Nate put on his new sackcloth shirt. It was a bit itchy, but it felt better having at least something to wear. He was still self conscious despite his freshly altered form. A new message popped up after he was dressed.
Interface complete. Map and HUD Compass now available. Character sheet now available.
“Open it!” Nate said with as much excitement as he felt.
A window appeared that was thus far unlike any of the others. It was akin to an internet browser, with tabs at the top that showed a variety of options. It defaulted on the tab marked ‘Stats.’
Name: Ignatius ‘Nate’ Arkwright
Level 0 Human Novice
Health: 50/50
Fatigue: 50/50
Magic: 50/50
Hunger: 2%
Thirst: 3%
Exhaustion: 1%
“Hunger, thirst, and exhaustion? I haven't even left the starting area yet and we've activated Survival Mode? Rude.”
There were three other tabs after ‘Stats.’ The first was marked C.R.A.B.S. System, the second Spells and Powers, and his inventory window had become the final tab.
Nate moved to the next tab. A secondary window appeared in his vision.
Welcome to the C.R.A.B.S. Skill System. Would you like the tutorial? YES NO.
“Yes, please!”
A green arrow, the same color as his targeting reticle, appeared next to the tab. A small scroll unrolled next to the arrow, a quill with big fake eyes blinking up at him.
“You’re my Clippy! I’ll call you Quilly.” Text scrawled across the rest of the unfurled scroll.
There are five skill groups. Crafting are the seven skills that result in the creation of objects, magic or mundane. Racial skills are the most varied, those four skills provided by one's race. Arcane skills are the seven skills revolving around the schools of magic. Battle skills are the seven skills primarily applying to combat. Stealth skills are the seven skills that revolve around sneaking around one's foes.
As he read the text, expandable boxes appeared in the window, one for each skill group. The green arrow didn’t move, seeming to wait on Nate to choose which group he wanted to see first. “Probably best we start from the top and work our way down.” He tapped the Crafting button first. It expanded to fill the window, showing a list of the seven skills. Each skill name was labeled Novice, had a bar beginning at 0 and ending in 100, with small dots at the 25, 50, 75, and 100 percent marks. All the skills were set to zero.
Crafting skills are skills revolving around the use of gathered ingredients to create tangible objects, weapons, and armor. There are seven Crafting skills.
Alchemy is the crafting skill that uses ingredients to create potions and poisons.
Bowcraft is the crafting skill that uses ingredients to create bows, crossbows, arrows, and bolts.
Carpentry is the crafting skill that uses ingredients to create objects made of wood, such as furniture or cookware.
Clothier is the crafting skill that uses ingredients to create clothing and other objects that utilize fabrics.
Cooking is the crafting skill that uses ingredients to create various types of edible substances.
Leatherworking is the crafting skill that uses ingredients to create leather armor and other objects that utilize leather.
Smithing is the crafting skill that uses ingredients to create objects made of metal, stone, or scale.
This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.
Improving any crafting skill increases Fatigue on a 1 to 1 basis. Gain a relevant boon at quarter intervals.
“They covered the bases of most adventuring gear fairly well. Whoever they are.”
Racial skills grant passive abilities and/or powers based on your race.
Adaptive Learning.
Humans excel at adapting to new environments and situations. This ability allows them to gain temporary bonuses or adaptability in response to specific challenges or environments encountered during their journey.
Adaptive Learning automatically activates during times of need, granting temporary increases to the skill most useful in the moment. Additionally, all other skills improve slightly faster. Improving this ability increases Fatigue on a 1 to 1 basis.
“A passive and emergency skill boost? I’ll take it!”
Indomitable Spirit.
Humans possess an unyielding spirit and determination, allowing them to push through adversity and overcome seemingly insurmountable challenges. This ability provides bonuses to resilience, willpower, and the ability to shrug off debuffs or negative effects.
Unlocks the Indomitable Spirit power. Cooldown 1 hour. When activated, gain resistance to non-damaging negative effects for the next minute. This ability can trigger automatically. Passive: Debuffs and negative effects that take effect have a shorter duration than normal. Improving this ability increases Magic on a 1 to 1 basis.
“One minute power with an hour cooldown. Need to be selective when using this one.”
Resourceful.
Humans are resourceful and inventive, able to make use of their surroundings in unexpected ways. This ability grants bonuses to improvisation, such as crafting makeshift weapons or finding hidden pathways.
You can craft certain objects on the fly, negating the need of accessing specific crafting tables and/or tools. Objects crafted in this way are weaker or less durable than similar items created using crafting tables and/or tools. Additionally, all crafting costs slightly less Fatigue. Improving this ability increases Fatigue on a 1 to 1 basis.
“This one should be easy to grind out a level or two, provided I have access to the right ingredients.” As he was making his own notes, his journal was beginning to fill up, but it seemed to Nate that it never seemed to run out pages.
Tenacity.
Unlocks the Tenacity power. Cooldown 1 hour. When activated, gain resistance to elemental damage for the next minute. This power can trigger automatically in times of need. Additionally, resistance effects on clothing and armor are passively increased. Improving this ability increases Health on a 1 to 1 basis.
“I don’t like the sound of this one,” Nate said. He’d always had a low pain threshold. He struggled when popping pimples in sensitive areas. Hell, even non-sensitive areas.
As Nate had already learned about the Arcane skills, he skimmed it, noted the obvious point that improving his arcane skills would increase his magic points on a 1 to 1 basis, and moved ahead to the next section.
Battle skills are the skills revolving around fighting, including offensive and defensive skills. There are seven Battle skills.
Archery encompasses the use of projectile weapons such as bows and crossbows.
Athletics encompasses strength-based movements such as lifting, pulling and pushing, as well as running.
Blocking encompasses any actions, especially using shields, that attempts to divert incoming physical damage.
Heavy Armor encompasses the skill of optimizing the protective nature of heavy armor.
Heavy Melee encompasses the combat use of weapons classified as heavy.
Perception encompasses the use of the senses to detect friend and foe alike.
Unarmed encompasses the use of the body for combat that doesn't involve external weapons.
Improving any Battle skill increases Health on a 1 to 1 basis.
“I hope they have trainers in this world. Maybe there’s a montage sigil stone!” The last skill group was of particular interest to Nate, given his preferred gaming style.
“I’m so glad there’s a stealth section. Stealth archer, here I come!” he said as he read on.
Stealth skills are the skills revolving around hiding, staying hidden, or getting away when discovered.
Acrobatics encompass the use of speed, balance, and maneuverability to traverse the terrain.
Disguise enconpasses the use of tools, ingredients, and the environment to hide in plain sight.
Light Armor encompasses the skill of optimizing the dextrous nature of armor classified as light.
Light Melee encompasses the combat use of weapons classified as light.
Lockpicking encompasses the use of tools to pick locks or otherwise gain access to typically inaccessible objects or areas.
Sleight of Hand encompasses the use of distraction to pull off feats of theft, and the use of tools to set and disarm traps.
Sneak enconpasses the use of your abilities, equipment, and magic to remain undetected amongst friend and foe.
Improving any Stealth skill increases Fatigue on a 1 to 1 basis.
He looked briefly at the Spells and Power tab, but it just listed his three spells and two powers. He then remembered that his character sheet was not the only thing he'd unlocked. The map that he pulled up showed him the room he was in.
“The Stormroom. A fitting name, if a bit on the nose.” His journal began to blink.