It looked very ugly. It reminded Jack of a mummy. The way the skin had turned black around where that big wolf bit off Lucas’ fingers.

“Fuck that’s gross,” Jack said. He looked away.

“Okay, we’ve gotta change plans again. Lucas, let’s try what we talked about. Using Jack’s mana to power the blueprint.”

They explained the idea to Jack. Jack then drew the intricate mana circle again. He made it smaller this time. As small as he could while keeping the symbols the same. Brian and Lucas said it would be easier to power if it was smaller.

They then aimed their hands at Jack.

“Do you feel that too?” Brian said.

“Yeah. It feels like… trying to push a tree. His mana is resisting us. Maybe it’s only possible for him to use his own mana. In other words, we are screwed,” Lucas said.

“Okay. Change of plans. You could die from gangrene. We wait until night. And then we make a break for it. We need to get you to a hospital,” Brian said

“Let’s drop all the meat and pack more leather. Sell it. Get some guns,‘ Jack said.

“But what do we do? Lucas can’t grind? He needs to stay at hospital, right?” Brian said.

“Fuck that shit. I’ll just tell the doctor to cut it off and burn it. Then we go back to grinding,” Lucas said.

“I’m pretty sure that’s not how that works,” Jack said.

“I’m not missing out on this shit! This place is fucking amazing. I wanna do magic and shit,” Lucas said.

“Okay. How about this. We take you to the hospital. You stay there while me and Jack go back in here and we get him Mana Manipulation and Mana Sense, and we use the healing blueprint on you. And then you grind again. How about that?” Brian said.

He took a moment to think.

“Okay, fuck it,” Lucas said.

Before they got back to grinding leather, Jack and Brian did 100 pushups.

Challenge completed: 100 pushups

Reward: Select 1 skill related to the skeletal musculature system

Lucas looked on with envy.

Jack explained again what Eugene had told him about body skills. Since the system did not show any available skills, they had to pick their own skills.

The choice was easy.

Enhanced Bodily Recovery: Rank 1

Enhanced Bodily Recovery: Rank 1

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They felt a small burn throughout their bodies, but nothing painful. And they couldn’t feel any pain. It lasted one second.

“You think this’ll be like steroids?” Brian said.

“I dunno. Maybe the effect is just small. But the small effects should accumulate over the long run,” Jack said. Copying what Eugene had told him

“As soon as you heal my fingers, I’m doing 100 pushups,” Lucas said.

They stayed close to the border between the Balloon Monsters and the Goblins and the Wolf Monster. They almost ran into one of the hispanic groups, but quickly ran away before they got spotted.

They were now grinding Balloon Monsters. Stuffing their backpacks before night came.

“If you could have any magical build, what would you get?” Jack said.

“Ehm… Maybe some kind of tank build,” Brian said.

“Good thing you have that shield skill,” Lucas said.

“Fuck off,” Brian said.

“I would wanna get some mage build. Maybe even become a mind mage. I can already do mind control on insects. At least on paper. I wanna do it to people too,” Lucas said.

“Remind me to get Mind Shield skills,” Jack said.

“What build do you want?” Brian said.

“Ehm… I’m not sure. Maybe like… I wanna be super fast. Teleporting could be cool. Or flying. Like, I wanna be free. I’m not sure about combat or other people,” Jack said.

“Free like a bird, free like the wind. I love pretty girls, I wanna hit skins,” Lucas started singing.

Too much blood loss.

“Let’s go to a brothel when we have more cash,” Lucas said.

“Yeah sure,” Jack said.

“Didn’t you wanna move to a motel first?” Brian said, and hit a Balloon Monster with his bat.

“Both,” Lucas said.

Eventually it turned to night. They rested and ate and drank their last supplies. Then they got up and got ready.

“Okay boys. You know the plan. Immediately gather in the hall. I pull out my gun and pretend I have bullets. We try to make a break for it,” Brian said.

Everyone was nervous.

“Okay. Three. Two. One,” Brain said and disappeared out of the game.

Lucas and Jack followed along.

When Lucas and Jack exited their rooms, they saw Brian on guard, pointing his pistol down the hallway.

He whispered to them, “Okay, nobody here. We get to the door and make a run for it.”

They slowly walked over to the big metal door with no windows.

“Ready? Let’s go!” Brian whispered and opened the door.

///////////

Jack

Knife Fighting: Rank 1

Knife Fighting: Rank 2

Python (programming language): Rank 1

Mana generation: Rank 1

Sand to Glass Conversion Mana Blueprint: Rank 1

Healing Mana Blueprint: Rank 1

Origami: Rank 1

Enhanced Bodily Recovery: Rank 1

Brian:

Shield Defending: Rank 1

Marksmanship (pistol): Rank 1

Right Arm Increased Strength: Rank 1

Mana manipulation: Rank 1

Mana Sense: Rank 1

Enhanced Propriosense in Toes: Rank 1

Enhanced Bodily Recovery: Rank 1

Lucas:

Insect Movement Control: Rank 1

Enlarged Penis: Rank 1

Mana sense: Rank 1

Mana Manipulation: Rank 1

Surfing: Rank 1