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

by Craig Kobayashi

  "I have a thought," Garath said. "Activate the chest, Auto."

  Auto waited for the inevitable objection from another member of the group, but none came. The Chimerist reached out again, this time contacting the wooden chest in front of him. The Dungeon provided direction in the form of a system prompt.

  The mountain is barren, but life is returning.

  Travel inland and collect 30 species of plants to assist the mountain in its recovery.

  Once complete, return to this chest for your reward.

  Another quest to support Alice's theory about the Dungeon's 'purpose', Garath thought. At least this one didn't sound particularly dangerous. It made the most sense to Garath for the Raid Group to take the forms of flight-capable beasts, then head inland to find some plants to bring back to the chest.

  They'd have to carry whatever they found, so he suggested that each Party member transform into their largest flying form. While it was true that they could always shift back into human forms to access their Items panels and store them that way, Garath was always looking for ways to avoid wasting a shift toward his daily limit.

  *Or everyone could just give me the plants they find and I can store them,* Auto suggested. *No shift limit for Chimerists.*

  The Raid Group agreed to do just that, then shifted into various bird forms and headed inland. Being most familiar with the Crow form, Garath sprouted his black feathers and took off. The flock that the group formed, if it could even be called that, was the most eclectic grouping of birds ever flock together. They looked majestic. They looked ridiculous.

  It wasn't long into the flight before they started to see bits of green in the landscape below. Together, they descended to land next to a thicket of blackberries. The Party debated splitting up in order to satisfy the thirty-species requirement more efficiently but decided against it. This was not a timed quest, and they had no way of knowing whether there were hostile creatures in the area.

  Eating blackberries in Crow form was disappointing, Garath found. His sense of taste was pathetic at best, and the sweet and tart berries just felt like lumpy, tasteless marshmallows sliding down his throat.

  *Garath,* Athios said over the Raid communication channel, *stop dicking around.*

  Properly chided, Garath picked up another blackberry with his beak and dropped it into Auto's hand. The Chimerist placed it, along with two species of weeds they'd found nearby into his Items panel. The group poked around the blackberry thicket for a few minutes to see if they could find anything else, but came up empty. And so, once again, the eclectic flock took to the sky in search of different plant species.

  It wouldn't take them long to gather thirty different types of plants, Garath didn't think, so he began to wonder what kinds of plants would thrive on the dead mountain. Remembering what he could about ecosystems from 9th grade biology, he thought he had a pretty good idea of what to look for. He also made use of the Raid communication channel to ask if anyone else had an idea of what kinds of plants would help restore the lifeless mountain to a thriving ecosystem.

  *Blackberries are not a good offering, they are invasive and will dominate the landscape. Plants that attract the attention of insects would be ideal. They will help to cross-pollinate,* Alice offered over the Raid com, her current form that of a snowy owl.

  *Like flowers?* Daisy asked. *Bees love flowers.*

  *Bees do not love anything, they are a simple species incapable of such emotions,* Alice replied casually. *But yes, like flowers.*

  *What about trees?* Auto asked as the group descended again to land in a lush meadow between two rolling hills. *Every mountain needs some trees.*

  *A tree would satisfy the chest's condition, but would not necessarily assist in restoring the mountain's ecosystem,* Alice said. *If we bring plants that attract insects, the insects will attract birds and small mammals, whose feces often carry seeds that will grow into many different plant species, including trees.*

  *Copy that, Alidex. Auto, wait here. Everyone else, look for flowers or anything else that catches your eye. Bring everything back here and we will go through what we’ve found in ten minutes,* Garath directed. Then he remembered that, despite the calm beauty all around them, they were still in a Dungeon. *If you run into anything unfriendly, head toward Auto and let us know on the Raid com.*

  With that, the awkward flock of various birds set off in different directions within the meadow to gather some plants. They each returned to where Auto and Alice stood together, dropping off what they'd found before taking off once again, in search of new plants. Within the ten-minute period, the eight Party members collected a respectable mound of assorted plants. Garath had contributed the fewest species. He hadn't known where 'flower seeds' were on the plants, so he took the time to dig up the whole thing, a difficult feat in his current form.

  Alice, back in her human form, sat in the grass on her knees with her feet splayed out on either side in a manner that Garath was sure couldn't be good for her joints. The Lore Keeper was contentedly sorting through the plants and placing them in one of three piles in front of her. One of the piles obviously held duplicate plants. The other two, Garath assumed, were the 'yes' pile and 'no' pile - though he wasn't sure which was which.

  *How'd we do?* Garath asked the Lore Keeper.

  "Including the three we picked up earlier, and the seven that aren't a good fit for the mountain, we have twenty-nine," Alice reported.

