Towers of Heaven: A LitRPG Adventure (Book 3)

by Cameron Milan

  “Backup,” Jason let loose a toothy grin. Inwardly, he felt relieved he’d made it in time. Decker was an important character on the floor, so losing him would be a painful loss.

  In the next moment, eleven people charged out through the entrance Decker had made earlier. Now that the viper was gone, Decker handled two scouts by himself while he left the rest to Jason’s group.

  Jason quickly informed his allies. “Try and avoid contact with their weapons!”

  Shenlong wore an excited expression when he made contact with a scout. Surprisingly, his spear couldn’t pierce through its entire body, even though he used his highest-grade skill.

  On the other hand, Peter was shocked. His katana only made a small cut, nothing more. Among everyone, Shenlong was the only one who could go toe-to-toe with a scout. The others could only hold them back when they worked together.

  After less than a minute, Decker destroyed his two scouts then moved on to the others. A short while later, the fight was over.

  Decker finally had time to pull out a syringe from his waist pack and inject it into his chest. His wounds started to regenerate; the damaged metal parts, however, remained unchanged.

  Decker glanced around, giving Shenlong a wary glance before focusing on Jason. “Thanks for that. Thought I was a goner for sure.”

  “No problem.” Jason extended his hand.

  Decker smiled as he shook hands. “I’m honestly baffled. Where did you come from? I thought we were the last base left.”

  Jason pointed to the east. “Know that blue portal?”

  “Yeah.” Decker scratched his bald head. “Our engineers and scientists can’t figure it out. Wait, did you say portal? Does that mean you came through it?”

  Jason nodded. “Yep. We’ve never seen monsters like this.”

  “Monsters, huh?” Decker inspected the equipment of Jason’s group before raising an eyebrow. “Did you guys come from a medieval world or something?”

  “You could say that.” Jason shrugged.

  Decker gave Jason a look before he slapped his knee and broke into laughter. “Are you serious? That’s bonkers, man! And you guys are so powerful. Don’t tell me there’s magic on your side?”

  “You mean like this?” Amara raised a finger, a fireball appearing above it.

  “Hot damn!” Decker’s eyes widened in surprise.

  “Wait!” Decker suddenly froze in horror when he recalled something, then turned and ran without hesitation. “This place is about to blow. Follow me!”

  Jason’s expression fell at Decker’s reaction. He knew a lot about the resistance and could guess what was about to happen, so he followed after Decker and shouted. “Run! This place is gonna explode!”

  A minute later, the ground trembled violently under Jason’s feet. He breathed out a sigh of relief. Thankfully, they made it out of the blast zone.

  “Whew, that was close.” Decker wiped the sweat from his forehead. “Let’s head back to base. I can’t wait till Cable hears about this.”

  As Shenlong and the others followed along, Jason secretly celebrated that their first contact with the resistance was a success.

  Chapter 6

  Decker led the way through the tunnels, asking questions about their world nonstop. However, whenever they talked about the tower, Decker would freeze with a blank face for a few seconds. This was the case whenever an ascender tried talking to residents of the tower about certain topics. The tower didn’t want its residents knowing about it.

  Not long after, they turned a corner and found a massive metal door blocking the path. In front of it were two humans equipped in suits of power armor. They were almost the size of Cheslov.

  Ebba used the inspect skill and shared their information.

  (Elite) Sanctuary Guard - Level 90

  Health: 55,000/55,000

  Compared to Decker’s stats, they were nothing. Decker was one of the strongest residents Jason’s friends had seen.

  (Field Boss) Decker - Level 120

  Health: 325,000/325,000

  The two guards recognized Decker immediately. As he was one of the highest-ranking people in the sanctuary, they didn’t even bother checking any of their identities. They entered without issue.

  Behind the door was a long corridor with another metal door at the end. At first glance, this corridor appeared normal, but Jason knew this place was a death trap. If an enemy intruded, lasers would zip through the corridor at impossible speeds, slicing and dicing whatever it came across.

