Draconic Ascension - System Apocalypse Isekai LitRPG

Michael narrowed his eyes. He expected the Skill Point, but the other notifications were a surprise. How to use the Party system could be inferred from all the games he’d played throughout his life, but there were no instructions regarding how to obtain new Stats. He would need to either experiment or talk to someone who already had the information he sought. He could also choose a Skill again; ordinary people would only be able to choose one, but he didn’t have that limitation. He looked at his Title’s information.

[Title

Novice Mage: a journey of a thousand kilometers begins with a single step. Automatically awarded to all Mages who reach Level 5.

Effects: +3 Intelligence, +2 Wisdom.]

This Title’s effects were extremely minor, but they helped Michael realize how valuable his Dragon’s Descendant Title was. He could only expect that he would receive better Titles as he leveled up. Also deciding that there was no time better than now, he opened the list of Skills he could acquire without much expectation. The first Skill he saw, however, made him raise an eyebrow.

[Passive Skill

Basic Mana Heart (E): the origin of all mana is the heart. A skill only granted to those with vast mana reserves and good skills.

Increases mana recovery speed. Increases mana absorption speed. Enables the creation of Circles.]

The Skill’s description wasn’t impressive at all, but it was the first E-ranked Skill Michael had seen. The last sentence in particular caught his attention.

Circles?

He didn’t know much about this System, but in fiction, Circles were the standard of power for a Mage. A higher-level Circle resulted in greater abilities and spellcasting. Given how the System dealt with Skills, Michael hadn’t expected something like Circles to exist at all. Were they classified as Passive Skills? Or maybe it was just something completely separate from the System’s workings? The only way for his current self to know would be to try it out. Now that he had three Skill Points, one from reaching Level 5 and two from leveling up, he could select an experimental Skill, but it was better to check the others first. He held on to that thought, even though he was already suspected that he would go for the Basic Mana Heart Skill. The second Skill he saw also surprised him.

[Active Skill

Mana Boost (F): to feel one’s mana rushing through one’s body is to be powerful.

Strengthens the muscles and organs with mana. Higher proficiency and a higher amount of mana utilized result in greater effectiveness. The Wisdom Stat provides a minute bonus.]

Well, that seems useful.

He wasn’t sure if this was the kind of Skill that was available to everyone, but he was very thankful that he had it. A caster’s most distinct weaknesses were their weak bodies and low close combat ability. If the Skill helped him circumvent that inherent flaw, even if only by a bit, it would already be enough. After all, he now had much more mana than he knew how to use.

It's an F-rank Skill, so the efficiency is probably trash, though.

Considering this Skill another no-brainer buy, Michael scanned the remaining ones. There were only three others, but none seemed to be particularly attractive to him. In the end, he settled for the Mana Wave Skill, which was a Skill he had been offered at Level 1, since it was an area-of-effect Skill.

[Active Skill

Mana Wave (F): to fight against a group is to push oneself to one’s limits. Let your mana flow like a wave.

Gathers mana in the shape of a half-moon and shoots it in the direction of your choosing. Higher proficiency and a higher Intelligence Stat result in greater effects.]

While he was worried about not having any other Skill Points, based on the pattern so far, he was certain that he would level up before another opportunity to acquire Skills arose. He “bought” the Mana Heart Skill last, and as he did, he felt something within him change.

His blood suddenly heated up as if it were about to boil. All the air left his lungs, the heat dominating every corner of his body. His own heartbeat resounded in his ears louder than a thousand galloping horses. The change was abrupt and brought only suffering. He wasn’t in any condition to even ponder why this was happening. Unable to form any thoughts, he kneeled on the ground, not paying any attention to his surroundings. The smell of the blood on his skin and clothes filled his nostrils, his eyes feeling as if they were starting to melt.

In the end, as suddenly as it had arrived, the heat disappeared. Everything returned to normal as if it had been only a bad dream. Michael gasped for air, trembling; his skin was completely red, and almost invisible trails of smoke floated up. A string of System notifications appeared before his eyes and echoed in his mind.

[…]

The first of them said nothing at all. He furrowed his brow. What the hell was that supposed to mean? Thankfully, the following messages were more enlightening.

[Change identified.]

[Your Dragon blood has reacted.]

[Basic Mana Heart (E) has become Newborn’s Dragonheart (D.)]

