Forged By The Apocalypse - A LitRPG With Draconic Potential

Cal hadn’t offered to take over out of hubris, or anything even approaching the feeling. If anything, he wished he hadn’t said anything the second the first word left his mouth. Had the only factor been his own growth, he likely would have stayed silent to begin with, but Cal felt a small trickle of pride as he looked into Grant’s eyes and didn’t flinch.

Grant was exhausted. He had covered this fact with the boost in power he had just received, but it was like the adrenaline wore off with each passing moment. The very fact that he had been causing such a magical disturbance with his steps was down to him no longer having the strength to control his powers. Cal didn’t think anything bad was happening to them, but an irritability had settled into the other members of the group. It could have been the cabin fever of the claustrophobic dungeon, but Cal’s instincts told him otherwise.

It would be dangerous to operate without him, even for a single room, but he needed to rest. Cal tried to convey that message with only his eyes, which was ambitious as he had only known Grant for a few hours. Before his silent communication could be understood, Hassian scoffed. Cal didn’t hold it against him, as he was becoming more certain Grant’s new leap in potential had been both a blessing and a curse. He would likely be able to tear through even a mini-boss without breaking a sweat now, but if his aura caused them to go mad before then it was a little moot. “Why would you lead?” The shark man asked, taking a step closer to Cal, who took a step back.

Immediately, Cal shook his head and returned, taking an additional stride forward so he was right next to Hassian. There was a thrill of danger coursing up and down Cal’s spine, but it didn’t make him feel sick like it did in the past. It made him feel correct. “I feel pathetic, don’t you?” Cal said quietly. “Is this how you expected the dungeon run to be?”

Hassian looked like he wanted to smack Cal’s mouth off, massive hands twitching. Of course, the man had more restraint. He also agreed, judging by the way his mocking smile dropped and a serious expression took its place. Grant’s face was impassive as he listened. “I am stronger now than when I entered…” Even as he said it, Hassian was shifting his weight back and forth from foot to foot.

“Me too, actually,” said one of the others. Cal had half-expected the brothers to feel the same as me, but it was Rashid who spoke. There was a surprising amount of warmth to the man as he moved to stand shoulder to shoulder with Cal. “I do not believe this place is intentionally designed to kill us, even though we aren’t as strong as Grant. Callum is right. Something inside of me is breaking as we allow this.”

“Err, yeah!” Agreed Larry cautiously. “Let us do it, Grant.” Cal doubted that Larry or his brother Morris had put as much thought into the issue as he or Rashid had, but he was glad for the support. Within seconds, Morris was nodding slowly along, though for his part he seemed to have a better sense of the potential dangers ahead than Larry. In Cal’s mind, that made him braver, and he couldn’t help it when his eyes started to linger on Morris.

All of their arguments meant nothing if Grant said no, but instead he smiled gently. “Are you sure?” He asked quietly, the weight of his question falling heavily onto Cal’s shoulders as all eyes turned to him. He had been the one to offer support. He only now realised that he had suggested that Grant might not be capable of doing things all on his own. Cal didn’t realise how hard he had been looking for some true humanity within Grant, but he found it in the weary eyes of their leader. He needed help, after doing so much.

This was a form of balance. Surety filled his breath and steps as Cal walked forward. “I’m sure,” he nodded. “Let’s get out of this place quickly. Save yourself for the big fights.” Grant just raised an eyebrow and looked towards the door they approached. There wasn’t much of a pattern to the rooms they found themselves in, but there were a few. As number twenty seven, it was an odd numbered room and a multiple of three, which almost certainly meant battle.

Desperately praying that he hadn’t just gotten himself killed, Cal moved to the front of the pack and opened the door. He rushed forward, not just his anticipation pushing him but also the smells ahead. He recognised the scent of fresh grass and flowers, and it had been far too long for Cal not to get excited. Acting like a complete fool, he rushed out to find out what lay in the wondrous place.

Their door opened up onto a hilltop. The group stepped out into a picturesque day. The sun Cal recognised hung in the sky with a few white clouds as company. Healthy grass covered everything the eye could see, with a single exception. The only things around were a large wooden table surrounded by chairs, and another similar hill to this one in the distance. Once everyone was inside, the door behind them even closed, leaving them trapped. Cal ignored that, and focused on figuring out what the challenge of the room was.

Clearly, it had something to do with sitting down. Within the centre of the table was an orb of navy coloration. There didn’t seem to be anything occurring that Cal could tell, and a quick glance to Grant was met with a comforting nod forward. You can do this, Cal told himself. If his suspicions about the task were correct, all the more reason to be excited. “Alright, looks like we’re supposed to sit around this table. Everyone sit, but don’t touch the crystal.”

