Spearbound [LitRPG Apocalypse]

Kade had climbed over several hundred feet up the cliff wall. It wasn’t even halfway up. Not even close.

The entire time he had been climbing, he heard an exponential increase in the number of buildings collapsing behind him. It had barely been ten minutes when the rumbling stopped.

That left Kade in his current situation. Stuck hundreds of feet high on a cliff wall with no good options.

He looked back for the first time in a few minutes. He winced when he saw a black lake slowly expanding like sludge.

“System, what the hell is that?” Kade asked through gritted teeth as he tried to speed up his climb. He failed.

Kade’s question didn’t get an answer. He looked back after he climbed a hundred more feet and felt relieved.

The sludge-like expansion truly fit the black lake’s current movement. He would be able to reach the top well before the expanding lake could touch the base of the cliff.

Kade pushed himself until he was standing back on the soft, snow-covered ground. He looked down the cliff and saw that the black lake was covering almost everything he could see. It was honestly terrifying. He didn’t think he would miss seeing constant white everywhere.

“Is there a way I can switch Rift Zones?”

No.

Kade didn’t bother to even look at the interface. It was more of an idle question that he asked himself, wondering why he had to choose this hell of a Rift Zone.

He felt the bone-chilling cold return. It was telling that he would rather go through this than deal with that black liquid.

There was nothing but intuition directing his actions. His mind only had one thought: If he couldn’t stick his [Soulrend] in it, it’s bad news.

Kade knew waiting in one spot for too long wasn’t wise, but he had to see what would happen when the expanding lake touched the cliff wall. He shivered as he started to lose feeling at his extremities. When he exhaled, he could see condensation again.

He hated that.

Kade waited patiently, resisting the urge to use [Inferno Burst] to warm himself. He could deal with an extended exposure to the cold for a few minutes longer.

The sludgy black lake made contact with the cliff wall, and the interface appeared.

The Nexus (Dormant)

A malevolent entity forged from concentrated organic matter—the heart anchoring this Rift Zone. When disturbed, it will unleash monsters taken into its embrace.

Kade stared at the words before directing his stare at the black lake below. That was not what he expected.

It was good that he listened to his gut, but he couldn’t help but think this… Nexus might be his favorite discovery so far. Not that there was much to compete with it.

“System, does this mean this Nexus already has monsters in reserve?”

All beings that have died in this Rift Zone are available to the Nexus.

Alarm filled Kade as he realized the Rift Zone was far more dangerous than its rank implied. “So if I try to ‘disturb’ it, I’ll be up against an army?”

That is a possibility if the disturbance is large enough.

His alarm disappeared as he now stared at the lake with interest. If he could figure out an acceptable level of disturbance, this Nexus could be used as a constant supply of monsters to fight.

Kade eyed the vastness of the black lake before stepping back from the edge of the cliff. Somehow, he had come across the final task early in both the Rift Zones. It had worked out so far, but he was more than a little concerned his luck might not last.

He needed to get stronger before he poked the bear.

Kade shuddered when the chill started to exceed his tolerance. He turned and began the long trek back to his starting spot. His plan to get stronger would require him to go to the mountain.

***

He stared up at the mountain, ice forming on parts of his body. [Inferno Burst] barely kept him alive, so he now had a new goal.

Conveniently, this goal would be a fortunate side effect of getting stronger. He needed to increase his [Constitution] drastically. He had thought that it might be [Endurance] that would’ve helped more until he realized he had never really gotten tired.

It was only his weakness—his health—that he felt was in danger.

Kade didn’t dawdle. He started the challenging climb. He had made sure to keep his [MP] at a fairly high level. There was never a time where he had gone below ten [MP] to have at least one [Inferno Burst] activation available.

Now, he had resisted the urge to use [Inferno Burst] for several minutes. His [MP] will be full in just a few seconds.

Kade knew it was unlikely for him to succeed if he tried to take on all the icehowlers at once, so he would attempt guerrilla attacks. Whether it would succeed, he could not predict.

He fought off the bone-chilling cold with pure willpower. He wouldn’t allow anything to reduce his capabilities right before he was about to face an icehowler.

Kade stared into the opaque wall of falling snow. He was getting closer, and still, there were no icehowlers to be seen. The chance that he was walking into a trap had just skyrocketed.

He still didn’t stop his climb. Even if he was outnumbered, there was nothing to say he was going to lose out for sure.

He had an unfair advantage of restoring himself after killing a monster. That could be an equalizer in even the most lopsided situations.

Kade finally slowed his climb, though only a little. He saw a faint outline getting closer to the wall of falling snow.

That was enough.

He launched his [Soulrend], the spear cutting through the heavy winds and falling snow. It made a little pocket of air as it traveled. The [Soulrend] broke the veil of the opaque wall briefly before it closed quickly as it traveled further.

Kade heard a high-pitched yelp, giving him the signal to summon the [Soulrend] back.

Your Soulrend has been shattered.

He felt it shatter before the interface let him know. He was furious, but couldn’t allow his emotions to interfere in such a moment. This was the second time his [Soulrend] was destroyed after he threw it.

“Soulrend!” Kade felt half of his health disappear after his [Soulrend] materialized his hand. He abandoned his cautious approach.

The chill would soon set in and start sapping his health. It was essential to recover as much of it as he could in as short a time as possible.

Kade burst through the veil and was on the injured icehowler within a second. It still had the presence of mind to try and evade, but he had been extremely lucky with his throw.

His [Soulrend] had nearly severed one of its hind legs. Its maneuverability had been severely compromised.

The icehowler snarled as it tried to lunge at him with teeth first, attempting to get a bite out of his abdomen.

Kade slammed the shaft of his [Soulrend] into the side of the injured monster’s head, snapping it away from him. He didn’t give it a chance to gather itself.

He used the [Soulrend] as a makeshift hammer again to bring it even lower to the ground before pulling back and thrusting the tip into the icehowler’s skull.

You have destroyed an Icehowler (Arcana Level 19)!

Kill 100 Monsters (2/100)—>(3/100)

Skill learned!

Spear Sweep (Level 1) - Perform a wide, sweeping motion with the spear, hitting multiple enemies in an arc.

Kade dismissed the interface with a harsh frown. That wasn’t enough for him to advance to another level. It meant that he would still have his injuries..

I need to use [Inferno Burst] now!

There were no other icehowlers around him. He didn’t think twice and immediately started storming further up the mountain. He refused to use [Inferno Burst] just for warmth when it was so precious in his fights.

It didn’t take long for Kade to find another icehowler. In fact, he found an entire pack of them.

He returned the stare of several pairs of red eyes and wondered if this was what he was willing to do.

The answer was obvious.

Kade resisted the urge to throw his [Soulrend]. If it somehow shattered away from his hands, he could do nothing but accept death.

Warning: Your health has fallen below 50%!

Warning: You are experiencing extreme cold!

He finally succumbed to taking damage from the cold. He took that as a sign.

Kade jumped toward the icehowlers with no regard for his own health. He answered the snarls that erupted from the pack with his own growls. He would give just as good as he would get.

He had one goal, and that was to land the first hit. He winced when two icehowlers instantly set upon his unprotected sides as he neared their position.

Kade did nothing to prevent it. Doing so would have ruined his plan of attack.

Warning: Your health has fallen below 25%!

He activated [Inferno Burst] the instant he was in the center. The balance of the flames that exploded from the activation erased the evidence of snow and severely damaged the two icehowlers that had bitten into his sides.

But none of them were dead.

Kade ignored the blinding pain and ripped his left arm from an icehowler’s mouth before returning the favor by plunging his [Soulrend] through its blood-covered mouth.

He switched targets before it had the chance to turn into white powder and slammed his elbow down on the icehowler that was trying to take a chunk out of his thigh.

The hit dislodged the icehowler from his body before he impaled his [Soulrend] through its back, missing his original target. Luckily, the icehowler’s injuries rendered it unable to react to the second strike. It disappeared after the [Soulrend] went through its neck.

They have much faster reflexes than me.

Kade sucked in air as he stared at the remaining icehowlers. They had put a suitable distance between him and themselves, showing the intelligence that he noticed when he first fought an icehowler.

He took a more steady position and brought the tip of his [Soulrend] to point at the icehowler that took the lead. It made them back way even more.

Kade could feel his injuries being healed. He had increased a level. That meant he wasn’t completely against letting them go for now. Especially since he saw how quick the two icehowlers he had killed were.

It was doubtful if he could take the remaining icehowlers successfully.

He made a threatening step forward, and that was enough.

The icehowlers yelped before fleeing higher up the mountain.

Kade didn’t immediately relax. He kept himself alert for several seconds until it looked like they truly had retreated.

Good. I need to up my [Dexterity].

The interface showed him what he missed.

You have destroyed an Icehowler (Arcana Level 20)!

You have destroyed an Icehowler (Arcana Level 21)!

Footwork (Level 7)—>(Level 8)

Kill 100 Monsters (3/100)—>(5/100)

Level-up!

Arcana Level 21—>Arcana Level 22

MP Recovery: 6.3% per minute—>6.6% per minute

Free Points: 2—>3

Constitution: 23—>24

Endurance: 12.5—>13

Strength: 23—>24

Kade used half of his [Free Points].

Free Points: 3—>1.5

Dexterity: 7.5—>9

If he needed to increase it further, he could do it quickly. However, reserving some [Free Points] if he needed it for something else was best.

Kade could feel the chill returning. He followed the tracks the icehowlers made. He hoped they would lead him to more of their brethren.

Kade needed more monsters to feed his [Soulrend].