Embers: A LitRPG Adventure (A Dragon Idol's Reincarnation Tale Book 2), page 1
EMBERS
©2024 ABYSSRAVEN
This book is protected under the copyright laws of the United States of America. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, without the prior permission in writing of the publisher, nor be otherwise circulated in any form of binding or cover other than that in which it is published and without a similar condition including this condition being imposed on the subsequent purchaser. Any reproduction or unauthorized use of the material or artwork contained herein is prohibited without the express written permission of the authors.
Aethon Books supports the right to free expression and the value of copyright. The purpose of copyright is to encourage writers and artists to produce the creative works that enrich our culture.
The scanning, uploading, and distribution of this book without permission is a theft of the author’s intellectual property. If you would like to use material from the book (other than for review purposes), please contact editor@aethonbooks.com. Thank you for your support of the author’s rights.
Aethon Books
www.aethonbooks.com
Print and eBook design and formatting by Josh Hayes.
Published by Aethon Books LLC.
Aethon Books is not responsible for websites (or their content) that are not owned by the publisher.
This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead is coincidental.
All rights reserved.
ALSO IN SERIES
Awakening
Embers
Stardom
Check out the entire series here! (Tap or scan)
CONTENTS
Prologue
1. Of Magic and Mana
2. I Have Officially Become a Party Leader
3. Blast Off to the North
4. Who Knew the Dragon Had a Phobia?
5. Can I Sweat Poison?
6. Side Story: The Gathering of the Misfits
7. Side Story: A Warning
8. A Spar Among Friends
9. Cadejo and Fairy vs. Spark Inferno Dragon
10. Tidal Waves of Bodies
11. Why Can’t I Remember My Dream?
12. Monster Kitty Adoption!
13. Side Story: The Church’s Magic is Amazing!
14. Side Story: This Party has No Future …
15. This Must be Revenge!
16. Marshland Encounter
17. Intimidate me, Dragon Intimidates You
18. White Mage Hestia is in the House!
19. Emotional Bliss and Embarrassment
20. The Lizardmen’s Backstory
21. Rescue Mission Start!
22. The Thrill of the Chase!
23. Reptilian Showdown!
24. Heilige … What the HELL is That Thing?
25. A Goodbye to Dear Friends and a Message from Above.
26. Side Story: Laveata Town
27. Side Story: Realizing and Making up for My Mistakes.
28. Preparations for the March
29. The Importance of “Followers.”
30. The Rhythm of the Wandering Scale-kin
31. Cold Dominance
32. Thundering Roars!
33. The Leviathan
34. Big Kaboom Hunters!
35. A Raging Flame Growing Inside the Cave
36. My Friends, My Family
Thank you for reading Embers
Groups
LitRPG
PROLOGUE
The sky … Oh so how much I missed you. ♫
As I lay on this cold ground ♫
Broken down by fate and trials ♫
Wishing nothing more to soar. ♫
… Man, I really can be melodramatic!
“Yikes! Ouch!” I groaned as I pushed my body up from the ground, feeling the pain of my full belly.
“Hestia?”
Yup, that was me. “Hestia Atsuko,” dragon idol extraordinaire and glutton who ate too much stew to the point my belly was so embarrassingly large I fell onto the ground and began staring at the sky melodramatically. Well, honestly, considering how my life went for the first few months, I had the right to be.
I let out a sigh before I waved my hand dismissively. I then looked up, addressing the person who called out for me.
“Yo, Saori, how was the shower?” I replied as I stared at the tall black-haired woman as she combed her wet hair.
“Good enough, yeah. Ahh, a nice cold shower before training. I am feeling pumped!” Her excitement was impossible to hide as her wolf ears perked up while her tail began wagging.
Yup, wolf ears, and no, she wasn’t a cosplayer. In fact, this wolf woman or “wolfkin,” as the locals of this world called her current appearance, was in fact a giant blood-eyed monster wolf called a cadejo. It might sound weird, but that was just how this world worked and how the both of us were born.
Yeah, born as, or to be more precise, we were reincarnated into this world called Peolynca. “Saori Segawa” was her full name, and she was a Japanese woman who died on Earth and was reborn into this new world as the cub of a giant wolf—a garm. Funnily enough, I was a bitter enemy to her parents and siblings, but somehow the both of us ended up traveling together … It was just a shame it had to begin with me killing them to protect my own life …
As strange as it sounded, the memories of them weren’t pleasant but … I kinda wished I could have done something to prevent them becoming my enemies. But, that was how this place I was born in worked. The Belzac Forest, a humongous Amazon forest-like place where giant chameleons, bears with rock-hard skin, and wolves able to cast magic existed and who fought against me for survival.
And what a fight it was, as I was an abandoned little dragon baby with the soul and mind of a 15-year-old girl from New York. I was reincarnated into this fantasy world without my parents. My only real companion for the first few months of my existence was a game-like system I called System voice.
Its correct name was the “Divine System,” for it was a creation made by the Origin Gods of this world to regulate the mana and power of this world. Yup, gods were a confirmed existence in this world and the concept of “mana” and “skills” from video game was all gamified into this world in the Divine System.
In fact, I could prove it with a single command.
Profile.
Name: Hestia Atsuko
Level: 74
Race: Spark Fire Dragonewt
Age: 12 Years
Job: None
Health: 2634/2634
Mana: 9021/9051
Stamina: 1352/1352
Effects:[Damaged Mana Path [Left Wing] (Minor)] [Humanize (Moderate)]
A blue screen appeared inside my brain and eyes, which only I could see. Just like a game, the moment that health reached zero, I would be dead-dead. Game over. Should be easy enough to avoid, right? It wasn’t like I nearly died three times already.
All good, for I was a dragon with a mana pool which far surpassed my two companions! Buuuuut, I was currently nerfing myself with [Humanize], as I wasn’t in my dragon form. I was currently a dragonewt—a “beastman” with the features and attributes of a dragon but also a human. In fact, due to [Humanize], it wasn’t even showing my correct age. I wasn’t born twelve years ago in this world, but I was actually a six-month-old little dragon hatchling!
I probably would have stayed as my hatchling form if my dragon parents were around, but since I’ve been fighting monsters all this time to level up, I also had multiple chances to evolve into a superior form. I started out at the lowest rank—F—but I was not a rank C [Young Spark Inferno Dragon]. Not at the very top yet, but still stronger than most of the threats in this place. This strength was the reason why I was confident enough to stay in my weaker humanoid form for simple R&R—rest and recreation.
Looking down at my body, I had pink skin on certain parts, while others were covered in scales. I had a set of wings—with one broken due to my fight with Saori’s garm mother—a tail with serrated scales, sickle-like claws, two horns crowning my head, and a set of fangs. All in all, I looked pretty scary, but I was still cute! I wasn’t sure if this face of mine was actually mine, but I liked it.
… Oh, I nearly forgot I had amnesia, huh? Right, after I was reincarnated, my memory of my past life was sorta foggy. I knew for a fact I came from Earth and that I was a half-Japanese, half-German in my past life, born in a musical family with a strict conductor Papa and a caring violinist for my Mama … The issue was I couldn’t remember their names or faces.
Depressing, honestly, and it really got to me for an entire month … The loneliness of wandering around this deadly forest with everything being your enemy nearly caused me to go insane. Until I met Saori.
It would be embarrassing for me to say it outright to her, but having her to speak, play, and travel with was what helped protect my mind from fully breaking. That history teacher even was the one to give me my new name after I forgot my past one. She was like a lighthouse when the darkness started to really engulf me in fear and insanity…
‘How ironic that you’re a holy mage and flame dragon, while she’s a dark mage, right?’ I heard my own voice chuckling in my head, causing me t
‘Right! Also, what do you mean your ‘sole companions?’ Huh? We were there with you!’ And that was #3.
‘Girls, can we please not tease the Original Mind? She’ll infect us with her melodrama, ahahah!’ … That was my first parallel mind, Manager Mind.
Okay, maybe I was overexaggerating the alone part since I somehow got the skill [Parallel Thoughts] during my travels and developed multiple different “mes” to help me form ideas and cast spells. However, just ‘cause I could speak with them didn’t make my statement any less true! Speaking with them made me think I had split personality disorder, jeez!
… But, admittedly, they did help.
… Really feel like singing right now. Why not?
“As I walk on the ground now ♫
Striding through lands of lush greens♫
How can I forget? ♫
I used to see it, from up there. ♫
Feel the wind stream around me♫
Like a butterfly riding on high winds ♫
But now I’m down here♫
Looking up, longing for my fleeting past. ♫”
I snapped my fingers, causing a small spark to ignite before I began releasing my mana, controlling the wind around me with [Aerokinesis] to emulate the sound of instruments. Percussion, string, brass, and woodwind, I could play them all.
Although I couldn’t only play the violin and piano at a decent enough level, listening to music my entire life made it easy for me to remember their tunes. Living in a household where your father and mother were musicians made it even easier for me since I could string notes together into a song.
Funnily enough, while I learned from them, I still chose my own music career. I was a singer. I loved it. Bringing words to life through my voice, whether heartful or for fun, was my passion.
“Why was it like, wow wow wow wow wow? ♫
Stranded down here, all my hopes are crushed. ♫
However, wow wow wow wow wow ♫
Must I really accept this unfair world, or not? ♫
Don’t let your light flicker and dim. ♫
Put up a smile and never give in. ♫
Hope will not die this soon. ♫
Remember that this is the life that you have chosen! ♫
My broken wings set yourself free. ♫
Rise from the ground, oh, so I plea. ♫
So, our dreams can become true. ♫
To reach the stars! ♫”
… Yeah, that is much better! Lyrics altered and mistakes corrected; ‘Broken Wings’ flows much better now.
