Broken Core [LitRPG • Cultivation • Post Apocalyptic • Romance]

James walked slowly as he scanned the tunnels. Every hundred feet a branch appeared, sending them in random directions. The walls were smooth where he hoped to find a door.

"Why aren't we hurrying?" Luna asked.

Glancing over his shoulder, he noticed the wolf had a barrier of air wrapped around herself, cutting off her scent.

"If we are down here, we might as well look for more research rooms or supplies," he answered.

Nodding, she stepped closer to him and grabbed the hem of his shirt. "Okay."

"Still scared?" he questioned.

"Yes." Nodding, she gave him a fearful look. Her eyes looked haunted as she nearly pressed herself to his back.

"We'll be fine," he said. Stopping, he turned to her. "I won't let them hurt you. Plus, I saw you fight. You can handle the little Forsaken we run across."

Letting out a slow breath, she forced a smile. "Thanks."

"You're welcome." Turning back to the hall, he continued. Seconds turned to minutes before they came to a large open space. Unlike the first one, this time there were no bats waiting for him. Instead, it was filled with spiderwebs of thick strands that glistened in the pulsing red light.

"Great," he murmured.

Stepping up to his side, Luna frowned as she looked around the room. "There looks to be more crates."

"There are," he agreed. "But we have Forsaken spiders to deal with. I don't see them."

"I'll clear the webs," she offered. "We get in and out quickly."

"Go ahead. I'll siphon anything that comes for us. Be prepared to fight." Stepping back, James scanned the halls as a sharp gust of wind whipped through the room. It only took seconds for Luna to rip the webs apart and pile them up in the corner of the room.

A screech filled the air a moment later as three flickering souls rushed down the far hall. They weren't as strong as the slimes, but were still strong enough that he wouldn't kill them instantly with Siphon.

"Ready?" he asked as he raised his hand.

Luna nodded as a swirling vortex wrapped around her.

Latching onto the spiders, James watched them thrash on the ground, their souls flowing into him as they struggled to attack. A second later, three blades of wind cut them in half, spilling their blood over the hall. Soul energy burst from their body, flowing into him.

"See," he said, "you can kill them easily."

Bumping her shoulder against his, she smiled. "These are much easier than the giant. We made a good team."

"We did." Stepping into the room, he walked over to the first chest. "Check the other side of the room. We are looking for bedding, water, food, things like that."

"Understood."

Grabbing a chest, James flipped the latches and peered inside. The dim light made shadows dance over the items, but he found what he was looking for. Grabbing the bedding and burners, he added them to his storage. The food looked good still and the bottles of water were sealed, so he added them as well.

The second chest he found had a hole punched through it and the metal was eroding from some sort of acid. With a frown, he set it aside and kept looking.

Through their search, they found five chests worth of supplies that they added to his storage. With enough food for Luna for at least a few weeks, they continued past the spiders. Their ears were trained on their surroundings as they passed a few holes to the streets above.

He was starting to lose hope when he stumbled into a new section of the underground maze. A large common area opened up to reveal couches, chairs, and tables. Playing cards were scattered over the ground and no signs of Forsaken were present.

Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

Doors were open on the sides of the room, leading to smaller rooms and with a quick search, they found bedrooms and a few research rooms.

"Let's see what we can learn," he said, "I bet something in here will be worth it."

Luna followed right behind him as they entered the first research room. Splitting up, they searched the tables for any reports or findings that would be worth it. Unlike the last research room, this one didn't have very many devices, but instead large tanks that used to hold fluid and maybe Forsaken.

Eyeing the glass containers, he judged them to be large enough for an adult person, or even one of the hounds. Standing upright, they wouldn't be able to hold some of the varieties of the Forsaken he had come across in the city.

"This one has diagrams of people," Luna said softly.

Frowning, he walked over to her side and took the report. Scanning it, his frown grew. "They experimented on humans. I wasn't sure what the vats were for, but…"

"What were they hoping to learn?"

Reading the report, he wasn't sure if he wanted to tell her. They were working on artificial cultivation, much like his own.

"Any more reports with this one?" he asked.

Luna nodded and picked up a small stack. "It was on top of these."

Pulling out a chair, he sat and started to read. Luna kept walking around the room as his brows scrunched in uncertainty.

There are more facilities they were working with. This was only one and they worked on the long-term effects of soul energy. The changes the body goes through and the tempering. They tortured people.

"You don't look happy," Luna said as she stopped by his side. "Talk to me, James."

Sighing, he set the reports down. "It has to do with the energy I use."

"What do you mean? Did your mother experiment on you?"

"Yes," he said softly. "I didn't know at the time, but yes."

"James?" she asked with a shaky voice. "What did she do to you?"

Closing his eyes, he answered, "she infused me with the ability to devour souls and grow stronger."

Instead of running, she rested her hand on the back of his neck. "That explains a lot."

Rubbing his cheek, he added, "the people in this room were experimenting on the long-term effects on the body of such a power. They learned a few things."

Kneeling by his side, Luna took his hand. "What did they learn?"

I don't know if I should tell her…

"James, we are not leaving this room until we talk," she growled.

Glancing at her, he shook his head.

"Don't make me slap you!"

Sighing, he watched her raise her hand. "My body is going through tempering that is making it harder to damage."

"That doesn't sound bad."

He grimaced. "The scientists watched their victims change. Their hair turned white and their skin pale and was filled with energy that was very visible. Yes, they were harder to damage, but they mutated."

"Oh…"

She clearly didn't know how to respond.

"How long did it take?" she asked.

"A year at the earliest. Most were around two years before they showed changes."

Wincing, she squeezed his hand. "We'll cover you as best we can. I'm sure you aren't the only one that changes with body tempering. I've heard those that use fire to temper their bodies turn black like obsidian."

Forcing a smile, he squeezed her hand back. "That's not all. There were other facilities experimenting as well. All over the world by the sounds of it. My mother must have found a way to replicate the process."

"I guess we have our goal." Standing, she let her tail brush his side. "We are going to have to hunt down these facilities and learn more about your new nature."

Getting up, he smiled for real. "Just like that?"

"Yup!"

He wanted to keep smiling, but there were problems with that plan. They would have to live in the wastelands for extended periods of time. They didn't know what they would run into, or whether they could even kill the monsters they would come across.

"We'll need supplies," he said after a moment. "That means earning money and visiting a city. I'll keep you as safe as I can, but…"

Her tail started to beat him. "I'm ready when you are."

Sighing, he added the reports to his storage and moved around the room, grabbing the rest. He would have plenty of time over their journey to read them.

"What do you think the other research rooms have?" she asked. "I wonder if one talks about the rending."

"Wouldn't that be nice," he admitted. Turning towards the next room, he took the lead.

The four members of the Settling Stone Sect rested against the wall of a collapsed house. Two of them were holding bandages to their legs, both bleeding profusely while the other two handed them healing pills.

"We aren't going to last much longer," Nebra said. She was the leader of her group and the one that was busy shifting Mender's shoulder back into place.

The man known as Mender grunted as his shoulder clicked and he started filling his body with earth Qi, using nature to heal his wounds. The large gash on his side healed over before he turned his attention to Nebra. "We need to cultivate."

Nebra glanced at the other two. "They need to sleep and regain their strength. The basement of this house will keep us safe for now. Help me carry them."

Nodding, Mender picked his sister up and started walking towards the stairs. Nebra grabbed the last man and followed. They had already cleared the basement and the surrounding area of Forsaken. That was why they were so injured. The wasteland hadn't been kind to them.

In the distance was a city that they were steering clear of. They had been warned of the place. Forsaken unlike anything they had fought before dwelled in the ruins.

Reaching the lower level of the basement, Nebra pulled out her lantern and shut the doors to their dwelling. "We'll rest here for the day. The pills should heal them by morning. We only have a few months left to increase our strength and prove ourselves to our sect."

Mender sighed. "You make it sound so easy. We'll need an act of God to see us through."

"Start praying."