Soul Nexus: A Fantasy Tower Ascension LitRPG

After walking in silence for almost an hour, Kuljack led me to an iron door. He put his hand in the center of it. “From here, you’ll enter the Antennae Alliance portion of the dungeon. The dungeon connects all four factions. I can’t follow you, so you will be on your own.”

I pulled out the revolver he made for me. Filling it up took almost twenty percent of my normal mana maximum. My battery was more than half full at 3,000%. So I wasn’t worried about running out too quickly. But with this collar, it’ll be all I have while I kill everyone in the base.

Are you going to do as Elveil requires?

I don’t really have much of a choice. She wants me to slaughter everyone in the Antennae Alliance. She’s trying to turn me into her weapon. But if I refuse, she’ll just punish me—maybe even force me to do it anyway.

If you can’t avoid the mission, at least approach it on your terms. You’ll have to kill so many people. Are you sure you want to do that?

What I want doesn’t matter any more. I have to pretend to be her loyal pet, no matter how repulsive it is. At least until I can find a way to get stronger than her. Because running away isn’t an option.

Unfortunate, but yes. Just never forget who you are beneath that act.

I won’t let her break me. No matter what she does, I’ll find a way to stay myself while protecting my sisters. And I’ll make sure Elveil pays for what she’s done.

Are you sure you don’t want to meet up with Killa and Shadara? They can help you, even indirectly.

Absolutely not. I can’t keep a secret from Elveil anymore. It’s my fault she has a body—a body just like mine. You saw how much more powerful she got in just a few days. You’ve seen how she treats those around her. She must be stopped. I’m the only one who even stands a chance at keeping up with her.

I recognized my morals were quickly dissolving with each step I took towards the top of the Soul Nexus. Each time I rationalized it, this was just another case. If I have to kill hundreds to get strong enough to do so, that will be better than the thousands or even millions she would kill.

Do you see your life as more important than others that you would kill them for the greater good?

No. But if I do nothing, I’m complacent in the death of far more. There is no ‘good’ answer. If it was just me, then I would have no problem just dying. But I’m not alone anymore. Shadara and Killa want me to live. To them, my life is more important than that of hundreds of strangers. It’s the same for me. If someone threatened them, I would kill however many it would take to make sure they were safe.

You understand what you are going to do, and you’ll still do it. This will not be easy for you.

I know. There will be nightmares, but I’ll deal with them when they come.

We’re sorry for you, Rina.

Thanks, Orange. You are a friend I never asked for and never deserved. I couldn’t be happier now that you’re back. Please, don’t leave me again.

We won’t.

Kuljack slid his hand down the door before he turned around. “I know what you’re thinking, but don’t. She’ll know if you try to run away. Don’t do it. It will only make things much worse for you.”

I grabbed the door handle. “You’re wrong. I wasn’t planning on running.”

The stone golem almost looked shocked, but it quickly turned to skepticism. “Why? You’ve only convinced me that you’re going to do everything you can to fight against her. But since you’ve been asking a lot of questions, I’ve held hope that you could be swayed to her side willingly, just not this suddenly.”

The compulsion to tell him the truth wasn’t there, he wasn’t Elveil. Even still, I don’t feel like lying was necessary, but I wasn’t about to tell him the whole truth either. “I’m doing this for survival. This isn’t the first time I’ve killed others so I could live. It will be far from the last time too.”

Kuljack stepped back. “I only hope you move on and learn to see beyond yourself.”

My heavy footsteps carried me through the door as I opened it. I wasn’t in the mood to keep talking with him anymore. I can see beyond myself. It’s just that I will never agree with your view. You think Elveil’s plan is good for the majority, but I can’t see it as anything other than evil.

As the door closed behind me, I took in the sudden change in scenery. The Pawed Palace was a crystalline cavern, and the Antennae Alliance was nothing like that.

The ground was soft, almost spongy. The walls, floor, and ceiling blended into each other in a nearly circular shape. It wasn’t stone, but something organic. There was no natural light, so my black-and-white vision of my terahertz vision couldn’t give me more details. With no more information, I continued down the strange hallway.

The hall’s material was weird enough. But the shape of it is even more baffling.

Constantly drifting up and down while winding left and right had me wondering if these tunnels were dug by something. The lack of intersections only cemented the thought.