  When they reached the next door, a blue light scanned Decker, Jason, and the rest before the door opened.

  Shenlong made a note of this. “Tough security, huh?”

  Decker gave a proud smile. “Half a million civilians live here. We lost contact with the other bases, so this might very well be humanity’s last home.”

  Shenlong recalled the monsters on the floor. “The cause were those robots?”

  “Oh, I forgot!” Decker smacked his forehead. “You guys came from a fantasy world, so robots must be foreign to you.”

  Shenlong rolled his eyes as he replied. “We have things like autonomous golems. Is it like that?”

  “Not quite.” Decker sighed as he led them past more security measures. “The robots we fought before? Yeah, they are like your golems. Disposable. Pumped out by factories in numbers you wouldn’t believe. The real threat is the bots with artificial intelligence. Nobles they call themselves. They’re the ones who’ve decided to wipe out humanity, calling us lesser beings and whatnot.”

  While Decker was explaining, Jason and his friends communicated via the communication necklaces' group chat function.

  Peter clicked his tongue. “Looks like your cliché sentient robot takeover.”

  “Seems like it.” Shenlong agreed with a tut.

  Dubaku was hesitant. “So, uh, the tower wants us to fight advanced technology with our fantasy-like abilities? Is it crazy?”

  Cheslov couldn’t stop thinking about the power armor the guards at the entrance wore. He licked his lips as he said, “Do you guys think we’ll get some sick-ass loot on these floors?”

  Roy’s eyes lit up. “A lightsaber! I definitely want one.”

  Jason secretly pointed at Decker as he joked. “Who wants to become a cyborg?”

  “No way!”

  “Hell no.”

  They all replied in the negative. The tower made their bodies superhuman, so why would they need to become a cyborg?

  As they talked, Decker led them into an elevator, the walls growing transparent as it descended. A massive city sat underneath them. Trees, roads, buildings. The ceiling even looked like a sky, complete with clouds and sun. It was crazy. How was this place built?

  Decker explained with pride. “Welcome to Sanctuary 06, built in case of nuclear war.”

  “How far underground are we?” Peter asked, stunned.

  “Dunno,” Decker shook his head. “I don’t bother with the small details.”

  They left the elevator when the doors opened and spotted two more guards on the other side. The man on the left gaped in shock as Decker passed by. He woke up a second later and called out. “D-decker! You’re alive!”

  “Huh?” Decker gave the man a frown. “Why would I be dead?”

  The man fumbled while reaching for his communicator—a radio-like device on his waist. He handed it over to Decker. “The comms announced it. You didn’t know?”

  “Mine was destroyed in the last fight.” Decker’s eyes suddenly widened in realization. “Oh right, Suzzy must have told HQ I died. Whoops.”

  Decker broke out in laughter as he lifted the communicator to his lips. “Uh, hello? Decker here.”

  Suzzy’s voice rang out immediately. “Decker! Y-y-you made it out?!”

  Decker wrapped his arm around Jason as he replied. “Thanks to some unexpected reinforcements, yeah.”

  “But who? No one was nearby…”

  Just as Decker was about to respond, he was interrupted by a
stern feminine voice. “Decker, come to HQ.”

  “Yeah, yeah. I’m on my way,” Decker replied in a slightly submissive tone. Only slightly.

  “Oh, and Decker?” The voice paused. “Glad you made it.”

  Decker smiled. “Thanks, Fox.” Decker handed back the communicator and asked the guard. “Any vehicles nearby?”

  The guard pointed to the left. “Yep, same place as usual.”

  As military soldiers were the only people who left the sanctuary, it was common to have vehicles near all entrances. The city was a few miles wide, after all.

  Decker picked out a large transport truck, enough to seat everyone. He explained the city like a tour guide as he drove. “That’s the movie theatre, there. Only three in the city. It has copies of every movie from the past century. Good stuff.”

  The city was like any city that could be seen on earth, except it had a futuristic feel. The lights, buildings, the cars. Everything was sleek and smooth. Like it had been designed just to appear visually pleasing.

  Jason’s friends soon found something strange. There were plenty of people, but no robots. Wouldn’t it be normal for robots to perform manual labor so humans wouldn’t have to? They’d already seen a few sanitation workers, and they were all humans.

  Roy couldn’t help but ask. “Where’re all the robots?”

  Decker scoffed. “Nobody likes ‘em. Good reason too.” Decker gave Roy a sideways glance. “Best not to talk about bots while in the sanctuary.”

  “Oh. I understand. Sorry.”

  Shenlong didn’t understand. “The military doesn’t use them either?”

  “Oh, don’t get me wrong. I’d love to use bots to fight bots. That way, we could save lives. Screw what the civilians think. The only problem is that we don’t have the infrastructure to build ‘em. That was the first thing the nobles took over.” Decker explained calmly.

  A short while later, they arrived before the largest building in the sanctuary. Jason could see people entering and leaving in a hurry. All of them wore uniforms, and some had cybernetic parts like Decker.

  When Decker walked in, everyone gave him respectful salutes. He only gave a slight nod in return. On the other hand, everyone gave Jason’s group strange looks. Jason and his friends wielded medieval armor and swords, while Amara and Carly even wore robes. They stuck out like a sore thumb.

  Decker walked up to the receptionist. “Where’s Cable?”

  The receptionist gave Decker a friendly smile. “Mr. Cable should be in his lab.”

  “Of course he is.” Decker rolled his eyes and walked over to the elevator, then inserted a keycard. Only with this could you enter the floor Cable was on. A few moments later, they arrived on a wide-open floor. Jason could see countless vials, microscopes, computers, wires, and other types of equipment. It was a bona fide futuristic laboratory.

  There were less than twenty people on the floor, and all of them wore white lab coats. Decker walked up to the only one who stood out. A middle-aged man with wild black hair and an unkempt beard.

  “Cable, I’m here.” Decker saluted respectfully.

  Cable remained transfixed on his work.

  “Cable.” Decker coughed loudly.

  “Fine, fine. I hear you.” Cable awoke from his focused state. He turned and froze when he saw Decker. “Damn, I thought you died.”

  “To some soldier bots? Funny,” Decker spat in disdain.

  “You were underground…” Cable reminded.

  “Ugh.” Decker grimaced and touched the hole in his bionic chest.

  After a moment, Decker turned to Jason and his friends. “Well, Cable, you won’t believe this. Know that blue oval thing down in sector fifteen? Yeah, they came through that. Apparently, it's a portal to a fantasy world with magic.”

  Cable’s mouth fell open. “Magic, you say?”

  Amara chuckled as she raised her finger and cast another fireball.

  Cable nearly fainted from excitement. His scientist sense was tingling. Still, as he was the sanctuary's leader, he quickly regained his calm and asked some questions, which Jason and the others answered.

  “You can fight scouts toe-to-toe? Strange.” Cable inspected Shenlong’s body, finding nothing superhuman about it. “Mind if I take a blood sample?”

  “Sure,” Shenlong acquiesced, finding no issues with it.

  As Cable performed some tests on Shenlong’s blood, Amara decided to inspect him randomly. What she found made her blood freeze. “Uh, guys…”

  (Raid Boss) Cable, Genetic Scientist - Level 130

  Health: 600,000/600,000

  Chapter 7

  This floor was different in that it had a rich history. Over time ascenders would slowly uncover it, and as of now, Jason was the only one who knew everything.

  Cable was the official leader of the resistance, while the unofficial leader was a woman named Fox. Cable was a scientist through and through and knew nothing about leadership, strategy, or tactics. He was the leader because he was the strongest human currently alive. Even more so than Decker, who was a cyborg.

  Before robots took over this world, two miracles arrived almost simultaneously. The m-serum and artificial intelligence. The scientist who created A.I. had long since died, while the scientist at the forefront of genetic engineering was still alive: Cable. Unfortunately, the A.I. takeover was too sudden. Cable and his team only completed a single dose of m-serum. To survive, Cable consumed it, attaining superhuman strength and agility.

  The m-serum was Jason’s main goal on this floor. If he could get Cable to make more, humanity’s chance of survival would drastically increase.

  Cable’s voice broke Jason from his thoughts. “Strange, this blood is completely normal. There are no changes to the structure of your DNA at all.” He turned to Decker. “You’re certain this man fought a soldier by himself?”

  “Absolutely,” Decker replied with folded arms.

  Cable rubbed his chin and mused aloud. “Hmm. It must be something else. Something I can’t detect.”

  “Uh, Cable?” Jason stepped forward. “We have a magic skill that allows us to determine the strength of people.” Cable and Decker froze as Jason continued. “You’re the strongest human we’ve ever met. How is that possible?”

  Shenlong glanced at Jason as Cable released a long sigh. “Well, since you saved Decker, I suppose I can trust you.”

  Cable spent the next few minutes explaining his research in genetic engineering and the creation of the m-serum. When he finished, Shenlong couldn’t help but ask. “Is it possible for anyone to consume this serum?”

  “I know what you’re thinking.” Cable waved his hand dismissively. “If I could create it willy-nilly, don’t you think humanity would have won this war?”

  Shenlong frowned. “Then it’s hopeless?”

  Cable glanced over Jason’s party before replying. “Not exactly…”

  Decker glared at Cable. “You can’t be thinking of sending them to the surface?”

  “It’s their choice.” Cable shrugged before smiling at Jason’s party. “My work was top secret, so the nobles shouldn’t have discovered it.” Cable handed Shenlong a USB. “Reach my lab and insert this USB into the computer mainframe. The USB will do the rest.”

  Shenlong inspected the USB before storing it in his inventory. “Where’s the lab?”

  Cable turned to Decker. “Hand them your tablet, will you?”

  “Fine,” Decker groaned and took out a thin tablet from his waist pouch. “This won’t run out of power for a century, so don’t worry about charging it.”

  Decker explained how to use the map on the tablet. It was just an application on a device. No different from a modern-day tablet outside the tower. The map showed the entire underground network, as well as a route towards Cable’s laboratory.

  “We’ll set off immediately.” Shenlong stored the tablet and turned to leave.

  “Ah, wait.” Cable ran over to a nearby desk and pulled out a keycard. “You’ll need t
his. Otherwise, the automated defense system will cause the lab to self-destruct.”

  “Good to know.” Shenlong’s eyebrow twitched as he took the keycard.

  Cable turned to Decker. “Show them the armory and introduce them to the reputation system.”

  Decker grinned as he slapped his metal arm. “Sure thing.”

  After leaving the lab, Decker led them to the armory across the street. Inside, engineers worked with various tools to produce all types of equipment. Metal limbs, guns, grenades, and even energy shields. Decker gave them a quick tour while explaining. “The military works on a reputation system. Do good work, get reputation. It’s a type of currency.”

  Decker walked up to a computer attached to a wall. “For saving me, well, let’s see, five thousand reputation each should do? I’ll create your profiles as well.”

  Jason sucked in a breath. Five thousand rep? That was a lot for newcomers. Saving Decker was worth it. Unfortunately, it was a rare encounter, so he couldn’t expect a similar situation.

  Decker pointed to the nearby computers when he finished. “The system will automatically scan you to verify your identity. I recommend you spend your rep before leaving. It’s dangerous on the surface.”

  With that, Decker headed to another part of the armory to get his body fixed up. Jason and his party excitedly browsed through the shop. The items they found shocked them. All of the items here were things they’d never encountered before. There was something for everyone.

  Carly spent all of her rep to purchase an energy bank.

  (Rare) Energy Bank

  Can withdraw energy to restore your mana.

  Energy stored: 50,000/50,000.

  *Cannot replenish Energy Bank.

  With this, even if she ran out of mana, she could withdraw mana from the energy core to refill her mana pool. A ‘get out of jail’ card for healers.

  While the energy bank was also useful for Amara, she decided to go with a different choice.