Scorching Ascension - [Progression Litrpg Apocalypse]

When he ran out of breath, Ethan just raised both hands and continued the flow of flames, guiding the mana down his arms instead of up to his throat. He tracked the silhouette he could barely see, but he couldn't keep the attack going for long, as even though the tier-2 screeched in pain, the lack of visibility was growing detrimental and well, the tier-2 could always try to run.

Ethan was about to cut off the flow and get all up in the man's face when he saw movement. Barely visible behind the flames, he saw a black line flashing into existence as it cut through the flames, and not knowing what it was, he jumped back, already channeling his mana into a classic [Overloading Fireball] as the fire faded to reveal the tier-2 right.

Something cracked in the air, right where his face had been.

The tier-2, flesh smoking was standing a few feet to the left. He'd moved, but considering the blackened and still smoking skin across his shoulder and face, Ethan believed he'd done some damage.

Not as much damage as whatever he did to himself, Ethan thought, a feature twisting in disgust as he saw the man's body from up-close.

What Ethan believed to be wheezes of pain turned out to be laughter. Bloodied tears streamed out of the man's still functional purple eye, and Ethan turned his attention to the weapon he was holding instead of the wand.

In the man's hand was a fleshy whip. It had four, twitching, squirming tails that inched along the ground toward him, like some diseased, purple worms.

Ethan was glad he'd eaten nothing these last few hours. His stomach still roiled, and he grit his teeth as the comforting scent of burnt wood filled his nose. There was still a whine he could hear in his ears, and being this close to what the man had become, he could feel the unearthly whispers trying to filter through his defenses. Even though the daylight of the sun was beating down on both of them, it felt like there was a dark void right behind him. An abyss of darkness and madness just waiting for him to look behind.

Ethan didn't turn back, and he didn't wait for the man to get his mad laughter under control, either. Scorching Ascendency's boost would run out soon, and he wanted to be done here. To that effect, he extended a hand and as soon as the metallic shaft hit his palm, he stabbed forward, right as the man swung his whip.

Ethan willed the lance to grow larger mid-swing, and the tip drove itself into the man's guts right as the whip's squirmy legs made contact.

A wave of numbness stole over Ethan, muting the world to his ears. A whisper began building up as purple light danced around his vision—

Ethan detonated the lance, then detonated the fireball growing between his horns.

The whispers were instantly blanked away, replaced with an ear-shattering crack as both Ethan and the man were simultaneously hammered by the concussive blast and engulfed with a storm of searing flames. In Ethan's case, the fireball had been above his head, so it only felt like a giant had just punched his whole body into the ground, creating a massive crater around him.

Fucking… ouch…

Sprawled on the ground, Ethan grimaced. He was most definitely feeling the damage, but his own flames and scales had taken the brunt of the spell. Ethan hadn't been stacking his defensive stats for so long to just get knocked out by his own spells, no matter how overcharged or how empowered they were. Still, it fucking stung, and he was still feeling woozy, but he'd rather get hit with his own super fireballs than give that whip a chance to affect him with its nasty effects.

Panting, and wincing, Ethan got to his feet and took in the state of his scales before he re-summoned them. Unlike the wings, these were important to have on. He was very much aware that if someone was waiting to ambush him, they might do it now. But he couldn't stop. He didn't want to give the tier-2 a chance to regenerate.

Stumbling through the dust and smoke of the crater, Ethan quickly found the mutated man as he re-summoned the lance and winced. It hadn't been completely broken from the fireball, but it was showing some damage, which felt like a strain deep in his soul.

But he needed it. Considering the state of the man, he wouldn't be surprised if cutting off his head would be enough and honestly, he'd rather not touch the purple flesh.

He didn't think whatever was happening to him was infectious, as clearly it was a whole set of abilities most likely stemming from his own Prime forms, but he wasn't taking the risk. What if it was cursed? What if it was empowered by something else?

It wasn't worth the risk.

The tier-2 was getting up to his feet, purple and red liquid oozing out of the corrupted flesh that covered him. He opened his mouth and seemed to speak, but Ethan's eardrums could hear nothing but a low, constant whine and even if he could have heard anything, he wouldn't have listened.

Ethan drove the spear into the man's heart. When the man's face distorted into a wrathful shout as he pulled his arm back, whip in hand, Ethan detonated the lance. The man reeled, but Ethan stabbed again, this time through the throat. And again, through the chest. When the man stumbled, unable to get up, Ethan stood over him, eyes blazing, with an arm pointed down, he let the flames flow.

***

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It didn't take long for the tier-2 to die. It did take a few more minutes for Ethan to make sure the still twitching purple flesh was completely turned to ash, though, and once that was done, he went around collecting a few interesting drops that his flames had secured him, while a corona of flames danced all over his body, healing his aching bones and his still ringing ears.

Ethan found a tier-1 [Crossbow] armament spell from a random soldier, a tier-2 [Defensive Plating] from the armadillo-man, and a tier-2 [Electrified Projectile] from another soldier. That one was very interesting to him. Ethan had been looking forward to getting something electric-themed for a minute.

That left one more spell and one primagem. Both of which were from the tier-2.

"Well… shit."

Ethan stood over the pile of smoking remains, nose scrunched as he glared at the two purple-gleaming objects. One, a smooth, flesh-like cube that seemed to ripple with unearthly colors, and one a purple bead with matching colors.

"What do I do with these?" he mumbled.

He didn't want to integrate them. Hell, he didn't even want to touch them. But if he left them, something or someone might pick them up and create a future problem for him.

Throw them in the pouch, he thought after a minute. He'd figure something for them later.

Assimilate [Primagem of the Eldritch (Mid-grade)] ?

Assimilate [Eldritch Whip - (Tier-2)]?

Eldritch Whip - (Tier-2): Summon an eldtritch whip that lashes the mind as well as the body. Each strike spreads whispers of madness and festers paranoia, draining life, mana, and essence—especially from those already slipping into instability.

"Gross. And the primagem's mid-grade, too? What a waste…"

Ethan shook his head in distaste and turned his attention to something more pleasant. Specifically, his levels.

You have reached Level 73. 1 stat point awarded.

You have reached Level 74. 1 stat point awarded.

Shardpurse: 851 fragments collected.

New Dawn: 1702 fragments withheld to be delivered when within range.

It was good progress. For now, Ethan dismissed the notifications and looked around, eyes scanning the smoking rubble all around him, a frown on his face.

"That rat…"

Ethan committed the crossbow-user's face to memory. He was going to warn the others if he'd ever showed up. If Ethan found him, there would be consequences. He was just as guilty as everyone else Ethan had dealt with.

Well… maybe not exactly, he thought, glancing down at the tier-2's remains. But he could have tried something to stop this monster before he made every damn person into a walking battery.

Turning his attention to the last matter at hand, Ethan stepped closer to the purple, glowing obelisk. He stared for a second at the color, brows furrowed, but the purple of the pylon was much… cleaner than the weird spells of the tier-2 had been.

For a moment, he'd worried the two were connected, but he really didn't believe so.

I'm being paranoid. Probably. Maybe the effect of the whip?

Shaking his head, Ethan stood in front of the pylon and extended a hand. As soon as he made contact, a prompt showed up.

Foreign administrator is claiming the pylon.

Current administrator deceased. Time to claim is significantly shortened.

Subjects of the pylon have been alerted.

Pylon will fall under your control in 1 minute.

That was simple enough. Ethan looked about, and froze when his eyes landed on the exit out of which the refugees had run. He could movement, in the distance. People. And he was pretty sure it wasn't just the refugees.

"What's this now…"

Before he could go and investigate, another prompt showed up.

Pylon has been successfully claimed. Select one of the following options:

Integration: Integrate the pylon within your own faction, enabling access to the settlements you administer and their benefits.

Salvage: Attempt to salvage the components of the pylon before its dismissed. Modules might be extracted to be implemented wherever you chose. Modules that cannot be extracted will be converted into fragments.

"Well. Let's pick quickly, then I go see what's going on over there…"

Soon, he would be able to take a break. But it wasn't any time soon.