Crafting Death: A LitRPG Cultivation Series (Towers & Rifts Book 2)
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Kill enemy contestant within the rift 1/1
Rewards:
1. Level Up +5
2. Menalis’s Rift Pouch
PERMANENT BUFF RECEIVED:
NAME: Killer Level 1
DESCRIPTION: +10% to all stats.
A violent and strange sensation passed through me, one I knew very well. I had attained the seventh rank in cultivation after killing her and absorbing part of her Enma, despite her having no idea she had any.
The rewards were pretty good, and I wouldn’t cry about it. This was the life we were forced to lead, so whatever was going to come at me tomorrow or the day after, I was going to make all of it a part of me. I’d make sure her life hadn’t been snuffed out for nothing. I’d make sure to live for a very long time, especially so I could see our child grow old.
I wanted to check my stat window, but I was interrupted by a blinding bright light.
“The contract has been fulfilled, Fetrasch,” Krajolik’s voice boomed from overhead. “We will meet here again in one year, when the two of you will fight to the death. Enjoy your newfound power, Viktor, but don’t get drunk on killing and forget why you’re doing this in the first place.”
The second part he said directly into my mind as if warning me. He was right, though. Addiction came with anything that was out of the ordinary, be it power, drugs, sex, love, or even something as mundane as chocolate.
“I’m glad to see you rooting for me, Krajolik. Thanks.”
He didn’t reply, but I did manage to hear his chuckle deep inside my mind. It was good to have him on my side. Even though he couldn’t do much, he did plenty.
The Zanoxian disappeared, but not before he waved and showed me the rows of sharp teeth. It would be a lie if I said he didn’t scare me, but a year was a long time, and I had a chance to catch up. All that mattered was devotion and hard work. Everyone disappeared but Veles and the two of us. The wall went along with Krajolik, who left last before leaving the three of us behind.
“I knew you’d kill her, so it isn’t a real surprise to see you two standing,” Veles said as she teleported over to us. “Still, when you came out, I almost had a heart attack!”
“As if anything would have happened to you,” I joked.
“If you’d died, I’d be 10% weaker than now, Viktor, so yes. Anyway, all’s well that ends well. He now knows what you’re capable of, so you’d better come up with some new stuff when you take him on in a year.”
“Say, how strong is he, anyway? Double my power? Triple?”
She snorted and let out a peal of high-pitched laughter that somehow irritated me right off the bat. What was so funny about the question?
“Triple? How about tenfold? He would have taken away your shield with one hit and your life with the other. See, their base strength is already about where you are right now, maybe a bit more. He’s full of buffs and doesn’t have any real skills. Zanoxians are brutes, nothing more, nothing less.”
“Wait, how did he make those explosions, then, earlier?”
“He was throwing large chunks of rock at the dome!”
I froze, and suddenly didn’t feel so comfortable anymore. She did tell me about how much stronger I needed to get before I could hope to take him on, but power wasn’t everything. I’d need speed and power alike. If he couldn’t catch me, then he wouldn’t be able to hurt me.
“Viktor!”
I turned around, only to see Melina running towards us. The specs were there along with the soldiers. Mark was missing, but it was only normal. Who knew where he’d been hiding inside the tower and how far he’d gotten.
“Hey there, mommy,” I whispered as I put my arms around her.
She froze and looked away. “The dome wouldn’t let us… out, so we… couldn’t help,” she muttered. Her heartbeat was erratic and strong, giving her away even if I hadn’t already known.
“Yeah, I know. I just had a shitty day, but say, when did you plan on telling me about—”
“Shh! Not in front of the rest!” she hissed through her teeth. “You have zero tact!”
“Tact? Why would I need it? You’re my wife, aren’t you?”
I put up my hand and motioned the others back and pulled Melina aside. It was only then that she saw the decapitated Menalis lying there on the ground in a puddle of blood. Well, not a puddle since the ground had mostly absorbed the blood, but it was all red.
“Shit, who’s that!”
