Draconic Ascension - System Apocalypse Isekai LitRPG

Michael looked at the System notifications, almost unable to believe what he was seeing. Regardless of how hard he stared at them, they didn't change. As blue as always, shining brightly against the dark skies.

"…Of fucking course," he spoke through gritted teeth, his voice almost a growl.

Things had been too safe. Innumerable Safe Zones all over the city, enemies that could be defeated with some effort, and Dungeons where one could grow. The current situation wasn't devoid of danger, but there was room for development and struggle. The Trees were, naturally, the most dangerous factor, but the Safe Zones remained absolute.

However, all of that changed once humanity started to need to create their own safe zones, ones without the System's protection.

"Fucking hell," Michael continued, clenching his fist. His grip around the Elder Chief's Staff became much tighter.

He tried to predict how many would die once the thirtieth day was reached. Fifteen percent? Twenty? More? Even though everyone had survived the Tutorial, he still knew too little about the Trees and other enemies to be able to accurately estimate the level of danger.

The Trees seem to be able to spread, so if they managed to grow within the man-made safe zones…

He didn't even want to think about it. Besides, such a situation gave room for developments like Derek and Lohann in the Tutorial – power-hungry humans being the source of problems themselves. On that note, it wasn't much different from what Earth used to be.

Once his thoughts reached this point, Michael narrowed his eyes. He felt like he could guess why the System was trying to push humanity so far. It didn't seem to be completely merciless and unfair, given how it had created a Tutorial for them, though it was still a vicious one. With the fact that in ten years, Earth would become open to outside interference, it was almost as if…

…It's training us.

It was the simplest answer, but also the one that made the most sense. The System was trying to train humanity, even if by culling them. All in preparation for the future. It was heavy-handed and brutal, but also the most efficient way to ready mankind for what awaited them, including possibly hostile alien races.

And the gods.

Michael let out a deep sigh, rubbing his nape. Still, resenting the System wouldn't achieve anything. Whoever had created it was still way too far away from his current self. Right now, he only needed to worry about becoming as powerful as possible. He looked at the nearest building, which was covered in vines, and eyed the nearest shattered window. After lowering his body a bit, he easily leaped onto the opening, entering the building, then promptly turned around and jumped again, onto the vines. In such a fashion, it took only a few seconds for him to reach the building's room.

Michael scoured his surroundings, supported by both Royal Eagle Eye and his Dragonheart's boost. A second later, he found what he was looking for – an entrance to the subway area. Just like all the others, it was unnaturally dark. He then promptly jumped off the building, feeling the wind on his face. With a tranquil expression, Michael crossed dozens of meters in mid-air before landing right in front of the subway area's entrance. This time, he didn't hesitate to walk straight into the darkness. A System notification appeared in front of him.

[You have entered the Undercity Depths.]

He furrowed his brow and dismissed it. The darkness devoured him as the sounds of monsters became louder and louder. Once the veil cleared, Michael found himself face to face with New York City's subway, only magnified in size several times. Right in front of him, on the platform, was a group of beasts. There were eight of the giant rats, but also four of the goblin-like monsters he'd almost encountered in the Lost Building Dungeon. His previous assessment of their appearance had been correct; they matched his expectations almost exactly.

Is this an immediate test?

Or was it simply bad luck that he'd encountered enemies just as he stepped into the Dungeon, if it could even be called that? Either way, it didn't matter. He simply raised his staff as the monsters turned to him. The giant rats screeched, while the big goblins snarled and raised the steel pipes in their hands.

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Mana Field.

Twin storms of mana virtually erupted out of Michael's frame with the strength of a raging tide. The blue-and-gold energy dominated the space in less than a second, reaching the enemies. A moment later, they were helplessly crushed under its weight, their bones collapsing into themselves with a sickening crunch. Their flesh was flattened, and their blood vessels destroyed to make the liquid within gush out of their bodies, tearing through whatever stood in its way with pressure alone. All organs were ruined in a heartbeat.

