Scorching Ascension - [Progression Litrpg Apocalypse]

Ethan drove his dagger through a water monitor's under-jaw, wrenched it back with a spray of blood that splattered on his face before he shot its face full of fire, instantly filling his nose with the smell of burnt flesh before a column of water came at him in response, pushing his flames back and filling the cave with scalding vapor. Gritting his teeth in pain, Ethan dropped his flames and let the water hit him, cooling him down and pushing him violently away. Ethan skidded deeper into the muddy soil of the tunnel, but refrained from using fireballs just yet.

Those could drop the tunnel on his head, and he needed to save that for later.

Another death notification rang in his mind and right as the water attacked ceased and as more monitors tried to fit in around the dead one, Ethan used the opportunity to rush forward and approach the hazy golden dust wafting off the dead monitor, willing it to sink into his claws.

Through this tunnel fighting, he realized he didn't need to touch the fragments to absorb them, though it did take some focus and of course, the closer he was, the easiest it got.

I can barely get it to work within five feet. How had Ember managed to collect those fragments from all over the room? Was it the ritual that had done it for her?

Questions for another time.

Ethan got his fragments and leaped back away right as another monitor's jaw bite at where he had been. There were no other drops. No spellcores or primagems so far, but he already had enough fragments to get the third form and had begun channeling the newly acquired fragments into his Lesser Arcanum.

He was going to get a bunch of upgrades after this. But he might need to run soon.

Ethan panted, watching another reptile make its way into the tunnel through the messy swarm of predators, pushing and snapping its way through the small wall of dead monitors.

He'd already gotten four levels from this battle, but the lizards were still coming, and Ethan's mana exhaustion was becoming too much to bear. Every time he cast a spell, it felt like he was channeling broken glass out of his chest and into his hands.

He hated leaving such a bounty of fragments and levels, but it was time to pullback lest he'd end up needing even more rest. Plus, it wasn't as if these things were going anywhere. They would still be here when he got back.

With his horns still glowing atop his head, Ethan extended his hand and aimed above the oncoming lizard. It was a safe distance away from, he hoped, but he still needed to brace. Both from using his mana, and from the explosion he was about to set off in a narrow space.

Ethan pulled the mental trigger. The red orb shot out of his head, and he turned tail and bolted.

The fireball hit the ceiling and detonated in a painful flash of light and fire that made Ethan's ears ring. Another ring came through, though this one was from a notification so it was somehow audible even though he believed his ears were bleeding. But he didn't stop. Ethan kept running for nearly half a minute, and when he turned back and saw only a little smoke and blue glowing moss, he slowed.

Ethan continued watching for movement while his ears rang. After nearly another minute of dead silence, he let his back hit the soft moss and dropped down on his behind, chuckling as he ignored the scent of burnt flesh and acrid dust. He dismissed the claws and the horns, then leaning against the wall, he exhaled and closed his eyes for a few moments.

Calm. At last.

Ethan stayed like that for a few minutes, enjoying the quiet. Unfortunately, he kept twitching his nose at the smoky smell. Opening his eyes, he glanced in the direction of the exit. The ascending tunnel looked the same as the other, and nothing was coming down as far as he could see. He would go up there. Soon. But now that he was not being pursued by a swarm of water monitors, he realized something he hadn't considered back then when he was trying to get away; this tunnel would take him into an area he hadn't been to before. It was still up on the first strata, but what if he found himself in front of someone a problematic group? What if some powerful monitors or a stacked warband of lizardlings were waiting for him up there?

By now, the mana-exhaustion was a constant thrum in his chest. He could still go for a little bit, but he was reaching his limit and in case there was danger out there, he should take a short break. Just in case he had to fight something off. And well, he had enough fragments now to finish what he'd started.

Prime Arcanum of the Juggernaut - Activation in progress (2/3):

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

Ethan waited as the reinvigorating magic filled his body. It felt great, but he didn't let that distract him too much. He still kept an eye on his surroundings. Just in case something or someone new sneaked up on him.

I'm going to need something for better perception or detection.

Now that he knew someone could be standing a few yards away from him without him noticing, Ethan found it harder to relax.

At least I'll be able to get some rest when there's someone on watch.

The process went on, not too differently from the last time. At least, at first.

Once the magics seemed to be dying down, there was a shudder in the surrounding air. Motes of lights began drifting in and out of existence, and the air slowly began feeling… heavier. It reminded him of the very first interaction he'd had with this interface and its system. Seconds later, new text began popping in front of him.

Prime Arcanum activation completed…

Path of the Juggernaut activating...

System assistance initiating…

Examining affinities…

Examining achievements…

Examining traits…

Path specialization possible…

Warning: Specialization with volatile potential detected.

Contacting Administrator…

As soon as the last line appeared in his vision, Ethan's lungs seized. He breathed shallowly, but panic filled his chest at the alien sensation that took over. He felt gripped, as if a phantasmal hand had slipped into his chest and wrapped its clawed fingers around his heart.

What the fuck is happening?

He didn't dare move or make a peep. Cold sweat beaded down his neck, and as suddenly as it started, the sensation stopped.

Ethan felt himself fall back into his own body, somehow, and he could breathe easier. Then the text continued.

Approval granted…

Intervention successful…

Path of the Burning Juggernaut possible...

Subject approval required…

Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.

Right then, a prompt popped in front of a wide-eyed Ethan. The question hung in front of him, so he accepted it. Aside from the fact that he wanted the process to be over, Burning Juggernaut did sound better than just juggernaut. So why the hell not.

As soon accepted the prompt, a whoosh of fire suddenly flashed into existence around him, as if the air had been full of combustible gas and someone had ignited a match. It danced around him, sending its warmth into his tired body. While he was still wary and alarmed at the text he had seen and what it implied, Ethan felt a smile draw itself on his face, and slowly, the fire faded and left him with one last message, right as he noticed that what remained of his poor pants had been set on fire.

Ethan cursed and tapped the fire out, wincing from the sting of little flames that stuck to his pants. Then he looked at the new text in his interface.

Path of the Burning Juggernaut:

A path for the unstoppable warrior. A path of fire and destruction that makes kindlings out of every obstacle.

Ethan read the text and blinked.

What does this mean? Do I need to set the monitors on fire? Will that give me more essence?

He loaded the Prime Arcanum page and found it had changed.

"Huh. I guess it really was still asleep. Good morning, buddy," he said, smiling as he read through everything in front of him.

Prime Arcanum of the Juggernaut

Spells: None

Spellforms: None

Prime forms: [Lance of the Juggernaut, Horns of the Juggernaut, Wand of the Juggernaut]

Traits: [Universal Tongue, Enduring Brawler, Child of Flames]

Tier: 1

Spell Capacity: 0/3

Spellform Capacity (I): 0/1

Form Bonus [10%]: [Lance of the Juggernaut: +10% to Might, +10% to Mana]

[Horns of the Juggernaut: +10% to Toughness, +10% to Spirit]

Essence: 11

Fragments: 177

"Oh. Oooh. This is… interesting."

So now he could slot spells? And just like his other Arcanum, he was started with one spellform spot available. Overall, the awakened Prime Arcanum didn't seem too different from the lesser one, aside from the Prime forms and the trait. Next, Ethan turned his attention to the upgrades and he grimaced, a groan of pain escaping his throat.

"Goddamn that's expensive."

Available upgrades

Tier upgrade (Tier-1 → Tier-2): Increase the Arcanum's tier, empowering its capabilities and unlocking more upgrades - 500 fragments, 100 Essence

Spellform Bonus (Tier-0 → Tier-1): Increase Spellform bonus from 10% to 15% - 100 fragments, 20 Essence

Mana Regeneration (Tier-0 → Tier-1): Increase the Arcanum's mana regeneration - 100 fragments, 10 Essence

Spell Capacity (3 → 4): Increase the Arcanum's spell capacity by one - 100 fragments, 10 Essence

Still, the high prices didn't put too much of a dumper on his mood. Ethan was very excited, even though he wasn't a big fan of the Arcanump's upgrade costing Essence, considering the special abilities of its forms used Essence.

He could see some logic there, with the Prime Arcanum being so focused on the juggernaut theme, it would need more than simple fragments to improve and grow. Which meant that Ethan would have to be careful and selective about his Essence use.

"Unless it turns out it's easier to collect that what I've seen so far."

Rushing headlong into battle helped its recovery, but maybe now that this path and the Prime Arcanum were fully active that it'd get easier?

He would have to wait and see. For now, Ethan sighed and closed his eyes for a second. Then a grin stretched across his lips.

He couldn't help but feel a bit proud. He had set out to only head back to camp once he finished unlocking the Prime Arcanum, and he just did. He even got quite a few levels along with it.

Speaking of…

You have reached Level 35. 1 stat point awarded.

You have reached Level 36. 1 stat point awarded.

You have reached Level 37. 1 stat point awarded.

You have reached Level 38. 1 stat point awarded.

"I'm catching up to Ember," he thought as paged through his stats for a moment, considering how to assign his free points.

Well… when I get four point it's just so easy to play fair.

Ethan assigned one point to each stat and confirmed his choice, then he pulled the Lesser Arcanum and tried to take a mental note for later to test [Breath Gland]. He'd mostly forgotten about it, but he wondered if it would work with his Prime Arcanum. After all, [Breath Gland] was tier-2, while the Prime Arcanum was still at tier-1. It was still worth risking some discomfort if he could get it to work, but that could wait for when he was in a better form.

"Lots of testing to do. But now, it's time to test something else I've been putting off."

Ethan decided to finally deal with the potential hidden quest of learning a tier-1 spell.

General Arcanum upgrades

Learn: Gout of Flames (Tier-1): Acquire an Arcanum title, unlocking special abilities and effects for Lesser Arcanums - 100 fragments

He accepted the cost, and quickly discovered he could pick which Arcanum to substract the fragments from. So he took it out of the Lesser Arcanum, just because there were plenty of fragments there and he intended on getting the Mana Regeneration upgrade in his Prime Arcanum in a few minutes.

After a quick light show of magic, the spell was added to his catalog.

Congratulations. Hidden quest: <Learn a tier-1 spell > completed.

1 tier-1 spell token awarded.

Ethan let out a sigh of relief. He would had been legitimately pissed if he hadn't gotten the hidden quest for this upgrade. He was glad it had worked, and once he was done looking through everything else, it might be time to crack both tier-1 and tier-2 spell tokens open. See if he gets something for some faster healing. But to be honest, more defense, mobility, or a way to detect skulkers would be welcome as well. But as he thought of these spell rewards, he recalled something, his brows shooting up.

"Oh… wait a second."

Ethan turned his attention back to his interface and went through the notifications. He'd been a bit shocked at the path stuff and then he'd been looking into the new Arcanum, so he might have missed it, but he had another quest that should be about done.

Within seconds, he found it, and he chuckled when he read the reward.

Congratulations. Side quest <Unlock all three Prime wand forms> completed.

1 tier-2 spell token awarded.

"Three spell tokens to crack, then."

Ethan leaned against the wall and smiled. Things were coming along pretty well. After that, he was taking a look at his other Arcanum.

It was time to get his hands on another spellform.