  *Twenty-two then,* Garath said, nodding his beak up and down. *Eight more, let’s roll.*

  *What's the difference, really?* Maimon asked in his seagull form. *Let's just find one more and call it good.*

  *No,* Garath said firmly. *Trust me on this. This Dungeon wasn’t programmed like some game. It'll make a difference, and it won't take that long.*

  Garath was right, it turned out. It didn't take long at all to find eight more species that would help the dead mountain on its way back to flourishing. The next place they stopped was near a fast-moving river, winding through an evergreen forest. They split up for another ten minutes of gathering plants and, when they all met back up near Auto and Alice, found that they had not only found the eight additional plant species needed to meet the chest's requirement, but an extra four species including a handful of different mushrooms. Alice assured them that mushrooms would not only be helpful to the dead mountain, but vital to its recovery.

  With the offerings the Party gathered for the chest stored in Auto's Items panel, the flock of adventurers headed back to the brown mountain and the chest. Garath hadn't realized how far they'd flown until the return journey. The group landed, gathered around the chest, and shifted back into their natural forms, apart from Alice, who remained in the form of a snowy owl. The Lore Keeper looked terribly out of place in her all-white form, midday on the brown mountain.

  "What do we do now?" Daisy asked. "Just plop the plants next to it?"

  Seemingly in response to her question, a hole appeared directly in front of the chest. Auto retrieved Alice's final selection of plant species from his Items panel and placed each in the hole. When all thirty had been retrieved and placed, Garath half-expected the hole to fill itself in. When it didn't, he told Auto to put the rest of the plants in as well. He may not have ever been an extra credit kind of student, but he'd always been an extra credit kind of gamer. It isn't like they'd need the extra weeds, flowers, and mushrooms for anything else, he figured. Maybe they'd even get a bonus reward. Who knows? It could happen.

  When the Chimerist finally stepped away from the hole in front of the chest, it began to fill with soil. After a few seconds, there was no hint that the ground had ever been broken. A new prompt appeared to the Raid Group.

  You have completed the request of the Thunderbird.

  The Thunderbird thanks you for bringing life back to the mountain and would like to present you with the opportunity to move forward.

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

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

  Leave the chest where it is and continue your adventure, forgoing the rewards

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

  Once again, each of them approached to place a hand on the chest to take a look at what they might gain for facing the Guardian Spirit of the Thunderbird. Garath needed to get his hands on the belt he was offered.

  Waist Wreath of Lightning

  Raiment Slot: Waist

  Armor: +11

  Magic Resistance: +10%

  Durability: 250/250

  Item Score: 178

  Defense Rating: 110

  Type: Cloth Armor

  Quality: Excellent

  Rarity: Legendary

  4 Potion Holsters

  +100 Wisdom

  +45 Regeneration

  +20% Resistance to Lightning Damage

  Item Requirements:

  Level: 30

  *We face it, right?* Auto asked.

  The group voiced their general agreement, and got into formation for yet another boss fight. Auto, once again in his Unibear form, gave the chest an affirmative. Garath felt a rumble beneath his feet, growing in intensity with each passing second. Everyone bent their knees slightly and raised their arms to keep their balance, each looking like someone on a skateboard for the first time. The earthquake went on for a full minute before it subsided. That was when the Spirit Guardian of the Thunderbird made itself known.

  To the east, just off the shore of the white sandy beach, an orca larger than nature would possibly allow came forth from the water, beaching the front half of its body. Auto quickly positioned himself between the huge black and white monstrosity and the rest of his Party, glancing back over his shoulder to make sure everyone was ready before engaging.

  *Ready?* the Chimerist asked.

  The group’s tank was asking Garath for the go ahead, the Necrologist knew that. The butterflies in his stomach and the excitement of a coming fight swirled within him as he readied himself, tightening his grip around the bone staff in his hands, but then a thought occurred to him. A thought so obvious he didn’t know how he hadn’t considered it before. There was no way for him to be certain that he wouldn’t die a horrible death if he acted on it, but it just made sense. There had been hints throughout the Dungeon, and his mind connected the dots at that moment.

  “Wait!” he called. “Everyone back up.”

  Confused, the group of adventurers stopped what they were doing to look at their Raid Group leader. Auto took a few steps backward, keeping his eyes locked on the massive orca. What Garath did next, none of them could explain.

  The Necrologist unequipped his staff and walked calmly toward the water, where the boss was waiting on the shore. Auto called to him on the Raid communication channel, asking what the hell he was doing, but Garath wasn’t listening.

  When he made it to within ten feet of the giant orca without being attacked, everyone was astonished. Made even more so when the Necrologist kept walking, stopping only when he was nearly close enough to the boss monster that he could reach out and touch it. There, Garath sat cross-legged in front of it.

  Garath felt the creature’s sense of anxiety at his approach. A sensation that increased in potency with each forward step he’d taken. It was not angry, he noticed. Not some brainless creature waiting to attack when something got close enough to get its attention. One look into the big orca’s eyes told Garath that the creature was scared. It relaxed slightly when he sat down, making himself appear to be less of a threat. Less hostile.

  For a few seconds, the Necrologist and the boss monster just looked at each other, and then a new form shimmered into existence next to Garath.

  A human form, wearing a long, feathered headdress. Apart from that, the man wore only a loincloth, fashioned from the skin of an animal. The man placed one hand on Garath’s shoulder and, together, they vanished.

