Isekai Magus 3: A LitRPG Progression Saga (The Fantasy World of Nordan)

by Han Yang

  “Not good,” I muttered.

  “How is this bad?” Mom asked.

  “They’re ants, mom. That means they probably have a colony in the mountain. There might be tunnels the ogres can’t fit in. I have six waronia, a few trolls, a goblin, and over a hundred and fifty ogres here. If they brave the surface, that’s great. However…” I paused and walked under the tent the ogres worked to erect.

  I opened one of my travel chests to dig out a pillow and a blanket.

  The increasing sound of boots crunching snow told me I had a visitor. A quick glance over my shoulder revealed a confused Dad following me.

  I knew Dad would ask, so I said, “I’m going to inspect the cave or nest opening with a few ogres. A necromancer has benefits. One of them is I can have my guards protect my body, and I can command a skeleton.”

  “So, you go to sleep to be the skeleton and you come back when you’re done?” Dad asked, and I nodded. “What do we do until then?”

  “Help Orri toss animals into the portal, collect twigs, stay warm, and you should probably practice with that crossbow,” I said with a smile.

  Instead of being a grump at his less than stellar options, he smiled. “Thanks, son.”

  After sticking a bear hide over the frozen ground, I managed my spot the best I could and chanted my obedience spell.

  I shot out of my body and quickly connected to the lead waroni. I reveled in the connection, feeling free to finally take some risk. It didn’t surprise me that I started to thirst for combat after conquering Moonguard City.

  I squeezed my clawed hand, tightening my grip on the sword. The shield attached to my left forearm fit snugly, and the armor over the skeleton wrapped tightly. A bundle of javelins rested diagonally over my back and I pushed my sword into its home to retrieve a mini-spear.

  The beta waroni ensured I had its attention before it picked up a trot, leading me into the storm.

  The six of us ran down a narrow trail. We weaved through the trees, sticking to the compact snow while heading away from the camp. The overview had shown a small lake, a whole lot of trees, and rocky edging.

  I was only starting to realize just how vast the human cities were at the base of the mountains. Their mighty castles threw my scale off on the size of the valley.

  That wasn’t too big of an issue, more like a boon, but it did leave me running through the forest for longer than I expected. We slowed when the trees declined in size before they suddenly stopped. The valley inclined with rocks dotting the terrain in greater numbers.

  The beta paused at the treeline before it thinned. When I surveyed the threat, I frowned. The good news was that the opening was big enough for the ogres to fit through.

  The bad news was that antia scoured the area directly around the opening. I saw them picking at the rocks and following the blood trails to find where their lost brethren went. They didn’t look like warriors.

  Sure, they held spears and swords, but they had no armor. A quick inspection, and I only saw one wearing a helmet - the smallest female of the group. The leader shouted an order for her troops to freeze.

  The big ogres I had ordered to follow us were gently weaving between the trees to reach us as quietly as possible. I glanced at the fifty or so ant humanoids and then the ogres.

  Taking a second, I calculated the battle odds. I remembered the antia in the arena back in Sasin had cast magic. My ogres only cast half-magic but were infinitely bigger.

  I faded back, pulling my ogres into an ambush spot. With a mental command, the ogres back at camp stopped assembling tents. I ordered them to knock down some trees to garner some more attention from the enemy.

  We backed up and waited, hiding behind the forest the best we could. I pulled my sword out and rested its pommel-up against a root.

  Thud!

  The ground vibrated, and a few moments later the antia entered the forest. Being undead, patience was kind of easy for us to manage.

  Slight problem. The ogres were thicker than the trees and turning sideways only worked until you were a dozen feet up. Seeing as how no ogres lived here, and the noise was distant - the fifty or so antia strolled through with barely a care.

  An enemy walked right beside me, focusing on the noise in the distance. I let another dozen creep by. The second they reached the ogres, a roar sent the forest into chaos.

  I cocked back my javelin, lined up on a startled ant warrior, and hurled the spear. The weapon raced through the air, and I snatched my sword from where it rested.

  Smack!

  The chitin cratered and my javelin burst out the front of my target. The antia stared down in confusion, swooning before he could turn. I lunged from my cover, and in three long strides reached an antia who readied a spell.

  My horizontal swing cleaved the upper torso from the bottom half. I sprinted faster, knowing the fifty or so enemies were panicking and focused on the ogres.

  Boom!

  A lightning bolt arched down and crashed against a shield. The goblin ogre grinned and his blue casing barely even crackled with strain. The ogres reached melee range in a single heartbeat.

  I heard foot stomps, kicks that sent antia flying, and felt the power of a club squashing a foe.

  An antia noticed my charge and whipped a sword out in time. Our blades clashed, producing that annoying clang. I had both size and reach advantage on my opponent.

  I faked a cross swing. When his blade shot up to deflect, I thrust forward, and the sharp tip drove into the neck.

  I yanked the blade free and an ogre stomped by me in glee. The big brute was single foot hopping on the enemy, extending further and further. Each step squished an antia, and the damage quickly killed the enemy.

  A roaring fireball zipped out of an antia’s hands. To my shock, the ogre not only raised his shield in time, he diverted his path to kill his assailant with a swift kick. The body splattered against the wood, and splinters showered the area.

  In a matter of moments, the enemy was in a bad position, and we pressed our advantage.

  I saw my next target turn, eager to reach the safety of her home. My long waroni legs closed the distance, and I killed this antia from behind.

  I dug a clawed foot in and sprinted for an antia preparing a spell. He charged a black magic, focusing on his condensing spell.

  I sliced aggressively at the neck level, and the head tumbled off the body. The eyes were fixed open in confusion as I pushed on faster than before in a hunt for a new target.

  A quick chop to the thigh crippled the next antia. The counter swing swooshed through the air because I was already gone and arriving at my next target.

  The tip of my sword cracked a carapace and slid into the body of a fleeing male. He enlarged, turned red, and I refused to let go of my weapon. One second, I was killing the warrior, and the next he was carrying me away while my blade slowly jostled free.

  I held on for dear life, hoping the blade would dislodge on its own.

  Whatever damage I had caused started to take its toll. The magically engorged enemy slowed before collapsing face first with forward momentum. The big lug ground to a halt with a slide.

  I jerked the blade free and raised my shield at the half dozen antia waiting before the cave opening.

  They saw just me at first, a lone skeleton impervious to the falling snow. Behind me, the dying sounds of battle slowing until they ended. Five waroni, five ogres, and the single troll exited the treeline to join me.

  I held my shield at the ready and charged. The loose rubble crunched underfoot, and I closed the gap rapidly.

  The enemy broke to retreat underground, and I chopped a thigh. The enemy’s screams echoed in the mouth of the cavern. The ogres outpaced me so they could kick or fling the smaller foes against tall interior walls.

  I felt a swoosh of energy wash over the area, and the freshly dead had their orbs stripped.

  My desire to growl at this faded. I had told her to collect orbs as they appeared, and it was already done. Knowi
ng I needed to stay focused, I pushed on.

  The cavern’s mouth opened into a largish landing area. We raced wagons staged next to cutouts on the sides. I caught sight of cages lining the walls. A door rested on the left and I saw smooth walling on the right.

  The stampede deeper into the cavern was a touch reckless. I fully understood that. The rewards could outweigh the risks, though, and I mentally commanded twenty additional ogres to the tunnel network.

  The declining tunnel ended in a big storage cavern that confused me at first. The space stretched for what seemed like miles, and if I had to guess, it was at least the size of Seqa. I couldn’t smell, but the ogres could, and I noticed them upturning their noses.

  Rotting wood covered pits filled with something that I realized upon closer inspection was likely compost. At the back of the space, a few workers cowered near the cavern’s two exits. These openings were noticeably smaller.

  The oink and squeal of pigs echoed loudly in the distance from the ogres rushing to kill the remaining antia in the area.

  I ignored the ogres as they rushed to seal off the tunnels.

  While they worked, I bent down to dig through the composted manure. It certainly was compost, and while I dug, I found nightcrawlers and other insects in large numbers.

  I continued to uncover the compost, and inside the pit I found potatoes. I dusted my claws off and went to the other side, finding mushrooms. This variance continued for a while and I realized some variety probably went further than I thought.

  I strode down to the pigs and found carved out pits that extended deeper into the planet. I unfolded a ramp and grabbed a nearby nasty shovel. When I entered the pit, the pigs oinked at my skeleton but kept their distance.

  I saw two doors; one under the main road strip above, and another at the back of the wall. I had to assume there was another way to get the animals out of there other than a ramp. The doors had to lead somewhere. I walked up one ramp and down another ramp on the other side of the main road.

  This second pit only had a door pointing to the first pit. The back wall was barren. This told me either there were additional passages on the left side, or maybe it led to a slaughterhouse.

  I returned to the road, walking for the end of the cavern. As I went, I saw rows upon rows of pigs. Buckets of food waste waited to be thrown down to the farm animals.

  I passed at least a dozen of these pits on each side and started to theorize.

  The antia ate everything, and their scraps went to the scrap eaters - the pigs. The pigs ate garbage and their diet was likely supplemented by vegetation from the valley. The pig shit was turned into compost to create worms and bugs.

  The compost fertilized vegetables that could grow without sunlight. That only left me guessing what the first landing contained. Probably something to eat the bugs while producing meat, or fur, or both.

  Instead of going up, I jogged to the tunnels that led down. The ogres guarded two openings, both too small for an ogre to fit through, and both the right size for large shields to block. I ordered two ogres to keep the tunnels blocked.

  The rest I ordered to start slaughtering half the pigs. The only way to get them not to count as an entry home was for them to be tied to a beast master. We had a dozen or so beast masters and there were thousands of pigs here.

  When the waroni jumped into the pit, I left the skeleton and zoomed back to my real body.

  When I shot through the solid rock I didn’t see any surprise pockets holding treasure or unknown veins of ore. I zoomed across the trees and found my body under the tent.

  After reconnecting I rushed to my satchel to write a note.

  I need wagons for slaughtered livestock, heavy axle wagons, oil pitch or whatever that stuff is that burns for a while. I found an antkin farm. Antia I guess. Check the library for a book on them.

  Send me two more shield mages, every beast master we have, and the rest of the ogres until the counter hits 10. Prepare for live and dead pigs. Oh, and send me an update on Caitlyn’s island.

  I ran by my surprised parents who were talking with a dwarf. They asked for attention while I chucked at the note. I went to the right side of the portal and saw ten extra-large hand carts for ogres. I quickly ejected those from the storage, and they populated the area.

  When I returned, I spun on Mom, “How much Zorta do you have?”

  “None, but I can tame up to level twelve now, and my cultivate is sixteen.”

  “Do not take any more,” I said. I pointed to the dwarf. “Name?”

  “Izlad, Sire,” he said.

  “Follow the tracks that way until you find the cavern and hurry. Once inside, scout the walls for minerals. We may have to flee anyway,” I said.

  The dwarf eyed me skeptically. “Run into a snow storm in that direction by -”

  An ogre raced over in a few long steps and picked the dwarf up. The dwarf panicked at first. I said, “Calm down, he won’t hurt you.”

  The ramblings of the angry dwarf faded as the ogre stormed away toward the cavern.

  “Uh, what is going on?” Dad asked.

  “A few things. The first is we need Zorta to level the beastmasters. We have a thousand pigs nearby, and the only way to get them back is via beastmaster magic where they go into storage. You both need to drop the Zorta from the pigs and collect it. Do that as quickly as you can,” I said.

  “Just follow the trail?” Dad asked as two ogres ran over with hands set low. “Oh.”

  “Get on, get in the tunnels and prepare those pigs,” I said.

  “Okay!” Dad shouted with his voice fading as the ogres stormed off.

  I waited patiently near the portal while having the ogres run hand carts down to the antia farm. A few trees had to be felled to clear a decent path, but with thirty-foot tall ogres, it was quick work.

  I continued to watch over the storage unit. Most of what we tossed in was being extracted, so there was someone on the other side hard at work. Asha came through the portal, bringing a dozen goblins, two trolls, and a steady stream of ogres.

  “You sure do move fast. I was still preparing winter gear when your message pinged me. A big section of the citizens are readying to help near the church. As for Tarla, she has a boring island, but they are shoveling rich soil one wagon at a time,” Asha said.

  “Good, we don’t need two war fronts. Speaking of which…” I pointed to the antia cavern. “I found doorways under the mountain that led to the left. I expect there to be a second farm to the left. Scout the area and find the entrance. If it’s only connected via the main opening, then great, but if not, we need to clog the second farm or rush it.”

  “Resistance?” he asked.

  “Armed workers for now. They’re uncoordinated and about all I want to engage with. I’m holding back thirty or so ogres to hold the portal. Good luck,” I said.

  He darted off to see what he could learn.

  I spent the next ten minutes organizing the efforts to rob the antia. The steady stream of ogres hauling hand carts stopped leaving and started returning. The new gate system made the process so much easier.

  A half-dozen heavily laden carts went in, and when the area cleared, I could pull out excess carts waiting for extraction. I could see someone on the other side unloading hand carts and sliding them back into the inventory minutes later.

  Asha returned during a cycle with panting frosted breath. “There’s a human emissary on the mountain atop a really nice griffin. He flew the yellow and landed without us accepting.”

  “And the second entry?” I asked.

  “There’s at least a dozen, but I stopped when she landed. The tracks all lead to the lake. It’s just a guess, but I bet they farm up top for easy access to water and to keep the stench out of their main home. The other entries are being guarded by actual soldiers, and Damien, they’re wearing human crafted armor,” Asha said.

  “I found it odd there wasn’t a roost or such up here. Might as well see who she represents and fly the yellow,
” I said with a sigh. “Six farms… That’s worth a fight.”

  “Damien, I -” Asha started, but I waved him down. He realized I was just complaining, not being serious. “Right, I’ll bring her to the camp.”

  “Thanks…”

  I had other things to attend to.

  CHAPTER 5

  Utri Valley

  “Can you say that one more time, Desera?” I asked politely.

  The snow lightened a bit, bringing intermittent views of the sky. I had met her half way to the rocks, not wanting her to see my camp or the siege weapons it contained. We sat next to the hastily cleared road. My father and mother waited nearby with Asha, and she had her griffin close.

  “Leave, or we bring a horde upon you and yours,” the fierce woman said with a scowl.

  I sighed. “Is that your final offer?” Before she could reply, I added, “We have a lot to trade and are willing to -”

  “You came into our home and killed our allies, and now you’re stalling,” Desera said.

  “As are you,” I said, verbally provoking her. She sneered, and I asked, “Why do you care so much about antia?”

  “There is stability in this region. Period, and -” I mentally ordered a full retreat while she talked. “We do not welcome invaders. Regardless of their intent. If you wanted to trade, you would have arrived at the bottom of the mountain and been welcomed. Instead, you’re up here pillaging from our allies.”

  There wasn’t any reason for these talks besides to buy time for her forces to assemble. Not every fight was a victory, and we clearly were not welcome to destroy the valley.

  Dozens of ogres hauled cages as they ran by. The sheer weight of the army fleeing for the portal was enough to startle Desera. The raven-haired woman gasped at the sight of my forces pulling back.

  “You dare break the yellow!” she exclaimed.

  “Never. The spoils of war already attained before the yellow are not additional conquests. The shaking of Nordan is not an assault on you. It is merely us adjusting to a defensive position behind siege weapons and large crossbows. Nothing more or less intended,” I said flatly.