Apocalypse Architect: A Tower Defense LitRPG

Chapter 65: Still Alive?

The rain hammered down, turning the world into a blur of gray noise and violence.

Jax and his team stood at the lip of the platform, locked in a brutal rhythm of defense. The Rodent-Maw Creepers scrambled up the slick rock face, desperate and screeching, only to be met with steel and stone.

Fortunately, the ascent left them vulnerable. For the brief moment they crested the ledge, their footing was unstable. That was the kill window.

Jax swung his iron hammer in a vicious overhead arc.

CRACK.

The heavy metal head connected with a Creeper’s skull, shattering bone and sending the monster tumbling back into the dark. An instant later, a crossbow bolt hissed through the rain, pinning another beast through the eye socket.

[System: Tier 2 Rodent-Maw Creeper eliminated x1]

The platform became a slaughterhouse. Even Gareth, usually the first to cower, was possessed by a manic courage. He swung his shovel like a man digging a grave, the metal clanging against chitin and bone.

Bang. Bang. Bang.

The sounds of impact merged with the thunder. The team moved like a well-oiled machine, guarding every inch of the perimeter.

Jax wiped rain and ichor from his eyes and checked the overlay.

“Thirty left!” he roared over the storm. “Push them back! We’re almost there!”

He executed a sweeping strike, his hammer catching three Creepers mid-leap and batting them off the cliff like baseballs. He paused for a split second, chest heaving, looking at the gore-slicked weapon in his hands.

“Twenty!”

“Ten!”

[Mission Complete. Reward: Tier 2 Sentry Tower Upgrade Permission.]

The notification was the sweetest thing he’d heard all night. Jax exhaled, the adrenaline crash hitting him instantly. He looked over the edge; the remaining Creepers were retreating, fleeing back into the shadows of the wasteland.

“They’re running!” Kaleb shouted, his voice cracking with relief. “They’re actually running!”

“I got five!” Gareth yelled, panting heavily but grinning like a lunatic. “Five of them!”

“Not bad, Old Gareth!” Silas clapped him on the shoulder. “That’s a personal best.”

“Just warming up,” Gareth boasted, though his hands were trembling. “Next time, I’ll take ten.”

“I got thirteen,” Silas deadpanned.

The banter flowed easily, washing away the terror of the siege.

“Boss,” Silas asked, wiping his spear. “Is that it? Are we clear?”

Jax nodded, offering a tired smile. “That was the last wave. Go get dried off. Don’t let the adrenaline fade before you’re warm, or the cold will kill you faster than the bugs.”

The team dispersed, dragging their exhausted bodies back to the safety of the fortress.

Jax stayed behind for a moment, staring up at the relentless Black Rain. A shiver ran down his spine that had nothing to do with the cold.

“Torches are useless in this weather,” he muttered. “We got lucky. Next time, luck won’t be enough.”

Later, inside his room, Jax listened to the rhythmic snoring of Barnaby from the next bunk. He opened his inventory, frowning.

“Where’s the blueprint? I unlocked the Tier 2 Sentry Tower, but there’s nothing here.”

Then it clicked. Upgrades don’t need blueprints. Only new structures do.

He slipped out of the room and walked to the nearest Sentry Tower. The rain drummed against the metal plating as he placed his hand on the interface.

[Tier 1 Sentry Tower] [Integrity: 100%] [Upgrade Available: Tier 2 Sentry Tower] [Cost: 50 Refined Iron, 50 Stardust Stone.] [Construction Time: 10 Minutes.]

Jax cursed under his breath. “Fifty Refined Iron? That’s highway robbery. It costs as much as the Bastion itself.”

He checked his reserves.

Refined Iron: 0. Stardust Stone: 20.

“Broke again,” Jax sighed, slumping against the cold metal. “Looks like I’m back on the grind tomorrow.”

He returned to his room and lay on the hard floor, staring at the concrete ceiling. Sleep wouldn’t come. His mind kept drifting back to the Spiked Dune Lord—that subterranean leviathan.

What Tier is it? Three? Four? If it decides to roll through here, will these walls even slow it down?

And then there was the rain. The Black Rain wasn’t just weather; it was a harbinger. When the rain stopped, the real Insect Swarm would begin.

He tossed and turned, his thoughts a chaotic mess of resource calculations and monster stats, until exhaustion finally dragged him under.

The next morning, the rain had intensified. The world was drowning.

Silas, Kaleb, and Gareth didn’t go out for their “Awakening shower.” In fact, Gareth didn’t get up at all.

“I told you,” Jax said, standing over Gareth’s bunk. The man was shivering violently, his face flushed with fever. “You think Awakening is easy? You think standing in the rain makes you a hero? Now look at you.”

Gareth groaned, his eyes glassy with misery.

“I tried,” he rasped.

Jax shook his head. “Silas, go manage the mining. Gareth stays here. Annie, get him hot water. Keep him warm.”

By noon, Gareth was worse. He was delirious, slipping in and out of consciousness.

The team gathered around his bed, their faces grim. In this era, a fever was a death sentence. There were no antibiotics, no hospitals. A simple infection could kill the strongest warrior, let alone someone as frail as Gareth.

“Clear out,” Jax ordered, seeing the fear in their eyes. “He needs air, not an audience.”

He walked out into the corridor, his jaw set. He couldn’t afford to lose a miner. Every pair of hands was critical for the coming Insect Swarm.

He had one option left. The Vault.

He accessed the mysterious shop, touching the floating oil lamp in the darkness of his mind.

A red velvet bag materialized.

[Item: Primary Augmentation Serum] [Price: 100 Tier 1 Cores] [Effect: Permanently increases Body Score by 1-10 points.]

Jax didn’t hesitate. He had Cores to burn. “It’s not medicine, but if it boosts his constitution, maybe his body can fight off the infection.”

He bought it. A small glass vial appeared in his hand, filled with a swirling gray-blue liquid.

He returned to the room.

“Annie,” Jax said, handing her the vial. “Hold his head. I’m going to pry his jaw open.”

Annie took the vial, looking at it skeptically. “Jax… is this cold medicine?”

“No.”

“Will it… cure him?”

“Maybe,” Jax said bluntly. “Dead horse, live doctor. We’re out of options.”

Annie uncorked the vial. A pungent, chemical stench filled the small room. She recoiled. “Jax, are you sure this won’t kill him?”

“If he doesn’t drink it, he’s dead anyway,” Jax said, his voice hard. “Look at him. He’s cooking from the inside out.”

Gareth’s eyes fluttered open as Jax gripped his jaw. Panic flared in his gaze.

“Am… am I dying?”

“Yes,” Jax said. “Shut up and drink.”

Tears welled in Gareth’s eyes. “I’m still a virgin! I don’t want to die!”

“Stop whining! I’m trying to save you!” Jax snapped. “Drink!”

He forced the liquid down Gareth’s throat. Gareth gagged, his face twisting as the bitter concoction hit his stomach. Then his eyes rolled back, and his body went rigid as the serum began to burn through his veins.

“Watch him,” Jax told Annie, standing up. “If he starts convulsing, yell.”

Dinner was a somber affair. The team sat around the fire, chewing their rations in silence. The empty spot where Gareth usually sat was a glaring reminder of their fragility.

Suddenly, a coughing fit echoed from the hallway.

Annie gasped. “He’s alive?”

Heads turned. Gareth stumbled into the room, leaning against the doorframe. He looked like hell—pale, sweaty, and weak—but he was standing.

“Cough… cough…” He managed a weak grin. “Annie… I’m not dead.”