Scorching Ascension - [Progression Litrpg Apocalypse]

Ethan didn't twitch a finger as he watched the orange cat approach. Not out of fear, though he was a bit worried. This thing had twenty levels on him and, well, it was a cat. Or at least, it looked like one. And everyone knew cat were unpredictable.

Ethan didn't have a lot of experience with cats, aside from the one time he tried hand-feeding one and got a nasty scratch for his trouble. He didn't hate them. He knew they could be adorable and cute and all that, but he also knew they could be… jumpy.

The cat finally reached his feet, and it sniffed up at him. It had fire-orange eyes with dilated charcoal-black irises. When it stood on its hind legs and waved its front paw, Ethan nearly moved down to pet it, but refrained. Instead, he just watched for a moment, confused at what the Ignisra wanted.

Oh?

Ethan looked down at the flames surrounding the still achy wound in side.

Was it the fire that interested it? Or maybe it was sensing [Child of Flames]?

With his left hand, Ethan summoned a thin stream and let it flow down. He would have crouched, but he didn't dare disturb the healing process. He was still feeling off on that side, but it didn't seem to be deteriorating.

The cat reached higher, sniffing at the flames, then it started licking it.

Ethan had expected it to play with the fire or something. He hadn't expected to see it munch on the flames as if it had been made of cotton-candy. Neither did he expect the satisfied growl and purring as it progressively grew more and more excited.

I guess I did have cat treats.

Ethan fed the Ignisra, keeping a constant healing flame around his stomach. He wasn't feeling as cold anymore, but there was still plenty of healing to do. And the flames helped keep the pain at bay.

Glancing down at the wound, he found it nearly closed up, but of course that didn't mean the internal damage was all healed. Something still felt very much wrong, but honestly, at this point, he believed his healing flames and [Enduring Brawler] would be able to fully take care of it.

Which was mind-boggling, considering the gravity of the injury.

Ethan slowly breathed out and continued feeding the cat. The growly purrs were comforting, for some reason. Maybe he could make a friend out of this creature. What was an Ignisra anyway? Was it just born? Or did it come from somewhere?

Ethan kept going for a while, but after a couple of minutes, he began suspecting he was growing tired. Magic-wise. It hadn't been obvious at first, but as he was feeding the cat and channeling mana into the flames around his stomach, he felt an odd sense of fatigue that seemed to emanate from his chest and down his limbs. He felt hollowed, in a way. At first he wondered if it was because of the stab, but as that wound continued healing, the tiredness deep in his chest only kept growing.

He would have to confirm it, but this might be proof that channeling too much mana might create some sort of fatigue.

It took close to five minutes for the cat to stop devouring Ethan's flames. Five minutes where he continued to heal and recover. Of course, he didn't know if he was out of the woods yet, so he couldn't relax, but he continued feeding the creature. After all, it was only him and the cat in the cave, at this point.

Once the cat had had its fell, Ethan slowly exhaled while it licked its chops. He reduced the flame around his stomach to a minimum. He couldn't afford to stop healing just yet, he thought as he eyed the summoned being. The cat rubbed at its face for a few seconds, and when it was done, it looked up at Ethan. It flicked its ears, sending a small gout of fire around them, meowed once, and a prompt popped in front of his eyes.

[Undisclosed - Ignisra (I) - Level 51] is offering you a pact.

[Undisclosed - Ignisra (I) - Level 51] is offering to keep you alive. In exchange, you will provide flames whenever it desires.

Ethan blinked at the prompt, then looked at the cat. "No."

The cat growled at him, and its ears turned backward.

The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.

"Wait," said Ethan as he ignited his right claws once more, hoping to distract the cat for a moment. His chest ached at the expenditure, but at least his little gambit worked. The cat straightened its ears and waited.

"Let's talk about this," said Ethan as he coughed in his throat to buy himself a few seconds to think. Pain shot through his stomach, but he dismissed it.

This was huge. If he could somehow recruit this cat, it would give him an edge on a lot of participants. Plus, it was a fire cat. If he was trying to learn fire magic, there was no better practitioner to observe.

And if was teleported from somewhere, and not born minutes ago, it might know a lot that I don't.

Ethan reeled his excitement in for a second and considered the downsides. Would this pact stuff be dangerous? Was it like those soul-selling deals in stories? It didn't seem like it… There was no fine print that he could see. It seemed straightforward enough.

Also, how would it be enforced?

His thoughts were cut off as the cat growled once more. He looked down at it, then condensed some fire in a small ball and offered it as a bribe. The cat curiously peered at it and tapped it with a paw. "I can offer you three meals a day. In exchange, you do what I ask."

A low-ball offer. But it gave room for negotiation. The cat growled once more, twitching its ears, but they didn't go into airplane-mode. It gave him a long and low meow and a new prompt appeared.

[Undisclosed - Ignisra (I) - Level 51] is offering you a pact.

[Undisclosed - Ignisra (I) - Level 51] is offering to keep you alive. In exchange, you will provide flames whenever it desires.

Ethan shook his head. Why did I think it would be willing to negotiate?

Though it was clear enough the cat could understand him perfectly well. It was just being stubborn.

Fitting, really.

Ethan eyed the cat and the flames dancing all over its fur. It was still paying very close attention to his claws and to the fires coating them. Which gave him an idea.

"Alright," said Ethan. "I'll give you flames at least three times a day. In exchange, once a day, you do at least one thing that I ask you to. We can negotiate more meals or more favors on a case-per-case basis."

As soon as he finished speaking, Ethan flared the flames of his right hand a bit more and made them dense. The cat's excited eyes couldn't help but track the fire, and then—

Ethan snuffed the flames out.

It surprised the cat, and definitely annoyed it. Ethan forestalled it. "Accept, and you'll get to see the fires every day. I get into a lot of fights. You can travel with me. And you'll be able to taste a lot of different fires."

The elemental swished it tails left and right and stared up at him. It flicked its ear once or twice as it thought it through, and then gave him a resolved meow.

[Undisclosed - Ignisra (I) - Level 51] has accepted the pact you offered.

The cat's fur ignited. Its paws left the ground as it rose in the air, while Ethan's body locked up. The temperature rose around them, and Ethan found himself locking eyes with the cat. Something snapped between them in a second. A connection. And through it, he felt a foreign emotion leak into his own mind. He felt curiosity from the Ignisra. Boredom. Confidence.

Typical cat things.

And then the magic was over, and the odd energy holding him in place relented.

Ethan exhaled in relief. That had been more intense than expected. Looking down, he found the cat swishing its tail, staring up, so Ethan ignited his hands once more. Ignoring the worsening ache in his chest, he watched as the cat excitedly focused on the flames. A second later, it jumped up to his shoulder, trailing flames, and Ethan expected the fire to feel hot or maybe even burn him, but it didn't. It was just warm. A bit like his own flames.

"Alright. I got a few things to take care of. Then I need some rest. Is that cool with you?"

The cat turned to him, yawned, then hopped off his shoulder before it went to lie near the door. Clearly, it wasn't willing to deal with whatever it was he intended to do, and instead was more interested in a micro-nap.

Ethan didn't mind that. He could focus on his injury and on finishing the side quest.

I got level thirty. So what's blocking me is the "path" stuff.

Ethan mumbled. "What does that mean? What's a path?"

Groaning, Ethan slowly lowered himself to the ground, wincing as he sensed things move in his stomach, then sighed when he finally relaxed. With his right, he kept a small flame blowing against the injured area and looked at the quest once more.

Let's crack this, then.