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

Elijah stared at the portal, still unsure of which path to take. He’d been sitting there for hours, endlessly debating each option. And he was still no closer to a definitive decision. The problem, as he’d first noted, was that each of his available options was attractive.

Might would obviously make his physical body more powerful, and he expected that to extend to his bestial forms. At best, it would be like advancing a stage in body cultivation, but without all the effort. In addition, it would make future advancements that much more impactful.

Endurance would serve a similar function, though with more focus on defense and regeneration. He could already take a hit pretty well – especially with his many advantages like the Mantle of the Chimera and Aegis of the Elements, not to mention Shape of the Thorn and its increased defenses. With all that, he was a walking tank, and one that could heal passably well. If he took the Endurance specialization, he would become nigh unkillable.

Or that was the idea.

Finally, there was the third option. Dominion. It was obviously an extension of Connection, but instead of focusing on his natural connection to the world, it fixated on his draconic heritage. Specifically, his core, which affected the power expressed by every ability he possessed.

The only reason he hadn’t already settled on the third choice was because it offered fewer attributes than the others. Might would grant him twelve additional attribute points per level, scattered evenly across strength, dexterity, and constitution. Meanwhile, Endurance would give him fourteen points, split between constitution and regeneration. By contrast, Dominion would only grant ten points, all in ethera.

Did that mean its effect was weaker?

Or was it a sign that the unquantified effect was so strong that it had to take from the attribute bonuses? There was every chance that they were all equally powerful, just in different ways. But Elijah didn’t think so. Everything else he’d experienced from the system suggested that when there were options, there were almost always ones that stood above the other choices.

But what if the attribute bonuses were a hint? Two-to-four points per level weren’t enough to sway his decision, but if those amounts were indicators of relative power, he couldn’t afford to ignore them.

Elijah sighed, tilting his head back.

He couldn’t spend weeks waiting to make a decision. The reality was that the wasps would return, and likely sooner rather than later. His massacre was not a permanent solution to that particular infestation, and he wanted to be gone before they returned.

But he couldn’t rightly step into that portal before making a decision.

His gut told him that Dominion was the right choice, and so far, his instincts had proven themselves extremely valuable when it came to matters of the system. On top of that, his core was one of the major reasons he’d separated himself from everyone else. Without it, he’d still have his incredibly potent nature attunement, but the dragon core gave him the punch he needed to overcome some truly long odds.

Anything that enhanced that effect was bound to be good.

The aspect that truly sealed his choice was the mention of spellwork, though. Outside of the Labyrinth of the Dead Gods, he’d gotten a few hints at what might be possible through sheer ethereal manipulation. And he’d long since learned that his spells existed on a spectrum, rather than a consistent level of effectiveness. Presumably, increased ability in spellwork would give him a wider range to work with.

He made his choice, picking Dominion.

Elijah let out a gasp as vast waves of ethera flowed into him, filling his core until it felt like it was going to burst. It wasn’t so different than the exercises he routinely engaged in to stretch his core, though having it forced upon him made it even more jarring. He endured it, taking deep breaths and allowing himself to feel what was going on.

His core didn’t grow.

Instead, the ethera inside the sprouting seed became thicker. Denser. If before it was like water, then it became like molasses. Elijah imagined it as sap.

And then, suddenly, it was finished.

Elijah took one deep breath after another. He could already feel the difference, though he couldn’t pinpoint exactly what he felt. One thing was certain, though – he was sure that he’d made the right decision.

To reassure himself of that, he took a look at his status: