Balthazar pulled his arms out of the backpack’s straps a down to serve as a cushion to rest against as he sat in front of the small campfire Druma had just lit.
Ohe goblin stepped away to colleore fuel for the fire from the nearby bushes, and while Blue zily stretched herself like a cat preparing to take a nap on a bed of leaves nearby, the crab pulled up the level up s, ready to exami without distras.
[You have reached level 16]
[Choose a base stat to increase by 10]
[Health: 180/180]
[Stamina: 30/30]
[Mana: 10/10]
“Hmm…” whispered the crab as he stretched his arms.
I am pretty wiped out after the day I had, so more stamina could help with that, but… I don’t really pn on having days like this very often. Exerg is exhausting, and I already have the peak physical form anyway, so…
Balthazar cocked aalk at the system s in front of him.
Bah, ’t g with more health!
[Health: 190/190]
[Stamina: 30/30]
[Mana: 10/10]
“Almost at 200 already. he sitting mert muttered, just loud enough to disturb the nearby drake’s rest, making her lift a disapproving gre at the crab befoing back to her beauty sleep.
Alright, what’s ? Give me more big numbers!
Enthralled by the newly found appeal of other hat go up besides his t, Balthazar swiped to the s.
[You have 3 u attribute points]
[Attributes:]
[Strength: 5]
[Endurance: 5]
[Agility: 5]
[Perception: 5]
[Intellect: 5]
[Charisma: 57]
The crab crossed his arms and tapped on the side of his face with the tip of a pincer, p.
I’ve put all the points I had accumuted before into Charisma, so maybe I could start putting these into something else.
He leaned back against the backpack, staring off into the dark sky as he sidered his options.
I could probably also just let them sit there and build up to use ter… Nah, that’s dumb, like having two slices of pie and oing oo leave the other for tomorroould ever do that?! Pie sitting on a pte does me no good when it could already be in my stomach!
The crab let out a long and rexed yawn as he watched the tiny embers of the campfire fly up into the night sky, their light mixing up with the other small dots of the stars shining above.
Decisions, decisions… What do I evehe other attributes for anyway? Charisma saved my shell back there, not strength or some well aimed spell. Bah, if it ain’t broken, don’t fix it. And even if it was, but I could take advantage of it, I should leave it be too.
[Charisma: 60]
Satisfied with his wise ahought-out choices, Balthazar swiped the s to the side.
Wait, that’s it?
The crab moved his eyestalks left and right a few times, and then up and down, trying to find some extra s he might have missed, but there was nothing more.
Damn it, I need some skills. I ’t rely on dialogue to get me through every problem I’ll enter, as much as I’d like that to be possible. ’t just talk a boulder bato life, and big flying lizards don’t seem too keen on chatting up with crabs, sadly.
The tired mert sighed as his shell zily slipped down against the leather of the pack, the warmth of the fire tig the tips of his legs and making him feel even more rexed.
Guess that’s ahing to worry about on my long list of things to do: figure out where to find those Scrolls of Potential, or some kind of skill tutor. Hmm, I wonder who they could be… Doubt they’re ost people I’ve met just today were dumb as a sack of bricks.
The crab’s eyes began growing heavier by the sed, the exhaustion of his very unusual day finally taking its toll, and his thoughts started fading into pastry-filled dreams.
Hmm… blueberry pie for supper… or maybe peach… ooh, key lime for the m, yes…
***
The m, Balthazar woke up lying on his Backpack of Holding, o the now sm remains of st night’s campfire. With a big stretch of his pincers and many legs, the giant crab let out a long and satisfied yawn.
While sleeping in su awkward bedding would have been problematiany other species, for Balthazar it was no problem at all, as he had no boo ache, back to crack, or even a o be stiff. Perks of being the ultimate life form.
With groggy eyestalks, he fumbled his way around the pile of ashes that still smoked in the middle of the circle of stones made by Druma the night before, scratg the backside of his shell as he went.
Blue was still lying in the same spot, slumbering with slow, deep breaths, while Druma, ever the early goblin, was already up, off somewhere irees, likely chasing some squirrel, judging by the he barely awake mert could hear nearby.
Balthazar had a very specific m routine, as any proper crab should. A routine whivolved a quick trip to the shore of his pond every day, something he, for the first time since he could recall, was uo do, because his beautiful pond was several hours away from where he stood. A fact that he was still trying to get used to.
Thankfully for the crusta, his acute hearing picked up on the sound of running water from nearby.
Shuffling through some bushes and skittering around some trees, Balthazar quickly found a small stream runniween some rocks and zigzagging through the woods.
It was no pond, but it would do.
After spshing some water on his fad doing his usual chitin exfoliation, Balthazar stood back straight, throwing his shell back as he let out a long “Ahhh” of satisfa.
“Feeling much better now. Just missing my m slice of pie.” He slumped down slightly for a moment, before pig himself back up. “Too early for feeling sad, Balthazar! Focus on finding Madeleine and you’ll get your pies!”
Putting his cws on the sides of his shell, the crab took a deep breath, inhaling the fresh m air.
“Ah, just like bae.”
Suddenly, a new system message popped up.
[Would you like to start your tutorial now?]
[Yes] [Later]
Balthazar frowned slightly.
“What’s this about a tutorial? I’ve had a system for months, I don’t need no tutorial!”
As he looked at the avaible options, his frown deepened.
“Why ’t I just say no?”
