Path of Dragons - A LitRPG Apocalypse (BOOK TWO ON KINDLE SEPT. 2)

Sadie erupted into motion, letting out snarl as she slammed her fist into the frost-covered boulder. It cracked beneath the blow, but due to being bathed in dense ethera for months, the rock was durable enough to withstand the unwarranted attack.

“I don’t think that’s helpful,” Elijah said from his position across the cultivation chamber. He’d been pondering the shape of his soul while trying to usher a plant back to health. He didn’t know what it was called, but the plant was a prickly ball of thorns. He could feel the beauty within the nascent buds that he hoped would bloom into beautiful flowers.

“This is useless,” she groaned, flopping back on her back. “We’ve been at it for days, and I’m no closer to partitioning my mind than I was when we started.”

The complaint was warranted. For Elijah, it hadn’t been that difficult to break his mind into multiple facets. The biggest issue for him was getting enough ethera to fuel his cultivation, so he’d expected Sadie to knock it out in a day or two. But the attempt had proven to be much more difficult that he could have anticipated, with Sadie struggling to even conceptualize the process, much less put it into practice.

“You’re holding back,” she accused. “You don’t want me to surpass you.”

“Wow,” he said, shaking his head. “Just wow. First of all, you’re not going to pass me. I’m two stages higher than you right now, and I’ve already got some ideas on how to take the next step. And second, I’m literally trying to help you here. That’s the whole reason I brought you back to the cave. Which I built for you all, by the way. I get nothing out of this.”

“Except you get to watch me fail over and over again. You probably enjoy that kind of thing,” she spat.

“It’s the beratement, really. That’s my goal. I just want to hear you insult me over and over again. It’s kind of my thing,” he said.

“W-what –”

“Jokes, Sadie. It’s a joke. Jesus – you really are worked up,” he said. “Can’t you just trust that I’m here to help you? Why won’t you believe that?”

“Other than the fact that none of your ‘advice’ has worked?”

“Did you just air-quote me?”

“It seems appropriate.”

He let out another sigh. “Seriously. That’s how it all worked for me,” he said. He’d already explained – numerous times – how he’d broken his own Mind into multiple facets and achieved the Quartz stage of his development. Either she hadn’t listened, or she refused to follow his instructions.

Or maybe she just didn’t have the talent for it.

Elijah knew that cultivation wasn’t a hard science. But with the amount of research people had done into the subject, there were a few accepted facts. One of them was that, like most other elements of a person’s development, success depended at least a little on talent. One could overcome that requirement through work or, as was the case with most people, sheer investment of time, but talent made it easier for some people to cultivate than others.

His own experiences supported that notion. Cultivation wasn’t easy for him, but he’d yet to hit any walls. Meanwhile, people like Sadie struggled to move past even the first stage. That did not bode well for her future, considering that each subsequent improvement was even more difficult than the last.

Easing that burden was the fact that the way grew easier if one’s cultivation lagged behind their level. For instance, levels one to one-twenty-five were generally considered the Mortal Realm of progression, and the first few stages of cultivation coincided with that. So, for a mortal, progressing through those stages was at peak difficulty. Once they reached the ascendent levels, it grew marginally easier. So, most people who attained a significant number of levels would have at least some advancements in cultivation to back them up.

What really set elites apart was when, like Elijah, their cultivation kept pace with their levels. Or in some cases, even exceeded it.

When he’d learned that bit of information, that had immediately become his goal. Yet, saying that was what he wanted to do and putting it into practice were two different things, and he knew he had a difficult road ahead of him.

Sadie’s would probably be even harder to travel.

“I know that,” she said, her expression softening. “It’s just that being cooped up in here with you is not…not conducive to concentration.”

“Are you asking me to leave?”

“I’m telling you that if you stay here for much longer, I’m going to give in to my instincts.”

“Good instincts or bad instincts?”

“I think you know the answer to that question,” she said with a dangerous glint in her eye. Elijah didn’t think she would actually attack him, but then again, he had no idea how strong Sense of Sin had become. She’d talked a powerful ka’alaki into surrendering to execution, so there was no telling what capabilities Sadie might possess.

