Crossroads: A LitRPG Cultivation Series (Towers & Rifts Book 3)

by Nephilim Night

  Three limbs rose from the ground and shot toward me, but a gust of Enma smashed them aside and dealt some substantial damage. I used the chance and used the now-familiar skill Swipe. The mass of Enma gathered at the tip of my halberd and shot outwards, catching two of the front bladed limbs, and left deep gashes.

  A black and tar-like substance shot toward me from the creature’s underbelly. The ground dissolved wherever it touched and left a big hole where it had burned through. The worst thing possible would have been to hesitate and step back, so I did the only thing I could do: go even further.

  A second gust of Enma slammed into the pit boss, knocking it almost over. I jumped up onto one of its legs and hacked at the side two times before I used my next skill: Slash. The damage was nothing special, but I loved the effect, as it caused a two-second staggering debuff.

  Damage Notification:

  You have inflicted 2,917 damage to Pit Boss.

  You have inflicted Staggering debuff for 2 seconds.

  The spider fell over on its side and thrashed its limbs around as I hacked away at one of the damaged limbs, cutting through it with my third attack. I lunged toward my sword and dropped the halberd for a mere heartbeat, threw the sword at another limb, and then darted toward the orb.

  More of the tar-like mush shot out from its belly, bathing the ground in the substance. Some of it rolled back and dissolved the tip of two of its legs as the boss tried to stand upright. The body was too heavy, and there wasn’t enough room. Good. I had gained a moment of reprieve.

  I bolted for the orb and put my hands on the thing. It radiated extreme heat to the point I let go of it. I picked it up again, and again it was too hot for me to hold as I felt my skin starting to melt. I cried out and hissed at the damn thing when an idea struck me.

  “Fortress!” I yelled, activating the tower summons. The same message appeared before me, yet there was something new. The second prompt for crafting a module was blinking rapidly but still showed 0/1. I put my hand on the orb and screamed from pain as it turned to 1/1.

  “Craft!” I snapped, and the orb disappeared from the pillar it had sat on for God knows how long. A single module appeared in my hand, and the image for crafting my first tower had changed, asking me to accept. “Yes!” I snapped again as I turned toward the spider and darted for the hind limbs.

  It had managed to prop itself up in a strange way, but that wasn’t the problem. The problem was the front limbs that had regrown in the several seconds I’d stopped engaging it.

  “What are you doing?” Melina yelled from the entrance.

  “Hold my beer, woman!” I shot back as I activated the Fortress skill yet again. Time froze as a burning tower appeared out of nowhere. It was double my height and washed in flame.

  NOTICE:

  YOU HAVE CREATED THE

  FIRE ELEMENTAL TOWER LEVEL 1

  HEALTH: 10,000/10,000

  ENMA: 1,500

  SPEED: 1.5

  ENMA ATTACK: 1,000

  DEFENSE: 500

  ENMA SHIELD: 20,000/20,000

  NOTE: To remove the Fire Elemental Tower Level 1, use the skill Fortress for the second time

  Time wasn’t on our side, so we would have to get this fight over with as soon as possible. Now that I had the tower constructed, a timer appeared with possible areas where it could be placed. I hit the center of the room and accepted.

  The ground shook slightly as something rose from the ground: my first tower. Flames erupted from the orb at the top and showered the spider’s front side. Its skin, or what passed for skin, erupted in flames as the smoldering heat clung to the thick, hairy outer layer that just kept on burning as a second wave of flames showered the spider.

  Notifications appeared in my periphery, and I closed them all except for one.

  Damage Notification:

  Fortress has inflicted 1,417 damage to Pit Boss.

  Critical hit!

  Fortress has inflicted 1,385 damage to Pit Boss.

  Critical hit!

  Fortress has inflicted 1,229 damage to Pit Boss.

  Critical hit!

  “What the hell is going on?” Melina yelled from the entrance.

  I looked over my shoulder and shrugged, having no idea. Was it a possible weakness? Every time the flames struck it was a critical hit, and the damage was substantial when you looked at it differently. Sure, I could hit it for 8,000, and even up to 20,000 with my main skill, but those had a cooldown, and with the tower, I didn’t even have to do anything at all.

  “I think this tower can roast the damn spider in a minute or two tops given the chance!” I yelled.

  “Well, don’t let that monster destroy it, or you’ll have to gather the ingredients again!”

  I didn’t even have the chance to turn back yet when the spider launched itself at the tower, striking it with both front limbs and penetrating the shield.

  Damage Notification:

  Fortress has received 1,218 damage from Pit Boss.

  Fortress has received 1,243 damage from Pit Boss.

  The tower’s shield went down by ten percent from a single attack, which was followed by a mass of black tar that enveloped the whole area around the flaming construct. More flames shot out every several seconds, but the pit boss wasn’t going down fast enough.

  “Support!” I yelled and darted at the boss monster.

  I hit the ground with the shaft of my spear and launched myself upwards. It skittered around and caught me with its side, where I drew damage when my body hit its outer spiky layer. I hadn’t seen it from down below, but all of its furry outsides were as sharp as daggers.

  A blast wave of Enma struck its front limbs just short of hitting the tower again. It was down to less than half of its shield as the last of the tar dissipated. The pit boss dropped forward and slammed headfirst into the ground. I climbed on its back and lodged my feet in a gap between two of its body parts, pulled my halberd back, and activated Focus.

  My halberd sang five seconds later and cracked the shield wide open, even dealing some direct damage to the boss creature. The flames really caught on then, as the shield wasn’t there anymore to protect it. I laughed like a madman until the stench became too strong to endure, and hopped off its back.

  Melina rushed in and stopped next to me as she launched skill after skill, keeping the cyclone for last. The wind struck just where the fire was thickest and spread it out all over its body. Damage notifications started ringing out in my mind, one after the other, as the fire spread at an insane level.

  “Shit, I can’t even get closer to the damn thing!” I protested as the heat became too much to bear. I wasn’t even able to get into a ten-foot distance without the flames lunging out at me.

  “Then don’t!” Melina yelled from behind me. She must have already bolted and gained some distance from the raging inferno just in case.

  I checked the situation and was pretty happy with what I saw. The pit boss barely had twenty thousand health left, but then it happened. The boss threw itself at the tower, smashing into it like a damn wrecking ball, and bounced off.

  Damage Notification:

  Fortress has received 5,311 damage from Pit Boss.

  It rolled backward, and some of the flames dissipated as it rolled across the tarred ground. Still, the flames kept coming, and I just dashed right in, not wanting the tower to get it. I pulled my halberd back and smashed into the front leg, the same one I’d already cut off once, and bolted for the middle two, using Swipe.

  The second limb snapped under the weight, and it fell back down just as the first limb already started regenerating. Just where did all the damn limbs come from? Another unexpected move was when it launched itself upwards, trying to stand at its full height, but it just slammed into the ceiling and brought part of it down on all of us.

  “Fortress!” I snapped to remove the tower just as a large chunk of stone came crashing down. Melina was already gone and standing at the entrance. At least she was smart enough to stay o
ut of it.

  I pulled back and waited until the smaller pieces of rock were done falling, and darted in yet again. I could slowly feel the tiredness setting in no matter that I was at the second realm and over level twenty, but the human factor and the nerves, they just blended together and forced the body to slow down.

  I took in a deep breath and pulled a rank two crystal from my subspace, then drained it all as the spider struggled to regain its balance. The tiredness that came over me accompanied by the insane heat that had washed over me earlier and the lack of oxygen got slightly better after several seconds. I would have to remember not to use fire when in oxygen-deprived places.

  A green wave enveloped me, and I knew it was Melina’s cleansing skill. It removed most poisons, fatigue, and other minor negative status effects. She was perfect and had become quite smart during battles, knowing when to help and how in most situations.

  “Thanks, babe!” I yelled over my shoulder as I charged the monstrosity for the last time. It was going down, or I was going to give up.

  I pushed off the ground using my halberd, just like minutes ago, and landed atop its carapace-like back and used Slash. The force behind the blow caused it to stagger and slam into the ground. It rolled around immediately, trying to flatten me against the wall, but I wasn’t going to fall for such a stupid trick.

  “Did you see this idiot?” I yelled. “It made me crave pancakes! Make me some later?”

  “Really? Pancakes in such a situation?” she yelled, her voice laced with frustration.

  “Why not?”

  My halberd connected with its side, cracking the carapace wide open and letting green and black mucus stream out. It was part of that tar substance, and it smelled awful up close. Deciding to finish it with my second-strongest skill, which was now superpowered thanks to my Primal passive that boosted attack with every successful hit, I used Bash again.

  Damage Notification:

  You have inflicted 11,241 damage to Pit Boss.

  The halberd passed through its body and spilled all of the damned tar onto the ground and across the pit boss’s chest. I jumped off and double-jumped to create enough distance in case something happened, and luckily so, as the ground beneath gave way, and a thirty-foot-wide patch of ground caved in beneath the boss monster.

  “Shit, that wasn’t supposed to happen,” I muttered. “How the hell am I going to get my rewards now?”

  Melina slapped my back and mock-growled. “See? That happens when you fight too damn hard, husband! More grace, less damage next time.”

  “Oh, fuck you, woman. I almost got caught up in that goo!”

  She stuck her tongue out and sat down on the ground.

  “Say, that tower was pretty effective. I gotta give you that.”

  “No shit,” I muttered. “It almost did as much damage to me as to that monster. I could feel the heat starting to burn my skin.”

  “Yeah, I saw you retreat when you got too close. Shit, even I could feel it so far out. Just imagine what you’ll be able to do with four towers.”

  I let out a sigh and nodded as I got to my tired feet.

  “Do you want to join me down there in the hole? Maybe I can find something that will improve my odds at getting there sooner.”

  “Sure, and you owe me something, just so you know. It took longer than two minutes.”

  Chapter Four

  I activated Fortress, or tried to do so but failed. A timer was counting down from an hour and was already down to fifty-three minutes. I knew it was too good to be true, but it would be a too-big advantage to have the ability to keep placing and replacing the towers at will. Another thing that surprised me in a good way was that the tower’s shield and health points slowly recovered during the downtime.

  “Are you going down there no matter what?” Melina asked as she stopped next to me. “It looks pretty deep.”

  “You got a lighter?”

  “No. I don’t smoke, remember?”

  I shrugged and closed my eyes as I put a hand out. Enma started cycling through my body and gathered in my hand. It took the form of an apple-sized ball, glowing brightly. My hand squeezed tightly around the concentrated Enma, and then I dropped it into the hole. The cavern below lit up as if it were bright daylight. The corpse was right beneath us and lay some twenty feet below the entrance. It was a big drop for someone who wasn’t me, but then again, I’d fallen from taller buildings, cliffs, and trees ever since getting to the rift.

  “I’ll let you know if I need help. You make sure you don’t get caught up here,” I said calmly and readied my halberd before I stepped over the ledge.

  To my surprise, I wasn’t caught in free fall; no, I glided down slowly. A strong current appeared halfway and kept me afloat for a while longer than I even wanted, even putting me off balance.

  “The hell is this place?” I whispered and looked around.

  The Enma-infused bright orb was still there and bathed the whole room in bright light, showing me something rather interesting. There was a crack at the center, from which a strong wind blew upwards, and all along the walls were more small cracks where ore deposits protruded. They were different than what I was used to, though. Their obsidian color shone in the light and even sparkled to a degree.

  “You good?” Melina called from overhead. I looked up and replied, as if it made any difference where I was even looking. Damn these mannerisms I couldn’t get rid of.

  “There’s a lot of dark ore in here. I don’t see anything else other than that.”

  “Need help?”

  “If you want to. There’s a strong wind gushing upwards, so you won’t hurt yourself. You might want to tuck your dress between your legs if you don’t want to flash me.”

  She burst out in laughter, which hurriedly grew hysterical. Before she was even done, I saw her step over the ledge and drop slowly, all naked.

  “Do you like the view?” She giggled.

  “Seriously? What if there’s a damn big snake in here I didn’t tell you about, and it bites your ass?”

  “Wait, what? Where is it?” she cried out. She looked around in panic and then stared at me just as she landed. Her hands moved quickly, and she had the robe back on before she spoke. “Asshole! You had me thinking we were about to fight a snake!”

  “Why? ’Cause I said the ‘what if’ words?”

  I walked over to her and put my arms around her back.

  “You’re so insensitive sometimes. What if my heart had given out midflight?”

  “Then I’d have given you mine, my love.”

  I pressed my lips against hers, and she let herself go, melting in my arms and against my kisses.

  “Ass.”

  “Love you too, Mel. You take the left side?”

  “Yeah, yeah,” she muttered and started walking away from me. I glanced over my shoulder and admired her walk. She really knew how to sway those hips, but I’d better be quiet about it, or she’d give me hell for playing when I had to work instead.

  I approached the obsidian ore vein and pressed my hand to it. The familiar notification to extract ore appeared, and I accepted.

  Notification:

  Item Received:

  NAME: Abyssum Ore

  QUANTITY: 1

  DESCRIPTION: Used to upgrade

  construct-type gear and jewelry.

  I didn’t have a way to try to upgrade the tower since I didn’t have all four of them, but going by the description of construct-type items, it had to be something related to the towers.

  I proceeded to pull out several more before the vein disappeared, and went on doing the rest. During my thirteenth pull, Melina growled.

  “How much longer? Takes ages to pull these damn things!”

  “How many did you do?”

  “Nine,” she replied hurriedly. “I want to go home!”

  “Then go home. I’ll finish up the rest.”

  “And you think I’d leave you behind? Idiot. I thought you knew me better.”

>   “No, I didn’t think you’d leave me behind, but I just wanted to make sure that I wouldn’t be fighting this snake by myself.”

  “Huh? What snake? Where? Where is it?”

  I couldn’t help but laugh. She stormed over to me and kicked my shin.

  “Asshole!”

  To my surprise, she activated her home skill and disappeared. I rolled my eyes and groaned, as I knew that I’d be spending double the time to pick all the ore veins clean. And then to loot the pit boss carcass.

  “Idiot,” I muttered. “I need to learn when to shut my mouth.”

  Several hours later, I arrived home with over thirty pieces of abyssum ore and a bunch of pit boss ingredients. The most notable ones were the carapace, the bladelike legs, and the black tar. I got a shit ton of that stuff, to my dismay. There was nothing I could imagine that stuff could be used on, but if it was an ingredient, maybe I could use it… yeah, if only it worked that way. I’d just pour that stuff into a bag and throw it at my enemies to dissolve them.

  It had been a week or so since I was back last time, and in that week a lot had changed back at the base. The inn and the two support buildings still stood at the same place and the same height, but a good chunk of the forest was now gone. The association building had grown yet again with another added floor and another support building. The thing that drew my attention most was the market square. It had just been a small idea at the start, but soon enough it had grown in scope, and we now had several dozen stalls built and placed around a café.

  We had established some rules regarding visitors, and we would never allow a bigger number of people to stay in here than we could support. Currently, that number was around two hundred awakened of all affiliations. They littered the street, checking each other’s goods, drank and ate, were going out to hunt, or were coming back from being outside. It was something I had longed to see for a while now, and we were so far ahead that there was no chance anyone could catch up with us unless we went dormant for a very long time.