Draconic Ascension - System Apocalypse Isekai LitRPG

It didn't take long for Michael to arrive at a building at the edge of another Safe Zone.

Standing at the top of a small building, he looked down at the streets. Just like the Safe Zone he'd come from, people were gathering around others on the streets by the dozens or even hundreds, creating large crowds. At the same time, those on higher ground continued to make speeches to the crowd. Michael's hearing allowed him to realize they were similar to the words of those back in his Safe Zone, except only a bit more extreme.

…How do I find them?

There were hundreds of people on the streets, while he was only looking for a few. How was he supposed to find the parents of his friends, if they were even still alive? For a few seconds, he was stumped. Michael gritted his teeth, shaking his head, and activated his Dragonheart. His blood rushed through his veins, and power coursed through his soul. Every one of his senses' effectiveness got augmented considerably, allowing him to read the lips and listen to the words of various people.

"Hey, do you want to go to the nearest Dungeon? There's no telling what kind of shitshow we've been thrown into," he heard a young male voice say.

"Yeah, sure, but we need a team. There's no way those Dungeons will be easier than those in the Tutorial, and we couldn't even do much to those," another male voice replied.

In another place.

"I'm scared, but we seem to be in a safe zone. Let's just stay here," a middle-aged woman said.

"No way! We need to become stronger. It's a matter of survival. Don't relax now," a man replied reprehensively.

More and more conversations could be heard by Michael. The voices mixed with one another, each spoken in different volumes and intensities, but he didn't have any trouble telling them apart. At the same time, his eyes darted around as he tried to look for people he recognized in the entire crowd. It was as if his Dragonheart could not only amplify his senses but also make up for their flaws.

This continued for some time. Nevertheless, no matter how hard he tried, Michael couldn't find people he recognized. Standing on the edge of the building's roof, he sighed to himself.

It's too early to lose hope.

Nodding, he decisively jumped from the building he had been standing on to another one, climbing the walls without much trouble. Once he reached this building's roof, he repeated the process before moving on to another building. This pattern repeated itself several times before Michael got to a simple conclusion.

They're not here.

Floating in the air above the main square of this Safe Zone, he shook his head with a sigh and started flying to the Safe Zone's border. Since he'd had no luck in this Safe Zone, it was time to head to another one.

It took him a short while to leave the Safe Zone, and some more time to arrive at the next one. After scouring the second Safe Zone and then moving on to the third one, there was a change.

Floating in mid-air, Michael's gaze zeroed in on two people among the hundreds in the crowd. They were a short, blond middle-aged man and a beautiful middle-aged woman with red hair and green eyes. James' parents.

Michael widened his eyes. For a second, he thought of deactivating the Wind Blades around him and plummeting to the ground. However, he caught himself as he was about to do it.

Calm down.

James' parents were in the Safe Zone, not in danger. Reaching them in such a way would only draw unnecessary amounts of attention, which would make everything harder. There was room for him to go down the stairs of the nearest building and run to them. The only problem with this logic was that the two of them could end up moving while Michael was walking down the stairs.

But I can keep track of them with my senses.

Now that he was focusing on specific people for the first time since his 'evolution,' he noticed a difference. It was similar to how he would register someone's mana signature to be able to call them using Whisper. Through something he could only call a sixth sense, Michael was confident he could keep track of James' parents' position without needing to keep them in sight.

Nodding to himself, Michael floated to the roof of the nearest building, which was about fifteen stories tall. The moment he landed on the roof, he ran toward the entrance to the stairway. Opening the door, he started shooting down the steps almost as if he were flying. Naturally, given his stats, the burden on his legs and knees was minimal. As he ran and jumped, he kept his sixth sense focused on the mana signatures of the two people. They had started walking away from their original position, but he could still perceive them.

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After a short while, Michael reached the end of the stairway, slowed down, and stepped out into the building's ground floor. One leap later, he arrived in the streets. He could feel gazes on him from the moment he landed on the sidewalk after jumping over the building's entrance, but he paid them no heed. They contained mostly wariness and curiosity, but there was no fear. Was it because they were in a Safe Zone? Michael shook his head. It didn't matter.

