The two levels weren't the only things that caught my attention, however.
AdultHuman Allison Level 925 Yrs 0 Mos Class:Mageblade- Resilience: 26Mana: 36 (-7)Endurance: 31 (-6) Afflictions: FatiguedAffiliations: NoneTraits: Daredevil, Electric 2 Level Pending Passive Skills: 0 Skill Factor Active Skills: Close CombatMana SenseDecisiveness Mana BoltBasic ParryQuick CastMartial StyleObservant(+) DashSpark My attributes were up. Interesting. I never got a notification, or anything, that I could remember. Was it just use? Had I completed some sort of challenge or quest? Looking at them with the Lens only showed me that they were my new maximum, and didn't show any modifiers other than my Fatigued affliction. I guess I could just... train them? By using them or something? That seemed off, for some reason, but without an actual answer or textbook or something in front of me, there was no reason to make wild guesses. Just take the increase in stride.
The levels were nice, anyhow. Level 10 - that would be a nice bump. Level 5 had given me a class, and had been a major level. Maybe 10 would be a major level too? I let out a breath. "Nothing to do but do it." I tapped the indicator.
Well, that was that, I guess. Damn. Next major level would be 15, at least according to what I'd been told. Slightly disappointing, but levels are levels. I used the Lens to check my skill offerings.
Welcome back Thrust! Honestly, with me using my spear more (and kinda liking it) it wasn't a bad offering now. But, let's see what else we've got.
I definitely tend to spam my Dash to get extra distance. I'd only dealt with that backlash once, or twice, I guess, but it was only a 20% decrease, with only four tiers. What if it maxed out at like 40%? That'd be such a waste. Super worth it if it got really big, but... not sure on that one.
That was nice. That was really nice. My biggest weakness was multiple targets, and being able to be less blindsided would be good. I guess, really, it was between Awareness and Thrust. I had some more stats behind me, and could use a lot more of my abilities, but did I want another one to worry about in the midst of combat? I had already sort of created my own version of Thrust by combining a stab with Dash. Sure, I wouldn't need to move any, but... it seemed a bit silly to use a level-up for a move I could basically already do pretty well. Of course, it might just be way more powerful.
I felt myself biting my top lip and forced my jaw to unclench. No, my best way forward would be to increase my skills that I already had, and use these level ups to work on stuff that I probably couldn't normally get. I mean, yeah, I could train myself to fight better and keep track of stuff, but the mental shortcut here seemed way more valuable than the physical one. I tapped Situational Awareness and was pleased as I could immediately tell a difference. It's one thing to know that I had come in through the door, and it nominally was in a certain direction. Now, though, it felt more like I had a presence, and the surroundings were fixed in my mind a little better. The door (currently missing, of course) was right there, instead of in that direction. If that made sense. But that level was done now.
Mana. Mana is the choice here. My spells clearly took more oomph than my physical skills, and it ran out way faster. I selected it without any real consideration.
That wasn't the last thing here, no, that went to the increase to my Observant after I didn't do the thing. After I saw nothing at all. "My Observant leveled up when I stopped looking." I let out a little growl of frustration. Nothing had obviously happened. I saw nothing. When I did the thing.
Tits. Whatever.
What... was trov? My sense of what? Was my translation busted or something? I shook my head and tapped at it, but it didn't change. "Well, whatever my sense of trov is, it's better. Trov to meet you. I hope you trov okay. What the trov?"
AdultHuman Allison Level 1125 Yrs 0 Mos Class:Mageblade- Resilience: 26Mana: 41 (-8)Endurance: 31 (-6) Afflictions: FatiguedAffiliations: NoneTraits: Daredevil, Electric 0 Level Pending Passive Skills: 0 Skill Factor Active Skills: Close CombatMana SenseDecisiveness Mana BoltBasic ParryQuick CastMartial StyleObservantSituational Awareness DashSpark Well, that was that, for now at least. A strange skill increase, and a bit better with fighting. I'd take it, along with my surprise buff to my attributes, as small as it was. I left the Lens room feeling nice, but still a bit tired from the day's work.
"The fuck is trov?"
I returned to my cookpot, and found that with the water boiling, I went ahead and threw my ingredients on the pot and tried to lower the heat by removing some fuel. Of course, I nearly burned myself by not using an appropriate tool, but the fire was going a bit lower now. I looked out at the sky, and with it being past noon at this point, I figured I'd spend the rest of the day trying to get those pieces for wood support to the hallway.
I sat roughly next to my food, opening up the pot and being hit by the middling smell of boiled meat and potatoes. "What I wouldn't give for some fucking stock or salt." I stirred it around a bit before spearing a bit of potato with my knife, pulling it out to let it cool slightly in the late evening air. I was beat. Getting those hunks of wood to the hallway had been a harrowing experience, and even then, I hadn't managed to get all of them there. This body, my body here, was in good shape, but I definitely didn't have the endurance or musculature for this kind of work.
The potato was adequate. At least the skin had enough nutrition in it to be moderately tasty, but at the end of the day, it was mostly just cooked potato with some odd meaty flavor. After finishing it off, I moved on to cut a piece of the mystery meat off and try some of it. I wished I had some comparison, but ultimately, it just tasted... different. Slightly gamey, but I supposed that would be expected from something that hadn't come from a farm or something. I was just glad to have a little more of the fresh meat, boiled and plain as it was. I stayed that way, nibbling on dinner and starting to massage my aching muscles for quite some time. I definitely lost track of time again and found myself staring at nothing but the rising night sky. I hadn't fallen asleep, just kept chewing mindlessly without a single thought in my head.
I guess, despite the new wetware, I couldn't escape all of my issues. I just hoped I wouldn't dissociate too badly in more important settings. It'd happened once during a meeting at work and boy howdy had the boss been pissed with me. It usually didn't happen with people around, stimulation or something, but it wasn't perfect. I sighed and stood, muscles aching from the day's work, and went to go clean up. A quick bath would be nice, especially due to the fact that 'quick bath' meant 'a little bit of mana and a couple minutes to dry off.' Before I could start taking my clothes off, however, I heard something.
A voice.
I fast walked my way over to the collapsed hallway, hearing a thin voice making its way through the rubble. I got as close as I could, and called out "Hey! You there?"
"...bit.... ay?"
It was muffled and distant. "Rachel, if that's you, I can hear you but can't understand you!" I yelled out at the rocks.
"...and you!"
I snorted. I bet she was saying the same shit. She was probably just as exhausted as me, but it was good that there was at least some confirmation that there was a person present. I tried to be concise and loud. "LATE! BED! TOMORROW!"
No voice came back to confirm that I'd been heard, so I shrugged and moved away, cursing as I accidentally kicked one of the pieces of wood I'd laid in the hallway. I had the supports now, tomorrow would be a very, very annoying day of removing pieces of rock and stone. Rest would have to come first, if my yawn was any indication. That, of course, in addition to my sore muscles and the dark outside. I took the time to bathe myself and settled into my little pile of bedding. Sure, it wasn't a five-star hotel, but that much physical effort made just about anything soft a great place to sleep.
"Trov. Dumbass word."
Most of the morning was spent getting the biggest pieces of stone out of the temple. I knew if I just dragged them out into the Sanctuary that they would sit forever, so if I didn't remove them now, it wouldn't happen, and that would just start the messiness spiral of my living space. I definitely didn't need that. It was a warmer day here in the mountains, warmer than I would have thought with it being this high up, but it's not like I really had a choice in the matter. I used my torn up clothing for this job, knowing that my clothes would take a beating from this. My wounds were healing up nicely as well. The marks from the bites had stung throughout the day yesterday, but now they were just ragged red spots on my skin that only bothered me when I scraped something against them, feeling a lot like recently sunburnt skin.
Honestly, it was kind of nice to just empty my head and do the work. I'd been fighting so much over the past... two weeks? Or so? Just doing something like this with a clear, complete goal, was a great motivator, even if I struggled to stay completely on task. It was nice work, just boring. I couldn't see myself doing this for more than another day or so. Part of me still tingled to go into the labyrinth, to face more danger and adventure. I'd never pinged myself as an adrenaline junkie, but the particular brand of exciting that the labyrinth brought just seemed to call to me.
I was definitely glad for that Scrubstone, though. I shuddered at the thought of having to go to bed with all the grime of hard work plus the warm day on me. It would be nice if I could get through to Rachel today, but I doubted it, not going by the sheer amount of rock we had to go through, yet. One rock at a time, that was the best I had. I'd attempted to Dash with them, but all that ended up doing was me losing control of the damn thing in my arms. It seemed like I could add motion to it while I held it, but inertia became my enemy afterwards. It was helpful for tossing the things outside, but only that. If objects in motion tended to stay in motion, I saw no reason to be the outside force that changed it if I could just let gravity do that for me.
Honestly, it more had me pondering how the physical skills worked. With my mana, it was definitely a separate resource within me, something that had a clear 'full' and 'empty' state. I felt a little lethargic with it empty, but nothing ached like a muscle would after a lot of use. Firing off Mana Bolts as quickly as possible wasn't gated by pain or anything, it was simply how fast I could bring the power to bear. Things like Dash, though, they seemed much more dependent on my physical muscles. Doubly so due to the fact that the feedback had been so viscerally painful instead of just making me lose myself to nausea.
"Fuck, I wish I had some books or something. Anything to tell me how any of this goddamn - godsdamned shit works." I picked up a larger stone near the top of the pile and rolled it down where I could more easily move it, and froze as I looked up through the small hole that had been cleared in the pile.
"I can help with that, I believe," a voice said from the darkness. "Eventually."
"You seriously have books over there?" I kept my voice even.
"Well, yes, some books. A few of them are terribly worn, but there are a couple that are usable. I have not really had the time to go through them."
I sighed. "Even so, it's nice to hear your voice outside of the labyrinth, Rachel."
There was a knocking sound, as if she'd... well, knocked. "You as well, Allison. I am glad you are well. Do you have any idea how long it will take for your excavation to finish?"
"Not at all. I've got some large stuff to go through yet, and I've gathered up some big pieces of wood to support the walls in case they need it, but otherwise, It's hard to tell. I really only can hear you through the tiny hole at the top here and I definitely can't see through it."
There was a humming noise that came through. "I will continue from my end. I did not think of supports, though. I am glad you did. It would not do for this to come crashing down atop us and bring our time here to an unfortunate end."
"Alright. Well, I'd love to chat more," I started. God, I really would. It was heaven to have a conversational partner at last, and hell that she was this close but still so far away. "But I think that'd slow me down. I'm not really built for this kinda work."
Her laugh came through clearly. "I understand. Let us finish this before we continue our talks."
My mind pushed through its own trains of thought as I separated from the spot and continued my side of the excavation. Her manner of speech was a little bit stilted. She didn't like contractions, as far as I could tell, but it didn't sound like she was unused to English. Or was it something else? Maybe the translations to Common were imperfect and her original language was French or something? She did say she was Canadian. I thought that was more of a Quebec thing, but what did I know? It was all I could do to fail a couple years of Spanish back in high school that I basically remembered nothing of.
Regardless, the rest of the day was spent moving rocks.
And the next day.
And the day after that.
Finally, after I was getting bored out of my skull and less and less certain that this hell would ever end, there was a noise as some rocks fell over and there was a shift in the structure. I panicked but shot over, yanked the wood up, and placed it under where the ceiling had begun to sag a little worse. I Dashed away, nervous, but there was a groan and it held. I carefully placed another support beam there, to keep it ready, and looked up at the thinnest part of the debris pile to see a smiling woman looking down at me through a small hole. Her sweaty face was adorned by a bright smile, more emotion than I'd seen on her than ever before. "Hello, Allison!"