Isekai Magus: A LitRPG Progression Saga

by Han Yang

  Yani cringed at my words. I let it go, I simply hadn’t run out of mana yet and 3% savings would hardly matter. Plus, I was certain his rates were exuberant.

  “Yer feet are a large. Decent boots and sandals will be three gold for both, at my lowest rate for the group buy. Anything else?” he asked.

  “A simple sword, please. Nothing too fancy,” I said.

  He nodded, taking me toward his desk at the front. We passed a rack of weapons that all helped to overwhelm me. He eyed me, the swords, me again, and then grabbed a simple blade with a hide belt off the rack.

  “It’ll kill, maim, and destroy, just like the fancy blades do. Anything else?” he asked again.

  “That’ll do for now… oh, and a place to change,” I said.

  He lifted a finger to the changing station at the back of the store. “Change in there. I’ll have my helper burn your robes you leave behind,” he said with a smirk. “That’ll be nine gold, three silver.”

  I glanced at the joint wall and had to wonder if he saw my transaction from earlier or was it sheer chance he knew my change amount.

  I fetched Yani the coins then headed for the changing room. Getting into shorts and an undershirt felt great. I donned the adventuring robes until I could get a bath.

  That stupid thing you always tell yourself not to do, like sniffing nasty robes a man died in, I did that. With a shudder, I abandoned Toneba’s simple robes and left the store as a new man.

  I joined the crowd, heading to Tootsies.

  Again, I saw another miscee.

  My brief inspection revealed what the teller said. Not a rat humanoid, but a mouse one with far more human features than I expected.

  Interesting. Did they just surrender to humanity for protection?

  Instead of letting the thoughts linger, I stayed alert. Robbing the foolish probably didn’t cost humans Ostriva points, so they tried to nick whatever they could. I stuck to the store fronts with my bag on my back.

  After a few minutes of walking, Tootsies’ Tavern loomed across the street at three stories high. The third floor had balconies, and I knew what I wanted right away. A view to let the chaotic Tarb set in while I read books would be great.

  After a few apologies to get across the road, I entered the open door.

  An attendant desk stood empty on the right. I spied a light lunch crowd and a mostly empty bar. A sweeping barmaid hummed a tune while working.

  A patron pointed me out, and she hurried over.

  Her outfit hid most of her figure. She had radiant hazel eyes with sweeping shoulder length hair brown hair. I saw a bandage over her forearm and wondered why she hadn’t been healed.

  Before I could ask, she said, “Welcome to Tootsies. My name’s Bell. Would you like lunch or a room?”

  “Let’s start with a room. How much for a view?” I asked, pointing up like a goofball.

  “We got the small suite. It doesn’t face the market, but it's still nice. How many nights?”

  I held up three fingers.

  She cocked her head back and shouted, “Maddy, price on the west balcony for three nights?”

  An apron wearing cook poked her head out from the back kitchen area. “I’m in need of a mason mage. You able to bind stones?” Maddy asked.

  That sounded like an awesome magic. I shook my head no. “I can heal her arm though,” I said.

  “That doesn’t help me. You conduct your own transaction. Three nights will be fifteen gold, five nights for twenty,” she said.

  I nodded, and she furled her brows, upset I didn’t haggle with her. Someone from deeper in the kitchen called for her, and she left the doorway.

  “Let me see your arm,” I said.

  “I can’t pay,” she pouted.

  I chuckled and said, “Save the pity party. I got spare mana, gold, and I need to level. So, what happened?”

  “The hearth. I had to put the flames out, and the oak popped a chunk off the burning log, right onto my forearm,” she said, unwrapping her arm.

  Her skin boiled with puss. The burn wound flared red with anger, and it smelled funky. Odd. I pretended like I knew what the yellowish coloration meant with subtle head nods.

  My hand went over the wound, and I whispered, “Heal other.”

  The green illumination pulsed from my palm, fighting her wound. The puss dissipated ever so slowly. I continued to watch the festering repair until my vision blurred.

  “What the?” I slurred in confusion.

