Scorching Ascension - [Progression Litrpg Apocalypse]

"This is fascinating…" mumbled a frowning and focused Amelie. Her wand hovered right above Ethan's bicep while green filaments crawled on and through his flesh and bones like some sort of ghostly lasers. Only moments ago, they'd been significantly thicker—closer to glowing ropes—as they'd put his fractured bone into place before healing it.

"What is?"

Amelie was hunched over his forearm, as if trying to see through his skin. Any other time, this would have made him uncomfortable, especially considering he still hadn't managed to find a shirt, but Amelie didn't seem to care at all about him and was completely focused on his arm. "Your bones. They're dense. A lot denser than mine or Gerald's. How come? Was it the body reforging thing at level 30?"

She straightened up and winced as she extended her back before wiping a thin film of sweat off her brow. The observation part hadn't been too taxing, but healing had taken a lot out of her. Ethan didn't mind answering her questions. She'd just done him a favor, saving him at least a couple of hours if he'd tried to heal his arm by himself.

"I think so, yeah. It was painful, and I was out for a few hours. But it also might just be from my high Toughness. Also… did your spell change or something? Wasn't it like some green smoke before?"

Amelie gave him a triumphant smile that faded when she brushed back her now missing lock of hair. She sighed and twirled her wand. "I upgraded it to tier-2 and even got a reward for it, just like you said. This spell is a bit more difficult to use, but it gives me a lot more information and control. As for bone density… Maybe. I'll have to test with the others. How high is your Toughness, if you don't mind me asking?"

That seemed a bit more private, but Ethan didn't mind. He went to check his status, stilled for a second at something he noticed in his status, then answered. "23."

"Jeez… Yeah, that might do it."

Ethan heard her, but he couldn't help rechecking his interface. While he was up here recovering, someone had already taken the highest-level crown away. At least, that was his interpretation of the disappearance of the little decoration.

He wondered if it was the previous owner who claimed their crown back, or if this was a new challenger, but whichever it was, it made him itch to get back down there and get it back. His arm was still painful and sore, but it should get better pretty fast now that the break was healed and that both elbow and shoulder were set. Amelie would have finished healing it, but he didn't want to push her too much lest she'd get mana-exhausted and in any case, he had some healing ability he could leverage himself. Maybe healing using his own traits would help him unlock their upgrades faster.

Gotta head back down. I still need to finish activating the Prime Arcanum. And I need to upgrade the other one as well…

Ethan was looking forward to it. There was something intoxicating about having his efforts be rewarded so quickly and so well. There were no doubts and no waiting for phone calls. No sabotaging, no bureaucracy to slow him down or set him back. He just had to find the biggest monster and beat it up and voila. Levels and rewards.

"Liz said you're looking for someone. Family?"

Ethan was brought out of his musing, and glanced up to find Amelie staring at Ember with her arms behind her head.

"Yeah. Sort of. You?"

A troubled look entered her eyes, but she nodded. "Yeah. But they're probably fine… in any case, they're on the other side of the country. They're… resourceful. I'm expecting them to handle all of this much better than us. They're pretty good at using crises to come out ahead."

There was a bit of venom in that last part, and Ethan didn't feel inclined to pry. He nodded, then glanced back toward the others. "Liz mentioned she was looking for some people as well. I haven't heard much from Gerald, though."

Amelie's eye flicked sideways toward him. "Why don't you ask him?"

That caught him a bit by surprise. It's true that he could have been a bit more social and asked, but they all had been mostly focused on survival. And if he was honest with himself, maybe not knowing much about them would have made things a bit easier. After all… they didn't really know who would survive the end of the week.

Ethan frowned. That felt a little cowardly, if he was honest with himself. After a couple of seconds, he responded. "It wasn't on purpose. I guess not getting attached felt easier."

Amelie sighed. "Sorry. I didn't mean to give you shit. We're all going through it right now, and we're all trying to manage."

They both stared at the cat for a quiet moment. "Hopefully all those we're looking for are okay. Wherever they are," Ethan said after a while, then he nodded to the healer. "Thanks for the heal. I really appreciate it."