And this singing was what made me who I was. One of the few memories I kept when I came into this world. However, I didn’t just want to be an ordinary singer, I wanted to become an idol. Like the K-Pop idols in South Korea, or the J-Pop idols in Japan. I wanted to sing and dance on my stage, bringing smiles to people with everything I got as an entertainer.
I wanted to smile back at my cheering audience, showing a beaming grin that even the darkness couldn’t break down! … How sad that this dream of mine never really worked out in my past life. Rejections upon rejections from scouts to the point I had to swear an oath to myself to never cry again until I broke through as an idol. I never made it big … but that was why I wanted to continue this dream in this new world.
To become an idol, to become a dragon idol!
But first … to do that, we had to escape from this annoying forest where all I did was kill. Until then, I had to continue training and training, not only as an entertainer, but also as a combatant and mage.
[“I’m ready!”] A voice entered my head, calling out for me.
I turned around as I saw one of the denizens of this world flying over to me, the one who spoke to me. She was small, as in, tiny enough to fit in my hands and sit on my shoulder. She had long blue hair tied together into two pigtail braids while wearing a dazzling and colorful dress. Her wings looked like a butterfly’s and she even flew around like one, despite having a humanoid body just like a human, only with sharp ears like an elf.
Her name was Tasianna Marina Silverpond and she was a companion Saori and I had just met and allowed to join our party. Unlike us, she was a born and bred Peolyncian with no signs of being an otherworlder. We just met her, actually. Just, it wasn’t in a friendly setting, as a couple of trolls were trying to use her as an energy source for a so called “mana battery.”
For she was a fairy, a being made from mana. Calling out for help, Saori and I came to her rescue and we managed to bring the trolls down, leading to Saori being able to evolve into a rank C [Young Shadowstalker Cadejo]. Also, uhh, when Tasianna asked to join our party, she also, somehow, became my … maid and retainer.
[“Princess Hestia, let us begin your magic training,”] Tasianna addressed me, using the skill [Telepathy] to speak with Saori and me, since we haven’t learned her language yet.
… Well, I still hadn’t gotten used to it at this point, really. I was a princess, a dragon, and also somebody two gods brought into this world. Yup, it couldn’t get any more bloated. I had no confirmation, but seeing [The Light] and [Bearer of Kargryxmor’s Blood] in the Title section of my Profile ever since I was reborn kinda did. In fact, Saori and Tasianna gained the title [Hestia’s Retainer] when they joined my party … Urgh, the cringe.
B-but that honestly wasn’t important here! It was a footnote, not even worth mentioning really!
‘Cause the title of dragon princess really didn’t matter too much for me due to my parents abandoning me in this damn forest all alone! Those idiots really couldn’t give two shits about me, not even watching over me to make sure I lived a proper life! Three times! I nearly died three times, so where the hell were they?
… Calm down, Hestia. They aren’t worth it.
Honestly, it didn’t matter. I only had two parents and they were my human parents. Besides, I had something more important to do right now, and to me, promises were sacred. I couldn’t and wouldn’t break those I made.
I died. I left my parents too early somehow, not to mention how my years of failure to become an idol caused them grief and pain. I had to make up for it, even if I have to make my dream come true in this new world of Peolynca.
Watch me, Papa. Mama! Your girl will shine in this world this time!
ONE
OF MAGIC AND MANA
“To me, gather my embers, to me
From shadows to embers
From embers to flame
From flame to inferno
Cast away the darkness, burn brightly, oh, dear flames
Arise inferno hellfire, engulf the world in a sea of flames
For that is my Decree!
Imperial Hellfire!”
…
Nothing. Not even a spark appeared when I finished my incantation. The magic circle that always appeared when I would cast a spell just vanished into thin air. The mana I invested into it? Wasted.
It was a bit of a hit to my pride as a mage, but I just had to bear with it. This was expected for somebody without formal magic education. I had to look at it as an adult and take it as a stepping stone toward my magical greatness! I had to stand tall and continue!
[“Taaaaassiaaannaaaaa. It didn’t work, again!”] However, instead of doing that, I began whining from my broken pride. I had to call my newest companion, Tasianna, for help.
[“Princess Hestia, you constructed the magic circle wrong again.”] From the cover of a giant boulder, the little fairy, Tasianna, came flying to me, evaluating my execution. [“I can’t understand the words you spoke, but there seems to be no problem with “Incantation.” Your “Activation” requires more practice, though.”]
[“I guess?”] Resting one hand on my hip, my whole body slouched in exasperation. [“Doing all of this without the help of the System is really hard.”]
Nodding to my complaints, Tasianna added, [“It was also hard for me when I started, but this is how you start learning magic.”]
Mana—the mysterious energy filling every nook and cranny of this world was a source of power for most beings in this world. Mana could be morphed into general muscular strength to increase your strike force or speed up your movement. Not to mention, just like video games, mana could be turned into spells, conjuring powerful elemental spectacles those on Earth would just believe were special effects or natural disasters.
