Isabelle stood there on the ground floor of the destroyed tavern with Tahsi and Sir Jingles, surveying the mess of dead crab before them.
[Notice: Party member Tahsi ready to level up]
[Notice: Party member Sir Jingles ready to level up]
The system clearly wasn’t going to stop nagging her until she leveled up her party members. So, Isabelle thought, ‘Open Tahsi character sheet.’
[Notice: Tahsi has reached level 6!]
[hp restored to 85]
[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: 7
Hp:
85
H-Regen:
0.2/sec
Mana:
20
M-Regen:
0.2/sec
Stm:
41
S-Regen:
0.5/sec
Of course Tahsi got seven points to spend now. What a joke. Why did his mana regenerate so fast? When had Tahsi ever used mana before? She put three points to hp, and four to stm.
Skill Points to Spend: 7
Str:
21
Int:
18
Dx:
11
Wis:
23
Const:
18
Char:
13
Isabelle figured Tahsi’s cha might as well deserve some more points, so she gave it five. Then, she gave two to dx, because Tahsi’ dx was just a little too low for her liking.
[Congratulations, you’ve finished leveling up!]
Character Status
Name:
Tahsi
Gender:
Male
Level:
5
Class:
Baker
Race:
Kobold
Alignment:
Neutral-Good
Attributes
Hp:
88
H-Regen:
0.2/sec
Mana:
20
M-Regen:
0.2/sec
Stm:
45
S-Regen:
0.5/sec
Skill Points
Str:
21
Int:
18
Dx:
13
Wis:
23
Const:
18
Char:
18
Magic Ability Levels
Enchant:
0
Summon:
0
Heal:
0
Destroy:
0
Transmute:
0
Confuse:
0
Normal Ability Levels
Crafting:
15
Sneak:
0
Archery:
6
Lockpick:
0
Armed Combat:
6
Melee Combat:
8
Speechcraft:
6
Slight Of Hand:
0
“Wow, look at my character sheet!” said Tahsi with a smile. “You did a nice job, Isabelle.”
It was almost hard for Isabelle to stay jealous at him with such a heartfelt and genuine response. Almost.
[Notice: Party member Sir Jingles ready to level up]
Isabelle thought, ‘Open Sir Jingles character sheet.’
[Notice: Sir Jingles has reached level 4!]
[hp restored to 35]
[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:
35
H-Regen:
0.1/sec
Mana:
5
M-Regen:
2/min
Stm:
25
S-Regen:
0.5/sec
Isabelle’s immediate thought was that Sir Jingles needed more mana. Then again, she was the only person who’d even used more mana, when she’d equiped that damn Staff of the Crustacean and put them in this mess.
“Um, how do feel about mana, Sir Jingles?” asked Isabelle.
“What, are you leveling me up yourself or something?” he said with a sneer, picking up an unshattered bottle of Reisling rolling around on the floor and popping its cork out with an extended claw.
“Oh. Sorry. Tahsi had said he wanted me to level him up earlier, and I just figured—”
“You just figured I was the same way. Uh huh. I get it,” Sir Jingles said as he took a sip of Riesling with a scowl. “Go ahead an undercut my agency, see if I care.”
Isabelle looked back to Sir Jingles’ attribute points. She decided, on second thought, to eschew adding to his mana and instead give him three to hp and three to stm.
Skill Points to Spend: 6
Str:
4
Int:
4
Dx:
17
Wis:
11
Const:
15
Char:
2
Isabelle liked the idea of giving Sir Jingles some added str, but she didn’t know if he’d ever put it to use. So, begrudgingly, she added all six points to his char.
Character Status
Name:
Sir Jingles
Gender:
Male
Level:
4
Class:
Undefined
Race:
Cat
Alignment:
Chaotic-Neutral
Attributes
Hp:
Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.
38
H-Regen:
0.1/sec
Mana:
5
M-Regen:
2/min
Stm:
28
S-Regen:
0.5/sec
Skill Points
Str:
4
Int:
4
Dx:
17
Wis:
11
Const:
15
Char:
8
Magic Ability Levels
Enchant:
0
Summon:
0
Heal:
0
Destroy:
0
Transmute:
0
Confuse:
0
Normal Ability Levels
Crafting:
0
Sneak:
8
Archery:
3
Lockpick:
5
Armed Combat:
4
Melee Combat:
4
Speechcraft:
2
Slight Of Hand:
8
“Wow,” said Sir Jingles. “That’s actually a decent job, Isabelle. I would’ve probably added more to my stm, but to each their own.”
Isabelle felt a little irritated, but did her best to shake it off. Maybe she would just let Sir Jingles level himself up next time.
[Clarification: You can also allow the system to level your party members, or even yourself, up automatically based on past activity by thinking ‘(Party member/Your name) level up system.’ To return to leveling up a party member yourself, or return yourself to manual leveling after setting yourself to system leveling, think ‘(Party member name/Your name) level up player.’]
Isabelle wasn’t sure she was comfortable letting the system level her up in the future, as eager as it seemed to do so. She did like the idea of telling the system to automatically level Sir Jingles up, mainly because it would irritate him, but she felt she ought to honor his wishes, since he was still in her party.
“Well, we’re all leveled up now,” said Isabelle with a smile. She looked around the chaos of what used to be a tavern, feeling a little bad for all the carnage. It looked pretty grim covered in all the dead crab.
Then, Isabelle realized she hadn’t ever looted the Large Ozian Juggernaut Hermit Crab. She focused on a bit of its intestines.
[Loot ‘Large Ozian Juggernaut Hermit Crab’?]
Isabelle thought yes.
Isabelle thought some of this stuff sounded pretty cool. But that first item, crab ambergris, gave her pause. Hadn’t she had some of that in her inventory at some point? Isabelle checked her own inventory before completing her looting, which she was happy to discover was easy to put on hold.
Inventory: Isabelle
Carrying capacity: 33/43
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
Huh. It wasn’t in there. She could’ve sworn it had been, though. Then, Isabelle looked over to Sir Jingles, who was still sipping from his bottle of Riesling happily. She’d have to ask that cat what was up after she finished looting.
Focusing back on the Large Ozian Juggernaut Hermit Crab’s inventory, Isabelle decided to take the King Crab Crown, the Pearl Ring of Crabby Combat, the Raw Pearl, and the five hundred gold.
Inventory: Large Ozian Juggernaut Hermit Crab
Item
Traits
Crab Ambergris x3
+5 carry weight
Crab Flesh x5
+2 hp, +1 carry weight
Shattered Exoskeleteon (craftable) x15
+1 carry weight
Maybe her party members could help Isabelle figure out what to do with this other stuff. But first, she wanted to learn a little bit more about her new loot. Isabelle focused on the King Crab Crown and thought ‘Learn More.’
Item: King Crab Crown
Traits: +2 cha, +1 carry weight
Description: This is a crown made out of king crabs, which are technically not actually crabs. It was worn by the King of the Large Ozian Hermit Crabs until Large Ozian Hermit Crab society transitioned to a democratic model, after which it became a prized family heirloom.
Note: Along with its general +2 to cha, wearing this item also imparts the buff ‘Intimidating to Crabs,’ which will cause any crabs in your vicinity to treat you with respect and fear.
Well, that was appropriate. Crabs ought to be scared of her at this point, Isabelle figured. She went ahead and equipped the King Crab Crown.
[King Crab Crown equipped]
[+2 cha]
[‘Intimidating to Crabs’ buff activated]
[‘Crabbed Out’ buff activated]
Isabelle hadn’t heard of the ‘Crabbed Out’ buff. So, she thought. ‘Learn More About Crabbed Out.’
Buff: Crabbed Out
Cause: Having three pieces of crab clothing equipped
Description: You’re wearing so many crab things, you’re probably only a couple steps away from being a crab yourself! This buff allows you a +5 str because of your hard, crabby exterior, and also allows you to request assistance from nearby crabs in times of need.
Isabelle felt for the crown atop her head. If only she could see her face easily.
[Clarification: To see how your outfit looks from an outside perspective, think ‘Mirror Me.’]
Isabelle thought ‘Mirror Me.’ Then, she almost jumped. There she was. Well, there her mirror image was, standing right before her, although there was no mirror. Isabelle had to admit she was looking pretty good in her crab exoskeleton, which wrapped form-fittingly around her body. Isabelle then looked to the crown. It was surprisingly dainty and ornate.
Satisfied, Isabelle stopped focusing on this reflection of herself, and it quickly faded away. Then, she remembered the other item she had wanted to learn about. Isabelle focused on the Raw Pearl in her inventory and thought ‘Learn More.’
Item: Raw Pearl
Traits: n/a
Description: This beautiful, unrefined jewel of the sea is fairly rare, and also fairly valuable. Given the right buyer, you could sell this for between 1000-5000 gold.
Note: Selling price will depend on how well you barter, which hinges on your speechcraft level as well as your cha, wis, and int.
Wow. Isabelle had to be sure to find a good buyer. She also had to be sure that a certain cat didn’t take any more of her stuff. But before that, Isabelle figured she’d check and make sure she didn’t want to look at anything else in her inventory.
Inventory: Isabelle
Carrying capacity: 34/43
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
King Crab Crown
+2 cha, +1 carry weight
Pearl Ring of Crabby Combat
+3 damage (melee)
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
Raw Pearl
n/a
Gold (500)
n/a
Good thing she checked, she’d forgotten to equip the Pearl Ring of Crabby Combat.
[Pearl Ring of Crabby Combat equipped]
[+3 damage (melee)]
It occurred to Isabelle that if she unequipped her Steel Morningstar she’d also get the melee damage bonus from her crab claw gauntlets. She knew she didn’t necessarily need to do that at the moment as she wasn’t fighting, but Isabelle felt like doing it anyway.
[Steel Morningstar unequipped]
[+8 damage (melee)]
Isabelle had to admit that the Crab Claw Gauntlets were pretty awesome. What the hell, she figured she ought to learn more about them too while she had the time. Isabelle focused on her Crab Claw Gauntlets and thought ‘Learn More.’
Item: Crab Claw Gauntlets
Traits: +4 damage (armed), +8 damage (melee), +2 carry weight
Description: Fight like a crab with these killer gauntlets. While they will add damage to your attacks armed or melee, melee combat is where these gauntlets shine. Each single melee attack with these gauntlets equipped will instead be a chain of 2+ attacks of varying damage based on your stm, str, const and dx.
So that explained why every attack Isabelle had done with the Crab Claw Gauntlets had been a fast succession of blows.
Isabelle glanced over to Sir Jingles. He’d just finished off the bottle of Reisling and was looking quite drunk.
“Hey, Sir Jingles, I need to talk to you for a second.”
“Yes, oh great player?” Sir Jingles said sarcastically.
“Did you steal some Crab Ambergris from me earlier?”
“Oh, pshh, so what if I did? You would’ve probably been over encumbered if I didn’t, anyway, at the speed you loot. It’s not like you know what to do with it, anyway.”
[Speechcraft Attempt: Intimidate]
“Stop stealing from me,” said Isabelle matter-of-factly.
[Speechcraft Attempt: Failed]
“Hey, I thought we had a deal here, Isabelle. I don’t ask you to stop smelling like a rotting crab, and you don’t ask me to stop stealing from you. It’s harmless fun, really.”
Did Isabelle smell like a rotting crab?
[Clarification: To check your debuffs, think ‘Check debuffs.’]
Debuffs? Isabelle didn’t think she had any. Then again, maybe it was worth checking. Isabelle thought ‘Check debuffs.’
[You have 1 active debuff: ‘Crabby Odor’]
Isabelle winced. Then, she thought ‘Learn More About Crabby Odor.’
Debuff: Crabby Odor
Cause: Wearing an uncured exoskeleton
Description: You’re wearing an uncured crab exoskeleton, which has a lot of benefits, but smell isn’t one of them. As long as you’re wearing an uncured crab exoskeleton, you’re going to smell like a crab, which will bring with it a 20% higher chance of failing any speechcraft checks.
Note: If you use Crafting to cure the exoskeleton you’re currently wearing, you can remove the odor, and also improve the stat bonuses the suit already grants.
Well, that was disappointing. However, it sounded like Isabelle needed to learn more about Crafting at some point. Isabelle thought she remembered that Tahsi had a pretty high Crafting level. She’d have to ask him about it soon. Before that, though, Isabelle decided she’d put her old clothes on so she wouldn’t have this awful debuff.
[Peasant Robes (human) equipped]
[Crabby Odor debuff deactivated]
Isabelle noticed that she didn’t smell crabby any more. Much better. She approached Sir Jingles again.
[Speechcraft Attempt: Intimidate]
“Sir Jingles, I’m serious this time. Don’t steal from me again.”
Sir Jingles’ pupils got wide.
[Speechcraft Had Mixed Results]
“Okay, Isabelle,” Sir Jingles said. “I’ll do my best.”
Isabelle had to keep herself from smiling too hard. It felt nice to stand her ground, even if it was against this silly little cat in a fancy outfit. It felt like an achievement.
[Clarification: Convincing Sir Jingles to ‘do his best’ not to steal from you does not earn you an achievement.]
Isabelle felt angry at the system. Why did it have to be such a wet blanket?
[Clarification: To see your achievements, think ‘Enable Achievement Visibility.’ To hide them again, think ‘Disable Achievement Visibility’.]
Wait. Isabelle had achievements?
Isabelle thought, ‘Enable Achievement Visibility.’
[Achievement Unlocked: View your achievements for the first time]
[Notice: The following achievements shown in chronological order]
[Achievement Unlocked: Wake up in Beaubinte]
[Achievement Unlocked: Earn your first +hp]
[Achievement Unlocked: Get full hp by eating for the first time]
[Achievement Unlocked: Use stealth for the first time]
[Achievement Unlocked: Get your first clarification from the system]
[Achievement Unlocked: Level up a normal ability for the first time]
[Achievement Unlocked: Successfully evade an enemy with stealth]
[Achievement Unlocked: Fail a speechcraft attempt]
[Achievement Unlocked: Open your character sheet]
[Achievement Unlocked: Activate combat mode]
[Achievement Unlocked: Land a critical hit]
[Achievement Unlocked: One hit kill]
[Achievement Unlocked: Use a normal item as a weapon]
[Achievement Unlocked: Drink a potion]
[Achievement Unlocked: Break a weapon]
[Achievement Unlocked: Party of two]
[Achievement Unlocked: Level up for the first time]
[Achievement Unlocked: Loot first dead body]
[Achievement Unlocked: Empty out a dead body’s inventory]
[Achievement Unlocked: Get over encumbered]
[Achievement Unlocked: See a party member’s character sheet]
[Achievement Unlocked: Give a party member an item]
[Achievement Unlocked: Read something]
[Achievement Unlocked: Discard an inventory item]
[Achievement Unlocked: Perform a loot check]
[Achievement Unlocked: Succeed a speechcraft attempt]
[Achievement Unlocked: Kill a peaceful creature]
[Achievement Unlocked: Use melee combat]
[Achievement Unlocked: Learn about an item]
[Achievement Unlocked: Cast a spell]
[Achievement Unlocked: Get a weather status update]
[Achievement Unlocked: See your xp status]
[Achievement Unlocked: Give someone gold]
[Achievement Unlocked: Check a spell’s duration]
[Achievement Unlocked: Get something stolen from you]
[Achievement Unlocked: Use a key to unlock a door]
[Achievement Unlocked: Use a key to lock a door]
[Achievement Unlocked: See your party’s collective visibility]
[Achievement Unlocked: Ask about configuring your questing menu]
Isabelle suddenly stopped focusing on all the achievements. She’d almost completely forgotten about her questing menu. Hadn’t Tahsi said he’d tried to give her quest requests?
[Notice: You have more achievements to view. Continue viewing your achievements?]
[Y/N]
Isabelle didn’t necessarily want to have to go through all her achievements, but she also figured her list would only get longer and more cumbersome the more she waited. So, she thought ‘Yes.’
[Achievement Unlocked: Continue viewing your achievements]
That one made Isabelle smile.
[Notice: The following achievements shown in chronological order]
[Achievement Unlocked: Cast a spell on yourself]
[Achievement Unlocked: Use the system to get the party member with the highest skill]
[Achievement Unlocked: Use the system to get the party member with the highest normal ability]
[Achievement Unlocked: Activate a debuff]
[Achievement Unlocked: Learn more about a debuff]
[Achievement Unlocked: Fight against a large group]
[Achievement Unlocked: Level up a party member]
[Achievement Unlocked: Activate a buff]
[Achievement Unlocked: Perform a sneak attack]
[Achievement Unlocked: Perform a multi-strike attack]
[Achievement Unlocked: Check your visibility to a specific entity]
[Achievement Unlocked: One hit kill over three enemies]
[Achievement Unlocked: Check your hp with the system]
[Achievement Unlocked: Come back to fight from 2 hp]
[Achievement Unlocked: Get poisoned]
[Achievement Unlocked: Attack an enemy in unison with a party member]
[Achievement Unlocked: Strategize against a strong enemy]
[Achievement Unlocked: Help a party member decide what action to take]
[Achievement Unlocked: Level up two times in a row]
[Achievement Unlocked: Loot a moderately valuable item]
[Achievement Unlocked: Look at yourself with mirror me]
[Achievement Unlocked: See all your current achievements]
Isabelle felt exhausted. At least she’d finally reached the end of her achievement list. She felt like it would be more enjoyable when she could recieve the achievements in real time. Isabelle also had a feeling that she might have been able to turn them on sooner if she had access to a tutorial.
[Clarification: You’re not wrong.]
With that resolved, Isabelle walked over to Tahsi, who was eating some of his bread.
“Tahsi, I really wish you wouldn’t eat all your bread when you don’t need to heal,” said Isabelle.
“I may not need to heal, Isabelle,” said Tahsi. “But I do need to feel. And the bread helps immensely with that.”
Isabelle wasn’t sure what to say to that. “Anyway, Tahsi, I was wondering if you’d maybe consider showing me how to craft?”
“Really?” Tahsi asked. “I’d love to! Here, I’ll send you a quest request.”
Isabel did not see anything. Then, she realized she’d probably have to think of some system query to activate quest requests.
[Clarification: To act on a quest request, you must enable and configure your questing menu. To enable and configure your questing menu, think ‘Enable questing menu.’]
That made enough sense to Isabelle. She just figured she’d also have to brace herself for another chain of system notices as it cleared out the cobwebs.