Forged By The Apocalypse - A LitRPG With Draconic Potential

Londimin was in a state of emergency, but because this was a fairly regular occurrence, there was a general plan in place. The response had been hindered by both the strength of the trial wave and the fact the leadership of Londimin were at odds. In the beginning, Seth, Nolan and the other Aspect users had been a united front and pushed back the darkness with teamwork and valour.

Since those first days, Londimin had fallen apart. The insidious cracks in its foundation had ruptured under the pressure of their first real challenge and now it was every man or woman for themselves. Enclaves were being formed within the city, defensible spots that could be kept safe at the cost of the other infrastructure and the stragglers within it. The shining light for the civilian populace of Londimin, those people who had not yet gained many levels, were the unaspected guardsmen that remained solid throughout the city.

Loss of life was impossible to avoid, but with their captain still there to lead the front, a response was being made. Nolan’s terror at the situation was slightly mollified by the incredible antics of the fairy he was beginning to believe was truly on his side. As a more literal light in the darkness, Naea’s lightning snap movement and deceptive strength were rousing spirits. Her healing magic was, perhaps, saving even more lives than her combat prowess.

For her part, Naea was somewhere between boredom and impatience. Her connection to Grant had been silenced once more as he entered the Elite dungeon. It made her uncomfortable. She wasn’t worried about him, really, though she did expect him to return with a few new scars and some life threatening wounds to fix. She just hated not feeling his connection.

Naea wasn’t actually good at talking to the humans. They didn’t understand her jokes sometimes, and it was the knowledge and emotional intelligence she received from her and Grant’s connection that patched up her understanding. It made talking to them right now difficult, so she threw herself more forcefully into keeping their perimeter safe.

The monsters the trial wave was spawning were decently impressive, but nothing Naea struggled with. Most had a flimsy Dao making them much stronger than the generally weak protectors of Londimin, especially those without Aspects. To Naea and her fully formed Dao of Rivers, they were nothing but pebbles to be swept away in the flow. She took a deep breath, positioned the Chibizashi correctly, and began another vicious attack run, her blade and momentum creating a blender into which every monster in a five hundred metre radius was mulched.

Returning to applause, Naea bowed theatrically. While humans were, for the most part, stupid and annoying except for Grant, Naea had added a new favourite person to her list. The list now read Grant and Sarah. The clapping girl bounced over slowly while Naea continued her flourish. “You’re so cool,” the child effused, music to Naea’s ears, “I wanna be able to do that when I grow up!”

“Absolutely not,” Nolan called over, lifting his head from a strategic map of Londimin to deny his daughter’s dreams. Naea said nothing aloud, but gave a big wink to Sarah. If she had to, she’d kidnap her in a few years and force some Aspects into her regardless. There were plenty dropping from these powerful monsters, after all.

“When I find an Aspect of the Fairy, I’ll give it you,” Naea offered solemnly. She knew Grant would likely not be interested in such an incredible chance, which stung her soul slightly, but he was his own person. Even the draconic influence Naea absorbed from him had been forced into a different form, that of a Fairy Dragon specifically. Naea cradled the massive bundle of energy she held from Grant within her core. The powerful tempest and dragon tinted mana was her own personal trump card.

Grant was a bit too serious for such an expression of magic, in any case. Even now, he had taken the entire burden of this town onto himself, whether he felt like it was a weight or not. She knew he would ask how many had died in the fighting while he cleared the dungeon, and that she would tell him the truthful number. That was the main reason she fought so hard for these people she mostly didn’t like.

“Another sweep done, Nolan,” Naea reported with a salute. The man cringed, which was entirely the point. He had explicitly asked her to stop acting like he was a general at war, which obviously meant Naea did it more. That’s what you get for trying to tell me what to do, she thought petulantly. Instead of snark though, she continued her overly serious statement. “There are monster corpses there, there, there and a pile over there.”

“Thank you, Naea. Gavin?” Nolan didn’t have to say any more as his second-in-command got to work. The position hadn’t really existed before this trial wave, but the man had been invaluable in the response to the deadly System challenge. In the time Nolan spent making sure Sarah was safe, Gavin had already begun to funnel people into Westfields. Really, the only difference with Nolan there was that they could now command the aimless scouts.

Seth had left them without orders as he left to attack the Elite dungeon. Nolan was surprised to realise he didn’t want Seth to save them. Since the first day, he had been placing himself into the position to be a hero but never realised the best way to do that was to just be a good person. He made Nolan’s life harder to make himself stronger, in almost every situation. It might be better for Londimin in the long run if he just…

Nolan shook dark thoughts from his head. Grant would be tearing through the dungeon, most likely, and all they had to do was survive until then. A task which was getting more challenging now that those who could be saved had been. With less people to catch within the alleys and homes of the city, the horde was now aiming itself at the defended shopping centre. “Watch out!”

