Isabelle looked at the Large Ozian Juggernaut Hermit Crab, standing over the dead bodies of its fallen comrades. As its long, cylindrical eyes looked around at the carnage, they went from an amber color to red.
“Don’t worry, team, I got this,” said Sir Jingles. He equipped another throwing dagger and tossed it at the Large Ozian Juggernaut Hermit Crab’s head. It bounced off its shell unsatisfyingly.
[0 damage dealt]
“Nice job,” said Isabelle.
Sir Jingles scurried behind Tahsi, cowering.
Isabelle felt paralyzed, mainly because she didn’t know what she wanted to do. Obviously, stealth was out the window on this one, the Large Ozian Juggernaut Hermit Crab was staring right at her. Then again, why wasn’t it attacking? The system had said her ‘One of the Crabs’ buff didn’t work against it, so the crab obviously saw her as an enemy.
Fuck it, Isabelle figured. She dashed up to the crab and leapt for the top of its torso, her elbows outstretched, prepared to use the full power of her gauntlets.
Time seemed to move slowly for a second as the Large Ozian Juggernaut Hermit Crab’s eyes suddenly focused on Isabelle. Then, one of its large, lumbering arms moved up and whacked her away.
Everything was a blur as Isabelle shot through the air, smashing into and through the tavern wall and out to the other side, landing in a heap in the muddy sand and dirt outside, where it was still pouring rain.
[20 damage dealt]
20 fucking damage?! Isabelle felt sick. She had terrible tunnel vision, and every muscle ached as she pulled herself up to look to the distance where she’d come from. The Large Ozian Juggernaut Hermit Crab stood there like a statue. What could she do?
[Clarification: To exit combat mode, ensure you are >50 feet away from any enemy combatant.]
Isabelle shuddered at the thought. She couldn’t just leave her party members to die, especially when it was her fault the Large Ozian Juggernaut Hermit Crab was there in the first place.
Isabelle opened her inventory.
Inventory: Isabelle
Carrying capacity: 35.5/36
Item
Traits
Steel Morningstar
+3 damage, +5 carry weight
Potion of Lesser Health
+5 hp, +0.5 carry weight
Steel Domination Chain
+11 damage, +10 carry weight
Staff of the Crustacean
+5 mana, +2 carry weight
Crab Exoskeleton
+8 hp, +3 stm, +10 carry weight
Crab Claw Gauntlets
+4 damage (armed), +8 damage (melee) +2 carry weight
Emerald Amulet of Lesser Stamina
+2 stm, +0.5/sec s-regen
Peasant Robes (human)
+1 carry weight
Stale Bread Loaf x8
+10 hp (cumulative), +0.5 carry weight
Crab Flesh x1
+2 hp, +1 carry weight
Gate Key
n/a
Fuck it. She drank her last Potion of Lesser Health.
[Potion of Lesser Health drunken]
[+5 hp]
Still, that only gave her 7 hp. Not enough to go against a crab that could deal 20 damage in one blow, for sure. So, Isabelle sucked it up and ate the one crab flesh item she had in her inventory, which happened to be uncooked. It was clammy and it reeked, but it did its job.
[Crab Flesh eaten]
[+2 hp]
Now she was at 9 hp. That was better, but… still not enough. Isabelle knew what she had to do.
[Stale Bread Loaf equipped]
Isabelle scowled at Tahsi’ bread. How happy he’d be if he knew what she was about to do. Frantically, Isabelle chomped into the loaf again and again, swallowing it fast, not giving her saliva any time to break it down. Her esophagus felt like it was being scraped by rocks.
[+3 hp]
[+3 hp]
[+2 hp]
[+2 hp]
How much hp did Isabelle have now? She didn’t have time to check her whole character sheet, but she wasn’t a mathemetician, either.
[Clarification: Think ‘check player hp’ to check your hp.]
How obvious. Isabelle thought ‘Check player hp.’
[Player Isabelle hp: 19]
Great. The Large Ozian Juggernaut Hermit Crab could still kill her in one hit. Isabelle looked over to see how Tahsi and Sir Jingles were doing. They looked to be jumping around the room as the Large Ozian Juggernaut Hermit Crab slammed its limbs at them like they were flies. Even more great. At least they were alive.
