Scorching Ascension - [Progression Litrpg Apocalypse]

As he confirmed the selection and waited for the spell's transformation to finish, Ethan considered the primagems he had left.

Primagems:

Low-grade: 4 Hardening, 3 crystallization, 1 Last Breath

Ethan eyed the list, then peered into the dimensional pouch that he picked up from its stach.

I guess I still have… 4 Water primagems in the pouch, for whatever that's worth. But I'm out of the Lifeforce and Draining primagems I wanted to combine with the claws, so maybe I should wait a bit for that upgrade… As for [Scorching Enhancement], I can't think of any great combination with what I have left though to be fair, it's not as if I had any inklings of what the scale upgrade had in store. Still, with such a limited variety of primagems, I bet my upgrade options wouldn't be that impressive, so maybe I should wait here as well.

Ethan hummed, then turned his attention to the other issue he was facing. With the scales now upgraded, he had plenty of tier-3 spells at his disposal in case any new threats or issues showed up. Unfortunately, the upgrade itself was causing him some doubt at the moment.

Ethan eyed the new scale spell now sitting in the Lesser Arcanum. It was tier-3, so it had to stay there. But that wasn't his main concern. No, what worried him at this moment was whether this water theme was going to be an issue or not.

When Ethan selected the spell, his decision had been heavily influenced by the draconic part of the spell. The set bonuses were nothing to scoff at and he wasn't passing on them. Now though, the fact that this new set of scales were heavily water-themed was worrying him a bit. It could become an issue in the long-term. If he didn't address it, that is.

His Path was supposed to be about being a burning juggernaut and all of that, and while he felt water did not conflict with the juggernaut part and maybe even complimented it pretty well, it certainly seemed like it would clash with the burning aspect.

Ethan gave a sidelong glance to the cat sleeping a few paces away, then scratched his bare shoulders.

I mean, if the water stuff turns out to be a problem for my Path, I can try for a lateral upgrade. That should be easy enough. With enough fire or heat-themed primagems, I bet I could move the spell away from the water affinity. Or, if the water in itself is not an issue, then I might be able to combine it with heat. After all… scalding water's a thing. And so is molten rock.

Ethan didn't hate that idea, and now that he considered this alternate angle, he couldn't help but wonder… What were the limits of such heat-themed combinations? Fire and Earth could be lava. Air and fire could be some sort of incredibly hot wind. Maybe he could even combine it with some more esoteric aspects with the help of primagems. Like mana-burning fire.

Those possibilities eased his worries a bit but still, the issue was not resolved. Could this affect his Path? Could a Path be negatively changed in such a manner?

As soon as he asked himself the question, he sensed it, deep in his chest. A response to the question. Not a rejection of what he was asking, but more of an affirmation. It took a couple of seconds to interpret the feedback, but once he did, he felt he'd gained a bit of an insight in his own Path.

It's all about my own momentum, first and foremost. The burning part is important, of course, but there's no Path without the juggernaut aspect.

In a way, this told him that so long as he lived and breathed those principles and didn't stray too far from the burning part, he'd be fine. But to be safe, he decided to confirm with someone who'd been living and using the magic of this world for longer than he did. Ember. The ever-napping cat. But before he woke her up, he had some testing to do.

It was time to put on some new scales.

With a flex of will, Ethan activated the spell, and a shudder went through his body. He closed his eyes and enjoyed the sensation. Like a mist of refreshing water, it spread out from his chest, up to his shoulders and around his back before it spread down his limbs until the refreshing wave reached his fingertips, and soon, it was over, and Ethan opened his eyes and looked down.

Gone were the burnished red, round scales. These new scales were of metallic, light bronze with greenish edges that made Ethan think of algae. They were slightly smaller than the previous set of scales, but much more densely packed. And while the previous set of scales had been rounded, these new ones had more of a triangular edge to them that made them seem sharper and as he looked down at his extended arms and stomach, Ethan was sure these were much more resilient than any set of scales he'd worn so far. Even before his Toughness and set's bonus came into play.

Glancing at the set bonus, Ethan raised a brow. Now, what was this?

Draconic Set Bonus:

3 forms: +5 to all current stats per form.

↓

4 forms: +5 to all current stats per form. Elemental form alignment unlocked. Affinities available: Fire, Water

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

Focusing his attention on the new mental switch he could sense, Ethan triggered it, and when he felt the switch ask him whether he wanted fire or water, he selected fire.