The tunnel started widening up after I walked for several minutes. A subtle scratching also caught my attention.

Right, I’ve got to kill everything in here.

Again, are you sure this is something you can live with? You’ve killed before but were always reluctant to.

Yeah. But those times I killed were for survival. This is the same. Will it haunt me later? Certainly. It would likely cause me to lose sleep. But I guess it’s a good thing I don’t need to sleep anymore.

That’s an unhealthy thought process.

I’m well aware. It wasn’t that long ago that I was worried about where I was going to sleep for the night. But it feels like forever ago at the same time. Now I’ve gone from petty thief to committing mass murder at the command of an evil overlord creature.

The Soul Nexus brings out the worst in people and puts them into horrible situations to push them further into depravity. And honestly, Orange, I’m terrified. If I do this once, how much easier will it be to do it the next time? How far will I go?

Rina, you’re the only one who can answer that.

A dry chuckle escaped me. If this was just about me, maybe now I’d accept dying. My life isn’t worth all this pain. But I know now that the Nexus won’t let me stay dead and send me through this hell over and over. I can’t betray Killa and Shadara like that either.

I pulled my gun and felt its increased weight. Because I released a monster, it’s my responsibility to stop her. Nyx and Killa might be the only other people I know who might eventually become powerful enough. But Killa will likely lose herself in the process, and I don’t want that. But Elveil isn’t lazy. So I can’t back down now.

I have to get stronger.

I stepped into a round room that had half a dozen paths coming off it. The sound of the scratching came from the ceiling. A strange scorpion whose form was faint in my vision.

Something about its body was absorbing the signal my eyes were emitting, making it impossible to see any specific details on it. Its segmented tail was twice the length of its body and tipped with a spike longer than I was tall. It totaled a length of twenty-five feet. In its pincers was the body of an equally large ant.

The Pawed Palace was full of canine and feline creatures. It might be safe to assume this place will be filled with bugs. Which is fine, as long as it doesn’t include spiders. A shiver ran down my spine at the thought of those arachnids.

The scorpion crawled along the ceiling, heading for one of the holes. This might be a decent time to try the new gun that Kuljack made me.

I aimed and shot. A substantial pull of mana fen into the gun. Ten percent per shot? That makes it thirty percent of my normal mana maximum to make and fire each bullet. I’ve got to keep that in mind for now while my mana regeneration is limited.

My shot left a streak of perceptible shadow mana. The moment the bullet touched the scorpion’s carapace, it exploded in a violent expansion of mana.

A sharp shriek rang through the room as the creature dropped from the ceiling, almost a third of its body shredded from the shot.

5 stat points and 7,870 shards were added to my system as it hit the ground, the ant still in its grasp.

I looked at the gun. Does this thing fire bullets or grenades? I’m going to need to have a conversation with Kuljack about collateral damage. This thing is with keeping, but I still want something with a little more precision.

The skittering sound the scorpion had made earlier returned as I stood in the center of the room. From the other six tunnels crawled scorpions, one from each hallway, heading towards me.

But for right now, this thing will work.

In half a second, I fired six more shots, killing all the scorpions. Each one granted me the same stats and shards as the first.

Congratulations. Level sixty milestone reached. Please select one of the following class perks:

Augmented weaponry—Enhances one random natural weapon.

Expanded armory—Receive one additional random natural weapon.

Predator senses—Receive and upgrade augments for improving senses.

Hunting mobility—Receive augments for improved flexibility.

Touch choices. Mobility doesn’t sound too useful right now. Randomizing my weaponry doesn’t seem too reliable. I might get something difficult to use, like the talons I received before. Alright, let’s go with the safest choice, predator senses.

Augment upgraded: Synthetic eyes level 3.

Augment received: Echo sensors level 1.

Augment received: Olfactory Nexus level 1.

My eyes were the first to upgrade. The nantites tore them apart while rebuilding them simultaneously. Right away, I knew there were two new sensors along with a projector added as they finished remaking themselves.

My ears were next, as they were absorbed into my head. Everything went completely silent. Several sensors were connected through my skull that sealed the hole where my ear canal used to be. Tiny microphones with more pressure sensors were built where my ears had been.

When my hearing returned, every sound was divided into its own channel in my mind. The crystal clarity of each sound was breathtaking. From the sound of the blood dripping from the scorpions’ corpses to the air flowing through the halls, everything sounded different, more complete. Even the sound of my nanites rushing through my veins wasn’t beyond my range of hearing anymore.

My nose itched as it was dismantled. As it was rebuilt, the bridge of my nose was shorter, and my nostrils flared out slightly more as more than three hundred million sensors were integrated inside my nose.

The sheer quantity of smells that flooded into my mind was complete chaos. Most were unrecognizable, and the few that were, were nothing like I remember. Thankfully, I had the option to turn two-thirds of them off. With things more manageable, I could relax.

I pulled up the description of each augment.

Synthetic eyes level 3:

The host’s natural eyes have been replaced with advanced metallic replicas. These synthetic eyes are equipped with unique, state-of-the-art sensors and optics. They will provide the host with heightened visual acuity, clarity, and enhancement, including zoom capabilities that can magnify up to 50x without loss of clarity. Additionally, these synthetic eyes offer improved night vision. New vision options are provided to the host. The host may now emit and detect terahertz radiation to create a local mapping of their surroundings. The host’s eyes can now absorb infrared light, allowing the host to see heat signatures and thermal variations as well as ultraviolet radiation. An integrated micro-projector allows the host to display data or images directly onto surfaces.

Stat bonus: +15 Quickness, +20 Agility.

Synthetic eyes level 4 available:

Cost 95,830 shards.

Echo sensors level 1:

The host’s auditory system has been replaced with sophisticated sensors embedded within the skull. These sensors can detect sound waves across a broader range of frequencies, including ultrasonic and infrasonic frequencies. The host’s hearing is now divided into distinct channels, allowing for the isolation and analysis of specific sounds.

Stat Bonus: +5 Agility.

Echo sensors level 2 available:

Cost 38,850 shards.

Olfactory nexus level 1:

The host’s sense of smell has been augmented with over three hundred million microsensors integrated into the nasal cavity. These sensors can detect a vast array of scents, pheromones, chemicals, and minute changes in atmospheric composition. The host can also filter out or prioritize certain smells.

Stat Bonus: +5 Agility.

Olfactory Nexus level 2 available:

Cost 33,300 shards.

So ultraviolet radiation, fifty times zoom, and a projector; plus extra stats. What’s next, x-ray vision? Will I shoot lasers from my eyes? My 'ears' will take some getting used to, but people are going to have a much harder time sneaking up on me. I just hope it doesn’t make me paranoid. But my nose is a bit much now. I have to relearn how everything smells again. It almost makes me feel like a bloodhound.

Bloodhounds from Earth have approximately two hundred and thirty million olfactory cells. Before, you had six million.

That doesn’t make me feel much better, Orange. So I’m not a bloodhound. I’m better than one. Great. How do they handle this? I guess people train bloodhounds for various things, so I guess I’m going to have to train myself. Later, Orange. I know how much you like training me. So, later.

I put five points each into quickness and agility, then ten points each into resilience and toughness.

Name:

Rina Lone

Augments:

Predator Android:

Level:

60

Cellular reconstruction

Upgradable

Agility:

660

Cerebral prediction matrix

Weaponized

Arcane:

490

Synthetic eyes lvl. 3

Predator Senses

Power:

223

HUD

Quickness:

900

Olfactory nexus lvl. 1

Resilience:

380

Echo sensors lvl. 1

Toughness:

380

Mana battery (shadow) integration

Unassigned Points:

0

Synthetic skin (face) lvl. 1

Shards:

316,831

Additional stinger arm X2

Arm blade X2, retractable

Shadow Powers:

Synthetic tendons lvl. 3

Manifestation lvl. 19

Synthetic muscle lvl. 3

Shaping lvl. 17

Synthetic bones lvl. 1

Distance lvl. 7

Epidermal plating lvl. 2

Anchoring lvl. 3

Nanobot blood replacement

Infusion lvl. 15

Nano-weave hair lvl. 4

Solidify lvl. 5

Voice projector

Shadow Lycan Form Spell

Plated dragon teeth

Synthetic tongue

Leg scythe X2, retractable

Talons