  ***

  Baffled, the group just stood in silence as the giant orca wiggled its way backward off the beach and back into the ocean. Several seconds passed, a few mouths hanging open as the boss monster swam away, but not a word was spoken.

  "Sooo," Daisy said, finally breaking the silence. "Does that mean that we won, or that we didn't?"

  "I don't know," Athios told her quietly.

  *What about G?* Auto asked. *Is he going to be okay?*

  "Okay has variable definitions, but Garath is in good health. I believe that man was the physical manifestation of the Dungeon itself," Alice said.

  "You can still see his Healthbar if you have the Raid display up," Maimon said. "Wherever he is, he seems to be fine."

  "What do we do now, then?" Daisy asked.

  As if in response to her question, a white mist appeared and rose slowly from the sand until it encompassed them entirely. Moments later, they found themselves once again inside the hollow base of the Dungeon. The dryad shopping mall they had left the day before.

  Chapter Thirty-Three – I’d Like to See What Happens Next

  Only a second or two had passed since Garath sat in the sand, staring into the face of an enormous orca that may or may not kill him, but now he was somewhere else entirely. He was seated cross-legged on a plush cushion inside of a crudely built log structure. In front of him there was a fire glowing softly, its flames lighting the tent around him, the pops and crackles filling the silence. On the other side of the fire, Garath saw the face of a Native American man. He’d seen it before. At least, he was pretty sure he had. He gave the man a long once over before speaking.

  The man sitting across the fire from Garath was older, perhaps in his sixties. He wore a long feathered headdress, Chief’s attire. His face was that of a kind man, the face of a friend. A kind man that had spent many nights sitting before an open fire, his dark skin was as tough as leather. His eyes seemed to look through Garath instead of at him, making the Necrologist feel exposed. Naked. Then he realized why the face looked so familiar.

  "Chief Seattle?" Garath asked, wondering now if the entire Dungeon experience had just been part of whatever epic dream he was obviously having.

  "Si'ahl," the man corrected gently. He poked at the fire with a stick, then looked up to meet Garath's glowing eyes. "Yes, and also no. I am The Tower. I have taken the form of this man in order to speak with you directly. In doing so, I had to incorporate his soul into my own. I have the memories and insights of Chief Si'ahl, but I am not Chief Si'ahl."

  Garath's eyebrows drew together in confusion. "Why?"

  "Of all men that have ever lived in what is now Thish'rak territory, this one was the most like myself," the Chief explained. Garath opened his mouth to speak, but stopped when the Chief raised one hand for silence. "I know you, Garath. More than any has before me. I have seen inside of you and have felt your intentions. I know you have questions; seeking answers is a part of who you are. Before you ask, I have many things to tell you and my time is limited. There is a cost for me to assume a form such as this, and my resources are needed elsewhere. You will gain a deeper understanding of exactly what that means soon enough. When you leave this place, the Entity will provide you with many of the answers you seek in the written word within your mind’s eye.”

  Garath listened silently, actively working to quiet the part of him that wanted to interrupt the man with a cascade of questions. There was so much that didn’t make sense, so much he needed to understand. He fidgeted in his seat, and listened.

  “I thank you for your patience,” said the Chief. “I know this will be difficult for you, so I will say what I need to say.”

  Garath nodded his acknowledgement and waited for the Chief to continue.

  “When I release you from this meeting, all that I have and all of the power that I contain will become yours. I have accepted you as the leader of Thish’rak Territory, what you know as the western half of North America. You were chosen because I believe that you are a man that shares my passion for this planet, bu
t also because of the prowess you have shown in battle. The Entity brings with it an incredible power to give life but, in balance with all things, also brings a devastating violence. You have been warned of a coming threat, and given a time in which to prepare. You may believe that, by taking control of my powers and abilities, your preparations are complete. Nothing could be further from the truth. In fact, your preparations must begin in earnest when I release you back into your world.

  “Many new races will be joining the struggle for power on Earth soon. Some friendly, others less. Thish’rak, unfortunately, will undoubtedly be a target of the Sandrani due to its coastal location. The Ice Drake, Aldrasyl, has made mention of that savage race. In preparing for their inevitable attack, I urge you to speak again with Aldrasyl. As a Dragon that shared a planet with the Sandrani, he will be a resource to you.” At seeing Garath’s confused expression, Chief Si’ahl nodded knowingly. “I have seen your mind and lived your memories,” he explained. “Your friendship, or perhaps connection is a more fitting term, with Aldrasyl is more fortuitous than you know. Make use of his knowledge in your preparation. My time is nearly up but, before I depart, I have one final word of advice. All things equal, the general that makes the most preparations for battle will be victorious. Things will not be equal when the Sandrani attack, Garath. You will be outnumbered, and the Sandrani are strong. To achieve victory, you will need to outwit them. You will need to prepare contingencies on contingencies, traps on traps.” The Chief stopped speaking abruptly. His form faded. His wise face turned apologetic. “My time is up.”