Reborn: Apocalypse (A LitRPG Story)(Volume 1)

by L. M. Kerr

  'That is way overpowered.' He grinned nefariously, feeling almost as if he really was a teenage boy again, and not a tired veteran of 10 years in the 7 Layers.

  'Not that I'm complaining.' His eyes flashed as he considered the huge dangers he would have to face in the future. Even him with 10,000 lives might not be enough to save the entire human race from destruction, let alone 3.

  Their true enemies, in the end, were literal Gods after all. It was said that the strongest of the Gods could warp reality itself. They hadn't even seen a fraction of the true power of the 12 Tribes of Deities.

  "Still. I won't back down. Every race has their own special power granted to them or inborn, and the magical 'Shop' that humanity gained will be the whetstone to the blade I forge to protect us." His eyes flashed with dark promise.

  'For now, though…' He smiled,

  'Let's check out what I obtained.'

  "Status!"

  — - Status — -

  Name: Micheal Care

  Points: 1037

  Race: Human

  Age: 18

  - Stats -

  Strength - 23

  Endurance - 17

  Recovery - 13

  Soul - 10

  - Abilities - (3/7)

  Life Orb Master

  Ki Cultivator (Mortal Tier)

  Grandmaster Sword Mastery (1/5)

  .

  'My stats are all the same. My body improved slightly, but not enough to be officially noted on my Status Screen.' He nodded. It made sense. The improvement he made existed, but was still rather minor. If he practiced like that again a few more times, he would likely be able to boost his base Strength by a Point or two.

  Increases like this couldn't be ignored. Many Abilities would enhance your power based on your base stats. The power of your body mattered enormously if you were a melee warrior. The stronger your body before applying any Abilities, the more effective certain Abilities could be.

  The best way to increase one's physical power was well known. The Ki Cultivator Ability.

  Many other ways existed, but all of them had their own requirements and usually took up one of the precious 7 Ability slots.

  'I scored over 1,000 Points! Perfect!' His eyes lit up as he saw this. He had killed dozens and dozens of normal Morenkai, and several Abnormal ones, scoring a rather large store of Points.

  Thankfully, he didn't face any of the extremely powerful Abnormals. Those were typically only found in the Main Cluster. If he had, he would've been forced to use his Life Orbs to either help himself escape or to use a powerful suicide attack to kill it.

  He'd rather not expose his Life Orb power, yet, deciding to pass the Orbs off as Artifacts he could use to fly.

  'With 1,000 Points, that's enough to make a single set of Dragon Building Liquid. If I take that in now, it'll make it easier to hunt down other Morenkai without wasting Life Orbs. I might even be able to hit 4,000 Points total, and make the other three sets of Dragon Building Liquid I will need.' He thought the plan over, liking it more and more.

  Immediately, he opened up the Shop, moving to the Artifacts section. Soon, he moved to one of the back pages, finding a specific choice:

  .

  Boiling Dragon Ginseng Booster - 610 Points

  .

  He tapped on it.

  .

  —-Boiling Dragon Ginseng Booster—-

  This powerful accelerant will temporarily boost the body of anyone that swallows it.

  .

  'Okay, one down, two to go.' He nodded sharply, selecting and buying it. Immediately, a small, grey pill appeared floating in the air in front of Micheal. He snagged it from the air, placing it down on a wooden table that was at the center of the room.

  He opened the Shop back up, quickly finding the two other things he needed.

  .

  Calming Aura Pill - 180 Points

  .

  Essence of Wood - 200 Points

  .

  Two more objects appeared in front of him, floating briefly. One was a small piece of glowing wood while the other was a cool white pill.

  'And now, the last couple of things.' Micheal maneuvered over to the custom Earth Objects selection in the Shop, picking out several things.

  Soon he had a pestle and mortar, a couple of vials of water, a syringe, and a small burner.

  "Whew." He turned the burner on, letting the small flame it gave off bloom upward. He then looked over at the pestle and mortar, putting the Essence of Wood in it.

  'After so many years in the 7 Layers, many scientists and researchers put huge amounts of effort in finding ways to use the Shop to grow stronger. Many of these findings were made public as humanity reached the 6th Layer. That was when we really started to band together.' He reminisced, remembering the terrifying journey he had been on.

  'It was far too late, in the end. Billions had already died, so many geniuses and experts lost. The potential of humanity had already been permanently damaged.' He sighed.

  'Some of those methods were for low level Chosen. I memorized a few of them out of curiosity, only the ones that weren't complicated or complex, never thinking they would come in handy. I only thought there was an off chance I could find my little sisters and use it to help them.' He never did end up finding his little sisters. He did find out that his parents had died somewhere in the lower Layers, but found no word of his sisters.

  They had probably died, killed by a freakish Morenkai, or falling to the evils of man. He clenched his fists at the thought, rage flooding through him for a brief moment before he controlled himself.

  'I have time. I can make the First Layer much safer.' He caught himself, pushing his feelings down.

  'Later. I'll think about it later. Right now, I need to focus.' He looked down at the pestle and mortar.

  The special drug he was about to try and make had been created by a famed Chemist named Edgar Rustle, from Australia. It was one of the simpler methods, one specifically designed so that anyone could make it, even without advanced machinery or special knowledge.

  The downside to it, however, was that it was extremely difficult for the average person to successfully absorb the medicine. Every positive had a negative. The ease of creation made it harder to safely use.

  Micheal silently blessed the man as he prepared to set to work. Thanks to the hard-worn effort of humanity's best and brightest, he would be able to get a head start. His chances of stopping the apocalypse from ending humanity…

  He was officially starting the ride upward.

  'And I will let nothing come in my way.' His eyes flashed.

  .

  Chapter 24: Process

  Meanwhile, while Micheal was in the midst of experimentation, various conversations were spreading across the Stardust Cluster.

  "H-he what?! He slaughtered dozens of Morenkai like they were rabbits?!"

  "Yes sir, and even several Abnormals!"

  The Saru Group, the Black Flag Pirates, the Tobagin Party, the Godfather Organization, all four of these groups in particular were beyond stunned as they each heard a variety of reports from scouts, informants, and those that were trying to use the information to leverage themselves into the relative safety of one of the groups.

  Everyone there recognized the danger the Morenkai presented. The terrifying strength even the normal ones had, the deadly threats that the Abnormals carried.

  Fighting a large group of Morenkai could be considerably dangerous even for a B Ranked human, especially if you threw in several Abnormals. At a minimum, they would take at least some injuries clearing them out.

  If Micheal had to face up against a real B Ranked human, he would have a very tough time winning, simply due to the sheer difference in physique and the powerful Abilities the opponent might have. He was largely outclassed in that regard, mostly because he had only been here 2 days, while most B Rankers had been here for 2-3 years.

  However, when facing the Morenkai, his Life Orbs and sword skill gave him a un
ique advantage. Thus, while he might not win against a real B Ranker, he could make it look like he could.

  "You said he was horribly injured? But he didn't die?"

  "No sir- well, it was a bit weird. By all appearances, he looked as if he should be on death's doorstep. However, he walked off from the rooftop, away from the dead Morenkai, as if the injuries he had taken didn't bother him and were nothing."

  "..."

  When the leaders of each respective group heard that, they were shocked.

  'How powerful is this Irregular?! How many Points did he start with?! Was he a legendary 250,000 Point Irregular? Maybe a 300,000 Pointer?' None of them could understand how any human could already be so powerful.

  A variety of reactions, from eager excitement to brooding caution, overtook each respective leader. One sentiment, however, was shared between all.

  "Don't go anywhere near him till tomorrow. Wait to see what he does or if he's still alive first!"

  .. .. .. .. .. .. ..

  Methodically, Micheal began to crush the Essence of Wood. This Artifact was a special type of resource that could be used to enhance many Fire-based Ability attacks. It was a single use item, normally.

  Instead of using it to attack, however, Micheal crushed it into a fine dust, smashing it over and over. He didn't bother to try to hide before he began, knowing that time was of the essence.

  'With the gruesome mess I left behind and my confident demeanor, there isn't a chance in hell that anyone will try to even contact me till tomorrow. Right now, most people are probably reporting back to their respective organizations about my actions and waiting to see if I will walk out of here alive.' He was confident that the battle on the rooftop would have a sizable impact on the Cluster, spreading his reputation far and wide.

  'That might make it easier to convince Sophia to work with me.' He nodded. He could recall that this particular Irregular was kind of like him. She was also looking for lost family members, in this case her younger sister.

  Micheal finished his thoughts as he finished grinding the Essence of Wood into a fine dust. He then grabbed one of the vials of water, pouring it into the mortar. The cool water swirled with the magical Essence of Wood dust, transforming into a smooth, brown liquid.

  After waiting for a moment, Micheal moved the mortar over to a metal grate that was attached to the top of the burner, holding the mortar above the flame. He then grabbed the Calming Aura Pill, tossing the entire thing into the mortar.

  bubble

  bubble

  The liquid in the mortar began to bubble, churning as the heat from the burner and the magical medicinal power from the Calming Aura Pill began to mix.

  The Calming Aura Pill was a magical medicine that could be used to partially heal from dangerous burns or energy burnouts that had damaged one's body and soul. It was especially useful for people that tried to break through to a higher Ki Cultivator tier and failed, receiving a damaging backlash.

  The Pill itself had a rather limited effect for higher level Ki Cultivators, but for Mortal or Earth tier, it had a moderate amount of use. Any medicine that only cost around 200 Points would be of middling use at best once past the First Layer.

  'Allow those two to boil for approximately 32 seconds…' Micheal mentally counted down as he picked up the Boiling Dragon Ginseng Booster. The small grey pill felt almost electric, full of an undercurrent of energy.

  'I need to add exactly 3/4ths of this.' His eyes narrowed as he whipped out his Steelborn sword. He laid the pill on the table and moved his blade over it, concentrating.

  Ever so slightly, he made a small cut with surgical precision, in a specific area of the pill. He then carefully cut all the way down, coating his sword in a layer of Sword Energy.

  Exactly 3/4ths of the pill lay on one side of his blade. He promptly stored the sword, still counting the seconds.

  He hurriedly scooped up the larger pill portion. Unlike some pills from Earth, this pill was completely solid. He carried the part of the pill carefully, staring intently at the boiling mortar.

  '10…9…8…'

  '3…2…1…'

  WHOOSH

  As soon as he finished counted off 32 seconds, he shut the burner off and removed the mortar from it. He then immediately tossed in the 3/4ths cut of the grey pill, watching as it instantly dissolved.

  WHOOOOOOSH

  Sparks of energy flew into the air as the magical chemicals reacted, several quick snapping noises echoing out. Steam rose up from the mixture, dissipating a good half of the water from the vial into the air. Micheal watched all of this passively, his eyes calm.

  Soon, the reaction settled, leaving behind a quite small puddle of grey liquid.

  "It worked." He smiled as he saw the results.

  This was one of those methods he had learned. A simple recipe to create what was known as Dragon Building Liquid.

  'It won't be perfect, and there are probably impurities in it. But I should be able to handle the backlash from that, especially with my Life Orbs.' Micheal's eyes flashed as he picked up the syringe, poking it into the liquid. He pulled on it, watching as the liquid was sucked up and filled the shot and needle almost fully.

  'By injecting this, it should magically react with my physique, forcibly enhancing my base Strength, Recovery, and Endurance. The increase will be tied to my Ki Cultivator Ability, meaning my progress will be even quicker.' He sighed as he looked at the slightly ominous needle,

  'Only… I know it's going to hurt. It always hurts.' He shook his head ruefully.

  This method took an incredible amount of foresight and delicate control. He would need to consciously use his body to guide the rampaging energy that the Dragon Building Liquid would give off, preventing it from killing him. Something like this would normally require years of experience using Ki to even attempt.

  He sighed again.

  'I only have one shot at guiding this. If I have to use my Life Orbs to bring me back when its only been partially completed, I won't be able to start over. Only by doing it perfectly will I be able to use this method up to three other times.'

  "Let's get this over with." He slowly slid the needle up next to a vein on his right arm. He quickly poked it in slightly, just enough to be in his vein.

  'I still hate needles.' His eyes narrowed as he slowly injected the substance. The feeling was unsettling to say the least as the liquid began to flood into his veins.

  When he finished, he removed the needle, swiping the injection point with some antiseptic and covering it with a bandaid, two other objects he had snagged from the Shop. After all, germs still existed here, and even with his Life Orbs that likely could heal him from any poison or disease, there was no reason to be careless.

  An instant later, Micheal felt a burning sensation spread throughout his body as rampant energy began to blast through him. His arms, his legs, his organs, everything began to burn.

  "Hup!" He shut his eyes and sat down in a meditative pose as he sensed this, sweat appearing on his forehead as he began to intently focus.

  "Come on now, energy…" He muttered, his voice authoritative,

  "Bend to my will!"

  .

  Chapter 25: Success

  The burning energy gave off a feeling of might as it ravaged Micheal's body. It felt like a thousand knives were stabbing into his insides, piercing through every single cell in his body. The abrupt increase in pain as it spread was almost unbearable, shocking his mind for a split moment.

  He merely grunted at the pain after that, his eyes focused as he ignored it.

  Slowly, he managed to pick out a feeling of rhythm. A calm beating, like that of his heart.

  This was the cycle of Ki in his body. The Ki Cultivator Ability modified one's veins and organs, allowing the energy that was Ki to flow through it. This energy, at the Mortal Tier, passively enhanced the Strength, Endurance, and Recovery of his body.

  Micheal could sense that the Dragon Building Liquid was interacting with his Ki, m
elding with it. The burning sensation he could feel was the liquid slowly being absorbed by every part of his body.

  "Careful…careful…" As his body began to absorb the Dragon Building Liquid, Micheal breathed in slowly and calmly. He focused on keeping his Ki evenly distributed and peaceful, making no errant movements.

  The key to successfully absorbing the Dragon Burning Liquid was to maintain a state of absolute calmness.

  The ingredients that melded with the Dragon Burning Liquid were volatile and usually quite poisonous when combined. If there was even the slightest hint of rejection or discomfort, the body of the user would register the liquid as a poison and try to attack and destroy it while it was in the bloodstream.

  This would typically cause a user to suffer from toxic shock, one that would spread to every part of the body. Such a massive reaction could cause even the most sturdy warrior to die unless they had a very strong Recovery stat.

  Seeing as this medicine was designed for low level Chosen, such an occurrence was unlikely.

  While this was one of the simplest methods cooked up by the multitude of researchers working to save humanity, it wasn't Micheal's top method. The danger it presented as well as the pain and possibility of failure were all notable downsides.

  Far better methods existed… but all those methods required many more Points and often chemical expertise that Micheal didn't have. He may have gone back in time, but that didn't make him a scientific genius.

  'The simpler the method, the more risks there are… At least this is a method I can guide others through if need be.' The only reason he had bothered to learn this method was because it was possible for him to guide others through it, making it much less risky.

  After all, the only reason he'd memorized any methods at all was on the off chance he ran into his little sisters and they needed his help.

  Maybe it was a bit of a blessing in its own right, a type of cosmic karma. His care for his sisters was rewarding him, giving him the chance to get a head start in gaining power. He smiled at the somewhat silly thought.

  He pushed the stray thoughts off his mind as he focused on remaining peaceful, not reacting to the pain. He sat there calmly, even smiling as his body felt like it was burning from the inside out.