Scorching Ascension - [Progression Litrpg Apocalypse]

With his back against the wall, Ethan eyed his stats for a few moment and noted how low everything but Toughness was. Spirit was still at 4 points, while Mana and Might were sitting at 5 each. Low, compared to his Toughness, and it was time he remedied that.

I managed to get the toad through the eye, but if it's eyes hadn't been that large I would have been screwed.

Only its mouth would have been a weak point, and he didn't really want to attack from that angle.

"Fourteen points… that should allow me to get everything close to 10. Might goes to 10, Mana as well, and four to Spirit, which puts it at 8."

Ethan grinned. The flames he could summon were about to get much hotter.

Ethan confirmed his choice. As soon as he did, dust was kicked away from his feet in a wide circle. His dirty—and frankly, stinky—clothes ruffled from the breeze while a myriad of comfortingly uncomfortable sensations sunk into his flesh.

It reminded him of something he'd heard before. Something about bad-tasting medicine being the most efficient.

Frankly, he doubted that. Ethan's wasn't usually big on superstitions. But the muscle tremors, the bone burning, and the electrifying cold running through his flesh promised to make him stronger. More resilient and better equipped to deal with the monsters of this place.

He would endure it with pleasure.

When the transformative effect was over, Ethan leaned back against the cave wall and sighed with relief. He tightened his fist, feeling strength running through his veins, and when he summoned his claws and their flame, he noted how much longer and tougher-looking they seemed. The talons themselves were at least six inches long, while his hands had grown thicker and darker, allowing him to exert more strength through them.

Triggering [Extended Enhancement], they surged to nearly twice as long.

"Neat. Now let's see the stats."

Level 21

Might: 11 (10)

Toughness: 15

Spirit: 8

Mana: 10

Ethan smiled when he saw the extra point in Might. "I like how that's being shown. Should make it easier to track with the bonuses."

Next, he took a look at his arm. It seemed a bit better. The swelling had reduced, somewhat. But it was still painful and purple, so he left it be.

"Alright. Moving on."

He glanced out of his tunnel for a moment to make sure nothing was sneaking up on him, then started with the trait token.

Select a trait from the list below:

Enhancer Specialist: Each spellform reshapes you sharper, faster, stronger—for a moment, that's all you need. Every Enhancer spellforms provides 5% extra stats.

Lucky Harvester: The spark always lands near you. You don't chase luck—it walks beside you. Improve chances of finding a spellcore on a dead opponent.

Child of Flames: The blaze knows its own. While it scorches the world, it stitches you whole. Your flames protect you and accelerate your recovery.

As soon as he saw the traits he had recently passed on, he pumped his right arm in the air. "Yes! But… dammit. These are all good."

Ethan sighed, then shook his head. It was a great problem to have, for sure. The traits were all great. The same argument still held from last time, but that didn't make the choice any less difficult. Still, with the traits persisting even though he didn't select them, he felt safe ignoring [Enhancement Specialist] once more for now.

It was still a great option, but he also still had only one Arcanum, and only one spellform.

[Lucky Harvester] was interesting as well. It might not be that impactful, considering how unlikely it was for a spellcore to appear, but the value was there.

"They must be worth something for trade, as well. For sure."

Ethan hummed and turned his focus to the new option displayed, which, to him, was the clear winner. [Child of Flames] was frankly too good to pass up. He needed more resilience and faster recovery, and he already had a lot of fire stuff going on. [Child of Flames] was a great fit. It would allow him to be out there more, fighting toads and collecting fragments.

Ethan mulled it over for a few more seconds. It was just too good.

Well. See you two next time, then. I'll pick up [Lucky Harvester] next, if the system doesn't throw something too good to ignore once again.

Ethan selected [Child of Flames], then confirmed his choice.

Flames burst all around him, making him flinch for a second before he smiled. The flames were a soft orange, with bright gold undertones. They danced and seeped into his skin like a healing balm and then, gently, they faded away.

Ethan took his shirt off and pursed his lips at its sorry state. Suffice it to say, it wasn't white any more. But he'll figure something for that eventually. For now, he fed the flames some mana, and had them coat his beaten and bruised-looking arm.

If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

The pain and ache instantly weakened. Not fully, of course, but the heat and the healing effect made it much more bearable, to the point he could move it around without having to grit his teeth. Encouraged by the result, he took it up a notch

Pointing with both hands out, he turned the heat on. Flames roared forward, easily taller than he was, and the comforting flames seeped into his arms and sides. Ethan closed his eyes and enjoyed the blissful relief. The pain in his left arm slowly melted away, replaced by a warm sense of vigor that coursed through his whole body. Opening his eyes, he examined the flames for a moment, and his eyebrow quirked up.

The flames looked… realer.

Before this new round of upgrades, the fire had been thin and somewhat transparent. Now it looked more physical. Almost like flowing liquid.

Ethan didn't want to cancel his flames, so he let them dance. The fire was reducing the pain in his arm and maybe accelerating its healing, but his arm still didn't look that great. He noted that the ever-increasing heat of the cave wasn't difficult to endure, either. Same for hunger and thirst, which thankfully would give him time to look into his new spells.

This was good timing, he thought as he pulled up his spell selection. "Now… General spell, modifier or enhancement?"

The latter was difficult to commit to. His spellform limit was still at one, and so he wouldn't be able to use anything he'd get. Not unless he replaced [Claws], which he was not keen on.

"It could be something crazy. Like wings. Or whatever that toad used to shoot its laser," he mused. Plus, he should be getting extra-forms soon. Between the tier-2 Arcanum, and the Prime Arcanum he was supposed to get at level 30, he wasn't that far off anymore.

"How about modifiers?"

He could get anything from there, and he should be able to use it so technically, that might be the safest pick. For general spells, he might get something to hit from afar, but then again, his strengths lay in getting close and personal, so a ranged-spells wasn't that much of a priority for him. Especially once he manages to project his flames further thanks to the Arcanum's title of the fire elemental.

Or I could end up getting something to heal. More directly than Child of Flames, I mean.

Both modifier and general-type spells sounded good, so he wasn't going to regret either. As for picking which…

Ethan turned off his right claws and dug into his pocket for a couple of seconds. When his finger touched cold metal, he grinned.

"Head for a regular spell. Tails for modifier," he said to the universe, then flipped the coin and let it drop to the ground. He peered down at it, then shrugged. "Heads it is."

Select a general-class tier-1 spell from the list below:

Whisper: Send a telepathic message into the mind of a target you see.

Water Jet: Shoot a pressurized stream of water.

Summon Illusion: Summon a visual illusion within a small range.

Stonedart: Shoot a short dart made of stone.

Gust: Summon a gust of wind in a direction of your choosing.

Hmm. [Whisper] and [Summon Illusion] are great to lure out targets. [Gust] is… interesting. I wonder if I can combine it with the flamethrower to add a kick to the fire. For range, [Water Jet] is good. But it's kind of what I'm already trying to achieve with my fire. [Stonedart] is alright too, I guess.

Now. What was it going to be?

He liked the utility spells, and he wasn't too tempted by the range ones. He was working on his own and in any case, he believed that if he managed to recreate a spell by himself, it might qualify for a hidden quest, so he didn't want to take the easy way out and get an easy ranged spell.

Not selected a ranged spell here would put his back against the wall and push him harder to recreate something ranged and consistent and honestly, he liked that idea.

Ethan did well under pressure.

And if it doesn't work out, I bet I'll get other opportunities to get ranged spells later.

Ethan stared at the remaining spells for a few more moments, feeling more confident by the second. He could do it. Probably.

"It's worth a shot. Which makes this a choice between illusions or a quick simple message."

Luring out enemies would counter his weak range a bit. Though he noted the illusions seemed limited by range, while [Whisper] was any target he could see.

[Whisper] will probably work against monsters and lizardlings, and it would also be useful to coordinate with allies. I also like how simple to use it seems; the illusion spell could potentially do more, but it would take work. Planning. Imagination.

Ethan grimaced. He really wanted the simpler options.

Whisper (Tier-1) added to General spells.

With that done, he slotted the [Whisper] spell into the Arcanum then pulled up its details. Now he just had to find a target to test the spell on.

Arcanum of the Fire Elemental

Spells: [Whisper]

Spellforms: [[Extending][Flaming][Claws]]

Tier: 1

Spell Capacity: 3/4

Spellform Capacity (I): 1/1

Form Bonus [15%]: [Claws: +15% to Might]

Mana Regeneration (I)

Fragments: 76

"Aaand we're done. Damn. That took a while," Ethan said as he stood up.

He glanced down at his left arm, and his eyes widened as he took in the changes. It was still a bit red and blue in some spots, but it looked a lot healthier. It went from quite literally scalded to a bad sunburn in less than an hour.

[Enduring Brawler], [Child of Flames], and Toughness. This is just… incredible. I bet I could eat that toad and not die. But I still don't want to live through whatever those toxins would do to my stomach.

Ethan stepped out into the forest once more and cracked his neck. "Time to find some lunch."