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

Elijah floated only a few dozen feet below the surface, but his attention remained fixed on the scene below. As Lamar had described, there was a city down there, but it looked nothing like what he might have expected on the surface. Constructed of coral and decorated with various sea plants, it was unlike anything he’d ever seen. Adding to that impression were the denizens, which the former linebacker had described as mermaids.

In the most basic sense, they lived up to that label. They were clearly hybrids between the planet’s native ta’alaki and fish, which gave them a reptilian cast that more resembled eels with arms than what Elijah had been led to expect by popular movies. Each one carried a trident, and on more than one occasion, Elijah had seen – from afar via Eyes of the Eagle – the creatures tearing into one another. That they’d managed to build a city at all, given their obviously warlike nature, was quite a surprise.

That was part of the scenario, according to Lamar. The aquatic humanoids were known as alaken, and they considered themselves the true natives of Ka’arith. As was the case with Earth, the planet was predominantly covered in water, and in the sea, alaken were the undisputed masters. What’s more, they had been hit even harder by Ka’arith’s excisement from the World Tree, and the vast majority of their civilization had fallen. Only their most prominent city, led by the most powerful among them, had survived.

However, with the fall of their entire society came a regression in their mindset. They’d always been warlike, but after many of their leaders had been slain – or in some cases, fled before the excisement was finalized – they became even more aggressive. Now, they had become at least as savage as orcs, and the only reason they hadn’t spread was because they were confined to the sea.

It was yet another cautionary tale, and one that seemed to have been repeated throughout Ka’arith. Excisement from the World Tree hadn’t simply cut them off from the rest of the multi-verse and set them adrift in the Abyss. It had brought out the worst of their natures, sending them back to more primitive times.

Yet, even as those thoughts skittered through Elijah’s mind, he found himself wondering why, if the world had indeed been cursed to existence in the Abyss, they hadn’t found any Voxx. Sure, there was corruption here and there – like in the fallen grove where Elijah had been confronted by the whispers of his own failures – but he’d yet to see a single Voxx. That didn’t make much sense.

Still, in the Shape of Venom, he looked down on the city and wondered how much had changed after Lamar and his team had managed the first clear. He’d long suspected that the first time through a challenge would be far and away the most difficult, but he’d never had the opportunity to experience the difference himself.

And he was eager to do so.

With that in mind, Elijah cloaked himself in Guise of the Unseen, then swam downward. After a few hundred feet, he started to feel the pressure of the depths, but because of his Iron Body and his attributes, he had no difficulty enduring it. Perhaps he could visit the Mariana Trench when he returned to Earth.

If it still existed, which was far from guaranteed.

Once Elijah came within a half mile of the city – which stretched at least five miles in every direction – he received the notification he had expected: