Apocalypse Architect: A Tower Defense LitRPG

Chapter 183: Field Test

“This is the spot. Let’s get to it,” Vance urged, practically vibrating with impatience.

“Right,” Jax replied calmly. “We’ll keep the tower low. We need the bugs to be able to reach it.”

Nods of understanding went around the group as they followed Jax up to the third floor. The location offered a solid defensive position, a bottleneck the bugs would struggle to breach, making it the perfect testing ground.

All eyes fixed on Jax, their anticipation palpable. They were about to witness something impossible.

Seeing them all staring, Jax felt a flicker of amusement. “Something on my face?”

“We’re all men here. What’s the big deal?” Vance shot back. “Just get on with it! Stop wasting time.”

“Fine, fine,” Jax sighed theatrically. “You want a show? I’ll give you a show.”

Elena, standing nearby, shook her head with a faint smile. “You just love the theatrics, don’t you?”

Jax picked a spot near the stairwell landing, his focus turning inward as he accessed his storage space. Sure enough, the Temporary Blueprint Card was waiting. He selected it and mentally pressed ‘use.’

The next second, the card vanished from his inventory, replaced by a series of options in his mind.

[Defense Towers available from Temporary Blueprint Card: Tier 4 Sentry Tower, Tier 4 Howitzer Turret, Tier 4 Cryo-Tower, Tier 4 High-Energy Electric Tower, Tier 4 Spell-Energy Tower]

[Please select the type of Defense Tower to build!]

“High-Energy Electric Tower,” Jax commanded without hesitation.

[Tier 4 High-Energy Electric Tower is being constructed, please wait…]

A pillar of golden light erupted in front of Jax. Elena, having seen his abilities before, remained composed. But the others could only stare, jaws slack, as the light pulsed with impossible energy.

“Gods above… is that what a Psionic Awakener can do?” one of the men whispered in awe. “That’s insane power.”

“Yeah, I’ve never seen anything like it,” another added. “What Tier is he?”

“Has to be Tier 3, at least. We all know what a Tier 2 can do, and it’s nothing like *this*.”

As they spoke, all eyes drifted to Vance. He flushed, a flicker of embarrassment crossing his face.

“What are you all looking at me for?” he snapped. “Yeah, I’m a Psionic Awakener, but we’re clearly not in the same league. This guy… he’s on another level. The best I can do is nudge a few small objects around. He just *summons* a damn Defense Tower out of thin air. He’s not human!” Vance’s voice was a mixture of envy and grudging admiration.

Moments later, the golden light receded, revealing a five-meter-tall tower of steel and wire standing in its place. The third-floor ceiling was just high enough to accommodate it, the top of the tower nearly scraping the concrete.

Jax ran a hand over the cold, steel-cast surface. It felt solid, unyielding. The structure resembled a power transmission pylon, but it was crowned with a massive metallic sphere. A cluster of intricate junction boxes sat just beneath it.

Vance’s eyes locked onto the junction boxes, his engineer’s mind racing. *That has to be the energy converter,* he thought, a spark of ambition igniting within him. *If I could just get a look inside, maybe I could reverse-engineer it…*

A jolt of excitement shot through Jax. He hadn’t realized the Temporary Blueprint Card would default to the highest Tier available to him.

“System, if my fortress was Tier 5, would this card build a Tier 5 tower?”

[That’s correct, User. The buildings constructed by the Temporary Blueprint Card are always the highest tier of Defense Tower currently possessed by the User!]

*Excellent. Those fourteen hundred Tier 4 Cores were worth every single one.*

Jax turned to Volt, his expression all business. “Alright, Volt. Let’s give it some juice.”

Volt nodded and headed downstairs. He returned shortly after, having run a heavy-duty cable from the building’s main power line. He handed Jax a small remote.

“Here’s the remote. Press this button to connect the power feed. The dial adjusts the amperage. You’ll have full control.”

Jax examined the simple device: one button, one knob. “Alright, looks simple enough. Power’s hooked up, so let’s flip the switch. Everyone, back up. Give it some space.”

His warning was unnecessary; the others had already scrambled to a safe distance.

“A little dramatic, don’t you think?” Jax called out with a smirk. “You can’t see a damn thing from back there.”

In truth, a knot of uncertainty tightened in his own gut. He had no idea if this thing had a friendly-fire protocol. He took a few steps back himself, putting a comfortable distance between him and the untested weapon.

Taking a steadying breath, Jax thumbed the central switch.

Instantly, a low hum emanated from the tower, quickly escalating into a sharp, crackling sizzle that set everyone’s teeth on edge. The massive sphere at its apex erupted in a blinding corona of blue energy. Arcs of lightning snapped through the air, each discharge accompanied by a sharp crack like miniature thunder.

“Damn… that looks powerful,” one of the men muttered. “This should make short work of the bugs outside.”

“Hold on,” a more cautious voice countered. “A big light show doesn’t mean a damn thing. Let’s see what it can actually do.”

“I don’t know… I’ve never seen a weapon that uses raw electricity like this. My gut says it’s going to be terrifying.”

As they whispered amongst themselves, a notification appeared in Jax’s vision.

[High-Energy Electric Tower: Current Draw 5000A. Current Attack Power: 500]

A grim smile touched Jax’s lips. *Attack power: 500. Perfect.* “Alright,” he called out. “Let’s start the test!”

Vance, eager to see the results, led a team downstairs. They returned moments later, prodding a small group of captured Tier 1 and Tier 2 bugs toward the stairwell, forcing them into the tower’s line of sight.

The moment the bugs entered the kill zone, the sphere atop the tower pulsed with an intense blue light. A blinding lance of energy shot out, striking the creatures with pinpoint accuracy.

The impact was a silent flash of white-hot light, so brilliant it forced everyone to shield their eyes. When they could see again, the air was thick with the acrid stench of ozone and scorched chitin. Of the Tier 1 bugs, nothing remained but a dark smear on the concrete.

A stunned silence fell over the group. The bugs had been vaporized in less than a second.

Vance’s face was flushed with adrenaline. “Get the next batch!” he roared to his men. “Bring up the Tier 2s and 3s!”

Soon, the larger bugs were herded into range. This time, no one looked away, their eyes wide, determined not to miss a single detail. The sphere crackled to life once more.

With another deafening crackle, a bolt of energy slammed into the group. The Tier 2 and Tier 3 bugs convulsed for a split second before collapsing into smoldering piles of ash.

A wild cheer erupted from the onlookers. They had never witnessed such devastating, instantaneous power.

Even Jax was taken aback. He hadn’t expected a weapon with 500 attack power to obliterate a Tier 3 bug so completely.

*Excellent,* he thought. *If it can do this to a Tier 3, the Tier 7 Parasitic Silkworm might not be a problem after all.*

He ran two more tests. The Tier 4 and Tier 5 bugs proved more resilient. The first shot staggered them, smoking and screeching, but it took a second blast to finish them off.

Curious, Jax cranked the remote’s dial to maximum. The next Tier 5 bug didn’t even have time to twitch. A single, thick bolt of lightning slammed down, and it was simply gone, reduced to a cloud of vapor and ash.