Draconic Ascension - System Apocalypse Isekai LitRPG

Michael kept his perception on the group of people he'd just saved. They walked off, the conversation about him disappearing in real time. In the end, the people talked to each other as if he had never been there at all. He smiled to himself.

So it works, after all.

He didn't know how the Rune of Shadows worked or how exactly it manipulated others' memories, but at the very least, it seemed that it would protect his identity for some time. He let out a breath of relief.

Now, onward.

Michael nodded and started to run again, this time much faster than when he'd separated from the group. Each step covered several meters, and there was next to no drain on his stamina at all. Twin Mana Fields roared out of him in a ferocious surge, dominating the space in his surroundings. Just like before, he kept running around, relying on the Fields to kill every minor monster within reach. XP kept trickling in. He sighed to himself after a few minutes.

The monsters' Level is high compared to the Tutorial, but because there's no XP buff like in the Consumed Territory and the Forgotten, my Leveling speed is still too slow.

He frowned. There must be a better way to grow. In the end, was the answer to hunt the Trees above ground? Was the Undercity Depths useless to him?

No, the original goal was to find Equipment in the first place.

He refused to believe that there wasn't anything worthwhile this deep inside the City Dungeon. He only needed to find it. His Dragonheart thumped within his chest as it was activated, pushing his senses and mana sensitivity to the limit. In nothing but a few moments, he managed to sense many creatures at the same level as the two-headed wolf he'd killed to protect those people. But that wasn't good enough. He continued to run, proceeding deeper into the Dungeon.

The walls and stone around him slowly changed colors. The platforms changed in shape, becoming wider and bigger, but also different from the man-made ones. Spikes jutted out of the floor, and the columns were twisted. The number of monsters gradually increased, and their appearance changed. It started with red eyes and drooling maws, but their size also grew.

It all made Michael frown. He felt like he was running inside some weird nest of monsters. On the way, just as the scenery continued to change even more, he found what he was looking for.

Stepping on the broken corpse of what had previously been a giant, monster-like worm, Michael grabbed the red robe floating in the air. Its information appeared in front of him.

[Equipment

Robe of Flames (Uncommon)

A robe that was bathed in fire for its creation. It remembers the flames and longs for them. One day, it hopes to see an inferno once again.

Effects: increases the effectiveness of all fire magic by 6%.

Secondary Effect: increases Intelligence and Wisdom by 10 when being worn.]

Michael nodded to himself.

Quite simple.

It was an underwhelming piece of Equipment given how much he'd needed to get through to acquire it, but Michael saw it as an indication that there was finally Equipment to be found. From here on out, he expected that it would be easier to acquire them. He looked around.

…Still, this is quite deep in.

The walls looked like a mix of stone and metal with red flesh. Overall, the entire thing was acquiring a red tone that reminded him of blood. The slight, metallic scent of blood filled the air, and it wasn't just because he was standing on a beast's carcass. Roars and snarls could be heard faintly from the tunnels and railways, alongside the sounds of heavy steps. As a whole, the subway area was now much, much bigger than the original version. From the railway to the ceiling, it was over fifty meters tall, taller than even some buildings.

Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there.

And the monsters changed more, too.

The fur on the beasts disappeared to reveal pinkish-red hide and skin, their blood vessels bulging out from underneath. Their eyes slowly acquired the color as well.

There's no way people have to reach such a deep area just to find Uncommon Equipment. Am I unlucky?

Michael frowned at his surroundings and jumped off the worm's carcass, then landed lightly on top of the train tracks. He discarded his robe and put on the Robe of Flames, which automatically adjusted itself to fit his body. He nodded.

I could keep going to try and find more Equipment, but…

He still didn't know how deep this Dungeon went, but it was still limited to the underground, and his luck didn't seem to be playing in his favor. Right now, for the sake of everyone else, it would be better to start clearing the surface of the Trees. There would be time to return to the Undercity Depths, and he already had a decent grasp of what enemies the people who had just decided to explore the Depths would face.

Michael decisively turned around and started running back the way he'd come from. He stepped strongly on the floor. His blood turned into pure light as Lightspeed was activated. His speed instantly increased considerably, allowing him to quickly traverse the Dungeon's terrain. There was no need to worry about being seen; to begin with, there were no people nearby, this deep within the Dungeon, and he had the Rune of Shadows. He could deactivate Lightspeed once he was back in the earlier sections if necessary.

With such thoughts in mind, Michael continued to run, supported by his Heritage Skill. The environment gradually changed back into the subway he was familiar with. By this point, he'd already stopped channeling Lightspeed. The sounds of people talking over each other reached his ears, alongside the sounds of battle. Still, everything seemed to be in order. Michael smiled to himself and continued on until he found what he was looking for – one of the stairways that led upward, back to the city.

Some people were walking down it in different groups, while others were climbing it as they held their injuries. All of them looked at Michael, but he only waved his staff. Heal's wave of mana covered them, almost instantly mending their injuries. They blinked, but before anyone could say anything, Michael jumped over them and stepped out of the darkness back inside the city.

[You have left the Undercity Depths. You are closer to the truth.]

Michael froze at the System message, frowning.

The truth?

He lowered his center of gravity, then jumped and cast Wind Blades. A few moments later, he was floating far above the ground, his arms crossed as he stared at the System message.

"What do you even mean?" he asked it, knowing full well there wouldn't be an answer.

As expected, nothing replied.

He rubbed his chin in thought. If he had to guess, he'd say it was related to how the Undercity Depths' environment had changed the deeper he went, but the System's words were simply too vague. It could be related to one of the enemies he'd encountered. With a deep sigh, he shook his head. Right now, since he had so little information, it would be better to throw this message to the back of his mind. He would go back to it once he started delving into the Depths again.

Michael scoured the land below, easily finding one of the larger Trees. However, he moved past it. Right now, the large Trees weren't his targets.

To help the most amount of people, I need to get rid of the small ones. There will be time to go after the big ones later, as long as I'm quick.

It would be fine to help others just for a little while before he focused entirely on his own development. He only needed to help them a little bit. It could mean the difference between many people being killed or surviving.

He started flying toward the nearest small Tree, still supported by his Wind Blades. Once he was close enough, Michael pointed his staff at it.

"Arcane Missile."

The longspear of mana coalesced in front of him, then shot toward the Tree like a bullet. The roots and branches moved, but it was too late. The Missile unceremoniously went right through the trunk and exploded, swallowing up the entire Tree. A moment later, the burst of mana disappeared to reveal the empty space that used to be the lifeform. It had been erased.

[You have slain Sapling of Minor Sharpness (Level 31).]

He nodded to himself and rose again, looked around, and found his next target. Once he'd lowered himself enough, he cast Arcane Missile and destroyed it.

This pattern repeated itself several times. It didn't matter if there were beasts around the Tree or not, or what kind of abilities they had. They were simply far too weak to pose any real threat, even when they fought back. After some time hunting, however, Michael decided to wait and see what the Trees could do before destroying them, for the sake of his friends. Once he decided to do this, because of his sheer hunting speed, he started to quickly amass a considerable amount of knowledge about the Trees. It slowed him down a bit, but not significantly enough to make him return to killing them as quickly as possible.

Floating in the air in a sitting position, Michael let out a breath as he looked at the empty space where the Tree he'd just destroyed had been. It had been a Sapling of Elemental Mastery.

The others should know about this.

Naturally, he was thinking about his mother and friends. Now, he would tell them everything he'd learned about the various Trees and what they could do, as well as ways for them to feasibly cope with the Trees' abilities.

It was the last thing he could do for them before he went all-in on his development for a while.