“Go ahead.”
“Alright. So, do you do this with every contestant? The chatting and dumping info?”
He let out a peal of laughter and nodded his head once he was done. “I do, Viktor. To me, you are all the same, even the Zanoxian. You’re just contestants, nothing more and nothing less. However,” he added quickly as I was about to speak up, “we have certain leeway when dealing with rifters. I haven’t sat with any of them so far; you’re the first.”
“Why is that?”
“That’s another question. Are you sure you want to overstay your welcome?”
I shrugged. “Why not? Everything’s already a gigantic mess, so a debuff more or less doesn’t really change anything.”
“Very well then,” he replied with a slow nod. “I have a soft spot for those who were betrayed. You weren’t done in by someone you trusted once; no, you were done in twice.”
“Pity, huh? Could be worse. Can you send me back if there’s nothing else?”
“Sure, but let me tell you one more thing. Make sure you don’t trust the wrong person again. You know what they say, right? Fool me once, shame on me; fool me twice, shame on you; but fool me thrice, and I deserve to die.”
“That’s not how it goes,” I muttered. Krajolik put his hand up to hush me.
“Good luck, Viktor. I hope you’ll be the one to get your wish granted. May we meet soon again.”
Chapter Thirteen
I found myself sitting in the smithy when the darkness faded and was replaced by a faint light. Candles flickered inside, and the smithy itself was closed off for the night. Melina sat in the corner and was doing some crafting herself, from what I could see.
“How late is it?” I asked as I shifted and stretched my legs. Melina stopped what she was doing and hurried up to sit with me.
“You’ve been at it for two straight days. It’s the second night. Or evening.”
“And how much have I done so far?” I asked without even looking.
“See for yourself,” she muttered and pointed to a shelf on my left. I glanced over my shoulder and cursed under my breath. Dozens of armor sat there. I recognized tyranitaur pieces, even several cortonoth ones. A second heap was all pitch-black, and a third was purple.
I opened my subspace and cursed again. Most of my ingredients were gone, but at least my subconscious had made sure to leave enough ingredients to upgrade several weapons to pit boss and century beast grades.
“Did you check any of them?” I asked as I nodded at the shelves.
“No, I haven’t. I can’t take them anyway, now can I?”
“Yeah, my bad,” I muttered and pushed myself up. I stared at the heaps and decided on my choice. I wanted to get the 6/9 passive from the century beast, which meant six items, and three from the pit boss set. Considering having a better weapon was imperative, I would use three pit boss armor, five century beast armor, and a century beast weapon. That way I’d be able to get the necessary numbers.
I picked out the pit boss items that would be of the greatest help and donned them.
Pit Boss Breastplate Rank 1
Health: 700
Enma Shield: 800
DEFENSE: 200
ABSORB: +25%
Pit Boss Vambraces Rank 1
DEFENSE: 80
PHYSICAL ATTACK: 200
ENMA ATTACK: 200
ABSORB: +30%
Pit Boss Gauntlets Rank 1
PHYSICAL ATTACK: 300
ENMA ATTACK: 200
POISON DAMAGE: +25%
POISON ACCURACY: +20%
One thing the pit boss gear had going for it was the added benefits. Century beast gear just had raw stats, and it wasn’t like I didn’t want the raw stats, but the extra benefits I got from the pit boss pieces were far better than their higher-ranking counterparts. Next, I had to put on the rest of the rank eleven gear and finish off with the weapons.
Century Beast Helmet Rank 1
ENMA ATTACK: 250
REFLECT: 15%
Century Beast Pauldrons Rank 1
Health: 500
DEFENSE: 100
REFLECT: 20%
Century Beast Tasset Rank 1
DEFENSE: 150
REFLECT: 20%
Century Beast Greaves Rank 1
DEFENSE: 100
Health: 250
Enma Shield: 500
REFLECT: 15%
Century Beast Sabatons Rank 1
DEFENSE: 100
SPEED: 0.5
SPECIAL PASSIVE SKILL: Trample
NOTE: Trample activates with a 10% chance: and causes 250% damage in a 5-foot area around the user.
I stared at the raw stats and felt weak in the knees. Sure, you couldn’t compare a tyranitaur item to a century beast one, but this set was going to add to my survivability. I looked over at Melina, who was staring at me intently.
“You look like an insect with all those things on you.”
“Yeah, well, I’d rather look like an insect than be dead. Besides, you’ll be looking like an insect too.”
“You expect me to use those things as well?”
I nodded. “If both of us focus poison damage on a single target, they’ll be drained so much quicker. And you know, I’d rather have you alive and well than looking sexy.”
She rolled her eyes but nodded in agreement. “You’re right. What now?”
“Now you get an almost full set of pit boss armor and several century beast parts. Wear six of the former and three of the latter. We want the set bonuses activated.”
“Yeah, okay.”
I picked the different parts out for her and handed them to Melina, one by one. Soon she looked similar to me, all insect-like and ready to wage war.
“Our bows are next. If I have enough ingredients left, we’ll do your fan and several more for me. And we can make some more arrows. I think the rank eleven bones can be crafted into rank six projectiles.”
She deactivated the armor and sat down on the bench behind me. I did the same and pulled out my bow and started upgrading it. Hers was next, and once I was done, we still had enough for five items. The century beast really had dropped well, and even if we fought it again, I doubted we’d be as lucky.
I handed her back her new bow and fan, leaving me with an upgraded bow, halberd, greatsword, and shield. I still had enough materials to make two more weapons, but I wasn’t sure how to proceed. I needed a new one-handed sword or a one-handed hammer. Since I had a shield, and considering the Zanoxian was probably hitting like a truck, I’d go with a hammer. Supposedly hammers were very good against shields, and to be honest, the shields were the worst thing to get rid of. I was going to hang on to the boots, though, since double-jump was a very nice support skill.
“Babe? Do we have any hammers in your armory? And yes, I know it’s much smaller than it used to be.”
“Why would there be a—never mind. No, there isn’t any.”
“Do you have any tyranitaur mats left? I can’t make it from scratch, I need to upgrade the ranks of the weapon once it’s bone ranked.”
She nodded and squeezed my shoulder. “How the hell did you use everything up so quickly?”
“About that,” I muttered. “When I was in my trance, I kept on making stuff subconsciously.”
I didn’t wait for her to say anything else and started working on the hammer. I’d make it so that it had a massive flat side with tiny spikes and a long spike on the other side. Or at least that was the plan, but who knew what would come out of it?
Thirty grazlitaur bones later, I had something similar to what I wanted, so I upgraded it to the next stage using Melina’s tyranitaur ingredients, then into a pit boss hammer, and finally into a century beast war hammer. It was heavy. Way too heavy for an ordinary man to wield with even two hands, but I’d gained some muscle and power ever since the “game” started.
I had a look at my newest weapons and was even more amazed by what I saw. Then I stopped and thought hard about something.
“Veles?”
“What?” she replied with a condescending tone. “It’s not like I need to do this every time, you know?”
“I’m sorry, and yes, I know. Thank you for indulging your… servant. Can you tell me what the biggest rank of boss is that I can hunt in here?”
“Around fifteen, but anything above that century beast is too dangerous. Rank eleven is a… strange and bugged rank. There are only three monsters of the rank, and all are found in locations that are… hard for them to fight in. Now, when you get to fight a rank twelve boss, you’d better run. Even the basilisk you’re so keen on fighting is something you shouldn’t tackle yet. It might be rank ten, but it’s close to rank twelve in reality.”
“Does that count as a second question?”
“No, it’s just a warning. And don’t you get cheeky with me!”
“Sorry, I won’t do it again. So what about if I take the item upgrader from the tower and use it on the bow? Could I make it to rank twelve? And what kind of weapon would it become, anyway?”
“Now that is a second question.”
“Shit.”
“Oh, yes, you’re mightily screwed. A second punishment on top of the debuff. Let’s roll the dice, then.” She remained silent for a while, and something snapped inside me. A bolt of pain shot through me, and I gasped for air. It was short-lived but excruciating. Beads of cold sweat formed on my brow and my neck as I sat there.
“What the—what did you do?”
“You just lost a rank.”
“I lost what? A rank?”
“Hey, your fault. Now let me answer your question. It would upgrade into something random, but remember, you’d lose the set bonus.”
“Oh, right,” I muttered. “Thanks. Not.”
Veles’s presence disappeared as her voice reverberated within my ears for several long seconds and then died out quickly.
“Hey, what’s wrong?” Melina hissed as she dropped next to me. “What was that just now?”
“Veles. She penalized me by taking a cultivation rank.”
“Idiot! Did you ask her two questions again?”
“Three,” I whispered. “It could have been worse.”
She let out a sigh and shook her head. It was something she did whenever she was fed up with my mistakes or attitude.
“It could have been worse, I guess.”
“Yeah. How do you like your weapons?”
“Good, good. Why?”
“Just asking. I want to check mine now.” I pulled them up one by one and studied them intently. Well, there wasn’t much to study, but the stats were… strange.
Century Beast Halberd Rank 1
PHYSICAL ATTACK: 500–800
ENMA ATTACK: 400–600
DEFENSE: 250
BREAK: 700–900
Century Beast Blade Rank 1
PHYSICAL ATTACK: 600–800
ENMA ATTACK: 600–700
DEFENSE: 400
BREAK: 500–700
Century Beast Warhammer Rank 1
PHYSICAL ATTACK: 400–500
ENMA ATTACK: 350–550
DEFENSE: 150
BREAK: 800–1,000
Century Beast Shield Rank 1
HEALTH: 3,000
ENMA SHIELD: 3,000
DEFENSE: 600
BREAK: 400–600
Pit Boss Longbow Rank 1
PHYSICAL ATTACK: 900–1,200
ENMA ATTACK: 950–1,150
DEFENSE: 100
BREAK: 1,500
“The stats fluctuate on the century beast weapons. Same for you?”
“Yeah, they do, but I don’t care even if I hit at the weakest number. It’s quite an upgrade.”
“Speaking of upgrades, let’s see what kind of stats we’re playing with now. The system might just break from all the calculations.”
“But we’re debuffed.”
“Right, right,” I muttered. “Alright, I won’t peek until it’s gone. What now, though? You need rest.”
“What for?”
“Didn’t I tell you?”
“Tell me what, Viktor?”
“Oh, you know. We’ve got to kill that rifter. And stuff.”
“I know we need to kill them, but not until the debuff is gone. What the hell are you on about?”
I almost told her about the Green Dragon base and the run I’d make on them. Why? My brain was a mess, and I was tired. I needed sleep, and that was exactly what I was going to do. Sleep for a whole day.
“Can we just get a nap? I’m tired of all these numbers and crafting and battling and… everything.”
“Then let me give you a massage? We take a bath, I give you a massage, and then we sleep. You’ve earned it, you know? You haven’t been just fighting for yourself and caring about your own progress, you did as much for me as well. Look at me. I’m a one-woman army.”
I grinned. “Isn’t that what partners do for each other?”
“It is, and even more than that. So why don’t you let me take care of you for the night? You just hang in there and enjoy. I’ll make sure you have the night of your life, and tomorrow we can set out to get the next rifter.”
“Mind if I ask you something totally hypothetical?”
“What kind of answer do you want from me? Direct and honest or hypothetical?”
“Direct and honest from how you feel right now.”
She sat upright and stared at me intently. “What is it?”
“So, there’s no easy way of saying this, so I’ll just say it. I was told that I could go home if I won. Would you be interested in coming along?”
Instead of the uproar I expected to hear from her, she remained quiet and thoughtful. It was a good thing that she didn’t start yelling right away, but I wasn’t even near choosing that kind of reward. It was just a question to see what she would do, nothing else.
“Yeah, I would,” she finally said after several tense seconds passed. “But only under one condition. I think I remember you saying something about binding souls? I’d only go if we did that. There’s no way that I’d go to a new world and then just let you out of my sight, no way.”
I snorted and let out a chuckle. She was so direct and honest that, if nothing else, I would love her only for that reason.
“I’m glad I wasn’t mistaken in you, but don’t worry, we’re not going anywhere. It was just one of those spur-of-the-moment things.”
“Don’t say never, Viktor, but yes, I’d be happy to go anywhere with you, so why don’t we start with the bathroom?”
Chapter Fourteen
We were gone the next morning before anyone woke up. I only needed several hours of sleep anyway, but most of all, I didn’t want any kind of audience. It just made me feel like crap for some reason.
We slid out of the first zone and slowly made our way to the next one. From the map I had scribbled down and always carried with me, we had eleven zones to go through until we reached the designated target area. It would take us at least a full day, so we had taken some food with us. I wasn’t into doing anything but putting a foot in front of the other, one step at a time. If I did anything else, I might have wavered and messed it all up.
Melina was also in a somber mood despite really giving me the time of my life last night. Communication had been lacking ever since waking up, but she must have had her own concerns and worries.
We passed by several dozen hunters as we exited the first zone and stopped in the dead center of the second zone to rest. We had set up a sort of safe place in every zone where one could rest without worrying about monsters. This particular spot was on a heap of large rocks. We’d bound several trunks together and lifted them up on the stone formation to form an elevated terrace with a place to put up several tents if needed.
We sat for a while and rested. I had two lower-ranked cores in my subspace, so I pulled one out and held it in my hand. The round object pulsated and gave off a faint blue glow in the bright daylight. Melina scooted over and sat
next to me, staring at the core intently.
“What are you going to do with it?”
“Adjust some of my bones,” I replied calmly, though deep inside I was in a state of panic.
Readjusting and reforging bones was a process that hurt like a bastard. It should be done a limb at a time or not at all. The strain put on my soul and my body was nothing less than being torn apart and put together again.
“Won’t that cost us time?”
I shrugged. “It will, but I haven’t done anything for my body in a while. I’ll just do the right arm for now and do the rest during our next break.”
“Then do it for me as well, alright?”
“It’s going to hurt a lot, Mel,” I said and then cursed inwardly. The woman had gone through all kinds of torture and pain in life, so it wasn’t like she’d never experienced any pain before.
“Do my dominant first,” she replied calmly and put out her right hand. I held on to it and squeezed gently, trying to reassure her everything was going to be fine. We both knew that was a bold lie.
“Do you want me to put you to sleep? It will be much easier for you, and you’ll only have to deal with the pain once it’s done.”
“Can you do your own while asleep?”
“No, of course not,” I replied, my tone a bit stronger than I wanted, and then regretted it. “Sorry, I understand. Now what you’ll need to do is focus on the core and pull in as much Enma as you can, push it into the limb and your bones. They will absorb as much as several crystals or even a hundred. It all depends on your luck. The more the bones absorb, the better the upgrade to your arm is.”
“What then?”
“Once they’ve regrown and are infused with Enma, the excess will be stored in your palm. You’ll have to push it out through your skin.”
Crossroads: A LitRPG Cultivation Series (Towers & Rifts Book 3) Page 11