Isekai Magus: A LitRPG Progression Saga

by Han Yang

A miniature map stretched across the space, depicting the macro version of Nordan. You could see cities, but they were tiny brown specs. The terrain shifted just as it would on Earth. Rolling hills with sporadic trees. A whole lot of forests dominated the map. A few mountainous regions were devoid of all cover, much like a postcard from Ireland.

  Rivers split the terrain with small to large lakes claiming swaths of the map. We were regulated to an unknown continent because I saw no oceans.

  “I don’t know this area,” Asha said, crossing his arms and tapping his chin. He was ancient, knowing the land in our region better than all the others. If he said this was foreign, then it was. He folded his arms, studying the sixty blue dots on the map that were randomly spread out. “Base building, trading, or fighting?”

  “The longer we hide, and the better we shore up at home, the better our odds of becoming stronger,” I said.

  “What… No kill them all attitude?” Nessio asked with a scoff.

  I frowned at her, seeing her size had shrunk inside the church. That was how the portal dealt with giants. It magically converted them inside the church. Not that a spider queen was a giant, but she certainly would struggle to get her rear end through the single door.

  “Who knows what we’ll find, but I certainly want to take our first voyage as a simpler endeavor. We have over fifty newborn goblins, and yes, we have debt. I want to avoid trading for today. Gathering raw materials sounds the best.” Shifting from Nessio, I told the magical display, “A strivian forest only.”

  Under half the blue icons went away.

  “Near a river but not a lake. Deep in the forest but not near a strivian city,” I said.

  Only eight blue dots remained.

  “Zoom in, individually,” Bell ordered.

  The blue dots became blue squares, highlighting sections of the forest. This was where we could see if small villages were indicated, and if a series of troll farms were present. The troll outposts like the one we had raided before could only be seen on these zoom-ins.

  Only two showed no signs of life. I selected the even terrain over the sloping.

  “Get the hand carts ready,” I said to Jark and Asha.

  The portal system was silly in a few ways, and luckily, we had tested a couple things prior to that day.

  To start, I had a minion distance limiter. The moment a minion crossed without me, there was an hour before that minion would turn to dust. Sure, I’d be refunded the cost, but the minion was abandoned, and if that happened to Jark or Asha, they died.

  The next issue was actually going through.

  “Opening now,” Bell said.

  The portal surged to life with a golden power shimmering over the central area. I waited for the room to crowd with eager minions. Lumpy weaved between my feet, rubbing on my legs. Animals counted as a portal movement, and that meant no Charlie, at least for this trip.

  A bright 100 at the top of the frame pulsed.

  “Centaurs, in you go,” I ordered.

  They charged into the golden shimmer, disappearing.

  The bright 100 shifted to 98.

  We could open a portal once a week, so they weren’t coming back anytime soon. I waited for the notification.

  Treev Lanclin and Perquata Moonguard will be abandoned in one hour if they do not return to within range of their Necromancer.

  We waited to ensure they didn’t die. For a half hour, my minions stood ready to cross. Time passed so slowly it became tedious.

  The shimmering portal produced a pop sound, and a dead fox skittered across the church floor. The red and white furred animal came with a trap attached to its leg - the creation was crude and not one of ours.

  “Yes,” I exclaimed, and the others cheered. “There’s going to be something hunting. Let’s hope it’s goblins. Secure the other side for my arrival.”

  After defeating Tela, I had fifty-one minions. Every one of my minions stormed the breach, carrying camping supplies for a week. A few wheeled in handcarts specifically created for this adventure.

  My army of goblins and trolls were left behind to process what we threw through the portal, which had to be thrown, picked up, and then moved. The system wasn’t perfect, but if you had both sides working, it could get a lot done. I hated that we couldn’t wheel dirt over and had to toss it in.

  Just like the dead fox had been hurled into the golden wall.

  A fox was great for snagging smaller animals, and I decided to resurrect the little guy.

  I closed my eyes, finding my center. I reached out to the fox’s aura and felt an immediate connection. Likely, my high cultivation would no longer struggle with these small claims.

  Claim or Consume.

  Claiming the fox as a minion will result in occupying a necromancer slot. Do you wish to proceed? (YES) - (NO)

  You selected to claim the fox. Consume .329 Zorta to summon this creature as a minion of the undead. Confirm (YES) - (NO)

  I selected yes, fully expecting the minion to be worth the cost. The black magic enveloped the dead fox. Ghoulish hands reached up out of the stone floor to consume the flesh. I kinda hoped for a reaper, but none arrived.

  When the spell finished, I sent the minion through the portal.

  The 49 nine dropped down to 48. The dead didn’t count, but the undead did.

  Bell arrived at my side, handing me my personal ruck. The bag with wooden framing was loaded with enough supplies for a week-long excursion.

  “We got things here. Tarla will be over before nightfall,” Bell said, letting me know she wasn’t coming. Tarla worked on her cartography, building a map of the region. Something we decided to do going forward was to detail our journeys for those seeking information in the future. “Keep Lumpy safe, please, and I prefer him as an actual cat.”

  “Yeah, well, he’s our main earner, he may not -”

  A dead goblin arrived through the portal. We… we weren’t taking in more goblins, except on the last day. I wanted to save the last 25 of the 100 return slots home for new recruits. Since the goblin was dead, he didn’t count.

  “I don’t have enough Z to pick him up, and my revival spell is on cooldown,” I said with a sigh.

  Nee patted my arm. “We got this one. And before you get grumpy, he’ll be put to hard work while cultivating a daily amount until his revival is paid for.”

  “Life over death,” I said.

  “Life over death,” the room repeated.

  “Yer a good Lord, Damien,” Nee said, taking the male’s body with her.

  Sticks flew into the church from the portal and trolls darted in to extract them.

  “So it begins,” I whispered. I turned to Nessio and said, “Send the dwarves through in an hour, please.”

  I hoisted my camping supplies and drifted over to a reading Tarla. She studied a map book, likely trying to figure out where our portal was compared to the display.

  We shared a tender kiss before I stepped into the portal.

  A surreal feeling overwhelmed my senses, like a golden snotty slime covered me. I had been in a Jello pool before and that was the closest I could compare the experience to.

  ∞∞∞

  Actual sunlight blasted through a tall canopy. Massive yellow woods dwarfed everything, and as my neck stretched back, I realized these trees must be at least five hundred feet tall.

  In between three immense trunks, my minions built a fire pit, establishing a base camp not far from the portal. I sucked in the warmth from a random ray that reached the forest floor.

  Natural sunshine, how I missed you.

  I set my camping bag down, untying the tent pieces to start. Over the next hour, I established a tent for two. This included sorting my bedding, end stand, books, and magical candle holder. I even prepped the bowls.

  By the time I finished, the dwarves had arrived, adding their structures to the growing encampment. Most of my minions cleared the area of deadwood to toss into a pile or back to Seqa.

  Eventually, we would arrive
with caltrops and an assortment of easy to establish defenses.

  I surveyed the camp’s organization, enjoying the fresh air. A distracting motion caught my attention. Lumpy pranced happily over to me with a small bunny.

  “Perfect. I just started the afternoon stew,” I said pleasantly to Lumpy, stoking the fire by waving a bush.

  A dwarven water mage had filled the cauldron with only a slight grumble.

  I accepted Lumpy’s offering and ingested the orb. The large feline returned to hunting while I dressed the rabbit. I tossed the skin into a pile and dropped the flayed meat into the stew.

  My newly minted fox brought me a field mouse, and I chucked the body, with the orb still attached, into the portal for that side to sort. I didn’t pout, or sigh. I already accepted that most of our gains today would be going toward the city and not me.

  A few minutes later, my two big centaurs brought me a female live turtle creature. It was heavy, slow, and appeared to be fairly dumb.

  “That’s a loggersnapper. Careful with your fingers under the shell’s lip. See how they’re carrying it from the bottom?” A dwarf asked. I nodded, watching the turtle. “It has poisoned spikes under the shell where you’d normally stick your fingers to lift the heavy creature.”

  “And what does it do?” I asked.

  “Umm, besides eat leaves and walk around slowly? Not sure,” the dwarf said with a shrug, returning to gathering sticks.

  I huffed, knowing I couldn’t simply go back and forth to ask. I went into my tent, grabbing a charcoal pencil and a piece of paper. I asked for information on a loggersnapper and then tossed the paper into the portal.

  I asked the centaurs to set the turtle down while I waited. The skeleton fox returned with a rabbit and a bird while I cooked lunch. The rabbit went into the stew, and the bird went toward debt.

  A half hour later, a note returned, saying to kill the turtle, harvest the Z, and then they’ll turn it into soup as well as a shield. I walked over to the turtle, and it knew I was going to kill it somehow, sucking itself into the shell.

  I must have stabbed into the shell a dozen times before the colorful orb populated.

  Claim or Consume.

  Consume Zorta (YES) - (NO)

  Consume or Drop .771 Zorta

  I selected (Drop) and collected the orb, tucking it into a pouch around my neck. I left the turtle where it was, not willing to handle it and end up being poisoned. The fox returned with another bird that I tossed in.

  A series of shovels clanged, landing on the forest floor and being ejected from Seqa. Next came the hand saws and two person saws. I walked over to the tools, grabbing a handsaw.

  I had given orders to not dig directly near the portal until the last day. That way if we had to flee, we could do so easily and not fall into a pit or a trench.

  A few saplings fought to grow between the mighty trees. I grabbed the first young tree at the base, using the trunk to balance my kneeling. The large sapling almost tipped from my weight, being looser in the soil then I expected. Setting the saw down, I pushed against the small tree, bringing it down. The thin wood would work great for baskets or baby cribs for the goblins.

  I actually had no idea how it would be used. Instead of worrying about it, I dragged the small tree into the portal, careful not to touch the golden material myself. About half way in, the other side caught on and dragged the tree in for me.

  Foxy, the skeleton fox, returned with an owl type creature.

  I kneeled beside the fox, accepting his catch.

  When he bolted off, it didn’t take very long to realize this was his fifth kill to Lumpy’s one. This was about survival, getting home, and having enough Zorta in case Arax found me. I’d have to take Bell being angry because my survival was in the balance.

  “Lumpy, come to me,” I ordered.

  I absorbed the .091 Zorta from the owl, tossing the body into the portal. I went back to tree tipping while I waited for the jenix cat.

  The crews digging up soil carted over their first batch. The wheels creaked loudly and the aroma of freshly dug dirt hung in the air heavily. The two dwarves rolled the cart in, leaving the extra-long handles on our side. A few minutes later, the cart was mostly pushed back onto our side.

  The dwarves grabbed the cart and left to dig more soil. A shifting crew in Seqa had pushed their dirt across to another cart. Moving fresh forest dirt would cost insane amounts of labor, but that was what expanding meant, hard work.

  Lumpy arrived after I shoved in a second tree. We hit a backup for shifting goods, and I saw he arrived empty handed, figuratively.

  “Alright, my minion friend. I forgot to ask Caitlyn about making you a real cat again, but I promise I will pester her about converting you from minion to a real cat. Time for you to get an upgrade,” I said with a sad smile.

  With a petting stroke, I connected to my minion.

  Minion: Lumpy.

  Health 14/14. Level 2.

  Sentient Cat.

  Fighting Abilities: Highly proficient.

  Memories intact.

  Upgrade Available. Consume 155/58 mana and 1.7 Zorta (YES) - (NO)

  “Did Bell feed you Z? Maybe you cultivate on your own because I know your Z requirement was higher before,” I said, scratching his ear. “Lumpy, suppress memories.”

  The cat’s eyes glazed over, and his purring instantly stopped.

  “I bet it’s your kills that feed you or something. Anyway, sorry, I’ll make you a cat again soon.”

  The large cat didn’t say anything, merely standing there waiting for orders.

  I selected yes and felt the mana flee my body, creating a billowing cloud around the cat. The cat tensed, flopping onto his side in a rigid fashion. I watched his body get stripped by ghoulish hands.

  Lumpy wanted to panic or flee but couldn’t. When he died, he crumpled into a pile, magic diving into his bones.

  The power pulsing through the bones lasted for a full minute, and when Lumpy returned to a skeletal cat, he stood taller than a full grown hound. He grew maybe an inch or two, and I really thought he could keep going if we had infinite Zorta.

  Lumpy and Jark were now my only tier three minions.

  “Lumpy, return memories,” I ordered.

  He came to me for pets, not getting angry when I oddly stroked his spine. I felt human at that moment, mostly because I disliked petting the skeleton minion.

  At least I’m not some evil overlord.

  “I need a pile of small animals. Anything big, and you tell the others. Now, there happens to be a shitty fox, about half your size, killing everything at the moment. Go beat him,” I said, and Lumpy shot off into the greater forest.

  Asha arrived, watching the cat bound away. “I like that cat.”

  “Pfft.” I scoffed. “Charlie would have brought back a few kills more than the furry version.”

  “Bell will likely be angered,” the elva said in a haughty tone. “I have news.”

  “I’m all ears. Hey, have you ever tipped a tree before? I never realized I would enjoy it until I did it twice today,” I said, pushing a tree that held zero give. “Worked earlier.”

  He chuckled at my odd behavior, pushing the tree over for me. I raised my brows and gave an impressed nod of approval. We went to opposite ends, dragging the tree to the line for sending stuff into the portal.

  “So, not good or bad news? Just news?” I asked Asha.

  He shrugged, and we watched the fox deposit a mouse before jetting back off.

  “Have you ever heard of bernox?” he asked.

  “Can’t say that I have.”

  “We’ll, there’s a reason this area is fairly void of settlements. The bernox are a four legged creature that live in root caves, much like a bear. When provoked, they emit a stinky gas,” Asha said.

  “We have skunks on Earth. They squirt you with a lingering liquid, and you stink for weeks,” I said, and he nodded.

  “Sorta the same. The smell can knock a living creature unconscio
us, and the bernox will drag you into a lair to eat you while you’re still alive. If they spray you, dodge the liquid, because it’s acid,” Asha said.

  “Lovely,” I commented, and we shared a chuckle at my dry humor.

  “If we avoid them for a week, they’ll avoid us… but, there’s some big ones and honestly,” Asha said, glancing around to see who was listening. “Sacrificing a few goblins to kill them reduces your goblin skeleton problem and increases the Zorta we have.”

  “Best time to attack them?” I asked.

  “During the day. The closest one is about three miles to the north. Should I plot out a trail for hitting tomorrow?” Asha asked.

  I arrived at the next tree, and he helped me tip it over.

  “I think so. Be safe, though,” I said.

  “In the morning, I’ll have a route drawn up,” he said, leaving me to drag the tree over to the portal.

  Hunting bernox in caves sounded fun. I had a shield and everything for killing the little critters.

  CHAPTER 40

  Igorn Forest

  “They’re how big?” I asked, gazing at the descending hole.

  I had passed a thousand massive tree roots on the way here, almost all of them capable of containing a cave under them. Disturbed soil led to the burrow in the tree’s root system and the tracks were about ten to twenty times larger than I expected.

  “A smidge smaller than an ogre,” Asha said with a smile that I wanted to slap off his face. “Aw, Boss, be one with the forest.”

  “I don’t need your elva proverbs. An Earth skunk is the size of a house cat. Like three times smaller than Lumpy,” I said, tossing hands in the air. “You said they were about the size of a bear. This is… you meant a Nordan bear,” I muttered, figuring out the disconnect.

  He shushed me. “They can’t smell anything, but they can hear decently. It helps if you attack when they sleep. Loud noises tend to wake them.”

  I pointed to the face covering I wore as an excuse for talking too loudly. The cloth was stuffed with some flower that should counter the toxin. At that point, I wasn’t thrilled with this plan.