Of course, that only made Larry and Morris want to touch the crystal more. Cal may have had the lead, but it was Hassian who’s stony gaze stopped them from pretending to put their hands on it before Cal was ready. He coughed and growled slightly, a snarl on his lips, and the messing around stopped immediately. The dark blue sphere was large enough for everyone to place their hand on it without touching each other.

It wasn’t like there was any preparation he could make, so Cal just shrugged. “Alright, I’ll go first.” There was a barrier around the sphere, which Cal realised was fear as he flinched away from it. No one said anything while he took a deep breath, for which he was grateful. When he was ready, he pressed his hand forward again and broke past the invisible barricade.

Challenge Initialised

As soon as Cal placed his palm on the smooth, cool surface, the skies above them darkened. The peaceful clouds started to rumble overhead. A flood of information rushed into Cal’s mind like it had always been there. It didn’t feel alien or uncomfortable, though, more like a memory he had simply not been using. Within seconds he was refreshed on their reason for being here. “It’s a war,” Cal whispered.

The peaceful afternoon around them continued to devolve until a storm of epic proportions took the land. The rumbling continued above, and watch matched by the same below as the space between the two hills widened. That was to be the battlefield, landmarks and obstacles appearing all over as ruined buildings sprouted from the ground. A ten mile stretch of land yawned out between the two hills as the structures continued to appear below. Cal looked nervously around the table, meeting only expectant looks from people waiting for orders.

“Right.” Cal focused, returning his hand to the orb as he scanned the geography below. There were five clear areas, each taking up twenty percent of the space between his hill and the enemy’s. To complete the transformation from peaceful countryside to brutalised war fields, a tower rose within each of the five sectors. A System prompt appeared and Cal began to smile at it while reading. If he understood these implications correctly…

Summon Options

Warrior Squad - 10

Archer Squad - 10

Mage Squad - 10

Army Points - 11 (+1 per minute)

Cal gestured for the others to touch the orb, and was pleased to see the rate of army point gain increase with each hand touching. No one else seemed to be blasted with information about the situation like Cal was, but that was fine. He was the leader here, after all. The general. All they needed to do was follow his orders. “Listen, men. The Calestran army is making its final push, if we want to live to see another day, then Randalor cannot fall. The bastions are holding for now but our numbers flag while more and more heathens flock to their cause on a daily basis. They have five men for every one of our’s. Those are good odds, a single Randaloran is worth twenty of the Calestran scum.”

Cal could hear himself speak and knew it was strange. A country’s worth of history had been dropped straight into his memory, and it was still pushing its way out to the short and long-term memory portions of his brain. At the same time, everything he said was true as far as he knew it. Seven bloody years this war had raged, born from a disagreement about… something. The why didn’t matter, Cal supposed. They didn’t have to make peace, they needed to win a war game.

After two minutes with everyone’s hand except Grant’s on the orb, Cal summoned an archer squad and a warrior squad. Grant had tried to add his assistance but Cal waved him away. It wasn’t that he wouldn’t be a great use, but Cal could feel the drain on his own mental resources already. The whole point was to give Grant a break. So, Cal delegated roles, creating lieutenants.

“Morris, you’re my scout. Take over these archers and move them forward until you see an enemy. Retreat if they chase the archers, do as much damage as you can. If you get to sector four without finding anything, bunker down and we’ll reinforce. Hassian, you take warriors for now. Do the same on the right flank but also don’t go further than sector three.” The two men nodded seriously and got to work. Cal could have controlled the army himself, but as the numbers grew he expected he would be busier and busier.

Taking the time to review the squads before they left, Cal saw what he had expected. There were a few more archers than warriors. Cal expected the war would work like rock-paper-scissors to begin with. Warriors beat mages, who beat archers, who beat warriors. War never stayed simple, though, unfortunately. As that ominous thought crossed his mind, Cal continued explaining what he wanted the others to do.

—————————————————

I watched, somewhat bemused, as Cal took the reins so well and began barking out orders and coming up with strategies. War games weren’t generally my thing when I gamed, preferring something with action or drama in the actual gameplay, but I had dabbled. It was definitely the right choice to give this task to Cal. I would have agreed to anyone lightening the load, even if I did my best not to show it. The fact the situation worked so well with Cal’s Dao predicament was convenient enough to be suspicious, but I said nothing.

I just quietly watched as whatever type of Dao was forming within Cal took deeper and deeper route.