Path of Dragons - A LitRPG Apocalypse (BOOK TWO STUBBING AUGUST 15)

It had been almost three weeks since the stranger had come out of nowhere, brought hundreds of people back from the brink of certain death, and then declared he would conquer the tower that had plagued Norcastle for months. In that time, Captain Orville Essex had begun to doubt his initial impression of the man. According to his Inspect ability, Elijah Smith was an unremarkable, level eighteen Healer. Yet, the way he’d moved, not to mention his feats in the hospital, had come at odds with that label.

Essex had chosen to trust his gut that something was amiss, and what’s more, he had decided to trust the man. He’d come to regret that in the intervening weeks, when the mayor and the goons he’d put on his council had taken issue with the fact that Essex hadn’t let them know about the enigmatic Healer. More, they’d called his qualifications into question, casting doubt on his assessment of Elijah. They had even spread rumors about his ineptitude. After all, if he thought a level eighteen Healer was special – aside from his ability to work in the hospital – then why would the citizens of Norcastle trust him with their security?

But the captain had held fast in his assessment. Elijah Smith was not normal. In fact, Essex suspected that the Healer had some ability or item meant to obfuscate his true class and level. That was the only explanation for his obviously high attributes. He’d subdued one of Essex’s guards without skipping a beat, and what’s more, he clearly had the ability to traverse the wilderness alone. That, combined with the reportedly ridiculous Ethera pool that allowed him to heal far more than anyone else in the city, was enough to convince Essex that the man was special.

Was he special enough to conquer a tower that had, so far, killed more than two dozen of Norcastle’s strongest warriors? That was the question that had kept him up at night.

“I should have insisted on sending some of my people with him,” he muttered, staring at his desk.

Jess Roy, the other Healer who’d brought Elijah to Essex in the first place, sat across from him. As she had done every day since his departure, she’d come by to ask after the man’s well-being. And as always, Essex had no answers. The tower had yet to erupt into another surge, so they knew the other Healer was still alive. Beyond that, though, his fate was a complete mystery.

“You can’t just send some people in to help him?” she asked.

Essex shook his head, “We’ve been over this. Even if you don’t send the maximum number of people into a tower – which is six, apparently – it locks others out after a few hours. Last week, I sent some people up there to check, and they were blocked from getting in. He’s still alive, but we can’t help him. As long as it doesn’t send another surge out, we know he’s still alive, though.”

“You still think he’s that guy on the ladder,” she said.

“I do,” the captain responded, leaning back and running a hand through his hair. As he did, he pulled up the appropriate list: