nrsearcy

Path of Dragons 6 - Chapter 42 - The Difference Between First and Second

Elijah stood on the beach, staring out into the surf and feeling a wave of nostalgia for home.  Not because it looked all that similar.  Indeed, it looked more like what he’d seen in various equatorial climates, specifically in South America.  The trees lining the coast weren’t mangroves, but they looked close enough that Elijah thought the comparison apt.  The odor – like a pervasive scent of rotting eggs – was similar as well.  Still, even though it wasn’t...

Chapter 571 - An Old Friend

“What do we know about this army?” Tucker asked, reclining on the bed within the Mercury’s stateroom as he watched Iris getting dressed.  They’d been together for some time, but his enthusiasm for the relationship had yet to fade.  Not only was she physically attractive, but she was also incredibly intelligent, resourceful, and uniquely interesting.  The only time he’d ever felt anything even close to as powerful was with his wife back on Earth.  They’d been ma...

Path of Dragons 6 - Chapter 41 - The Spire

It took three days for him to recover.

But in the wake of the challenge of Ignis, Elijah felt better than ever before.  For one, he had a brand-new spell – or five of them, if he wanted to get technical – and for another, he’d taken one more step toward reaching his class evolution.  On top of that, everyone in his group had progressed significantly as well.  So, as he soared through the air in his Shape of the Sky, he had reason to feel optimistic about his situati...

Path of Dragons 6 - Chapter 40 - Harried and Harrassed

The arrow whistled past as it narrowly missed Miguel’s head, but the next projectile had much better aim.  It slammed into the segmented plate of his helmet, skipping off the lacquered wood before spinning off into the underbrush.  Meanwhile, Trevor leaped to avoid a Voxx that tried to disembowel him.  The stag’s hooves came down hard, digging into the monster’s thick scales. 

But Trevor knew better than to linger.  There were six pursuers and five more Vo...

Chapter 570 - Poison

Zeke stepped out of the latest dungeon, his shoulders sagging in mingled relief and exhaustion.  Adara followed behind, though she was in much worse shape.  Her complexion had turned even greener than normal, and she staggered with every step.  That was Zeke’s first hint that she wasn’t okay.  The second was when she bent over and vomited in the ankle deep water of the bog surrounding the dungeon’s entrance.

In only a second, he was by her side.  He laid h...

Path of Dragons 6 - Chapter 39 - Spell evolution

It should have been an expected turn of events, but Elijah was still a little surprised when he saw that an evolution was available for one of his spells.  From the guides he’d read – as well as conversations with those few people he’d met who were willing to discuss their spells and skills – he knew that his class and archetype combination was blessed with a glut of abilities.  It made sense, after a fashion.  After all, he had four distinct forms, three of which – h...

Path of Dragons 6 - Chapter 38 - Eruption

“Just grab the reward, and let’s go!” shouted Elijah, struggling to maintain his balance.  It wasn’t just an earthquake.  Nor was it simply a volcanic eruption, though in one facet of his Mind, Elijah wondered how he could be so dismissive of one of the most destructive forces in existence.  However, he felt confident that, with his Dexterity making him more coordinated than anyone in pre-World Tree human existence, he should have had no trouble keeping his feet.  ...

Path of Dragons 6 - Chapter 37 - Righteous

Agony coursed through Elijah’s veins as the monster wrapped its unnaturally long arms around him.  He flexed his every muscle, pushing against it with every ounce of Strength he possessed, but it was no good.  The ashassin’s grip was like iron, and Elijah simply wasn’t powerful enough to escape.

So, he did the next best thing.  His head darted out, and he clamped his jaws around the monster’s slim neck.  Then, once he had a mouthful of ash, he ripped free.&nb...

Path of Dragons 6 - Chapter 36 - Summoner's Pact

Elijah ignored the ta’alaki summoner’s monologue, instead preferring to focus on the task at hand.  He crept forward under the concealment of Guise of the Unseen, covering the ground as quickly as possible.  Meanwhile, Sadie leveled a scathing insult at the summoner that sent him into a rage.  He leaped at her, sword held high, but when the blade fell, her personal shield remained intact.  More importantly, she countered with a horizontal slash that gouged his armor.&n...

Path of Dragons 6 - Chapter 35 - The Power of Friendship

“I repeat – what the fuck was that?” Ron muttered.

“Did you just ask if it wanted to be friends?” added Kurik.

“Bro.”

“What?” asked Elijah.  “It’s kind of cute, right? Like a pug, but instead of a tiny lapdog, it’s a giant tentacle beast.”

Kurik cut in, “Monster.  The word you’re lookin’ for is monster.”

“It’s not a monster,” Elijah argued.  “If anything, I think it’s closer to a guardian, and one that’...

Path of Dragons 6 - Chapter 34 - Staying Focused

Every bridge in the cavern shook as if under the influence of an earthquake as hundreds of enormous giants waged war against one another.  Magma flew in every direction as the sound of uncountable heavy blows mingled with inarticulate screams of agony and anger.  Beasts with wings of fire – Dat called them magma-forged gargoyles – populated the sky, spitting huge balls of destructive fire onto the combatants while their char goblin riders threw spears of obsidian at their enemie...

Chapter 569 - Obsession

Talia stalked through the forest, moving slowly.  For her, at least.  For anyone else, it would have been a dead sprint.  With her incredible agility and dexterity, she was capable of cover hundreds of miles per hour, but she wasn’t interested in traveling the largest distance in the shortest amount of time possible.  Instead, she was searching for a clue as to the whereabouts of Abraham Micayne, the necromancer responsible for her rebirth as a revenant. 

By a...

Path of Dragons 6 - Chapter 33 - Decisions

Despite the certainty he’d displayed with his companions, Elijah was anything but confident that his plan would work.  For one, it required him to act in an uncharacteristic manner.  Most of the time, he preferred to scout things out and choose the time and location of any battle.  However, because of the enemy’s nature, that just wasn’t possible in his current situation.  So, instead of approaching in the Shape of Venom, protected from detection beneath Guise of the...

Path of Dragons 6 - Chapter 32 - Diplomacy

Elijah was not entirely convinced that his companions were wrong.  Indeed, every ounce of reason within him screamed that he should turn around and flee towards his companions.  Certainly, they’d yet to find an alternative route to conquering the challenge, but they’d not explored the entire chamber.  They hadn’t even searched the whole fortress above.  So, it stood to reason that they’d probably missed something important. 

Yet, deep in the core of who ...

Chapter 568 - Slow and Methodical

Zeke felt himself progress closer to level ninety-nine, but as he stepped out of the dungeon, he knew he was still a long way from reaching that mark.

“Don’t be upset.  For most people, it takes years to make any appreciable gains at that level,” Eveline pointed out.  “Decades in some cases.  Your leveling speed is absolutely ridiculous.”

He knew she was right, but still, Zeke couldn’t help but feel a little impatient for meaningful progression. Part of ...

Path of Dragons 6 - Chapter 31 - Fire Giants

Despite being more than a mile from the nearest giant, Elijah found himself instinctively crouching in place as he tried to make himself smaller and less noticeable.  He would have been embarrassed, but the fact was that the creatures down below warranted such an act.  Each one was more than thirty-five feet tall and at least half as wide, with blackened skin similar to what Elijah had seen with the char goblins.  Just like the goblins, the giants had mostly humanoid features �...

Path of Dragons 6 - Chapter 30 - Emberstone Keep

Elijah burst through the gate, eliciting an ear-splitting screech as the pivot points were ripped free.  The gate itself flew inward, crashing to the ground with a heavy clatter that echoed through the corridor beyond.  A second later, the shield associated with Bestial Charge winked out, and Elijah let out a deep but satisfied breath.

After resuming his human form, he turned to the others and said, “Told you I could get through it.”

“Literally no one claimed you c...

Path of Dragons 6 - Chapter 29 - More than Expected

The ground rumbled as the enormous magma golems raced away from the gate.  Hobgoblins, each one with skin that looked like the bark on a well-cooked brisket, jogged alongside the huge creatures as they responded to Sadie’s oddly put provocation.  Clearly, she was unused to hurling insults, which Elijah found simultaneously adorable and hilarious.  Regardless, he couldn’t afford to focus on her.  Instead, he had his own task demanding his attention.

So, once he sa...

Path of Dragons 6 - Chapter 28 - The Gate

Sadie was not a stealthy person. 

Indeed, given her prerogative, she would simply stride toward any obstacle and dare it to stand in her way.  But that wasn’t the way the world worked, and more often than not, she was forced to admit that she simply wasn’t strong enough to maintain that sort of attitude.  On more than one occasion since entering the Trial, she had been grossly outmatched.  The only reason she’d survived so far was because of her teammates. ...

Chapter 567 - God of the Flame

[Unleash Momentum] ripped into the enormous creature, knocking it backward.  It only moved a few feet – which was nothing, given how huge it was – but even that small reaction was enough to give Zeke hope for the coming battle.  If he’d leveled the same attack at the necrotic vessel, for instance, it wouldn’t have moved even an inch.  The hit also gave Zeke an opportunity to use [Inspect]:

Uko, the God of the Flame – Level 100

As ...

Path of Dragons 6 - Chapter 27 - Refining Tactics

Elijah perched upon one of the boulders made of black, volcanic rock.  Cloaked in Guise of the Unseen, he was entirely undetectable, which gave him a perfect view of the battle a few dozen feet below.  Sadie stood at the head of the obsidian bridge, her sword flashing with bright light as she took down one char goblin after another.  Each time she hacked into one of them – even if it was only a scratch – red magma erupted from the wound.  So, after cutting one in half ...

Path of Dragons 6 - Chapter 26 - Fire

“I feel like I’ve come home,” said Kurik, a twinkle in his blue eyes as he stared at the massive volcano in the distance.  “It’s beautiful, ain’t it?”

Even from miles away, Elijah could feel the oppressive heat emanating from within.  They’d been traveling along the coast for a few days, and he’d begun to wonder if the maps had gotten everything wrong.  Then, the terrain had begun to change, and far more quickly than should have been geographically possi...

Chapter 566 - The Nature of Destruction

For what felt like the thousandth time, Zeke brought Voromir down in a massive sledgehammer strike that splattered the hunter’s brains all across the stone floor.  Yet, only a second later, the thing flared with mana and pulled everything back into place.  Of course, the creature had ceased moving.  Repeatedly having its brain destroyed had rendered it entirely comatose.  However, it simply refused to die. 

“This is getting ridiculous,” he muttered.

...

Path of Dragons 6 - Chapter 25 - Masks

Elijah leaned back, his arms resting against the granite rim of the hot spring.  Despite the slightly sulfuric smell and the rough edge of the rocks under his arms, he couldn’t have been more at ease.  Since being transported into the Trial of Primacy, he’d had very few chances to relax.  It seemed that each day brought with it a new danger, and even though most of those situations were of his own making, he had to admit that he’d been in desperate need of a break.

...

Path of Dragons 6 - Chapter 24 - A War of Aggression

Miguel ripped his spear from the Voxx, then whipped around to see Trevor trampling one he’d already injured.  No matter his preference for swordplay, the spear was a superior weapon against the Voxx.  The extra reach it provided was invaluable, and it was much easier to use.  No wonder his mother had preferred it.

As Trevor finished the fallen Voxx, Miguel searched the area for any additional foes.  There were none there, which was a welcome change.  For the p...

Path of Dragons 6 - Chapter 23 - A Grim Reminder

Miguel bent forward as Trevor raced across the landscape.  The young stag never ran in a straight line.  Instead, he leaped over obstacles, launching himself even higher on planes of moonlight before crashing to the ground with ever more speed.  And rather than grow irritated with the deer’s antics, Miguel reveled in the thrill of speed and unpredictability that came with Trevor’s playful nature. 

Besides, as time sensitive as their mission was, they were still a...

Path of Dragons 6 - Chapter 22 - Striding Forward

A deathly aura lingered in the air, but it was nothing compared to what Elijah had felt in the tomb.  Part of that was due to the fact that they’d left the immediate area of the challenge, but mostly, it was because they had defeated the necromancer who was the challenge’s eponymous fallen champion.  Killing the thing – and the amalgam of slain zombies – had pushed Elijah closer to death than any fight that had come before, but as seemed to always be the case in his new real...

Path of Dragons 6 - Chapter 21 - In Pieces

With Ron’s sparkly robe wrapped around his waist like a towel, Elijah looked down on his dismembered legs with narrowed eyes.  “This is really weird,” he said.  He’d sometimes wondered what would happen if someone with a powerful enough spell were to mend an amputated limb, but now, it seemed that he knew the results firsthand.  His legs had grown from his torso, while the lower half he’d once called a part of his body had become nothing more than a big hunk of lifele...

Path of Dragons 6 - Chapter 20 - Pushing Through

With the rhythm of Elijah’s waning heartbeat, blood spurted from a dozen different wounds.  He pushed with all of his willpower, trying desperately to stave off the darkness creeping into his field of vision.  With his muddled mind, he could focus on nothing else.  And yet, his efforts were useless. 

When the ta’alaki reached him, he tried to fend them off, but he could scarcely lift his arms, much less stop the robed native of the excised world.  The creatu...

Chapter 565 - War Profiteering is Dangerous

“Who are they again?” asked Tucker, standing at the bow of the ship and staring at the makeshift and obviously new sky dock in the distance.  It was surrounded by an enormous camp full of tents and a few more permanent structures like the sky dock.  But Tucker was more interested in the tens of thousands of people scattered throughout the city-sized camp. 

Potential customers, all.

“Resistance fighters,” Gira answered.  Then, after a second...