After stepping onto the dirt road, David followed behind as Lucius retraced his steps toward the place where Sarah and Nicolai waited. When they got close, Lucius spotted the tent he had left behind for them, as well as a small fire. Sarah was sitting by the fire, rocking back and forth with her arms tightly wrapped across her chest and an anxious expression on her face as she stared into the darkness, while Nicolai was curled up in the fetal position inside the tent, snoring loudly. Sarah jumped to her feet when she heard the sound of the two men approaching, letting out a heavy breath of relief as moisture filled her eyes when she saw who it was and realized that Lucius had been successful.

"Oh God! David!"

Sarah rushed up to her husband, accidentally pressing against his wounded side as she hugged him.

"Ah! Ah! Be gentle, my love."

"You're bleeding? Here let me see!"

Lucius ignored the wholesome reunion behind him, quickly giving Nicolai a shove with the bottom of his foot to wake him before grabbing a flaming log from the fire and throwing it into the tent the moment the young man stood up.

"W-What are you doing?" Nicolai asked in confusion as he shuffled across the leafy forest floor, struggling to shake the sleep from his eyes as he pulled his boots onto his feet.

"There’s no time to pack up the tent, and I won’t leave behind something that can be used to track us. Let’s go, now. I’ll explain on the way."

A few moments later, the group of companions was moving at a brisk pace down the dirt road. Lucius continued to badger them to increase their speed every few minutes as he watched the forest around him with an intensity that unsettled Sarah and Nicolai. The petite woman was the first to inquire about the events that had left Lucius so on edge.

"Lucius... what exactly happened back there? When I saw you returning with David, I assumed everything went well. Was I wrong?"

Lucius glanced down at the woman walking behind him. She stayed close to David, as though afraid he would disappear from her grasp.

"I guess you could say everything was successful. I rescued David, and I even killed the leader. The problem is... he didn’t stay dead. And what he became after I ran my sword through his heart isn’t something we can fight right now."

Nicolai’s eyes widened when he heard Lucius talking about his uncle. He rushed forward a few steps to match Lucius' pace as he spoke.

"My... my uncle isn’t dead? What does that mean, exactly?"

Lucius let out a deep sigh, slowly shaking his head back and forth as he responded.

"It was a trap, Nicolai. I'm sorry. You were right about your uncle—he was being controlled by a powerful witch named Baba Yaga, and I played right into her hand. She used me to destroy the last lingering traces of your uncle's ability to resist her. When I drove my blade through his heart, Baba Yaga gained full control, using your uncle as a sacrifice to spawn a powerful creature."

Nicolai looked at the ground, covering his mouth with one hand as tears dripped down his face. He wiped the teardrops away with his dirty sleeve before clenching his fist, a look of resolve taking over his face as he continued in his heavy accent that reminded Lucius of the way the leader spoke.

"Baba Yaga... I will use my life to kill this witch for what she has done to my uncle, no matter how long it takes." Nicolai lowered his clenched fist to his side as he continued, "Is this new creature still my uncle, or something else entirely? I... need to know if he is truly dead, or if his soul is trapped inside that creature, suffering!"

Lucius couldn't help but look away from Nicolai's questioning gaze as he responded, he didn't want to see the pain he would cause the young man when he spoke his next words.

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"I'm afraid... your uncle's soul is trapped inside. Access to his soul was the one thing he had managed to keep safe from the witch all this time. It's because of me that his final defenses were broken."

After speaking that awful truth, Lucius remained silent as the companions continued to move with all the haste they could muster. The sun was breaking over the horizon, and Lucius finally released Mythification, allowing Whisper to take shelter within his storage ring. Without the benefits of Mythification, the exhaustion Lucius felt became even more unbearable.

He added two points of his free attributes to Stamina to take the edge off, letting out a sigh as the small boost of energy filled his body. It felt like he had just woken up from a much too short nap and drank a cup of coffee, still miserable but bearable.

Noticing that he had six points remaining—and that he only needed to add five points to Strength to cross the 40-point threshold—Lucius decided to do so immediately to increase his power in case Baba Yaga and her new child caught up with them before they reached the farm.

A message from the system popped up in his vision as he felt the effects of his increased Strength course through every muscle in his body.

Congratulations!

You have reached 40 points in the Strength attribute, passing the first magical threshold! There is enough magic in this attribute to generate a related Talent. Taking into consideration your current attribute distribution, talents, aspect, and personality, the system can generate a new Talent for you.

Would you like to generate a Talent now?

Lucius gave his confirmation, and the system followed his command.

Generating...

...

...

Congratulations!

You have unlocked the Talent Sundering Strike.

Sundering Strike - Your impressive strength has turned your bare fists into valuable weapons on the battlefield. Focus your power into a single precise strike, destroying or cracking the armor of your target. Unarmored opponents will suffer internal bleeding and bruising from this attack.

Lucius read the description of his new talent as he continued to walk, rubbing his chin as he considered how to integrate it into his fighting style.

"Hmm, an armor-breaking attack. Not as useful as I would have hoped against the wolf, but a valuable talent nonetheless."

Next, Lucius turned his attention to the two item upgrades he had gained from closing the anomaly and defeating the skeleton. The first was only of [Enhanced] quality, but that was perfect for the bracers Jack had made for him. Lucius didn’t hesitate to use the first upgrade, focusing on the pair of items covering his wrists as he activated the token with his mind.

Lucius was relieved when he saw that the token treated the pair of bracers as a single item, and began upgrading both at the same time.

Sarah and Nicolai jumped back when they noticed the sudden swarm of bright lights, but David only looked on with curiosity and continued to watch closely as the process unfolded. It was obvious to Lucius that this wasn’t David's first time witnessing the use of an upgrade token.

When the process completed, Lucius pulled up the new description of his pair of items.

Vicious Guard - [Steel Bracer] - Quality [Magical]

Defensive bracers crafted by a novice artisan, raised to their current quality through the use of an upgrade token. These infused steel bracers come equipped with retractable spines that can stop a sword from sliding during a block or be used to directly attack an opponent.

Infused Steel – The presence of magically infused steel allows this item to endure 40% additional damage before it is destroyed.

Lucius gazed down at the bracers on his arms. Somehow, the system had crafted them to perfectly match his dark black armor. He wondered if that had been intentional or if he had subconsciously influenced the appearance of the bracers to suit his preferences. Regardless, the sleek black metal fit well, and Lucius was satisfied with his new items.

When he read about the retractable spines, he inspected the bracers again, trying to figure out how to use the new function. The moment he imagined the spines extending, they did exactly that. Lucius raised an eyebrow as he examined the spines running down the entire length of the bracers. They started of as short spines near his hand, growing longer gradually as they moved toward his forearm.

The spines resembled the spikes one might see depicted on the back of an image of a dinosaur, or dragon. The design had a satisfying, animalistic look, and the spines themselves extended with incredible force. The item was certainly no toy.

Lucius entertained himself by retracting and extending the spines a few times, holding his arm up for David to see. The large man, who had been walking beside him during the entire process in order to watch, eagerly observed the upgraded items.

"Very impressive. I've seen an item upgrade used like that once before, but I never received one myself—you’re lucky to have been in possession of one!"

Lucius glanced at David from the corner of his eye, unable to suppress his smirk as he responded.

"Actually, I had two."