Scorching Ascension - [Progression Litrpg Apocalypse]

In wide clearing, illuminated by large, glowing blue mushroom caps and purple moss, not unlike the one Ethan and the team had met in and left, a new fight was taking place.

Audrey jumped in front of Liz and summoned another shield as the toad's tongue shot out once more. The fleshy appendage hit the tower shield with a loud squish, then it pulled, but this time the muscular woman held her ground. Tendons and muscles stood out as she grit her teeth, unwilling to be dragged away from her position. Her feet skidded on the soft soil, digging a groove in the earth while a blue bolt from Liz and a gray bolt from Amelie flew past her. In the meantime, Gerald surged from behind a tree, roaring as he ran at the extended appendage and swung down, severing the tongue.

Audrey didn't even stumble as the pull on her shield suddenly vanished. She'd been ready.

Blood sprayed out of the tongue as the toad squealed and pulled it back. Two more bolts found the giant monster next, one of which lodged into the roof of its mouth and pierced its brains.

Ethan watched from the sidelines, stoking the flames under the roasting, diced tail of the monitor he caught. He was impressed at the group's teamwork. They handled themselves well against the level 26 toad, and none of them got injured. They might not be ready for a tier-1 monster just yet, but it was only a matter of time before they could take on something of that level.

Ethan heard the sound of crunching branches behind him and instantly summoned his claws. Fire ignited over the ember-like skin as he looked around, drawing the team's attention as he did, only to find an unruffled orange cat that meowed at him.

"[I'm hungry.]"

Ethan stared down at the cat for a second, heart hammering in his chest, then sighed as plopped back down on the rock he'd been using as a seat. "Alright."

He dismissed his right hand and extended the left down, then produced a thin jet of scorching flames. The cat wasted no time and scampered toward the fire, only sniffing once before she began chomping through the flames quickly enough that Ethan had to increase his output to match the cat. She was growling and purring at the same time, devouring the flame as if she'd been starved. More and more flames danced around her fur, while her eyes began glowing brighter, as if the light of the fire she consumed shone through them.

Ethan was tempted to pat the cat, but they might not be there yet. "Seems like you're liking my recent upgrade."

Ember did not answer, only purring louder as she ate her way through his mana reserve.

Actually, that's something that I might need to address soon. The tier-2 modifier is doing a number on my mana.

It wasn't an emergency, but the new flames were definitely more costly to summon and manipulate. If Ethan hadn't already bought the newly unlocked mana upgrade for the Lesser Arcanum, he might not even be able to use these new flames.

It might get better once I fully unlock the Prime Arcanum. I can sense it, regenerating a tiny bit. But not enough.

Ethan glanced up at the four as they finished up the toad, then down at the cat. "Those are friends. Please don't hurt them. And maybe keep an eye on them in case of danger?"

Ember continued devouring the flames and ignored him. Ethan frowned, then he reduced his flames until they were barely a candle's worth. Instantly, the cat pawed at his hand and growled louder at him, then gave him an annoyed meow that rang in his mind. "[Fine.]"

Ethan grinned and increased the flames so they were thicker than they'd been moments ago. "Pleasure doing business with you."

***

Amelie's eyes were trained on the cat lounging on top of another boulder, blowing on a slightly charred skewer of monitor tail as Ethan shared what he had found while they told him about some of their own discoveries.

"I didn't know I could have manifested the wand form without needing a spellform for it," he said appreciatively as he eyed the glistening meat on he held between two talons. "Ever since this had started I hadn't thought of removing [Claws]."

He popped the morsel in his mouth and closed his eyes, savoring his portion. The others had basically inhaled theirs, and they were already getting started on second.

"It's faster, too," Liz said, and Amelie nodded, her eyes closed as she swayed back and forth, enjoying the roasted meat. "It's good to know it won't take us long to get the Prime Arcanum though. Just need to figure out the path stuff."

Amelie leaned back and sighed. "This was so good," she said as she blew on a lock of white hair away from her eyes. "Now, what did you say about hidden quests? We already found a couple, but I'd love to know more."

Over the next few minutes, Ethan shared the few hidden quests he discovered, which matched the couple that the team had found for themselves. He hadn't learned anything new—aside from a hidden quest to heal someone back from the brink of death—but he didn't expect to earn that one.

As for them, they were enthusiastic about exploring the couple of venues they could pursue for easy rewards, such as upgrading their spells or bringing down a tier-1 monster. Ethan felt good about sharing such leads. For a moment, he'd felt a bit cagey about keeping his advantages to himself, but he quickly stomped those thoughts out. He didn't want to gain an edge by hoarding secrets and power to himself. He didn't want to do it by starving out everyone else when he himself had benefited from a free meal and a safe roof when he most needed it.

He wasn't going to be that sort of person. Plus, knowing a path was possible didn't mean everyone could pursue it.

After they were done chatting, Ethan, Liz, and her team searched the area. Within a handful of minutes, they all stood in front of a depression in the ground that funneled down into a tunnel. As he examined it, it made sense to him why he hadn't encountered these tunnels earlier.

While he had explored at the edge of the caves and refused to dive deeper into the mushroom forests, the tunnel they were now looking down into was practically dead center in the cave. As Ethan looked up ahead at the other connected caves, he could now picture more access-tunnels leading down within them.

What kind of caves are these? Did something create this?

Ethan was no geologist, but it didn't seem like this environment could occur naturally.

Liz scratched the back of her neck as she peered far into the other chambers. "I hate saying this now that we might go down the tunnels… but have you guys seen what an ant-nest looks like?"

The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

Ethan looked back toward the woman for a second, then glanced up at the cave-network that stretched ahead, before looking back down to the tunnel.

