Apocalypse Architect: A Tower Defense LitRPG

Chapter 156: Raven Leaves

With the primary defenses handled, the only structures left to upgrade were the Walls and his various mining outposts.

Fortunately, upgrading the Walls wasn’t a massive resource drain, especially since all of his current perimeter fencing was only Tier 1. He pulled up the Bastion interface to check the requirements.

[Upgrade Tier 1 Wall -> Tier 2 Wall]

[Cost per unit: 10 Stardust Stone, 10 Refined Iron]

[Tier 2 Stats: Attack Power 0 | Height 10m | Integrity 500]

[Current target units: 50]

“Not bad,” Jax muttered, doing the mental math. “Upgrading fifty Wall sections will only run me five hundred Refined Iron and Stardust Stones. But I can’t burn through my entire stockpile just on the home base perimeter. I have Walls defending the mining outposts, too. Looks like I need to make a road trip.”

He swiped over to the resource tab. Thanks to the recent Quest rewards, his empire had expanded to eighteen active Extraction Wells—six each for Stardust Stone, Refined Iron, and Energy Shards.

Since the newly rewarded outposts spawned at Tier 1, he had to manually upgrade every single one to hit the Tier 3 baseline required for the Tier 4 Bastion advancement.

Jax groaned, rubbing his temples. The sheer volume of micromanagement was giving him a headache.

“Damn it. I thought I could just hit a button and be done with it. I can’t rush the Tier 4 Bastion upgrade; I have to systematically level up every single mine first.”

Resigning himself to the grind, Jax spent the next hour walking the perimeter, systematically upgrading the home base Walls until his immediate reserves of Stardust Stone and Refined Iron ran dangerously low.

“Enough for tonight,” Jax yawned, stretching his aching back. “I’m taking a break. Between the siege and the logistics, I’m practically running on fumes.”

He retreated to his quarters, collapsing onto his bed. Despite his exhaustion, his mind was racing with resource calculations and building layouts. He tossed and turned, unable to drift off.

Suddenly, the soft, deliberate sound of footsteps echoed outside his door.

His eyes snapped open.

The door clicked open. Standing in the threshold was Raven. She was dressed in her signature black tactical bodysuit, the sleek material highlighting her athletic curves, but a heavy canvas backpack was slung over one shoulder. She looked tired, but resolute.

“Uh…” Jax sat up, resting on his elbows. “Are you going somewhere?”

Raven brushed a stray lock of hair behind her ear, avoiding his gaze. “Just came to say goodbye. I’m leaving.”

Jax blinked, completely blindsided. “Wait, what? Right now? It’s the middle of the night. Why?”

“No specific reason,” she replied, her voice carefully neutral. “I told you from the beginning that I’d be moving on eventually. With the swarm cleared out of this sector, the roads are open. It’s time.”

She stepped forward and tossed a small, heavy leather pouch onto his bed. It clinked with the sound of Cores.

“These are the Cores you gave me when we met. I haven’t used many of them. Keep them. Also… I’m really sorry about your property in The Sprawl. I know you bought that house for me to stay in, and it got leveled before we even unpacked. I don’t have the Credits to pay you back right now, but if I survive and make some money, I’ll find a way to repay you.”

Jax waved his hand dismissively, not touching the pouch. “Keep the Cores, Raven. You’re going to need them out there. And don’t sweat the house; property values in Chaos City are garbage anyway. Are you really set on this? Do you even know where you’re going?”

Seeing that he wouldn’t take the pouch back, Raven quietly slipped it into her pocket. “I don’t have an exact destination. I’m just heading toward The Forgotten City. I’ll figure it out as I go.”

“You don’t have to do this, you know,” Jax urged, sitting up fully. “Look, if you’re worried about the Awakened Guild hunting you, don’t be. I’m practically the City Lord of The Sprawl now. I have a literal army. The Guild wouldn’t dare touch you while you’re under my protection.”

Raven offered a small, sad smile. “I know they wouldn’t. Thank you, Jax. Sincerely. But my mind is made up. Take care of yourself.”

Without another word, she turned on her heel, walked out the door, and vaulted cleanly over the edge of the platform, disappearing into the dark valley.

Jax sat in the quiet room, feeling a strange twinge of loss. Over the past few weeks, his perception of Raven had completely shifted. She wasn’t some brainwashed lapdog of the Awakened Guild; she despised them. She was fiercely independent, a stray bird that refused to be caged. The moment the storm broke, she took flight.

Jax rushed out to the platform, leaning over the railing to shout into the darkness.

“Safe travels! Don’t get eaten! And I’m holding you to that debt—remember to pay me back!”

Deep in the valley, Raven heard his voice echoing off the canyon walls. A bittersweet smile touched her lips, but hearing his final demand made her roll her eyes. Without breaking her stride or looking back, she raised a single hand and flipped him off.

“Stingy bastard,” she muttered under her breath.

As she vanished into the wasteland, the heavy weight she had been carrying for weeks seemed to lift. For the first time in a long time, the future felt entirely her own.

The next day at lunch, Annie set down a massive spread of roasted meat and steamed vegetables. As she distributed the plates, she paused, looking around the table.

“Hey, where’s Sister Raven? Is she sleeping in?”

Elena, who was already halfway through a skewer of meat, paused. “Yeah, actually. She’s usually the first one at the table. Where is she?”

She wiped her mouth and stood up. “You guys eat. I’ll go check on her. It might be that time of the month, and you meatheads wouldn’t know how to handle it anyway.”

Jax scooped a massive spoonful of rice into his mouth. “Sit down. She’s not in her room. She left.”

Elena froze. “What? What do you mean she left? To go where?”

“Just left,” Jax mumbled around a mouthful of food. “Went off to find herself. Seek freedom, or whatever.”

Elena stared at him, incredulous. “What does ‘seek freedom’ even mean?”

“She headed out toward The Forgotten City to grind levels and get stronger,” Jax explained, swallowing his food. “Don’t worry about it. Eat your food before it gets cold.”

He continued eating as if nothing had happened, infuriating Elena further.

“Are you kidding me?!” Elena slammed her hands on the table. “She just leaves in the middle of the night without saying goodbye to anyone but you? How rude is that?!”

Ignoring Jax’s protests, she stormed off toward Raven’s room. Pushing the door open, she found the space immaculate. The bed was perfectly made, and the faint, lingering scent of Raven’s perfume hung in the air.

Is she really that petty? Elena thought, her brow furrowing. Did she run away just because she knew she couldn’t win Jax over? That’s pathetic.

Yet, despite her internal trash talk, Elena felt a sudden, hollow ache. Without Raven around to constantly bicker with and compete against, her own drive felt strangely deflated.

Grumbling to herself, she walked over to the neatly made bed. Sitting squarely in the center of the pillow was a sealed envelope.

Elena snatched it up and tore it open. Inside, written in sharp, elegant handwriting, was a final message:

Elena,

I’m gone. I’m sure you’re thrilled to have one less competitor to deal with, but don’t celebrate just yet. I will be back. And when I return, we’ll see who Jax actually belongs to. Do not slack off. Do not stop leveling. Because the next time we meet, I promise you, I will be stronger than you.

Elena stared at the letter for a long moment. Then, a slow, fiery smirk spread across her face.

“Oh, you arrogant bitch,” Elena laughed aloud, carefully folding the letter and slipping it into her pocket. “You think you can beat me? Not a chance. That lazy warlord is mine, and you’re never taking him from me.”

When Elena returned to the dining table, she wore a terrifyingly bright, serene smile that sent a shiver down Jax’s spine.

“Why are you smiling like that?” Jax asked, scooting his chair back slightly. “It’s creeping me out. No one said anything funny.”

“Hmph. Mind your own business,” Elena retorted, picking up her chopsticks. She took a dainty bite of meat before locking eyes with him. “By the way, I need to go grind EXP today.”

Jax paused, his chopsticks halfway to his mouth. “Are you serious? You just fought through a siege. Don’t you want to rest?”

“I don’t have time to rest. I have a new goal,” she said, her eyes burning with newfound intensity. “You mentioned the current level cap for Heroes is Level 30, right?”

“Uh… yeah, but you’re not planning on grinding to Level 30 right now, are you? You’re insane.”

“Watch me,” Elena stated flatly.

Jax studied her face. She was completely serious.

“Alright, fine,” Jax sighed. “I have to drive out to the mining outposts this afternoon anyway. You can ride shotgun. I’ll drop you off near Redrock Bastion so you can snipe the stragglers from the Insect Swarm. But if the main horde turns on you, you use your Aero-Step and run. Do not play the hero. Understand?”

“Crystal clear,” Elena beamed, two cute dimples appearing on her cheeks.

The rest of the crew, sensing the dangerous aura radiating from Elena, collectively decided to keep their heads down and aggressively focus on their meals.

After lunch, Jax tried to sneak away for a much-needed nap, but Elena ruthlessly dragged him out of bed by his collar and hauled him to the garage.

Defeated, Jax fired up the six-wheeled behemoth and drove them out into the wasteland. They made a quick stop at the first mining outpost, where Elena hopped out, briefly chatted with Hazel, and then set off on foot toward the besieged Redrock Bastion to hunt.

With Elena gone, Jax sought out Kaleb, the outpost foreman.

“Look at you,” Jax noted, looking Kaleb up and down. “You hit Tier 3. The grind has been treating you well.”

Kaleb looked exhausted. He had lost weight, his skin baked dark by the desert sun, but his muscles were wiry and defined. “Heh, I’m surviving! By the way, boss, I stored the latest haul in the shed. I’ll grab it for you.”

Kaleb ducked into the storage shack and emerged hauling several heavy crates of materials.

“Here’s the yield from the last two days,” Kaleb reported, wiping sweat from his brow. “Five hundred Stardust Stones and over five hundred Refined Iron. The Energy Shards vein was a little thin, though—only yielded about two hundred.”

Jax nodded approvingly, quickly transferring the resources into his System inventory. “That’s a massive haul, Kaleb. Excellent work.”