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

Elijah leaped from his balcony, his large, full-size mirror under his arm. He landed in the grove, reveling in his increased attributes. It wasn’t the first time he’d gotten them over two-hundred, but there was a difference between getting there with the benefit of buffs, equipment, and his various forms and attaining those heights as a human. He felt lighter, stronger, and more coordinated, almost to the point where it affected his balance. But thankfully, his attributes were so evenly distributed that he adjusted quickly.

Soon enough, he was strolling through the forest surrounding the grove. It truly was a perfect environment, with trees growing to nearly twice their normal height, and the rest of the vegetation being far lusher than would have been possible in the old world.

And that was with fall tightening its grip on the region. In summer, it would be truly magnificent.

The wildlife was just as impressively developed. Some – like the population of hares – were much larger than normal, but others hadn’t grown physically bigger. To the senses associated with Soul of the Wild, Elijah could feel just how densely packed they were with vitality and ethera, though.

It was odd, knowing that if he’d met the current version of his island’s squirrels in his first year, he would have been grossly outmatched. But that was just the reality of his chosen environment.

Sure, there were powerful creatures and areas with incredibly dense ethera in the rest of the world. He’d encountered a few during his travels. But nothing could even begin to compare to his island. For better or worse, the thickness of the atmospheric ethera had transformed everything around his grove, and to the point where it scarcely resembled the forest of the past.

But even more impactful was the sense of harmony hanging over everything. Some animals hunted the other beasts on the island. Others would happily tear through as much vegetation as they could eat. There was conflict even among the trees as they fought in a slow-motion war for sunlight. Yet, it was all connected, and there was a sense of belonging that permeated everything on the island.

In short, it was a perfect ecosystem, and the effect of that was more than even that descriptor implied.

That was why Elijah didn’t bother hurrying across the island. Certainly, he had a hundred different tasks threatening to pull him in just as many directions. Yet, he knew that his time on the island was coming to an end. He’d accomplished his primary goals, and as such, he was very aware that he would soon leave. For how long, he had no idea, but he recognized that it would not be a short trip. So, with that in mind, he resolved to appreciate the island while he could.

Barefoot and carrying his mirror, he probably looked a bit odd as he strolled across the island. Certainly, the animals all looked at him with more than a little curiosity. They didn’t scatter or run from him, though. Instead, they simply noted his existence, then went on about their day. It was a glimpse into the natural world that was rarely afforded to human beings, and Elijah did not take it for granted.

Eventually, he reached his destination, which was a clearing where he’d often practiced yoga while in his guardian form. Back then, the disparity between its high Strength and middling Dexterity had caused a lot of problems. Some of those issues were still present – especially when he was forced to rapidly shift between one form or the other – but he’d slowly grown accustomed to it.

Even now, he periodically needed to spend time adjusting, especially as he grew more and more powerful. During the Trial of Primacy, his frequent forays into the wilderness helped with that, but it had been quite some time since he’d really buckled down and put his forms through their paces. And what’s more, he knew that if he kept going like that, he would develop some bad habits. It was so easy to just do whatever came naturally, but that was how people grew stagnant. If he truly wanted to maximize his potential, he needed to train hard enough and in such a way that felt uncomfortable.

The clearing was perfect for that.

At one point or another, he’d toted a handful of the largest boulders he could find into the dell, and it was large enough to allow him to reach full speed at a sprint. Still, Elijah knew that it wouldn’t be long before he outgrew the makeshift training grounds of his island. In all likelihood, he already had – especially considering his latest surge in power.

Even so, it would prove useful, because it provided a baseline from before the Trial of Primacy. However outdated that information was, it could still give him some context for how much he’d grown.

To that end, after placing the mirror in one corner of the dell and propping it on a tree, Elijah shifted into the Shape of the Master. Once he had, he took a look at his reflection. The shape was largely unchanged, though he could see a certain iridescence in his skin that had not been there before. When he moved, it looked like tiny waves of flame traveling up and down his limbs.

The Shape of Thorn was similarly affected, though instead of flames, the vines and thorns around his arms and shoulders had simply grown thicker. In addition, he found that his control over them felt more intuitive than they had before he’d reached the level of an Ascendent. It wasn’t a groundbreaking change, but it was definitely noticeable.

When he shifted into the Shape of Venom, he saw that it was the same size and general shape as before. However, like the other two forms, it had changed in subtle ways. In the case of the blight dragon, his scales were much darker than before. Though the biggest change was that his form looked almost like the shadows around it had grown unnaturally deep.

It wasn’t immediately noticeable, but Elijah recognized it after only a few seconds.

The Shape of Sky remained largely unchanged, though Elijah did notice that his scales held a luster that they hadn’t before. What that meant, he wasn’t sure, but it fit the theme established by his other forms.

After shifting back to his human form, he cast Wild Infusion, then Aura of Renewal before taking on the Shape of the Master once again. Once he’d regained his shape, he checked his status: