Three Surprises

You are plunged into darkness. And you are certain that, sooner or later, you will wake up in darkness again.

Your Respawn Location is fixed. Since the last update, that apparently means you are condemned to respawn in a bloody hole in the ground.

At least this time, it was worth it, you think.

Dying as a hero while saving a player character? That is something. None of your fellow miners could claim an achievement like that.

Then comes the first surprise.

Instead of the complete absence of sensory input that normally fills the void between death and respawn, you suddenly taste something sweet and vaguely medicinal on your tongue. Your eyelids flutter open.

And then the second surprise hits you. This one is considerably more pleasant. Instead of staring at the rough ceiling of a cave, you are looking into Pivo's worried face.

You've never seen anything more beautiful.

"Thank the gods. He's alive."

You sit up. In disbelief, you touch your arms. Your head. The pain that accompanied your supposed death has faded to little more than a distant memory.

"Wonderful. We just wasted a valuable healing potion on a mere NPC. At this rate, we'll run out of supplies before we ever complete this quest."

Selena is standing over you with her arms folded in what has by now become her standard idle animation.

From your perspective, it's quite an impressive sight. Not only does her chest project prominently beneath her robe, but the outline of her long legs is clearly visible as well.

You commit the image to memory for later use. Someday, you'll make her pay for her arrogance and her constant insults. Someday. Just not today.

"He's not worthless. He saved me." Pivo interrupts your thoughts. She plants herself in front of the mage, fists on her hips, managing to look surprisingly formidable despite being barely half her height.

But your vision is obstructed. A popup window is floating directly in front of your eyes. At first, it is almost transparent. Then it becomes increasingly difficult to ignore.

The third surpise.

You have acquired sufficient XP to advance to the next level.

[CONTINUE] [LATER]

Huh? That's new. You've never seen anything like this before. Can NPCs even level up?

You cautiously select [CONTINUE]

Recalculating attributes...

Your Character Sheet opens into the foreground.

Dwarven Foreman of Miners, Level 2

Nickname: Digbeard

Monster · Humanoid · Dwarf · Explicit

XP to next level: 200

ATTRIBUTES

Strength: 26 · Dexterity: 22 · Endurance: 26 · Charisma: 19 · Manipulation: 16 · Appearance: 19 · Perception: 24 · Intelligence: 23 · Wits: 22

SKILLS

Endurance: 15
Melee: 20
Crafting — Metalworking: 10
Crafting — Stoneworking: 100

FEATS

Foreman
To all members of your work crew, your Charisma appears to be 25 points higher. This applies to Charisma-based skills and social interactions.

Stout
Traditional dwarven stubbornness grants 50% resistance to all mind-altering effects, magical or otherwise.

Wonders of the Ages
Gain a constant passive buff to the quality of crafted items based on the time elapsed since your last death.

Grudge Keeping
Maintain a flawless record of notable slights against you. Grudges become optional quest objectives, with randomized rewards appropriate to their resolution.

[MAJOR GRUDGE] 1
- Screw over the gods or their work

[MODERATE GRUDGE] 0

[MINOR GRUDGE] 1
- Resurgent hereditary aversion to elves

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Choose one new Skill and one new Feat.

[CONTINUE]

You stare at the screen.

A choice.

For the first time in your entire existence, the game is asking you what you want.