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

by Nephilim Night

“Maybe. If we do, he’s dead. I’m sorry, but it cost us a lot.”

  She closed her eyes and leaned back into the tub as her hands stopped moving and dropped beside her. “I know, Vik. But thinking about it and actually seeing him die… the two aren’t the same thing.”

  “Then don’t. Stay here and take care of the inn. I’ll go out with Lana, get you some basic gear, and bring a lot of food, sweets, and whatever you want.”

  She bit her lower lip as her eyes passed between Lana and me. “Sure, you two check things out if we manage to save her. I’m not quite ready to go out yet anyway.”

  “So you’re willing to do it?” Lana whispered. “I mean, it’s alright if you don’t want to. There won’t be any hard feelings.”

  “Yeah, no, I mean it’s not a problem. It could only cement us as a couple even more if I did this for you, right?” Melina asked as she stared at me.

  I nodded but tried to hide the excitement from my face.

  “Thanks, love. How about we start burning the meridians when we go up?”

  Chapter Ten

  We burned the midnight oil heavily and managed to get Melina to the third rank sometime after midnight, after which we dipped into the river, and I gathered some more of the ore. Most of the next day went on in killing more grazlitaurs, visiting the river for more ore, and then it happened. Veles and Scar returned, but he wasn’t the wolf I remembered, he was different. His body had already taken on a more physical form, sure, but now he had some white fur just like back on the Karmag.

  “What the hell happened to you? Why weren’t the two of you back yesterday?”

  Veles summoned a large chair that looked like a throne and sat, her legs cross-legged and tilting first this way and then the other. She looked nervous, which wasn’t good.

  “I was helping with opening his meridians.”

  I narrowed my eyes at her and smirked for some reason. “What did you just say?”

  “Oh, you heard me right, young Viktor. We opened four of his meridians, but it was only possible because I struck him with lightning several million times.”

  My smirk disappeared and I stared at her blankly. “You used a natural element to unlock his meridians?”

  She nodded. “I did. See, part of the reason why I picked you was him. I can’t give you my power, but I can help you develop it on your own. Why? You want to be struck a million times as well?”

  “No, I don’t, Veles. But you have to understand that this is hard to believe.”

  “It is because it’s quite unconventional. And tell me, please, how many elemental creatures have you had contact with since being reborn?”

  I looked away and scratched my stubble. “None?”

  “Exactly.”

  “Alright, so let’s say he can cultivate, what now? He can only progress by being hit?”

  “Sure, but he can only get up to a rank that is lower by one than yours. So once you’ve opened your sixth meridian, it’s only then that he can get to his fifth.”

  “See? You keep holding me back even in this world.” Scar snickered.

  “You damn wolf! You ungrateful bastard! How dare you?” I picked up a pebble and threw it his way, but he struck it out of the air with a single lightning tendril.

  “You don’t want to fight me.”

  “Oh? Really?” I asked, pulling my sword out.

  His eyes narrowed on mine and turned to slits that radiated danger.

  “Really? The moment you two meet again, you want to duke it out?” Lana hissed. “You two never change. Idiots.”

  Scar surprised me right then and there when he stuck his tongue out playfully and then lay on his back as if waiting for someone to scratch his belly. Veles did just that, and the mutt seemed ecstatic.

  I stashed the sword back into the pouch and let out a sigh. “Veles, what probability would you give us to kill a tyranitaur?”

  Her hand stopped moving and she froze for five long seconds. I suddenly felt uncomfortable as she stared at me, but then her face lit up and she grinned.

  “You killed it?”

  I nodded. “We did, but with some luck.”

  “Luck is part of the game, young Viktor. Did anyone get wounded?”

  I shook my head, and it was just then that I understood how fortunate we’d been. That thing could have killed us easily if—well, if we hadn’t been as lucky.

  “No one got really hurt. I had some scratches and bruises, but that was mostly it.”

  “Hah, how intriguing.” She chuckled. “See, I wouldn’t have given you ten percent, but seeing your new weapon, I understand how you managed.”