Complacent. Let myself get complacent. Nolan thought it was strange that he had time to chastise himself as a scythe descended upon his neck. Fast as a whip, a monstrous flying creature shot at Nolan’s unprepared body. He tried to bring all of his attributes to bear, but everything happened too fast. The blade cut flesh and he closed his eyes. The rush of adrenaline brought with it a crashing roar of blood in Nolan’s ears as death took him.

His eyes were slammed shut in that final moment, and it stretched out. The pain in his neck remained… as did the sounds around him. The roar had changed into a growling, and he forced his right eye to open despite his instincts telling him that he was definitely dead. The sight of a recognisable Londimin suggested he might be mistaken, but the wolf at his side didn’t help him from feeling like he had slipped into a dream. Why was no one attacking it? Had it saved him?

It had mostly brown fur, with flecks of a lighter blonde colour in it, but it was the eyes that made Nolan nearly choke. The wolf had saved him, snapping the bird out of the air, and he understood why, looking into those blue eyes. Just like Maisie’s. “Luce?” He asked, his voice breaking a little. Just what had this damned world done to his daughter?

Lucy had been quietly stalking her family, amazed to see the fairy she had met a few nights prior with them. Knowing they were safe with her around, Lucy had hoped to keep herself hidden for the whole raid if she could. Her wolf form was more likely to get her hurt than anything. Except, as the bird dove for her father’s neck and no one noticed, she moved without thinking. Glad that she did, but viciously unprepared for the conversation, Lucy ran away. She heard Nolan’s calls after her, but didn’t stop.

“She’ll be fine, Nolan.” Naea put a hand on the man’s arm and sent the gentlest pulse of healing energy into him she could, stopping his shouts. She glanced at her new friend to make sure she was fine, but from the lack of surprise on her innocent face, Naea would bet money that Sarah already knew her sister’s ‘secret’. “Grant and I met that girl before. She pointed us towards Londimin.”

It felt like the right information to give, but Naea watched Nolan process it quickly. Confusion, into shock, into anger, then pride came along and made it hard to feel negative. “She was very strong, actually,” Naea added, which made Nolan smile while nodding. The smile seemed sad, however.

“Yeah,” Nolan said, his voice thick with emotion, “yeah that makes sense. She’s strong, alright. Just like her mother.” He took a deep breath and looked in the direction his wolven daughter had vanished in. The girl’s stealth skills were no joke, even impressing Naea. Her own abilities were based in magic, but the wolf’s stealthiness was all instinct and primal understanding. Whether he trusted Naea or not, he couldn’t leave to follow her. If there was no helping it, Nolan decided to believe in his older daughter to keep herself safe.

While he did the same for the rest of the city.

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Seth gasped, falling to his knees in the second safe room of the dungeon. He wanted to scream. Seeing that he was completely alone, he indulged the desire. The inability to inflict damage within a safe room extended to the very ground, so as he pounded the floor, his fist connected limply. It only infuriated him more, causing bile to come to his throat, which evolved into a full expulsion of vomit.

Seth the Hero rubbed the grime from his chin and continued his rage. Every single thing which could have gone wrong. His squad, all kept just under level thirty so they couldn’t threaten him had been mostly useless. The ones who hadn’t had still ended up dying as the challenges continued to ramp. With no way to leave, their broken spirits meant obstacles which should have been surmountable became deadly.

Now he was all alone, and he hadn’t gained a single level in the climb. Twenty people dead, and Seth could feel their scornful gaze on his back at all times now. Not just them, but everyone who had placed hope in him and died. It weighed on him, both holding him back and drowning him under the expectations. He wanted to be the hero, he wanted to be good at it. He just… wasn’t.

Not that the System minded too much. It still rewarded him all the same. The extra pressure and insurmountable odds only made his abilities stronger, and he had gained a few interesting items. A floating shield to improve his already impressive defence, another sword that wasn’t as good as the Fatecutter Blade and lastly, from the mini-boss that had cost him the last of his men, an Aspect.

What would be Seth’s fourth and final Aspect, if he had absorbed it. For whatever reason, he found himself not wanting to use it right away. He put the feeling down to feeling unsafe in the Elite dungeon, but the sensation was still there in the safe room. It was a legendary aspect, even if it was a little ominous sounding. Yet, each time he moved to use it, his senses went wild like he was under attack. Dropping to the floor, having crawled away from his pile of vomit, Seth began to weep for himself as his will continued to waver and crack.