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

Elijah ripped the head free of the harpy, finally ending its life. He’d been hunting the creatures for nearly two weeks, and he’d finally found their lair. Thankfully, there had only been a few dozen there, and he’d spent the following couple of days waiting for them to leave, then pouncing on them as soon as they were isolated.

And at last, he’d finished off the final monster.

Fortunately, they were neither as observant nor as durable as he’d dreaded. Certainly, if he lingered in their presence, they would notice him. However, so long as he acted quickly, he could outpace their perception and attack before they recognized that they were even in danger.

As far as their durability was concerned, Elijah was unimpressed. They died within minutes of being bitten – less if he inflicted Envenom upon them multiple times. That cemented his impression that they were scouts – either Rangers or Explorers in terms of archetype – instead of front-line fighters.

They were strong, though. Elijah wasn’t certain what levels they had attained, but they were obviously ascended and not in the early stages of that grade. So, killing the monsters had given him quite a lot of experience, and he’d finally reached one-sixty-eight. Only two more levels, and he’d get another opportunity to evolve one of his spells or gain a new one.

And he very much looked forward to that. So much so that he wished there were more harpies around, if only so he could continue his hunt and gain more experience. However, he knew just how dangerous that would be. So far, he’d gotten lucky and avoided any real consequences, but he knew better than to expect that to continue.

Besides, he was more than a little tired of being in the Primal Realm – especially with the factory looming so close. Its presence was never out of his mind, largely because the huge building dominated the landscape. He could never escape the sense of wrongness it emanated. And finally, the constant smell and taste of smoke was always with him, reminding him of his ultimate mission.

Idly, he wondered if he was more concerned with conquering the Primal Realm or righting the unnatural aura he felt coming from the factory. Perhaps it was both, and in equal measure.

Regardless, Elijah had a mission, and he wouldn’t be dissuaded by a relatively easy experience. That was why he’d started hunting the harpies in the first place. They were constantly patrolling the skies, and Elijah reasoned that if he was going to infiltrate the factory, he needed to take care of them. So, he’d begun his hunt, thinking it would be over in a day or so. Now, two weeks later, he’d finally completed his task, and he was ready for the next step.

And even as he left the harpy nest behind in the mostly intact building where they roosted, he felt more than a little trepidation. He really wasn’t looking forward to climbing through that toxic duct, and not just because it stood a good chance of killing him. He’d tested it a little, and he’d discovered that Unchecked Growth could mostly counteract the corrosion. However, mostly wasn’t completely, and what’s more, he knew that he would be on a timer. The second Unchecked Growth wore off, he’d be eaten alive by the powerfully corrosive toxin.

It only took a few hours to reach the factory and climb into position. However, Elijah had no intention of going in blind. So, he spent quite a while pushing Soul of the Wild as hard as possible. He only managed to extend its range around ten feet, but even that was invaluable in mapping the system of ducts. Finally, Elijah cast his healing spells, used Blessing of the Grove, and pushed extra ethera into Grove Conduit. It wasn’t much, but he hoped it would help him to mitigate some of the damage.

Then, he shifted into the form of the thorned sentry and dove into the duct. It was a tight fit, but after he’d already removed the damaged grate, he could squeeze through. Not that he was thinking about that. With the corrosion already stripping away his scales and withering his vines, he definitely wasn’t thinking about anything but the pain.

But Elijah was well-versed in enduring pain. So, after shunting it into one facet of his mind, he surged forward with as much speed as he could muster. For the first ten feet, he managed to keep a mostly even keel, but the second he left the range of Blessing of the Grove and his conduit, he started losing ground. When the second stage of Nature’s Bloom hit, some of that damage was reversed, but that only lasted a few seconds before he once again found himself in dire straits.

That’s when he hit the first branch. He chose the left-most direction, continuing to crawl as quickly as possible.

That’s when Wild Resurgence ran its course. He recast it, but that slight delay was enough to put him behind schedule.

Elijah felt his scales dissolve as the corrosive emissions assaulted his tender flesh. The Constitution of Shape of Thorn helped to mitigate its progress, at least to some extent, but he knew he only had a few seconds before he’d need to take the next step.

Still, he delayed for as long as he could, with his muscles turning to slurry amidst the toxic gas. He grunted, pulling himself forward with inextricable stoicism until he felt his body begin to fail.

After the dissipation and reapplication of Wild Resurgence, he’d lasted no more than fifteen seconds before he was forced to activate Unchecked Growth.

Instantly, he stopped losing ground. In fact, he gained a little with every passing second. Unfortunately, it had a limited duration:

Taken from NovelFire, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.