Chapter 153: ‘Abominable Ribcage’

[Quest Completed!]

[You have received 3000 Exp]

*[Nyx has received 1500 Exp]

[Nyx has Leveled Up]

[Nyx is now Level 10]

[Nyx's Hit Point Maximum increased to 170]

[Nyx's Mana is now 180]

[Strength: 75 ———> 80]

[Speed: 140 ———> 150]

[Stamina: 70 ———> 75]

[For your contribution, and for getting the killing shot, you have received a bonus of 1500 Exp]

*[For her contributions which include ferrying you around and aiding your killing shots, Nyx has received a bonus of 1000 Exp]

—————

[Name: Henry Morgan]

[Level: 22 (5691/6250 Exp)]

[Race: Human]

[Class: Gunslinger]

[Title: Death's Bane, Vyker-Killer, Infernal Partner]

[Hit Points: 59/220]

[Mana Points: 44/330]

[Strength: 31]

[Agility: 63]

[Stamina: 30]

[Perception: 31]

[Skills:

{Marksmanship Lv. 5 <Active Sub Skill: Quick Thinking> <Active Sub Skill: Reload> <Active Sub Skill: Guiding Shot>}

{Taming Lv. 2 <Active Sub Skill: Bonding>}

{Insight Lv.2}

[~Arcane Tapestry~:

Imprinted Spells: Shocking Grip.] Discover untold stories at m_vl_em_p_yr

[You have 6 Unallocated Stat Points]

—————

—————

[Name: Nyx]

[Creature: Shadow Mare]

[Breed: Valaeren Night-Mare]

[Level 10 (2140/4250 Exp)]*

[Hit Points: 60/170]

[Mana: 180]

[Strength: 80]

[Speed: 150]

[Stamina: 75] S~eaʀᴄh the nôvelFire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

[Skills: {Shadow Dash Lv.1} {<ShadowScape>}]*

—————

"Is that it?" Louis asked and pulled Henry out of whatever thoughts he was about to delve into.

Henry looked over at Louis and saw the young mage was so tired after expending all his Mana —along with a bit of extra power that his stamina could manage—, that he slumped to the ground for a rest.

"I do believe it is," Eloise said and her voice reminded Henry that he had an arm around her waist.

He pulled his arm away and Eloise slid off Nyx's back to walk toward the Monstrosity that had fallen so hard it cracked and created a deep dent in the floor.

Henry got off Nyx and followed Eloise as they both observed the downed creature with a lot of attention especially on its blasted open chest where a destroyed power source sat broken into pieces.

"That thing's useless as loot now," Eloise said.

"Disappointed?" Henry asked.

Eloise shook her head with a smile,

"Considering what it would have done to us had we not destroyed that thing? No, I'm not. I'd be foolish to be," she said,

"Life over loot any day."

Eloise looked to the side at Henry,

"Are you disappointed?" She asked him in turn.

Henry was about to answer and tell hey Mr he wasn't sure how he felt about it and was okay enough to let it go when he saw the large 'LOOT' button rotating above the Monstrosity's bone-gore carcass.

The appearance of the button did two things to Henry;

First, it reminded him that, like the forgetful idiot he sometimes was, he had forgotten about the 'Loot' feature and had not used it on Doherty and the Mercenaries.

He wondered if the loot they had on their bodies would be preserved until he could track back but found himself doubting that the rest of the Raiding party that he, Louis, and Andor left behind would not have gotten to it before he could.

'Fuck my brain!'

Second, the button told Henry there was something to be gained from the creature's bone carcass. The button would not appear otherwise. This was further proven when he looked around the Hall and none of the eliminated Mummies —whose remains littered the floor all over—, had the button above them.

Henry clicked the button the System presented to him in a screened interface and heard a dull sound effect before he was updated;

[You have Looted an Abominable Ribcage.]

'Abominable what?' Henry wondered as he called up his Inventory Interface.

In one of the squares was the 'Abominable Ribcage'. It looked like a ribcage that was tinged with a sickly green sludge which gave it an almost cursed feel that Henry could detect even through the holographic screen interface.

With a thought, an image of the 'Abominable Ribcage' was pulled into a different description screen that read thus;

['Abominable Ribcage'

Description: A horrid and 'cursed' product of a being's ingenuity, madness, and cruelty. Every piece of bone that makes up this structure was created from multiple carcasses that were fused to provide the required girth and strength.

The 'Abominable Ribcage' served as a core framework that the Monstrosity's massive structure was built around. It used to encase the creature's core and has been preserved despite your explosive killing shots.

It can serve as Valuable Crafting Material in the hands of a Craftsman talented and powerful enough to temper the grievances that coat and have cursed its very creation.]

Henry's eyes were wide and his mouth was gaping as he read through the description. Every line he read only seemed to expose him to more of the Ribcage's cursed energy and yet, he was unable to ignore a detail at the end; Valuable Crafting Material.

Henry decided he could, at the very least, sell the Ribcage for Gold which was a resource he was continually in need of.

"Hello?" Eloise said and she nudged Henry slightly in the side with her elbow.

"Hmm?" Henry said and blinked the Inventory interface away,

"You blanked out just now," Eloise said with a small smile, "Stared off into nothing."

"Oh," Henry said and chuckled a bit when he remembered she had asked him a question before he got lost in the prospect of looting the Monstrosity,

"I tend to do that sometimes. Sorry."

"Don't apologize," Eloise said and brushed a lock of her hair behind her ear while a smile spread across her beautiful face,

"You must have been having an interesting thought."

"In a sense," Henry told her with a few nods.

"I just realized, I don't know your name," Eloise said with her grey eyes focused slightly intently on Henry's face.

"Henry Morgan," Henry said.

"Morgan? You're not from around here, are you?" Eloise asked, not in a mean-spirited tone but rather a curious one as she had never heard anyone, even among commoners in Alvareen or nearby regions who had 'Morgan' as a Last name.

"No, No. Not from around here," Henry said, "Got brought here because… Well, you know."

"Ah yes," Eloise said, and for a second, her expression clouded over like she found the memory of the cuffs very unpleasant.

As quickly as the cloudy expression arrived, it was gone and Eloise held out a gloved hand as she introduced herself,

"Eloise de Vurgen," she said, "Thank you for pulling and catching me, Mr. Morgan."

"My pleasure," Henry said with a smile as he took the hand and shook it gently once.

Eloise chuckled at his choice of words.

"I'm sure it was," she said as their hands separated, "You were very instrumental in bringing that thing down."

"Just doing my part seeing as Nyx did kinda set this all off," Henry said with a gesture at the horse who had trotted over with her head bowed slightly low.

"I don't think she meant any harm," Eloise said and stretched a hand out to pat Nyx's head,

"Thanks for that boost earlier."

Nyx snorted and nudged harder into Eloise's touch before pulling away.

Henry continued,

"Also, being called selfish struck me hard," he said, "I couldn't let that be your last impression of me, now could I?"

Eloise laughed,

"I'm afraid I still sense you're not all that selfless…"

"Shame," Henry said quietly.

"… But, I'm glad you stuck around," Eloise ended with a smile having heard what Henry said in his short interruption.

With one final look at Henry, during which they exchanged bobbing nods, Eloise turned around and walked over to where her party was gathered with most of the Squires still unconscious.

As he watched her go, his eyes occasionally drawn to the slight sway in her hips, Henry decided not to stifle his curiosity any longer as he called Magical energy to his eyes.

[Activating <Insight Lv.2>]