Forged By The Apocalypse - A LitRPG With Draconic Potential

While I hadn’t shared these fears, the possibility that room ten was going to be more difficult than room nine was slowing my steps. Thankfully, my silent pleas for a single break came true. The doorway to our tenth stop was noticeably different to the others. Previously, it had been a heavy stone door that needed a shove to open. This was a quaint white door, like you’d see at a seaside bed and breakfast hotel. Opening the door, there was a barrier of light obfuscating the inside. Sensing no danger, I stepped forward without worrying.

Safe Area - No Combat Allowed

Entering room ten, a System prompt popped into view, a small highlighted area at the top right of my vision. At the same time, I flinched as my mana, hovering around me in a general nebula, was forcibly shoved back into my body. With a popping in my ears, I waited for my eyes to adjust to the light. I had rarely been so addled since the System arrived, and the sensation was uncomfortable, but I trusted that I was in no danger here, even as I heard noises from further in the room.

The space was much wider than the previous “rooms”, but even calling it that was too simple. There was a sky in here. And not some tight pipe with a sliver of light, like would make sense, but a whole beautiful vista of alien sky, the likes of which I had never seen. Badaila didn’t hae any real atmosphere, and was basically black and grey. The cosmic masterpiece above us was anything but. Every colour I had names for, the thousands more that I did and even magical light were all on show. It was beautiful in a way that changed me at my core.

“Oh great, more idiots who got stuck in here.” I turned slowly, taking a deep breath. The voice was nasal and mocking, belonging to an individual I hadn’t noticed sitting down near the entrance. The man looked like an office worker from before the System appeared, clearly human and seemingly from Earth. He didn’t seem too shocked by Hassian’s appearance, which was interesting.

“Are you from Londimin?” I asked sharply. The man had completely ruined the moment for me. For a split second, it had been just me and the beauty that the System offered. Then I was reminded it would never be just me, and someone would always have something to complain about.

“Yeah, but I’m not with those arseholes.” The mundane looking man pointed to his left, where a group of seven others sat. Two women and five men, they wore the more standard fashion of whatever they could find plus armour. This man’s business attire was almost stranger to me than the literal new sky above me or the magic in my own veins. I still didn’t care enough to ask.

“So, what is this place? Why are you all here?” Taking the time to analyse my surroundings, we appeared to be in a large courtyard. There wasn’t much decoration, but there were a few areas with plants and benches to sit. A functional safe room, but not a lot else of interest.

“This is purgatory, my friend. Surviving to this room was hard enough, and you can’t go back. We’re all stuck here until Seth finishes the dungeon. My hopes aren’t high. This fine group are just the ones smart enough to not commit suicide-by-dungeon. ” Resigned and hopeless, the man shrugged. He might pretend to be bored and uncaring, but he was the one who struck up conversation.

“And you? You said you’re not with them. How long have you been here?” While the strange, boring-looking man was

“Since the start. Or since it opened, I guess. I was the first person the fuckers from Londimin shoved into the portal once the first few didn’t come out. There was a group of us to start with… but it’s just me now. Those ones showed up earlier, a bit after Seth’s crew came through.” And thus, the value of conversation was found. Seth had been here and was pushing further into the dungeon. That was… good, I thought. If he finished the place first all the better.

However, his phrasing made me frown. “My name’s Grant, by the way. Nice to meet you, mate. What was that about shoving you in?” Forcing someone into a dungeon wasn’t far off murdering them. A flash of Harry’s brother, Jason, came to my mind. I asked my question with a laugh in my voice, but the hardness in my eyes must have given me away because actual emotions showed on the new guy’s face for the first time.

Pure, unadulterated rage, mostly. “You heard me. Told me because I had been given an Aspect, I owed the city. I found my Aspect of Balance on the first day, it had nothing to do with Londimin.” A few looks from the other group came our way as his voice raised. Larry, Morris and Rashid backed away, while Hassian was content to stand as close to me as he could. The angry office worker threw two fingers in the air in a rude gesture. “Yeah I’m talking about you fucks, what are you going to do about it?”

“Fuck you, Cal,” one of the women in the other group called over.

“Yeah, shut the fuck up Deb.”

“Don’t talk to her like that!” The largest member of the other group stood, and started stomping over angrily. Cal, who I was beginning to come around to, simply laughed.

“Or what, Gary?” Cal stood up as he asked the question, clearly enjoying himself. Hassian and I shared a look and silently decided not to intervene with a few speculative gestures. The large man built up enough speed for his gait to be called a jog before pulling his arm back. The punch was telegraphed, but Cal didn’t move. I winced slightly as the fist flew through the air.

With a pop, Gary vanished. “Oh for fuck’s sake,” the woman Cal had named Deb said, rolling her eyes. “Thanks Cal, dickhead. Now we definitely can’t leave.”

“Alright, good chat.” Cal the office worker sat back down and turned his eyes to me. “If you try to cause violence in here, you’ll get a warning and then it teleports you to a random room. Apparently there’s like an infinite number of rooms in here and they all connect randomly. Poor guy.”

Cal didn’t seem too upset, and I couldn’t really blame him if what he said was true. I didn’t have the ability to find out if he was lying, nor the inclination to worry. “I’m moving on to finish the dungeon, so don’t make too many enemies.” With that warning, I walked over to the three I had entered the dungeon with. Surprising no one, Cal followed. Mostly to call me stupid.

“You’ll die, obviously. I saw a mini boss in here and it killed everyone. It was a skeleton from a coffin.”

“How did you survive?” Rashid asked, curious. Cal looked ashamed for a moment before shaking it off.

“I didn’t go into the room, and when it started attacking, I ran back to the starting room and chose another direction. I couldn’t even see its level.” He shuddered, the trauma of the event clearly painful. I had no compunction to make jokes or tell him he was a coward. It sounds like he made the right choice for himself.

“Grant just killed one of them on his own, though.” Larry said, receiving a slap to the back of his head from his brother. I appreciated that, because if I did it then it would have hurt a lot more. “What?! Was it supposed to be a secret? How am I meant to know?”

I intercepted the second hit, shaking my head. “It’s fine, Morris. It wasn’t a secret, but sharing things like that could come back to bite us. In the future, don’t tell people about what I can do.” Larry nodded, clearly happy to take the lesson. For Cal’s part, it seemed like his instinct to disbelieve Morris was tempered by the rest of our reactions. I could see him wondering if this was a joke, so I just sighed.

“I’m clearing the dungeon, if Seth doesn’t. It sounds like you’ll be okay here, but you’re welcome to join us if you want. Same goes for anyone else.” I let my voice raise, casting it to the other group in the room. They looked at me like I was crazy before laughing together and clearly making jokes at my expense. Fine, offer rescinded. “I can see why their group didn’t get further, and got smaller. What about you? We’re leaving in ten minutes.”

Cal looked very put on the spot, unsure of what to do. The time limit was for myself. I would love to fall asleep and rest, but I couldn’t stop. There was too much at stake. Cal’s eyes moved to Hassian, who’s sharp toothed smile probably wasn’t helping as much as he thought it was. Rashid spoke up. “If I may. I am no fighter. I do not even have an Aspect. I never planned to be inside a dungeon, much less an Elite one. The reason I am here, that I am alive and that I am now stronger than I ever thought I would be is due to Grant. This one is called Hassian, he is from another world, where the System is more established. Have you ever seen anyone as strong as Grant?”

I was basically blushing at this point. I turned away and sat down, trying to meditate a little and calm my mana. I had always been bad at hearing compliments, and my feelings about the strength I now held were complicated even without hearing strangers waxing lyrical. I wanted to interrupt, say that none of my strength was down to myself, but I didn’t. It wasn’t that simple, and it wouldn’t help to shake anyone’s confidence.

“Once,” Hassian answered. My ears perked up, my pride stinging just a little. Chiding myself for being a hypocrite, I listened closer. “The island I grew up on is not a wealthy one, so when a monster wave comes, it is not protected by others. We have to protect ourselves. Scraps, hopes and dreams were the general defence against such things. Surviving a monster wave was more luck than anything.