I proceeded to tell her about the deal and the strange death. It wasn’t something I was proud of or looked forward to, but it was what it was. The only good thing that came out of it all was that I wouldn’t have to worry for a year. None of us. All I’d have to focus on was to become stronger, get better gear, level up my skills, and get some revenge on the Green Dragon Gang. No matter how much I wished to forget about it, every time I saw Melina, something stirred deep inside.
“Thanks for coming out to help,” I finally said as we walked back over to the military. They were clueless, and I’d leave them like that for now. No one needed to know about any kind of deal I’d struck with the Gods and the damned Zanoxian.
Epilogue
Two weeks passed before everything returned to normal. Mostly, in any case. The association had been formed with Edge as one of the two bosses, me being the other. He ranked out at S- according to the system the Gods had provided to the government, or rather the military since they’d become the government in about two-thirds of Sylmar. The Apocalypse Association had “privatized” one-third for themselves, but things stayed civil, unlike with the Greenies.
Everyone was busy hunting, farming, crafting, upgrading, and me, well, I was busy doing nothing except for cultivating my rank, absorbing crystals, and living my life with Melina. Mark and Edge had taken over with the military and the tower so I could focus on what was to come in exactly days.
Kade had met with me inside the rift for the first time. His wife had come as well, and we had a great barbeque, all of us together. It was one of the best days since being reborn in this place. We talked some about how to move ahead, especially after the association had been made. He wasn’t happy about some of my decisions, but time would tell best if I was right or not.
Edge and the others who’d joined us inside the rift on that day had finished setting up the first log home, so they had somewhere to stay. Their families had joined as well, and now we had a small kindergarten. He was a man I grew to like pretty quickly, with a temper similar to mine, but with a dark sense of humor that I could find myself in.
The ten had easily gotten up to rank three, and Edge himself had hit rank four at the same time as I showed the specialists how to go about cultivating. Herrion’s group had already hit rank two and some even rank three, so they were a neat defense force. Everyone was armed and armored, and we finally managed to come up with really effective ammo that shredded shields with ease. At least if there were ten people present who could get off a shot at the same time.
One of the main things we’d changed was the use of firearms. Everyone had a sniper rifle with the same type of bullets, which would be fired at a single spot on a target, for example, a neck. Ten high-caliber rounds shredded through any kind of shield we’d met so far, even a tyranitaur’s, and whatever didn’t hit the shield passed right through and hit the neck. A critical weak point.
We farmed the tower every day and had managed to open up the ninth floor for everyone and made good use of the points, getting everyone the extra random skills that made our powers skyrocket. It was pretty obvious that the first several booths had as many sales as the rest combined, so our war coffers filled up pretty quickly, and everyone started getting salaries in crystals. Everything was just going great until one evening when Veles showed up.
“Viktor, dear, won’t you pour me a drink?” Veles said as she appeared while Melina and I were making love on the balcony. Everyone was asleep, so we didn’t care much about disturbances.
I stopped and looked over my should
er. She stood in the doorway with her arms crossed and her tongue out.
“Veles,” Melina squealed, “really? Can’t we even have a minute to ourselves?”
The Goddess shrugged and chuckled as she walked over to us and sat on the free tanning chair.
“I wouldn’t have come unless the situation was quite dire, right? First off, I’m returning Lana now that she’s hit rank six as well. It took me so much more in both time and power to get her up there, but she should be pretty useful right now.”
I opened my mouth to respond and then thought back on what she’d said before that. “What’s the dire part?”
“It’s good to see you’re paying attention, dear. See, out of all the contestants, only you, the Zanoxian, and three others remain. You need to get your ass in gear, Viktor, or we’re screwed. They’re all races similar to the Zanoxian in power, though that Fetrasch creature is by far the strongest Zanoxian I’ve seen in my life. Still, you can understand how hard this is for me? To sit on the sidelines and see you fuck around instead of killing the others?”
“I’m getting to it,” I muttered as Lana walked in on us as well. “And hey, Lana. Good to see you’re back.”