  “And you still told us to fight it?” Melina asked incredulously. “We could have died, and you would have lost the game.”

  “Oh, whatever. Life is a gamble, especially in this shitty place,” she muttered. “If you don’t take risks, you won’t get any rewards. But tell me, was it worth it?”

  I nodded. “It was. I got some ingredients and blueprints. Everyone got some levels, and we cleared a lot of job quests as well.”

  “And in turn, you have become much stronger. Just like little Scar over here,” she replied and went on with scratching him. “See, the others are still far behind, but some of them have physiques that are far greater than yours, stronger, others faster or smarter. You won’t be fighting just humans, you know?”

  “Yeah, I understand. That’s why I want to kill another tyranitaur and another.”

  “Oh, you can’t. You need to wait twelve hours at least, sometimes even thirty. It comes back randomly, you know?”

  I nodded, finally understanding this world. Everything was on a timer, just like a real damn game. They sure had thought it out well enough to prevent people from farming such monsters with ease.

  “So what about the zone? Are there any other strong monsters? Or only the tyranitaur?”

  “Well, at the moment, no, but they can enter the place. Monsters far stronger than that little fossil you killed. See, if he was a rank eight, these big boys are ten and above.”

  I gulped and cursed under my breath, hearing the others do the same.

  “Wait, what about the grazlitaurs? Are there other monsters like them nearby? And how can we get blueprints for them? I want to equip everyone.”

  “Hmm,” she whispered and put an index finger to her lips. “I’m not sure, but they come as rewards for weekly quests. Maybe even after killing a number of them. Keep carving them and set the ingredients aside. You’ll be able to use them eventually.”

  “I can’t. The pouch can’t hold so much.”

  “Then upgrade it. I see you have a tyranitaur core, right? Zone boss cores house a lot of energy and can be used to manipulate some things like subspaces of your pouch. Want me to throw a die?”

  “And try to upgrade it?”

  She nodded. “It will go up for sure, but depending on the multiplier, it can become ten times larger or fifty times.”

  I looked around the group, but no one said anything. It was my decision, after all, and truth be told, I had nothing to lose. Unless she was screwing with me, but I somehow doubted that.

  “Can we do it ourselves as well, or is it something only Gods can do?”

  “In time you’ll be able to do it yourself, but for now it’s all on me.”

  “Thanks, Veles. Here,” I said, offering the core to her. “By the way, can we use it for anything else?”

  “Right now? No. You can leave it for later when you hit the next realm, but I’d rather take the bird that’s offered right now over a flock later on.”

  “I agree. Please go ahead.”

  She summoned a big die that had fifty sides. I had no idea how it was even possible, but there it was right in front of me. Every side had a number on it, ranging from one to fifty. Her hand lingered next to the die for several seconds, and then it began to spin around wildly before landing on the ground. It was seventeen.

  “Shitty luck.” She chuckled. “But it could have been far worse.�
�

  She snapped her fingers ceremoniously, and I suddenly felt a strange sensation, one that wasn’t quite bliss but wasn’t far from it either. Almost like relief after being in a state of panic. The pouch felt much lighter than earlier, and when I opened it, there was one page with the items, and then four more empty ones.

  “I wouldn’t say shitty luck,” I said after inspecting the pouch more carefully. “It’s much larger than it used to be.”

  Her face set into a tight smile as she stared at me. “You know, you’re quite the modest man. I like that.”

  “So do we,” Melina added hurriedly as she ran up to me and put her arm around mine. Then she looked over her shoulder and motioned at Lana to take her place to my other side, eliciting several chuckles from the group.

  “Fine, fine. I’m not interested in mortals, young Melina. Don’t worry.”

  I was left standing there, feeling strange and wanted. “What next? Anything you want to recommend to us?”

  “Not really. Go out, kill some monsters, mine, do your jobs. Other than that? Don’t die. And don’t go too far out without being prepared.”

  “Can you feel those rank ten monsters?”

  “Don’t worry, none of them are anywhere near here.”

  I let out a sigh of relief, one I hadn’t known I was keeping in. In that case, we might as well go and have a look.

  “Thanks, Veles. Anything else?”

  She shook her head and got up from the throne-like chair and stood there. “Don’t disappoint me. Don’t you dare die, especially you, Melina. I see you’re almost there so you can house Lana’s spirit. I’d make haste, as you’ll need to get stronger to house Lana if she ranks up again.”

  Veles disappeared and left us standing there.

  Scar got up and walked over to me, nudging me with his wet snout. “Want to do some hunting?”

  I grinned. When didn’t I want to hunt?

  “I need to see Donald first regarding my armor, Scar. We can do some killing in a bit.”

  “I’ll wait outside, then. Can’t wait to get my teeth into some gigantic monster.”

  He turned his back on us and walked out. Mark retreated, effectively leaving the three of us to fight. I wasn’t going to ask him to join us since if he’d wanted to go, he would have done so. Instead, I pulled the girls along with me as I searched for Donald. He wasn’t at the improvised smithing location, but my armor was there. I reached for it, but I couldn’t pick it up. The hell?

  “Donald!” I yelled. “Donald!”

  “Can’t a man get any rest?” he groaned from behind the anvil and the rack.

  I snorted and burst out in laughter. “How the hell did I miss you sleeping there? Man, you don’t even snore!”

  Donald grinned up at me as he rose and sat on the small bench.

  “Why didn’t you just take it?” he asked. “It’s sitting right there.”

  He still rubbed the sleep from his eyes and let out a loud yawn.

  “Because it’s not letting me,” I replied as I tried to pull it off the rack.

  “Strange,” he whispered. “Wait, let me try.”

  He got up and stretched his limbs before stepping up to the piece of armor. It rose as if not weighing more than a feather. He handed it to me, and I took the armor greedily, pressing it against my chest.

  “Could it have belonged to you after crafting it?”

  Donald shrugged as he stared at it intently. “Can you put it down again? Let me try to pick it up.”

  I nodded and did as he asked. And no, he wasn’t able to pick it back up, so we were right.

  “Ownership? Can that be it? And when you hand it to someone willingly, you’re giving the item to them?”

  “Might be,” Lana said. “I remember something similar now that I think about it. The same thing happened with me and the woman I hunted elites with. She couldn’t pick up a pair of boots when I told her to get them until I did it for her.”

  “And things can’t get unequipped either when it comes to the armor. It just hovers around our body, providing stats. It would be great if we could give them to someone else once we didn’t need them anymore,” I said thoughtfully.

  I’d have to ask Veles next time, but for now, I was going to enjoy the hell out of the tasset. I stared at the notification about receiving the item.

  Notification:

  ITEM RECEIVED:

  Tyranitaur Tasset Rank 1

  DEFENSE: 60

  REFLECT: 5%

  NOTE: Stat values only apply when the item is equipped and being used. The stats go up with every new enhancement and upgrade.

  Notification:

  PROFICIENCY UNLOCKED:

  Heavy Armor – Level 1 – 0.0%

  The first thing I noticed was the Defense stat value and then the Reflect stat. If that meant what I think it did, then the tasset was damned great! The tyranitaur turned out to be quite the gift Veles had prepared for us.

  I switched over to the Proficiency window next and was surprised to see I’d missed Bone Blade, Bone Halberd, and Polearm being new as well.

  Staring at it for a while, I decided to delete Gladius, knowing I wasn’t ever going to use it again. Light Armor was next. I was going to keep One-Handed for now, hoping I’d be able to get my hands on a good sword and shield.

  Proficiencies:

  Used slots: 7 out of 10

  1. 1-H Weapon – Level 1 – 73.0%

  2. 2-H Weapon – Level 2 – 34.0%

  3. Sword – Level 2 – 44.0%

  4. Polearm – Level 1 – 21.0%

  5. Bone Blade – Level 1 – 31.0%

  6. Bone Halberd – Level 1 – 12.0%

  7. Heavy Armor – Level 1 – 0.0%

  REMOVE PROFICIENCY?

  Next was the Skill window, and I was surprised to see they had already risen so far after I only got them a day ago.

  Active Skills:

  Used slots: 3 out of 10

  SKILL NAME: << BASH >>, Lv: 1, 41.0%

  DESCRIPTION: Use 60 Enma to add 400% to Enma Attack on a successful hit and inflict Defense Debuff with a 40% chance

  CHARGE TIME: Instant

  COOLDOWN: 30 Seconds

  SKILL NAME: << X-SLASH >>, Lv: 1, 49.0%

  DESCRIPTION: Use 70 Enma to add 300% to Enma Attack on a successful hit and inflict Bleed Debuff with a 30% chance

  CHARGE TIME: Instant

  COOLDOWN: 45 Seconds

  SKILL NAME: << FOCUS >>, Lv: 1, 20.0%

  DESCRIPTION: Use 100 Enma to add 1,000% to Enma Attack on a successful hit and inflict Defense Debuff with a 40% chance

  CHARGE TIME: 5 Seconds

  COOLDOWN: 60 Seconds

  REMOVE SKILL?

  Great. Everything was steadily progressing, so all we had to do for now was to get stronger with what we had and was available to us in preparation for what was to come. My guts twisted as I thought about what kinds of horrors would await us, but I couldn’t do anything about it, at least not right now.

  We ate, we drank, and we rested before setting out. Lana, Melina, Scar, and I were the ones who would try to brave the new world this time, and Mark stayed behind to protect the others.

  We scoured the plains from corner to corner as far as we could go. The stream led all the way along the cliff, which was on the other side of the water. Far below there were more monsters that looked like our grazlitaurs, but also many smaller creatures not much larger than a deer. Large birds and monstrous winged creatures flew across the sky, letting out high-pitched shrieks and screeches.

  We made it to the end some hour into our trek, but there was nothing other than a barrier that wouldn’t let us move ahead.

  Notification:

  WARNING!

  Zone 3.14 not accessible until the 7-day period is over!

  This both sucked and was a blessing in disguise. No one would be able to get here while we were out, but we’d be limited to whatever we could get our hands on in here. We made our way back and ransacked several ore depo
sits we came across. Both of the girls leveled their mining up to level one, and I did the rest since I needed the ore more than them at the moment. The haul was decent for several hours’ worth of walking around and rummaging through shit. Or at least the heaps looked like piles of shit, if anyone asked me for my opinion.

  Late afternoon we stopped and killed a grazlitaur from a second herd at the far corner of the zone. There was a small waterfall, so we decided to camp there for a few hours and eat. The fire picked up quickly, and the meat was done within the hour as we lay there and did nothing but stare at the sky and the moons. No one spoke; not even Scar took potshots at me.

  I pulled a knife from the pouch and cut several pieces of meat for us, then handed them to the girls. They ate in silence, and only when we were done eating and had washed our hands in the cool water did we speak. Or rather Lana broke the silence.

  “Are we going to check on the tyranitaur once we’ve rested? Maybe its lair?”

  “We can send Scar in first to check,” I replied. “He can’t die anyway.”

  “No, but it damn hurts, just so you know,” Scar protested. “And I mean it. Especially now that I’ve regained part of my physical body.”

  “Oh, shut it. You didn’t nag when you were fully physical, but now when you’re all soul, you bitch about getting hurt?”

  He growled and then snorted. “Fuck you. All you know is how to do is tell me to go do stuff. I’m sick of it.”

  “Ahh, whatever!” I scowled, waving him off.

  I lay back down and put my head on Melina’s lap. She moved her fingers through my hair and leaned in, kissing me on the forehead. Lana stirred beside us, but she hesitated. Good. My head wasn’t big enough for two laps.

  I looked up at Melina and smiled, loving her touch. “You sure you don’t want to go with us back to Sylmar?”

  “Yeah, I don’t think that’s a good idea. I still hope we’ll manage to save Lana so you can spend some time with her out there, and if you come back, I’ll know you’re mine.”