Lifeblood Chaos [LitRPG Apocalypse]

The whole mountain was still shaking from the massive blast erupting on top. Ray couldn't even stare at his delightful notifications for long because he was mesmerized by the sheer power he had unleashed.

Honestly, it felt kind of bad. That wasn't his power. Not really. It was just the combined might of foes he hadn't been strong enough to defeat on his own. Although… it was his abilities that had allowed them to be victorious. He was the one who had eventually found a way to kill them. Surely he deserved enough of the credit.

As Ray waited for the time being, he received proof that he had indeed conquered the Tier 38 dungeon.

[Dungeon Cleared—Graveyard of Sin]

Rewards

30 Aeon Mana shards

10 Origin Mana shards

4 Aeon Mana Tier Points

2 Origin Mana Tier Points

2 True Mana Skill Points

1 Pure Revive

+10,000 Essence

Essence to Level 56: 167,400/312,000

Knowledge to next Threshold: 2,566/3,500

Ray had no idea what that item was supposed to be. Turned out, it was actually rather busted.

[Eternal Pulse]

Eternal Pulse indicates there is an item nearby interacting with Mana.

Pure Revive: Compressed grace of all lost to sin, allowing a single resurrection from the ultimate punishment—death.

An item that could revive anyone after dying? That was frankly incredible. He had to wonder if the others had received it too.

Gritty and Marcus were the first to meet him, climbing down the mountainside.

"Did you actually do it?" Gritty asked with an incredulous look on her face. Her words chattered like she was shivering but it was just the mountain shaking all around them.

Ray grinned at them. "Yeah." His words were no different, jerking and halting as he tried not to bite his tongue off as he talked. "They're dead. They're both dead. We got 'em!"

Gritty laughed in triumph, though she quickly shut up. Honestly, Ray was just glad that the whole mountain wasn't collapsing on top of them.

"Gritty filled me on what you were trying…" Marcus said as the shaking, the noise, and the brilliant light all started going down. "How'd you manage to end up killing them?"

"Just used their own power against them."

Ray explained what had happened, unable to keep the smile etching across his face. He gave up trying to stifle it after a while. Ray had won. He was allowed to smile a little goofily for the moment.

By the time he was done with his tale, the others started arriving. Sameer's team were coming in too, though only Eliza and Karkatrix had arrived. Neither looked injured. Marcus or someone else must have healed them, especially Karkatrix.

"Where's Sameer?" Gritty asked. "Please tell me got caught in that thing."

She pointed up to where the light from the massive explosion of energy had almost gone out to leave behind a column of smoke as large as the mountain itself.

"Uh…" Eliza grimaced. "He might have…"

They all raised their eyebrows at that. It was curious because if Sameer really had gotten caught in that blast, then they had good reason for blaming Ray. He hadn't exactly communicated his intentions fully, though that wasn't exactly his fault since his plan had been a spur of the moment thing.

He also hadn't anticipated the resulting blast from Eternal Gravity and Momentous Domain would be that gargantuan.

But Eliza didn't look like she blamed Ray at all. If anything, she was looking somewhere between guilty and embarrassed.

"What did he do?" Ray asked.

Eliza hesitated for a second. "He wants to make sure the treasures are still intact after that blast."

Ray's eyes weren't the only ones that widened. "So he intentionally remained close to the blast zone? All so he could get to whatever treasures the demon drops after being obliterated?"

Eliza shrugged.

Ray grunted. Then he crushed another Aeon Mana crystal before using Temporal Passage to disappear.

His teleport took him to the spot where he had cast his last spells. Right in the middle of the nothingness. Quite literally.

The detonation unleashed by his spell combination, that had combined the powers of the Demon of Humanity and the Lord of the Third Floor had been incredibly powerful. So much so that a huge chunk of the mountain—in fact, almost the entirety of the mountaintop—had been erased from existence entirely.

So it was that Ray was floating in the middle of the air for a few seconds. A quick cast of Resurrect Recollect to call up Soaring Wings slowed down his immediate plummet. More importantly, he was surprised he hadn't ended up screaming at the sudden fall.