  Next thing I knew, I face planted into the bar’s wooden floors. My stomach twisted angrily. I tried to hold in my jerky and water but failed.

  I hurled all over Bell’s nice shoes.

  A minute, maybe three, passed. I wasn’t quite sure. When my senses returned, Maddy stood over me with hands on her hips.

  “If this wasn’t for free, I’d be ten tones of angry red. You idiot,” she said, waiting for an answer.

  “My parents didn’t let me heal much, and I’m new to my magic,” I said, my mind still reeling.

  “Are ya a prince or somethin’? Whose parents lock them up until they’re in their thirties?” Maddy asked with a stern tone and squinted eyes.

  Shit, yeah, that lie sucked.

  “I’m oath bound not to say,” I said, swiping my sleeve across my mouth to remove the last bit of bile. “I need a room, a runner, and some quiet. Oh, and apparently some food.”

  One of the guys at the bar found this last bit hilarious and burst into a boisterous laugh.

  “Knock it off, Trovo,” Maddy said with a finger wag.

  “That’s extra. All that costs, and you better be good for it,” she said, watching me struggle to rise.

  “And the price for a night with help?” I asked.

  While she huffed, I touched my belly button.

  You have increased Healer Level, Mana Rejuvenation. Are you ready to invest in upgrading these stats? (YES) - (NO)

  I selected yes to both.

  “Single Z,” Maddy ordered. “Stand there.”

  I nodded, following her finger across the bar.

  Bell channeled a spell, her hands waving blue tendrils. The thin strings of blue magic increased in size until she whipped around water.

  With two extended hands, she pushed a gush of water across the floor and sent my vomit out the door.

  The liquid splashed down, and a few of the pedestrians wisely escaped the spray in the nick of time. With her distraction complete, I continued with my upgrades.

  Healer Level 1 -} Healer Level 2 = .001 Zorta. (YES) - (NO)

  Mana Regeneration 1 -} Mana Regeneration 2 = .001 Zorta. (YES) - (NO)

  I selected yes to both. Bell came over and said, “I’ll take him.”

  “Paperwork,” Maddy demanded with an open hand. I grumbled but handed her the paperwork from the bank. She whispered something in Bell’s ear.

  While the two chatted, I pulled up my rejuvenation booster option.

  Consume for .05 Zorta for 22 Mana (Yes) - (No)

  I selected yes and all my fatigue went away. When I looked around, Bell was holding my bag that must have fallen off me.

  Caitlyn said I would stumble, tumble, fall, and learn my way through Nordan. Apparently, she missed vomit on a pretty girl's shoes too.

  We went up a set of stairs, down a hall, then stopped at an exterior exit.

  “Uh…” I said.

  “Come on, you can’t stay here. Yer thirty plus, having mana issues, and are from out of town. All that screams rob me, I’m a rich, runaway prince,” Bell said with a disgruntled head shake.

  “But the view,” I said.

  “You can afford a nicer place. My Ma runs Olera’s Finest. It’s closer to the palace. Now draw yer hood,” she said as if we were in imminent danger.

  I followed her out of the building and down an alley staircase.

  “Water mage,” I commented, watching her hips snap on the way down the stairs.

  “Whole life. Only twenty-six, never tell though,” she said, focusing
on the steps down.

  Her long dress hid her curves, and I instead focused on the greater city. We walked between alleys that consisted of large homes.

  A few blocks in, estates began, and we shifted by guarded entries and onto an open street. Bell looked the part of a random girl carrying laundry, and I guess I was her guard.

  The ten minute walk revealed sewer drains, a building for burning garbage, water columns running above in aqueducts, and more exquisite stone architecture.

  The only thing missing were drones and kids walking into each other while they stared at their phones. Not to mention, besides a few salt and pepper men or the odd cougar, everyone was young.

  The age thing, if I had to guess, the magic reduced you until you were in your prime. Likely, twenty two to twenty five, because that is what everyone appeared to be. I knew a whole lot of old folks from Earth would love Nordan magic.

  We turned down a road with a guard, and I was finally challenged.

  Bell knew the guard, but he checked my identity anyway. Instead of insulting me, he swiped my orb and grunted before waving me forward. If I had to guess, his lack of caring was because I had an escort.

  We approached a massive, white marbled hotel that rose five stories tall. Instead of using the front door, we turned into an alley where a lounging guard waved Bell and I in.

  A quick jaunt through hot kitchens and a few seconds later, we knocked on a private door labeled Mistress. Bell puffed her cheeks nervously before rapping a light knock.

  “Just a minute,” a voice from inside said.

  I reached down to Bell’s arm, and she started to panic. “I used Z to recharge my mana.”

  “For my arm!” she hissed as if I were insane.

  I nodded. “Sorry, not sure what happened back there.”

  “Mana exhaustion,” she said, biting her lip as the wound healed. “Thank the goddess. You’re odd but impressive. This wound was so bothersome, and I have just the right way to repay you.”

  I raised an eyebrow.

  “That sounds nice. If your mom is the boss, why don’t you work here?” I asked.

  “I don’t have enough experience to work here. Takes ten years even if Ma is the boss. She offered to pay for a healer, but I’m an overachiever, and I’m really grateful,” Bell admitted, her face going crimson.

  “Yeah, I settle for happy mediocrity,” I said with a shrug.

  “What kingdom did you flee?” she asked. Her hazel eyes pleaded for an answer. “I swear on Caitlyn, I won't tell a soul.”

  I grinned at this statement.

  “Caitlyn the Deviant?” I asked in a test.

  She tucked her chin back in confusion.

  “Caitlyn the Temptress,” Bell said.

  “I have it from a good source she used to go be Caitlyn the Deviant,” I said with a shrug.

  “Mother has a shrine of her in her office. This is a house of flesh, after all.”

  “Huh?” I asked.

  Her confusion persisted. “Caitlyn is the goddess I worship, and this is a place of sex for coin. The working girls have it good here.”

  “Oh, you're a whore?” I asked, wishing the words back the second they blurted out.

  Her eyes widened, and she leapt in my face to say something when a disgruntled man jerked the door open.

  “Lenny, cool it or you’re fired,” a younger, prettier Bell said with an authoritarian tone. This version came in a busty corset, blue eyes, and long black hair.

  “Sorry, Mistress,” Lenny said.

  I let out a soft whistle. She raised an eyebrow at me with a perplexed expression. The second the Mistress noticed her daughter, she said, “Out. No favorites.”

  “Ma, he healed my arm and is not from here. More importantly, he has coins and proper paperwork. Maddy didn’t want the heat after he… he passed out healing my arm the first time,” Bell said.

  “And the second?” she asked. Bell showed off her smooth arm. “He looks like an adventuring bum. It's a single Z for a closet room.”

  “And a balcony with a runner to fetch me items I desire?” I asked.

  “Whatcha wanna see?” she asked curiously, as if testing me.

  I smirked and said, “Tarb. This city is much different than mine. I need to find some answers, and I’ve already had someone try to rob me.”

  “Alright, enough of these questions out in the open. I won’t rob you, even though I think I could charge you five Z and you’d pay it. Single Z, penthouse, and only because you did the right thing by healing my baby. That and it has the private elevator to the kitchens, and I can hide you better. Place a Z in my palm or the offer expires. Three, two, -”

  I reached into my armpit, finagled the latch, then tossed the whole bag.

  Bell shook her head in dismay.

  “No shit your’re not from Tarb. By Caitlyn, I -”

  The statue behind the woman cleared its throat, whispering in a barely audible tone that only the mother could understand, but we could hear it clearly speaking.

  Bell’s mother trembled, and I smirked. Bell, she went to scream, and I rushed to cover her mouth. A muffled cry escaped my hand, and she broke my grip in a second.

  “Stupid strength of one,” I muttered under the sound of Bell’s shriek.

  I stepped back, held up my hands, and waited for the guards.

  Sure enough, men and women mages came barreling for the back office.

  Bell’s mother strode out of the room and with a commanding voice said, “Stand down.”

  “Yes, Mistress,” the obedient troops replied quickly.

  They hovered in place, waiting to see what happened next.

  The mother went to the daughter’s ear and whispered something for a few minutes. Bell’s face became a rollercoaster of emotions. Sad, happy, sad, and then determined.

  “Off with you, princess. Follow me, stinky man,” the Mistress commanded.

  “This isn’t over, Ma. I know what I saw,” Bell said, and I swore she was playacting.

  “Unless you wanna end up exiled, you’ll say nothing. Your future is not tied to this man even if you wish it were,” the younger looking mother scolded.

  One of the burly guards grabbed Bell, and she dropped my bag I’d forgotten to take from her. I scooped up the pack and followed the Mistress into the kitchen.

  We were followed by her guards, and she shooed them away. No one spoke, and an eerie silence hung in the kitchen as the boss went to a private elevator.

  She opened the door, and we entered with me setting my things in a corner.

  “Wind that crank,” she ordered, pointing to a wheel with a handle. “Ugh, you reek.”

  “Haven’t been exactly relaxing in a comfy bath,” I snorted.

  The elevator creaked up, and the Mistress placed a hand atop mine, halting the progress. She pulled me down until her lips brushed against my ears.

  “Caitlyn said you were deprived, but this is not the place for your lust to be sated,” she said, a hand sliding between my robes to run down my stomach. “More than once. No one else believed in my Goddess or paid her tribute as much as I have, and now I’m being rewarded.”

  “Umm…” I hesitated, wincing because she was sexy and when her hand slid south, she found an eager toy. “I don’t know your name, and I really need to get some answers.”

  “My name is Nim, and you’re but a boy. You’ve been a good boy for staying alive and the only woman I call Mistress, wants you rewarded. A bath is being drawn, and then I will get my fill from you. No deceit, no tricks, and all the fun a handsome man can hope for,” she said, kissing my earlobe seductively.

  I squirmed slightly, not enjoying the fact that she held my manhood like a bartering tool. “I need my coin purse back, some books on -”

  “Necromancy,” she said, and I relaxed. If she knew that, Caitlyn had indeed talked to her. Meaning, either I was dead again or about to actually get a bath reward. “Connected the dots, did ya? I see it in your eyes. Caitlyn is watching, and she s
aid to give you the full Mistress’ tour.”

  I smiled, grabbing a plump ass cheek. I said, “Sweet. This is going to be fun. I still need items before I flee.”

  Before she could comment, I cranked on the wheel and hurried us up to the top floor.

  CHAPTER 9

  Tarb Market

  I didn’t sleep much that night. Nim held true to her word, and I lavished in her praising rewards. She was a very thorough lover.

  The next morning, before the sun cracked the horizon, the private elevator creaked, telling me I had a visitor coming. I dressed quickly then equipped my sword.

  Nim had said to be ready for anything, so I placed my hand on the pommel.

  Apparently, Caitlyn said I needed to flee Tarb. Too many people were curious who the new guy was with no skills, and aged to the point, he should have some.

  To help me escape, Nim told me she would procure everything for me besides a wagon and horses.

  When the door slid open, Nim sauntered out of the small space with a leering grin. Her large breasts were propped up in a dress fit for a ball. The extravagant outfit probably hurt with how small it made her waist.

  “Again,” she said with lust filled eyes.

  I was all for the nonstop sexcapades, but according to her, I needed to hurry out of Tarb. The busiest gate exits were at sunrise when folks left to start their day jobs. Blending in would be easiest with the crowds.

  I shook my head. “Mission matters,” I said, accepting a soft kiss.

  I heard stumbling and saw Bell exit the elevator. The poor girl was laden down with a huge travel bag.

  My eyes widened. The woman - who dressed the polar opposite of her mother - wore leather adventuring gear that hid her figure. She even had a leather poncho draping her front and back.

  “Uhh, did I miss something?” I asked. Nim had mentioned I would get an assistant, a miscee to help me in my journeys to gain my Zorta “I thought I was getting a miscee?”

  “You are,” Bell grumbled. “There’s… oof, help me with one of these.”

  I walked around the mother to reach the daughter and grabbed a smaller cloth bag holding books.