Forged By The Apocalypse - A LitRPG With Draconic Potential

Cracking the defensive wards on the Londimin prison was surprisingly difficult. It required more force than I had expected to snap the bindings, which meant I was putting in a little too much power as they finally did snap. What I hadn’t considered is that the enchantments of Londomin would be so… connected.

As I snapped the cell’s enchantment and began to leave, all hell broke loose. The gerd at the end of the hall both tried to rush me, which I thought was quite brave. Nothing was harmed but their pride as I swiftly knocked them both out with an Infusion empowered flick to the temple each. I was not alone in the cells, and it was only when the other people began to leave their confinement that I realised what I had done.

Considering I had been thrown into jail for existing, and I knew at least one person was down here simply because they had looted a monster, I didn’t know how to feel about freeing these prisoners. However, I wasn’t going to take the freedom I had accidentally gifted them, either. I told myself it wasn’t my problem as I made my way up the stairs to leave the police station.

“There’s something wrong with your cells,” I told Nolan as I pushed past him, too. My patience was thin, but I forced myself to stop. He had his chance to help and had sat on his ass instead. Luckily, Naea was with him so I told her the plan. I decided to say it outloud so that those nearby could hear it as a warning. “We’re going to go steal a plane and hope it gets us into the air. Anyone that tries to stop us is going to be shown why that’s a bad idea.”

Actually, it was a strange little group. Nolan, a huge bear of a man, was leaning his weight from leg to leg anxiously. The two brothers Larry and Morris were both uncharacteristically quiet, giving me strange looks instead of yammering like I expected. Rashid was the calmest, simply shaking his head at me in what I could only assume was wonder. As there were only five or six people in the city I would recognise, seeing almost all of them together was enough to slow me down. Apart from Naea, who was just happy to see me, each of them also bore a look of dread behind their eyes which told me I had done more damage than I thought.

As much as I told myself I was a dragon and that I should be able to ignore these things, I couldn’t. The Dao harrumphed within, but didn’t argue. The world had changed me a lot, but I had pledged my life to helping others even before the System arrived. I saw the fear and frustration on the faces of Nolan and the others, but it was the acceptance and regret that remained on the sheriff’s features that really stopped me. “What?” I demanded, upset at myself for caring.

“I think that whatever you did… It started a chain reaction. The wards on these walls are connected to the wards everywhere else.” Nolan spoke slowly, his voice calm despite the angst and confusion all around. There was a growing crowd of uncertain looking guards all looking to Nolan, who in turn was pleading with me using just his eyes.

“This is not how I planned to start diplomacy with your city, Nolan.” I sighed, unwilling to let regret seep in. It was Londimin’s management which created this situation. Yet, I couldn’t find it within myself to let the actions of Seth and his sycophants cause punishment for the rest. Except, Nolan also felt responsible and wouldn’t stop me if I wanted to make the situation worse. I groaned. “If I can help, I will. What’s happening? What did I do?”

As Nolan began to explain, I had to curse myself for not paying more attention to the actual workings of the System. Once I could foist that responsibility away I had, but if I had spent more time studying the options in the faction store for Ascentown, I might have been able to predict some of this outcome. There was a supply of System credit which fueled all of the defensive wards for the city, and Nolan gave me a very measured look before telling me I had overpowered the whole thing at once and drained their reserves.

“That explains why it was such a struggle, I guess.” I shrugged. It hadn’t been easy to overwhelm the mana in the walls, and now I knew why. “This should be easy enough to fix, though. How much does it cost to fuel the walls for a day? Or a week even?” Rashid’s ears seemed to perk up at that turn in the conversation and I had to chuckle. I was more and more sure that he would be a good addition to Ascentown.

Nolan shook his head. “It’s not that simple. I received a quest, and I’m guessing Seth and some others have, too. It’s called When It Rains. The System apparently thinks it’s funny that we tried to tame a dragon - it’s words, not mine. There’s a trail wave on the way.” Larry and Morris nodded rapidly at this. The general populace got the alert for the trial wave, but not the larger quest to stop it. That made some kind of sense, except all this did was cause panic.

“I don’t have the alerts, show me them.” Nolan and the others looked at me like I was insane so I had Naea explain how to present System pages. All it required essentially was to slap the prompt with mana, like a signature. That was how Naea had explained it to me, at least. Once you signed the page, you had more control over it. As they quickly learned, I judged that the System was arbitrary and dangerous. Maybe it was just me placing blame away from myself, but punishing thousands because I had broken a single jail cell felt drastic.

Quest - When It Rains

Taming dragons is no easy task, and can often leave on with terrible burns. The wards of Londimin have been drained and crippled. Defeat the Elite dungeon within Londimin’s domain to repair the damage, but be quick. A trial wave approached, hoping to take advantage of your lacking defences.

Dungeon defeated 0/1

Reward: Repair and upgrade of Londimin’s defences.

Cessation of Trial Wave

My face burned with heat as the System outright called me a dragon, and the Dao within me grumbled indignantly at the comparison. Shaking it off, I was confident that this, at least, was a problem I could fix. Before I could offer, however, my familiar took the lead. Naea was buzzing with excitement as she saw the prompt, looking back and forth between the floating text and myself. “It’s an Elite dungeon, Grant! We have to go, I haven’t eaten in weeks!”

While that wasn’t strictly true, and I knew that she just wanted to get high, the allure of an Elite dungeon was high for myself, too. “Was our first dungeon an Elite one, Naea?”

“Nope! Though, I think it was similar because of the dragon that died there. Your weird level and achievements made it all weird compared to the other dungeons we’ve seen.” She was happy to explain, but I didn’t want her to talk anymore. She was already drooling, and it was only getting worse.

“Nolan, we’ll take care of the dungeon problem. I’m not sure I can complete the quest, though, so you’ll need to come with me.” It seemed like the natural option to me, so I was surprised when Nolan took a step back in an obviously uncomfortable gesture. He held his hands up, and I could see that they were shaking a little.

“I can’t… I have daughters…”

I saw the faces of my sisters in my mind and nearly felt myself choked by the fear. Except, unlike Nolan, who’s fear kept him in place, mine pushed me forward. Each second I wasn’t protecting my family was another second they could be lost forever. With all the unsaid things left unsaid, and final words set in stone. “Say no more. Go find them, now. Get them safe. Naea, you go with him.”

“Grant, no! The Elite dungeon! I bet the monsters in there taste like ambrosia, Grant.” I felt true rage in our connection, but there was no point in arguing. Naea was strong, but not as powerful as me by half. I had a bad feeling about what was going to happen in the city over the next hour. Leaving her here would make me feel much better.

“I’ll put as many bodies as I can fit into my inventory. Go help the man protect his girls.” I could tell Naea wanted to argue, tears brimming in her eyes. I reminded myself she didn’t know about this dungeon until about thirty seconds prior, and that she would be fine. I would make it up to her, but right now, I begrudgingly realised I needed to fix the problem I had created. “I’ll bring you the boss, I promise.” There was a snap of magic between myself and the fairy, the Fae rules she had spoken about on occasion. I squinted at the magic, but it was far too complex for me to parse.

While he didn’t know her capabilities, Nolan looked immensely grateful as I told her to join him. Naea gave me side-eye the whole time, but she nodded all the same. She joined Nolan while he shouted at guards to get into defensive positions before setting off to protect his loved ones. Nolan’s family would be safe in Naea’s hands. “Which leaves you three to me.”

The trio looked confused, with Rashid catching on quickest and a look of true terror appearing on his face. “I needed Nolan because I’m not part of the Londimin. I still need a guide to the dungeon, and someone to complete the quest.” Even Larry and Morris understood what I was saying now. I could practically hear three sets of knees knocking. “Come on boys, let’s go clear a dungeon.”

——————————————————————————————

Trial Wave Initiated - Level 32 - Londimin

Lucy looked at the words with bile rising in her throat, already sprinting back towards the city. That level was simply too high. Even her father or Seth were only level thirty. She knew immediately that the man she had met was to blame for the increased level and cursed herself. She had aimed him at the place like an arrow without thinking for a second about how it might hurt her family.

Her skin cracked, fur rising from within as the wolven form burst forth. She howled into the air, using all of her mana and power to get back as quickly as possible. The incoming horde was going to tear them apart, but she would protect her sister at least. Her dad thought she was just obsessed with finding their mother, but it wasn’t that simple. She wanted to find her mom, yes, but she couldn’t feel as trapped and useless as she had in those first days. She had chased, hunted, found and claimed strength all on her own, to protect herself and her family.

She just hoped she wasn’t too late.