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

“It’s been almost ten months,” Elijah said, pacing back and forth. “They should be back now.” He glanced up at Nara, asking, “Right?”

“I don’t know,” she replied, her patience clearly running thin. Not surprising, considering that Elijah had repeated the same concern – phrased on slightly differently – more than a few times over the past hour. “Every Primal Realm is different. There is even some degree of variance between attempts.”

Elijah knew that better than most, especially after what he’d experienced in the Broken Crown. That Primal Realm had been altered by his presence, based solely on the fact that he was a dragon. Presumably, the other Primal Realms would do something similar if attempted by someone possessing a core associated with whichever elder race it was meant to represent.

But that wasn’t the only thing that could affect a Primal Realm. The most obvious influence was the amount of time since it had been conquered, but there were innumerable other factors that could change its power or structure. Most well-integrated worlds took great pains to limit the variables, but even then, they were often surprised by the differences.

And Earth was even more affected because of the unsettled density of its ethera. As others had noted, there was something unique about the planet, which had affected everything about its development. It had reached a point where none of the settlers knew what to expect next.

Of course, for Elijah, that didn’t matter. Despite knowing that there was a reasonable explanation for how long Sadie and the others had been gone, he couldn’t help but worry. If he didn’t know for a fact that at least Miguel was still alive, he might’ve driven himself crazy.

To a lesser extent, he could also feel Oscar, the dogs, and Kurik, but only when he was in the center of the grove. In addition, it required significant concentration, proving that, while they were all members of the grove, Miguel’s bond was something special.

Not unsurprising, considering the rarity of his class and the fact that it had required him to pledge an oath. He was also the only person – other than Elijah – who needed no outside intervention to facilitate the bond. Everyone else required induction.

Whatever the case, Elijah couldn’t help but worry.

And Nara, being the closest target, had borne the brunt of his anxiety. With grace, but Elijah could tell that she was getting annoyed.

Elijah shook his head in resignation, then said, “Sorry. I shouldn’t put this on you.”

It was not her burden to bear.

Nara assured him that she didn’t mind, though Elijah social skills hadn’t degraded enough to believe that lie.

“So, back to the kids. How are they progressing?” he asked in an effort to move on.

Her responding demeanor showed how relieved she was to talk about something else. Obviously, she was worried as well, but her relationship with the others wasn’t nearly as strong as the one Elijah had developed with them.

“They’ve begun to adjust to the increased ethereal density,” she answered. “Even without the bracelets. It should be incredibly beneficial, both to their physical growth as well as cultivation and attunement development.”

“Any standouts?” Elijah asked.

“A few, though after the first wave, it will be some time before we see another awakening,” she explained, referring to the first few children to receive archetypes. Apparently, an awakening could be delayed by stress, poor nutrition, or other environmental factors. According to Nara, it was a defense mechanism meant to keep children from choosing based on current need, rather than what suited them the best.

Either way, there had been a few children who’d already passed the point of awakening, but the system hadn’t allowed it to proceed until they were safe. It was an interesting safeguard that he never would have expected to be a thing, considering how brutal the system usually was.

In any case, Elijah listened as Nara described the progress of the grove’s youngest members. As she did, he couldn’t help but feel a sense of hope concerning their future. It wasn’t hyperbole to say that joining the grove could completely transform their lives, and in the best way possible. Not just by providing safety, but also through rare classes they would never be given otherwise.

And there were a couple of prospective Druids in there, which Elijah found more than encouraging. Nara wasn’t one to complain, but she was obviously overworked. Having a few more Druids around would go a long way toward lifting that workload and allowing her to focus more on her own progression.

Not that her progress was slow. Ever since joining the Hartwood Grove, she’d gained more than a handful of levels, which was a blistering pace for a non-combat Druid. In addition, her nascent coral reef had continued to grow, affecting the local seascape in a very positive way.

In short, Elijah was extremely happy with the results of inviting Nara and the other sea elves to join his grove. But that wasn’t to say there weren’t issues.

Some problems associated with inviting new people to join the grove were predictable. Like Rosabella’s need to throw herself into dangerous situations, all in the hopes of progress. The little gnome girl was absolutely fearless, and her eyes were clearly set on a bright future she was determined to reach sooner rather than later. As a result, she and her crab – which she’d named Borys – often ventured far out to sea, where they routinely fought creatures she should have avoided.

Stolen from NovelFire, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

“She keeps coming back with injuries,” Nara lamented. “I fear that she will pick a fight she can’t win. If it weren’t for that crab…”

As it turned out, the crabs were actually a lot stronger than Elijah often gave them credit for. The creatures were incredibly durable, and very few foes of their level could stand up to their snapping claws. Rosabella – and her disciples – used that to their advantage.

“Crab cavalry,” Elijah muttered with a shake of his head. “I’ll admit, that’s the last thing I would have expected to happen.”

It wasn’t really that long ago that those crabs were no bigger than his hand. But then, the world had changed, and that injection of ethera had sent them on a path toward incredible growth. Now, when they were fully grown, they were the size of a mid-sized sedan.

“Crabs would not have been my first choice, either,” Nara admitted. “But they seem to work well. They are also extremely loyal, once they are…ah…broken.”

“You mean once they stop trying to snip the kids in half.”

