Soul Nexus: A Fantasy Tower Ascension LitRPG

Walking back through the curving hallway, I learned that I had gotten lucky by picking the left path from the dungeon because the right path was to the door out into the streets.

If you want to get more information on the rapid-fire pistols, we suggest locating a store in town.

That was something I was hesitant to do. What if I run into Shadara or Killa? I need to find a way to tell them I’m alright and leave this floor without actually talking to them.

Seeing the three suns for the first time in three days took my breath away. Feeling their gentle warmth all over my metal skin calmed me. The air was crisp, and it was easy to breathe. I closed my eyes and just let myself enjoy the moment.

Those blissful few seconds of peace made everything that happened in the dungeon with Elveil a little less heavy. I would’ve stayed longer, but I could hear someone coming towards me. So I turned and walked down the noticeably empty street.

As I walked, I looked around the streets. The white-washed marble buildings were hard to differentiate between if it weren’t for the signs. Thankfully, I found a store I was looking for—a weapon shop named “The Blade Wielder.“

I stepped into the shop to see a short muscular man with light gray metal skin sitting behind the counter. The more I looked at him, the more I saw that his skin wasn’t metal but chitin. When I zoomed in on the joints, I could see magical veins. He was a golem.

The store was full of weapons hanging on the wall or on display on tables. The place smelled like old oil, metal, and several other scents I couldn’t begin to describe with my enhanced nose.

The shop owner stared at me. He was only four and a half feet tall, but his muscles bulged through the leather apron he wore. His smile was wide and showed his stiff movements. “Welcome to The Blade Wielder.”

“I was hoping to find some information on these guns.” I put both of the pistols on the counter in front of him. “I need to know everything you can tell me about these guns.”

His eyes never left mine as his hands moved in jerking movements towards the weapons. “These are very rare weapons. They are a type of magic-based weapon called a mana-gun. What they do is channel the user’s magic into the gun and use it to propel the mana pellet.“

“Mana pellets?” I looked down at them, thinking of the pink bullets it fired.

He nodded. “Yes, it’s a solid piece of compressed mana in the shape of a bullet.”

“Do you have any ammo for these?” I picked one of them up and held it up.

“No.” His words were stiff. “I don’t. You have to find someone who can create them.“

I scooped up the guns. “Fine, can you tell me how to create them or tell me where I can find someone who can tell me how?”

His hand twitched. “There’s a guy who lives in the northern district named Yorin. He has the knowledge you’re looking for.”

I nodded. “Thank you.”

As I turned to leave, the shop owner spoke up again, his voice slightly strained. “Please come again.”

Making my way towards the northern district, I couldn’t help but feel someone was watching me. I couldn’t hear anything out of the ordinary, but the colosseum was a riot of sounds that were rapidly filling my hearing channels the closer I got to it.

Thankfully, once I got past it, most of the sounds died off. I looked around at the buildings of the northern district. None of them were labeled. I rolled my eyes as I wandered around aimlessly. The buildings grew taller around me as I finally found a building with a sign.

“The Pit?” I read aloud. “What kind of name is that?”

It had the picture of a bed engraved on it, so I guessed it was a hotel, motel, or inn. It’s at least a place I can ask if anyone knows where this Yorin lives. That was something I should’ve asked before leaving.

Before I could walk in, someone sprinted towards me screaming, “Rina!”

I turned to see Killa running at me full tilt. Part of me wanted to run away, the other towards her. The latter won out. When I went to scoop the slime woman into a hug, she just enveloped me. I was covered in green goo from head to toe. Her slimy body wrapped around me in a tight embrace.

She pulled her face away from mine and pressed her face against mine. Her words came out as a panicked race. “I’m so happy to see you. We’ve missed you so much. Shadara is going to be so happy!”

I put my hand on her face and gently pushed her back. “Calm down and speak slowly. What’s wrong?”

Her body loosened, and she let me go. Her body was much larger than I remember. She was almost double her usual size. Her body quaked as she spoke. “We thought you were in trouble.”

“I still am, and so are you.” The weight of Elveil’s collar on me was more apparent than ever. “I have so much to tell you, and not enough time to tell you. But you need to take Shadara and get off this floor. As soon as possible.”

She tilted her head. “What’s wrong? We can help you.”

I curled my fingers into fists. “Not this time, Killa. It’s too dangerous. I can’t be sure that Elveil won’t hurt you two.”

Killa’s body jiggled as she tried to process what I was saying. “Who is Elveil?”

My head hurt. “The one who controls Kuljack. I’m sorry, but there isn’t enough time.”

A purple portal opened up next to me. I dove away from the opening as Miax stepped through.

“You didn’t think I’d let you leave after what you did to me.” His eyes were leaking blood as he held an enormous sword over his head.

Killa reached out to grab him. “You will not touch her!”

In the fraction of a second, she enveloped him, threw the sword into a nearby wall, and started killing Miax. Killa snapped all of his limbs in multiple places while crushing his head and torso. I would’ve heard him scream if Killa’s gelatinous body hadn’t stolen all the air from his lungs.