“Thanks,” she whispered and walked past us, only to stop at the railing and look out at the new building. “You sure have a lot going on right now.”
“Yeah, I’ll tell you all about it later.”
“Right. Now, to get back to the point,” Veles interrupted, her voice an octave higher than usual. “You need to start killing the others, or we’re going to lose this rift. And I’m not saying in a month or half a year, no. You have a week until I want to see the first head on a platter, understood?”
I let out a deep sigh and swung the sheets off my legs, got up, and pulled the bathrobe around my body. I didn’t like orders, even less if they had something to do with killing someone or something, but this situation was different.
“I’ll get on it, Goddess. Anything you can do for us to make it smoother sailing?”
“No, not really,” she replied coldly. “I already gave you more than I should have by powering up Lana and Scar. You should even be able to take on that snake the next time you see it. From what I gathered, it sleeps in a zone on your way to the closest enemy.”
A piece of paper appeared in my hands with several hexes that were scribbled on top. It showed my zone, the one with the tyranitaur, and three more zones in between mine and that of the closest enemy.
“I’ll get on it, Veles.”
“See that you do, Viktor. I’ll be seeing you in a week.”
She disappeared, and I knew she was gone since I couldn’t feel her presence anymore. It was one of the new things I’d been blessed with: a heightened Enma sensory passive skill. If she’d cloaked herself or anything similar, I’d still have felt traces of her lingering nearby.
“She’s gone,” I said as I sat next to Melina. “But she’s right. If I don’t want to die, I’ll need to get much stronger yet.”
“Speaking of getting stronger, have you opened the pouch you got?”
I shook my head and let out a deep sigh as my eyes closed by themselves. “I haven’t yet, but maybe it’s time I did.”
I pulled Menalis’s pouch from my own and stared at it. It was small and pitch-black, almost as dark as the night, but as light as a paper.
Notification:
WOULD YOU LIKE TO OPEN:
MENALIS’S RIFT POUCH?
YES / NO ?
NOTICE: Buildings, furniture, living creatures,: and anything that houses Enma will be added to your own power.
I selected yes and was immediately struck by a wave of energy that went beyond whatever I felt when leveling or ranking up. The pouch added a dozen blueprints, several interesting-looking weapons, shields, and armors. Hundreds of crystals, upgrader stones, and things I had no idea what they were all dropped into my pouch and left me with a single item that floated in front of me.
I swiped all the messages away, all but the last one.
Notification:
ITEM RECEIVED:
NAME: Menalis’s Legacy
DESCRIPTION: After using Menalis’s Legacy, the user will inherit her special skill “Fortress.”
NOTICE: Fortress is fully customizable and takes up all accessory slots.
“Why are you grinning?” Lana asked as she finally turned around and faced us.
“I just got a damn cheat handed to me, that’s why,” I replied with a smirk. If the towers were anything similar to the battle where I fought Menalis, I was going to grin myself to death. I stared at the legacy item and activated it.
Notification:
SKILL NAME: << FORTRESS>>, Lv: 1, 0.0%
DESCRIPTION: Use 200 Enma to summon four towers with up to 50 yards distance from the center.
CHARGE TIME: 10 seconds
COOLDOWN: 60 minutes
NOTICE 1: Every tower needs to be crafted using resources found within the rift.
NOTICE 2: Maximum number of summonable towers at level 1: 4
NOTICE 3: With every new level, the number of summonable towers goes up by 1.
“Girls, tonight I need some love and alcohol, for tomorrow I’ll bathe in blood.”
Bonus: Current Progression
At The End Of Book 2
(Stats shown are with passives, self-buffs, and equipped weapon)
Status:
NAME: Viktor
AGE: 31
LEVEL: 19, REALM: 1, RANK: 9
HEALTH: 2,982
ENMA: 957
SPEED: 2.4
PHYSICAL ATTACK: 1,854
ENMA ATTACK: 1,101
BREAK: 55
REFLECT: 1.90
ABSORB: 1.74
DEFENSE: 1,061
ENMA SHIELD: 1,943
Tower Stats:
NAME: Viktor
CLEARED FLOOR: 34
EARNED POINTS: 19,224
BOOTH OWNER: 1
Passives:
Used slots: 9 out of 10
1. 1-H Weapon – Level 1 – 73%
2. 2-H Weapon – Level 4 – 16%
3. Sword – Level 3 – 66%
4. Polearm – Level 3 – 12%
5. Tyranitaur Blade – Level 2 – 77%
6. Tyranitaur Halberd – Level 2 – 81%
7. Heavy Armor – Level 2 – 61%
8. Primal – Level 1 – 44%
9. Fortress – Level 1 – 0%
REMOVE PROFICIENCY?
Active Skills:
Used slots: 6 out of 10
SKILL NAME: << FORTRESS>>, Lv: 1, 0.0%:
DESCRIPTION: Use 200 Enma to summon four towers with up to 50 yards distance from the center.
CHARGE TIME: 10 seconds
COOLDOWN: 60 minutes
NOTICE 1: Every tower needs to be crafted using resources found within the rift.
NOTICE 2: Maximum number of summonable towers at level 1: 4
NOTICE 3: With every new level, the number of summonable towers goes up by 1.
SKILL NAME: << SLASH >>, Lv: 2, 11%
DESCRIPTION: Use 20 Enma to add 150%: to Enma Attack and inflict Staggering debuff for 2 seconds.
CHARGE TIME: Instant
COOLDOWN: 10 Seconds
SKILL NAME: << BASH >>, Lv: 2, 89%
DESCRIPTION: Use 60 Enma to add 420% to Enma Attack on a successful hit and inflict Defense Debuff with a 45% chance.
CHARGE TIME: 0 Seconds
COOLDOWN: 30 Seconds
SKILL NAME: << X-SLASH >>, Lv: 2, 76%
DESCRIPTION: Use 70 Enma to add 315% to Enma Attack on a successful hit and inflict Bleed Debuff with a 35% chance.
CHARGE TIME: 0 Seconds
COOLDOWN: 45 Seconds
SKILL NAME: << FOCUS >>, Lv: 2, 24%
DESCRIPTION: Use 100 Enma to add 1,100% to Enma Attack on a successful hit and inflict Defense Debuff with a 41% chance.
CHARGE TIME: 5 Seconds
COOLDOWN: 60 Seconds
SKILL NAME: << DOUBLE JUM
P >>, Lv: 2, 41%
DESCRIPTION: Use 8 Enma to add a second jump in midair.
COOLDOWN: 9 Seconds
REMOVE SKILL?
Life Skills:
Skill Name: << Home >>
DESCRIPTION: Move to designated binding spot once every 24 hours. Resets at 08:00 every day.
SKILL NAME: << TOWER WARP >>
DESCRIPTION: Set up a two-way portal that connects the tower and target rift.
SKILL NAME: << Mining >>: DESCRIPTION: Passive skill that boosts the chance to get higher-ranked ore from mining.
SKILL NAME: << BUTCHERY >>
DESCRIPTION: Passive skill that boosts the chance to get more items from butchering.
SKILL NAME: << Smithing >>
NOTE: Smithing is used near an Anvil along with a blueprint and ingredients to create tools, weapons, and armors. The higher the grade, the quicker the process is finished.
SKILL NAME: << Trap-Making >>: DESCRIPTION: Make Traps using items found within the Rift.
Achievements:
How to kill a Boss? (Level 2)
Killed 9/15 Boss-rank monsters for Level 3.
REWARD: +100 Physical Attack, +40 Defense
Rift Owner. (Level 1): Own 2/5 zones inside the rift for Level 2
REWARD: +200 Health, +50 Enma
Bloodbath! (Level 1)
Kill 1,989/2,500 Monsters in total for Level 2
REWARD: +20 Attack, +10 Enma Attack
Blood Brothers. (Level 1): Have 1/5 Blood Brothers for Level 2
REWARD: +15% to all stats when in same party
Anyone Home?
Kill the Gate Guardian 1/1
REWARDS: