She accessed her H.U.D and was greeted by a notification.
[Congratulations: level up available!]
Surprised, she opened the tap to access her character sheet. Sure enough, she had over fifty points she could spend on advancing her skills and attributes. She laughed, “Hey, I just leveled up. How about you?”
“Twice, but not for a while now,” Lefty said.
Calista was shocked. “Twice?”
Lefty’s never left the ceiling as he nodded. “One of my advantages is that I refresh all of my mana whenever I gain a level. So, I’m hoping I get enough XP before we face Severin. I’m not looking forward to testing my abilities against a high level mage, but I suppose if there’s two of us and that Medusa makes good on her plans to attack him as well, maybe we can get behind him or something.”
She smiled for the first time in what felt like forever, “That’s not a bad thought. It’s almost enough to give me hope.”
Lefty shook his head. “Let’s not get too far ahead of ourselves. There’s still at least one dragon roaming around. I have no idea how we’re going to get past that big black thing and her mother.”
“There are actually two dragons,” Calista said.
Lefty blinked and looked down on her. “What? There’s two? We’re as good as dead.”
“No, I don’t think we are. The other dragon isn’t evil. I heard her talking to Smith and Smithey and I think if we can get to her, might find we have our first actual ally in this place.”
“What’s its name?”
“I don’t know. I just know that she’s very young, but very energetic. Maybe if we can get to her, she can help us escape.”
“And just how do you plan on doing that?”
She gave a wicked grin, “By maxing out my Bluff skill.”
“I guess …” Lefty’s voiced trailed off as he leaned back again and stared at the ceiling. Deep in thought, she watched him as his eyes traced the cracks in the stone.
She left the mage to his thoughts as she returned to her character sheet. It was finally time to level up.
Calista: Delver (level 89)
Wisdom: 11
Survival: 17
Survival (forest): 23
Survival (mountain): 23
Survival (dungeon): 30
Cultures: 13
Animal Handling (Voorlock): 20
Willpower: 29
Scholar (Geography): 24
Perception: 16
Stealth: 42
Bluff: 33
Riding: 21
Riding (Voorlock): 39
Pilot (Sailing): 22
Trade: 34
Disguise: 27
Gambling: 28
Perform: 30
Bluff: 37
Command: 21
Diplomacy: 35
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Speed: 14
Acrobatics: 30
Escape Artist: 33
Dodge: 42
Flying: 21
Ranged Combat (Crossbow): 38
Ranged Combat (Short bow): 33
Legerdemain: 36
Constitution: 14
Climb/Jump: 37
Melee Combat (Dagger): 29
Melee Combat (Long Sword): 31
Melee Combat (Short Sword): 30
Melee Combat (Rapier): 26
Melee Combat (Spear): 19
Melee Combat (Shield): 20
Unarmed Combat: 23
Lifting: 23
Stamina: 30
Swimming: 31
Intimidate: 30
Technical: 16
Engineer (Dungeon Traps): 47
Healing & Medicine: 28
Disable Device (Traps): 48
Lockpicking: 44
Shipwright: 18
Blacksmith: 22
Craft (Thief Tools): 29
Craft (Arrows): 25
Dungeoneering: 44
Charisma: 15
(Charisma bonus: +5)
She had fifty nine points to spend. And I can put sixteen of them into Bluff. Which was the first thing she did. From there, she advanced [stealth], [melee combat (longsword)], [climb/jump], [disable device (traps)], [intimidate], & [dungeoneering].
When she was done, she reviewed her stats, reading them over to make certain she was ready to hatch her plan. If I can get to the little dragon, this will all get a lot easier.
Calista: Delver (level 90)
Wisdom: 11
Survival: 17
Survival (forest): 23
Survival (mountain): 23
Survival (dungeon): 30
Cultures: 13
Animal Handling (Voorlock): 20
Willpower: 29
Scholar (Geography): 24
Perception: 16
Stealth: 42
Bluff: 33
Riding: 21
Riding (Voorlock): 39
Pilot (Sailing): 22
Trade: 34
Disguise: 27
Gambling: 28
Perform: 30
Bluff: 37
Command: 21
Diplomacy: 35
Speed: 14
Acrobatics: 30
Escape Artist: 33
Dodge: 42
Flying: 21
Ranged Combat (Crossbow): 38
Ranged Combat (Short bow): 33
Legerdemain: 36
Strength & Constitution: 14
Climb/Jump: 37
Melee Combat (Dagger): 29
Melee Combat (Long Sword): 31
Melee Combat (Short Sword): 30
Melee Combat (Rapier): 26
Melee Combat (Spear): 19
Melee Combat (Shield): 20
Unarmed Combat: 23
Lifting: 23
Stamina: 30
Swimming: 31
Intimidate: 35
Technical: 16
Engineer (Dungeon Traps): 47
Healing & Medicine: 28
Disable Device (Traps): 48
Lockpicking: 44
Shipwright: 18
Blacksmith: 22
Craft (Thief Tools): 29
Craft (Arrows): 25
Dungeoneering: 48
Charisma: 15
(Charisma bonus: +5)
When she was done, another notification popped up. [You may gain or advance one special ability]. Oh, well that’s even better. She had been so absorbed in surviving the dungeon that she had forgotten she was on the verge of hitting level ninety. This was an easy choice. While she’d had her eye on [hamstring] or [throat punch] for quite some time, she knew her current situation demanded she pump her [dungeon sense] to its max. With [dungeon sense] at its max, she would be able to see nearly everything around them.
Closing her H.U.D, she smiled to herself as she leaned back, closed her eyes, and concentrated.