Forged By The Apocalypse - A LitRPG With Draconic Potential

I was right!

One of the claimant beasts had taken up residence in the tree. I cursed my luck as the climb dragged on. The entire tree was invested with snakes, lizards and other nasty things with sharp teeth and a penchant for stealth. Naea could fly, but I had to fight for every step up the tree. With the low level of the monsters, I wasn’t getting much experience. However, that didn’t mean the creatures were simple.

Monster - Treeglider Adder - Level 34

One of many, the impossibly large snake moved like it was its more traditional size. Grey scaled with a think line of black starting from its snout down to its tail, large brown eyes with slits as long as my forearm watched me carefully. As it was a Grade One monster, it had a Dao, one I was becoming more than familiar with.

Natural Treasure - Everbloom Evergreen - Grade One

The tree was a recognisable item as far as the System was concerned. Its existence was turning these once ordinary beasts into powerhouses. The tree absolutely blasted mana out at a staggering rate compared to anything else I had seen and it was only Grade One. The magical energy in the air was dense with the same Dao which the creatures here shared. “What do you think, Nae? It’s the Dao of Growth, right?”

I had no comparison to understand how valuable this treasure was but given the strength of the creatures here? I could feel my understanding of nature and life changing already. How long would it take for me to naturally form a Dao here? Spending a month here might well be equivalent to the same time in the Dungeon which had nearly killed me. Plus? Somewhere out there was a resource at a completely higher level. I almost salivated at the thought.

I jammed the Alternating Armament in my hands forward at the same time the adder chose to strike. As its uncomfortably large jaws tried to snap shut, I twisted the length of amorphous material into the perfect angle. Due to the skill Weapon Mastery, it was only in the form of a staff that I could utilise all my attributes in combat. Except, a staff isn’t much more than a sturdy stick, and it did little to the snake except piss it off.

Until I morphed the armament.

A strand of mana, invisible and unbreakable by anything the snake could do, connected me to my weapon. The armament felt my intent and shifted, both ends becoming sharp glaive blades. Screaming in pain, the blade stuck in its brain and skull, the adder thrashed wildly on the branch it was wrapped around. “Do the honours?” I asked over my shoulder.

A streak of lightning burst passed my ear and there was a sharp swish of the air as the beast’s life was severed. Distracted as it was, Naea was more than capable of decapitating the creature. I dashed forward as well, catching the weighty head with a grimace. I pulled my weapon into my hand, the double-ended glaive becoming a gauntlet to save me any yanking. I looted the snake and let the head drop down below.

Inventory

Gold Coins (Xaverion Minted) - 5192

Gold Coins (Standard Mint) - 15,919

Storm Arrows

Assorted Earth foods

Guidance Stone Of Breaching

Alternating Armament (Epic)

Various Furnitures

Alchemical Supplies

Leatherworking Supplies

Much like the materials collected from the spiders in the cave beforehand, I had found myself with a growing number of resources which could be crafted into something. There were also multiple venom sacs and even things like tongues and eyeballs going into alchemical supplies. I decided right then, I would never touch the craft of alchemy.

“Easy peasy.” Naea fluttered back over to me, dusting her hands. She had been quick enough and extended the weapon long enough that she hadn’t got a bit of blood on her, but Naea was nothing if not theatrical. She looked over the edge that I had dropped the head and whistled. “Quite a way down, now.”

“Yeah, please stop reminding me, would you? You’re making me hope I can get some kind of flying ability from a Guidance Stone. That would be a pretty easy get between Dragon and Tempest, you’d think.” I had tried to see if my Tempest Form ability would let me fly in any real way, but I was a heavy bolt of lightning. Able to fling myself like a strike, but I fell at my normal speed regardless.

“Must suck,” Naea nodded, slapping me in the face with her wing as she landed on my shoulder. She pointed upwards. “Onwards, earthbound steed!” Naea had used Find The Path twice since we entered the tree to pinpoint the dungeon’s location. Instead of being helpfully near the top, it was somewhere in the middle heights of densely packed fir branches. Pines as long as me were covering most of the branches, and I used a machete variant for the armament to clear our way.

“We’re getting close,” Naea whispered after another hour of travel. She could sense the dungeon’s magic at this range, and no longer needed her new spell to lead us towards the relatively small entrance.

“I know,” I responded, not being facetious. I was sensing something of my own, a subtle scent on the wind of magic. The Dao of Growth was ever present, but a new and much more familiar power was rumbling further ahead. Within the inner world of my Dao, a growling anger began to rise. Ahead of us, the power I had felt grew as it in turn sensed me.

A challenge.

“Ohh,” Naea nodded as she felt the Dao as well, causing her to understand my words. “What the hell is that thing doing here?”

“Lizards, growth… I can see how it could occur. Focus.” Primal warning bells exploded in me as a portion of the tree seemed to peel away. Deep brown scales covered a truly huge body and four powerful limbs, the colossal creature dropping down onto the branch Naea and I were currently on. Two leathery wings pulled away from its body as the beast rose to its full imposing size before roaring. As the branch below me shuddered, I was suddenly very aware that I couldn’t fly, once again.

Boss Monster - Wood Drake - Level 46 (Claimant)

A fake dragon, with the Dao of the Dragon, challenging me? It even had the audacity to try and claim my land. It was a wonder I didn’t start breathing fire. I felt a surprising amount of genuine anger begin to overtake me before I wrested control of my Dao and focused. It was time for a real fight, the first one since returning to Earth. “This one’s mine!”

“I figured that out from the shape of it,” Naea shouted after me as I shot forward. Infusion after Infusion layered onto each other as my strength rose to a terrifying level, far surpassing anything I had been able to pull out before now. I pushed my Dao into the staff gripped in my hands and readied the heaviest Strike of the Ruler I could gather. All of my magic, all of my Dao and all of my focus were aimed at this pretender’s swiping claw.

The Everbloom Evergreen rocked with the force of our collision. I smashed the staff into the branch beneath me, slicing a huge groove as I stopped myself from being thrown into the open sky. The next roar from the drake was agonised, and I looked up to see it nursing a mangled hand. All confidence had fled the monster and it even looked ready to run.

I wouldn’t give it that chance. I was pissed, not just from running into another Dao of the Dragon wielder, but because I realised this wasn’t the challenge I was looking for after all. Courtesy of the wonderful Naeboroseax, aka Mrs Naebol.

Title - Dragon Slayer

Some lives weigh more than others, and few existences rival the dragon.

You’re one of the exceptions.

Effect - Increased resistance against draconic attacks.

Improved effectiveness against draconic enemies.

I levelled my weapon before me, letting it transform into a heavy battle axe. “Fuck it, then,” I shrugged, “I guess you’re just practice for the big one later.”

————————————————

I turned my attention from the shimmering portal and looked at Naea. We had found a dungeon, and I wanted to do some research first, but Naea was trying to convince me to just jump in headfirst.

Naea’s strength continuing to rise along with my own was important in its own right. We were both still nothing more than dust compared to some of the powers out there. Getting my family to a safe place was important, but was anywhere safe until I was as strong as I could be? The opportunity to punch through a dungeon, gain some levels and blow off some steam was tempting. Then, you had the rewards which would undoubtedly be inside to consider as well.

I chewed my lip a little. “Dungeons are just straight up dangerous, Naea. We don’t know what’s behind there except that it’ll definitely try to kill us.” I looked at the blown apart body of the snake and couldn’t help feeling like I shouldn’t be too worried.

“Puh-leeeeeeease?” Naea asked for the dozenth time. I felt myself buckled and threw away my stubbornness. There was no point going through all the arguments against such a risk, not when she was making those weird bug-like puppy dog eyes. Anything to make her stop doing that. Sighing, I drew up my character page for the first time in a while just to centre myself.

Name - Grant Kaeron Race - Stormborn (Grade 1) Level - 42

Title - Dragon Slayer

Fortitude - 65 Speed - 65 Mental - 473 Will - 230

Free attribute points: 0

Dao

Fortitude - None

Speed - None

Mental - Dragon (2/4)

Will - Tempest (0/2)

The points I had received for the two levels I gained in the final battle of the dungeon went in a twenty-ten-ten split to Will, Speed and Fortitude. None of the attributes were useless for me and my fighting style, and while I would always focus on my Mental attribute I knew that my Will specifically was lacking from my experience in the spider’s lair. I had expected the drake to give me the final push to level 43, but alas. I felt pretty close, though.

My mind could still be affected by effects I did not understand or was unprepared for. Will was the defence against such things, and increasing it also made my mana feel all the more malleable. It was nice, and the Tempest moon within my inner world swelled with power. “Fine,” I gestured forwards, “let’s see what happens. Have I mentioned how beleaguered I feel at times?”

My final words were only to myself, as Naea had already vanished into the Dungeon. I knew that ultimately this was probably a selfish decision but in the week or so outside of the Dungeon I had been nothing but bored. The only excitement I had felt was when threatened by the presence of the mysterious nomad.

As the magic of the Dungeon took hold of my body, as space itself began to lose meaning, I smiled. The allure of the unknown was very more overpowering than the fear of it. Despite myself, I marvelled at the magic at work. I fell through a kaleidoscope of twisting patterns, tumbling through the portal

I arrogantly hoped there would be some challenge within.