The Tree of Ascension: A LitRPG Apocalypse (Peril's Prodigy Book 2)

by Craig Kobayashi

  With the salmon now being directed through the fish weir and into the river leading up the mountain, Garath and the Party approached the cursed chest that had started them on their marine voyage. The native pod of orcas remained close behind but stopped just short of going ashore. Most of the Party shifted back into their natural forms as they reached the shore and approached the chest.

  “I think I’m going to miss them,” Daisy said with a pout, looking out at the orcas still circling offshore.

  “Yeah,” Garath agreed with a smile. He put on his down-to-business pants. “But we didn’t come here to make friends.”

  Garath directed the Party into a defensive formation with Auto, Obawon, and Atlas standing between the casters and the chest, then Auto shifted into his Unibear form and reached out. When he touched it, just like the chest inside the massive bear corpse, a prompt appeared.

  You are in the realm of Natsilane.

  Natsilane thanks you for showing the salmon their way back home and would like to present you with the opportunity to move forward.

  As a group, you must choose between the following options:

  Face Natsilane’s Spirit Guardian to receive the rewards within this chest

  Leave the realm of Natsilane, forgoing the rewards

  Hold your hand atop the chest to reveal the potential reward.

  The Raid Group each moved to the chest, placing their hands on it one by one to see their potential reward. When it was Garath’s turn, he drooled, jaw hanging loosely as he read the item’s description.

  Natsilane’s Headdress

  Raiment Slot: Head

  Armor: +36

  Magic Resistance: +10%

  Durability: 275/275

  Item Score: 191

  Defense Rating: 360

  Type: Cloth Armor

  Quality: Excellent

  Rarity: Legendary

  +175 Wisdom

  +100 Vitality

  ***This headdress was woven by the children of Natsilane from the roots of The Tower of Vy’thishrak.

  Item Requirements:

  Level: 30

  He was impressed again with just how much better the gear found here in The Tower was in comparison to anything he’d seen elsewhere. The stat points alone made this helmet a significant upgrade from his current headpiece. Add in the fact that he wouldn't have to wear the tiara anymore and it was an even bigger upgrade than the staff he still had stored in his Items panel. When he was done drooling over the headdress, Garath looked to the rest of his group.

  *Well, I don’t know about the rest of you,* Auto said, *but I have got to have this shield. We’re going to face the spirit guardian, right G?*

  “Yes. Yes we are.” Garath nodded, wondering what he’d look like with the demonic eyes and over-sized incisors framed by what he imagined would be a twiggy headdress. Probably super pretty. He summoned his Dreadreaver, then willed his summoned Demons into existence and took a deep breath. “But before we do, everyone remember to equip our new weapons after we engage. Let’s do it, Auto.”

  *Alright. Hold onto your butts,* Auto warned.

  The Chimerist triggered the next stage of the cursed chest. What happened next made Garath cock his head in confusion. A bear twice the size of Auto in his ridiculous Unibear form appeared, semi-transparent at first before fully materializing into what Garath had to assume was the Spirit Guardian of Natsilane. He triggered Inspect to see what they were dealing with.

  Si-am’ Whimstick

  (Spirit Guardian of Natsilane)

  Spirit Beast

  Health: 450,000/450,000

  Level: 30

  Station: Boss

  Rage: 0/100

  Description: unknown

  Auto let out a strange, mewling roar as he charged the now fully materialized Si-am’ Whimstick. In response, Si-am’ let out a roar of his own. The spirit bear's roar was far more impressive. Even from thirty feet away, it shook Garath to his core and made the hair on his neck stand on end.

  Auto met the spirit bear in a clash of claws and teeth. Atlas led Bug Eyes, the Dreadreaver, and Bill as they rushed to attack Si-am’s flank and backside and Garath was surprised to see Bug Eyes easily outpace Bill as they charged, the heifer seriously had some wheels. Athios placed her dimensional enhancements around the Party’s casters, boosting Garath's cast speed and the base damage of his Skills by 10%. Daisy unleashed a torrent of Frost-Fire, sending a stream of blue-white death over Auto’s head and into the spirit bear. Garath then gave the order for everyone to equip their new weapons over the Raid communication channel.

