Path of Dragons

Book 2: Chapter 11: Exploration

The crystalline leaf glittered in the faint light of Elijah’s treehouse, but he was no longer fascinated by the thing’s structure. It was just an information delivery device, little different from a book, and as such, he was far more interested in the knowledge it contained. Figuring out how to use the leaves had taken Elijah a few hours, and it was only when Nerthus stepped in to explain it that he’d managed to unlock the information stored within.

Looking back, Elijah should have figured it out on his own. The idea – to simply inject a bit of Ethera into the item, much as he would with one of his spells – wasn’t complicated. However, after returning from Ironshore, he was emotionally exhausted, and he’d let that affect his thought processes. Once Nerthus had stepped in, though, his mood improved, and he set about learning everything he could.

Like everything else in the new world, the leaves were tied to the system, and as such, they sent information directly into his mind, opening windows not unlike his notifications, that he could read at his own pace.

“I might have overdone it with the guides,” he muttered to himself, tossing the glittering leaf onto his bed and lying back. So far, he’d only made it through a single one, and even then, he hadn’t absorbed half the information he probably should have. Despite his experience with academia, Elijah had never enjoyed studying. He could do it, as evidenced by the degrees he’d earned, but it was always an exercise in frustration.

The first leaf he’d chosen to read was, predictably, the one dedicated to giving an overview of progression, and at the most basic level, he understood it well enough. Still, he looked at the page still hovering in his mind:

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As he’d read the information on each individual tier, Elijah had learned that Mortals made up the vast majority of the population. However, there was a huge difference between a level one and someone who’d reached the peak of said tier.

After a person progressed to Ascendent, they would be given the opportunity to choose a specialization. More importantly, the progression through the associated levels would come with an even sharper increase in attributes and the power of skills, spells, and abilities.

The same could be said for reaching Demigod status, though that was when a person’s class would go through its first evolution. Then, it would once again evolve upon progressing to the Deity tier. The information about becoming a Transcendent was a little spotty, largely because few people ever reached those heights. And the ones who did weren’t contributing to guides. If they were, Elijah didn’t have access to that information, and even if he did, a fraction of the associated cost would be enough to bankrupt him many times over.

In any case, he didn’t think he’d have to worry about that kind of thing anytime soon. Progressing through the Mortal Realm was supposed to take decades, but a single line had given Elijah hope that his ascent would be a little quicker:

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Basically, he interpreted that as meaning that he would have more foes to fight, and thus, more experience – or kill energy – to absorb. So far, that had proven to be the case, and he expected that when he set off to explore, it would be even more dramatic.

The Ascendent Realm was known to take much longer to cross than the Mortal Realm, and even the talented often stumbled along the way. That wasn’t surprising to Elijah. In a journey that would take multiple decades, people would inevitably lose motivation or exhaust their own talent. Even more would be distracted by more mundane concerns. Even the increase in longevity that came with reaching the Ascendent Realm wasn’t enough to combat the many obstacles in the way of reaching Demigod status.

The same could be said for the path to becoming a Deity, though it was even more arduous and, outside of a few rare exceptions, always took centuries.

As he’d already noted, information on reaching the Transcendent Realm was thin on the ground, though the guide did note that, with everything after Ascendent, it wasn’t enough to simply reach the appropriate level. There was some kind of trial required as well, and with each Realm of power, those trials grew more difficult.

Basically, everything he’d learned told Elijah that if he wanted to reach the peak, it was going to be the product of centuries. So, while it was interesting to contemplate, he knew he’d be better off focusing on the immediate future.

To that end, he’d continued his study, discovering the item grades, enchantment tiers, and, more importantly, information regarding cultivation. According to the guide, there were nine levels of each facet of cultivation. For Mind, Soul, and Body, the levels were standardized, but with the Core, it was individualized. There were many types of Core cultivation – some common and others far rarer – but nothing he’d read indicated that anyone else had anything like his Dragon Core.

Nerthus had indicated as much, but he’d still half expected to see it listed among the examples in the guide. When it wasn’t, it started to dawn on Elijah just how much of an advantage Sara’s mother had bestowed upon him.

In the end, he spent almost three days perusing the various guides, and he’d come away much less ignorant than he’d been before going to Ironshore. And yet, he knew there was a nearly infinite amount of knowledge still out there. Some subjects, the guides had barely brushed on – like the Voxx or the various races that comprised the universe’s population – but Elijah felt certain that there was a lot more that wasn’t even mentioned.

In short, he couldn’t learn everything in a day or two of intense study. Not surprising, really. Even on Earth, which was just a single planet, it was impossible to learn everything about everything. So, a universe made of hundreds – if not thousands – of inhabited planets was that much more complex.

Still, it was nice to have some of the most basic information at his disposal.

However, he’d reached the end of his patience. Before his visit to Ironshore, Elijah had made plans to explore the surrounding area and, hopefully, eventually reunite with his family. Those intentions hadn’t changed. So, it was with some anticipation that he levered himself out of bed, gathered the scattered leaves, and replaced them in a basket he’d woven. Then, he shoved that into his pack.

After that, he set about preparing provisions for a short journey. First, he went to the kitchen where he gathered some fish filets he’d smoked, a bunch of berries from his garden, and an earthen jug full of water. The last was a new addition and the result of his latest project; it probably would have been easier to simply go back to Ironshore and buy the equivalent, but he’d chosen not to, as much so that he wouldn’t grow dependent on the small city as because he took pleasure in his own self-sufficiency.

In the end, it was a satisfying project, even if the results weren’t as successful as some of his previous efforts. The jug, which was made from clay he’d harvested from near his stream, could hold liquid just fine, but due to a mishap with the baking process, it was a little misshapen. That didn’t affect the usefulness, but the aesthetics left a lot to be desired.

As he loaded the jug into the pack, Elijah was once again impressed by the pack’s vast carrying capacity. It was at least twice the size its exterior suggested, which meant that he could carry plenty of supplies. And he did, packing it full of everything he thought he might need. Then, Elijah donned one of the outfits he’d bought in Ironshore. The style of the clothing was uncomplicated and workmanlike, featuring a shirt that laced down to mid-chest and a pair of pants that didn’t quite reach his ankles. Unsurprisingly, considering the complexity of the common zipper, the fastenings were limited to laces and buttons. The fabric was soft enough to be comfortable, but tough enough that Elijah suspected the clothing would resist normal wear and tear. On top of that, the Tailor had specified that each piece was Simple grade, which he’d since learned was the lowest level of magical equipment. Typically, the limited level of magic in those items only meant that it was more resistant to damage than it otherwise would be, but that was fine by Elijah. It wasn’t as if he was going to run around in armor, after all.

Once he was dressed and everything had been packed away, Elijah took one last look around the treehouse as he tried to remember anything he might’ve forgotten. That effort didn’t result in any epiphanies, so, after calling out to Nerthus – and getting no response – he decided to stop delaying his departure. With that in mind, he climbed down the steps and took a look at the ancestral tree. Its color had continued to change over the previous weeks, and its bark had turned almost completely white. In addition, the leaves had taken on a blue color, giving Elijah the impression that the Shard of the World Tree was still being absorbed. He spared a moment to wonder what would happen when it finished, but he had no real context to make predictions. He just knew that Nerthus had implied that it would be a fundamental transformation, which was exciting enough that Elijah was impatient to see results.

In any case, he didn’t remain long before he set off across the island with the eventual destination of the beach where he’d stashed his collection of rowboats. The trip only took a few minutes, and before he knew it, he was standing on the beach next to his rowboat. The sun had already risen high in the sky, which meant that he’d reach the other shore by mid-afternoon at the latest. So, not wanting to put it off, he pushed the little boat out into the surf, hopped in, and started to row.

The crossing went quickly, aided by Elijah’s inflated attributes, and he soon found himself pulling the rowboat onto shore. He’d considered taking it into Ironshore and leaving it there for safekeeping. However, he’d decided not to because he didn’t really want them to know he wasn’t on the island. Sure, leaving it untended on the shore meant that it probably wouldn’t be there when he returned – unless he did so within a couple of days – but that wasn’t a huge deal. He had a multitude of other boats on the island, and he could always use Ancestral Circle to return. And if push came to shove, he had no issue with swimming the distance, even if he didn’t relish the notion.

In any case, it was better to be safe than sorry. He wanted to trust Ramik and the others, but he’d have to have been a fool to extend that trust so early in their relationship.

Once Elijah had pulled the rowboat ashore and stashed it past the tree line, he took a deep breath, then used Shape of the Predator. In a lot of ways, he was just as comfortable in his scaled panther form as he was as a human – and that was the problem. It was so easy to lose himself in the shape’s wild instincts. After nearly doing so in the Primordial Forest, he’d made a concerted effort to assert his humanity, but the animalistic mindset always hovered just out of sight, ready to pounce like the predator to which it belonged.

However, as wary as he was of using the form too much, Elijah couldn’t deny that it was unmatched for wilderness traversal. Even without Guise of the Unseen, he was difficult to track, and with that ability enhancing his stealth, he was all but impossible to perceive.

Fortunately, his new clothing as well as his pack and staff transformed with him, which meant he could move light and fast as he embarked upon the initial stages of exploration. Hopefully, he would find something interesting and, perhaps, a few hints as to where to find his family. With that in mind, he set off, keeping his senses trained on the environment as he began.