He reached the bottom of the crater before long, landing on a bed of dust and ash. There was an overpowering burnt smell in the air, and it clogged up his nostrils pretty quickly. He had to get out of here fast.

There was, unsurprisingly, no sign of the Floor Lord or the Demon of Humanity. Of course. Neither of them could have survived that blast, which Ray had proof of.

That there wasn't even a shred of their bodies left either was also… expected, honestly.

"Are you here to look for the treasures too?" Sameer asked from farther back. There was a note in his voice that Ray didn't appreciate at all.

"Yeah," Ray didn't stop looking around. All the dust and smoke really needed to get going. He was starting to be a little afraid that Sameer had already pocketed the treasure, but he wasn't going to give in to paranoia before he'd had a proper look. "You seen it yet?"

"No, I just started looking. Thought I'd find it before you arrived."

Ray snorted. "Well, at least you're being honest."

He was also being a lot less directly hostile than normal. It was acually a little creepy. Ray was now on edge that he'd find himself falling through a sudden portal when he was least expecting it, locked away in some bizarre world.

Good reminder for him to cast Resurrect Collect and call up a Scouring Eyeball.

"More eyes are going to help," Ray said.

"Sure." Sameer hadn't even paid attention to it for long. He was busy looking around the destroyed mountaintop too. Maybe Ray was already giving in to paranoia. Maybe Sameer had indeed not found it— "I think I see it!"

Ray twisted around. He quickly zoomed in, silently cursing the fact that Sameer had located it first. But hey, at least he hadn't instantly pocketed it.

"Wha the hell even is that…?" Sameer said.

Ray had to admit he shared Sameer's curiosity. The treasure was indeed weird. All he could say was that it looked like some kind of strange anchor the colour of burnished gold. The curling, bowlike end was about the size of Ray's head, with the other end tapering to a spike.

"Can't believe it was just lying here," Ray said. "Could have missed it so easily."

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Ray was curious what it really was. A quick cast of Eternal Pulse brought up everything he wanted to know.

[Eternal Pulse]

Eternal Pulse indicates there is an item nearby interacting with Mana.

Ascendant Spike: Spine of a being who rose from the measliest grub to the greatest of Paragons. Use to connect to through multiple planes and channel a Paragon's soul, turning even mortals into gods.

"No way…"

Ray's reaction was mirrored by Sameer, who had grown stock still. He must have possessed his own skill that could reveal information just like Eternal Pulse, and he had received the gist of the item awaiting them.

This wasn't just any treasure. This wasn't even something like a Tower Node.

This thing could let them become a Paragon.

"Whoever owns this thing will win the tournament auction for sure," Sameer said. "It doesn't even matter who's got how many crystals or whatever. This thing is… priceless."

Ray swallowed, unable to disagree with the assessment. "Priceless… and it doesn't look like it's going to break into equal pieces."

"Definitely not."

The tension was back again. It was pretty clear both teams couldn't leave with that treasure. Yet, neither of them would have made it this far if they hadn't assisted each other. Except, there was the small matter that Sameer had actually betrayed Ray to the Sylvans. He had to be thinking how he could get away with the treasure.

Ray: Gritty, keep a close eye on Eliza. Don't let her or Karkatrix get away, and if I give the signal, capture them.

Gritty: Wtf is going on, wingman?

Ray didn't answer. She'd get what was going on. He had to focus here. Sameer had just edged a step closer to the treasure. One wrong move—

Damn it, he didn't need to move. That was a mere distraction. Sameer could just call up one of his many portals and make the treasure disappear. That was the main reason why Ray had told Gritty to take the others hostage.

"So, how are we going to settle this?" Ray asked.

Honestly, Sameer ought to be glad Ray wasn't backstabbing him. The asshole deserved it, after all. Betraying him to the Sylvans, trying to rush and get to the treasure first on his own… he deserved the ass-kicking he had received from the Demon of Humanity. And even then, Ray had ended up saving him. And the shameless bastard wasn't even a little grateful.

Though, maybe the lowered sense of aggression—the lack of hostility—was his weird way of indirectly saying thanks.

