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

Gabriel was beautiful.

His skin shimmered golden over perfectly sculpted features that would have been entirely at home on a statue of a Greek god, while his hair – which seemed like it was composed of strands of pure, white light – danced in a nonexistent wind. But his eyes, bearing incomprehensible symbols instead of irises, drew more attention than any of his other traits.

If he’d claimed to be a god, Sadie would have believed him.

“How are you here?” she asked breathlessly.

“I am not,” he said, his voice ringing with the tone of resonant bells. “This form is but an illusion. It is the tiniest sliver of my spirit given a shape of light and sound.”

“I…I see,” she said.

“You do not, but I do not expect you to. Your perception is too limited to fully understand the scope of my words,” he said. There was no arrogance in the statement. Only fact. “However, I did not attend you in order to speak of things you have no hope of comprehending. Instead, I have come to offer advice. Perhaps incentive, as well.”

“I’m listening,” Sadie stated, struggling to gather her wits. The man before her had a human shape, and though he wore simple robes of white, she knew that he was a prominent fighter. She could feel that much in her very spirit. His mere presence was overwhelming, and to every one of her senses, both mundane and magical.

“Do you trust me?”

“No.”

His eyes widened, but the expression was gone well before Sadie could decipher whether it came from surprise or anger. “Why not?” he asked, his voice betraying none of his feelings. In fact, it sounded so innocent that Sadie almost forgot her own grievances. It only took another moment before they all came rushing back to her.

But one stood out above all others.

“Your core changed my class,” she said.

“Of course. All elder cores will alter your abilities.”

“I didn’t know what I was getting into,” she stated. “Some of these abilities…they’re too much. Every day, I have to live with seeing the worst of everyone I meet. And there isn’t a human being out there who’s completely without sin. It’s too much. It’s overwhelming. I feel entirely isolated, like I don’t belong. Like I never will.”

“That is by design.”

“W-what?”

“Do you know why I chose you?” Gabriel asked.

Up until that moment, Sadie had thought she knew the answer to that question. She was fighting against a force of undead that seemed to consort with demons, the natural enemies of angels. But the angel’s demeanor suggested that there was more to the decision than she had previously suspected.

“I don’t,” she admitted.

“Good. Acknowledging your ignorance is a necessary step toward enlightenment,” he said with a tight smile that never touched his runic eyes. “I chose you for a variety of reasons. I looked into your heart, and I saw a kindred spirit who valued justice and order. Likely, you already know the second reason. The enemy of my enemy is a potential ally. You fought the undead and the demonic trash with whom they cooperate. Yet, we do not grant elder cores to all who fight our enemies. Even if that was our wish, we simply do not possess power on that scale.”

“You seem strong enough to do whatever you want,” Sadie said. It wasn’t a flippant comment, either. Even the illusory version of the angel – which was apparently barely a fraction of his real self – put pressure on her spirit in a way nothing else ever had. By comparison, even the lava kraken or the umbrafyix were nothing. And both of those creatures could have squashed her like an insect.

“Would that were the case,” he acknowledged, a wistful note to his voice. “I am not here to discuss the power necessary to grant an elder core. Suffice it to say that it is a very rare occurrence, reserved only for those who meet strenuous requirements. One of those necessary factors is your class.”

Sadie didn’t respond, but she was more than a little skeptical. The Crusader class wasn’t common, but she’d done a little research and found that it was barely considered rare. Surely, there were plenty of people out there who’d taken the class.

“While the class itself is not considered rare, most who are offered the chance to become a Crusader end up taking less focused classes,” Gabriel stated. “So, there are not many who take it. Most are like you – people who are protecting their worlds from incursions of evil origin.”

“I can see that,” Sadie acknowledged. “So, it’s rarer than it seems.”

“Indeed it is,” the angel agreed. “Yet, even that is not enough to garner our attention. The fact that you are on a newly touched world sets you apart. You will be afforded opportunities for growth that few others can boast. In addition, you have established yourself as extraordinary. From the very beginning, you have been near the pinnacle of your race. All of that together is why you were chosen.”

“I see,” Sadie said. “So, what does this mean?”

“It means that you must be tested. You must endure a crucible.”

If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

At that, she nearly laughed. It seemed that everything she’d been through since the world had transformed had been a test. She’d been fighting for her life since the very beginning, and participating in the Trial had forced even more danger upon her. She had lost count of how many times she’d nearly died. So, if a crucible was necessary, she felt secure in the notion that she’d already been through one.

“Not of physical danger,” he added, obviously seeing her skepticism. “That skill of yours, Sense of Sin – do you know what its original form was?”

She shook her head. “I wasn’t even certain that it had been changed.”

“Your core has changed many of your abilities,” Gabriel revealed. “Most have to do with the Miracles available to you, but Sense of Sin and Confession are both far more powerful now that they are powered by an angel core. For instance, for most Crusaders, Sense of Sin is a much weaker ability called Pursuit of Justice. It only gives them a minor sense of misdeeds, and it is easily ignored.”

Sadie had already suspected as much, but having it confirmed only cemented her distrust of the angel. He’d given her power, but that action had also doomed her to pay a cost she’d never agreed to pay. If she had known what the angel core would do to her class…

She still would have taken it.

The stakes were too high to worry about her personal discomfort. If saving her people meant that she had to endure abilities like Sense of Sin, then that was something she would just have to live with.

“Good. Your priorities are well ordered.”

“What do you want?” she asked. “Why are you here?”

Gabriel answered, “I want to ensure that you do not make a mistake in your choice of specialization.”

Sadie still hadn’t even looked at her choices, but it seemed as good a time as any to do just that: