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

Elijah’s staff clacked against Miguel’s sword, and even though he’d barely put any strength behind it, the blade went flying backward. He followed that up with a gentle tap to his nephew’s chest. “Too slow,” he said.

Miguel’s fingers tightened around the hilt of his sword as he took a step back and grunted, “Again.”

“I think you’ve had enough for –”

Elijah didn’t get the chance to finish his sentence before he saw the thrown dagger Miguel had whipped in his direction. He sidestepped, but that put him a little off-balance when his nephew followed the distraction with a thrust. Elijah twisted, using his increased reaction speed from Lupine Reflexes to narrowly avoid the sword strike. He dipped low, slapping the Feral Spire against Miguel’s ankle and sweeping his legs out from underneath him.

Miguel hung in the air for a subjective instant before falling to the ground. His back hit with an audible thud, and the air flew from his lungs in a sharp exhale. Elijah placed the butt of his staff against the young man’s chest, pinning him in place. “I said I think you’ve had enough for now,” Elijah stated.

“I get it,” Miguel spat through gritted teeth.

Cocking his head to the side, Elijah asked, “If I let you up, are you going to attack me again?”

“Maybe.”

“At least you’re honest,” Elijah muttered before removing the staff. As it turned out, Miguel didn’t attack him, but it was plain to see that the young man did not enjoy losing. Elijah could empathize with that.

“How do you move so fast? I read about Druids. You’re not supposed to be able to do that,” remarked Miguel as he rubbed the back of his head.

“First of all, I’m more than my archetype,” Elijah said, casting Soothe upon his nephew. That would be more than enough to bring him back to perfect condition. “Everyone is. Mostly, I can punch above my weight class because of my cultivation. Every attribute point I have does more because of that. Also, my reaction speed is increased by five percent. It’s a self-only buff.”

“Seems overpowered,” Miguel stated.

Elijah shrugged. “I hope so. With my Legacy, most of my spell evolutions are pretty powerful,” he said. “That’s another reason I’ve managed to survive. If you don’t take anything else from this, remember one thing. Levels are only one measure of progress. They do not tell the full story of anyone’s power. The same is true of attributes. Those numbers are great for giving you a sense of your own relative progress, but the second you start comparing yourself to others, things get a little murky. Take Strength, for instance. The higher a number is, the better. We know that much. But your hundred points in Strength are worth less than mine because I’ve reached a higher tier of body and overall cultivation.”

“I…I see.”

“But you’ve done well,” Elijah said, reaching out to grip his nephew’s shoulder. “What level are you, anyway?”

“Thirty-nine,” he answered.

“Damn. I’ve got more than eight-five levels on you,” Elijah pointed out. “That you can keep up with me even for a few seconds is an accomplishment. When you get to my level, you’re going to be an absolute beast.”

Miguel still didn’t look happy, but he nodded, saying, “I need to get back to training. Thank you for sparring with me. I learned…a lot.”

After an awkward moment of silence, Elijah gave his nephew a nod. Miguel turned on his heel and sprinted away. For the next few minutes, Elijah watched – via his domain – as Miguel made good on his professed need to train. The young man worked as hard as anyone Elijah had ever seen, which was saying something. If that was all it took to be successful, then Miguel would definitely go a long way.

It was too bad, then, that it took far more than simple training. Miguel would need to endure quite a lot of hardship if he was going to reach his potential.

“He’s quite committed, is he not?” came Nerthus’ voice. “Driven, one might say.”

“Hey, Nerthus. How are things?” Elijah asked, turning to see the spryggent standing nearby. Nerthus had grown a few extra inches, which meant that he was taller than Elijah, if only by a little. It wouldn’t be long before he had to look up at the tree spirit.

“I am well,” Nerthus answered. “The grove flourishes. Do you feel the increased density of the ambient ethera? Once you become an ascendent, it will take an enormous step forward, both in quality as well as breadth. I look forward to it.”

“Me too,” Elijah said.

“Why have you not evolved your class? I sense that you have satisfied the requirements.”

“Long story short, a dragon told me to do some other things first.”

“Then you should heed that advice. Dragons are known throughout the multi-verse for their wisdom.”

“Technically, I’m a dragon,” Elijah pointed out.

“Most dragons. Not all.”

“Ouch.”

Nerthus just stood there with his wooden face. Elijah knew him well enough to recognize a slight smirk. Apparently, spryggents were fully capable of making jokes at his expense.

