Crafting Death: A LitRPG Cultivation Series (Towers & Rifts Book 2)

by Nephilim Night

  “Oh,” she murmured. “Right, sorry.”

  “No need to be. You had no idea what I was doing.”

  She looked away again, her cheeks slightly flushed pink. The air around her had changed slightly. Sure, I could still feel a slight resentment, especially now that I held Melina in my arms, but much more than that, she was jealous.

  “So, anything new? Like… did you guys manage to find anything interesting?” she asked again and turned back to look at me.

  Her eyes stared intently even though she tried not to show her anticipation for what I had to say. This world was new, so I’d be as interested as well.

  “Yeah, there is. I leveled up in Butchery and got an attack and health bonus. I reckon all the jobs give bonus stats, so we should do them all one by one. Oh, and both of the grazlitaurs dropped a handful of rank two crystals each.”

  “Oh? Veles didn’t tell me anything like that,” Lana replied inquisitively. “Was it hard to butcher the animal?”

  I shook my head. “Half an hour, but I got a Butchery life skill after finishing with the first that cut the process down to ten minutes.” I let out a sigh and leaned back into the chair. “It’s still as bloody, though, so you don’t want to wear your best.”

  “Best? I got nothing.” She laughed. “All I have is what Melina decided to share with me.”

  “Oh, come on, Lana! Don’t be like that,” Melina replied with a discouraged voice.

  I could feel she was genuinely trying to be nice to Lana, and not just because of me, but that other woman was so proud that it didn’t matter.

  I decided to change the topic through another approach and show I cared about her and wanted to know what she was up to up until she came here.

  “What were you up to after being reborn?” I asked with a weak smile on my face.

  She stared at me for several seconds before muttering something to herself and leaning back against her tanning chair.

  “I married and was left a widow several years back. We didn’t have any children, as this body—it can’t have children. He was heartbroken when we learned about it and just died from the grief, I guess. It wasn’t even a heart attack. He just dropped dead.”

  “And when was this?”

  “Some years back.”

  “Wait, have you been cultivating all this time since you’ve been reborn?”

  She nodded weakly. “The Enma concentration was far too weak to do anything good with it, but it helped me stay young and healthy.”

  “Shit,” I muttered. “I’m sorry, I really am, but I woke up only weeks ago, so to speak.”

  “I know, but never mind that. What now? What’s our first goal here?”

  “We should take it one day at a time and see how far we get. It’s up to Melina if she wants to… you know? All I can do is help her cultivate and get as far as she possibly can, but even if we do, how can we bind you?”

  “Why don’t the two of you have some time for yourselves?” Melina asked. “You can do it here or out there. Whatever you want.”

  “I’m not against it,” Lana whispered. “If you’re alright with it.”

  “Thanks, Mel,” I said and kissed her neck. “Be back in a bit.”

  I pulled Lana to her feet, pulled her up into my arms, and jumped over the railing. I landed perfectly and carried her over to the far edge of the dome, right next to a large boulder. I let go of her and sat down, leaning against the piece of rock. She rubbed her wrist and glared at me.

  “Why so mad?”

  “Why? Because I had to see you propose to her! Because I know I’m going to die, and there’s no way she’s going to help me! What’s worse, she seems to genuinely like you, so how can I hate her?”

  “Veles was a bitch for doing that,” I replied weakly. “But they enjoy placing bets and causing strife from what I’ve seen, so there will be a lot of it in the future.”

  “Future, huh?” she asked and dropped down next to me on her knees. “If only I could say I have a future. That we would have a future.”

  “You know, she helped me with a medicine bath when I got here. The moment I was reborn, her brother and his gang almost killed me, so seeing me in such a state, she decided to help. After that, we had a drink—and then it just happened, but I can’t take it back. I don’t want to.”

  She nodded weakly. I could almost feel the cogs in her mind turn, and feel the pain radiating off her. She’d been enjoying this life for a while now, so it was only normal for her to be hurt more than me after being around so long again.

