"How?!" Lucius hadn't expected his attack to be so effective. Even with his enhanced strength, he knew he would need to layer at least eight stacks of damage buffs, before he could really hurt the abyss creatures. Something he’d done had massively increased the damage of that strike, and he suspected the message he’d just received might shed some light on what, exactly, that was.
"An aspect? Not a talent?" Lucius mumbled to himself, taking a closer look at the contents of the system message. "What is an aspect?" he asked mentally, hoping the system could explain further.
Aspects, unlike talents, are magical abilities that permanently alter the characteristics of those who acquire them.
"Okay, that seems straightforward enough." Lucius thought as he focused his attention on the new aspect, prompting the system to explain the details of this new power.
Aspect: Feet of the Thief
Your early life experiences, specifically the time you spent as a child, trapped among dangerous individuals, forced you to endure constant emotional pain. This affected your soul, causing it to develop in a unique way. For you, to be seen was to be in pain. Thus, a desperate yearning not to be seen, is carved into your very being. The unique development of your soul, combined with this innate yearning, generates potent magical effects.
Feet of the Thief description:
1. Don’t Mind Me!
Reality itself flows around you without making a ripple; you go unnoticed by all. This effect is diminished by any noise, strong scents, or rapid movements you make.
2. Sucker Punch!
If Don’t Mind Me! is active when you attack, Sucker Punch! is triggered, raising your critical hit chance to 100%.
3. I’m So Lonely!
The powerful magic, generated by your existence, affects everything about you. Even the way other people think about you. Your existence, and identity, are very hard to grasp and hold on to. It will be difficult for other people to develop any strong feelings towards you. Always being just an acquaintance, never developing deep emotional connections to anyone.
"Figures..." Lucius felt a sharp sting in his chest. This aspect was a magical reflection of who he was. The negative side effect, I'm So Lonely!, was proof that his past had left him emotionally stunted, and now that problem was being magnified by magic. "Whatever... I've been sacrificing everything to survive my whole life anyway. I guess I have no choice, I'll just keep doing it now."
Lucius pushed that problem to the back of his mind, and called out for Jack to come back into the room. Jack walked in, casually, but he immediately did a double take when he looked at Lucius. "What happened to you? Something is... I'm not sure exactly, but something feels off," Jack said, a concerned look crossing his face.
"Well... good news and bad news." Lucius explained what he had done when Jack left the room, and how his actions had triggered the activation of his aspect.
"That settles it! You already had a skill called Assassination, and now you've triggered a stealth aspect. I think that makes you some kind of rogue," Jack said excitedly, but continued in a softer tone. "That side effect is rough though. Maybe we can find a way to fix it—after all, magic exists now, right?"
"I’m sure I’ll regret it someday, but right now, I’m not too worried about it. I’m homeless, remember?" Lucius smiled—a habit of covering up tragedy with a smile, a laugh, or a joke. "You don’t typically end up homeless if you have lots of people who care about you, so I don’t have any relationships for that side effect to ruin."
Jack didn’t know what to say to that. It was heartbreaking, but there was nothing he could do about it, and right now, they needed to focus on staying alive. After a few moments of awkward silence, he changed the subject. "Are you ready to get back to work?"
"Yeah... yeah, let’s do that." Once again, Lucius buried the terrible pain in his chest with a smile. He was an expert at hiding, and hiding his emotions was just another part of the skill he’d mastered.
The boys got back to work in silence, and this time, they didn’t let anything distract them. For the next three hours straight, the only sounds coming from that bathroom were the hissing, screeching, and buzzing of abyssal creatures, followed by the sharp whistle of metal slicing through the air and the harsh squelching as it pierced flesh.
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You have defeated juvenile abyssal insectum level 2.
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You have reached level 16. You have 36 attribute points available for distribution.
The last three hours had all blurred together for Lucius, as he repeated his actions again and again. His damage buffs had stacked so much that he could slice through the creatures' armor with a simple flick of his wrist, even using a spear tipped with a dull kitchen knife. Magic was a mind-bending thing. Lucius knew, what he was doing shouldn't be possible, yet he kept doing it regardless. One thing he clearly noticed, during the slaughter, was after reaching level 10 he started gaining five attribute points per level. Though the time, and effort, required to level up kept increasing. He’d counted once, and to reach level 13, he’d had to kill 32 of the juvenile insects. After that he stopped trying to keep track.
Eventually, Jack opened the window to let more creatures inside, but none came. His eyes widened as he focused, craning his neck to look outside. "Is that all of them? Did we get all the little ones?" Lucius and Jack gathered together, up against the window, as they peered outside. They could see Abyss creatures, but only a few dozen, and only the larger Adults. They had managed to accomplish something amazing, slaying the entire swarm of juvenile abyss creatures.
"That's it for the easy part. From now on, things are going to get increasingly dangerous," Lucius warned as he ripped open a roll of paper towels he had grabbed off one of the shelves. Lucius and Jack cleaned themselves up, but only after finishing the dirty task of moving the rest of the bodies to the walk-in freezer in the break room, which now contained a heaping pile of gruesome remains.
"Let’s take a break. We need to let Mary and James know what’s going on, and you can spend that truckload of attribute points you just earned," suggested Jack, tossing aside the empty cardboard tube after using the last of the paper towels.
"Eww, you guys stink!" said James, squeezing his nose and scrunching his face in an exaggerated display of disgust.
"Don't be rude, James," his mother gently scolded, though she agreed with the statement. "Everything about those creatures is wrong—even the smell of their blood is offensive to me." Mary said, spraying a small bottle of perfume she’d taken out of her purse.
Jack and Lucius explained to Mary and James the progress they had made so far, and reassured them that they would be reunited with Patrick soon. Mary had taken to writing notes, and holding them up against the glass, so Patrick could see them from where he was trapped. She let him know he would be rescued soon, and that he should stay safe inside the car. Lucius could see scraps of paper scattered on the floor, near the window, the paper contained messages like "I love you!", "Stay Strong!" and "Help is Coming!" It was bittersweet for Lucius to see. He was glad Mary, James, and Patrick loved each other, but he was bitter that no one had ever cared for him like that. If he had been trapped in the car, and his parents were stuck in the store, they’d probably use it as an excuse to drink and demand sympathy from everyone around them. They’d say things like, "What did we ever do to deserve this? We have to watch our own son die! Life just never gives us a break!" They would make the situation all about themselves, get drunk, and burden everyone around them. It was a stark contrast to the loving reassurance, that Mary and James were giving Patrick.
Lucius took a seat near the center of the room. He was about to use his free attribute points, and last time he had almost passed out from the experience. He could probably choose to add points slowly, one at a time, to avoid the overwhelming rush, but he wouldn’t do that. To be honest, he liked the way it felt. When he used his attributes, the feeling was so intense that, for a few moments, all his problems disappeared, leaving only the bone freezing rush of power.
He planned to split the points across three attributes: 15 in dexterity, 15 in strength, and 6 in stamina. He was exhausted now after doing something relatively easy—what if he had to really fight something that could fight back? His stamina just wouldn’t be enough, so he decided to throw a few points there as well. Lucius took a deep breath, hugged himself tightly, and gave the command.
Lucius realized he screwed up when the searing pain hit him, it felt like his body was being ripped in half. He wanted to scream, but the pain was so intense that he only managed to grind he teeth and moan. Darkness was creeping over him from the edges of his vision, and the next moment he lost consciousness. It was too much; he didn’t get to experience any of the rush he’d hoped for, and now his body was convulsing. Jack and Mary ran over when they realized something was wrong. Lucius was flailing on the floor, his jaw clenched tight and his eyes rolled back in his head, his back arching and spasming.
"Don’t let him bite his tongue—he could die!" Mary warned. Jack rushed forward to try and help Lucius, but it was a mistake. Lucius now had 22 points in strength, and he’d gone from above-average human strength to that of a full-grown male grizzly bear in a single moment. When Jack tried to hold him down, he was struck by Lucius’s flailing body. Lucius’s shoulder hit Jack in the chest, and he was thrown back so violently that his shoes came off. Jack flew through the air like a ragdoll, crashing into the canned goods shelf, and collapsed in a heap on the floor.
Mary and James stood, stunned, between the two boys; now two people needed help, and she had to make a choice.
Mary turned from Lucius and rushed to Jack. He was bleeding from his ears, nose, and a wide gash on his head, probably from when he hit the ground. It didn’t seem like he had any broken bones, but Mary was no expert. "James, go get me the first aid kit! It’s the white box with the big red plus sign on it behind the register. Go! Hurry!"