A rush of comfortable burning energy rushed out of his chest and down his new scales and nearly instantly, he noticed the air begin to ripple around his limbs. Ethan called his fire out, and his scales turned into a raging bonfire in the blink of an eye. Ethan's eyes went wide as he took in the flames.

What… the hell?

The spell was the same, and so were his traits. But all of a sudden, it was as if the flames had turned eager to obey and execute every one of his will. The flames roared like a wildfire and when he cut them off, the heat lingered around the area and looking past his hand, he saw Ember looking at him, frozen.

Ethan's lips slowly stretched in a wide smile and a chuckle escaped his throat. Flipping the switch to water this time, a cool, comforting cold spread around his limbs, and after a couple of seconds, it almost looked like his scales were glistening.

Oh this is cool. This is amazing.

He was going to do some testing with this soon, but for now, he dismissed the interface and after taking one last admiring look down at his new defensive spellform, Ethan stepped closer to Ember and quickly resumed what he'd been worried about. Specifically, about the dangers of water-themed magics toward his Path.

The cat, now back on her side, listened to him, occasionally twitching an ear, and once he was done, she yawned. "[I'm not an expert by any means, and you'll be better off asking higher-tiered people than me once you have the chance, but I don't believe using a water-themed spell would hurt your Path. High level practitioners use all kinds of spells. They don't limit themselves only to the spells that match their Paths, so a water spell here or there isn't that bad. Sure, there's a little conflict there, but it's not as antithetical as someone on healing Path using mainly Rot as their instrument. It'd be a problem if you suddenly decided to drop all of your fire spells and vowed that from now on, you're only fighting from range and drowning your opponents. But as you just said, most—if not all—aspects can be combined one way or another, so as long as you keep true to the heart of your Path, you'll be fine.]"

As Ethan digested what she'd told him, Ember got up and stretched, arching her back before looking up at him. "[Are we leaving or do you still have things to do?]"

Ethan looked away from his available spells and concentrating on the link between them, he responded. "[Just got a couple of things to look through, then I'd like to rest a little. We can head out in a thirty minutes or so.]"

Yawning again, the cat fell down on her side and went back to her nap, while Ethan found himself a spot nearby and sat down.

Well, at least I have a couple of spare [Water Jet] spells I could use, though I'll leave it aside for a moment.

Ethan liked these new possibilities. He'd have to learn a bit more about what combinations were possible and all that, but for now, he didn't mind the water-theme of these new scales. He'd already said in the past that he needed some other elements in his arsenal in case his fire was completely countered. While water had not been his first pick, it'd be a good fallback for whenever his flames were countered. Sooner or later, that was going to happen.

Plus with a water-spell on hand, staying clean would be so easy.

Ethan paused. Could he drink magical water?

He shook his head and pulled up his interface. He'd have to figure that out some other time. For now, Ethan pulled up the first upgrade he was considering.

Lesser Arcanum of the Fire Elemental:

Tier upgrade (Tier-3 → Tier-4): Increase the Arcanum's tier, empowering its capabilities and unlocking more upgrades - 1500 fragments

Ethan eyed for a few minutes, biting his lip, but then shook his head.

It might open up a slot for him for a new spellform, but it would mostly likely be pricey, and he was just better off sitting on the fragments at his disposal so he could quickly upgrade the new Arcanum when he'd get his hands on it.

Ethan stared up in the sky for a while and after ten minutes or so, he took stock of his own body. He was feeling good. The exhaustion had receded, and with the main upgrades he wanted still way out of his price range, nothing was preventing him from collecting the riftcore and getting on with his day.

Just a couple of last matters to check, then, he thought as he pulled up his free points and considering there were four of them, he went the fair route and gave each stat a point and finally, he claimed his free new trait.

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.

Soul Space: What the body cannot carry, the soul can shelter. A hidden pocket within you holds what matters most—safe, weightless, and ever yours. Create a small storage space in your soul.

Bound Spellform: Some spells are too vital to leave behind. You can slot one spellform of your Prime Arcanum tier or lower to be always accessible. Changing the bound spellform can take a few hours.

"I'm not getting baited this time, System," Ethan said as he eyed the traits. And while he did want to explore the other options a little more, he'd delayed it enough. It was time to pick up [Enhancer Specialist].

As soon as he made the selection a pulse ran through his body, and Ethan found himself taking a few quick breaths as power surged through his body and spirit.

5% on every spellform is not negligeable. Especially now, he thought. Thankfully it didn't take him long to get used to the little increase of stats and with that done, he jumped up to his feet, Ethan approached Ember and told her to get ready as he fixed his mind on the connection he felt to the world around them.

It was time to get out.