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

Warrion, who had apparently seen the group at the baseball field on his World Map and flown over to watch the fight, approached Garath with some interesting news. As the Necrologist and the Assassin carried long folding tables from the Guild Hall to the cliff top, Warrion told him about his chance encounter with Daisy and Brandon just west of the new forest. Garath was impressed with the story all the way around, though he wasn’t sure if he could believe what Warrion told him about Daisy without seeing it with his own eyes. The rings on the Assassin’s fingers were proof enough of Brandon’s prowess, and Garath made a point of finding the kid later that evening.

The community dinner on the clifftop was a roaring success. Sharon, along with a few friends she'd made within the Guild, put together an amazing spread, and the group of over two-hundred men, women, and children happily devoured the meal. A great deal of stress and fear peeled away from everyone with no immediate threat to their lives and Sharon's cooking in their stomachs.

After everyone had eaten, Garath scanned the crowd for Brandon. He found the young man standing alone, staring up into the evening sky near the groups chatting around the buffet. Garath followed his gaze to find two crows playing an aerial game of tag. Thanks to the nameplates above their heads, Garath knew it was Daisy practicing her Crow form with Dave, Brandon’s pet. He approached Brandon with Warrion at his side, and patted the young man on one shoulder to get his attention.

Brandon jumped at the unexpected touch, then turned wide-eyed to face the demonic-looking man standing over him. The moment of fright quickly turned into recognition, and the boy smiled deviously as he received a wink from Warrion.

“You’re here for some rings?” Brandon asked slyly.

Garath laughed, half-expecting the red-headed young man to reveal a full inventory of black-market rings and counterfeit watches on the inside of his jacket or something.

“You got it,” Garath confirmed. “Warrion told me you can make some pretty cool rings with nothing but Mana Crystals and wood. Is that right?”

Brandon nodded. “Sure can. I can make rings that can give you plus twenty Wisdom each.”

“That’s amazing.” Garath nodded, looking impressed. “I’d like to commission two of these rings immediately. What’s it gonna cost me?”

Brandon smiled with the enthusiastic excitement of a used car salesman about to close a deal. “It takes two Mana Crystals to make each ring, but I do have to charge you for my time as well.”

Garath smiled. This kid has a future. “And what is your time worth?”

“I’d say ten…” Brandon cut off at a sharp look from Warrion. Garath saw the Assassin not-so-subtly point up with a poorly concealed hand. “Fifteen Mana Crystals,” Brandon amended.

Pretending he hadn’t seen Warrion’s subterfuge, Garath appeared to consider the offer for a moment. In truth, he didn’t really care how many Mana Crystals the boy wanted for the rings. Until now, he hadn’t even known what the damned things were good for.

But he was wondering who else may benefit from Brandon’s rings. At the very least, he knew that Sharon and Athios hadn’t filled their ‘finger’ slots yet. “How about this. I’ll give you all of my Mana Crystals and you make me six of these plus-twenty Wisdom rings?”

Brandon’s eyes went even wider. He almost agreed on the spot, but another sharp look from Warrion pulled him up just short of putting his hand out for Garath to shake. “And exactly how many Mana Crystals is that?” the boy asked smartly, glancing to Warrion.

Warrion nodded his approval and they both looked inquiringly at the Necrologist.

Garath did a quick check. “Eighteen.”

Brandon agreed, and the two shook hands to seal the deal. Just after Garath handed over the payment, instructed by Warrion on how to complete the procedure, Brandon crouched low and pulled things out of his Items panel to get started on the order. Just then, two crows landed on Brandon, one on either shoulder.

“Hey Brandon,” Garath said, scratching at his chin. “How’d you unlock the Jeweler Profession anyway?”

Brandon’s face suddenly turned as red as the hair on top of his head and he glanced at the smaller of the two crows on his shoulders. He looked away in a hurry, shifting his gaze to the ground uncomfortably. “Uh, I…” Brandon struggled. He looked at Daisy in her Crow form again, then quickly back to Garath. “I just got lucky, I guess.”

The smaller of the two black birds hopped off and promptly shifted into her human form. “What do you mean, got lucky?” Daisy asked, looking curiously at Brandon. “I should have asked before. How did you unlock that Profession?”

Brandon’s face threatened to ignite into flames any second. Garath thought he knew what was going on and grinned to himself. The Necrologist was torn between helping the young man out of this awkward situation, or if he’d rather just pull up a seat and watch what happened next.

“Daisy!” Garath said excitedly, his decision made. “I’m glad you’re here, I need you to start a fire.”

Garath remembered then that his appearance frightened the little girl. He attempted to twist his face into a warm smile to come off a bit less, well, terrifying. The toothy grin crossing his demonic features must not have done the trick though, because Daisy’s eyes opened wider and she took an involuntary step back. That’s when Garath noticed the word ‘Archmage’ on her nameplate.

“You want me to Blast! something?” Daisy asked, the fear melting from her face to be replaced by suspicious excitement.

“Uh… yeah,” Garath said, still staring at the little girl’s title. “Archmage?” he asked incredulously.

“Daisy,” Athios said, coming up to join the conversation from behind Garath. “You’re an Archmage now?”

Daisy cocked her head questioningly, then her eyes widened as she remembered. “Oh, yeah! That’s right! I’m an Archmage now! I got the title after unlocking some non-Class Skills.