“Yes. That.”

After that, Nara finished her report, detailing the development of the rest of the population. The adults who’d joined the grove largely worked in Ironshore, mostly because the island lacked proper facilities for crafting. Ironshore had comparatively lower density of ethera, but so long as they used materials from the grove, they got most of the benefits from joining.

But the real issue was when she detailed the most pressing problem. “Vesk wants sell some of the grove’s resources,” she said.

“He’s not part of the grove, right?” Elijah asked.

Nara shook her head, answering, “No. He was not invited. He lacks the attunement necessary.”

“And he’s bitter about it, I guess?”

“I wouldn’t say that.”

“Because it’s untrue? Or because you don’t want to speak ill of him?” asked Elijah.

She responded, “A little of both, I suppose.” Then, by way of explanation, she added, “We grew up together.”

“Do you want me to handle it? Because I think we’re on the same page when I say we have no intention of selling the grove’s resources. Finished products, sure. That’s acceptable, at least to a certain point. I’d prefer it if we ran a fairly contained economy.”

“That is how most groves work,” Nara agreed. “In my home grove, we only sold a tenth of the crops we grew.”

Even that seemed a bit high to Elijah, but he accepted her judgement. He also accepted it when she said she would take care of Vesk, probably because she was afraid of what Elijah would do to the sea elf Merchant.

It was a valid concern.

Elijah was well past tolerating people like that. In a vacuum, he didn’t care about greed, but when it started to affect his grove – or the people who lived there – he started caring very quickly.

Regardless, that was the last bit that Nara wanted to discuss, so it wasn’t long before she left him in his treehouse. Soon enough, he settled onto the balcony, where he drank a cup of coffee. The morning was still quite young, so he spent a while just enjoying the ambiance of the grove.

Not only was the ethera and vitality incredibly dense, but the sheer amount of life – in the form of vegetation and animals – was absolutely astounding. It was thicker than any rainforest, with a vast multitude of species calling the island home. Even in winter, it was awash with so much vivacity that Elijah almost felt like he was drowning in living energy.

In a good way, though.

Like that, hours passed, and Elijah soon recognized something interesting. The tension and fatigue he’d felt building within the Primal Realm – as well as during his recent trip to New York – was gradually washed away with every passing minute within the grove. It was like he’d just plugged in, and the grove was recharging his batteries.

It also eased the ongoing stress he felt concerning the others in the troll Primal Realm, but not quite enough to completely banish the issue.

After a while, Nerthus grew out of the tree that was Elijah’s home. For a moment, the spryggent simply stood there, enjoying the atmosphere at least as much as Elijah. But then, he asked, “Would you like to see the rest of the grove’s progress? There are some things you might find interesting.”

Elijah glanced at his friend and the grove’s caretaker. “You know I can feel everything here, right?”

“I do. That does not mean that you see everything there is to see. The grove is a complex thing.”

It was obvious that Nerthus just wanted to show off the progress he’d made with the grove, and Elijah was more than happy to let him do so. He had every right to be proud of his accomplishments, after all. So, with a grin, he nodded, saying, “I’d like nothing more than to see what you’ve been cooking up.”

After that, he followed Nerthus through the grove, noting a few key changes. The first and most obvious was the growth of the pillar trees. Spawned from the ancestral tree, they featured a few of the same characteristics. Most notably, in their inner structure, which Elijah saw more clearly now than ever before. Other than that, the most noticeable aspect was their white-ish bark.

Presently, they’d grown to more than three-hundred feet tall, with their branches spreading far above the island’s canopy. According to Nerthus, once they touched, construction of the settlement would truly begin. Until then, they were just big trees.

“How long?” Elijah asked, sitting on one of those branches far above the ground.

“A year at most.”

“That soon?” Elijah asked.

Sitting beside him, Nerthus answered, “It would have taken at least three times that long if it wasn’t for your recent improvements. I have never felt such dense energy. May I ask…what happened?”

“I already told you about the Worldseed.”

“You did. But I would like to hear more. Specifically, how did it feel, having so much untapped potential at your fingertips?”

“Overwhelming. My entire body was disintegrated and reformed dozens of times. I don’t know how much that Worldseed had been diluted to fit into the Primal Realm, but I can’t imagine a full power planetary core.”

“My ancestor tapped into one,” Nerthus revealed after a moment. “He was not even a spryggent, then. Just a tree on the verge of gaining sapience. His roots dug through the entire planet, then wrapped around its Worldseed. It fueled his growth, pushing him to achieve true sapience. That was the true beginning of my race.”

“I thought you were the result of dryads and –”

“That came much later.”

“I see,” Elijah said.

“Tapping into a Worldseed is a great responsibility. You must use that power wisely, lest it be wasted.”

“That’s where your help comes in,” Elijah said. “The power flows through me and into the grove. You and Nara…I depend on you two to use it to make everyone’s lives better.”

“We will not disappoint you.”

“I know,” Elijah stated, and he meant it. If there was a more stalwart ally than Nerthus, Elijah had never met them. He trusted the spryggent like he trusted no one else, and to date, Nerthus had proven, time and time again, that he was worthy.

Even after that short conversation ended, the pair continued to sit on the branch of the pillar tree, just enjoying the ambiance and the spectacular view.