Apocalypse Architect: A Tower Defense LitRPG

Chapter 155: Upgrading Buildings

The heavy, guttural roar of a massive engine echoed through the valley entrance.

Gareth and the others instantly grabbed their weapons, their bodies going rigid with tension. Over the past few days, sleep had been a luxury. They had spent every waking moment terrified that the Insect Swarm would crest the horizon. The distant, thunderous explosions echoing from The Sprawl last night had only fueled their dread, leading them to assume the city had fallen and its defenders had resorted to detonating the core.

But as a set of blinding, snow-white headlights cut through the gloom, their eyes widened in disbelief.

“It’s… it’s the Boss! They’re back!”

“My sister is back! Haha, yes!”

“Thank the heavens. We can finally get a decent night’s sleep!”

The crew scrambled down from the defensive platform, sprinting toward the gates.

Jax parked the towering six-wheeled beast near the platform, killed the engine, and popped the heavy armored door. He looked down at his crew’s haggard, exhausted faces and flashed a grin. “Haha! Did you guys miss me?”

Barney sprinted over, tears streaming through the grime on his face, and nearly tackled Jax in a massive hug. “Bro! I had a nightmare you got killed out there! You scared the crap out of me!”

Jax chuckled, patting the younger man on the shoulder. “You brat. Is that what you think of my survival skills?”

Elena walked up behind Jax, the corners of her eyes softening as she looked at her brother. “Barney.”

Hearing her voice, Barney immediately let go of Jax and threw his arms around her. “Sis! You’re actually back!”

Elena gently patted his back. “Alright, alright, that’s enough crying. You’re a man now, remember? You can’t just leak tears every time something stressful happens. Understand?”

Barney sniffled and nodded, though a massive, relieved smile broke through his tears as he verified that all four of them had returned in one piece.

“Alright, let’s get inside,” Jax said, waving them toward the Bastion. “Give me the sitrep. What happened here while we were gone?”

They gathered on the command platform and gave a brief rundown. To Jax’s relief, the reinforced Walls he had constructed at the valley forks had worked flawlessly. While the main body of the Insect Swarm had besieged The Sprawl, a small splinter faction had wandered toward the valley. However, the Bastion’s automated Defense Towers had easily shredded the stragglers before they could even scratch the perimeter.

Jax let out a long breath. “Good. The defenses held. That’s all that matters.”

“Oh, right!” Gareth interjected, snapping his fingers. “Miss Hazel from the mining outpost came by a few days ago looking for you.”

“Hazel?” Jax raised an eyebrow. “She came all the way out here?”

“Yeah, she dropped off a shipment of ore. I stored it in the spare room. Let me grab it.”

Gareth jogged off and quickly returned, dragging several heavy canvas sacks. Jax’s eyes lit up as he untied the drawstrings. Inside, the bags were filled to the brim with glittering Refined Iron, Stardust Stones, and Energy Shards.

“Perfect timing,” Jax muttered. He looked up at Gareth. “Have you guys leveled up recently?”

“We hit Tier 3,” Gareth nodded proudly. “We’re a lot stronger and faster at mining now. But our EXP bars have been maxed out for days, and we aren’t advancing anymore.”

Jax pulled up the Bastion’s interface to check their status. Sure enough, their EXP was completely capped out, but there was no prompt for advancement.

System, Jax mentally asked, why are my miners hard-capped at Tier 3 even though their EXP is full?

[System Alert: User, the maximum level cap for miners and defensive structures is restricted by the Bastion’s current Tier.]

“Ah, that makes sense,” Jax muttered to himself. “I have to upgrade the Bastion itself before my units can rank up. But wait… why was Elena able to hit Level 5 as a hero?”

[System Note: Hero levels governed by the Champion’s Altar operate independently and are not restricted by the Bastion’s Tier.]

“Good to know. Looks like upgrading the Bastion is priority number one.” Jax paused, a new thought occurring to him. System, is there an efficient way to relocate the entire Bastion? The elites in The Sprawl want me to move in.

[System Alert: Upgrading to a Tier 4 Bastion unlocks the Bastion Editor System.]

Bastion Editor System? Jax’s eyes widened. Does that mean I can just instantly rearrange and relocate my buildings?

[Affirmative. Upon reaching Tier 4, the User may freely edit the layout and location of the Bastion and all affiliated structures. Relocation requires the consumption of one Tier 5 Core, or an equivalent volume of lower-tier Cores.]

Jax groaned, slapping his forehead. “Damn it! I was so caught up in the victory at the city that I completely forgot to harvest the Spiked Dune Lord’s corpse! I could have snagged a high-tier Core. What a rookie mistake.”

He sighed, shaking off the frustration. “Well, regardless, we need to hit Tier 4 immediately.”

He checked his inventory interface.

[Current Resources: 1,300 Refined Iron | 1,200 Stardust Stone]

“Hell yes,” Jax grinned. “Hazel really came through. We’ve got plenty to burn.”

He turned back to his crew. “Don’t worry about the level cap. The Bastion is currently bottlenecking your progress. Once I push the upgrades through, you’ll be able to rank up again.” He clapped his hands together. “Now, onto the big news. I have something to discuss with all of you.”

Everyone stood up a little straighter, sensing the shift in his tone.

“Since we basically saved The Sprawl from the Insect Swarm, the elites and the slum leaders got together and made me an offer. They want me to become the City Lord. Thoughts?”

Dead silence descended on the platform. Jaws dropped.

“What?!” Gareth yelled, his eyes bugging out. “Boss, the people of The Sprawl practically begged you to rule them?! Holy crap! That is massive! You accepted, right? Please tell me you accepted!”

“Are you kidding me?” Barney chimed in, practically bouncing on his heels. “It’s the ultimate jackpot! You can’t turn that down! The Sprawl isn’t Redrock Bastion, but it’s a major hub in the Northern Frontier!”

“Jax, did the bugs eat your brain?” Elena crossed her arms, staring at him in disbelief. “Why is this even a question? It’s a gold mine of resources!”

Seeing their frantic, overly enthusiastic reactions, Jax took a step back. “Ahem. So… you guys think it’s a good idea?”

“Of course it’s a good idea!” Gareth practically screamed. “Opportunities like this are rarer than a flawless Stardust Stone falling from the sky! You’d regret it for the rest of your life if you walked away!”

While the rest of the crew passionately urged Jax to take the throne, Raven remained silent. She cast her eyes downward, a brief flash of desolation in her gaze. Her sole objective was to reach The Forgotten City. With the Insect Swarm effectively neutralized in this sector, her departure window was rapidly closing. She had hoped that if The Sprawl fell, Jax and his heavily armed Bastion would have no choice but to migrate toward the Lost City with her. But if he anchored himself here as a City Lord… she would have to brave the treacherous wasteland alone.

Sensing her shift in mood, Jax cleared his throat, raising a hand to quiet the group.

“Alright, calm down. If you all feel that strongly about it, then I’ll seriously consider taking the position. But regardless of what title I hold, my Bastion comes first. I am not abandoning my base. We need to upgrade the Bastion to Tier 4 so I can unlock the Editor System. Once that’s done, we can physically relocate the entire base into The Sprawl.”

He grinned. “Luckily, with Hazel’s delivery and our new mining outposts, we have the capital to make it happen tonight.”

Hearing this, a fraction of the tension left Raven’s shoulders. It was a small comfort, but knowing the Bastion was mobile meant Jax wasn’t permanently chained to the valley.

With the crew settled, Jax pulled up his architectural interface and immediately went to work.

[Upgrade Sentry Tower (Tier 2 -> Tier 3)?]

[Cost: 100 Stardust Stone, 100 Refined Iron]

“Upgrade!”

[Processing… Upgrading Sentry Tower to Tier 3. Please wait…]

As the familiar hum of the System began reconstructing the tower, Jax selected the next structure.

[Upgrade Howitzer Turret (Tier 2 -> Tier 3)?]

[Cost: 200 Stardust Stone, 200 Refined Iron]

“Upgrade!”

[Processing… Upgrading Howitzer Turret to Tier 3. Please wait…]

Jax watched his resource counters plummet as the System deducted the materials.

“Down to 400 Stardust Stones and 500 Refined Iron already,” Jax muttered, opening the menu for the Cryo-Tower. His eyes widened at the price tag. “Wait, upgrading a Tier 2 Cryo-Tower costs five hundred of each?! What an absolute rip-off!”

Shaking his head at the extortionate pricing, Jax swiped over to review his remaining buildings.