It's early in the morning, and Barns waits in the throne room for Maria to arrive. It's time to learn how to level.
Barns sits casually on the floor next to the throne, nearby Clancy. The gluttonous crab is sampling a platter of fine cheese - the artisans were quite proud at their reinvention.
"I just thought it would feel a little more, y'know. Romantic!" Barns whines to his crab, thinking about the date last night. He'd some time to himself to process it, and his opinion? Perhaps it could have gone a little better.
"I did everything we talked about," Barns goes on. "I complimented her. I showed her my impressive appetite. But…nothing! Maybe Haima isn't like regular girls."
"BLOOD WOMAN HARD TO GET. TRY DANCING."
Barns nods his head. "Yeah, not a bad idea. I'll ask her out again in a few days, and take her dancing."
"BLOOD WOMAN DANCE. BECOME WATERFALL. BARNACLES SUCCESS."
As the plans cement in Barns' mind, the doors to the throne room fly open. Only one person throws the doors open with such gusto and entitlement - Maria. She's dressed in one of her gowns today, and her hair is done in a beautiful braid - the perfect Princess, if you disregard her personality.
"You called for me?" she asks. "I have to meet with that Eldrie in a few minutes."
Barns motions Maria over. "It won't take long. Can you read the leveling guide to me?"
Maria perks up. She loved all things System, and the leveling system has piqued her curiosity greatly.
Maria reads through the entire guide. It sounds a lot like an RPG leveling system, with attributes that increase as Barns kills more and more monsters.
"Charisma increases your overall likeability and affects how much others desire you sexually…what the hell?" Maria says, reading one particular line out loud. "How is that even possible? Pheromones?"
Barns shrugs. "Guess I gotta put points into that, or however this works."
Maria doesn't entertain the comment, she just keeps reading. They note two things of particular interest - 'Control' refers to one's ability to use magical abilities. As Barns had no magic other than Resurrection, it makes sense that his is so low. 'Luck', on the other hand, states "You'll never know when it will come in handy." One mystery solved and another is created.
"Can I transfer this to my inventory?" Maria asks. "I'd like to read over it a few more times myself."
"Yeah, sure."
"Great. I'll store a copy of it in something called the 'Auxiliary' for you. Think of it as a repository of information that you can refer to any time you'd like."
Barns nods, clapping his hands together. Sounds like this 'leveling guide' would be in the auxiliary from now on, if he ever wants to learn more about how it works intricately. He assumed it would even update periodically as his level increased.
"One last thing, please?" Barns says with a cheap smile. "Come check out Clancy's stats for me!"
He guides her over to the crab, who's dissociating and staring at the wall.
"Is he…"
"He's taking a power nap. Can you open his profile or whatever?"
Maria is happy to. She swishes her fingers around a bit, and a screen appears.
[Name: Clancy
Species: Crab (Irregular)
Level: 37 (2780/4450)
Strength: 37
Vitality: 48
Agility: 19
Intellect: 13
Control: 14
Charisma: 32
Luck: 10]
"Wait, Clancy's Intellect is the same as mine?" Barns struggles to see for himself. "And he's Irregular, like me?"
"I didn't need this to know that Clancy is an irregular crab," Maria scoffs. "IRREGULAR puts it quite lightly. Anyway, I've got to go."
Maria traipses out of the room, her long scarlet gown trailing behind her. Some days, she misses being a princess, and she makes sure to go all out.
"Charisma 32…dang, Clancy, you're a casanova for sure. What is that, 320% more attractive than the average human?"
"STATUS PANEL. SEEN BEFORE EATING MONSTERS."
"Oh, you are awake!" Barns laughs. "I thought we lost you for a second there."
"PRETEND SLEEP. SCARY PRINCESS."
"I guess she is wearing the same dress that she tried to boil you in. Sorry, Clancy. Wait, does that mean you heard what we were talking about?"
The crab hesitates for a long time before responding. "I WAS SLEEPING."
"Dang it, Clancy!"
The two joke around for a bit before Barns switches the topic back to something more serious.
"How'd you gain so many levels, Clancy? Any tips?"
"FIGHT!"
Barns chuckles. "It would have been nice if I had this technique all along. Think of all the experience I missed."
"BARNACLES MEET BRAIN?"
Barns is surprised by the question. "I guess that means you have too?"
"LITTLE CRAB. BIG BRAIN GIVE POP-UPS. BECOME BIG CRAB."
"I don't suppose you know anywhere else we can find monsters?" Barns smirks. "I was sort of hoping to get stronger sooner rather than later. I don't think I can take the twin vampires as I am."
Clancy pivots around the room, thinking. He clicks his pincers together with purpose, deeply considering options.
"COULD BRING YOU TO OCEAN CRAB KINGDOM…"
"Whoa, what?"
"NEVERMIND. OCEAN CRAB KINGDOM SECRET TO ALL BUT CHOSEN CRAB SAGE."
"You're lore-dumping, King. I can't keep up!"
"SECRET. MUSTN'T SPEAK OF EMPEROR CRAB'S HIDDEN UNDERSEA EMPIRE."
Barns drops it - for now. If he wants to get stronger, he won't be able to rely on leveling up alone. He has a shiny new weapon - the spiked glove they retrieved from the vampires - and he has plenty of allies. But he needs something else to turn the tide - a new skill. His Resurrection and Crab Affinity skills are all incredibly useful, but they are supportive or defensive in nature. He needs some firepower.
He remembers something from several weeks ago - how did he let it slip his mind?
'At the time, I chose Crab Intuition as my skill, and trained Harden Body after. But there was another skill option - Claws of Death.'
Barns turns to Clancy. He has no idea how it'll work, but he needs to try something.
"King. I need you to teach me how to turn my arm into a claw."