Forged By The Apocalypse - A LitRPG With Draconic Potential

“I’m sorry again for Grant. He’ll be fine, he was just scared that you were hurt.” I wasn’t used to apologising, much less for someone else’s actions, but Grant’s influence was unavoidable. He was currently fighting to stop himself from exploding while racing back to Home Base, yet the primary thing he wanted her to know was that he was sorry.

He’s adorable, I joked privately. No point in giving the workers any ammunition to be disrespectful, after all. Grant had told me to stop calling them slaves, but hadn’t said anything against workers, so that’s what they were for now. Even if it was me putting in the effort at the moment.

The square-looking human with the cat on his armour woke up with a start. He’d been knocked out by a Dao rebound as his barrier was shattered, but he was right as rain after a little healing magic. He looked shocked to see my beautiful face upon waking up, which only made sense. Not many start their day with the best sight they’d see for the rest of it.

“Okay,” I nodded and zipped into the air. There wasn’t anything I could do for Grant right now, but I still wanted to hurry. “That’s almost everything. You said you got an achievement? What about you?” The ones who were awake had received the achievement for completing the trial tower once Grant looted the final boss. The one who had been knocked out looked into the air for a few seconds before nodding dumbly. Humans always looked so stupid reading their System messages.

“Great,” I said, my voice full of fake enthusiasm. “Time to leave then. Now.” The humans all looked confused but Grant had been crystal clear about when I was allowed to eat. The whole time I had been awake, I had been holding myself back but no more.

I devoured the Dao-filled body of the tower boss with enthusiasm. The fight itself had given me a level but this was something else entirely. Grant would be pleased. As long as he survived his Dao breaking, that is. It was hard to worry about him as I slowly made my way out of the tower towards home.

Life was just great, you know?

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“Did that fairy just eat the ratman whole while moaning? And is she high now?” As a group, we collectively agreed to never talk about the heinous act we had seen. It was our fault. Curiosity killed the cat brutally.

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I burst through the front door of Home Base, not even bothering to open it. I just smashed through the wood, knowing I could repair it later. There was no time for anything else, I needed to contain myself in the one place I thought could handle it. There was no ripping the hinges off the evolution room door, which I threw closed behind me.

My Dao boiled with power, cooking me alive from the soul outwards.

I knew what was happening, and while I could easily have been happy, I wasn’t ready. The Dao of the Dragon was trying to evolve from a Pool to something else. I removed a beautiful gemstone from my inventory and pressed it to my chest. There were still steps I needed to complete before letting the dragon get loose.

Aspect - Tempest (Legendary)

Aspects are formed when ambient mana in an area becomes charged with a specific type of energy. If you have unbound attributes, you may permanently bind an Aspect to an unbound attribute.

Would you like to use the Aspect of the Tempest to bind an unbound attribute?

There was a battle as I fought resistance to the binding. On a scale, Tempest would be above Storm. It might even be the highest class of Aspect in that zone. That didn’t mean anything to the Dao of the Dragon, which considered itself above all others. I had laid down groundwork for this process but I also hoped for more time to prepare.

My inner world needed guidance.

The Hurricane Heart was still an absolute eyesore. It was hard to focus on and best left in its mostly contained state as the “sun” of this realm for now. Still brimming with power, if noticeably dimmer than when I first attained it, its true potential had yet to be revealed. It was a challenge I would need to face later, but one I was about to become especially equipped for.

My inner world was in flux as a new power tried to join the draconic. The base of the world, my mana, was calm but both underneath the surface and high in the air, dual powers were set to clash. A slithering, stretching beast was moving under the ground while an immense, all-encompassing storm snaked its way to the ground below.

Oh no, you don’t. I needed to control this process. I could already feel the Dao of the Dragon ready to attack the incoming power. But we don’t want to attack it. We need it. Gently, I contained the Aspect of the Tempest where it was hanging in the sky. There was room for it already, so once I took hold, it fell into place easily.

Three celestial bodies, surrounding one more powerful than themselves. There was no old hand here to help me define my path, so I was doing whatever worked. This has been my plan once I began to understand the Dao of the Dragon. It would never play nice with other Dao at the same level but it could be strengthened from below. Three Aspects would become the moons of this world. They would be fonts of power and capability for the main focal Dao of the Dragon.

The Aspect of the Tempest could honestly have become a Dao within moments of its absorption. I had insights into lightning, thunder, storms and more thanks to the trial tower of the Storm Dragon, as well as some of my items and Guidance Stones. We weren’t here for that. I focused my mental image and the Aspect of the Tempest slotted into place.

Beginning its slow orbit of my inner world, the Tempest Moon began to immediately syphon energy directly from the Hurricane Heart. Two skills unlocked, one from the Aspect itself, and another from the combination of being Stormborn, the Hurricane Heart and the Guidance Stone of Storms all at once. I gave them both a quick glance.

Skill Unlocked - Tempest Form

For extreme mana cost, transform the body, or a portion of the body, into the form of a tempest elemental.

Not too dissimilar to Naea’s Sparkstep but more costly and with far more utility. Something to experiment with, but it wasn’t lying when it called it costly.

Conflux Skill Unlocked - Dragon’s Tempest

Snap, crackle, drop. The Dragon’s Tempest doesn’t stop.

That was unexpected. But honestly? Cool as hell. Whispers of understanding flickered through my mind but I had to ignore it mostly. It was all fun stuff for later.

