Ten minutes later, they left the mine and stepped into warm sunshine, the bog feeling downright welcoming after their stint inside the flesh-renders’ lair. After making sure that the coast was clear, the triumphant duo pulled up their menus, eager to examine the progress they’d made by clearing the hive and completing the event.
Glad that during this quest, he could summon his profile once per day as needed, Nick willed the screen into existence. He broke into a broad grin after reading the notifications awaiting his perusal. In addition to acquiring an amazing reward from the chest, he’d boosted his stats quite a bit.
Congratulations. You have accumulated enough experience to reach level [12].
You have gained one point of magic from your level.
You have one free attribute point awaiting allocation at your discretion.
Through use you have improved the following skills:
Throwing has increased from [4] to [5].
Wand has increased from [7] to [8].
Sword has increased from [5] to [6].
Evasion has increased from [3] to [5].
By pushing yourself to the limit in the midst of a deadly battle, you have conditioned your body and improved the following baseline attributes:
Dexterity has increased from [8] to [9].
Strength has increased from [7] to [8].
Yes, Nick pumped his fist when he read the last line. He’d been waiting for that point of strength for a while now and was thrilled that his baseline dexterity had risen as well. The boosts to his skills were most welcome too.
Sophia must have made comparable progress, because when he glanced over, he saw that she was smiling. The distant look in her eyes told him that she was still reading through her updates.
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A few minutes later, she turned to him and said, “Not a bad haul at all. That was way too fucking close, but the progress we made was more than worth the time we lost. Let’s rest for a few hours to recover some stamina, then put as many miles behind us as we can before dark.”
As exhausted as he was, Nick knew that the fight had taken even more out of his partner. “Sounds like a plan.” He started looking for a good spot to stand watch. “Take a nap while I stand guard. You’ve earned it.” Sophia looked like she wanted to protest, then staggered as her exhaustion caught up to her, letting out a sleepy yawn.
“Thanks Nick. I think I will.” She sat down with her back against a tree. Her breathing told him that she was fast asleep a few minutes later, leaving him to reflect on everything that had happened. He was pleased by their performance, but the fight had been far too close for comfort. Worse, they had wound up being trapped by an elite enemy.
If Sophia hadn’t been saving her mysterious summoning ability, they would have died down in the mine. We need to grow stronger fast and get better at running from fights we can’t win. Hopefully, force acceleration will help on both fronts.
His mana reserves were starting to feel insufficient to take full advantage of his spells, so Nick decided to invest his free point into magic. He signaled his intention to the System and sat down, focusing as intently as he could on the sensation of his core condensing and then expanding. Trying to get better at sensing his mana and the various conduits leading from the reservoir below his heart.
When he was done, he looked at his menu before he lost access to it for the day, checking out his upgraded attributes.
Attributes
Strength: 8 (9) Dexterity: 9 (13) Toughness: 8 (11) Mind: 9 (11) Creativity: 8 (9) Charisma: 5 Magic: 3 (9) ??? ???
Sophia woke up two hours later, letting Nick know that she was ready to guard him while he slept. But he was already feeling quite a bit better, now that his stamina wasn’t bottomed out.
“I’ll sleep first when we camp for the night. Let’s head for the tower while the bog is free of blackmist.” She nodded her agreement, then picked up her pack. Together, they set off into the marshlands, heading for the black tower looming in the distance.
They made good time for the rest of the day. Nick was really feeling the battering he had taken by now, but he tried his best not to let his discomfort show on his face. He must have failed to hide it after all, because even though there was still an hour left until sunset, Sophia insisted that they make camp when they passed by a defensible grove of trees.
He wanted to protest, but found that he simply didn’t have it in him. “Sleep Nick. You’ve earned it. I’ll take care of everything tonight. I’ll have dinner waiting for you when you wake up.”