He walked in the direction of James' parents. He soon arrived in front of the first crowd on his way – this one was made up of dozens of people, but he didn't even give them a second glance. He simply weaved between them as quickly as he could without drawing too much attention. At the same time, he kept his senses sharpened, his Dragonheart thumping within his chest. The possibility that the families of his other friends were among the crowd or on the streets. He needed to pay attention to it at all times. Unfortunately, nobody caused him any familiarity. Michael cursed under his breath.

After some time, Michael could finally see the two people he was looking for. He sped up until he reached them and extended his arms, grabbing the shoulders of both people at the same time. Both of them flinched and turned to look at him at the same time.

"Hello, Mr. and Mrs. Martin," Michael said with a smile. "I'm here to help you guys meet James again."

At the start of his words, both of them had only stared at him dumbly. By the time he reached the end, however, their eyes had gone wide and they looked shocked out of their minds. Sam grabbed his hand tightly, shaking.

"Who are you? How do you know that name? Do you mean what you've just said?" the man asked, his voice trembling.

Michael furrowed his brow and looked at Amy. She was also simply staring at him with no recognition in her eyes. He got even more confused.

"It's me, Michael," Michael replied helplessly. "And yes, of course I do."

Why were they treating him like this? There was no way they wouldn't recognize him, given how many years he'd been friends with James. They had watched him grow up. At that moment, his spiritual body's appearance crossed his mind. Michael blinked and looked to the right, straight at the glass windows of a leaning building. The man reflected upon them was one he couldn't even really recognize.

…Ah, shit.

Even though he'd found cities like the ones he was used to, he'd neglected looking at his own reflection, as he didn't think it was important. He looked just like his spiritual body, apart from the scales and aura. His entire bone structure had changed, and he was even a bit taller. As expected, the muscles under his robes could be seen even by others. At the very least, both his eye color and hair color were still the same. A small comfort, to keep his mother's traits.

"Michael!?" Amy said from the side, dragging him out of his thoughts and making him look at her. She looked dumbstruck. A moment later, she also grabbed the hand that was touching her shoulder. "You're Michael?"

For a few seconds, both Sam and Amy only stared at him. Then, they almost jumped in place at the same time. Sam stepped closer to him and grabbed his shoulder, while Amy grabbed his hand with both of her own.

"You've found James!?" Sam said, almost yelling. The people around them looked at them, making Michael raise a finger to his lips. Sam belatedly nodded. "But how? What kind of dumb luck… No, that doesn't matter. Is he alright?"

His voice was now much more composed. Michael smiled at him and nodded.

"Yeah, James is fine, alongside all of our close friends. Probably because we were all in the same restaurant before the System descended, we were all sent to the same Tutorial Zone. We found each other pretty quickly and have supported each other since."

Sam blinked dumbly while Amy raised her hand to her face. Tears started streaming out of her eyes. A few seconds later, Sam started crying as well. Neither of them let go of Michael, as if they were afraid he would disappear like a dream if they did. Michael only gave them a bittersweet smile. He could understand their relief. No, it likely surpassed his expectations. While he had been fortunate enough to find his mother and friends early on in the Tutorial, they hadn't had the same luck. All this time, they must've been wondering if James was even alive at all. Right now, they had finally gotten their answer, and it was a positive one. Why wouldn't they cry?

As such, he only waited. Both Sam and Amy tried to speak further, but their words were broken up by their sobs. Michael tightened his grip on their shoulders a bit in an attempt to give them support. The seconds ticked by, turning into a minute. Michael looked around. By now, the number of people staring at them had grown. The eyes of most were filled with confusion, but not all of them. He resisted the urge to frown.

"I think we should start moving," he said to James' parents after a second. Both of them were still crying. "It's not good to be out in the open like this. Come with me, I'll lead you guys to James."

Truthfully, he wished he could give them the time they needed to process the information he'd told them, but it wasn't possible. There were still others he needed to find, and even if all of them stayed in the Safe Zones, that didn't mean they would be safe from all harm. After all, humans could be more dangerous than monsters. Besides, every second away from their loved ones was one more second of suffering for his friends. He couldn't slow down.

Sam and Amy nodded repeatedly at the same time, tears streaming down their faces. Still, they were also smiling in relief.

Staying aware of the others watching them, Michael started walking in a random direction, intent on reaching the edge of the Safe Zone without indicating where his home base was. Sam and Amy followed him.

Together, they started making their way out of the Safe Zone.