Blood for Power: A LitRPG Apocalypse

The light from the sun blinded me as I climbed out of the manhole cover with Hugo on my shoulder. Shocked gasps nearby followed, which suggested that people emerging from the sewers weren’t an everyday occurrence. As my vision adjusted, I saw what the problem was.

Gren had taken us to the city center as promised, but the spot he’d chosen to surface at was right next to an outdoor restaurant. The patrons stared at us. Except for the tables closest. They were covering their noses and looking away.

Considering we were drenched in sewage water, I didn’t blame them, but I did linger to observe. Fitting in with the architecture of the city, all of them were humans dressed in suits and dresses from the late 1800s. I could tell not just from the lack of weapons but from their demeanor that none of them were Tower Climbers.

“Lucas, cover your face,” Hugo chastised. He was already hiding his face under his wing. “Our first day in a new place and I’m already humiliated,” he moaned. “Creeping out of the sewer like some monster.”

Gren stood off to the side, waiting and tapping his foot.

“We’re never going to get a reservation there now,” Hugo continued. “How are we supposed to fix our reputation? What are we going to do?”

“The same thing as before,” I said. “Kill monsters, get stronger, finish the quest, and then move on. Who knows, we might not be here for long.”

“Yes! We take the high road. Move on from this place to better things and make them wish they’d had us.”

“I’m not sure that’s the high road,” I said as we followed Gren.

The goblin led us to the elevators. One gold door and one silver door in the middle of the city square. The gold, predictably, didn’t open, but the silver dinged and opened at my touch. Other citizens walking around gave us a wide berth, though there were a few stares.

A trade request from Gren appeared, and I paid him his money. “Good luck with everything,” I said and held out my hand. The goblin shook it and said, “likewise,” before leaving.

“Let us know if you need anything!” Hugo called after him. “Don’t hesitate, we’ll be around!”

“We’re not dropping him off on his first day of school. He’s going home to his family. He’ll be fine.”

We got in the elevator and went back to the apartment. Misty was silent when we entered and none of her lights were on.

Maybe she’d switched herself off?

I told Hugo to go wash up first while I did my laundry, or at least attempted to. The door wouldn’t open again and none of buttons I pressed did anything.

“Misty, open the door,” I said.

“No,” she sullenly replied.

Is it going to be like this every time?

“Don’t make me replace you,” I warned her.

“I’m not opening up until I’ve said my piece.”

I sighed. “Fine. What is it?”

“Do you have any idea what it’s been like? Just sitting here for hours with nothing to do?”

I paused, waiting for her to continue. “That wasn’t a rhetorical question,” she said.

“I’d imagine it's pretty boring. What do you want me to do about it?”

“I want you to take me with you on your adventures.”

“No.”

“Give me one reason, why not?”

“I could give you a million reasons. You’re too big and heavy for one.”

“You’re strong enough to carry me.”

“Oh yeah, I’ll just walk around with a washing machine under my arm. Spend the rest of my time here looking like I just robbed a house that didn’t have a TV.”

“Wait, what’s a TV?”

I almost said something rude, but I stopped myself. She actually sounded sincere there. This could be the solution for both of us.

I went into the living room area and turned the TV on.

“Ohh, that’s a TV,” she said. “It’s a little primitive, but… wait, did that fat man just hit his own lawyer with a chair?”

I nodded. “It’s called Fight Court. It’s a show that mixes legal cases with trials by combat in the same setting.”

“Sounds dumb. Is it popular?”

“Incredibly.”

Misty grunted and her door swung open for me to put my clothes in. The silence that followed told me that she was utterly engrossed in what was happening on the screen.

Hugo came out of the bathroom looking fluffier. “Found the hairdryer,” he said. “That thing is amazing. Hey, what’s with Misty?”

“Nothing. Just solved another problem. People should call me the problem solver from now on.”

“That’s a terrible nickname. I’m suspending your nicknaming license, pending a review.”

“Fine, I’ll see you in court,” I said as I left for the bathroom.

When I returned, Misty was still captivated by the TV and Hugo wanted to get back out there. I agreed with him, but there were a couple of things left to do. The first being to update our stats after our encounter with the Rat King.

Hugo went first and dumped a lot of points into Intelligence. Suddenly, he received a new message.

*DING!* You have gained [Bubble Shield (Uncommon)] – This ability creates a small shield around the caster and is designed to block one or two physical attacks before bursting. Note: this does not block magical or psychic attacks and the strength of the shield depends on the user’s level.

“Yes! Finally, I can get in on the action,” Hugo said.

I appreciated his enthusiasm, but I had to throw cold water on it and caution restraint. The description made it clear the sorts of the situations it should be used for.

“It said it can block one or two hits only,” I said. “It’s meant to be an emergency last resort measure or something you activate while running away. Or in your case, flying away.”

The crow activated it and a clear bubble formed around him.

“Let’s test it out,” he said.

I rolled my eyes. “This isn’t the place for that.”

“Come on. Hit me!”

I grabbed the tv remote off the table and hurled it at him. The bubble burst, but the remote had lost all of its momentum and dropped like a stone as soon as it touched the shield. Hugo was completely unaffected and formed a new bubble.

So there’s no cooldown on the ability. That was good to know.

“How’s the magic cost?” I asked.

“Not too bad,” he said.

I couldn’t tell whether he was lying or not, so I told him to be careful with it anyway. Not that my words would be heard.

Hugo wanted to leave and try it out on a monster, but I still had my own stats to level. I put most of the points into Dexterity and Perception and received a new ability as well.

*DING!* You have gained [Magical Awareness (Uncommon)] – This ability is an Aura Sense upgrade that allows you to see active magic that is not perceptible to the naked eye. Note: Certain materials can contain the flow of magic and block your sight.

I activated Aura Sense and noticed several things at once. Misty now had a faint purple glow around her. Was she magic in some way? I then looked at Hugo and saw a golden thread going from his heart to Archer. I was seeing the connection between them. The bond that he uses to control them with.

This wasn’t the most glamourous of abilities, but if I could see magic coming before it hit me, then I counted this one as a win.

There was one final thing to do, and that was to find out just what exactly the Blood Orchard is. I told Hugo I’d be back in a minute before I went into my domain.

A shallow pool of blood surrounded my feet and darkness surrounded me as the rest of the world fell away. The blood stretched on in every direction, making the domain appear endless, though that wasn’t really the case. It was a pocket world that was only a hundred feet by a hundred feet in dimension and was utterly empty until now.

A small tree no taller than myself bloomed in the distance. Its roots sank into the blood, feeding off of it.

I walked toward it for a closer inspection. None of the blood I touched would so much as stain my boots. In this place, it was under my complete control.

The tree was young, but healthy. I could feel its roots connected to the earth of this place. It was as much a part of me as the blood. Something about the tree tingled with the feeling of electricity. It was small. So small that it had escaped my notice until now.

I moved around the tree. Hanging from one of the branches was a single red apple. I commanded it to fall, and it dropped into my hand.

*Item Identified!* [A Scarlet Apple (Rare, E-Grade)] – Borne from the blood of your enemies. This fruit contains some of their strength. Unlike drinking from your enemies directly to gain permanent power and risk madness, consuming the fruit offers a safer middle ground. Eating a Scarlet Apple will boost all of your stats by 25% for sixty seconds. Note: do not consume more than one Apple at a time.

From the description, it reminded me of the temporary boosts some Climbers got from drinking potions. The apple sounded like something that was worth saving for a rainy day, so into my inventory it went.

I returned to the apartment and picked Hugo up.

“Alright, let’s go see what else is out there,” I said.