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

Elijah lay on the floor, his breath coming deep and slow, as he came to grips with the previous battle. In the beginning, he’d thought that his new abilities hadn’t been effective, but as the battle wore on, he’d come to realize that the Engineer was just that powerful. He didn’t know what the ka’alaki had done to himself – aside from the obvious – but whatever it was, it had made him insanely durable.

And the firepower he had at his disposal was absolutely incredible. Was that really possible at the peak of the Mortal Realm? If so, Elijah needed to get there sooner rather than later.

He glanced toward where Sadie lay unconscious. Ron was busy trying to yank the Engineer’s leg out of her thigh, but it had gone so deep into the floor that it wasn’t budging under the Healer’s efforts.

Sighing, Elijah pushed himself upright but Ron said, “Don’t. You’re in no condition to move.”

“I’m fine,” Elijah lied. His skin felt like it would burst into flames at any moment. That wasn’t terribly surprising, given what he’d been through. Even though he’d used Guardian’s Renewal to survive the wasp’s attack, he hadn’t made it through unscathed. Nor had he had enough time to completely heal via his other spells. He’d fought the Engineer before he’d had that chance. He didn’t think it was any coincidence that the ka’alaki had used fire as well.

“Seriously, bro,” said Dat. “You look like Deadpool right now.”

“Ouch,” Elijah muttered, bringing to mind the image of the famously scarred antihero. “Let’s hope I have better luck healing.”

He had good reason to believe that he would, though he was just as positive that he would still bear some degree of scarring. There was no way the system was going to let him escape completely unmarked.

In any case, as he approached Sadie’s prone form, he cast Healing Rain and Soothe, then added Nature’s Bloom. In addition, he already had three different heals – two that would work over time, and another that worked far more quickly – from Ron active. Hopefully, it would be enough to let him quickly set aside the consequences of his most recent battles.

He grabbed the leg, but even with his Strength, it wouldn’t budge. In the end, it required everyone in the group to yank it free, and it took a good portion of Sadie’s thigh with it. Looking concerned, Dat asked, “Is she going to be okay?”

“She’ll be fine in a few hours,” Ron promised, already working on Sadie. He’d begun cleaning the wound, and he’d taken a few bandages from his pack. Apparently, he’d had them treated by an Alchemist that was part of Atticus consortium, and as such, they would promote quicker healing.

Elijah checked everyone else for injuries, but aside from being a bit groggy from whatever the Engineer had done to knock them unconscious, they were all perfectly fine. Dat had a half-healed wound in his chest, but he wasn’t in any danger of succumbing to the wound. So, after he re-cast Healing Rain and Soothe on himself, Dat, and Sadie, he settled down to let his body recuperate. While he did, he went over the events of the battle.

Or directly preceding it, at least.

The moment he saw the situation, he’d made a snap decision to evolve Shape of the Predator. The Engineer’s power was palpable, so he knew he would need to use everything at his disposal. With that in mind, he had chosen Shape of Venom.

It wasn’t just a spur-of-the-moment thing, either. Certainly, he’d thought it was the best choice for the situation, but the decision was based on previous experiences as well. The draconid form was strong, but when it came to powerful opponents – which was the only situation where his choice would matter – he’d found that a simple ambush was not sufficient to do what needed to be done. Often, he’d attacked from under the Guise of the Unseen and only wounded his most powerful enemies.

But his afflictions – both via Swarm, Contagion, and Venom Strike – had proven that they could wear down a strong foe. And in the battle against the Engineer, it had been even more effective than he’d expected. Largely, that was because of two abilities: