Chapter 14: Another Enhancement

Chapter 14: Another Enhancement

Jack opened his inventory menu, selecting one of the building blueprint scrolls that had dropped from the beasts he had slain during his earlier hunts. With a simple mental command, he unrolled the virtual parchment.

[Congratulations! You have successfully used [Blueprint Scroll: Trading Center].]

[Unlocked Structure: Trading Center]

"Finally," Jack exhaled, a small smile breaking through his fatigue. "That's exactly what I needed."

Walking over to an open, flat section of ground near the edge of the safe zone—an area recently cleared of jagged obsidian boulders by Brul's pickaxe—Jack opened the construction interface and placed the blueprint's translucent outline onto the terrain.

[System Notice: Constructing [Trading Center].]

[Required Materials: Stone x50, Beast Cores x15 — Requirements Met!]

[Construction Time: 03:00:00]

[System Hint: Assigning a Dwarf Worker unit will reduce construction time by 50%.]

Jack couldn't help but chuckle softly, shaking his head. "Yeah... too bad my dwarf in this hell world actually has working hours and union breaks, unlike in the game."

Glancing over toward the empty worker cabin, Jack remembered that Brul had already teleported back home to his family when his shift ended at two. Even if he wanted to be a ruthless boss and force the dwarf to pull an all-nighter, the magical labor contract physically wouldn't let him summon Brul back until six tomorrow morning

"Guess I'm waiting out the three hours," Jack muttered to himself, dismissing the timer display with a flick of his wrist. "Let's see what else we managed to haul back."

Checking his main status interface, Jack was pleasantly surprised. Across their extended hunt, he and Aria had managed to stack a total of 32 Enhancement Points. On top of that, his system inventory was filled with basic equipment drops: worn leather boots, rugged cloth gloves, and reinforced work pants. It was a massive upgrade timing-wise, considering his original Earth clothes were tattered, singed, and practically crumbling off his body after surviving a relentless day in this inferno.

He initially considered dumping all 32 points into his class talent, but when he attempted to target his profile, the system instantly prompted a massive prerequisite: upgrading the Lord of the Dead class a second time required 100 Enhancement Points.

'Looks like the system scales costs based on power and rank,' Jack analyzed silently. 'Upgrading a high-tier class or an SSS-rank talent for the 2nd time takes a fortune in points, while a trash-tier weapon or basic armor piece only costs one or two.'

"Alright then," Jack decided, a sharp glint in his eyes. "Let's upgrade what I have right now."

Reaching into his inventory screen, he pulled out a heavy, soot-stained piece of chest gear he had picked up earlier.

[Burnt Canvas Smock]

[Grade: Trash]

[Category: Armor]

[Attribute: HP +3 | Defense +1]

[Description: A singed, heavy canvas smock that offers minimal protection against heat and sharp edges; barely better than wearing nothing at all.]

Focusing his gaze on the floating panel, Jack triggered his talent. 'System, apply an Enhancement Point.'

A brief pulse of dark energy rippled through the fabric, hardening its woven threads and turning the dingy canvas into a sleek, charcoal-black padded tunic that hummed with subtle magic.

[Enhancement Successful!]

[Burnt Canvas Smock +1]

[Grade: Trash]

[Category: Armor]

[Attribute: HP +50 | Defense +26]

[Special Effect: Basic Regeneration — Equipping this item passively stimulates vital functions. Upon taking damage, the wearer recovers 20 HP per second until fully healed.]

Jack stared at the newly updated stats, his jaw slightly dropping before a confident grin spread across his face.

"20 HP per second?!" Jack whispered, running a hand over the hardened, flame-resistant fabric of the smock. "Well, isn't that a broken effect... With this kind of passive healing, I won't have to be anywhere near as cautious when trading blows with lower-level beasts."

Pulling the smock over his shirt and fastening the side straps tightly, Jack felt a warm, soothing energy immediately wrap around his torso.

"Now then... let's see if there are any treasure chests nearby," he thought aloud, looking out past the glowing perimeter line into the dim, red-tinted horizon. "The only chest I've opened so far was from the First Kill reward."

"Jack!!!"

A desperate, high-pitched shout suddenly pierced through the crackling roar of distant geysers.

Jack froze, his heart slamming against his ribs. The voice was unmistakable.

"Wait... Zoey?!" Jack’s eyes widened in pure shock.

Sprinting toward the edge of the safe zone, his eyes scanned the hazy ash clouds outside. Standing just a few meters beyond the blue glowing border was Zoey. Her face was flushed deep crimson, her breath coming in ragged, painful gasps as she shielded her eyes from the stinging, sulfurous wind. She was swaying on her feet, clutching her throat as the suffocating 60°C heat actively roasted her. It was the exact same frantic, helpless expression she wore whenever she was terrified.

"Jack! Help me!" she cried out, her voice breaking. "It's so hot... please!"

"Zoey! How did you find me?!" Overwhelmed by sheer disbelief and an explosion of relief, Jack's rational mind momentarily shattered. After worrying about her non-stop, seeing her alive right in front of his base felt like a miracle. "Hold on! Don't move! Come inside—what are you waiting for in that hellish temperature?!"

Zoey didn't step forward. She remained standing completely motionless just outside the perimeter line, weeping silently as the heat distorted the air around her.

"Come on, Zoey..." Without a second thought, Jack lunged straight out of the safe zone into the scorching air to pull her inside himself.

SLASH!

Before Jack's hand could touch her shoulder, a sickening crunch echoed through his chest.

"Kuh—!"

Jack’s eyes went wide as a fountain of dark crimson blood erupted violently from his mouth, splatter-painting the hot ash beneath his feet.

"Huuu...h?"

A terrifying, cold numbness spread through his body. Jack slowly forced his gaze down. Poking straight through his lower back and bursting out the center of his stomach—completely tearing through his newly enhanced smock—was a thick, jagged obsidian tail dripping with black, corrosive venom.

In front of him, the frantic image of "Zoey" flickered violently like a broken hologram before melting away into a faceless, shadowy silhouette.

Jack gasped, looking from the impaled spike in his stomach straight up at the shadow beast standing just in front of him. The monster sneered, its eyes flaring as it violently yanked its long tail backward, ripping the spike out of Jack's torso

With a brutal, wet tearing sound, the shadow entity ripped its spiked tail backward out of Jack's body.

The overwhelming force launched Jack off his feet. He crashed hard onto the scorching volcanic dirt, his vision swimming violently as blood pooled around him.

[System Warning: You have sustained a severe, lethal piercing injury!]

[Special Effect Activated: Basic Regeneration — Restoring 20 HP per second.]

[System Notice: You have been afflicted with [Deadly Shadow Venom]! The poison deals 40 HP damage per second.]

[CRITICAL WARNING: Health dropping rapidly! Net HP loss: -20 HP/second. Remaining lifespan: 6 seconds.]

[Seek immediate medical intervention!]

The desperate red system notifications flashed frantically across his fading vision, but the roaring sound of his own blood pulsing in his ears drowned out everything else.

As the cold darkness swallowed his senses, Jack’s strength vanished entirely, and his eyes slipped shut, leaving him unconscious on the burning ash.

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