Sameer turned to face Ray. "Didn't we agree we'd duke it out once everything else was taken care of?"

Ray slowly nodded. He really didn't want to fight more after running through the entire dungeon and fighting off demons and Sylvans and whatnot. But he wasn't going to back down. He hadn't come this far just to give up his shot at true victory.

Sameer was right. Whoever owned this treasure would go on to win the auction.

"I'm glad you decided against stabbing me in the back for once," Ray said as he stepped back.

Sameer copied his movement, slowly retreating away from the treasure. "I suppose I've attained some grudging respect for you after your efforts all over the dungeon."

"But you haven't attained an ounce of shame after betraying your ally?"

Sameer shrugged infuriatingly. "All part of the game. And yes, before you decry that this is far from a game, you know what I mean."

Ray sighed. Then tensed. "Let's get this over with."

He really was about to start off a fight against Sameer and determine which of them were going to get out with the treasure, when the others showed up.

"The hell are you two doing?" Eliza shouted as she rose up the mountainside.

For someone who had looked unsure and almost guilty moments ago, she had gotten way too angry way too fast. Ray wondered what Gritty had told her.

The tension diffused as Eliza reached them, followed by the rest of both of their teammates. Karkatrix and Gritty stepped right between the two combatants. Ray couldn't even see Sameer properly anymore.

Though, curiously, he couldn't make out where Marcus had gone. There was also no sign of Lent.

Come to think of it, he had no idea what had happened to Pierce.

Thankfully, Ray was still keeping things straight. He didn't let the messy situation distract him from the real goal of securing the dungeon treasure. The flying eyeball was sneaking its way to the strange anchor. Ray cursed the fact that he hadn't obscured it using Mimic Mana. As it was, he had to hope that Sameer didn't turn and screech at Ray's gambit.

"We were just settling the issue of which of us gets to take the treasure," Sameer said, trying to see over the heads of everyone to else stare at Ray. Well, more like glare. "Now that everything else is taken care of, this is the last issue we need to finalize once and for all."

"That's right," Ray said. He swallowed down the distaste of agreeing with Sameer. "A fair fight, and whoever wins gets to keep the treasure."

"Well, you're not going to. I'm not about to let two meatheads settle any issues that affect me too."

She wasn't alone in her stance. Karkatrix stood resolutely between them, as did Gritty.

Ray frowned at his teammate. "You got some other plan then?"

She nodded slowly. "We do. Since we've worked together to get this far, I—well, we—figured it's best we just split whatever we earn from the treasure equally between ourselves."

"So like, three-way between us, them, and Pierce's team?" Ray shook his head. "Pierce doesn't even want any dungeon treasures. He's already got what he was looking for."

"Right. The Tower Node. So we figured he'd let us keep the Tower Node while he held onto the treasure for us. And when it's auction day, we'll sell the treasure, get our profits, and return his precious little Tower Node to him. Win-win for everybody."

Ray considered it. They had definitely figured things out among themselves. And he had a feeling they were pretty determined to make things go their way, probably even pulling Lent into the agreement.

"But the problem is that you guys don't even know what the treasure is," Sameer said. "It's powerful. It's incredible. Whoever gets the treasure is going to win the auction for certain." Ray could see the scowl forming on Sameer's face even from that distance. "But besides that, if we split the treasure three-way, whoever's in the lead right now is going to win the auction."

Eliza hesitated for a second at the mention of the treasure being something so powerful. But that was besides the point anyway. "We know, Sameer. But…" She sighed. "It's only fair."

"Only fair?"

Ray could feel the tension seeping off his shoulders. If even someone like Eliza was more or less surrendering her claim to own the treasure alone, if Sameer's teammates didn't even truly want it the way he did, then things were going in Ray's favour.

"Face it, Sameer," Eliza said. "We didn't win this dungeon. We didn't really beat any of the demons on our own. Even at the end, we didn't take down the dungeon boss. It was that smug asshole standing behind us. They're the ones who really deserve it."

Ray grinned, his spine tingling. It was nice to be acknowledged for once.

Sameer's eyes goggled. He was definitely suppressing a growing anger. "I refuse! This is far from settled. I will not be admitting defeat, especially when I know I'm far superior to that—that asshole."

Ray tutted. "Really? Name calling now? Your own teammate knows the truth, Sameer."

"The only real truth is that I will crush you to pulp nine times out of ten."

"Think about it, Sameer. Who took care of the Demon of Cowardice while you were off scheming with the Sylvans to betray your own ally? Who's the one who found out how to stop the demons that were trying to take advantage of our weaknesses? Who was the one who found out a way to take care of both the Demon of Humanity and the Floor Lord?"

"Ray," Gritty said, her voice rising. "It was Ray. All of it. If he hadn't been here, we wouldn't be here. If he hadn't figured things out, we'd still be stuck somewhere farther down the mountain. Get it through your thick head, Sameer. We deserve this more than you. Ray deserves this more than you!"

"That's right. Me. It was me who did all that. I'm the one who really won this dungeon. Face it, Sameer. It's not how many levels you have or what kind of shit you can pull out of your ass. It's about who can win, about who can get results, and that's me."

Sameer only looked even more incensed instead of agreeing to what was actually true. So, Ray decided to stab him right in the gut. Metaphorically.

"You're so proud of calling me the bully," Ray said. "Of taking what I supposedly don't deserve. Yeah, so what about now? You really think you deserve anything here over me? Ask yourself that instead of being angry at me for surpassing you."

Sameer looked like he had been slapped in the face. His face had gone flushed. Ray would be really surprised if Sameer actually ended up agreeing with everything that had been said.

But before he could say anything, before he could act, the rest of their combined team arrived.

Pierce was the first to address them. Or rather, address Ray specifically. "You really almost killed me too, you know that?"

Ray dragged his eyes off Sameer staring daggers at him to focus on Pierce. "Almost. But not quite. I knew what I was doing."

In fact, Pierce didn't look any worse for wear despite almost getting caught in a blast that had vaporized the entire mountaintop. Ray was curious how exactly he had evaded that explosion, but that wasn't really important just then.

"The others told me what's going on," Pierce said. He indicated Lent and Marcus coming in behind him. "I've agreed to the plan." He turned his head, peering at the strange, anchorlike treasure. "Is that it? Looks so weird."

"Where's the Tower Node?" Ray asked.

Pierce snorted. "Don't worry, I haven't destroyed it. Not yet. I'll wait until we're all safely out of the dungeon. I was considering it, but…"

"But I took care of all the threats just as I said I would. So you can wait."

"Correct."

None of them moved as Pierce reached the treasure with a single hop. Even Sameer didn't move. Wonder of wonders, maybe he really was coming around to the fact that he didn't deserve the treasure.

Ray did, though. He wasn't about to just let Pierce get off with the treasure. "The Tower Node?"

Pierce rolled his eyes. The Tower Node he had found came into being. It was a large crystal just like all the ones Ray had seen so far, with the only difference being that it seemed to be made of mercury.

Ray got a look at what it actually did as possession transferred to him.

[Eternal Pulse]

Eternal Pulse indicates there is an item nearby interacting with Mana.

Tower Node of the Life-giver: Node channelling the power of the Life-giver, one who can bring to existence any idea or concept that can be thought of.

He blinked. A Tower Node that could bring any concept to life. That was… powerful. Ray's mind was already starting to wonder what exactly he could achieve with it.

Though of course, he couldn't think of it as his long-term.

Ray stowed the Tower Node away to the strange space that all Tower Nodes vanished into. For the moment, he looked Pierce straight in the eyes for a moment. He saw no deceit there. Pierce really had agreed to the proposition of holding the treasure in exchange for the Tower Node.

"You're not going to suddenly sell the treasure and the win the Immortalizer auction, are you?" Ray asked.

Pierce snorted. "Don't worry. I only really care about the Tower Node."

Ray nodded, then turned to the others. "Now that the issue of the treasure is settled, we need to discuss one more thing."

"What's that?" Eliza asked.

"The treasure. Or rather, what's going to happen after we sell the treasure?"

"Which is?"

"The culmination of the Sylvan's plans for the Third Floor. Probably for the whole Tower, honestly."