Scorching Ascension - [Progression Litrpg Apocalypse]

Ethan removed the scales from his face, but he didn't extinguish the low-flames still dancing all over his body, nor did he dismiss the claws or the horns.

"It says human because I am," he said as he furrowed his brows. The woman was slightly familiar, but he couldn't recall where from. Her cheeks were gaunt and pale, strongly contrasting with the smears of blood and dark circles under her unblinking eyes. Her hair was burnt in patches, and whatever wasn't burned was matted with dirt and blood.

Ethan's eyes looked lower and took in the burnt pants, the bare feet, the bits of blue still visible from her jacket, and a name tag.

Savannah?

And then it clicked, and his stomach twisted.

He remembered seeing her on occasion in the morning bus. They'd often get off at the same station. She would usually be with a young girl—her kid, he assumed. She'd be adjusting the girl's hair, chatting with her and then they'd get off hand and walk down the street.

Ethan had never spoken to her, but he couldn't believe how changed she was. And her look… it was both vacant and so full of rage it almost made him flinch. He had a couple of ideas about what had happened, but he found himself at a loss for words when he met her gaze.

With his 'humanity' confirmed, Savannah turned away, and her head slowly swiveled as she took in the scene around her. She dismissed the water monitors, twitched at the dead lizardlings and at the drakes, and when she faced his companions, she froze. Then she took a step forward.

Ethan's eyes narrowed, and his thoughts snapped back to the current situation.

Why was she walking toward his companions?

"Hey," he called out. He already had a bad feeling about her, and when she ignored him, the dread only grew worse. The glow around the dagger strengthened, and it floated a bit higher as if it was trying to get the angle right.

Further near the cliff and the tunnel leading upward, Audrey looked up and said something that made the others turn toward him and Savannah.

Then the dagger zipped forward, leaving a green trail in its wake as Ethan's eyes widened in horror. The dagger flew out like an arrow and crossed the hundred feet separating her from his companions in half a second. He didn't know who she targeted, or why, but thankfully, her target had as fast reflexes as any of them. Probably the fastest, even.

Ember leaped off the ground like a spark while the dagger embedded itself into the ground. Her fur ignited and stood up, and her eyes narrowed into a dangerously glowing slit while the others confusedly called out for the woman to stop, but it was as if the haggard woman couldn't even hear them.

Savannah recalled her dagger and seemed ready to try again, as if nothing aside of Ember existed in her vicinity.

Ethan moved. It ticked him off, but he didn't want to use lethal means just yet. He couldn't separate the image of the peaceful and smiling woman he'd see on the bus from the violent individual in front of him, but he couldn't have his companions be hurt either. He had to take her to the ground until whatever this situation was resolved. Misunderstandings happened, and there was no damage yet so this might still be salvageable.

He was almost upon her when she whipped her arm back, snarling, and a crescent of gray, translucent light rushed at him. Ethan barely had enough time to guard his face when the spell slammed into him like a brick wall, sending him tumbling head over heels up in the air.

Ethan had three seconds of air-time before he crashed back to the ground, and it took him half a second to realize what had happened and as he scrambled to his feet, he saw the glint of metal a few paces away.

The Harvester's dagger.

Ethan's heart sunk, but he lunged toward the dagger and picked it up, ignoring the pulsing pain in his arm from Savannah's spell and started running. Liz and Amelie had their crossbow and wand raised, and they were yelling for the woman to stop and back off, but Savannah had no eyes for them.

She pointed her hand once more and the dagger flew at the cat elemental, tearing through the air, a trail of green motes left in its wake. Amelie screamed, and Audrey jumped forward, a barrier glowing a couple of inches off her shield. The dagger hit that layer first, and the magic shattered like a glass panel before the blade punched through the tower shield, only stopping at the hilt.

Savannah raised her wand to cast something at Audrey, and Ethan triggered his own spell. The [Small Fireball] coalesced in heartbeat in front of his chest and with a flick, he shot at the woman's feet and before the spell even made contact, he was already running.

An empowered fireball should at least buy him a few seconds to make his way around her and to his companions.

Still, he realized this situation might not be possible to defuse, and if she kept going for the kill, then their hands would be force. So as he ran, he decided to take a risk and pull his list of available traits. He may have been able to get a tier-3 spell, but aside from the problem of rushing, it would be easier to quickly pick something out of three options of a trait selection than the five of a new spell.

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Maybe I can assign my points as well, he thought as the flash of light filled the clearing as the fireball detonated. It had gone off like the crack of the thunder, and the woman disappeared into a shower of soil and flames.

There were no notifications. Not that he expected any.

