Scorching Ascension - [Progression Litrpg Apocalypse]

Leaning slightly out of the tunnel, Ethan raised a hand and sent a gout of barely concentrated flames toward the mystic toad. It didn't reach as far as he wanted, but he hoped it would scare the beast away, or at least make it take a step back. Enough to give him time to make a run for it, but all it did was make the toad squint its large eyes.

It refused to budge. Which meant Ethan would either need to spend a lot more time working on his skill to make it project the flames further at which point it might just take a few steps back and continue waiting him out, or he would have to come out and face the music.

Damn.

While he believed he had a chance of tanking it, he didn't want to test his Toughness against that laser-thing. Sure, it did damage on the toads, but well, that toad's hide had not been particularly tough the last time he'd faced one. And back then, it also had a few levels on him.

Suffice it say, it would absolutely do damage. Would it one shot him though?

No. Doubt it. But it will hurt like hell.

He was running out of options. His stomach ached. His throat was parched. He didn't think he was about to keel over, but he couldn't wait this out.

Stupid thing, Ethan cursed. He had to come out. Would it even be afraid of the flames if he sprayed them point-blank?

Ethan eyed the toad and grit his teeth. He wished his flames were strong enough to melt the damn thing away. In fact, if he somehow managed to get on its back, he'd cook its brain in seconds. Then the levels and fragments he'd get out of its carcass would make it so situations like these happened less.

He had to get stronger. Enough to break through anything that tried to hinder him. He'd had enough of that in his past life, and he wasn't willing to take any of it in this new one now that literal magic and aliens were a thing.

The air rippled around him, and Ethan stilled for a second before he looked behind him. Again, there was nothing.

What is even happening?

Ethan stared at the empty air behind him for a couple more seconds, then shook his head. "Focus," he mumbled to himself as he turned his glare back at the toad.

Twelve levels and a potential evolution. Against lengthened claws and a bunch of fire.

His heartbeat echoed in his ears. His muscles felt taut as a haphazard plan began taking form in his mind.

If I want an edge over the competition, I better be ready to take some risks. Some big, fat, purple risks.

Ethan slowly exhaled. He rolled his shoulder and played through the scenario in his mind. That usually helped calm him down.

First, he had to dodge the first ray. It all hinged on that. After which he'll need to close the distance and burn the damn thing to a crisp. Like everything else that tried or will try to stop him.

The air shuddered once more, and Ethan realized he wasn't being stalked. But something was happening. Something linked to his thought process. He was sure it was important to understand and investigate, but not right now. Right now he had a fight to get through, and he was on the clock. Might and Toughness might be helping him with the thirst and hunger, but that won't last for long.

Ethan slapped his face a couple of times. He stretched his legs and did a couple of hops, breathing deep. Then he summoned his claws once more.

Don't overthink it. Go for the eyes and the brains. That laser and tongue can't do shit if I'm on its head.

Ethan bent his knees, took one more deep breath, and the world stilled. The only thing he could hear was the blood rushing in his ears. The smell of burnt lizardlings mixed with the clean air of the cave.

He just had to get rid of this thing, then he could go and get himself something to eat. A reward, of sorts.

Alright. Let's do this.

Ethan exploded forward, jumping over the bush before he sprinted right and around the toad. The creature instantly reacted by shooting its purple beam at him. The glowing light flew at where Ethan had been and hit the stone wall.

Ethan only felt an electrifying sensation from behind him, but he didn't stop. And he certainly didn't look back as hair rushed about him.

He had no clue how long before the toad could shoot again, so he began closing in, but the toad wasn't having it. It squeaked, and its purple-tipped tongue shot out. It barely missed him, tearing a large chunk of the mushroom-tree's stem.

Now!

Legs still pumping, Ethan rushed at the tongue, eyes peeled for another beam. The flames around his right arm roared as he swung down, and in an instant, the claws surged as [Extended Enhancement] activated.

Ten-inch-long flaming claws fell on the wet tongue like hot, sharp knives. Blood, smoke, and steam surged around the deep groove he carved into the toad's tongue, and it squealed. For a fraction of a second, Ethan felt a pang of hunger.

It smelled like seared steak.

The toad retracted its bleeding, smoking tongue. Ethan hadn't managed to fully sever the damn thing like he'd intended, but he'd cut at least halfway through it. That, along with the burn damage might make the tongue unusable.

At least he hoped.

Ethan didn't waste time and rushed the toad as he pulled back on his flames. He urged his legs to move faster as his claws reverted back to their usual length. He was only a few steps away from the massive beast, but before he could jump on it, its head snapped toward him and he had barely enough time to see a purple light.

Ethan let himself drop, feet skidding. Time slowed as his face barely slipped under the ray of glowing light.

But his left arm didn't.

Ethan screamed as his feet glided against the soft soil, a searing pain cut into his flesh. It was mind bending, taking over his whole being for a second. It was as if his skin had been peeled and his arm next dipped in freezing cold lemon right before some burning hot needles poked every nerve ending.

Ethan had never felt anything like it. It might be the worst he'd experienced, but thankfully, it was the sharp kind, and already, the acute part was already passing.

Blood in his mouth, Ethan jumped up to his feet and forced himself to breath. His eyes watering with the pain, but he couldn't afford to look at his arm right now. He had to watch his opponent. He knew his arm was still there, which was both a source of relief and of incredible pain. He could feel the air against raw skin, but at least he still had it.

He had to focus. He could writhe in pain all he liked once he made sure he wasn't about to eat another shot.

Ethan breathed slowly, legs tense as he expected another laser or tongue shot. Instead, seeing him crouched with his arms hanging at his side, the monster hopped forward, mouth wide open, ready to snap down on him. Ethan scrambled back, cursing, and shot a gout of flame into its open maw.

The frog screamed and shot its tongue out once more, but Ethan had already moved. He only stopped when he was right next to the monster. He tasted blood. The pain shooting up his arm was mind numbing, but he felt wide awake.

He felt alive. And his right hand was just fine.

The claws extended once more, swallowing a large portion of his available mana, and Ethan hopped, shoving his burning talons into the toad's right eye before he dumped all of his mana reserves into summoning as much fire as he could possibly manage.

The toad recoiled violently away from him, but Ethan was up to his elbow in its eye socket. It tried to shake him off as the flow of pressurized flames filled its eye sockets and head, but Ethan would not let go. With a blood curling scream, he even forced his injured arm to grab on, and the pain made him see spots, even though the flames were illuminating the whole clearing.

Smoke bellowed while the creature squealed, shooting its laser in the air. It darted its tongue out, trying to get a hold of him, but Ethan didn't let up. He kept pumping fire into its head with ever drop of mana his Arcanum regenerated while digging his claws deeper. He didn't know how long it took, but after a while—probably only a few seconds—there was a hiss. A final weak squeak escaped from the toad, then something popped while his flames burst out of the other side.

This book's true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience.

The second eye had popped.

Ethan kept the fire going even when he saw the notification come in. He hadn't been able to process at that moment, but when he did, he relaxed his grip and let himself slide against the dead monster. His chest rose and fell as he panted for air, grimacing in pain as he pulled his injured arm away.

The clearing was quiet, once more.

The grimace and panting slowly turned to chuckle, which in turn became an open-throated laughter. Ethan laughed, head pressed against the side of the creature's neck as pain lanced up his arms.

He never felt this alive.

You have defeated [Mystic Toad - Level 30]

You have reached Level 19. 1 stat point awarded.

…

You have reached Level 21. 1 stat point awarded.

Congratulations. Side quest completed.

1 trait token.

1 tier-1 spell token.

5 stat points awarded.

New side quests unlocked.

Congratulations. Hidden quest: <Defeat a tier-1 being> completed.

10 stat points awarded.

Ethan wiped at his eyes, still chuckling as he began reading the notifications, and his mouth slowly morphed into a "O" as he slowly digested what he was seeing. But before he could focus on any of the many news he had to parse through, he took four points and dumped them into Toughness.

Instantly, the pain shooting up his arm abated, and Ethan breathed out a long, deep sigh of relief.

Much more painful than getting shot. Thought not as life-threatening.

The latter had been more of a sharp, burning pain and shock, in his experience. But the pain of the toad's attack was something else entirely. It was as if it didn't stop at the flesh. Was soul damage a thing?

In any case, with four extra points in Toughness, the pain was much more bearable.

Glancing down at arm, Ethan instantly grimaced. It was swollen. The skin was an unhealthy reddish-purple, as if all of his blood vessel had burst. He could somehow move some fingers, but everything sent pain shooting up his arm so he refrained. As far as he could tell, the bones were fine.

Wait and hope for Enduring Brawler to heal it up, I guess. It can handle stab wounds in hours, so this should be manageable.

Still, this was where some allies could have helped. Especially if they had some healing capabilities.

Taking a seat against his vanquished, still smoking foe, Ethan looked through his notification closer, now that he'd had some relief and instantly, his eyes latched on to the accomplished quest.

Hidden quests, huh?

Ethan had called it. The competition hidden under the tutorial was showing itself again. Or maybe it was just more incentives so everyone would put more effort in progressing. Either way, the motivawion of the system didn't matter. Not at this junction. What did matter was how many of these hidden quests there were? Because obviously, he needed to find more of them.

It was an interesting mechanic that could give him an edge. He'd need to start thinking about what other achievements might be hidden behind a secret side quest. It was an interesting subject to explore, but he had a few more notifications to get through.

Next, Ethan turned his attention to his new levels and to the side quest he had finished.

Seeing his new levels, he couldn't help but grin. The regular side quest rewards should also be fun to get through. He was about to get a new spell and new trait, and considering the traits he'd been shown before, he had high hopes for this round.

Actually, I wonder if traits are upgradeable. How about spells? That's bound to be a hidden quest if it's possible. Now, what's the new side quest about…

Side quest:

Reach level 30 and declare your path.

Reward:

Prime Arcanum

Body Reforging (I)

10 stat points

Ethan raised a brow at the air in front of him.

Oh? So that's what happens at level 30? I get the Prime Arcanum and the whole body gets empowered?

That was interesting. Ethan was looking forward to it, especially considering it wasn't that far off. He wasn't super clear on the path part, but he had time to figure that out. One thing was for sure, though. He was looking forward to having another Arcanum. More spellforms means more bonuses.

Taking a look at everything, Ethan was pretty happy. He'd gotten himself a nice stack of rewards. Now he just had to get a move on lest something else showed up. He began pushing himself up to his feet, arm protesting painfully, then paused. What if he had a trait available that could affect his haul?

Ethan considered for a second and eyed the clearing. Then shook his head.

Nah. Something might show up at any moment. Not worth the risk. Not when I'm already injured.

With his clawed hand ready, he turned toward the toad to collect his fragment, only to see something he hadn't expected.

The tongue had that familiar glow he associated with fragments. But so did the toad's underbelly.

It took him a second to connect the dots, then nodded in realization. "Right. It has a Prime Arcanum. So two Arcanums?"

That made sense to him. He started with the tongue, and waited for the prompt.

Arcanum of the Fire Elemental: 21 fragments collected.

After it was gone, he went to the chest. Usually, if he collected a bunch of fragments all at once, they collapsed in a single one. This time though, he wanted to see the details.

Arcanum of the Fire Elemental: 14 fragments collected.

Ethan frowned at the small haul. "That's a bit disappointing. Did it spend it all or something?"

He glared down at the still smoking carcass, then shrugged. At the very least, he still ended up getting plenty of the fight. Less fragments that usual wasn't the end of the world.

With the fragments in his pocket, Ethan considered what he should next? He was starving, thirsty, and exhausted. Heading up to the camp was out of the question. Not when he was tired and injured.

Though I should eventually. Maybe I can find out some tips about hidden quests.

Then again, he felt that many would want to keep those cards to their chests.

His stomach gurgled once more, cutting off his musings. Ethan glanced around at the forest, then down at the dead toad. The tongue had smelled good.

He stared at the carcass for another second, then shook his head.

Regular small toads were toxic. He was almost sure of that. It would be too risky to try this one's meat, even if his Toughness might protect him from the toxin. It just wasn't worth the risk. He just had to find something nearby.

Ethan nodded to himself. He'd give it an hour or two to find something and if he fails, he would consider the camp. But first, he had some points to assign and some gifts to unwrap and so for that, he headed back into the tunnel and took a seat near the entrance. No painful arms or gnawing stomachs were going to prevent him from enjoying the fruits of his labor.

An image of a platter full of peeled and cut fruits popped into his mind, and Ethan groaned. "Maybe I shouldn't think of fruits."

Ethan took a deep breath and realized, for the first time ever since this started, that he didn't mind the smoky smell.

Now, let's assign these—dear god—14 remaining stat points.

Finally, the spellform bonus was going to kick in.