The Tree of Ascension: A LitRPG Apocalypse (Peril's Prodigy Book 2) by Craig Kobayashi (ebook reader 7 inch TXT) 📕

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

Leave the realm of Natsilane, forgoing the rewards

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

The Raid Group each moved to the chest, placing their hands on it one by one to see their potential reward. When it was Garath’s turn, he drooled, jaw hanging loosely as he read the item’s description.

Natsilane’s Headdress

Raiment Slot: Head

Armor: +36

Magic Resistance: +10%

Durability: 275/275

Item Score: 191

Defense Rating: 360

Type: Cloth Armor

Quality: Excellent

Rarity: Legendary

+175 Wisdom

+100 Vitality

***This headdress was woven by the children of Natsilane from the roots of The Tower of Vy’thishrak.

Item Requirements:

Level: 30

He was impressed again with just how much better the gear found here in The Tower was in comparison to anything he’d seen elsewhere. The stat points alone made this helmet a significant upgrade from his current headpiece.  Add in the fact that he wouldn't have to wear the tiara anymore and it was an even bigger upgrade than the staff he still had stored in his Items panel. When he was done drooling over the headdress, Garath looked to the rest of his group.

*Well, I don’t know about the rest of you,* Auto said, *but I have got to have this shield. We’re going to face the spirit guardian, right G?*

“Yes. Yes we are.” Garath nodded, wondering what he’d look like with the demonic eyes and over-sized incisors framed by what he imagined would be a twiggy headdress. Probably super pretty. He summoned his Dreadreaver, then willed his summoned Demons into existence and took a deep breath. “But before we do, everyone remember to equip our new weapons after we engage. Let’s do it, Auto.”

*Alright. Hold onto your butts,* Auto warned.

The Chimerist triggered the next stage of the cursed chest. What happened next made Garath cock his head in confusion. A bear twice the size of Auto in his ridiculous Unibear form appeared, semi-transparent at first before fully materializing into what Garath had to assume was the Spirit Guardian of Natsilane. He triggered Inspect to see what they were dealing with.

Si-am’ Whimstick

(Spirit Guardian of Natsilane)

Spirit Beast

Health: 450,000/450,000

Level: 30

Station: Boss

Rage: 0/100

Description: unknown

Auto let out a strange, mewling roar as he charged the now fully materialized Si-am’ Whimstick. In response, Si-am’ let out a roar of his own. The spirit bear's roar was far more impressive. Even from thirty feet  away, it shook Garath to his core and made the hair on his neck stand on end.

Auto met the spirit bear in a clash of claws and teeth. Atlas led Bug Eyes, the Dreadreaver, and Bill as they rushed to attack Si-am’s flank and backside and Garath was surprised to see Bug Eyes easily outpace Bill as they charged, the heifer seriously had some wheels. Athios placed her dimensional enhancements around the Party’s casters, boosting Garath's cast speed and the base damage of his Skills by 10%. Daisy unleashed a torrent of Frost-Fire, sending a stream of blue-white death over Auto’s head and into the spirit bear. Garath then gave the order for everyone to equip their new weapons over the Raid communication channel.

He equipped Si-am’s Whimstick, shot a mental command to his Flayer, and got to work stacking QE’s on the boss monster. The increased damage output from their new weapons was immediately apparent as the Raid Group started whittling away at Si-am’s massive Health pool. Garath had been curious what difference the spell targeting advancement from basic to advanced would be, but he didn’t notice any as he released a cast of Creeping Death. He guessed that the stackable DoT took hold of his target when it was within range, and didn’t soar through the air to hit his target like Death Bolt or Felfire Bolt did. Maybe the difference would be more apparent with a different spell.

Auto was able to keep Si-am’s attention on him easily enough, but whether that was a blessing or a curse though was up for debate. With each rake of his claws against the Chimerist, Si-am’ ripped massive chunks from the tank’s Health pool. After taking only two hits from the spirit bear, Auto had to blow the single defensive cooldown provided by his current hybrid form to avoid an early death and subsequent Party wipe. The healers threw everything they had into refilling the ridiculous amount of Health taken from Si-am’s opening attack. They were able to keep Auto alive, but it became clear that a standard tank and spank strategy would not be a viable option.

*I had to use Iron Rhino,* Auto called urgently as he dodged another vicious swipe from the boss. *I can’t do that again for another half-hour.*

“If your Health gets low like that again, run away and I’ll cast Roots to hold it off until we can get you heals,” Sharon instructed.

“Also, try to get hit less. Please,” Maimon added helpfully.

Garath looked over at Sharon briefly while casting his third stack of QE with Handsome. He felt like a proud father as he watched this seventy-whatever-year-old woman calling shots in a life-or-death Raid battle.

*Do that now!* Auto shouted into the Raid com as he wheeled around and bolted out of range of another attack. Si-am’ had just landed a critical hit on the tank, dropping his Health below twenty percent and sending blood spraying.

Sharon’s reaction time was impressive, and the thorny roots sprang out of the ground to wrap around the bear’s legs. Unfortunately, the spell was no match for Si-am’s Strength and claws. The bear spirit broke out of her Roots in no time flat and was bearing down on Auto again before Maimon could finish casting his heal.

A white disk appeared, standing vertically like a door, just in front of the panicked and bleeding Auto. The Chimerist shot through the disk just as Si-am’ closed to melee range. A second later, the Party’s tank reappeared through Athios’ second disk twenty feet in front of the boss monster.

*Smooth, Athios! Thanks,* Auto called.

The heal Maimon had been casting was interrupted due to his target