The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.

Amelie grinned at him and gave him two finger guns. "Don't mention it," she said before heading back to her team.

Checking back on the others, Ethan found that Audrey was on watch duty, while Liz and Gerald chatted about something he couldn't hear. For a second, he thought of sitting down and learning more about them. Enjoying that feeling of camaraderie for just a bit, but he couldn't afford to slow down. And frankly, he just wanted to get back down there and locate the exit. He wanted to explore and challenge himself. He wanted to test out the new dagger and see how effective it would be.

Still, a small part of him worried that his allies might be taking things too easy. He wanted to emphasize the dangers down below, but it wasn't his place to rush them or pressure them.

Well, at least they're leveling. Hopefully, they'll keep it up.

Now, before he could head back down, he had one last person to talk to.

Ethan approached Ember before Amelie could corner her again. He quickly found that she had come down from her perch atop one of the giant mushroom caps and was instead sitting on a boulder right under that same giant fungi.

"I'm heading back down there," he told the cat while sending some flames her way. A small bribe to keep her in a good mood. "Do you want to come along?"

The cat peered at him, then her black and orange eyes flicked behind him to the group. "[No.]"

Ethan blinked while the cat yawned, then nibbled a couple of times at the fire before she laid back on her stomach and twirled her tail.

"Why?"

"[I agreed to a task here.]"

Ethan raised a brow at that, but he didn't argue. He felt a bit of relief, even, that the Ignisra was so invested in the request he had made. She was taking her protective duty seriously, and Etan couldn't ask for more. With that out of the way, Ethan moved one to the next subject. He was tempted to ask about why it had been Ember who showed up from the lizardling's ritual, but he opted to that when he'd be taking a break.

"I got a couple of questions for you. First, do you know how to recharge essence faster? I'm assuming you do, considering you must have own Prime Arcanum unlocked."

Ember continued swishing her tail, eyes half-lidded."[Time. And purpose. Have you unlocked all of its forms yet?]"

"No."

Ember closed her eyes and continued twirling her tail as she yawned once more before she put her head down on her paws."[Do that first, then. Things will become clearer when the Arcanum awakens.]"

Ethan stared at the sleeping cat for a moment. Did that mean something big was going to happen once all prime forms are unlocked?

Maybe this has something to do with the path stuff. Is it going to be some other quest or a vow?

It was a lead. But it wasn't good enough. "Can you give me a clearer answer? Please."

Ember yawned, then flicked her ear before she glanced to her left. "You have a clue already. The name of your Prime Arcanum."

He blinked, then glanced at the title. Prime Arcanum of the Juggernaut… Do that mean I need to do Juggernaut-like stuff?

That was good enough of a lead. Maybe the essence would replenish faster if he acted in a way that mirrored the archetype.

Ethan was ready to head back down into the tunnel, but he had one more question he needed to ask. "Do you know what a primagem is?"

The cat's eyes instantly shot open. She even stopped swishing her tail. "[Where?]"

A thrum of excitement ran through him as he put his hand on his newly acquired dagger. That meant they were valuable, and he hadn't made a mistake taking the enchanted weapon.

"It was listed as a choice for a reward. I didn't take it."

The cat growled before it closed its eyes again. "[Take it the next time you find it, then. You're going to need them soon.]"

"What for?"

"[Everything. Unlocking more and better options when you upgrade your spells, for example. And more. They're valuable. Good for trade, as well. So if you get your hand on any, keep'em. Now, let me sleep.]"

That was great to know. With a hand on the new dagger, Ethan finally stepped into the tunnel and made his way down toward the deeper forest. Flames licked up his right arm, accelerating its healing while he considered what these primagems looked like and how he could use them. As his steps echoed in the dimly lit tunnel, Ethan set himself a goal.

He wasn't coming back up unless he had all three forms of his Prime Arcanum unlocked, and ideally, he'd pick up one of these primagems.

Soon, he was going to have spells to upgrade, and so, he needed to be ready.