The young men started making their preparations. Both of them tightly gripping their makeshift spears, Jack got to work kicking the cinderblocks and cage until they were in their proper places. The boys exchanged one last determined glance, they each looked at the furrowed brows and tight jaws of the other, and after giving each other one final nod Lucius pressed his palms against the flaking paint of the wooden window and pushed up hard. Some of the swarm still lingered just outside, buzzing around angrily like startled wasps, giving them a clear view of what they were facing.
"How strong do you think killing all those could make someone?" Jack asked as he stared at the hypnotic movement of the flying creatures.
"Worry about staying alive first.", Lucius watched the first of the monsters zip through the open window and slam its body into the chicken wire wall of the cage.
The creatures all reacted the same way in the trap, smashing their shells and claws into the barrier of the cage again and again like a common housefly stuck in a jar. What they lacked in brainpower however, they made up for in speed, armored shells, claws, and sharp spear-like mouths.
Lucius pulled the window down, slamming it shut with a thunk once five creatures had flown inside the cage—it was more than he had aimed for, but still manageable.
"Kill the ugly bastards!" Jack's upgraded spear chipped the hard carapace of one of the creatures as he started the attack.
"I was planning on it. Seems like you're done being squeamish, by the way. Maybe it's that new ability of yours?" Lucius raised an eyebrow as he looked out the corner of his eye at Jack, making a quick mental note to be wary of how drastically the system could influence human emotions with its magic.
"Wait, I did?" Jack stared off into space for a moment, before shaking his head and quickly returning his attention to the task before him.
Lucius pierced forward with his spear, attacking the trapped creatures with all his might. The accumulated tension and anxiety seemed to flow out of his body and into the violence he was committing. A lifetime worth of bitterness and disappointment from being born to alcoholic parents, who were as dangerous to a persons wellbeing as any Abyss creature, energized his attacks. Lucius made the bugs pay for the sickening hypocrisy of all the people he'd been forced to interact with while living on the streets. They all pretended to be such great people—until it was going to cost them something. All the soul-numbing darkness and feeling of hopelessness, Lucius let it all flow out of his body and into the gruesome task at hand.
You have defeated juvenile abyssal insectum level 2.
He was good at it, too. While Jack had to leverage every ounce of strength just to barely harm the creatures, Lucius found he simply needed to keep attacking. His first strike did little, aside from angering the bugs, but each successive strike demonstrated the effectiveness of his level 1 Assassination.
Jack also noticed and looked over at Lucius wide eyed. "How the heck are you doing that?"
After about a dozen strikes, Lucius' buff had stacked enough bonus damage that the Abyss creatures would practically explode with a simple stab of his spear. It was quite unpleasant, the blue sticky blood had an awful stink like an old garbage can or the ocean at low tide, and shattered bits of carapace flew in all directions around the room. Leaving no inch of the young men untouched.
You have defeated juvenile abyssal insectum level 1.
You have defeated juvenile abyssal insectum level 2.
You have defeated juvenile abyssal insectum level 1.
You have reached level 4. You have 1 attribute point available for distribution.
You have reached level 5. You have 3 attribute points available for distribution.
Through effort you have raised Assassinate to level 2.
Through effort you have gained 1 point of Stamina.
"What a mess..." Jack said, staring bitterly at the consequences of their work.
"Yeah… I kind of lost control for a bit there." Lucius reflected, "Anyway, once I hit level 5, I got 2 free attributes for leveling up instead of 1. I wonder if that will keep happening."
"We'll find out soon. Your ability is perfect for this situation. If we're going to have any chance of killing all these creatures, we should take advantage of it. I'll control the window since I am useless compared to you at killing the bugs," Jack offered.
"Are you sure? You probably won't level up that way… or are you just trying to get out of killing again?", Lucius glanced over at Jack through narrowed eyes.
"Not this time. Patrick is in danger outside, and the longer this takes, the greater the risk something will go wrong."
"Fine, lets do it your way." Lucius agreed.
With Jack's assurance, the boys got into their new positions. Jack would let the Abyss creatures in, and Lucius would use his damage-buffing skill to quickly wipe them out.
"Ready?"
"Yeah, go!"
Soon the cage was filled with bloody bodies again, and Lucius's vision was flooded with status messages.
You have defeated juvenile abyssal insectum level 2.
You have defeated juvenile abyssal insectum level 1.
Through effort you have gained 1 point of Stamina.
You have defeated juvenile abyssal insectum level 1.
You have reached level 6. You have 5 attribute points available for distribution.
You have reached level 7. You have 7 attribute points available for distribution.
"Wait a minute, before you let more in, I want to use these attribute points." Lucius had seven points—that was more than he currently had in any attribute! Could he double his speed or strength by putting them all in one category? He decided that spreading them out was the better choice however, using 3 to bring his Strength to 7, and 4 to bring his Dexterity up to 9.
Strength 7 Vitality 3 Dexterity 9 Intelligence 5 Creativity 6 Luck 1 Stamina 5 Magic Power 0 Free Attributes 0
The flood of energy and stimulation was so strong this time that Lucius immediately collapsed to his knees. A burst of energy flooded through his body, burning his muscles yet freezing his bones all at the same time. He could barely keep his eyes open or his head upright while trying desperately to cope with the sensory overload.
"Lucius! Don't die on me now, little buddy!" said Jack, luckily Lucius's mind cleared a few moments later to the sound of Jack's shouting as he rushed over.
"I'm okay. I think I just added too many attributes at once," Lucius reassured him.
Even with the accidental overdose, the free attributes had done their job. Lucius felt like he could fight a tiger barehanded. His body was light, and he had a sense of his own balance like never before, he knew exactly how his weight was distributed on the balls of his feet, like he had grown extra braincells in each limb. He was confident that he could do a backflip or run a few steps up a wall if he needed to. An urge to test out his new prowess was bubbling up within him again. He had a hunch he was already close to the peak of human ability, his strength and dexterity had been nearly doubled.
"Let's get back to work. We still have a ton of Abyss creatures to kill!" Jack urged.
The boys got back into position, holding their bloody spears out before them and Lucius gave Jack the signal. Jack opened the window just long enough for a new group of creatures to swarm in—along with something they hadn't seen yet. One creature was different.
"Look at that one; it's bigger than the rest, and its color is darker," Lucius noticed immediately and pointed it out to Jack.
"Hopefully it bleeds the same," Jack joked, though his smile didn't last.
When the larger Abyss creature noticed it was trapped, it turned to face Lucius and began to glow faintly in a pulsing rhythm. Lucius felt a familiar panicky feeling rising in his chest. Something was wrong; he trusted his instincts and jumped aside just in time. The creature stopped glowing, and a jet of green liquid shot from its tube-like mouth, landing right where Lucius had stood a moment before. The green liquid hit the wall, sizzling and popping.
"Oh crap, it's got acid spit!" Jack shouted in panic. "You need to kill that one NOW! Don't let it shoot again!"
Lucius sprang to his feet faster than he ever had, his new attributes on full display. In an instant, he moved from the floor to the front of the cage. He aimed his spear and stabbed with all his might, but the dull blade merely scraped the creature's armor. He realized with horror that he had lost his bonus damage stacks—it must have reset when he stopped to use his attributes.
Lucius didn't let his fear take over. He knew he had to kill this creature, or it would break through the cage with its acid, dooming them all. He started stabbing wildly, making as many hits as he could. Each strike sank deeper. He quickly went from leaving shallow scratches to actually drawing blood. Lucius reared back for another stab, but he was out of time. His danger sense peaked, and he leaped aside. The acid splattered, just missing him, though a drop landed on his sleeve. He ripped the shirt off and threw it to the ground, watching it disintegrate into a smoldering pile. He didn't linger; luckily, the acid on his shirt didn't count as a hit, so he hadn't lost his damage stacks. He pressed his spear into the creature, and this time it sank deep, making the creature hiss in pain and fall from the air. Lucius kept striking it. It took five more attacks before he heard the system message.
You have defeated adult abyssal insectum level 5.
You have reached level 8. You have 2 attribute points available for distribution.
Through effort, you have raised the ability "Sense Danger" to level 3.