Attribute bound - Will/Tempest

The Aspect bound to the Will attribute, which made sense as it was my second highest stat. Aspects boost a part of the personality. Am I tempestuous? Maybe I was the eye of the storm? I could be both. I had to be. Like the Dao of the Dragon, I would choose what parts of the Tempest belonged to me, and what didn’t. Another task for later.

The main event was starting. I had a foundation for the Aspects to come. If my Dao had evolved before binding to the Aspect first, I knew I wouldn’t be able to connect them in the future. Now there was a designated space in orbit around my inner world for the future Aspects to fill, the Dao Pool could finally take the next step.

The dragon needed to stretch its wings.

Silhouette no longer, it clawed its way from the volcano, never to be contained again. While the power which threatened to tear me apart was vast, it was ultimately my power. It came under my control and the next phases of change were quick and fluid. Once more, a new layer of realism painted over my inner world.

Mountains formed, unseen but known. Deep seas were gouged to create room for the rains brought by the Aspect of the Tempest and its connection to the Hurricane Heart. The grasslands returned, flowered by my connection to Naea, but also studded with woodlands and mangroves. Complexity, vibrant and beautiful, flooded my inner world with meaning. Above the reforming world, the Dao of the Dragon roared with pleasure.

This will do, it said, looking out upon the world which would be its home. The Dao existed within me, through me, but the vessel for its use was and would always be my mana. So, the dragon roamed within. I meditated, allowing the changes within my body and soul to slowly reach their finish lines. The “danger”, the possibility my path would be severed, had passed.

The passage of time was vague over this period. I sensed Naea check on me and leave satisfied. If she was okay, then everything else was fine. Drifting away, I let the hours meld together as peace fell about my inner world. Only once the land settled did the dragon land. It began sleeping to the sounds of a heavy storm in a cave formed by its own will.

My soul became tranquil and I was finally able to open my eyes. I had some System prompts to work through but I first had to wake my muscles up. The moment I tried to move, everything screamed. How long have I been sitting here? I wondered. The evolution room itself was my first sight, blearily blinking into existence each time I tried to open my eyes.

“Graaaaaant!” A solid lump of healing energy collided with me. I couldn’t see her, but Naea’s whimpering voice was unmistakable. My heart wobbled as I patted her small head. She hugged my neck tightly and continued to release waves of recuperating energy into my system. I drank it up happily, now able to see. The pain in my muscles faded and I started to stretch.

“How long was I out?” I asked. Naea sniffled and told me I had been sitting in the evolution room for three days. No wonder I was so stiff. “Wow. Did anything happen? We finished the dungeon, right?” I had no time to pay attention to anything outside of my own self, so the world could have ended a second time for all I knew.

“No, but the others are getting bored. They think maybe you have to do something before it finishes. Oh, but they did get achievements for completing a trial tower! And they’ve all got a Dao Pool now. Not that that’s impressive…” I smirked as Naea nudged the side of my head. I wasn’t the only one who’s Dao had evolved. I could tell it wasn’t in the same direction as my own evolution, but that was to be expected. She didn’t bind to Aspects like I did.

She caught me up on the few things which had changed, but mostly complained about how things had gotten boring. There were no monsters to fight, no more towers to complete and apparently no hidden treasures the group of five plus Naea could find. Everything was just waiting for me to complete the dungeon and then we could leave. I had to stop my hands from shaking as I went through the System messages, leaving the best for last.

Ding! Level up! +20 Attribute Points

Ding! Level up! +20 Attribute Points

Achievement Unlocked - Planetary Forerunner II

As before, you have succeeded at a task most don’t even know to undertake, far before others would be ready. Forming a Dao Avatar at Grade 1 is the mark of a true genius.

Effect: Attributes +15%

Item - Black Belt (Legendary)

The ultimate goal of martial arts is to never use them.

Effect: Attributes +25%

Swells of power rose up inside me over and over, tickling and settling into place. Even before placing attribute points, the growth I had experienced was massive. The original achievement was still there, so I received a huge twenty percent boost to my attributes from the new achievement and final upgrade to my belt. Next were the gains from my new form of Dao. They were a little more dramatic.

Dao Pool of the Dragon evolved to Dao Avatar of the Dragon

Dao Avatar - Dragon

Worlds struggle to contain one such as you, boundaries and rules are made for the protection of others. Not for you. Reach for the stars and claim the cosmos.

Effect: Mental +250, Will +100, Mental Attribute +25%, Will Attribute +15%

I screamed and held my head as this latest surge of capacity took hold. An additional ten percent for each attribute and almost doubling each was almost too much, and I nearly passed out. The pain and confusion only lasted for a moment but I opened my eyes as I was now completely reforged. My Dao suddenly felt more comfortable as my attributes had risen to meet its new demands. “Holy shit,” I gasped.

“Holy shit,” a wide-eyed Naea agreed. I flashed her a smile to show her I was still okay, no more trips to the evolution room needed for now. It did take some time before my mana stopped screaming through my body faster than ever but I soon got my body under control. Luckily, that was the penultimate prompt. I gave my attribute page a look and couldn’t help shaking my head.

“Let’s go gather the others. I should apologise one more time before we finish this dungeon.”

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

Title - Dragon Slayer

Fortitude - 55 Speed - 55 Mental - 473 Will - 210

Free attribute points: 40

Name - “Naea” Race - Dungeon Fairy Level - 51

Grade - E

Skills - Invisibility, Mana Control, Sparkstep, Harmony of the Storm

Dao: Fairy Dragon (River)

Patron: Grant Kaeron (Level 42)