Blood for Power: A LitRPG Apocalypse

We returned to the inventor’s shop. When we got there, I half expected to have to pound on his door again to get his attention. But to my surprise, he had waited for us by the peephole. Perhaps he recognized the value of the device.

He opened the door and bid us to enter. “Quickly now,” his hand gestured. The rest of him was shrouded in shadow.

That was odd. A shop that was closed during the day and dark. It made me wonder if he was sleeping here or if he was closing the place down.

Lucas: Hugo, pretend to be a regular bird.

Hugo: You mean fly frantically around the room and crap on everything?

Lucas: It’s just a precaution.

Hugo: Fine.

I could hear the sigh in his voice. He didn’t enjoy acting like an ordinary bird. It was unnatural for him now. He wanted to talk and interact with people. Eat, drink, and live life in a way he never could have before. But there was a power in being underestimated and if Hugo had any pressing questions, he could use the companion chat to give them to me.

After stepping inside the store, the door was closed and bolted shut.

“Sorry for the lack of light,” he said. “If I keep the shop dark, fewer people try to bother me.”

“Sure, who needs customers at a time like this?”

“Actually, I’m just wrapping up with one. Why don’t you follow me into the back?”

He started moving before I could answer. So I followed him to the back office, that was surprisingly lit by candles. For someone who worked on a power grid for a whole building, it was a surprisingly low-tech option.

I commented on it and he told me that candles were just cheaper.

In the light of his office workshop, the inventor cast a far less ominous figure. A middle-aged, bearded man with rosy cheeks and kind eyes. He went over to put a comforting hand on the shoulder of his customer. A human boy no older than ten who sat on a stool fidgeting. “Bart, I’ve been here too long. I should go back,” he said.

“You will soon. Just one more moment.”

The boy looked up and finally noticed us. He grinned widely at Hugo. “I like your bird.”

Hugo cawed once as a thank you, and the boy’s eyes lit up. “He can understand me!”

“He’s a smart bird,” I said.

He cawed again in agreement.

Bart returned with a small wooden crate.

“Here is the water purifier your mother asked for,” he said as he handed it over to the boy.

The boy suddenly became serious as he looked through the crate and then frowned. “What’s this?” He held up a small metal rod with a ball stuck to the end of it.

Bart smiled. “That’s for you. The ball is made of a special metal that bounces and the rod there can be magnetically used to recall the ball.”

The boy stared at the toy in wonder and then rushed forward to give the inventor a hug. Bart lowered his voice and said, “Though let’s keep this between us. There’s no reason your parents need to know.”

He nodded vigorously. “This is great! Thank you!” He rushed out the backdoor with the crate and toy under his arm.

Bart was pleased with himself, but I was curious to learn more about the city and why some people might need things like a water purifier.

“What was that about?” I asked.

Bart’s smile faded. “Not everyone has the money or the connections to import clean water through the system. The water in some parts of the city is contaminated, so I’ve been doing what I can to help. The toy is just a small kindness. The reason I told the boy not to tell his parents about the toy is because they’d end up selling it. Though if things get bad enough, the boy will likely sell it himself. He’s a good kid. I told him that he should do whatever it takes to survive, except join the church.”

Hugo: See, I’m not the only one who didn’t like those guys.

Lucas: I don’t like them either. I just wanted to get rid of them as fast as possible.

Hugo: You gave them that apple of yours!

Lucas: I can grow more of them. It wasn’t a big deal.

“Yeah, I had a run in with them myself,” I said. “A strange bunch.”

“They’re more than strange. Things are bad in the city and they’ve taken advantage of the situation. It’s split the human community of the city in half. One part has joined the church just to support themselves while the other has been pushed to work with the orcs.” His face twisted at that last part.

“So you’re on the orc side?”

“Unfortunately. But you didn’t come here to talk politics. Put the device on the table next to the light. I promise no enterprising little monster will steal it this time,” he joked.

I took the cube out and put it down. Bart pulled out a magnifying glass to study it in detail. He murmured to himself as he studied it.

Hugo: What’s he saying?

Lucas: I don’t know. I think it’s just part of his process.

After a few minutes of silence, I prodded him with a question. “Have you ever seen something like it before?”

Bart shook his head. “It’s interesting, though,” he muttered. The inventor pulled out another smaller rod. He pressed it against one corner of the cube and there was a ping as the bolt flew to the rod. He magnetically removed bolts from each corner and one of the cube’s panels slid open. Inside the device were wires and gears. Some symbols had carved into the gears to enchant them, but I’d never seen anything like it before.

Hugo: No wonder those things are so fragile, with so many delicate pieces and wires packed together.

I grunted in agreement.

“Yes, I see now,” Bart said. “This device emits a pulse to attack spiritual energy. But the interesting thing is that whatever residual energy is left gets absorbed back into the cube.” He put the panel back on and screwed the bolts back in. “What you have here is the equivalent of a spiritual hand grenade.”

He casually tossed it to me and half panicked as I caught it. “Not deadly to us, though,” he added. “To use it, merely press the circular pattern on the side there.”

Hugo: So it is some sort of ghost hunting device?

I repeated the question to Bart.

“You could use it that way. I haven’t heard of there being any ghosts around, but now that you Tower Climbers have joined us, I suppose anything is possible.”

Hugo: I almost feel like apologizing to the guy for our presence here.

“What about the murders that have been happening?” I asked. “Could the device be involved in those?”

Bart grimaced. “You should be careful how you talk about that. A lot of folks round here still call them disappearances because their bodies haven’t been found. They’re still clinging to the faint hope that they’ll return. As for whether this device was involved? It’s hard to say. Once somebody is dead, you could use this device on them to harness their spiritual energy. But these cubes are small. I doubt it can handle more than one use without burning out.”

I put it back in my inventory.

“Any ideas on who could have made it or who we could talk to?”

Bart gave an apologetic shrug. “Magic isn’t really my area and the other factions are pretty tightlipped about it. I doubt you’d get any orc or goblin in the know to divulge their ancient family secrets. Your best bet, unfortunately, is the church. Some of the clergy practice magic, but they’d probably charge a steep price for information.”

Hugo: Yes, let’s go knock the answers out of some creepy priests!

“There have also been reports of magic being sighted in the contested zone,” Bart continued. “It’s where most of the city’s monsters spawn, so I’m sure there’s a Tower Climber or two there that’s using magic. You might have some luck there. Perhaps one of them made the device?”

“I’ll be sure to check them out,” I said.

I thanked him for his time and we left through the front door.

Once we were a block away, Hugo asked, “so what do you think?”

We had two avenues to investigate. The contested zone and the church. Evening was fast approaching, and I didn’t feel like bribing the church again for information.

“I think we should wait till nightfall and see what we can learn about this church without them seeing us.”

“Aww yes, reconnaissance time!”

I was glad that we were on the same page. We’d find a good rooftop to stake out our position and watch the church for a few hours. If possible, we’d also try to find a way to get inside. After that we’d move to the contested zone and look for another Climber.

Things felt like they were moving in a positive direction, which I should’ve known would bring trouble.

Suddenly, I gasped and clutched my chest. A sharp pain had gripped my heart. It felt like a needle was stabbing me over and over again.

“What is it?!” Hugo cried. He looked for a threat but couldn’t see one. I knew where it was coming from, but it wasn’t safe to deal with it on the street.

I gritted my teeth and took off running.

“We have to get to the apartment now!” I wheezed.