Scorching Ascension - [Progression Litrpg Apocalypse]

As he consider the potential evolutions of his spell while washing up, Ethan was rudely interrupted by one of the toads. Unfortunately, the fight had ended too quickly for him to get a good feel for the recent changes. Between the significant increase and stats and his body reforging, the tongue-attack didn't even manage to touch him. Not that he'd tried dodging. He'd just summoned a barrier of flames and that had been enough to rob the cut the attack short.

After dismissing the claws, Ethan leaned down and touched the badly burnt tongue of the toad. The barely visible nimbus of gold sunk into his hand, and a moment later, a notification showed up.

Prime Arcanum: 19 fragments collected.

Ethan eyed the burns the toad had suffered. He had finished it up by piercing its brains, but even though he hadn't intended it, he ended up afflicting the creature with some quite severe burns. Could he focus the flames more when [Flaming Enhancement] evolved?

It might, he thought, eying the notification he'd gotten mid-fight. Ember had been right. It really was about vision and understanding.

Congratulations. Flaming Enhancement (Tier-1) can be upgraded. 150 fragments are required.

I'll check it a moment. For now, there's something I've been putting off that I gotta test.

Ethan glanced down at his arms. Summoning the claws on his right hand, he dragged one of the sharp talons across his left forearm. He cut deep. Enough for the blood to spurt a bit. Then he took note of the time left in the main quests and covered the injury with his flames.

It was time to take some measures and get a better idea of his healing capabilities. Between Toughness, [Enduring Brawler], and [Child of Flames], he had multiple source of healing that he just had never quantified. Having an accurate idea of what he could heal and how fast could be the difference between life or death.

I should have put my pants on first, though. Or whatever remained of them.

Ethan sighed, then began maneuvering his pants around his ankles, using only his right hand. They were getting too crispy, no matter how hard he tried to keep his flames away from them. Scorch marks and holes were multiplying rapidly, especially near the waist. And that whole oven-situation in the tunnel had not helped.

I need to find some fire resistant clothing soon. I don't think my underwear will last long once the pants are out.

Ethan glanced down at the cut in his left arm. The blood was clotted, and as he scratched it away to look at the wound, he found it had almost halfway healed. The edge had already fully closed up.

It's been… only three or four minutes. Goddamn.

In the end, the whole cut closed up in around ten minutes. Fifteen for the scar tissue to heal away and disappear.

It was astonishing, honestly. But he'd still have to be careful. This level of healing was perfect for an after-fight recovery, but it wouldn't be that beneficial to him in the middle of action.

Still better than nothing.

Finding a seat on a nearby boulder, Ethan loaded up the general upgrades he had available. The air was chilly, but even though he was all wet, he didn't really shiver. Sure, he wouldn't mind some fire or a towel, but it really wasn't uncomfortable at all.

Toughness will come in handy if I ever have to deal with extreme weather.

Ethan eyed the upgrades, and as he looked through them, he saw a couple of options he'd sort of forgotten about; the spells he could learn and upgrade.

General Arcanum upgrades

Learn: Gout of Flames (Tier-1): Unleash a searing jet of flame, bathing the area ahead in fire - 100 fragments

Spell Evolution: Flaming Enhancement (Tier-1): Evolve the spell - 150 fragments

[Gout of Flames] can be learned, and though I wouldn't mind it, I got too many things I want to pay for and nowhere near enough fragments.

Ethan checked his balance, and found he had 236 fragments in the Arcanum of the Fire Elemental. Of course, he had tested to see if he could use that balance for one of the prime forms, but the fragments were not transferable. Once an Arcanum absorbed them, they stayed there.

I would have had so much more if that ritual hadn't gobbled all of the fragments up. Oh well…

He couldn't afford both upgrade. He had to pick and looking at them, the choice was clear and frankly, the hidden quest test for learning a tier-1 spell was going to have to wait. Because once this was paid for, Ethan wanted to unlock another spellform for this Arcanum.

At least once I finish activated the Prime Arcanum.

Ethan rubbed the back of his head. He had so much to do. But for now, he was getting his first tier-2 spell. And there better be a hidden quest for it.

Select one of the following upgrades for [Flaming Enhancement] upgrades:

Flaming spell (Tier-2): Your general spells, armament spellforms, and enhancement spellforms can be imbued with fire.

Scorching Enhancement (Tier-2): Unleash searing heat and flames from your enhancement.

Flaming Claws (Tier-1): Summon powerful, flame-covered claws to tear and burn your opponents

Ethan crossed his arms and studied the options for a few seconds.

The first seemed to be increasing the compatibility of the spell. It wasn't limited to enhancements anymore, AKA it would work on regular spells and on armaments. Useful. But Ethan didn't care for it. It might be useful eventually, sure, but it was nothing he could use right now and it paled when compared to the next option.

Yeah. That's a pass from me. Plus, I can re-create most of the effects through the Arcanum's title.

Ethan eyed the next option, and he nodded appreciatively.

He was tempted to select the second option already. Compared to the first and the last, [Scorching Enhancement] felt like an upgrade. Still, he gave the last option a few seconds.

The final evolution was a combination of [Claws] and [Flaming Enhancement], which would leave him with an extra Arcanum slot, but it would keep the spell at tier-1 on top of locking both spells together.

Ethan didn't want to lock his [Claws] to fire only, even though the element was sort of becoming his specialty. Between [Child of Flames], [Arcanum of the Fire Elemental], and now Ember, Ethan had a strong relationship with fire. And he didn't mind it.

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He liked the straightforwardness of the burning element. But he was aware it might not always be the most effective weapon. For example, what if he—for no particular reason—needed to fight a fire elementals? Or an Ignisra? He'd be completely powerless. His magic would only be a meal for them. On the other hand, if he had a couple of different modifiers set aside for special cases, like [Watery Enhancement] or like… [Electric Enhancement], wouldn't that be much more optimal?

"Yeah. Specializing with fire might give me an edge in some situations, but I don't want to restrict myself too much either and in any case, [Scorching Enhancement] is the superior upgrade. It's both a specialized upgrade, and it doesn't exclude future variations to [Claws]."

Ethan confirmed his choice, then paid the fragments before looking down at his hands. A small cloud of gold appeared around them and began swirling around his digits, then slowly began sinking into him. A searing heat began emanating from them, while a intense, haze of red swirled about them. It didn't burn. In fact, it felt comfortable. A beat later, the intense magic flowed up his arm toward his chest, and Ethan found himself staring at his normal hands once more.

Flaming Enhancement (Tier-1) upgraded to Scorching Enhancement (Tier-2)

Congratulations. Hidden quest: <Upgrade a spell to tier-2 > completed.

1 tier-2 spell token awarded.

There we go, he thought as he saw the notification. But he put it aside and looked down at his bare hand for a second, then took a deep breath and grinned. "Let's see this upgrade, then."

Ethan activated [Scorching Enhancement], and his breath caught in his chest.

The familiar and quick transformation started as it always did. His skin toughened, while his joints and musculature bulged to support the long claws. But while his flesh barely changed color with the tier-1 spell, his hand was now charcoal black and almost scaly. Cracks of glowing red pulsed beneath the surface, while heat radiated out in visible haze that distorted the air around his hands. When Ethan willed the fire out, it surged out, violent and hungry, as if he'd just poured gasoline over an open flame.

Even though he was immune to the fire and heat generated by his own wand, he wasn't impervious to their effects on his immediate area. Already, sweat began beading across his forehead as he marveled at the intensity of his new claws, eyes wide with glee.

Ethan felt like a superhero from some movie or comic he hadn't had the chance of seen.

Just as he considered experimenting more with his new power-up, the sound of a crashing tree shook him out of his wonder. He dismissed the claws and glanced toward the center of the cave segment. The source was nearby. Probably within minutes.

He glanced in the direction of the cave in which he left Ember, then shrugged.

I guess I'll do that later. I do want something to test these new flames on. Plus, I need some fragments for the Prime wand, so let's see what's going on.

***

Liz POV

Liz grit her teeth and cursed as she tore the arrow out of her thigh, back against a mushroom tree. It wasn't anything Amelie couldn't heal, but man, she just wanted a break. Behind her, Lance continued to speak.

"You four hurt one of my men. Bronson is still down for the count, and why? Because we asked you to help? After we saved your friend's life?"

Liz stole a glance around the wet-smelling mushroom trunk at the archer waiting, arrow nocked.

"Bullshit," spat out Amelie from behind Audrey's tower shield. "We wouldn't have had to knock him out if he let us go. We don't fucking work for you, asshole. You don't own us."

To Liz's right, hidden behind another tree, Gerald was sitting down, back against the giant mushroom stem, hands around the arrow still stuck in his guts. Liz was worried, but aside from some paleness, she believed he'd be alright. He just needed Amelie's attention. She could patch him up real fast. If they could just get rid of Lance.

Should never have even stepped in that damn camp.

Then again, if she hadn't, she wouldn't have met Amelie and Audrey. She liked them. Plus Amelie already saved their lives more than once with her healing. Liz would be that was why they were really here for.

Healers were valuable. Liz shook her head. Focus, dammit. What do we do?

She lifted her crossbow as a new bolt finished forming. From further into the clearing, the voice of the coach reached her ears. "Whatever it is you people are fighting about, go do it elsewhere! You're going to draw the monster to our camp, for god's sake!" he shouted. Behind him, a group of high schoolers still in gym clothing stood and watched. A few were excited, but most were worried. A football team, by the look of it. Most had shields in their arms, while a few had bows and crossbows. They were lined some distance away, at the edge of the clearing. Behind him was one of those large monitors. One they had just finished up, by the looks of it.

"We have a camp you can join if you're worried about your boys' safety," Robert called out. The shield-bearer in Lance's party seemed confident. He didn't even have the shield up.

Amelie laughed scornfully at that and called out to the coach. "They will hoard the kills and fragments for their own damn self and feed you scraps while calling it a favor. Trust me, you're better off on your own."

The clearing was quiet for a second, then Lance spoke again. "It's sad that it came to this, but I can't have you attack and almost murder innocent people and let you get away with it. There's only one way out of this for you. Healer. Come with us, and we'll forget all about this. The others can leave. Call it a favor for the lives you could save."

Fucking knew it. What a piece of shit…

Liz tightened her grip. What was he going to do? Did he have a way of seeing them? Did he have something explosive? Shifting the weight on her leg to peek, she winced. What was happening back there? She didn't want to risk poking her head out again. He could be waiting for it, now that he'd seen where she was hiding.

If he misses the first shot, we can get him.

If she risked a hit and trusted Amelie to heal her up, they could scare them away.

Liz paused, then strongly shook her head.

Nope. Not worth taking an arrow to the eye. Plus they have their own healer as well.

She slowly exhaled and racked her brain for a solution. Lance and his two cronies had levels on them, but her group had the numbers. They just needed a good shot. One good bolt. But no matter how she turned and twisted the variables around, it just didn't click.

The weakest of them is level 21 while Amelie just made 17. Lance is 23. We don't win this.

As she considered her options, with her throat growing dryer and dryer as the heavy silence grew more foreboding, a voice finally broke through. A gasp. From the highschoolers.

Glancing in their direction, she noticed they were staring and pointing past her. She tried to look, but she couldn't make out what they were seeing from this angle. The mushroom-trees were too many. They just had the better angle.

"Gerald, we gotta go," she mumbled as she watched those who could see, while still mindful for Lance and his people not to sneak up on her.

The coach was mumbling instructions to his people, and they began rearranging themselves and backing away while he turned to Liz and Lance's group. "Goddammit people. Something's coming and it's all your damn fault. At least help us clean up your damn mess."

Her eyes met's Audrey, and she shield-bearer whispered. "Use the distraction and leave? I'll help Gerald."

Liz considered that for a second, then nodded. "Yeah."

It was for the best. They weren't ready to tangle with Lance. Not yet. Liz exhaled and prepared to run when someone began cackling but the laugh quickly turned into a groan of pain.

"Gerald?"

Sweat beaded the man's brow, but he still managed to grin through the pain, eye trained on the newcomer. Liz followed his sight, and a breath later, saw the bare-chested figure step into view.

[Human (I) - Level 30]

Immediately, a wave of relief fell all over her, but she didn't let herself sit down.

The danger may have passed, but this situation was not resolved. Things could get… explosive.