Isabelle checked her inventory again.
Inventory: Isabelle
Carrying capacity: 33.5/36
Item
Traits
Steel Morningstar
+3 damage, +5 carry weight
Steel Domination Chain
+11 damage, +10 carry weight
Staff of the Crustacean
+5 mana, +2 carry weight
Crab Exoskeleton
+8 hp, +3 stm, +10 carry weight
Crab Claw Gauntlets
+4 damage (armed), +8 damage (melee) +2 carry weight
Emerald Amulet of Lesser Stamina
+2 stm, +0.5/sec s-regen
Peasant Robes (human)
+1 carry weight
Stale Bread Loaf x7
+10 hp (cumulative), +0.5 carry weight
Gate Key
n/a
Yup. There was nothing she could do but equip another loaf of bread if she wanted any more health.
[Stale Bread Loaf equipped]
This time, Isabelle only took one big bite.
[+2 hp]
Really? Only 2 hp from that much bread? Isabelle was over this shit. She unequipped the bread. It was time to fight.
Isabelle ran through the rain towards the huge gaping hole in the tavern wall. It was a high jump, but she felt like she could make it if she jumped on a nearby wheelbarrow first.
[Stamina 80%]
Shit. She made it, but at the cost of her stamina. Isabelle just couldn’t catch a break, could she?
“Look out, Isabelle! Claw incoming!” said Tahsi.
Isabelle looked up and jumped to the right just in time for the Large Ozian Juggernaut Hermit Crab’s enormous claw to nearly miss her. It then ended up implanting in the tattered floor, surely breaking through the ceiling of the tavern’s ground floor.
[Stamina 75%]
The Large Ozian Juggernaut Hermit Crab tried to jerk up its claw, but was stuck. Isabelle turned to Tahsi.
“Um, Tahsi?” she asked. “Has this thing been getting its claw stuck in the floor every time it attacks you and Sir Jingles?”
“More like every time it attacks me,” said Tahsi. “The cat is hiding under the bed.”
[Stamina 80%]
“Tahsi, how can you be so dumb yet your int be so high?” Isabelle rolled her eyes. “This is just like when I had to fight Kolti’s kobolds!”
To demonstrate, Isabelle leapt over to the stuck crab claw and sliced at it with her gauntlets eight times.
[115 damage dealt]
[Stamina 71%]
“Huh, can’t believe I didn’t think of that,” said Tahsi matter-of-factly.
The Large Ozian Juggernaut Hermit Crab pulled its huge claw out of the floor and shook it in frustration. Then, it brought the other one down towards Tahsi, who himself jumped out of the way. Once again, it was buried in the floor.
“Quick, Tahsi, let’s kick this thing’s ass!”
Isabelle leapt over to this claw and made six slashed at it with her gauntlets.
[95 damage dealt]
[Stamina 64%]
Tahsi raised his mace and took a hearty swing.
[240 damage dealt]
“Woah, Tahsi, that was a lot of damage, even for you,” said Isabelle. She wasn’t even jealous this time, just impressed.
“Yea,” said Tahsi, “I wonder if steel does more damage to these crabs than crab gauntlets might.”
[Stamina 74%]
The Large Ozian Juggernaut Hermit Crab raised its claw out of the floor again and let loose a loud, terrible roar, getting spittle over Isabelle’s face. Then, it started spitting small balls of green goo at them.
“Ack! That looks nasty!” said Isabelle as she attemtped to dodge the spitting.
[Stamina 68%]
Unfortunately, it was not long before both she and Tahsi were hit.
[You’ve been poisoned]
Shit.
[You will lose 1 hp every minute while poisoned. Your stamina regen time has also been raised by 20%.]
Double shit.
[-1 hp]
[Stamina 71%]
Before Isabelle could have much more of a reaction to this bad news, the crab brought down another claw. She jumped out of the way just in time, though a shockwave from the claw implanting into the ground hit her and did a little damage.
[-2 hp]
“Fuck, this sucks,” said Isabelle. Then, remembering Tahsi’ discovery about damage to the crab, she opened her inventory.
