Forged By The Apocalypse - A LitRPG With Draconic Potential

I was pleased to see higher levels on everything on the second floor of the pagoda tower while the completion requirement remained the same. Defeat the small army of weird karate frogmen and then defeat the boss of the floor. The mini-boss was more true to the title this time, only being at around eight feet tall. Still big, but not the goliath I had just defeated. It was stronger, though.

Monster - Adult Amphibian Attack Animal - Level 42

The little ones were between level 25 and 30, making them fantastic practice and experience for the newbies. Clearly an unfair way to describe them, once they were in action. Naea was on the sidelines with myself this time as we let them go to work. There was a clear and obvious desire to prove themselves within the group.

In some ways, the band of allies were better suited to fighting the enemies before them than I was. None of the grade 0 amphibians had magical weapons, so it became about technique and capability. I had yet to see any true skills from the turtlemen but their attributes were impressive. Against myself, they had the chance to overwhelm with numbers, but not against the party.

I tried to follow the sensation of their abilities but the melodies were too complex and interwoven. The whispers of what would become their Daos were all linked together. Almost like mine and Naea’s, but not nearly as close. Five clearly separate instruments working in concert to aim towards the same goal.

Victory.

I was more than a little impressed with the certainty their movements held. An exposed back for me was a mortal danger but for the party, it was an opportunity. What should have been blindspots were actually traps. Any enemy which tried to take advantage of a slip or a supposed overreach by one of the group was brutally dealt with by another member.

The battle was methodical from the start, even if the ninja’s basic fighting style was a little chaotic. Harry stepped forward, drawing attention. A tower shield appeared in his hand. The same skill which summoned the shield enraged his enemies, making them desperate to put him down first. He had no specific love for the sword he had been carrying, a simple weapon with improved durability compared to the natural steel, so he’d swapped to a new one. The Sorehammer finally found flesh, surprisingly effective against the turtle’s shells. Go figure.

To his immediate side was Aaron. I didn’t have much to say about his powers. They wouldn’t work on me, but they were effective enough. They could hold one of the grade 0 turtles for a short while, which was alright. Of course, they would be more potent if he had put any of his attribute points into Mental. “Fortitude just feels better,” he had said. I dropped it. Perhaps his first Aspect didn’t need to be his main one? He completely misused his attributes, but with the new arm wraps, his effectiveness was more than enough for this battle.

Taking quick advantage of Harry’s stuns and Aaron’s bindings were Ellie and Luke. The archer was more immediately effective, while Ellie’s influence was felt slower. It was hard to say who was more deadly once the poison started taking effect. None of the creatures actually died to Ellie’s magic but it was the reason they could take the turtles out so easily.

Splitting my attention was easier than ever since my evolution so while I was watching those four, most of my focus was on Tom. At the back of the formation, the turtles hadn’t seemed to notice him at all. Which made sense because Tom hadn’t done a damn thing as far as they were concerned. Something was brewing, but would it formalise before the fight was over?

“Where’s the Mana Bolts, Tom?” Harry shouted. They didn’t need his help, but not having his input was throwing them off their rhythm somewhat. I had to concede that this was my fault as I could tell it was my influence which had caused a change in the mage. Ah well, I shrugged, pressure will help them grow, too.

Poor Tom had got into his own head a little. I could feel that his Aspect was pressing against a boundary but how was I supposed to help him? Unlike the others, he could feel my Dao when it was used. He was chasing that feeling, unable to even move his mana properly through his channels at this point. The best I could do for him was reset his thoughts.

I slowed my mana and intentionally let it out of my control a little. Distracted as he was by his frantic mind, he didn’t even notice me walk up beside him. I also chose this moment to intervene because a turtle was slipping through the net. Tom would likely have been fine, but it helped to prove my point.

I activated an earlier version of Infusion. While the skill hadn’t upgraded or anything, I had changed massively since receiving my Dao. Everything I did had small echoes of it, making me more graceful, powerful or intimidating. That’s what my Dao was. Imperious, overwhelming and avaricious. Tom’s shaky legs and general demeanour told me he was meant to walk a different path.

“Watch this,” I said, spooking him. Tom turned to me just in time to see me kick the incoming turtle warrior into the air like a ball. It had launched itself, tucked its limbs and head into the shell and shot at the distracting mage with the force of a speeding car. With one touch, I stole its momentum and sent it spinning in the air. Arms and legs came out of the shell, flailing wildly. With a spin, I planted my heel into the monster’s falling form and sent it bowling through some of the others to give the party breathing room.

I had strangled my Dao while performing the move, and it should have shown. “Can you tell the difference?” Aaron and Harry stopped protecting Tom and the four of them continued battling while I gave a quick lesson. Tom shook his head, pointy blue hat wobbling. “Okay, show me a Mana Bolt. Do it properly.”

The young man’s eyes hardened. He nodded, squaring his jaw. Tom had almost immediately unlocked Mana Control once I showed him how, so I was now able to watch his mana mould in real time. Unlike before, the skill didn’t activate in his hand or at the end of the staff, but rolled up his arm like a snowball, gathering mass. The process was still lightning quick, but I followed it easily.

A powerful orb of mana came to life at the end of Tom’s staff, where he kept it. I smiled at the fast progress on show now he wasn’t trying too hard to perform. From the multicoloured mass at the end of his weapon, he began firing his signature skill. Tiny bursts of energy flickered through his pathways. Once they met the staff they were released as homing bullets. Attack after attack shot out of the orb, firmly placing the momentum in the party’s hands.

Oh, so it’s like… this.

Skill Unlocked - Mana Bolt

Simple. Effective. Unerring.

“Wow,” I said, holding my own smaller ball of power, “high Mental really is the way to go.” I had been practising myself, but I hadn’t expected to acquire the skill so quickly. I let the small trickle of knowledge shore up the fallacies in my technique before sending it into the nearest turtle. The numbers were really thinning now, and my attack knocked them down by one. “Oops. My bad, didn’t mean to kill-steal.”

Tom just looked at me like I had two heads. Or like I had just used his main bread-and-butter without much more challenge than actually trying. He didn’t know my main advantage, which was being able to watch the magic of the skill beforehand. I myself hadn’t realised the potency of that particular feature of my race until now either. I summoned the orb again. “See the difference now?”

I assumed with it being his skill instead of my own, he would more easily pick up what I was trying to explain. Even though I had created the same effect, down to the System calling it a Mana Bolt, there were clear differences between my projectile and Tom’s. If I were being generous, I would say mine was… clouded with power. Someone who wanted a punch might describe my orb as less pure. Tom’s eyes widened slowly.

He turned back to the last dregs of the battle. None of the fodder ninjas were uninjured at this point and I could see disappointment on Tom’s face. I liked that. He should want to face enemies at their full strength, but I conceded the value of a team at the same time Tom smiled. “No, actually,” I heard him whisper, “this works. Perfect output for each.”

The aspirant magician’s eyes scouted the remaining enemies as I returned to Naea’s side. She was happily munching on a snack bar, not looking like she wanted to help in the slightest. “Did he figure it out?” She asked through a full mouth.

“Chew your food and watch.” I didn’t need to spoil Tom’s surprise and Naea would be able to tell in a minute anyway. I didn’t take my eyes off his mana as it started to take on a powerful new momentum. Each member of the party burned with their own spark. Protection, Control, Force, Poison and Magic. My race change had been mostly cosmetic up to now but I could tell what I was seeing was special. Their Aspects were written across their entire soul and present in every use of their mana, so they were all visible to me. I was able to see as Tom’s spark, the Aspect of Magic, began to flare.

I jumped over the crowd, causing the mini-boss turtleman of the floor to flinch when I landed in front of him. He hesitated, which was good because I put up my hands. “I don’t know if you can understand me, but I’m not trying to fight you.” Judging from how the creature’s shoulders relaxed slightly, it understood enough. I smirked. “I’m just making sure you don’t interrupt.”

The creature’s weapon was a pair of brutal looking tonfa with bladed edges. Those are sick as fuck, I nodded, already giving them over to Ellie in my head. I watched the ongoing magic show behind me through my manasense while keeping the boss fixed in place with my eyes.

Mana started appearing in the air, intricate patterns like glyphs. They existed for a moment and then disappeared but each lasted just a moment longer than the one previous. Once they reached a threshold, all hell broke loose. The sound of glass shattering a hundred times over clattered through the massive room. I breathed in the Dao as the crashing, like chandelier’s falling, slowly faded. I nodded at the mini-boss and jumped right back over the group.

Only the party was left standing, with everyone but Tom a little stunned. The floor was marked with a hundred notches where his Mana Bolt had dropped down like rain. A dozen bodies lay shattered as a result of his explosive leap. I could sense the power on him as Tom turned to me, eyes full of gratitude.

“No time for that,” I pointed back in the other direction, “he looks pissed.”