Ethan sprinted around the smoke and billowing flames, expecting Savannah to step out of the disappearing flames at any second, and came to a halt right in front of the others as he triggered the trait token.

Select a trait from the list below:

Enhancer Specialist: Each spellform reshapes you sharper, faster, stronger—for a moment, that's all you need. Every Enhancer spellforms provides 5% extra stats.

Harvester's flames: Fire is not just destruction—it is purification, and in ash, value. Opponents vanquished through fire have a higher chance of forming primagems and spellcores.

The Vanguard: You don't break. You stand first and fall last. Your Toughness is improved by 20%, and every spellform bonus that affects Toughness is 50% more effective.

"What's going on? Why is she attacking us?" Liz asked urgently as he speed-read his options. Her eyes slid away from the sight of her crossbow to glance at him before focusing back on the screen of smoke. Gerald was disturbed as well, while Amelie was just pissed at having her sister attacked.

Audrey was just quiet, and kept her eyes on where the woman had been, features pale but resolved.

"She snapped. I think something happened to her kid. We try to stop her but if she keeps going for the kill, then we do the same."

The words weren't easy to speak, but they a moment of hesitation could cost them dearly.

Ethan took a moment to read through his options, cursing under his breath. He hadn't expected to be attacked by a lunatic, otherwise he would have done this earlier. Fighting water monitors had been a lot less stressful than this.

His eyes flicked to the smoke, then back at the text. Enhancer Specialist was still around, and while it was growing more attractive as time went on, it wasn't as good as the new option he was offered. He noticed the change to Harvester's flame, but he didn't dwell on it. For now, he focused on the new option. The Vanguard.

It matched his style pretty well, and it was clearly powerful. Without wasting any more time, he selected it and turned his attention back to his surroundings. Glancing down at the cat next to him, Ethan found Ember on guard. Flames danced around her fur, and she seemed a bit larger than usual. There was also a rose-gold anklet around hind-legs, and two black sharp canines peeked out of her mouth, giving her a slight resemblance to a tiny saber-tooth.

Ethan, with eyes still on the smoking crater in which Savannah had vanished, dumped all his new stat points in Toughness and as he waited for the magic to finish sinking into his body, he watched the disappearing screen of smoke and dust.

Ethan felt for the woman. Clearly, she'd been through hell, but she was dangerous. The attack she had hit him with could have seriously injured any of his companions aside from Ember.

Give her one more chance, and if she doesn't stop…

Ethan let the thought trail off as he watched Savannah's form stumble out of the small crater that had formed around her, and as he took in her state and her features, Ethan's heart dropped a little more.

She didn't look like someone who was ready to listen to reason.

Her eyes were blood-shot, but not from Ethan's fireball, which had only managed to singe her clothes and hair, and barely gave her a couple of red-splotches across her skin.

No, the biggest change seemed to be coming from the green gem in her chest. It was pulsing, matching the color of her iris and sending its light through green glowing veins that spread out of her chest and out toward her neck, arms, and even her bare feet. A simple kite shield was in her left hand, while a right held her wand, with its green engravings matching the pulsing lights on her chest.

"These are my companions, Savannah. Back off and we won't have to hurt you. Just leave," he called out to her and as he spoke, he wondered if her Prime forms had anything to do with her prowess. They almost matched up in levels, but she somehow managed to send him flying like he'd weighed as much as an empty water bottle, and she just ate an empowered fireball, point blank, and she barely took damage.

Was it the thing embedded in her chest? Did she store energy somehow and she was letting it all out now?

No matter. He should be able to take her attack better. His defenses had just gotten a massive boost between the new trait and the five extra points, and frankly, Ethan felt like he could eat one more of air attacks and barely feel it. He felt… sturdy

Ethan let out a slow breath and focused on the dangerous woman in front of him. Her lurid, unblinking green eyes narrowed at him, before flicking back to Ember and as soon as they landed on the cat, the dagger shot forward again. Ethan trusted the cat would dodge and he lunged forward, dagger in hand.

Savannah, teeth bared, glared murderously at him and at Ember as the green light in her eyes and chest grew sharper. Brighter. And without a word, her dagger zipped at Ember once more. The cat leapt in the air, and the dagger abruptly brightened and changed trajectory, but Ember's anklet glowed in response and the air under her paws rippled with a hazy-pink matching the anklet.

Ember jumped off of the air, comfortable dodging the dagger once more as she hopped closer to her assailant. She opened her jaw and shot a thin jet of concentrated fire, right as Ethan's dagger cut the air toward the gem in Savannah's chest.

In response, the woman wailed.