Forged By The Apocalypse - A LitRPG With Draconic Potential

The qualitative effects of raising one’s level, and thus attributes, was incredible. By Grade One, most people were as strong as a comic book super soldier, or capable of flinging magic around. People leaning towards a higher Mental attribute than Speed or Fortitude were becoming more common. More than enough people thought they knew where my strength came from, and so were trying to follow my path.

I did not yet know if this was a good or a bad thing, but such questions were answered over years and decades, not the few weeks I’d been a “leader.” Looking at the members of The Ascent, easy to find from the signature of the magic, I could kick myself. All of them had been held captive by Steel Sovereign. Absolutely nothing had stopped it. Some leader I am, I scoffed.

I realised only not how many people were sporting long sticks or staves of some kind. A pretty specific style was forming amongst the people. I found the eyes of The Ascent. I saw four sets of pensive eyes, each of them clearly struggling with the events themselves. Good. They also needed to hear this.

“Who do you think you are?” One brave voice called out, starting the flood. A general clamour of anger came my way. The Ascent mostly just looked towards the ground as the curses and misplaced anger started to flow. Tom nodded at me, Ellie not far away with a similar look on her face. Both of them seemed to agree with me, which was nice amongst the uproar. Luke looked awful. I knew he hadn’t eaten properly or slept in days. I genuinely couldn’t be more sorry for him, but now wasn’t the time for pity. If what just happened wasn’t a wake up call, I would stress the point.

“Quiet.”

Even though my voice was a mere whisper, it silenced every irate person in the area. None of them had a Dao that could stand up to me at full bear, and I brought all of it to the fore to make my point clear. A sizable chunk of the audience crumpled, either fainting completely or dropping into a seat to steady themselves. To one and all, the sharp claw of a dragon could be felt scraping under their chin. “This isn’t a discussion.”

The font of Tempests fed the Dragon and physical force was exerted. My Dao and mana seized control of the space. The air they were breathing, the light they used to see, the very gravity keeping them bound to the planet. It was all mine. Everyone was frozen like deer in headlights. I pushed right to the edge of breaking some of the weaker minds and then let the pressure vanish like it had never been there.

“It’s not a discussion,” I repeated. My speech returned to its normal timbre and sound level, but you could have heard a pin drop. I no longer needed to raise my voice. “It’s a lesson. Some of you know more than others how dangerous the world is out there, but you all got a look right there. Did you think that because I was strong, that made you strong? Oh, don’t think you’d be safer in Newtown because nowhere is safe.”

I might be doing more harm to the psyche of the town than good at this point, but I continued. I never claimed to be a great speaker. There were lots of things I never wanted to be. “What happens the next time a monster comes knocking, and I’m not there to defend you or your family? I could only stop the monster yesterday by giving it a piece of my soul. I won’t be doing that again. Are you going to feel better dying while cursing my name? I never promised any of you anything other than proximity to myself and the fact that I wouldn’t be the monster you had to worry about.”

“The System is not going to hold our hands. If you can’t protect yourself, find someone who will. I can’t do it alone. Yet for all of your glares, I was alone against that monster. I was at its whim because you couldn’t protect yourselves. Now I’m going to deal with the consequences of that, while you all pick up the pieces or fuck off.”

I didn’t wait to see how my words landed. My face began to flush with heat and I spun. With my Dao rippling around me as it was, I literally stormed out of the training ground. My departure was like a bubble popping, because once again there was sound in Ascentown. It was mainly discontent, but it was something. Instead of being sad and scared, maybe they could be angry, and that would be enough to push them. Either way, I was close to washing my hands with the whole thing. If it wasn’t for the quests and the fact that someone else would only do it worse, I’d hand over control to anyone and just leave.

I finally opened the System prompts that had been waiting, itching at the back of my head until I opened them. My mood wasn’t much better than when Steel Sovereign had attacked, but I was able to move past being stubborn, at least.

Quest Complete! - Lording It

All other claims to your rule have been removed. The claimants are defeated, and your seat of power is secured. Rejoice in this momentous occasion, but know that it is only the beginning. There can be only one true ruler, after all.

Ulterior claims remaining - 0.

Reward: Lord Title, Ownership of valuable (Grade 2) resource.

There was no way to determine whether the textbox floating in my vision was referencing my own Strike of the Ruler technique, the draconic powers which had brought me to it or just the way things tended to be. I leaned towards the System being somewhat personal, but that was just a theory. I hadn’t had much time for the books from The Ascent guildhall but from what I read in my brief studies, it was a subject of much debate. Rather than try to pierce the mysteries of the universe, I checked out the title I received.

Title Unlocked - Lord

As the first claimant on the planet to lay their claim and defend it, the title and position of Lord falls to you. You stand above the masses as a ruler, a decision maker and a leader. Whether your world rises upon the branches of The Great Tree, or falls to the darkness of Nothing, may well be on your shoulders.

Good Luck.

Effect: +5 free attribute points per level

“It ominously capitalises Nothing,” I said to Naea as she arrived, flipping the title to her, “that’s… probably important, right?” The fairy just shrugged and read the page with a growing look of disgust.

“And the monster grows more monstrous.” Her opinion on my various boosts was well established at this point, and I didn’t let her jealousy bring me down. I needed every extra boost I could get and this would continue to add up for the rest of my life. It was a good feeling, and I could tell that she was only joking. “Well? Open the menus then!” I raised my eyebrows at her energy before I obliged.

Faction building options:

Guild Hall upgrade

Training Ground upgrade

New Buildings Available:

General Store (Materials)

Enchanter’s Workshop

Outpost Defence Network

Scout’s Campfire

Alchemy Laboratory

Stables

Bank of Illustria

The list continued from there, down to things like buying an outdoor toilet for a cost. I wasn’t a city planner, though, and at this point we would need one before I started just dropping stuff down. The possibilities were incredibly interesting, even the portapotty. The mechanisms that it would have would be valuable to study. Would it create plumbing out of nowhere, or maybe a mana-based cleaning system?

Tempted as I had made myself, I wouldn’t let my first purchase as a lord be a water closet. Instead, I made the much more sensible purchase of the Outpost Defence Network. It cost a whopping five thousand credits, but I had more than enough to spend. I didn’t even bother opening my inventory as the money flowed out. Within a minute, I could feel the veil over the town set into place.

That should make people feel safer, once they knew what it was. I didn’t have time to focus on that, because with the completion of the quest and new title, came an achievement. I opened it and nearly screamed with the amount of power that burst into being within myself. For a moment, the world around me felt dry as the amorphous energy of the System supercharged me.

Achievement Unlocked - World First Lord Title

As the first Lord of your planet, you are not just the forerunner, you are the spearhead. The largest challenges will be faced by you and your’s, before they reach those under your banner.

Effect: +20% All Attributes

My power flexed in all directions even as we stood here, further impressing the difference between myself and the others. That should be worth about ten levels worth of attributes, even with my ridiculous growth rate. Watching the lines of power within my skin fade, I couldn’t help but feel I had stepped further away from my humanity. Even as the incredible feeling of increased attributes coursed through me, the taste on my tongue became ash.

Appropriate for a dragon.

Retreating to Home Base, I tried to slink into bed but knew it was going to be impossible. As I closed my eyes, the nightmare I had mostly forgotten came back in force. I could swear I felt Steel Sovereign sitting on the other side of our connection, ear to the thin barrier between us. I threw myself from the soft bed sheets, slamming down shield after shield between myself and the metallic boogeyman.

I made my way to the Evolution Chamber, where Naea eventually found me. I gave her my most casual wave but she shook her head. “I know you’re strong Grant, you don’t have to pretend for me.” I smiled at her, before my lips wobbled and the tears started. I was never so glad for the magical faraday cage as right now as the Evolution Chamber filled with the sound of my cries.

Eventually, as with all things, my tears came to an end. Naea didn’t ask any questions, she didn’t need to. My entire soul was laid bare to her if she wanted to see it. She knew that I was just so frustrated, knew that I had two paths that I felt I needed to tread at the same time and how I felt like I was failing everyone at once. Even people I had no connection to. If I could make a safe place for them…

“You’re not a hero, Grant.” I snapped my head up to Naea. Our connection wasn’t telepathy, but it could be close enough if we wanted. This time, she had just read my face. “It’s not your job to save the world. What is it you want to do?” For a while I had no answer, and Naea didn’t press for one. I just sat with her words and question.

“I just want to see my family,” I said, not sure if I was whimpering or determined. It didn’t matter. “First, we go and see this Steel Sovereign and find out just how fucked I am. Hopefully, not very. Especially considering all the metal. Then… It’s time to go find them.”