He was dead, and Killa was dissolving him as she turned back to me with a wide smile on her face.

I stared at Killa in shock, her slimy body still trembling with the force of her attack. The sight of her dissolving Miax left me feeling a mix of awe and horror.

“Didn’t you hire him to find me?” I pointed at the body inside my sworn sister.

She sneered. “I was never planning on paying him anyway.” A wide smile spread across her face. “Besides, he didn’t find you. I did.”

“Right…” I took one last look at the flesh, slowly dissolving before focusing on her face. “But look, you need to leave. Elveil has my powers, my nanites, my system, and my memories.”

Killa’s smile faded slightly. “I understand, Rina. But I won’t let anyone hurt you. We’re a team, remember?”

Her unwavering loyalty was heartwarming. “I know, Killa. And I appreciate that more than you can imagine. But right now, we need to prioritize your safety. Elveil is after me. She will use you and Shadara against me. This is much worse than that scientist on the island. Much, much worse.”

Killa’s face drooped. “It’s that bad? Seriously?” I nodded. She looked like she was thinking. Finally, she nodded in agreement. “Okay, Rina. I trust you. Let’s get Shadara and find a way out of here.”

I shook my head. “No, I have to stay and fight her. This is my fault, and I need to deal with her. But I can’t do that if you’re here.”

Killa grabbed me. “No, Rina, we’re staying. We will not leave you. Not again.“

I didn’t want to argue with her. I knew it was a losing battle. But still, I had to try. “This is much worse than anything you’ve ever experienced. Elveil could kill all three of us.”

“Not if we work together,” she said with a smile.

I sighed. “Killa, I know you want to help me. I know you love me and that you miss me. But if you stay, she will use you and Shadara to break me.”

She let go of me. “Rina, you’re our sister. You can’t expect me to do this.“

I pushed her away. “You have to. If something happened to you, if something happened to both of you, I would never forgive myself. She must be stopped, because she will hunt me down if I run.”

“What if I refuse?” Killa asked.

I smiled. “I can’t stop you. I will make this up to you. It’s a promise. Remember, as long as I have energy, I’ll make it through this.“

Killa scowled at me. “Fine, but only if you let me help you right now.”

I relaxed, finally getting through the dense, slime woman. “Whatever help you can give me will always be appreciated.”

Without a word, she ripped off her entire arm. “Here, eat this.” She then created a small pale yellow gem and held it out to me as she reformed a new arm. “You need every advantage you can get.”

I took the arm and the gem. When I placed the gem to my chest, I received one million shards. “Thanks Killa.”

Killa is proficient with magic. Maybe she can teach you how to make the mana pellets.

I pulled out one of my submachine guns and showed it to Killa. “Can you help me make mana pellets for these?”

Killa grabbed the gun, pulled out the clip filled with pink pellets. “Oh, you got a new gun?” She pulled a pellet out and held it between her fingers as she held it close to her eye. “Yeah, they’re pellets alright.”

She put the pellet back in and reassembled the gun before handing it back to me. “Have you tried condensing your mana? That should be enough to make them.”

I took the gun back. “No. My shadow magic doesn’t want to retain any form. It wants to disperse. Holding it in any shape takes effort.”

The slime woman hummed. “Well, I guess I can fill them for you right now. It holds a hundred pellets, and when you catch back up with us, we can try some things.”

I gave her both guns. She looked shocked when I pulled out the matching pair. While she created tiny blue pellets, I ate the arm she gave me. It had been a while since I had eaten a piece of Killa, and I kind of missed it. There was something comforting knowing that she wanted to take care of me by sacrificing a little piece of herself.

If that isn’t love, I’ll never know what love is.

I finished eating and saw that I had almost seven thousand percent energy. “What have you been eating, Killa? That was a lot of energy.”

She smirked. “Every twenty levels, it seems that we gain a new class perk. Well, when I hit eighty, my density received a huge new limit. I like what you’ve done with your skin. That black and purple looks good on you.”

I snorted. “Thanks. But you didn’t answer the question.”

“You don’t want to know.”

So she’s been eating a lot of people.

Killa gave me a wink as she handed back the full guns. “Two hundred bullets. Make them count.” She put her hands on her hips. “You and Shadara are going to barely recognize each other when you see each other again.”

“Oh?” I arched an eyebrow. “Is she really using her transformation magic that much?”

“Yeah,” Killa said with a giggle. Then she leaned in and kissed my forehead. “Remember, Rina, we love you. You don’t have to succeed, just survive. We’ll be there for you no matter what.”

I lowered my head. I hope you can say that after I do what I’m about to do. “Well, I’m off to go find Gary again.” I pushed myself up and put the two guns in my small bag of holding.

“Why?”

I turned from her and headed to the colosseum. “It’s a long story that you don’t want to know, and I don’t want to tell.”