  “You know, I missed you. When Krajolik told me you’d been reborn in the same city… I had my hopes up for a while. At least until the moment when I saw you kneel before her.”

  “I… I think that…”

  “Shh, it’s alright. I was dead, and so were you. I don’t blame you, Viktor. I really don’t. The only thing that bugs me is that I won’t get to see our daughter, even if you somehow managed to win this… thing, whatever it is.”

  How many years would pass even if I did manage to do it? The baby wouldn’t be a baby anymore, no, she would be a woman with her own family, one with zero feelings toward us as her real parents. She’d been living with those bastards for so long already that if it were me, I wouldn’t care about my parents either.

  “You know, I’d give this life up right now if we could go back to where we used to live,” I whispered. “Even though I don’t really remember anything, I have a feeling we had a good life.”

  She let out a sigh and leaned her head against my chest. Her hair smelled like wild berries for some reason. Such a strange thing about how our minds could play games on us and imagine what’s not there, just to please us.

  “It was. It really was,” she whispered and closed her eyes as we sat there.

  “Say, how long have you been here exactly?” I asked after deliberating for a minute on how to proceed.

  “Seventeen years to be precise. I’ve been living for the last years by myself.”

  “Waiting on me, I imagine?”

  “Yes and no. I hoped they’d do the same for you what they did for me, but… it was something silly. I couldn’t have known if you’d be reborn or not, but I had this feeling.”

  “Do you think if Melina accepted you, that you could live with the fact that I wasn’t yours anymore? Maybe we could start over and become friends at first as you tell me all about who I used to be and what we’d been through?”

  “I don’t know, Vik. All of this just feels surreal. I’ve been in this rift for a single day and didn’t have the time to process everything. And there’s the fact of me having only several days left.”

  “And no one’s asking you to accept it right away. I just want to know if there’s a chance we can live like this. All together.”

  “Oh, you would really like that, wouldn’t you?”

  “Wouldn’t you?”

  “I don’t feel like starting all over, to be honest. Maybe we should just let it be? I could get out on the last day and disappear without you ever knowing where I went. You two could live your lives in peace and prosper.”

  “Is that what you want?”

  “No, it isn’t,” she whispered weakly. “It’s not what I want, but it is what’s best for… you.”

  I let out a weak chuckle and shook my head slightly.

  “Really? You know what’s best for me? Losing the only chance to find out about my past would be the best for me?”

  “If you knew who you were, you wouldn’t want to ask. It’s not as simple as that. We weren’t the best of people, trust me.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “Exactly what I said. We weren’t the best people, but that’s as far as I’ll go. If she decides to take me in, I’ll tell you more.”

  I sighed and closed my eyes, trying to process what she just said. “I hate this feeling of helplessness and heightened emotions. It all feels so wrong.”

  “Well, we shut our emotions off in our previous life, so your
soul isn’t used to them. The same happened to me, and that’s why I fell in love with… yeah.”

  “So that’s why it feels so awkward, huh? I could have lived without some urges and things going on in here,” I replied, pointing at my chest, where the heart lay deep inside.

  Her expression became one of sadness, but not a deep sadness, more like when you found something you’d been searching for all of your life. Only to see it was deeply flawed, chipped, and broken. You finally had it, but you couldn’t be happy because it wasn’t what you expected it to be.

  “I just remembered something funny.” She chuckled. “Want to hear?”

  “Sure, tell me.”

  Lana flashed me a grin and winked before she spoke. “I remember pushing that… bitch who was after you off a cliff. She broke both legs and barely survived.”

  “Huh? Who?”

  “This girl when we just met. I was trying to get you to be mine when she butted in one day and slid her robe down her shoulders. I walked in on her trying to get on top of you, but you pushed her away. So I taught her a lesson.”

  “Oh. And that’s the true… us?”

  “More or less. That’s just pretty harmless, though. I’ll tell you more as time goes on.”

  “Something’s telling me I’d rather not hear it after all, Lana.”

  “Well, that’s your choice. It’s good to see you again, Vik. I’ve missed you. I really have.”

  “I wish I could say the same, and some part of me probably did miss you, but I don’t know which one. And why. Maybe we’ll be there again one day.”

  Tears formed in the corners of her eyes and slid down her cheeks. She couldn’t hold them back, but she wouldn’t need to. I wouldn’t judge, but I couldn’t help her. The fooling around was probably just a coping mechanism and a bad one at that. Was that how she dealt with stress and situations like this? Just might be.

  “Did you manage to kill them back then?”

  I shook my head sadly. “No, I’m sorry. I used all I had and killed all of them except for… him. He managed to run.”

  “Maybe you’ll get lucky and he remains alive. Wouldn’t that be bittersweet?”

  I nodded and suddenly put my arm around her.

  “It would. I’m sorry, Lana. I really am. About your death in our previous life and now this. I’ll do anything I can to try to persuade her, so you hang in there. We’ll get our revenge on whoever it was who did this to us.”

  Chapter Six

  We returned to the inn shortly after and met a brooding Melina sitting under the sakura tree. Sarah was still sunbathing nearby with the kid for some reason. She already had a good tan, so I found it strange why she wanted to burn her skin even further.

  I stopped next to Melina and flashed her a smile. She looked up at me and patted the ground beside her. I took her up on the offer and sat as Lana took up her place to my other side.

  “So? What have you two decided?” Melina asked impatiently. “Is it time for me to pack my stuff and go home?”

  “No, of course not. This here is your home,” I replied and put my arm around her, pulling her in for a hug. “There’s nothing to decide, Melina. You’re my woman now, and I’m your man. We’ll try to get along, though, and see where it takes us.”

  “And that’s what you needed an hour for?”

  “Oh? Has it been an hour already?”

  She nodded slowly as if trying to figure out if I was mocking her or asking genuinely. “It has.”

  “Nothing happened, Melina. If you want, I can take my panties off and you can check for yourself.”

  “Eww, that’s gross,” Melina cried. “Would you want to check me?”

  Lana shrugged. “I’m not that shy, if you have to know.”

  “No, I don’t have to know,” Melina replied with a sigh. “Really, you’re just strange.”

  “Strange or not,” I interrupted, “I think it’s about time we start doing some shit around here.”

  “Like?” Melina asked.

  “I want everyone to finish their butcher quest first; then we figure out what’s easiest next and start crossing things off our lists.”

  “No! I don’t want to get blood all over my clothes!” Melina protested as Lana just sat there with a smirk on her face.

  “Then go naked. I can solo them, and if you two are around, it’s even easier.”

  “You really want us to go naked?” Lana asked.

  “Why not? No one will see you but me.”

  “And her. And what about the rest?”

  “You can’t see through the dome’s walls. And it’s not like I didn’t see you naked in our previous lives, right?”

  “Not these bodies,” Lana protested and muttered something I couldn’t hear.

  “Want me to go naked as well, so my junk flies all over the place?”

  “No!” Melina snapped. “If you’re not willing to go naked, Lana, then go waste what little clothes you have. As for me, I’m going in my underwear.”

  “You mean that bandage wrapped across your chest and that black little thong?”

  “Vik! You make it sound so dirty and… you know!”

  I chuckled and got up, then offered my hands to the two and pulled them up as well.

  “Guys!” I yelled. “Don’t go out through the northeastern part of the dome under any circumstances! We’ll be doing something there!”

  Now it was Lana’s turn to show her displeasure as she slapped my left shoulder. I pulled away and snaked my arm around Melina, then pulled her in for a kiss. Lana watched the interchange and bit her lower lip. She didn’t look happy, but more than that, she had a strange look of longing written across her face.

  “Sure thing!” Donald called from the kitchen entrance.

  Mark jumped off the balcony and ran up to us. “Need help?”

  “No, sorry. The girls will be undressed.”

  “Oh, alright. I have my own right here. My undressed girl, I mean.”

  I snorted and nodded, then motioned over to Sarah. “You’d better make sure no one gets any ideas, Mark. Sarah is a beautiful woman.”

  “Y… yeah, you’re right.” He chuckled.

  Lana and Melina shared a look; then they slapped my sides in unison, forcing me to run. I move toward the quest board and waited for them. They caught up with me and accepted the quests; then we made our way into the next zone.

  I ran ahead, and the girls protested when they couldn’t keep up with me. I stopped right at the barrier and waited for the two. They were slightly annoyed but didn’t let it show too much.

  “So, are you ladies ready?”

  “Wait… we’re not ready yet,” Melina huffed as she tried to gather her breath. “Shit! You know I’m not as fit as you are.”

  “Same here,” Lana added. To my surprise, she seemed very much out of it, as much as Melina was.

  “You just cultivated but didn’t do anything about your body?”

  Lana nodded. “Yeah, sort of.”

  I rolled my eyes at her and shook my head in disbelief. “Lana, what the hell were you thinking?”

  “Enjoying life.”

  “Really? You… never mind. Come on, let’s move. You can take off your clothes outside if you don’t want to get them dirty.”

  I walked out and pulled my nodachi from the pouch at my side. The herd was up to twenty monsters now, which was more than it had been the first time around. Strange. Other than that, there was nothing new to be seen. Which was good. New meant bad in such a world most of the time.

  “Scar? Come out.”

  Scar appeared beside me just as the girls walked through the barrier and gasped as the wind hit their faces. It was all open land here, so the wind was much stronger than it would have been inside the forest or inside the dome. Out here, it was as beautiful as it was deadly.

  “This place is amazing,” Melina said as she hid behind me. “And are those the grazlitaur things?”

  I nodded. “They are. You’ll be waiting here with La
na as I kill two of them. You’ll skin and cut the meat, clean the bone, and I’ll put it away in the pouch.”

  They nodded and retreated slightly toward the tree line.

  “Say, want me to help?” Lana asked. “I’m not what I used to be, but I have three skills.”

  “Three?”

  Both women nodded.

  “You don’t?”

  “No, I don’t. I traded everything in to save… some people we killed the boss with. Stupid move that turned out to be.”

  “Hey, don’t say that,” Melina snapped. “You did what was right! Not what benefitted you!”

  I let out a sigh and graced the two with a grin. “I did, didn’t I?”

  “Oh, God, look at him,” Lana scoffed. “He’s going to be like this forever.”

  “I like it,” Melina replied. “Makes him look cute or something.”

  “Hah! You’re cute, Vik!” Scar laughed.

  I kicked out and caught him in the hind left leg. He growled and snapped his teeth at me but didn’t bite.

  “You little shit!”

  It only took several seconds before we all burst out in laughter. These were the kinds of moments I wished to create and remember forever. Moments that would stay with us for life and maybe beyond that.

  “Come on, let’s get them before I change my mind,” the wolf snorted.

  It took us an hour to kill and butcher the two monsters. The girls were painfully slow skinning and cutting them up because they lacked the strength and endurance. They tired out quickly and weren’t able to cut through bone, tendons, and tough muscle, sever the bones, and cut off the head. Once they were done, both women were elated. Their bodies were all smeared with blood, everything but their heads and hair.

  I stashed both grazlitaurs inside the pouch and could barely walk from being encumbered. They helped drag me the bag along the grass and muddy soil, leaving a dragging mark behind us.

  The two ran off into the bathhouse and ran back out carrying soap, shampoo, towels, and some bathrobes. Or were they yukatas? I didn’t catch it as I stood in the kitchen entrance, trying to take the last few steps.

  A heavenly scent wafted from inside, carried along with laughter. Sarah, Mark, Donald, and Rita were busy cooking. Mark’s head shot around as he noticed someone standing in the entrance. Me.