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

A summer wind skated across the plain, rustling the sparse vegetation before tousling Elijah’s hair. He sighed, propping his forearms on his knees as he stared at the dancing flame of his campfire. Nearby, he could feel various skittering insects as well as a few lizards who fed on them. In turn, he knew there was a nearby snake waiting to ambush any lizard who happened to cross its path. Above, a hawk screeched, ready to swoop in and capture the snake.

And somewhere, something assuredly hunted the hawk as well. That was nature. A constant cycle of conflict and death from which life was both sustained and renewed. Idly, he wondered where he fit in that circle.

But one look at the hunk of snake roasting over his fire told him precisely where he stood. For better or worse, he was at the top of the food chain. An alpha predator with few real threats. Yet, Elijah didn’t really take joy in his place above the other animals. Instead, he just felt a sense of belonging. He was as much a part of the ecosystem as any other beast. He was just self-aware enough to recognize it.

He did wonder about the wider universes, though. There were nine realms attached to the World Tree. And those realms were each host to innumerable universes that, in turn, contained a bevy of planets, many of which were populated. The vastness of those connected universes beggared Elijah’s imagination to the point where he couldn’t really comprehend it.

All he knew was that he was small.

Very, very small.

Never did he feel that more acutely than when he glanced up at the night sky and saw a blanket of uncountable stars. He sighed, leaning back as he waited for the snake cook. There was peace in knowing his place, even if he was no more important than a single grain of sand.

Those thoughts and more flitted through his mind as he stared up at the stars and listened to the sizzling sound of searing meat. The serpent had been a large creature – some form of mutated rattle snake, he thought – but it had died easily enough to a single swipe from a Predator Strike-enhanced claw. It had barely even awarded any experience.

But that didn’t matter. He’d hunted it for food. Not for progression.

In any case, it had weighed almost a hundred pounds, so, even though he didn’t particularly like snake, he had no issues with using the meat to augment his dwindling supplies. Eventually, the snake finished cooking, and he tore through the gamey meat, pairing it with a couple of grove berries and a jug of fresh water. It was a bit wasteful, but he’d grown so attached to the taste of those berries that he often ate more than he should.

Soon enough, though, he’d finished his meal. After that, he wrapped the remaining meat in wax paper he’d gotten back in Ironshore, then shoved the parcels into his Ghoul-Hide Satchel.

Finally, he retrieved the glittering leaf he’d gotten from the Branch back in Arvandor. It was called Druidic Cultivation, and he hoped it would be precisely what he needed. The Librarian had claimed as much, but Elijah wasn’t so sure. His class was supposed to be rare, and his archetype even more so. So, finding a means of cultivating his Soul – which required him to rebuild the pathways that had been dissolved during the initial stage – was something he considered a long shot.

When he opened the guide, he realized that his doubt was misplaced. The first bits recounted methods of reaching the first stage of cultivation. However, he was a bit surprised to learn that he’d had it quite a bit easier than most people. Apparently, his grove had assisted him quite a bit.