The two young men, along with their newest companion, got busy with the unpleasant task of moving the bodies. It wasn't as difficult a task as it could have been, thanks to Lucius' already impressive strength, and it quickly became obvious that Jack had spent many of his newly earned attribute points on strength as well.
"You didn't put all your new attributes into strength, did you?" Lucius asked when he saw Jack carrying two adult human bodies, one in each hand, without a hint of strain on his face.
"Not at all!" Jack responded, tossing the two bodies over the edge of the canopy into the wheelbarrow. "I threw a few into vitality. After all, I only have nine fingers left!" the young man joked, holding up his two hands to display his remaining fingers. "No point being strong if I can't even take a hit!"
With the bodies all in place, Jack suggested that they also move the bodies of the slain Abyss creatures out for burning. Lucius and Patrick quickly agreed, and the three cleared out the bodies from the store. When it came time to move the body of the Abyss Queen, Lucius told the others to wait, and he walked up to the body.
"I asked the system about the new upgrade opportunities we just received, and I found out they're more impressive than I thought." Lucius placed his hand on the razor-sharp proboscis of the Abyss Queen and asked the system to utilize his item upgrade.
Golden orbs of light, each the size of a firefly, began to spiral around Lucius' hand and the proboscis he was touching. "I learned that this was a very rare opportunity, and that I should use it on the best piece of magical material I could find," Lucius explained, as the group watched the proboscis magically disappear.
The golden lights started moving together, forming the shape of a sword in Lucius' hand. Suddenly, the golden light vanished, and in its place was a vicious-looking short sword. The blade resembled the proboscis it was made from, while the grip took on the purple hue of the slain creature’s carapace, and the guard was crafted from two of the red spikes—the same ones that had hurt Lucius during the fight. The weapon fit perfectly in Lucius' hand, feeling as if it were made just for him, which, of course, it was. Lucius focused on his new weapon and received a message from the system in response.
Matriarchs Fury - [short sword] - Quality [Rare]
This weapon will never dull, created with the rare magic material 'proboscis of the swarm mother', and further enhanced by an item upgrade token, it has miraculous penetrating power, and is imbued with the Swarm Mother's ability 'leech life'.
Leech Life - 0.15% life stolen per hit.
Jack and Patrick were stunned by the miracle of magic that Lucius had just performed.
"Incredible…" Patrick muttered under his breath, while Jack ran up to Lucius to get a closer look at the item. "I didn't know we could use item upgrades like that!" Jack exclaimed. "How did you do it?" he asked Lucius.
"Just put your hand on the magic material you want to use and think about the kind of item you want. If it's something the system can't make, nothing will happen. You can't ask for something the materials can't be used to make, and the better suited the material is for your item, the higher the quality will be," Lucius explained.
Stolen story; please report.
"Got it, thanks!" Jack replied quickly, excitement clear in his voice, as he ran over to the remaining corpse of the Abyss Queen. Jack placed his hand on the thickest portion of the dead creature's carapace, carefully avoiding the vicious red spikes, and focused on what he wanted to make. The same scene the group had just witnessed repeated itself. This time, a much larger swarm of light coalesced from the air to fully cover the large piece of material that Jack wished to use. Lucius was amazed to see the carapace, which he hadn’t been able to scratch with his full strength, easily consumed by the magical lights. The lights wrapped around Jack's left arm, creating a large item half as tall as Jack himself. When the lights disappeared, it was clear that he had created a shield. Jack focused on his new shield as Lucius had instructed him, and the system provided a description of the item.
Matriarchs Resolve - [large shield] - Quality [Rare]
This shield is incredibly durable. Created from the carapace of the powerful Swarm Mother, and further enhanced by an item upgrade token, this shield offers potent physical and
magical resistance.
Mind Shock - This shield can release a blast of telepathic energy, stunning all enemies within 8 yards for 1.5 seconds, cooldown 5 minutes.
The moment Jack's shield was fully materialized, both the shield and sword received an additional line of text to their descriptions.
Long Live The Queen [set item] - When this item is within 15 yards of the other item in the set, wielders receive +2 to all attributes,
and +10% haste.
The shield was shaped like a large almond, rounded at the top and pointed at the bottom. It was big enough to cover more than half of Jack's body when standing, and if he crouched, he could hide behind it entirely. The shield was dark purple, like the Swarm Mother, with the same red spikes jutting out of it. Jack's left arm, which was holding the grip, was hidden inside a tube of carapace that formed the back of the shield. The grip he was holding onto fit his left hand perfectly, even accommodating his missing finger. Jack wondered what the grip was made from. It felt smooth and soft, yet sturdy, in his hand, but he couldn't see it because it was hidden inside the tunnel of carapace.
"This is amazing!" Jack shouted, holding his new shield in front of him. Jack and Lucius both felt a rush of power flooding through their bodies, they had started feeling it the moment both items had been manifested. The young men quickly realized that it was a result of the set item bonuses, "I guess we’d better stick together. Now we're literally stronger as a team!"
Lucius couldn't help but allow a small smile to creep onto his face. Between the rush of power from the items and Jack's assurance that he would stick by Lucius' side, the young man felt more hopeful than he had since before the tragedy began. The group finished moving the bodies, and Jack filled a small container with gasoline from one of the pumps. He proceeded to douse the pile of bodies with the gasoline, then created a trail of gas leading a few feet away. Patrick lit a match, used it to ignite the entire pack of matches, and dropped it onto the end of the gas trail.
The three stood back, beholding the scene before them, watching as the bodies of humans and monsters alike were engulfed in the all-consuming fire. As Lucius observed the bodies blacken, he couldn't help but feel a growing sense of loss—for all the lives stolen away by the creatures of the Abyss, and for the humans still clinging to life, who would undoubtedly face a terrifying future. The young man's mind was also consumed, like the bodies before him, though luckily with curiosity about the future ahead of him rather than fire.
"Lets get inside." Said Patrick, "This large fire, and the smell of the burning bodies, might attract more creatures." He explained. "Also, we need to have a discussion about what to do next, we can't stay at this store forever, I think we should discuss leaving, together."