Ahe crab simply pressed the [Later] option and shrugged, turning back to the rolling water of the stream to dip his pincers into it, because even crabs know you should always wash your cws before eating.
[Would you like to start your tutorial now?]
[Yes] [Later]
“Huh?!” said the bewildered mert. “Didn’t I just tell you to buzz off? Later, not now!”
With another quick flick, he sent the question away and tio scrub between his dactylus, where all the dirt and gunk tends to get. If there was ohing Balthazar did not abide by, it was dirty cws toug Madeleine’s pastries.
[Tutorial?]
[Yes] [Later]
“I take back everything I said about liking this new system versioer!” excimed Balthazar, spshing water everywhere as he threw his cws up. “I don’t want to do any tutorials right now!”
The crab firmly pressed the sed option on the prompt.
About ten seds of pead quiet passed as he tried to calm his temper, when a new notification appeared.
[What about now?]
[Yes] [Ask me again in 5 seds]
“Argh! Fine!” yelled the angry crusta. “If it will make this thing shut up, I’ll just get it over with! How hard it be anyway, if it’s meant for new adventurers?”
Balthazar pressed the first option and a new s slid into his view.
[Tutorial Quest: Introdu]
[Wele to Heartha! In this marvelous world of—]
“he crab loudly decred, as he saw the long page of text extending down in front of his eyes. “I do not care!”
[Skip]
After pressing the skip option, a new windoeared.
[But not everything in this nd is—]
“I ain’t got time to read all that!”
[Skip]
[So it is your destiny now to go forth and—]
“Skiiiiiip!”
After Balthazar mashed the skip option for what felt like a huimes, the introdu pages finally ended.
[Tutorial Quest: First Steps]
[Wele, new arrival! After yh nding, your mind might be a bit scrambled. Make sure you still remember the basioving around!]
[Objective: Take at least 10 steps forward]
The crab smacked the front of his face with his cw.
“Are you… flipping… kidding me?” he grumbled. “I know how to walk! I’ve always known how to walk! What kind of idiot is this tutorial made for?!”
Remembering the ao his owion—the very same adventurers he had been dealing with for months—Balthazar sighed and walked forward.
“There, happy now? So difficult! I go back to getting breakfast now?”
[Objective pleted!]
[Well done, adventurer! You still know how to walk in a straight line, but do you still remember how to strafe and walk backwards?]
[Objective: Take at least 10 steps left, right, and backwards]
“Oh e on, this is ridiculous!” the ed crab yelled.
Frustrated, but just wishing to be doh the whole thing, the mert did the little dance of sidesteps and back stepping until the system was satisfied.
[Objective pleted!]
[Great job, adventurer! You still got your moves! Now let’s learn how to jump!]
[Objective: Jump at least 5 times]
“No, I’m not doing that! This thing ’t be serious?! I’m a crab, and crabs aren’t meant to jump!”
Balthazar crossed his arms like a child throwing a tantrum, but the jolly quest prompt remained in front of his eyes, c most of his view, with no option to skip or close.
“Argh! I hate you, system!” pihe crab, as he threw his pincers up i.
***
Over by the trees, Druma stood watg Balthazar on the edge of the stream as Blue approached, joinio him.
“What… what is boss doing?” asked the fused goblin, scratg the top of his hairless head uhe wizard hat.
The drake observed the crab with an expression of awkwardness, her head tilted to the side like a watchful cat sitting atop a wall in an alley.
he running water, Balthazar moved around, ting steps as he did lines and circles with his eight legs, stopping every few paces and grumbling to himself before tinuing.
His two panions watched on in weirded out fusion as the crab started hopping up and down.
“Is… is boss dang?” said Druma.
Blue looked at the goblin and shrugged.
***
[Objective pleted!]
“Finally!” said Balthazar. “This has been nothing if not humiliating. I’m just gd I’m all the way out here with nobody to see me doing all this ridiculous stuff.”
The crab took a moment to exhale and catch his breath. M exercises were not usually part of his m routine. Or his afternoon routine. Or evening. Or part of any routine of his at all, in fact.
[Quest Started: First Adventure]
[Now that you have learhe basiovement, it’s time to embark on your first journey and find somewhere to explore a some loot!]
“You know what, no, screw this,” Balthazar decred. “I’m doh your crap, system. I’m not one of your stupid adventurers, and I’m not doing any dumb quests either.”
As he looked for a way to dismiss the system prompt in his eyes, he noticed the bottom line of text.
[Objective: travel east to Tudor’s Hall]
Balthazar’s eyestalks frowned.
“Wait, where do I know that name from?” he said, scratg his as he tried to remember. “Wait, that’s right! Tudor’s Hall is the duom es from!”
His upset mood seemingly gone all of a sudden, Balthazar chuckled to himself.
“I wonder how that old skeleton is doing.” He g the quest objective once more. “I mean… I wouldn’t mind visiting him and finally seeing that pce of his. He talks so much about it. Maybe I could even find something useful there, like one of those scrolls.”
Suddenly making up his mind, the ed crab skittered back to the campsite, where his two panions were already pag up.
“Druma, Blue, get your things, we’re taking a little detour to visit someone!” he cheerfully announced.
After a couple of mihe crab and his two followers were ba the road, headi with the mert at the front.
[You seem to have two panions. Would you like to add them to your party?]
Balthazar read the notification as he tinued walking.
Oh! I didn’t even think about this. I wonder if their stat sheets will look different in this updated system too.
With a squint, he firmed the prompt to add Druma and Blue to his party, and gained access to their stat ss.
