Scorching Ascension - [Progression Litrpg Apocalypse]

As the magic sunk into his chest, Ethan untied the pouch from his neck and gently pulled out the riftcore he'd just earned. Compared to the others, this one was mostly green, and while he couldn't really smell anything but the salt and decomposing algae in the environment, he felt that if he just leaned forward a bit, he'd smell the damp, earthy smell of the jungle.

That was, before he set fire to it.

It seemed that this specific riftcore was teeming with life essence, but it was curious how he hadn't earned any of it in the form of a primagem when he contrasted this experience to the parasitic rock one.

Maybe because that plant had gobbled it all up? This did feel a little more… dysfunctional than the first rift had been.

The rock elementals, while harmful, did seem like autonomous beings who just went around eating up the earthly essence they could get their rocky-mitts on, but while both species had had parasitic tendencies, it did seem a lot more malicious in the case of the Rootmind. That giant plant had somewhat infected the large scarab, then used it to create smaller ones that it controlled remotely.

"It's too soon to know if there's a pattern to this stuff," he mumbled as he took a deep breath and looked for the trigger for his new ability. Just like his Scorching Ascendency, Ethan soon found a trigger deep within, and activating it as he focused on the orb, he watched with wide-eyes as it disappeared and was replaced with a mild tightness in his chest.

Huh. Easier than expected, he thought. Then turning his attention to the pouch, he did the same, and the pouch joined the riftcore seamlessly.

Grinning, Ethan clapped and looked around. "Well, that takes care of that," he thought. "Now. On to the next one."

A short flight later, Ethan peeked at Wyldrock from a distance then flew past toward New Dawn. When he found neither of the towns on fire or with a siege, he approached the latter just so he could get access to the Reconnaisance module though as soon as he was in range, a couple of new things happened.

7393 fragments transferred to New Dawn

7 Contribution points have been earned.

"I guess the Taxation module's tier-2 upgrade is online," Ethan spoke as his eyes drifted to the second box.

Personal Messages (3 new messages)

Amanda Daniels (1 new message): 06:42 - Hi Ethan. No emergencies to report. I'm handling the messages we're getting. We're looking into those asking for help for easy assimilation, and we're watching out for traps. Let us know through the Communication module if there are any issues. See you soon.

Ember (1 new message): 07:09 - <Message is empty>

Amelie Vale-Duvray (1 new message): 07:33 - Hey Ethan! We found a fire-themed rift. We told everyone to keep clear in case you're interested, but we had to post some guards so none of the beasties starts a wildfire. Let us know if you don't want it so we can clear it asap. It's the one east of New Dawn.

"Seeing the second section, it looks like Amanda might have gotten the communication module as well. We already had the tier-1, though I guess it had to be activated or something…"

Ethan, brows raised, read through his people's messages. Amanda's message was a little alarming, though it did seem that she had thing well within her hands. It was informative and he was happy to be kept up to date. Ember's message—or lack of it—made him chuckle, while Amelie's definitely piqued his interest. But before he looked into responding to her and confirming he'd go for the fire rift, he noted the second section of the messages which should have been unlocked by the upgrade.

Faction Messages (8 new messages)

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New Commonwealth: 04:58 - Brotherhood crossed into our sector again. Two dead, three wounded. Retaliation pending. East Coast Union: still bleeding us at the borders. No peace talks scheduled. We require help against these warmongers and tyrants. Neutral won't last. We're not asking for handouts, but we'll remember who stood with us when the lines were drawn.

The Brotherhood: 11:16 - Your recent murder of two of our agents will not be forgiven.

East Coast Union: 07:00 - Hi there. Senator Crane here. We sent three of our people to Wyldrock yesterday to talk cooperation. They haven't come back, and word is that Wyldrock is now with you. I'll offer my congratulations, but I'd also like to know where our people are. I've also come to understand your people had a… disagreement with the Brotherhood. I won't shed tears for them, but moments like this can shape how the future unfolds. Let's talk soon. Before anyone else makes a move we can't take back.

…

At some point, he just stopped as the faction messages kept going. Some were asking for help, some were asking for cooperation and some were just flinging threats thought from what he could see, it seemed that range was still an issue as far as he could tell, all the places being mentioned were only an hour's drive away. Or like…a ten minute flight.

I bet we'll be getting much more soon. And soon, I'm gonna need to come back and deal with those that aren't backing down, he thought as he tapped Amelie's message. Looking around for a virtual keyboard to type into, nothing showed, though when he started thinking the words, they appeared.

With a quick note, he told Amelie he'd take care of it, then with a flap of his wing, he flew toward the rift and less than 10 minutes of flight later, he got to it. It was near an industrial area full of decrepit warehouses and right on the cracked road, the tear was visible though as he approached, Ethan was forced to stop and watch for a second before he chuckled.

Well that's something.

Below, out of the rift was a red and glowing cow-sized slug trying to slither its way out, only it was being met by two jets of pressurized water coming out of two casters that Ethan didn't know. Somehow, just water was enough to dissuade the lava slugs from coming out. Floating down, Ethan slowly approached and called out. "Hey!"

The two—one young fellow and slightly older girl whirled, eyes wide, then they relaxed when they realized who it was. The young man seemed a little familiar, but Ethan couldn't put his finger on it. "Hi!" said the enthusiastic young woman. "Miss Amelie told you might be coming. Are you going in?"

Ethan nodded. "Yeah, I got this. You two can head back. Any issue I should know of?"

The young man shook his head, and the woman smiled. "Nope. It was easy to keep them in. They really don't like the water. Some of them have shells, and they can spit lava."

"Got it. I'll go in then. Take care!"

"Good luck!" he heard behind him as he stepped through the portal and it shut down behind him as Ethan found himself standing what felt like a literal volcano.

"What the…"

The air hit like a furnace door swinging open. Every breath scraped down his throat, tasting like ash and sulfur. Ahead, the land spread out in a vast bowl, and it was clear that he was hovering above the resting mouth of a massive volcano. Cracks spiderwebbed across the ground, each one glowing with the hellfire running beneath, coughing up spurts of ember and smoke.

The sky was a bruised red, as if the sun had been smothered and replaced by a burning coal. Heat shimmered off the horizon, warping the view, making shapes twist and writhe in the distance. Looking back down, he saw them. Massive, glistening slugs crawling along the cracks, their slick, obsidian hides streaked with lines of molten orange. They moved slow, but the stone hissed and bubbled wherever their bellies passed, leaving glowing trails behind like the wake of a ship on a sea of lava.

Without realizing, Ethan found himself smiling as he took in the environment. While he could easily speed through the challenge with some [Water Jet] spells, he could definitely use this spot to improve the quality of his flames. Plus, this must be the best spot to farm some fire primagems.

"Maybe even lava primagems," he said to himself. With a nod, he activated [Crystalbed Bloom] again and this time, he let the gems cover the rest of his body as he floated about, and as he waited for his mana to recover a bit, he observed the territory.

chromeEvery yard he floated lower felt like walking deeper into the heart of a living furnace. The constant rumble below made him worry a little, and he decided to add a potential eruption to the risks of this foray and finally, he loaded up the prompt and gave it his attention.

Rift challenge: Cull the Slavug population (0/30)

Challenge reward: Two mid-grade primagem, 10,000 fragments

Ethan hummed. This rift felt significantly more dangerous than the others and as he flew lower, he wondered if that was why the rewards looked better.

"We're gonna need a researcher as well. Someone to keep track of this stuff" he mumbled.

Well. This should be a nice spot to spend a few hours. Ethan wondered how resistant to lava his new scales were.