The ceiling rumbled and cracked. Isabelle have to move fast or she might just get buried with all the dead spiders. She looked around for a nearby chunk of the giant spider, finding part of an eyeball near her foot. Isabelle focused the eyeball.
[Notice: You’re ready to level up]
[Loot ‘Giant Spider’?]
Isabelle thought yes.
Inventory: Giant Spider
Item
Traits
Poison Spider Venom x25
+0.5 carry weight
Poison Spider Fangs x25
+1 carry weight
Standard Arrow (poisoned) x3
n/a
Giant Spider Hide (craftable) x20
+3 carry weight
Potion of Endless Stamina x2
+0.5 carry weight
Potion of Greater Health x2
+20 hp, +0.5 carry weight
Garnet x2
n/a
Amethyst x3
n/a
Gold (2576)
n/a
Hmm. That sure was a lot of Giant Spider Hide, and it was craftable. Craftable into what? Did Isabelle have time to find out? She knew she’d be over encumbered if she tried to take it all with her as is.
Larger and larger rocks fell from the ceiling. She didn’t think so. Then again, maybe the system could tell her.
[Clarification: You can opt to take a wis+int check for the duration you have before the ceiling crumbles and falls. However, if you fail, you cannot try again.]
[Notice: You’re ready to level up]
Tricky. Well, maybe Isabelle would level herself up real quick and boost her int up a little to raise her odds. Leveling up wouldn’t take anywhere near as long as crafting. Isabelle shrugged.
[Notice: You’ve reached level 8!]
[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:
30
H-Regen:
3/50sec
Mana:
16
M-Regen:
2/min
Stm:
15
S-Regen:
0.5/sec
Isabelle had to hurry, there was no time to debate where which point would go. She put three into stm, two to mana, and two to hp.
Skill Points to Spend: 7
Str:
10
Int:
12
Dx:
10
Wis:
11
Const:
10
Char:
10
Wait. Could Isabelle improve her carrying capacity with her skill points?
[Clarification: Your carrying capacity is improved by you str and const scores by a formula of x(str) + y(const) + z(randomized value per leveling event) - a(randomized value per leveling event)=b(new carrying capacity), as long as b>c(old carrying capacity pre current leveling event).]
How frustrating. So Isabelle couldn’t be sure of anything. She decided on putting two points to const, two to str, one to int, and two to wis.
[Congratulations, you’ve finished leveling up!]
Character Status
Name:
Isabelle
Gender:
Female
Level:
8
Class:
Undefined
Race:
Human
Alignment:
Neutral-Neutral
Attributes
Hp:
32
H-Regen:
3/50sec
Mana:
18
M-Regen:
2/min
Stm:
17
S-Regen:
0.5/sec
Skill Points
Str:
12
Int:
13
Dx:
10
Wis:
13
Const:
12
Char:
10
Magic Ability Levels
Enchant:
0
Summon:
0
Heal:
0
Destroy:
2
Transmute:
0
Confuse:
0
Normal Ability Levels
Crafting:
3
Sneak:
3
Archery:
2
Lockpick:
0
Armed Combat:
5
Melee Combat:
3
Speechcraft:
2
Slight Of Hand:
0
Nice. Now, Isabelle was going to try and check the ceiling. It looked haggard, and more cracks were spreading every moment. Isabelle thought ‘Check Ceiling Fall Duration.’
[…]
[Your wis+int check succeeded]
[Duration Before Ceiling Falls: 2:34]
[Achievement Unlocked: Use a wis+int check to get the time for an event]
That wasn’t a lot of time. Still, Isabelle could try just adding everything from the giant spider to her inventory and see how it went. She opened the giant spider’s inventory back up.
Inventory: Giant Spider
Item
Traits
Poison Spider Venom x25
+0.5 carry weight
Poison Spider Fangs x25
+1 carry weight
Standard Arrow (poisoned) x3
n/a
Giant Spider Hide (craftable) x20
+3 carry weight
Potion of Endless Stamina x2
+0.5 carry weight
Potion of Greater Health x2
+20 hp, +0.5 carry weight
Garnet x2
n/a
Amethyst x3
n/a
Gold (2576)
n/a
And she took it all.
Inventory: Giant Spider
Item
Traits
n/a
n/a
[Notice: You’re over encumbered]
[Duration Before Ceiling Falls: 2:15]
Fuck. Isabelle opened her inventory.
Inventory: Isabelle
Carrying capacity: 118/65
Item
Traits
Map of Prison grounds
+ 0.5 carry weight
Steel Gloves
+1 str, +3 damage, +1 carry weight
The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.
Steel Dagger
+5 damage, +1 carry weight
Longbow
+3 damage, +1 carry weight
Steel Mace
+7 damage, +4 carry weight
Spell Tome of Minor Destroying Magic
+5 carry weight
Gold Locket
+0.5 carry weight
Idlungie x2
+0.5 carry weight
Poison Spider Venom x25
+0.5 carry weight
Poison Spider Fangs x25
+1 carry weight
Standard Arrow (poisoned) x3
n/a
Giant Spider Hide (craftable) x20
+3 carry weight
Potion of Endless Stamina x2
+0.5 carry weight
Potion of Greater Health x2
+20 hp, +0.5 carry weight
Poison Spider Venom x4
+0.5 carry weight
Poison Spider Fangs x3
+1 carry weight
Raw Garnet
n/a
Garnet x2
n/a
Amethyst x3
n/a
Sapphire
n/a
Gold (2631)
n/a
Damnit. There was no way in hell Isabelle could take all this stuff.
[Duration Before Ceiling Falls: 2:06]
Hmm. Maybe Isabelle could just start crafting and see how it went. Two minutes might end up being longer than she thought. Isabelle thought ‘Open Giant Spider Hide (craftable) Crafting Menu.’
Crafting
Item
Craftable
Giant Spider Hide (craftable) x20
Giant Spider Armor (human) x4
Giant Spider Helmet (human) x4
Giant Spider Gauntlets x5
Giant Spider Boots x5
Fang Blades x1
Okay, this stuff looked awesome. Isabelle had to try and craft some of it. Isabelle focused on ‘Giant Spider Armor (human),’ but instead of ‘x4’ she thought ‘x1,’ because she only needed one set of armor.
[Craft ‘Giant Spider Armor (human)’ out of items ‘Giant Spider Hide (craftable) x5’? This cannot be undone.]
[Y/N]
Isabelle thought yes.
[‘Giant Spider Hide (craftable) x5’ taken from inventory]
[Crafting ‘Giant Spider Armor (human)’]
[…]
[…]
[…]
[Crafting complete]
[‘Giant Spider Armor (human)’ added to inventory]
[Duration Before Ceiling Falls: 1:41]
Alright. Time to see what else Isabelle could squeeze in. Isabelle thought ‘Open Giant Spider Hide (craftable) Crafting Menu.’
Crafting
Item
Craftable
Giant Spider Hide (craftable) x15
Giant Spider Armor (human) x3
Giant Spider Helmet (human) x3
Giant Spider Gauntlets x4
Giant Spider Boots x4
Fang Blades x1
Isabelle thought the next best thing to get would be the Fang Blades. Isabelle focused on them.
[Craft ‘Fang Blades’ out of items ‘Giant Spider Hide (craftable) x1’ and ‘Poison Spider Fangs x20’? This cannot be undone.]
[Y/N]
Isabelle thought yes.
[‘Giant Spider Hide (craftable) x1’ taken from inventory]
[‘Poison Spider Fangs x20’ taken from inventory]
[Crafting ‘Fang Blades’]
[…]
[…]
[…]
[Crafting complete]
[‘Fang Blades’ added to inventory]
[Crafting increased to level 4]
[Duration Before Ceiling Falls: 1:13]
[Notice: You’re over encumbered. Please check your inventory.]
About a minute left. Isabelle had a feeling she could probably squeeze one more crafting session out.
Crafting
Item
Craftable
Giant Spider Hide (craftable) x14
Giant Spider Armor (human) x2
Giant Spider Helmet (human) x3
Giant Spider Gauntlets x4
Giant Spider Boots x4
Isabelle felt like the gauntlets and the boots were important. She wasn’t in love with the idea of the helmet. Isabelle wondered if she could try and craft gauntlets and boots at the same time.
[Clarification: Yes, though it will be more difficult. Think ‘Dual Craft’ while focusing on both.]
Isabelle focused on the Giant Spider Gauntlets and Giant Spider Boots and thought ‘Dual Craft’.
[Craft ‘Giant Spider Gauntlets’ and ‘Giant Spider Boots’ out of item ‘Giant Spider Hide (craftable) x6’? This cannot be undone.]
[Y/N]
Isabelle thought yes.
[‘Giant Spider Hide (craftable) x6’ taken from inventory]
[…]
[…]
[…]
[Error: Crafting failed]
[Item ‘Giant Spider Hide (craftable) x6’ was broken]
[Notice: You’re over encumbered]
[Duration Before Ceiling Falls: 0:51]
Fuck. Less than a minute. But Isabelle couldn’t help but try again. She focused on the Giant Spider Gauntlets and Giant Spider Boots and thought ‘Dual Craft’.
[Craft ‘Giant Spider Gauntlets’ and ‘Giant Spider Boots’ out of item ‘Giant Spider Hide (craftable) x6’? This cannot be undone.]
[Y/N]
Isabelle thought yes.
[‘Giant Spider Hide (craftable) x6’ taken from inventory]
[…]
[…]
[…]
[Crafting complete]
[Giant Spider Gauntlets added to inventory]
[Giant Spider Boots added to inventory]
[Achievement Unlocked: Craft two items at once]
[Notice: You’re over encumbered]
[Duration Before Ceiling Falls: 0:42]
Still over encumbered. Isabelle rolled her eyes and opened her inventory.
Inventory: Isabelle
Carrying capacity: 66/65
Item
Traits
Map of Prison grounds
+ 0.5 carry weight
Steel Gloves
+1 str, +3 damage, +1 carry weight
Steel Dagger
+5 damage, +1 carry weight
Longbow
+3 damage, +1 carry weight
Steel Mace
+7 damage, +4 carry weight
Spell Tome of Minor Destroying Magic
+5 carry weight
Gold Locket
+0.5 carry weight
Idlungie x2
+0.5 carry weight
Poison Spider Venom x29
+0.5 carry weight
Poison Spider Fangs x8
+1 carry weight
Standard Arrow (poisoned) x3
n/a
Giant Spider Armor (human)
+4 hp, +6 str, +1 const, +13 carry weight
Fang Blades
+8 damage, +1 str, +1 dx, +5 carry weight
Giant Spider Gauntlets
+4 damage, +3 stm, +1 dx, +3 carry weight
Giant Spider Boots
+4 stm, +2 str, +1 dx, +5 carry weight
Giant Spider Hide (craftable) x2
+3 carry weight
Potion of Endless Stamina x2
+0.5 carry weight
Potion of Greater Health x2
+20 hp, +0.5 carry weight
Raw Garnet
n/a
Garnet x2
n/a
Amethyst x3
n/a
Sapphire
n/a
Gold (2631)
n/a
Wow. All that, and Isabelle was only one stupid point of carry weight over encumbered. Isabelle thought, “Discard Poison Spider Venom x2,’ because there was no way she needed all that spider venom. Bubbling drops of venom fell over the ground in response.
[Duration Before Ceiling Falls: 0:28]
There was no more time to wait around. Isabelle dashed down the path to the lower section of the cavern.
[Stamina 82%]
[Duration Before Ceiling Falls: 0:21]
Isabelle reached the lower section of the cavern and looked around. There were bits of webbing and dead spider everywhere. Gross. Isabelle looked forward and saw the stone archway at the far end of the cavern that she’d noticed earlier. Isabelle rushed towards it with all of her energy.
[Stamina 65%]
[Duration Before Ceiling Falls: 0:13]
[Stamina 42%]
[Duration Before Ceiling Falls: 0:08]
Isabelle leapt into the safe confines of the archway. She saw that it lead to a door only a few feet away.
[Duration Before Ceiling Falls: 0:03]
[Duration Before Ceiling Falls: 0:02]
[Duration Before Ceiling Falls: 0:01]
A terrifying crack loud as lightning echoed through the cavern. Isabelle peeked from her point of hopeful safety as huge chunks of the ceiling tumbled down, smashing into bits as they hit the bottom of the cavern. As more and more fell, the entrance to the archway Isabelle was hiding under got quickly blocked off, and all that Isabelle could do was listen to the rocks tumbling and smashing into one another. She was trapped there now, and had no option but to go forward.
[Achievement Unlocked: Escape a timed event]
[Stamina 78%]
Isabelle felt exhausted, and not just because her stamina was still recharging from running to cover. She was sick of this dungeon! When was she finally going to escape it? Did the system know? She saw that little green compass arrow pointing her forward to the door. Was that the door to the outside world? Had Isabelle finally broken out of the prison?
[Stamina 89%]
[Clarification: If you’d like to know more about your current route, think ‘Check Current Route.’]
Isabelle thought ‘Check Current Route.’
[Current Route: You are currently in the dungeon adjacent to Cloud Reach’s penitentiary. If you follow the arrow, you have one room and one tunnel to pass through before reaching your exit point.]
[Stamina 100%]
One room, one tunnel. It wasn’t necessarily the news Isabelle had wanted to hear, but it wasn’t that bad, either. She could take on one more room. She wondered if the system knew if there was anything that might try and kill her in that room.
[Clarification: The type of map you are in posession of does not include that information.]
Fair enough. Well, if Isabelle was going to have to go through another room and possibly do some more fighting, she figured she ought to put her new stuff on and see how it worked. Isabelle wanted to open her inventory, but it was so long and obnoxious now that she had all this new loot.
[Clarification: You can turn on inventory shortening, which will show you an abbreviated list of your inventory based on what you normally equip/what you are thinking about equipping by thinking ‘Inventory Shortening True.’]
That sounded nice. Isabelle thought, ‘Inventory Shortening True.’
[Inventory shortening set to true]
[Achievement Unlocked: Use inventory shortening]
Isabelle opened her inventory.
Inventory: Isabelle
Carrying capacity: 65/65
Item
Traits
Map of Prison grounds
+ 0.5 carry weight
Giant Spider Armor (human)
+4 hp, +8 str, +13 carry weight
Fang Blades
+8 damage, +1 str, +1 dx, +5 carry weight
Giant Spider Gauntlets
+4 damage, +3 stm, +1 dx, +3 carry weight
Giant Spider Boots
+4 stm, +2 str, +1 dx, +5 carry weight
Potion of Endless Stamina x2
+0.5 carry weight
Potion of Greater Health x2
+20 hp, +0.5 carry weight
Gold (2631)
n/a
Abbreviated list based on prior use. Focus to see more items…
Okay, that was an awesome feature. Now Isabelle didn’t have to scroll through a list to get to see what she wanted, the system would just pull it up for her. Isabelle focused on the items she wanted to equip.
[Giant Spider Armor (human) equipped]
[+4 hp]
[+8 str]
[Fang Blades equipped]
[+8 damage]
[+1 str]
[+1 dx]
[Giant spider gauntlets equipped]
[+4 damage]
[+3 stm]
[+1 dx]
[Giant spider boots equipped]
[+4 stm]
[+2 str]
[+1 dx]
Wow, these spider items she’d crafted sure gave Isabelle a lot of extra points. They’d really been worth the effort and risk. Of course, now Isabelle wanted to see what the armor looked like on her, so she thought ‘Mirror Me.’
Isabelle saw herself standing in front of her, which was still a little offputting. She noticed that, similarly to the crab exoskeleton armor that the Cloud Reach guard had taken from her, the giant spider armor was form-fitting, though it also looked a little wooly. There was part of a spider eye on either of her shoulders, which seemed disturbing in theory but looked very cool in execution. The giant spider gauntlets looked like they were partially made out of the giant spider’s huge front pincers, and seemed very menacing. The giant spider boots were thick and pointy like the giant spider’s legs had been. The fang blades, though, where the coolest. Isabelle held one in each hand, a sort of forced dual-wield situation. Each fang blade was made out of some of the giant spider’s huge fangs, which through crafting had been shaped to create the large, sharp semicircles with handles in the middle that Isabelle held. She had a feeling it was going to be fun to fight with these things.
Looking at the fang blades, Isabelle had another idea she wanted to act on before going through the door. Isabelle thought ‘Open Fang Blades Crafting Menu.’
Crafting
Item
Craftable
Fang Blades
Fang Blades (poisoned)
Fang Greatsword
Fang Daggers
Woah. Isabelle hadn’t thought she’d have the option to change the fang blades into other weapons! Still, she wanted a chance to use them as-is before she considered changing them into something else. What Isabelle had really been intending was to make use of some of the spider venom in her inventory and poison them. Isabelle focused.
[Craft ‘Fang Blades (poisoned)’ out of items ‘Fang Blades’ and ‘Poison Spider Venom x3’? This cannot be undone.]
[Y/N]
Isabelle thought yes.
[‘Fang Blades’ taken from inventory]
[‘Poison Spider Venom x3’ taken from inventory]
[…]
[…]
[…]
[Crafting complete]
[Fang Blades (poisoned) added to inventory]
Excellent. Isabelle went ahead and equipped them.
[Fang Blades (poisoned) equipped]
[+3 poison]
[+8 damage]
[+1 str]
[+1 dx]
Isabelle had wondered why the crafting menu took three poison spider venoms instead of just one. Now her fang blades did three times as much poisoning damage! What’s more, Isabelle looked at them in her mirror image and saw that the tips were now tinged green. Very cool.
Isabelle figured it was time to move on to the next room. Almost holding her breath, hoping it wouldn’t be a big deal, she approached the door. Isabelle tried to open it, but it wouldn’t budge. Shit. Isabelle focused on the door.
[Dungeon Door - Locked]
Fuck’s sake. All that effort just to be trapped between a fallen ceiling and a locked door? It was so unfair. What was Isabelle supposed to do? Stupid Oglo, that backstabbing crook of a kobold, had taken her bobby pins! It’s not like she could try to pick the door’s lock! Furious, Isabelle unequipped her fang blades and raised her right hand. Isabelle thought ‘Cast Shoot Lightning.’
A strong bolt shot through the air and danced over the door.
[Mana 13/18]
The door remained, seemingly unaffected. That was such bullshit. Isabelle paced around her small confines in a huff, wondering just what in the hell she was supposed to do now.
Isabelle froze, catching sight of something out of the corner of her eye.
There was a human skeleton lying against the side of one of the stone walls by the door. It was cloaked in a tattered black robe. Getting over her immediate shock and fear, Isabelle walked over to it to get a closer look.
[Loot ‘Skeleton’?]
Isabelle thought yes.
Inventory: Skeleton
Item
Traits
Key
n/a
Handwritten Note
n/a
Tattered Robes
+1 mana, +2 carry weight
Hell yes. Isabelle took the key, and the note because why not? She didn’t take the tattered robes because they looked gross, even if they did give +1 to mana.
Inventory: Skeleton
Item
Traits
Tattered Robes
+1 mana, +2 carry weight
Isabelle turned to the door. Still, she was a little curious about that handwritten note.
[Handwritten note equipped]
Isabelle heard a strange rattling noise behind her as she unfurled the note.
Handwritten Note
Originally aiming to escape the Cloud Reach prison, I found myself wandering the dungeon's tunnels aimlessly, eventually happening upon a group of likeminded individuals studying the discipline of necromancy—
[Handwritten note unequipped]
[Combat mode activated]
Isabelle looked up to see the skeleton standing before her. With a cackle, it raised its bony hands. They illuminated with fire.
Isabelle cracked her neck and prepared for battle.