With that in mind, Elijah decided that it was better to be safe than sorry. So, he quickly excused himself, exiting the cave and planting himself far enough away that she couldn’t hope to sense his presence.

Then, he sighed, his breath misting as he looked around the area. The terrain was just as frozen as it had been during their first visit, but it was far more populated. It seemed that word had gotten out that the challenge had already been conquered once, and the rest of the Trial-takers had decided to test their mettle upon the frozen fortress.

Elijah wished them luck, but there was a bit of resentment there as well. A good bit of his pride was wrapped up in the notion that he and his companions were special. That they’d accomplished things others couldn’t. And while that was still true, the idea that other people might experience – and defeat – the challenge of Pruina was enough to leave a sour taste in his mouth.

Stolen novel; please report.

Did it matter that they were facing a much weaker version?

Not really.

Whatever the case, he’d noticed more than a few groups trekking through the area. A couple had even stopped by his camp, though the moment they recognized him, they hurried along. Apparently, he had a bit of a reputation.

After a few minutes, Elijah tried to focus on other tasks. Outside of the cultivation cave, he couldn’t really work on his soul. So, that was out. He tried to whittle some, but he lacked inspiration. Then, he started working out, but his body had outgrown his attempts. If he wanted to push himself in any meaningful way, he would need specialized equipment. Finally, he thought back to his decision about his latest spell evolution.

He’d chosen the Wild Infusion option, largely because it offered the most balanced benefits. The other two would push him in one direction or the other, which wasn’t what he wanted. He used Shape of Venom and the Shape of the Guardian equally, depending on the situation, and as far as he was concerned, their governing attributes carried the same import. Still, upon glancing at the new spell description, he couldn’t help but wonder just how powerful the other versions might have been:

Wild Infusion

Harness the power of nature, increasing all physical attributes by sixty-five points. Also increases resistances by a small amount determined by Core cultivation.

It was an incredible increase in his attributes, though if he thought about it, the amount shouldn’t have been that surprising. When he’d first gotten access to his essence line of spells, the resulting buffs had nearly double his attributes. The new version didn’t quite go that far, but in order to avoid becoming useless, Wild Infusion needed to offer a significant increase to his attributes. Bolstering his resistances was just icing on the cake, and he hoped that the new spell would help him overcome the remainder of the Trial.

For now, though, he was incredibly bored, and his mind wandered across a hundred different subjects. It was just when he was contemplating trying to build a chair that he sensed someone coming. Or many someones, as it turned out. More, he recognized the newcomers. So, when Oscar and his pack of furry friends appeared out of the forest, he was not surprised.

“What’s up?” he asked with a grin as the two biggest dogs bounded toward him. He’d seen them ripping apart Immortals with ease, so he knew just how terrifying they could be. But to him, they just felt like balls of friendly fluff. And there was just something cathartic about petting a dog. It made everything better.

“I thought it was you.”

“Hungry?” he asked. He’d saved quite a lot of the wild pig-beast he’d killed only a week or so before, and it had remained well-preserved in his pack. “I’m not much of a cook, but I can make it taste decent at least.”

“Sure,” Oscar said, dropping to his haunches. “But the dogs will take it raw.”

The chihuahua yapped at him, and one of the big ones whined.

“No. Spices are bad for you. You don’t want a repeat of the chocolate situation, do you?” he chided. That shut them up, though the big one – it looked like a rottweiler, but mixed with a labrador – dropped dramatically to the ground. The huff he let out sounded so pitiful that Elijah almost found himself trying to convince Oscar that it wouldn’t be so bad.

“Are you going to attempt the challenge?” Elijah asked, already pulling meat out of his Ghoul-Hide Satchel. There was around forty pounds of the stuff left, but he worried that wouldn’t be enough. Something told him that the dogs would eat far more than they would have before Earth’s transformation.

Oscar nodded. “It is good training,” he said. Then, he looked at the dogs. “They need it.” The chihuahua barked. “Yes, you. We’ve talked about this.”