Ant nests?

From this angle, he could see somewhat deep within it. It stretched down at angle, which would make it a little steep. But it wasn't a sheer drop. It was illuminated with small glowing mushrooms growing around the center path and along the walls.

Did insects really dug this out?

A shiver ran down his spine. He didn't have a phobia of creepy-crawlies, but he didn't like them either, and if this had been dug by insects… then those things would have been giants.

Amelie, Audrey, and Gerald all shuddered at the thought.

"I think you're right," Amelie said, nervously scratching her arm as if just thinking of instincts gave her hives. "We grew up in a… farm. Of sorts. And we… uh, made a mold of an ant nest once. But if this place was made by ants or any other insect, then I'd rather not meet any of them."

Liz shrugged. "Just a thought. They're probably gone. I mean, if this was an active nest, it would be crawling with them. So we're safe. Probably."

Ethan agreed. He stood up and cracked his neck. "I'll head down first and take a quick look. Shouldn't be long. If things get dicey up here, follow. Otherwise… well. Keep leveling. Ember should help if something dangerous shows up, but um… be safe."

He didn't think the cat would murder them, especially after she had agreed to Ethan's request. But he doubted she would actually help unless they were literally about to die.

I can't hold their hands. They have to work hard.

With that, he wished them luck and descended into the tunnel and as a few hanging roots tickled his head and upper shoulders, he hoped he'd find some clothes soon.

He didn't like being the only shirtless person. And though he had considered salvaging them, Lance and Robert's shirt had been too badly burned. Plus, to be honest, he'd rather go shirtless than wear their stuff.

Just gotta find magic clothes, he thought as his steps echoed in the tunnel.

***

Liz POV

"Amelie, for the love of god, stop bothering the level fifty monster," Audrey snapped as she nervously eyed her sister as the latter slowly approached the cat.

She reached out with her hand, making cooing noises, trying to appease the Ignisra, and the cat swiped at her hand and hissed once more.

"Ouch! I almost have it!" Amelie said as she pointed at her hand and quickly healed the claw marks. "Dammit, I should have gotten a fire spell instead of healing. It would have trusted me faster."

The cat hissed once more, tail raised, then hopped away from the rock it had been resting on before it climbed up a mushroom tree.

Amelie shook a fist at it. "Just you wait. We'll be best friends in no time. Do you like meat? Let me find you some meat."

Liz smiled as she sat down while Gerald took over, watching their surroundings for threats. It'd been an hour or so since Ethan had headed down the tunnel, and they had already been attacked by a water monitor.

It didn't last long against their organized assault.

Amelie rushed toward the dead lizard and when she got there, she tapped her pockets for a knife she didn't have, then asked Gerald for his sword. Moments later, she came back toward the cat with a slice of lizard meat. She tried to tempt Ember with the glistening red meat, but the Ignisra pointedly ignored her.

Liz took a deep breath and enjoyed how light her chest felt. They weren't that safe. They weren't out of the woods yet, and they still had to survive on their own and do their best to defend themselves from monsters and from other participants. But with Ethan nearby, and with the powerful cat watching over them, she felt that for the first time since this all started, she could go to sleep peacefully and get more than five minutes of shut-eye at a time without waking up every five minutes in a panic.

Ahead of her, Audrey seemed to be having a good time as well. She had washed up in a nearby stream, letting her hair down for a few minutes before she wrapped it again in a bun. Now, she was doing some shoulder stretches, back straight as always, while she worriedly watched her sister continuously fail to get the cat's attention.

Liz pulled off some of the roasting lizard and blew on it. She would kill for some salt and pepper. Some utensils as well. A pan. A water bottle.

I wonder if Ashley and Mathew are alright. And I hope my apartment is still standing.

The mechanic softly shook her head. To think I just got done paying for it.

Liz chewed in silence and eyed the two sisters. At least she had no family to worry about. Both her parents had passed when she was young, and her extended family never reached out past the funerals, and neither had she. Though it seemed Amelie and Audrey's situation was not that simple, either.

But their folk are on the west coast. We've found no one from over there. Hell, we found no one from the mid-west.

Amelie soon joined the campfire and picked up another skewer of roasted lizard. When both Liz and Audrey stared at her, she grumbled. "I'm just giving it a break. I'm not stupid enough to piss it off too bad, but I wish it would give me a chance… It's so damn cute."

Audrey picked up two skewers, one of which she took a moment to give to Gerald before sitting back down. "How did he end up getting a cat, though? It's barely been a day since this all started… And how is that da—how is that cat at level 51? Did he explain anything to you?"

Liz stared down at the skewer in her hand and felt her own appetite burn away, just like the droplets of oil hitting the embers of the campfire.

"He… said something about the lizardlings. They were sacrificing people. Summoning things. Ember's an accidental summon, apparently, and they made friends."

The words cut the air out of the conversation. Only the crackling of the fire between them and the roars of the beasts in the distance could be heard for a moment, until Gerald sighed.

"Poor bastards."

They all nodded at that, and for a moment, Liz was sure everyone was thinking the same thing. But she didn't let herself dwell on it. Instead, she got up to her feet, and smiled. "I'll take first watch. You guys get some rest, and then back to leveling."

The next part she said to them as much as she said it to herself. She met their eyes, one by one, feeling slightly awkward as she did, but the friendly smiles helped. "We'll get through this."

"Hell yeah, we will," said Amelie. Then she turned to the cat who'd been staring at them, eyes half-lidded. "And I will pet you."

Liz sighed and trudged away.

Maybe they won't get through this. If she keeps pestering that cat.