Scorching Ascension - [Progression Litrpg Apocalypse]

The fatigue of the day was catching him with him as he lay there, racking his brain about what this path stuff could be about. Was this some sort of resolve thing? Like a promise or an oath? Or was it about general life stuff?

Ethan wanted to delve into it deeper, but the gnawing emptiness in his chest and body was becoming too much to bear. He knew it was a mana-thing at this point, so he glanced down at his stomach and found the skin fully closed. Gently probing it, he found the area a bit painful, but not debilitating.

Eying the flame he was still pushing at the area, he bit his lip.

If I feel worse I'll re-activate it, I guess. But I think I'm okay for now.

Nervously, Ethan turned off the Arcanum, dispelling the claws, and instantly a weighted blanket was lifted off his chest. He groaned in relief, closing his eyes as a strain he hadn't even known was there was suddenly washed away.

Yup. Mana exhaustion is a thing. It might be related to my stats too. Maybe it wasn't too taxing when I had a low Spirit stat, but if that's the potency of my magic, it would make sense if it exhausts me faster.

Thankfully, that might be resolved by this body reforging reward. Once he figured out the path stuff.

Couldn't they make it simpler? I have no time to waste on this.

He didn't want to be solving riddles right now. He wanted his reward, a nap, then go out there and find the supposed exit. He wanted to find other people in case he heard anything about Luther.

Should also check on Liz and Gerald soon…

Ethan grit his teeth. Was that why the lizardlings had put them in cages? They were doing rituals like these? Sacrificing people in the hope of summoning something from god knows where?

Glancing to the side, he saw the many corpses, laying still.

Good thing I decided to look into this camp.

This foray had been worth it, and he'd gotten a new ally out of it. Potentially. Thinking back on the raid, he believed it had gone well, all things considered. Really well.

They hadn't managed to stop him.

There was something particularly freeing about bulldozing through obstacles. As Ethan recalled himself cutting through the wall, tearing into the barriers and forcing his way through the lizardling's defenses, the air shivered around him, and his eyes widened.

He'd had that happen a few times. Especially when he'd been thinking of this new life and how he wanted to be. Ethan looked down at the quest description one more time and whispered. "A path. A way of doing things?"

Ethan cleared his thoughts and looked up at the cave ceiling.

I will burn through every obstacle until I'm standing at the top. Wherever that is.

The air trembled around him, and his breath caught. He glanced toward the exit and saw the cat looking at him, still lounging on the floor.

He should think of a name for it.

Ethan turned his attention back to the quest. His heart beat loudly into his ears. Maybe he needed to say it? And what was the top, really?

How long would he climb?

Ethan shook his head. It didn't matter how long he needed to climb. He wasn't going to let the past or anything else chain him down. If there was a ledge above him where someone might stand and look down at him, he was reaching up for it.

The idea percolated in his mind. His resolve. It didn't need to be complicated or wordy. It was short, really.

It was something he'd lived by, in a way, since he was a child. Something that had gotten him in trouble more than once, but that he had never regretted.

"I will not chained."

No broken systems. No blackmailers. No monsters.

Nothing.

Something whooshed around him, and the air suddenly grew tense. Electric. Whatever energy was coalescing around him, it kept building up. Both outside and within his chest.

It reminded him of his first interaction with the system.

Ethan had barely enough time to see the "side quest completed" message before more text appeared over it.

Body Reforging beginning in 3… 2…1

His body seized and his teeth clamped shut. The mysterious energy around him began pouring into his skin, sinking through his flesh and bones like molten metal. His veins bulged. His eyes watered while pain and spasms wracked through his body.

Ethan gritted his teeth harder, tasting blood. He might have been smiling as well, he couldn't tell. But this was a small price to pay for power, which was exactly when the process got worse.

A new wave of energy swelled in his chest. It reminded him of mana, but he didn't feel it in his flesh or bones. No, it was… somewhere else. His soul, he imagined, and the pain easily eclipsed the pain of his body.

Ethan felt like wax. Like he was turning molten right before he'd be put back together, and next thing he knew, he found himself looking at the ceiling while his body and soul were thrown into the proverbial forge.

His visions dimmed. He felt like he was floating. As if the process was pushing his soul out of his body.

Worth… it…

Then the screams tore themselves out of his throat, and his awareness winked out.

***

Images in his mind flitted by as he slowly regained consciousness. He couldn't feel his body. But he felt… partially aware.

Enough to remember and know what he was seeing. The images.

They were vivid. As if he'd been thrown back in time. Forced to relive events he talked about too much and refuse to dwell on whenever they came unbidden.

Being forced to stand in front of psychotic father. Blood in on his hands. Sirens. A desolating carousel of foster home and sterile rooms. Bullying in school and getting in trouble for fighting. Meeting Luther for the first time and finding a healthier outlet to let lose.

Then that final foster home. The fear in the boy who had showed him his room, then meeting Edwin.

More images flitted through, all involving the same pair of cold blue eyes. The blackmail. The violence. Feeling trapped in the web of teenager who had their supposed caretakers wrapped around his fingers.

Refusing to be trapped. Struggling to break free.

A plan that went wrong. Bleeding out from a gunshot in an abandoned warehouse. Feeling at peace. For the first time ever as darkness took him.

Ethan pushed the memories away. He still couldn't feel his body. Thankfully, what had happened after was more pleasant.

Waking up to find Luther at his bedside. Being adopted by the high school coach. Dealing with the old man's quirks and eating pizza as they watched old movies.

Ethan found himself smiling, recalling the best years of his life. One particular memory that stood out to him was Luther showing him to his room. It had been pretty empty back then. Just a bed and a desk.

Then Luther gave him his own set of keys, and told him he can decorate the room however the hell he'd like.

I hope you're okay, old man.

Suddenly, as if whatever magic remembered he was still around, Ethan was wrenched away from his own memories and shoved into a different one.

A memory that was not his. A much, much, more vivid memory.

Ethan opened his eyes, and he was someone else. Or at least, it felt like it.

He was watching over the shoulder of a stout, dark skinned man. Korin. Ethan didn't know how he knew the man's name. Somehow, the information had made its way into his consciousness without him realizing.

For example, he knew that Korin was right now facing a challenge. One not many had the opportunity to face. He was in a separate, small dimension where one could test their mettle, and in this scenario, was to carry a bowling-ball-sized enchanted gem to a remote temple, through a path that cut through the wilderness. On this path, there would be monsters, which was a classic, and there would also be some crafty bandits who wanted to claim the temple's bounty for themselves.

The journey was supposed to be done slowly and methodically. The challengers were to take on the threats one by one, working in concert and improving their teamwork. For a regular team, it would take nearly three days to whittle the distance down, and he was supposed to save his strength for the last push through the temple guardians.

But Korin had other plans, and to be honest, he had never been a patient man. He liked to keep things simple and for this dungeon, his plan was easy: he was going to run.

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A set of curved horns appeared atop of his shaved head as he stretched his legs. He went through a couple more exercises to lubricate his knees, hips, and shoulders over a handful more minutes and then, Korin picked up the large gem, tucked it under an arm, and started running.

Ethan watched as a deep golden glow began forming around the man. Rune-like engraving shone on the horns, growing brighter as he picked up speed. Soon, his leather boots were sending clumps of soil flying behind him. The corona of light was hazy, trailing softly behind him, and for a few minutes, Korin ran unbothered. But it didn't take long for him to arrive at the site of the first encounter, and as he stepped under the dark forest's canopy, three direwolves crept from behind their trees and onto his path.

Korin's cloak of golden light flared, suddenly gaining in density. He burned some essence from his large stockpile, and the man blurred forward. The wolves growled, took a step and leapt, teeth and claws bared.

Korin barreled through them like an uncaring foot through a child's sandcastle, laughing uproariously as he did.

Ethan laughed as well, as he watched the wolves scrambles away with their tails tucked. He wanted to run himself, experience this sense of freedom. The next few hours zipped by in moments as Ethan rode on the shoulder of this freight-train of a man. Korin charged through obstacle after obstacle, tearing through haphazard barricades, monsters, walls of summoned bramble, and anything else that tried to slow him down. Ethan found himself looking forward to more obstacles to blow through, until finally, the man arrived at the temple, panting, just as the sun began to set over the horizon. The destination was set right into a mountain's face, barely an hour out of the dark forest, and just as Korin began to slow, the last barrier appeared, rows and rows of monks in red robes, with weapons of all sorts in hand; the temple guardians.

Korin grinned. While he had more tools at his disposal, he had set himself a rule for this challenge.

He was only running.

Unfortunately, the vision had decided Ethan had seen enough, and as much as he wanted to see the next part, the orange glow of the cave came back into his vision, and he woke up.

Ethan found himself laying in a pool of his own stinking sweat. He reeked. He had to go back to the stream as soon as possible and cleanup. He slowly got up and took in the cave, winking his nose at his own smell. Glancing at the exit, he saw the cat still asleep, uncaring about whatever happened to him.

Typical cat.

Turning his attention back to himself, Ethan stretched his hands above his hands, marveling at the power he could feel in his body. He felt… amazing. The mana fatigue was gone. Looking down at the stab wound, he didn't find it. None of the other wounds were present, either. Not the cuts, nor the bullet scar that should have been on the left side of his lower abdomen. He couldn't see the exit wound, and when he reached with his fingers for the exit scar, he couldn't feel the smooth tissue.

Ethan grinned.

Incredible. I wonder if this grew back my kidney as well.

Was this all thanks to the body reforging? If so, he wanted more. Activating [Claws], he noted that the talon had grown a bit longer again. Not by much, barely an inch or so, but it gave credence to something he was thinking.

It's as if my body's doing a bit more with the stats than before. The numbers are unchanged, so that's the only explanation. Also, I need soap and water for the next upgrade.

For now, he decided to spray his upper body with a small gout of flames. Maybe the fire would help with the smell. As the flames covered his upper body, he looked at his notifications and checked the timer on the main quest.

Main Quest: Gain access to the tutorial's exit within 5 days, 21 hours, and 01 minutes.

Glancing at the time, Ethan quickly calculated that he'd been out for nearly seven hours. Not great. But not awful either, considering everything that had happened.. Next, he looked through the rest.

Congratulations. Side quest completed.

10 stat points awarded

The body reforging process is completed .

The Prime Arcanum's partial activation is completed. Unlocking the two remaining prime forms will fully activate it.

New side quests unlocked.

Right. The new Arcanum. Still needs some more work? That's doable, I'm sure. And I guess I've got some stat points to assign as well.

Ethan held off on the point assignment for now and pulled up the new Arcanum's page.

Prime Arcanum of the Juggernaut - Activation in progress:

Prime forms: None

Essence: 0

Fragments: 0

Available upgrades

Prime form - Wand of the Juggernaut: Summon a classic wand to quickly cast spells. Spells cast can be empowered to suppress magic and foreign spells in their path - 200 fragments

Prime form - Lance of the Juggernaut: Summon an adaptable lance to pierce through your opponent's defenses. Impacts of the lance as well as the spells cast by it can provoke an explosion if willed. Form Bonus: Might, Mana - 200 fragments

Prime form - Horns of the Juggernaut: Summon formidable horns that empower your magic. Additionally, when charging toward your quarry, your Might and Toughness are greatly empowered. Form Bonus: Spirit, Toughness - 200 fragments

"Damn. That's a cool name for a wand. And those are some awesome forms…"

Ethan was grinning widely as he took in the details of this new Arcanum. He was too broke to access any of the upgrades, but he was still pretty damn happy.

It sounds pretty strong, Ethan thought. Now he just had to collect 600 fragments to unlock the forms. As for which one to start with, he honestly couldn't tell. The wand was probably his third option, but he believed he would struggle a bit between the lance and the horns. Both sounded pretty great to him.

Maybe I'll just collect 400 fragments and get both it in one shot.

Ethan shook his head with a smile. Probably not. But he'd figure it out when he would have enough.

A meow shook him out of his musings. Near the door, the Ignisra was sitting down on her haunches.

"Just five more minutes!" he called out, at which point, the creature started licking its paws.

Alright, let's finish up here.

Ethan turned his attention to his stats. He had 10 points to assign. Toughness was one more in the lead, while everything else was at ten.

"Alright… three each for Mana, Spirit, and Might, and the remaining point to Toughness. Because that's what's keeping me alive."

Ethan applied the change and waited for the magic to finish before he pulled his updated stats.

Name: Ethan Voss

Level 30

Might: 15 (13)

Toughness: 23

Spirit: 13

Mana: 13

Right… the bonus. It's giving me two full points now.

Ethan grinned. Good enough. Next, he checked the new side quest and found out that there wasn't just one, but two. One was to unlock the three forms for the Prime Wand, which would reward him with one tier-2 spell token, while the second quest was to reach level 40. The reward for that was another 10 points in stats and a trait.

Ethan rubbed his bare hands together in excitement as he began walking toward the exit. "We've got a lot to do… um. What do I call you? Do you have a name?"

The cat looked up at him for a second, then yawned again as she flicked her ears.

"Well, the prompts said 'undisclosed' earlier. Do you have a name? No? Alright… How about… Blaze?"

Ear flick.

"Paprika?"

Another ear flick.

"Ash? Enya? Kindle?"

The cat growled in her throat, and a clear sense of annoyance came through the link.

Ethan hummed. "Well, you came out of some sort of smoldering egg. How about Smolder?"

No ear flicks. That might be the closest thing to acceptance he was going to get out of the Ignisra.

Ethan was above to move on when a feminine voice rang in his head, startling him.

"[My name is Ember.]"

Ethan looked down at the cat, mouth agape. He opened and closed his mouth like fish a couple of times before he managed to speak. "You can talk?"

"[Yes.]"

The cat stared at him, seemingly done talking.

Ethan blinked a couple of times. Then coughed. "Alright.. So. Um. I'm going to go wash up. You want to come along?"

The cat looked up at him, then her tiny nose wrinkled up for a second before she meowed. "[You can go. You should be easy enough to find, smelling like you do.]"

Then it closed its eyes and rolled itself in a ball, making sure to tuck her nose under her paw.

Ethan stared down at her, mouth open. That actually hurt a little. He turned away and shook his head. Why couldn't he have found a dog instead?

As he stepped into the antechamber, he remembered something, and popped his head back in. "Do you know how you trigger a spell evolution?"

The cat ignored him. Ethan waited for a beat. Then two. Then sighed and turned to leave.

"[Understanding, familiarity, and a vision of what it might become. Now go clean yourself up.]"

Ethan let out an 'oh' sound as he took in the new information and recalled how he'd triggered the upgrade for [Claws].

That had been the trick?

As he made his way out of the tunnels, Ethan eyed [Flaming Enhancement]. He was familiar with it. He believed he understood the spell and its limits well. But what vision did he have for it?