“So unappreciated,” Elijah said, shaking his head from side to side. “I’m going to visit Ironshore for a little while, but when I get back, we need to get together and go over my rewards from the Trial. I think some of them could really benefit the grove. Or failing that, then the island in general.” Nerthus definitely perked up at that, but Elijah cut him off before he could speak. “But I need to check some things before we get into all that.”

Indeed, he had a few items to check off his to-do list, and he knew that if he didn’t address them sooner rather than later, he would get distracted by more interesting things. Like the aforementioned rewards. Or inspecting his new shape, which he’d so far resisted because he didn’t want to go down that rabbit hole until he was ready to give it the attention it deserved.

“Very well,” Nerthus said. “I shall continue to tend the grove until your eventual return.”

“Don’t pout, man. I’ll be back before you know it,” Elijah said.

With that, he embraced the Shape of Sky, then launched himself into the air. In seconds, he was flying past the trees and over the placid waters between his island and the shore. For a few moments, he just enjoyed the feeling of the wind in his face, but he soon remembered just how much he needed to do. So, he regretfully landed just outside the city, then walked to the gate.

As it turned out, there were a couple of humans on guard, and neither of them recognized him.

“Who’re you supposed to be, huh?” asked one of the guards. She was a middle-aged woman with a stout form. “You think we just let anyone in?”

“Sorry – I should probably introduce myself. I’m Elijah. I live over there,” he said, pointing vaguely toward the island. “You might have heard of me.”

She paled and stammered some response that never actually reached the level of clarity necessary for intelligibility. More importantly, she stepped aside and allowed Elijah entry. Perhaps his reputation wasn’t so onerous after all.

Whatever the case, neither of the guards made any further attempt to bar his way, and Elijah entered without issue. The city itself was in remarkably good shape, though there were a few signs of battle here and there. Mostly, that was confined to some persistent blood stains on the walls of various buildings, but Elijah saw some structural damage here and there as well.

He couldn’t help but wonder how the situation might have differed if it weren’t for the huge, hundred-plus foot wall they’d built around the city. Either way, Elijah couldn’t help but think that the dark elves had held back quite a bit. They seemed to have had no interest in taking a destroyed city. Otherwise, they would have obliterated it from afar.

After all, the concept of a catapult wasn’t all that complex. Surely, the dark elves had something similar.

No, from what Elijah could tell, they’d wanted to take the city – and its population – intact. What that meant about their plans, Elijah didn’t know, but he expected that Ramik would figure it out after his people had the chance to interrogate the many prisoners they’d taken.

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Regardless, Elijah wasn’t in a position to concern himself with dark elves. They were an issue, sure, but the dangers they represented were pretty far down his list of problems. So, with that in mind, he quickly traversed the city – trying to ignore the furtive glances that followed him through the streets – until he reached the fortress at the center of town. It was an impressive structure, if only because of how impregnable it had proven to be. From an aesthetic standpoint, it was less remarkable, and to Elijah, it looked like nothing so much as a concrete cube.

Imposing, maybe, but far from beautiful. That was especially evident because the rest of the city had clearly been built with an eye toward cosmetic appeal.

He climbed the steps, which encircled the entire building, before proceeding inside. Thankfully, everything he needed to do could be accomplished in the same place, so he quickly made his way toward the Branch. He’d arrived there only a couple of days before, so he remembered the way well enough. However, this time, the interior of the building wasn’t packed with thousands of frightened, beaten, and battered people. Instead, the halls were clear, so he made it to the chamber containing the Branch quickly enough.

There, he met the Envoy of the World Tree. The dwarven woman wore an elaborate, green robe decorated with golden scrollwork. Technically, those who safeguarded the Branches of the World Tree were considered neutral, and they certainly weren’t in much danger so long as they remained within their limited domain around the Branch itself. However, they were also part of their communities, and their friends and loved ones were no safer than anyone else.

Some cultures considered targeting the Envoys by proxy to be beyond the pale, but that wasn’t true for everyone. No one knew what approach the dark elves would have taken, but Ironshore’s Envoy – named Genia – was clearly appreciative of Elijah’s efforts. She still confined her gratitude to a single nod of respect, then pointed towards the end of the line.

Elijah took his place, then waited until the three people ahead of him had finished with their business before stepping forward to access the Branch. Once he had his hand on the crystalline trunk, he accessed the Bank and looked at his account: