the actual energy level didn't change much. It felt like it didn't actually improve the power level of the space, except for Rae's which adjusted up to better match her power.

So, he would still need to meditate to improve them, he just wouldn't have to worry about the bottlenecks anymore.

That was spectacular, but not as earth-shattering and overpowered as it had seemed at first.

Choosing that skill caused two new skills to appear as available above it in his skill tree.

50 Points [Evolution] Cause any bonded pet to evolve into a form one Rank Higher than when the skill is used. Usable once per beast, some materials may be required.

That one was out for now, he didn't have the points.

10 Points [Skill Master Rank 2] Usable only by those with the Skill Master Learned Ability. Allows learned skills to improve to one rank above the bonded partner's current Rank with practice.

Now that was the sort of ability that he couldn't turn down.

[Skill Master] Upgraded to Rank 2

[Skill Master Rank 3 Available] 100 Points. Allows all skills to evolve to a related skill one tier higher than their current tier with practice.

If Slash was Tier 1, while Rend and Shred were both considered Tier 2 abilities, as was Lacerate, improving any of those to Tier 3 would be devastating on the battlefield. Even [Refreshing Lightning], if it was improved by an entire Skill Tier, would be something fearsome. If it were improved by two Tiers, Thor might actually be unkillable at the same Rank.

But not only that, the way that the skill was worded made it sound like the potential was limitless. One Rank higher than the current Rank with practice. So, if they just kept training their skills, they might move up even further.

That left him with ten points, and a desire to know how to obtain more. Once he focused on the need for knowledge, he noticed a small circle with a question mark in it. Just what he needed, answers to common questions.

[Skill Points are awarded for quests, achievements and accomplishments. Each Rank improvement increases the maximum points range of the available awards.]

That made sense. The higher the risk, the higher the reward, and the more powerful you were, the stronger the skills you would need, so the larger the number of points that would be required.

That left him with ten points, and a conundrum. He could do as Rae was pleading, and use them for [Terrorize], or he could do as Thor was suggesting and use them for [Bestial Regeneration] Which would grant the target a rapid healing ability.

Both were good to have, but ultimately, they were still mostly working in a group, and they had basic recovery abilities. The most important part was being able to effectively deal with threats above their Rank. If they could eliminate them even a little faster, a lot of damage could be prevented from ever being taken.

So, the decision was a fairly clear victory. 10 points were spent on [Terrorize], which Karl found was an active skill, but with no specified time limit, so it could just be left active. He would find out the actual conditions when it deactivated for the first time, but even if he just had to activate it when he called them out, that would still be fine.

Of course, there could be some timer built in that it didn't warn him about, but Rae was so happy to have a skill called [Terrorize] that it would be worth it even if he had to reuse it every few minutes.

[Of course, you should reactivate it all the time. What could be better than Terrorize?] Rae asked, listening in on his thoughts.

Purchasing Terrorize opened three options from the next row of abilities, and a note.

[Tier 3 skills activate on Beast Master and all deployed Beasts]

10 Points [20 Points for Balance] [Shatter] physical strikes cause vibrations through the opponent's body that damage organs and may break bones.

10 Points [20 Points for Balance] [Sharpness] Slashing, Stabbing and Disintegration type abilities increase in damage by 10 percent per Rank. (30 percent at Ascended)

10 Points [20 Points for Balance] [Crushing Blows] Blunt impact skills increase in damage by 10 percent per Rank. (Effective on damage caused by Shatter). (30 percent at Ascended)

Karl finished his changes and found that everyone was waiting for him, and they were still in the same spot.

"Alright, I'm done with the changes. I got some new skills." Karl explained.

"That's just unfair, giving out skills like candy to you." Tessa sighed.

She had the battle armour spell that she had learned not long ago still active, and if Karl was right, it looked much more draconic, and that golden glow around her was also a new skill, but there was an unspoken "don't ask, don't tell" policy in place, and everyone liked to keep something in reserve for emergencies.

If they underestimated what you could do, they wouldn't be as likely to put you in a situation that you couldn't survive.

Karl stood and stretched tired muscles, while Lotus flopped out on top of Rae for a nap and waved a hand at Tessa.

"Alright, come up with an idea for how to get out of here. I will be here."

Tessa smiled at her. "Alright, we're finished." She called out to nobody in particular.

The snowy battlefield vanished, and they found themselves back in the room where they started.

Dana and the two Awakened Spellswords were already there, heavily wounded, and doing their best to stop the flow of blood with minor healing potions and bandages.

Lotus activated her area healing spell, closing their wounds in seconds.

The little cleric didn't even look up from her spot on Rae's back as she spoke. "I take it things didn't go as well as you had hoped?"

Dana gave a bitter laugh. "The first and second waves went from bad to terrible, but we almost died the moment the third one appeared. We used the Golems as shields and ran until it kicked us out."

Karl nodded. "That's similar to what happened to us, only we could fight the third wave, but it still kicked us out at the end of it. That freezing effect was rough."

The Spellswords looked at him strangely. "Freezing effect? We were in the middle of the desert."

"Oh, we were on a frozen battlefield, covered in snow and bodies." Karl explained.

Prince Corbin was the next one back, and Tessa jumped into action, adjusting his position and checking his body while using her more powerful healing magic and whistling for Lotus to do the same.

Between the two of them, they barely managed to save the heavily injured Royal Rank mage, but fortunately, his severed left arm had come back out with him, and Tessa held it in place during the healing, so it reattached without issue.

The Prince was out cold, but breathing steadily when the last two came back, exhausted but uninjured.

"Well, good news, if you run when things get bad, it will let you out." Alice joked with Larry, then realized that everyone else was already here, and mostly covered in blood.

"Goddess, what happened to you all?" She asked.

"No, we want to know what happened to you all that wasn't a disaster." Prince Corbin countered, without opening his eyes from where he was laying in the double healing circles.

Larry frowned. "There was another space that said Commander Rank trial, and then an endless wave of Ogres coming our way. We fought them while retreating, and then we were returned here."