Path of Celestial Ascension - A LitRPG Adventure

The sun was starting to cross to the last quarter of the sky by the time the band of adventurers had met by the river gate and set out on small boats up the Black River. Finn figured it would be much faster than traveling on foot.

We’ll have to cross the woods on foot either way, Finn thought a little dismally, hating the thought of even a second of delay.

But the journey would take just a couple of days, not a week, so it was a compromise he was happy to make. By the time that everyone was there, he had Sister Alharrow, Rosa Lux, and the small Verdainian, Tobias El-sandro V’endoornath (the Second).

The old team back together again, Finn could almost hear his sister saying in his ear. He felt instantly guilty for allowing himself to enjoy their company, but it was true. Rosa and Tobias were his oldest companions in the New Zone, other than Laurie Marr. They had trained at the Order of Celestial Grace together, learning how to be Defenders. Finn regarded these two, alongside Laurie and Esther, to be his family.

Laurie will understand, Finn thought, casting a look up as he rowed with powerful strokes. Blackwood had disappeared into the horizon, and there was just the suggestion of wood smoke rising over the trees where it was.

“We’ll find this Oldtree,” Rosa whispered, as if reading Finn’s thoughts.

“And we’ll kill the ptermuloid who did this to Esther!” Tobias nearly growled, which surprised Finn. He’d never particularly seen the Verdainian as bloodthirsty, although the race did have a certain…savagery to them.

The Verdainians were smaller than humans, but that did not make them innocuous. They had long, tapering ears, and they usually wore their flaxen hair long down their backs, although a few of the younger, more rebellious Verdainians shaved their heads. Their eyes were large and wide, giving them a distinctly cat-like appearance. They were as quick as cats, too, for the most part—constantly busy as they worked from their underground holts, creating vast underground networks of halls and chambers. Finn was glad that the young Tobias had brought his people to join them in Blackwood, as their clever mechanical works—everything from pulley systems to water heating and automatic carts—were a marvel to behold and had vastly accelerated Blackwood’s development.

Yes, I am glad my friends are with me, Finn thought as he powered their boat forward. Together, they had faced half-giants and monsters and troll-ogres. They had ventured to the very edge of the Qlippothic Realm to save Esther.

For a moment, Finn had the surprising feeling of hope, despite all of the terrible things happening around him. Surely, together, with Tobias’s Earth Path, Rosa’s Air, and Sister Alharrow’s wisdom, they could achieve anything.

Their afternoon passed quickly as the river moved them along, with the younger three taking turns on the oars to give them extra speed. Finn couldn’t get there fast enough, and by late afternoon, they had already passed the last of the landing points. The river moved sluggishly now with dense forests on either side.

“Do you hear that?” Sister Alharrow suddenly looked up with alarm. In her old, wrinkled hands, she had been preparing what looked to be small bags of herbs, although she hadn’t explained their use.

Finn frowned. All he could hear was the soft gurgle of the river as it flowed around them.

“No…” he said doubtfully.

Rosa and Tobias had similarly blank stares.

“Exactly,” the older woman said, shoving her work into one of her side bags and reaching for her short bow.

“What is it?” Finn whispered, alarm trickling through his bloodstream like ice water.

“We’re in a forest. Where is the birdsong?” Alharrow asked, and now Finn was intensely aware of the quiet in the forest. They hadn’t heard birdsong for a while now, but why not? He could still hear the waters of the stream, and the wind in the trees, but otherwise, it was eerily quiet.

Well, quiet for the moment, anyway…

Finn was quick to hear it, but the Lycan was quicker, turning in her seat as she peered into the murky depths of the forest just as Finn heard the distant sound of… rumbling.

“Is that thunder?” Finn asked.

Tobias and Rosa reached for their weapons. The sound was growing louder with every passing second. It sounded like a storm breaking, but not overhead. It came from within the trees.

“No, I don’t think that is any storm…” Rosa—being an Initiate of the Air Path—said quickly, standing and peering toward the rising noise with her staff now in her hand. It sparkled with small lightning bolts along its length.

“No, I think that is—” Sister Alharrow began, but she was interrupted by the sound of a lot of branches snapping and vegetation being torn from its roots. There was movement in the murk. Finn saw trees and bushes starting to shake.

“Weapons out! Get us to the riverbank!” he called out.

The Pyrrhic Blade flashed into existence in Finn’s hand as he crouched in the boat. Tobias tried his best to steer the boat toward the bank as Alharrow strung her bow. Finn watched the saplings tremble before they were torn aside by a herd of giant creatures with horns, gleaming white eyes, and flashing hooves charged straight toward them.

What!?

Finn had no time to really understand what was going on.

He was looking at deer-like beasts, but each one was as tall as he was, and their shining antlers added a couple of feet on top of that.

They were powerful, muscular beings and tore through the undergrowth, throwing their heads back and snorting. They weren’t stopping. Their eyes were almost luminescent white, and their hooves under their brindle fur looked almost like actual silver.

“Brace!” Finn shouted, leveling the Pyrrhic Blade in one hand as he held up the other, summoning his fire magic—the only thing that could hope to stop the rushing horde.

Ascension Path: Fire

Illumination

Fire-Spark

Shield +1 Armor per 20 Mana

Strength +1 STR per 20 Mana

Strike (INT base damage, every 2 Mana points = +1 damage)

Fire-Spark, Finn thought. Puffs of purple and crimson flame started to wreathe themselves around his hand. If I chuck a hundred, two hundred Mana into that, it’ll create a wall of flame…

“NO!” Sister Alharrow slapped his hand down moments before the monstrous herd of deer rushed straight to the river’s edge.

You have been struck by a Level 17 Aegis Deer. You receive 56 points of damage.

Finn snarled in pain as the first of the giant Aegis Deer attempted to leap the river, its hooves flailing as they tucked their front legs underneath them—but not fast enough. Its sharp hoof struck his chest and threw him back.

Ugh!

Finn’s foot slipped, and his heel caught the far lip of their boat. Suddenly, he slapped into the cold river. It engulfed him, and he lost his grip on his sword. Its flames instantly hissed out.

You lost 15 points of Stamina.

Drowning. You will lose 10 points of Stamina and Health per second.

Finn flailed. He hadn’t expected the river to be that deep, or this fast, as he was tumbled and turned. He reached out, expecting to feel the boat but instead feeling the slippery, algae-covered stones of the river’s bed.

Drowning. You lose 10 Stamina and 10 Health.

Finn remembered to hold his breath, but he had already taken a lungful of water that was burning his chest and making him see stars.

I need to push up!

Drowning. You lose 10 Stamina and 10 Health.

Finn had never been a strong swimmer. Something about being a foster care kid, he had never really enjoyed the group ‘classes’ at the local swimming pools. However, he found that his new and improved Celestial Ascension body was far fitter and more robust than his previous one. He jackknifed in the murky waters and kicked desperately as he toward the light.

Drowning. You lose 10 Stamina and 10 Health.

He broke the water’s surface and saw utter chaos.

The deer were leaping the river. Most of them had already made it across, but as Finn sputtered and gasped for air, he saw one of the smaller of the creatures—still the size of a pony—misjudge its leap. Its hooves slammed into the boat as it sprung once again.

“No!” Finn gasped as he floundered. The boat’s wood shattered as it flipped, and the Aegis Deer found the bank while Tobias, Rosa, and Sister Alharrow were scattered into the turbulent waters. “Rosa!” He kicked his feet and attempted to move his arms, but…

You have no Swim Skill.

Agility -50%.

All activities receive -50%.

Finn dropped beneath the waves. He struggled and floundered until he had broken the surface again. He was already several meters further than he had been as the currents carried him downriver.

Smack.

You have been hit by the Wooden Boat for 15 points of damage.

One half of their wrecked boat smacked into his side. He rushed to grab on and cling to it as he felt it buoy him up to the surface.

“Rosa! Tobias!” he shouted, trying to look one way and then the other. He saw that he had already been taken away faster now that he was holding onto the wooden wreckage, turning quickly around a river bend. “Alharrow! Tobias!”

Did he hear something behind him? A voice crying out? Could the others swim, or were they just as bad as he was? Could Tobias, a being who had spent most of his life underground, swim!?

Finn was swung around in the fast current, and all he could hear was the roar of the water. He had to find a way back to the others, somehow, but how far had he already traveled? A hundred meters? More?

Get to the bank. Get to the bank and head back up the river, he thought as the waters threatened to turn his piece of wood over once again.

He kicked again, but the only impact it had was to send him further into the middle of the river. He wished that he had spent any time at all listening to the lifeguards.

Stars dammit! Finn swore, flailing in the water. I’m a damn Knight-Defender! I can do this! He was disorientated, shocked, but he was nowhere near dead.

Health: 621 / 686

Mana: 630 / 690

Stamina: 475 / 542

No. He wasn’t about to let his friends drown out here either, and he wasn’t going to let Esther down.

He leaned forward, putting his chest up and over the edge of the wooden board as he lifted his legs. Now, he was floating, being carried along by the water. The riverbanks passed in a blur. He was sure he was traveling faster now than before.

Up ahead, he could see a misty haze and could hear approaching roar.

No, c’mon, that’s just cheating…

Finn knew at once what it was. A waterfall. Abruptly, he remembered that the woods between Blackwood and Malvas were wild and hilly, with many ridges and outcroppings. The rivers here must have torn their way through the landscape, surging downward as they headed for the low-lying ruined city of Malvas and its coastline.

Well, I’m not going to hang about to get smashed to smithereens! Finn promised himself as the roar from the waterfall grew louder, and nearer, very quickly.

He tried throwing his weight to one side, to angle the wood toward the rocky sides of the riverbank, but all that happened was he spun completely around, flailing as the splash of the raging river drenched him.

No!

He looked up and saw large boulders right on the edge of the white haze where the river plunged over some unseen gap. He knew he only had one chance to get it right.

The river dragged him hungrily, flinging him toward his doom as Finn kicked, spinning his shoulders and turning the wooden boards at the last moment.

SMACK!

You have been struck by the Rock for 20 points of damage.

He slammed into the boulders on the very edge of the waterfall, and his vision went white with the froth and spray of the river’s anger. He held on with grim determination, feeling his fingers slip and the wood splinter, but he was wedged firm. The water pounded across his chest and legs, but he was still here.

Move it, Finn!

Finn didn’t think he was going to make it, not with that 50% modifier emblazoned across his inner vision, but somehow, he got one knee onto the wooden board. He dared to look back.

Big mistake!

He saw the mist, and the distant rock pools below. A long way below. It looked to easily be ten or fifteen meters down.

A moment later, there was a crack from beneath him as the boards started to give way to the intense pressure from the river.

Oh, crap.

He saw the nearest edge just a few meters away. There was another shuddering creak from underneath him as he scrabbled his legs onto the rocks and kicked out, launching himself across as the boat boards snapped and went spinning into the crevasse. He slammed into the rocky ledge and felt an awful moment of panic as his hands slipped on the stones…

…but then he grabbed a fistful of roots and was dragged himself forward, away from the roar and away from the wet. He collapsed, gasping, under the roots of some ancient, twisting tree.

You have survived the Black River. Experience awarded.

Finn gave himself a moment to breath, to feel solid ground beneath him, before he shoved himself back to his feet. He leaned against the tree for support and dared to look around.

What if I saw Tobias or Sister Alharrow suddenly thrown off the waterfall? What would I do!?

Panic clutched at him, but he didn’t let it freeze him. He would do something. He had managed to clamber out onto the far side of the bank—the same side the Aegis Deer had been running from, he thought.

“My blade!”

He suddenly swore, wishing he’d sent the weapon back into his inventory before falling into the water and ultimatley dropping it. His sword was still however many hundreds of meters back up the river. As were his friends.

Looking around, he spied a long, sturdy branch that looked thick enough for a person to hold onto. With one stomp, he severed it from the tree it had grown from. He took off through the woods, along the sides of the river.

“I’ll use this to fish them out,” he was telling himself as he held the improvised quarterstaff, moving as fast as he dared whilst keeping one eye on the water.

He almost didn’t see the sudden burst of viridian, leaf-green energy in the depths of the woods to his left, its color instantly darkening and collapsing in on itself in a way that he knew well.

“That was Tobias’s Earth Shield!” Finn gasped. Tobias was alive. And from the shouts and growls out there in the forest, he appeared to be fighting something.

Hells! Finn—armed with nothing but a dagger, his magic, and a lump of wood—ran to the aid of his friend.