Inventory: Isabelle
Carrying capacity: 33/36
Item
Traits
Steel Morningstar
+3 damage, +5 carry weight
Steel Domination Chain
+11 damage, +10 carry weight
Staff of the Crustacean
+5 mana, +2 carry weight
Crab Exoskeleton
+8 hp, +3 stm, +10 carry weight
Crab Claw Gauntlets
+4 damage (armed), +8 damage (melee) +2 carry weight
Emerald Amulet of Lesser Stamina
+2 stm, +0.5/sec s-regen
Peasant Robes (human)
+1 carry weight
Stale Bread Loaf x6
+10 hp (cumulative), +0.5 carry weight
Gate Key
n/a
Isabelle wished she could equip Kolti’s Steel Domination Chain, but at least she had the Steel Morningstar. Better still, she realized she didn’t have to unequip her Crab Claw Gauntlets to use it, and would still get a damage bonus from them.
[Stamina 75%]
[Steel Morningstar equipped]
[+3 damage]
[+4 damage (armed)]
Tahsi swung his mace at the crab claw.
[235 damage dealt]
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Isabelle raised her morning star and swung it.
[210 damage dealt]
[Stamina 63 %]
Well, at least she’d almost done as much damage as Tahsi.
[-1 hp]
The Large Ozian Juggernaut Hermit Crab yanked its claw up out of the floor and screeched again. More shots of poison fired out, but this time, Isabelle was able to avoid getting hit.
[Stamina 58%]
Another swing of a claw into the floor. This time, she and Tahsi swung at the same time.
[515 collective damage]
[Stamina 49%]
The crab claw split open, cracking in all areas as gushes of blue blood poured out. The crab screeched and cried and stamped its thorny legs, smashing into the floor. With a judder, the floor itself completely gave way, shattering to bits and sending Isabelle, Tahsi, Sir Jingles, and the Large Ozian Juggernaut Hermit Crab falling to the ground floor of the tavern, which had long ago been emptied out by terrified patrons.
[-5 hp]
Isabelle wished she would stop taking damage, but at least the Large Ozian Juggernaut Hermit Crab was finally starting to look haggard. She watched with disdain as Sir Jingles ran to hide behind the bar.
“Why don’t you help us instead of hiding, you pussy?” Isabelle yelled, only afterwards sensing the double meaning with a soft chuckle.
“I’m very weak, Isabelle!” he shouted back.
The crab was moving erratically now, swinging its one remaining main claw around wildly and slamming it into the ground over and over again, though not getting stuck anywhere. Apparently, one of its eye stalks had also gotten damaged in the fall.
[-1 hp]
“Hey, Sir Jingles,” Isabelle said, “Why don’t you try throwing one of your daggers at the crab’s remaining eye?”
Then, Isabelle dodged as the crab swung its claw in her direction, smashing a tavern table to smithereens.
[Stamina 44%]
“That’s… not a bad idea, actually,” said Sir Jingles. He tossed a dagger. “Shit! Damn thing’s hard to hit!”
Sir Jingles kept throwing daggers, only nearly missing the crab’s eye.
“Hey, Tahsi, how much health do you have left?” Isabelle asked.
“Oh, uh, only like, 42,” he said as he jumped out of the way of the crab’s claw.
[-1 hp]
Only 42… Isabelle shook her head. “Tahsi,” she said, “Would you be okay makybe standing up on the bar and getting the crab’s attention? So that Sir Jingles could try and shoot its eye out?”
Tahsi sighed. “Sure, why not, Isabelle? Why not put my life at even more risk than it already is? Great idea.”
Isabelle was not enjoying the back sass, but Tahsi did hop up on the bar and start waving his arms, so she didn’t complain back to him.
“Hey! Hey, mister crabby, over here! Are you going sideways like my magic stock options were before my life went to hell? Come on, look over here, buddy! I’ve got a big question for ya!”
Soon enough, Tahsi did have the crab’s attention. It zigzagged up to him, it’s bloodied stump of an arm still gushing blue blood and its other arm swinging around like, in Isabelle’s mind, a car dealership blow-up dummy.
[-1 hp]
“Do you like crab cakes?” Tahsi asked the crab. “Or, sorry, is that a little offensive?”
“I’ve got the shot!” Sir Jingles cried, leaping into the air and firing a dagger right at the crab’s eye.
[300 damage dealt]
The crab screeched and bellowed as its sole remaining eye ruptured like a burst bubble of pus. It stood there, twitching madly.