Michael looked at the puddles that used to be his enemies with a furrowed brow and let out a small sigh, then started walking forward. At the same time, he strained his senses to see if there were any people alongside the railways, but all he could perceive were monsters. It only meant that he had room to expand his Mana Field even more.

With every step, the Field grew. It flooded the railways, going in both directions at once, like a flood that had broken through a dam. Any enemies in its way were effortlessly crushed, just like the previous ones. Monsters at this level were no longer able to threaten Michael in any way, not even if they came by the hundreds.

Michael reached the edge of the platform and looked to the right. The darkness along the railway was deep, but it couldn't fool his improved senses. This was the direction where the most monsters could be found, alongside a strong presence deeper in.

Let's make this quick.

His Heart throbbed within his chest as he kept the Rune of Shadows active at full force, just for safety's sake. His Mana Field tripled in size, pushing against the stone and metal walls and cracking them. The unmatched mana continued to flood every bit of space it could find and destroy any lifeforms in its wake. It was the best way to maximize his XP gains, now that he'd verified that there were no humans nearby.

Michael started to run, stepping on the train tracks for support. The Mana Field naturally followed his movements to create a veritable death zone that surrounded his position at all times for more than a hundred meters. As he ran, Michael kept his eyes peeled for anything out of the ordinary, including pieces of Equipment, but found nothing.

Finally, after running for a short while, he could see that the train tracks opened into another platform, this one bigger than the one he'd entered through. Right in the middle of it, almost touching the ceiling, was a creature that looked remarkably like the Fierce Ogre he'd defeated in the Lost Building Dungeon. It was surrounded by twelve other enemies, two of which were evolved cats, standing at several meters tall. Michael winced as he looked at them, then looked back at the Fierce Ogre, which had stopped moving and glanced over its shoulder in his direction.

With an internal sigh, Michael sped up. His Mana Field kept up with him. Even as he got within one hundred meters of the next platform with the enemies, they didn't even seem to register his presence. Was it because of the Rune of Darkness? Michael nodded to himself and took a step forward. It was too late for them to do anything. The twin Mana Fields burst into the platform's space and reached the enemies. All of them, except for the Fierce Ogre, were crushed under the mana's weight with a sickening sound. Blood splashed on the ground, but it couldn't even flow under the enormous weight.

The Fierce Ogre's knees gave out as they caved in on themselves, cracking and twisting the monster's legs. Once it fell, its skull was pressed against the train tracks as its arms were quickly flattened. The elbows and shoulders cracked and crumbled, while the fingers bent into unrecognizable shapes. The shoulder blades and spine were the last to go, right after the skull. With no effort and no danger, Michael killed an enemy that had acted as a Boss, all in less than four seconds. Acknowledging his achievement, a System notification appeared.

[You have slain the Field Boss 'Fierce Ogre' (Level 41).]

Michael raised an eyebrow at the System message.

Field Boss?

He hadn't really expected something like those to exist, since the Tutorial hadn't had any, but based on his video game knowledge, they were Boss-level enemies that didn't act as true Bosses of a Dungeon or area. Simply put, they were enemies that far surpassed the general level of a zone's mobs. Was it a coincidence that this Field Boss was in the shape of and had the same name as the Boss of the Lost Building Dungeon?

Or are the Field Bosses here reflections of the actual Bosses above ground?

His senses still hadn't managed to grasp the full size of this subway area, but it stood to reason that it spanned the entire city's underground, especially since the entire area had become bigger compared to that of his memories. It was a 'special place' that acted as a city-wide Dungeon. Because of it, it was possible that the Bosses of the ordinary Dungeons could be found here.

Still, it's a bit of a leap.

The only way to find out was to keep going and delve into the Dungeons above ground to compare, but there was no real reason to waste his time like that. It didn't matter what the Field Bosses were. He just needed to kill them and keep moving.

Michael walked over to the Field Boss's carcass to check it for loot, but there was nothing. He clicked his tongue and looked away. It was then that his ears twitched as a different set of sounds, apart from the roars of beasts and snarling, reached his ears.

Voices. There were people here.