Draconic Ascension - System Apocalypse Isekai LitRPG

On the third day since Michael started hunting and killing the small Trees and Saplings.

Michael sat down on the roof of a tall building, which was still mostly in one piece, his right hand extended in front of him. Floating above it was an ethereal mouth made of blue energy.

"And that's that," Michael said to the floating mouth. "That's all I know. I hope it'll be useful."

"It's plenty, Michael," the mouth replied in James' voice. "We'll start hunting soon, so you've already helped us a lot. Thank you, bro. You're a real one."

A scoff could be heard in a lower tone, from somewhere further away, making Michael smile.

"Michael. Are you going for the Trees?" the Whisper mouth said in a different voice. Elizabeth's.

"Yeah. As many as possible."

"…Be careful. Tell us if you need anything, though it's more likely that we'll need you instead."

Michael chuckled.

"Yeah, that's fine. Mom," he said louder, "Just stay safe. Everything will be fine soon."

The voices went silent.

"You were never one to lie to me, Michael," the ethereal lips said in Allison's voice. "Don't start now. We're here for you."

Michael winced and nodded, even though they couldn't see him.

"…Yeah, I'm here for you guys, too. I'll be hanging up now. There's lots to do. But I'll contact you guys again soon. Until then, everyone."

Various sounds of acknowledgement rang out before he dismissed the Whisper spell. Taking a deep breath, Michael looked at the sky. It was clear and as blue as ever.

"…I guess you're the only thing that hasn't changed yet," Michael mumbled to himself.

After all, he himself had changed, and so had his friends and the people he knew. There was no way to go back to the way things were, so all he could do was accept those changes. Michael sighed and lowered his gaze to his ruined hometown. It took less than three seconds for him to find his next target. A Sapling with purple leaves and a brown trunk, surrounded by an interesting aura that made him feel as if it were a huge steel wall.

An Unbreakable Sapling.

That made things simple. The things' defenses were frightening from an ordinary person's standpoint, but his firepower could easily overwhelm them. Since they had no other abilities, the monsters around them were the only obstacles. An easy kill, through and through.

Without even standing up, Michael raised the Elder Chief's Staff. An Arcane Missile took shape and pierced through the air toward the Sapling, almost soundlessly. A few moments later, it met its target and got through the bark and leaves on its way.

[You have slain a Sapling of Unbreakability (Level 34).]

Michael scratched the back of his head. An emotion bloomed in his chest, one that he had been trying to ignore until now. Finally, the thought struck him.

This is a bit… boring.

Was it because of his draconic bloodline? Or was it because he'd spent literal years fighting with his life on the line against a vastly superior opponent? Either way, things felt a bit dull. Even though he was helping his entire city's population by getting rid of the Saplings and smaller Trees, it was still boring. In the depths of his heart, he missed the feeling of fighting with his life on the line.

Michael looked to the side, straight at one of the four giant Trees. It was the west one. Between the two of them, there were several smaller-but-still-enormous Trees, including one of the three ones in Manhattan. He looked at it. It had orange leaves and a white trunk, and he could feel its mana levels from here.

He slowly placed his hand on his chest. His Heart was thumping, even though he hadn't activated it.

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…It won't hurt to just go and see what they're about.

To begin with, it was possible that the larger Trees were the ones responsible for the Trees' spreading. Wasn't that a line of thought worth pursuing? If that was the case, destroying the small Trees and Saplings would achieve nothing. To pull everything out by the roots, killing the large Trees would be necessary. That alone made it worth it to go after the giant Trees.

Michael rose to his feet and stretched his body, then promptly jumped off the building. The wind whistled in his ears as he fell, until it stopped completely. He quickly slowed down until he found himself floating in the air. The formless Wind Blades moved him closer to the building's surface. Once his feet touched the concrete, he lowered his body. A moment later, Michael pushed off with his whole strength, shooting toward the Tree like a bullet with a smile on his face.

The Wind Blades stopped slowing him down, allowing him to approach the enemy at full speed. At the same time, the mana within the orange-leaved Tree moved before spiking. Michael narrowed his eyes and shifted his body's position, already casting a spell.

The leaves drifted off the canopy, each as big as a car. They froze in mid-air. A moment later, they cut through the atmosphere toward him by the dozens. Michael widened his eyes.

Mana Barrier.

"Wind Blades."

The Barrier quickly formed above his skin, then expanded into a circular shape. Meanwhile, the blades of wind supported his body and started moving him to the side. He watched the leaves' movements as they approached, reaching a single conclusion.

I can't avoid them in the air.

He didn't have a Skill that allowed him to fly or step on the air. All he had was the Wind Blades spell, which he had manipulated to help him float and fly slowly. It wasn't nearly enough to avoid attacks at this speed. Under these conditions, Lightspeed, his greatest recourse when it came to avoiding attacks, was rendered useless. This scenario allowed him to realize something he was direly lacking.

There's basically nothing I can do when I'm mid-air except cast some spells.

He cursed under his breath and dismissed the Wind Blades, allowing himself to start falling straight downward. Of course, there was no reason to believe the projectiles would allow his descent to be peaceful. The first giant leaf arrived. Michael looked at the thing that was large enough to split him in half. Thankfully, it was perfectly straight, as if trying to split him vertically in half. It was the only thing that made him able to dodge it. His Dragonheart sent his blood roaring through his veins as he widened his eyes. The leaf continued to get closer.

Now.

As it was about to hit him, Michael twisted his body, spinning in place. The maneuver just barely allowed him to let the leaf fly past him, given its speed. However, the second leaf was already upon him. It was tilted diagonally, ensuring that the same spinning move wouldn't work again. Michael gritted his teeth and grabbed its sides once it got close enough, avoiding the edge. His muscles tensed up powerfully as his entire Strength supported him. However, because his hands were covered by the Mana Barrier, they slid on the leaf's surface. Just barely, they managed to slow it down just enough for him to change its angle. Meanwhile, the third leaf approached from the right.

Michael let out a breath and exerted his strength on the leaf he was holding, making it fall uselessly to the side. As he looked at the third leaf, a realization dawned upon him.

I'm gonna get hit.

He wasn't in the right position to deal with it, and it was faster than the previous two. Less than a second after this thought struck him, the leaf hit the Mana Barrier. The impact immediately sent Michael flying to the side, but the leaf kept up with his movement, trying to slice through the Barrier like a honed blade. Michael scoffed and cast Wind Blades again, then had them push against his back in an attempt not to be thrown around, but it was too late.

He slammed into the side of a building, the leaf still pushing him. The concrete walls shattered, and he was sent smashing through more of them as he tore his way through what seemed like a ruined office floor. One or two monsters were unlucky enough to be in his way and were pushed alongside him, right out the window on the other side of the building.

Now outside the building, Michael looked around. As expected, five more leaves were closing in on him.

Fucking hell.

He needed to get to the ground, and fast. The Wind Blades changed their pushing direction, focusing on propelling him downward as much as they could. The next leaf arrived. Fortunately, it attacked from upward, hastening his descent. Two more leaves threw him off course, but eventually, Michael's feet reached a surface, which was the side of a tilted building. His blood turned to light.

Lightspeed.

He ran.

The leaves were easily avoided as he stuck to keeping his feet on the building's side, no matter what. He raced down its slope and reached the ground. The second his feet touched the asphalt, he ran in the direction of the orange-leaved Tree. A giant leaf came from above, but Michael effortlessly dodged it by stepping to the side. Another cut at him horizontally, but he only ducked and slid on the ground, then recovered his previous position in a heartbeat.

In such a fashion, Michael continuously avoided more and more of the leaves, but it was as if they were endless. He looked at the giant Tree.

It's got thousands of leaves, at least. I need to attack and force it to do something to defend.

Still running with Lightspeed active, Michael dismissed the Mana Barrier and pointed his staff at the Tree. As if it could tell that he'd given up on his defenses, the bombardment only intensified. Some of the leaves started glowing – their speed was considerably higher than all the others, but it wasn't enough to reach him.

Fireball.

"Wind Blades."

The air in front of him ignited into a storm of flames. One that was completely within his control.