  He equipped Si-am’s Whimstick, shot a mental command to his Flayer, and got to work stacking QE’s on the boss monster. The increased damage output from their new weapons was immediately apparent as the Raid Group started whittling away at Si-am’s massive Health pool. Garath had been curious what difference the spell targeting advancement from basic to advanced would be, but he didn’t notice any as he released a cast of Creeping Death. He guessed that the stackable DoT took hold of his target when it was within range, and didn’t soar through the air to hit his target like Death Bolt or Felfire Bolt did. Maybe the difference would be more apparent with a different spell.

  Auto was able to keep Si-am’s attention on him easily enough, but whether that was a blessing or a curse though was up for debate. With each rake of his claws against the Chimerist, Si-am’ ripped massive chunks from the tank’s Health pool. After taking only two hits from the spirit bear, Auto had to blow the single defensive cooldown provided by his current hybrid form to avoid an early death and subsequent Party wipe. The healers threw everything they had into refilling the ridiculous amount of Health taken from Si-am’s opening attack. They were able to keep Auto alive, but it became clear that a standard tank and spank strategy would not be a viable option.

  *I had to use Iron Rhino,* Auto called urgently as he dodged another vicious swipe from the boss. *I can’t do that again for another half-hour.*

  “If your Health gets low like that again, run away and I’ll cast Roots to hold it off until we can get you heals,” Sharon instructed.

  “Also, try to get hit less. Please,” Maimon added helpfully.

  Garath looked over at Sharon briefly while casting his third stack of QE with Handsome. He felt like a proud father as he watched this seventy-whatever-year-old woman calling shots in a life-or-death Raid battle.

  *Do that now!* Auto shouted into the Raid com as he wheeled around and bolted out of range of another attack. Si-am’ had just landed a critical hit on the tank, dropping his Health below twenty percent and sending blood spraying.

  Sharon’s reaction time was impressive, and the thorny roots sprang out of the ground to wrap around the bear’s legs. Unfortunately, the spell was no match for Si-am’s Strength and claws. The bear spirit broke out of her Roots in no time flat and was bearing down on Auto again before Maimon could finish casting his heal.

  A white disk appeared, standing vertically like a door, just in front of the panicked and bleeding Auto. The Chimerist shot through the disk just as Si-am’ closed to melee range. A second later, the Party’s tank reappeared through Athios’ second disk twenty feet in front of the boss monster.

  *Smooth, Athios! Thanks,* Auto called.

  The heal Maimon had been casting was interrupted due to his target briefly traveling between dimensions, but the Preacher started again as soon as Auto popped out. Between the Preacher’s two-second cast of Lesser Heal and Sharon’s instant cast of Nature’s Regrowth, Auto was back to nearly two-thirds of his maximum Health with a damage-absorbing bubble around him before Si-am’ met the tank in bestial combat once again.

  Time and again, Auto’s Health was ripped away along with the patchy grey skin of his Rhino-Bear form despite his many successful dodges and strategic retreats. Time and again, Athios had to relocate the tank to give the healers time to top off Auto’s Health. Garath was impressed with the Dimensionalist as he watched her from the perspective of someon
e who had spent so much time playing as a healer. Athios was not only saving Auto’s life over and over while Si-am’ chased him around, she was displacing Auto while watching the healer's casting, only putting up a door for Auto to escape through if he was about to take a fatal blow - or after the healers finished their casts, reducing wasted cast times.

  Atlas, Bug Eyes, the Dreadreaver, and Bill chased Si-am’ as Si-am’ chased Auto, only inflicting damage on the boss periodically as it slowed to turn or to swipe at the tank. In a shocking display, Bug Eyes was the only melee fighter constantly inflicting damage on the spirit bear. The black-and-white spotted, sedan-sized cow remained on Si-am’s flank regardless of changes in speed or direction. She rammed, kicked, trampled, and even bit the spirit bear unrelentingly. Daisy, Garath, Jebawon, and Handsome lit up the spirit bear like a Christmas tree as it ran around like a chicken with its head cut off. Unfortunately, whatever threat table governed the target choices of monsters within the Dungeon reared its ugly head when Auto apparently had spent too much time running away and not enough time holding Si-am’s attention.

  When Auto was once again transported twenty feet away from the spirit bear, Si-am’ stopped. Its Rage bar full, the Spirit Guardian of Natsilane swelled, and its eyes turned a bright red as the Rage bar emptied.

  Its eyes locked on Daisy, and it charged.

  Seeing the snarling, bleeding, burning, massive Spirit Guardian running full speed in her direction, Daisy froze. At first, only figuratively, but then literally as well.

  A wall of ice rose up from the ground in front of her, ten feet high and just as wide. Si-am’ crashed into the wall, sending shards of ice flying in every direction as Daisy fell through a dimensional disk. Si-am’ turned, furious, looking for the girl, but Athios released Daisy thirty yards up. On Athios’ command, Daisy shifted into Crow form and remained airborne, out of Si-am’s reach. The spirit bear, now with only 20% of its maximum Health remaining, turned on Garath and roared before charging to attack.

  Almost instinctively, Garath shifted into his Crow form. The sudden change in size caused Si-am’ to miss with a swipe of sword-sized claws. A second swipe was coming his way when Auto and Bill both barreled simultaneously into the spirit beast, knocking its attack off course as Garath frantically flapped his wings to take off. With a mental command, Handsome switched from repeatedly casting Creeping Death to Death Bolt as Garath tried to put some distance between himself and Si-am’.

  Without having to worry about dying every other hit, Auto shifted seamlessly into his Puma-Bear form and latched on to Si-am’s flank as the spirit bear charged after the crow. Garath, wide-eyed and panicked, fought to gain altitude.

  With a several-hundred-pound Puma-Bear clawing and biting wildly against its hind quarters, a Demon-dog and Dreadreaver pounding away at one side, and Atlas, Bug Eyes, and Obawon tearing away at the other, Si-am’s remaining Health dwindled quickly. Finally, the spirit bear fell lifeless to the ground.

  You have received 36 Mana Crystals.

  Mana Crystals will be stored in your Items panel until spent, traded, or until your death.

  Begin combat log:

  [You have been awarded 26,550 Experience Points for slaying Level 30 Si-am’ Whimstick - Spirit Guardian of Natsilane]

  End combat log.

  Congratulations, Guild Leader. The Band of the Hawk has reached Level 3.

  At Level 3, members of The Band of the Hawk receive +12% to all Attributes while inside of a dungeon or Dungeon.

  Congratulations, Garath! Your Onikasha has reached Level 6.

  ***See the Summoned Creatures partition of your MENU panels for additional information

  Congratulations, Garath! Your Onikasha has reached Level 7.

  ***See the Summoned Creatures partition of your MENU panels for additional information

  After taking a moment to catch their breath, the Raid Group each placed a hand on the chest to accept their rewards. Garath shifted back into his natural form and happily replaced his black tiara with Natsilane’s Headdress. Based on the item’s description, he knew it would likely be made of wood, and it was, in a sense. Dozens of twisting branches, some over a foot long, erupted out of the back of a moss-covered band that fit snugly over his ears and around his head. He took a second to check out his Profile with the new, ridiculous, gear he’d picked up so far in The Tower and grinned as he looked at the holographic avatar. The bright green band of his new helmet matched his glowing eyes and neon tattoos brilliantly. I was right. This headdress does look pretty on me!

  Garath

  Race: Human

  Class: Necrologist

  Level: 30

  Age: 29

  Health: 4,000/4,000

  base: 970

  Defense Rating: 1823

  Mana: 4,751/7,030

  base: 970

  Exp to next Level: 121,375/142,500

  Attributes

  Vitality: 400 [357 +12% Dungeon Guild Specialization (items:+249)] - Each point of Vitality provides +10 to maximum Health.

  Wisdom: 703 [628 +12% Dungeon Guild Specialization (items: +459)] - Each point of Wisdom provides +10 to maximum Mana.

  Regeneration: 65 [58 +12% Dungeon Guild Specialization] - As a Necrologist, each point of Regeneration increases Mana recovery rate by +1.11 per second; Health recovery rate by +.25 per second; and recovery from injury by +2%.

  Strength: 9 [8 +12% Dungeon Guild Specialization] - In addition to making one stronger, each point of Strength increases physical attack damage by 1% and reduces damage received from physical attacks by .25%.

  Dexterity: 11 [10 +12% Dungeon Guild Specialization] - In addition to making one more agile, each point of Dexterity improves the critical strike chance of physical attacks by +.3%; the critical strike damage of physical attacks by +3%; and improves chance to dodge by +.5%.

  Unused Attribute Points: 0

  Unused skill points: 5

  Garath was impressed with himself. His Wisdom Attribute had skyrocketed since they’d entered The Tower. He was even getting close to Level 31 from the few monsters they had dispatched. Smiling to himself at his own awesomeness, Garath closed his MENU panels.

  Chapter Thirty-One – Why Is He Cooking?

  As evening swept across the realm of Natsilane, the sky shifted into a beautiful, vibrant clashing of reds and blues, mirrored by the ocean below in a picturesque dance. Waves crashed gently against the white sandy beach at the base of the brown mountain and a salty breeze brought welcome relief from the heat of the day. Birds of the night made their calls in the distance and frogs croaked their daily song. Garath didn’t notice any of that.

  The day's constant action had him feeling drained to the point of exhaustion, but he only really noticed now that he had a minute to rest. Adrenaline had kept the whole Raid Group going hard all day but, as Garath looked around at his team, it was clear that he wasn't the only one feeling fatigued.

  Auto hadn't even bothered to shift out of his Puma-Bear form after the fight with Si-am’ and was currently sitting on his haunches, staring despondently into space. Athios sat with her back to one of the lifeless trees, idly combing Daisy's hair with her hand. They both looked exhausted. The twins stood silently with Maimon and Sharon, their eyes unfocused.

  It made enough sense, Garath thought. They had all entered The Tower early that day and hadn't stopped going since. They had fought and bled and grieved, then traveled who-the-hell-knows how many nautical miles before taking on Si-am’ Whimstick. Even with the marine prowess of an Orca form, expending so much energy had taken its toll. A rest break was well overdue.

  "Let's set up camp here tonight," Garath said. "Get a fire going, have some dinner, then get some sleep."

  "Is that safe?" Sharon asked. "To sleep in this place?"

  Garath took a long look around the apparently lifeless coastal mountain, then shrugged. "Probably."

  “That’s hardly reassuring,” Athios said.

  "I believe it is safe to do so," Alice said. "The
only life forms I have observed on this mountain are the salmon that we just sent upriver. Hardly a threat."

  “Either way,” Jebawon chimed in, “we’ll want to set up a watch rotation.”

  “We will when it’s time to sleep,” Garath agreed, nodding. Even if the salmon were the only nearby lifeforms currently, Garath knew all too well that nighttime can bring new perils. “For now, let’s set up camp. There should be plenty of dry wood to get a fire going. I’ll get Bill and Handsome to gather some. And then…” Garath trailed off as he gave his summoned demons a mental order to bring firewood. Bill put his front paws out in an excited play-stance then took off with Handsome following unenthusiastically behind.

  “Dinner?” Daisy asked, her head tilting up, still resting in Athios’ lap.

  *Dinner,* Auto agreed heartily. The Chimerist finally shifted back into his natural form and let out a long breath. “I’m beat.”

  “I feel you,” Garath said.

  “What are we having?” Athios asked, turning to look at the river. “We could have salmon, but I really don’t feel like fishing. Or like eating salmon ever again, honestly.”

  Obawon laughed. “I’ve got some snack bars and granola in my Items panel,” he offered, “but we may want to eat something a little more substantial.”

  “I’ve got dinner handled,” Garath told everyone. “It may not be gourmet, but I can cook well enough.”