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

Elijah dove deep, moving so quickly that the light from above soon faded into an inky blackness. Often, his various forms came with unspecified benefits. For instance, with Shape of the Scourge – and all its precedents – he was blessed with all the instincts and senses of an apex predator. And all of his other forms featured similar understated but essential traits.

So it was with Shape of the Primordial Deep, which allowed him to see in the near-total blackness of the deepest parts of the sea. Not as well as in the light of day, but it was more than enough for him to make out the details around him.

Sealife on the draconic planet was very different than it was on Earth. Most of the fish showed reptilian traits, and there were very few mammals around. But the flora was similar enough that Elijah could almost convince himself that he was swimming through the ocean around his island.

But the biggest difference was the sheer scale of it all.

Huge strands of kelp rose hundreds of feet from the seafloor, almost like living skyscrapers. Enormous stands of coral formed submerged mountains that, in turn, created habitats for thousands of species, big and small.

Elijah swam along the bottom of the sea until he found himself amidst a forest of lights. Upon closer inspection, those balls of illumination looked a lot like jellyfish, though they were attached to plants. Only the briefest contact with the tentacles drifting along in the current told Elijah that they were incredibly dangerous, though. His flipper went immediately numb, only stopping when he cast two instances of Wild Resurgence.

And that was with his much-increased constitution attribute.

What would it do to a normal demi-god who lacked the enhancement of Shape of the Primordial Deep?

Doubtless, most people would succumb in moments.

Elijah let out a sigh, sending a cascade of bubbles toward the surface. Briefly, he considered using the odd plant-jellyfish creatures as a body cultivation aid, but after only a little consideration, he determined that it wouldn’t fit his style very well. Going numb would be unpleasant, but it would take months before he felt any real damage.

No – he would need something far more immediately dangerous than a forest of jellyfish plants.

Still, they were interesting and, so long as he kept his distance, oddly calming. Elijah floated a few dozen feet above them, just enjoying the ambiance.

Then, suddenly, he felt something biting his right-most front flipper.

It didn’t hurt, but it was more than a little annoying. So, Elijah waved his flipper, only to see that a creature had latched on. Narrowing his eyes, he recognized that the beast in question was not a beast at all. Rather, it was a young dragon with blue scales. And the thing clearly lacked any sort of survival instinct, because it felt barely more powerful than Sara had the first time he’d met her.

Not wanting to throw the dragon into the jellyfish plants, Elijah lazily ascended until he was certain he wouldn’t put the annoying creature in undue danger. Then, he vigorously shook his flipper.

To its credit, the dragon held on for three full shakes before it ripped free and tumbled away into the darkness. Sighing again, Elijah swam away, pushing himself to his top speed.

And considering his massive attributes, he could cover quite a lot of ground in a short amount of time.

Soon, he was miles away.

The encounter did remind him that the entire planet was a dragon spawning ground. After all, there was a reason that most people didn’t venture into the wilderness, and it wasn’t always because of the inherent danger. Young dragons were meant to find their own way without any influence from the civilization that the strongest among them would one day join.

As far as Elijah was able to discern, the dragon life cycle followed three major phases. The first was the Culling, which lasted from the moment they hatched until they developed enough intelligence to approach sapience. After that, those surviving dragons were taken in by people with specialized classes that helped them acclimate to their rapidly burgeoning intelligence. It was during this period that Elijah had first met Sara, though most young dragons were never given the chance to explore newly integrated worlds.

Apparently, Kirlissa had broken a few rules there.

In any case, the third phase of a dragon’s life began once they achieved true sapience. This usually coincided with the attainment of an alternate form. Most chose something humanoid, though Elijah hadn’t learned the reason behind that. Maybe they just found it aesthetically pleasing.

Whatever the case, that was when they were considered true dragons.

Only one in thousands ever reached that point. Most of them died during the Culling, but some few ended up never developing true sapience. That was where most wyrms came from, though some true dragons ended up backsliding as well.

Drakes were the ones who never developed a dragon core, and as such, lacked the shapeshifting ability required to alter their forms. Instead, they generally settled into one of three types of bodies. Tetradraks, like Dolo. Those like Birk, huge and hulking but bipedal. Or the ones like Tura, who were comparatively smaller but tended more towards non-combat or spellcasting archetypes.

Regardless, it was a brutal form of child-rearing, and it required an unwavering commitment to the survival-of-the-fittest mentality. Elijah wasn’t sure he could ever abandon his children like that, regardless of the prevailing culture.

This book was originally published on NovelPhoenix. Check it out there for the real experience.

Not that he intended to have children anytime soon. Or perhaps ever. He was a little too selfish for that. Maybe that would fade in the future, but as far as he was concerned, he had thousands of years to decide.

While he considered the draconic life cycle and the possibility of children, Elijah swam around, enjoying his newly increased attributes and the freedom that came with them. Along the way, he sensed plenty of powerful beasts and even a couple of guardians protecting their natural treasures. But he moved along before he drew their ire.

Eventually, he reached a relatively unpopulated stretch of the sea. Once he was sure that his actions wouldn’t unduly disturb any of the local wildlife, Elijah decided to test the most interesting ability he’d attained with Shape of the Primordial Deep.