Blood for Power: A LitRPG Apocalypse

We slipped out of the city and into the desert undetected. There was a close call near the east gate with a goblin patrol, but luckily, they’d moved on after a few minutes. Leaving the city this way was a risk. We could have simply reused the hidden tunnel where we’d fought the cadavers, but I wanted to see how parts of the city woke up. I wanted to gauge the responses of its inhabitants.

The way they began their days was slow. Which was odd at first glance. But then again, if they were importing food through the System and nobody was starving, I guess I’d be laid back too. Those who worked security, whether they be human or goblin, were the first to rise. Then the tradespeople slowly followed without a care in the world. As the sun rose, all the fear that had been so palpable at night seemed to fade away.

I took it to be a form of resilience. These people were adaptable. They knew what they were signing up for with the Tower and so they rolled with the punches.

It was admirable, and it made me wonder if I’d gotten too complacent. Too comfortable with these brushes with death. The Tower was supposed to challenge Climbers, but lately every fight felt like a close call. Something had to change. I just wasn’t sure what.

That was partly why we were out here in the sand searching for bug monsters. It was a chance to experiment, as well as stock up on blood and train. All things I felt had been sorely neglected.

We moved away from the city and deeper into the desert. Though not far enough to lose sight of it on the horizon. Getting lost out there was the last thing we needed.

The further out we got, the more we encountered these steep rolling hills of sand dunes. It was only after climbing to the top of one that we spied our first monster of the day.

A flame red, five foot long centipede-like creature with large mandibles was in the valley below us. It was picking at the bones of a bird and hadn’t noticed our presence.

“So who goes first?” I asked.

Hugo’s spectral hand appeared with a coin. “Call it,” he said.

“Heads.”

He flipped the coin, and it landed tails.

I gestured. “Alright, have at it.”

“Do bugs have souls, I wonder?” Hugo asked himself. “I guess now’s a good time as any to find out.”

He left my shoulder and swooped down into the valley below. The bug heard the flap of his wings on approach and turned to cover the bones protectively. It reared up, screeching a challenge to Hugo, who hovered in the air. A faint purple light formed in front of the crow’s chest. The color grew stronger, like it was charging up.

*Beast Identified* [Baby Blightfire Centipede (Common)] Level 78 – Identified by their red exterior, these small creatures are left to fend for themselves quickly after birth. In this inhospitable environment, they’re forced to become scavengers or engage in sneak attacks until they’re mature enough to fight for their food. Their preferred method of hunting is to hide in the sand until prey gets near. They then use their forcipules, two stinger like front legs, to inject Blightfire venom into their prey for an easy kill.

The Blightfire Centipede sensed danger and went on the offensive. It scurried towards Hugo, but it was too late. A pulse beam of energy shot out from the crow and hit the monster squarely in the head. The bug’s body absorbed the blow with seemingly no damage, but the creature was stopped in its tracks. All of its past aggression had disappeared. It laid down on the ground like it had given up on living.

The creature wasn’t dead though. We’d received no message of that, and there was the occasional brief twitch that showed it was still alive.

Hugo landed while breathing heavy. Using the Soul Lance had taken a lot of energy out of him, but he wasn’t helpless. He summoned Archer to go over to the bug and investigate. She kicked the centipede, and it merely rolled over onto its side and curled up.

I went down to join Hugo.

“It’s like it’s given up,” he said.

“Seems like your ability is more of a depression lance, at least when it comes to the living. It might cause more damage to purely spiritual beings though.”

He looked disappointed. “So it’s just going to lie there?”

“That, and have recurring thoughts blaming itself for not moving.”

“Well, now I feel bad.”

Four more bugs of the same type crawled out of the sand up ahead. They were hungry. They’d sensed food, and they were crawling past their apathetic kin to get it.

Archer fired an arrow at one as it passed her by, but the arrow bounced off of its carapace.

“You want me to…?” I asked, seeing the trouble that he was having.

“No no, I got it.”

He summoned his Dune Pincer spirit. It was massive compared to the bugs coming towards us and should still out level them, providing they were the same level as the first bug.

“Go get ‘em, Milton,” he said.

I frowned, trying to think of an action star with the name Milton. Maybe that was part of their real name? I mean, if John Wayne’s real name was Marion, then I guess it was possible that a Milton could’ve slipped into a Hollywood blockbuster without me noticing.

“Milton, huh?” I asked, looking for clarification.

“Yeah, there’s no backstory for that one. I just like the name and think he looks like a Milton.”

I shrugged. “Fair enough.”

Milton silently surged forward and its pincers grabbed the closest one. Two of the others attacked Milton from the sides, while the remaining one scuttled past. It was heading straight for us.

I raised my sword to prepare. Hugo’s spectral hand appeared and put it over my blade to lower it.

“It’s still my turn,” he said.

I nodded, lowering my weapon but not putting it away.

He flew up into the air and used a Wind Blast to knock the creature back into Archer’s arms, where she wrestled it to the ground. The bug was helpless on its back as its many legs kicked the air. Archer drew an arrow and stabbed it in the soft underbelly. The bug squealed and tried to wriggle free, but she continued stabbing it. Plunging the arrowhead in and out until the creature bled out.

It must have taken over fifty stabs. The spirit had looked in control the whole time, but she’d still taken some damage. Archer wobbled as she stood up and was favoring one leg over the other. Hugo saw that she was completely spent and dismissed her.

There were three bugs left to deal with, but luckily Milton was having an easier fight. He cut two centipedes in half with his pincers. The final one tried to attack while his pincers were occupied, but Hugo saw it coming. Using Milton’s greater size and weight, he smashed his body down on the last enemy bug and crushed it to death.

Incredibly, by not moving and staying huddled on the floor, the centipede Hugo had used a Soul Lance on was still alive. The crow seemed almost hesitant to kill it.

“Think of it as a mercy killing,” I said. “Besides, if we don’t kill it now, then something else will. You might as well do it for the experience, if nothing else.”

Hugo sent Milton to finish it off which caused him to level up.

All in all, it was a good start to the day. We hadn’t been out here for too long and already Hugo had captured the spirits of the five bugs, gained enough experience to level up, and now he knew how much of a toll using his new ability could take.

I bent down to touch the blood of one of the bugs. It was hot out here in the desert. I hadn’t realized it, but as soon as I made contact with the blood, I felt a slight amount of dehydration within me recede.

Yeah, their blood would work just fine for my purposes.

I added their bodies to my inventory and received two more System messages.

*Item Identified!* [Baby Blightfire Centipede Venom Sac (Common)] – While smaller than the ones that reach full maturity, these sacs can still carry enough venom to put down targets several times greater in size.

*Item Identified!* [Blightfire Venom (Uncommon)] – A particularly brutal and clever toxin. This venom works in two stages. The first is a dormant stage of quiet replication. Once it enters the bloodstream, it spreads quickly but without any ill effect. The second stage is when it ignites. A full Blightfire Venom sac burns the victim completely from the inside out, leaving only the bones to suck out the marrow from.

The venom sounded perfect for some of the tougher targets I’d gone up against recently. While I missed my Venom Fang knife, this Blightfire might prove to be a great substitute.

I was about to ask Hugo to fly up and look for more bugs when we heard a noise. It was coming from over another dune, and it sounded like running.

I focused my attention on it.

“He’s over here!” a voice yelled out.

I raised my sword and waited for an attack that didn’t come.

“Yeah, this way!” shouted another voice, a little more distantly.

“They’re hunting someone else,” I murmured to Hugo.

Curious, we kept low when climbing up the tall dune and peered over the edge. Six men and two women in brown robes were running away from us up another dune while holding weapons.

“What do you think?” I asked.

“That it's way too hot out here to be running in robes?”

“That goes without saying. I meant, are you up to follow them?”

The crow scoffed, mildly offended that I’d even ask the question. “I can still fly faster than you can pump those meat appendages. Now come on. I want to see what it is they’re chasing after.”

They disappeared over the next dune, and we hurried to catch up to them. It took several more hills until they’d stopped running.

Over this next dune, the desert flattened out and up ahead was an oasis with lush palm trees ringing around its edges. A bearded man wearing nothing but pants was stood in the shallow end of the water, refilling a flask. His back was to the cultists, completely oblivious to the danger. They pointed at the man and silently closed in.

“We have to do something,” Hugo whispered.

“Stay here,” I said.

This was my turn.