“Can you understand them?” Elijah asked, retrieving a spit from his satchel. He’d gotten it from one of the crafters in Atticus’ consortium. It wasn’t artificed, but it was enchanted. That made it slightly better than normal.

“Mostly,” Oscar admitted. “No words, though. Just feelings. Where is your team?”

“Sadie’s back there,” Elijah answered, hiking his thumb of his shoulder to indicate the opening that led to the cave. It was barely visible even though he knew it was there. “The rest of them are headed to the Ethereum challenge.”

“Did you split up?”

“No,” Elijah said. “Sadie and I just needed to get away for a little while.”

“Oh. I didn’t know you were together.”

“I just told you she’s right back there. I don’t…oh,” Elijah said, feeling his cheeks flush. “No. It’s not like that. She hates me. We built a cultivation cave here, and she’s trying to take advantage of it right now.”

At that, two of the dogs perked up. The little shih tzu and the chihuahua sprang to their feet, barking their high-pitched barks.

“A cultivation cave,” Oscar mused. “Is that what I think it is?”

“If you’re thinking that it’s a cave with extremely high ethera density that’s perfect for advancing your cultivation, then yes,” Elijah said. “Why?”

“Jojo and Escobar would like to take advantage of it,” he said. “They’re both close to advancing to the third stage of their specialization. Jojo focuses on Body, while Escobar’s specialty is his core. The others would like to as well, so long as there is enough ethera to go around.”

Elijah asked, “What about you?”

“My pack comes first,” Oscar answered.

“I can get behind that,” Elijah said. “But sure. So long as they don’t bother Sadie, it should be fine. I built the cave so that it could accommodate my whole group, so it shouldn’t be an issue.”

“Thank you,” he said with an earnest nod. Then, he turned to the dogs and said, “Eat first. No, that’s not negotiable.”

After that, they fell into a companionable silence as the dogs ate a few hunks of raw meat he tossed in their direction. Unlike most dogs – at least in Elijah’s experience – they didn’t all wolf down their meals. The two smallest dogs – Jojo and Escobar – picked at their meals daintily, while the big rottweiler-mixes attacked their meals with gusto. The others were all somewhere in between.

Once Escobar and Jojo had finished their meals, Oscar gave them permission to go into the cave. They shot off – Jojo going almost too fast for Elijah to track – eagerly entering the cave and beginning their cultivation.

Meanwhile, Elijah asked, “So, how did all of this come about? I think you’re the only other person I’ve seen bonded to animals.”

“There was another?”

“Yeah. Me,” he said before explaining what had happened with the mist panther back on his island. “I think about him a lot.”

“There were cats in the shelter where I used to work, but when…everything changed, they all went their own ways,” Oscar explained. “Some of the dogs did, too. But my pack, they stuck close, and we learned to work together. Now, we’re inseparable.”

“It’s not surprising. Dogs and humans, we’re social animals. We need one another,” Elijah said. He could survive on his own, but his experiences had told him that if he wanted to thrive, he needed at least some social interaction. “Where are you from?”

“Originally, Miami. Now…a little bit of everywhere.”

Then, he went on to explain how he’d become something of a wanderer, spending most of his time in the wilderness. “Coming here reminds me why I’ve avoided civilization. It’s dirty and unpredictable. The forest is easier.”

“I can’t really argue with that,” Elijah said. “But if you ever need somewhere to rest, I want to reiterate that you’re welcome in my grove. I’ll have Nerthus grow you a house and everything.”

Oscar only nodded, and Elijah couldn’t help but wonder what the man was thinking. Was he hesitant to make plans for the future because he didn’t know how the Trial was going to work out? Or was it because he had no idea how to reach the grove? Maybe a little of both. But Elijah suspected that Oscar’s issues went a lot deeper than that. He didn’t know what the man had experienced before or after the world’s transformation, but there was trauma there, he was certain.

However, he didn’t know how to help the man, save to offer his friendship. Maybe that would end up being enough.