[Congratulations, you’ve reached level 41]
Fuck yea, level 41.
[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: 30
Hp:
394
H-Regen:
3/30sec
Mana:
221
M-Regen:
2/40sec
Stm:
216
S-Regen:
0.5/sec
Thirty points to spend. And Isabelle was oh so ready to spend them, and spend them she would. But this time, she was going to spend them differently. She was going to spend them on her regens. Ten on each regen, that was.
Skill Points to Spend: 30
Str:
122
Int:
110
Dx:
125
Wis:
86
Const:
90
Char:
69
Isabelle knew one thing for certain, and that was that there was no way in hell she was adding any char points because she didn’t want to not have 69 char points. So she added five to dx to round that out, fifteen to str so that she could be nice and yoked, five to wis, and five to const.
[Congratulations, you’ve finished leveling up!]
Character Status
Name:
Isabelle
Gender:
Female
Level:
41
Class:
Undefined
Race:
Human
Alignment:
Neutral-Neutral
Attributes
Hp:
394
H-Regen:
3/20sec
Mana:
221
M-Regen:
2/30sec
Stm:
216
S-Regen:
1/sec
Skill Points
Str:
137
Int:
110
Dx:
130
Wis:
91
Const:
95
Char:
69
Magic Ability Levels
Enchant:
3
Summon:
2
Heal:
3
Destroy:
13
Transmute:
2
Confuse:
3
Shadow:
1
Normal Ability Levels
Crafting:
8
Sneak:
12
Archery:
11
Lockpick:
3
Armed Combat:
18
Melee Combat:
4
Speechcraft:
15
Sleight Of Hand:
6
Isabelle finished leveling up. It felt like a rapture. Isabelle noticed that her shadow magic ability was listed as level one. That was pretty cool! She could cast it now! How fun that would be!
[Congratulations, you’ve reached level 42]
Shit, apparently she couldn’t cast it now because she was going to level up again! Fuck yea, level 42.
[Achievement unlocked: Reach level 42, the answer to life, the universe, and everything]
[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: 33
Hp:
394
H-Regen:
3/20sec
Mana:
221
M-Regen:
2/30sec
Stm:
216
S-Regen:
1/sec
Thirty three points to spend now. Isabelle would have to do a little math! She decided to go ahead and bump up all three of her regens with ten points, and then add one point to hp, one to stm, and one to mana. Not too much math after all!
Skill Points to Spend: 33
Str:
137
Int:
110
Dx:
130
Wis:
91
Const:
95
Char:
69
And now it was time to get those skill points nice and spent! Isabelle put three to str just to get even stronger because why the fuck not, seventeen to dx because she just could, and ten to wis so that she didn’t become really stupid.
[Congratulations, you’ve finished leveling up!]
Character Status
Name:
Isabelle
Gender:
Female
Level:
42
Class:
Undefined
Race:
Human
Alignment:
Neutral-Neutral
Attributes
Hp:
395
H-Regen:
3/10sec
Mana:
222
M-Regen:
Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.
2/20sec
Stm:
217
S-Regen:
1.25/sec
Skill Points
Str:
140
Int:
110
Dx:
147
Wis:
101
Const:
95
Char:
69
Magic Ability Levels
Enchant:
3
Summon:
2
Heal:
3
Destroy:
13
Transmute:
2
Confuse:
3
Shadow:
1
Normal Ability Levels
Crafting:
8
Sneak:
12
Archery:
11
Lockpick:
3
Armed Combat:
18
Melee Combat:
4
Speechcraft:
15
Sleight Of Hand:
6
It felt so good to level up! Isabelle had been really missing it.
[Congratulations, you’ve reached level 43]
Holy fuck. A third level up? This was wild. But Isabelle wasn’t about to argue against it. Fuck yea, level 43.
[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: 33
Hp:
395
H-Regen:
3/10sec
Mana:
222
M-Regen:
2/20sec
Stm:
217
S-Regen:
1.25/sec
Isabelle thought she still needed to improve her regens, so she put ten to each regen and one point to hp, stm, and mana.
Skill Points to Spend: 33
Str:
140
Int:
110
Dx:
147
Wis:
101
Const:
95
Char:
69
Isabelle suddenly realized that she needed to level up her int and wis as high as possible! She still hadn’t thought of what to do to get out of the shitty situation her and her party had found themselves in being trapped in the cave surrounded by lava! So, Isabelle put sixteen points to int and seventeen to wis. Hopefully, that would be enough.
[Congratulations, you’ve finished leveling up!]
Character Status
Name:
Isabelle
Gender:
Female
Level:
43
Class:
Undefined
Race:
Human
Alignment:
Neutral-Neutral
Attributes
Hp:
396
H-Regen:
3/5sec
Mana:
223
M-Regen:
2/10sec
Stm:
218
S-Regen:
1.5/sec
Skill Points
Str:
140
Int:
126
Dx:
147
Wis:
118
Const:
95
Char:
69
Magic Ability Levels
Enchant:
3
Summon:
2
Heal:
3
Destroy:
13
Transmute:
2
Confuse:
3
Shadow:
1
Normal Ability Levels
Crafting:
8
Sneak:
12
Archery:
11
Lockpick:
3
Armed Combat:
18
Melee Combat:
4
Speechcraft:
15
Sleight Of Hand:
6
Isabelle was so happy! It felt great to have leveled up so many times. But no more prompts showed up, so now Isabelle knew that she needed to really apply herself and work to figure out how to get out of this shitty situation she was in.
“Isabelle!” whined Tahsi Junior. “I’m feeling claustrophobic what with all this laval surrounding us!”
“Isabelle!” whined Shiach. “I’m feeling constipated and gassy and I’m worrying Tahsi Junior is judging me for being stinky!”
“Isabelle!” whined Tahsi Junior. “Shiach fucking reeks and I want to get a little bit of space away from her and I can’t because we’re so cramped and trapped in here!”
Isabelle rolled her eyes at each whiner. She prayed that something could go wrong soon so she could make some money off of them both; maybe she could sell Shiach for some cash; and she could sell Tahsi Junior for some stronger spells; then she would have enough money to buy a house or a castle somewhere else far away from this terrible place... somewhere remote, and far away, where she didn't have to think about levels or magic or how constipated any of her party members might be... No, she decided with a smile, it wouldn't be such a bad idea if they both died here; but Isabelle didn't totally want that for Shiach... especially since she felt so bad about her farts... even though she had been pretty sure Isabelle didn't really mind her farts... maybe she should stop farting around Isabelle... Especially since Isabelle was starting trouble between Shiach and Tahsi Junior because he hadwanted nothing to do with their little messed-up relationship... No, Shiach had better watch herself if she wanted to stay in Isabelle's good graces; Isabelle wasn't going to tell anyone if she stopped farting around her... Sure, Shiach probably still had a few farts left in her, but Shiach better not make Isabelle mad again... especially if she wanted her friend back... And besides, when Shiach released those last few farts in the caverns, she seemed to have made sure that at least one of them smelled really bad. Not like usual; no, this fart was strong; it was powerful; it was lifelike; it was— uhh—it was powerful.
And then Isabelle heard Shiach let loose probably the nastiest fart of all, one so nasty that it actually made the lava brighten a little bit for a second.
Um... Wow...that odor was so strong! Wow! Shiach smelled bad but it made it more real... Isabelle dry heaved a little.
Okay. She had to focus and find a way to get them out of this mess before they were all smothered under the whims of Shiach's flatulence.
"You know," said Isabelle slowly as she gnawed on her lower lip. "In a way, I am at my lowest level in my new magic abilities. I'm only at level one in shadow magic. I wonder what all it can do. Maybe I ought to try and use it a little? Maybe it can help with this lava.”
"Why don't you act instead of talking about it?" whined Tahsi Junior.
"I mean..." Isabelle sighed as she thought about what she was about to say next. "Shadow magic is one thing that's fairly easy, so why not start there? I think there may be a way that we can use this shadow ability to get us out of here."
Tahsi Junior looked at her suspiciously. "What do you mean by 'get us out'?"
Isabelle smiled mysteriously at Tahsi Junior as she thought about what she was going to say next. "I'm gonna shift us into another dimension, and then out of this cave, and then back into our own bodies!"
Tahsi Junior blinked at her dumbfoundedly. "W-wait!" whined Tahsi Junior. "You're crazy!"
"No," said Isabelle firmly as she held up her hands in front of herself and closed her eyes. "I'm not crazy!"
Isabelle concentrated on shifting into Tahsi Junior's body, but nothing happened. She tried again, but still nothing happened. She tried yet again, but still nothing happened. It was just like using her shadow ability in her own body except this time she wasn't moving anything so it wasn't even as effective as before. In fact, now that she thought about it, maybe Tahsi Junior's body had some sort of magical protection on it that prevented her from doing whatever she needed to do...
Isabelle opened her eyes and looked down at her hands. They were shaking slightly. She waited for them to stop shaking and tried again to move Tahsi Junior's body, but still nothing happened. She had almost given up hope of getting them out of this situation when suddenly Tahsi Junior's body began to fade away until Isabelle was standing on solid ground again. Then far away behind them Shiach's body also started fading away until finally all that remained was the foul smells and the awful sounds coming from the two party members who had recently been inside the cave.
[Mana 87%]
"Hurry!" said Tahsi Junior's voice. "It's cold without a body!" "Where are you, Tahsi Junior?" asked Isabelle.
"In the other dimension you sent me into, you fucking mage of shadows!" he spat.
"Isabelle, it is really cold here," said Shiach. "And it's like I can't even fart to warm myself up! Please help us out, this is terrible!"
Isabelle rolled her eyes. All her party members ever did was whine and complain and ask for her help. Well guess what? If they didn't want to take responsibility for themselves then they should have stayed home by themselves instead of having to face danger! Still, Isabelle had to focus her intent. After all, this shadow magic, and apparently all her magic now, seemed to work less on the basis of spells and more on the basis of ideas. Which made no fucking sense to her, but at the same time, this dimensional shift idea was a little new to her and even though Isabelle acted like she was totally confident in it on the outside, on the inside she was wondering what in the everloving fuck she was going to do.
"Okay," she said slowly as she walked over toward where Shiach's body had been and stood right next to her and took a long deep breath through her nose. The air still smelled like terrible, rotten egg farts. And then she acted on her intent by thinking: Shadow magic – dimensional shift!
[Mana 60%]
An instant later Isabelle felt herself shiver as if it were winter or having been in hot weather for too long and then being dropped into the Arctic, and then she heard something like thunder rumbling above them somewhere off in the distance as if she were also hearing it from far away like Shiach was hearing her own farting noises from afar as well. Then suddenly someone was pushing her hard from behind and she fell forward onto the ground hard enough to crack several bones in the process. And then everything went black for her. Everything except for her eyes which were open wide with shock and surprise right before they popped out of their sockets and bounced across the ground leaving trails of blood on the ground and walls of the cave before finally rolling across the stone floor until they dissolved in lava.
Isabelle screamed, but no sound came out. Fuck.
"Isabelle!" said Shiach's voice. "I see you managed to phase out of your body. Terrible, isn't it? Doesn't this dimension freak you out? My tits stretched out like long pool noodles and then exploded when you disappeared me."
"Yea, and my dick fell off," said Tahsi Junior. "What happened to you, Isabelle?"
"My eyes fell out," said Isabelle. "And then they got melted by lava."
"Yea, shadow dimensions are fucked," said Tahsi Junior.
"Please hurry and phase us out of the cave, Isabelle," whined Shiach. "I feel like I am about to explode from trying to hold my shit together."
"Oh shut up, you little bitch," snarled Tahsi Junior as he pushed his farting body forward while he continued mouthing curses at Shiach, for he was in this dimension a disembodied mouth. "You think one little fart will actually kill me?"
"Shut the fuck up," whispered Isabelle softly as she adjusted her own nonexistent body's muscles slightly and began shifting again toward the other dimension into which they had sent Tahsi Junior.
She felt herself pulled downward just as another large boom of thunder sounded overhead directly above them with yet another large splattering fart sound accompanying it as if it were raining down right on top of them! The smell here was much worse than it had been back in the cave so far south! It smelled like some kind of rotting meat or spoiled eggs mixed with a bad case of diarrhea! And then from behind Isabelle came a loud grunt followed by a gargling noise that seemed like it came from Shiach's throat and lungs combined and finished off with a loud plop noise as she too had finally phased out of her body and was no longer physically present anymore except for his mouth floating through the air above the two party members who had also phased out of their bodies into their respective dimensions but had not yet phased back in yet either because they were still too weak and tired to do so yet! In all directions around them there was nothing but darkness and an eerie feeling of being watched by something that could not be seen but could certainly be sensed!
Isabelle closed her eyes tightly against this danger which seemed to be getting closer with each passing second. She knew she needed to phase them back into the material plane, and fast. This place felt odd, offputting, and terrible, and she did not want to continue to be here any longer than necessary. She needed to get back to where she belonged – back to her dimension where everything was somewhat normal and safe again even though she would have to deal with Tahsi Junior's bullshit once again. She didn't mind dealing with him so long as he didn't fuck up everything again, which she strongly suspected he would try to do given his personality type and history of failing at things like that! He was just like his father, except without the insufferable comments about bread or asking for her to eat bread or talking about bread in any way shape or form. That was what most got on her nerves about Tahsi Senior, she thought inwardly as she tried to focus on only the task at hand which was bringing Tahsi Junior back into this world where he belonged along with everyone else including herself!
Isabelle focused her intention with all her might.
[Mana 40%]
She felt herself being yanked upward by something unseen and yet quite powerful, almost like a rope pulling her upward. She felt herself being sucked into this new space that had opened up before her like a wormhole or black hole opening up in front of her! It was a dimensional anomaly the likes of which she had never seen before! It was dark and frightening and filled with a foul stench unlike anything she had ever smelled in her entire life! But it did exist! She could sense that! And so could all three of the others who were still slightly hanging in their respective worlds waiting for Isabelle to bring them back where they belonged!
She concentrated even harder!
[Mana 30%]
The force pulling her upward increased significantly now that she felt mana slowly draining from her body rapidly as she focused on this task that needed doing!
She opened her eyes a bit wider and looked around slowly at the space around her at first taking note of all the visual details that were apparent in this otherworldly dimension that she had somehow found herself in! She had eyes again!
Less than a second later there was a loud popping noise from somewhere in this realm that caused Isabelle to jump slightly at the unexpected noise that drowned out all other sounds in all directions around her! Then all three of them were sucked into yet another dimension which immediately began to suck them deeper into its depths from which they could not escape because there was no escape possible from this dimension because it was their own dimension. The physical plane! And what was more, they were standing outside the cave, which was collapsed and dilapidated.
[Shadow magic increased to level 1]
Isabelle looked and saw Shiach and Tahsi Junior standing next to her. They all hugged eachother.
"That was fucking terrifying," said Tahsi Junior. "If I'd had an asshole in that dimension, I would've shit myself."
"I feel like I shit myself anyways," said Shiach, and she smelled the part, too. "But that's better than feeling constipated in my book."
"I'm hungry," said Tahsi Junior. "You think we can find any food here?"
"I don't know, but I'm super fucking proud of myself for using shadow magic," said Isabelle.
"Shadow magic, eh?" said a voice from behind Isabelle's back. "Well then, it sounds like we've finally found the mage of shadows, then. Tie em up, boys. All of them."
Before Isabelle could do so much as gasp dramatically, she and her party were trapped in thick, harsh netting.
Shiach farted loudly and repetitively. "Sorry, getting kidnapped makes me nervous, and being nervous makes me really gassy for some reason."