Arcane Survivalist: Apocalyptic Fantasy LitRPG

by Deck Davis

  “Why are you doing this?” said Frank. “What the hell are we supposed to do when you’ve bled us dry? You’re meant to be protecting us, for God’s sake!”

  Belle leaned forward. His face was a picture of controlled menace. There were bad vibes and then there were bad vibes, and Ash was getting some utterly horrendous vibes from this guy.

  “Careful,” said Beele, with complete calmness. “You’re losing your head.”

  He grabbed Frank by the skull and lifted him off the ground, so that he dangled in thin air. Frank kicked out with his legs, but he didn’t hit anything. He made a sound somewhere in between fear and surprise.

  “This guy’s much stronger than I thought,” said Ash.

  “You’re telling me,” replied Tony.

  Beele shut his eyes and then squeezed Frank’s head with both hands. His face turned red with the strain of it. What was he doing?

  Frank’s head exploded like a pumpkin under a hammer, spraying chunks of blood, brain and bone everywhere. Ash felt his stomach lurch.

  He wasn’t just gonna sit there and watch. He might have been an asshole, but Beele was on a whole new level.

  “Fuck this,” he said.

  Cursing his own stupidity, he ran toward the truck. He grew an Ignis level 2 ball as he did, and felt the flames warm his palms.

  When it reached full power, he unleashed it. It hit Beele in the stomach, catching him by surprise. It knocked him clean off the bonnet and onto the pile of brain mush.

  Belle got to his feet and grinned. His khakis were covered in blood. His face was one of pure, dripping evil.

  “Looks like the blue-balled gnome-shaggers have made an appearance.”

  You can’t kill him, said FF. He’s too strong for you.

  “I can try.”

  Tony and Chad caught up to Ash and raised their guns. Tony squeezed the trigger and a shot rang out. Ash couldn’t see where the bullet went, but it didn’t hit Beele.

  The tied-up townsfolk watched in astonishment. Some were pale, some were obviously scared.

  “Need to make sure they don’t get caught in the crossfire,” said Ash.

  Beele nodded at the soldiers around him. Their eyes started glowing red. Ash was no expert in Rapto matters, but he guessed magic might just be involved here.

  The soldiers turned to face Ash, Tony and Chad, with their M16’s held high. Just as they fired, Tony traced an oval shape in front of them, casting a blue shield. The bullets peppered against it.

  “Mana’s pretty low,” he said. “Hope you’ve got a plan that isn’t batshit crazy.”

  He had a plan, alright, but no promises about it not being batshit crazy.

  Beele strode forward with an unbearable cockiness.

  Ash waited until he was level with the barrels of petrol, before blasting an Ignis flame his way. The ball exploded into the barrels, igniting the petrol. The flames took hold on Beele’s face. They burned his hair and melted his skin and then spread onto his khakis.

  If Beele felt the pain, he didn’t show it. Instead he carried on walking while his skin burned away to reveal his skull. His eyes began to sizzle, and then they popped.

  Still, he kept walking.

  “Doesn’t this guy ever die?”

  Beele looked from side to side. Without eyes, he evidently had no idea where Ash was. That didn’t seem to matter, which became clear when he raised his hands in the air.

  A soldier next to him began to jerk violently, as if some invisible hands were shaking him. His eyes glowed a deep, burning red, and then a curious expression spread across his face.

  “This body fits even better than the last,” he said, his voice sounding like Beele’s.

  Worse than I thought, said FF. He can mind jump. He must be a Gonodil, which means he’s working for the Umbra.

  If Beele could jump from one body to the other, that meant Ash would have to kill every last soldier. A feeling of guilt wrenched inside him; the men were being controlled by Beele, they weren’t choosing to do this.

  Tony Fucking Shore didn’t share the same thoughts, since he raised his rifle. With quick pulls of the trigger, he popped the skulls of two men. Blood sprayed out.

  A green mist began to gather around Beele, like the magic-charged fog of a smoke grenade.

  Temero mist, said FF. Don’t let that shit touch you.

  Mind jumping, temero mist…this wasn’t good.

  Beele might have been able to jump from one mind to the next, but Ash guessed he was still limited by the particular HP stats of each body. With that in mind he cast a multi-Ignis.

  He carefully aimed it and then unleashed it.

  The fire ball hit the soldier nearest to him, before spreading from man to man as if following an invisible chain. Their clothes set alight, and some of them screamed. On and on the blaze went, scorching khakis, burning hair, melting skin.

  Beele had stepped back and crouched behind a pile of tins of plum tomatoes. The chain missed him.

  Damn it. How many Ignis blasts could he use? His HP was getting worryingly low.

  Ash gathered another Ignis and prepared to send it his way.

  And then the glow left the soldier’s eyes.

  The soldier looked normal now. He looked at the carnage around him, and his eyes widened so much it looked like they would burst.

  Ash let his Ignis die out.

  “Beele’s jumped again,” he said. “Who is he now?”

  “Quickly,” said Tony, striding forward with his rifle trained in front of him. “Check ‘em all.”

  They checked the surviving soldiers and the tied-up townsfolk, but they couldn’t find any with the glowing red eyes that indicated Beele was present. He must have mind-jumped, but god knew where.

  Is now the right time for a stat update, your lordship?

  Ash looked around. Cinders drifted in the air. The fight was over, but he didn’t feel great. They were dealing with an enemy who could jump from one mind to the next, wearing and discarding them like a set of clothes. At least there was a giveaway; whoever Beele jumped into gained a glowing set of eyes. From now on, he was going to have to watch everyone carefully.

  Some soldiers writhed in agony on the floor. The familiar belly stab of guilt hit Ash. Now that the soldiers were back to normal, he had to fix it.

  “One sec,” said Ash.

  Certain now that they were no longer under Beele’s control, Ash cast Transfusion on the soldiers that survived, getting to each one in turn and restoring just enough health for them to live.

  Transfusion increased by 20%

  **Transfusion level 2!**

  -Use your life force to heal poison and other debuffs.

  207% exp gained!

  Level up to level 10!

  After spending his attribute points on endurance and intelligence, Ash took a second to get his breath. He tried to look away from the dead, burned soldiers on the floor. I had no choice, he told himself. It was them or us.

  Tony put a hand on his shoulder. “Don’t let it weight too heavy. You did the only thing you could.”

  If it makes you feel better, I got a little surprise for you, said FF.

  “Oh yeah? Did you bake me a ‘sorry you had to murder people’ cake?”

  No. Watch.

  **Blood Mage Tier 1 – 100%!**

  Level up to tier 2!

  “Does that mean I get new spells?” said Ash.

  You bet your ass it does.

  “Let’s see them.”

  **Blood Mage Tier 2**

  Blood Concentrate LVL 1 – Casting spells costs less HP [passive]

  Durus LVL 1 – Create blood armor that offers protection for a limited time depending on how much HP you sacrifice [Active]

  Blood Share LVL 1 – The blood from fallen enemies can be used to heal allies, without sacrificing your own HP [active]

  Chapter Fifteen

  Another Chain Ignis Should Shut Them Up

  The feeling he got when the second tier hit him was like the
adrenaline rush of a first-time skydiver plummeting toward the earth. Arcane energy rushed through him, inscribing its ancient teachings deep inside him, all the way to his cells. It was a feeling of pure power, and he loved it.

  His second tier of blood mage spells was more of a support tier, it seemed. Ash could have used something a little more offensive, but he wasn’t going to sniff at it. The problem was that although Blood Concentrate lowered his HP cost for using spells, he was still going to have to sacrifice a hell of a lot of HP when things got tough.

  He sensed there were more enemies waiting for him, ones that wouldn’t just burn to a crisp with one shot of Ignis. He needed something with a bit more bite.

  “So,” he asked FF, “Blood Concentrate lowers my spell cost, huh? How much?”

  Ten percent on level one, then more as it progresses. Every spell you cast adds to levelling it up, so just keep using them.

  “Ten percent doesn’t seem like much.”

  It’ll be the difference between life and death at some point, you ungrateful bitchtit.

  “Suppose you’re right.”

  Durus was the biggest leap in this tier. By sacrificing a continuous rate of HP, he could form blood armor to protect himself. It basically quadrupled the damage he could take; in simple terms, if he used up 50 HP casting Durus, he’d gain 200 HP worth of damage resistance. It seemed like only helped against basic weapon and spell attacks right now, but maybe at later levels it’d give him protection against other more gruesome stuff.

  Blood Share was the strangest of his new spells. This one let him use the blood from fallen enemies to heal allies. The thing was, he could kinda do this already; if he Life Drained an enemy and then transfused it to an ally, it was the same thing.

  You’re thinking about this wrong, shit for brains, said FF.

  “Enlighten me then, wise one.”

  Two things as far as I can see; one, you use can use Blood Share on ANY fallen creature, not just ones you’ve killed. Two, it just makes it quicker. If the old magic rifle man is hurt, it’ll be quicker to just use Blood Share, rather than use Life Drain and then Transfuse.

  This was getting interesting. It occurred to him that he needed to try experimenting with Blood Share. For instance, what happened if a creature died of poison, and then he cast Blood Share and doled out the poison blood amongst other enemies? Would they all get infected, or did Blood Share clean the blood it touched? Maybe this could be turned into an offensive spell as well as a healing one. He’d find out later. Right now, he had things to do.

  With Beele gone, seemingly wandering the invisible airwaves to find another arsehole to climb into and possess, the soldiers got their shit together. A guy named Tommy Huey took charge, directing the remaining recruits to get in their vehicles and haul ass. They were headed to a barracks beyond the mountain pass that led to Tinago city.

  Beele won’t be gone long, warned FF. He’ll come back like a cock rash.

  Chad and Tony had untied all the Pasture Downs townsfolk now. Kenny was the first to see Ash. He broke away from the crowd and met him in the middle of the road. A few minutes earlier, the soldiers’ rifles had kept him in line. Now that they were gone, it looked like Kenny’s balls had dropped back down.

  “Look who’s back. And I see you’ve got friends.”

  He had to give Kenny some credit; even after everything he’d seen Ash do, he didn’t back down. Pure, honest-to-goodness arrogance was something Ash respected.

  “The plant’s in meltdown,” said Ash. “We need to get the outta here. I don’t even know how long it takes for radiation to be carried by the wind. Where’s the scientist guy, Grebe?”

  Kenny shook his head. “No idea, and it’s none of your business anyway.” He gestured toward Chad. “Who’s this guy? You made friends with the soldiers? Don’t you know that they just banged us up the ass?”

  “He’s okay,” said Ash. “He helped us get here.”

  Kenny turned and looked at the crowd of Pasture folk. He looked like a shepherd addressing his flock. The crowd waited for him to talk, seeming to hang on his words. In times like this, people needed to be told what to do and how to think, and Kenny loved to hear himself talk.

  “Anyone with a working car,” he said, “Better bring it here. We need supplies. Dry food, canned food. Stuff that won’t go rotten after a few days on the road. Fill your trunks with bottled water and things like that. Use your goddamned heads.”

  “Where are we going?” asked a man.

  “I don’t know,” said Kenny. “Gimme a break. I’m not the oracle.”

  People began to file away toward their homes. Most wouldn’t have had far to go, since many people in Pasture Down had built their houses near the town. It was as though they loved the place so much that they couldn’t bear to be too far away from it.

  Sure enough they followed Kenny’s orders, and within two hours most people were back. Some turned up with sacks over their shoulders, and one man rode a motorcycle. Only three people had working cars.

  Those who hadn’t been able to bring back a working vehicle had carried whatever supplies they could; water, food, blades, tools, and guns. Soon, there was a pile of it on the ground.

  Kenny shook his head.

  “This is goddamn pathetic. We can’t all leave in three cars. Hell, one of them is gonna have to be our supply vehicle anyway. Here’s what’s going to happen. I’m going to put you in order you according to how much you contributed. The people who came back with nothing but beef jerky and a water, guess what? Your asses are gonna walk.”

  People began to chatter amongst each other. Some argued over how much they had contributed, while others looked scared. Ash wondered how many people in Pasture Downs had simply stayed at home during the power cuts. Some folks, the sensible ones, had probably locked their doors and kept to themselves.

  Kenny turned and glared at Ash.

  “You,” he said. “Wherever you’re going, you’re going to have to walk.”

  “We had a deal, you slack-jawed son of a bitch.”

  Kenny shook his head. “I need my Chevy. It’s all I’ve got now. You’re lucky I don’t just kill you after you trashed my mustang. After what you did to this town, the fact you can even walk in the first place is luckier than a four-leaf clover sliding down a double rainbow.”

  Before Ash could even explain how easily he could melt Kenny’s flesh, he turned back to the crowd.

  “Where’s our whore of a sheriff?” he said.

  “Hey,” said Tony. “If I hear you call her that again, I’ll slap the lips off your face.”

  “Sorry. Didn’t know she was your girlfriend. Where’s she at?”

  Nobody knew where Sheriff Ellie had gone; people had seen her leaving town a few days earlier, but they didn’t know where she was now. She would no doubt have been a useful person to have on the road, but Kenny evidently wasn’t going to wait for her.

  “If you see the sheriff,” he said. “Tell her she missed her ride.”

  With that they loaded up their cars and drove away from Pasture Down, quickly disappearing from view. This left Ash, Tony, Chad and a handful of townsfolk stood on the main street wondering what the hell they were going to do.

  “Now what?” said Chad.

  Ash rubbed his forehead. “Don’t you have a home to go to?”

  “Not much out there for me, really. Mom’s in a nursing home. Her health went south when dad died and she couldn’t keep the house by herself. Don’t have brothers or sisters, never had a girlfriend. Got an uncle and aunt, but I don’t know if I should go there.”

  “We need a ride. I gotta get home, I’m sick of this fucking town.” said Ash.

  “The jeep’s a no-go. Practically had to roll it back into town. Besides, we wouldn’t be safe if we used it. Beele will be on the lookout for it. If he somehow joins up with the rest of the unit and they catch us in it, they’ll mess us up. We need a vehicle he doesn’t know about.”

  “Surely he won’t try a
nd control the soldiers again?” said Ash. “That didn’t go too well for him the last time.”

  “Who’s better to use than a bunch of well-armed and in-shape guys with more testosterone than a sex-deprived bull?” said Tony. “Beele’s gonna seek them out and control one of them again, you can bet your cock on that.”

  “No bother. Another chain Ignis strike should shut them up.”

  Beele won’t be so easily beaten again, said FF. He’ll adapt. He knows your powers now, and the next time you see him, he’ll be prepared.