As the companions continued walking toward the steadily rising sun, Lucius turned his attention to the armor covering his chest. Even though the sleek black item was relatively new, it was already of [Rare] quality and would be an excellent choice for his second token. Lucius pulled up the description of the armor to review it before using his upgrade.

Tenebrous Scales - Carapace Chest Armor - Quality [Rare]

This is a piece of armor created from the carapace of a Colossus Centipede. It has been further enhanced through the use of a powerful aspect in addition to one system upgrade token. The carapace used to craft this armor retains some of its biological qualities, including its original body's affinity for earth and its ability to heal on its own over time.

Close to the Earth – +10% movement speed while traveling over soil, +25% movement speed underground.

Second Skin – This armor will self-repair as long as it has not been completely destroyed.

He hadn't had much opportunity to test the item yet, but it was already about to undergo a significant change by moving from [Rare] to [Extraordinary]. Still, Lucius was eager to see what changes would occur. When upgrading other items from [Rare] to [Extraordinary], their two existing attributes had been strengthened, and a third additional attribute was gained. So, he didn't appear to be risking anything by upgrading the item.

Without further hesitation, Lucius activated the [Rare] upgrade token, summoning a swarm of magical lights, far larger than what had been generated when he upgraded his bracers. When David saw the second massive swarm of lights, he froze in his tracks, staring at the scene with glittering sparkles reflecting off his eyes from the brightness.

"What in God's name?! What quality of upgrade token did you just activate?"

"That one was [Rare]."

David rushed forward as soon as he heard Lucius' response, staring so intently at the now-glowing armor that it seemed like he might burn a hole through it with his eyes.

"And... the item. Was it also [Rare]?"

Lucius gave one swift nod at the question.

"So that's going to be... an [Extraordinary] item?"

"That's right."

After hearing Lucius' response, David nodded slowly, rubbing his chin thoughtfully after he regained his composure.

"Interesting. I've never seen an [Extraordinary] item before. I am excited to lay my eyes on such a precious thing."

Lucius raised an eyebrow as he glanced up at the large man walking beside him.

"Uh, actually, you've seen two already."

As Lucius spoke, he motioned toward his ring and sword, earning another round of wide-eyed disbelief from David. This time, the man’s pride stung a bit with the feeling of inferiority, and his face turned pink as he responded in dismay.

"That's your third [Extraordinary] item? Just who the hell are you?"

Lucius chuckled at David's over-the-top reaction. It was amazing that the man still had the energy to be so enthusiastic after everything they'd been through.

"It's not as incredible as you think. Stick around for a while and you'll earn your own item upgrades before long."

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David rubbed his chin again, sporting a wide grin at the idea that he might be able to achieve something similar.

"Will you please explain to me what an item upgrade is, David?"

Sarah had enough of being left out of the conversation and demanded that her husband explain the details of the situation to her. Meanwhile, the armor covering Lucius' upper body completed its transformation, and the glowing lights surrounding it disappeared.

Lucius looked down, running one hand across his chest. The armor had retained its sleek black appearance, but it had become noticeably lighter and seemed to flow more naturally across his body. Eager to see what changes had occurred, he hastily prompted the system to show him the description.

Flowing Mantle Of Chasms - Carapace Chest Armor - Quality [Extraordinary]

This piece of armor has undergone numerous upgrades, originally formed from the carapace of a Colossus Centipede. The scales making up its body have been further infused with magical power, lowering their weight and drastically increasing their defensive ability. This magical infusion has also enhanced the armor’s self-repair ability, and its affinity with earth mana has been increased.

Close to the Earth – Plus 20% movement speed while traveling over soil. Plus 40% movement speed underground.

Second Skin – This armor will self-repair as long as it has not been completely destroyed. The rate of repair has been enhanced through the upgrade process.

Sinkhole – Release the earth-attribute mana gathered in this armor, creating a deep hole in the ground to trap your enemy. Usable once per day.

Lucius clenched his fist as a wide grin spread across his face. Upgrading an item from [Rare] to [Extraordinary] had never failed to impress him, and this time was no different. The increased movement speed, enhanced defense, enhanced self-repair ability, and, last but not least, the invaluable new Sinkhole skill—all of these upgrades had just drastically increased Lucius' survivability. Sinkhole especially gave him some reassurance that he could escape Baba Yaga's C-Class wolf if the need arose.

A deep and heavy anxiety lifted from Lucius' chest as he regained his confidence to protect his own life if the worst-case scenario came to pass. Somewhere along the way, he had grown accustomed to his newfound strength, and being powerful enough to face the dangers of this new world had become a pillar that upheld his sanity. When that pillar was threatened by the existence of enemies he couldn’t hope to survive meeting, a familiar powerlessness began to creep back into the young man’s heart.

That feeling was a dark and unpleasant reminder of the life he had left behind. Lucius realized at that moment that he would probably never be finished with his quest to grow stronger, and would continue this way for the rest of his life—because he could not tolerate that awful feeling of weakness, and there would always be someone out there more powerful than him to threaten his sense of wellbeing.

Tossing these thoughts to the back of his mind, Lucius continued to lead the group toward the area where the rest of Sarah and Nicolai's group was waiting. The journey was blessedly uneventful, with only a few enemies appearing on Lucius' radar—almost giving him a heart attack before he realized they weren’t the powerful enemy he was running from. Regardless, Lucius was too exhausted to get into a fight now, not even with an F-Class threat that would normally be an easy thing for him to kill.

Before the sun reached its height in the sky, the group had reunited with the rest of the waiting humans and began making their way toward the farm as a single group. The men who had waited at the area where Lucius closed the anomaly had made it through the night without incident, coming through without losing anything but some sleep as they were anxiously awaiting Lucius' return.

Sarah and David were growing increasingly eager to be reunited with Maryanne as they drew closer to their destination, and to be honest Lucius was also excited to see the joy on the child's face when he returned her parents to her.

Lucius had grown quite fond of Maryanne, and he couldn’t think of any greater gift he could give the child than returning her loving family to her. It was probably the single greatest thing Lucius had done in his life up to this point—it was certainly the thing he felt most proud of, aside from saving the child herself, of course.

He had saved people before, the people who had been captured by the goblins for example, but Lucius didn't know any of those people besides James, so it didn't really have the same impact.

With the relatively slow moving speed of the humans in the group, it took the better part of the rest of the day to reach the outskirts of the farm. Lucius carefully lead them around the edge of Magar's territory, feeling the last drops of energy draining from his bones when he finally caught sight of the farmhouse in the distance.

Lucius realized at this instant that he already considered this place home inside his heart, and right now all he wanted to do was get inside and rest in the place filled with his friends, where he could feel safe.