Blood for Power: A LitRPG Apocalypse

I closed my eyes and focused on my senses. Their blood, their power, was all around me. I could feel it in their bodies and the places where it had leaked onto the sand. All of it was still alive. Still pulsing with energy.

I held my hands out and activated Consume. The blood rushed to my hands. All of it was being magically absorbed.

*DING!* Class: [Blood Reaver] has reached level 123 – Experience Acquired.

*DING!* Class: [Blood Reaver] has reached level 124 – Experience Acquired.

*DING!* Class: [Blood Reaver] has reached level 125 – Experience Acquired.

[The Tree has been Sated]

This new ability was incredible. It’d had been a far easier fight than the automatons or the abomination and yet I was able to squeeze far more levels from it. I’d also gained another Scarlet Apple to collect once we got back to the apartment.

The power of Consume was amazing, but it did appear to have a trade-off. If I consume the blood, then it gets converted into levels. But that leaves me without any blood to heal myself with outside of fights. I needed to make sure not to overdo it with Consume.

Just to be thorough, I added their bodies and weapons to my inventory. It all carried little value, especially since all of the bodies had been exsanguinated, but you never know what you might need in the Tower.

My stats were the next priority, and it was a massive haul. All together, I had 6120 stat points to allocate. The first thing I did was add 2500 points into Vitality to expand my magic capacity. I still liked using my sword, but my abilities offered me a greater degree of flexibility in how to approach threats. It would mean that Vitality was now my second highest stat behind Dexterity, but I was okay with that.

I then buffed up some of the lesser stats. Throwing 500 points each into Willpower and Intelligence. You never know when I might need them and it made me uncomfortable keeping their numbers so low.

Next, I put a 1000 points into Perception. Another slightly neglected stat. There had been a few too many surprise attacks for my liking, so a 1000 points felt like a good number to reduce the chances of that happening again.

Finally, the remaining points were split equally between Dexterity and Strength at 810 points each.

Name: Lucas Hudson

Race: Human (Grade: E)

Evolution Path: Reign of the Sanguine Lord

Class: Blood Reaver

Level: 125

Currency: 20920 coins

Strength: 4318 > 5128

Vitality: 2875 > 5374

Intelligence: 965 > 1465

Constitution: 3126

Dexterity: 5490 > 6300

Perception: 2445 > 3445

Willpower: 861 > 1361

Free points remaining: 6120

I clicked accept and felt a rush of power course through me as my stats increased. This is what I need to beat them and ensure that we survive. This is the path forward.

Hugo flew down to land on my shoulder.

“So that was… interesting,” he said.

“We can’t hold back anymore. I don’t care how it looks. We have to fight back with everything if we want to get out of this place alive.”

He cocked his head to the side. “What prompted the change?”

“There’s been too many close calls. I’ve tried to be accommodating. I’ve tried to do what others say is the right thing, and where did it get us?” I clenched my fists to try to contain my boiling rage. “Almost all of our friends are dead. I don’t want to join them, and I don’t want it to feel like luck when we survive an encounter.”

“I miss them too,” he said. “It felt easier being in a group. Psychologically, I mean. You just feel safer surrounded by greater numbers. Now, that’s gone and the challenges we’re facing are getting harder. I get that you sometimes have to go to a meaner place to fight. I just want you to come back afterwards and be the person that argues on whether a hotdog is a sandwich or not.”

I put my hand around him and pulled him in for a hug.

“It’s in the sandwich family,” I said quietly.

We both laughed.

The man from before got out of the water and walked slowly towards us. I knew that he was either extremely fast or had some kind of stealth power, so this approach was purely for our benefit. But despite his power, I strangely didn’t feel threatened by the man. He felt safe and friendly for reasons that I couldn’t explain.

“Who are you?” I asked.

He grimaced. “Don’t have a name. Or if I did, I’ve forgotten it. Most people just call me ‘Fool’ or ‘the Fool.’ Then again, most people are idiots, but the name seems to have stuck.”

That didn’t sound right. I knew as soon as I saw him that he was from Earth. In fact, he’d been the easiest Tower Climber to identify thus far due to his tattoo. It was a very distinctive yellow cartoon sponge character. Why he’d chosen to have that permanently marking his stomach I couldn’t say, but it did feel good to meet another Climber again. To talk to someone who truly understood what we were going through.

I had a million questions, but the Fool had seen my frown over his name. Before I knew what was happening, he appeared right in front of me and gently pressed his finger against the tip of my nose. “Boop,” he said.

I tried to shove him away, but instead found myself slipping and falling over.

Me slipping on sand? That doesn’t make any sense.

*Player Identified* [The Fool, Class: The Fool, Level: 1]

Hugo sucked in a breath. “How have you survived this far into the Tower at level 1?”

“It’s related to your Class, isn’t it?” I realized. He has some kind of luck power. That’s why I couldn’t touch him before and why I slipped. Reality literally bent in his favor to prevent me from shoving him.

The Fool grinned and looked away. “Couldn’t say. One of the conditions for picking it.”

“But why give up your name?” I asked.

His mouth twisted, and his expression of mirth vanished. “Because this whole place is a fucking joke. So I am going to bumble and fumble my way to the finish line to prove that the joke is on them.” His grin returned, and he slapped me on the shoulder. “But enough about that. You thought you were saving me from those robed idiots, and I suppose it’s the thought that counts, right?”

There was still an anger behind his eyes. I got the sense that he wanted us to move past it, and I wondered if that was another condition of his Class. The System calls him The Fool, so maybe he’s supposed to act that way in order for his power to work.

“What were you even doing out here in the first place?” Hugo asked.

The Fool’s eyebrows rose, and he lightly slapped his forehead. “Ah, thanks for reminding me. Another Climber I met in the city asked if I could get them some oasis water. Not sure what they wanted with it. Forgot to ask. Good excuse for a stroll though.”

“And what did they offer in return?”

The Fool looked at Hugo like his question was strange. “Nothing,” he replied. “I was just bored. Figured I’d do it just to see what would happen. And look! I suddenly meet more nice people.” He glanced at the where bodies had lain. “And some not so nice ones.”

Hugo and I tried to play it cool, but both of us couldn’t ignore that he had met another Climber. I had to know everything about them.

“Who was the Climber you were doing the favor for?” I asked.

He scratched his beard as he tried to recall. “Dunno. They never gave a name. They had some kind of shadow power obscuring their appearance and voice. I think it was supposed to be intimidating. Usually would’ve ignored someone that up themselves, but as I said I was bored.”

Hugo: That’s got to be Daisy!

Hiding herself was strange, but it tracked with her only communicating with us via letter. She’s being extremely cautious, but given what she’s working on, I couldn’t blame her. Who knows what god a random Tower Climber might work for? Still, if Daisy was expecting this oasis water, then it made sense to go with the Fool to meet her. Once he’d delivered her what was promised, we could share what we’ve learned so far.

“Hey, would it be okay if we tagged along to meet this person?” I asked.

The Fool’s eyes lit up. “Yes! The more the merrier! You lead the way.”

“Uh, I don’t know the way,” I said.

The Fool nodded like I’d said something deeply thought provoking. “No, you’re right. The strongest should lead the way. Come along, and keep an eye out for any model trains. I think I lost part of my collection on this floor.”

He took off walking at a brisk pace while whistling something cheery.

Hugo: He’s a strange one.

Lucas: Just stay close. We’ve suffered unholy monsters and abominations. We can handle being locked into an awkward conversation with a strange guy.

The Fool stopped and looked back. “You guys should stay close. This area won’t be safe once I leave. There’s a range limit and once I’m too far away, I won’t be able to hold back the big bugs anymore.”

Hugo: What the hell does that mean?

Lucas: I don’t know. But I’m pretty sure asking follow-up questions about it won’t help.

We hurried to catch up. I had a million more questions about how his powers worked, but once we were by his side, he ignored us and resumed whistling as he walked.