“Except for one. When I was young, and my world was still somewhat civilised, a Hephaest Knight purged the monsters during a bad attack. Our house had been destroyed and we were just running from place to place when a golden trident slammed into the giant landsquid chasing us. The woman who saved our island that day was brimming with power. They felt much like this man does.” Hassian’s gaze was fierce on my face, causing my cheeks to heat. Cal raised an eyebrow but said nothing. Even if I wanted to prove myself, I couldn’t while inside the confines of the safe room.

“What level was that woman?” Rashid prompted. Everyone was leaning in, everyone very aware that they were hearing stories from what we would all consider a literal fantasy land only months before.

“To become a Hephaest Knight normally requires one to have reached the second level threshold.” There was a moment’s pause as everyone digested that information. For me, that suggested I was punching around thirty levels above my weight, give or take a Dao. For the others, they might only now just be confirming that they could go above level thirty. The barrier of needing a Dao Pool had stopped a few people in Ascentown even before I left. I imagined the issue was becoming even more prevalent now.

Unable to help myself, I rubbed my chin. “I wonder how you’d rate me if I went all out…” I teased, knowing Hassian was already seeing me with stars coming out my rear. It didn’t really matter to me whether Cal joined us or not, and I doubted the mostly confusing words of a genuine alien were going to be enough to convince him. Having said all I wanted to say, I sat to meditate and get a better feel for the attributes I had placed since entering the dungeon. With the round of five I placed in each stat after the fight, I had fifteen left, which of course went to the Mental attribute.

There was a limit on when a person could stop receiving achievements, and somewhere only possible to gain in the first or second grades. Confusingly, those were Grade Zero and Grade One, but that wasn’t important. I had twenty eight levels of Grade One to go, which meant a staggering eight hundred and forty more attribute points were coming my way, even without any additional gains I received along the way. Each step built upon the one before, as this wouldn’t be possible without my bonuses, garnered from the struggle in the first dungeon mostly. I looked at my attribute page with a fair amount of pride and excitement before closing it away.

Someone wanted my attention. “Was it true, what you said?” The woman named Deb asked, having walked nearby and silently waited. Not even opening my eyes, I tilted my head for her to elaborate. “About the mini boss and defeating the dungeon and all of that. Can you really do it?”

For what must have been the hundredth time, I thanked my one-time career path. The woman was terrified, and I treated her like I would a potential patient. “I did. I truly believe that I can single-handedly defeat this dungeon in a way that no one will get hurt around me. It might sound overconfident, but I’m probably the strongest person on the planet. I’m level fifty two and I have two evolved Aspects. Londimin is in danger outside, and I can make it safer by clearing this place. It’s something I can do, so it’s something I will do.”

Scratching the back of my head, I coughed and looked away. It was all true, but it sounded unbelievable. I looked back and instead of doubt, I saw a look of such relief that I nearly got emotional myself. Damned empathy. Maybe the woman had an Aspect, I thought, making an excuse for myself. I wanted to say that this type of situation was exactly why I sought any kind of strength within the System to begin with, but the lump in my throat remained solid and painful. Deb and I nodded at each other before she rejoined her group.

She wasn’t going to come with us, which was for the best. She didn’t need to say so, but I knew that my answer had given her a thread to hold onto. Cal had been in the safe room long enough to become nihilistic and callous, tricking others into the dangerous dungeon outside. Deb had been on the edge of breaking in the same way Cal had, and I had brought her back from the brink.

Groaning, pulling myself to my feet five minutes earlier than I planned, I signalled for the others to join me. To both my amusement and my surprise, Cal decided to actually come with. “This place is boring,” he said, “If I have to choose between believing you weirdos or sitting in this hyperbolic time chamber for another day, I guess I’ll take the risk.” He slotted into the group, and I left them to it bringing up the rear.

We moved to a door identical to the ones demarking danger in the past, signalling that the dungeon was about to begin again. “Oh right yeah, heavy door, it’ll probably take all of us.” Cal moved to push the door and I couldn’t help watch. When he realised no one was moving to help, he turned, confused. I walked past him smirking, and with a deep breath and a healthy shove, opened the door alone. “They’re meant to be barriers for a team, we think,” Rashid told the stunned Cal. “Of course, that monster doesn’t need help.” Callum Greene nodded dumbly, walking forward into the hallway.

Maybe, he hoped, this might not have been such a bad bet after all.