[Mana Boost (F) has been assimilated into Newborn’s Dragonheart (D.)]

[Mana Path (F) has been assimilated into Newborn’s Dragonheart (D.)]

Michael hurriedly opened the Skill’s information. He hadn’t expected this development.

[Hybrid Skill

Newborn’s Dragonheart (D): the most precious organ for a Dragon is their Heart. Dragon blood flows through your veins, spreading throughout your body with every beat of your Dragonheart. Your vessel, mind, and soul are empowered.

Strengthens your body, mind, and soul; effects are greater when willingly activated. Significantly increases mana recovery speed.

Significantly increases mana absorption speed. Increases spellcasting abilities.

Marginally increases the effectiveness of all mana and mana-related Skills, including spells. Marginally improves casting time. Higher proficiency and a higher Wisdom stat result in greater effects.

Enables the creation of Circles.]

Damn.

The effects could only be described as amazing, especially considering the stage he was at. It was also Michael’s first time seeing a “Hybrid Skill.” The active effect seemed to take hold when he activated it, while all the others were passive effects, including one that seemed to be a passive version of Mana Boost. Overall, he was extremely pleased with this development, in spite of the suffering it had caused him. At the very least, he seemed to be successfully finding a way through all this bullshit situation.

He still had no idea why he had Dragon blood or anything even resembling answers to the questions he had, but he was certain that it would be better to be powerful than a weakling. If he got powerful enough, he might even be able to carve out a place for his friends and family in this new reality. Above everything else, he needed to be powerful enough to find his mother as soon as possible.

Reminding himself of his conviction, Michael was about to trudge on, but remembered something that should be done first.

I need to test the Mana Wave Skill.

A warrior who did not know their own weapons was much more likely to be defeated. He needed to grasp exactly how powerful his new Active Skill was. He looked to the wall next to him. His wand drew a line in the air as he softly chanted.

“Mana Wave.”

A crescent moon of mana flew at the wall, digging into the earth and stone. As it dispersed, Michael evaluated the damage and ran his fingers on the wall’s scar.

The concentrated power is less than Mana Sphere’s.

In exchange, the area-of-effect was larger. It was about what he expected, but there was one thing that surprised him. The scar was much deeper than he thought it would be, to the point where it was confusing. He slightly furrowed his brow. If before he had an idea of what he was capable of, his awakening had thrown those notions out the window. He no longer knew his limits.

I should be careful.

Nodding to himself, Michael continued on his way. He treaded the tunnel until he heard it. The very slight, subdued sound of running water. In a drastically similar fashion to the lion he had fought during the day, his ears moved. He attuned himself to the sound. He moved faster toward the end of the tunnel, silently observing his surroundings while the sound echoed through the walls.

Other openings were appearing on the walls, revealing multiple other, smaller tunnels leading up to the surface or perhaps to other caves. The many entrances to the underground were starting to converge, as he had expected them to. His own tunnel also got wider and higher, as more and more earth disappeared and gave way to stone.

Eventually, he saw an opening, around five hundred meters after the slope he was traveling on became flat ground. An exit. Michael rejoiced in his heart. He started to descend the slope as fast as he could, sharpening his senses; he couldn’t let his guard down now. The moment he achieved his objective would ordinarily be the moment he would be at his most relaxed. Animals knew this instinctively.

Something might try to attack me once I leave the tunnel.

He hadn’t detected anything and didn’t even have any sort of premonition, but it was better to be safe than sorry. Once he reached flat ground, he started running before managing to slow himself down to a gradual walk. It was difficult not to run in the direction of the light at the end of the tunnel, but he needed to remain cautious. In his mind, he gave the System a command.

Put six points into Strength and six points into Dexterity.

This was the conclusion he had come to after some thought. His Intelligence and Wisdom Stats were already high, but they wouldn’t matter if something or someone got the jump on him or were simply faster than him. He didn’t have any sort of automatic defense mechanism. There were no Skills that would be cast the moment he entered a battle, and even that would have its flaws. In the end, he needed to make sure that he could react to the enemies in his Level range. The best way to do that was to strengthen his body, at least until he got more Skills.

The scenery beyond the exit was starting to look clear. Finally, Michael reached it. He couldn’t help but let out a sigh of admiration after going through the opening.

“…Wow.”