“I think it’s stunned!” said Isabelle. “Quick, let’s all attack together!”
Isabelle and Tahsi jumped forward with their steel weapons, and Sir Jingles readied another dagger. In a breath, they all attacked.
[656 damage dealt]
[Armed Combat increased to level 3]
The Large Ozian Juggernaut Hermit Crab simply exploded. It was like a bomb of crab blood and guts, showering everything with goo and frayed exoskeleton.
[‘Large Ozian Juggernaut Hermit Crab’ is dead.]
[Combat mode deactivated]
[You are no longer poisoned]
[Notice: You’re ready to level up]
[Notice: Party member Tahsi ready to level up]
[Notice: Party member Sir Jingles ready to level up]
Wow. Everyone was ready to level up. Even Tahsi, even though he’d already leveld up before fighting the Large Ozian Juggernaut Hermit Crab. Isabelle shrugged.
[Notice: You’ve reached level 3!]
[hp restored to 22]
[Notice: You have attribute and skill points to spend]
[Would you like to spend your points now?]
[Y/N]
Isabelle thought yes.
Attribute Points to Spend: 6
Hp:
22
H-Regen:
3/min
Mana:
10
M-Regen:
2/min
Stm:
11
S-Regen:
0.5/sec
About time Isabelle got more points to spend. She wondered if she could raise her h-regen with them.
[Clarification: For the cost of 5 attribute points, you can lower your h-regen time by 10 seconds]
Was it worth it? Maybe it would be, once Isabelle have more hp to begin with. She decided she’d put four points to her health, and two to stamina.
Skill Points to Spend: 6
Str:
6
Int:
6
Dx:
5
Wis:
1
Const:
6
Char:
4
Finally, Isabelle could add to her embarassing wis score. Then again, she wasn’t sure what exactly wis did. Maybe she’d know when she had more wis. Isabelle decided to put one point on str, one on dx, one on const, and three on wis. Now she could finally use Kolti’s Steel Domination Chain!
[Congratulations, you’ve finished leveling up!]
[Notice: You’ve reached level 4!]
[Notice: You have attribute and skill points to spend]
[Would you like to spend your points now?]
[Y/N]
Wait, what? She’d leveled up two times? Isabelle was thrilled.
[Would you like to spend your points now?]
[Y/N]
The system was getting naggy again. Isabelle thought yes.
Attribute Points to Spend: 6
Hp:
26
H-Regen:
3/min
Mana:
10
M-Regen:
2/min
Stm:
13
S-Regen:
0.5/sec
Well, now that she had six more points to spend, Isabelle was definitely going to use five to lower her h-regen. She put the last point in mana, because she was feeling a little anxious about not adding any points to it.
Skill Points to Spend: 6
Str:
7
Int:
6
Dx:
6
Wis:
4
Const:
7
Char:
4
Isabelle didn’t even know where to go from here. She guessed she would put two points to int, since she still couldn’t bare Tahsi have such a higher int than her. Dx also felt important, she figured being dexteritous helped her dodge.
[Clarification: You think correctly.]
So, Isabelle put two points to dx. That left two more. She divided those between str and const.
[Congratulations, you’ve finished leveling up!]
Isabelle looked at her character sheet with pride.
Character Status
Name:
Isabelle
Gender:
Female
Level:
4
Class:
Undefined
Race:
Human
Alignment:
Neutral-Neutral
Attributes
Hp:
26
H-Regen:
3/50sec
Mana:
11
M-Regen:
2/min
Stm:
13
S-Regen:
0.5/sec
Skill Points
Str:
8
Int:
8
Dx:
8
Wis:
4
Const:
8
Char:
4
Magic Ability Levels
Enchant:
0
Summon:
0
Heal:
0
Destroy:
0
Transmute:
0
Confuse:
0
Normal Ability Levels
Crafting:
0
Sneak:
3
Archery:
0
Lockpick:
0
Armed Combat:
3
Melee Combat:
3
Speechcraft:
1
Slight Of Hand:
0
It felt good to see it all together.
[Notice: Party member Tahsi ready to level up]
[Notice: Party member Sir Jingles ready to level up]
Oh boy. Guess it was time for Isabelle to get jealous again.