Path of Dragons - A LitRPG Apocalypse (BOOK TWO ON KINDLE SEPT. 2)

Eason Edmund sat at his desk, examining a crystal. It was a synthetic treasure created in one of his mineral gardens, and even though it was barely more than Simple-Grade – as such things were measured – it emitted a power that would nearly rival that of a wild natural treasure. Still, he wasn’t happy with the result. He knew his people could do better. With how many coins he’d sunk into the project, they needed to – or he would lose everything.

Not soon. It would take centuries before the bill would come due. But it would come eventually.

“It is passable,” he said, looking up at the Minerologists. He’d raised the pair from childhood – not personally, obviously – ushering them to the Scholar archetype, then pushing them into the rare Minerologist class, all in the hopes that they could help the Eason family climb to new heights.

Most factions did so by colonizing newly integrated worlds, but that was a time-consuming and financially debilitating tactic. For one, simply reaching those new worlds was expensive, but sending a force large enough to make a difference would bankrupt all but the wealthiest families in the empire.

That was why most turned to mercenary companies like Black Sky, who had been granted special dispensations by the Cult of the World Tree. Or they sent their least talented youths, a tactic which was rarely successful enough to rely upon. Still, if a settlement gained a foothold in such worlds, the benefits could be vast.

Of course, those worlds faced many challenges of their own. Most ended up being excised from the World Tree’s influence and left to drift into the void. Or they were converted into Ancestral Realms. But the ones that survived the trials before them played host to powerful natives with many advantages that made them difficult to dislodge, even when so many rewards were on offer.

To Edmund, it had always seemed incredibly unfair. Artificially propping up the weak until they could stand up to their betters benefited no one. Better that those natives bend the knee to someone who could protect them, who could usher them to true power, who could show them how the multi-verse worked.

The World Tree and its damnable cult had other ideas, though, and just like everyone else, Edmund had no choice but to abide by their rules.

So, without the wealth necessary to send multiple expeditions to newly touched worlds, all in the slim hope that they could survive, he’d turned to the idea of creating his own treasures. It wasn’t an unheard-of method. In fact, it was quite common. That was what classes like the various flavors of Farmers and Horticulturists did, albeit on a broad and comparatively weak scale. Yet, those synthetic treasures could never benefit anyone above the Mortal rank.

And who cared about them?

Sure, that was the beginning, but there were countless means of progressing through those levels and preparing to become one of the Ascended. Yet, after that was the true bottleneck, and the difficulty of progressing after that point was why the order of the universe rarely changed. The powerful remained powerful, and the weak continued to muck through whatever scraps they could find.

Anyone with the ability to grow synthetic treasures that could rival the power of equivalently graded natural treasures would upset that balance. They would rise to the top and carve out a place for their followers. For those on the bottom rung of the multiversal power scale, it was the only way forward.

“What level have you reached?” he asked.

“One-hundred and two,” said the one on the right. Edmund had never bothered learning their names. He rarely did, even with his own family, much less a pair of orphans with potential. Once they Ascended and realized some of that potential, he might deign to learn their names.

Maybe.

Definitely, once they reached the Demigod stage. He might even invite them to supper if they matched his own Deity stage. But he wouldn’t serve them anything remarkable. They were mere commoners, after all.

“Twenty-three more levels,” Edmund said, tossing the valuable gem onto his desk. It slid across, then came to a stop only an inch from the edge. The two Minerologists both had to suppress gasps. To Edmund, it was trash, but for them, it represented the culmination of years’ worth of labor. Such small dreams. “Report to Elder Rahm. She will create a training plan to push the both of you to Ascendency. After that, perhaps you will be able to create something worthwhile.”

“Pardon, Grand Master…”

“What?” he asked.

“Will we be required to enter…a tower?” asked the gnome on the left. She was pretty enough, and once she reached a proper stage of development, she might even be beautiful. He would keep an eye on her.

“Of course. Killing those monsters in the tower is the most efficient means of leveling,” Edmund stated. “I will –”

The world shook, cutting him off. The two weaklings screamed in unmitigated fear, clutching one another as if it would do any good. For his part, Edmund spun up three spells, adding a defensive ability to the mix. Ice encased his body, forming into a suit of armor that tripled his size. Then, he dragged a wand from the storage pouch at his belt, ready to respond to anyone who would dare threaten his world.

Not so much because he cared about the place. Or certainly not the people who called it home. Rather, because he could not be seen to allow such an affront to his authority. That would invite challenge, and after spending so much of his power to offer that oaf a quest to avenge his idiot great grandson’s death, he was disgustingly vulnerable.

Cabbot had been a moron. He’d thrown a century’s worth of planning aside in an effort to forge his own path. Edmund could have respected that if the idiot hadn’t gotten himself killed. And as with a threat to his planet, Edmund couldn’t allow the murder of a member of his family to go unanswered.

But then the barbarian had actually failed, creating a backlash that worsened Edmund’s weakness. As a result, he was weaker than he’d been since he’d reached the Deity stage more than a century past.

Still, he could deal with some uppity…

The shaking abruptly ceased. The pair of unbalanced Minerologists fell to the floor, scuffing the tiles. Edmund had obliterated people for less, but he stayed his hand. Instead, he cast his senses across his lands, finding a disturbing absence.

It was one thing if a fight was imminent. Edmund had come up the hard way, scratching and clawing for every level he gained. So, he was prepared for a battle. However, the lack of any obvious threat was disturbing in a way that no enemy could be. Because it represented two options, both of which were terrifying.

While Edmund tried to wrap his mind around what either of those possibilities might mean, the door to his office swung open. He was about to tell his servants off for interrupting him when a vision of beauty glided through the door.

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She looked human.

Mostly.

And while Edmund wasn’t normally attracted to such gangly creatures – give him a proper gnomish wench any night of the week – he could not deny the woman’s striking appearance. It was real, too. No illusions. No glamours. Just simple perfection.

Golden hair fell upon slim shoulders, framing a visage that was both delicate and commanding, in equal measure. Her eyes were lined in what looked like golden makeup, but upon further inspection, Edmund realized that it was decorated with tiny, glittering scales.

He whispered, “Oh, gods…”

Similar scales created a pattern on her neck that fell down to her breastbone. And though Edmund suspected that they continued across her torso, the woman’s white robes prevented him from confirming those suspicions.

She stepped forward, her movement somehow sinuous, and gave him a slight, knowing smile, “I do not require your worship, Eason Edmund. Just your obedience.”

“Transcendent.”

“Indeed,” was her reply. “I apologize for any disruption my arrival might have caused. Veiling my presence is impossible while traveling through the World Tree. A hint of my power peeked through before I could corral it. I will, of course, pay appropriate reparations, should you so require.”

“Ah…that is not necessary, your eminence,” he said after finding his voice. He let his Ice Armor fall away, lest he offend the powerful visitor.

“Nonsense. Have your accountants send a bill to my seneschal on planet Sethik,” she said. “That is inside the Empire of Scale, of course. Certainly, you will have no trouble finding it.”

Edmund dipped his head in subservience. “As you wish, your eminence,” he breathed as confidently as he could manage. However, his heart beat out of control as he faced someone who had reached the pinnacle of measurable progression. How far behind that she’d manage to climb was anyone’s guess. Certainly, he lacked the ability to discern the details. Still, he couldn’t stop himself from using Icy Gaze. The results were disturbing: